Review:9489 Endor Rebel Trooper & Imperial Trooper Battle Pack/Ministargazer

General Solo, is your strike team assembled?!!!

If it isn’t then this entry level set will help you to build your Rebel and Imperial Armies.

The promotional image for the set

Overview

The set contains an Imperial Speeder Bike with a Scout Trooper, a Storm trooper, and 2 Rebel Commandos with a mounted gun/missile launcher under a small tree. All the minifigures are equipped with blasters and there is also a flick fire missile included.

Details

This battle pack has clearly been designed to fit in with previous set based on the forest moon of Endor from Star Wars Episode VI : Return of the Jedi. (8038 The Battle of Endor and 7956 Ewok Attack ) and as such looks right at home when placed next to these 2 sets. The set itself follows the tradition that has been established over recent years of small Star Wars battle packs with a few minifigures and a small vehicle, (for example:- 8014, 8015, 8083, 8084, 7913, 7914) This specific set is very similar to 8084 Snowtrooper Battle Pack, both sets contain a speeder bike, a small weapons platform, 4 minifigures and have an almost identical amount of pieces.

Although small, this set has many features and details that should satisfy new and old Lego Star Wars fans. The Scout Trooper is quite rare, having only appeared in 5 traditional build sets since 1999, The Stormtrooper has a slightly redesigned torso for 2012 and the Rebel Commandos have new torsos too, 1 is just a slight redesign from the Battle of Endor Set, whereas the second is shown to be wearing a light tan jacket and grey shirt combination. The tree/missile platform is constructed of quite common pieces, however the 4 base plates do appear in a darker green colour that does no appear often in sets. Finally the Speeder Bike, although this looks similar, has changed slightly from previous sets, whether this is because each Lego designer wishes to put their own mark on the bike, or perhaps they are just making them different so we can tell which set they came from. This version has taken the rear satchel and grill layout from the White Speeder Bike in set 8084, and the central and front section from set 7956, however the lower guns have been removed and replaced with a round 2x2 slide plate.

Playability

This battle pack itself can stand on it’s own perfectly well, you can pit the 2 Imperial Troopers against the 2 Rebel Commandos and have yourself some great little battles. The big advantages of this set are, as there are no major characters included, you can buy multiple sets and build a small battalion, or, use them to expand The Battle of Endor and Ewok Attack sets, this way you can create a more realistic scene from The Return Of The Jedi.

Pros

• Cheap
• The Speeder Bike
• Great for army building

Cons

• Could be a popular set and hard to find.

Rating

Appearance:	5 / 5
Playability:	5 / 5
Value for money:	5 / 5
Overall:	5 / 5