LEGO Star Wars 7676 Republic Attack Gunship

Lego kick off their 2008 releases from The Clone Wars movie with the excellent Republic Attack Gunship. These were also seen in Attack Of The Clones but this kit has been updated from the original #7163 Republic Gunship from 2002 with better construction, nicer detailing, more features and a more accurate colour scheme. This is a great version of the Gunship and it comes loaded with features.
Each cockpit canopy hinges open. The two front cannons rotate a full 360 degrees and across as well. There are doors to each side of the compartment below the cockpit which hinge up and contain a Clone Skimmer vehicle inside. In the compartment next to that, there are two panels which hinge up and there is a medical capsule inside which you hinge open to place the wounded in.
The aft section is covered with 2 hinged doors each side. Unlike the first issue which had the side gun turrets, this one has an extra door and a longer aft compartment. The doors hinge open sideways (2 forward, 2 aft) and there is room for a whole platoon inside. There is a rack in the middle to store weapons and there is also a place for the Aratech 74 Speeder Bike which flies out through the aft door. There are 2 storage lockers on each side above the aft compartment.
The wing cannons have been refined with a seat so you can put Clone Troopers inside which is great. The upper front hull has an opening panel and two small Probe Droids inside. There are two vertical missile racks on the top, each armed with 4 flick missiles and there is another 360 rotating cannon at the rear.
The Aratech 74 Speeder Bike is a vastly improved version of the vehicle and nicely detailed too. The control yokes are very nicely done.
The great thing about Clone Wars kits are the new figures, with great facial detailing these ones are a cut about previous Star Wars characters. You get 5 figures in total and they are all new releases. The two small Probe Droids are rather nice but very basic.
Obi-Wan Kenobi comes decked out in his General's armour and is equipped with his trusty blue lightsabre.
Plo Koon is a great figure with some nice detailing on his face and comes armed with a blue lightsabre.
Asajj Ventress is a wonderful figure and comes with a black cloth skirt and her two angled handle red lightsabres.
The Clone Trooper has new detailing on the body and now has a removable helmet so you can see the clone's face underneath. The helmet has holes in the side into which you can attach rangefinders or visors. When he's not flying the ship there are 2 of the black blaster rifles for him to use.
Finally we have Clone Commander Cody. His helmet has holes in to attach a rangefinder or a visor. He has a grey waistcoat, grey shoulder pouldron and is armed with 2 grey DC-17P pistols.
The kit comprises 971 pieces (not including the figures, droids, missiles, weapons and accessories) and takes about 90 minutes to build. The Gunship measures 48 cm long (from forward gun tip to aft gun tip), has a 44 cm wingspan and stands an impressive 17.5 cm tall.
A fantastic kit and a great update of the Republic Gunship. I can see collectors combining the two to get the full accurate version of the vessel with side turrets and wing turret seats. A must have for kids and adults alike and a very welcome addition to any Republic army.

This is a great model! BUT you need to be patient and follow the (good) diagramatic instructions carefully. Spent almost three hours Xmas day assembling it - well worth it though as finished model is great! My son has spent hours delivering troops and supplies to far flung reaches of different galaxies......

I bought this set on behalf of my 11 year old son, who is a bit of a Lego Star Wars fan. It took him about a day to make. He really liked it as it had a lot of detail, and enough characters. (More characters means more play value). He said it would have been better with more Clones. The best of the Lego Star Wars models he has made ( he also has the Imperial Star Destroyer, Jabba's Sail Barge, MTT, Rebel Battle Pack....). All the Lego models like this are expensive, but this is better value than some.