The title says it all. This is one of the only sets I own containing figs presumably loyal to the dark side of the Force in SW, and probably the best one I have. LEGO seems to be making a lot of great sets in the $9-15 range these days...

Box/Instructions

The box is probably made of standard material for 2015 (and late 2014) sets but it is still somewhat new to me. It is glossier and overall feels higher quality than the boxes LEGO has used for the past decade or so.

I might be wrong in assuming that the box is of a better cardboard but it definitely feels that way compared to some older boxes I have.

Instructions are unremarkable. I've heard LEGO has started including 5-6 instruction booklets for something like $100 sets? That's a terrifying thought.

Parts

There's not really too much special here. Main things that stood out for me are black 2x4 tiles, dark bley flagpole-type rods, and those curvy pieces at the nose of the speeder-thing.

Minifigures

The best part and main selling points of battle packs in general. This set includes 2x Shadow Troopers and 2x Black Royal Guards? Don't know the "official" name of the latter.

The Shadow Troopers' bodies are the same color as super battle droids, which I believe makes them dark metallic bley. It is a nice shiny color, definitely better than if they had been on flat bley. The helmets are the same color. These figures look absolutely fantastic but for one problem: if you look very closely, the armor details and whatnot are printed somewhat sloppily, and have all sorts of jagged and rough lines, sort of like the difference between lines drawn with rulers and lines drawn with a pencil freehand. NOW, this is probably intentional, since after staring at my two Shadow Troopers for around ten minutes I found that they both had messy lines in exactly the same areas. Regardless, if you look too closely it really ruins the appearance of the figs. Luckily from about 1ft away they look fine.

The Black Cape Guys (someday I'll figure out what they're called...) are almost identical to their red counterparts, the only differences being of course that they are black, and that the minifig head inside their headgear is solid red (no printing whatsoever). I'm a big fan of these guys simply because they're very usable in MOCing in this black color, a far more versatile and less visually distracting color than red. I've considered buying another one or two of this set JUST for the guards - they look downright epic.

Their weapons are somewhat interesting - the Troopers armed with unexciting stud blasters and the Guards with some sort of laser stick. I am probably more excited with the 8 trans-red studs included as ammo for the blasters than with the blasters themselves, although I will admit that the stud blasters pack an impressive punch, much greater than I anticipated. They can shoot at least 4ft and maintain enough force at the range to knock down another minifig. Quite powerful. The "laser sticks" look nice, although really the only interesting part about them is the 3-long light bley rods used as handles, a piece I have not been able to acquire until now (the trans-red rods are the usual 4-long).

The build

Not much to say. The speeder can probably be built from a couple reference pictures without instructions, with maybe a plate missing here or there. Rated 2 stars because hey, it's a <90 piece build.

Overall opinion

I can't praise this set enough because honestly, there isn't much to hate. The speeder is a pretty generous vehicle considering what some of the other battle packs come with, and is very swooshable. The minifigs, once again, are stellar. Definitely worth $13.

-BRM

Ever wanted a Lego set that had the Shock Troopers from Battlefront II and the Force Sensitive Royal Guards from The Force Unleashed? Well, you got one!

Box/Instructions

The box for the set is the regular battle pack size for 2015, and it seems to be made of a sturdier cardboard than previous battle pack boxes. Other than that, nothing too exciting; age recommendations, set number, nice graphic...standard stuff.

Parts

There is a large quanity of black parts in this set, along with some dark and light bluish grey and some trans red pieces. I can't think of much use for them other than forming this vehicle, as they're mainly specialised curved peices and tiles.

Minifigures

So, where to begin. I'll start with the Royal Guards, which have an inverted (and much more intimidating) colour scheme along with some nice Lightsaber pikes. The capes, interestingly, are the old cape material, not the new fabric brought in with the 2015 DC Super Heroes sets. And then we have the beautiful Shadow Troopers. These figures have torsos, helmets and legs moulded in gun metal, providing a shiny, dark finish which makes these troopers all the more menacing. The dark grey tint to running through are also nice, adding texture.

The build

The speeder is a fairly enjoyable build, not particularly repetive and takes little to no time to assemble.

The completed model

The speeder is a nice and sleek design, especially the front curved pieces. The trans red running throughout is also nice, and as far as playability goes there are flick missiles underneath the adjustable wings, and the stud shooters meant for the Shadow Troopers to hold can be placed on the vehicle acting as rear turrets. A lot of features for such a small set!

Overall opinion

I love this set, as even though it is not your traditional army builder used for buying in bulk, like the imperial troop transport, it is a cheap way to provide you with a half-decent vehicle and some of the most menacing star wars figures in a long time. An easy buy for me.

Writing a review for a set that is already nearly two years old is a bit of an odd thing but several changes to the Star Wars universe merit this set get a second look.

Contents:

We get a nice box with the now ubiquitous Disney logo on the corner and a decent enough scene showing our figures in action. We also get a booklet and two small bags full of parts in this set.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7d5n][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7d5n]PA232287[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oSqw][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oSqw]PA232288[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

Figures and Parts:

Now for the enigma of this set. I believe the figures are based off of the Force Unleashed series of Star Wars games which is rather old as of this writing. This meant that when this was published Disney had declared the contents it is based off of as Legends.

Fast forward to late 2015 and at least the Shadow Trooper portion of this set re-entered canon. The Shadow Guard on the other hand I believe are still in Legends as of fall 2016.

Despite this fact the figures are fantastic! With great printing and great character presence due to their dark armor.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oSmU][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oSmU]PA232291[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7cYF][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7cYF]PA232292[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/MvUp9k][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/MvUp9k]PA232293[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

The Shadow Troopers in particular look amazing and come with the more modern printing for Storm Troopers which makes them look a bit more accurate. When placed side by side with their Battlefront inspired brethren they look pretty good but not game-authentic as their base color is gun-metal grey and not pure black as it is in the game. Still despite this the fact they have faded bits and wear printed on thier helmets and torso makes it seem like their suits are just faded due to the rigors of combat. They fit right with the Galactic Empire Battlepack.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7cUn][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7cUn]PA232299[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

The left over bits and pieces will include those pictured below.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oSgd][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oSgd]PA232295[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

The Completed Set:

Adding to the enigma of how to best use this set is the speeder included as the main build. I do not recognize it from any game, book, or side animation or film related to Star Wars but it looks Star Wars enough. Certainly it is a good way to get troops in and out of a hot spot quickly.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7cWr][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Nm7cWr]PA232297[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/NtL2Ka][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/NtL2Ka]PA232296[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

Overall:

A decent enough set for those looking to get at least a pair of Shadow Troopers of a Battlefront diorama. The Shadow Guard, cool as they are, are the odd ones out as they dont fit into most normal play scenarios featuring the original trilogy or there abouts timeline.

Still just the two troopers alone makes it worth it in my opinion. The simplest of Battlefront dioramas look great with these guys in the mix!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/MvUomP][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/MvUomP]PA232323[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oRyG][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/N2oRyG]PA232321[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

With 2015 Lego once again changed things up and introduced four battle packs; one more than 2014 and two more compared to other years. It's nice to see Lego introduce more smaller sets however none of them have included any iconic characters which is a shame. But fans of building up armies should be pleased, especially if you're a fan of the expanded universe (EU), since all four battle packs are based around the EU rather than the movies.

Box/Instructions

The Star Wars: Rebels box art that was introduced last year for the two sets based around the new TV Show has now become the primary box art for Star Wars sets in 2015, though it will changing once again later in the year for the set based off the new movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The only thing a noticed was this box was sealed with via selotape and there was no area to punch your finger through, which is new.

Parts

Sets this small usually don't have many parts and this is no exception. There is a nice trans-red parts if you're looking to collect some of those. The very rare 3L bars/wands are included in the set they stood out to me most, you even get a spare one.

Minifigures

Let's face it, these sets are only bought because of the included minifigures and I must say Lego have done a good job with these ones. All the figures in the set are completely brand new new too.

The Shadow Guards are pretty much just the Red Royal Guard re-coloured in black. Even the printing design is the same (sans the colour , obviously). The torso includes no back printing, which is odd to see now-a-days but cape prevents you seeing the back so it's forgivable. A plain red head piece is used for underneath the guard and of course gives it's red look through the visor. They are both armed with a red-saber pike weapon and is longer than the one used by the Royal Guards. If any one is interested, the Shadow Guard's only EU appearance is the video game The Force Unleashed, back in 2008.

The Shadow Troopers have appeared in many EU content, but have notably looked black even the Shadow Troopers Lego made back in 2007/2008 were black. However the troopers here are in a gun-metal grey. Despite what could be considered a miscolouring they figures very nice and a step up from the previous version. The level of detail and printing to the troopers is incredible, and the printing even matches the most recent version of the Lego Stormtroopers. Underneath the helmets are the angry/grump trooper heads first used on the clones in 2013. The troopers are armed with the stud shooters, I hope Lego stops using them in Star Wars set because they look nothing like blasters. Thankfully they only appear in the battle packs.

The completed model

The model also includes a small speeder thing, which I believe isn't based off anything in the Star Wars universe and is a new creation by Lego. It is able to seat two minifigs and has to clips to hold blasters/stud shooters. It doesn't include any control panel or sticks for the driver which is a bit silly, it wouldn't have been too hard to do it. It also has two flick fire missile on each wing, which adds to the playability. Overall though the vehicle is nothing exciting but it's a trend with most of the battle packs. It's a bit of a shame because the figures are very unique and cool, even for these kind of sets.

Overall opinion

The Shadow Troopers set could have been a stand out battle pack in the Star Wars line with it's unique minifigures however it's bland speeder ends up making it just another run of the mill battle packs despite it's interesting build and parts. That's not to say it's bad though, I do recommend it if you're a fan of collecting troops or you're into the expanded universe stuff. At the end of the day, we buy these for minifigures and they are great.

Parts

Parts are actually pretty cool, some new red grate colours, the wings are nice, curved pieces.

Minifigures

Excellent minifigures. The shadow guards are cool, the shadow stormies....AW. That about says enough.

The build

Build was short, but quite fun.

Overall opinion

If you're a fan of the Empire, or Stormies, get this set. Well worth it.