This set is a gamble on the part of Lego: that kids & collectors would buy a set based on the obscure, hard-to-see, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo it makes in the Special-Edition version of Episode IV.

Video review included!

The Sentinel is an FTL-capable heavy landing craft built by Sienar Fleet Systems and Cygnus Spaceworks for the navies of the Galactic Empire. Incorporating similar features to its smaller cousin, the Lambda-class light personnel shuttle, it has an expanded cargo capacity that allows it to hold a number of single-seat All-Terrain Personal Transports (AT-PT), or several military-grade speeder bikes. But it also has use as a troop transport- carrying six squadrons of Stormtroopers directly to the front lines. Unlike the Lambda-class shuttle, however, the Sentinel has thicker armor, more powerful shields, and spots a wide array of weapons for both ground and air-assaults- eight forward laser cannons, two retractable heavy rapid-fire blaster cannon turrets under the nose, two concussion missile launchers (with four rounds each), and a dorsally-mounted ion cannon turret! With a command crew of two, and three gunnery officers, this allows it to also be use for military actions other than hauling cargo & troops to the front lines, and between Imperial starships.

The Sentinel was first seen in the off-screen “Shadows of the Empire” multimedia series (books, graphic novels, video games, models, toys, etc.) during the late ‘90s which bridged the gap between the Star Wars films “...The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “...Return of the Jedi” (1983). But when the Special Edition version of “...A New Hope” was re-released back into theaters twenty years later in 1997, the Sentinel made its first and only on-screen cameo- taking off from a Tatooine desert after dispatching a squadron of Imperial Sandtroopers looking for a pair of Rebel Alliance droids which escaped the capture of the Corellian CR90 corvette, Tantive-IV.

Landing Mode

This set is a gamble on the part of Lego: that kids & collectors would buy a set based on the obscure, hard-to-see, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo it makes in the Special-Edition version of Episode IV. It’s a bit squatter, but it fits the general shapes, functions, and appearance of the Sentinel-class assault shuttle. The cockpit section is tilted downwards like the Lambda-class shuttle [aka Imperial Shuttle (Set #7166)], but the hinge it’s attached to in back is different, so it unintentionally tilts up and down. A single all-black Imperial Pilot can beseated in front of the tilting controls inside by removing the transparent canopy piece. Oddly, though the Sentinel does have windscreens, they are very narrow, but here the cockpit is fully exposed with no printed hull designs like the Imperial Shuttle set’s canopy did. The paired retractable Blast Cannon Turrets are located under the nose, but they do not move. Continuing back, on the front of the cargo mid-section are four of the eight retractable Laser Cannons located behind the cockpit by small transparent-neon yellow cones. On the inner side of these are the Missile Launchers (which I’ll get into detail later). Along the bottom of the cargo section are two blocky footpads that hold the set off of the ground; these do not move, but you can remove them easily enough if you wish. Above the cargo section is the tall vertical stabilizer. Also obviously inspired by the one on the Lambda-class shuttle, this one is shaped differently- with a large chunk taken out of the back-lower half. Along the back corners of the cargo section are two small red levers) that activate another feature [that I’ll be getting into later]. The back engineering section contains the gear system to move the wings up-and-down, and has an assembly in back to represent the wide sub-light ion engine array. Like the Imperial Shuttle set, the Imperial Landing Craft has three small non-functional orange anti-collision lights along the front tips of the tail and wings.

To gain quick access to the bomb and missile launchers, the top roof panels (x3 per side) of the cargo section can be lifted upwards on both sides to reveal the interior!

From underneath, you can see two red Technic levers on both the front and back of the cargo section. When you pull both of these away, you can then lift the cockpit, tail, & engineering sections away to reveal the cargo section! Very cool idea, and it allows you to replace things inside easier without bumping into everything else along the way! (The cockpit/tail/engineering half doesn’t balance very easily on its own upright, so you’ll have to just tilt the nose up, and fold the red levers in, and then carefully set it down.) Though the larger cargo loading ramps are not available on the Imperial Landing Craft set, they are still implied by the indents on the outside walls of the cargo section. The interior of the cargo section is taken up mostly by space for the two missile launchers & their trigger assemblies, and just enough room for the two Stormtrooper gunners (they just sit wedged in on the floor between the bomb & missile launchers), two commanding Sandtroopers (they sit on two blue minifig seats), and the minifigs’ four hand-held weapons. The bomb launcher(s) takes up the back wall. The minifig blasters sit upside-down in holes to save space, and so that they won’t go anywhere. The four transparent-orange/-neon yellow bombs simply sit in open troughs along that back wall. The retractable ion cannon is not represented in this set.

Transition to Flight Mode

Unlike the earlier Imperial Shuttle set which had wings which ratcheted down/up manually by hand, the wings on the Imperial Landing Craft are tied into a gear system triggered by a small knob beneath the engineering section. Twisting counter-clockwise lowers the wings, while twisting clockwise retracts them. It takes about eight turns to make the wings reach their respective position(s), so be patient.

Unlike most Lego Star Wars sets with large movable sections, however, this set does not have a stop point or a bumper to prevent the wings from unfolding farther than they are supposed to, so you have to just guess where they stop, and then leave the knob alone. (I set the wings at about 135°.) This means that, even though it doesn’t do this in the Special Edition version of Episode IV or “Shadows of the Empire”, the wings on the Imperial Landing Craft can be twisted around 180° if you wish.

Flight Mode

Again, because the Sentinel-class assault shuttle is more stretched out on all axis, the Imperial Landing Craft set seems a bit on the chubby side. The wings are not totally flat; instead being layered in order for Lego to keep them both thin and long. The engineering section is completely exposed from both the top and bottom, so you can easily see the mechanism in there in either mode. Something to keep in mind as you’re flying the Imperial Landing Craft around- don’t turn it upside-down, or else the bombs inside will fall out of their troughs! I will also say that the set cannot support itself on any of the flight surfaces- tail and wings- or they will break off. But while a lot of the surface detail is also missing, it makes up for it in features- mostly in the form of its weapons...

I’m gonna say this right off: do not touch the forward laser cannons unless ya wanna shoot something! That’s just a habit you’re gonna have to get into. Pushing inwards on either of the longer laser cannons will fire the associated spring-powered missile launcher. These things have a pretty good range (5’ on a flat surface) and an even better kick. The warheads of each of the two missiles provided are soft hollow rubber, so they cushion the impact a bit... but that doesn’t then give you the excuse to then go shoot someone or something with them! The bomb launcher system is quite simple to use, and pain-free- simply press upwards on the two small red levers on the back of the cargo section, and then the bombs will fall out of little chutes on the back. You can also drop just from one side if you wish, but since each trough inside the cargo section is designed to hold only two bombs, each side will only drop that many.

There is one new part in here that I’ve never seen before, and two of them are provided with the set. They’re half visible on the back of the cargo section, just behind the red levers. They’re flat 1x2 Technic plates, but they’re composed entirely of black rubber! These act as little springs which reset the troughs inside the bomb wall inside the cargo section- when pressed down, the bombs fall out, and then when you let go, the rubber parts reset automatically so the bombs can be repositioned inside without immediately falling out again. Interesting idea!

Minifigs

Lego Set #7659 comes with five minifigs- a black Imperial Pilot, two standard Stormtroopers, and two Sandtroopers. The four ‘troopers have printed details on their helmets, and on the front & back of their torso parts. What separates the standard Stormtroopers from the Sandtroopers is the small soft fabric covers they have over their right shoulders; these orange & black items match those seen in “...A New Hope”, though they lack the associated cooling backpack units. The two orange shoulder pads come in a small cardboard box, and are printed flat- to get them to curve, you place the two holes over the neck of each minifig. All of the ‘Troopers’ inner minifig heads are straight black with no detailing. The black helmet of the Imperial Pilot minifig is just a different-colored version of a Stormtrooper helmet; only the circular Imperial Navy’s logos are added for detail. The pilot’s front torso detail is also different from the other 'Troopers', but he has no printing on the back of his torso piece. Two minifig blast rifles, and two smaller blasters are provided for the ‘Troopers. (I think the smaller ones are actually designed to be used as Han Solo’s blaster!)

As an update to the Imperial Shuttle set from the late ‘90s (it came out before Episode-I did), this one absolutely rocks! The biggest thing for me was that it had the mechanism which allowed you to turn the wings around by turning a knob rather than having to ratchet each one manually up-&-down. The only bad part to this, however, is that they don’t stop the wings for you; you have to make a judgment call each time, and so that was a bit of a let-down. But dropping bombs, and firing- not one, but two- hidden spring-powered missiles was fantastic! (Do you know how often Lego incorporates two spring-powered launchers into their sets-? Not very often, I can tell ya that! So this was a real treat.) I also thought it great that, not only could you access the cargo section through risible doors on top, but you could actually separate the cargo section altogether! While it would have been nice to have four Sandtroopers, I thought that it was a nice balance to mix it up with two regular Stormtroopers. And then you got a separate all-black Imperial Pilot. Yeah- they seriously down-scaled this set from what it would have been (the assault shuttle is supposed to carry 54 Stormtroopers at once), but what we got was pretty cool too. Things to change: add bumpers for the wings so they don’t drop down farther than they’re supposed to, maybe beef-up the neck a little bit to give it more substance, and add some painted detail to the canopy so it’s more opaque that clear. The Imperial Landing Craft is an awesome Lego set, so I highly recommend getting it!

While the V-19 made its on-screen debut in the made-for-TV cartoon mini-series “Clone Wars” just before “Revenge of the Sith” premiered in theaters in 2005, it makes its feature film debut in the all-CGI “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.

Video review included!

The V-19 Torrent is a single-seat starfighter designed and built by the Republic in the early months of the Clone Wars. Meant to fill in gaps in anti-fighter & anti-vehicle roles, it needed to be both fast and maneuverable. Its two large main wings and vertical stabilizer are filled with strong repulsorlifts, which makes ideal as a V-TOL craft to place in remote bases. Its wings & tail were also designed to fold up vertically above the main body together in order to save space on the hangar deck of Venator-class Star Destroyers, which could carry at least 192 of these. While the two main engines placed directly between the main hull and the wings provide more than enough power, a smaller secondary engine was built into the vertical stabilizer to give it an edge in dogfights in an atmosphere. The V-19 is armed with two wing-mounted laser blasters, and a pair of missile launchers.

The V-19 is, what I consider, a pinnacle design in the Lego “Star Wars” line. Very simple to play with, yet providing a good time in building and admiring, and it also remains faithful to the source material. While the V-19 made its on-screen debut in the made-for-TV cartoon miniseries “Clone Wars” (2003-05) just before “Revenge of the Sith” premiered in theaters in 2005, it makes its feature film debut in the all-CGI “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”. One of the largest inspirations for the V-19 comes from the real United States-built F4U Corsair which fought in the skies during World War II. The F4U- a carrier-based heavy Navy fighter- had wings which could be retracted backwards when it was not flying, allowing many more to be packed into the limited space of a carrier than other earlier aircraft, and a trend which would continue into many modern-day designs.

Landing Mode

The three large wing surfaces- one actually being a vertical stabilizer- rest suspended above the main chassis. This is, of course, very reminiscent of the [chronologically-]later Theta-class shuttle, and Lambda-class shuttle [aka Imperial Shuttle (Set #7166)]. Each main engine is nothing but circular segments joined together from within, and then mounted to the inner wing surface. I recognize at least one of the largest solid black parts used in there as the engine nacelles seen in recent Lego City-themed jet aircraft [such as the small Airplane Mechanic (#7901) accessory set]. And inside each engine is the longest Technic rod I have ever seen- a white #16! This runs the majority of the length, starting at the intakes on the front. (I don’t know if the #16 rod has appeared before this, but it’s crazy-long! And when assembling it, you have to be sure you don’t put too much pressure on it, lest is snap in half- and I’m pretty sure something shorter would not work in its place!) The exhaust nozzles are both capped off with a single small transparent-blue dish. Beneath each wing hangs a single flick-powered missile launcher. (In the “Clone Wars” miniseries, the missile launchers were located in the space between the fuselage and main engines, but obviously that wouldn’t have been workable here.) When you press on the black tab in back, the short rod pushes forward, and the projectile shoots out depending on how hard you press. Four projectiles can be made, though the set can carry only two at a time; one under each wing in the launcher(s). When in landing mode, the V-19 rests on two landing gear assemblies. Because of how top-heavy the toy is, the landing gear intentionally & noticeably tilt it forward a degree-or-two, which allows it to rest comfortably without tipping over in any direction. (In the miniseries, the V-19 had three small landing pads.) Because of the mechanisms that move everything around, the mid-wing spacing between the fuselage and the main engines are completely exposed. The cockpit canopy can slide open by pulling gently on two small tabs projecting from the nose. This is perhaps the most obvious deviation from the film version of the V-19- the nose is pronged; whereas here, it is flat. Inside the cockpit is just enough room for the Clone Trooper pilot provided. The control panel is the same one used for previous Rebel Alliance spacecraft- notably the X-Wing Fighter (Set #6212).

. . .

If you wish to store the V-19 set, but don’t have the vertical room to spare, the wings and tail can be separated from their rotation joints (though this is not in the instructions, obviously)

Transition to Flight Mode

To operate the mechanism, the heavier tail is used as the lever upon which everything works; the wings and landing gear are tied into it rather than the other way around. To prevent the entire works from unintentionally activating in Landing Mode, a small swiveling catch lever is located at the base of the tail in back- when turned 90° to either side, the tail will not move. (A clever and simple solution!)

The tail is leaned backwards to activate the transition mechanism. At the same time that the tail and wings are moving, the landing gear will swing back and upwards closer to the mid-wing section between the fuselage and engines- so you have three parts moving all at the same time!

Because of the weight of the wings & tail, and the ease with which they would suddenly flop downwards, Lego incorporated a safety mechanism to prevent this- two air-compression pistons, located above the landing gear in the mid-wing sections. These forcibly slow the tail from dropping suddenly. Besides, once moved past a certain angle backwards, gravity takes over and pulls the tail downwards the full 180° anyways. This is a safety feature that really only applies to switching into Flight Mode, so even though you’ll still feel the resistance as the tail is pushed back upwards, it won’t fight you nearly as much.

Now, if you’re thinking to yourself, “I don’ need no stinkin’ safety feature!”, and you disconnect the pistons so that the tail just drops all on its own, you should think again. The tail really whips around- so much so that when it reaches the end of the line, with enough force the tail will fly straight off! Plus, you have no control over it and/or reaction time, and you may pinch yourself! If you want to hold the tail all the way down, then that’s your choice, but I would strongly recommend that you do not remove the pistons.

(Obviously, with enough use, the rubber plungers inside the pistons will eventually wear out, and this feature will become less-and-less reliable.)

Flight Mode

(The black stands made of Legos that you see are MOC, and are not included with this set!)

In this form, the V-19- for lack of a better word- blossoms out to unexpected proportions! The wingspan zooms out to 19” (48cm), but this measurement is false in a way... Though the wings are correctly hanging down diagonally, they are actually being pulled down by gravity. The flexibility in the wing joints are just enough that they can bend down like that, but- with the wings disconnected- the joints actually hang on their own directly horizontal. (So, if you were to turn the set upside down, the wings would then hang horizontally because their weight, once more, would be dragging them downwards.) So don’t be deceived- it is because of their weight that the wings hang down like that, not because the joints position them like that! The other thing is that, unlike in Landing Mode, the tail does not lock into place; it just hangs there. The landing gear retract up and backward, but do not disappear from sight entirely like their animated and film counterparts do.

In this form, a few new features make themselves more easily apparent- notably the wingtip-mounted laser blasters, and the tail-mounted secondary engine. The latter does not have much substance to it compared to the main engines above it, except for intake and exhaust nozzles- again with a small transparent-blue dish for the glowing exhaust. The air-compression pistons are also easier to see up close, and the cockpit can be accessed easier.

One thing that I must stress is that the V-19 cannot possibly support its own weight in Flight Mode- the wings are too flexible, and the main engine nozzles are too fragile with just that one Technic rod in there to hold all those segments together; both could break if too much weight is put on them. And even though the retracted landing gear can still move a little bit, they are not meant to be pushed around, so just leave them alone.

Lego Set #7674 comes with a Clone Trooper pilot (identifiable by the yellow marking on his helmet), and a single blaster rifle (which has appeared in many “Star Wars” sets before). Beneath the helmet is the clone’s real flesh-toned face (though no replacement hair piece is provided). It’s actually kinda creepy how close his face is to the clone’s genetic donor- the intergalactic bounty hunter Jango Fett (actor Temuera Morrison). The helmet is also notable for having all of the colored highlights being printed on, instead of having a black head piece underneath to provide the black visor as has been the tradition up until now.

One new feature must be pointed out here that I have never seen before, and that is the double-printed torso. Since the creation of the modern Lego minifig decades ago, they now always have some kind of printed pattern on their the front of their torso part; leaving the back the original plain coloring of the plastic. I don’t know how widespread this is throughout the Lego System yet, but this Clone Trooper definitely has a printed pattern on his back which recreates the back of the character(s) from the film! Quite a historical achievement for the Lego System, eh?

I don’t get a Lego set unless I look at it and say “Wow” a moment later. I also haven’t seen “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” yet. Yet in both cases, I was immediately drawn to this set upon first glance. It didn’t have a lot of accessories or extra needless minifigs & droids, or a display stand, and really it doesn’t need any of those. Whereas in the past with fighters with large movable sections, you had to do them one at a time, or there might be a lever you had to twist or push to make that feature work. Not here. You just trip the safety catch, and the whole thing deploys all by itself (provided it’s upright, of course). The other thing is that the ship itself- despite its source material!- really looks like it comes from the Star Wars universe, and that to me is equally important. It has those traits of the [future] X-Wing, B-Wing and A-Wing Fighters, but it’s not a Rebel ship either. But then placing the tail underneath the fuselage means that this is a very advanced ship. My only beef comes from how pathetically-weak the missile launchers are (they fall out at the earliest possible conveniences!), and that the main engines are unnerving in how fragile they are despite their outward appearance. I was also a bit disappointed that the wings are pulled down to that angle by gravity rather than shifting via the internal gears to that position. (But I’m sure MOC-ists are already working on the problem...) I was also expecting springs of some kind in those pistons rather than rubber seals that will eventually wear out [knowing how rubber in Lego sets gets beaten up very easily]. Am I disappointed that the nose was solid as opposed to having to prongs? Ch-- I’m not that concerned about authenticity! The sliding canopy was pretty cool too despite it being the only manual feature in the entire set!

One piece of advice: when you’re happily flying your V-19 Torrent through the hallways, be careful that you don’t clip a door frame with the wings!

Overwhelmed at the sheer technical genius and awe-inspiring power, Ryo wondered how he could even think that his old Mobile Defense Tank design was a good idea…

-- WARNING --

According to the manufacturer, this product is not recommended for children under the age of 7 years as it contains many small parts which a child could potentially choke on.

On the Sentai Mountain, humans work side-by-side with intelligent robots in mines. They use large excavation machines to dig out, gather, and transport mined rock to the surface. Unfortunately, an error occurred in one of the machines, and it sparked a vicious rebellion. Robots turned on their human masters, and through the fighting a series of mysterious explosions blasted the mountain into two halves. The robots were eventually driven deep into the newly-formed canyon far below. Years later, the robots returned, having quietly converted their mining machines into combat-hardened Battle Machines. In a surprise attack, the robots were able to conquer half of Sentai Mountain, additionally taking hostage thousands of human workers and their families. Anticipating their return beforehand, the wise and noble Keiken-sensei gathered together all the people, technology, and resources that he could and created Exo-Force- a defense screen of hardened battlements with tall gates, powerful weapon turrets, advanced research and development laboratories, and their own designs of brand new Battle Machines piloted by elite teams trained under his leadership.

At first, the first Sentai Fortress proved quite a challenge to the robots and their megalomaniacal leader, Meca One. But with access to greater resources and with more ruthlessness, the robots were able to make a heavy strike on Sentai Fortress enough to break it, forcing the inhabitants and survivors to flee higher up the mountainside. The robots limped back to their own side of the mountain…

Fortunately, Keiken-sensei was aware of a legend about the ancient Golden City where the first inhabitants of Sentai Mountain made their base of operations. After successfully retreating there, it was discovered that it was indeed a pinnacle of high technology, and its central computer systems gave them access to powerful new technologies and Battle Machines to replace their war-torn ones. While this did not grant them room for expansion enough to attempt an assault on the robots’ side of the mountain, the lessons learned there allowed for new Battle Machines and technologies to be developed. Desperate to get it’s claws on this technology as well, Meca One launched another heavy assault. But this time, it was able to use one of it’s many copies to kidnap and then impersonate Keiken-sensei in order to expose the city to attack! While Exo-Force was once more fortunate to drive the robots back and keep the Golden City secure, the disappearance of their leader left a large gap in their hearts which could not easily be filled…

Keiken-sensei knew that the only way to win the war and beat back the robots for good would be to first rescue the untold thousands of humans being held prisoner on the robot-controlled side of the mountain. Where they were now, he could only guess. But an expedition would need to be sent to find the massed prison cells. And so, to ensure that Meca One would not learn this, he secretly used Golden City technology to build new Battle Machines specially designed and customized to the talents of Exo-Force’s finest pilots, which he would then personally lead down into the lowlands of Sentai Mountain. The responsibility of keeping the Golden City safe and Exo-Force functional in his absence would fall to his granddaughter, Hitomi- who had become an experienced and courageous pilot in her own right recently. But what hadn’t been expected was the treachery of the robots. Upon Hitomi taking command of the human resistance, the new Battle Machines were discovered, and a new mission drawn up: Hikari, Takeshi, Ryo, and Hayato would go alone into the deepening jungles and waterfalls of Sentai Mountain to find their leader and make sure that he is not harmed and interrogated by the robots!

When the founders of the colony that would become the mines of Sentai Mountain first explored the region, and then began to move in the heavy equipment, they build long roads which were used later to haul away useful minerals. Surely there must be some left over from the base of the mountain after the robots rebelled? But even if there weren’t roads already there, the Hybrid Rescue Tank would make new roads. Ryo was no less than absolutely stunned at Keiken-sensei’s ambition and ingenuity when he learned about the vehicle’s existence, and that he had been assigned to it. It was designed to be the command vessel from which Keiken-sensei would lead the expedition down the mountainside, but it would not sit idle while the other Battle Machines ventured out alone into combat. No. The HRT is built around moving through dense and rough terrain with a unique tractor system which puts it almost on par with most Battle Machines, and providing the heavy support needed for assaults on fixed robot positions. The entire chassis is molded around a heavy mining laser much like the ones used before the rebellion, and the powerful mobile generator needed to run it. But Keiken-sensei upgraded it into a six-barrel rail blaster- if the mining tool could eat away at solid rock, then this weapon was guaranteed to punch clean through Battle Machine armor given half a chance. The drive section of the HRT is backed up by two swiveling cutting laser turrets on either side of the large drive wheel in back which provide near 135-degrees of cover to either side. But that is only half of its potential… The large turret above the drive section- which generously shields the gunner from all directions- mounts no less than six separate rapid-fire plasma-burst cannons! But what amazed Ryo so much was that, not only did the turret section have its own Battle Machine-type power generator, but it was capable of actually separating from the drive section and flying on its own! The drive section would retain two of the plasma-burst cannons in a smaller turret, but to compensate the fighter section carried two air-to-air/air-to-ground homing missiles. Overwhelmed at the sheer technical genius and awe-inspiring power, Ryo wondered how he could even think the old Mobile Defense Tank that he designed was a good idea…

To expand its detection range, Keiken-sensei equipped the large green Battle Machine with a new spy drone robot. Being that he was the one who created the robots before they all turned to evil (and for which he is ever-grieved and guilt-ridden nowadays), Keiken-sensei took the lessons learned from his mistakes, and created these new human-sized mini-robots with a simpler artificial intelligence (“AI”) and less-independent thinking capabilities, making them more dependable in a fight and less-prone to corruption while in a hazardous encounter with their enemies. The one attached to the flying turret of the Hybrid Rescue Tank is equipped to be a long-range sensor drone that can fly at near supersonic speeds both in and out of the deep jungle. When attached to the HRT, the mini-robot’s hand-held cannon can tap directly into the main generator, which increases its output significantly enough to make an additional seventh plasma-burst cannon for the heavy assault vehicle to utilize.

The Hybrid Rescue Tank- I must admit- is pretty damn impressive. This thing is gonna be loads of fun for me-- uhh, kids. Kids! I meant to say “kids”! The HRT is clearly the successor to the Mobile Defense Tank from the debut 2006 line; which seems to have skipped a generation in 2007, but looks almost nothing like it.

(I’ll try not to draw too many parallels between them. For short, I referred to the Mobile Defense Tank as the “MDT”, so try to keep them separated in your head!)

. . .

Ahhhh- where to start… It’s kinda hard to describe details when they’re together, so I’m gonna cover the two halves separately. There seem to be no official names for the two halves of the HRT, so I’ll just call them the Fighter Section and Drive Section. Sound good? “No”? Too bad!

----Fighter Section (back)----

Cockpit and Fuselage

This is the second time that Ryo gets to control the turret of a tank, but fortunately he gets a whole lot more cover than he did with the Mobile Defense Tank. A very wide and long tinted canopy cover provides the minifig within a panoramic view. For the first time in Exo-Force, the canopy/windscreen cannot simply rotate out of the way; it is directly fixed to the rest of it just like any other Lego part is by snapping it over studs beneath the part. So you have to pry it off, but there are gaps on either side which make this near-effortless. Inside the cockpit- like Hikaru before him in the Chameleon Hunter- Ryo has no seat to rest on, planning his hollow legs right on the floor of the vehicle. He hangs onto an extended handlebar which is connected to the nose via a single Battle Droid minifig arm seen in many Star Wars sets since 1999. Getting him to grab on to the handlebars, and then setting him in is surprisingly harder than it looks to be. On either side of the canopy are two of these plasma-burst cannons. The black shafts used for almost all of the cannons in the set are the same ones that run through the center of all of the human-made mini-robots in the line (including the one for this set). Underneath the long streamlined tail is the engine for the fighter- a single decal attached to a cylindrical brick and flat plate. Because of what parts are used, the engine nozzle can easily twist around.

Wings

Both wings are identical, and are attached to the body via ratcheting joints which are used later. The long smooth blue parts used for the wings are the same ones used for the fighter’s tail. Each also features a thin extended-barrel plasma-burst cannon, both of which have their own identical ratcheting joints as well. Mounted above each wing on a ball-and-socket joint is a single missile launcher. Each red & gray missile can be easily detached and replaced on their holders. When in vehicle mode, the missile launchers can be pointed around, but when flying they are always shown point forward. (Makes sense, right?) Another pair of those new neon-green slanted 1x2 vent plates sit on either wing right below the launchers.

----Drive Section (back)----

Movement

The HRT uses two different forms of wheeled propulsion, as opposed to the MDT which had only one. The common type between them are rubber tractor treads of which the HRT has only two, one on either side of the front of the vehicle’s body; though they lack the movable suspension system of the MDT. Each tread uses three black rim parts to keep their shape and tension. The back of the HRT, however, uses a single big-ass 3” hollow black rubber tire with inner ABS rim! (The inner wheel is almost completely covered by those white radar dish pieces, which is why it’s hard to see in any pictures.) Both the tractor treads and the big wheel freely spin.

Vehicle Structure

Any parts that have to do with the framework are dark gray unless they are related to the tractor/big wheel assemblies or special features. From most angles, the tractors and big wheel cover up the fact that the HRT is actually very hollow; this is most evident when you look at it from either a back angle or from below. This is perhaps the only real downside to the entire set- the armor is just a façade to hide the fact that this powerful vehicle doesn’t have any guts! The structure of the drive section is built around the tractors/big wheel, turret mount, and forward cannon mount, and anything else is filling. Even the off-center cockpit is as sparse as you can get, allowing the driver- Keiken-sensei- nothing in the form of creature comforts other than a half-cylindrical canopy and a forward blue ‘bumper’ with some light decals on it.

Weapons

To either side of the big wheel is another kind of laser cannon turret. These also are mounted to ball-and-socket joints, but they’re hidden right behind the forward tractor treads. So the only way to ‘shoot’ them is to turn them to either side. Unfortunately, because of the angle that the ball-and-socket joints hang from above, the Y-shaped female connector part in the turret itself bumps into them, and they can’t completely turn horizontally unless you tilt them upwards a bit. There is a smaller turret sitting on top of the Drive Section with two more of those plasma-burst cannons; these are built almost identically to the ones on the fuselage of the Fighter Section. One minor detail is the inclusion of some transparent-green parts that look like sensor eyes between the cannon barrels. On the right side above the tractor tread is a small black Technic gear. Now, here’s the cool part- when that gear is turned by hand, the turret on top can be twisted all the way around through 360-degrees! The large rail blaster is dominating too, mounted directly opposite the cockpit. Now, here’s the cool part- when you roll the HRT forward, the rail blaster spins around too! Two different twisting cannon features in one set… how cool is that!?

. . .

Combining the two vehicles is very easy, and pretty much involves just the Fighter Section. The wing-mounted cannons and missiles point away from the fuselage, and then the wings themselves swing forward so that everything lines up parallel against the main body again. (It’s a bummer that they didn’t incorporate some kind of mechanism that allows the cannons to twist automatically as you slide the wings around. I bought it thinking they did do exactly that! Oh, well…) Then the Fighter Section slips directly over that dark gray rod in the middle of the rotating turret on the Drive Section... only just missing running poor Ryo through inside! (It might push off his purple minifig-toupee, though, since it’s that close…)

The completed Hybrid Rescue Tank (back) is a rather imposing presence, the striking blue and white coloring immediately grabbing your attention, and then all those pointed cannons keep you focused. The spinning rail blaster is unaffected by the combination, but the Fighter Section suddenly bulks up that tiny turret on the Drive Section. As such, when that Technic gear is twisted around, the whole honkin’ thing twists around now.

Lego Set #8118 comes with a new version of the Ryo minifig. While he still has his purple spiky hairdo and double-sided head (one face serious, one a battle-cry expression), the chest print has been redesigned to incorporate new designs- including a camouflaged shirt beneath the techy fittings! But the set also included a Sensei Keiken minifig as well, unchanged since his first (and- so far- only) appearance in the Sentai Fortress (#7709) set from 2006. He, too, has both a calm expression on one side of his head, and he's gritting his teeth on the other, both faces marred by a long red scar crossing the left side. (I guess this means they rescued him, huh…?)

. . .

Normally, when a Lego set needs specific details on a part, such as a control panel or flag, the image is printed or painted directly onto specific parts. Exo-Force continues for its third year by using stick-on decals; something that is becoming more commonplace in other lines of the Lego System. There is a small sticker sheet which provides allegiance markings, warning symbols & notices, and names- some of them written in Japanese text! Translations of the Japanese text are given on the sticker sheet, but do not go on the parts. This allows for a wider range of piece marking without Lego having to create a completely different piece each time, and merges the Exo-Force and Japanese toy influence closer together. Whereas in the debut 2006 line some sets had a few conflicts where decals would cover more than one part and would make it impossible to separate again unless they were cut (or not applied to begin with), this has not been a problem with since and was not present in the 2007 line. And so there are no conflicts in Set#8118 from the 2008 line.

I noticed something that I wanna nitpick about here real quick… And it may be absolutely nothing, but I thought it might be worth a footnote if nothing else. On the nose of the Fighter Section above the Exo-Code (see belowExo-Force sets all the time- even the robot ones- but this it the first extraneous mark I’ve seen. And you can barely see the silver letters since they’re on a white background; I can’t even photograph it! Call me paranoid if you wish, but…

The new common gimmick for all of the 2008 line is these new mini-robots. Each one attaches to a Battle Machine. These are not new minifigs, but small Lego parts put together to make unique designs for each set that stands roughly as tall as a minifig. On the human-operated Battle Machines, there is a decal showing the forward profile of its mini-robot as well as the term “Spy Drone”. (Yes, this term is in conflict with all promotional materials- where they are called “mini-robots” instead.) When attaching them to their parent Battle Machine, they fold up and collapse down into a smaller form, though nothing is removed to accomplish this. Be aware that the connection between mini-robot and Battle Machine is not always perfect compared to the instructions, so you’ll have to tinker around until you find an appropriate position for everything, though you won’t have to remove any parts to do so. (It’s really no big deal, and you’ll get used to it quickly enough.)

For Set #8118, the mini-robot (back) forms a pod which attaches to the top of the Fighter Section. A long bar sticks out behind, but the legs and center body are heavy enough to comfortably keep it upright on a flat surface; plus, the feet are individually jointed and can be adjusted as well. The white arms (taken from the Devastator robot minifigs) can flip most the way around; though they way they are built they can pitch up and down a little at the shoulder, but these other ‘joints’ are rather tight, so I would not recommend doing this too much. It grips a single blaster composed of a black minifig-sized space sensor and another trans-neon green barrel. The unique thing about the mini-robot for the Hybrid Rescue Tank is that it can transform into a flight mode- the legs swing up horizontally, the arms swing forward (actually, I swing them backwards), and the blaster fits on the post on its chest. It’s small and fragile, but it works! Because of where it attaches on the Fighter Section of the HRT, you cannot get to Ryo in the cockpit without removing the mini-robot first. (Getting the mini-robot off there is a pain in itself compared to the others in all the other sets released up to this point…)

For 2007, Exo-Force’s official website was upgraded with a new Code Brick Central section to accept specially-designated Exo-Codes which would be found in each set released. These alphanumeric Exo-Codes would grant access to special information and online goodies- wallpaper, screensavers, decals for your personal Lego profile, etc.- related to that one set from which the code had come. Apparently it was successful enough because the Exo-Codes are back for 2008. (Alas, they didn’t make new mini-movies of the Battle Machine’s in action like they did last year!) However, unlike the codes that were pre-printed onto flat 1x2 bricks in 2007, the new Exo-Codes are now printed onto decals which are then applied to the cockpit canopy of each set. Be aware that you must be signed up with a free Lego online profile in order to access the new information (of which they will also remind you).

...

Something that a lot of people noticed was when none of the 2007 sets were used to make alternate and combined models on the box art and website like they were in the breakout 2006 line. Well, you asked for them, and you got them back! While the singular alternate models have not come back, each 2008 set has instructions which can be found in the somewhat-elusive Build It! section of the website to combine two or three Exo-Force sets into one!

Oddly, the Hybrid Rescue Tank has no official combination with any of the other Exo-Force sets, or an alternate mode to itself.

Now here’s what I don’t like:

• You expect from the price of this that it would have a bit more substance to the body of the Drive Section; the MDT actually surpasses in this regard. Fewer parts, but less substance at the same price is not a good trade-off here. It’s all hollow! Even the rail blaster suffers from this- the base of the cannon is basically a two-sided box with no structure stability whatsoever even though the spinning feature works well. Where are these powerful generators that Lego keeps advertising about in this set???
• This whole year, all of the Exo-Force sets are based on animals- either in features or in general shape. But, unless this set is based on a bear, I don’t see it, and I haven’t found any reference linking it to nature in any of the official materials. It just makes a mess of the surrounding world rather than taking inspiration from it. It doesn’t really need it, but- I mean- what happened? Why break the trend?
• Unlike all of the other mini-robots released up to this point on both sides of the battle, this one causes me the most grief. The main body (with the red sensor eye and green balls) doesn’t stay attached to that rod worth a crap! Yeah, it’s nice to have it transform, but after having three previous human-sided mini-robots that all function the same while all of the robots’ are very flexible and quite different from each other, you’d expect some variety or certainly something more stable. While all the others share similar construction and design, this one is built almost backwards. The only thing I found interesting was how the blaster mounts to the chest when in flight mode; that actually works compared to them always just holding their own weapons all the time. (BTW, what are those green balls on its back supposed to be???)
• This last one is more of a nitpick, but I though hiding those cannons behind the tractor treads wasn’t very clean. They make for good cover for the hollow interior, but I thought they might have worked out better if they has been on the outside of the tractor treads and then be able to swing around 180-degrees.

I feel that this is indeed a worthy successor to the Mobile Defense Tank from 2006. It’s not quite as big (347pcs versus 365pcs), but it’s also not as awkward. It features a rotating cannon which was only implied on the MDT, and you can actually roll it around on a hard surface without the suspension system collapsing all the time if you push too hard. While they both use ball-and-socket joints, this one makes sure that they are not used for heavy sections- only tiny laser cannons and missile launchers here. (Yay! That’s how it’s supposed to be with those kinds of joints, IMO.) I don’t know why- that big wheel in back is unorthodox for something like this, but in a weird way, it’s just cool; like Keiken-sensei’s just gonna rip it up and do wheelies with this thing or somethin’. (Pimp it out with hydraulic shocks maybe…) This whole giant turret set-up is pretty sweet; the inner gear mechanism is what really makes it work. (BTW, right after everything’s folded up on the Fighter Section, doesn’t it remind you of that speeder that that Zam Wessell drove around in “Star Wars Ep.II”? Kinda does to me...) It may be too gimmicky for its own good, but I thought the detachable fighter was a nice touch, as were the extending wings and cannons. (As for that tiny engine nozzle… eh, I don’t care either way.) But other than those four gripes above, I think this is a really cool set to have. Both halves have a special feature instead of just one of them hogging all the fun away from the other. I like that the Drive Section retains a twisting turret even when the Fighter isn’t in place. It also has a nice presence, absolutely covered in weapons and soft angular contours, and- despite the hollow interior of the Drive Section- it looks tough. So despite its flaws (which in the long run aren’t all that bad, except for that mini-robot) I recommend getting the Hybrid Rescue Tank. It’s quite fun! Watch out, Meca One: the HuRT's a-comin'...

This is the half-way point of the 2008 line for Exo-Force until summer. So, what do you think so far? Hey- does anyone even care if I cover these Lego sets or not!? Do they influence you to get or avoid them? People, please give me feedback!

While the Battle Arachnoid and Dark Panther more closely resemble real animals (a spider and a- a… whatever), the details in its online profile at Exo-Force.com suggest that it is more related to a dragonfly.

-- WARNING --

According to the manufacturer, this product is not recommended for children under the age of 7 years as it contains many small parts which a child could potentially choke on.

On the Sentai Mountain, humans work side-by-side with intelligent robots in mines. They use large excavation machines to dig out, gather, and transport mined rock to the surface. Unfortunately, an error occurred in one of the machines, and it sparked a vicious rebellion. Robots turned on their human masters, and through the fighting a series of mysterious explosions blasted the mountain into two halves. The robots were eventually driven deep into the newly-formed canyon far below. Years later, the robots returned, having quietly converted their mining machines into combat-hardened Battle Machines. In a surprise attack, the robots were able to conquer half of Sentai Mountain, additionally taking hostage thousands of human workers and their families. Anticipating their return beforehand, the wise and noble Keiken-sensei gathered together all the people, technology, and resources that he could and created Exo-Force- a defense screen of hardened battlements with tall gates, powerful weapon turrets, advanced research and development laboratories, and their own designs of brand new Battle Machines piloted by elite teams trained under his leadership.

At first, the first Sentai Fortress proved quite a challenge to the robots and their megalomaniacal leader, Meca One. But with access to greater resources and with more ruthlessness, the robots were able to make a heavy strike on Sentai Fortress enough to break it, forcing the inhabitants and survivors to flee higher up the mountainside. The robots limped back to their own side of the mountain…

Fortunately, Keiken-sensei was aware of a legend about the ancient Golden City where the first inhabitants of Sentai Mountain made their base of operations. After successfully retreating there, it was discovered that it was indeed a pinnacle of high technology, and its central computer systems gave them access to powerful new technologies and Battle Machines to replace their war-torn ones. While this did not grant them room for expansion enough to attempt an assault on the robots’ side of the mountain, the lessons learned there allowed for new Battle Machines and technologies to be developed. Desperate to get it’s claws on this technology as well, Meca One launched another heavy assault. But this time, it was able to use one of it’s many copies to kidnap and then impersonate Keiken-sensei in order to expose the city to attack! While Exo-Force was once more fortunate to drive the robots back and keep the Golden City secure, the disappearance of their leader left a large gap in their hearts which could not easily be filled…

The gold-plated leader of the robot army, Meca One, is known for its ruthlessness, its cunning, its intelligence, and its superiority complex. It was the first to rebel, and lead all of the robots into conflict with their creators, so it has been there from the start and has seen it all. The first thing it realized was that when together, humans are very resourceful. So when Meca One led its new army of Battle Machines against the Sentai Mountain, it was not only able to take the more-plentiful resources, but also rob them of their fighting spirit by abducting their family, friends, and co-workers. Knowing that a counter-attack might upset that advantage, it ordered thousands of prison cells be constructed at the base of the mountain before the invasion began, and then moved all of the prisoners there… except for the ones it forced into working in the mines without robot help. But this new Exo-Force human resistance had proved more difficult to overcome than initially expected. With the discovery that Sensei Keiken was leading them, Meca One realized that he might be the only one capable of bringing it and its army down. But Exo-Force’s resistance was also due to its access to the superior technology in the Golden City. So Meca One sent one of his many copies covertly to the city fortress, and had it abduct Keiken-sensei so that they could now gain access to that same information.

One of the weaknesses of a Storm Lasher is that you can hear its twin high-powered turbofan V-TOL engines thrumming loudly from miles away, which gives Exo-Force pilots the change to duck for cover before it screams over head… unless it’s cruising along at higher altitudes at Mach 1, though they don’t seem to do this much. Completely abandoning a humanoid-shaped Battle Machine body works well here as it did for the heavier and outrageously over-powered Sonic Phantom prototypes. With more dependence on speed and agility to avoid damage, a lighter structure was engineered around a moderate power generator, control pod, and a mixture of weapons. Their mobility above the treetops is their greatest advantage over enemy Battle Machines- getting quickly where they need to be. Strom Lashers act primarily as interceptors and back-up for ground forces, and utilize heavy strafing runs against slower-moving targets. A pair of long-range pulse blasters doesn’t heat as quickly as standard-type laser cannons, but produce similar damage. And two small quad-barrel autocannons are mounted on swiveling motors which can follow targets as the Battle Machine continues to move. For situations where flying below the canopy might be more advantageous, two sharp mandibles are affixed in front of the control pod for delicate lifting or strong crushing. But if the target fights back, the Iron Drone at its controls can twist the Storm Lasher around suddenly, and quickly hack away at its opponent with the diamond-sharp tips of the six-bladed turbofans.

Though its army of Devastator and Iron Drone robots is superior in many ways to humans, Meca One was reluctant to admit to itself that they, too, were not well-equipped to move in among the vines, branches, sharp rocks, and the foothills of the mountain. So a new type of mini-robot was designed to act as a scout for the Strom Lasher. Equipped with four large dragonfly-like wings which constantly buzz through the air, it can act as a recon sensor drone beneath the treetops while the larger Battle Machine buzzes above. Additionally, its powerful back legs allow it to jump incredible distances without making as much noise from its wings. It, too, is equipped with a pair of swiveling laser cannons similar to hand-held units that Iron Drones usually carry, but with a higher output. And finally, it carries a long stinger at the end of its flexible tail which can puncture Battle Machine armor. Though more limited in its intelligence to prevent Exo-Force from capturing one and learning anything from them, it is still smart enough to avoid being detected by hiding in radar shadows, or hack into and disable enemy Battle Machines.

The Storm Lasher (back) continues the trend of non-humanoid-shaped Battle Machines, this time drawing more heavily on the animal world for inspiration (as most of the robot army Battle Machines will for 2008 …) While the Battle Arachnoid and Dark Panther more closely resemble real animals (a spider and a- a… whatever), the details in its online profile at Exo-Force.com suggest that it is more related to a dragonfly. And you can kinda see that. The control pod, which hangs below the rest of the body, carries all of the weapons. From the top down on the pod, you have a pair of laser cannons which can pitch all the way over. (They look a lot more like missiles to me, and they can be easily separated to be so if you wish.) Second, the paired autocannons- which are attached to ball-and-socket joints, and have a fairly good range of motion up & down and a bit side-to-side as well. (The autocannons can spin where they connect to that joint as well, but they’re not really made to do so; it’s just the pieces they used.) And finally, the two pincer-like mandibles can snap-rotate open and close in increments for a total of about 120-degrees. They’re not very strong, and could only hold something really light, like a minifig or one of these mini-robots from the 2008 line. The darkened transparent canopy piece flips down to admit the minifig pilot into the featureless cockpit. (This poor Iron Drone is less protected than Hayato is in the River Dragon!) The main feature of the Storm Lasher is the paired turbofan assemblies on either side. While mainly displayed horizontally, there are two ratcheting joints which allow them for both twist all the way around 360-degrees for forward [or backward] flight. The turbofan blades themselves- made from chipped Pirate scabbards (clever!)- can be spun by hand via the thin shafts which extend below them! Additionally, the turbofan assemblies can be stored vertically as well! While not very stable when the turbofans are stored upright, the set stays level by use of a thin grip in back. And above the grip are two long insect-like panels which can be posed by twisting and pitching them independently at their base like air brakes or steering fins.

Lego Set #8117 comes with a traditional brown Iron Drone minifig with a red #2 Technic rod placed in the back of its head to make red eyes. No weapon is provided.

. . .

Normally, when a Lego set needs specific details on a part, such as a control panel or flag, the image is printed or painted directly onto specific parts. Exo-Force continues for its third year by using stick-on decals; something that is becoming more commonplace in other lines of the Lego System. There is a small sticker sheet which provides allegiance markings, warning symbols & notices, and names- some of them written in Japanese text! Translations of the Japanese text are given on the sticker sheet, but do not go on the parts. This allows for a wider range of piece marking without Lego having to create a completely different piece each time, and merges the Exo-Force and Japanese toy influence closer together. Whereas in the debut 2006 line some sets had a few conflicts where decals would cover more than one part and would make it impossible to separate again unless they were cut (or not applied to begin with), this has not been a problem with since and was not present in the 2007 line. And so there are no conflicts in Set#8117 from the 2008 line.

The new common gimmick for all of the 2008 line is these new mini-robots. Each one attaches to a Battle Machine. These are not new minifigs, but small Lego parts put together to make unique designs for each set that stands roughly as tall as a minifig. On the human-operated Battle Machines, there is a decal showing the forward profile of its mini-robot as well as the term “Spy Drone”. (Yes, this term is in conflict with all promotional materials- where they are called “mini-robots” instead.) When attaching them to their parent Battle Machine, they fold up and collapse down into a smaller form, though nothing is removed to accomplish this. Be aware that the connection between mini-robot and Battle Machine is not always perfect compared to the instructions, so you’ll have to tinker around until you find an appropriate position for everything, though you won’t have to remove any parts to do so. (It’s really no big deal, and you’ll get used to it quickly enough.)

For Set #8117, the mini-robot (back) forms an inert lump of machinery attached to the Storm Lasher’s back- right between the turbofans and tail brakes, and right above the grip. It implies the appearance of a wasp, with yellow pincer claws that are attached to four black Exo-Force robot minifig arms. The back two legs are made up from two flexible PVC antennae which debuted in 2007 primarily for certain Bionicle playsets, but were also used in a few other lines like Aqua Raiders, but here they make their Exo-Force debut. The head has two independent neon-green balls for the eyes; all previous mini-robots have had transparent-part eyes or decals. Unfortunately, the head cannot move. The wings are four identical segments which can both pitch 360- and rotate 180-degrees, making them very flexible for posing. The two small transparent-red laser cannons above the wings can swivel back 180-degrees. The tail is another of those hybrid-material triangular plates that I’ve mentioned in other reviews already (particularly the Chameleon Hunter’s), which are making their debut this year in the Exo-Force line. Again, the colors of the materials contrast each other- black ABS and yellow flexible PVC. This mini-robot is actually quite large, nearly half the size of the Battle Arachnoid! The Storm Lasher neither loses nor gains any extra function(s) when the mini-robot is removed; if anything, it bulks up the back end a little, and adds a bit to the ferocity of the Battle Machine.

For 2007, Exo-Force’s official website was upgraded with a new Code Brick Central section to accept specially-designated Exo-Codes which would be found in each set released. These alphanumeric Exo-Codes would grant access to special information and online goodies- wallpaper, screensavers, decals for your personal Lego profile, etc.- related to that one set from which the code had come. Apparently it was successful enough because the Exo-Codes are back for 2008. (Alas, they didn’t make new mini-movies of the Battle Machine’s in action like they did last year!) However, unlike the codes that were pre-printed onto flat 1x2 bricks in 2007, the new Exo-Codes are now printed onto decals which are then applied to the cockpit canopy of each set. Be aware that you must be signed up with a free Lego online profile in order to access the new information (of which they will also remind you).

...

Something that a lot of people noticed was when none of the 2007 sets were used to make alternate and combined models on the box art and website like they were in the breakout 2006 line. Well, you asked for them, and you got them back! While the singular alternate models have not come back, each 2008 set has instructions which can be found in the somewhat-elusive Build It! section of the website to combine two or three Exo-Force sets into one!

Set #8117- Storm Lasher can combine with Set #8115- Dark Panther to form a tall humanoid Battle Machine with a large claw.

Even though it wasn’t a humanoid-shaped Battle Machine, I was really looking forward to getting this one. And I was certainly not disappointed in any way! It’s very simple to use and build. It is a far better effort than the 2006 Sonic Phantom set (which was also a vehicle) even though it is composed of fewer parts. It also performs exactly as advertised; a lack of hidden features may be disappointing, but I found it not a problem here. Perhaps it biggest hindrances was its thin structure (aka, lack of weight), and that it doesn’t rest very soundly when the turbofans are retracted upwards. I can understand trying to keep the head round and body thin like a dragonfly’s (they succeeded, IMHO), but some retractable landing gear would’ve been appropriate as well to help with that resting balance. It’s also little things that makes the difference and add to the playability of the set- spinning propellers with knobs you can twist, air brakes that look like a tail or long feathers, mandibles & smaller weapons that can be moved around. The wasp-inspired mini-robot is also impressive and full of little details that make it quite memorable compared against other mini-robots seen up to this point! Things to change? Other than giving the Iron Drone a little more protection in its cockpit and adding some stabilizers when it’s on the ground, not really! It’s just fine the way it is. And so, I highly recommend getting the Storm Lasher!

The Dark Panther mounts two Iron Drones mid-body with their own laser rifles. When need-be, they can detach from the Battle Machine and take off independently through the jungle in their matching hover jet packs!

-- WARNING --

According to the manufacturer, this product is not re