Review: 30384 Snowspeeder
Posted by CapnRex101,
Debate has surrounded which colour scheme is the most authentic for Snowspeeders since The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980. LEGO has generally favoured white designs, although 7130 Snowspeeder from 1999 was actually grey with orange highlights.
30384 Snowspeeder is presumably intended to evoke those original colours which is a nice idea for the twentieth anniversary of LEGO Star Wars. The unusual cockpit assembly also appears familiar so I have been looking forward to adding this fun polybag to my Star Wars collection.
The Completed Model
LEGO has produced many different Snowspeeders during the last two decades, including numerous miniature renditions. This example measures 8cm in length so is probably most comparable in size to 8029 Mini Snowspeeder, a polybag from 2008 that was never released. However, its colour scheme is definitely based upon 7130 Snowspeeder, albeit with light bluish grey replacing the original grey pieces.
Beyond matching its colour scheme, certain shortcomings of the 1999 model are replicated here. I like how the cockpit has been divided into two sections for the pilot and the gunner, corresponding with the classic set. This rendition looks splendid though, featuring angled wings and two dark bluish grey laser cannons which are attached using click hinges and clips respectively. The resultant structure feels very sturdy.
The cooling fins are represented by a 1x4 gear rack which is reasonably effective and I love the small harpoon launcher located behind the cockpit. Unusually, the engines are joined to the fuselage rather than the repulsor housings on each wing. Their position is not perfect but I think this was sensible as incorporating bricks with studs on the sides might have affected the accurate shape of the wings.
Overall
30384 Snowspeeder is an excellent polybag. The model looks superb and I appreciate its relationship with 7130 Snowspeeder from 1999, especially during the twentieth anniversary of LEGO Star Wars. A couple of alterations could have been made to improve its film accuracy but maintaining the flaws of a classic set was certainly an interesting decision.
This polybag is currently being sold at Walmart and Target stores in North America but its wider availability around the world is fairly inconsistent at the moment. Hopefully that will change soon as this is certainly a set that I would recommend adding to your collection.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your opinion of the set in the comments below.
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14 comments on this article
Wait, only at target you say?
What happened to no exclusives? I knew it wouldn’t last... :-(
good review
@Your Future President
They mean region exclusives and limited-time releases. Polybags are almost always exclusive to certain stores
Not a bad snow speeder for a small one..
7/10 lego:
@Your future president
The press release did say the new policy would apply to sets released after May 1, 2019.
I hope me and my fellow Europeans will be able to get our hands on one of these too.
It has been my plan to get all 20th Anniversary sets that will be released, which means also this polybag. I hope LEGO will give us more details about the availability of this polybag in the rest of the world soon.
I got one at a Walmart a couple of weeks ago.
They could have done a better job on the repulsor housings. For example, using parts with design 92946, they could have had a smooth housing top, with the back vent grill and orange tile flush with the tops of the slope pieces, *and* done a better job positioning the engine exhausts on the back by e.g. using wheels attached to part design 21445.
I guess this was done as "good enough", with more generic parts so that they would be useful for other purposes as well?
I wish LEGO had done 75259 in this colour scheme instead, just to make it more of a special anniversary thing rather than one that looks very nearly identical to the multitude of Snowspeeders they've released over the years.
It is also aviable in a Slovenian Lego internet store right now for 3.99€. So it is also sold in Europe.
I had the choice of this or Anakin's Podracer at Target last week. I chose the podracer. Big mistake--podracer is flimsy and inaccurate. This is a much better option. I own both the 1999 Snowspeeder and the original 1999 podracer, but chose the wrong little set.
It’s not only at Target - I grabbed one of these from Walmart when they had their big Easter-basket toy section up.
It's cute!
Got one last weekend from the hungarian Lego Store for about 5 EUR.
Got to have the Snowspeeder in all sizes :D