Review: 75176 Resistance Transport Pod
Posted by CapnRex101,
75176 Resistance Transport Pod is the smallest of the seven Star Wars: The Last Jedi sets which make up the first wave, containing just 294 pieces. The unusual design of the vessel may divide opinion but I like it very much, not least because the model includes an impressive array of play features and plenty of external details.
Furthermore, the minifigure selection is great so I have been keen to add this set to my collection. Unfortunately, the set costs £39.99 in the UK which seems very expensive to me. I therefore took the opportunity to purchase the set for the more reasonable cost of $29.99 while on holiday in the US recently and at that price point I think it offers pretty good value.
Minifigures
Finn has undergone a few changes for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and these are reflected on his brand new minifigure. The textured hair piece remains the same and looks good but his head features two fresh designs, with an excited smile on one side and a frightened expression on the other. Finn also sports an updated outfit consisting of pearl dark grey trousers and a leather holster along with a tan shirt.
However, Finn continues to wear Poe's flight jacket which now features evidence of his ill-fated duel with Kylo Ren. The right shoulder pad has been sewn together after being cut by a quillon blade on Kylo's lightsaber and a larger slash is visible on the back of the torso. This shows wonderful attention to detail on the part of the graphic designer. Finn comes with a pearl silver blaster, matching the colour of his EL-16 rifle from The Force Awakens.
Finn is joined by Rose Tico, a Resistance maintenance worker who idolises Finn following his actions on Starkiller Base. Rose's hair style is unusual but suits her practical requirements and is very nicely textured. The torso and legs are decorated with a similarly practical dark tan boiler suit that features a couple of pockets for tools and some creases in the fabric.
In addition, some Aurebesh letters reading 'GLD' are printed on the chest. This stands for 'Ground Logistics Division', a branch of the Resistance which maintains vehicles for the organisation. Rose is equipped with a blaster pistol and a few more accessories are stored inside the Transport Pod, including two thermal detonators and an orange shock gun. We have yet to see the latter weapon in action so I look forward to discovering what it can do!
BB-8 completes the minifigure selection and remains unchanged since his first appearance in 2015. The droid consists of two elements, a spherical body and a dome-shaped head, both of which are printed with an attractive orange and silver pattern. These designs match the movie perfectly, right down to the four unique tool discs on BB-8's body.
The Completed Model
The Resistance Transport Pod appears remarkably ungainly, featuring a large cockpit set to the port side and a prominent stabiliser fin on top. Its design matches that of the cockpit module from 75140 Resistance Troop Transporter and the set description appears to confirm that the pod is jettisoned from the larger vessel as an escape craft in the movie.
The model measures 14cm in length so is larger than the cockpit of 75140 Resistance Troop Transporter and it feels quite heavy as many functions are included. Unfortunately, the set also includes a total of fifteen stickers, almost half of which are placed on the cockpit canopy. I generally favour printed elements but this curved windscreen has not appeared in trans-yellow before so should appeal to Classic Space fans. A printed design would have reduced its versatility so on this occasion I think the use of stickers is appropriate.
Applying the stickers is a bit tricky but the results look brilliant and the interior is excellent too. There are upholstered seats for two minifigures and a control yoke for the pilot alongside a clip to hold a blaster pistol. The circular hatch beside the cockpit is also quite attractive as a sticker in the centre depicts some nice mechanical details.
There is additional storage space for accessories behind the cockpit. Removing a hull panel reveals another clip holding Rose's shock cannon as well as a slot for two printed thermal detonators. The shock cannon is notable for including a pair of orange binoculars which have not appeared in this colour before. A spare is included and there is also a spare thermal detonator so you can expand the existing arsenal.
The Transport Pod relies upon five thrusters for propulsion. The four smaller engines are represented by trans-medium blue heads which look superb and I would have liked to see a matching glow on the larger engine too. However, the thrust vectrals surrounding the engines are very nicely constructed and I like the different shades of grey which are combined to give a worn appearance.
Twisting the larger engine nacelle causes the turret to rotate. This feature is very well hidden and works perfectly as an extra gear maintains some friction, thereby allowing you to pose the weapons. A stud shooter is placed alongside the blasters and the space in front of the turret is also exploited as removing the panel on top reveals a second storage bay. There is another area towards the rear which houses a slot for BB-8.
More firing weapons are hidden on the underside of the pod as turning the grey disc below the turret will launch two spring-loaded missiles. Once again, this feature is very well hidden and does not interfere with the exterior appearance of the model at all. It is unusual to see quite so many features squeezed into a model of this size and I hope to see a similar trend in future Star Wars sets.
Overall
This set has definitely surpassed my expectations. I find the inelegant shape of the Resistance Transport Pod to be quite charming and the use of space inside is excellent as seats, storage space and play features are packed in wherever possible. The minifigure selection is equally impressive as I think Finn has been considerably improved since making his first appearance in 75105 Millennium Falcon and Rose is currently exclusive to this set.
Unfortunately, the high quality of the model and minifigures does not excuse the UK price of £39.99 which is nothing short of ridiculous in my opinion. The US price point of $29.99 seems much more reasonable and I think a matching £29.99 would have been fair, although even then the number of stickers is disappointing for such a small set. Nevertheless, I would recommend 75176 Resistance Transport Pod, albeit only at a considerably discounted price in the UK, as I like the unusual vehicle and the figures are truly excellent.
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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36 comments on this article
I'm aware that pricing arguments have previously been done to death, but honestly - in what parallel universe does a price of US$29.99 translate into a UK Sterling price of £39.99 for this 294-piece set? Quite extraordinary.
Going to be getting this one with Christmas money in a couple months! Looks fantastic.
I imagine there will be a ton of these discounted on UK shelves in a few months time.
Looks great, but I'm *definitely* waiting for a 25+% discount as the price is horrendous.
I was very impressed with this set upon putting it together. The multitude of features was unexpected and delightful. Rose and Finn are both great figures, important characters, and exclusive to this model. Sure, it's ridiculously small for a $30 set, but it feels like an ultra-premium high-density model and since I'm running out of shelf space anyway it was a good buy. I would recommend it without reservation to any SW fan once it goes on sale for just a little less - it'd be a great deal even at $25.
30 dollars equals to 40 pounds / euros??? Nice going...
Thank you so much for the excellent review. Can't wait to get the set. You know, I was thinking that the set will be a good one for parents to get their kids. BB-8 is now in a less expensive set finally. (Finally getting a BB-8 with the Advent Calendar this Christmas.)
I love how this set has lots of features and detail. That canopy piece is so useful for spacecraft. Rose has an unusual hairpiece and I love Finn's updated minifig. Again, great review!
In 2007 you could get a 600-piece Fire Station for the same price.
Hrm...
For a sub-300 piece set, this packs some amazing punch, and I think it looks like it's certainly worth the $30 US price tag. The 40€/£ pricetag, though... even for such a great set, that's too much. It would be high in dollars, so in Euros/Pounds? Pretty ridiculous.
Going by current currency values, $29.99 should equal £22.57. Seriously, why do we have to pay nearly double the price in the UK for this? £25 and I'd have snapped this up as a fun little set. As is though, not gonna touch it until its £30 or less.
Looking forward to picking this one up - as a parts pack, as usual - once it inevitably drops below 25€. Which, by the way, should have been the RRP. Seriously, this is ridiculous, even for the already overpriced TLJ range. I can't imagine anyone forking over 40€ for something this small, with only 2 actual figures.
I was surprised at just how much I fell for this model. So many hidden features and detail, it really is a shining example of making a lot out of a little.
Any idea who the designer is?
Looks great but 30 quid is my cut off point.
I hesitated long before buying it because its price. And also wondering why a set for something which is just a bigger scaled part of pre existing one? But in the end, as Capt'n Rex, I 've been very positively surprised with all hidden storage, many play features in a small ship, wide cockpit and places for two minifigs and stuff, BB8 well hidden back as in a maintenance zone... But for that number of hard to apply stickers on a curved canopy (real care is necessary for decent result) it eventually revealed a good little set. Once seated in cockpit the two minifigs look very good, the trans-yellow canopy is large enough to see them as in a real ship, the effect is nice. But as told also it's too expensive again for what it is. There really are Lego SW price points I don't understand... Positive mention also for Finn's trousers color and overall details, this gun metal grey is really beautiful. Thank you for reviewing it.
Its like a lot of sets be patient... By sheer coincidence I got one on an Argos 3 for 2 so the adjusted price on my speadsheet is £27.99. Not bad for a set only out a few weeks. 3 for 2's will come around again. But again only just noticed I have a Republic Fighter Tank which has more pieces, more figures, and is £19.99..... Its almost as if someone in Lego is saying.... lets have a laugh and see how much we can get away with for new films.
This set cost €49.95 in Finland...You can keep it!
Even though Rose is exclusice to this set at the moment, I have seen a leak of a First Order undercover Rose coming in an early 2018 set.
Is Lego punishing the UK for Brexit? Price in Canada is comparable to US price
It's such a shame, at £20 this what appears to be quite small set would be expensive, but almost double that? £39.99, £39.99 - excuse me?! Losing a grip on reality sadly...
There a way to fit this into Resistance Troop Transport, even if it doesn't look proportional?
Regardless of the number of pieces, the size of the resulting model only looks like a £20 set. £39.99 for this is a joke.
Rose's hair reminds me of the original minifig female hair piece (sans the rear pony tail) - nostalgic.
I think this set is kind of an useless addition and would have been best to be replaced with a set that made sense. They should have just made the pod from the previous Resistance transporter detachable.
While my oldest has no interest in this one I may have to pop for it for myself. The features and smart space management looks remarkable for the $30 price point.
I got the whole Resistance Troop Transport for less than 40€, so the price here is a tough pill to swallow, even with a bigger scale and all the nice features and new minifigs. I know it's not fair to compare sale prices and msrp, but I just think we don't get enough value here for our money.
@ChrisBricks81 - the pod is detachable, you can find photos from different reviews.
The big question is, will this pod fit on the Resistance troop transporter?
The price is absurd, btw.
It's the perfect Christmas present for Santa's list - the price is insane so get someone else to buy (ahem, assemble) it for you! That's what I'm doing because I've literally reached an impasse with that price.
At the risk of flogging a dead horse, besides the price of this set individually, it doesn't make sense for The Last Jedi range as a whole. £40 for the cheapest set in a range removes the impulse purchase slot and there's another set at only £50. The market positioning of Rey's Speeder with the Force Awakens release and the Imperial Hovertank with the Rogue One release were much, much better for impulse buys and multiples.
Having said all of this though I will concede that the design has a certain appeal and the amount of play features is fantastic - I'm glad the review raised these redeeming features!
great review ... gotta be one of the worst price per piece ratios for GB though, stinks for you guys on the other side of the pond
also I agree with VictorvanSchagen ... will this fit on the Resistance Troop Transporter, or do you think there will be a possibility we see a larger set of the larger ship from which this set originated? we may have to wait until the movie for that one, though.
$60 here in Australia is ridiculous (not as ridiculous as the UK price, which translates to almost $70 AUD!), like others I'll be waiting for a discount
Many thanks for reviewing this! It's been a wait, but worth it. :-)
I must agree with exorbitant UK price, but in the US it's a steal. Apart from the stickers—they look great once they're on, but getting them on...ouch...
When this goes on sale with at least a 40% discount I will definitely get it, but not one minute earlier. The price is just insane for such a tiny model.
What I really love though is the trans-yellow canopy piece - sans stickers. What a great opportunity for some Classic Space MOCs.
I imagine with the price increase for the UK, it's due to Lego/Disney trying to make more money from UK consumers. After the film comes out and by January, I imagine I could pick this set up for £20 or £25 if lucky. Would be lucky to buy it for the same value in USD in GBP.
$60 in Australia for this?
Hard pass. That's absurd.
come on, some play features and hidden storage doesn't save this blatant repurposing of a part of another set....and for the price....I am aware that this is a fan site but still. It's disgusting.
Perhaps dropping the price and then launch few more sections of the Resistance Troop Transporter (RTT) to enable various sets to be combined into a decent sized RTT might see the better sales of this set.