def

I was all excited to get this set, because I thought I'd get it before anyone else on this site to review it But, I'm two weeks too late. I reviewed the Hoth set in order to compare it with this one, so I'm going to carry on with this. I will say, having built it and thought about it, I'm more satisfied than I expected to be. Set#: 7749 Name: Echo Base Theme: Star Wars Year: 2009 Pieces: 155 Minifigs: Hoth Han solo, 2 Snowtroopers, 2 Hoth Rebel Soldiers Price: 2,970 yen MSP: U.S.$25, £21.49 Peeron Brickset Bricklink The box Nice display, 10th anniversary box. Actions featured on the back. A slightly notable difference is that all the figures aren't featured, just a single one. The booklet The book is a simple horizontal book. The actions are shown, plus a space battle with 2009's Clone Wars ships (notice a space theme with this summer's ships, compared to last summers...) And, as has been shown before, a fantastic addition, the minifig list The Pieces Four bags. Tauntan bagged separately. 5 lovely minifigs. This brings the set a notch above a battle pack, and changes the way the price has to be viewed. Battle packs have been strictly 4 figures (except the droid one, but those aren't real minifigs ), and the tauntaun is half a figure. Or at least half a something An important feature of this review is comparing it to the Hoth set. Here we see the rebel compared to the old (on the left). It seems only the visor has changed. I like the look of the new one, maybe just because it's a new design, but it doesn't sit as well as the old did. It comes down a smidge too far. Am I being picky? The snowtrooper is exactly the same. The old is on the left. Perhaps this was the best answer, for the empire builder. I have four snowtroopers now, which is fun, I guess. But I'm never delighted but something I got last year. Anyway... The Finished Product Leftovers. More than usual, but nothing special, but you can update one of your Hoth troopers with the leftover visor. Nghyaaaghhhh! Nghyaaaghhhh! I like this tauntaun, despite actively disliking the castle theme's trolls. I got my first tauntaun 27 years ago, I was a boy, and I understand them more than elephants or giraffes. Yup, this got a pass. For the 80% of living people who liked Empire they'll probably be satisfied. And then Han gets involved. Cool shoots to freaking cool. The set is a nice little mini-diorama On their own they look decent. The features leave something to be desired. Here, we see the flick fire missiles in action. Don't poke your eye out! And the Rebel standing point also has a launch pad. Those boys took off! The set has some hideaways in the canon, which are fun, though the roof is flimsy. The piece holding it on came off almost every time I moved it. It adds playability, but I really don't remember people hiding in the cannons in the film. I could be wrong though. I really like the Imperial cannon. It is simple, and effective. This is great design, and made me think of the movie as well. He's working it, he loves the camera And here's how the whole thing looks. There are three main elements, enough to make it hard to photograph in its entirety. More Comparisons Here's the original Here is the new cannon and the old. Which is most accurate? Neither But, the new one is more stable, the old one is a little wobbly on the top. Plus, the new one's design is cleaner and simpler, so I like the new one. Here is (a replica) of the original. The new one is definitely leaner, and has the power box too. I have to go with the new one. But, I never loved the old one, so this is an easy choice. The sets look well enough together. I still think it's bizarre to make such a small diorama, but people love Hoth, and there were only three vehicles in that scene (AT-AT, AT-ST, and snowspeeder) so TLG had their hands tied as to what to produce. In light of that, this set works as an addition to the old. Though the cannons are strikingly different. The Final Verdict Design: 9/10 It has three play features, which is great in such a small set. The cannon is sturdy. One gripe is that the base is held together by a single piece, and came apart a few times while photographing this review. It's not flimsy per se, but it's not meant to be moved and adjusted a lot. The aesthetics are quite nice though. Build: 7/10 It is what it is, a mini set. I've seen better though, like the walker battle back. Playability: 9/10 This is well conceived set. Good guys, bad guys, tauntaun. The only thing that would improve it would be a cut away tauntaun belly, but there's no Luke, so it's just as well. Minifigures: 10/10 The fifth figure puts it into a fairly unique range of sets. This is the only mini set I've gotten that had five. Four I already had from the old Hoth set, but the Han figure is great, especially his hood. Price: 8/10 When I saw this, as I placed the order, I thought ripoff. But given some time to think about it, it's a little more expensive than a battle pack (about 50% more), but you get a little more. So, it's not a good price, but it's a respectable one. Overall: 8/10 This is a decent set, no regrets. For those that want some Hoth in their lives, this set gives the goods, though not too many goods.

I really dig this set. It's not mind blowing, it's classic. Good shape, a mild upgrading of the old Tie sets. An important mini-figure, and a fair price. Plus a great color scheme. This is one that I think everyone should pick up. Hey, is this not worth a poll?

I'll echo some of the sentiments here, you don't need everything. I think it's a hard position for someone who has got everything up to now, since they're breaking a 10 year habit. But, once you get over that hump (the Twilight was the one I definitely didn't need to have) I think the hobby will get a lot more fun. You can even consider getting other series! But as long as you're a completest, unless you're an insane Lego fan, it's going to become less fun. As for the old sets, I wouldn't sell them. They obviously made a big impact on you 10 years ago, and imagine 10 years from now, when you get the urge to rebuild the original one. Selling old toys you were quite attached to is a dangerous, and often regrettable decision. But, it's different for each person.

This put a big smile on my face, it reminds me of the Trojan Rabbit from Monty Python's Holy Grail. Nice!

Since the new Echo base is being released shortly (though it appears I won't get to do the first review ) I wanted to review this earlier Hoth set, since the new set is going to borrow some pieces and design from this one.... maybe. Like a bunch of the sets I own, I saw it on the internet and just mulled them over and over until I really just had to get it. Empire was my first movie, and the original snowspeeder one of my first SW Lego sets. How does it do? Set#: 7666 Name: Hoth Rebel Base Theme: Star Wars Year: 2007 Pieces: 548 Minifigs: Dack Ralter (with Dark Bluish Gray Hips and Light Flesh Head), Luke Skywalker (Pilot, Light Flesh), 2 x Snowtrooper, Light Bluish Gray Hips, White Hands, K-3PO, 2 x Hoth Rebel 3 Price: I paid 10,000 yen MSP: $50 U.S., £70 Peeron Brickset Bricklink From Lego.com The Pieces There's one nice big size book with this. Random page. Here the pieces are split. The ice/door is on the left, the speeder on the right, the other parts in the middle. The pieces are unique enough, the white and grey, but there's not enough to do much than make little snow scenes (or maybe I just have a lousy imagination ) Some stellar (at the time) unique figures. Rebel soldiers are nice, snowtroopers are amazing, and K3P0 is fun to have. I quite like the good guy robots. Two rebel pilots since the snowspeeder is a two-person vehicle. A rebel soldier with the goggles up. The Snowspeeder The base is set, the wings will go on these hinges. At about 16 steps, a double cockpit cover is on, plus a wind up winch on the back. In the cockpit, the control panel has a nice view of an AT-AT in the distance. I'm pretty sure the old set had the same thing, but not as a sticker The wings are on, minus the engines, which are meant to come off easily (as we'll see later) And engines on, with the flaps up. I like the color, very minimal, with spare orange and beige to catch your eye. The winch on the back has a wind up mechanism to reel it in. The seats are a little off. There isn't a proper slope to lean them on, but unless the guys are bent at a 45 degree angle, the top won't close. A little nit-picky, but can be easily modded. The Base At about 8 steps the big ice chunks are placed. These pieces are unwieldy, but the coloring process is really interesting... blue is injected in the mold, so it has a liquidy look, and so, like snowflakes, no two blocks are the same 16 steps in, the top is placed on, and so is the mechanism for opening the gates. The doors are put in, and the black wheels will open and close them, those orange lights keep the doors locked in place. Next we ad the computer screen, which really makes me think of the scenes in the movie. On the other side is a base for the speeder that turns 360 degrees. The rectangular piece on the bottom of the speeder fits right in. And presto! That's a smart looking stand Other Parts The turret is unreasonably complicated on the inside. Pressing those grey pieces sticking out will push out the beams. This is not perfect. It doesn't simulate the actual turret, and those pieces fall out if tipped at all. It's a clever design, but not all that efficient. I'm interested to see the redesign. But, standing still, it looks just fine, and swivels around. This vehicle is meant to pick up the engine on the snowspeeder. It's good as a diorama part. Not a play toy though. The snowtrooper's heavy laser. Interesting design on this, though I can do without the falling out lightsaber pieces. A little chunky. And the probe droid. Fantastic little guy. The only way to make it better is to add a self-destruct button. I like the invisible stand. The Finished Product Echo base is looking busy today. Here, that yellow device is holding the engine here (sorry, I forgot a close up ) The Imperials are approaching! Close the perimeter! The Final Verdict Design: 8/10 It's solid, but since it's lots of little parts, and even those aren't fully coherent (from the movie) ie. probe droids are from the start of the Hoth scene, while the snowtroopers 30 minutes in, and neither interacted with snowspeeders, nor those turrets (that I remember). It sounds nitpicky, but compared to the 2009 Endor set, which seems totally coherent, that's kind of disappointing. Points for the gate being the perfect size for the speeder to fit through, and the connected speeder stand. Those are lovely. As is the probe droid. Build: 7/10 It all goes by so fast. The ice set is pretty boring. The best techniques are on the turret, the probe droid, and the snowtrooper gun. Playability: 8/10 As I wrote, it's not so coherent, but a kid wouldn't care. As a diorama, it's not great, it's good. Minifigures: 10/10 Great selection, good number, and some unique figures. Price: 9/10 With the American price, it's great; the Japanese price, reasonable. A fairly unique set with lots of pieces I'd never had before. Overall: 8/10 Some stuff I love, some stuff I like. I think it depends on how you feel about Hoth. It is an interesting set as it's a playset, not a single ship, which is relatively rare for SW Lego. So, it's a balance of cool and so-so features. I think if I was 10 years old, it would get a 10/10 though. Too slow, rebel scum! Cheers all.

I had no idea! I looked up those 'megatrash' sets, and they are mirthless. I'm not a big fan the Spider-man line, it doesn't seem the most logical LEGO toyline, but those sets looked like a money grab. As a 25 year Marvel comic reader, I've learned that they'll always reach a new low... (Spider-man Transformers being the last one I saw ) Yup, no LEGO for Marvel, they need every penny.

Lego v.s. Action Figures

This popped up a few days back on brickshelf.... utterly amazing. You are a pro.

I don't mind the bedroom clutter. This is not high art, it's fun. It makes me think of Toy Story. This is supposed to be Lego vs. action figures, right? Not some Lego simulation. Seeing your pics, with Lord of the Rings (?) figures, it takes me back, but I was at least 15 years too late for those toys... I was all about Star Wars and Transformers. But seeing junk spread on the floor made me feel young. Anyway, you're really creative in your concept, and as long as you're having a good time, I think the product will be alright. Be yourself.

I got this today, and I love it. It's only half built (a guy needs to sleep you know). But, the parts are all delightful so far, and well worth the hassle of getting my hands on it. I wanted to do my own review but A) this is a great and complete review and B) I couldn't wait until daylight hours to take pics as I build. It's too nice. I just need a castle to dominate it now

Great review for an interesting set!

Though sets are generally late in Japan, for some reason the summer Endor and Hoth sets will be released in Japan May 30 Endor Hoth Endor is way overpriced, so I'll wait until it hits 10,000 yen. But Hoth I've already pre-ordered (though it looks almost like a battlepack, with little to build)... Maybe, just maybe, I'll get to be the first to review a new Lego set!

Fantastic stuff. I didn't know the Creeper goes to Arkham, but I guess he might. And great narration too!

Those are both fantastic, I think I'll give the Dagger Landspeeder a try. And you photos are flawless

I bought this last week on a whim. It is currently reduced on Amazon, and looked nice enough. While l love Star Wars line, I'm starting to get into the other series, there's great playability... But there's only so much space in my room After writing this review, I realized that there were already three reviews of this set in the system so it doesn't need to be indexed. But it's a new set for me, and only my second Indy Jones set. Maybe this will make some of you nostalgic for a year and a half ago Set#: 7621 Name: Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb Theme: Indiana Jones Year: 2008 Pieces: 277 Minifigs: Indiana Jones, Marion, a skeleton MSP: $19.99 U.S., £17.59, 4,625 yen I paid: 2,100 yen on Amazon Peeron Brickset Bricklink From Lego.com The Box A nice action shot cover. The back shows the features of the set, which is notably missing from the booklets. The Booklet One book, with no play explanations, just a piece inventory and ads. The Pieces Five bags, all mixed up. There weren't so many pieces, so I didn't need to color sort them though the instructions demand it. A sticker sheet, which I don't mind since I'm getting good at placing them. The set has three figures, which is nice, but it's an identical Indy as in other sets. If I was a full time Indy collector, I'd be right well disappointed. It's only my second, so I'll take it in stride, but I really don't want a third. Marion is two faced The Build Ten steps in, just the base of it is done. There is a rubber piece that personally I've never seen. It acts as a soft hinge. It opens to let snakes drop, and reverts back into place. Much more interesting than a rubber bands. 20 steps in, some nice color has been added along the top. 30 steps in, it's just about finished. Pillars and the breakaway statues have been added. The Finished Product This is a nice looking set! The stickers work out really well, except one I'll mention later. It is to be placed on those two gold panels at the top. TLG does a great job creating an Egyptian feel, along with the colors and Anubis statues. The flames and the Ark of the Covenant are a great touch. Note the Anubis on the left has only half a left ear There was an error filling the mold. From the back, you can see the snake switch, plus a skeleton waiting around for later. The two plates are loosely placed in on a single stud each. While the detail on the pillar is alright, this set is really meant to be viewed from the front. Pieces left over are few. There are lots of little Egypt style stickers, and a fantastic one with Star Wars imagery...which is meant to be placed over two bricks at the top of the build. This is a terrible feature, and there is no way I would place a single sticker over two bricks. This is totally lame. If they could have made a 2 by 4 plate, it would really have made this set perfect. Features There are 10 red and green snakes that can just fit in here. A switch on the back lets them drop. They get a bit squeezed though, and don't come out perfectly. But they come out. On both sides, there is a release stick, that when pulled, let's gravity topple the statues. And boom! The loosely placed wall panels fall with them. At which point the skeleton dangles into view. The Final Verdict Design: 8/10 The play features are very well thought out. They work well. Even the stickers are well done, except the one that is supposed to go on two bricks, which is why this can't be perfect. Build: 9/10 It's not mind bending, but quite good for a $20 set. The pillars have a technic pole to support them. The Anubis' have neat SNOT ears. The fall away walls are clever. Playability: 10/10 Lots of snakes, screaming Marion face, toppling statues like the movie. A fun set. Minifigures: 7/10 Indiana Jones is the same as usual, so no extra points there... As a set, this is fine, but for anyone collecting the stuff it's probably a disappointment. My first skeleton though, so I quite liked that. Price: 10/10 Three minifigs and over 250 pieces, this is a very nice price. Some interesting gold pieces, and sleek black pieces. Overall: 9/10 This is a really nice set and a definite recommendation. Since it's not on Lego.com now, this set is probably available until it sells out. I'm glad I got it. It works as an Indy vignette, and as an Egyptian set. I'm thinking now about buying a second one just to make some Egyptian tomb out of it. Consider me satisfied. Indy, help!!! Hang on, I gotcha! Cheers all.

This set looks really fun. When it's a bit cheaper, I'll definitely pick it up (and vote then:wink:)

I don't pay attention to any of the color differences. They're LEGO, not people. If they were different sizes, that'd affect me a lot more.

The only other Creator set I have 4954, and it's nice, but not as good as 4996. I think the Creator series isn't aimed at adults so much. It's not so interesting to me, but it is a smart move for TLG. But all the sets seem to be a great set builder. For me, zero regret on the Creator sets I've got.

For a few months, I've been buying and selling on Yahoo auction in Japan. If you want to buy stuff from me a little cheaper than auction price, or if you want to invest with me for a buy, we can save on costs. Post here or PM me

Many months later, thanks for the replies! I recognize a lot more of the names here now than I did months ago. As an internet kind of guy, I'm happy to have a new home.

I got a cheapie, 7009 Castle joust set. Nice for the price

I saw that yesterday when searching for reviews for this. Your remake was pretty fantastic

You're right! Shovel added, thanks. There's one more mistake too, I put one of the dwarves beards on backwards

That's Amazon Japan. Lego doesn't do shipping to here

I've gotten lots and lots of Star Wars LEGO, and have just been branching into other areas. I got a little Pirate set, and two Creator sets. Now I've gotten my first Castle set since I was 7 or 8 years old. The Medieval Market got my appetite whetted, but that's out of reach right now In Japan, sets are really expensive, but for whatever reason, this set was close to the American price, so I decided to take a chance. Set#: 7036 Name: Dwarves' Mine Theme: Castle Year: 2007 Pieces: 575 Minifigs: 4 dwarves, 2 orcs, 1 troll MSP: $50 U.S., £39.15, 10,500 yen I paid: 6,600 yen Peeron Brickset Bricklink From Lego.com The Box Front of the box has standard action scene. The back shows the features of the set, which is notably missing from the booklets. The side of the box shows the scale of the figures, plus the variety inside. The Booklet Two books, but as mentioned above, there are no play explanations, just a piece inventory and ads. The Pieces The pieces come in numbered bags, a feature I really like, and wish TLG consistently did. The minifigures in this set are fantastic. The four dwarves all have their own faces, beards, helmets and shirts. On top of that, they're done in a metallic paint. I was really impressed with these. The orcs are identical except the shield, but I like their paint jobs, and metallic helmets. The big troll, I don't really like. I know LEGO is a toy, but this thing really looks like a toy to me. It doesn't have the class of a minifigure. Maybe it'll grow on me. The Build The majority of the set is built in 3 segments. Here is the center: The right side has the "wheel powered bucket" The bucket's at the bottom. The left side has the catapult and a living room of sorts. Those parts all come together, and some track is laid down for the mining carts. Not so many leftover pieces. The Finished Product The front is meant to represent a mountain side, this is a mine after all. The backside doesn't look nearly as nice, which is unfortunate, because that room in the lower right wants to be played with! You can see in the side view how the track juts out, so it takes up a bit more room than it needed to. Features This is really loaded with features for such a small set. The aforementioned "wheel powered bucket". It's not the most fun thing, but it works perfectly and smoothly. There is a faux-conveyor belt up front to take the ore from the mining car, which is then loaded into a bucket on a cable. This bucket slides around to the back, where it can be dumped into a mining car, which can then be taken to a faux-conveyor belt And there they are, the cycle continues... The catapult is weighted well. You could never target anything accurately with it, but it can really fly if you smack it. I really like this little room. A fireplace, some wine, and chicken in a bucket, because that's how dwarves like it. The throne above the entrance way. I really love the color of these green pieces, a nice forest green. The blue is alright too. These are also my first flame pieces, so they are very welcome in my collection. This is also very cool, and I didn't know what it was at first: a blacksmith's work station. Dwarves are fantastic smithies. Here, a dwarf gets down to dwarf business. The dwarf king gets drunk while he holds his ruby. If that's how you like, by all means %#!& orcs and trolls, always invading! At least one brave soul is willing to protect his home. The Final Verdict Design: 8/10 It's very clever and well balanced. A lot of pieces interact with each other well (the bucket, the mine cars, catapult) but, the back is so spare looking, it's not good for much, though there are play features there. Build: 6/10 Though the play features are nice, it's a pretty simple build. It didn't take long to make (less than an hour) and almost no new techniques. Playability: 10/10 Loads of stuff. Minifigures: The dwarves get 10/10, and the orcs are a bonus. Forget the troll. Price: 9/10 At the set price, you get a good deal. The minifigures, plus lots of unique pieces, goblets, wheels and mountain sides. And some nice colors. Overall: 8/10 I like my sets for display, and as is, it takes up a bit too much space. I'll rip the back off to make it small enough to show for a while. If I was a kid I'd be all over it though. The first thing I thought when I finished this was that I wanted to buy 7094, the castle set, but then I looked it up on Amazon and it's discontinued And that this set is two years old. Oops. I need to look at other series more. A good set I'm glad I got. Cheers all.