Review: 4479 Tie Bomber

[KimT]

Set#: 4479

Theme: Star Wars Episode IV/V/VI

Set Name: Tie Bomber

Pieces: 225 + 1 minifig (299 in total)

Release: 2003

Price: 30 USD

Minifigs: 1 (Tie Pilot)

Links:

4479 Brickshelf Folder

Bricklink Reference Catalog

Peeron.com

"Behold the Tie of utter destruction"

"The Bomber laid waste to several cities in the Universe, mostly those who'd somehow offended Darth Vader"

"Guarded by several regular Ties, these machines of mayhem spared noone with their superior numbers and continous bombing"

I never fancied this set much. It's big and somewhat bulky. Still I got me two of them. (They were cheap), and now I am actually quite fond of it. To me it represents the simplicity used in the the early Star Wars sets. Also I have to admit that the launcher adds quite a lot of playability.

Box view:

The box art is somewhat confusing to me. Why would a bomber roam the Universe? Is it rushing a Rebel Frigate to bomb it in space? I'd rather the Bomber was heading for Mos Eisley or a Rebel base. Still it's acceptable and as usual a little too big for what's actually in it.

ImperialShadows had this comment to my opinion:

It's not roaming, it had just been deployed from, most likely, the ISD Avenger to chase the Millennium Falcon through the asteroid field in ESB. Why they bombed asteroids when they could have just blasted the hell out of them from a distance, I'll never know. I used to think it was the "I want them alive!" thing, but bombing can be pretty deadly too. Oh well, that's Lucas for you. In this case, LEGO actually picked the right picture.

I guess he's right, but I still find it a bit off.

The modular build of a Tie:

The Tie Bomber is built in modules and then put/clicked together.

There's the cockpit, the bomb-section and finally the wings.

This counts for all the ties released so far. (well I'm not sure about the Tie in the 10188 DS - I am sure someone can tell us that)

The modules (in random order):

Bombsection:

The Cockpit:

The bombsection features a missile launcher using this ever beloved fancy missile:

And a few pics of the complete Tie Bomber:

Conclusion:

In my opinion this is an acceptable version of the Tie Bomber.

Bear in mind that this was designed and released in 2003 and for that period I actually think that this is an ok solution.

I am not a fan of the annoying use of missile launchers, but it does add great playability.

The idea of building the Tie in modules also adds a lot of playability.

When the ship takes a hit, one can easily dismember it, removing a wing or the cockpit for example.

The Verdict:

Playability: 4/5 Missile and detachable parts

Design: 3/5 Blue and black , same measurements as other Ties

Price: 4/5 Fair price, though as usual overpriced in the Non-US parts of the world

The Bricks: 3/5 A fine selection of useful bricks, though the launcher is kinda useless

Overall: 14/20 A slightly Above Average set with some minor pro's and con's

Edited October 9, 2008 by KimT
Indexed

[Lego12]

Good review! I don't own this set, because it was before I was into LEGO. Wow! You won two of them! Lucky....

Lego12

[Tacitus]

This is one of my favorites. The only thing that I really dislike about the set is the use of the rubber band to keep the bomb-containing aft section closed. That rubber band doesn't last very long.

[darkrebellion]

Thanks for the cool review KimT . I actually like this TIE and I really hope the TLC re-design it (I am very happy when I read in the first rumor list for 2009 the name TIE Bomber , sadly it is not true, well I think 2010 is always welcome ). The part I need to said I definitely hate is the rubber bands, this ones are made of really poor material (Thanks TLC for change them ).

[captaintau]

On a related note, this week I dug out Jabba's Palace to write a review on it. All of the rubber bands had perished. For that particular set, I don't think it did any harm at all for many other sets it could be a big problem.

Note to TLC: must find more and better solutions to rubber bands in mechanisms

[Doctor Sinister]

I love this set - the fact that LEGO made a good show out of producing a vehicle that appears for about ten seconds in SW ep' V is alright by me. I also like the clever way that the targeting sensor helps hold the ship up when it's sat on a flat surface, and prevents it sagging.

Dr. S.

[Darth_Legois]

I always wanted to get this set but never did end up geting it

Nice review, I must say this is WAAAAYYYY Better then the Tie Crawler!

[ditto]

nice short review. one suggestion: how about including a pic of the minifid?

[captaintau]

I also like the clever way that the targeting sensor helps hold the ship up when it's sat on a flat surface, and prevents it sagging.

I thought it was the "real" bomb release chute represented by LEGO. Because of course the bomb shoudl be released by the port pod, not the starboard pod as LEGO have done it (not that I'm complaining at all, I think it's a great set)

[SWMAN]

I had this set at one point, and liked it a lot. I never actually used it the bomb feature, simply because I did not want to lose the bombs. One thing I did not like was the sensor of the bottom. It fell off a little too much. Although I have now moved on to bigger and better things (Castle), this is still a good set in my book.

[TheBrickHitHouse]

Awful set

Looks like a child built it

Colours are totally wrong, clunky and basic

Looks like the designers kid made it with left over bricks

Where are the smooth lines, the little details, the even superficial resemblance to the real tie bomber??

This thing looks more like a patchwork quilt than the ALL BLUE bomber of the film

More amaeteurish than even the old MTT? Almost

[Doctor Sinister]

I thought it was the "real" bomb release chute represented by LEGO. Because of course the bomb shoudl be released by the port pod, not the starboard pod as LEGO have done it (not that I'm complaining at all, I think it's a great set)

Looks like it's both targeting sensor and chute:

Dr. S.

[KimT]

Awful set

Looks like a child built it

Colours are totally wrong, clunky and basic

Looks like the designers kid made it with left over bricks

Where are the smooth lines, the little details, the even superficial resemblance to the real tie bomber??

This thing looks more like a patchwork quilt than the ALL BLUE bomber of the film

More amaeteurish than even the old MTT? Almost

And what are you?

Nice childish flaming you've got going there

Please remember that this set is 5 years old and a lot has happened designwise since then.

Next time, try to dig out some real argumentation instead of just ranting like...well...a kid

[pr0visorak]

Nice review KimT! It took you a long time to finish it but you did great with your patience!

[KimT]

nice short review. one suggestion: how about including a pic of the minifid?

Sure thing:

[TheBrickHitHouse]

And what are you?

Nice childish flaming you've got going there

Please remember that this set is 5 years old and a lot has happened designwise since then.

Next time, try to dig out some real argumentation instead of just ranting like...well...a kid

Oh please, its a plastic toy - i'm fairly certain its feelings cant be hurt

the set is 5 years old? You mean 2003? When technology was oh so different and designing good sets hadn't been invented yet?? I've seen more than a few excellently designed sets that are more than 20 years old. Lego aint exactly new at this building business....

Early Star Wars sets were designed on the cheap and in a rush, when Lego was more intrested in cashing in quickly as new films came out.

...as for arguing i commented on the innacurate nature of the set, the use of randomly coloured bricks, the lack of sophisticated building techniques (where are the smooth lines?), how many more arguments do I need to put forward?

[KimT]

...how many more arguments do I need to put forward?

Just loose the rant and do it in a sober tone.

Thats all I'm asking.