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(More customer reviews)I got this as "The Big One" for my 6 year old son's Christmas.
I was a bit concerned he was a bit below the age bracket, but he had good success with some of the smaller sets so I figured he had worked up to it. Neither of us were disappointed with the purchase or imagined it would take that long to build.
Overview
This was the first major Lego set (600+ pieces) I've built since I was a kid in the 80's. Things have changed quite a bit. The best way to think of this set is not a collection of bricks to let your imagination run wild with. It is a model that has some rebuilding potential, can be played with and is more easily repaired when it breaks.
Packing - Perhaps my biggest gripe about the set is the way it's packed. All the parts are in several bags grouped by some unknown criteria. Steps required different parts from different bags. The worst part is that parts of the figures are spread among different bags (why??) so life got more interesting when my son rips apart all the bags looking for Mace Windu parts. End all the parts go dumped into the box in one big slurry.
Instructions - Perhaps my biggest complement is that these were by far the best instructions I've ever seen with a Lego set. They were two 40+ page books. No way you'd build it without them. The best thing was that at the beginning of each step they listed the parts to be used in that step. The pacing of the instructions was good so that you didn't miss parts in a step. They were clear enough so that my 6 year old could follow them without too much assistance.
Build - This was a complicated build. There are several sub-assemblies that have to be build and then integrated into the larger unit. You have the main body, the top launcher, the cockpit and the wings. The function of many things is not obvious when you start building it and things can get easily turned around. When building it I would hunt for the parts for the next step in the slurry pool, then my son would do the actual building. He needed a bit of help with the steps surrounding the long and short rods that had to be threaded through other parts (often requiring higher finger strength) but aside from that it was kid friendly enough for him to complete 95%+ of the building. Its not something I would turn a younger kid loose on without help though. The total build time on this project was about 8 hours. Amazingly enough it kept him focused that he worked on it for 6 hours straight one day and 2 hours the next.
Durability - It's a Lego and not really a "toy". It's not meant for heavy duty play. He's had quite a few battles with it and it's stayed more or less intact. There were some predictable problems with the wings coming off (highest load) and other large flat areas that see a lot of pressure. It seems to be holding up as well as I could hope given its size and complexity. It seems to be durable enough that when you carry it and use the "features" it doesn't break too often, to me that's kind of the minimum standard.
Features - Lots of cool stuff.
The front cockpit opens in a clamshell fashion, seats 2 figures. The entire cockpit is easy to snap on/off for emergency ejections and the effects of accurate gunfire.
The top of the ship has a missile rack with a strip fed clip of missiles. There is a push rod in the back that launches them. It relies on the inherent tension of the missiles against the strip to store the energy before they go flying out. Range, about 1-2 feet sitting on the ground. This section occasionally comes off but is easy to put back on.
The back section of the ship is hinged at the back and opens up for the "cargo bay" which can hold several figures. He has a lot of fun with this. The hinge mechanism is pretty good, no disasters yet. There are two flip locks on the front that hold it securely for when it moves around.
It has two bomb bays which drop bombs. 4 bombs total, there is a clip in the bomb bay that holds one of the bombs back so when you open it not all the bombs fall out. There is a knob on the back that works the bomb bays. The bomb bay covers (which rotate up and down) are an area of relative weakness that occasionally need patching.
The wings move up and down, each has about 120 degree's of rotation. Their rotation limit comes from a locking pin which is easy to get in the wrong place but can be corrected. The wings tend to break off at the root from time to time but are easily put back on. Considering taking some other pieces and reinforcing them.
Fun
My son has had a lot of fun with this, probably more fun than all the other gifts he got. The styling is cool, the colors nice and it meshes well with his other Star Wars sets. He seems to enjoy launching the missiles and opening the back and messing around in there. There is a hole in the bottom (for the missile clip for flow through) that offers all sorts of imaginative possibilities. It was well worth the price.
Parts
At least 80% of the parts in this set are specialized, meaning you won't find comparable parts in general sets (maybe other spaceship sets). If you loose a part your going to be in a world of hurt. This made me rather nervous as we neared the end and the part slurry pool was kind of thin. But the parts were all there and we had success. If this set ever gets broken down and mixed with your general part pool you can pretty much forget about reconstructing it, way too many parts that are very small. It would take hours to try and find all the parts, many of which will have naturally escaped into unknown places around the house. On the flip side there are a lot of really cool parts here to incorporate into other space ship projects. If I had half those parts when I was a kid some super cool creations would have been mine..
So to Recap
Pro's -
Excellent Instruction
Good Styling
Good features
Cons
Complicated
Specialized and small parts that are disorganized.
Conclusion
If your kid has the focus and aptitude to build a complex model (or you have the focus and aptitude to build it with them) this is an excellent kit. Lots of playability features with acceptable (not great) durability. A good buy and lots of fun.
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LEGO Star Wars Republic Attack ShuttleUnleash the explosive power of the Republic Attack ShuttleTM! Packed with massive firepower, the Republic attack shuttle sweeps down over the Separatist droid army and unleashes its auto-firing flick missiles and dropping bombs on the enemy! When the smoke clears, it folds its wings and converts to landing mode to drop off Jedi Master Mace WinduTM and his clone troopers to finish the mission.
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