Review: 75166 First Order Transport Speeder Battle Pack
Posted by CapnRex101,
The release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens inspired inevitable demand for First Order Stormtrooper minifigures and it would be reasonable to suggest that 2016's 75132 First Order Battle Pack was quite disappointing in this regard. That set included only a single standard Stormtrooper, considerably reducing its appeal for assembling an army of First Order forces.
Fortunately, the quantity of Stormtroopers has doubled in the new 75166 First Order Transport Speeder Battle Pack and a Flametrooper also makes an appearance, having previously been limited to much larger sets. Moreover, some exclusive riot control equipment is included and these accessories are bound to prove very popular based on the overwhelming reaction to FN-2199 in the film.
Minifigures
The set includes two First Order Stormtroopers which are ideal for army building. Their helmets are moulded to replicate the shape seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the printed designs are equally accurate, with black lenses, vents and a pearl silver filtration nozzle. This high standard of detail is maintained on the torso and legs which feature armour plates covering the front and back of the figure. They look great overall but I remain hopeful that the Clone Trooper head will soon be replaced, just to introduce some variety.
These Stormtroopers wear standard uniforms but are equipped with some unusual riot gear. The Z6 riot control baton previously appeared in 75139 Battle on Takodana but has been updated to include a trans-light blue 1x1 round plate which represents crackling electricity. The shield, on the other hand, is brand new and is currently only available in this set. Its shape is perfect in relation to the movie and I like the printed window in the centre as well as the four studs at the corners. It is pleasing to see these accessories in LEGO form and I am sure they will be a significant draw for many people, although stud shooters are also included in case your minifigures require ranged weapons.
The First Order Flametrooper has previously appeared in 75103 First Order Transporter and 75149 Resistance X-wing Fighter, both of which are fairly expensive so I am delighted to see this excellent minifigure in a small set. The Flametrooper wears a unique helmet with a narrow visor and he also makes use of a Clone Trooper head underneath. The torso is highly detailed and these designs continue onto the legs, with a sharp contrast between the black body glove and white plate armour which looks great.
The minifigure is armed with a large flamethrower and this includes a trans-orange flame which fits to the end of the barrel. A propellant tank is strapped to the Flametrooper's back and this is constructed quite effectively using 3L bars and 1x1 cylinders. Unfortunately, there is no hose to connect the tank to the flamethrower as in the film but this might not have been possible at such a small scale.
Battle Packs like this one should be entirely focused upon generic characters in my opinion so the First Order Officer seems superfluous, particularly since similar officers have appeared in a couple of previous sets. Nevertheless, the minifigure looks great, wearing an attractive dark blue uniform which loosely replicates the teal attire of officers stationed in the Starkiller Base control centre.
The cap is printed with a black brim and the First Order insignia while the torso features a simple jacket and a belt. I like the metallic silver buckle but dual-moulded legs could have been used to represent boots which would match the officer's black gloves. This figure is armed with a stud shooter which comes with a black tap element to represent the stock.
The Completed Model
The First Order Transport Speeder does not appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens but its design is consistent with other equipment belonging to the First Order. I quite like the stubby profile of the speeder and the angled windscreen at the front looks great, although the small gap between the two panels is slightly bothersome. These trans-clear trapezoidal flags have only appeared in two previous sets and could be very useful.
The underside of the model is very plain, without even 2x2 sliders which is a shame as it is therefore quite difficult to move the transport speeder across a surface. For display this has very little significance but it does reduce the play value quite considerably so omitting them seems like an oversight on the part of the designer. Of course, it can be easily resolved using pieces from your own collection.
There is room for a single pilot to sit in the cockpit and the vehicle is controlled from a printed instrument panel. The combination of curved slopes and smooth tiles at the front of the speeder looks rather nice and I like the stud shooters which are fixed to either side alongside trans-red lights. Details like these are simple but vital and I do not therefore think that this transport would look out of place alongside sets such as 75100 First Order Snowspeeder.
Being a transport speeder it seems sensible that a large area of the model is dedicated to the storage of weapons. The riot gear is kept just behind the pilot and I think the vehicle looks much better with these accessories in place. Two stud shooters can also be clipped above the engines but a crate would probably have been more effective in my opinion and would have allowed you to store even more weapons if you wish.
A third stud shooter is placed between the engines and faces backwards to defend the vehicle from attack. This can be rotated to cover a wide lateral arc of fire and it also pivots vertically, although that is inhibited to some degree if a minifigure is placed in the gunner's seat at the rear. Nevertheless, I welcome the opportunity to seat a second figure.
Overall
75166 First Order Transport Speeder Battle Pack is a vast improvement over the original 75132 First Order Battle Pack and I think it is a worthy purchase at a price of £11.99 or $14.99. The minifigure selection is very impressive and it is nice to see an exclusive First Order officer included, although I think figures like this one should be excluded from Battle Packs in general as they have limited appeal for army building.
However, undoubtedly the most appealing aspect of this set is the riot equipment which is included, with a particular focus on the exclusive shield. FN-2199's brief battle with Finn on Takodana is quite memorable and I am certain that many fans of Star Wars: The Force Awakens will appreciate this set based on the unique accessories alone.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your thoughts on the set in the comments below.
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32 comments on this article
I really like that new shield piece! great set for expanding your army.
Better for army building than the other battle packs released last year! Great Review
Disagree about the officer. a) he's fairly generic and b) I genuinely do not think battle packs are aimed at AFOLs who want huge armies of stormtroopers. They're for kids, who will buy one to get some bad guys for their heroes to fight. Much more interesting to get variety in the pack.
I think it's nice of Lego to listen to feedback and correct their mistake from last year. This is what we should've gotten in the first place
Great review, this and the Bounty Hunter pack will be the first summer sets I buy!
Much better than the First Order battle pack from last year. Probably not going to get this though. I don't care for of the officer, though the shield piece is a great new mold. Should prove useful in mocs and some clone wars era sets.
Great little set for Sequel Trilogy fans.
I like everything in this set. This is a must purchase for me. Thanks for the pics, too!
Great review. I think the officer is a nice inclusion, though I do agree that if you start to collect an army you're going to have an overwhelming amount of officers. Perhaps LEGO could start reducing the size of the builds in battle packs and include an extra figure? Having three stormtroopers to one officer is certainly a much better ratio, and the flame trooper is a worthy inclusion.
@JonMarten - 8014 Clone Walker Battle Pack is by far the best selling set of this kind to date which suggests that a greater volume of generic minifigures is the key to a successful Battle Pack, as well as the desirability of the subject troopers. The variety of minifigures included therefore seems to have little impact on the popularity of a Battle Pack.
I'll obviously be picking up a few of these - I'm even keen to get a few of the officer. The speeder though - I don't know what I think. It looks like you've just finished bag 1 and there loads more to do before it's actually built. Never mind, still some useful pieces.
I'm also looking forward to the next star wars reviews after seeing your republic tank and stormtrooper images on Flickr!
This is one of the best battle packs yet, in my opinion. Thanks for the review!
That speeder certainly qualifies for worst Star Wars model ever.
I'd have to agree with CapnRex101; my nephew wanted lots of stormtroopers to play with and luckily in 2015 we had 75078 with 4 for $16. Up until then it would have 7667 been with 3
I wish Lego would release true battle packs with now extras just minifigures (6-12); they'd sell.
Personally, I'd like a pack with only generic stormtroopers, so whilst doubling is ok, I'd have preferred 4 :-)
I'd also like to have seen a shot of the new shield piece from the rear, but I'm sure I'll cope until I get a few of my own.
Looks great. Picked up the Bounty Hunter set from Smyths and will likely pick this up too
Thank you for posting this highly informative review. I should find it easier to build a First Order army now than before which was a pretty frustrating experience I must say.
Looks to be just about a perfect battle pack except for the missing 2x2 round sliders. Which I can easily remedy.
Nice Shield! Also, I like the officer.
@CapnRex101 Sure you're not just biased towards clones, Cap'n? ;)
Where do you get those sales figures from, please? Would be interested in seeing how different battle pack sales compare. For instance, it might be that Clone Walker came out alongside Assassin Droids - possibly the weakest battle pack we've ever had. Folks who bought one of each pack in previous years might have just bought an extra clone walker instead. I know I did.
Would be fun to dig into the numbers a bit - whether the the Rebel Speeder sold better than the Imperial dropship would be an interesting comparison, since one of those had 4 identical figs and the other only 3, and they came out in the same year.
Would also be interesting to find out how this pack sells against Bounty Hunters, since this one is presumably much more attractive to army builders. But then again, we've had a First Order pack already, so maybe that makes this one less appealing. Too many variables!
Want it want it. I can't have enough of these stormtroopers! The speeder's design I actually find attractive, like something you would find in a hangar.
Yet another great review - Brickset are on a roll! I wonder whether the delay for this battle pack might suggest that we get an extra Rogue One battle pack next year? I'm pretty sure plenty of people would find a Shoretrooper/Scarif Stormtrooper battle pack appealing. Of course a 'classic' Stormtrooper battle pack using the mould from 2014 still hasn't happened yet in the sense that Rogue One got halfway there.
The BP I bought the most of was the original Clone Trooper (Ep III) one from 2007. Must have had at least 10 of those to bolster my Republic Forces - and back then, BP's were a 'new' idea!
This is definitely better than the original First Order Battle Pack. Too late for regrets though. I didn't think they would actually release another one so soon.
TRAITOR!
Looks like a nice battlepack, but my money is going on the bounty hunters.
Ahh, fond memories! Way back in Christmas 2009 I received the 2008 and 2009 battle packs - my first star wars sets. all that remains are the stickered pieces and two minifigures - a Rebel trooper and a clone gunner, which is the reason I'm looking forward to the republic fighter tank so much. Back then, my favourite was the scout speeder because it looked fast, but I suppose that the best one is the dropship because it has three stormies, anyway I actually really like the speeder design, shame about the lack of sliders, though that can be easily rectified.
"The underside of the model is very plain, without even 2x2 sliders which is a shame as it is therefore quite difficult to move the transport speeder across a surface. For display this has very little significance but it does reduce the play value quite considerably so omitting them seems like an oversight on the part of the designer."
Oversight? I do not think so - the bean counters will control the manufacturing costs for a given set within fractions of a penny.
In this case, no beans left for sliders.
@bok2
I have a feeling you could be very right on that.
I like it - there are some nice parts in there even if you don't want to build an army. And I like the inclusion of an officer. Yes, these might be good sets for building armies of all the same figure, but they've also got to be attractive for just buying one set.
Interesting set. Although 3-4 stormtroopers in a single battle pack would've been nice.
Its really cool this vehicle made it into a set, it was seen only in the Art of the force awakens book and I really wished it could have shown up in the movie along with the first order at-ats
I think this is WAY better than the 2016 first order battle pack. In the last one you got only 1 regular stormtrooper along with some crew members and a heavy artillery trooper. In this one, you get 2 stormtroopers, a MUCH cooler officer, and even a flametrooper! Still though, it would be nice if at some point we got a battle pack with 3 - 4 stormtroopers and possibly a stormtrooper captain/commander.
Is the officer in Blue Colonel Datoo? He made a brief appearance in the movie, but it was on the StarKiller Base and not driving troops around lol.