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Set Review: 9676 TIE Interceptor and Death Star
 Sunday, June 24th, 2012 at 12:37pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager[Source: Valenti] This year LEGO introduced a new line of Star Wars mini planets, combining a miniature planet, a Star Wars mini-model, and a minifig. Today BZPower looks at one of these, 9676 TIE Interceptor and Death Star, as reviewed by Valenti. Are these planets worth adding to your collection? Read on to find out! Presentation
The box of this set is rather interesting. Not only do you see a space vista with the ever awesome TIE Interceptor firing its laser cannons, it also shows off the TIE Fighter Pilot mini figure. There's also a tiiiiny picture of the Death Star. And in the approximate center of it all: The LEGO Death Star itself. You can even turn it around in the box! Well, mostly. To get to the pieces inside, you have to open the Death Star. Now this part made me go a bit nostalgic, as the opened up Death Star reminded me of the Toa Metru canister lids, which could be 'fused' together. There's also the standard logos and age rating and stuff. The back of the box shows off the other two sets in the first series. ...Is it just me, or does Darth Maul look particularly menacing today? Building
Building the Death Star, the display base and the pilot is very easy. A bit too easy, one might suspect, but I'm sure it's all a ploy by those pesky Jedi to put us all into a sense of complacency. The real fun is had with the TIE Interceptor, despite its easiness. There is a fair bit of repetition involved with the solar arrays, unfortunately. I couldn't stop making engine noises during the build. Set Design
There aren't a lot of new pieces to be found here, though I did find a few interesting ones. There's the black minifig head with a fleshy face, which looks kinda weird to me, honestly. Then there's the cockpit window piece, which looks rather cool. Somehow it reminds me of a contact lens. My favorite piece, however, is the little blaster. I can see some MOCing potential.
The pilot looks pretty awesome, despite the fact that you can only do so much without deviating from the source material too much.
Ah yes, the fabled Death Star, or Justice Star in Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope. It's very tiny. Despite this, the surface is divided in smaller areas, making for a nicely artificial look. The superlaser doesn't look exactly like the one seen in the movies, but that's alright. You won't be doing any trench runs soon, though you can use this little Death Star as a Christmas ornament.
The TIE Interceptor is the big star of this little set. It's amazing that a set this small can look so similar to its in-universe counterpart. I like how the cannons are being represented by the little binocular pieces. The sloping of the solar arrays by way of those flat ratcheting parts makes me happy, because this gives the set some much needed flexibility. X-Wing functionality, here we come! The abundance of Studs Not On Top (or SNOT) make me a happy camper. A minor nitpick is that the bottom of the cockpit isn't rounded, which can be solved rather easily with a round bottom piece. Be careful with the display base though, the TIE tends to fall flat on its face if handled roughly. P.S. The TIE Interceptor rotates freely on its pin, this can cause some irritation. Playability
The three items featured in this set are fun to play with when you have the other sets in the series. You can use the Death Star to blow up Yavin IV, for instance, while the TIE Interceptor chases the X-Wing and the TIE pilot and the X-Wing pilot engage in a shootout on a distant space station. Unfortunately, I don't have the other set(s) yet, so I don't have any images to accompany the mental scene. Final Thoughts
This set is a great little collectible for the Star Wars fan. Great for the young ones to play with and for the older ones to keep around in their work cubicle, if they have one. (And when the boss isn't looking, play with it.) And so ends another review - we hope you enjoyed it. Please leave your questions, comments, and thanks for Valenti in the Talkback. As always, keep checking back on BZPower for more reviews and LEGO news!
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