Review: 41629 Boba Fett
Posted by Huw,
Boba Fett is one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe so when he first became available in BrickHeadz form in the SDCC exclusive set 41498 Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite last year, many fans were disappointed that they couldn't get their hands on him.
They need be disappointed no more because the just-released 41629 Boba Fett is a considerable improvement on the version in the SDCC set.
It's worth mentioning first that the set contains 161 pieces, which is more than any other single BrickHeadz, and more than some of the dual-packs, so from a price-per-piece point of view it's an excellent proposition, particularly as many are sand- and dark-green.
Construction
Once you've built one BrickHeadz, you've built them all.... until you tackle this one!
The Mandalorian bounty hunter is constructed like no other: a myriad of interesting SNOT techniques are used to create vertical stripes and fractional plate offsets which makes it a satisfying and educational build.
The Completed Model
Boba Fett's construction may be somewhat unusual but his eventual appearance is in line with the rest of the BrickHeadz range. The combination of different colours is very appealing and it looks great when compared with the character onscreen.
The visor is formed using a printed 1x4 tile, a black 2x2 tile with two studs and a couple of 2x2 diagonal tiles which are decorated with some dark green highlights. The resultant design looks brilliant and I like the metallic silver dent on the front of the helmet.
A detailed Mandalorian emblem is printed on Boba Fett's left shoulder and his helmet features a series of yellow stripes which are also present in the movie. The medium azure jetpack reveals that this figure is based upon Return of the Jedi rather than The Empire Strikes Back and it looks splendid.
I am impressed by the mixture of tiled and studded surfaces which provide some welcome texture. Boba Fett carries an EE-3 carbine rifle. It looks alright for a BrickHeadz figure but is quite difficult to identify without the prominent shoulder stock.
Now, over to CapnRex101 for a comparison with the figure from 41498 Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite...
There is considerable variation between 41629 Boba Fett and its predecessor, particularly in the design of their helmets. The 2018 model features printed elements on either side of the visor while the version from New York Comic-Con includes some 2x2 wedge plates which are fitted using hinges. I prefer the updated design but also appreciate that the earlier figure was less reliant upon printed pieces.
Furthermore, the rendition from 41498 Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite takes inspiration from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back while 41629 Boba Fett is based upon Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The figures therefore include different jetpacks and belts, reflecting the variation in Boba Fett's attire between the two movies.
Back to Huw for his verdict...
Verdict
This is definitely one of the best BrickHeadz to date! It makes use of some brilliant building techniques which really distinguish Boba Fett from other figures and the selection of sand green parts is excellent.
41629 Boba Fett is a must-have for BrickHeadz collectors and I would also recommend it to Star Wars fans who have not previously taken an interest in the BrickHeadz range.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed in it are my own.
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18 comments on this article
I'm glad Boba got a standard non-exclusive release, I've already bought it. It will look great next to my Bricklinked Han Solo in carbonite.
It astounds me sometimes how many non-standard printed elements these BH have. On the flip side, a standard police set still needs a handful of stickers. Part of the building experience one might say or even to control set cost but barring any hard to print elements at least the standard pieces are recyclable across a wider set range.
I have two disney brickheads and two super heroe ones but if i started collecting the starwars ones this would be the first one i buy follwed by luke & yoda then lord vader..
Oh and lego make some family Guy Brickheads please:
Very cool building technique. Also did not realise that Boba's jetpack was blue in ROTJ until I saw someone's comment on another post. Nice to see Lego staying true to source material.
I'm extremely surprised how they were able to improve the San Diego Comic Con Boba Fett. Definite buy from me.
I may consider buying this one due to the intresting build. Also, I love sand green. I suspect this set may do well on the secondary market once it is retired...
@MTBrickHouse: Part of it is just economies of scale — BrickHeadz are such a low price that they can be sold in huge enough numbers to offset the cost of new elements even if those elements aren't shared across a lot of sets. But a perhaps even more important factor is how the six uniquely printed elements on this one set are only equivalent to the amount of printing on, say, one or two new minifigures. And all in all, the average BrickHeadz set (including two packs) only has around half that many new decorations. In other words,
Whereas in this year's seven non-polybag Mountain Police sets, as best I can tell, introduce 26 printed elements, including the six sticker sheets. If the decorations on those sticker sheets had to be printed on the bricks themselves, then even if you cut down on the number of decorations by using the same license plate prints on every set, the number of printed elements across those 7 sets would rise to 52, or more than seven uniquely printed elements per set. That's not even touching on the five new molds the Mountain Police sets introduced, each of which eats up even more of the budget than a new printed element (whereas the ONLY molds introduced specifically for BrickHeadz so far are the round and square glasses elements).
That's not even getting into other sticker-heavy themes that still introduce more new printed elements and molds per set than Brickheadz. This year's modest 6-set final wave of Nexo Knights sets? It's got 31 new printed bricks plus six sticker sheets and seven new molds — or more than 6 new decorated elements and one new mold per set! And the 11-set Ninjago (non-movie) wave from the first half of this year? 55 new printed elements and 6 new sticker sheets — or more than 5 new printed elements per set. Once you account for minifigure-related prints, there's nothing the least bit extraordinary about the number of new printed elements per set for Boba Fett individually, let alone for the BrickHeadz theme as a whole.
Have to say I wanted one of these since the Comic Con ones came out. Built it yesterday and as mentioned the building techniques alone are worth buying this one.......
Nope. Still disappointed because this one doesn't come with a Carbonite Han, and there are printed parts involved that just can't be faked very well. Less disappointed, though.
I've managed to avoid buying any Brickheadz so far (even the Iron Man ones), but if any were to break my resolve, it'd be this one.
...or if they made an Iron Giant.
Oh. Dear. I had resolved not to touch the SW brickheadz particularly due to the comic con exclusives and thus impossibility of acquiring them.
Now this shows up. Do i buy it and leave it solo mio on display on its own or try and go back and get the others to give him company....?
It looks great
Great review. I built this last night and it is by far my favourite Brickheadz to date. Great building techniques and so many more pieces than other sets (including double packs). Massive thumbs up from me.
This Boba Fett is hot.
We can look forward to the personal independent film of bounty hunter Boba Fett, then LEGO will release some sets about the movie. :)
Really enjoyed putting this set together. I felt that the visor seemed to far inset to the rest of the helmet so I added a 1x4 behind it. I want them to recolor this set as Sabine Wren and some of the other Mando's
what is that thing i have no i dera
what is that thing i have no i dera
Received the set today and built it. And what I have to say... My expectations were high after this review but what I had to build exceeded all expectations! Nothing like I have ever build before! It is so worth to buy no matter if you like Brickheadz or not! The building experience alone is worth every single penny/cent!!!