Set Review 75038 Jedi Interceptor

[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

So I don't think BZP has done any set reviews for the recent Star Wars sets, and since member set review topics are allowed now, I've decided to post this. Do whatever you wish with the following opinions.

 

Released early 2014, the Jedi Interceptor is the third incarnation (at least) of the ship from Star Wars Episode III, but the main appeal of this set, along with the others in the wave, is for the new projectile piece. So my question upon building the set: Was it worth it?

 

Presentation - Most of us are familiar with the standard LEGO Box. You'll see an age range (7-12), a piece count (223), an image of the set in action, and a picture of included minifigures at the bottom. In this case, both the Anakin and the R2-D2 figure are advertised as new, even though R2 looks very similar to earlier incarnations except for the dome color, which is silver here. Personally I prefer white, but to each their own. Like many minifigures these days, Anakin also has an angry face on the back. There's also an advertisement for the new projectile piece which I will get to later.

 

The back of the box contains some cool pictures as well, showing off the ship from the top and side, as well as showing off the missile feature.

 

Building - If you've ever built a Star Wars ship before (especially previous incarnations of this ship), you probably know what to expect. There are no real creative tricks or piece use here, and the mirrored wings are a little repetitive. It's not a boring build, but nothing too surprising, either. Some might want to know that there are stickers included for the winglets and the interior cockpit. I did not put them on for the photos (sorry).

 

Set Design - From a design standpoint the ship works. It looks like the movie version and the design is fairly sleek, but I'm not without my criticisms. The winglets aren't attached in a manner that seems very sturdy, and can come off when you open and close them. I would have also liked to see some sort of landing gear for the ship to be at rest on. There are two smooth circle pieces on the bottom of the wings (along with the same on the bottom of the cockpit), but their function seems to be providing more of a frictionless bottom than a landing gear. They're appreciated, but more could have been done. You can see a top and back view at those links.

 

On the plus side, I do like the cockpit and how it has room for both a minifigure and his tools, or in this case a lightsaber. It also completely opens up to make it easy for putting the minifigure/tools, which is always appreciated. Also on the plus side is that while this isn't too different from previous incarnations (in fact it's almost disturbingly similar to the 2012 green version), it also looks to me to have a slightly more film-accurate design. One example of this is R2-D2, who fits into the wing as a whole figure, as opposed to the 2005 version where he needs to be decapitated. The stud on the bottom of his body locks into a single stud 2x2 plate while his legs are free to move. It's not a solid connection, but an improvement over decapitation in my opinion.

 

Playability - Let's be fair, here: we've all seen this set before, and as far as playability goes it doesn't really offer anything aside from the new missile pieces. So how do they work? Actually quite well. The don't go as far Kanoka or or Zamor launchers, but they aren't shabby. You can see the simple assembly here: all you do is stick the missile in the shooter brick (which also functions like a regular 1x4 brick), push down on the back end, and they go flying. They go relatively far and are definitely fun to shoot. They do stick a little too far back, and LEGO probably could have gotten away with making them shorter, but it's not too awful looking. (Actually the length is necessary for how they are used here, but other models or MOCS might be a different story).

 

The missiles themselves have a back that is basically the same size as a lightsaber rod, while the front has a dome shape. This is unfortunate as it means you can't attach anything to the front, but that could change in the future if LEGO modifies the design.

 

Final thoughts -

 

Pros:

New missile pieces are very cool

Two (mostly) new minifigures

Film-accuracy improvement over 2005 yellow version...

 

Cons:

... But not different enough from the 2012 green version

Not a sturdy winglet design

Some might not like the length of the new missiles

 

If you want one of the new projectile pieces and don't own a Jedi Interceptor yet, this is a good set to buy. It comes with two shooter bricks and three of the projectiles (one spare), and the model itself is pretty nice to boot. I imagine, though, that those who already have an interceptor (especially the 2012 one) probably don't need another. In that case, the new missiles come with other sets (like 75037 Battle on Saleucami which also seems to give three) so there are still lots of options for picking them up.

 

(Please let me know if the pictures work- I've never used Flickr before so I have no idea if they'll show up.)

Edited May 26, 2014 by Vorahk1Panrahk2

[Aanchir]

Good review. I'm pretty sure the missiles are designed with a blunt front end on purpose — if it were a simple connection point, then kids might find a way to attach something sharp, and I believe these probably boast a bit more force than a typical flick missile.

 

The Anakin fig is a great likeness of Hayden Christiansen in the third movie, and I'm glad R2-D2 is finally boasting a silver dome. The model is good, but it doesn't thrill me the way the recent TIE Fighter, podracers, Gungan Sub, and X-Wing have, in part because the original version of this vehicle was already a pretty solid design — the new version mainly just improves upon the wing patterns and coloration. Of course, I was also starting to lose interest in Star Wars by Episode III, so I don't remember the ships from it as fondly as those from the original trilogy or the earlier prequels. Perhaps if I did, I'd be more impressed by the changes this model makes from previous versions.

[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

Good review. I'm pretty sure the missiles are designed with a blunt front end on purpose — if it were a simple connection point, then kids might find a way to attach something sharp, and I believe these probably boast a bit more force than a typical flick missile.

 

I believe this to be true. I can't say for certain how much force they hit with versus a regular flick fire, but I'd wager it's not that much different.

 

The model is good, but it doesn't thrill me the way the recent TIE Fighter, podracers, Gungan Sub, and X-Wing have, in part because the original version of this vehicle was already a pretty solid design — the new version mainly just improves upon the wing patterns and coloration

 

 

The other problem with this set is that, from pictures, it appears to basically just be a yellow version of the 2012 version. I had actually completely forgotten about that one until after I posted this (hence why I added a hastily edited line about it). Really this set seems to be for people who didn't get it the first two times (a category which I fit into).