REVIEW: Lego Star Wars 7965 Millennium Falcon (2011)

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Hello Everyone!

This is a review of the 2011 7965 Millennium Falcon. I got this set back in 2011, when i stepped out of the Lego dark ages. However I never got around to opening it, as it is a big set and there were the usual delays due to time, Kids, space and commitment to complete it. So with the current lugsing competition, and much older kids now, i thought it an apt time to open, build it and share my first proper set review.



The Millennium falcon has seen 4 set releases to date. Earlier Versions were in
2000: Set 7190 / 663 pieces / 6 minifigs (Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia, C3PO, R2D2) / US$100; http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=7190-1
2004: Set 4504 / 985 pieces / 5 minifigs (C3PO, Han, Leia, Chewie, SnowTrooper) / US$100; http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=4504-1
2007: Set 10179 UCS / 5195 pieces / 5 minifigs (Han, Leia, Luke, Chewie, Obi-wan) / US$499.99; http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=10179-1
2011: Set 7965 / 1238 pieces / 6 minifigs / US$139.99 (This set being reviewed)

So as i noticed, the sets have relatively had the price in the $100 range whilst increasing in part count and overall build design, but mini figs still hovered around 5-6, with variations due to the play or storyline. So being an iconic ship, it became a must have for me, and it was fairly ok on the minifig count since it was 6, and had a major element of what drew me out of the dark ages - flesh coloured minifigs of detail.

Enough with background statistics, here are the details.

Name: 7965 Millennium Falcon
Theme: LEGO Starwars episode IV - VI
Year: 2011 - Currently still avaliable
Minifigs: 6 (Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organna, Obi-Wan, Chewbacca, Darth Vader)
Pieces: 1238
Price: US$139.99 / SGD$329.90 (cheaper if you get during 20% sales or parallel import it)
Weight: 2.28Kg
References: Lego.com; Brickset.com

An images of 7965 Box (Front)



(Rear) with play ideas as well.



Looking at the minifig line up, i figured the designers had in mind a grounded Millennium Falcon as per the movie scene where they intentionally got sucked into the Death star to infiltrate and save Leia, Bring down the Shield, and have Obi-wan in the final death duel with Darth. As Lego.com calls it "the Death Star Escape Scene".


Instructions
The instruction was spread over 2 books, and had a non-stop feel to it, the build just kept going on and on, from packet 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to 6. Quite unlike the newer sets where each book had a packet number, and gave room for pauses and break.


Packets
There are a total of 6 packet groupings. What confused me at the start was there were 3 Packets Labeled "1", 3 Packets Labeled "2", 2 Packets Labeled "3", 3 Packets Labeled "4", 2 Packets Labeled "5", 1 Packets Labeled "6". And 1 unlabelled packet. so i panicked and thought, did the box have problems??!! But my worries were soon a thing of the past as i realised that i needed to open all packets labelled their respective numbers when the instruction book called for it.


Another item which made my heart sink was the damaged stickers. Yes this set has a sticker sheet. and since the set was with me for 2+ yrs in storage, including 1 house shift, countless moving around and shelf wear. the stickers have somewhat curled up, most probably due to the loose packets rolling everywhere in the box. (unlike the newer sets where the instruction books and stickers are kept wrapped up in a packet with a hard cardboard backing. ) so it was with mixed feelings that i quickly got around to building the set and wondering how to save/fix the stickers.


And i finally understood why so many fans hated stickers, as i now have to research how to fix damaged stickers for Lego sets after this review. heheh. Or bricklink printed tiles to replace the them.

Enough ranting, Back to the review.

Minifigs 6 comes with this set.

Chewbacca


Han Solo


Leia Organna

Gotta love the hair buns!


Darth Vader with grey head


Obi-Wan Kenobi

Feels he looks better with hair so i pop'd my own grey hair for him to pose.


Luke Skywalker

Luke with Jedi Training Helmet.

I also like the details of Luke's hairpiece.



The Falcon Build

Packet 1

Parts Laid out.



The Base of the Falcon after Packet 1.



Packet 2

Parts Laid out.


Some interesting parts in Packet 2.
Wheels

Printed parts!

A Letterbox?! The falcon has postal service onboard!


The Falcon after Packet 2.


Some interesting play areas are already visible by packet 2:
Dejarik Hologram Board

Engine Area for the servicing and repair scene.

Printed Tile/Brick Console for the Falcon

Bunk Area, space travel is tiring work, minifigs need their siesta! (so are reviews, hehe)



Packet 3

The Blue Tube also forms the propulsion glow for the falcon


The Falcon after Packet 3.


The Blue Tube installed and in action!


Comparison to the movie in action.


How the side of the falcon is built.

Combined to form a 3-section



Packet 4

Parts Laid out.


The Falcon after Packet 4.
Front:

Rear:

Mounting for the Cockpit

Under Carriage Turrets:

Under Carriage Landing Gear:



Packet 5

Parts Laid out.


Little helper to build the falcon!


The Falcon after Packet 5.
Port Side:

Starboard Side:

Rear:



Packet 6

Parts Laid out.


Little helper returns for more work and play!


The Falcon after Packet 6.

Comparison to the Movie Replica


Gunner seat: Is it Han or Luke or Both?



Gun Pit




The End Result


Assembled Cockpit

Front:

Under Carriage Flick Rockets

Han and Chewie in the driver seat

The Falcon opened up for play mode.


The build took an approximate 5 hours to build over 4 consecutive nights. Can't Imagine if it was the UCS with 4 times as many pieces...

Playability

The ship weighs the 2+Kg, so its abit hard for kids to swoosh it around the house. but its fairly sturdy as i swooshed it around the room holding it by the 2 sides. only set back is the landing gears are locked in a grounded position, so some mods need to be done to retract it. But because its in a locked position, the falcon is great as a ship backdrop to re-create or replay some of the in-ship scenes and landed craft scenes, such as the falcon hiding in the exogorth (space slug) tummy, after the battle of hoth, and they shoot the squishy floor...


Falcon @ Play
Smuggler's Craft - Hiding in the Cubby to avoid a ship search

"It sure is dark down there.... are you sure there are no mice inside?"

Jedi Training

"Ouch Ouch Ouch... dammit. Turn down the pain factor..."

"Now where is the Any Key?"


Obiwan-Vader Duel - Escape from the Death Star


Siesta time...even minifigs need to sleep...


And My fav play "Let the wookie win"

cameo by C3PO and R2D2...
Scene from the movie.
http://starwars.com/watch/episode_4_let_the_wookiee_win.html

Just for Laughs
Dad we're not coming home tonite, don't wait up, AND don't use the force, or i'll put on my tin-foil hat!


*heavy breathing*


Conclusions

Value: 5/10 - As usual SW sets are way over priced locally when compare to US RRP, good thing is that its been around for a while so many parallel import options are avaliable with some decent discount thrown in.
Design: 7/10 - Except for the stickers
Minifigs: 8/10 - 6 Minifigs with the falcon are nice, as earlier versions only had 5. Only setback is Obiwan having the hoodie and not having a hair option as well for in ship play and scenes.
Playability: 9/10 - Although being too heavy for kids to woosh around (2Kg+), the Landed craft gives lots of play options and gives a sturdy ship as you move minifigs around and play the all over the ship.
Parts: 8/10 - Many parts, interesting build techniques to get the curved shape and fit of the falcon.
Overall: 7.4/10 - Worth buying if you don't have a falcon yet. else you should explore and consider getting 1 imported in.


Hope you enjoyed the review as much as i did building it with my little helper.

Side Note: I've also started hunting BL for printed tiles to replace the sticker ones.... grrrr....
also considering a more proper photography setup, seeing how hardcore some folk at brickset are, with spot lights, diffusers and a studio setup just for Lego models.....

Bump. for the initial mis-post.

I love to build this one. I find it an engineering feat to have all the walls connected up the way it is designed. Like everything falls into place nicely.

I've been looking around to invest a MF and 7965 score better comparing with the earlier sets (not UCS). I still feel underside looks incomplete in terms of details and retractable legs function should be included if it is stable enough to hold 2kg weight.

Looking good, the competition is generating very good quality reviews. Thumbs up!

CyanCyan wrote:I love to build this one. I find it an engineering feat to have all the walls connected up the way it is designed. Like everything falls into place nicely.

Yes it felt very engineering when the wall pieces fit in nicely together.

gene3S wrote:I've been looking around to invest a MF and 7965 score better comparing with the earlier sets (not UCS). I still feel underside looks incomplete in terms of details and retractable legs function should be included if it is stable enough to hold 2kg weight.

Yes i think some further MOC can be done to make the legs retractable. But it would need some serious thoughts into the design so as to provide a stable locked position in both down and up, and maybe abit more under carriage work to spruce the overall look.

benico wrote:Looking good, the competition is generating very good quality reviews. Thumbs up!

Thanks! my first proper review. Quite stressful about having enough space to do the model photography. Shadows were plenty and lighting was lacking in my play room.

Thanks for the great review! Real helpful for anyone planning to get it.

Great review! Now must resist the temptation to grab 1

Thanks for the detail review. Now I feel like going home immediately to open up my set.

ChrisLim wrote:Great review! Now must resist the temptation to grab 1

Join the Dark Side.

Ships to SG , got a little discount too.

If you not have one, get it! lol

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P95ABG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Don't resist, let go, the force will be with u!
Great review!
Have one also & all done by my kids. Apart from the weight, I only have good comments on this set. It has rectified a lot of faults or loose fitting compare to the earlier version. Now it is more engineering precise. The legs is stable enough to hold its weight. Yup it can be better but I feel that it is one of the best non UCS Star Wars set.
If u r Star Wars fans, should get one. If ur kids love Star Wars, this sets is a must have! although is heavy but on the ground it self the playability is high. My kids love to play with it!

k3nzor wrote:Thanks for the great review! Real helpful for anyone planning to get it.

Thanks! Yup, hoping to spread the word cos its still avail at shops might EOL soon since its 3 yrs already.

ChrisLim wrote:Great review! Now must resist the temptation to grab 1

Hoot first regret later.... imo Millenium Falcon cannot go wrong one... its the iconic ship to Star Wars... Xwing and Tie fighters are just fodder craft.
I was debating between This set, The Y Wing or the Gungan Sub to open and review. but figured my 1st Box review should be an iconic set.

alexneo wrote:Don't resist, let go, the force will be with u!
Great review!
Have one also & all done by my kids. Apart from the weight, I only have good comments on this set. It has rectified a lot of faults or loose fitting compare to the earlier version. Now it is more engineering precise. The legs is stable enough to hold its weight. Yup it can be better but I feel that it is one of the best non UCS Star Wars set.
If u r Star Wars fans, should get one. If ur kids love Star Wars, this sets is a must have! although is heavy but on the ground it self the playability is high. My kids love to play with it!

Yup it has high playability as a scene... i see it akin to a City House where you can play outside, inside and around the structure. Helps too that it can fly with Daddy's help.

If anyone has watched Lego The Empire Stikes Back cartoon, u will be more tempted and self-poisoned to get this set, the size of the MF is juz nice, I am not sour grape as i dun own the UCS version but i find the UCS version is way too big and only good for display but 7965 size will have high playability and quite proportion to the other ships such as the tie fighter.....anyway Grendel 2 thumbs up, great review!!!!

CastleDefender wrote:If anyone has watched Lego The Empire Stikes Back cartoon, u will be more tempted and self-poisoned to get this set, the size of the MF is juz nice, I am not sour grape as i dun own the UCS version but i find the UCS version is way too big and only good for display but 7965 size will have high playability and quite proportion to the other ships such as the tie fighter.....anyway Grendel 2 thumbs up, great review!!!!

Thanks thanks!

Wow suddenly some many nice Star Wars reviews. Must resist...

stitchx0003 wrote:Wow suddenly some many nice Star Wars reviews. Must resist...

Thanks thanks!

resistance is futile....

enjoy the build and the brick!

Kudos to your effort in doing this great review. Really appreciate your effort.

Just curious - How many man hours you spend in doing in this review ??

We should be the one saying Thank You for doing such a review for us. And hope you will carry on doing it even if there is no contest ... haha.

You will be in for the run for the prizes .... good luck. May my vote be with you .... heehee.

Cheers.

maxximo wrote:Kudos to your effort in doing this great review. Really appreciate your effort.

Just curious - How many man hours you spend in doing in this review ??

We should be the one saying Thank You for doing such a review for us. And hope you will carry on doing it even if there is no contest ... haha.

You will be in for the run for the prizes .... good luck. May my vote be with you .... heehee.

Cheers.

Thanks thanks. the review pics were taken as i built so about 5-6hrs for the build process.

The write-up was done over 2 lunches. kinda eat and think and figure out how and what i wanted to share about the build, the good the bad and the happy stuff. (but the ideas were brewing around in the head so i'm not sure how many hours that took. )

Yes i want to do more. but as the pics show, i gotta get CFO approval and getting little helper to join in the build. so getting little helper's time is the key challenge. she can't sleep late and is a slow eater... i initially intended to do 5 reviews (so can do a combined play/review thingy and spread more poison)... but time is not on my side. and little helper has too many other things to do too... dance class, music class, and other enrichment classes that CFO has arrowwed.

hehe printed round tiles via BL from older MF sets... wonder why Lego could do printed for the older sets but gotta do stickers for this one...

oh well. mix n match.

now to figure out how to get the 4 big vent disc fixed and the other panel stickers.

Grendel753 wrote:

hehe printed round tiles via BL from older MF sets... wonder why Lego could do printed for the older sets but gotta do stickers for this one...

oh well. mix n match.

now to figure out how to get the 4 big vent disc fixed and the other panel stickers.

I'm viewing your review images the second time and realised the decals are peeling off. Is it true that the adhesives are weak? I'm about to get one myself soon and these printed tiles are tempting....

Very detailed and informative review! Am thinking of getting one myself too. ; )