R2-D2 And C-3PO Make Their Great Escape! Star Wars Droid Escape
Written: Jul 21 '02 (Updated Jan 08 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Two droid figures, nice stenciled pod panels, R2-D2!
Cons: Bad overall design, pod falls apart easily.
The Bottom Line: Are you sick of Star Wars yet? Lunch boxes, knapsacks, pencil cases, t-shirts, escape pods. Escape pods? Relive the escape scene over and over, sand not included.
|
|
|
| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Star Wars Droid Escape 7106 |
Star Wars mania seems to have finally died down. As some of the products move their way over into the clearance sections of toys stores I am continually reminded of the high mark up of products - especially those that carry the name of a hit movie or popular theme. The Droid Escape set is from an older line of Lego's that should have been cleared off the shelves a long time ago, but thanks to stores that have less than stellar inventory managers I came across this set with those lovely neon orange clearance stickers on them.
Toys 'R Us is notorious for having poor inventory control and no matter what they claim, their system has more bad points than good. This is a great place to check for older Star Wars sets as well as Rock Raiders Figures. This is the best place to start looking for older sets and if the boxes are worn out you might even be able to get a 10% discount on top of the clearance price. K-Mart is also a great place to hunt down older sets but you’ll have to wait in line to get price checks since they still seem to be in the dark ages when it comes to installing price scanners.
The Basics
This set can best be described in three sections, the pod itself and the two droids. The escape pod looks great when it's completed but getting there seems to be a battle. Poorly designed, you can expect to have a few stumbling blocks on your way as you build the safe haven for C-3PO and R2-D2's escape. Overall the set has some very nice pieces that can easily be adapted to the Star Wars or Countdown Corner series from Lego.
Being one of the smaller sets in the series, this is a great way to build up your stock of droids and the handful of other elements are nothing to scoff at either. Considering that this set only has 44 pieces some may instantly dismiss it as unnecessary. If you don’t want to invest in the larger sets to collect C-3PO and R2-D2, this is a cheap alternative.
The Escape Pod
A basic structure, this escape pod is better to be looked at rather than played with. I only say this because of the overall design flaw of the pod. To remove the droids you have to take off the top portion of the pod – which usually results in one or more of the side panels falling off. This is not just frustrating but it makes the entire set questionable. You can get the droids in other sets and when it comes down to it – do you really need an escape pod?
The Droids
For me, getting my hands on as many of these sets as I could – just for the droids – was a mission. I really wanted to try and get about 10 of the R2 units and do some small, minor cosmetic changes to them. I found that fine line Sharpie markers are great for drawing small dents and dings as well as adding different colors. You can pick up a 10 pack of Sharpie fine line markers [in assorted colors] at most major office supply stores.
R2D2
Comprised of four pieces, R2-D2 is a breeze to build. For the kids just stating out with Lego’s, there is a small panel on the instruction sheet that shows how he is built. There is a nice bit of detail stenciled on his torso / body as well as on the headpiece. There is a little movement with the droid but not much.
C-3PO
I really hate to say this but C-3PO looks cheap. The golden yellow color of his body comes off looking like something Elvis would wear. Even though the color is enough to make you sick, the head peg is detailed nicely and the torso has a limited stenciled design.
Instructions
The eight-page fold out sheet offers you a surprising amount of detail for assembling this set. A total of 13 steps to build the actual pod take you from start to finish and there are small illustrations of how the two droids are built. A three step outline of the top portion of the pod is shown on the back of the sheet but I suggest that you save attaching this until you are done with the rest of the construction. There are two small panels that show the construction of the droids and for those that think it is a waste of space – just remember when you first started building Lego’s – you needed all the help you could get. The instructions are clear and nicely illustrated and this is a great set for beginners to try out – providing that they understand about the pod and the chance of it falling apart during construction.
Things to Know
• The instruction sheet will take a beating and since it comes folded up like a little map – it is a little hard to refold the same way. You can tape the center pieces to prevent them from ripping but I prefer to seal them in clear contact paper [something I just discovered about three months ago]. This won’t work for the larger sets unless you want to “laminate” each page, but for the smaller sets that come with the instructions printed on one sheet, it’s a great way to preserve them.
• If this is one of the first sets a child will be building, please take a minute and explain the ׀X” portions of the instructions. This means that there are two steps that need to be completed – usually one on the right and one on the left. It only shows you the construction for one side but it’s easy enough to figure out the opposite side.
The Bottom Line
This is the second time that I have managed to pick these up at a clearance price. Most of the open sets will be adapted for use with other Star Wars scenes the boys are building but I will tuck a few of the sets away for when they are older. If you can find this set on sale or at a clearance price, it is well worth it – even for stock pieces. If you have a Star Wars fan that is also into Lego’s – this is a guaranteed hit – if for nothing more than the cool droids!
The Stats
Set Name: Droid Escape
Family Set: Star Wars
Lego Set: 7106
Number of Pieces: 44
Age Recommendation: 7 +
Ease Of Assembly: Moderate
Time Of Assembly: 10 – 25 minutes
Cost: $ 2.50 [clearance]
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2004 Freak369
Other Star Wars Lego reviews ...
•Star Wars Gungan Sub • Star Wars Sith Infiltrator •
• Speeder Bikes • Land Speeder •
•Naboo Fighter • Jedi Defense II •
• Episode I Battle Droid • Jabba's Prize •
• Star Wars R2-D2 • Lightsaber Duel •
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): $2.50
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.