[REVIEW] 8097 – Slave I
I recently cashed in some of my VIP points to bring the price of the new Slave I set down to something I could afford. This is the third iteration of Boba Fett’s iconic ship. Oddly, I received a one of the previous version (6209) back when I was still in my dark ages and hadn’t become an AFOL. Where appropriate, I will comment on the differences between 6209 and 8097.
Set Details
8097 – Slave I
Pieces = 573
Minifigures = 3
MSRP = $79.9
Price per piece = 14.0 cents/piece
Box
The box has the same theme as the other late Summer 2010 releases. Slave I is shown against an art background. In this shot, we can see the central and side missile compartments revealed. There is a small inset on the left front of the box showing Boba Fett loading Carbonite Han into his trunk.
The minifigures are a huge draw here and shown on the lower right front of the box. You’ll notice it shows four figures. I like the new Carbonite container for Han but I can’t in good conscience consider it a proper minifigure.
The rear of the box has the ship from another angle against a simpler background. As with other boxes in this release, considerable real estate is devoted to advertisements to the other sets in the line.
One of the insets on the rear of the box shows the new carbonite containment unit for Han. He looks rather cheerful for someone about to be entombed alive.
Opening the Box & Minifigures
Inside the box, there are five bags, two instruction books and a small sheet of stickers.
The “#1” bags contain our minifigures, accessories and the base of the ship. Bag #2 is the wing assembly and support structure. Finally, bag #3 contains the upper spine of the ship.
Bossk is the only brand new minifigure here and has a detailed, molded head. Boba Fett has appeared in other sets but in my opinion, this one is now the definitive version, complete with jetpack, modified color scheme and shoulder pauldron.
Here is a close up of Bossk and Boba Fett’s helmet.
All of the torsos have nice printing on the front. Only Bossk has printing on the rear of his torso.
The assembled minifigures are ready for action.
The bass relief Han in Carbnoite is lovely. While I don’t like calling him a “minifigure” it is a vast improvement over the simple screened block from 6209.
The Build
The build is a fun one that sadly ends too soon. When sorting the pieces, the color tones chosen for this set immediately different from the previous 6209 set. The older version of this ship had lots of deep browns and pale greens. This set uses a brighter maroon color for the brown/red base and some deep forest green pieces to accent the paler green. Below is the base of the ship near the end of the #1 bags.
The old Slave I had a spring-loaded missile launcher. The new set has a Technic flick-fire assembly that will eventually be hidden beneath the superstructure of the ship.
Here is the flick-fire assembly once attached to the ship.
The rotating wings are very similar to 6209 in design. The outer facade of the ship has a different look with the rounded wing housings. In the old version, the wings had an attachment point to the fuselage that was built up with some hollow shells. This set has four large, green ¼ circle pieces.
The fuselage has some side studs surrounding the wing well.
The ¼ circle donut pieces attach and look great!
After that, it is a quick finish to the superstructure and the ship is done. Personally, I like the new color scheme a little better than 6209, as it gives some good contrast. The brighter maroon color also pairs well with the splashes of dark green in the build.
The wings pivot and rotate as the ship moves from take-off mode to flight mode. Of course the ship wouldn’t be complete without a place to stash Frozen Han. Here is Boba Fett dragging it up to the ramp by himself. I guess there wasn’t a skycap available. :)
Pro’s
Faithful representation of the Slave I
Distinctive, pleasing color scheme
Solid, playable final product with fun features
Flick-fire launcher actually works!
Superb minifigures and accessories
Con’s
Price
Price
Design is only slightly different than other Slave I sets
Price
Final Thoughts
I like this set very much.
Do I like it enough to buy at MSRP? No.
Even if you don’t own another Slave I, 14.0 cents/piece is just too steep for a ship of this size (or any set, for that matter). And it you do own either Slave I or Jango Fett’s Slave I, the build and design is not radically different from its predecessors. Bossk, the new Boba Fett and Carbonite unit are all superb. Even if you can’t afford the set, I’d encourage you to check these out from bricklink or some other source.
