With the advent of Disney+ the Clone Wars animated series was resurrected for a seventh season. During this final run of episodes, a group of clones were introduced dubbed The Bad Batch. With the official callsign of Clone Force 99, this ragtag band of clones were very much different from just about all their counterparts. With the deployment of order 66, Bad Batch went on the run and also became stars of their own animated Disney+ series. Which acts as inspiration for this upcoming LEGO Star Wars set. Just as Clone Force 99 is different from the rest of the Clone Army, their ship is unique as well. The Marauder has a similar configuration to an Imperial Shuttle but this is the first time the craft has appeared in LEGO form. So how does the set shape up and how well are each member of the Bad Batch portrayed in Minifigure form? Let’s find out in the next of my LEGO Star Wars set reviews with a look at the Bad Batch Attack Shuttle.
Product Description
Kids will love roleplaying Clone Force 99 missions with this LEGO® brick-built version of The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle (75314) from Star Wars: The Bad Batch. It features large wings that move up and down for landing and flight modes, 2 spring-loaded shooters and an opening dual LEGO minifigure cockpit and rear cabin with space for 2 LEGO minifigures and weapons storage. Pull up the central dorsal fin to access the interior for easy play.
Thrilling action
The set has 5 new-for-August-2021 LEGO minifigures of Bad Batch clones Tech, Echo, Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair, a Gonk Droid LEGO figure, plus cool weapons and 2 buildable speeders to inspire imaginative play. Step-by-step instructions are included to ease the construction process.
- Set Name: The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle
- Set Number: 75314
- Theme: Star Wars
- Pieces: 969
- Minifigures: Tech, Echo, Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair & a Gonk Droid figure
- RRP: £89.99/$99.99/99.99€
- Measurements: measures over 7 in. (20 cm) high, 10 in. (25 cm) long and 5 in. (13 cm) wide
- Availability: LEGO.com, LEGO Stores & LEGO Retailers from August 1st
The set features three buildable vehicles including two different style speeder bikes and Clone Force 99’s ship the Havoc Marauder. The build begins with those Speeder Bikes. The green coloured by is very similar to the classic Z-74 Speeder Bike first seen in Return of the Jedi. There are a few differences to the usual design, with the front section a single piece instead of two separate forks. There are also two container-like tanks connected to the bottom edge of the speeder near where the rider is seated. The colour scheme is certainly different for these sorts of vehicles.
The second speeder is a BARC Speeder, which is far more chunky and more common to the Clone War era. The bigger frame of the BARC Speeder means that it is a little more detailed than the other Speeder. It’s also a more traditional coloured with a mix of darker grey and black. I also like the use of stickers on a sloped brick towards the rear of the Speeder. One thing which looks good but is slightly impractical is the Speeder steering throttle. The combination of elements may look good, but it’s far too easy to knock it off with the slightest of touch, let alone trying to connect a Minifigure’s hand to it.
The Havoc Marauder is a unique ship used by Bad Batch to carry out their various missions. They continued to use the shuttle during the rise of the Empire and their desertion of the grand army of the Republic. Although a unique ship, it does have a similar configuration to the Imperial Shuttle. This makes the build a little similar as well. You start by constructing the central section of the ship, which has enough room to seat two Minifigures in the cockpit. Accessing the rest of the interior of the ship is a little unconventional. The whole of the top section of the ship can be lifted up to reveal another small section to the rear of the shuttle. Here you can just about slot in another two Minifigures, meaning the whole current Bad Batch crew can be onboard the Marauder. Obviously, the interior is much smaller than the ship in the Disney+ series but that’s quite often the case with the Star Wars ships.
One thing I really like about the build is the wings, the way they are constructed and connected to the body of the ship results in a sturdy structure. I particularly like the line of barrel gears used to connect the wings and as a means to allow them to rotate, as well as doubling up as gun mounts. In another similar trait common to the Imperial Shuttles, the Marauder’s wings fold upwards when landing. In-flight the wings arch slightly downwards. Due to the nature of LEGO elements, the underside of wings and fin on top of the ship, have a lot of the back of bricks on show. They certainly don’t look as nice as the top of the bricks but some effort has been put in to make them look as best as possible, particularly on the fin section.
Much of the detail of the ship is achieved with the use of different coloured elements, which helps to give it a beat-up and well-used appearance. The cockpit canopy is printed. A transparent piece could have been used and heavily stickered so I’m glad the solid colour and print was used instead.
A big draw of the set will be the Minifigures. Bad Batch are an interesting bunch and although based on the familiar looking Kamino clones, they all have their own unique appearance. Wrecker is probably the most difficult to recreate as a Minifigure, due to his larger stature. A BigFig would have been overkill so a piece of shoulder armour has been used to bulk him out. His helmet uses the elements introduced for many of the more recent Iron Man suits.
The leader of the Clone Force 99 is Hunter, when suited up he has the appearance of a Clone Trooper in darker armour, his helmet uses the classic Clone Trooper helmet complete with his uniquely decorated paint job. Unfortunately, his ‘bucketless’ look is a little less impressive. In the show, his longish hairstyle is similar to Rambo’s, with a bandana used to keep it in place. For the Minifigure, a longer hairpiece is used and the bandana is included as print detail on the head. Without creating a new hairpiece, this is the next best option; it just doesn’t match the character.
Echo is the most recent member of Bad Batch, joining them in the seventh season of Clone Wars. He was a standard Clone but was fitted with various cybernetics by his Separatists captors. This has resulted in the character having a droid-like arm. Unfortunately, this is another element of the original character which hasn’t translated too well for the Minifigure. The left arm is simply coloured differently. Although this doesn’t look great compared to the source material, the print detail on the head certainly does. Crosshair was an original member of Bad Batch before the effects of Order 66 turned him into a tool of the newly formed Empire. His Minifigure form is inspired by this, with darker armour and helmet. This almost makes him look like a Death Trooper, especially with the green used for the visor print.
Finally, there is Tech, who is an amazing Minifigure. Not only does he wear a lighter colour of armour, but he also wears a comms pack on his back and has a unique helmet, which has been recreated with a brand new element. There would have been no other way to capture his look without this new piece. The open-fronted visor section links nicely to the alternate face print which includes Tech’s goggles. His helmet can be switched out for a hair element as well. This makes Tech, the most unique Minifigure in the set and a perfect recreation of the character. The Bad Batch is joined by a buildable Gonk Droid, this matches the build used for other Minifigures-scale Gonk Droids.
As the most recent addition to the Star Wars lexicon, Bad Batch has introduced a unique addition to the LEGO Star Wars range. The ship is interesting to build and offers a few play features with the addition of the Speeder Bikes. I assume the set is inspired by a moment in the Disney+ series we are yet to see, as I can’t remember Crosshair giving chase to Clone Force 99 on a Speeder Bike. The Minifigures do a decent job of matching the various different looks of the Bad Batch members. I’ve seen a few comments regarding the use of current helmet elements but I have no problems with them, as they match nicely with those featured in the show. It’s always nice to get something new from the LEGO Star Wars sets and the Bad Batch Shuttle certainly offers that.
Pre-order Now: UKIrelandUSCanadaGermanyDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
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. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
