Review: 6176782 Escape the Space Slug
Posted by CapnRex101,
May the Fourth is here but the LEGO celebratory offers are already coming to an end and the most exciting one of all was only available for an hour on the morning of the 30th of April.
6176782 Escape the Space Slug was given out to LEGO User Group members who were invited to an event on Saturday and has subsequently joined the range of exclusive Star Wars sets which are typically limited to Comic-Con events. This one is particularly interesting as it is constructed at an unusual scale and recreates a scene which has never been seen before in an official set.
Box and Contents
The box opens using a flap, much like a LEGO Ideas or Architecture set, but is smaller and glossier than those. It certainly feels like a premium product and the absence of a set number only increases its exclusivity. Unfortunately, the artwork is a bit drab but there is not much else that could have been done given that the colours of the model are muted and this scene takes place in an asteroid field.
Inside is a single instruction manual and a single bag of pieces which is unlike the standard packaging as it is sealed using a sticky substance similar to that on an envelope, allowing you to reseal it afterwards. This suggests that the sets were packaged by hand which makes them feel even more special.
The Completed Model
This set is similar to the San Diego Comic-Con offerings of recent years as the base is constructed using bricks to give the diorama some depth. The dark tan rock work is quite impressive from the front, despite using basic techniques, while the view from the back consists only of a flat wall. I like the way in which the Exogorth has been angled using a Technic pin as it emerges from the asteroid and black tiles are used underneath to good effect, representing the darkness of the cave.
The Exogorth itself is fairly simple in its construction but it looks good. The floor of its mouth is dark red and the white teeth provide an attractive contrast. You can adjust the angle of the lower jaw using a hinge and sensory stalks are attached on either side of the head which is faithful to the creature in the film.
The Millennium Falcon has been recreated at a small scale on numerous occasions but this is the smallest example yet, measuring only two and a half studs in length. Nevertheless, it is easily recognisable and I like the trans-light blue bar which connects the Falcon to the Space Slug as it creates the illusion of speed as well as providing a practical function. It is worth noting that the craft is still massively oversized in relation to the Exogorth, although an accurately scaled model would either require the Space Slug to be much larger or the Millennium Falcon to be the size of a single stud!
Overall
This is a good model but includes no new or particularly rare pieces and I think there is some room for improvement. Exclusive sets like this one, which is limited to 3500 copies worldwide, are nice to own for their value as a collectable and it is great to see this scene represented in LEGO, but its intrinsic quality is not exceptionally high.
This is a must have if you are a fervent Star Wars collector but otherwise I would not bother pursuing it on the secondary market unless you see it at a particularly low price. The current average cost is around £200.00 and there are plenty available on eBay but these prices are likely to come down as more are listed and excitement around the set abates.
If you are hoping to build the set then you can find the instructions here.
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17 comments on this article
Cool.
A wonderful little set! Thanks for the review.
Still a better set than Attack on Hoth :P
It's Assault on Hoth. :-p
wish they did a minifig scale version :-(
@dylzone
It would be larger than the life-size X-wing they once built...
Agreed, much better than Snowtroopers Bob and Tim's Suicide Mission on Hoth.
Edit: hey I just realized, the mini Falcon is about the same size as my attempt to make an ISD scale (1:1600) Falcon. This could be our first ISD scale set since the Tantive IV from the Alderaan Planet set. (Fun fact: the Tantive from the Alderaan set is actually closer to exact 1:1600 scale than the Tantive model that was included with the UCS ISD. Go figure!)
@TheGreenBrickGiant and @mr.bob - I forgot the new name :P
But on a side note, this is a cool scale for a set. I'd like to see more of these in the future.
@Chrismajor2124 and @TheGreenBrickGiant: The confusion is easy to understand. The set is called Assault on Hoth. The fan reaction to the set is called Attack on Assault on Hoth
(Just jokes!)
@All those people above me: You know, when I think of it as Bob and Tim's Suicide Mission on Hoth set, it actually almost makes me want the set.
Maybe next May the Fourth it'll be half off and Bob and Tim can live their wannabe commando dreams. :P
Thank you for sharing. I wouldn't have even known this set existed without this site. I have to admit that I had no clue what the set was supposed to represent until was halfway through the article, despite having seen this movie a hundred times.
The escape trail effect is a smart building technique
Wonderful little set for display proposes.
LEGO should be producing more of these small yet effective sets. It is could to see that they have finally realized that smaller models are just as good as large ones.
@CCarmichael this is the third one
they did mini dagobah SDCC2015-2
they did mini tatooine FANEXPO2015-1
Dang I wanna get this but on bricklink its 200$new
and you pay over 150$ to get the set
P.S im not a member yet :(
Since I can buy the bricks for like $17 on Lego because as you said there are no unique pieces, I'm not sure it is worth the $200 - $300 on eBay. But still a nice rendition of the scene.