Review: 75126 First Order Snowspeeder
Posted by CapnRex101,
The third wave of Microfighters includes just two sets based on Star Wars: The Force Awakens but I doubt they will be the last. 75126 First Order Snowspeeder is perhaps the less interesting of the two as the minifigure included is not new or exclusive, unlike that in 75125 Resistance X-wing Fighter.
However, I was disappointed with that set on the whole despite the excellence of the minifigure. Hopefully this one will be more impressive.
Minifigure
A First Order Snowtrooper is included to pilot the speeder, just as in the larger version of the craft. I love the helmet design and the torso and leg printing looks great too. It is difficult to assess its accuracy given that First Order Snowtroopers hardly appear in the theatrical cut of the movie but it certainly compares favourably with images of the troopers.
Beneath the helmet is a standard Clone Trooper head and a backpack is fitted to the minifigure using a neck bracket. This features a 1x1 printed tile which has only appeared in this set and 75100 First Order Snowspeeder but looks sufficiently generic to act as a control panel. A spare is included which might be used for just such a purpose.
My only criticism of this figure is the lack of a fabric kama to protect the legs. This is understandable since the figure is intended to be seated in the Snowspeeder and a fabric element could get in the way but it would still be nice to see it included. Regardless, this is an excellent addition to a First Order army and is an inexpensive alternative should you not wish to purchase 75100 First Order Snowspeeder.
The Completed Model
The minifigure is great but I think the model itself is even better, quite the opposite of my feelings on 75125 Resistance X-wing Fighter where the figure is certainly the most appealing aspect of the set. Plenty of accurate details have been recreated and the shaping of the model is superb, although its proportions have been adjusted for the Microfighters range of course.
I am very pleased with the poseability of the stud shooting turret at the front. It can be raised and lowered from a hinge on the deck and also rotates all the way around, allowing you to fire the weapon in almost any direction. In addition to functioning perfectly the turret looks good and the use of a stud shooter seems appropriate here as its chubby shape is ideal for a Microfighter!
There is room for the Snowtrooper to sit behind the turret and a radiator grille at the back, just like on the larger model of the vehicle. Another feature of 75100 which is maintained here is the black lightsaber hilt which represents the velocity sensors very nicely. Three translucent sliders are placed underneath which give the impression of hovering and allow you to move the speeder around with ease.
The addition of the two seat backs which are visible on the vehicle would improve the model but their exclusion is hardly noticeable with a minifigure seated at the controls. It is a shame that the primary scene featuring the Snowspeeder was cut from the theatrical release, particularly since it has been likened to the chase for the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark by those who have seen it. Hopefully we will get to see this vehicle in action on the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film.
Overall
Contrary to my expectations I think this is the better of the two Microfighters based on The Force Awakens. The minifigure is a welcome addition to an army, despite the absence of a kama, while the Snowspeeder itself is splendid. The designer has perfectly combined accuracy to the film with the chibi styling of Microfighters and the result is aesthetically pleasing as well as fun to play with.
This is the last of our Star Wars: The Force Awakens set reviews for the time being. I hope you have found them enjoyable and informative. Just in case you missed any, you can take a look at the earlier articles here:
- 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
- 75105 Millennium Falcon
- 5002948 C-3PO
- 75113 Rey
- 75114 First Order Stormtrooper
- 75115 Poe Dameron
- 75116 Finn
- 75117 Kylo Ren
- 75118 Captain Phasma
- 75125 Resistance X-wing Fighter
- 75131 Resistance Trooper Battle Pack
- 75132 First Order Battle Pack
- 75139 Battle on Takodana
- 75140 Resistance Troop Transporter
- 30605 Finn (FN-2187)
I look forward to bringing you reviews of more sets from the latest addition to the Star Wars saga in the summer!
JANGBRiCKS' Video Review
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14 comments on this article
I have this set, and I really like the design for the mini snowspeeder as well!
So that's at least two sets based on a vehicle that was entirely cut out of the movie. LEGO must be upset about that. Not to mention, because no one's really familiar with this vehicle, you can't even tell if it's actually chibi style like the other Microfighters. It looks like it'd fit just fine in a battle pack or any other regular set. On the bright side, it's cool-looking for whatever it's supposed to be.
^I agree - it doesn't look *too* Chibi-like. Because of this, I think it fits in pretty well as a single-man speeder next to the larger speeder.
I got two and plan to get a few more . This seems more close to the scale of the actual vehicle. I might combine two to get a slightly larger version. The 40$ set seems way too big.
Does anyone here have any insight into how/if the 2016 Microfighters are being distributed in the U.S.? I've seen dozens of FO Snowspeeders, but absolutely none of the other sets. I don't believe it's a case of the Snowspeeder being less popular; I literally haven't seen so much as a shelf tag for the other Microfighters.
This makes more sense to me that the larger set, which seemed far too expensive for a vehicle like this. Of all the microfighters, this one is the closest to being usable as the real thing. Just mod it to be a little bit bigger.
It looks like a vastly superior set to the actual Snowspeeder, which is terribly overpriced, boring, and badly designed. I don't get why they bothered to make it, though, because now everybody knows it wasn't even in the movie.
It was in the movie but only in two brief shots. Like all the other toy companies who made TFA snowspeeders, Lego will not have known the main scene was cut until too late but still they must have been annoyed.
Thanks for the review CapnRex! I picked this set up back in December and completely agree with your assessment; the minifigure is good and the snowspeeder is excellent.
I really like this set, so much so that I've already got four of them. They make very nice 'scout' speeders to recce ahead of the main force. And since the Snowtrooper alone sells for around £6 on ebay it's pretty good value for LEGO. If it ever gets discounted my wallet will suffer.
The Minifigure is great but the rest of the set isn't that great. This was a weird pick for a microfighter because the snow speeder was only in the movie for like a second
@jmjt4: Lego is not milking TFA in any way. They thought, as did other toy manufacturers, that this was going to be a memorable vehicle from the film, so of course they would make sets based of it.
@Will H. L.: They didn't know it would only be in the film for one second. They designed it a long time before the final cut of the film was decided.
Remember TLG doesn't know what will be cut.
They were given a bunch of vehicles for the movie, and had no idea which would be cut.
So don't be so hard on them.
Please review the Imperial battlepack soon