7752 - Count Dooku's Solar Sailer Review

[Drock]

Ratings (on a scale of 1 to 10):

Parts: 6/10
I'm more of a SW enthusiast than a LEGO enthusiast (and am not good at MOCing), so I don't get too excited about parts. There isn't anything too special in the parts. A lot of brown, long sloped parts. Quite a few stickers too. The build was very straightforward and quick. I mistakenly received two dark gray 1x2 "male hinge" pieces instead of two light gray ones. Luckily, they went on the bottom and don't really show.

Minifigs: 8/10
Surprisingly good. The pilot droid is nothing special. Just standard-shaped white droid legs, torso, and arms, with a skeleton leg as a head. Still, he (it) serves the trick. Getting two Magnaguards is great, since the only other set they're in is the Magnaguard starfighter which isn't that great looking IMO. The first fleshie Dooku! He doesn't look all that bad, and actually looks better in person than in pictures. The hairpiece is kind of stupid, but I've just kept his hood on him. Makes him more myserious and Sith-like. Curved chrome 'saber hilt.

Detail: 6/10
Obviously this was modeled after the Clone Wars cartoon, not AoTC. It looks pretty close to what's in the cartoon. No sail like we saw in AoTC, but, again, we haven't seen a sail in the CW. The interior basically has nothing in it, except for a small "steering bar" in the front. Most of the space is used to store Dooku's speeder though.

Also, the pictures are misleading when the front "points" are spread out. I expected them to fold both up/down and out/in. The only fold up/down. This doesn't much matter to me, since I just display LEGO sets; I don't really play with them. Just wanted to point this out though.

Playability: 8/10
Good sized, but still very swooshable. As you know, the "points" can be folded in or somewhat (see above) spread out. Dooku can ride his little speeder, which has a clip for his lightsaber. Also, he can wear either his hair or his brown hood. Magnaguards a a nice addition.

The missles fire nicely. When I had finished building it, I tested them out by shooting my wife while she read a book.

Price to parts: 2/10
15.5 cents (US) per piece. Nothing else to say.
But, everyone can clearly see the price and piece count before buying.

Availability: 6/10
Only available at TRU and lego.com. They seem to be easy enough to find at TRU though, and listed as in-stock on lego.com

Closing thoughts:
This was our first chance to get a fleshie Dooku, and I actually like his head better than just using the same Obi-Wan face. The set is an adequate as both a display piece and a toy. If the price:parts turns you off that much, then don't get this set. Overall, a nice set, but not one of the best LEGO has made.

OVERALL RATING: 6/10

[Teekay]

Here's my review. I don't hate this set. I'm going to point out all the good things and convince you to buy it. (at least on sale)

Parts

Alright, if you just want the figs and then scrap the set, this is pretty good. The windscreen is a piece that I have not seen often, and also there are the back doors (in opaque light bley) and the landing gear (in dark bley), along with these (in brown).
This is a good set for parts people, although maybe not worth the price.

Minifigs

This is what the Sailor is all about. Dooku. He is now my favorite of the CW style minifigs. The anime style hardly shows up with his beard and all, which is well done. The set includes both his hair and his hood. The hood looks amazing on Dooku, makes him look real Sith-y. The hair is all moving backwards and looks okay, but it is at its best when he's riding his speeder, because it is flying back in the wind. Dooku's lightsaber isn't chromed plastic. It's made of pure awesome (But seriously, it is chromed plastic). I missed out on Jedi Duel, so this lightsaber is a new thing for me. I just love the curved hilt.

Now, I've been spending all my time on Dooku, but all the other figs are great, too. Whoever decided to put a skeleton leg on the head of the FA-4 droid receives plaudits right now. Also, there are the MagnaGuards. These are the same ones in 7673 MagnaGuard Starfighter, but I still love them. The head piece is nice, and the cape is awesome.

Model

Okay, this is the actual Sailor. It was a fun build, and seemed rather long for 385 pieces. You first build the central cavity, and then the outside. In the middle, you build Dooku's speeder.

Now, the final product is bigger than I expected. Also, it looks amazing when you put it on its landing gear with the wings folded in. When the wings are folded out, it doesn't look as good. But the model is really quite nice.

Playability

Not very playable. You can't really swoosh the sailor, considering the speed it moved at in the movies. There are four flick missiles, but Wookieepedia says this ship is unarmed, so I don't really get that. Dooku's speeder bike is the most fun thing here. With 7676, you can recreated the scene in AotC where the gunship is chasing Dooku's speeder. That is fun to do.

Price

Okay, this is where everyone hates on the Sailor. Yes, the Price to Parts is terrible. This set should have 550 pieces for its MSRP. However, I got this on sale for 47.99. This isn't bad considering all the other Clone Wars sets.

Availability

This set is limited edition and is exclusive to TRU. If you really want it, buy it fast. But considering LEGO on the most recent "Limited Editions," (Twilight, Separatist Spider Droid) this may be around for a while.

Overall

Unless you are dying to have a sailor, don't buy this at MSRP. Wait for a sale, like I did. But the parts, ship and figs are good.

Ratings

Parts: 8/10 - Some rare pieces in there.
Minifigs: 8/10 - Maybe give us a battle droid in there too for the price, but Dooku is pretty good.
Model: 8/10 - Muy bien! Pero no me gusta las alas.*
Playability: 5/10 - The speeder is fun, but the ship isn't real playable.
Price: 1/10 - Okay, terrible Price to Parts.
Availability: 3/10 - TRU exclusive
Overall (note: this isn't an average. This my frank opinion) : 6/10 (if its on sale, 9/10)

*Translation: Very Good! But I don't like the wings.

~Sam (Teekay)

[fragment]

pics?

[Thebothanspy]

Cool review! I have the Solar Sailer too and I thought it was a really great set. pity count dooku can't sit up front with the pilot.