This is a great set to have, and it's fun to play with as well.

Parts

This set has 137 pieces, and it is 20 USD. That means that the price per piece ratio is 15 cents per piece, which is perfect value for a set like this.

Minifigures

We get 4 awesome minifigs with this set. 3 of them have a new design. First we get R2-D2, who hasn't been updated. The figure is always good to have though. The next figure we get is C-3PO. 3PO looks much better than the other two versions we got in the past. I really love the details which LEGO has given this figure. We also get some nice printings on the back as well. The last figures we get with this set are the sand troopers. Both figures look way similar - except for the pauldron. The details on the armour are just amazing, and we also get some prints on the face, which is epic.

The build

The build is very nice and easy, and we also get a few stickers to put on.

The completed model

The set comes with a speeder bike and an escape pod. The speeder isn't accurate to the film, but it's there. The main attraction here is the escape pod itself. The top comes off very easily, and you can put the minifigs in there very nicely and easily. We also get a nice SNOT build (Studs Not On Top). The details of the escape pod are much better than the oiriginal version 7106 which came out in 2001.

Summary

All in all, this set is a great set and I would HIGHLY recommend you to get this. You can find this set on eBay and BrickLink for sure. Here is the link where you can check out the full gallery I made for this set on my website: www.klokriecher.de

Videos I made of this set:

Stopmotion 1

Stopmotion 2

Review

Speed Build

At our YouTube channle (yourcreativefriends), we review LEGO sets, books, and more. Here is our video review of this set. We hope you like it. Stay Creative!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2bajeoEYRw

I got this set for myself from the pre-orders, and am extremely pleased with the set overall, with all of the minifigures, the escape pod, and the little Sand-Speeder-Bike. All of it is fantastic.

Pros

• -The escape pod is beautifully designed; compact, but with beauty. The top lid is also quite nice, though insecure.
  
• -Minifigures: all of them are excellent, down to the new R2, the exclusive new 3P0, and the Sandtroopers, my personal favorite.
  
• -The speeder bike is nice and compact, and a really nice little addition to an already excellent set.
  

Cons

• -Stickers again: there are six of them in here, and they all annoyed me so when I discovered their presence.
  
• -The white bits on the escape pod also look a bit out-of-place here to me.
  
• -Also, I wish that the pauldrons had some sand evidence here, so as to emphasize detail.
  

This set is great, though the flaws are a bit bigger. I also wish that this came with maybe a Dewback, but I honestly don't want to pay an additional 5 bucks to do so. This set is still great, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the old one, or anyone who's a mad minifigure enthusiast.

I found this set pretty fun to build, especially when I got it from a snipe of £12.99, the minifigures are detailed, although both stormtroopers have the same print on. I like the escape pod itself, it is quite detailed.

In 2001 another set named Droid Escape was released, set 7106. Now we have a new and far improved version of this immortal scene from Star Wars : A New Hope to add to our collections and it has been worth the ten year wait. This set is a fun starter set I think, not only because it is fairly easy to build and shows off some excellent building techniques, but it is also from a scene which everyone will recognise. There are three fantastic new Minifigures, an R2-D2 figure which is always welcome, and the escape pod itself is a brilliant new design, very reminiscent of the one from the movie (unlike the old one) with plenty of space inside for the figures to sit. This is one set which needs the stickers, without them it doesn't look nearly as good as it does with them so for sticker haters that could be a slight snag, anyway, read on and see what you think...

Box/Instructions

The box is of course shares the same design as the others from this wave with the nice new design of the border and the great shot of Darth Maul in action. The picture showing off the set is on a desert background with endless sand dunes reaching off into the distance. The set is displayed with the pod crash landed in the sand and with C-3PO and R2-D2 wandering off into the desert as the Sandtroopers, apparently oblivious to the droids, hunt for the missing Death Star plans. One of the Sandtroopers is riding the speeder bike included with the set and the other is holding the small metal ring which falls off C-3PO as he escapes. The back of the box shows the play features of the set, which is basically just the removable lid on the pod and a nice blueprint picture of the escape pod from different angles, a feature common on these new boxes and one that I love.

The instructions were fine with no mistakes and I had no missing pieces.

Parts

There are a few decent parts in this set, most notably the large grey half cone pieces which make up the main body of the pod. There are lots of smaller cones as well in both light and dark grey which sometimes come in useful. There are also two light grey semi-circle parts which are fairly rare and interesting pieces.

Minifigures

There are four Minifigures in this set, R2-D2 is a common figure, but a welcome one all the same as the scene would not be complete without him. He has the light grey head and the printing stretches all the way to the bottom of his dome unlike the old one, a vast improvement. The new C-3PO figure is truly awesome, with excellent levels of detail. His head is the same mould as the old one, but on this occasion there is some nice printing in his eyes, which gives him a bit more character. The torso also has a brand new design on it with the exposed power cables running up to his chest and a far more detailed socket on his front. There are many small dials and gauges on both front and back which are a nice touch. His hands are the same pearl gold as the rest of him, as are his legs, it is a shame there is no printing on the legs but never mind.

Both of the Sandtroopers are absolutely fantastic. They both share the same legs, torso, backpack, head and helmet which all have fantastic detail. The legs are printed with knee pads and some sand details. The torso is the same as that of the new Stormtrooper and has more of the sand weathering which looks brilliant. The head is new, black predominantly, but with an exposed face. The helmet looks great with lots of sand and scratches. The backpack is made of several pieces and nicely represents the backpacks in the film. This is where the soldiers vary, one has an orange pauldron which makes him a sergeant, and the other has a white pauldron which designates him as a regular trooper. Both are very nice with a lot of detail and a slight improvement over the earlier one which had a bit less detail. They each carry a blaster, one short and one long.

The build

The build is fairly short and very easy, but introduces us to some ingenious building techniques. The structure is very sturdy with relatively few pieces as the most of the parts that make up the body of the pod are quite big. Therefore I think this would be a good set for a young child. Personally, I like how they have attached the engines and thrusters using one of the octagonal pipe pieces at each end of the escape pod. It is also clever how they have fitted the floor inside the escape pod.

The completed model

As a set, it is very nice with plenty of figures and vehicles for them. The Imperials have a good little speeder bike which is nicely designed and greatly resembles Owen Lars' speeder bike from Attack Of The Clones. A Sandtrooper can comfortably sit on the seat and hold the handlebars, even when he is wearing his rather bulky backpack. In my opinion though it would have been nicer to see the old Dewback resurrected in addition to or instead of the speeder for the troops to ride, it's a shame but you can always make your own or if you have the old Mos Eisley Cantina set then you have one already! Just to add an extra something, the designers at Lego have actually included a silver stud to represent that little ring which comes off C-3PO as I mentioned above which is nice enough, but not exactly a highlight!

The pod itself has several stickers on the outside including unfortunately the details on the cone pieces. Luckily they are not to hard to apply and I don't really mind stickers anyway. The pod has all ten of the engines and little thrusters on it, accurate to the film. Inside there is space for the two people (or two droids) to sit and in front of them is a control panel and some red buttons. The top half of the pod can easily be removed but is not attached very well, and occasionally falls off if you hold the vehicle upside-down or shake it around too much.

Summary

I would strongly advise anyone to buy this set, surprisingly, the C-3PO figure is not the main draw for me (although he is excellent), my favourite thing about the set is the two Sandtroopers and the fantastic escape pod. As for the price, it is worth it, but I think the Geonosian Cannon (set 9491) is a better purchase as you get a bit more for your money. I would like to see it on sale for a little bit less, and for that reason as well as the lack of a Dewback, I am knocking off a point and giving this set...

Overall - 9/10