Millacol88

With the new 2009 line of Star wars lego comes the Hyena Droid Bomber. A good price per parts ratio and a brand new minifigure set this apart, but is it worth the money? Find out in this review! Set Name: Hyena Droid Bomber Set Number: 8016 Theme: Star Wars Year: 2009 Price: USD 19.99,CDN 26.99, GBP 19.55, EUR 26.95 Pieces: 232 Minifigures: 3 Lego Shop description: Switch modes to demolish the Republic! Switching between walker, bomber and attack modes, the Hyena Droid is a powerful multi-purpose weapon for the Separatists as seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars . Features four dropping bombs and three all-new rocket battle droid minifigures. Pivot the wings for flying and walking positions! Includes 3 new droid minifigures with special jet packs! Measures 10" (25cm) wide by 8" (20cm) long! Peeron Brickset Bricklink My Brickshelf Review The Box Front In typical Star Wars fashion, the box displays an action scene with plenty of laser bursts and explosions. While the rocket droids soar through space, the centerpiece of the set, the droid bomber, drops several bombs on its target, an odd-looking purple world. Back This shows the features of the set, such as the dropping bombs, the movable wings, and the slightly articulated cockpit. Instructions Front Back Minifigures Here are the "Rocket Droids" that can only be found in this set. I am not sure whether they make an appearance in the CW movie or TV series. Although its nice to have some droid parts in different colours, these really aren't that much different than the ordinary B1 battle droids we all have a million of by now. The "rocket" on the MFs back is a 1x1 dark gray plate with binoculars attached to it. Weapons/Extra Pieces In the way of weapons we get three of the standard blaster mold. The extra pieces that are included consist of one dark gray and one trans-orange 1x1 plate, two different kinds of droid arms, and a technic pin. Stickers/Decals uggh...One is too many. This set relies heavily on stickers to add detail to it. I did not apply them, nor will I ever. i would have paid up to 10 dollars more for this set if most of these had been printed. Hyena Droid Bomber Walker Mode The bomber looks okay, and in its walker form is quite menacing to behold. However, it looks too much like an oversized vulture droid for my taste. Flight Mode In flight mode the bomber presents a sleek profile, and the only parts that really stick out are the ones that connect the wings to the main body of the ship. We see too many of these enormous, and utterly useless pieces. As I mentioned before, this is the ugliest part of the ship. It just doesn't fit in with the sleek lines of the rest of it. For some reason there are two "cockpits". Perhaps the ships appearance in the CW will explain why. one of the cockpits raises up. While I'm not sure how much of a feature that is, I felt I should mention it. This bomb-droppping mechanism is the most playable part of the set, and works much better than the one of the droid gunship. pulling back the one of the two technic pieces releases the bombs. Here's a bottom view of the connecting device. It's useful to mention that it turns in order to switch to walker or flight mode. Entire Set An overall shot of everything included in the set. You get quite a few parts for the price, but the ship doesn't look all that great. Overall Design: 6/10 The ship looks like a rehash of previous ones. Build: 7/10 There's nothing new or unique in the way the set is built. It would have been nice to see more originality. Playability: 8/10 There aren't many features, but the bomb-dropping makes this a lot of fun. Minifigures: 6/10 There's nothing new here except different colour droid torsos. Price: 7/10 This set has a better price per piece than most of the other '09 SW sets. Total: 34/50 Conclusion In the end, this one leaves a lot to be desired. The ship itself isn't that original or well-designed, and the minifigures aren't so great either. If your a CW completist, I recommend you buy this, but if not, I wouldn't bother. There are other sets that are much more worth your money (*cough* Vader's TIE *cough*). Comments and constructive criticism are welcome! Thank you for reading my review!

How much does it cost? I wouldn't expect too much for such a small ship. That would be a brickmaster exclusive, right? That means if I want it, I'll pay an extortionate price for it on ebay or bricklink.

Or perhaps the news was so riveting you had to post it twice. This belongs in the set availability thread thats pinned. Plus its already been posted.

Whoops. Thanks for pointing that out. I've never made a poll before.

Yes, the prices for every country are completely out of wack, but I think we'll be seeing this more and more, especially in the star wars line.

I agree with everything you've said. its basically the same as Anakins JSF, released earlier this year, but with a vulture droid added. I'm in canada, so I'll work with canadian dollars here. Anakin's JSF was 27$. Ahsoka's is 55. So your telling me that vulture doubles the price of the set?! thats absolutely ridiculous!

Set Name: Darth Vader's TIE fighter Set Number: 8017 Year: 2009 Price: USD 29.99, CDN 39.99, EUR 39.99 Pieces: 251 Minifigures: 1 Brickshelf Bricklink Inventory Peeron Inventory unavailable Lego Shop description:Blast the Rebels with Darth Vader’s TIE fighter™! Straight from the original Star Wars movie, the TIE Advanced x1 is Darth Vader’s™ personal starfighter! Even faster than a standard TIE fighter, Vader’s TIE is customized with bent wings, a deflector shield and a hyperdrive. Celebrate 10 years of LEGO Star Wars with this all-new set, featuring incredible movie-accurate details, flick-firing missiles, and the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader! Lift the nose of the ship to seat Darth Vader at the controls! Includes Darth Vader minifigure! Measures 6" (15cm) long by 7" (17cm) wide! The Box Front The front of the box features a classic star wars logo in the top right, and a 10th anniversery one in the bottom left. It shows the detail of the set quite well and the death star looms over the ship. Back This shows the features of the set as well as some of the other sets of the 2009 line. Instructions Front This is the same as the front of the box. Back The back of the instruction booklet advertises a contest. Minifigure The only minifigure in the set is, of course, Darth Vader. I believe it is the same as the one released with the death star. The detail on the helmet and torso is superb. Its worth it to point out that capes now come in thin cardboard envelopes rather than boxes. The head underneath is a little creepy but also very well done when it comes to detail. Weapons/Extra Pieces The only weapon included is Vader`s lightsaber. The hilt is pearl silver. I would have preferred chrome, but it is still better than the drab light gray they have used in the past. For estra pieces we get a technic pin, one black and one trans-red 1x1 circular plate, as well as a 1x2 light gray plate. Stickers In the way of decals we get four, all on clear backgrounds. i did not apply them, and it would seem they could have been easily printed. Vader`s TIE Obviously the main attraction of the set, Vader`s TIE advanced x1 is well-designed and faithful to the movie it appeared in. There are some sturdiness problems, mainly in the way the wings are attached, and the design of the floor of the cockpit (it easily falls out). The windscreen looks great and is very accurate. We seem to be getting more and more of these huge curved pieces. They add a sleek look to the set but there really are not very many uses for them in MOCing. There is a tad of greebling on the top of the ship, but its nowhere close to the detail of the y-wing of last year. This printed piece looks awesome, and it really makes you wonder: if they were able to print on a sloped and curved piece like this, as well as the oddly-shaped cockpit, why werent the other, flatter pieces with stickers on them printed? The middle wing panels are connected to the body of the ship by two technic pins, and the smaller panels are connected on either side, by `clicky` hinges. One of the problems of the set is that the entire ship`s weight is supported only by the bottom panels which, over time, could damage the hinges. It would have made sense to have included a stand for the ship. This is probably the ugliest part of the ship. I`m not sure if there was a better way to do it, or to somehow eliminate some of the pieces used. It just looks quite blocky, and doesn`t really fit in with th design of the ship. This small, unobtrusive technic piece, when pushed, fires the missile shown below. The mechanism works okay (and by that I mean better than most other flick fire missiles.) Vader gets ready to go to town on some rebels Overall Design: 8/10 There are a few quibbles, and a couple fragile points, but overall it is made well. Build: 10/10 The build is straightforward, with nothing out of the ordinary. Minifigures: 8/10 The one included is pure awesome, but for the price, they should have includd another one (maybe a stormie or a technician) Price: 7/10 For the amount of pieces you get, this one should have been cheaper. Playability: 9/10 Once you figure out where to hold it, the ship is very swooshable. Total: 42/50 Conclusion This set is quite good. It is the only set of the current `09 lineup that will satisfy the thirst of all those OT fans out there. that, combined with it being an anniversery set, will ensure good sales. other than a few design flaws and a slightly high price point, This is a solid set and I recommend you pick it up. Comments and constuctive criticism are welcome. Thank you for reading my review!

All of these "alphabet" ships are quite unique. However, its a little bit too similar to the JSF with hyperdrive ring, but still, much better than I could do.

Well, all the 2009 SW sets have appeared on the canadian TRU website (finally). I`ll probably pick up Vader`s TIE and the clone battle pack, but most likely nothing else. I don`t have a TRU near me, so I can only hope one of my other local stores will have them.

I still think TLC should release some order 66 sets (Aayla Secura on Felucia, Plo Koon in his starfighter, Ki-Adi Mundi on the bridge of Mygeeto.) I'm sure there are more that I can't think of. It seems like the best way to get these jedis in sets.

Yes I recall seeing those in a couple of the old rock raiders sets. that head and torso would be useful, and so cheap.

Another great review of a set my area won't see for about a month or two...the clone gear looks a lot better in black rather than gray. The gunner has interesting head markings, and I can see that figure going for big bucks online a couple of years down the road.I'll buy two for myself and another to sell once they disappear out of stores. Once again, great review!

A fine review. I'll buy multiples of the clone BP, but the shuttle looks just a little too much like a hunk of bricks for my taste. Looking at it, it seems as though the designers where going for a sleek looking shuttle with lots of slopes, but the end result just doesn't look that nice. I'll probably get Windu off of ebay or BL, and pass on this one. Fortunately, the rest of the sets from the 2009 line look a lot better (*cough,Vader's TIE,cough*). by the way, where did you get this and how much did it cost?

Great idea for a thread darthperson. personally, I went with captain Rex. He has the best colour scheme and design of the new clones. Coming in a close second would probably be the rebel trooper.

I just think that, in future years, TLC should shoot for more variety in the SW line. I mean, all we had for the 2nd half of '08 is CW stuff and the death star. That means there is one OT set, no PT, and no EU. I just don't understand how TLC excepts to appeal to a wide demographic when all they have to offer is sets based on a movie and TV show clearly designed for the younger set. Don't get me wrong, I like the sets, I just think that TLC is kind of leaving all the OT and PT fans in the dark. However, its possible that this isn't legos fault. Lucasfilm would obviously have a say in the sets that get made (it is there license) so obviously they would want there latest endeavour publicised by lego.

Welcome here! I know you'll enjoy being a part of EB.

That looks pretty good. I wish TLC would have released their Naboo Starfighter from last year with chromed parts. I'm sure they're more expensive to produce, but I would have gladly shelled out a few more bucks for those awesome chrome parts.

I shop at my local zellers. Stuff that isn't supposed to be available in Canada as well as exclusives from other stores seem to turn up there. A few examples I've seen: The TIE Crawler, supposedly an S@H exlusive, the Dwarves Mine, apparently unavailale in Canada. And, just recently, the fighter tank, by all accounts a Target exclusive.

Really? My camera automatically takes pictures at a resolution much higher than that!

Now, now, don't be so negative. Hes a new member. you wouldn't want to discourage him would you?

The link to the first review of the Troll Assault wagon actually leads to Pedro's review of Tower Raid. Just thought I would let you know.

Haha.....I was one of the ones whose avatar was to big. Mine was something like 2500 by 1400 pixels! I was one of the ones who recieved a pm about this a while back. I had'nt realised it took such a long time to load. Through an ironic twist of fate I am now on dial-up and have experienced first-hand how long some peoples avatars take to load.

Count me in. I wonder what it is?

Welcome. Its always a pleasure to see a new face. If your into castle, perhaps you could check out the huge castle community build on the frontpage.

Those look amazing. I've been waiting for this since I came out of my "dark ages". The sets look great and the detailing on the torsoes is stellar. Looks like I'll be breaking the bank yet again to afford these. Has anyone seen these appear anywhere else?