Summary

This set is IMHO somewhat of a mixed bag. The rendition of the ski-speeder is nice (especially in this scale), and substantial in size. The extra's (a observation- and control tower, a bit of trench/breastwork and a gun-emplacement is generic at best. As a play set it in itself is good, though the ski-speeder begs for an enemy craft to fight it out with. Unlike a number of other sets at this price point (like the Ninjago's Attack of the Morro Dragon (set 70636) or Firstbourne (set 70653)) it is not self-contained - an all-in-one good-guys-vs-bad-guys play set; the two First Order Snow-troopers simply are not enough, and almost a token enemy.

That said, the quality of the build (especially the ski-speeder) is good to very good, the vehicle is sturdy. The build is fun, and the end result simply looks good. The minifigs included are OK. Overall, IMHO, and depending on what you are looking for, this set is reasonably priced (especially for a Star Wars set).

Build experience

Building this set is fairly easy, and IMHO many kids younger than 9 should be able to complete this set. There is a good number of stickers (around 12), but they are fairly easy to place (flat surfaces or moderately curved slopes), They also serve a clear purpose, and IMHO definitely enhance the looks of the model. Overall, I had this set built in under 2 hours, at a leisurely pace.

Construction starts with two bags for the trench, gun and observation- and control tower. These are easy builds with a few stickers.Most of the pieces are light blue-ish grey. There is some SNOT technique used as well, used to solidify the tower: simple but effective. The tower can be clipped into the trench-section, or kept apart.

The ski-speeder build was IMHO quite a bit of fun. There is some variety, and it is interesting to see how Technic is used as the backbone of this vehicle - this is really solid. Using so much Technic might seem overkill, but works really well, and ends up in a really solid craft, rather than something flimsy that flexes all over the place when swooshed around. It is also nice to see how the designer is covering up the (ugly) structural base during during the build. Well done. Most tricky is lining up the Technic pieces on occasion.

Minifigures

There are 5 minifigures in this set: two First Order Snow-troopers, a generic resistance fighter, Poe Dameron and Admiral Ematt. The latter three are apparently unique to this set. The snow-troopers are nice, and identical to the ones found in the First Order Snowspeeder (set 75100). They are nice, with a nice-looking print (front and back of torso and legs), a printed piece for the back-pack, and a piece of cloth.

The print on the resistance trooper (torso front and back and the legs) is nice, well-printed and multi-coloured. I like the helmet and the two face prints. Although IMHO nothing special, it simply looks good.

Something similar to what was said for the resistance trooper can be said for Admiral Ematt. The biggest differences are that Ematt has only a single face print, an rank badge on the torso and carries binoculars. The torso and leg print differ from the generic trooper in colour as well as design on the front and back.

Poe Dameron IMHO probably the best minifigure in this set. The torso has a nice print, while the legs are not printed. He has two nice face-prints, but the best part of this minifigure is the hair with moulded in head-set. IMHO that one was very well done in shape and print.

The build

The trench/breastwork, gun and observation/control tower do look as if they have been paid attention to by the designer(s), rather than after-thoughts or throw-ins. I can see them being integrated, copied or replicated in larger scale dioramas of the rebel base on Crait. There is a nice clear piece with a map-projection printed on it in the tower.

The ski-speeder is what this set is all about, and it definitely looks the part. The designer has done a great job in capturing the curves without covering the whole thing in curved plates. The spring-loaded shooters are integrated very well, yet easy to operate without firing them by accident. The designer has also done a great job at hiding the Technic backbone of the vehicle, at least on the top, front and sides. The judicious use of stickers, dark tan, light and dark blue-gray, and claret pieces break up the surface nicely and make sure the surface looks interesting. The structurally weakest element (easiest to come off) are the two rudder-pieces at the back of the engine. A nice feature is that part of the engine can be taken out.

I like the fact that there is now an attractive set of a somewhat unusual though attractve non-iconic vehicle, that does look to scale somewhat. It also lends itself to be combined with other Star Wars ground vehicles.

Play vs display

This set in general does make for a good (though) somewhat expensive play set. The ski-speeder is very sturdy and swooshable. It is not too heavy, well balanced, and fairly easy to handle, even for a child. As a pure play set, I would have liked to see some enemy craft rather than the fortification elements. A substantial target for the ski-speeder to attack is simply missing.

The ski-speeder itself is IMHO a good display piece, while the fortification elements (at best) could be included in a much larger display.

The verdict

Overall, I think this is quite a good set, arguably much better (value for money) than many other recent Star Wars sets, at least in the amount of stuff you get. As a play set it is IMHO good, as a display set it is OK. It is a set that - for play at least - almost begs for the addition of a First Order set to fight against. When buying this set I thought I might find it being close to overpriced; having built it, it is IMHO not that bad. However, I would recommend looking for a discount.

I had great fun building a very detailed ship that very much reminded me of a B-Wing sans the two folding wings. The Poe Dameron mini-fig hair piece is awesome with the headset. The ship has a removable engine (or something) feature that is pretty neat and very concealed to where if you didn't build it (or know forehand) you wouldn't even know it was there.

The rest of the set is just a pointless base with a rather odd "floor cannon" (I guess to shoot at the enemies shoes). The tower part seems incomplete as if there should be more at the top. I did like the way the salt-cutting-blade came down from the ship using simple gravity but it would have been nice to have seen it lock in place in the up position.

So unlike a lot of folks, I was not really blown away with the movie, honestly, I feel it was all over the universe...BUT with that said, I find this ship and ship design to be very interesting. For the build, awesome, great technique and honestly, this is almost up their with a UCS style of size and build. The size of the set compared to other TLJ sets, scale wise, is way off but honestly this set is a definite BUY. This is an amazing display piece.

The other two micro builds, I think are good for parts or for KFOLs to maybe play with, but scale wise to the actual ship they are not. Honestly, I would have rather had those parts be turned into a stand to hold the ship. For buyers, find some new trans clear bricks/windscreens to use for a stand for this Ski Speeder because this is definitely a ship you will want to have on display.

When I think about the battle of Crait, I think about how the resistance was heavily outnumbered by the First Order, not the other way around as the set makes you think. The ski speeder is a beautiful build and is close to mini figure scale which I was not expecting. The downside is that it has a lot of stickers of this set. The tower included is not terrible and helps establish the skyline and a defensive point and it is cool how the trench connects to the tower. The trench is very detailed which is nice but it would have been much nicer if it was double or triple the size it is not, and they charged $5 more for this set. It also stinks that there is not included way to stand you ski speeder up without it being freestanding and there is no stand included with the set. If you are a huge fan of The Last Jedi then I would recommend picking this up but if you are not then you should just save your money.