9490 Droid Escape
Posted by Huw,
Seeing as the new Star Wars sets seem to be only available in Argos and the LEGO brand stores in the UK at the moment, I suspect many of you in the USA want to know more about them before their release in the US, which I am told will be the end of January, with shop.LEGO.com accepting pre-orders from Jan 1st.
So, I thought I'd do a mini-review of 9490 Droid Escape which costs £19.99 in the UK. It consists of four minifigs, three of which are new, an escape pod, and a small speeder bike, which I think is a new design
It's a reworking of 7106 which was released in 2001, so you could say it's long overdue.
The pod itself is a good rendition of a class 6 escape pod, and certainly much better than the one in 7106. This one has somewhere for the two droids to sit confortably and a control panel, so it's much more realistic. The speeder bike is also an interesting design. It's a shame there aren't two of them, though.
I suspect the main reason many of us will buy it is for the minifigs. As you can see above C-3PO gets a new torso that looks great, showing as it does his innards.
Like some of the Toy Story figs, the sand troopers are 'weathered', and covered in random dirt -- sand -- marks. They are identical apart from the colour of their pauldron, though, so the dirt marks are the same on both. They have printed legs and backs, although you can't see much of their backs due to the back-packs they are carrying.
This is certainly a set that minifig collectors will want to get hold of (but then, I think all Star Wars sets fall into this category these days, don't they?), although as with all SW sets it carries a hefty price tag so you may want to wait until it's on offer at Amazon, or 3-for-2 or something.
Here are some more pictures from my flickr gallery:
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25 comments on this article
I think you mean sand troopers, not snow troopers.
Huw, a big thanks for your thorough and thoughtful reviews. Oh, and the great pics.
"The snow troopers are a first, as far as I know, for LEGO minifigs, in that they are weathered, 'covered in sand'."
Minifigs from Toy story sets 7596 and 7599 also have dirt on them.
^^^^ They are printed yellow
^^^ Yes of course I do, thank you :-)
^ You're right, I'd forgotten about them. I'll correct my text.
C-3PO looks so much better than before!
I may have to get this one, if the price is right.
I'm getting this for the figs...the speeder looks too layered at the front, although the escape pod looks nice.
I only wish they added the same stripes on the pauldron of the ARC trooper of the other set.
Thanks for the review, by the way. You may be the earliest reviewer of this set!
I'll totally get this set.
The figures all look superb. This is one I'll definitely be adding to the list
the new sandtrooper figure must be in the top ten minifigs. superb.
excellent figs £20 not toooo bad I suppose for the set. Dewback would have been welcome.
Thanks for the mention of the news, Huw.
Actually, I don't think those are jet packs. I believe they are oxygen tanks for breathing during sand storms.
Nice set, though I probably won't end up getting it, because it's sure to have a high price.
@Bellybutton290 - I agree, I was hoping for a Dewback when the set was first announced too.
IT'S GARRY!!!!!!!!!!!! (from Robot Chicken Star Wars 2 & 3)
Anyway, even though the set itself is unoriginal, the stormtroopers are well-detailed and so are the droids. But I probably won't buy it of my own accord.
^^^ Yes, you're right, they are life-support packs.
The sand on the sandtroopers looks more like rust than sand... :P
I haven't asked for a Star Wars set in a while, but this one looks interesting. I also, sadly... do not own any 3POs. :(
Huw, do you think I should buy this set or the Geonosian Cannon when they come out in the US.
Simple -- buy them both, you have all year...
Loving the new sandtroopers. Best of the new lower end price sets.
Btw the new sets are also available at very. Got mine delivered today. They dont have the planet sets though although i cant get excited about those
Hate 3-po's Torso, but otherwise a great set
When will these be put out in local stores?!
@The Reviewer, in the movies that is how he looks. At least the games.
@jonbuddy: Correct, Threepio has some exposed wiring just above his belly.
This set is at the top of my list for 2011 along with the other classic sets, especially the Y-wing and TIE fighter.
I really hope that LEGO finally makes a 4-LOM minifig at some point; with a modified gray print of this new C3-PO torso and a new head mould they could do a nice job. I actually don't mind this new torso too much although I still do like the old print as well; it will be nice to have your pick of both I suppose. I also like the colored eyes, that's awesome.
The sandtroopers in this set are amazing figs. I'm guessing they have the new "face" trooper heads as well?