Star Wars LEGO Review | 9499 Gungan Sub

I’d be very interested to see how well Star Wars: Episode I LEGO sets sell compared to those inspired by the other Star Wars movies and television series. Whilst most adult fans of LEGO probably have little interest in them, those that make up The Phantom Menace’s target demographic fall within this set’s 8 to 14 age range, or are possibly even younger. And it has to be said, for all its widely-accepted cinematic shortcomings, the Star Wars saga’s first chronological instalment certainly offers rich pickings when it comes to colourful inspirations for merchandising.

From my star destroyer-grey grown-up point of view, though, I’ve little interest in the vehicles of Episode I. The latest rendition of Darth Maul’s Sith Interceptor set was a mandatory purchase for me largely due to the exclusive minifigures that it offered, and much the same could be said of this Gungan Sub set. Be it by accident or design, until very recently Padmé was incredibly hard to find in LEGO form, having appeared only with an outmoded yellow skin tone many years ago, and until this set hit the shelves last year, she’d never been issued at all in her decadent Queen Amidala guise. The flesh-tone Qui-Gon Jinn is a little easier to find these days, thanks to his 2012 Sith Interceptor reissue, but his flesh-tone, flame-haired apprentice had only been put out once previously, and even then in a time-limited and expensive set. And in this set, both Jedi find themselves with reversible heads, allowing the LEGO builder to either fix them with their default sober expressions, or flip their headpieces around and show them wearing the underwater breathing apparatus that they briefly utilised on screen.

Even so, I couldn’t have justified the better part of £60.00 for just for a few minifigures, but when I stumbled across this set for only a little more than a third of its RRP languishing in a Smyths bargain bin, I couldn’t resist throwing it into the trolley where it sat incongruously amongst a throng of three-quid-a-pop Peppa Pig DVDs and a couple of frighteningly-realistic baby dolls (I have a little girl who couldn’t care less about Star Wars, but is at least warming to LEGO). And, by and large, I wasn’t disappointed with my punt.

The highlight of the set is clearly Amidala, with whom LEGO have really pushed the boat out. Both her crown and ‘legs’ (for legs read ‘bell-bottomed base’) are unique pieces, so far as I can tell, and even her distinctive lead-white face with its I’m-out-of-my-depth look of puzzlement does look rather like Kiera Knightly’s beleaguered decoy, if not Natalie Portman’s democratically-elected monarch. The two Jedi are much more ordinary by comparison, kitted out in their usual sand ascetic robes, but that is exactly what’s called for. Save for his optional breathing apparatus, Qui-Gon appears exactly as he did alongside Darth Maul and company, with both his faux-cloak cape and astoundingly accurate hairpiece present and correct. Unfortunately the Obi-Wan figure suffers from its lazy use of the standard male LEGO hairpiece, which is nothing like the nearly-mullet that Ewan McGregor was forced to suffer on screen, but the Padawan braid is at least evident on the front of his tunic, offering at least the illusion of authenticity. For those that don’t already own him, the bespoke-moulded but ten-a-penny Jar Jar is an added bonus – even those who see him as the embodiment of everything that they feel went wrong with the Star Wars prequels can relish the prospect of beheading him time and again with their choice of green or blue lightsaber.

The 466-piece model is not without its charm either. Comprising just about the Gungans’ only contribution to the LEGO Star Wars universe, the 43cm-long submarine immediately stands out as something different from the many saga-spanning space vehicles and buildings in my mushrooming collection, adorned as it is with a distinctive rotating-tail propeller and mission statement of an anchor. The designers have added a lot of functionality too that goes beyond the usual flick missile and opening cockpits, the most notable of which is a detachable mini-sub at the ship’s rear in which you can despatch Jar Jar to one of his many, but sadly non-canonical, deaths. All the set is missing really is a beastly megafigure or two to menace our underwater heroes as they make their journey through Naboo’s watery core to Theed, but for £25.00 I can’t really complain. ’twas money well spent.

The Star Wars LEGO Gungan Sub is available from LEGO directly for £54.99 with free delivery. Today's cheapest online retailer though is John Lewis, who are currently selling this set for £43.97 with free delivery.