LEGO Star Wars 75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker review

One of the First Order’s new machines of doom from Star Wars: The Last Jedi joins the LEGO line-up, offering a unique build experience

Price: £49.99 / $49.99 / €59.99 Pieces: 554 Available: Now

Details around the subject matter of the new LEGO Star Wars: The Last Jedi sets are sketchy, none more so than 75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker. Other vehicles in the initial line-up have been glimpsed in the trailer or images have been shared on the official Star Wars website. In the case of the Scout Walker, nothing has been revealed aside from this LEGO set.

75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker

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For Star Wars fans, Scout Walker of course conjures up images of the AT-ST, the two legged vehicle that featured heavily in Return of the Jedi. This new First Order version of the scout transport may at glance not have much in common with its predecessor, but the cockpit – or ‘head’ – gives the impression that the AT-ST version was taken and squashed. As well as a similar shape, it retains the opening hatch on top, weapons on either side and guns pointing from the front.

The cockpit is the only part of this build that is a typical LEGO Star Wars building experience. A Technic brick base is then built up with SNOT bricks before plates and tiles are added in five directions in order to give an effective look, with blaster pieces ingeniously used for detailing at the back. The interior is spacious enough for two minifigures to fit inside.

What makes this build a particularly enjoyable experience is the construction of the legs – which does take up the majority of the build time. This is not a typical Star Wars vehicle that uses Technic bricks and pins for stability, this is a full-on Technic build – there has not been such a Technic based Star Wars set since 4481 Hailfire Droid. Sure, once the structure is complete, plates cover up the functionality to give it a nice aesthetic that fits the range, but the majority of this build uses Technic elements rather than more traditional LEGO System pieces.

75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker has eight legs, that are built in pairs. How these will operate is not initially clear, although no doubt seasoned Technic builders will spot the relatively simple mechanism quickly. Four wheels are half concealed between the legs, so that when the vehicle is complete, rolling it along causes the legs to rock back and forth across the tabletop. It gives the impression that the vehicle is scuttling like a spider.

When images first emerged of this vehicle, there was a presumption that the legs curled to the body was just one mode, and that they would elongate and allow the Walker to stand tall. That is not the case, they stay tightly packed, with crawler perhaps a more apt name than walker. This is no criticism, simply an observation, as the set should be judged on what it does rather than what fans presumed it would do.

The minifigures included with the set include the necessary pilot and a Flametrooper. Fans who picked up First Order themed sets from The Force Awakens range will be familiar with these guys, the clean lines of the troopers and wacky helmets of the crew continues here. The Resistance Trooper is a neat little army builder, with General Hux the only named character in the set, sporting hair instead of his hat this time around.

Seeing the Heavy Scout Walker operate in Star Wars: The Last Jedi will go a long way to determining how accurate this set is. But without that context, this is still an immensely fun and rewarding build. With dozens of new LEGO Star Wars sets released each year, it is great to get something surprising and unique like 75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker. The crawling function works a treat, and although the finished build is not huge, the pieces all feel well utilised. For fans who enjoy something new in their LEGO Star Wars build experience, this a set worth owning.

75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker is available now at shop.LEGO.com. You can help support Brick Fanatics’ work by using our affiliate links.

Author Profile

Graham
Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education.

Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

Graham

Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education. Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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