Subject:
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7317 review (was Re: New Stuff In Stock :)))))) wehheeeeeeee :)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.au, lugnet.reviews
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Date:
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Sat, 3 Feb 2001 01:05:35 GMT
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Peter White wrote in message ...
> > 7317 Aero Tube Hangar - AUD$169.95
> >
> > I was chuffed to see that they not only had the big set, but also at a
> > better price than I had expected (although possibly still a little too
> > expensive, but hey, it was payday yesterday!).
>
> So what's the lowdown on the hangar, I see you listed as a proud owner.
> Is the pump device adaptable for air mattresses ?
Hehe, funnily enough I logged back on to give just such a review on the
Hangar... I've just finished building it and I thought I'd share my
thoughts.
PARTS:
It has some great parts, a lot of boring but probably useful parts, and a
few icky parts. Highlights are 20 (!) dark grey struts (great for
space-station architecture), 2 lavender 8x8 radar dishes, 20 lavender 1x3
slopes, and 2 2x3 + 2 1x3 each of the "grey-blue" and "grey-red" slopes.
These colours are rather neat, they're all darker than they look on the
boxes and go rather well with both grey and the corresponding normal
red/blue. I can see some good-looking "blending" red-and-grey and
blue-and-grey colour schemes in MOCs in the future. The lavender will
probably be harder to use, but I look forward to trying it myself.
The small mech has quite a few of the new click hinge pieces which are very
groovy.
The tubes are weird, but I like them. I was disappointed, though, to find
that they aren't circular in cross-section - it's actually sort of a heart
shape, which gives the tube's floor a puckered-in ridge all along inside it,
probably to make the capsules travel more smoothly. I plan to use them as
big fuel-tubes on the outside of bigger spacecraft engines. Oh, and another
big plus is all tube pieces are the same length, like train or monorail
track. Excellent.
Most of the rest of the set is grey/black plates and bricks which are mostly
long which is a good thing; boring but useful for generic large-scale
construction.
The lavender techy-arch things are actually a sort of one-piece arch SPUD,
frankly I don't like them. If they'd come as two halves it would have been a
lot better. This set also contains two small Insectoid legs. Ewwww!!! ;-)
LOOKS:
I like the look of the whole tubes thing, and the colour-coded gates. The
base itself looks kinda spindly and juniorised, and I think that lavender is
going to turn a lot of people off. The small mech is way too spindly.
Overall this set doesn't really impress visually.
PLAYABILITY:
This set really relies on the other Martian sets in the series to play well.
For instance, the red and blue tube destinations are obviously intended for
the mechs, all the way down to connector pegs. The rock-lifting crane is
also a bit short for the small mech supplied, I think you're meant to get
the four-legged harvester set to have that bit work well.
For the transit tubes to function well, you really have to jam the tube into
the sockets REALLY firmly! Be careful not to kink the tube in the process,
though. That would probably stuff the whole tube section :-(
Overall, the transit-tube concept is no monorail, but it's still dinky and
kind of fun. Who knows, if the air-tightness of the tubes holds over a
couple of dozen sections, and if you automate the pump and tube junctions,
then twelve 7317's would make a pretty cool futuristic transport layout.
Like I said, not as good as monorail (particularly because you can't have
circuits), but still good potential for a similar sort of concept.
VALUE FOR MONEY:
Looking at it now, AUD$169 is OK, certainly better than the '99 SW sets when
they first came out, but it's a long way from betting the value-for-money
prize (which would either go to Imperial Shuttle or Droid Escape, depending
on your looks/parts preferences). I think the price per part (24 AUS cents)
is misleading because a lot of bricks/plates are on the large side (which is
generally good).
If these are clearanced in twelve months for something really low like $80
then I'd definitely buy a couple more to make longer tube networks. If we
find a way to automate the pump as well, then I could see myself buying seve
ral more!
OVERALL:
Kind of cool, with a few minor shortcomings. Your mileage may vary from
"minor", of course.
I was going to give it 6/10, but seeing as they're actually trying out a new
transport concept (and because I like the theme) I'll give it 7/10. Of
course I might change my mind later... ;-)
I've xposted to lugnet.reviews, apologies if I've done something
incorrectly, I'd like people to keep the replies xposted to .loc.au as well
as .reviews, please.
Cheers,
Paul
LUGNET member 164
http://www.geocities.com/doctorshnub/
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