During the early stages of the Clone Wars, the Separatists had a major advantage thanks to their endless supply of Battle Droids. The B1 ‘Clankers’ would be deployed to the battlefield by Multi-troop Transporters or MTTs. These large armoured vehicles could hold multiple Battle Droids, as well as acting as a command centre for more advanced Droids. In live-action, the MTTs were depicted as large, brown-coloured vehicles. However, in the animated Clone Wars series, a blue and grey version was featured, and it’s that variant that’s the subject of this upcoming LEGO Star Wars set. Here’s a look at set 75414: Battle of Felucia Separatist MTT.
Product Details
Set Name: Battle of Felucia Separatist | Set Number: 75435 | Pieces: 976 | Theme: Star Wars
Number of Bags: Bags x 10 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: sheet x 1 | Characters: Aayla Secura, Commander Bly, 3 x Commando Droids, 6 x Battle Droids, & a Pilot Battle Droid
RRP: £139.99/149.99€/$159.99/249.99AUD/199.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO Retailers from August 1st
Throughout the history of the LEGO Star Wars theme, there have been a handful of attempts to create a minifigure-scale MTT. Until now, these have all been inspired by the vehicle’s live-action outings, mostly from moments in Episode I. It’s an unusually shaped craft and one which has been tricky to perfectly capture with LEGO bricks.
The MTT is famous for its ability to carry a large number of Battle Droids and deploy them directly onto the battlefield. This is done by extending arms upon which the Droids are stored. This has been translated into a fun, albeit scaled-back play feature. Instead of supplying over a hundred Battle Droids, this MTT can store just six. Despite that, the function in which it does so is fun. A long arm is fed into the bows of the MTT, where it meets a splat gear connected to a handle. Turning this causes the arm to extend and open the large printed disc found on the front of the MTT. It’s a clever mechanism and not one which is too complex to build. Although it did struggle a little to get the arm to marry up with the splat gear. It may require a little forcing to get the arm notches to move past the gear. But once it does, it easily moves with the simple rotation of the knob found on the top of the MTT.
The interior of the MTT is mostly used for the stored Droid, the mechanism used to deploy them, but there’s also room to store their blasters and in the top section of the craft is a small command pod, with enough room to place the Pilot Droid. There’s also an area to store the set’s additional buildable element, a STAP.
The blue and grey exterior of the MTT does look a lot more interesting than the brown version. Using two colours breaks it up a bit. The MTT has a unique curved hull, which isn’t easy to achieve with LEGO bricks. The large printed disc on the front of the MTT helps a little, but the rest of the exterior is quite angular. Thankfully, it’s not as ‘gappy’ as previous versions. Almost all of the interior elements are covered. Another interesting function is how it can be moved, often larger LEGO vehicles are just given a series of 2×2 curved plates so it can be glided along. The MTT has a couple of wheel-like elements added to the bottom of it. These help the craft move along most surfaces, as well as being hidden,n so it looks like it’s hovering along.
The STAP speeders have become quite prevalent this year. Oddly, they all have slightly different designs. This one has a blue and grey colour scheme, matching the MTT. It also has a transparent stand to give the impression of it hovering. It can carry either a Commando or Battle Droid, with the set’s instructions and packaging focusing on the Commando Droid’s taking control of it.
The set includes several minifigures, including six standard Battle Droids, which have remained largely the same since their first appearance. Previous sets have included more of them, but six is good enough, especially as that’s the number of Droids which can be loaded into the MTT. They are used by a Pilot Battle Droid; design-wise, it’s identical to standard B1 Droids, but includes a blue torso. This has a flash of tan print detail on it as well.
Less common are the Commando Droids; these have only appeared in a couple of past sets, the last being released over 10 years ago. Again, their design has remained much the same, but their colouring has been changed. Previous versions were brown; these are a darker grey. Which does make them look more like their animated counterparts. I prefer this take on the character.
Jedi Knight Aayla Secura has only appeared in two previous sets. Thanks to the Twi’Lek’s blue skin and lekku, she is a recognisable character. This updated version features clearer print detail and continues to use a different coloured arm to match her crop top outfit. She also sports a blue-bladed lightsaber.
Joining Aayla is Clone Commander Bly, who commands the 327th Star Corps, subject of the upcoming Battle Pack. Similar to the Clones in the Battle Pack, Bly features the brighter yellow colouring. Although brighter than the source, he at least matches his fellow troopers. There are also a few design differences between the print detail and the actual character design, but they are far from devastating, as they will no doubt become. Bly uses the new plastic pauldron, which sits on his shoulder and the macrobinoculars accessory, which clips to the helmet via the infamous ‘helmet holes’. The character lacks a material piece around the waist, but I think that’s partly due to the pauldron no longer being a material piece. It would look mismatched.
In terms of function, the way the Droid deployment arm has been integrated into the MTT is really well done. Sure, it’s a little lacking in terms of the number of Droids it holds, but you’d need a UCS scale set if you wanted the same function paired with more Droids. The spread of characters featured in the set is a good enough balance between how many are included over the variety they provide. There are minor issues with accuracy, but the minifigures certainly represent who they are meant to represent. It’s a nice companion piece for the 327th Battle Pack. But the issue of pricing returns. For the size of the set and the minifigures it includes, it’s another overpriced Star Wars release. It may be the first of its kind in terms of the colouring, and it includes some unique minifigures, but that’s not enough to warrant the RRP. The Battle of Felucia Separatist MTT launches on August 1st.
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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.
