Review: 40333 Battle of Hoth - 20th Anniversary Edition
Posted by CapnRex101,
May the Fourth has become a rather important occasion for many LEGO Star Wars fans, usually yielding an entirely new promotional minifigure or miniature model. 40333 Battle of Hoth - 20th Anniversary Edition is an interesting example as this model represents a notable departure from previous May the Fourth sets.
Exclusive minifigures seem especially popular and would certainly have been welcome here. Nevertheless, this set elicited a reasonably positive reaction and I am pleased that LEGO has chosen to release something distinctive during the twentieth anniversary of LEGO Star Wars.
Box and Contents
Official images suggest that this set is packaged in a standard box, corresponding with 40289 Diagon Alley and 40334 Avengers Tower. In fact, the box includes a flap so it may be opened without causing any damage which is excellent for a collectable item. I like the LEGO Star Wars twentieth anniversary branding on the exterior but the instructions inside lack information about previous Hoth sets.
The Completed Model
LEGO frequently returns to the popular Battle of Hoth when creating new sets but this model is unique, depicting numerous integral aspects of the conflict. The base is constructed on its side and the resultant texture certainly captures the drifting snow which defines this location during the film. Furthermore, the set includes some exposed studs so you can attach vehicles, introducing a fantastic splash of colour.
An attractive printed tile is mounted on the front, alongside the power generator which includes a full complement of four segments. This is designed around a Technic axle and looks quite accurate when compared with the movie, although the generator should be situated deeper in the snow. However, the tiny Imperial probe droid is a lovely detail and is recognisable, despite only consisting of two pieces!
Two miniature Snowspeeders are included as well. They feature different accent colours so reflect the varied appearance of the vehicles onscreen and their shape has been replicated effectively. In addition, the designer has made ingenious use of black 1x1 plates with clips that represent tow cable harpoons while the layered cooling fins are simply depicted using 1x2 grille tiles.
Several different versions of the Imperial AT-AT have been produced and this miniature rendition looks marvellous. Its design is reminiscent of 20018 AT-AT Walker from 2010 but this example appears more faithful to the source material than its predecessors, featuring a printed viewport beside the appropriate weaponry. Furthermore, the legs are individually articulated while the head can move laterally, although its range of motion is very limited.
Overall
May the Fourth invites an enormous range of possibilities and 40333 Battle of Hoth - 20th Anniversary Edition is an enjoyable promotional set. The vehicles look great when compared with the movie and stand out against the white base. I am particularly pleased with the Imperial probe droid and the AT-AT which exhibit the potential of microscale building.
Unfortunately, the model is not accompanied by an exclusive minifigure. That is slightly disappointing as similar promotional sets have contained minifigures previously and there was an opportunity to do the same here, perhaps including a classic AT-AT driver that could be inspired by the minifigure from 4483 AT-AT. Even so, I am satisfied with this set so would recommend adding it 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.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review is an expression of my own opinions.
Thanks to MeganL for the photos in this review.
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41 comments on this article
Is the slope on the AT-AT exclusive? It looks like a nice print but I don't know if I've seen it before
Something's missing. Except for the minifigures. But I can't figure out what is it missing....
It's awesome. Can't wait to receive mine! I am glad Lego departed from the usual May the 4th giveaways for the 20th anniversary. And it's free.
This is really neat! I like the departure from what’s normal, and great review as always.
Perhaps Lego felt that there was enough backlash with Assault on Hoth; that they had to make a decision and opted to go with 4 deflector dishes as opposed to 3 deflector dishes + Minifigure.
Did you spot the difference between the instructions and the actual picture on the box!
In the instructions you put the orange snow-speeder close to the AT-AT and the grey one close to the shield generator! But on the box art they are the other way round!
Can't wait for mine to arrive! I wouldn't mind if it included a minifigure, but.. for me, this little landscape alone is better than any minifigure.
I couldn't really care less about minifigures, exclusive or otherwise, so I'm glad for something a bit different and look forward to building it. I think it's a great model for this scale, and would love to see the concept applied to other scenes in Star Wars. They'd make great little display vignettes.
Something about this set that I just really like. I think it might be that they did so well in depicting the vehicles in a micro-scale. With the May the 4th sales going on at LEGO right now, I just did three separate orders to have one for MIB, one to build and the third for a co-workers son.
Maybe they could put an exclusive 20th Anniversary Chewbacca Minifigures in this May the 4th promo?
I like it a lot. It has that minikit feel going for it.
Decent promo, but would have been so much better if it included an exclusive minifig like in Diagon Alley and the Avengers Tower.
"...but the instructions inside lack information about previous Hoth sets."
Hmm. I wonder WHY...
Can't wait for this baby set.
I would have gladly gone for this set, but it was too close to the Avengers Tower promo, and for the sake of my wallet I had to choose one or the other.
Thanks for the review!
^^Because the “UCS” Hoth set was a complete failure and one that Lego should be ashamed of. And this is coming from the mind of someone who doesn’t usually like to question Lego’s decision-making skills. Anyway, this promo set looks really good. Probably going to have to pass on it though.
Check if you can Spot the droid probe made with just one piece :)
https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-19493/MOMAtteo79/star-wars-skyline-architecture/
hmmm I don't know is it just me but for me there is no exclusivity (except one tile and one slope WOW) and it's totally not worthy to be exclusive 20th anniversay May the 4th set. And I don't like how AT-AT's head looks like :P
Pretty cool but something about the AT-AT just seems... off.
I like this set, primarily because it’s NOT an exclusive minifigure. Too much focus in the Star Wars line has gone to the minifigures. I much prefer neat builds and sets as a whole. I like this miniature and would welcome more smaller scenes like this one.
As in years past, the promotion has always been "exclusive mini figure, but no build". This year its the exact opposite, "exclusive build, no mini figure".
I only wish they could have reached a middle ground " small polypack build, mini figure included, but not exclusive". A snow trooper (army builder) would have been nice with this set.
@mrlegoguy1200 That was my joke...
Wow, what a disappointing set. I keep hoping that Lego will come up with something exciting to draw me back into the hobby. So sad.
Maybe its just me but I didn't like the exclusive Minifig promotions..... In essence it was 4-8 pieces vs 195 pieces and a displayable set. I have all 3 by the looks ,Diagon, Avengers and Hoth and if I'm honest I would have preferred the Diagon and Avengers minus the fig vs Just the Minifig. This set does look good and I feel a Minifig would just seem out of place (as it did in Diagon). {Maybe there should have been an exclusive Microfig?} Anything for free is good, although like many AFOLS I'm sure I scrutinize Free as what would I have to pay for the free item on ebay IF i bought the corresponding Item on Amazon for 20+% off.
Seeing this set, I wonder whether they should have done "Assault on Hoth" in microscale. That might have resulted in something decent. :-)
@The Teenage Brickster - No. These photos were kindly provided by MeganL who received the set slightly early from LEGO.
@Robot99 Sorry, couldn’t resist a chance to bash Insult on Hoth. :p
Nice original GWP
Builds are what make LEGO.. well, LEGO. If all we care about are collectible figurines, why not go grab some Funko POP figures? Kudos to LEGO for focusing on what makes it special.
Thanks for the review, I guess this is a pretty cool set for people who like such nano-builds.
However, this review doesn't really has a good photography.
The camera angles are all the same and the background is so noisy and distracting that I really couldn't "see" those pictures at all...
Better than Assault on Hoth.
Just wanna put a 1x1 grey tile on AT-AT's head..........!!!!!
Building on the side with microscale?? Sign me up! Except for the fact that I have no money to allot to it...
*sigh*
@Reventon: What? How did US$75 become AU$199??? Almost double!!?? Not nice.
It is a nice microscale diorama though! For those of us with no access to this set and just want the pleasure of the build, it's nice to know that it contains very few special pieces and can be built from existing pieces which you might already own most or all of. At this scale I don't think the printed piece for the AT-AT's head is that essential.
I really like this. Got mine yesterday. Would love to see one made from each film. I think they would make a great display together.
Let me be the villain to say that I don't care for the anniversary minifigures and would applaud a set like this one every time.
A minifig will just be a metallic version of a character of which I'll already own at least two or three regular figures, and personally the minifigs that are the most appealing to me ate all the different aliens.
I've ordered the Tantive IV, and this anniversary set is part of the reason why I didn't wait on a sale. Hopefully arrives today.
It looks quite nice and the usable articulation of the AT-AT is excellent for a "legal" build of this size. Nothing earth-shattering, but for a GWP it's great and much appreciated.
Excellent, balanced review. Appreciate LEGO changing things up, but it would have been a win-win, had it contained an exclusive mini-figure from the Hoth theme or from The Empire Strikes Back film. Without the mini-figure, this is a letdown, for me.
I haven't gotten this set yet, but it should be coming in the next day or two! When I saw this I knew that this was a set worth getting. I've never been all that big on micro builds in the advent calendars or polybags, but since this set creates a whole scene, it actually looks pretty cool. Of course I had to find an excuse to spend $75, but they had some pretty good sales on the new action battle sets and micro fighters. So I figured I'd do some holiday shopping in May as I'd imagine the Black Friday sales will be about the same prices.
@Brickmasterboy needs a couple of AT-ST’s.
I really like the micro scene vibe. I know people love minifigs (I do too) but it sometimes gets fatiguing. It’s nice to see some variety.
meh..the avengers tower was better