Review: 75103 First Order Transporter
Posted by CapnRex101,
75103 First Order Transporter was by far my most anticipated set of the new range. I took an instant liking to the purely utilitarian design of the vehicle and the minifigure selection is absolutely outstanding, with plenty of opportunity for army building. The inclusion of Captain Phasma, one of the most intriguing and exciting characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens is also an enormously appealing factor.
Now that I have built the set I am even more delighted. This model is absolutely packed with functions, details and it looks superb in my opinion, although that depends in part on whether or not you like the source material. I certainly do and this set seems to be just about a perfect representation of the landing craft, so what's not to like?
Box and Contents
The box artwork shows the First Order Transporter landed on a mysterious jungle world as troops are unloaded into battle with the Resistance Soldiers. There has been considerable debate regarding the identity of this jungle region, which also appears on the packaging of 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle, but since Yavin IV is strongly rumoured to make an appearance that seems to be the most likely possibility.
The back of the box features the same background along with several small images demonstrating the play functions of the set. The accessories and a few shots of the craft from different angles are presented in a style resembling computer readouts which I like very much.
Inside is a single instruction manual, a tiny sticker sheet consisting of only four stickers and six numbered bags of pieces.
Minifigures
Seven minifigures are included, a fairly generous number in my opinion. Perhaps the most appealing of these is Captain Phasma, who has garnered a huge amount of attention from fans as a result of her striking armour and unique status as the female leader of the First Order infantry. This minifigure is absolutely fantastic, with a huge amount of detail printed on the helmet, torso and legs as well as a brilliant pearl silver colour scheme.
The character's armour is chromed in the film but I think it was wise to select pearl silver for the figure as that allows us to see the designs more clearly. Perhaps a chrome version will be released as a promotional polybag at some point instead. The cape is brand new, with ragged edges and a red stripe running along the edge which appears to match the film exactly. Unfortunately the black head underneath the helmet is not printed, presumably because the graphic designers did not have access to information about her appearance.
LEGO troop carrier sets like this one are notorious for failing to include enough minifigures to man them fully, but that is not the case here. There are two First Order Stormtroopers which are currently exclusive to this set, although that will not be the case for long as a First Order Stormtrooper battle pack will be released towards the end of this year.
Like Captain Phasma and all the other minifigures from the new range, the level of detail is astounding and the updated helmet mould is marvellous as well. The armour design on the legs and torso of each First Order Stormtrooper is almost exactly the same as on their leader, with the addition of some battle damage to Captain Phasma being the only difference.
The head usually used for Clone Troopers appears again here which is a shame as a bit of variety would have been welcome, but given the excellence of the rest of the figure this hardly matters in my opinion. Each trooper is armed with a standard blaster rifle, three colours of which appear in this set alone!
The First Order Flametroopers are bound to be fan favourites after the film has been released, so I am sure these minifigures will prove popular. The helmet is brilliantly designed and matches the film perfectly, as does the armour printed on the torso and legs. The enormous tanks are constructed quite simply using four white cylinders and some 3L bars, but they look the part despite being a little oversized.
Clone Trooper heads appear again beneath the helmets of the Flametroopers and the flamethrowers themselves consist of a blaster rifle with a white cylinder fitted to the barrel. Without creating an entirely new piece just for this weapon I think this is the best solution LEGO could have found and I am pleased to see the black and white colour scheme of First Order armaments represented like this, just as they are in 75100 First Order Snowspeeder.
When images emerged I was surprised and delighted to discover that three kinds of First Order ground troops are included in the first wave of sets based on The Force Awakens. They look fantastic together in my opinion and I look forward to the release of the battle pack so we can build armies of them all!
A pair of Resistance Soldiers are included to oppose the troop transport. These minifigures are dramatically less interesting than their enemies in terms of appearance but the earthy tones of their garb probably make them better suited to the jungle combat featured on the box.
The male and female soldiers are quite distinct in their design, with differing colour schemes and attire. While the male head is printed with a grimace the female one features two expressions: one cheerful and the other angry. Both are laden with ammunition pouches and straps as well as being armed with the same blaster which appears here for the first time in gunmetal.
Presumably the Resistance forces will be a little more coherently clothed in the movie, in which case it will be easier to assemble an army when the battle pack is released.
The Completed Model
I am hugely impressed by the design of this model. Clearly its shape has been inspired by an amphibious landing craft, with a ramp at the front which lowers to disembark troops and a command tower offset towards the rear of the vehicle.
Despite the apparent simplicity of this design, the LEGO model includes a huge amount of detail, most notable of which are the radiators and repulsorlift generators found on either side of the hull. I have rarely seen greebling as good as this on an official set and the use of light bluish grey wheel elements to represent thrusters is particularly impressive. The underside is less impressive, although there are some trans-clear wheels included which suggest that the First Order Transporter can land to disembark troops and then follow them to provide ground support.
The engine blocks at the rear of the transport are mounted at angles using Technic elements. I like the design of the engines themselves but some of the Technic pieces are visible underneath which is a little unsightly. However, they could pass for engine detailing I think so it does not detract too much from the model. The flaps surrounding the engines can be adjusted to change the profile of the ship, allowing you to modify its appearance.
The cockpit looks superb as well, although I would question the tactical sense of the command tower being quite such an easy target during space or atmospheric combat. The rear wall hinges upwards and you can slide out the floor to stand a minifigure inside. Unfortunately the windscreen is black rather than translucent but there is a sticker on the front which represents the glint of the glass, so it looks fine to me. It is a bit of a shame that there is a considerable amount of wasted space beneath the cockpit. Perhaps the entire tower could have been hinged to reveal some weapon storage or a computer console underneath.
By twisting a piece on the side of the model you can send a minifigure bursting through a hatch to man the stud-shooter turret. This is a very entertaining play feature, reminiscent of the pop-up trooper in 7679 Republic Fighter Tank from 2008. Beside the stud-shooters are a pair of missile launchers as well as some layered plates which nicely represent the craft's heavy armour.
The troops ride in the forward section of the transporter along with their guns which be held in their hands or clipped to the walls. We see the Stormtroopers lined up in here at one point during the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and based on that the design of the interior of the model seems quite faithful to the movie. There are some red lights inside along with a couple of small panels on the rear wall, presumably representing a door.
The entire roof can be removed to access the interior, although to disembark the First Order Stormtroopers you will have to lower the ramp at the front. This is done via a Technic mechanism which runs along the underside of the craft. Despite the fact that the lever used to activate the feature is quite difficult to access, being found right at the back beneath the engines, it works very well indeed.
A pair of simulated rams are included on either side of the ramp which is a nice detail, although it would have been even better if they had been functional. The colours of the ramp appear to match the film and line up nicely with the striped flooring in the troop bay, so clearly the designer had access to detailed information about this vehicle when he was designing the set.
Contrary to popular belief this vehicle appears several times in the trailers released for the film, so we have a good idea what the First Order Transporter should look like. The placement of most features seems to be about right but you might notice that the actual transporter is longer than the model would suggest, as demonstrated by its appearance in the image below. A zoomable version is available on Flickr so you can pick apart the details.
The only other notable inaccuracy is that the engine pods are all the same size on the set, while the upper pair appear to be smaller than the lower ones in the movie. Nevertheless, the model seems to be very faithful to the source material on the whole and most of the changes which have been made are appropriate to improve the appearance of the set in my opinion.
Overall
I think these troop transport sets are often some of the most enjoyable to play with, but few sets are packed with as many play features as this one. Between the moving ramp, firing missiles, pop-up turret, rolling wheels and adjustable flaps it would be difficult to fit any more fun in this set! The level of detail is also excellent on both the exterior and interior, although it is a shame that some space has been wasted beneath the cockpit.
The minifigures are perhaps the greatest draw to the set. The variety of troops, divided between both the First Order and the Resistance, is hugely appealing and each one is brilliantly detailed. Captain Phasma may prove to be an important character in the movie, in which case she is really a must-have figure, while the First Order Stormtroopers and Flametroopers have enormous army building potential.
I would undoubtedly recommend this set. The prices of £79.99 in the UK and $89.99 in the US seem quite reasonable to me, although given that the set has already been reduced on Amazon it seems likely that it will be further reduced in future, in which case this set lends itself to buying a couple more so you can begin to assemble an army.
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45 comments on this article
I didn't pay much attention to this set when it was released, but this review could change my opinion as it shows a lot of play features. The X-Wing is still my priority though.
PS : The pic with the four FO Stormtroopers is awesome !
Thanks for the review, I will certainly be buying this epic set!
90? Wow... More than I thought, but the price is almost justified- here's hoping it goes on sale this holiday season...
Awesome! I really want those Flametroopers...
When the leaked images of the set came out, 99% of the comments were like "OMG this set looks so awful". I'm glad to read a review that says quite the contrary ^^
Excellent review, I like this set more and more, although the price is still inhibiting.
I think the wheels are there to make it move, giving the appearance of hovering, rather than to suggest it will follow troops into combat giving fire support. Similar to the TFA First Order Snowspeeder
I have this set and mostly agree with the cap'n. Plain black head for Phasma works - no flesh poking out from helmet. Random female resistance is good to see. After seeing the action figures - and comparing to OT stormies and clones - IMO black hands look better for the new stormies.
Get some ground crew and an officer (like from the TIE set) to man the gun and command tower, put all infantry in the main body, and you have 1 army unit at your disposal, and a great picture opportunity ...
Did not know that the ships alongside Ren's shuttle were these transporters.
Thanks for the review. It solidifies that I do not want any of these new sets. The X-Wing was impressive at Target since they have one built, but I already have an X-Wing, so I don't need another. The Stormtroopers here look better than expected, but I don't care for the snowtroopers or the flametroopers helmets. I like the torso detailing, but I'd want to switch their helmets. Again, probably why I'm not a hardcore fan.
I really like the resistance fighters the most. Hopefully they won't be too expensive on their own since they are so generic.
And a battlepack you say?? I'll just wait for that.
The design of the ship is lame. It looks like a shrunken aircraft carrier with bad proportions. It doesn't look sleek or technologically sophisticated at all. Instead, it's squarish and bulky. The first-order snowspeeder is similarly ugly, and I'm not overly impressed with Rey's speeder or Rylo Ken's ship, either. Sorry to sound so negative, but the ship designers for this movie failed to produce any compelling designs. Perhaps, one could argue, all the sleek and beautiful ships imaginable already exist, and they didn't want to make more evolutions of previous stalwarts. But I disagree. The 3 best ships (of the 7) are the classics (with rather slight mods on the x-wing). And Rey's speeder and a new snowspeeder, especially, presented opportunities for brilliant, beautiful ships. This isn't Mad Max, it's Star Wars. I completely redesigned Rey's speeder, and if I bought this transport, I would do the same thing with it.
I am really digging the look of this set, although the battle pack might be a cheaper option in the future.
@Missing Brick: " what's not to like" is the question he was answering in the review.
@Evil Pixie Works: Stop complaining. Lego didn't design the craft, and anyway, since when was a troop transporter supposed to be pretty?
@icarus8: It isn't meant to be sleek or technologically sophisticated. Its meant to carry as many troops as possible, not be pretty! Why does everybody have to hate on this new movie and it's vehicles?
I'm really warming up to this set. A respectable amount of minifigs and a bunch of play features. If the local TRU knocks prices down a little further (sets were already 5€ below RRP today), I might get it next.
Side note about Phasma: Has there been any indication we'll ever actually get to see her face? It's possible the design just wasn't finalized but I kind of suspect she'll just keep the bucket on the whole time.
Great review! This was a first choice for me from new line up especially given the figure selection; they really are quite special. I really like the design of the vehicle - the details are superb - but felt the fore section was a little too short given the source material, so I modded it to be four studs longer. Now it looks even better and fits Captain Phasma too!
I can't believe the number of reviews that complain about the Clone Troopers all having the same head. They're CLONE Troopers!!!
Great review as always Cap'n Rex! I'm glad someone else likes its looks too for what it's supposed to do: transport troops. You did make some excellent points though. And kudos for actually using reference picks for this ship. You're well informed as always, Cap'n!
@Missing Brick, undersides on Lego spaceships are rarely anything to write home about. This has been the case not only for Star Wars sets, but for many, many other themes with flying vehicles.
Also, It wouldn't inhibit from swooshing, right? This craft isn't going to do too many barrel rolls anyway.
The clone trooper head is overused by this point. There should be a new one.
This set is sort of bulky, but it's supposed to be. The pop-up trooper seat is the most entertaining feature I've seen in a set for a while, and the loading ramp looks great. The prices on all of these sets are ridiculous, however. Each one seems to be 10 to 15 dollars more than it should be.
@Block-n-Roll - No, they are Stormtroopers. Based on purely canonical sources we can infer that they are not clones but human recruits as there is a clear variation in height which is visible in the Original Trilogy. It is confirmed in many 'Legends' sources that although the ranks of Clone Troopers initially serve as Stormtroopers under the Empire, they are soon replaced by human recruits who are deemed less likely to fall under the influence of any organisation but the Empire en masse.
You might also consider this logically. The production of clones ceased in 12BBY while the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens take place in around 34ABY. Therefore, the youngest Clone Troopers have a physical age of 92 by this point as a result of the accelerated ageing.
Finn himself is a Stormtrooper, and to put it delicately, he is not a clone.
^ All above
Oh, right. I thought we were talking about a toy where it really doesn't matter. My mistake. But do I really need to quote every sentence - even from just this review - that refers to "Clone Troopers"? My comment was a flippant one. Take it in the good humour it was intended and don't get too hung up on semantics.
^Block-n-Roll: Your only mistake was in thinking that Lego is a mere toy...everyone on this site knows this is simply not true!
And for what it's worth (not much), I don't have any problems with troopers sharing head designs, they'll never be un-helmeted in my displays anyway...
Great review! This set looks great, though I'm not sure if I will purchase it or not. Will almost certainly pick up the TFA battle packs though. The figures look excellent! Can't wait to see which figures come in the battle packs..
I don't understand. I don't find anything to like about this set. I can't honestly think of any uglier Lego vehicle I've ever seen. Play value not-withstanding as I don't care; absolutely boring. Add to that the Episode VII storm trooper helmet design, which is poor and unwarranted, and you've got a set to completely ignore. There is absolutely no way to improve the original storm trooper helmet. None of this is Lego's fault, except they chose to create such a pedestrian/utilitarian set at all, and charge $90 for it.
CapnRex101 - Excellent review!
I'm really looking forward to this set.
Quick question: Where did you get those huge box images?
They're amazing!
It's a pretty sweet set, but $90 is way too much. If this goes on sale for under $80, it would be a great buy, but that's too much.
@thehornedrat: It's normal for LEGO Star Wars vehicles to be shorter (relative to a minifigure) than they should be in real life. Just compare the size of the new Millennium Falcon with the size it should be (as seen in the UCS version). Why should this (non-UCS) set be any exception?
If Star Wars sets weren't out of scale by design, then they'd be even more expensive.
I will Absolutely have to get this. Surprisingly this is tempting me to get more then one.
Also the stormtroopers are not all recruits, some are cloned of war heros who were humans.
It's funny how we can all debate about whether these stormtroopers are human or clones when it is just part of fiction.
I find that what LEGO did with the length and trooper head perfectly acceptable.
I also have 2 questions for people who complain about these:
1.Could you suggest a better alternative without sacrificing facial details?
2.Would you be willing to pay ~$135 USD for a few centimeters of length and 2 stormtroopers?
Bought this at around midnight on Force Friday and heading in it was my favorite, too. A very enjoyable build and lots of playability, indeed. Definitely recommend!
The opening and closing picture(s) are awesome.
I still dislike the source material. It's not really unique or interesting at all, besides maybe the engines. However, LEGO did an incredible job recreating it as a LEGO set. Accurate to the movie, great figs, great functions - what more could a LEGO fan ask for?
I love the new helmet molds and Captain Phasma looks great (nothing against a female leader, but I'm bracing myself against the feminist onslaught just in case).
Good job LEGO. Give us a better ship, Star Wars.
Aw man, don't put rumours in your reviews or I'm going to have to stop reading them. I want to hear about the bricks, not the spoilers.
@The professor - Indeed, but the vast majority were recruits and the same will presumably be true in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
@JonMarten - We did post an article warning that our reviews may contain spoilers before Force Friday. In order to properly review a Star Wars set one has to consider its movie accuracy where possible, so conjecture is a necessity given that we have yet to see the film.
Excellent review, Cap'n. Excellent enough to convince me to go out and buy one, which I did about 10 minutes ago.
@pagani88 People are guaranteed to hate the movie and it's crafts because they aren't the OT. Even if the movie was the best one ever and the transport was the prettiest spaceship ever, they'd still hate it just because they've DECIDED to hate it. They won't like it even if they do like it. Know what I'm saying?
I would love to see a picture of the troopers inside the transport. How many fit inside.
Regarding Captain Phasma, I find it interesting that they didn't give her the narrowed-waist printing that otherwise seems required for female minifigs these days! (Probably so they can use the same printing on other troopers, of course.)
@CapnRex101 would you say this set is worth the $150 AUD price tag?
@LordofLego - What you say may be true for some fans, but I believe most people will judge this movie on its own merits. Granted, the story's history sets the bar very high for any additions to or new interpretations of it, but that's also true for Lord of the Rings or Batman or any other famous franchise. My early opinion is that the new characters are very cool, and the story looks promising. I have a lot of faith in what JJ Abrams will do with this universe. But I'm not giving Disney or anyone a pass on the design of the ships. It's inevitable that the new ships will be derivative of the originals, and therefore, never as perfect (to us old people). The new X-wing, for example, is essentially the old one with a new color scheme and new engine cross-section. That's fine, you don't reinvent the wheel, you just improve it. But regarding the 4 all-new ships/speeders represented in the 7 LEGO sets, amateurs like me could do better. Perhaps they just don't translate well to LEGO. Or maybe subsequent model generations will improve them.
I wasn't interested in this set at all. It did not appeal to me at first and the price tag didn't help.
But everybody keeps saying this is the best set of the whole wave and it's starting to grow on me!
@Lordmoral - I am away from home at the moment so can't take a photo of the troop bay filled up, but you could comfortably fit eight troopers inside, perhaps ten at a squeeze.
@Brikky13 - When judging the value of a set in countries where LEGO is relatively expensive I tend to base my assessment on what else is available at a similar price. In this case I think 75103 First Order Transporter offers pretty good value in Australia as other similarly priced sets such as 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle or 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium are weaker than this set in my opinion.
I don't get it, This is clearly based on WWII landers. If I I think of a lander, then think of a spaceship version, this is pretty much what it'd look like. Not everything needs to be super flashy or completely impractical. I really like how I can see the link between this ship and its inspiration.
Also thinking, after reading this review, buying this set and modulate it.
@Rob42 - check out Kaufhof, they're 5-10€ below RRP and today you get a 12€ voucher.
Great review, Cap! This was also the set I considered the most as I love troop transport and SW (especially 4-6 and literally all the comics etc about it) was really lacking of those. Still, I would say the LAAT from 1-3 is by far the better transport, better design, better tactical use, better look.
And since we all expect an E7 Stormie pack to come in January, there might not be any good reason to get this minifig wise. 100€ are surely better spend these days, just in my opinion. I can get the ISD and AT-AT for almost this money and the Tydirium for less, and all are more meaty to me than this.
I need two more! Maybe even more... Perfect for a battle scene. The figs offered make it perfect for multiple purchases too.
Too expensive in France ! I'm waiting for a battle pack to have a army of stormtroopers !
This is the first Force Awakens set I picked up and I am very happy with the purchase. I want a few more though.