lego star

LEGO Star Wars The Battle of Endor (8038)
$99.99
This is without a doubt the worst design I have experienced from Lego. It's so poor I'm embarrassed for them. I was a faithful Lego lover in the 80's when I was a child, and am now enjoying them again with my son. We have nearly every Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones set and most of them are decently thought out constructions, this one however, is not (the Temple of Doom is a poor design too, stay away from that set also).

Many of the large pieces and even sections are held together by just one or two Lego dots, if you gently lift and rotate it to an upside down position, or attempt to carefully transport it, there is little chance it will hold together. You may have been lucky to have gotten pieces that fit slightly more tightly than our set, when held upside down ours definitely slips apart. My son was not able to put this set together, and I enjoyed putting it together about as much as I have enjoyed constructing tedious models.

This set is not designed to the standard that I expect Lego to maintain. There is a reason why Lego is more expensive than Mega Blocks or any other Lego impostor, and it's because they have maintained a high standard over the years. This set is not at that standard. The only good thing about this set is that it does come with a lot of figures. The catapult is pretty good also.

Unless your child absolutely must have these figures I suggest spending your money on another set.

LEGO Star Wars Venator-class Republic Attack Cruiser (8039)
$119.99
I got this for my son for his 10th birthday and he had it put together in two days - working only in the mornings and evenings. I would have like to see my $100 last a little longer but he really enjoyed putting it together and was proud of the end result. I've spent hundreds of dollars over the years on Legos and still think they are a good investment and they're not made in China!

LEGO Star Wars Anakin's Fighter
$24.99
My 8 year old thoroughly enjoyed the process of putting this together. It was a great learning experience on how to follow detailed instructions and the cause and effect of not doing so. The down side is that the little pieces don't stay together well and it can be very frustrating to pretend play with it. If you are looking for something to challenge someone who is creative and likes to build and create something new all the time, it's a great toy. If you are looking for something for a Star Wars fan who likes to imagine and act out their own battles and scenes, stick with a non-Lego toy.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
$19.99
Playing through all 6 Star Wars episodes was actually pretty fun. After you figure out how to 'do stuff' (give it a couple levels - I was frustrated at first), the game is low stress and easy to play.

If you enjoy being thorough, 'collecting' things, or just completing a game 100%, going back through the levels in 'Free Play' mode is definitely worth-while. You can get to some new areas (now that you have more characters at your disposal), and can just enjoy goofing around more.

The game is family friendly, has a two-player mode, and is just generally good clean fun.

I've also played Lego Indiana Jones, and, while I enjoyed it as well, Star Wars is the better game. I'd pick it up first unless you're just not a Star Wars fan.