REVIEW: 7778 Midi-Scale Millennium Falcon

[Millacol88]

When we first saw pictures of this set, the picture and rumor topic was abuzz with discussion. "Does it have an interior?" "Any Minifigs?" We quickly settled that the set was just too small to contain any figures, and people immediately started posting that the set was pointless with no figs, that it wasn't worth it for just a model. I disagreed. I thought the set looked just like the UCS after going through the dryer a few times. So, I invite all the naysayers, or people who just aren't sure about this one, to read this review and find out if they will buy it. I realize Commander KimT already did a review of this one, but I wanted to throw my thoughts into the mix. I hope you enjoy it!

Set Name: Midi-scale Millenium Falcon

Set Number: 7778

Theme: Star Wars

Year: 2009 (second wave)

Price: USD 39.99, GBP 29.35, EUR 41.50, CDN 49.99

Pieces: 356

Minifigure: N/A

Bricklink

Peeron

Brickset

S@H

Lego Shop Description:

The most famous ship in the Star Wars™ galaxy – at an all-new scale!

It’s the Millennium Falcon as you’ve never seen it before! Han Solo’s famous starship returns as a special-edition mid-scale model. Movie-authentic details include a rotating radar dish and movable laser cannons above and below!

* A must-have special edition midi-scale Millennium Falcon!

* Dimensions: Length = 9.3 inches (23.5cm), Width = 6.7 inches (17cm), Height = 3.2 inches (8cm)!

* No minifigures included.

The Box

Front

The box displays the MF in all its glory, with some laser bursts and random explosions in the fore- and background. Strangely, this has Clone Wars style packaging, in lieu of the the "10 year anniversary" one that all the Original Trilogy sets this year have had. An emblem lets you know this is a special edition, and a small picture and hand in the corner give you a sense of scale. The ship is flying over an Earth-like planet and the Death Star II looms in the background.

Back

The back of the box is the same as the front, but reversed. A parts inventory is also displayed, which is most unusual for SW. This sort of highlights the fact that the set has almost zero play features to put on the box.

Instructions

Front

Back

Part Inventory

Sorry for the bad picture. Here we can see that we get a nice variety of Light Bley, Dark Bley, Tan, and Red. We also get a trans-blue piece of tubing for the engines. One of the first things I noticed was that there are plenty of wing plates, which I am quite fond of. Two "engine pieces" and two "UFO dishes" are also included.

Polybags

Stickers/Decals

Ahh, the DSS. Here we have ten stickers spread across eight pieces. Seven 2x2 round light bley tiles are among the pieces that need to be stickered, as well as one 4x4 light bley round cone. There is no excuse for the tiles not to have been printed, we see printed tiles like this all the time. This set even includes six printed tiles. They may have the "hard to print on curved surfaces" argument for the three stickers that detail the cockpit, but if a piece like this can be printed, anything can, and there's no excuse for stickers in this set.

/Rant

Extra Pieces

For extra pieces, we get a light bley Battle Droid Arm, a technic pin, a 1x1 dark bley round plate, a 1x1 red tile, a light bley "t-handle", a dark bley cheese slope, and a 1/2 technic pin, no friction. Nothing really special or uncommon here, but that's expected.

The Millennium Falcon

Looking at the MF in this new scale, you immediately realize how faithfully all the major details of the iconic ship have been recreated. From the front mandibles to the exhaust ports at the back, this is unmistakably the Falcon. Although small, the finished model is sturdy and misleadingly heavy for it's size. I haven't tried it yet, but I bet if you dropped it, it would come out in one piece.

Front

In this front view picture, it's easy to notice the sloped front of the Falcon, as well as the triangular-shaped mandibles at the front. Both of these things are accomplished by hinges, and it's hard to believe they could fit it all into such a small set. The trans-clear tiles at the very front don't make much sense to me. I don't think there was a window there in the movies, and unless there's another reason, I think light bley would have worked better.

Right Side

Left Side

I don't particularly like the stickers, but the design of the ones on either side are quite good. Its too bad they'll peel off before too long. In these pictures you can also see the awesome greebling on the side of the mandibles, which really adds a lot to the look of the set.

Back

I love the trans-blue tubing being used for the "engine blast." It's a perfect piece and colour, although that random tan brick poking out from behind it is annoying. It just seems out of place, and it have worked better if they had used light bley instead. This isn't a huge deal though. One other thing I like is how it gently slopes up from back to front with plates. I`m not sure why, but it looks cool.

Top

With this view you can see that the shape of the set really matches up with what you see in the movies. I love all the little greebles, like Cheese slopes, 1x1s, and grill plates near the back. It really makes you feel as though you can`t look anywhere on the ship without seeing some sort of detail crammed into the small space. You can tell the designers paid a lot of attention to these sorts of details.

Bottom

This is rather plain, as expected. I like the fact that TLC decided to make a proper landing gear rather than just having the ship sit on it's belly. A lot of the wing plates included in the set are used here.

"Exhaust Ports"

These printed tiles look very good, and there are six of them. I still don't understand why it would havee been much harder to print the rest of them.

"Sensor Dish"

This is put together pretty neatly. It is set on a turntable plate, so it can spin, and the dish itself is attached to a couple of droid arms which enable the dish to move up or down.

Cockpit

This was by far the most taxing part of the build. It took me a few times to get the stickers lined up correctly, and I'm still not happy with them (The one on the 2x2 round tile is still off-center ). In the end, I liked the look of this portion of the ship, too bad the stickers won't last.

Quad-Laser Turrets

Top

Bottom

These are really simple, there's almost nothing too them. They're basically just UFO pieces with two pairs of binoculars on each one. They do look quite good, and each one can swivel independently.

Final View of The Falcon

Ratings:

Build: 9/10 There were no problems, and the slightly asymmetrical nature of the ship means it's never boring.

Design: 9/10 It doesn't get much better than this. A ship done in an entirely new scale, with plenty of movie accuracy and good looks, not to mention all those greebles.

Playability: 6/10 There are zero real play features, but the fact that this is built solid and is very swooshable saves the Falcon from a lower score.

Minifigs: N/A

Price: 7/10 At 50$ Canadian, this is about 10$ more than it should be, but I've come to expect that from SW. However, without minifigs to drive up the cost, this price is pretty hard to swallow.

Total: 31/40 (7.75/10)

Conclusion

I really am quite fond of this set. It's detailed, tightly designed, and is definitely faithful to the movies. The cost was a bit much, but it was worth it for such a good set. More than liking the set, though, I really am intrigued by the new scale it introduced. I sincerely hope TLC continues it, as there are endless possibilities for it: A Hoth Battle diorama, with AT-ATs and Snowspeeders, a Death Star Trench run with three x-wings and Vader's Tie Advanced. Pretty much any space battle from any of the movies. No minifigures, no overly inflated costs, just awesome renditions of all the vehicles in the SW world, in a brand new scale. This is a great set to start off a scale that will hopefully catch on and continue, and, if you've got the money, I strongly encourage you to pick it up.

I hope you enjoyed my review. Comments and criticisms are welcome.

[prateek]

Even though this set isn't that good, great review

[LEGOscum]

Great review.

Has anyone else noticed that the front of the box is different to the one KimT photo'd? This one has a Special Edition graphic on it.

Edited August 9, 2009 by LEGOscum

[ILikePi]

Great review, Millacol!

I don't really understand why anyone would buy this set instead of the Pirate Tank though. They both cost the same, but the latter includes two exclusive minifigures (with highly detailed back printing on the head and torso) and one hard to find minifigure, and some play features, and more vibrant colors.

I give this set an average, because it does still look pretty good.

EDIT: I just noticed that there was no poll yet.

Perhaps you could add one, Millacol?

Has anyone else noticed that the front of the box is different to the one KimT photo'd? This one has a Special Edition graphic on it.

Hmm, you're right. It's probably just the difference in countries (Canada and Denmark). Here's KimT's picture if you guys want to know what LEGOscum means:

Edited August 9, 2009 by ILikePi

[cottonwood]

I got this set last week. I don't mind the stickers, because I know I'm never going to take this set apart! As for the scale, I LOVE IT. So swooshable! I look forward to more models like this one. As for the design, I think they nailed it. I think the design is very "creator-like, in the way that they don't have to worry about a scaled-template (minifig) . I love it (except for the freakin price!)

P.S Good review.

P.P.S Okay, I have a problem. I rushed right through the build so I ended up with a one by four plate and a two by two plate, both in light bley.

Edited August 9, 2009 by cottonwood

[Millacol88]

Thank you all for commenting. Also, thanks to Legoscum for noticing the difference in the boxes and Ilikepi for providing a pic. I guess North Americans just like things that are "special edition." Or perhaps KimT got an earlier run of the set. I'll add a poll shortly.

[drdavewatford]

Nice review, and a nice set.

Criticism of the set on the basis that it doesn't contain minifigs, or isn't minifig scale, is ridiculous. Lego is surely about building, not about hoarding plastic figures and selling the rest of the set on eBay..... While the minifig obsessives are of course free to pursue their hobby, criticising TLC for doing their job and producing sets for buyers to build is crazy.

If this sells well, I wonder if TLC will make a few other midi sets....

Dr. D.

[Jerac]

It is by far the most beautiful SW set ever, maybe excluding its larger brother. Actually, it is good enough to be a true MOC, without any limits Lego designers have to work with.

The scale, however, is a bit weird. It is too big for existing microscale fighters, too small to be placed side-by-side with the UCS Tantive V...

[Millacol88]

Thanks for the comment, Jerac. I think this scale seems weird or unusual to a lot of people because we really haven't had any other midi-scale sets. Once we get some more sets that utilize the scale, it won't seem so odd.

[Star_Wars_Rules]

Millacol88 you said you were not sure why the clear pieces on the front mandibles. The answer lies in empire strikes back when they end up in that giant asteroid with the space worm Han turns on his forward lights and they are located on.......the front of the mandibles.

Edited August 25, 2009 by Star_Wars_Rules

[382nd Legionnaire]

great review, however, not the best set, no figs and it's almost like a mini.