Review: 75178 Jakku Quadjumper
Posted by CapnRex101,
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be released at the end of this year and LEGO has accordingly returned to the film's predecessor in the latest wave of Star Wars sets. 75178 Jakku Quadjumper depicts a brief but memorable scene from the movie in which the escaping Rey, Finn and BB-8 rush to commandeer a powerful craft intended for transferring freight, only for it to explode in front of them as a TIE Fighter races overhead.
Enjoyable though this scene is, the Quadjumper only appears for a matter of moments before being destroyed in the film and one is left wondering to what extent demand for the set exists. Hopefully the pleasing selection of main characters and high level of accuracy will go some way to alleviate this, although with a price point of £54.99 or $49.99 I remain uncertain.
Minifigures
The Rey minifigure is unchanged since it first appeared in 2015 but there is little room for improvement in my opinion. The dark brown hair piece looks brilliant in relation to the movie and I love the freckles printed on both sides of the head alongside smiling and determined expressions. The printing on her torso and legs is similarly faithful to the source material, with layered fabric crossing the front and back which is secured by a simple dark orange belt around her waist.
Perhaps the only suggestion which I might make would be to include dual-moulded arms representing the exposed skin around Rey's shoulders. This is a subtle detail but would have helped to perfect what is already an excellent design. As usual, Rey comes equipped with her black staff which consists of two lightsaber hilts linked by a 4L bar.
Only two previous Star Wars: The Force Awakens sets have featured Finn in his Resistance guise so I am glad to see him again here. The textured hair piece is ideally suited to the character and the double-sided head looks great, featuring a stern expression on one side and a grimace on the other. Both are appropriate for this scene in the movie but are sufficiently generic that the head could be used elsewhere if you wish.
The medium dark flesh jacket inspired a great deal of conjecture prior to the release of the movie and thankfully the LEGO rendition is superb. There is plenty of printed detail showing various zips and straps which continues on both sides of the torso and I like the red striping on the right shoulder. Finn's legs are black to match the shirt beneath the jacket and he is armed with a standard blaster for extra playability, although he did not use a blaster while escaping from Niima Outpost in the film.
BB-8 consists of two specialised elements, both of which are printed with impressive detail. The head features a black photoreceptor, a holographic projector and some metallic silver rings while the body is adorned with four unique circular designs, all of which are accurate to the movie. Remarkably, this is only the second set to include the three most prominent characters in the movie and it is by far the cheapest yet so will surely appeal to those who are missing Rey, Finn or BB-8 from their collection.
Unkar's Brute first appeared in LEGO Star Wars: Chronicles of the Force last year so I am a little disappointed to see him again in a standard set, although the figure will doubtless be new to many. The ragged head wrap leaves only a single eye exposed and this detail continues onto both sides of the olive green torso. I like the folded hood at the back and the torn edges of the jacket look superb.
The thug is equipped with a black dual-barreled blaster which I always think looks a little odd in Star Wars sets, although it is nice to see something different. However, it bothers me that this minor character has not remained exclusive to last year's book and a new minifigure, perhaps depicting the Kyuzo law enforcement agent Constable Zuvio, would have certainly been preferable in my view.
A single First Order Stormtrooper is also included. He wears a black artillery vest which also appears in 75132 First Order Battle Pack as well as a printed backpack like that found in 30602 First Order Stormtrooper to match the trooper who requests the air strike on Niima Outpost in the film. The helmet is highly detailed with a black visor and can be removed to reveal a standard Clone Trooper head.
The backpack consists of a black neck bracket and a printed tile which also appears on the Snowtroopers in 75100 First Order Snowspeeder. This is not entirely faithful to the source material but it does the job and the designs on the torso and legs are perfect, as is the black blaster rifle which is included with the minifigure.
The Completed Model
The high level of detail which covers every aspect of the Quadjumper is immediately impressive. I adore the combination of light and dark bluish grey alongside dark orange and this colour scheme is very reminiscent of the source material, as are many of the subtle mechanical details which are visible from all angles. It would therefore be very easy to create an impressive Jakku display based around this model alone, especially if you also own 75105 Millennium Falcon to rest alongside it.
However, such extensive detail comes at a cost and the model is relatively small when compared with recent Star Wars sets such as 75152 Imperial Assault Hovertank, shown below. This is disappointing given the cost of the set, although it fits with the scale of the vehicle in the film and feels fairly weighty when flown around. I think this compromise is justified by the superior detail, although its small size is undoubtedly striking.
The profile of the four engine intakes looks brilliant from the front and I like the turbines printed on 2x2 tiles. Some printing on the viewport between the engine nacelles would also have been welcome and the gaps on either side are slightly irritating, although I think the existing windscreen element which has been used is perfectly serviceable and it offers a good approximation of the original design. Furthermore, this component is hinged so the canopy opens in two sections, thereby maximising the accessibility of the interior.
Opening the cockpit reveals seats for two minifigures to sit in tandem, showing good attention to detail as the subject vehicle is shown to contain a similar seating configuration in several books. The light beneath the cockpit is a nice touch and I like the control panels on either side of the pilot, although these stickers are a little tricky to apply without the aid of tweezers of the tip of a brick separator.
Another sticker appears on top of the model and represents some cargo sensor equipment, although the crane situated behind this in the movie is unfortunately absent from the model. Instead, a somewhat conspicuous light bluish grey ball is visible at the end of a plunger, the purpose of which will shortly become clear. It is worth noting that the Technic ball is still reasonably rare in this colour and has the potential to be very useful in your own models.
Each engine nacelle consists of stacked cylinders and round plates topped with a pearl silver wheel rim. The housing and stabiliser vanes are then fitted over the top and a large sticker is used to represent the coolant lines on the lower engines. Being a commercial vehicle, the Quadjumper is unarmed in the film but on this occasion it features a simple arrangement of a hinged blaster cannon alongside a stud shooter. These do not interfere with the appearance of the model at all and serve as valuable additions for play.
Each of the four engines is fixed to the fuselage using a Technic friction pin and a tan axl pin. This connection is fairly stable but also forms part of the primary play feature as pushing down on the grey plunger will cause the upper engines to explode, recreating the Quadjumper's unfortunate demise in the movie. I have found that this works very well indeed and they are easily reattached in case a rapid repair is required.
The base of the plunger includes a flat button which lies flush with the underside of the craft when it is landed. In flight the button extends a short distance from the bottom so deactivates the exploding function, although you can hold it in place manually. It feels slightly as though this is the remnant of an additional feature which would cause the lower engines to explode but that this was removed from the final set. Nevertheless, the button serves a purpose and does not interfere with the appearance of the model at all.
The three landing feet are also visible in the image above. These are fitted using click hinges so retract a little way but I prefer to leave them extended. The view from the rear is as impressive as that from the front and includes the orange-glowing thrusters as well as a hatch with a couple of trans-clear details. Like the cockpit at the front, this opens in two parts for easy access to the interior.
There is room for a single minifigure at this end and a stud shooter folds out to identify this area as a gunner position. Within the Star Wars universe this station controls the tow cable but I think this design offers greater play value and avoids the need to include a separate crate or any string. Printed thermal detonators are attached to the walls, perhaps to represent controls, while a clip allows you to store an accessory.
Closing the roof hatch blocks out most of the light but you can still see one of Unkar's Plutt's henchmen sitting inside. The angular shaping around the rear hatch looks brilliant and you can retract the blaster with the minifigure inside if you like. Details like these make it difficult to decide which side of the vehicle is best for display!
Overall
This set will doubtless divide opinion. On the one hand, 75178 Jakku Quadjumper looks marvellous, is packed with play features and includes some very desirable minifigures. However, the absence of new figures is disappointing for those who have collected most of the existing sets and it is difficult to justify the price of £54.99 in the UK given the size of the model. The US price of $49.99 is more reasonable but even then I am not certain that the vehicle is sufficiently interesting to entice many fans.
Nevertheless, the level of detail is exceptional and on that basis it makes for an excellent display model. I would therefore recommend it at a reasonable discount or if you have yet to acquire some of the major characters included in this set, although the similarly priced 75532 Scout Trooper & Speeder Bike, which we reviewed a few days ago, is even more impressive in my opinion.
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27 comments on this article
UK price is higher than the US price (at least in terms of the amount of currency)? That's new.
For me, this is pretty much the successor of the Twin-Pod Cloud Car. Fun ship design with very little screen time. Grabbed it as soon as I saw it even tho I've no doubt this will be 20% off on Amazon before too long.
I too was a little bummed to see the rarity of Unkar's 2nd thug drop, but he makes a good filler minifig either on Jakku or just tossed into a Cantina.
I like the smaller size just because it makes them a little easier to hang from the ceiling, and this one looks great suspended.
$50 seems an awful lot for such a small model, especially given its small on screen presence. Heck I think the Star Speeder 1000 hidden in the background on Jakku had about as much screen time as the Quadjumper did! :P
A nicely designed model for sure. Beautiful build. Great for fans of rare ships. But as Han says, who wants to return to Jakku? Just about everyone has all five minis at this point, the ship was barely in the film, making this just four engines to display next to that piece of garbage, we all love. Good for those who want to make a Jakku diorama, complete, not much else.
I don´´`´t see myself plus many people buying this set. If you think about space we have already consumed for something that simply appeared seconds is not worth, less for that price
EDIT | DE
I will never not get over TFA being described as enjoying and memorable, but oh well. Model is decent enough, but let down in price. Zero exclusive minifigures don't help its case either.
When does the UCS model come out...we've had multiple iterations of the B-Wing, so why not the this.
This is awesome.
Even though it has little relevance to the film or the universe, I absolutely adore this craft simply because of how it looks (both the LEGO version and the "real" version). So I'm personally thrilled to see it being made into a set, even though it's certainly a bit odd that it was.
Thanks for the review!
It's funny to hear (not necessarily here, but online in general) so many peoples' questioning why this set exists because "it's only onscreen for a second". Because that's one reason why I was in love with the ship the first time I saw TFA: it's such a unique, characteristic design that begs to be swooshed; I wanted to see more in any medium. So I'm super-happy to have an official LEGO version produced.
I'll be picking up this set, although it's not at the top of an already expensive wish list. I always appreciate Lego offering civilian Star Wars vehicles, although the minifigures included are dissapointing imo. I've already got all of them, and now I feel like I wasted money buying a kid's book to get a no longer exlusive minifigure (who I still think looks like he's contracted a bad case of Space Leprosy). The ship looks pretty great though, except for the big gaps around the windshield (maybe there's a force-field to keep the air in and space out?). I'm going to modify it to take out the technic bits and exploding engines feature to create one long cabin, which will hopefully have enough room for a bed, toilet, and food prep area (a space smuggler's camper van :).
Doesn't the Quadjumper have more screen time than the First Order Snowspeeder?
The price is laughable.
I managed to snag one for 20% off from Target this past weekend. They were having a sale on all Star Wars sets, which included all the new summer sets that they prematurely put out. I bought the Quadjumper and one of the new battle packs. While on the whole I enjoyed the build and design of this set, I think $40 is a fairer price tag for it than $50.
I really, really dislike how they designed this vehicle. I think TLG is breaking, ihmo, two important rules here:
- spaceships have closed cockpits.
- no stickers in weird places.
The weird huge gaps between the screen and the cockpit totally break the believability, and how useful is it to have consoles on the inside of those angled bricks. :-(
Nice looking set, I don't own Finn or BB-8 yet, but 75€? Absolutely no way.
Seems to be pattern with this wave of SW sets. Decent looking sets, but somewhat expensive for what they are. At least every set below 35€ is great value.
I'll be one of the people buying this, I just really like that among the usual sleek swooping designs of lego spaceships, star wars models in particular, you have this great chunky pig of a thing. it absolutely looks like its a ship designed to haul cargo, even if actually carrying stuff will involve modding the gunner position into a bay of some sort
It's an impressive ship is you are going to populate your MOC, the Unklar Putt thug is an good addition as it was available in just one set as well as the FO StormTrooper artillery Sargent. A neat set for fans of the new trilogy.
Why the high UK price, this is never a £55 set. Sorry, I like the model, but not the price, so I'll give it a miss
Isn't that FO Stormtrooper the same as in the 2016 polybag, number 30602?
Also known as sw722
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=30602-1T=S&O= {}
If so, as well as the Unkar Brute, it seems less and less interesting to buy 'special' polybags or books just to get a minifig. In time LEGO will add them to a 'regular' set. Same happened to some Advent Calendars if I recall correctly!
Could have saved me about $20,- on these 2 specific minifigs.......
It's a good looking ship, far better than most of the designs we got from TFA. I think my main problem with it is that, beyond maybe Unkars henchman, it doesn't include any crew, so actual play is pretty much limited to what happened in the film.
"The Rey minifigure is unchanged since it first appeared in 2015 but there is little room for improvement in my opinion."
I really feel that she was a huge missed opportunity to mold arms with flesh upper and grey lowers to match her wrapped arms, bare shoulders look in the film.
Yes I definitely could've gone for a Constable Zuvio instead of the Brute. Maybe even Sarco?
@bobni
No the torso on the polybag variant is exclusive.
It looks like a lovely set, and those dark orange pieces are great, but the price? *winces*
I really like the look of this vehicle. I love the colors. I will probably get it at some point when there's a discount or price drops. Thanks for the review!
I actually remembering thinking shortly after the film this would make a fun set, but questioning if LEGO might make it. Still, probably will sooner bricklink than buy, given I have all the figs from elsewhere. (Well, not the new thug, but that's not attractive enough for me.)