This 2019 set was included in LEGO's current April 2021 sale cycle for 22% off, so I bundled it with some other small sets and gave it a chance.

It's on the gimmick-side of Star Wars sets, with the main attraction being the arrow launchers (LEGO's term, not mine) rather than the set itself. I remember first playing with these little turrets thanks to Batman and Aqua Raiders back in 2007, but somehow they're still a good time. Firing the arrows at the colored insignia on each base causes the stationed Minifigure to either fly or fall off of their post. This works better when you fasten each base down to a larger baseplate to keep the force of the arrow from simply knocking the whole base down. There were at least 2 other Star Wars sets released at the same time that were modelled around this gimmick as well. I imagine this is great fun if you have a whole army set up, but shooting the little targets gets old when you realize you can have more fun shooting at your cats instead. If you're a parent buying this for your kids, expect to be targeted at least once.

The build itself was more fun to me. Star Wars sets tend to be very efficiently designed, making the most out of very tight spaces and fairly small pieces. They're great at getting you to think differently when it comes to making your own dynamic builds. The simplicity in the Rebel's rotating turret is a neat example of that. There are no joints or discs at play. It's simply a ring placed around a rounded brick. It isn't fastened at all because it allows the turret to knock over when the generator beside it is split open from being hit.

Another trend with LEGO Star Wars is the interesting pieces you'll likely end up with. Aside from the arrow launchers (essential to any collection, if you don't yet have any yourself); the set includes 4 Minifigure-equippable weapons, a black Lightsaber base, a black telescope, the 2 insignia plates, and the 2019 Hoth Minifigures as well. The various white slopes and studs used for snow are less interesting, however.

One particular negative I have to mention is with the design of the Rebel base. There are 9 black, round 2x2 plates included in the set. They slide down an axis piece using the cut hole in the middle of each plate, but these cuts are never very consistent in LEGO pieces. This is never an issue if you have just 1 plate, but these imperfect cuts present an issue in this set as you need to line plates up back-to-back to build the grey discs that make up the generator. The edges of the half-discs struggle to fall flush with each other, and the design looks slightly jagged and janky in the end. Maybe most builders won't be bothered, but perfectionists should be warned.

As a Star Wars fan, and for nearly 10 dollars off, I'm happy with the set. LEGO was likely trying to clear 2019 inventory with this sale, and I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. It's a fairly honest set and you know exactly what you're going to get when you buy it, so if you pay full price for it then it's because you know you're getting what you want.