This is the 2nd 2013 planet set I purchased.

The set comes in the standard planet packaging in the rectangular box, where the contents are placed inside the planet itself which is perched in the centre of the box that is able to be touched before opening.

The planet included itself is not a planet, but I fact an Asteroid field, which features a mostly dark black colour with additional dark brown printings reflecting the Asteroid rocks and smaller white printings too. Despite perhaps being the least exciting planet capsule in appearance, it's still more exciting than the ones we saw during the end of 2012.

The stand included features the same plaque with set details and a different support piece which uses a round piece and one stud tile piece, delivering a more robust and still standing frame for the model's display.

The figure itself which is a tie bomber figure features the typical bomber helmet, but with extra silver printing and the republic logos too, maybe towards the end of the clone wars. The figure also includes a cool new face print which features a sort smirk facial expression whilst the chest printing includes belt and breathing equipment printing whilst the back of the torso includes additional printing. The legs are not printed.

The Tie Bomber itself is quite an interestingly built model, where the edges are connected via clips, whilst the two centre pieces are connected together. The ship also features a mini cockpit piece just like the tie interceptor in 2012 plus new r2 pieces at the back of the ship too.There's also a lower stud at the bottom which can easily attach to the stand, possibly the easiest of the three to display with.

Overall, another good planet model which despite a slightly boring planet, is made up by an interesting figure and ship which could by slightly be the best first wave planet set of 2013. Overall, I would recommend this to all Star Wars fans, collectors and mini model fans too.

The TIE Bomber provides diversity compared to other repeated mini models. Like the TIE Interceptor, it can not recreate the curves of the original but is easily recognized. Maybe the asteroid field is the remnants of a planet or contains dwarf planets?

Box/Instructions

Typical planets packaging with folded instructions in the box and the parts in the planet. The two part bags are snug inside the asteroid field.

Parts

Includes printed clear TIE cockpit and two plain grey R5 droid heads. I'm a big fan of the six pieces used for the wings but they are not particularly uncommon. The pieces fit my MOCing needs but might be more 3-4 brick rating for others.

Minifigures

Excellent new printing on pilot's helmet. Stands out compared to other TIE pilots but wouldn't look out of place.

The build

Nothing particularly novel about this build but with only 60 pieces I wouldn't have expected anything mind blowing.

The completed model

The wings appear too bulky and the front of the cylinders are squared to accommodate attaching the two pods and the wings. It includes the bomb chute at the rear of the weapons pod but according to pictures it seems it should be located towards the front. I actually had no idea what it was after the build and looked it up online. This is the largest vehicle from the planet series I have built so far, out of six.

Summary

A welcome model based on a ship largely neglected in official Lego models. Asteroid field is surprisingly good looking and the printing lines up where the halves meet. For the minifig collector, the TIE Bomber Pilot is a must have and very pleasing for the general Lego Star Wars fan. Now I just need to get Alderaan...

This is the last of my quick reviews of the Series 3 Star Wars Planet sets.

75008 TIE Bomber and Asteroid Field is a little different from all the other Planet sets in that an asteroid field isn't really a planet, is it?

Nevertheless it is one of the better looking 'planets' to be featured in these sets.

Box and packaging

Nothing remarkable about the box or packaging, they are the same as for every other Planet.

The minifig

The minifig is a TIE bomber pilot and is, according to BrickLink, new and has been assigned the designation sw457. The helmet design is not new (having been used for the TIE defender pilot a few years ago) but it does have a new print, which is superb. The torso print is new, too.

The ship

The TIE bomber is very well executed, although the wings are perhaps a little thicker than would be ideal.

The front cockpit features a very nice printed 2 x 2 clear dish, while at the back, two of the new conical droid heads have been used, so it's great to have them available in a useful, non-printed colour.

The completed model

As usual, a stand is provided for displaying the minifig and ship, and features a unique printed 4 x 4 tile.

Conclusion

This is another fine addition to the Planets series. The minifig is superb, the ship interesting and made with some great parts, and the bauble has an attractive print, even if it's not strictly speaking a planet. Another one to add to your collection then...

Another treat of a planet set, but wait... it's not a planet! When I first saw this announced I was hoping for a misshapen asteroid (alas!); the photos looked good though. Strangely though, it looks really poor in the box and I was bit disappointed, but don't let that put you off. All they need to do is display it with the studs inside the box, as it's where the halves join that it looks really great. I love the thought and wish I was in the meeting when it was pitched, and it's actually far better looking than the bland Bespin and Yavin IV, and the weirdly cartoon-looking Coruscant (Hoth promises to be blue lines of crayon on a white globe. Shame). The asteroids are various sizes and two toned, the spattering of stars looks great, and it's a welcome return to halves that actually fit together. Perhaps not actually a planet, but a triumph!

The figure is a reprint of the TIE Fighter Pilot, and though he's good I've a few questions. The torso printing is improved with more detail round the midriff and printing on the back, but it's not all that noticeable. The helmet is also reprinted, but the eyes look a little odd with the silver lining, and I'm a huge Star Wars geek but I don't remember the TIE Bomber pilot having a silver stripe (maybe it's from the games, I guess it just puzzled me a bit). And he has the stubby blaster - I'm not sure why the pilots have blasters, but I suppose it's nice to have more of them!
Sure, he's a good figure, but I think Lego could have saved themselves the fuss here as he just didn't really need the reprint, I kinda prefer the last version, not that there's much in it.

Finally, the mini-ship, the TIE Bomber. There's a lovely mix of parts in it, with the printed dish for the cockpit windscreen again, the 1x1 round tiles, the funny Technic connector that connects the two pods, the round brick with the profiling, and especially the parts at the back of the pods that are the head pieces of the cone-headed astromechs.
It's a very nice little build, well put together, and looks very nice. I just wish the stand were like all the others; somehow it sits a little low on the stand.

Pros

• The cheeky 'planet' is a brilliant and will look so good on my Christmas tree next year!
• A great mix of parts
• As with all these sets, a very nice little set for a snip (poor price-per-parts, but only £9.99)

Cons

• It doesn't matter much, but the pilot reprint seems needless and a bit drab
• That's it! It's so small, what could be so bad about it?

A very good little set, good parts, and I guess it plugs the gap as there's nothing close to a decent TIE Bomber anywhere else in the range. You've got to get it, just to have a globular asteroid field to hang somewhere! It's everything the planet range is about, a snip of a price for a set, and nothing spectacular but everything good.

Set #75008 TIE Bomber & Asteroid Field: The planets series has lasted for 4 waves between 2 years, unfortunately the 4th wave is really hard to come by and that is mostly because of the Planet Set pieces themselves. I can see where some just didn't appreciate the hunks of plastic, these things sometimes come off as a nuissance when on display because they take up so much space, still I do find these sets pretty impressive. Here are the good points and bad points of this particular set.

Pros

• The TIE Bomber mini-model build from this set is really impressive. Originally the TIE Bomber was a vehicle that worked as a bonus with the first miniature starfighters/starships sets from around 2003 or so. This build improves upon the size, the piece use and the overall look of this model.
• The TIE Pilot is a decent troop buildable Mini-Figure and the print looks great, plus he's using a new helmet piece which is a huge improvement over older TIE Pilots.

Cons

• Asteroid Field is the weakest looking planet, I mean the print and detail is still as impressive for these LEGO pieces, unfortunately it's a waste because a round circle with asteroids on it does not equal a field. It's because the TIE Bomber's only real scenes were either at the end of Return of the Jedi (and we already have two Endors the moon and the planet), and the asteroid field search for the Millennium Falcon. I like the planet pieces ordinarily, this one unfortunately is just meh.

Overall I'd say that the best parts of this set are the pilot and the Bomber mini-model, if you can get them without the Asteroid Field planet I'd say go for it, if you can't I still recommend picking this up, however maybe get rid of the planet piece if you really want to.