Officially the
Lambda-Class T - 4a Shuttle that appears at the end of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and more prominently in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, this model is absolutely amazing, if not costly. You can view it
Here until I get pics of it up, but even then pics don't really do it justice. Anywho, now that the intro is done let's move onto the actual review.
The Box: The First Thing You Notice
Actually, the box wasn't the first thing that I noticed, since I ordered it off of Lego Shop @ Home, but nonetheless the box is visually striking and pleasing to the eye. It shows everything that needs to be shown, including the ship itself, the five minifigures, as well as the set's functions. Officially the set is for display purposes, but Lego went the extra mile and added a few things to make it even more interesting. The box is easily opened and remains nicely intact, which is always a plus.
PicThose would be my feet at the bottom of the pic, slightly wider than a regular stance.
The Parts: The Set at Its Core
Okay, I knew that this was a large set, having 2500+ pieces. However, I've never owned a set of this size, so I wasn't prepared for the sheer amount of pieces. My desk was literally covered in bags of pieces, and it took an hour to sort though. That's right, the bags are not numbered and are instead organized by the type of parts, so while organizing doesn't take as long as if the parts were random, it does take a while as you have to open all the bags in order to begin building the set.
This is the first "system" Lego set which I've had in a while (probably 10 years have passed since I last owned a system set). Prior to this the last set I bought was one of the HF 2.0 sets. As such, I can't comment on the rarity of pieces contained within the set, nor can I say which ones are new. However, this set did come out a few years back (2010 I believe) so any new pieces probably aren't new anymore. I you like white parts, though, this set is definitely for you.
The set does include 6 stickers, which I don't really like. Five of the six are small stickers which don't really need to be applied, and aren't too hard to attach anyway, but printed pieces would have been nicer (as always). The sixth sticker is the UCS display sticker, which is well done but is a bit hard to put on (mine is a little diagonal, but nothing too atrocious). It is clearly printed and adds a nice touch to the otherwise boring display stand.
Pic 1 All the parts bags (not numbered)
Pic 2 My desk- covered in organized pieces
Pic 3 My roomate's side table (because i used my own as the building site/space for my comp)
Pic 4 The floor where I used dishes to hold various smaller pieces
The Build: All Eight Point Five Hours
Yes, 8.5 hours it took me. Some people said it took them 6, but either way it is a good deal of time. You start the build with the minifigs, which are pretty nice. The set comes with five: Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, A Storm Trooper, An Imperial Pilot and an Imperial Commander. All of them are printed and were- for me- a nice group of people that make sense with the set (although the Storm Trooper is a bit of an ood choice). It would have been cool to get Palpatine and some Imperial Guards, but I guess Lego wasn't considering that scene in the design. Luke and Vader come with the new light sabers, which aren't shiny like my old ones from a decade ago. Its a minor problem, if anything.
Next the instructions tell you to build the main frame of the shuttle, including the gear system. (Note that this is the first of four instruction booklets. I've heard that the UCS Millennium Falcon had a spiral bound booklet. It'd be amazing if Lego started that up again with the large UCS models, especially considering the price one pays for these sets). The build is solid and fairly easy, however be careful when inserting the gears, because you have to ensure that they all line up properly, otherwise you'll have trouble later on. I had to fix one gear twice because it refused to line up. This is probably the hardest part of the build, and yet the gear system is designed really well to be simple and effective.
Next is finishing off the hull of the ship, along with beginning the cockpit. One thing that really stood out to me (other than the whole set) was that in the cock pit the back seats are one stud higher than the front seats, which I felt was a great detail that was well executed. Well done to the Lego designers on that oh so small but significant design. Unlike some of the other large UCS models, the Imperial shuttle doesn't have a lot of greebling. I like this, and the shttle doesn't even need it because it's supposed to be sleek. Also, it means less time putting together tons of small pieces that pretty much ruin your hands.
After finishing the bottom of the cockpit the instructions move onto the top fin/wing. The wing is massive. But it's also sleek and sturdy, thanks to the technic pieces used to support it. This wing, along with the top of the ship, is designed wonderfully, and there was even some asymmetry given to the top of the ship, which surprised me.
Next is the top of the cockpit and the rear of the ship (with the hyperdrive system. I love both of these designs, and the fact that the cockpit can be opened is even better. The only thing about the cockpit is that it doesn't detach from the ship as it is supposedly able to do. For a while it looked like it might be able to do so, but as a display model I guess this wasn't as important as making it look nice, which it does amazingly well.
The hyperdrive is cool and the blue colour looks nice against the white of the ship. This is one area that does make use of a little greebling, but it is very little and doesn't feel tedious.
The second last part of the build is the two side wings. These are effectively identical, except for where they attach to the shuttle. Because of the minor difference the two wings are built separately. The wings were my least favourite part of the built, maybe because I was really tired at the time, or maybe because they are repetitive and use many small pieces.Whatever the reason, if you are confident in your ability to build mirrored objects I would advise doing the wings at the same time. However annoying you may find the build at this point, the end result is pleasing to the eye and sturdy enough. It clips onto the hull and you can now use the gear function to raise and lower the wings. Because of the way the gears were designed, the lifting and lowering of the wings is very streamlined and doesn't seem to stress the set in any way.
Last but not least are the final details (cannons and stuff) and the two stands. Officially you build the landing gear earlier, but I'll discuss it here so I can compare it to the stand. The landing gear can be used to display the set with the wings folded up. The landing gear does its job but it's definitely not the prettiest part of the set. The actual display stand looks a lot better, but only if the set is displayed with the wings deployed. As such, both stands have their benefits. It would have been cool if the landing gear could have been included into the set, or if the display stand could hold the set with the landing gear on, but alas, the design is limited by the bricks. The issue is minor, especially since you are meant to display the set and have people gape at it, not fly the set around your house.
Pic The minifigs included in the set
Play Value: Not Much
For a display set there is more play value than you'd expect, so I'll give Lego credit for that. The front cannons can rotate, the cockpit opens up, and the minifigs can be used to stage epics scenes from the movies. Oh, and the wings move with the use of gears. That part is awesome, and it functions so well.
Other than that, you won't be flying this set around your house because it is not the easiest thing to hold, nor is it light enough to run around with.
Play Features? Various play features (i.e. moving parts)
Design: Where This Set Excels
The set, in terms of design, really exceeded my expectations. It just looks amazing overall- I can't stress this enough. The angles are all great, the lasers and cannons look great and not too slapped on. The stickers aren't too intrusive (but would have been nicer if they were printed pieces). The sheer size of the set invokes awe even now as it sits next to me at my desk. It looks so professional and is unlike anything I've ever made of Lego.
Final Thoughts
If you have extra money in your wallet then go out and buy this set. Simple as that. Unless you like to play with sets, then maybe not. If you want a relatively challenging build and enjoy some technic functions, this set is for you. Need spare white parts? This set will please you.
Pros:
-Massive and elegant
-Functions even though it's a display set
-Cool minifigs
-Hours of building time = money well spent
-Lifetime of display value
-Sturdy build
-Build is complex enough to please most builders, but not too tricky so most people should be able to do it, given time (younger builders may require help with the gear system, and even experienced builders should be careful at this part, or when you try to attach the wings you won't be happy)
-It's Lego and Star Wars
-True minifigure scale
Cons:
-My wallet walked out on me
-Display stand and landing gear can't be used at the same time (landing gear doesn't fold into the set)
-Landing gear is rather plain
-No ramp (doesn't bother me too much, but a few people have expressed interest in a loading ramp/interior space for storage and figs).
--Personally I'd rather have the landing gear incorporated into the set before a ramp is added. There isn't much space left up front
-Seriously, I miss my wallet
-No shiny chrome light sabers. Very minor issue, but my old light sabers look much nicer than the ones in this set. I only mention this b/c some people who got earlier models of this set reported it to come with shiny light sabers. However, these people also said that their sticker sheets weren't packaged in which the instructions, and so were crumpled. Oh well.
Pros out-way cons, yadda yadda yadda. Really though, besides the price and the landing gear issue I can't find any flaws with this model. I can't list the non-playability s a con because if you're buying this set you should know that it isn't meant to be "swooshed" through the air. The fact that the wings move by a gear system is a huge plus for the model.
I didn't mention this much in the review, but this set is also true minfig scale, which is also great, especially for a UCS set. I'm not sure if this is 100% true, but from the cockpit alone it appears to be true.
Finally done Note the clock timing in at 1:09. I started at 4:00...
Overall kudos to Lego and the designers at Lego for making this such a great model. In ten years if they make another version of this set they should see if they can fit a ramp and a better landing gear, but other than that not much else.
This is officially my favourite set, and may be yours one day as well. Pics
should come within the month are now up. Lego also provides a few angles as well, and the video they provide shows off the features and the size as well, if you need more.
More pics soon.
Storm TrooperSet next to display standCockpit with two minfigsComparison Shot to Storm TrooperDisplay Plaque I couldn't get the sticker perfectly straight... oh well
VaderLukeBONUS (*not included in this set*)
