First Impressions: LEGO Star Wars 75144 Snowspeeder

The second ever UCS remake is here and it is… a Snowspeeder. The LEGO Group continues their odd romance with this chunky piece of Star Wars history. Is it a love affair worth getting in on? 

The longstanding infatuation that the LEGO Group has with Snowspeeders has forever baffled me. With the exception of perhaps Jedi Starfighters, which in contrast have a host of variants to choose from, there is no other ship in the Star Wars universe reproduced in the brick as many times as the Rebellion’s short lived Hoth based fighter. Having pretty much perfected the design on iteration number two, subsequent offerings have been difficult to distinguish from each other. For better or worse, the themes of ‘odd choice’ and ‘difficult to distinguish from its predecessor’ permeate my first impression of the latest LEGO Star Wars UCS set.

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My first observation is that this is a perfectly executed set. The designers have done an outstanding job capturing the look, proportions, colour scheme and feel of the iconic Snowspeeder. The point of these non-minifigure scale offerings is to capture a level of detail not possible on smaller models and that trait is in full force here. Collectors looking for a satisfying display piece need look no further. If you missed out on the previous UCS Snowspeeder, set 10129 from 2003, this will not disappoint.

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The age of 10129 was no doubt a major factor in the decision to re-tread the frozen terrain of Hoth and make the Snowspeeder the second re-do in the UCS line. While I cannot dispute the basic logic, this set still seems an odd choice. Was anyone actually looking for a new UCS Snowspeeder? Unlike 10240, the updated UCS X-Wing released in 2013, 75144 maintains the trend of its smaller counterparts and is not a dramatic improvement from its predecessor. The LEGO design team pretty much nailed the Snowspeeder’s look with the original UCS set. While there have been improvements, the shapes and angles have notably been refined, most changes appear to be minor, a fact which is reflected in the meagre 248 increase in pieces.

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As one digs into the details, the oddities only continue. The LEGO Group has included a pair of minifigure pilots which the set’s description states are intended for placement in the model, but the ship is not to scale. Those figures will look like dolls about to be consumed by their chairs. Further on, the description calls out that two blaster pistols are included. Talking up two parts that have no real place in a UCS set, and can be found in almost every Star Wars set, implies scraping the bottom of the barrel for features to showcase. Admittedly, this may be the marketing department misunderstanding the appeal rather than a fault in the product, but it does stand out in the press release.

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In summary, collectors who have been scared off by 10129’s high aftermarket price will no doubt be delighted at the opportunity to add this iconic vessel to their UCS lineup. They will not be disappointed as the LEGO Group has returned to form in terms of the detail we expect in UCS-badged sets after the other return to Hoth that is spoken about in hushed tones. With that said, I must confess to being disappointed that the decision was made to re-tread old ground, no matter how well executed, when there are so many other ships and locations which have not previously been given the UCS treatment. A certain other, arguably more iconic, vehicle which saw battle on the ice planes of Hoth comes to mind…

75144 Snowspeeder will be available to buy at shop.LEGO.com from May 4, with early access for LEGO Store VIPs.

Author Profile

Daniel
When I was 3 years old my dad bought home 6659 TV Camera Crew as a gift — he had no idea what he had just unleashed. Three decades and no dark age later, I am still going strong. My love of LEGO led me to a career in Civil Engineering and I am now raising three budding LEGO lovers with my lovely wife who is, bless her, a huge supporter of my brick addiction. When not writing for Brick Fanatics or fulfilling my duties as the U.S. Editor of Blocks Magazine I enjoy collecting, MOCing, exhibiting, as well as running, climbing and home improvement.

Daniel

When I was 3 years old my dad bought home 6659 TV Camera Crew as a gift — he had no idea what he had just unleashed. Three decades and no dark age later, I am still going strong. My love of LEGO led me to a career in Civil Engineering and I am now raising three budding LEGO lovers with my lovely wife who is, bless her, a huge supporter of my brick addiction. When not writing for Brick Fanatics or fulfilling my duties as the U.S. Editor of Blocks Magazine I enjoy collecting, MOCing, exhibiting, as well as running, climbing and home improvement.

2 thoughts on “First Impressions: LEGO Star Wars 75144 Snowspeeder

  • 24/03/2017 at 04:02
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    Having missed out on the one from 2003 I’ve been waiting for a while now to see if the rumours over the last few years were going to come to fruition with a new ucs snowspeeder. So from my view point I’m glad it’s finally happening 🙂

    I get the point about snwospeeders keep coming up in the smaller sets but as a fan of the snowspeeder, the more the merrier imho. Plus for such a set, 14 years is a reasonable enough time before having another go at it (is only a year more than the time difference between the ucs x-wings).

    But I do get the point raised and the re-releasing of certain vehicles does seem ‘odd’ with the depth of vehicles that exist in the star wars universe but then I guess the typical ones have the greater sales value / liking compared to ones that you only briefly see or need to go into the somewhat lesser known source material.

    Reply
  • 22/03/2017 at 21:01
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    Yeah, not that bothered about this one TBH…………….will double up and get the Death Star instead at some point………..

    Reply

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