The Star Wars universe has been portrayed in many forms across the LEGO® Star Wars theme. With over 20 years worth of sets, these have also included numerous promotional sets. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the LEGO Star Wars, a microscale scene depicting the Battle of Hoth was given away during the annual May the 4th promotion. This was accompanied by vignettes of the Battle of Endor and the following year, the Death Star II Battle. This new May the 4th tradition will continue this year with another microscale scene. This replaces the battle of good vs. evil for a battle of barter as it replicates a slice of Tatooine, with Lars Homestead and the Jawa’s Sandcrawler. So here’s an advanced look at the 2021 LEGO Star Wars May the 4th promotional GWP set – Tatooine Homestead.
Promotion Details
Free Set: 40451: Tatooine Homestead | Pieces: TBC | Spend Limit: £85/$85/85€ | Duration: May 1st – May 5th
The Build
You’d expect the build to be heavily focused on a plate base, upon which the scene is built. But it actually features a lot of stacks of elements. These are connected by faceplates. This method of building helps to give the scene a unique textured appearance. The layering or stacking of elements also helps to give the scene other forms of depth. In the Star Wars films, the Lars Homestead is found on the desert planet of Tatooine. Nestled within the vast rocky outcrop and dusty plains of the Great Chott Salt Flat, much of the homestead is set below ground level to shield from the elements. This has been nicely achieved with the various stacks of bricks and minimal use of plates.
The result is literally a slice of Tatooine, which includes the homestead, the moisture flats, a few rocky areas and the Jawa’s Sandcrawler. Surrounding the sunken courtyard of the homestead are a couple of moisture vaporators, one of which is topped with an entirely white lipstick element. The domed entrance of the homestead is also featured, not surprisingly with a 2×2 dome element and a couple of arch wedges. Fans of Luke’s Land Speeder will be pleased to know that despite the small scale it has managed to make another appearance in a LEGO set.
The scene also represents the moment in which Luke and Uncle Owen pick up some new droids from the passing Jawa merchants. The scale used means the characters are represented by studs. A couple of reddish-brown studs stand-in for the Jawas, with gold and silver studs creating R2-D2 and C-3PO. There are also stud stacks to represent Luke and Owen. Over in the Homestead is a colourful pair of studs which I assume is Aunt Beru.
As with previous sets in this series, the build is finished off with a 2×4 printed plate, featuring the LEGO Star Wars logo and the 2021 year mark. The only other printed elements can be found on the sides of the miniature Sandcrawler.
Overall
I’ve always been fascinated by microscale builds. I love seeing how parts are used to create such small structures. I’ve always thought an Architecture-like theme based on iconic movie locations would be interesting. So I guess these sort of GWPs sets are the next best thing. Buying droids from Jawas, on a dusty desert planet, may not be as exciting as an epic battle on an icy moon or on the surface of a huge battle station. However, it’s still a great little freebie and one you’ll certainly need to obtain should you own previous sets. The Tatooine Homestead set will be available with selected LEGO Star Wars purchases made across the May the 4th Star Wars Day promotion, beginning May 1st.
This set was provided by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
