Star Wars Twin-Pod Cloud Car - Lobot Yes, Lando No.
Written: Sep 13 '02
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Pros: Lobot figure, functional pod doors, very impressive design, nice color scheme.
Cons: Needed a few accessories or at least another figure for the second pod.
The Bottom Line: Lando, Lando, where for art thou Lando?
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Star Wars Twin-Pod Cloud Car |
Cruising around the city of Bespin, as well as Cloud City, you’ll find a curious little vehicle aptly called the Twin-Pod Cloud Car. Able to maneuver through the heaviest of traffic or glide with the greatest of ease, this is one vehicle that you must have in order to call yourself a collector. This easy to build set will captivate both seasoned Lego veterans as well as the newcomers to the flock and at a suggested retail price of $9.99, you just can’t go wrong.
The Twin-Pod Cloud Car
The early editions of the Twin-Pod Cloud Car barely resemble this sleek model. When Kenner released their version of this vehicle it was regarded as “advanced” and “cutting edge”, of course that was 1980 when pretty much every new toy was called advanced and cutting edge. The Lego version of the vehicle is streamlined and has a lot of differences from the Kenner model. The front canopies are no longer caged in, there is less room between the individual cars and there was more aerodynamic design added to the newer edition.
The Twin-Pod Cloud Car is made up of two pods, one on the left and the other on the right. It can transport two figures however the set only comes with one cyborg, Lobot. The front canopies flip open for easy removal of the figures and they are easily inserted, some ships required you to contort the figures to try and get them inside the vehicle, not so in this case.
When you look at the front of the Twin-Pod Cloud Car you’ll notice some small vents in the front housing – it’s these small details that made this ship a great success with Lego collectors as well as Star Wars fanatics. Depending on how you build the ship you can have up to five working entryways into the ships pods. If you go through the instructions and omit a few pieces between steps 14 and 17 you can have single opening doors on the side rather than a solid unit.
Building this is a pure joy but there are a few Lego elements that get hidden by the outer shell of the vehicle – most notably the round clear pods. You can replace these with 2 flat 1x1 tiles stacked on top of each other if you want to use the colored pods for other projects. Sometimes I have to wonder why the Lego designers waste so many cool pieces on the internal portions of the design when they won’t ever been seen – unless you rip it apart and build something else that it.
The Repulsorlift
Digging deep into the recesses of my Star Wars brain bank I came up with an interesting little tid bit of information that – for once – is directly related to this review. The repulsorlift is the power by which about half of the ships in Star Wars navigate. It acts as an antigravity force that basically pushes the vehicle upwards and gives it the ability of movement. Think of two magnets and how one of them repels the other – same concept except you don’t need two magnets to achieve the desired effect.
The small block that is shown between the two pods is the repulsorlift. While the Lego version is it is extremely basics and rudimentary at best, it does go to show that the Lego designers did try to preserve some of the integrity of the original design. Easily assembled, this adds a little bit of style and ingenuity to the vehicle without taking away from the overall design.
Lobot
Lacking most of the detail that Lobot is generally known for, this figure is basic, simple and easy to assemble. Hailing from Bespin, Lobot is one part human and one part enhanced robot – essentially a cyborg. To the best of my knowledge this is the only set that Lobot is featured in however if you really must have this figure he is available from online brick brokers for about $2.50 - $3.50.
Lobot has a minimal amount of stenciling on his torso – most of which consists of a vest with two breast pocket flaps and a black belt worn around his waist. He comes with no personal accessories, hat, hair or head covering and at first this led many people to think that the set was incomplete. There was supposed to be a walkie-talkie included with this set however there wasn’t one in this box. It could have gotten pitched with the plastic bags – but we’ll never know. Be sure to keep this head piece separate from your other pieces, the design on the back of his head makes him a truly unique element.
If you are wondering about the title of this review – it is in reference to the lack of a Lando Calrissian figure ever being introduced to the Lego line up. You would think that the mastermind behind the thriving Cloud City would at least get a mention. Sadly, a cyborg gets immortalized by Lego, but not his master.
Instructions
The booklet for this set is twenty pages long but only the first fifteen pages directly relate to the construction of the vehicle and Lobot. The remaining pages are advertisements for other sets within this series as well as a nice side shot of Lobot where you do indeed get to see the mechanical attachment on the back of his head. Be sure to check out these pages because they give you some excellent close up of the other Star Wars Lego figures available in other sets.
Overall the 18 steps that are required to build the vehicle are easy to follow and feature better than usual illustrations. Along the way there are small side sections that show you, in greater detail, how to build some of the features of the pod vehicle. These are great for those just getting into building Lego sets or those that have only had minimal exposure to mid sized sets and their construction.
The Bottom Line
I highly recommend this set to Lego lovers, Star Wars fans and those that collect the various ships mentioned in the books and seen in the films. This would be a very good set for those just crossing over from the Duplo line providing that they have some experience with Lego applications and can resist the urge to taste test the pieces. As with almost all Lego sets, this one contains small pieces that could present a choking hazard. Please make older kids aware of this fact and have them check the play area for stray piece when they are done.
This set was as fun to build as it is to play with. If you have other Star Wars sets, this would make a great addition to your line up. Even with all the positive and glowing things I have to say about this, the bottom line is that there really isn’t much replay value if this is the only set a child will have at his or her disposal. You can pick up smaller Star Wars set for about $4.99 [less if catch them on sale] to enhance your childs playtime. If this isn’t an option there are several ‘bulk packs’ available that come in a variety of piece counts – these can be used to supplement your childs stock of pieces and give them the ability to create new and exciting masterpieces.
The Stats
Set Name: Twin-Pod Cloud Car
Family Set: Star Wars
Lego Set: 7119
Number of Pieces: 117
Age Recommendation: 7 - 12
Ease Of Assembly: Easy to moderate
Time Of Assembly: 10 – 15 minutes
Cost: $ 9.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2002 Freak369
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $9.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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