I built my first Star Wars set in a few years, the Trade Federation AAT (8018), the other day. The colors are nice, and the kit has a few surprises which help amp up the value--the rotating turret and opening hatch being two of my favorites. A battle droid can even do the "droid crunch" and hide in the turret with the hatch closed. The included minifigs are okay. Yes, there are seven, but two of them are just battle droids. Sorry, but battle droids are everywhere. I'm not a big fan of the rubber-headed "Clone Wars" Yoda, either. (What's with the freaky "hair" on his head?)
All in all, a very solid set which was a fun build.
One request from Lego: stop with the decals already. I know you're probably shaving a few cents off the manufacture of each of these kits by supplying decals rather than printed pieces, but this born-again fan would take the higher quality, printed brick any day.
