Review: 7879 Hoth Echo Base

[starstreak]

This review will be on the 7879 Hoth Echo Base

Defend the Hoth Echo Base from the evil Imperial forces!

Prepare for attack! Imperial forces have discovered the Rebel base hidden on the ice planet of Hoth and are preparing to crush the Rebel Alliance. Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and protocol droid R-3PO get ready to fend off the attack as 2 snowtroopers approach. Luke Skywalker is in the bacta tank being treated by medical droid 2-1B. Expanding base features tauntaun stable with tauntaun, working cargo crane, 2 rotating radar dishes, icicle trap and speeder bike.

Set Name: 7879 Hoth Echo Base

Theme: Star Wars

Released: 2012

Pieces: 773

Price: $89.99/$63.17 EUR/55.56 GBP It was $95.99 here in Hawaii.

Here are some quicklinks Lego.com, Brickset, Bricklink

Wanna see some pictures? Let's start with the normal box arts and manuals!

Box Front

Yes it does say "limited Edition". That really means only selected stores will carry it. Like The Lego Store and Toys R Us.

Box Rear

Nice back pictures. It shows you what each moving part does. Some make sense. Others I think they added just to give more detail. Like the moving crane for the boxes. It goes nowhere and where you stack the boxes isn't even close to where the crane is.

Parts Bags

Nothing special here. The only bag that was separate was the Tauntaun.

Sticker Sheet

One sticker sheet

Instruction Books

Came cover on both manuals.

Parts List

Random Page

More shots of what was on the back of the box.

Minifigs

Yes, they really gave the princess a Popsicle. Han Solo gets "Kenny" hood and a toupee. Luke and the princess get two faced.

Ah! Two of my favorite pieces. The new 2-1B (Far left), and the red protocol droid R-3PO.

And the Tauntaun. Oh, now that you see it in this picture, the grey brick is to fill in the Tauntaun's empty socket when nobody is riding him.

Snowtrooper's heavy canon

I like the design. The cabled battery/ammo box is a nice touch.

Imperial speeder bike

It looks good in white.

The Build Process

Top right is the finished right side. It joins to the left half on a hinge. In my build, I don't join them till the end. But in the manual, you build them joined. I did it this way mostly to keep the photos clean.

I'm guessing, it's some sort of power generator.

And the yellow thing is to help hold the Tauntaun's rein and saddle when not in use. Bottom right is the finished left side.

Left side finished with Tauntaun resting. Here you can see his saddle and rein. The turrets on the top rotate and move up/down. Also, each set has a pair of blue flick-fire missiles on them.

Finished Photos

Here is the whole base. Some things to consider when playing with the set is you can keep it fully opened or closed or even partial like this photo. All works for some fine play time action!

Base closed- From different sides

Here is the base closed. You can see some warning signs. I'm Earth, so I can't read them.

Back side. You can see the communication dishes that rotate and the crates on the right. How the crane gets them there is beyond me. The white icicles in front of the two entrances fall if you pull the stick holding them.

This view shows the Tauntaun's gate which holds his food. Rotate the two levers and you can pull open the door. There is a rebel canon that is attached to base here on this side as well. Presumably to protect the entrance that has no blast doors.

Final side. Here you have the top platform. You can raise in lower it, but it's hard to do that while it's on the base. The gun case can swivel down to give access to the guns from the outside.

Finished photo of the base opened wide.

Same photo but from the other side. Now you can see the gun case opened.

Movie moments

Han returning to base.

Luke in the Bacta tank.

Luke now out of the Bacta tank and Han and Leia waiting to see him.

Other random photos

Han and Chewie guarding the base from the Snowtooper attack.

And the princess on the portable canon. Ready to give them heck!

Comments: Ok, lets get this out of the way. This is was $90+. That's a heck of a lot of money for a small set. you're paying for the rare minifigs and that some stores won't get it. With that a side, this set does remind me of the Hoth base. Cave entrance, the "snow" pieces on the grey rocks. Part of me feels like they put this set together as a last minute thought. As I mentioned elsewhere, the crate crane seems out of place, even where they have you storing the crates when not in use. Overall size is big for the amount of Lego. They had to do that to give you lots of playing area. There's the hospital area, the war room, Tauntaun holding area, and even the exterior gives you playing area. The canon leads to outside where they gave you some Snowtoopers to attack. Even how the gun case flips open to give the troops access to it. Overall it does convey a feeling of being in the Hoth Base.

My rating

Playability: 4/5 Either to be setup as a diorama, or to be played with. I like it! Many moving parts. My son loves the set. But it does break easily. Which depending how you look at it, can be a good thing if you're shooting up the base.

Build experience: 2/5 Easy build. Nothing is too hard to put together. Except the stickers. The one used for the tactical screen was a bit hard. It's something you have to get right on the first try because you're placing a clear sticker on a clear piece. If you peel it back, the sticker will leave a murky color on the clear areas.

Overall: 3/5 If I don't factor in the cost, then this set is ok. A lot all the minifigs special. The R-3PO, medical driod, another Tauntaun and even Han Solo are all done in good taste. I can see it fitting well with the other ice sets. But... If I factor in the cost, then I would rate it a 2/5. At $90+ for a set that only 773 pieces, that is expensive. For a clearance price of $74.99 it would be more worth it.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

All photos are viewable in full size on my flickr site. Here is a direct like to my: 7879 Hoth Echo Base

[Masked Builder]

Certainly a cool set. It's pretty well designed and the minifigures are great! I'm not going to be dishing out the $90 to get it though. I may Bricklink the Han figure though.

[Big Cam]

To me this doesn't look like it's a set I really want, but when combined with the other Hoth sets, this is just going to complete the picture for me, and that red protocol droid is awesome, ironically I don't recall there ever being a red protocol droid?

The Luke figure is just awesome, and I actually prefer the Kenny style hood over the old one for Han.

This is a BUY set for me.

Thanks for the review!

[K-Nut]

Great review! I like this set, but I sadly can't get it. Gotta save up for the Death Star! I'll probably Bricklink Luke and maybe Han & Leia.

[Cpt. Dan]

Thanks for the review.

I have to be honest, I am not a fan of this set. The figs are great, but there is nothing to it that makes it feel like SW if you took away the figs. I do understand it's a playset and probably great for little ones, but it just doesn't do it for me

I must say however, the red protocol droid is awesome! New hood on Han is great too. I think a snowspeeder would have helped not only justify the price but the set as well.

[The_Chosen_1]

Great review of a very underrated set, in my opinion! Considering the fact that it can be combined with prior Hoth Base sets, I think they'll look great together.

Come to think of it, are there any pictures out there of this set combined with 7666?

[StoutFiles]

Good review. Your pictures are better than in my review for sure, but I feel this review would be improved by showing off some of the older Hoth sets and Hoth figures to show off improvements to designs.

Great review of a very underrated set, in my opinion! Considering the fact that it can be combined with prior Hoth Base sets, I think they'll look great together.

Come to think of it, are there any pictures out there of this set combined with 7666?

Define combined. Before I mixed the sets together, I put them next to each other, but it looked like a door next to a Classic Space set.

Edited August 23, 2011 by StoutFiles

[WhiteFang]

Thanks Starstreak. Great to see your reviews in action again.

I am fond of the SW Hoth scene and this set is in my shopping list for the sake of completion. I am quite disappointed with the size and scale of this set and thought it would at least be of a larger scale. The minifigures selection are average and I am wondering why they can't include at least a rebel trooper or something else in there, but I must admit that the red CP3O is great.

Can't wait to see someone integrating all of the official LEGO sets for the Hoth scene together.

[starstreak]

Finally had a chance to log in. Thank you all who liked the review. I tried to show all the sides so you could see how Lego tried to make it playable. I do have the other Hoths sets... Maybe I could see if I could join them together.

I do wish this set was cheaper.

Thanks Starstreak. Great to see your reviews in action again.

I am fond of the SW Hoth scene and this set is in my shopping list for the sake of completion. I am quite disappointed with the size and scale of this set and thought it would at least be of a larger scale. The minifigures selection are average and I am wondering why they can't include at least a rebel trooper or something else in there, but I must admit that the red CP3O is great.

Can't wait to see someone integrating all of the official LEGO sets for the Hoth scene together.

[Alldarker]

Finally had a chance to log in. Thank you all who liked the review. I tried to show all the sides so you could see how Lego tried to make it playable. I do have the other Hoths sets... Maybe I could see if I could join them together.

I do wish this set was cheaper.

Thanks for the review! I'm extra interested in your review, seeing as I ordered this set this Sunday, and am now waiting for it to arrive.

BTW, both the Toys'r'Us price and the S@H price here in the Netherlands (and the rest of Europe?) is currently €99,99 (and not the straight $ to € conversion which you have put in your review).

For everyone here in the Netherlands a tip: www.toysrus.nl currently has a 20% reduction(!) for all combined orders worth over €100, which I made good use of for this set.

[Praiter Yed]

Thanks for the review .

I'm beginning to accept that maybe this is a very good play-set for kids. Just not such a great set for AFOLSW.

I still can't help comparing it to Battle of Endor though - I'm trying not to, I just can't help it. It has less parts and less figures than 8038 but is more expensive on S@H uk - 92 GBP compared to 85 GBP (8038 was released @ £75 I think?). Maybe it's heavier, maybe it's the Tauntaun - I don't know, but the only way I'll be getting this is if there's a really good offer! Shame, because the more I see the minifigs, the more I want to own them .

[Churchill]

I actually like this set. I think Lego missed a little bit of an opportunity with the scaffold/crane. It's clearly visible in the hanger scenes, on multiple occasions, especially when the door is being closed for the night. But, it's not tall enough, and by putting it on top of the command/medical area, I think it confuses it's use. I suppose it's up there for convenience, but I wish they could have shown it's use with an x-wing.

At first I didn't like that feature, and didn't get it's inclusion. Now, I think it's a great feature. I just need to figure out how to modify it to make it a bit taller.

[mutley777]

Thanks Starstreak for the fantastic and detailed review!

This is one of those set that was a real let down for me. If you look at you build photo's they should have stopped when the command center and medical room was done. It would have been much cheaper and had all the details it really needed. What we ended up with was a bloated set with nice parts just thrown together.

As a set it is a waste but for parts I think it might just about be worth it if you can get it 15-20% off.

[Parrothead Rasmus]

Stellar review! Thanks a lot!

Still, in my opinion, a stellar set!

[LegoDad42]

Even though it has the medical bay w/bacta tank and the command/control center (which I love both), the set overall is like a hodge-podge. Definitely GREAT for the kids. My son will love it. I'll still pick it up and use the parts to enhance the other Hoth sets. I'll wait for a discount on it though. Like the reviewer said, around $75.00 sounds fair for this considering all the nice figs.

As for the review...excellent! Nice pics throughout.

[The Blue Brick]

I think the figs are great but i don't like the design of the base. I might need to bricklink the figs.

[Farit]

Thanks for the review.

In Russia isn't on sale

[Rufus]

Great to see this set in such detail, starstreak, thanks!

I'm not sure what to make of this. I think it has potential to be a great set, and it certainly fills a whole in the Hoth collection, but there's something lacking... I'll need to buy it to make up my mind. I suspect that as part of my growing Hoth diorama it'll be great; it just doesn't sit too well as a stand-alone.

I suspect the designer was aiming for the same result as the 8038 Endor playset (and to a lesser extent, the 7754 Home One), but I'm not quite sure they pulled it off.

And yes, it's overpriced for what you get.

[starstreak]

I'm pretty sure that's what it is. The price point puts it above the kids to buy, but not good enough for afols to buy at that price.

Great to see this set in such detail, starstreak, thanks!

I'm not sure what to make of this. I think it has potential to be a great set, and it certainly fills a whole in the Hoth collection, but there's something lacking... I'll need to buy it to make up my mind. I suspect that as part of my growing Hoth diorama it'll be great; it just doesn't sit too well as a stand-alone.

I suspect the designer was aiming for the same result as the 8038 Endor playset (and to a lesser extent, the 7754 Home One), but I'm not quite sure they pulled it off.

And yes, it's overpriced for what you get.

[thunderhippo]

I am still debating over getting this set or the new Mellinium Falcon.

That aside great review!

[Titan]

Thanks for the awesome pictures and review!

As others have stated, the figures are great in this set, but the overall is a bit lacking. It's probably one of those wait-for-a-sale type of purchase.... :)