dunamis

Very nice - great job! Can you post some photos of the cockpit?

Wow, great job! I love all the details. Both of your models (B-wing and this one) are outstanding.

Wow, that is incredible! Nicely done.

Thank you for the review. I've been very curious about this set and glad you showed us the inside. Question - Can you tell us the size of the new tile? thanks!

Thanks for the review and the photos. I'm really shocked at the boxes and how big they are compared to the parts inside. Very wasteful. I assume it is LEGO trying to keep the box size large to match with the increase in pricing while dropping the piece count. Lack of rotating turret is a bummer as well. Would have been nice to include a unique minifig to make this set stand out. Otherwise, it is nothing special (unfortunately).

Thank you for the great review and your thoughts. It does seem kind of expensive but I do like the minifigs. It just seems like there is so much more enjoyment in the Classic Castle sets vs. the more recent castle sets. I'd much rather build a 6085 or 6086 over anything done in the last 10 years.

Very nice review and nice photos. I enjoyed the close ups of the minifigs. Looking forward to building this one myself.

Wow, that is incredible! I love the details. I'd say this is a master's piece!

Wow, that is incredible! Thanks for sharing. Question - what material did you use on the sails?

Fair enough. Yep, I goofed on the torsos And I didn't show the AT-TE at first (but later did in subsequent posts). Part of the reason was I couldn't hold everything to connect it. I later realized you had to move the pin down one hole on the AT-TE then it connected fine. Thanks for the feedback.

Nope, none.

It didn't take much. I just lowered the bottom hull by one plate size and put some tiles inside it so the ramp would slide through. I'll take some more photos tomorrow and post them showing how it works.

I couldn't do a 6-stud wide ramp because it wouldn't fit under the floor. The 4-stud wide ramp fits perfectly. (but I hear what you are saying...)

OK, check it out. I managed to rig together a retractable ramp. Here is the normal (retracted) view from the rear: And the view from the top: And here is the ramp extending: Ramp fully deployed: Deploy the troops: Since I took out the old fold-up ramp, there was a lot of room so I rearranged the middle seats and moved them to the now open space. Same number of seats but better arrangement (yeah, I know I need better color coordination I'm working on it)...: Thoughts?

OK, I played around a bit more and made a few ‘modifications’ as Han Solo would say. Take a look at this: I ripped out the folding cockpit and simply fixed it to the hull of the AT-OT. I then added a gun rack on each side and a walk-thru to the cockpit. I patched up some of the holes and put in two storage lockers. The cockpit still opens and closes the same: Now the best part… The Dropship can pick it up! I still have to fix the hole in the back of the Dropship, but that should be easy. No doubt there are better modders on this board but this was my first whack at it. Let me know what you think. Next, I’m going to tackle the ramp in the back…

UPDATE and sorry for the double post: I spent some time messing with this and got the AT-TE to connect. Pardon my inability to hold this thing at arm’s length and take a decent photo, but here it is: The Technic contraption that holds everything together can be seen here: There is a door in the back of the crew area of the Dropship (just below the cockpit). This door sticks out a few studs. The reason the AT-OT cockpit has to fold up is that it is a few studs too long. I’m going to see if I can mod this to make it work. Anyway, here is the door: Wish me luck

Yes, you can attach the AT-TE. It is not as easy as doing the AT-OT. No, when you fold the cockpit, you lose four of the front seats. A bad design flaw in my opinion. You are probably right, 50% is probably wishful thinking on my part. There is a Technic axle that has pressure with a rubber band. You pull back the axle and it inserts into the studded beam that sticks up from the AT-OT or AT-TE. Connecting the two is a bit tedious and requires two hands (otherwise I would have taken a photo). Releasing the AT-OT is a relatively simple and quick procedure. Oops I agree completely. I was hoping for a better ramp mechanism as well. Let the modding begin!

10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT by Dunamis Set: 10195 Parts: 1,758 Pieces Price: $249.99 from The LEGO Store, Glendale, California Build time: About 3.5 hours total Stickers: 1 sheet with lots of stickers (I stopped counting after 20 something) Thank goodness LEGO didn’t name this thing LAAT/c with AT-OT. I had a hard enough time calling the LEGO store and asking if they had the Dropship with AT-OT. Oh well, I still managed to communicate what I wanted over the phone and it turns out the set was released to the LEGO stores early so all was good. Enclosed in perhaps the largest non-UCS set box ever comes not one but TWO nifty Clone Wars sets. The LEGO Group shocking everyone with the surprise announcement earlier this year has brought us both an air and ground vehicle in the same set. Perhaps even more shocking was the $250 USD price tag for 1,758 pieces and only eight minifigs. Will the set deliver $250 worth of LEGO goodness or will fans be asking the government for another bailout to dig us out of this mess? Let’s take a look… The Box: Typical Clone Wars LEGO set marketing with nothing special other than the gigantic size. Minifigs are listed on the side and there are plenty of photos on vast space on the back of the box. Here is the front and back of the box: Here are the contents that came inside - 23 bags, three manuals and a sticker sheet: Note that the bags are numbered one for the AT-OT (there are 10) and two for the dropship (there are 12) plus one bag that is not numbered which is designed to confuse you (actually it is used on the dropship). Yes, the dreaded sticker sheet: The Manual: The three manuals are surprisingly thick. I realized why during the build. Many of the steps take a complete page and sometimes both pages to show the model or image. This leads to an increased number of pages required. I have not seen the online version yet but I assume one is available (or soon will be). Color separation was fine this time and the manuals sported all the usual features: • Piece call outs for each step • Parts inventory at the end of the manual • Page numbers The Pieces: We’ve got a nice assortment of bricks, plates and a fair assortment of Technic parts. Colors range in the grey (light and dark), white and dark red. There are a few printed pieces such as the little radar dish piece that goes on the leg of the AT-OT (eight of those), but otherwise be prepared to bust out your sticker applying skills (you will need them)… How about the minifigs? Well, here comes the rub… For a set this size and cost most would assume we would either get some unique minifigs or a bunch of minifigs. What we get is two Clone Pilots and six Clone Troopers. This doesn’t exactly blow my skirt up. Basically, we are getting the equivalent number of clones in two $10 battle packs. Overall, a nice assortment of pieces. The Build: The build is about average. There is significant repetition on both models but especially on the AT-OT. The heavy use of stickers does slow down the pace a bit. Here are a couple of in-progress photos: Here is what is left over: AT-OT Dropship Lots of Technic pins and axles used in this set. There are no real problems with the build, but you do have to pay attention to pin and axle locations on the beams. Otherwise, it is business as usual… The Design: The design on both models seems to be very faithful to their fictional counterparts. I was pleased to see that LEGO had some insight with the 7675 version of the AT-TE and put in the carrying connector so that the dropship would be compatible with it as well. Nicely played by LEGO. For the AT-OT, LEGO did a nice job with the design. The cockpit is well done and opens up nicely for easy access: Also, the cockpit folds up to make the transport smaller during flight: I suppose I was a little disappointed with the rear ramp. It is really nothing special and I suppose I was expecting something a little more ingenious: The AT-OT seats 17 comfortably (including driver). There are at least 30 cupholders so you could have a really fun road trip. Unfortunately, the AT-OT only gets about 4 miles per gallon (which is 1.7 kilometers per liter) so expect to fill up often. The fold up cockpit takes up quite a bit of space otherwise the front section would be ripe for modding by adding extra seats or perhaps a little command center. Here is the finished version: The Dropship or LAAT/c is a big model. Initially, it does not appear that sturdy along the spine. However, during the build, you can see they put in extra support with studless Technic beams: There are some nice SNOT techniques on the front: Also, the front panel doors lift up like the 7676 version: There is significant Technic infrastructure in the core of the carrying mechanism. Here is a shot of the finished version: Here are some comparison photos of the models against other LEGO models: AT-OT and AT-TE (7675): Dropship and Gunship (7676): Dropship and AT-OT: Just for fun: Overall Thoughts: A wonderful surprise set and very unexpected set by LEGO. I love it when LEGO releases sets that are kind of off-the-wall and outside the norm. However, I have some reservations about how it was marketed. I should preface these comments with the fact that I am an engineer by trade and know very little about marketing so proceed with caution as you may get dumber by simply reading my idiotic ramblings. To me, this set was priced in no man’s land. No kid (well, almost no kid) is going to convince their parents to spend $250 on a LEGO set like this. Especially one that their parent is never going to recognize and had maybe 5 seconds of screen time in the movie. Only the expert male parent observer might remember it was the walker thingy that was shown just before the sexy Jedi chick (Aayla) got axed. It would be different if we were talking about a $250 Millennium Falcon or Star Destroyer (at least they can recognize those ships from their childhood). In addition, very few kids will save up their allowance/paper route/chore money to shell out $250 to buy this set. There are just too many other items (video games, etc.) at lower price points for teenage kids to buy. Furthermore, you can’t really split this into two different sets because individually they are rather unappealing to all but the most die-hard Star Wars LEGO fans. The draw of this set is how the models work together. Plus, I can’t see many people spending ~ $120 individually on each model. Finally, LEGO should not have marketed this set while the 7675 and 7676 (current AT-TE and Gunship) are still available. In my opinion (which is just slightly more valuable than worthless) LEGO should have thrown in ten more clone minifigs (total of 16, one for each seat). In addition, they could have added a few Jedi minifigs (like Aayla) or some unique clone minifigs to make the set more desirable. Since this set is obviously targeted at the adult collector, jacking the price up to $269 it would make it feel like you are getting your money’s worth. Frankly, if an adult collector is going to spend $250 on this set as it is today, they’re sure not going to balk at spending $20 more to get 10 more clones and some unique Jedi minifigs. So, back to the review, I like the concept of this set. I like how it works with the 7675. Each of the models is nice and well done. However, I think we should have received more clones and I think the set is overpriced by about $70. Not sure if LEGO thinks this as well and might be doing a limited run of it just for the collectors and die-hard fans. With the current Gunship and AT-TE still on shelves today and some nice 2nd wave 2009 sets on the way I’m thinking this guy gets forgotten and eventually goes 50% off like the Twilight did last month. Snatch it up then and you will be happy. Final Rating: 60% Build 7/10 (Lot of repetition, but fairly straightforward.) Minifigs 4/10 (Not enough minifigs. No unique minifigs. Nothing special at all.) Design 9/10 (Nice design. Faithful to the Star Wars universe. Compatible with 7675.) Parts 7/10 (Same old Star Wars parts. Lots of Technic. Even more stickers) Price 3/10 (Way overpriced. Will be a steal when it hits 50% off in six months though.) NOTE: Obviously my final rating is significantly impacted by the lack of minifigs and the high price of the set. The models themselves are nice. If you can overcome the price and you have lots of extra minifigs, then knock yourself out and buy this sucker. As usual, your comments and feedback is welcome…

Great job! I love the detail. Very well done.

There is no mechanism. They just fold manually.

Nope, the figure must be sitting. There is really not much room in the main compartment at all.

8019 Republic Attack Shuttle Reviewed by Dunamis Just putting in my two cents on the Attack Shuttle to add to ReZourceman's review as well. Bring on the comments, complaints, gripes, etc. and let's talk about this set. Set: 8019 Parts: 636 Pieces Price: $59.99 from Toys R Us, Thousand Oaks, California Build time: 75 minutes Stickers: None! Straight out of the Friday night Clone Wars cartoon (and movie) comes this nifty little ship. Of the new wave of 2009 sets, this is the one I’ve been most looking forward to. Sit back and sip some eggnog and let’s take a look at what this set has to offer: The Box: Typical Clone Wars LEGO set marketing with nothing special. I have noticed that LEGO has started putting the list of minifigs on the front of the box (top right corner) instead of the side. Here is the front and back of the box: Here are the goodies that came inside - eight bags and two manuals: The Manual: In effort to save film in my camera, I stopped taking photos of the manuals for my reviews. Just kidding, I am in the digital age and I haven’t used a film-based camera in ten years. I really stopped taking photos of the manuals for my reviews because LEGO started providing electronic copies in .pdf format some time ago. However, it looks like LEGO does not have an electronic version of the manual online yet, but rest assured it will be very familiar to any recent manual you have seen (except for LEGO’s unusual decision to print all the text in Chinese font for the 2009 sets…) The manuals are 54 and 46 pages. Color separation was fine this time and the manuals sported all the usual features: • Piece call outs for each step • Parts inventory at the end of the manual • Page numbers The Pieces: We’ve got a nice assortment of bricks, plates, tiles and a few surprises. Colors range in the grey, white, dark red and a dash of yellow. Also, there were the typical Technic pieces that are everywhere in LEGO sets the last three years. I did find some interesting pieces that I had not seen before. Of course, I’ve been absent from the LEGO scene the past six – nine months so maybe some of these are not so new: New 4x1 slope: New trans cone? New yellow widget? New 4x2 slope: How about the minifigs? We get Mace Windu (no cape), a Clone Pilot and a Clone Trooper. Overall, some cool new pieces. The Build: Astute observers will notice a ‘pink’ towel background in some of my photos. The reason for that is my two daughters love the Clone Wars and wanted to ‘help’ me build this set. So, we put it together in the family room (instead of my usual building spot in my office) and had to put a towel down so we didn’t lose any pieces. The build is brisk and uneventful and flows along nicely from the instructions. We did stop along the way to play with the cool features that are sprinkled in around the set. Here are a couple of in-progress photos: Here is what is left over: Needless to say, we had a great time building the set. The Design: You really get a sense that the designers spend a lot of time integrating little features into these sets. Unless you build them, you really don’t get to appreciate the engineering and thought that goes into these sets. I wish there was a way to hear a ‘builders commentary’ on some of these sets kind of like a ‘director’s commentary’ on your favorite DVD. All those extra little insights would be fascinating to hear. At any rate, this set is jam packed with lots of cool features. My photos and commentary will not do it justice. Bottom line is you should build it yourself to see the cool design. Weapon storage: Here we have an elaborate hinge device that leans on two little 1x1 33 slopes. At first I thought this was some cool rear-gunner chair but it turns out that it holds the two weapons and lightsaber. Yes, it holds the lightsaber by the BLADE and not the HANDLE (per the instructions). I’m guessing it is this way because the ceiling is too low. Missile/Bomb launcher: This is very clever. Look at the two green, yellow and blue bomb/missiles in the photo below. Also notice the white hinge device just above it: Now, see how the hinge rests down and separates the two bomb/missiles. OK, moving the lever on the back of the ship causes the door on the bottom to open and launch the bomb/missile: But, notice the hinge device is holding the second bomb/missile and it releases it into the launching bay when the lever is returned back to normal. The second bomb/missile can now be deployed in the same manner. Ingenious! There are launchers on both sides of the ship. Also, the top of the ship opens up. However, there is a very clever locking system in place. Note the two yellow pieces in the photo below: Now, see when you pull the yellow pieces, the black Technic piece unlocks the top from the main hull and allows you to lift the top of the ship back. There is a lock on each side: Here is the top opened up (note the blue seat is where Mace sits): The cockpit is pretty nifty and opens up nicely to hold the two clones. Here is the final build: Note the ‘magazine’ of flick-fire missiles protruding from the top of the ship. Another nice feature is flicking the back button (yellow and grey button in second photo above) flicks a missile out of the front. Once the missile is launched, the ‘magazine’ (white, studless Technic beam) drops down and loads the next missile in place. You can shoot eight missiles like this and then the ‘magazine’ drops out of the bottom of the ship. Very nice! Again, you need to build this to understand how much ingenuity was put into the design. Here is a final photo showing the shuttle and gunship so you can see the size difference: Overall Thoughts: A nice, quick build of a medium sized ship. Some great features and design went into this set. I don’t really care for the yellow detail but that can easily be changed. The inside is cramped and offers little playability. Ship doesn’t really hold any additional minifigs. To be true to the big-screen version, this ship needs to be about twice as big and have the front hatch as seen in the movies/TV series. For the price, I would have liked to had more minifigs included, but it seems most of the sets in the past 12 months have been light on minifgis (presumably as a cost cutting measure by LEGO). Final Rating: 84% Build 9/10 (Very nice, fun and straightforward.) Minifigs 7/10 (Light on the minifigs. No cape for Mace. We get a new clone helmet though.) Design 10/10 (Awesome design features. Very well done.) Parts 9/10 (Some new parts, would have liked to see a chrome saber hilt for Mace though.) Price 7/10 (Seems a bit overpriced. Thought it would be bigger for $60 and have more minifigs.)

No, the build is not divided into bags. Just dump everything out and get started You have to tie the string to the winch at one end and the platform at the other. The elevator stops just below the floor level, it is not flush with the floor. The other stormie is off on a 'special' mission...

Thanks for the heads up on the wrong pieces. I finally just gave up and just guessed (as you can tell) on some of the pieces. I wondered about the solid-red vs trans-orange on the elevator but as you saw I didn't have enough trans-orange left since I used them on the trash compactor. As far as the little arch going to the AA-guns, I assumed it was for the mouse droid as well. Makes sense to me... Glad you enjoyed the build. I'm struggling to find a spot for it too. It was bigger than I thought it would be. I'm very happy with it though.

Yes, sorry. My review got cut short because of the photo limit. Here are some additional photos: Compare between 7676 and 10188 for scale: Some more random photos: