As the list of Force Awakens sets came out, I knew that I would get most of the sets, but this one was not on the top of my priority list by any means. I initially wanted to get 75103 First Order Transporter, as it looks like an awesome throwback to the LCVP landing-craft used by the Allies during WWI, with the drop-ramp and armored sides. However, that set costs $90, and it only has 792 pieces, so I figured I would wait for a sale before purchasing it. That left me the other sets, and it came down to 75102 Poe's X-Wing Fighter and this set. Obviously I chose this one, and I have to say I don't regret the decision one bit!

Box/Instructions

Same box size as 75087 Anakin's Custom Starfighter, which if you read that review you would recall that my instruction booklet was severely bent up. Although it wasn't as bad, the booklet was still folded in half. I think that this box size is a little too cramped for sets of this price-point/size. As per usual the box was amazing, and I folded it and stored it in my closet.

Parts

This set isn't very colorful, which may drive many of you away from purchasing it, especially when there are other much more fun colored sets in this line, such as Poe's Halloween X-Wing or Rey's Speeder. It's not like this is anything new in the Star Wars universe though, the Empire has always been filled with drab military colors that are supposed to highlight their military superpower role in the films. This of course directly contrasts with the more colorful ships/vehicles piloted by the Rebels (Yellow Y-Wing, Red A-Wing), so in no way is the drab grey of this set a bad thing.

The only parts I have never seen before were the clear wheels that were used for the levitation mechanism, and the rapid stud shooters, although I could have obtained those cheaply in a battlepack by now.

Minifigures

All three minifigures are exclusive to this set, and I think they look outstanding:

First Order Snowtrooper Officer is the first thing you build when you open Bag 1. Unlike the Snowtrooper Commander included with 75054 AT-AT, he can easily be distinguished from his other troops by the prominent red/orange pauldron on his right shoulder. I found the First Order Stormtrooper helmet designs to be a perfect blend of the Original Trilogy and new content, which I think the design team for the Force Awakens has done an outstanding job of so far. He comes with an extended blaster pistol, which in turn highlights his Officer role.

First Order Snowtroopers are equally as impressive as their Officer counterpart, which isn't too surprising considering they are almost the same minifigure. Like the officer, they come with kamas for their legs and utility packs, which is very similar to the new Snowtrooper designs unveiled in 75054. These troopers actually look very nice with their predecessors, and they could easily pass as an elite unit in your Battle of Hoth diorama if you have one. Each one comes with a blaster carbine as well.

The build

I found the build to be remarkably similar to 75091 Flash Speeder. They both have an open top design, they both have extended fins near the rear of the vehicle, and they both have a singular turret. However, this set has an extra 132 pieces, which I was initially surprised about. Once I started to build though, I realized that the designers implemented a "levitation" function that completely went unnoticed by myself. I thought that it was a very interesting part of the build, and I am impressed that they were able to keep this model proportioned and functional at the same time.

The completed model

The completed model looks awesome, although I do have a certain preference for vehicles like this. The play features are fairly standard, although the new rapid shooters are bound to be loads more fun than the single fire ones that would crack your finger nail when you went to flick them from the days of yore. Like it's Flash Speeder cousin, it is a VERY solid set, and could definitely take a drop or two without consequence. It blends in magnificently with my Hoth diorama, and I doubt that anyone would question what it was doing among my OT sets. When compared to the Flash Speeder, it is roughly the same width and length, although the height is much larger on this set.

Overall opinion

I think that this set will be one of the most underrated ones of the entire Force Awakens line. The price is a minor turn off, and the robust look isn't something that every fan can appreciate. However, if you appreciate sets of this style and don't have the money for the larger Force Awakens sets, I highly recommend this one. Not only does it display well with other pre-existing sets (Rey's Speeder might look good with Mos Eisley Cantina, although I don't own that set), but it has the play features and strength to entertain younger fans.

Pros:

Great Robust look, very similar to the equally impressive Flash Speeder

Awesome Minifigures

Play Features!

Best Price per Part of the whole line

Blends in very well with OT Hoth sets

Cons:

Could have come with 1 more minifigure

Turret doesn't swivel

I think that this is a very impressive set, and if you are into this kind of design, I would highly recommend it!

This is not the type of set that is going to blow you away, it is a fairly boring build, a very ugly speeder, and has a very inflated brick count. That said it does offer a lot of playability and feels in a way like a larger battle pack.

Parts and Minifigures

Like I said, the brick count is definitely inflated, nearly 10% of the bricks are 1x1 round studs, most being used for the cannons, but a handful for the build. Of course it gives you plenty of extra ammo to place in storage, Lego obviously expects your kids to lose a lot of these.

Beyond the studs, the brick selection is nothing all that special except for the cannons.

You do get 3 identical minifigures, snow troopers. But unlike the old Hoth snow troopers, these look a lot more similar to standard storm troopers. One of them has a fabric shoulder pad to set him apart as a commander, but otherwise he is identical.

The Build

Its really just a bunch of standard stacking with some very basic SNOT so you can put tiles around the sides that will require stickers to make the details. The one nice thing about it is the use of hinges to create the angles, they can teach you a good ratio for creating angled walls. But even that isn’t rocket science. The wheels on the bottom are technic, but very simple. Don’t expect to learn anything from this set.

The Model

Lets just say it is butt ugly. Basically just a floating platform for carrying storm troopers and ammo. Because of the 3 storage bins, it can really only hold the 3 minifigures that came with it, but remove those and it can work like a transport easily carrying over 10 minifigures.

Quite honestly, I don’t recall ever seeing this in the movie. The only snow I can recall is on Starkiller Base as the sun is nearly fully absorbed. What I recall most from that seen is the light saber duels with Kylo Ren. So I’m not even sure this is in the movie.

Playability

This is where the set excels. It can hold plenty of storm troopers. It has two 6 shooter cannons that work great. The wheels allow it to glide across the floor. Like I said, it is basically an oversized battle pack, and I really like battle packs.

Overall

Its hard for me to recommend this set simply because I can’t recall ever seeing such a transport, and it is awkward and ugly looking. Combine that with an inflated brick count and you got the perfect recipe for an outrageously overpriced set. I really don’t understand why you would even want this set, but I paid $13 for it at a garage sale so it’s hard to complain, after all it comes with 3 storm troopers. But unless you can get it for a bargain like me, save your money for a better set. Yes, kids will enjoy it, but I think there are a lot of other similarly priced sets that you and your kids will enjoy a whole lot more.

As my title suggests, I find that this set is underrated for what it is. Read on to find out why.

Box/Instructions

The box is the same as other Force Awakens sets. It displays the main play features on the back as usual. The instructions were simple, as usual.

Parts

Grey. That just about sums it up. Though we do receive the previously mentioned stud machine guns.

Minifigures

All three minifigures look good. The two snowtroopers are my favourite first order troops. They use a very similar design to that used on the latest imperial snowtroopers. The officer is identical except for his red pauldron. I strangely really like the pauldron, as it does a good job of separating him from the other two (Unlike the At-At's snowtrooper commander). Great figures, though the absence of a fourth takes away some appeal.

The build

A fairly fast build, with large, easy to apply stickers. No fascinating techniques were used, but it got the job done.

The completed model

I will agree with the set's critics on one thing: It is not very visually appealing. But it's not supposed to be. It's a utilitarian vehicle, which is what I like about it.

Overall opinion

Though it may not be great for display, it looks great alongside an army of first order troops. I feel that it was designed more for kids, in which case it's perfect. Fifty dollars is a bit steep, but that seems to be the way Lego Star Wars is going these days. All in all a very functional vehicle with great army building figures.

This was my first "The Force Awakens" set. I payied it not so few, and at the end I was a bit disappointed by this fact. However, it's a really good set.

Box/Instructions

The box is big, maybe just too big for a speeder. Instructions were easy to be followed.

Parts

It has not so innovative parts, but however it has a lot of little pieces, and as you can see a lot of green dots.

Minifigures

All the minifigures are new. They are all snowtroopers from "The Force Awakens", with cool helmets and also with a sort of back-equipment that I don't know what could be. The captain also has a pauldron.

The build

I had fun while building the set. You can see it growing step by step and, as I always like in a "Star Wars" set, he doesn't have many big or long parts that makes the work easier.

The completed model

The completed model is just like you can expect. It's one of the biggest speeder I built, but however it has some flaws in my opinion: too many shooters, that give the speeder a complete different aspect from the original one; the wheels under the hull, that I didn't like. However it's very high detailed, and very well done, so the cons can easily be bypassed.

Overall opinion

It's a nice set, but as I said it costs too much in my opinion (in my country I payied it like 60€, while the TIE Fighter was only 15€ more expensive). However you can enjoy it a lot, and have a lot of fun with its shooters (although I don't like them).

Pros:

– High detailed, especially the hull on sides

– Nice turret, with a shooter that doesn’t lower its quality

– Nice The Force Awakens minifigures

Cons:

– Pretty different from Hasbro version, but we can’t talk about fidelity to the original

– I don’t like wheels under the hull

– Inside it’s a bit empty

This review is my own opinion. You are entitled to agree/disagree!

TLDR:

It's hideous and bulky and not worth the money, but it comes with one (1) exclusive minifigure.

Introduction:

Recently, I have been digging through my collection of sets which I have accumulated over the years - dismantling some, selling some, displaying some - all in the hopes to free up some ever precious space. I had the misfortune of chancing upon this set (of which I had all together forgotten I owned) at the bottom of a box littered with other relics hearkening back to the release of The Force Awakens. I was so struck by its appearance that I felt the need to vent my frustrations with not only this set, but Lego Star Wars in general, in this review.

The Build:

I suppose I should start by stating what I find positive about the model, which is: The Light Infantry Utility Vehicle (as Wookieepedia describes it) is recreated semi-faithfully in this set. The angles in the bodywork are achieved through a use of simple yet effective elements and techniques, such as the use of hinge palates to give the model that tapered look, not too dissimilar to the many iterations of the X-Wing. The gatling-stud-shooter is incorporated nicely into the design of the model and does not draw too much attention to itself, despite the garish trans-green studs, which can be easily removed and stored elsewhere.

The build itself is incredibly sturdy; you could, if you wanted to, toss it from one end of the room to the other in a fit of rage and find that only a couple of pieces were disturbed in airborne voyage. But if you'd prefer to move the vehicle as intended, then a set of trans-clear wheels are hidden away on the underside of the model allowing it to "hover" along a flat surface.

But, unfortunately this cannot disguise the fact that the finished product is a bulky, grey wedge with little-to-no aesthetic value. The model is probably five times larger than its in-universe counterpart, which is far from icon status within the Star Wars canon anyway. This is what I, and I'm sure many others, find so frustrating about Lego Star Wars in its current state: It's all grey plastic! I understand that there is an element of wanting to be faithful to the screen, but for a company which prides itself on its colourful beginnings, how disappointing is it that it should produce so much grey? When I look at this set, I am reminded of the old blue TIE Fighters, like in 10131 - TIE Fighter Collection. They may not have been particularly accurate, but at least there was a hint of Lego's creative and colourful flair, in spite of the on-screen design.

The Minifigures:

Fortunately, only one minifigure (as of the time of writing this) is exclusive to this set. The Snowtrooper Officer is equipped with a black and red pauldron which is the only thing distinguishing it from their Snowtrooper subordinates, aside from that, the minifigures are the same: the torso, legs, head - all identical. The regular Snowtrooper minfigure can be found in a far more interesting set: 75202 - Defence of Crait. The fact that this set contains only troopers and no "hero characters," I suppose, makes it ideal for army building especially given that its price on the second- and third-hand market is not far off from the price of a current battlepack.

Final Thoughts:

While this build is technically noteworthy and vaguely faithful, it lacks character, which is perhaps to be expected from a model produced solely to be the foil for 75102 - Poe's X-Wing.