Sweden’s review of 8010 Technic Darth Vader!

[Sweden]

On request from JediTricks here’s a review of 8010 Technic Darth Vader:

Wow. The LEGO Technic Star Wars line is really getting to be something when it comes to “human” characters with this kit you know.

The Box:

As in the case with my 8007 Technic C-3PO, 8008 Technic Stormtrooper and 8009 Technic R2-D2 my sample once again came in a thick cardboard box without the inner “tray” that are common in what I call “seal boxes issues” but the dark side is strong with cardboard...

The instruction booklet:

Is in full color and 48 pages long and takes you through building the left and right leg, torso, head and finally the left and right arm that holds the lightsaber on pages 2 to 46 and once again there’s no alternative model to build included in the instruction booklet.

Parts and construction:

Parts come in four sealed plastic bags with pictures on them for each step building the kit and the instruction is pretty much clear on all points and easy to follow and shouldn’t cause any problems for anyone building this dark Sith Lord. ;) Also included in the kit is a small decal sheet with decals to improve details on the Sith Lord’s belt and chest plate but once again they should have been printed on the parts instead but it’s okay anyway to me at least.

The dark Sith Lord himself:

Wow! This is simply the best so far of the “human” characters in the LEGO Technic Star Wars line and it’s a very good representation of the dark Sith Lord himself and as far as I can see only the coming 8011 Technic Jango Fett will be in this standard. This kit sure has some really nice features such as a cloth cape and even a chain for it, one piece helmet and a very long lightsaber that swings up as you can raise the Sith Lord’s right arm as well as a more dynamic pose then the Stormtrooper and C-3PO kits. The only thing I actually could complain about with this kit is that the shoulders of the Sith Lord are a bit too narrow but if he had been some what wider over the shoulders he would have been perfect when one has in mind that he’s made out of (Technic) LEGO bricks. A real nice companion (or companions if you got several of them) is the 8008 Technic Stormtrooper that I’ve made a review of earlier on since you can make rather excellent displays with the two of them combined together. Out of all the droids and “human” beings in the LEGO Star Wars Technic line Darth Vader is one of the best of them along with the Pit Droid, Battle Droid and Destroyer Droid and therefore I’ll give him a total amount of five out of five lightsaber’s for being so menacing. :)

Now remember people that this is just my personal opinion... ;)

Kindest Regards,


Lars Olsson in Sundsvall, Sweden.

[JetsAndHeels]

Sweden,
That was a great review!! I agree with you completely about how nice a set this is. You are also correct about it being an easy set to build, although it is complex. Being new to LEGO collecting, this set is definately one of my favorites. I also recommend it to anyone who is thinking about getting it.

[JediTricks]

Thanks for the review. How articulated is this figure beyond the gimmick arms? I guess I'm gonna end up asking for this set for my birthday, give the relatives something easy to find. ;)

[Sweden]

Well the dark Sith Lord himself is pretty much stiff all the way up to the chest where the movement starts and the head can be moved around as it has a “ball” (in lack for correct name of part) joint in the neck. The right arm that holds the lightsaber and swing upwards is stiff all the way except for the shoulder joint and the same goes for the left arm but it doesn’t look good as the left hand looks more of giant claw due to its very long thumb.

My thoughts about the LEGO Technic Star Wars line:

I think we all got to keep in mind that these so called “toys” are being made for and aimed at young children and teenagers in the first place even if they’re sought after collectibles even for us older builders and collectors who are Star Wars fans. We also got to keep in mind that these things are made out of LEGO bricks/parts and therefore “in some” ways are a bit limited especially when it comes to “human” characters like the Stormtrooper and Darth Vader that are made of Technic pieces.

A qualified guess is that LEGO wanted to attract builders and collectors of the Technic line by releasing these figures and to increase sales by having products that’s attractive to any type of consumer and that also could get interest for the system sets etc. Personally, if I were in charge of product developement at LEGO I wouldn’t have gone for this option of releasing Technic Star Wars character sets but increased the number of sets in the “System, Ultimate Collector Series and Sculptures” line as it’s easier to do justice to designs from the movies that way.

Now these Technic sets are pretty okay and even good in some cases but since we’ve all seen what a potential the LEGO bricks have with the release of the “Ultimate Collector Series” and “Sculptures” sets one would want more then a “stiff-as-a-wooden-stick” C-3PO with a bunch of stickers...

Thank you for your kind words about my review guys! :)

Kindest Regards,


Lars Olsson in Sundsvall, Sweden.

[JediTricks]

I've been thinking about the giganto-thumb problem and since it's technic, I am confident it'll be fixable.

As for the whole Technic SW figure line, I think the droids work fairly well like this, but humanoid figures are a bit more of a stretch (and poor 3PO simply got the shorted on good design, I think, so much more could have been packed onto that figure yet wasn't). I am anticipating the Ep 2 SB droid figure a lot, but with the others in this line, I think Vader looks cool and the rest are definitely not top-priority in my collection. I don't think Lego really knows what audience they're trying to grab with these, but I think if they can do more super-posables like the upcoming SBD, they can get the line to really take an upswing.

[Sweden]

JT, I’m sure as well that the gigant thumb can be fixed and I totally agree with you that the droids work fairly well as Technic kits and that human characters are a stretch and yeah poor C-3PO got shorted on design for sure. I also think that the Episode II Super Battle Droid will be as good and even better then the three Episode I Droids and I’m looking forward to get it in my collection but I also think that the Technic Jango Fett looks kind of dandy. I’m not too sure either what kind of audience LEGO tries to attract with this line but I agree with you that the line could get an upswing with the coming Super Battle Droid that’s more super-posable so lets hope the line gets better.

Kindest Regards,


Lars Olsson in Sundsvall, Sweden.