Review: 75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

 

  • Review: 75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

    Posted by Huw, 28 Jan 2013 05:14. Filed under Set review.

    75001 Tantive IV and Alderaan75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan is another Series 4 Star Wars Planet Set that is available in Spain and a few other European countries, but nowhere else much yet.

    I had mine shipped over from Amazon.es so I could review it for you early.

    The two Series 4 sets I've reviewed so far (B-Wing and Snowspeeder) have been something of a mixed bag: The B-Wing is terrible but the Snowspeeder is one of the best Planet Sets to have been released.

    So, how does this one fare. Read on to find out...

    Box and contents

    The box and contents are just like every other Planet Set. My box was shink-wrapped, like the Snowspeeder, which was either done by Amazon or at Amazon's request, to help protect the planet.

    The planet, as you can see, is 'ADU blue' and looks not unlike our own.

    75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

    The minifig

    The minifig is a rebel scout trooper and one that you've probably got loads of from the 2008 battle pack. It's identical to the 2008 version except that this one is smiling. You can see the difference in these two photos. It's the same as the one in the 2012 Advent calendar.

    75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

    The Tantive IV

    Tantive IV is excellent. It uses a lot of SNOT (studs not on top) techniques and rare pieces to achieve the ship's unique shape.

    The nose section is made from two white fez hat pieces which are new to this set, as are the four 1 x 1 round tiles in dark red. The rear engine section is built 'studs forward' and attached to the body with a click-hinge.

    It's full of small pieces that give it a great 'greebly' appearance.

    75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

    75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

    75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

    The completed model

    As usual, a stand is provided to display the minifig and ship, and the planet bauble comes with a 'Round Plate 2 x 2 W/Eye' so that it can be hung from the ceiling (or a Christmas tree :-) )

    75011 Tantive IV and Alderaan

    Overall opinion

    The Tantive IV is superbly designed with some great pieces and is an interesting build. It's far better than the one in 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer (below, courtesy of DrDaveWatford), that I've just been reminded exists! The minifig is a bit boring, and you probably have it already from last year's Advent calendar.

    It's perhaps not the best planet set this year -- that accolade goes to the Snowspeeder -- but due to the quality of the ship, I highly recommend it.

    10030 UCS ISD Mini Tantive IV 2 (WM)

     


    22 comments, latest one posted 5 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by SerfBored in United States, 28 Jan 2013 06:13

Wouldn't the Tantive IV from 10030 be considered micro-scale? Either way, I think this one looks far better.

Posted by Demarco Murray in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 06:22

I believe the UCS Star Destroyer came with a micro-scale model similar to this although this version is much better.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 06:41

^ Indeed, I had forgotten about that, as I don't have that set. DrDave has kindly provided a photo for comparison purposes.

Posted by xowainx in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 07:11

Is the figure not the same as the one from Day 18 of the 2012 Star Wars Advent Calender?

Posted by Joefish in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 07:39

Am I the only one to spot the irony of adding extra plastic shrink-wrap to protect the planet..?

And as we all know, the guard is smiling because he's only two days from retirement...

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 07:57

^^ On bo??ocks, another mistake in my review. You're right, not sure how I missed that :-)

I need some proof readers I think: Mind you, if I publish them early enough in the day, you readers in the UK spot my errors before those in the US read the review when they get up at midday :-)

^ Save the planet: wrap it in shrink-wrap...

Posted by Graysmith in Sweden, 28 Jan 2013 08:13

Love the Tantive model, but the plain rebel trooper is rather disappointing since so many of us just got the exact same one in the 2012 advent calendar. I'd definitely pick this set up if I find it at a discount, but it's not a must-have like a few of the other S3/4 ones.

Posted by Zordboy in Australia, 28 Jan 2013 08:28

@Joefish - bwahahaha! I was just going to ask whether the little plastic planet-shaped shell shatters into a thousand pieces?

Posted by Plasmodium in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 08:34

I like that they're using more advanced building techniques in these models. It certainly makes them much more appealing to me, if not the rest of the AFOL community.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 08:44

Indeed they are, and indeed it does...

Posted by Deinonychus in United States, 28 Jan 2013 08:45

Ah, thanks for including the pic of the corvette from 10030. Saves me the trouble of finding one to compare the two sets to see if I can replace the old version with this one and still be "in-scale"

Posted by lego613master in United States, 28 Jan 2013 09:20

^^^^^^Hey, I got up before 8:30 today! That's like sooooo early! ;)

Posted by bigw1974 in United States, 28 Jan 2013 10:15

Thanks for the review. I actually missed out on the battle pack in 2008 (my boys were not old enough to buy Lego then), so I am looking forward to getting this for the minifigure and the cool ship, one of my favourites from the movies.

Posted by jonizzzle in United States, 28 Jan 2013 10:55

Awesome! I didn't realize that there was a mini Tantive IV coming out which is PERFECT because I want one to match my 10198 Tantive IV!

Posted by Joefish in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 11:33

@Zordboy - err - I was actually referring to a wasteful excess of non-bio-degradable packaging being a general downer for our own environment. But yes, Alderaan could have done with some sort of protection. Maybe you can use 75011 and 75008 as a sort of 'before' and 'after' demonstration for 9676.

Posted by Firox 5000 in United Kingdom, 28 Jan 2013 14:02

Clearly a great little model. Apart from the average figure, looks like a good set.

Posted by cinemajay in United States, 28 Jan 2013 14:03

The Tantive is my favorite Star Wars ship and so I'm glad to see such a nice design for this set. I don't mind the extra trooper--those guys are always outnumbered so a few more of them around is a good thing!

Posted by The_Creator in United States, 28 Jan 2013 14:06

Bah Huw, you keep making me want these with your excellent reviews.... :-P

Posted by LukeSkywalker in Ireland, 28 Jan 2013 14:09

Great review @Huw! But words cannot express how much I loathe the term "SNOT". :/

Posted by Dragon_Master_48 in United States, 28 Jan 2013 16:12

Hmmm; the way the back part "clicks" on is very creative.

Posted by The Green Brick Giant in United States, 28 Jan 2013 16:45

I love the term SNOT, and BURP, and isn't there even POOP? And no I'm not talking about the TMNT sets. ;)

Very nice ship, the planet is an awesome color. The minifigure is lacking, but really brings a new meaning to "turn that frown upside down". :)

Posted by Sethro3 in United States, 28 Jan 2013 18:45

Thanks for the review. I actually plan on getting this since I don't already have that figure. I passed on the Advent calendar because it wasn't that appealing to me (even at 50% off) and I don't have any battle packs from previous years since I only got into LEGO SW in 2012. So this has win all over for me. But I agree, the snowspeeder takes the cake.

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