28 replies to this topic

[Lord LOLrus]

All right, so this is my first review here on Eurobricks; I've been lurking for awhile and decided it's time for me to actually contribute.

Anyways, I was at the LEGO Store in Santa Clara (California) looking for some Hobbit sets, when I saw this lovely set.   I snagged it and 70700 Space Swarmer, which I might review if someone else doesn't beat me to it.
Here we go...

Set Number: 70701
Name: Swarm Interceptor
Piece Count: 218
Minifigures: 2 (1 Blue Galaxy Squad ("Solomon Blaze"), 1 Alien ("Mosquitoid")
Price: $19.99 USD
Photoset on Flickr (which has more photos than are posted here)

I'll start with the box:
Front:

Here we can see the rotating cockpit (my personal favorite feature) and the obligatory Flick-fire Missiles, as well as the Minifig featured in this set: the blue human.

Back:

This shows off the rest of the features - the cockpit separates from the wings (legs? The box calls it a "Missile turret," but it looks like a pair of legs to me...), the wings fold down, and a hatch near the back opens to reveal the FF missiles - which is fine by me, I'm glad the things are concealed .

Top:

Here we can see the Figs, and the 1:1 scale image of... a raygun. Huh? Why a raygun?


Contents:

Inside the box are two bags, and a horribly folded instruction booklet and a Dreaded Sticker Sheet.

The DSS:


The instruction booklet looks is nothing special:

It has a new image showing how to empty the numbered bags, though (you can see it in my flickr photostream, I’m trying to keep images to a minimum).

Here’s the parts list:



…and a random step:

(One problem with the instructions: the colors are often way off - dark blue looks like dark purple, normal blue looks like a bright purple, and the bright blue dark azure (like in Alien Conquest) looks like sand blue. Luckily there aren’t any pieces in the wrong colors, so there’s a minimum of confusion)

Now for the set itself:

Bag #1:

Inside the first bag are the pieces for the little alien scooter and the cockpit, as well as the minifies.

New and/or interesting pieces

We get a new windshield in clear, one of the Exo-Force robot arms in dark red, a “4x4 Wedge Plate” in Trans Neon Green, and the Alien’s wings. (The Alien’s head is bagged separately).
Note: the windshield is different than the one found in SP3 (and other places, I’m sure) - it has a bar to attach clips to, instead of the protrusions in the front for studs.

Bag #2:


New and/or interesting pieces:

In the second bag there are some very useful new pieces, mainly the inverted 1x2 - 2x2 Bracket, but also the 2x4 hinge plates. I’m not sure if the large wing pieces are new, or if I just haven’t seen them before (they look like they probably debuted in a Town Jumbo Jet or something).

The Figs - Front:

The Galaxy Squad (From here on known as GS) has a nice torso print, and his leg printing looks like it could be useful in many different settings (except, y’know, for it’s color ). His helmet is identical to the ones in Alien Conquest, including color.
The Alien (Do they have a faction name?) appears to be some sort of mosquito, and he’s the really interesting one - his antennae are removable (they attach like plumes), and both the antennae and most of his head are the rubbery plastic LEGO uses for many non-standard heads (note: his nose (proboscis, maybe?)) is harder plastic). The wings are textured in a way that makes them feel different than LEGO’s normal ABS plastic, but I’m not sure if they are.
EDIT: Apparently the human is named "Solomon Blaze" and the alien is referred to as a "Mosquitoid."

Back:

Both figs have back printing, and the GS has some sort of a breathing apparatus in addition to the targeting system over his right eye (on our left). The back of the Mosquito’s head is ridged, like plating.


The Build:
Bag #1
Alien Scooter:

The first third of Bag #1 is the Scooter, a simple build with a jackhammer for handlebars. If the Mosquito stands any farther forward his nose gets bent by the handle.

The Cockpit:

By the end of Bag #1 you have a finished cockpit, which is (supposedly) a small spacecraft in it’s own right - it has “wings” that fold out:


Bag #2

The (mostly) finished first part of Bag #2 (I forgot to put on the last few pieces - mostly the FF missiles); this is what the cockpit and wings attach to.


The completed wings (minus stickers) - the large “wing” pieces attach to the hinge bricks using a combo of the older 1x2 - 2x2 brackets and the new inverted ones. The result is very sturdy.
I waited until the very end to put the stickers on, and found that the wings must be partially disassembled in order to get the wing stickers on.


This is what the completed product of Bag #2 looks like.

Finished Product:

Here’s the whole thing (without stickers). It’s very swooshable.


From the top.


From the rear.


The cockpit is self-stabilizing (it rotates freely) - this is my favorite feature.


Here we see the thing on it’s “legs” - I honestly don’t know what else to call them.


…and the must-have exiting feature of the FF missiles. Cause those just totally make the entire set worth it.

With Stickers:

I feel that the stickers do add something to the model. They’re by no means necessary, but they liven up the wings a bit. I do wish the wings were just printed.

Extra Parts:

A clear visor, two technic friction pegs, various 1x1 studs, a light grey 1x1 round tile, a black viking horn/tooth, and a black lightsaber handle. Not bad at all, IMO.

Everything together:



Scoring:
Design: 8.5/10
A solid model. Not jaw-dropping, but I couldn’t find any problems with the design, and the features don’t take anything away from the aesthetic - and there are plenty of…

Features: 10/10
With adjustable wings, detachable cockpit, and well-executed FF-missiles (AKA, they’re hidden), as well as the excellent rotating cockpit, there’s plenty of playability and no real flaws.

Parts: 8/10
The four inverted 1x2 - 2x2 brackets are a big plus, and the new windshield design is (in my opinion) a big improvement. The dark azure color kind of limits the re-usability of many of the pieces, however.

Minifigures: 8.5/10
Two figs for $20 isn’t bad, and the mosquito is excellent. I wish they’d put in a robot instead of a human GS, but there have to be humans somewhere, I suppose…

Price: 9/10
218 pieces for $20 is very good, IMO, but maybe my standards are just a bit low. Still, 9.2 cents per piece is better than average.

Total: 44/50
88%, or a solid B+.  I personally like the set quite a bit more than that, but I’m not going to re-do the numbers. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this set to anyone interested in Space themes (and even for those who aren’t).

EDIT: Credit to Aanchir for correcting me about the color names - what I'd been calling "bright blue" is actually (on Bricklink) referred to as "Dark Azure." I had worried I was getting them wrong, and I agree that it could be confusing to use non-standard names. Thank you for the help, I've now fixed that.

Edited by Lord LOLrus, 01 December 2012 - 08:52 PM.

[Amset-Rah]

This theme is definitely starting to grow on me. This is a must have for me (Along side the giant wasp ship, you know, to even the playing field in terms of ships). I like the fact the flick-fires are kind of tucked away in the back and concealed instead of being more or less an afterthought (Placed on the side of the ship like with the S.H.I.E.L.D. jeep from the Avengers sets). Both minifigs I can see as being very useful (Especially the double-sided head for making a cyborg).

[Purpearljellyblob]

Appreciate your review! Thanks for sharing. This set is definitely on my wanted list. Love those new insect minifigures.

Edited by Purpearljellyblob, 01 December 2012 - 07:31 AM.

[Lego Junkie]

That new windshield piece is interesting...

As are the 2x4 hinge plates (?).

This is actually one line of sets that I'm really excited for. I'm not much of a set buyer, but these might be a must have for my collection!

[obsidianheart]

Is that regular blue or that weird Azure from the Alien Conquest sets?

[Penkid11]

^Its Azure from Alien Conquest (and Friends).

Bought this set today, and I would like to confirm that all instructions are discolored as such. 6-8 year olds will be quite confused.

[DraikNova]

Well, it looks a lot nicer than I thought it would; I thought this would be the weakest set in the line. Looks great here however.

[Gryphon Ink]

This set is nicer than I had first thought.  The rotating cockpit adds quite a bit to its already considerable swooshability, and the fact that it's all compatable with ADU troops makes it very appealing.  Not the most insanely awesome set ever, but very solid for this price range.

I will go against standard AFOL customs and say I really like the hidden flick-fires.  They don't stand out looking silly when they're not in use, and when they're needed they look great.

The "splitting action" on this one is in the pits, though.  Okay, the cockpit-fighter looks all right, but what the heck are you supposed to do with a non-rotating missile turret with a big Technic axle sticking out of its front?  Very weak IMO.

[Aanchir]

Penkid11, on 01 December 2012 - 08:26 AM, said:

^Its Azure from Alien Conquest (and Friends).

Bought this set today, and I would like to confirm that all instructions are discolored as such. 6-8 year olds will be quite confused.

Specifically, it's Dark Azur/Dark Azure, the color of the Alien Conquest uniforms. Saying it's the same Azure color in Friends could be misleading, as most of the Friends sets use Medium Azur, which is a lighter color (also appearing in the Hero Factory set Thornraxx). Incidentally, almost all of the Dark Azur parts in this set, besides the minifigure parts, are new in this color.

Anyway, it's frustrating that the colors in the instruction booklet are misleading, but hopefully this only is a fluke with this set rather than being consistently problematic across the entire January line. :unsure:

Great review! This seems like an interesting set design with some great parts and a decent amount of play value. Nice to see LEGO Space making such a triumphant return!

The one nitpick I have about the review itself is the color names, which are misleading-- when a person reads "bright blue", they might think you're talking about either Bricklink's Bright Light Blue (officially called Light Royal Blue) or TLG's Bright Blue, a.k.a. classic blue. But it seems like you haven't had a set with Dark Azure in it before (understandable-- it's only really been in Alien Conquest, a Cars set, and a Spongebob set, as well as on one City doctor minifigure). So I appreciate the effort to identify a color you haven't encountered before!

Edited by Aanchir, 01 December 2012 - 02:57 PM.

[Graysmith]

Nice review!

Gryphon Ink, on 01 December 2012 - 02:27 PM, said:

This set is nicer than I had first thought.  The rotating cockpit adds quite a bit to its already considerable swooshability, and the fact that it's all compatable with ADU troops makes it very appealing.  Not the most insanely awesome set ever, but very solid for this price range.

I will go against standard AFOL customs and say I really like the hidden flick-fires.  They don't stand out looking silly when they're not in use, and when they're needed they look great.

The "splitting action" on this one is in the pits, though.  Okay, the cockpit-fighter looks all right, but what the heck are you supposed to do with a non-rotating missile turret with a big Technic axle sticking out of its front?  Very weak IMO.

Agree on pretty much everything you said! This is my least favourite of the Galaxy Squad sets, but I'm warming up to it. The fact that the wings rotate around the cockpit is pretty nice, and I love that they hid the flick-fire missiles. Usually flick-fires look pasted on and not "organic" to sets, but here they really fit well.

And yeah, the stand-alone "missile turret" looks really odd on it's own. I'd be much more inclined to pretend that the wings folded together was simply a different flight-mode (like how the X-Wing changes its wings) rather than it being legs.

[Shakar]

I was fond of this set to begin with, this review just makes it even more interesting for me. I might get this, though I'm not sure of the 20 Euro (?) price tag. I'll likely find a chaper one in shops or on Amazon however.  

Great review.

[SonofTheShire]

Thanks for the review! This is one of my favourite Galaxy Squad sets. I really like Blue's eyepiece and mask.

Is the first Galaxy Squad pictorial review? I think it is.

[Algernon]

Some people aren't too keen on this set, but for my part I love it. The minifigures are absolute top-notch, and the fighter design itself is great to me (although I've always been partial to stunt fighters). I LOVE the rotating cockpit, excellent move there by the designers. $19.99 is a fair price to me, considering the PTP ratio, and the size of some of the pieces. It might seem a little small, but the value isn't in the size anyway. Great review of a great set, probably one of the first I'll pick up from this line.

[Lyichir]

I have to agree that this set looks pretty great.

When the wings are folded down and the cockpit is detached, can the "turret" stand up on its own? In my mind that would make the difference between it functioning as a turret or simply being the "leftovers" from the cockpit detaching.

[jasbury]

Hmmm... Interesting set! Might pick this one up, but mostly for the parts.
Thanks for the review

[obsidianheart]

Kinda sad. Thought it would be regular blue. Oh well. There's still a red one in another set. Might pick this one up anyway.

[Lord LOLrus]

Aanchir, on 01 December 2012 - 02:54 PM, said:

The one nitpick I have about the review itself is the color names, which are misleading-- when a person reads "bright blue", they might think you're talking about either Bricklink's Bright Light Blue (officially called Light Royal Blue) or TLG's Bright Blue, a.k.a. classic blue. But it seems like you haven't had a set with Dark Azure in it before (understandable-- it's only really been in Alien Conquest, a Cars set, and a Spongebob set, as well as on one City doctor minifigure). So I appreciate the effort to identify a color you haven't encountered before!

Thank you for catching this; I'd been worried I was getting the colors wrong, and I agree that my names were misleading. The review has been changed to reflect this.

Amset-Rah, on 01 December 2012 - 05:22 AM, said:

This theme is definitely starting to grow on me. This is a must have for me (Along side the giant wasp ship, you know, to even the playing field in terms of ships). I like the fact the flick-fires are kind of tucked away in the back and concealed instead of being more or less an afterthought (Placed on the side of the ship like with the S.H.I.E.L.D. jeep from the Avengers sets). Both minifigs I can see as being very useful (Especially the double-sided head for making a cyborg).

Gryphon Ink, on 01 December 2012 - 02:27 PM, said:

I will go against standard AFOL customs and say I really like the hidden flick-fires.  They don't stand out looking silly when they're not in use, and when they're needed they look great.

The "splitting action" on this one is in the pits, though.  Okay, the cockpit-fighter looks all right, but what the heck are you supposed to do with a non-rotating missile turret with a big Technic axle sticking out of its front?  Very weak IMO.

Graysmith, on 01 December 2012 - 02:56 PM, said:

Agree on pretty much everything you said! This is my least favourite of the Galaxy Squad sets, but I'm warming up to it. The fact that the wings rotate around the cockpit is pretty nice, and I love that they hid the flick-fire missiles. Usually flick-fires look pasted on and not "organic" to sets, but here they really fit well.

And yeah, the stand-alone "missile turret" looks really odd on it's own. I'd be much more inclined to pretend that the wings folded together was simply a different flight-mode (like how the X-Wing changes its wings) rather than it being legs.

I certainly agree that the flick-fires are a lot more thoughtfully done - they do look more "organic" and not at all like they were slapped on like an afterthought. It's a nice change. From the "turret" height, they'll shoot about 2-3 feet without much effort, which a respectable distance. I believe this is because they can be shot upwards at an angle.

And I've got to say, the turret really is kind of lame - no rotation, big old axle in front, and looks rather flimsy (it's not flimsy at all, it stands up on its own very well). In addition, the back of the box clearly shows "Solomon Blaze" standing on the back of it aiming the missiles himself, which kind of defeats the purpose of splitting into two parts.

[Legocrazy81]

Another great review!

This was the set that caught my eye initially. I really like the shape of the ship. The bug ship is pretty bad though. Wouldn't be much of a fight. I can't wait to swoosh this thing!

[Ceroknight]

Thank you for the review! I think this is the weakest set of the line..

[Echo]

A solid set that may need some modifications. My main question is why Lego put a three stud long slope on the front. It sticks out too far and looks very awkward, and it can't be fixed because of the rare color. It should have been one of these:

Edited by Echo, 02 December 2012 - 01:23 AM.

[Hikaro Takayama]

Heh, I just got this set today and was considering doing a review when I saw this.  I'm definitely in the camp liking how they cleverly hid the flick-fire missiles, and I'm also happy that the Blue Squad uses the same color as the ADU troopers:  I was one of those who were disappointed that Alien Conquest line was so short-lived and this provides a way for those of us who wish, to keep expanding our ADU forces (maybe designate these guys as additional pilots or use them to represent a different sub-unit).

As for the large tail fins, they did originally appear in CITY sets (mostly white) and they also were in the Alien Conquest Jet Copter Encounter set in regular blue.  Since I've been planning on making a Red and White version of my Buteo VTOL Gunship mod from the get-go, this set is a good parts pack, since it takes care of one of the major special parts I need for it, and the cockpit piece is perfect for another MOC I'm in the process of developing (The Super-Tech Raptor from Raptor: Call of the Shadows)...

@Echo:  Yeah, that part in medium azure would probably have been better for the nose....

[Big T]

Good review man, I was hoping to see some out of the box pictures of this. It looked cool from the prelim pictures and this confirms my thoughts on it. I'd love to build a squad of these ships, and the fact they are essentially ADU compatible colour wise only furthers my thoughts.

[lightningtiger]

Excellent review of an AWESOME set.....it's the cool figures and that space fighter that make the set.....oh, that fighter !
Thanks for the review 'Lord LOLrus'......Brick On Review On !

[snefroe]

i like the insect, the set is ok, but nothing really brillant, imo

[M'Kyuun]

Thanks for the review. This was my favorite set from the beginning, and seeing the details up close only cements my opinion. I'm a fan of LEGO's little fighters, as there's a beauty to their simplicity and asthetics that I really like.

I do have to agree that the separated turret is a bit weak; however, I get a Macross vibe from it when the whole ship has the wings down, looking a little like GERWALK mode.

Overall, a great set with quite a few features at a good price. I'm sold.