Review: 75059 Sandcrawler - Part 2
Posted by CapnRex101,
Huw's photographs once again accompany the review, so many thanks to him for providing them.
In the second part of this review of set 75059 Sandcrawler I will be taking a look at the build and the model itself, which are probably the most attractive elements of the entire set actually, even surpassing the Minifigures that I reviewed in part one as well as taking a brief look at the box and instructions.
The Build
As a set priced at £249.99 in the UK, or $299.99 in the US, one would expect an exciting build, and I do not think this set disappoints in the slightest. It took me about eight hours from start to finish, and is a lot of fun almost all of the way through!
One you have assembled your first selection of Minifigures (which are spread throughout the build), construction begins with the Technic frame that supports the entire model, which, as you can see, is fairly multi-coloured, although none of these garish colours are visible ultimately. The mounting for the front hatch of the Sandcrawler is added to the front, and 6x6 light bluish grey round plates mark each of the four points where a tread bogie will be placed later.
In the second bag the paneled flooring of the Sandcrawler is added, and the clever steering mechanism at the rear is also constructed. This makes use of mostly Technic components and will require some sections to simply rest in place, unattached to the main model, for a few minutes here. By the end of the bag though everything is fitted in place, and one moves onto bag three...
...where you start building up the walls of the vehicle. By this point the model is already feeling substantial, and it is significantly strengthened both by the Technic bricks in the floor and those which rise with the walls. At the end of this section of the build, you add a ladder inside which was particularly enjoyable as I had no idea what it was doing there. Construction of the sides of the Sandcrawler is continued in bag four, and the insides are made a little more homely with the addition of runners for the crates and mini speeder which will be added later.
In bag five, the central panels on each side allow the model to begin taking shape as the tan hatches appear. This mirrored building is not particularly entertaining, but necessary on a mostly symmetrical model such as this one. These portions also only rest in grooves for the time being, although they are quite stable there.
With bag six the frame of the model is finally completed, along with the rear profile seen in the photo below. This is a particularly entertaining section of the build in my opinion as it contained a nice mix of Technic and System building, as well as some more construction where you have no idea what you are building until you fit it to the model. There is some superb greebling added to the back of the Sandcrawler, as well as, unfortunately, a few stickers. These however are easy enough to apply with a bit of care, and they do look nice when they are in place.
In bags seven and eight the build takes a significant turn for the worse as one has to endure assembling the four treaded bogies. This is not a difficult process, but the attachment of a full three hundred and four track pieces (seventy-six on each section) is a chore. Nevertheless, this is necessary for the build and so is obviously forgivable. It may be dull, but without those tracks this would not be a Sandcrawler. The entrance ways are also added beneath the main hull of this behemoth, although they serve no purpose beyond looking accurate as they are too small to allow a Minifigure access.
Bag nine begins construction on the front of the Sandcrawler, which is probably one of the most interesting sections due to the unusual angles. The ramp, forward crane and mechanism for lowering the main ramp are all added, which is quite clever using some well hidden chain reels. Unfortunately, it is also in this section of the build where one finds a few of the errors in the instruction manual as we are not told explicitly to push some pins in all the way. This is quite easy to work out though, so does not pose a problem really.
The tenth and eleventh bags contain some more symmetrical building, although it is still fun to add the rest of the side panels on the model. These might suggest that you are on the home straight as the set really looks like a Sandcrawler now, but there is still an awful lot left to go!
In bags twelve and thirteen, there is even more repeated building as panels are added to the front, effectively completing the Sandcrawler from either side. This was probably my favourite part of the entire build as it is so clever. The angled sides at both the front and either side of the tan trapdoors in the centre of the vehicle are build with great skill here, and we are left with a fantastically accurate result, achieved using small ball joints, turntables and clips.
Bag number fourteen adds the cockpit inside and the first part of the roof. This is the most sticker intensive section of the build, but it yields a nice result, and sets up construction of...
...the internal crane and remainder of the roof on the main body of the Sandcrawler in bag fifteen. I was particularly impressed in this section by how easily the roof comes off, as well as how it is build around the crank which drops the forward ramp, allowing easy access to this function.
Finally we come to the sixteenth and final bag of pieces, which complete the model with the addition of the top hatch above the cockpit, the little cargo speeder to go inside, the three large crates included, six more smaller crates and the attachments for the ends of the two cranes. I was impressed by this section of the build especially as hooks I had forgotten all about are utilised as a means of storing each of the three crane attachments inside the Sandcrawler.
In the simplest of terms this is one of the most entertaining builds I have enjoyed in recent years. There is an excellent variation of Technic and System construction, and although there are some dull sections (most notably in bags seven and eight) the accomplished design of the vehicle more than makes up for it, and it is fantastic to see how the more challenging areas of the model go together.
The Completed Model
The finished Sandcrawler is nothing short of a feat of LEGO engineering in my opinion. It is quite enormous, being forty six centimetres in length, and twenty-four high, and this is matched by its weight. The entire model feels very sturdy and although it is just a big brown lump, it certainly has a certain rustic charm to it and it looks superb as a whole.
At the front are four headlights, just as on the 'real' vehicle, and the ramp is easily lowered using the gear atop the vehicle, which is surprisingly reminiscent of the drawbridge function on various castles over the years. It raises and lowers very nicely, although the chain does occasionally slip and the ramp can droop a little rather than fitting flush with the rest of the hull. This is a negligible issue however as it almost always works perfectly. Once this front hatch has been opened, the cargo sled and crane are visible inside, which can be extended out to reach just beyond the edge of the ramp. The hook can be drawn in or lowered using a gear wheel attached to the end of the boom, and once folded away it does not hinder the closing of the ramp in the slightest.
Inside the cockpit are five control consoles. Four of these are decorated with Aurebesh letters on them, and there is a nice little detail included as two of the consoles placed side by side read R2, and then on the console beside, D2. The other two simply read B and M which has no significance to me, but feel free to hypothesise in the comments as these letters (or numbers in some cases) are almost never chosen at random. Behind these consoles is a lovely detail, with a sticker showing C-3PO as he wanders the Dune Sea, walking past the skeleton of a Krayt Dragon in the background just as in the film. Exactly how the Jawas are getting this image of his is beyond me, but I will move on quickly lest I fall into pedantry. The cockpit windows are perhaps a little lazy, although at this scale only a sticker could make more accurate given the scale. It is a shame that they do not meet up at the corners, but no piece exists which would allow this unfortunately.
The forward tracks do not steer unlike on the vehicle in the film, but they roll nicely and the steering of the rear treads provide a fairly tight turning circle actually, just like on 10144 Sandcrawler from 2005. Four panels can be opened here to allow access to the inside where one finds the cargo sled bay, spaces for three crates and room for some crane attachments at the back. Also, in the photo below you can see what the purpose of that ladder I mentioned earlier is, to allow access to the vehicle from the back! This is a neat feature and the assembly folds away nicely out of the sight when the hatch is closed.
The entire roof is removable in two parts, which provides even easier access to the inside, and it is possible to manoeuvre the internal crane to move things around inside the Sandcrawler or outside as it can be raised over the side with the roof panel removed. This is an incredibly clever function in my opinion, and one which I had not anticipated at all. Along each side of the model are six small hatches covering the six little crates constructed during the final bag, and the tan access hatch is large enough to push one of the more substantial crates through it. This is a satisfying little feature as this crate will then run down a small conveyor belt and come to rest in a space constructed just for that purpose.
Finally, at the rear we have some nice greebling and the gear used for steering the vehicle. Greebling also runs along the top of the Sandcrawler and the mix of browns and greys looks very industrial, exactly as one would hope.
Overall
This is an excellent, albeit imperfect, set. It is a lovely rendition of the vehicle from the film, and the scale of the model is quite reasonable, although there is one somewhat significant issue I have with the set.
The original 2005 edition of the Sandcrawler (10144) focused on a single habitable area of the vehicle (other than the cockpit), the droid workshop area which was removable from the main body. This was an issue as about two thirds of the set was empty space, which limited the playability and durability of the set. This set however has some internal detailing throughout, but omits the droid workshop entirely, an area which I miss. The room need only have been small, with enough space to stand a few of the droids included in the set, but as it is there is nowhere to put them other than in the crates, which limits playability if you ask me. This is by no means an enormous problem with the set, but I am disappointed that such an integral part of the vehicle, and the only bit we see inside the Sandcrawler in Episode IV, has been completely left out of the set.
Some of you may be interested to see some images comparing 75059 with the older 10144, so here they are. As you can see in the photo above, the new model is significantly larger than the old, and is far more accurate to the 'real' vehicle. I apologise for my lack of photo editing skills (which are no doubt evident) but the two models side by side were too large for my modest photo studio, so I had to remove the backgrounds altogether. Hopefully these images get the point across though.
This set is, for the most part, a winner. It looks fantastic on display as, unlike 10144, the varied colours of the paneling of the hull looks great. Also, the shape of the body is far more accurate than the older edition, and although it is still not perfect, the challenging angles presented by the vehicle are effectively captured in this model as far as I am concerned. There are enough features to keep the playability interesting as well, which I think makes for an appealing set to all ages.
- Parts: 4 - For brown pieces of all shades, this is of course a dream set, but in general there are few particularly interesting pieces beyond just about every kind of panel one could wish for in earthy colours.
- Playability: 4 - The steering and cranes in this set are bound to provide some entertainment, but the absence of much area in which one can actually play with Minifigures is to the set's detriment.
- Building Experience: 5 - Although there is the occasional dull section of the build, there are enough impressive techniques here to keep even the most seasoned of builders happy.
- Value for Money: 3.5 - For £249.99 the number of pieces seems generous. However when compared with sets of a similar size like 10188 Death Star or more recently 10236 Ewok Village, this set does not feel like it is quite worth your money. On a slight discount of perhaps ten percent I would snap this set up in a heartbeat, but as it is, the price is only just about acceptable in my opinion.
- Overall: 4 - I desperately wanted to give this set a higher mark than this, but I think a four sums the set up perfectly. It is very good as a whole, but sometimes flawed, and I would argue that the value for money is not all that impressive.
So that concludes my review of this enormous set, hopefully the Autumn Star Wars UCS model will at least match, if not surpass this model, which I would recommend if you are a particular fan of this scene in the movie, or at a slight discount.
Over the next week or two we have some more reviews of what could quite easily be the most anticipated sets of the year, so stay tuned for those.
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15 comments on this article
Beautifully done review, truly outstanding work.
Hey, is it possible for you guys to make a size comparison next to the 2005 one? :)
@krollins - Just added :o)
Ah, thank you. :)
I finished building this model last weekend, and can only echo your sentiments in this review.
Exciting build, great mix of system/technic (a wonderful trait, I find, of most 500+ piece SW sets), and extremely sturdy (Had a friend's 7 year boy over to check out my LEGO, and after an hour of intense play the sandcrawler was still all together).
I also miss there being some play space on the inside, besides the containers & the cranes, although the cockpit is much roomier than in 10144.
I'd be interested to know what pages in the instructions have the errors - didn't notice anything during the build and have just checked again and couldn't find any.
Many thanks for a great review and because of this will add it to my never ending lego wanted list ;)
I've always wanted the original Crawler but seeing it next to the new one, the old one looks stumpy and blocky. This review has confirmed my purchase of the new Crawler when I have the spare cash in the autumn - hopefully there'll be a Black Friday discount by then too!
Is the missing push pin step you're referring to perhaps the one on page 196 -step 88?
Excellent review! I won't be purchasing this, but just looking at these beautiful images make every bit of the set stunning.
And lemme guess... one of the next reviews is Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP?
This seems like a nice way for Lego to benefit from the Cuusoo program (renember the UCS Sandcrawler project?).
Nice review.
Sets are looking more like MOCs all the time.
Great review, thanks a lot! I have to concur that the price is just very high and right now I cannot justify spending 300€ on one set. Or as others said, there are also sets you could spend that amount on and probably get more out of it. That saying, I would love to have a Sandcrawler and I am seriously sad that they stopper the Midi line. I have only the Star Destroyer but it is amazing. And imagining a Sandcrawler for 40-60€, that would be great for my collection. I don't care too much about the play features anyway.
It looks like the instruction PDFs on the Lego site have been updated: http://brickset.com/instructions/month-May-2014
I don't know whether it was to fix some errors, but it seems probable.
The paneled approach looks much better than the standard "brick-built" approach. Too bad I won't have money for this one, looks pretty darn awesome....
I guess I must be in the minority here, but I really don't like this set at all.
£250 is UCS model money, but this is no UCS model, it's a playset. To my eyes it's not even that refined, and that drooping loading ramp would annoy the out of me every time I looked at it. I really think that Lego missed a trick when they turned down the Cuusoo version of the Sandcrawler as that was simply perfect. OK, it would have cost over £500, but you know what, I would have gone for it.
I'm a huge Lego Star Wars fan, but this one's a complete miss for me :(.