Palpatine's Arrest review, part 1
Posted by Huw,
This set has been out for a few weeks on both sides of the Atlantic but given the interest in it, both before and after release, I think it's still worthy of a Brickset review.
So, I've teamed up with CapnRex101 again to bring you one.
Part 1 deals with the box, contents and minifigs.
Words by CapnRex101, photos by Huw.
Palpatine’s Arrest was a set which I was very excited about prior to the release of images, due to the incredible scene from the movie, and also the fantastic characters who might feature in such a set. Once the model was revealed however, I found myself a little underwhelmed by it all and although the Minifigures were all that I had hoped for, the actual scene left something to be desired. Now that I have the set, I have in fact found myself rather liking it. While accuracy may have suffered a little at the expense of play features, these features are good fun and this is an excellent representation of that fateful scene from Star Wars Episode III, the Revenge of the Sith.
Box/Instructions
The box artwork is not bad, but the background and the actual model really do not line up very well in my opinion. Of course this entire scene happened indoors in the film, but here Palpatine’s Office is displayed on a shot of the Coruscant cityscape with several huge towers visible and a couple of landing platforms. On one of these it is possible to see the Naboo Royal Starship (I think we are all hoping for a Lego version of that one day). In the office we can see all four of the Jedi who arrive to arrest Palpatine, the Dark Lord of the Sith himself leaping in to action, and the troubled Anakin Skywalker approaching quickly in his Jedi Airspeeder. Along the right hand side of the box is a dark blue border on which the six Minifigures are displayed. With the exception of Kit Fisto, all six have the word ‘new’ stamped next to them and along the top of this box cover is a fantastic image of Darth Maul and the Lego Star Wars logo.
On the back of the box is another shot of the set with various smaller pictures demonstrating the features. These include the sliding doors, the opening cockpit on the Airspeeder, the Lightsaber and Sith lightning storage, and the collapsing window section as well as one or two others. There are a few images of the scene in the film being recreated in Lego and a blueprint style shot of the Jedi Airspeeder from numerous aspects.
The instructions were perfect with no mistakes and I had no missing pieces. There is only a single instruction booklet and unlike most of the new Lego Star Wars instruction manuals, this one has no comic in the back.
There are quite a few highly desirable parts in this set, including many dark red pieces; this is a fairly uncommon colour and a very attractive one. There are some nice big window sections which may be useful and of course a large number of dark grey plates of various shapes and sizes. Of course the golden lightsaber hilt is very nice indeed, albeit totally inaccurate to Darth Sidious’ Lightsaber in the film and the piece does in fact appear in a couple of Ninjago sets which are far cheaper than this one. The pieces of lightning used by Sidious are great and perfectly fulfil the role of Sith lightning I think.
The pieces used to make the tops of both Agen Kolar’s and Saesee Tiin’s heads are both amazing and are printed with incredible detail.
Best of all in my opinion, we get two metallic gold Microfigures which represent the strange statues that Palpatine has throughout his office which are very rare indeed and look fantastic.
There are six Minifigures included in this set and I will begin with the Jedi Knight, Mace Windu. This figure is exclusive to this set and is very nice indeed. His head piece is cast in brown and is printed with a fair amount of detail. He has a very serious expression which is well suited to him, and a couple of lines for cheek definition printed on his face. Being bald, there is of course no hair piece. He wears a brown cape which is very simple but accurate to the one worn in the film.
His torso is printed on only the front sadly, but the cape is present which would obscure the printing anyway. Nevertheless, I always like to see some back printing on my Lego Minifigures nowadays. The printing on the front is almost identical to that seen on his Clone Wars counterpart featuring dark tan Jedi robes with some creasing, a white under-shirt and some skin visible in the neck area. His belt however differs very slightly from the Clone Wars version with a silver buckle in the centre and two smaller brown buckles on either side of that. On the older Clone Wars edition, these smaller buckles are black. His arms are dark tan to match the torso and his hands are brown. The legs and hips are dark tan as well and are unprinted which is a little disappointing given that most figures recently seem to have had some sort of leg printing. He carries one accessory, which is of course his purple lightsaber with a metallic silver hilt. Mace Windu is a real favourite of mine and I still believe that Lego has yet to produce a really definitive version of this character; however, the figure is still very nice, albeit similar to previous incarnations.
Now we move on to Anakin Skywalker, who at this point in the film is really struggling with his emotions. He is similar to the figure included in set 9494, Anakin’s Jedi Interceptor, but does have one or two differences. The hair piece is identical, it is the same tussled hair as we see on the Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker, but here it is cast in dark brown which is much more accurate to his film appearance. The head piece is printed with two alternative faces, one of which is simple with a slight smile (an odd choice in my opinion as he did not do any smiling in this scene), some black eyebrows, and several wrinkles and lines on his face, as well as his many scars which are very accurate to the film. The other face has a much angrier face with sunken eyes and the same scars and lines for cheek definition. Both look excellent, but I much prefer the second of the two as that one is more suited to him in this scene by far. He wears a brown cape, exactly the same as his Jedi counterparts which did not appear on the other most recent movie Anakin Skywalker Minifigure.
His torso is exactly the same however with some highly detailed printing including his black Jedi robes, brown under-shirt, and brown belt with several pouches and a silver buckle. On the back of the torso are some more of the robes and his belt with yet more pouches! His arms are black, his left hand is flesh coloured, and his right hand is black as he wears a glove over his mechanical hand on that side. Unlike the other figure in this set Anakin Skywalker does feature some hip and leg printing, albeit very simple. The hips are printed with some more of his creased Jedi robes and the legs have the black robes hanging down his front which is created simply by printing a black rectangle on each leg which looks fantastic I think. He comes with a blue lightsaber as usual.
The only villain included (sort of), is the iniquitous Chancellor Palpatine. This is the first Chancellor Palpatine figure from the live-action films which has been released and he is excellent. His hair is the same as that of the Clone Wars version, with a neatly tended hair style featuring some nice hair texture detail and a fairly accurate look for the figure. His head is great as well. Two faces are printed on the head piece, one of which shows his standard, more human, face with gritted teeth, blonde eyebrows, and many wrinkles which really expresses his anger as he fights the Jedi and is ideal. The other face shows him after he has been blasted by his own force lightning with many more wrinkles and a much more deformed appearance. Here, his eyes are bright yellow due to him being corrupted by the Sith and his teeth are yellowed slightly which looks amazing.
His torso is printed with a dark red shirt featuring a belt and on top of that is a dark grey cross pattern which is just like what is seen on this character in the film. He also has a dark red jacket on which has some tiny grey wavy lines printed on it, which are continued on the back of the torso and are also accurate to the film. Around his neck some flesh is visible and his arms are dark red and hands are flesh coloured. The legs and hips are plain dark red, some printing would have been nice to continue his long robe, but this looks fine in my opinion. Darth Sidious carries a few accessories, the first of which is his unique gold hilted, red lightsaber. This looks quite good, but is not accurate at all and I would like to have seen a chrome gold at least, as the piece is in fact cast in pearl gold, making it a little less special. He also comes with two lightning pieces which represent his Sith lightning, I find these superb personally and although they have been included in sets before, such as set 10188, Death Star, they are a lovely inclusion. All in all, a great figure of an awesome character.
Next is Kit Fisto, the Nautolan Jedi from Glee Anselm. This figure too is very similar indeed to previous versions, in fact there is only one slight change to this character. His head piece is the same as it has been since 2007, when set 7661, Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive Booster Ring, was released. The component is cast in a reasonably soft rubber in sand green and printed with two large black eyes, a small smile, and some brown straps which run across the top of his head and down the sides just like in the film. The moulded detail of his tentacles is fantastic and the only thing that could improve this part in my opinion would be if the piece was not cast in rubber, but the standard ABS plastic. He wears a brown cape like Mace Windu (and the other Jedi included) which is the only change between this figure and the others.
Like Mace Windu, this torso lacks back printing, but again it would only be covered up by the cape anyway. The front however is highly detailed with a brown Jedi robe, a dark grey under-shirt and a dark grey belt. There are some folds in the fabric printed on here, his arms are brown and his hands are sand green. The leg piece is plain reddish brown, again with no printing at all. Kit Fisto comes with a simple green lightsaber. The blade is the newer darker shade of green which looks much better than the old version and the hilt is metallic silver.
At this point the figures may sound a little bit underwhelming, but do not worry, as they start to improve from here on in beginning with Saesee Tiin. The horn and cranium piece is fantastic; it is exactly the same as the ones on the Clone Wars Saesee Tiin and features some very nice dark orange printing on the top and the speckled design around the edges of the part. There are some black lines which form wrinkles and the dark grey striping which runs down the back of his head just like in the film. His horns are dark tan in colour and the piece lines up nicely with the printing on the head. There is only a face on one side of the head piece and this is very detailed indeed. He has a serious, but somehow slightly sombre expression and a huge amount of wrinkles printed on his face which even reaches a point where the horn piece covers up the design. The very compact nose has been emphasised on the figure which looks accurate, but slightly odd in my opinion, however the incredible detail more than makes up for this minor drawback in my opinion. He wears a brown cape just like the other Jedi in this set like he does in the film.
The torso printing is brand new and looks wonderful featuring some dark brown creased Jedi robes with a dark tan undershirt. His belt is dark orange and has several pouches and a buckle printed on it which looks great. This torso does have back printing unlike Mace Windu and Kit Fisto which shows some more of his creased Jedi robe and the rest of the belt. It is a simple design but is nevertheless accurate, which is an important factor in my opinion. The arms are dark brown and his hands are flesh coloured. His legs are dark brown and are left unprinted. Just like Kit Fisto this figure comes with a green lightsaber with a metallic silver hilt as one would expect.
The final member of the Jedi task force sent to arrest Chancellor Palpatine is the first to die, and probably the most obscure, Agen Kolar. Uniquely among these six Minifigures, this is the first time an Agen Kolar Minifigure has been produced and will probably be the last unless they make another version of this scene in years to come. He has the same hairpiece as Eeth Koth as they are of the same species, but this one is very different in colour to that of Eeth Koth. The hair is black and runs a long way down the torso on the front and back, with some binding keeping it neat and tidy at the rear. The skin area is brown and the horns are dark tan. Around his forehead he has a series of black dots which look good and are just like he has in the film. The head is also brown in colour and is printed with a serious expression, black eyebrows, and some more black dot patterns. He wears a brown cape which is just like what he wears in the movie.
The torso is mostly tan in colour and he is wearing a simple tan Jedi robe with some creases in it and a brown undershirt. His belt is dark brown and has some pouches on it which looks great and this belt is continued on to the back of the piece along with the layered Jedi robes, although this back printing is all obscured by the cape. His rams are tan and the hands are brown in colour. I love this torso personally, and think it could be very useful for any custom Jedi you might wish to make. His hips and his legs are both entirely plain tan with no printing at all. Agen Kolar wields a simple blue lightsaber with a metallic silver hilt.
In part two we'll look at the build and the completed model.
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29 comments on this article
Great first review Huw and cap'n Rex, the figures are pretty good I think especially palpating and agen p molar.
O_O Urm... Do we REALLY need all this text for six minifigures?... Sorry, but... this review is too much for me... :P Still, might I point out that Anakin's non-Sith face is different than the one on the box? On the box, he's pretty angry on both sides, while here, he's happy on one of them.
^ OMG, I actually kind of agree with you @Alemas :-) I saw the intro and was going to read this then opened the full review and thought, "Whoa, that's way too long, I've got work to do" ;-) So I just looked at the pictures instead (which are excellent as ever) :-P
This review was always going to be about the mini-figs... it's that kind of set.
While I appreciate the amount of time and thought that has gone in to this review, I'm with @Alemas as well. But that's just personal preference, and you can't please everyone I suppose. :-)
I picked up this set for the assortment of parts and figs and it does not disappoint in those regards. I decided to give it a build first though before parting it out and was pleasantly surprised by its modularity and the number of play features packed into this set. All in all, a solid purchase.
But what is with Chancellor Palpatine's blond hair??
Please call me "Alemas" in the middle of sentences, I'm not on the forum, and this isn't Twitter. :P
Minifigures are pretty good. I like Palpatine, but I really wish he'd come with a neutral non-Sith face which would be a lot more useful for other scenes. Mace Windu is okay, but I can't tell: is his face new or the same as the Seso fig from PoP Battle of Alamut?
Agen Kolar's head is perfect for PotC Tia Dalma, it has the black dots and everything. Anakin is also quite a nice figure.
The set is alright, but disappointing. I like the floors and statues, but some walls would have been nice.
No way, Mace's face is Seso! Nice eye Gregorovich.
Nice one Brickset, guess I'm buying this now!
In my opinion it is better to put too much detail than too little so I always write as much as I can. I prefer to read longer and in-depth textual reviews to Pros/Cons lists personally, so that is what I write myself. It is not to everyone's taste, but I find the majority of people prefer this style of review.
@Gregorovich & Ngclarkiv8 - Great spot, I didn't realise that, the figure seems even more disappointing now...
Bought this yesterday at BR. 2 left in store. Did not expect to find it in a store. :)
I for one appretiate a detailed review and would love to see more of the huw and captrex101 reviews going forward especially on the important sets. I hope you guys do a detailed ucs b-wing review when the time comes.
Thank you for the part one review, I'm looking forward to reading the DC0052 speeder portion of the continued review.
@CapnRex, I like in-depth reviews too, I was just rather surprised when I clicked on the link and saw how long the minifig review was!
I've now had chance to read it and appreciate it properly :-)
I think the set is a little uninspiring, can't put my finger on why.
The minifigures are great, But the set isnt actually that good. I will probably use pbrickink for them, and skip the actual set. Besides, the mandolorian fighter is clearly better...
Are you guys going to write a review on set 9515 (malevolence)?
Though this reveiw may seem overly detailed, I believe that this is what makes CapnRex such a great reveiwer. The detailed reviews give you a much better feel for the set than a mere pro/con list and I for one appreciate the effort CapnRex puts into his reviews. When I want to find out about a reviewed set, I invariably look to see if CapnRex has reveiwed it and will almost always read that one first.
Likewise, I'd like to emphasise my appreciation of CapnRex's attention to detail. To those who are complaining about there being to much text, come on, its not exactly War and Peace (!) In my mind the figures are the main attraction of this set and deserve a thorough review.
While normally I collect only OT Star Wars sets, this one.....intrigues me greatly.....must....fight.....urges......
Cool figures, especially Master Kolar, but other than that this set seems way too overpriced and undersized to even consider purchasing.
I wonder how the usage-distribution of this set will look like.
1. Bought for collection - never opened
2. Bought for minifigs collection
3. Bought for future reselling (hoping the minifigs will eventually let the price skyrocket) - unopened
4. Bought for play
I guess this set will see very limited usage of 4. - it is just not that kind of set. It is a shame really, I would love to use the figs for mocs, but the price prevents it.
Whatever criticism you are being given CapnRex, I always read all of your detailed reviews as I find them excellent! :) I love this set, I must get it!!!!! As a minifig enthusiast I love most of the summer sets, which is a big problem as they are very expensive!
While I appreciate the detail that CapnRex goes into, sometimes I dont have time to/want to read the whole think. So could we also have a brief summery as well included just to pick out key points.
^That summary will be in the second part so stay tuned for that.
Wicked ill wait for the second part then.
These huge text-block reviews are somewhat self defeating when we have Huw's gorgeous photography...
I do laugh when people complain about in-depth reviews.
Now surely ... if you start reading a review then you must want to know about the product and are considering buying it. So why, oh why, would you not want to know everything about it? Just seems odd to me.
Anyway, I appreciate all of your fab reviews Capn. Hats off !!!
Love the in depth reviews, thank you! Sheesh is it that hard to read for some people? :)