Designed by Ubrikkian Transports, made by the LEGO Group, built by you!
Picture yourself crossing a tranquil azure sea on a trading barque, its hold packed full of rum and sugar. The deck rises and falls to the gentle swell created by the balmy wind that fills the sails, and all around are palm-covered islands ringed by golden beaches. The course is set, the crew competently going about their duties and all those on board are looking forward to an uneventful journey home. On the horizon you see a dot which slowly grows into a ship. Suddenly the lookout in the crow's nest cries out "Pirates!" and the captain calls for all hands to their stations. Your ship still has a handful of minutes to make ready before the corsair vessel is in cannon range, but without any warning it opens fire and the air is filled with lurid green beams of light.
Hold on a second - wrong LEGO theme! These pirates are a devious and deceitful band of marauders from the planet Florrum, and in the lawless Outer Rim their vehicle of choice is a heavily modified and powerful pirate tank.
The new Pirate Tank set is one of the first to be based on one of the brand new Clone Wars vehicles, and though it is less familiar with fans, the LEGO Group always strives for precision. Because the set was developed as the Clone Wars series was being made there were limited references for the Star Wars team to use. But did they let that slow them down? No they did not, and now LEGO Star Wars fans can play out the crucial capture of Count Dooku.
Inside the box is more than some bags with bricks, a sticker sheet and a little book - there's hours of fun. That's not to say the set takes a long time to build, because after a comfortable hour and a half you'll be finished and ready to play. One tip: the instruction book prompts you to sort the bricks into color/shape but with 372 pieces you'll want to jump straight into constructing the set.
Design-wise the set is very pleasing, the range of colors are interesting and accurate (particularly the brown that dominates the set). Personally I'd have preferred it if the engine nacelles were tilted outwards, but that's not the fault of the set designers at the LEGO Group because they're not responsible for the original concept.
If you're more into the minifigures than the sets then you'll like the two Weequays which are, the the foreseeable future, only available with the Pirate Tank. Hondo Ohnaka, the chief of the pirate gang, has a natty cap, epaulets and a sword (not shown in any of the pictures or instructions), while second-in-command Turk Falso comes with two blasters. Also included is the Obi-Wan Kenobi (in battle armor) minifigure that originally came with the more costly Republic Attack Gunship (7676), so if you need one you'll be pleased with the lower price point. And these last three words explain why the set didn't include the obvious Jar-Jar Binks minifigure, who has still yet to appear in a LEGO Clone Wars set.
One particularly neat feature is the elevating seat. A simple mechanism allows you to raise Hondo Ohnaka into a position of command, and then lower him to safety when the flick-fire gets too thick. This "pop-up pirate" function was one that the LEGO Star Wars team thought up purely to add more play features to the set. As simple as it is, it is a very effective addition to the vehicle. Oddly the image on the packaging shows Hondo in the gunners seat, while Turk is in the captain's chair.
Of course there's the obligatory flick-firing missiles. The front launcher has a simple mechanism that you push, causing the rockets to shoot forward, while the rear launcher needs a gentle touch to release a deadly barage. With the right amount of pressure I was able to propel the missiles three feet into the air, but unfortunatley they came straight back down and destroyed the Pirate Tank. Obviously ballistics is not my strong suit, but it goes to show how effective flick missiles are.
If you aren't keen on the top-mounted, rotating heavy blaster and are more into the traditional LEGO Pirates sets the answer is simple: just add a ship's cannon! Remember, LEGO construction toys are about giving your imagination the opportunity to run riot.
The stickers shown on the box front are printed on colored paper that matches the brick, but don't expect the same inside because they are actually printed on transparent plastic. Apart from the targetting sticker on the front cannon which is a little bit fiddly, all the stickers can be easily positioned. Uncommonly the stickers are applied during the build rather than on the last two or three pages of the instruction booklet.
Like the Republic Fighter Tank (7679) released in 2008, roller wheels give the impression that the craft is supported by repulsorlifts. While it does roll effectivly in a straight line they do not allow for smooth cornering, so if you ever need to escape a LEGO Pirate Tank just run away at a right angle!
Personally I'm pleasantly pleased with this set. Considering it is an obscure vehicle that doesn't have a large part to play in the Clone Wars I think the set is well designed, fun to construct and comes with sufficiently interesting minifigures to create plenty of play. If anyone at the LEGO Group is reading: well done! And can we have a pirate swoop gang next year please?
So if you are in the market for a bombad clanker, head to StarWarsShop or to your local Target Store!
Check out Jeremy's earlier review of LEGO's Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser set here.
