scarif stormtrooper [40176] review

Scarif Stormtrooper [40176]

More Rogue One minifigures!

One of the freebies in the LEGO Force Friday II offers is the Scarif Stormtrooper [40176] polybag. It's free with any LEGO Star Wars purchase over £25. It's the second from the (hopefully long) series of interlocking Star Wars display sets. The first one is the rebel droid R3-M2 (which I previously made a review post). At first I thought the series was limited to droids, but we obviously now know that's not the case. The good thing about this is it opened a lot more possibilities!

Shoretrooper

For the minifigure per se, it appears that the one included in this [40176] polybag is a Shoretrooper Squad Leader, as identified by his sand blue stripe along the top of the chest plate and onto the shoulder guards. Another visual cue is the kama attached to the belt. This is in comparison to the Regular Shoretrooper (all sand-colored armor) in the Battle on Scarif [75171] set, and the Shoretrooper Captain (mostly sand blue-colored chest plate and left shoulder guard) in the TIE Striker [75154] set.

Unmasked

The minifig head is the standard Stormtrooper head with black eyebrows, cheek lines, chin dimple, and a grimace expression. The Scarif Stormtrooper is equipped with a blaster rifle built by attaching a prismatic binoculars to a ribbed spacegun.

Backdrop & Stand

The backdrop and stand is almost identical to the one from the R3-M2 [40268] polybag, with the exceptions of gray connector pegs and a Scarif scenery. Of course, there's the sticker label announcing what kind of Stormtrooper he is. It's just a bugger that his rank was left out.

Scarif Stormtrooper

Overall, I am very happy with the Scarif Stormtrooper [40176] polybag, and, as I said before, the possible direction this line may go. (Can you give me my LEGO Lothcat now?).

LEGO force friday II experience

Force Friday II
(Photo grabbed from: LEGO Store Promotional Material)

Force Friday II is here and LEGO has a lot of force-filled goodies for brick fans from a galaxy far, far away...

For some reason, LEGO UK waited until the last minute to announce their Force Friday II (weekend) offers, but it's so worth the wait. Unfortunately, I was working (and not to mention exhausted) the past few days so a timely announcement post is not feasible. My sincerest apologies. Let me just give you an account of my wife and I's Force Friday II experience.

To continue celebrating 40 Years of Star Wars, and to further hype The Last Jedi (merchandise), 1 September has been marked as Force Friday II. Since the day wasn't declared a public holiday, the event was extended the whole weekend. And of course LEGO is a big part of this celebration, releasing new (huge) sets based on the upcoming film, with lots of offers and freebies to boast.

There are a few Star Wars sets on sale, mostly from the Rogue One collection, which are, by the way, retiring soon! VIP members will also receive triple points on LEGO Star Wars sets. Then for the freebies, there's a free First Order Heavy Assault Walker [30497] with any LEGO Star Wars purchase over £60, and a free Scarif Stormtrooper [40176] minifigure with any LEGO Star Wars purchase over £25! For more details, check out their official website.

Force Friday II Offers
(Photo grabbed from: LEGO Store Sept-Oct 2017 Newsletter)

But wait, there's more! Everything is just about to get massive with the official announcement of the biggest LEGO set ever, the Ultimate Collector's Series Millennium Falcon [75192]! Well, it only has a piece count of 7,541 (and a RRP of £649.99)! It's just a bit unfortunate that my local LEGO Store in Watford had some technical difficulties and was unable to display the model during the Force Friday II weekend (they're still the best, though). But the good news is, LEGO, being generous as ever, is giving its fans a chance to take home the iconic new set via its Launch Guide.

Launch Guide
(Photo grabbed from: LEGO Store Promotional Material)

At the back of the Launch Guide is a Galactic Pop Quiz, wherein there are five multiple choice questions. You can answer these questions by applying the green stud stickers on the space provided for. Please don't look for the green stud stickers in the sheet pictured above, they were already used before I got the chance to take a picture of it. After answering it (correctly), show it to a LEGO Store Associate to receive your Peel Card.

Scratch Peel Card
(Photo grabbed from: LEGO Store Promotional Material)

Unfortunately, our Peel Card said we didn't win but there is a consolation prize, an R2-D2 [30611] polybag (which I previously did a review)! I almost forgot, for LEGO VIP purchase of any Star Wars set, you'll receive a Millennium Falcon mini poster (a different one each day!). Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of these posters, I'll just make a separate post on this.

Are you wondering what my haul is this Force Friday II? It's the BB-8 [75187] set! I fell in love with this set ever since I saw it in the previews, and I'm sure I'll fall deeper once I've built it. 'Can't wait!

BB-8 [75187]

I think it's now safe to say that the LEGO Force Friday II is a huge hit among LEGO Star Wars fans, with a lot of new (and even old) sets being sold out in-store and being on back order online.

How about you? What's your Force Friday II story?

P. S. With the untitled Han Solo film being released on May 2018, I wonder if we'll be having Force Friday next year. I'm sure promotions will be big on May the 4th. Will there be anything left to celebrate come fall?

U-wing fighter [30496] review

U-Wing Fighter [30496]

Rebel alert! It's the U-Wing Fighter [30496] polybag!

I finally got my hands on the U-Wing Fighter [30496] minibuild! If you have read one of my previous posts earlier this year, you can deduce that my best mates and I have gotten together after a long, long time. They bought this polybag for me from their recent LEGOLAND Windsor visit. Super thank you kuys and ate (big brother and big sister)!

Now that I've thought about it, I haven't seen this polybag elsewhere here in the UK. It sounds like the Empire did some shady business.

Back to the minibuild, it's needless to say that I've enjoyed building the U-Wing in this scale (or maybe I'm just really Rogue One biased). It looks like a shrunk version of the big set [75155] (which I did a gallery on)! Every piece corresponds to every part. From the thrust engines to the cockpit. I can't help but see Bistan gunning by the door.

U-Wing

My only complaint is that the wings are not foldable. But at this scale, that's perfectly understandable.

Hopefully I'll find more time soon to enjoy my other Rogue One sets. And I wish LEGO will release more Rogue One sets, haha!

rebel U-wing fighter [75155] gallery

Rebel U-Wing Fighter [75155]

Continuing the LEGO Star Wars Rogue One gallery is the iconic U-Wing!...

With the recent release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray came a sort of re-release of the film's LEGO sets, but this time on super sale! I feel very fortunate to bag the Rebel U-Wing Fighter [75155] for almost half the recommended retail price!

I love almost everything about this set! The foldable wings! Bistan! I enjoyed it more than I expected to. Like my recent posts, I initially intended to make a proper review of this set, but I have forgotten most of my key points so this devolved into a gallery instead. I can only recall something about the color scheme being too bright, and Jyn Erso's lack of hairpiece (which is conveniently included in Battle on Scarif [75171]). But what's important is the fun I experienced in building this magnificent ship. Hopefully, I was able to capture that in my images.

Enjoy!

Jyn Erso

Jyn Erso in Action

Cassian Andor

Bistan

Rebel Trooper

U-Wing Pilot

U-Wing

U-Wing (Flight Configuration)

Bistan in Battle Mode

U-Wing Pilot in Flight Mode

Rebel U-Wing Fighter

R3-M2 [40268] review

R3-M2 [40268]

The free LEGO R3-M2 [40268] minifigure will definitely make any rebel wannabe go rogue!

R3-M2 is the latest droid minifigure LEGO is giving away to brick fans from a galaxy far, far away. It is an astromech droid part of the Alliance to Restore the Republic from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. 

The promotion runs in the UK from 7 to 31 May with any LEGO Star Wars purchase. The offer is valid online at shop.LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores. Limited to one per household, and of course, while supplies last.

R3-M2

I don't know the reason behind this but the set is weirdly packaged in a softer polybag. If I haven't received it from a LEGO Store, I think I would doubt it as a knockoff or something. Other than that, everything else is perfect!

The R3-M2 minifigure comes with a cool transparent head, which at first glance looks chrome silver. As pictured above, the printed details, however, are kind of hard to see (sorry). The body's printing is somewhat similar to that of R2-D2's but with a brown theme instead of blue. 

Backdrop & Stand

The set also comes with a decorative backdrop, a sticker label, and a brick-built stand. The stand can be attached to another stand via a Technic connector peg piece. Could this mean there will be more minifigures, or at least droids to come? The film featured a lot of characters so this can be an exciting product line. Or it can go beyond the anthology film and pluck characters from the original and prequel trilogies. After all, Star Wars is celebrating a whopping 40 years!

Overall, I am very happy with the R3-M2 polybag, and the possible direction this line may go. But I still need to re-watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (already available on Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray) and play Where's R3-M2?.

R3-M2 on Display

________________________________________

UPDATE: Confirmed! R3-M2 [40268] is just the first set in this line! A Scarif Stormtrooper [40176] set with a similar display setup has been found in the wild! The minifigure is slightly different from the Scarif Stormtrooper and Shore Trooper in the sets Battle on Scarif [75171] and TIE Striker [75154], respectively. Maybe it outranked them because of the two gray sleeves, or maybe not. There's no word yet on how to obtain this polybag but I'm sure it won't be long. My bet is on Force Friday (or Rogue Friday or however they would want to call it this year).

Scarif Stormtrooper [40176]
(Photo grabbed from: https://brickset.com/sets/40176-1/Scarif-Stormtrooper)

UK LEGO store R3-M2 promotion

Free R3-M2!
(Photo grabbed from: LEGO Store May-June 2017 Newsletter)

There's no stopping the 40 Years of Star Wars Celebration! Free LEGO R3-M2 [40268] minifigure!

Immediately right after the annual May the 4th Be With You promotions, LEGO has another droid to giveaway, and it's none other than Rogue One's R3-M2. It is an astromech droid part of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

The promotion runs from 7 to 31 May with any LEGO Star Wars purchase. The offer is valid online at shop.LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores. Limited to one per household, and of course, while supplies last.

Now it's time to re-watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (which is already out on Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray, by the way) and play Where's R3-M2?

U-wing fighter [30496] polybag spotted in LEGOLAND windsor

U-Wing Fighter [30496]
(Photo by: Poncemel Ardiente)

Rebel alert! The U-Wing Fighter [30496] polybag has finally been spotted in the UK!

Thanks to my best mates, the minibuild version of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's iconic spaceship has recently been sighted in LEGOLAND Windsor, and it only costs £3.99! I don't know if this is old news, but this is the first time that I (indirectly) saw the polybag in a UK retail store. I read somewhere that it has been spotted late last year, but that's in another LEGOLAND, specifically California (is it LEGOLAND exclusive?). And I know it has been available in the secondary market for a while now, but not at the above mentioned price. I'm hoping that the U-Wing Fighter [30496] polybag will be more widely available soon. (UPDATE: The polybag will be part of the May the 4th be with you promotions in some areas, and is currently a free gift in K-Zone Australia!).

'Can't wait to get my hands on this sweet rebel fighter ship. Thanks again kuys and ate (big brother and big sister)!

battle on scarif [75171] gallery

Battle on Scarif [75171]

Continuing the roguish streak is the epic Battle on Scarif [75171]...

The recent release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray is a perfect excuse to play with our LEGO sets again. If you want to stretch it a bit, it can also be a perfect excuse to buy new ones. A lot of LEGO Star Wars Rogue One sets are currently on super sale. So go ahead and check your favorite stores! (I just did and... More on this next time, haha).

I really can't remember the occasion when I bought the Battle on Scarif [75171]. I usually just buy sets when there's a reason for celebration or when there's an unrefusable offer. In that way, I can try to control my impulse. Anyway, it's a lovable set. You get Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor in a single set. I only wish Cassian is in disguise as well as Jyn. I guess I'll just hunt for a gray Imperial Officer uniform then for a scene that I badly want to replicate in brick form. Another plus point for me is the inclusion of the mysterious orange crate. Now my Imperial Assault Hovertank can carry one crate more.

Like my last post, I initially intended to make a proper review of this set, but I have forgotten most of my key points so this devolved into a gallery instead.

Enjoy!

Cassian Andor

Jyn Erso

Jyn Erso in Disguise

Scarif Stormtooper

Scarif Stormtoopers

Orange Crate

Scarif

Sliding Bunker Doors

Hidden Weapons Stash

Battle on Scarif

krennic's imperial shuttle [75156] gallery

Krennic's Imperial Shuttle [75156]

It's time to go rogue all over again! Starting off in style with Director Krennic's Imperial Shuttle [75156]...

With the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray, it just makes perfect sense to bring out our LEGO sets as well.

My ever-loving wife gave me Krennic's Imperial Shuttle [75156] (thank you again!) last Christmas, and it instantly became my new favorite! The sexy black ship is to die for! And the selection of minifigures is amazing! I super love the menacing Death Troopers! And K-2SO! Oh, poor droid! At least you're still complete in brick form (oops, a bit spoiler-ish).

I initially intended to make a review of this set, but this post sat long enough in draft mode that I forgot most of my key points (haha, sorry!). So, in order not to waste all these fierce (IMNSHO) pictures, I decided to transform it into a gallery instead.

Enjoy!

Director Krennic

Death Trooper

Death Troopers

K-2SO

Bodhi Rook

Pao

Shuttle Exterior

Shuttle Interior

Shuttle Rear

Krennic's Style

Krennic's Imperial Shuttle