Hello, Brickset! PicnicBasketSam here again, reviewing another set I got for my birthday. This is my first foray into the Buildable Figures category, and it doesn't disappoint.

Box/Instructions

The box is notably not hexagonal, and is basically a $20 size box flipped on its size and stretched a bit. It has one of those pesky punch tabs on the bottom, and has on it a poorly and impossibly posed Rey. Also on the box are highlights of the set features, and the usual logos and warnings.

Inside the box are a comfortably flat instruction booklet and two unnumbered bags, and the box is about 70% full. There were no issues with the instructions, which are clear and easy to follow as usual.

Parts

There are a lot of really cool parts in this set. First, most obviously, is Rey's headsculpt. It looks very good in real life, and does not look odd or creepy. Although, she doesn't really look like Daisy Ridley... or British at all...

Also included is a really awesome wraparound fabric piece. This folds around her body and has four holes in it, and really puts the icing on the cake for this model.

Two new parts are included specifically designed to fit last year's gearbox. These are a torso piece, which doesn't have head or shoulder balljoints, and a back armor shell that provides the head ball joint and has Technic holes to fit an axle through to operate functions.

Other new parts include the 3M axle with stop, which is designed to make shoulders with the gearbox as thin and sturdy as possible. There are also a bunch of recolors, like the clown shoes in dark brown, the new axle with pinhole in dark brown, a dark brown 3M shell, 3M, 5M, and 6M shells in tan, a dark tan standard torso shell, and light flesh hands, which appear as a pair for the first time. Last but not least, there are 2 pairs of the smallest Technic panels in dark tan, which I'm sure will be useful for something. I'm sure Sariel knows what to do with them.

The build

The build does not take very long, with the only tricky part being getting the fabric wrap on. There is no more Technic than is needed, unlike certain new Bionicle sets, and some interesting techniques used to anchor parts of the torso in place.

The completed model

The completed model looks... human. The proportions combined with the smooth design make a very natural-looking figure, greatly helped by the cloth element. The staff doesn't quite work, but the blaster pistol definitely does, and looks great. Rey is easy to pose, good-looking, and also fun to play with. The gear function is fun, although it makes me think they should have actually given her the unwrapped head and the lightsaber instead of her staff. Because the function doesn't really work with either weapon. Could spoilers have had something to do with the 2nd part, perhaps? I mean, her picking up the lightsaber was one of the major reveals of the plot, and if I just spoiled the movie for you, I can't help you.

Overall opinion

I will make a note here about price. $20 is too high for this 86 piece set that has clearly has parts cut for budgetary concerns, particularly around the legs (lack of armor or holster on the back of them, no fill-ins on the clown shoe feet...)The Force Awakens tax is really starting to drive me nuts. Rey is a great set, but she is just too expensive. And she won't go on sale either, because Disney's got to get a big chunk of profits off this set too.

Rey is one of my favorite constraction sets, for reasons outlined previously. I would recommend her to any fan of the new film and constraction sets, and might well be the best of Wave 2. I've heard reports of stores being sold out of all the Buildable Figures except Poe and Phasma, but that hasn't happened here in Northwest Iowa. So get this set if you're a fan! Now!

Set #75113 Rey: The original bunch of brick-built characters consisted of original trilogy and prequel trilogy representatives and then hit hard with The Force Awakens. After discussing the Rogue One characters let’s go back to one of the first figures in the line.

Packaging/Instructions

Packaging: The box showcases Rey in all her glory. She’s dressed in her Jakku costume and the back shows off the gimmicks and features quite nicely, as with the Rogue One boxes this entire sub-theme does not include the package logo common in the Systems line which crosses over between Hasbro and other toy figures, which I find to be a curious oddity. Anyway, decently designed package.

Instructions: Easy to follow along with instructions and some very brief cross-promotional images in the back, very little to discuss… though this set came out during the Bionicle resurgence so the back features an image of a Toa, which is interesting to note I suppose.

The build

As with Rogue One the builds are fairly similar for the skeletal structure of the figures, using predominantly all the same black coloured parts. The fleshed out armor portions of the build are always character specific and quite different. Rey, being one of the earlier releases, does not include any printed elements for character detailing. Instead, they proved some real-cloth material to be used for enhancing the character and adding her signature Jakku look to the figure.

The constraction figure

Rey looks quite nice, despite lacking any detailing aside from the facial print. All of the parts come together very nicely to match the likeness of the character as a brick-built figure. She has a huge unsightly gear control device sticking out of the back near her shoulders, but that is a necessary evil to allow her to move her arm up and down in an attack the enemy style movement.

Her buildable weapons are very nicely done, the staff looking quite menacing and the blaster matching the small hand-out variety she uses. The cloth is a nice touch too and adds to the level of Rey-ness that is her character. (It is, unfortunately, a bit of a dust magnet.)

Overall opinion

Rey is a very impressive buildable figure and full of decent poseability and fun action features. Her uniquely sculpted head looks suitably impressive and the overall look and feel of the buildable figure just oozes personality. Again the only real problem I have with this thing is the original MSRP. It was one of the main reasons why it took me so long to start buying any of these things, waiting for a sale is definitely recommended when buying these sets. What you get for your dollar is a bit much if you aren’t a fan of buildable figures. But these figures are all quite nice and very ingeniously put together, they also stand out on a shelf and the play features are very un-intrusive compared to some of the gimmicks the old Bionicle sets used to get. (Or even the newer Hero Factory line featured.)

I’d recommend picking this up if you can find it for a good price. I’m looking forward to the next few figures I get from this line, time to start adding a few villains to the collection so the heroes have someone to fight.