You Shouldn't judge a 'set' by its cover (7879)

monkey_roo

I may be alone on this but if ever the phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ applies to a Lego set then I think it must be Echo Base 7879.
Early last year when news of this set broke, I like many here was very excited only for that excitement to seemingly be crushed when the first images of the set appeared and like many I was happy to express my disappointment, ‘poor layout’, ‘looks a mess’ etc. etc. But despite this I bought the set last summer (mostly because I was in the US and got a deal with the exchange rate) and promptly put the set in the loft and forgot about it. That is until this week.
With not much else to do I decided to crack open a few set, 8129 being the first (great set, nothing bad to say there) but the poor AT-AT looked a little sad without something small and puny to menace so out came 7879. And this is when I experienced the rare sensation of being presently surprised by a set I had low expectations off. First of the min-figs are top notch, plenty of key characters and the Luke is awesome as is the 2-1B, but more than that the build was enjoyable and not repetitive and medical lab looks great and rather than looking like a cobbled together set, it actually works well, the interlocking section at the back brought back memories of older castle sets (the way you could lock them into a square/rectangle and then open them out to a line) and in the flesh the set look so much better than any of the images (I guess Lego photographed its bad side :) ).
Anyway I am always happy to admit when I am wrong and this goes to prove you shouldn’t really judge a set until you have it in your hands, although that might limit a certain amount of forum based fun so maybe not.

hoyatables

I agree. I was pleasantly happy with this set. And if you have the other older Echo Base sets (both the "sliding door" set and the turret set) they actually all fit together pretty nicely to create a base with room for a snowspeeder or two in the center and a side door for the Tauntauns :). I also picked up the Wampa Cave and some battle packs, so all told it is a pretty decent display.

Seeing your AT-AT makes me realize that I am missing something important though . . . curse you EOL items that I saw in the store and passed on because I was "skipping" Star Wars!

legoDad

Me too. I was wrong about this set. It didn't look like the base from the film (except for the medical area) and I was expecting it closer to the original with improvements and more movie accurate and I know it had more guns in odd spots and more play features for kids...but...I admit...I loved it once opened. The figs are great. The play features fun. My son and I love it. And with some moding, I can make it the way I wanted.
I found with other kits too (even Duplo), the photo's don't do it justice and once seeing them built...it changes my perspective.

TheBigGuy

Yes, I agree too. I only got this set since it went with a rather large Battle of Hoth display I have. I wasn't expecting much of set but I was pleasently surprised at how good it actually was, for much the same reasons as mentioned above.

Mandarine

I love this set! The Leia Popsicle and nudie Bacta Tank Luke... So much silly LEGO humour in this set!

bellybutton290

Can not say I agree. Bought it, built it, still don't like it. I do like elements of it however and I do like the fig selection. It had no chance of living up to what I wanted it too be (unrealistic expectations I suppose about size and complexity). I bought it to complete my collection of hoth sets and on the hope that like you guys I would feel better about it in the future which I still do not. It's fine as a playset and the various features appeal to kids I'm sure.

monkey_roo

Just to follow up I spent the night combining 2 7749 sets with 7879 & 7666 to make a nice big base for the At-AT and the might of the Imperial ground forces to attack

hoyatables

Brilliant move inserting the two halves of the new base first, followed by the "wings" of the old base. Also like the way you used two 7749s. Almost makes me consider picking up a second 7749.

The one thing that drives me nuts is the change from the "old" to the "new" types of helmets for the Rebel Soldiers. Wish LEGO had figured out the new hat a couple of years earlier . . . .