My son's tenth birthday was last week, which means I'm getting old.  More alarming, it means HE'S getting old, and I'm watching him for signs that he's growing out of his LEGO phase, so I can swoop in and take it from him.  Happily, he got a lot of LEGO sets for his birthday, and he seems to love pretty much all of them.

He only received one Star Wars LEGO set this year, and it's from an unusual new part of the Star Wars LEGO collection.  Starting this spring, LEGO is releasing small LEGO sets that are sold in a planet-shaped hollow sphere.  The pieces all fit inside the little bubble, and you open it to assemble a small vehicle and minifig that are associated with that planet.  The first series of three planets includes Tatooine (with Sebulba and his Pod Racer), Naboo (with a Naboo Starfighter and Pilot), and this set: the Death Star, with the TIE Interceptor and Tie Fighter Pilot.  

The Death Star is the same 3 1/2" diameter as the other planets in this collection, and is a flat gray color, with sculpted details like the "crater" where the superlaser is housed.  There are standard LEGO studs on the top of the sphere, and sockets at the base.  The set includes attachments so you can either display the Death Star hanging from the ceiling or mounted on a base; my son's is now threatening the glow-in-the-dark solar system that was already hanging from his ceiling.

The miniature TIE Interceptor is built using most of the 65 pieces in the set.  It's like a souped-up version of the classic TIE Fighter, and even though you only see it for a few seconds in Return of the Jedi, it's prominent enough in the video games and in little boys' imaginations that Miles and his brother loved building and playing with it.  It's a more complicated build and toy than you'd think for a three inch long model, with articulating wings and a mirroring design that was hard for my ten year old to figure out.  The only printed piece is the front window, with the distinctive 8-spoked design of the Empire.  

The TIE Fighter Pilot is fairly standard, in a black Stormtrooper-like armor with extra hoses and life support equipment printed on his chest.  He comes with a blaster rifle.  Even though he doesn't fit in the spaceship, that didn't seem to matter much to my son.  He's a cool-looking bad guy, and sometimes that's all it takes.  

This is a good set for kids, sort of three toys-in-one at the $10 price point, great for birthdays or other holidays.  It's also good for the adult collector who wants something for their desktop or cubicle; it includes a display stand with the name of the spaceship and the Star Wars logo on it.  I'm considering getting a second one for my classroom, mostly because I want that dangly Death Star hanging over their heads.  

This series of Star Wars planets will continue later this year with other destinations like Bespin (including a Cloud Car) and two other planets; it's an interesting approach to LEGO and the worlds of Star Wars.  We'll be picking up more of them.   

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 9.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Kids to Teens