This was the fifth planet set I purchased in 2012 and certainly my favourite one from the second wave models.

The packaging is standard planet style, with a small rectangle box with the planet perched outside in the middle of box which can be touched before opening, bringing with it pros and cons.

The Bespin planet is a sort of tan'ish brown along some flourishes of yellow, white and darker browns. Whilst it looks ok, it's certainly one of the least interesting planet appearances made so far.

Building takes around 5-10 minutes which is one of the more interesting in where the cloud car is built out upwards with more detail added through the process.

The stand included is a standard planet style one with the set's name and a support for the model itself which can rotate the model 360 degrees.

The figure included is Lobot who features a neutral facial expression and the metal electric printings at the back of the head. The front of the torso features a grey shirt, with a black belt and minor back printing with grey lines. There is no printing on the legs.

The cloud car itself is in a bright orange colour, featuring tower, curve and clear cheese pieces. The design is very effective and portrays the cloud car very well.

Overall, If planets aren't you're thing, but you want to guy one set to see how it shapes out, I'd recommend this one, as it features an excellently designed model which is accurate design wise and also a pretty good figure who is unique to this set,

Would recommend to collectors, Star Wars and mini model fans.

I rather enjoyed these Planet sets from the first series and as soon as I had managed to get my hands on those three, I was left eagerly awaiting series two. I must say however, the line-up for this series is underwhelming to say the least in my opinion. There are so many interesting vehicles, figures, and planets waiting to be created; and inexplicably we have ended up here with only one set which really lives up to and exceeds my expectations. The aforementioned set is in fact this one, the wonderful Twin-Pod Cloud Car, which also comes with an outstanding Minifigure, the silent and thoughtful Lobot.

Box/Instructions

The packaging, like every other set in this Planet series, is quite different to your standard Lego box as it does of course have the large planet orb protruding from the front and back. This is undoubtedly a striking box design, but perhaps it has not been thought through entirely as it leaves the planet exposed to be scratched and damaged in transit or while it is on the shelves. So far, I have yet to find any damaged Planet sets, but I am sure it is only a matter of time unfortunately.

The front of the box is dominated almost entirely by the exposed planet, but it also features an image of the Cloud Car flying through space with a few green lasers blasts dispersed liberally around the vehicle. Along the top is the standard Lego Star Wars logo and the image of Darth Maul which has featured on all Lego Star Wars products this year. In the bottom right corner is a picture of Lobot, and in the bottom left is a shot of the gaseous giant planet Bespin. On the back is an image of the entire set all together, and advertising for the other two Planet models from this series.

The instructions are contained within the packaging outside of the planet sphere and are just fine, they have the same image of the Twin-Pod Cloud Car as the box does, and had no mistakes. As I would expect, I had no missing pieces either.

Parts

There are some wonderful parts included in this set, far more than in any other Planet set to date in my view. Here we get rather a lot of orange which is lovely and quite a rare colour. We get several curved slopes of different shapes and sizes, including one or two which are exclusive parts in this colour to this set! Of course we get the two halves of the planet, which may seem fairly useless, but I am sure there are uses to be found out there for it, just like there were with the planets in the first series. The last of my favourite parts included is the printed black tile with some information about the set displayed on it which is rather brilliant.

Minifigure

This Minifigure is absolutely fantastic and is a vast improvement over any of the figures from the first series of Planet sets. Lobot is a reasonably minor character in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back but in his few moments on screen, he establishes himself as the Chief Administrative Aide of Lando Calrissian and the Cloud City Computer Liaison Officer. This character has been very effectively recreated in Lego here and this is only his second outing in Lego form.

The head piece features a solemn and serious expression which perfectly represents this rather impassive character. He has black eyebrows and some lines on his cheeks for definition, and on the back and sides, of course he has his cybernetic implant which runs almost all of the way around his head. It is highly detailed with buttons and dials and is in fact quite accurate to the prop in the movie which is extraordinary! His torso is also incredibly accurate and has the exact same light grey simple clothing as he wears in the film. It has various small creases in the fabric on the front and back, and he wears a black belt with a tiny control panel printed on top of it. There are several pockets on the torso and his arms are plain white which is perfect. His hands are flesh in colour and his legs are light grey and left totally unprinted. He carries one accessory, a simple short blaster.

The build

The build is of course very short for this set, however it does almost entirely use SNOT building techniques in its construction. The entire model of the Cloud Car is built on its side using Erling bricks with studs on the sides of each brick which perfectly achieves the curves which make this ship so elegant and attractive to look at. It only takes seven or eight minutes, but it is a great deal of fun for such a small set.

The completed model

The model is of course, absolutely spectacular. I will begin with the planet. This is a model of Bespin, the gas giant where one would find Cloud City, a mining colony set up to extract the valuable Tibanna gas from the planet. It is somewhat accurate, but it could do with being slightly darker in colour. Unlike most of the other planets it is not printed, but the wispy stripes and blotches on the surface have been created by mixing several colours of plastic before it solidifies which looks great in my opinion and is particularly suitable for making the planet seem gaseous, with no solid surfaces other than man made ones. On the top is a hook for hanging the planet up which looks marvellous next to the other planets in the collection.

The actual model of the Twin-Pod Cloud Car is truly awesome, and is incredibly accurate at this tiny scale. It features the twin fuselages which make the vehicle so unique and also the twin cockpits, which would seem to me to make the ship somewhat difficult to handle. The engines are also present in the central bar which connects the fuselages and there are some nice grilles which add detail to the surface of the ship. A stand for the vehicle and figure is included just like in the other Planet sets which has an area to display the vehicle, the Minifigure, and lists some information about what is being displayed on a plaque which is very nice indeed.

Summary

This is without a doubt the best Planet set yet and I recommend it very highly indeed. The model is superb, the Minifigure is fantastic, and the planet is not too bad either, better than I had expected at the very least. I only hope that every model from the next series is as good as this one is.

Overall - 10/10

I purchased the Bespin Planets set when I went with my family to LEGOLAND Windsor. The Planets theme has interested me very much, and I also have Naboo from Series One. However, I was disappointed with Naboo, so I set my expectations fairly low for Bespin. But after the build was finished, I was surprised - Bespin is much better than Naboo!

Box/Instructions

The box is the normal Planets box, nothing fancy to see here. It has LEGO STAR WARS in big lettering at the top, with the image of a Twin-Pod Cloud Car racing through space. Lobot is in the bottom left corner, while a picture of the planet Bespin is in the bottom right corner.

The instructions are fairly straightforward, comprising of about 30 pages. This may seem like a lot of pages for a Planets set, but there is only one step for page.

Parts

This, for me, was the highlight. Orange is the primary color, and violent orange it is. Some may complain that it is too bright, but for me personally it is fine. Others will complain that the violent orange is not movie-accurate, but since when have these sets been movie-accurate?

Minifigures

Here is another highlight of the set: Lobot. Seen only once before years ago, this set is a chance for minifig collectors to purchase Lobot - for only £10! This is a relatively cheap set for such a rare minifigure, and collectors will not be disappointed. Lobot wears a fairly stern look, with his black eyebrows pinching downward, and the back of his head is dominated by machinery. His torso is a light grey with pockets. On the back of his torso are two lines indicating seams. His arms are white with flesh-colored hands, and his legs are a plain light grey.

The build

The build is not long and fairly easy, with some SNOT technique involved. It took about 5-10 minutes, so something that can be done fairly quickly.

The completed model

The completed model looks fantastic. Lobot next to a Twin-Pod Cloud Car is a dream come true for me, and the beige gas planet of Bespin in the background looks fantastic. I was much more pleased with this model than Naboo.

Summary

This is a great set, and I am thrilled that Lego has started making Planets sets! This set is great for display but not for play. As always with LSW, the price-to-piece ratio is fairly bad, but better than the rest of the Planets sets. I would recommend this set to a collector, but not a small child. Some suggestions for Series Three:

Kashyyyk with Tarfful and and Wookie Catamaran

Hoth with a Rebel Snowtrooper and a Snowspeeder

Coruscant with a Senator and a Speeder

Thanks, LEGO! Keep up the good work!

9678-1 Twin-Pod Cloud Car & Bespin is a £10 set from the Star Wars summer wave. Overall everything is great about it, so let's begin.

Box/Instructions

Parts

There are some rare pieces due to the orange colouring, with some nice bricks. It is a small set so there aren't many new pieces although the minifigure has a redesigned torso and headpiece.

Minifigures

The build

The completed model

Summary

If you are on a tight budget and want a great set, spend your cash on this set. It has a great figure in Lobot and is definitely a nice addition to any Star Wars fan's collection.

I picked this set up at a LEGO resale store about a year ago.

Minifigure is Lobot. Lando Calrissian's right-hand man. He has a stern expression with a wraparound print on the rear of his head showing his cyberonics. He wears a grey shirt with a black belt and white sleeves. His pants are plain light grey. He carries a black blaster gun.

The build is very straightforward you make a microscale model of a cloud car and attach it to a stand along with the planet which is an excellent-moulded pieces.

Overall a decent set. The minifigure or the planet is the main reason to get this set. Otherwise there's not really much else to it.