In the early Star Wars Lego days my collection was slowly growing, and I have to admit I was hesitant about whether or not I wanted to add this set to it. On the one hand I really wanted to add Lego Boba Fett and Han in carbonite to the collection, but on the other I thought this set looked frankly a little bit dull. It was only when I saw an assembled model on display in a store that I changed my mind, as it definitely looks far, far better in person than the pictures do credit.

So first of all, the build. This took me (a 34 year old) just under an hour to build, and there were no particularly complicated steps which might have foxed younger builders. Even the mechanism for the carbonite block was very straightforward. I should also point out that this build was surprisingly (and pleasantly) repetition free! I was expecting the tedium of building four identical sections to the chamber, but there was nothing of the sort, and as a result the build was extremely enjoyable. Next on the list of positives; there are NO stickers with this set! Many people seem to strongly dislike the stickers with the Star Wars kits, and this is one of the few I've built (aside from the Microfighters mini-kits) with no stickers whatsoever.
Once assembled it's a sturdy set for the most part, even though it doesn't really need to be, seeing as it's unlikely to be flying around the room amongst the X-Wings and TIE fighters. The mechanism to change Han into carbonite-Han is very clever - I found it far more entertaining than a grown man should, and I'm sure kids will occupy themselves for hours with it!

The minifigures are the crowning glory with this set. As mentioned earlier, you get a Boba Fett (you can remove his helmet, but why would you ever want to?!), Han Solo, Han in carbonite, and Ugnaut. Like with the Lego Jawas, Ugnaut is shorter than your standard Lego minifigures, but as a tradeoff for this his legs do not bend. Seeing as his entire job is to stand at the control console though, this doesn't really matter too much. Han comes with two facial expressions; "Oh no, I'm about to be frozen in carbonite", and "Argh! I'm being frozen in carbonite!", so if you want a heroic-looking Han for your collection then this definitely isn't the one you're after!

There are only two negative points I'd raise about this set. First of all it doesn't have many spares of the smallest parts compared to other sets, so be extra vigilant not to lose them to the hoover! Secondly, the elevator doesn't feel particularly sturdy when it's in the raised position, so it's probably best to avoid pushing figures down onto it whilst it's up.

To summarise: A surprisingly fun, sticker-free and non-repetitive build. Fun to play with when finished, and a nice set of figures to go with it, including the cheapres way to pick up a Boba Fett. Just be gentle with the elevator and be careful not to lose the smaller parts!

Let me start out by saying that this set is worth every penny of the 30$ I paid for it (Yes I know that is overpriced but it was still worth it).

In this review, I will talk about why you should buy this set no matter what type of Lego fan you are.

1. Play features, there are three cool play features in this set, all of them work very smoothly, therefore, playing with this thing is a blast!

2. Pieces, besides the carbonite piece, there are lots of trans-orange species, Technic pieces and what I think is an exclusive mold with the Ugnot's head.

3.The MINIFIGS! After the afore-mentioned Ugnot, there is a cool Han Solo minifigure and an AMAZINGLY AWESOME Boba Fett.

If you see this thing for under 25 bucks grab it!

Parts

The parts in this set contain plenty of transparent orange pieces, and more difficult-to-find pieces. This set does come with some of the most popular characters, including Boba Fett and Han Solo. The carbonite piece is not a solid piece, rather a shell which han solo attaches to.

Building

The building of this set did feel rather slow due too how many transparent orange bricks there where, and I could easily see a child getting bored or confused by the technic parts.

Playability

When it comes to playability, this set strikes out of the ballpark. This set is not only cheap, but captures a very classic and nostalgic scene from Starwars, and does it very well. Using hte knob, you can pull down han solo, or push up the carbonite shell, the pulling down action is not directly down, but at an angle, somewhat disappointed on that part, but none the less still impressed with the function as a whole.

Value for Money

The set contains many pieces which are always in low stock in lego sets, including transparent orange pieces that are totally flat, the set also includes some slightly larger pieces which are harder to find, particularly the black stairs.

Overall

Nothing to truly discuss, this is a good set for the money, the scene it tries to recreate was done fantastically, its just a downright simply good lego set.

When it comes to the vehicles, I feel that the Lego Star Wars sets beat out even the Kenner and Hasbro toys.

However, when it comes to the Playsets, more times than not, I feel Lego is kind of lacking. Most notably, the Scarif and Takodana.

This set though, I feel gets overlooked, and that's a shame.

Yes the action features are limited to the carbon freezing, and the elevator, but to me, that's not what this set if for. This set if for acting out iconic moments in the ESB.

With the appropriate minifigs, you can have the whole Carbon Freezing scene play out, and even the begining of Luke's duel with Vader.

Part of the problem with the minifigs you get in sets are the duplicates. It's such a shame to have to put them into storage, or just lifelessly displayed on a shelf one next to the other.

With this set you could easily display the minifigs included, Lando, Leia, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, C-3P0 (albeit, half of him) a set of Storm Troopers, and Luke Skywalker, and nothing would really look out of place!

The only thing that would make this even better is if it was bigger, or modular.

This is a great set and works well for display and play. The minifigs are great and the actual carbon-freezing chamber is a great, compact recreation of the set in The Empire Strikes Back. This set allows you to recreate the iconic scene in the movie.