Review: 75105 Millennium Falcon
Posted by CapnRex101,
The subject of our final Star Wars: The Force Awakens set review is 75105 Millennium Falcon, the largest of the seven sets with a piece count of 1329 and a price of £129.99 or $149.99. Unfortunately, this set has received a great deal of criticism as a result of its similarity to 7965 Millennium Falcon, the 2011 version of the iconic craft. Despite the outward familiarity of the modern rendition it improves upon older models in almost every way and the features it maintains would be difficult to improve upon. Whether you own any of the previous editions or not, this set is well worth adding to your collection.
Along with the updated model of the Millennium Falcon there are also some excellent minifigures included, perhaps the most appealing of which is Finn, a major character in the upcoming film. His presence here is a major selling point, although he will appear in a cheaper set in the next wave so there will be other opportunities to acquire this character.
The Millennium Falcon always inspires high expectations. Hopefully it does not disappoint on this occasion...
Box and Contents
As this is the largest of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens sets it also has the largest box, although not by a great deal. The front shows the Millennium Falcon flying over the plains of Jakku while Tasu Leech and the Kanjiklub Gang Member vainly pursue it from the ground.
The back of the box features some interior shots of the Falcon as well as some images styled to resemble computer readouts. It appears that the rendered images we are accustomed to finding on LEGO Star Wars packaging have been removed in favour of a gallery of the accessories, an appropriate choice in this case given the number of interesting weapons included.
Inside are nine numbered bags as well as s single, large instruction manual. This is packaged with the sticker sheet which is fairly substantial unfortunately, consisting of over twenty stickers, although these are of notably high quality. They feel thicker and glossier than usual and most are fairly easy to apply.
Minifigures
The Millennium Falcon has been rarely been seen in the movies without its owner, Han Solo. The design of this minifigure has changed a number of times since he made his first appearance in 2000, but none quite as significantly as the older version we see here. His hair colour and head printing has been updated nicely to correspond with the film, with a grin on one side and a grimace on the other.
Han's torso and legs also feature brand new printing to reflect his attire which consists of a dark brown jacket, black trousers and the familiar holster from the Original Trilogy. The design continues onto the back of the torso where there is some simple creasing in the fabric. This kind of detail is perhaps unnecessary but I think we would miss if it were absent.
You might notice that Han's alternate face is just about visible beneath his hair piece, a slightly bothersome feature but not a particularly significant one in my opinion. You can see how this minifigure compares with the previous version from 75030 Millennium Falcon here.
![here](https://brickset.com/http://<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/brickset/21836759395/in/dateposted/" title="75105 Millennium Falcon"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5801/21836759395_1f20bf562c.jpg" width="500" height="371" alt="75105 Millennium Falcon"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>){kind=link}
Chewbacca, Captain Solo's faithful co-pilot, has aged rather better than the rest of the Rebel crew as a result of his extended Wookiee lifespan. The minifigure is therefore identical to the one from 75042 Droid Gunship and 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium, with a dark brown head and torso element as well as a pair of printed legs. This design has caused some controversy as the hair around Chewbacca's face should be a darker shade of brown, but I think it still conveys the idea of layered fur quite nicely.
Although Chewbacca wears a new bandoleer in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the design here is the same as that from the Prequel and Original Trilogy versions. I suspect the alterations made to the costume in the movie will have been fairly minor, in which case this design is perfectly satisfactory.
The brand new Bowcaster element is far more than satisfactory though! It is moulded with some impressive detail and the incorporation of a stud-shooter looks fine to me, as well as offering additional play value. Hopefully the same piece will appear in a less expensive set at some point, but if not it is worth keeping an eye on the secondary market as this component is well worth adding to any collection.
While Han Solo and Chewbacca are fan-favourite characters, Rey is one we know little about. I think the entire figure looks superb, with an excellent hair piece which is arranged in three buns at the back and looks to be very faithful the movie. I like the printed design of the torso and legs, although it would be even better if dual-moulded arms had been used with a flesh upper section and light bluish grey lower half.
The same minifigure appears in 75099 Rey's Speeder, albeit with slightly different accessories. There she comes with a staff and headscarf whereas in this set she is armed with a pearl silver blaster. I believe this is intended to represent the unnamed pistol included with the Elite Series figure.
Finn is one of the most important characters in The Force Awakens so it is a shame that he is only included in the most expensive set. However, I happen to know that he will appear in a much cheaper set in the next wave so try to resist paying the exorbitant prices which are being charged on the secondary market at the moment if you are not intending to purchase 75105 Millennium Falcon.
That may be a difficult prospect as this is an absolutely marvellous minifigure. The hair component is new and currently exclusive to this figure, although I am sure it will appear elsewhere soon as it seems like a very versatile design as well as one which closely matches Finn's hairstyle in the movie. The torso printing is equally accurate, with detailed designs of the front and back while the legs are left plain. This too is accurate to the movie for reasons which will become clear once the movie is released.
The head is printed with two slightly different expressions: one with bared teeth and the other fairly calm while he is armed with a standard blaster, an absolute necessity when visiting the dangerous world of Jakku.
Few could have predicted the extent to which BB-8 would capture the attention of Star Wars fans. The many toys and products based on the character seem to have been some of the most popular since Force Friday so I suspect the LEGO version will prove equally popular. Both of his component parts are new and they feature detailed printing all over, with different designs inside each of the four orange circles around his body.
The figure is also nicely scaled with standard minifigures as you can see in the image below. Please note that Poe Dameron is not included in this set, only 75102 Poe's X-wing Fighter, but it seemed appropriate to include him here given his close ties with BB-8.
Tasu Leech is something of a mystery at the moment. We know almost nothing about the character other than that he seems to be part of a criminal group, presumably the Kanjiklub gang. Regardless of the role he has to play in the film, this is a nice minifigure, albeit a rather generic one. This hair piece has not appeared in the Star Wars line in black before, only being used elsewhere for Bard the Bowman from The Hobbit. His head, which is cast in a dark flesh colour like the First Order Officer from 75101 First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter, is printed with angry and neutral expressions.
The torso and leg printing is simple but is useful nevertheless as it would be ideally suited to forming part of a background character in any Star Wars model. If the standard of the other minifigures is anything to go by, this one will be brilliantly accurate to the film, although it is impossible to tell at this point.
Leech is armed with a reddish brown flintlock pistol, an unusual weapon for a Star Wars character. The Kanjiklub Gang Member also included is equipped with a similarly old fashioned gun, although his is a rifle.
The gang member features a far more elaborate design than that of Tasu Leech. He wears a black hat which has only appeared in Series 7 of the Collectable Minifigures before now as well as an eyepatch over his right eye. The torso is printed with a grey jacket which is decorated with some intricate swirls and a dark tan pauldron, a bit like the one worn by Tarfful in Revenge of the Sith.
This printed design continues onto the back of the torso and the legs, looking fantastic from just about every angle. The entire figure is superb and I look forward to spotting the character on which he is based in the film.
The Completed Model
The Millennium Falcon is an icon of cinema and it is therefore a model is defined by accuracy above all else in my opinion. Obviously that is made slightly trickier as we have yet to see the craft from every angle but in general I think it looks very faithful to the movie design. The key feature of the Falcon from The Force Awakens is the new rectangular rectenna which replaces the circular one destroyed during the Battle of Endor at the end of Episode VI. That is represented nicely using a hinge panel with a sticker on it and is mounted using a small ball joint element. This provides a firmer base than the simple hinge used on earlier models of the Millennium Falcon and permits a greater range of motion too.
Otherwise the only changes seem to be cosmetic as the new Millennium Falcon looks more distressed than the Original Trilogy version. This too has been recreated for this model as it now features more dark bluish grey panels than ever before as well as lots of smaller elements to suggest exposed mechanical details.
The general shape of the set is very similar to that of 7695 Millennium Falcon as well as the earlier 4504, at least on first glance. In fact the angled plates which form the hull of this model have a shallower profile than those sets which looks far better and does not compromise the amount of space inside at all. You can see a couple of comparison photos on the Brickset Flickr photostream. There are still the inevitable gaps between the panels but they are hardly noticeable and they tessellate nicely considering the limited selection of angled plates available.
I love the design of the cargo mandibles. These look far better than any which have gone before, predominantly as a result of the improved maintenance access hatches. These actually have some depth to them as a result of the 4x4 round plates with 2x2 cutout which only appeared for the first time in 2012, the year after a Falcon of this scale was last released. These maintenance hatches also integrate a play feature as a pair of missiles can be launched by pressing down on their tails which are accessible through the forward hatches. My only criticism of this section is the absence of detail along the sides of the mandibles which is a little disappointing given the intricate details visible in other areas.
The dorsal and ventral quad-laser cannon turrets are a mainstay of every Millennium Falcon, no matter the scale. These can rotate all the way around as well as raising and lowering so the craft can defend itself from just about any attack pattern.
You can lift the dorsal cannon to reveal seating for two gunners inside. This entire seating area is removable, allowing you to access the minifigures with ease. The six vents towards the aft of the freighter are represented using 3x3 Technic discs, with a sticker on each one. Surprisingly this is the first time they have appeared in light bluish grey on a Millennium Falcon and they therefore look better than they have on previous models in my opinion. The addition of occasional pearl silver 1x1 tiles is lovely, nicely breaking up the colour of the panels without including an excessive range of bright shades.
The underside of the model includes four landing pads, the lower quad-laser cannon and the loading ramp which can be raised and lowered manually. There are some Technic elements visible underneath, but fewer than on 7965 Millennium Falcon. These strengthen the model enormously, so much so in fact that I would be confident to pick it up with one hand, something which cannot be said for any of the earlier sets.
The interior has always been a weak point for models of the Millennium Falcon, but this is definitely the strongest yet. It looks colourful and interesting without being too gaudy, with plenty of room to explore and details to discover including the Hyperdrive, crew bunks and smuggling compartment.
The new Dejarik table is particularly impressive, making use of a shield element which is printed with a marvellously accurate design. The seating which surrounds the table uses stickers to replicate the cushioned seats seen in the movies and a reasonable attempt has been made to form the curved backrest by angling the central section.
The technical station on the other side of the crew area consists of a rotating chair and a large console which looks brilliant, although it is a sticker rather than a printed piece. Between this seat, the gunnery stations and the cockpit there are plenty of roles to occupy every character included, even Tasu Leech and the Kanjiklub Gang Member should they decide to join the Resistance.
You can fit a minifigure inside the smuggling compartment and close the floor panel over the top quite comfortably. The bright red handle which is used to open it looks somewhat out of place but this is easily replaceable with something in a more suitable colour if you wish. Some accessories can be stored using the clips on the walls, ensuring that there is space for most, if not all, of the many weapons included.
Two beds are included for Chewbacca and Han Solo to rest between smuggling missions, although these are just beside the notoriously temperamental Hyperdrive, suggesting that there might not be much time for sleep. A variety of crates, cans and tools can be found littering this area which looks quite effective, although the 1x2 log bricks in tan are a slightly odd inclusion. I suspect they are intended to represent the padded walls of the Falcon's corridors, in which case they are not very successful. However, they could just as easily act as power packs or something of that sort, in which case they blend in nicely with the rest of the junk!
The final section of the Millennium Falcon is also one of the most important: the cockpit. This is something which has been almost perfected since the release of 7190 Millennium Falcon in 2000, finding a fair compromise between scale and interior detail. I think some control panels on the rear wall would have been a great addition and this is a relatively cramped space, but it looks superb from the outside. The fact that there is room for two figures in such a small cockpit is quite impressive, although more would have been preferable of course.
Thankfully both the upper windows and those on the front are printed, ensuring that there are no unsightly smudges left on the translucent plastic as there sometimes are when stickers are required. The entire shell of the cockpit is removable to access the interior just as it has been on the previous two models, allowing one to easily adjust the poses of the minifigures.
Overall
This is, without a doubt, the best Millennium Falcon ever produced at this scale. The shape of the model is more faithful to the movie than ever before and the level of intricate detail has also improved significantly. There are plenty of fun play features and the sturdy construction of the craft makes it brilliantly swooshable, even allowing you to turn it upside down and recreate the barrel roll manoeuvre seen in the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
I think the minifigures are equally impressive. All seven are highly detailed and a variety of important characters are included, with Finn and Han Solo standing out in particular. Only 75099 Rey's Speeder, 75103 First Order Transporter and this set include both heroes and villains, so that aspect of each model greatly increases their playability. Chewbacca's Bowcaster is also a welcome inclusion and I am certain it will prove very popular with fans.
Price is also an important factor to consider and my feelings on the subject in this case are somewhat unusual. Although the UK price is obviously higher in value than that of the US, the price point in the UK seems more reasonable as there has been no increase since 2011 when 7965 Millennium Falcon was released, with the previous set costing £132.99 to account for the increase in VAT at the time. On the other hand, the price in the US has increased by $10.00 to $149.99 since the previous model was released. I would suggest that this increase is justified as the new model is superior to the old, but it is not easy to justify why the price should increase in one country but not in another.
Despite my positive attitude towards the set as a whole, there is still some room for improvement in my opinion. The most notable issue is probably the confined space of the cockpit, although the external appearance of the model might be compromised were it any larger as it is already a little out of scale, albeit not noticeably so. I am also a little disappointed by the number of stickers included but they look fantastic on the whole and are of good quality, nicely recreating the mechanical elements seen on the hull of the freighter in the films. Perhaps the most easily rectifiable problem is the lack of detail on the outer edge of each cargo mandible, which is visible quite clearly in the image above. Hopefully it is apparent though that these few criticisms pale in comparison with what is a splendid set.
All eight sets based on Star Wars: The Force Awakens (including 5002948 C-3PO) have now been reviewed. Hopefully you have found them informative, enjoyable to read and are looking forward to the movie in December, as well as the second wave of sets which will be released to accompany the film.
You can take a look back at the all of our earlier Star Wars: The Force Awakens set reviews by following the links below:
- 75099 Rey's Speeder
- 75100 First Order Snowspeeder
- 75101 First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter
- 75102 Poe's X-wing Fighter
- 75103 First Order Transporter
- 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle
- 5002948 C-3PO
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34 comments on this article
Thanks for the news on Finn being in a cheaper set as I will be holding out for the next UCS MF when ever that might be.
I really want to know how fragile it is. One of my friends has 7965, and it had things falling off if I so much as picked it up and swooshed it a little. If this is a major improvement, I would buy it on a good sale.
Also, including one of the main characters solely in a set that costs $150?! I will be really mad if Finn and Poe don't appear in much cheaper sets in the future.
As with the TIE and Rey's Speeder, I've beaten you guys to it again :P
http://en.brickimedia.org/wiki/Review:75105_Millennium_Falcon/Brikkyy13
Super cool review! Thanks!!!
This set looks cool!
Well, it looks like once I have the money to buy this Falcon: I will finally be able to put my Falcon from 2000 out to pasture... This looks like a great, yet overpriced model.
Kylo Ren's shuttle, here I come.
I've always thought the gunner seats for the pair of quad canons has always been poor on previous MF sets - this new MF looks like it shares the same idea as the 2011 MF :-(
This is almost exactly like the 2011 version-- which I own-- as far as I can tell. Thankfully, the older version was superb in my opinion, so if anyone does not own the 2011 model, this would probably be a good buy.
@Brikkyy13, it's not a competition, you know...
My main complaint would be that it very much looks like a round dish with two appendages sticking out. There is not a smooth transition between the arms and the main body of the Falcon.
Hello to all those who are arguing about accuracy: it is a pile of plastic parts and there are enough bricks in the world to build whatever and however you want it to be.
I prefer the thinner/longer mandibles to the stubbier appearance in the model and I look forward to adding this set to my collection one day. Thanks for the review, CapnRex.
I NEED to know if the new Chewie fits in the cockpit! He doesn't fit in the 7965 version and I've yet to see a picture of him in there...
@J0rgen - Good question; he fits in the second seat but you need to lean him back until he is nearly touching the rear wall.
Thanks, Capn! I've been wondering since I got Tydirium, and no review has mentioned it. Sounds like good ol' 4504 is getting yet another cockpit, then.
@Huw I know, I just wanted to point it out :P
Great set, but can't really justify buying it as someone who has the previous version from 2011, although I do like the new table and the mandible improvements. Might bricklink some pieces for customization.
+1 for the usage of the word 'tessellate' :o)
I'm yet to buy a MF model - perhaps because against the UCS model, they just don't cut it - but I might be tempted with this latest iteration - looks like an interesting build.
Nice reviews! I'm still curious about Luke and Leia in the Force Awakens.
I loved this set. We don't have the previous MF model so I bought this one for my husband and son, big Star Wars fans. We enjoyed building it.
Cons:
- number of stickers
- Several of the seats for the minifigs are in places that prohibit closing the top with a minifig in the seat. My 4 year old kept trying to put Han Solo and Chewie in the seats, then close the top, and they would get knocked off.
- Other interior bits are too hard to get to with adult hands. Several parts of it feel very fragile.
Great review. Have it boxed upstairs, just waiting to hit the top of the 'pile of shame'. Might move it up a place or two based on this...
I really don't understand when people get all upset about the proportions of lego vehicles - the easiest way to look at it is they're caricatures of the vehicle they're representing, just like minifigs are. Finn and Rey don't actually have square legs with holes in them and claw hands, yet you can tell who the characters are no problem. The vehicles are the same - the proportions on SW vehicles are, to a point, always chibi-fied. It's meant to be part of the charm. My advice, ff you want super-accurate, is get moc'ing or get into model kits.
Having said that, the disjointed nature of the mandibles on this one bugs me, particularly on the port side - as mentioned, it's a circle (a really nice circle) with triangles awkwardly attached to the front. The 2004 version still has that beat over this and the 2011 version, and it achieved it through a fairly simple 1-stud taper. It looks like it should be very easy to recreate that on this new one though. I'm going to keep the round dish off my 2004 version when I disassemble it and make this, to make it easy to switch back and forth between EP4-6 and EP7 MF.
That main picture is epic. Gets me hyped both for this set and for the new movie.
As usual the main issue is the price. For $150 they could at least make the interior a little cleaner - lots of the details in the back, like the randomly stacked bricks, look rushed and thrown together.
I think some people need to remember this is a Lego set and not a studio model before passing judgement on things such as scale etc.
This is really a toy (first and foremost) and I doubt kids would care that the cockpit isn't quite in scale along with the other "issues" others have pointed out.
Not bad for those that got it on the Argos 3 for 2 at £88.
Anyone have any idea what the poles on the floor of the interior are representing?
Nice, I really like this Falcon. The only thing I don't like is how there are gaps in the outer shells.
@Albus, I think those are meant to represent railings to section off the ship? That's my best guess.
I suspect the price discrepancy mentioned is the result of currency fluctuations. These are a major factor in Australia, but less frequently seen in the UK/US. I understand prices are set based on exchange rates about 18 months before release. Of course, it could just be marketing picking a convenient price point. :)
I need old Harrison Ford! So this is worth it. I'll just sit it next to the 2011 model. It will look awesome.
Great review, I'll be buying this.
Btw I think the beds in the hold may actually represent a medical bay; it's just that the new Hasbro version of the Falcon mentions a medical bay in that area of the ship.
Very nice review. Especially I appreciate the comparison with previous models. That is an important feature for every review.
Thank you.
If Tash Leech is indeed Played by Yahyan Ruhian from the Raid. That minifig would be perfect!!
http://twitchfilm.com/assets_c/2015/07/star_wars_yayan-thumb-630xauto-56451.jpg