[Review] 8039 Venator Attack Cruiser

[Pellaeon]

Lego 8039 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser

Review by Pellaeon

Theme: Star Wars

Released: mid 2009

Pieces: 1163

Price: US$119

Minifigs: 5

Welcome to my first-ever review! Today I'll be talking about 8039, a play-set take on the Venator-class Star Destroyer. I plan on disassembling this set later this weekend, so I figured a nice review would give me something to remember it by.

To start, the traditional pictures of the box. There are in fact six sides to this box, but I'll just be focusing on the front and back.

The back calls out most of the play features, though interestingly, not all of them -- the escape pod goes completely unmentioned.

Inside, the box is mostly full. Not too bad.

15 bags total, with several of them being matched duplicates -- it is a big, symmetrical ship we're building, after all.

The dreaded sticker sheet. Nothing too offensive here, and the one in the lower-right is a rather nice status/control panel with a diagram of the ship on it.

Since I plan scrap the ship for parts, I've not applied any of the stickers.

Ah, instructions. Two books, standard fare.

Among the pieces, these are probably the most interesting... 6x6 tiles, originally from Scala says Bricklink, but now available in light bley.

There are a handful of other pieces/colors that are somewhat uncommon, or at are new to me.

If you bought the AT-OT, you have 16 of those dark green chairs... I have one.

Oh, and a couple printed pieces! Grate!

Palpatine

Edited August 21, 2009 by Pellaeon
indexed and poll added

[KimT]

Thanks for reviewing this set for us

I'll have it indexed in no time.

Can't wait to built it myself.

[Fumoffu]

Nice review. I find this to be a nice set with an good build. Just a bit pricey. The nose section is probably also a bit short compared to the real thing but those photos you took front on looks great because it made the nose looks longer than it really is.

[pedro]

Nice review Pellaeon. I like that you've taken a few shots of details I haven't otherwise seen; such as focusing right in on Palpatine's desk and the RoTS comparison. Thanks for the effort!

I do rather like this set, just wish it could have been more dedicated towards battle with an interior hangar rather than office, more clones (pilots!), etc. with Palpatine saved for another Clone Wars set (get the MOD-stick out!). Unfortunately with so many awesome sets and the RBR on the horizon it's unlikely I'll buy this.

[RocketClone]

The only thing im not liking here is the creepy palp face .

[legolandia]

The only thing im not liking here is the creepy palp face .

Well that at least has remained faithful to the film. It would be rather bizarre to see pa`lp with a cute face on

[UsernameMDM]

That thing is massive and pretty sweet. Nice review. The details in it are really cool, especially the emperor's desk. Wish it had a few more minifigs though. Wonder if those Senate Guards will be in any other sets.

[Destroydacre]

Thanks for the very nice review. It's good to see a lot of the details in this set. I do agree that it looks very cramped. I forget which thread it was in, but someone put up a comparison picture between the Venator and the ISD, and the Venator was a good 3 inches shorter. Couple that with the $20 higher price tag and 200 fewer pieces and I just can't bring myself to buy this set. I think it would look pretty decent on a shelf though.

[RocketClone]

Whenever i see the front glamour shot i see it as a long ship,but when i see the overhead i see a "dumpy" sized ship .

[Torax]

Nice review! I really want this set...

[Commander_Rob]

Nice review, and I must agree with you on the set, it really isn´t that great. Actually it`s not great at all. From the first pictures I saw of it I was excited but the more I saw, the less I liked it. And by now I will rather get the Tantive IV. When that finally is released.

Edited August 23, 2009 by Commander_Rob

[RileyC]

Id like to get this set but for me its either this or the tantive IV. Minifig for this set is good but not the best. The palpatine minifig is cool and the creepy clone wars face works for him. The senate commandos are awesome and are a definite pro for this set. The desk is a nice addition but lego couldve done more interiorly in my opinion. Im not going to buy this because the tantive IV is an iconic set and has more pros than the venator

Good review also

[slimninj4]

I would prefer a UCS Venator than this. This set is just lacking Maybe if Target or Walmart has it on sale on black friday 50% off I will pick one up.

[bamaker]

Nice review; very thorough with tons of information on this set.

I'd like to purchase the Venator, but there are so many things wrong with it: too small, too expensive, too chunky, too few mini-figures. I'm going to wait for a really good deal before pulling the trigger on this set.

[LegoPigeon]

Nice job:) How long did it take to build?

[Pellaeon]

Nice job:) How long did it take to build?

I didn't really keep track, but it was maybe 3 hours with a bit of a break in the middle...?

To the various folks who are leaning toward the Tantive IV instead of this: I heartily agree with you. Though the playability of the Tantive IV is sort of comical (Sit in a empty bridge! Or sit in an empty escape pod! Here's Leia's office, you might remember it from... er. Anyway, it has all the excitement of an office! Also, it comes with some sort of luggage cart! ) it looks to be hands-down the best non-UCS version of a capital ship they've done. It's pretty spot-on as a replica, so if you're looking for a display piece, Tantive IV looks like the way to go.

Thanks for the complements, folks.

[Big Cam]

Lots of pics for us, I like, good review.

[382nd Legionnaire]

nice review, although i dislike how it's not really to scale, oh well it would be pretty big otherwise.

[LegoPigeon]

I didn't really keep track, but it was maybe 3 hours with a bit of a break in the middle...?

To the various folks who are leaning toward the Tantive IV instead of this: I heartily agree with you. Though the playability of the Tantive IV is sort of comical (Sit in a empty bridge! Or sit in an empty escape pod! Here's Leia's office, you might remember it from... er. Anyway, it has all the excitement of an office! Also, it comes with some sort of luggage cart! ) it looks to be hands-down the best non-UCS version of a capital ship they've done. It's pretty spot-on as a replica, so if you're looking for a display piece, Tantive IV looks like the way to go.

Thanks for the complements, folks.

I have two Tantive IV lego videos on my youtube, Posted here few months ago. Its a good ship :)

[Uncle]

Good review because you rated it very accurately. Usually people say "It was a decent set, so, 7/10," when in fact it deserved a 4/10. So your 2/5 rating was spot on, and I will trust your future reviews from here on. And by the way I may have only a few posts, but I've been reading forums here for years.

[Anio]

Very good review Pellaeon !

And I totally agree with your comments. ;)