Review: 75059 Sandcrawler - Part 1
Posted by CapnRex101,
Before I begin the review I would like to thank Huw for his excellent photos, which accompany the text.
Perhaps the most anticipated Star Wars set of the year so far is this one, 75059 Sandcrawler. It is nine years since the last edition of this famous vehicle was released in set 10144, so this certainly feels to me like a justified remake, unlike some models released in recent years. This edition is priced at £249.99 (or $299.99 in the US) and contains 3296 pieces, so in both respects this model roughly doubles the original 2005 edition.
Along with a higher piece count and (much) higher price comes a far superior set in my opinion. There is a nice selection of Minifigures included, and the Sandcrawler itself is almost perfect as far as I am concerned, although there are a few additions to the set which I would have appreciated.
This review will be divided into two parts, so expect a review of the Sandcrawler itself and my conclusions in the next section.
Box and Contents
As one would expect of a set at this price point, the box is enormous, almost as big as that of 10188 Death Star from a few years ago. It is decorated with a rather attractive shot of the Sandcrawler unloading the droids, although I am not sure that this angle is its best since it makes the model look rather small to me. Nevertheless, the earthy colours of the Tatooine background compliment the set and the features are displayed on the reverse.
This is the first UCS Star Wars set to be printed with a badge identifying the set as an Ultimate Collector Series model, which confirms that LEGO have changed what a UCS set is in recent years. While it used to apply to larger scale models intended for display, which usually omitted Minifigures in favour of greater detail or size, it now appears to be applicable to any particularly expensive Star Wars set. I am not particularly bothered by this change, but it is interesting to note.
Inside the box is a single gargantuan instruction booklet and sixteen bags, which are divided between the main box and smaller white box found inside. There seems to be no reason why some bags are relegated to a smaller box inside, but there are numbers from all over the build so you will need to open the smaller box from the start. Also for the first time in a UCS Star Wars set there are a few pages of details about how the set was designed and the vehicle itself, which are an interesting read to get you in the mood for the build.
It is worth noting that the instruction booklet does include a couple of errors, most notably the omission of instructions to push in some Technic pins towards the front of the model. This is not a particularly difficult issue to spot, so I imagine the majority will work out how these pins are supposed to be pushed in, but the instructions certainly leave out this step, so be mindful of that when building your own Sandcrawler.
Minifigures
Thirteen (or arguably fourteen) Minifigures are included in this set, although four of those are brick-built droids. I have to comment that the absence of an Aunt Beru Minifigure is disappointing, but I am satisfied with the selection already included.
Firstly we have Luke Skywalker, who, for reasons unknown, is armed with his blue lightsaber. He makes use of the same blonde hair piece as he does in other recent sets containing Luke, 7879 and 7965, and it looks great. His head on the other hand is not particularly impressive, and looks rather too detailed with wrinkles and marks on his face, which ultimately make him appear scarred and therefore inaccurate. The head is printed on two sides, with one face smiling, and the other angry. His torso and legs look fantastic, complete with creases in the fabric and a perfectly accurate design consisting of a brown belt running around the front and back of the torso, as well as some nice bindings on his legs.
Uncle Owen is a superb Minifigure, with a light grey untidy hair piece and a detailed face design, which includes a stubbly beard, a hint of a double chin and, somewhat unfortunately, a smile. This seems like a strange choice of expression to me as I cannot actually recall him smiling in the film, but the face still looks great. His torso is printed fairly simply with a tan robe covering an undershirt and belt. On the reverse is a hood folded down, as well as some more of his robe. This design is continued onto his legs, although here the colour is somewhat washed out due to the dark brown piece it is printed on which is a shame. I hope that LEGO rectify this problem soon as it is an issue which has plagued Minifigures like this one for a year or two now.
The first droid included in the set is C-3PO, who is of course integral to this scene in the film. This is arguably the best version of this character to be created yet, and the detail of the design is outstanding. The head mould is the same as ever, but now features the yellow highlights in each eye, just as on the Minifigure in 9490 Droid Escape. The torso is very similar to earlier designs, but has in fact been updated significantly with some of the wear received by C-3PO on Tatooine in the film, as well as even the restraining bolt applied by the Jawas, which I am incredibly impressed with! The curved panels of his torso have also been changed slightly in design, and these are continued onto the hip component for the first time as well. Perhaps most obvious of all is the addition of printing on the legs, which looks rather nice, although the abrupt end to the printing just below the 'knee' is somewhat jarring. Still, it is nice to see C-3PO's silver lower right leg included in the design and this is by far my favourite version of the character so far!
As one would expect for a Sandcrawler, four Jawas are included, and they have been significantly updated since their last appearance in 2005. Each has a brown hood and a plain black head, printed simply with a pair of yellow eyes which look nice peeking out from the hood. The torsos are the only element of each Minifigure which are varied, as there are two different designs used. Both have a pair of bandoleers crossing the chest, but while the torso on two of the four Minifigures have complete straps, the bandoleers on the other two are worn out towards the top, which is an attractive detail in my opinion. The wear is continued onto the back of the torso, and the short legs are plain reddish brown, which is perfectly fine. Many people (including myself) have complained about the lack of capes, and although I would have liked them to be included, the Jawas actually look rather nice as they are, much better than I had anticipated at least. They are equipped with various stun blasters, which you can see in the photo below.
Three Astromech Droids are included in the set, the ever-popular R2-D2, R5-D4 and an unnamed R2 Unit. R2-D2 is identical to the Minifigure featured in 30244 Jedi Interceptor from earlier in the year, and has been hugely updated from appearances in previous years, with a new, more detailed, metallic silver dome and some slightly improved printing on his cylindrical 'body.' R5-D4 is identical to the droid which appeared in 9493 X-wing Starfighter, with the conical head that first appeared fairly recently, and red highlights throughout the figure, which look excellent. The only new Astromech Droid is simply named R2 Unit, and he looks excellent with the standard droid printing in green. The closest actual droid from the film that I can find is probably R2-A5, who appears in Mos Eisley during Episode IV, albeit not in the scene recreated in this set. Anyway, all three are excellent Minifigures, and it is always nice to get some Astromech Droids as they are an ever-present sight in crowd scenes throughout the saga.
The final group of Minifigures included are four more droid models, three of which make an appearance during this famous scene in the film. The first of these is an R1 Series Droid, or more precisely, R1-G4, a droid which appeared in 10144 back in 2005. This Minifigure is of course far superior to the original edition, and the dark green colour scheme looks excellent. The design is fairly accurate as a whole (although the light bluish grey looks a little out of place), but it is probably the printing on the head which is most impressive, as it shows impressive detail and is accurate to the droid in the movie as far as I can tell. Next up we have a simple Treadwell Droid, a staple of the Star Wars universe. This is another figure which is far superior to the version included with the older Sandcrawler, and it is about as accurate as one could get to the film droid when building it from standard pieces rather than creating a brand new mould. It is a perfect figure, with the ability to move its arms up and down as well as all around, but for the fact that the binoculars which form its eyes are fairly loosely attached.
A Gonk Droid appears as well, now featuring a printed tile to form the design on its front. Other than that, this is a simple figure, but a nice one nevertheless and yet another welcome addition to the set. The final droid is difficult to explain to be honest. It is not listed on the box as a Minifigure, but is constructed during the build out of parts which can be stored inside the Sandcrawler itself. For this reason, I will simply call it the Spare Parts Droid, and comment that this is about the best that could have been done with this tiny selection of pieces. I have no idea what model of droid it is supposed to represent, if any, but it nevertheless serves its purpose as a droid made from a few little parts.
Overall - Part 1
This is really a set which one is going to purchase for the Sandcrawler itself. However, the Minifigures are rather good, and I think C-3PO in particular will be a popular figure for everybody, whether or not you are willing to purchase the entire set. As I mentioned to begin with, the lack of an Aunt Beru Minifigure is a shame, and there is always space for another Jawa or two since this is such an expensive set, but what we are delivered is what I would hope for from a Sandcrawler model to be honest: Jawas, droids, and Uncle Owen, all of which are brilliantly designed.
The second part of this review will be coming very soon, where I will take a look at the build and the completed model, as well as providing some final thoughts on this enormous set.
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16 comments on this article
With every new edition, they're making C-3PO's prints more and more complicated...) My one from 2012 seems to be an old-looking one now! Uncle Owen looks really great!
These aren't the droids you're looking for. :P
Honestly, not a fan of Luke's new head or the new Gonk Droid. Other than that, this is looking like a really nice set. :)
Actually, the R5-D4 isn't all identical to the 2012 R5-D8. R5-D8 has a red dot in the middle of the head, while R5-D5 has a white one. Just thought you should know.
@Packer221 - They are identical. The dots are not always printed centrally, but they are red on each Minifigure. The part numbers are the same as well: http://brickset.com/sets/containing-part-6020821
Weird how they made Luke look like he's 50 years old. Even it it was because of Mark Hamill's car accident, that didn't happen until after ANH.
I personally like my gonk droid from 10144 better then this one, still considering getting this set or parisen restaurant. Thanks for the review.
Thanks for the review. I've looked and looked at this set. I just can't justify spending that kind of money with all of these other great exclusives I still need to get.
With that said, the set itself does look nicely built. I like the shaping of this way more than the original (which I have neither). The figures look great and since I've become a figure collector in recent years would make fine additions to the collection. I like the higher detail, but at the same time it does take away from how LEGO used to be, so it is rather odd. Plus, they keep changing small details on already plentiful figures just so you have to buy them again. It's good business, but it's shady too. (Think: Now with hat!)
I will have to go back and watch this movie again to see if it uncovers any love for this vehicle. I haven't seen it in close to 7 years probably...
Minifigures are starting to look so good that the older, less fancy ones aren't looking so great anymore...might be problematic...
^That's been a problem for a year or two now, but the ridiculously over-detailed human faces that make them look like they're all 20 years older and haven't slept a wink in all that time make me think the golden era is on the wane, or having a rest at least. :P
There's got to be a sweet spot between "not detailed enough" and "every line of the face drawn on".
Uncle Owen looks fine to me because he is older and scruffy, but what's with Lego's obsession with crow's feet?
Luke looks... okay, but if they just omitted the Marilyn Monroe mole (scar?), eyebrow scar and chiseled cheekbones (that Mark Hamill doesn't even really have) he would have been nicely simple, very "Lego" and not "cluttery".
Lets hope the print designers agree and see these things, too.
I believe that your "Spare parts droid" is actually a G2 repair droid: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/G2_repair_droid
hope this helps.
I have just finished building this set, it is a fantastic build and very highly detailed, mini figures are good to. Just think it was slightly over priced, I am making a direct comparison to the Ewok Village which I also own and I think is on par with the Sandcrawler in terms of minifigs, detail, size, part count etc etc, just the Sandcrawler is £50 more. Guess the newly designed UCS badge is what the extra £50 gets you, that and some nice info before the build instructions in the book.
To be honest, I preferred the old style GNK droid. But that's really my only beef. As for capes, those can be made.
@suprajames
This set does have about 1400 more pieces than Ewok village, so I think the higher price is justified - Ewok village was too expensive to begin with though, in my opinion.
I now have this set, and I love it - definitely my favourite of 2014 so far. The only major flaw (minor flaws being Owen's lack of a second expression and the printing on Luke's head) would be the lack of Beru, definitely.
Thanks to Huw and CapnRex!
Good set. Pity we have to pay license 'tax' on Star Wars as usual. With these, will wait for a sale to pull the trigger.