Buildable characters may seem like a recent addition to the LEGO® Star Wars range. But during the second year of the long-running theme, several characters were transformed into buildable models. Admittedly, they were a little more ‘unique’ in appearance. But since those early builds, the LEGO element catalogue has vastly expanded, and build techniques have advanced. This has allowed the LEGO Star Wars Design Team to offer more visually pleasing and detailed recreations of characters from a galaxy far, far away. The latest is inspired by the Prequel Trilogy and transforms a STAP-mounted Battle Droid into a large-scale, displayable LEGO model. Ahead of its release next month, here’s a closer look at the LEGO Star Wars Battle Droid with STAP set.
Product Details
Set Name: Battle Droid with STAP | Set Number: 75328 | Pieces: 1088 | Theme: Star Wars
Number of Bags: Bags x 10 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: sheet x 1 | Characters: Battle Droid
RRP: £119.99/129.99€/$139.99/199.99AUD/169.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO Retailers
Introduced in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the B1 Battle Droid were used to swell the ranks of the Separatist Droid Army. As the films progressed, they became a little more comical, a quality many Droids seem to have in the Star Wars universe. In LEGO fandom, the Battle Droid minifigure became a talisman for Christmas, with the basic figure often appearing behind the doors of the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendars. Despite the mini version of the Battle Droid being in abundance, there has only been one buildable version. Released in 2000, the LEGO Technic Battle Droid was certainly a unique take on the character.
There are two main components of the set – the Battle Droid and the STAP. It’s the Battle Droid you tackle first. Despite the robotic nature of the character, it’s still a tricky form to pull off with LEGO bricks. But its basic structure is similar to other buildable characters. It’s built at a slightly bigger scale than a Construction Figure, and it doesn’t rely on any unique elements or a large amount of Technic pieces. It does have an impressive range of movement. This means the Battle Droid can be posed in numerous ways. It also means it can be awkward to create those poses, as joints can easily be overextended if not balanced well. But once you do, the possible poses are quite comical.
Most of the Battle Droid joints are created from recoloured ball elements. These have been created in the same brick yellow as the rest of the Battle Droids. Unfortunately, the curse of the grey joints continues and creates noticeable blemishes against the rest of the set. Some of the detail on the Battle Droid is achieved with stickers, apart from the head, which is a printed piece. The Battle Droid also includes a blaster. This can be clipped to its back or connected to the hands, depending on how you choose to display the set.
Which leads nicely on to the STAP or the Single Trooper Aerial Platform. This unique speeder was used by Battle Droids for patrol missions. Here, it acts as a sort of elaborate display stand. Well, technically, the speeder is attached to a display stand. But without it, the speeder couldn’t stand on its own, nor could the Battle Droid be placed on it. The STAP is a uniquely shaped craft, but its appearance has been captured well with LEGO bricks.
The area around the handlebars of the speeder is nicely detailed. On the subject of the handlebars, to mount the Battle Droid on the speeder, you need to pop the bar off so that it’s easier to clip it to the Battle Droid’s hands. Then you can reattach it and then position the Droid’s feet on the speeder’s fins. It’s only these two points of connection which hold the Battle Droid onto the speeder, which is an impressive feat.
The final part of the set is the display plaque. This follows the appearance of other plaques and can be clipped to the base of the STAP’s stand. It’s also home to a mini version of the speeder and a Battle Droid minifigure. Behind the display plaque are spaces to clip a blaster and a different arm to the minifigure.
It’s an impressive-looking set, and the Battle Droid has a good level of detail, only let down by the colouring of some joint connectors. Is it worth the RRP? If compared to similarly sized sets, then I suppose it is, but it still feels and is an expensive set. It could have just featured a buildable Battle Droid, but the decision to include a STAP speeder does elevate its display potential. The option to clip the display plate to the stand is a welcome one. The LEGO Star Wars Battle Droid and STAP set will be available from July 1st and can be pre-ordered now.
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The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz.com for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com 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.
