LEGO Star Wars Review: Emperor Palpatine’s Shuttle 8096

I am finally finding some time to construct some sets I’ve recently purchased, so I wanted to share my thoughts on set #8096 Emperor Palpatine’s Shuttle.

First, let’s check out the accuracy of the design from Lucas’ intention to the LEGO version. Here is the completed shuttle:

LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

Here is Palpatine’s Shuttle from one of those Star Wars books:

LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

And some concept sketches:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

Overall, I have to say the LEGO design isn’t bad. I don’t like how one side of the top fin shows the bottom of the LEGO plates, I wish they could have double-sided it. But it’s a good likeness. What I really love about the final version is that it’s a good size ship, and very playable. They designed the top fin as a handle – VERY sturdy, so you can just grab it and fly it around without any fear of the top fin breaking off, and the rest of the ship crashing into hundreds of pieces.

Here is the view from the LEGO box. I always find this box shape to feel odd, very long, but very thin. Regardless, it serves its function:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

These have to be the scariest 3 minifigure heads to ever be included in a LEGO set:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

Love this helmet though. LEGO has been doing some really good things with helmet printing:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

I like the retro feel of this display console, I can imagine Luke heading into the Death Star trenches with this display:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

I know LEGO said they are addressing this in 2011, but there are big issues with identifying which color gray they refer to in the manuals:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

I was surprised to find a damaged brick, see the front edge of this slope. Not a huge deal:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

LEGO has given us some very detailed sets and pieces in the past decade, but I am never a fan of large molded pieces:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

Two manuals for a set of this side seemed a bit much. Some of the steps are simply taking a brick and doing nothing to it:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

There are inconsistencies as to how the manual approaches the process. At one point, they stop telling you which pieces and how many of them are needed for a particular step. So you have to really study the photo to ensure you aren’t missing anything. Again, not a huge deal, but inconsistent:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

I thought it was funny to see some rubber pieces. I wonder how well these will age:
LEGO Star Wars Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle 8096

Overall, I bought this set for the minifigs, but find the ship to be a nice little set. The scene it depicts is my least favorite of episode 3, but the ship itself is very playable, and a pretty good design.

Another Trip to the LEGO Store

I took another trip to the LEGO Store this week, and wanted to share a few things that jumped out at me. First of all, these stores are ALWAYS full of people. What recession?!

LEGO Store

They had a big display for Ninjago up front
LEGO Store Ninjago Display

Set #10216 Winter Village Bakery was on sale for $38.48. I picked one of these up, they had quite a few available, and I know the sale had already been going on for a number of days. For as much as adult fans of lego feel that they drive huge sales, again and again, I see the sets that are more for collectors collect dust, even when on sale. The LEGO Star Wars Home One playset was a prime example of this. I’m not saying this is every case, but just something I’ve been thinking about.
LEGO 10216 Winter Village Bakery

I walked by a couple who were in their 30s with a baby in a stroller who were eyeing the Maersk Cargo Ship, set 10155. The husband asked “I wonder how much it is.” I told him the price, and their eyebrows went up. I mentioned the exclusive blue color of the Maersk bricks, but they had no interest in a set at that price. I think they were buying this for a kid. Another example of the divide between regular LEGO buyers and adult collectors. That said, this set is VERY overpriced for what it is, especially considering it has been released in other versions before.
LEGO  Maersk Cargo Ship 10155

My first sighting of the LEGO Fairytale and Historic Minifigure Set #9349.
LEGO Fairytale and Historic Minifigure Set 9349

I thought these went out of stock during the holidays. Good to see it back. LEGO Star Wars Imperial Shuttle #10212
LEGO Star Wars Imperial Shuttle 10212

They had some Atlantis sets at 75% tucked away. Very few people noticed these, but I saw one guy purchase the set:
LEGO Atlantis Sale

Over on the brick wall, they are running low on flames:
LEGO Bricks

I was happy to see these in stock:
LEGO Bricks

These as well:
LEGO Bricks

LEGO at Borders Books & Music

I stopped by my local Borders today to take advantage of their coupons for members. While the prices of their LEGO sets are typically 20-30% higher than MSRP, when you buy them with 40% and 33% coupons (plus an additional 10% as a Plus member), the prices become very reasonable. I picked up the LEGO Star Wars set 7930 Bounty Hunter Assault Ship for about $38, and a Clone Trooper Battle Pack 7914 for about $9. Here are some photos of their LEGO selection, they got in a ton of new sets recently:

LEGO at Borders

LEGO at Borders

LEGO at Borders

LEGO at Borders

LEGO at Borders

LEGO at Borders

LEGO at Borders