9497 Republic Striker-class Starfighter review
Posted by Huw,
9497 Republic Striker-class Starfighter is the second model based on The Old Republic to be released this year.
CapnRex101 is on vacation now so you'll have to make do with just me reviewing it, I'm afraid.
Being unfamiliar withThe Old Republic, I thought I'd try and find out about the ship before reviewing it, but I've failed to find any mention of it anywhere. A Google image search just returns pictures of the LEGO model!
The closest match at Wookiepedia that I found is the Talon-class Republic Starfighter which shares some design similarities with this model, and the page does state that 'The title of this article is conjectural.' so maybe they are one in the same.
Anyway, on to the review...
There's not much to say about the box (although I'm sure CapnRex101 would have found plenty to say :-) ) other than it's styled like the other 2012 boxes with Darth Maul in the corner and the minifigs down the side.
The back of the box shows the ship with the wings in their other, facing forwards, configuration.
Just one instruction manual and -- wait a minute -- no stickers!!
The parts are divided into three bags. I don't believe there are any new ones in the set, which seems to be a common thing with SW sets this year: Beyond canopies and minifig parts, I don't recall seeing any new parts in the second-half sets at all.
Bag one builds the front of the fuselage. The long tapered parts are printed which is very welcome.
Bag two builds the wings which attach to the body using the hinges at the end.
The underside of the wings reveals the obligatory flick-missiles.
Wings attached. They are held in one of the two positions by way of clips on the body and wings. You can just see a black one on the right-hand wing, and the white clips at the back of the body.
Wings in closed position.
Bag four finishes the fuselage and cockpit and adds guns to the wings.
Back view. The dark red and white with orange accents is quite attractive.
Underside with wings unclipped. The white/red guns on the wings are hinged so that they can be turned to face forwards in both wing positions.
This cute little chappie is T7-O1. He has a wheel at the back. All parts are printed.
Satele Shan is a Jedi: a human, apparently. Her sand-green torso is printed front and back, with the decoration on the front continuing onto her legs.
This rather gaily dressed republc trooper completes the trio of minifigs. He's printed front and back, too. I guess he's supposed to look like this, which explains the red markings.
He comes with a huge gun that's too large for him to hold and stay upright.
To conclude, this is an interesting model. It looks great in both wings configurations. The colour scheme is eye-catching and attractive. The minifigs are nothing special, but they are nevertheless very good.
It probably won't be at the top of your Star Wars shopping list, but if you do buy it you won't regret it. It's available from shop.LEGO.com now for just under £40.
This is going to conclude my reviews of the summer Star Wars sets for now. I hope you've found them useful, and have enjoyed my collaboration with CapnRex101. I do have the Malevonance but to be honest it doesn't really appeal: the ship is too small to be minifig scale and the minifigs are pretty boring, so it will probably stay in its box for now.
Hopefully, those of you in the USA won't have too long to wait before you can buy them now!
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26 comments on this article
After the full-fat reviews of CapnRex, we finally got a skimmed one (I drink semi-skimmed milk, actually. :P)! :P Have you made a photo of the back of the droid?
What are the best summer sets of the bunch, @Huw?
this set looks cool
I can't say I'm won over by the vehicle, but the figs are pretty cool. MAN I wish they'd have made the Corellian Defender from the game instead: http://swtor.wikia.com/wiki/Corellian_Defender-class_Light_Corvette
^^^ I have now: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmillington/7487176146/
^^ I will write a piece later or tomorrow with my recommendations.
@Huw: Thanks. :)
I adore that Repbulic trooper's chaingun! I will probably modify it for one of my future MOC's =)
Thanks, Huw. This is the summer SW set I have been anticipating the most!!! When will the minifigs in these sets be added to the galleries?
Got mine a couple of days ago. Not too sure about this one, though. I kind of find it hard to get my enthusiasm up for these sets that are so far from the original movies, regardless of the quality of the sets themselves.
A lovely SUCCINCT review you've written here, Huw. I too don't know much about the Old Republic game, but this ship's design and its colour parts make me very interested.
This set is rather interesting and it's easy to say Malevolance is the most boring set we've seen in star wars for a while, I think I'd rather pay the £20 premium for the palace.
@ Huw - Where on earth do you display all these models?
I am fortunate enough to have a spare bedroom to display mine in and it is bursting at the seems. do you ever unassemble them and put them back into storage?
My understanding is that this is a model of the "enemy" starfighter that attacks during various space missions. The game calls the Talon fighters though. Its a shame the Republic got this, there are some great player ships we could had.
Very nice review, Huw! I'm really tempted now. There is also a very complementary review on Eurobricks.
By the way, you might want to know that according to various sources and as is made clearer by his missing helmet, the name of the Republic trooper is Jace Malcom:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jace_Malcom
Good review. Why not do one on the malevolence? Also good thing that it was only you doing the review. Capn rex's are good bur too long:)
Thanks for the review, Huw. I appreciate the bevity, but I did feel like it was missing a discussion of the build itself (techniques used, stability, etc.). Was it a fun/clever build?
^^^ I'd also be interested in a review of The Malevolence. I've just built it and thought it looked great and the quick fire missile launcher is great fun too! Also has a great handle to suspend the model from ceiling.
That red clone dude would look epic with a helmet
That minigun is just BEGGING for a 'Predator' MOC...
I just thought of something... no summer 2012 SW Battle Packs? Not that I'm tired of the pair from January but aren't we ready for more 4 on 4 battle?
Great review, thanks Huw. The reason you could find no references to the Striker Fighter is that it is actually called a Talon fighter.
In-game shot linked below:
http://i.imgur.com/y9msj.jpg
Awesome reviews Capn Rex and pictures Huw! I hope you both do collaborative reviews in the future!
>> It looks great in both wings configurations. The colour scheme is eye-catching and attractive.
I understand that a review is inherently an opinion, but man... I have to wonder if we're looking at the same model! =P To me the entire ship looks like someone's slapped-together MOC or an early set from 1997. The construction and colors just look so blocky and unfinished, and not in a good LEGOy way.
Huw, could you give us a Malevolence review? I am considering buying it.
All i can say is WOW everything is amazing in this set the minifigs, the ship, and the R2 unit. Im defenitly considering buying.
I have made a copy of that chaingun, and I was able to make one of my minifigures stand on its own while holding it