def Posted March 23, 2009 (edited) My first 2009 ship. I'd never had a Mace Windu before, and I don't mind the Clone War face designs, so I was really looking forward to it. It looks the best of the 2009 first half Clone Wars sets, at least in the catalogue. How does it hold up after it's built? Set#: 8019 Name: Republic Attack Shuttle Theme: Star Wars Clone Wars Year: 2009 Pieces: 636 Minifigs: Mace Windu, Clone Pilot, Clone Trooper (all Clone Wars versions) MSP: $59.99 U.S., £48.95 Peeron Brickset Bricklink From Lego.com Packed with massive firepower, the Republic Attack Shuttle sweeps down over the Separatist droid army and unleashes its auto-firing flick missiles and dropping bombs on the enemy. When the smoke clears, it folds its wings and converts to landing mode to drop off Jedi Master Mace Windu and his clone troopers to finish the mission. The Box Standard Clone Wars box, mini-figs are featured, and a nice little bit of action is displayed. The back shows the set features as well as the other sets available at the same time. The Booklet Two books. This set has the piece inventory for each step, a feature I like. 10th anniversary ad on the back of one, the old survey on the back of the other. Nothing shocking There are two instruction pages to show the features. The Pieces This set has a nice balance of big and small pieces, and is half in the traditional Republic burgundy and white, the majority of the rest in grey with a bit of yellow. The parts themselves aren't so rare or fantastic. I like the cockpit piece. This weird white brace piece is used for the legs, there are a bunch of these nice lime-colored pieces, and the see-through aqua engine parts will be useful as greebling. There are three minifigs. I already have loads of clones, so they are almost like battle droids to me now . This is the main incentive to pick up the set, especially if the ship design doesn't turn you on. I quite like the cartoonish illustration on his chest, as well as the metallic handle of the saber, plus the purple color. The Build I just reviewed the Slave I ship, and compared to that ship, this one is much simpler, step by step. By the twelfth step, it wasn't so far in. It seems aimed at either younger audiences, or just more user friendly. Very clear instructions anyway. At the 24th step. the bomb drops (in black) have been put in, and the support of one wing too. This is facing back to front. 36 steps in, the main part of the frame is complete, with smooth ends to allow the top to open. About 46 steps, essentially the interior is finished. Most steps are just 2-4 pieces, so it's kind of slow The numbers start over again for some reason, as the roof gets started. Here, the sides have been added, and the black swing locks are in place at the bottom of the picture. Starting into the second book, the launch mechanism is made in about 20 steps. This is an interesting build, there is a button on the back to push the flick fire missiles, with an elastic in place to reset it after, so you could flick them right after each other if you liked. They shoot out that hole there, which looks really good. The cockpit is fastened in a rather weak way. I really like the pattern of the wing, using so many panels creates a realistic effect, and is varied on the underside. And so it is, we reach The Finished Product The wings are up when at rest, and down when in flight. Head on, it looks pretty good, and you can see a connection to the Imperial Shuttle. The ship has a really nice silhouette. Unfortunately, the ship can't be displayed with the wings down without holding it. A set like this really could have used a stand. So, I've made one! The landing gear is a really weak point for the set, they're not well designed at all. Except for the landing gear, it looks great from behind. The underside is nothing special, and could have been done much better. The burgundy on the wings help make it look better though. Features The firing button works great, it really pushed the missile out, and the launch spot is in the ship, so they just magically pop out. Really well done. The cockpit is utterly un-greebled. The shape is great, the A-shape is really cool, but the interior is nothing special. "You know how to fly this?" "No clue, you?" "Aw well, what can you do?" The inside isn't much better. Just a seat. I've seen a MOC or two that improves this a lot. It also has a "light saber holder" which always bugs me since it's exactly what the characters wouldn't use. Mace isn't so happy inside here. The back jets do look really nice, and the technique to get them to sit securely at a near 45 degree angle is quite neat. The bombs work really nicely too though. These grey panels are connected to the black switch at the left. Twist it and gravity will do the rest. The bombs also drop one at a time. Two are loaded. One gets dropped, at the same time releasing the second. When the switch returns, the second is now ready to drop. The Final Verdict Design: 8/10 Some of this ship is really amazing; the wings, the cockpit design, the firing mechanisms... Then some of it looks so unfinished; the interiors, the underside. It really seems like this was rushed out, and is one of the poorest overall Clone Wars ships I've seen. The colors, well, I don't know. At first I thought it was really gaudy, then it looked really cool and retro, and then back into ugly again. The color scheme is pretty out there. I think in a few years though, this will look much better. Ugly design usually looks much better years later. The 8 score here is because what's cool here is very cool and makes up somewhat for the uncool parts. Build: 7/10 It's a little boring, but not terrible. The cockpit was my favorite part. Playability: 9/10 This would be fun, I think. You can hold it with one hand, and release the weapons on the other. Also, this set seems really MODable. There is a lot of room to improve this ship, and a good variety of pieces. Minifigures: 8/10 Three figures is a fair amount, and you get Windu. I'm satisfied there. Price: 9/10 It seems fair, a good price for the pieces and figures. Overall: 8/10 This is an interesting but disappointing set. In no way is it bad, it just seems to need a lot more to make it a great set. I would've rather seen Lego make this a massive, 1000+ piece set. If you've seen it appear in the Clone Wars, it's bigger than the Republic Gunship. That would have made this a perfect set, and allowed the space to fix up the interior. Cheers all. Edited March 30, 2009 by KimT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
k_peek_2000 Posted March 24, 2009 Great review for a great ship! Keep up the good work my friend! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baby Posted March 24, 2009 Thanks for the review! Nice set this is. Will get one of this soon. More minifigs compare to V-19. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prateek Posted March 29, 2009 aww man i want this set soooo bad but its soooo expensive (IMO) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smithy_Boy Posted March 29, 2009 Very good review. I love how the details in the ship are so close to the show, well besides scale and the fact the cockpit is too small. But overall this is a great set. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KimT Posted March 30, 2009 Great set that now has a great review as well. At first I didn't like this thing. It looked big, dysfunctional and bulky. But after building it and having it on display in my living room, I've kinda taken a liking to it. It's not outstanding, but I actually think this is one of the better Star Wars sets - yeah go ahead and mock me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raphy Posted August 8, 2009 Great review, I will so get this set. btw, do you know if it will be going on sale at S@H? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KimT Posted August 8, 2009 Great review, I will so get this set. btw, do you know if it will be going on sale at S@H? Last post was on March 30th and you bump it to ask if the reviewer knows wether this will go on sale on S@H? That is not really what we want when we allow 'bumpin'. Post something that has to do with the review or don't post. As for questions on sales and availability, I suggest you check the "Star Wars Sets Anyone?" Topic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M'Kyuun Posted August 8, 2009 Good review. I have the set, and as you said, the gear, which have become something of a standard on LEGO shuttles, is weak. The wings are a bit floppy on mine, and would work a little better if a ratcheting joint like those used on the AT-AT legs was employed. Lack of cockpit instrumentation, even a sticker, is disheartening. The designers do a fair job in capturing all the various angles of the ship's exterior, but often times the interiors become decidedly spartan, and this ship is a good example. The various shooting/launching mechanisms are brilliantly executed, and I like the cockpit design and the exterior locks to keep the aft section in place. As someone else mentioned, this seems to me to me a fairly mod-able set, if one is so inclined. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SWMAN Posted August 8, 2009 While this is currently the only set with Mace Windu, which makes it almost a must-have, the overall design of the ship and lack of other minifigs is a real let down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fumoffu Posted August 8, 2009 Thanks for a good review. I agree that this set feels like its rushed. Its hard to describe exactly but the ship lacked polish/finishing touches. Its one of my favourite ship from the CW series but I don't think Lego did it justice with this set. Let's hope we get a remake in the future and make it a larger set so that they have more bricks to play with. I ended up buying this set for Mace, built it once and sold the set (less Mace) off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cpt. Dan Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks for the review. I just got this set on BL and I have to say it is awesome, one of the best ships TLG has produced. I have had some problems though. The wings don't stay in place and they hang down due to their weight. Has anyone else had this problem? What I ended up doing was modding the interior to allow more space for clones, a computer, and took out the flick fire missles and closed it off. The big loss to the whole situation was I had to take out the bombs and the bay used to drop them to make room for stability supports. If anyone has any suggestions or the solution to the same problem, I would appreciate some input! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickdoctor Posted January 21, 2011 I just got this set on BL and I have to say it is awesome, one of the best ships TLG has produced. I have had some problems though. The wings don't stay in place and they hang down due to their weight. Has anyone else had this problem? I did, but I solved that by scrapping the set for parts. I don't think the angle shown on the box is possible without modding; it's just for photo purposes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fallenangel Posted January 22, 2011 I did, but I solved that by scrapping the set for parts. I've fixed my 8017 and 7657 the same way... it appears great minds think alike As for the wings, just rip out all the Technic in the interior and attach the wings via click hinges. They're definitely cleaner and more stable, and those gaps in the sides aren't going to get any bigger. Sure, it'll take a bit of work, but these sets are never perfect, and it sounds like you've added your personal touches to this set anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickdoctor Posted January 22, 2011 I've fixed my 8017 and 7657 the same way... it appears great minds think alike As for the wings, just rip out all the Technic in the interior and attach the wings via click hinges. They're definitely cleaner and more stable, and those gaps in the sides aren't going to get any bigger. Sure, it'll take a bit of work, but these sets are never perfect, and it sounds like you've added your personal touches to this set anyway. Will the click hinges even be strong enough? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cpt. Dan Posted January 22, 2011 Will the click hinges even be strong enough? Weren't for me, the wings are pretty heavy throughout. What I did was made some landing gear replacements that also are used as a "blocker" if you will. Then I took some small angle flat parts and attached them to the wings so when the wings come down, the angled part rests against the landing gear. Took a few hours of testing different things but it worked. I will take some pictures and post them eventually if anyone is curious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickdoctor Posted January 22, 2011 Weren't for me, the wings are pretty heavy throughout. What I did was made some landing gear replacements that also are used as a "blocker" if you will. Then I took some small angle flat parts and attached them to the wings so when the wings come down, the angled part rests against the landing gear. Took a few hours of testing different things but it worked. I will take some pictures and post them eventually if anyone is curious. That's what I'd have done as well. Only other thing I can think of is to rebuild the chassis and add gears like in 10212. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
