Six for the proud walkers

Our first Star Wars review for 2015 comes from the multi-talented Jeremy Williams (Bricking It), who examines one of the smallest new sets of the range.

The Star Wars films (including the Clone Wars animated series) continue to provide The LEGO® Group (TLG) with plenty of source material for small ‘battle pack’ sets. These typically include four minifigs (often with at least two duplicates) and some additional hardware. Today I’m reviewing a 2015 set in this series: 75089 Geonosis Troopers.

Let’s start with the minifigs: two pairs of clone troopers (a regular pair and an airborne ‘paratrooper’ pair) all clad in camouflage (or are they just dusty?) dark orange armour.

The printing on the minifigs is up to scratch (no arm printing, sadly, but otherwise nice and detailed) and the paratrooper torso and helmet are particularly nicely done (all four share the same printed legs). They (naturally) share the same face but with a nice variety of expressions which would no doubt be a boon to anyone planning stop-motion animation.

The other thing that all four troopers share is, as is now typical in such sets, that each has one of the new stud blasters. The ammunition is Tr. Blue [TLG]/ Trans Dark Blue [BL] 1x1 studs and 20 such studs are included in the set, twice as many as are needed (which is a good thing, as they vanish almost immediately in use). The stud blasters polarise opinion: some bemoan the lack of authenticity that the blasters introduce into Star Wars sets, while others applaud the enhanced playability they bring. I’m generally in favour - the engineering is still a marvel to me, and the blasters are great fun. Four of them in a set almost demands a staged, rather elaborate Mexican standoff, and I couldn’t help but oblige.

Now if you’re paying attention (which you are, aren’t you?) then you’ll have noticed that 20 studs is a lot more than twice the required number for four stud blasters. That brings us to the walker, and its standout feature - the new rapid-fire stud blaster.

This was covered by Scott Barnick (Aanchir) in his latest Bionicle review and consists of two elements: the outer ring in Dark Stone Grey [TLG]/Dark Bluish Gray [BL] (Design ID 18588 | Element ID 6100488) and the centre pin in Medium Stone Grey [TLG]/Light Bluish Grey [BL] Element ID 6097090). These snap together and, when loaded with six studs, the centre pin (which has a reduced axle hole) can be rotated to fire each pin in turn.

The rapid-fire shooter is great fun. I’d have preferred the centre pin to remain still while the outer ring rotates for a more accurate Gatling-gun effect, but I can see this would involve a more complex mounting. The studs fly in all directions when fired but it’s still very satisfying and (like the single-shooter) a lovely bit of engineering. It also makes a good base for a cannon (or a spaceship engine) in a MOC.

The rest of the walker is pretty straightforward, but the front canopy is a tidily-executed bit of SNOT using clips and handles to provide some pleasing angles. In particular, it illustrates nicely how to achieve right-angles with this particular connection.

The antenna gives some nice visual balance. Speaking of balance, the two poseable feet are easy to place in a variety of positions while keeping the walker stable (albeit often with a forward droop). There’s space for all four troopers to cadge a ride (two seated, two standing on footplates).

Aside from the rapid-fire blaster and the minifigs, the only notable new elements are recolours in Dark Orange. First, there are two 1x1 ‘cheese’ slopes (Design ID 54200 | Element ID 6104342), although my set had a spare third slope too. Then there is the rather prominent 2x2 half-bow (Design ID 15068 | Element ID 6104344) on the front of the walker. Other than that, this isn’t really a set to buy for the elements alone. For collectors of Star Wars minifigs, and for kids who enjoy a good shootout (and have the patience to find all of the ammunition afterward), this is a great value set with plenty of interest.

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Our thanks to LEGO's Community & Events Engagement Team for providing this set.

75089 Geonosis Troopers retails at £11.99 / US$12.99 / €16.99. Consider using our affiliate links to buy it (or anything); this helps support New Elementary!

USA: Amazon.com | The Official LEGO Shop

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UK: Amazon.co.uk - 75089 Geonosis Troopers

Deutschland: Amazon.de

France: Amazon.fr

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