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Fisto was swimming at the time But yeah, Anakin was shirtless. Still, that's not his Jedi uniform. Aayla seemed to have gotten some implants since Episode II and has been doing pilates. So, since the target audience is teen boys, her uniform had to be that way. I used to read a lot of Marvel comics as a young teen and the same skimpy costume principle holds true there too. I probably wouldn't have read so many comics back then if the women didn't show so much skin. I know Star Wars isn't above such characterization, especially in the EU, but I don't have to like it.

Please try resizing and embedding the images, it makes for a more fun review for us

After taking the weekend off for my birthday, I'm back, and on schedule. We should be able to get these done by mid-September. Episode 13: Jedi Crash Another two-parter, right after a two-parter. And again, the episode borrows the structure of opening in the middle of the action, then taking a right turn to the actual plot halfway through. The opening is quite exciting, some venators led by new Jedi Aayla Secura are on the ropes from a Separatist attack, and Anakin and Ahsoka lead the cavalry to the rescue. The action is fast and uncontrollable, with the Jedi barely escaping a venator as it collapses into the atmosphere of a nearby planet. From there though, it gets much less interesting. Anakin is hurt in the escape, the ship makes an error with a hyperspace leap, and crashes on a rural world. There they encounter some monsters that only kill no-name clones, and find a village of little lemur-people that come from Scotland by the sound of it. Through it all, Aayla gives Ahsoka Jedi advice about attachment (to Anakin). These lemurs, the Lurmen, are deep pacifists, and oppose all weaponry in their village. Their leader in no uncertain terms declares Jedis are not peacekeepers. Despite all this, they help Anakin, and that's how the episode ends. Of all the episodes so far, this seems to be the most targeted at kids. For the third time in four episodes, some new monster fights them and it's getting boring. The new Lurmen are a few degrees reoved from Ewoks. And there is no suspense with Anakin's injury, it's just a simple hurdle to get over and get back to a regular storyline. Most of the episode feels like it's just killing time until the second half. If not for the opening sequence, this episode would be a total write off. Rating: 6/10 The Jedi featured in this episode, Aayla Secura, is Jedi enough; calm, effective, and clever. But her design is embarrassing; push-up bra, midriff-bared, hip huggers. You would think the target audience is hormonally raging man children . Since Ahsoka already is wearing the equivalent of a Jedi bikini, I wasn't impressed with a second half naked lady Jedi. I have nothing against sexy female bodies being shown off, but it is jarring, and since I've never seen a shirtless male Jedi uniform, it seems out of place. I would say less cleavage on a Jedi. I did like her French accent though and would like a Twi'lek Lego head in any case. Aayla Secura Aayla is accompanied by Clone Commander Bly, who is just Rex and Cody done in yellow. Looking him up in Wookieepedia, we see that he is the one who carries out Order 66 against Aayla in Episode III, but it has little bearing on this story, and only faint dramatic undertones when she rescues him in the next episode. If not Bly, then some other clone would have carried out the command. Commander Bly The Lurmen are a fine design, if a bit tossed off, since everything from their movements to their markings to their names scream lemur. I like their houses, but I have no clamoring to get this as a set. For the most part they come across as whiny and principled to the point of stupidity. They could have been alright, but they were poorly written. I'll be fine to never see one again. Take a look at those clouds though, like a work of modern art. Amazing art direction here. Lurmen The monster here is very so so. The design seems borrowed from the Phorusrhacidae, but not enough is done with it. I don't want this in Lego either. Too many monsters in this series. Mastiff phalone In the initial battle, the Separatists are led by a robot captain, who I did like. He orders the venator shot down, no matter how many droids are on board. A cold-hearted droid who effectively takes out a Republic crew. Yes! Tactical Droid The commander makes use of seemingly upgraded super battle droids, called rocket droids in the episode. These would be a nice little change from the regular super battle droids. Rocket Droid Here is a lovely moc of these by Commander Rob To bring it back to Lego a bit, the beloved Republic Gunship makes an appearance again, and I wanted to take a moment to appreciate how nice this ship is. TLG knocked it out of the ballpark on this ship, and you need to save up for it if you haven't gotten it already. Republic Gunship From Pr0visorak's review Lego ships appearing: Venator, Republic Attack Gunship, Vulture Droid, Added to the Lego wishlist: Tactical Droid, Rocket Droid, Aayla Secura, Commander Bly Episode 14: Defenders of Peace Starting where last episode left off, the three Jedi and some clones are on rural Maridun with some Scottish lemurs. Immediately, a Separatist landing craft arrives. The Lurmen leader proclaims he would rather die than fight since they are a peaceful race. Low ranked Separatist Lok Durd, a Nemoidian like Nute Gunray, comes to the village, claiming it under Separatist protection as the Anakin's group ducks out of the village. This plot is really frustrating as it's hard to feel sympathy for a group (the Lurmen) that offers zero resistance. If the Lurmen don't care whether they should live or die, why should we? Lok sets up a battle fortress to test a new weapon, a weapon that destroys living things, leaving droids untouched. Though the Lurmen have in no uncertain terms stated they want no help, Anakin insists on protecting them. This leads to an interesting night time raid on the fortress, with the clones and Jedi doing a ninja infiltration. This is one of the things this show does great, show the Jedi being effective in different situations, something the movies didn't really do. The Republic team swipes a shield generator and a Separatist shuttle (third time appearing in this series, I didn't remember it once the first time watching ) and head to the Lurmen village, where again the Lurmen leader states that if they all are to be destroyed, so be it. He has principles! The Jedi put up the barrier, and this leads to a skirmish against a few battalions of battle droids. Anakin single-handedly dismantles the Separatist super weapon and captures Lok, while the battle droids overpower the village. Just when things are looking bad, a group of Lurmen led by the leader's son join the fight, learning that sometimes you must fight for what you believe in. Like the Ewoks, the Lurmen fight with ropes and primitive means. The final scene shows the Lurmen leader grudgingly giving thanks, but asking "at what cost?" as he looks up to see venators in the sky above him. The episode is generally well done, but I was really apathetic about everything. The Lurmen are not compelling, Lok doesn't seem like much of a threat, and the outcome is never in doubt; they may kill off clones in this series, but they will never kill off big eyed furry creatures. The show resonated with me though, especially in the last scene, because I live in Okinawa, Japan and there are lots of parallels with the history of this island. The island suffered a lot during World War II, and the locals just had to sit through it, there was nothing they could do when faced with two global powers. So, there was a depth the story could have achieved by increasing the tension and pathos, but in the end, the Lurmen suffered nothing, just a few pod houses were wrecked and they came across as blindly principled. A missed opportunity. Rating: 5/10 As part two of two, there wasn't so much new stuff to see. One time character Lok Durd would make a nice figure, a fat Nemodian, and since he was voiced by George Takei, he's got star power. Unfortunately, I can't see a a new mold being made for a cowardly has been like this, but I'd love to see a fat mini figure mold, maybe a covering to the regular torso, like the knight's armor. But, for a character as ugly as him, he shouldn't have a name so similar to turd. Lok Durd The Jedi are tracked by a probe droid, smaller than the Empire one. These would be great done in Lego, and probably not too hard to MOC. Scout Droid Lok's special weapon is on a modified AAT, but doesn't even look particularly good. I suppose it doesn't need to be color coordinated, and it certainly wasn't. This is the first ship I've seen in the show where I have zero interest in a Lego version. AAT The existing Lego AAT is dead-on, and while it's not my favorite Lego ship, it is perfectly crafted for its size. From Erdbeereis' review Lego ships appearing: Venator, Separatist's Shuttle, AAT Added to the Lego wishlist: Lok Durd, Scout Droid Next: freecos!

I like having "events" here, and never had a problem with train month. Keep it going admin

This is really nice. I can see the influence of 8019 on this, but you improved on that ship a lot. I particularly like the two seat cockpit Great job!

Wow, thanks The Reviewer's Academy really made a man out of me. I came out of my dark ages about a year ago, and signed up here last November. I didn't quite know how to approach the AFOL community, but I knew I wanted to get more involved online. I live in Okinawa, Japan, so beyond the language barrier, I just know nobody who is into Lego here. On top of that, I'm not a MOC specialist. What's a person to do? So, I did some reviews of the sets I had to fill in the holes of the Star Wars index, but then decided to join the Academy, to see what it was about. My first review was an absolute fail and had to take my pics all over again . But, quickly, I was able to get some shooting and editing tips, to the point that by the time I got my bronze badge, my reviews were 95% good to go. The advice really boosted the quality of my reviews, and made me want to do more. It's more fun to do stuff when you do it somewhat well. Lastly, the new students like trying new techniques, and here and there I "borrow" from them, and have even better reviews. Thanks to Whitefang , and all the teachers who gave me such good, positive advice. The Academy has been a great way to take my hobby to the next level.

As it turns out, the Reviewer's Academy birthday coincides with my birthday. A day's difference, but let's not quibble So, my wife wanted to get some small set for me. The trouble is, she has no idea what I have and don't have, or what I'd want and not want. So, she went outside the box and got me this. Thanks hon! Set#: C001 Name: LEGO Star Wars Clock Theme: Star Wars Year: 2008 Pieces: 21 Minifigs: Chewbacca, Stormtrooper Price: birthday present, it'd be rude to ask MSP: U.S.$29.99, £19.95 Brickset Bricklink! No Peeron! The box The package is quite nice. TLG generally doesn't show the pieces through the box, but this isn't TLG Inspecting the box, although it's real Lego pieces, the manufacturer is a Chinese company called Clic Time. I realize TLG is not a clock company, but I would have much preferred the opposite, that Lego was the manufacturer, and they were licensing another company's clock technology. Anyway, on the bottom of the box it says to save the Clic Time address for future reference. The booklet I quite like this pic, the same as that on the clock face. Chewbacca savagely ripping off a stormtrooper's arm, as he prepares to beat the poor guy with it. It's Lego, but if that was live action, it would be rated "R" This side gets a fail from me. Though you can't see it in the pic, the image is pixelated, meaning the Chinese company either took the wrong image file, or the lowered the resolution before printing. So, the image of the instructions is not clear. It's very unprofessional. To add to that, there is no traditional figure instructions, plus the figure in the final pic is a clone, not a stormtrooper. Booooo! The Pieces The pieces are actually quite nice, for a 21 piece set. White and burgundy. I can imagine that this was originally intended to be a clone set. I have both of these already, but they're classic characters who don't appear that often, so they're quite nice. I'll add Chewie to my Hoth display. The Finished Product This is how it's featured on the box, and that looks fine, but isn't functional. The alarm button is underneath the stormtrooper, so I won't be keeping it this way... Actually, I don't use an alarm, so maybe I will. One nice thing is that the clock is Lego friendly, top and bottom, so you could integrate it into a massive Lego structure, if the need arises. The functions are simple, and I got it to work easily enough. The Final Verdict Design: 5/10 The brick fuction on the top and bottom is nice, but I would have been much more impressed if the clock itself was a little more Lego-ish, like a buildable casing. That would change the price and concept a lot, but it would be a lot more exciting. Build: 2/10 This is somewhat of a disposable build. It uses SNOT techniques, and it's all interesting pieces, but I could build it by looking at it, which gets a low score. Playability: 4/10 You could do something with this, but not much. It's much more clock than Lego. Minifigures: 7/10 As I wrote before, these are classic figures. Chewbacca has appeared a lot less than other Star Wars characters, and everybody likes one more stormtrooper. Price: 6/10 If you say the Lego is $10 and the clock $20, it's a thoroughly average price. Overall: 5/10 This is a nice enough gift, but since I'm not rich, if I had the cash I'd put it elsewhere. I'm disappointed in TLG's quality control, letting another company use their name, logo and parts, without checking the end result. I think TLG could do something really interesting with a clock if they let the designers in Denmark have fun with it. But, if you don't have Chewbacca already, this set might be worth looking into.

I got mine from the Bricklink store Maxspace in Australia. It was a good price for me, going from yen to Australian dollars, but I don't know how it'd compare to Target's prices.

Nice! I'm looking forward to some of your global regulation

I think you're right. I will update the review, thanks

Unfortunately, that wasn't what happened. According to Lucasfilm, the little Kowakian monkey-lizard drugged the whole room through the ventilation system. http://www.starwars.com/clonewars/comic/#/?page=91 I'm enjoying the show, but I have issues with a TV show that requires the internet to fully make sense of. It does play up to a Star Wars geek's desire to have an encyclopedic knowledge about stuff.

I'm trying to up the Lego quotient of these, I hope you like it Episode 11: Dooku Captured For some reason, when these two episodes came out, I was hyped up to see them. Maybe it was that the last episodes were so good, or the unique situation of Anakin and Obi Wan teamed up with Dooku, but I wanted to see them and remembered them well enough. The first episode opens well, and in the tradition of the old movies, starting in the middle of an adventure. This is a great writing technique, cutting right to the chase. As it opens, Anakin is being held prisoner by Dooku on a frigate, and Obi Wan infiltrates to release Anakin and hopefully capture Dooku. This leads to a space chase between Dooku in his Solar Sailor and the Jedi in a stolen Separatist Shuttle. They both crash land on an inhospitable planet. One thing leads to another, and Dooku traps the Jedi in a cave, but as he leaves, he encounters some pirates scavenging their ships. These characters would be right at home in Mos Eisley. Outnumbering Dooku, they capture him, but rather than ransom him to Separatists who might retaliate, they choose to sell him to the Republic. Anakin and Obi Wan fight a gundark and escape the cave, whereupon they're sent to check that the pirate offer is legitimate. There, they question the pirates' hospitality. The pirates live in a scuzzy complex, drinking and indulging themselves. Anakin and Obi Wan say cheers and have a drink. That's pretty much it for the episode. As an episode, it doesn't work. As part one of two, it's a little better, but I'll get more into it the next episode's review. The animation was great, the pirates are very interesting, but it's not the best. Rating:7/10 The Weequayan pirates led by Hondo Ohnaka are quite charming bad guys. You'll recall the species as the same as Jabba's reptilian guards. Their accents are hard to place, but their music is definitely Indian flavored. I'm glad Hondo made a Lego appearance, and looks quite good Lego-fied. Hondo Ohnaka From Jansued's review For traveling between planets, the pirates use full-on flying discs, the likes of which I haven't seen in the Star Wars universe. Though it might look nice as a MOC, it would be a pretty dull set. Weequay pirate ship And inside the disc ship? A smaller disc ship! This has a little more style to it, but again, I think it'd make a dull set. Flarestar-class Weequay ship Another new addition is Obi Wan's space gear. This is really stylish, and would be an excellent mini-figure... but it only appeared for 30 seconds, so I won't look for it any time soon. Space gear Obi Wan Dooku's Solar Sailor makes an appearance. Hondo makes a funny meta-commentary, or at least it seems that way, when he says something like, "This is an rare ship, and expensive too." Hondo must be a Lego collector! While the Lego version looks good, if the size was a little bigger it would've been a better set, maybe 50% bigger, enough that they could stand in the ship. The Solar Sailor From Svelte's review Lego ships appearing: Separatists Shuttle, Solar Sailor, Twilight, Republic Attack Shuttle Added to the Lego wishlist: Spacesuit Obi Wan Episode 12: The Gungan General This episode starts off on the wrong foot. It's supposed to continue where the last left off, with Anakin and Obi Wan in a pirate cell, after having been drugged. But the last scene of the last episode showed them being too smart to fall for drugged wine. Anyway. Well, the Jedi have been double crossed by the pirates who plan to sell them back to the Republic along with the already captured Dooku. They get locked up with Dooku, and half the episode is Anakin and Dooku acting like the Odd Couple as they try to escape. Meanwhile, the ransom of spice is being delivered by senator Binks and another senator, but head pirate Hondo's number two man plans to double cross Hondo and steal the ransom first... complicated set up. There are five sides fighting. For those who hate Jar Jar, this is not the episode for you. In the first few minutes, as his shuttle is being shot at, Jar Jar bumbles his way into the cockpit, and distracts the pilot from his evasive maneuvers. His shuttle is shot down, the pilots and the other senator die. So, indirectly, Jar Jar is responsible for three people dying. Yes, the blood is on his hands. Pirates on speeders come and take the spice from the ship remains, and Binks and the clones chase them down on local beasties, leading to their final fight outside the pirate headquarters. While all this happens, Dooku and the Jedi try to escape twice and fail. Finally the two Jedi are held in electric restraints, and Dooku conveniently is off on his own. And so it is, the final scenes of Jar Jar against pirate tanks. Jar Jar accidentally takes command of one, helps disable the other and causes a blackout in the pirate compound. Way to go Jar Jar! So the Jedi take the chance to get their light sabers, Dooku escapes, and everyone goes home, with Obi Wan noting that that Dooku will come and take revenge later. Anakin and Dooku quibble like high school rivals, there are no repercussions from the shuttle being shot down and a senator killed, and Jar Jar accidentally saves the day. And Jar Jar indirectly killed that senator. The only bright spot of the episode is Dooku's escape, where he strangles a guard with his chains, kills another pirate by force controlling his partners gun, and lastly force choking said partner and throwing him down like crumpled paper. In those last two minutes, Dooku was a man to fear. Really disappointing episode since the pirates were so lovable. A lot of wasted potential. Rating: 6/10 (if not for the charming Hondo, it would be 4 or 5) As this was part two of two, there wasn't a whole lot of new stuff this episode. But a few things of note. First was this senator, Kharrus. While I don't need a Lego of this character specifically, I'd really like a Lego of this species, the Gran. Senator Kharrus The pirate speeder bikes were quite nice, especially the detailing on each. The center guy has one like those sexy silhouette truck flaps. Nice touch in a kids show! A pirate battle pack with multiple decals would make a lot of people happy. If the pirates make a second season appearance, this would be a great set, and a change of pace from the clone/droid packs. Swoop bikes They only appear for a moment, but the pirate R-series droids made me smile. They look like the pirates modified them. R-series droid (?) The last and welcome addition to the episode was the pirate tank. A great design, and I think Lego did a good job with their design, proportion and all, but the back thrusters should be wider. pirate tank From Jansued's review Lego ships appearing: Twilight, Republic Attack Shuttle, Pirate Tank Added to the Lego wishlist: pirate swoop, Gran mini figure, pirate r-series mini figure Next: space peaceniks

It's a matter of personal opinion. I've got some experience in Illustrator, and I'd rather use a diji-pen than a mouse. In daily life, at work or on my wife's computer, I hate using a mouse. But a lot of that is my own conditioning. As I wrote before, tablets come with mouses for those times you want/need to use them, so they seem like the better choice. But it depends on how you use them.

I've been using a tablet for seven years or so, and it's definitely not harder than a mouse. At first use, it's unusual, but once you've got the hang of it, mouses are primitive. Tablets are more precise and simulate the hand on paper experience, plus if you don't want to use the pen for something, they're bundled with a tablet mouse. If you like doing art on the computer, you should buy a tablet.

Fantastic review. The details you show really give insight to the value of the set. It's on my list to get by the end of the year. Thanks

I was trying to think of the inspiration for it, and I think you got it. He reminds me a bit of the Disney Hercules movie from some years back.

Episode 9: Cloak of Darkness And so it is, the potential for this series is revealed. This episode focuses almost entirely on characters either not in the movies, or only in cameos. But, they all have character and personality. Continuing where episode 8 left off, Nute Gunray is in transport to Coruscant, in care of Master Luminara and Ahsoka, in her first speaking part that I can recall. Meanwhile, Count Dooku dispatches Asajj Ventress to retrieve Gunray from them. It's noted that Asajj has been less than effective up to now, and she must succeed in order to become Dooku's apprentice. The friction on the Separatist side in the past few episodes has really added tension, keeping things unexpected. A Separatist fleet of Vulture Droids and boarding ships is sent which quickly assault the Venator and get a platoon of Super Battle Droids and Asajj inside. The droids are for the most part a distraction so Asajj can do her stuff, and do her stuff she does. She is ninja like in her stealth, quickly taking out the first wounded clone trooper she comes across and putting on their communicator. She then hits the vents and sneaks through the ship, placing bombs and homing in on the captive Gunray. The Jedi fight her off, and Asajj escapes, so Luminara goes off after her, following her through the wreckage, clone corpses and droid debris. Ahsoka questions whether she should follow her instinct to help Luminara rather than do as ordered and watch Gunray, and she's given advice about doing what's right, not what's ordered, by Captain Argyus of the Senate guards. He says that this separates people from droids. Ahsoka follows after her. While Luminara and Ahsoka duel with Asajj, it's revealed Argyus is a traitor. Argyus takes out the rest of his own battalion, but before he does so he has a great little interaction with a clone trooper. Asked why he did what he did, Argyus tells him that a clone like him would never understand, and that he didn't want to have a life of servitude. Argyus, Gunray, and Asajj all rendezvous on a stolen Republic Cruiser. In the last scene she's in, Asajj stabs Argyus in the back so that she will get the sole credit for the success. This episode was quite fantastic, in it's pacing, direction, and in characterization. It happened to be written by Paul Dini of Batman: TAS fame, so that may have pushed it up a notch. Asajj has had appearances in the cartoon and Clone Wars movie, but she was the star of this episode, and you can see what she's capable of. She's quick, deceptive, and cutthroat, exactly how one would imagine a Sith to be from their description. Even a cool character like Darth Maul was kind of bullish in his action. I think Asajj' more calculated attacks are more Sith-y, in that Sith should fight like cowards. It makes them scarier and more hateable, in that love-to-hate-you way. And Argyus' interactions about following orders brings up a lot of questions of how noble these clones can actually be since they're just following orders, like Order 66. Ethical issues in a kids show. Great. Rating: 9/10 Luminara Unduli is an unexplored character who had very brief roles in Episode II & III of the films, and for me this was the first major appearance I'd seen. She's not an exciting Jedi, not too weird or anything, but she would be a must have if you want to have enact a Battle of Genosis set. Luminara Unduli Asajj Ventress gets her first big appearance here. She was in the first episode, but was incompetent, and didn't make much of an impression. Here she is a character of interest, and makes me quite like her. The way her Lego figure came out, I'm a little disappointed. Asajj Ventress She looks quite dramatic here. Not so much here. To give some kudos to TLG, here are clone pilots, who were done quite well by TLG Clone Pilot Captain Argyus is an interesting design, a kind of open-faced Senate guard. With his helmet off, he has a fantastic coiffure. He dies in the episode, so no expectations for his figure, but since the Senate guards have already appeared, he'd be an easy alteration. Captain Argyus From Bricks' review The only new appearance is by this droid, a Treadwell, which I suppose appeared in the Sandcrawler set, but this would be a little different design. Treadwell droid This ship, the boarding ship, was quite excellent. It's the same as from episode 2, Rising Malevolence, but functions in a completely different way. These giant drills that penetrate the hull of their victim, which at that point they spread open and spit out a pile of Super Battle Droids ready to attack. These are simple, but a really fun design. They fly so fast I couldn't even do a decent screen grab. Loved 'em though. Boarding Ship Lego ships appearing: Vulture Droid, Venator Added to the Lego wishlist: Luminara Unduli minifigure, Captain Argyus minifigure Episode 10: Lair of Grievous I loved this episode. Grievous is the star, the way aliens were the star of Alien or a predator in Predator. The action picks up shortly after the last episode, with fishy Jedi Kit Fisto picking up Gunray's tracking beacon from a planet in a remote system. He meets up with his old Padawan, Mon Calamari Jedi Nahdar Vebb (of Admiral Ackbar's species) and some clones. Immediately, Nahdar shows off his force power, to impress his old master it seems. Fisto is very calm and deliberate in his actions, as much as Nahdar is aggressive. They enter a massive fortress, dark and foreboding. At the end of a long hall they hear Gunray's voice. But when they attempt to apprehend him, it is a hologram, which is then replaced with a hologram of Dooku, welcoming them. If only Nahdar had yelled "It's a trap!" Shortly it's revealed that they are in the titular lair of Grievous. Meanwhile, on his way home, Grievous has an argument with Dooku, while Grievous (justifiably) complains that he can't do anything with just battle droids. Inevitably the Jedi and Grievous meet. Grievous kills off the anonymous clone fodder, while the Jedi cut Grievous in half. Shots of the four-armed Grievous crawling across the floors and walls are hypnotic. He's not just fast, his body works in inhuman ways. Grievous manages to slink his way to his control room, setting up the second half, where Grievous becomes the hunter. Grievous meets up with his doctor droid (droid doctor?) who informs him that his magnaguards had been remotely turned off. Grievous restarts them and sends his magnaguards and a monster named Gor after the survivors, while Grievous gets put together again. Grievous' scream and expression as he gets his face peeled off is chilling. When only the two Jedi are left to fend for themselves, they have another encounter with Grievous. The Jedi have a chance for retreat, but Nahdar wants to fight. Due to circumstances, he must fight one on one with Grievous. This is a great fight, and Grievous' final blow shows a great character moment for Grievous. In the middle of a light saber dual, Grievous shoots Nahdar with a pistol. Fisto is wiser, and fights when he has to, which is not today. As he escapes the lair and has a final confrontation with Grievous and his magnaguards, he fights stealthily, shutting off his light saber and making use of the planet's fog before flying off. This was a fantastic episode, showing a lot of character in Grievous and Fisto. While I liked Nahdar, I would much rather his arrogance wasn't advertised quite so much, or that they had given him a dozen episodes to build up his character before taking him out. The tenseness between Grievous and Dooku is quite interesting, and it's easy to see that the Separatist's are barely held together at all. On top of that, the animation and set design are top notch. Great episode, great atmosphere, great characterization. Rating: 9/10 I love Kit Fisto. I remember him vividly from the first Clone Wars cartoon, and he was awesome then. Now, he's a bit more Jamaican sounding, voiced by Hermes from Futurama, Phil LaMarr. The Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive Ring is worth buying just for this cool little green guy. Thank you Lego! Kit Fisto with R6-H5 Kit Fisto's starfighter appears, and looks a heck of a lot like Ahsoko's. If I end up getting her ship, it'll quickly become his. It has a hyperdrive ring too. Delta 7-B Nahdor Vebb is an interesting but underused character. And he is voiced by Spongebob Tom Kenny . Still, any new Jedi is a treat in the Star Wars Lego universe. Since Mon Calamari's have been made in the Home One set this year, it wouldn't be impossible to bring this minor character to life. Nahdor Vebb Again, Grievous' ship Soulless One appears, and we have to give a lot of credit to TLG for their job with it. Soulless One In Grievous' layer, the troops need their light beams to see in the darkness. I've been getting these little plastic pieces with my clones, and I realized where they go, but didn't know what they were for. Now I know. Clone lights The star of the episode, other than Grievous and Fisto, is the building itself. This was a fantastic setting, and if the series was more famous, would be the best of the best deluxe playsets. Entering the Lair The owner is revealed when they enter his room of spare parts. Ominous and very interesting. You can imagine a set with ten sets of Grievous parts. It would destroy the Grievous minifigure market, but it would be awesome. Grievous' Parts Room The set would also come with Grievous' doctor. Multiple arm attachments for surgery on Grievous. EV-A4-D And last, it would come with Gor, a rare monster addition to the Star Wars Lego universe. A modified dragon would do the trick, with a newly sculpted head. I don't need another monster but it would be needed for the set. Gor Lego ships appearing: Republic Attack Shuttle, Soulless One Added to the Lego wishlist: Grievous' Lair playset, with clones, Grievous, Kit Fisto, Nahdar Vebb, Gor and doctor; Kit Fisto with Starfighter and R6-H5 Next: Pirates!

Congratulations! Nice to see an easy going guy move up in the ranks

Happened to me just now. Quite frustrating, really. Glad I didn't start a new topic for it though.

This is currently on Amazon Japan for 8,000 yen here. That's about $80 U.S. Sets in Japan are always 10-50% more than in the States, so I predict it'll be about $70 or less in the States.

Many thanks, the post is updated

Episode 7: Dual of the Droids This is the second of two parts, but I don't think you need to have seen the first to enjoy it. This episode makes the most of its lead characters, Ahsoka, Anakin, Artoo, and to a lesser extent, Rex. While searching for a Separatist listening post, Anakin receives a distress signal from Artoo, and decides to follow that lead... to the listening post. Convenient, but no worse than anything else in Star Wars, and better than a lot of lucky Star Wars scenarios (did you hear the one about Darth Vader building C-3PO? ). Defying Master Kenobi's orders, Anakin organizes a guerrilla raid on the listening post. Things start off well, but it turns out the R3 droid Anakin has (see the review for episode 6) is ... a spy! Actually, this was quite an interesting twist, and though it fits well within the Star Wars universe where droids are people-like, I wasn't expecting a traitorous robot. At the same time, Artoo is slowly dismantled by Gha Nahkt (again, see the review for episode 6) until the macguffin in him is discovered. The action splits off in three ways at this point, with Anakin off to track Artoo and rescue him from some Magnaguards. Ahsoka and Rex and some no-name clones encounter Grievous, and Ahsoka tries to distract Grievous to give the remaining clones escape time. The fight between Anakin and the Magnaguards is well enough, but Ahsoka, running away from and then being stalked down by Grievous in a battle droid storeroom is quite exciting. As mentioned in previous reviews, Grievous has been fairly incompetent up till now, and it's in this episode that it seems like he can do things. He stabs Gha Nachkt from behind, and I suppose it's in face to face combat that he's most effective, and not as a general. Grievous coldly tracks Ahsoka down, and the dark lighting of the scene adds a lot to the mood of it. If not for Rex' bombs being set off, Grievous would have decapitated Ahsoka, it seems. Given the chance, Ahsoka skitters off, and it all leads to a rendezvous in a hanger, where the clones, Anakin, and Ahsoka have to fend off a small army of vulture droids in close quarters, as well as some other battle droids. Artoo helps save the day, all the people who need to live escape, the ones who are expendable go down with the ship. And Artoo gets to have a face to face (panel to panel?) showdown with the conniving gold R3. Artoo's confrontation on the outer shell is a good end to a good episode. Good stuff overall. Rating: 8/10 The setting for this episode, the listening post, General Grievous' Battle Sphere is really cool, but I won't expect it as a set at all, since Anakin succeeded in destroying it Skytop Station This battle sphere does have a lot of Lego possibilities though, it has great looking technicians at the helm. It also has this droid torture table that is used to dismantle R2-D2. I suppose it would be a little morbid for a Lego set, but I'd love a full-on Grievous at Skytop Station set. The set would come with a busted up R2-D2 Another appearance in this episode was the MagnaGuards. They were done quite well as Lego figures, no complaints there. MagnaGuards Though they don't get flown, the hanger scene features a number of MagnaGuard fighters, and they too seem to be done right by TLG, right down to the proportions. Porax-38 Starfighter From Dark Sword Ragnarok's review Lastly, the vulture droids get to have a lot of action in the hanger, and are very cool to see in close quarters. It seems from this image that the hyena droid last year was closer in size to their actual mini-fig proportion. This image would be an easy MOD. Vulture Droid Lego ships appearing: The Twilight, Anakin's Starfighter, Magnaguard Starfighter, General Grievous' Starfighter, Vulture Droid Lego wishlist: Deluxe Skytop Playset, with hanger, droid dissection table, Grievous, R3-S6, and maybe even Gha Nachkt Episode 8: Bombad Jedi I enter this review with some trepidation. This episode features no Jedi, and instead focuses on the most hated character in the Star Wars universe, Jar Jar Binks. I don't loathe the character as some do, but his heroics have bothered me (specifically the last half hour of The Phantom Menace). Seeing characters repeatedly win through accident every time is pretty tiresome, and after all these years (in Star Wars time as well as real time), Jar Jar is still useless. To illustrate this point, in the first minute of the episode, Jar Jar trips and knocks Padme's ship off course. Ha ha! Anyway, the central plot is solid enough, Padme is going to Rodia (aka Greedo planet) to do diplomatic dealings with an old family friend, Onaonda Farr. It's quickly revealed that he has sold out to separatists in hopes of getting food and protection for his planet, which he feels has been left behind by the Republic, so at least it's a noble sell out. Padme is captured, and it's up to Jar Jar and, to a lesser extent, C-3PO to save the day. After Jar Jar bumbles his way through a droid army and, in a new appearance, a crab droid, Jar Jar smashes up Padme's ship. It's good to see Jar Jar's bumbling have at least one negative repercussion. Among the ship wreckage, Jar Jar finds a Jedi cloak... Looks like Anakin has been sneaking on ship For whatever reason, Jar Jar puts it on. This coincides with the arrival of separatist Nute Gunray in his shuttle (and voiced by Spongebob Squarepants and onetime Abraham Lincoln Tom Kenny). Gunray orders 'the jedi' captured, but Jar Jar escapes ... by accident. Jar Jar works to save Padme, while at the same time Padme saves herself. Farr ultimately turns things back on Nute when he realizes the separatists don't share his morals. Things are quite hectic and fast moving; Padme's captured, then she's not, Jar Jar's rescuing, then he's being rescued, Nute's in control, then he is not. By the episode's end, Nute is in the Republic's custody, while his ship is at the bottom of a Rodian swamp. Overall, when judging a Jar Jar episode, one has to consider that the writers are trying to make a silk purse from, well, Jar Jar. They are contractually obligated to use the character, and they kept true to Lucas' "vision" of the character, while also letting him be competent here and there, making him that much more tolerable. Combined with Padme's acute acknowledgment that he's a pain, it makes the whole thing more acceptable. That plus the good use of new characters and ships made this a decent episode. Rating: 7/10 Padme's ship turns up again. I haven't found out exactly what type of ship it is, but those Naboo people have shiny taste in ships. [edit-I have found out what it is!] H-Type Nubian Yacht One thing I noticed was Jar Jar made a funny joke, or at least a funny joke was made using Jar Jar. When Jar Jar smashes Padme's ship, he does a spit take. No words, just a quick close up of him bugging out. The pacing of this shot was excellent, a one second freeze frame. It reminded me of an old Chuck Jone's cartoon. Not entirely suitable for a Star Wars show, but well done. Senator Binks Onaconda Farr makes his debut, and he really was done justice in his mini-fig appearance. I would have rather he came with his assistant in the Lego 8036 set, but in this episode, he spends an equal amount of time with battle droids, so they were a fair choice. Two Rodians would have been better though. Onaconda Farr From my reivew Another making an appearance here is the separatist shuttle which I just reviewed recently. This ship looked very very similar to the Lego ship. The scale is a bit off thogh. Nute walks out the ship, so the Lego ship would have to be about 2.5 times bigger to be to scale, but the shape and proportions seem to be dead on. Good job TLG! Separatist Shuttle From my review Lastly, Jar Jar takes on a crab droid. This is a really cool design. I don't know that I have what it takes to MOC such an organic looking droid, but this would be very very nice done in Lego. Crab Droid Lego ships appearing: Separatist Shuttle, Vulture Droid Lego wishlist: Crab Droid, H-type Nubian Yacht Getting near to the end of the first half of the season, the quality of the episodes is stronger, and I hope to give some more 8 ratings, some 9s and maybe even a 10. There's probably one or two 6s also, if I remember correctly. Anyway, next time: Asajj Ventress, and the Lair of Grievous... Good stuff, good stuff

While his strategy was sound, up to this point, Grievous has yet to be competent. He has a fantastic episode coming up that I don't want to spoil, but he is pretty bumbling up to this point. He's my favorite thing about Episode 3, so I'd love to give him credit where credit is due. Grievous was the only Hasbro figure I bought in the he last eight years... I want him to be interesting...

Episode 5: Rookies Hmmm... This episode doesn't suffer the problems I didn't like in the first few episodes. Unfortunately it does suffer different ones. The episode mostly takes place at an outpost that is part of a line of defense for the planet Kamino, where clones are produced. Taking out the Kamino clone factory would drastically hurt the Republic army, and establishes this planet as a battle ground. The outpost is being manned by "shinies", barely trained clone recruits. A sudden meteor shower occurs, but upon closer inspection, the meteorites are small landing ships containing commando droids, new entries to the the Star Wars universe. These droids are very cool. They speak somewhat like the regular battle droids, but they never say anything stupid, and are fast and effective. A platoon of droids overtakes the outpost, and a handful of shinies barely escape. The commando droids disable the emergency beacon, and are capable of impersonating clones 90% effectively. It's all undone by Clone Captain Rex and Clone Commander Cody. One of the weaknesses here is not being able to understand who any character is. There is a difference in armor painting, and Rex has a shaved head to make him stand out, but all the characters use the same 3-D model, so even watching this the third time, I was a bit confused. Anyway, Rex thinks quick on his feet, and upon arriving for a routine check on the outpost, encounters and survives the commandos. He's able to rendezvous with the remaining clone troopers, and gather them into an assault force. Anakin makes a crack to Obi Wan that "perhaps Cody is boring Rex with standard procedure and protocol." I suppose this is meant to help define the characters (and I'll see if that happens as these reviews occur) as Rex the outside the box one, Cody the square one. Regardless, they're both effective troopers. In the end, they manage to notify the Republic about the invasion force and save the day. The points here come from them featuring an enemy twice as smart as they've featured up to now, and that with the new characters, there is a little surprise in the turn of events. Ultimately though, when a character sacrifices themselves, it should have meaning, but I really don't remember any action that specifically that character had had before. It was just a bunch of clones shooting. So, a decent episode, but the characterization was muddy. Rating: 7/10 This episode was sprinkled with numerous space shots, of fleets floating in space. This is quite nice to see, and I'm enjoying doing this blog, since I've been noticing a lot of details that I missed the first time around. Here we see a fleet of venators, V-19s, and those beautiful Republic Frigates I noted in the first episode review. Space is great. The commando droids mentioned in the main review were great. Highly flexible (like a droid we'll see in the sixth episode ) and effective, they seem to be a way for the animators to apologize for the battle droids in the episodes so far. Why weren't these made into Lego figures? No idea. I don't remember if they appear again, but if they appear a second time, I will be really annoyed that these droids never came up in 2009. (edit: they do ) One thing though, they would be much better to have slightly more flexibility than the current battle droids or super battle droids. These guys were enjoyable to see, even when they failed, because they didn't seem utterly incompetent. Commando Droids The Republic Attack Shuttle appears, and it's nice to see, but as I wrote in my review of the Lego version, I think they should have made it a large size set. The Lego ship really doesn't match the proportion of the Star Wars universe one at all, and I think it would have been a phenomenal set. This is an example to how it could have been done. Seeing the troops walk out, you can imagine how good the set could have been. Walking out the Attack Shuttle Lastly, here is a shot of Rex and Cody. These are feature characters in some Clone Wars sets, the AT-TE and Gunship that I own. I'm watching these episodes again, and hopefully I'll be able to get interested in these guys. I have an exclusive Cody and exclusive Rex Lego figure, but it just feels like an orange Clone and a blue Clone. Let's see if more seriously investing yourself in the show makes their subtly different shaded armor feel like something worth caring about. Do you remember what Rex's color is? What Cody's color is? Blue Rex and Orange Cody Lego ships appearing: Republic Attack Shuttle, V-19, Venator Lego wishlist: Commando Droids Episode 6: Downfall of a Droid This episode shows the program getting its footing. The directors and artists really did produce a high quality program, and it was just a matter of the stories producing compelling situations to make use of them. The story here is negligible, as it's the first half of a two parter, but the two major scenes are both interesting and riveting. To begin with, a small fleet of venators is encountered by Grievous and a large Separatist fleet. Grievous plans to get the upper hand by approaching through an asteroid belt, placing shields to the front of his fleet to deflect any asteroids, since he expects no attacks from behind. Anakin hatches a clever plan, which is unveiled rather than described, a great storytelling technique. As Grievous approaches and begins firing, a fleet of deployed AT-TEs is given the signal to fire. They were hiding on asteroids! Very smart scene, and once again, Grievous shows he's incompetent... something that needs to change if he's to be taken seriously as a villan. Anakin chases Grievous in his ship but is knocked off course by shrapnel. He is recovered onto a venator, but Artoo is left behind on his ship. It then turns out that he needs to be recovered because he has a Macguffin stuffed in him. This leads to the main plot of the two parter. Anakin is given a replacement droid, R3-S6. Taking the Twilight, Anakin, R3, and Ahsoka visit a salvage ship in the vicinity of his crash site. Anakin convinces the ship captain, Gha Nachkt, to let him take a look through his stock. Scenes of Anakin using the force to move boxes instead of walking around them are a great touch. Anakin hears Artoo's trademark chirp behind a door, and requests R3 to unlock it. The droid incompetently activates some Assassin Droids, leading to the second great scene of this episode, Anakin and Ahsoka fighting these droids. They are far more interesting than you'd think, remembering IG-88 stand still in Empire. They jump around in a way similar to Grievous, and have no real front or back, just the most effective way to shoot down their opponent. Really well done. Anakin leaves the ship empty handed, and it's revealed that Artoo was on the ship. Having returned to his fleet, Anakin is sent off to search for a listening post with R3. Leaving hyperspace, Anakin orders R3 to send a scan, but instead R3 sends a beacon. Grievous comes, and another less exciting space battle erupts. All in all, this is a busy, uneven episode, but it works as part one. The high quality of the scenes makes it worth watching. Rating: 7/10 (almost an 8 though) Again, this episode brings up questions of scale. For as big as the Republic Gunship is, it is dwarfed by the Twilight. Here we can see the Twilight being loaded with some little Gunships in the background. How many times bigger is the Twilight? I'd say about four times, but that's off the top of my head. As a Lego ship, the Twilight is quite dull looking, and don't think it'd be any better blown up. The Twilight The first major use of AT-TE in the show, and they look great, and the setting is totally unexpected. They make an amazing army, and it's hard to buy just one when you see them like this. AT-TEs Anakin's Starfighter also makes a first appearance, and by comparing this to its Lego counterpart, I think TLG did a great job with its rendition. Anakin's Starfighter From Mr.Mandalorian's review But, that isn't his whole ship! It needs a hyperdrive ring. The 2009 set would have been much better with the ring on it. That's a disappointment, TLG Anakin's Starfighter with Hyperdrive Ring One new ship makes its debut in this episode, the Vulture's Claw, the salvage ship. It's a reasonably interesting ship, and, like the rail jets in episode 4, would add a lot to the tone of the Star Wars Lego universe. It's nice to have stuff without guns sometimes. The Vulture's Claw If the Vulture's Claw were made, it could come with pilot Gha Nachkt, and with assorted wreckage/droid parts, a la the sandcrawler. Unfortunately, they only appear in two episodes, so I'm not holding my breath. Gha Nachkt Another new addition is R3-S6. Basically, Artoo in gold. I would really like one of these. I have a few Artoos now, and it's a shame TLG didn't use the Anakin's Starfighter as a chance to produce a new droid. The more variety of droids done in Lego, the better. R3-S6 The last appearance of note this episode were the very excellent Assassin Droids. They looked and moved amazing, so I'm glad they made an assassin droid battle pack this year, but... the battle pack was just the old battle droids with new heads. I really wish TLG had done something with them. There was a great MOC here but the guy went and let the pics disappear Here's similar one of IG-88 he did that basically makes the droids look athletic. Something along these lines really would have excited Lego collectors. Assassin Droids (IG-86) From Whitefang's review Lego ships appearing: Republic Attack Shuttle, V-19, Venator, Anakin's Starfighter, the Twilight, Grievous' Starfighter, AT-TE, vulture droids Lego wishlist: the Vulture Claw w/ Gha Nachkt and assassin droids, Anakin's Starfighter w/ Hyperdrive Ring, R3-S6 Next: Dual of the Droids and everyone's favorite bumbling Gungan!

I can't stand behind that thing about Han in the Clone Wars season 2, I tried to look it up, but can't remember at all. Maybe I dreamed it in my current Clone Wars haunted haze. But, I wouldn't let 'cannon' hold me to what will and won't be in the Clone Wars series. While following up on that Han thing, I saw there was a comic-con announcement that Boba Fett will be in season 2. He was about 10 in Star Wars Episode II. Will that be an acne-ridden teen? According to the established timeline, he'd have to be, but I doubt it.