Review all things considered rational. Thanks Huw, good considerations!

It's not bad for people who not invested in Lego sets in past 4-5 years. ;-)

No, it is still as bad as it looked when i 1st seen it.
it don't mater what bells it got.
it don't change the point that it is lacking in the Assault part!
or that the base is lacking a inside.
or that there are no wight base plates.
or that it's price point is so high.
or that it's a super sized rehash of 4 other set's.

Beh, the item is very very very expensive...

For the price, this is is still a terrible waste of bricks on a mediocre set. This should and could have been so much better without so many different, rehashed and superfluous sub-sets and a lot more focus.

All crews report for damage control!

The most interesting thing is that LEGO is sending you this kind of list. Is that normal? It seems a mite defensive?

And I certainly dispute the 'All the iconic Hoth movie scenes' claim. Leia and Han running around the bunker? Vader and the Snowtroopers shooting at the Falcon? Anything involving an AT-AT? More like all the iconic scenes they've opted to pick out!

I think this set is a UCS designed for kids play, not traditional display. As a play set I think they nailed it, my kids have this as 1 on their lists.

Everyone needs to remember that Lego is first and foremost a kids toy.

Even though I don't have a Wampa Or a Taun Taun in my collection this is still not worth $250, $190 at the most and the name "Assault" is an insult. This is an overpriced Hoth Collection (minus: a Probe Droid, an AT-AT, an AT-ST), as other people have mentioned the inside of the base is lacking as well.

Lego sent it to you? It looks like this set needs a special advertising treatment to be sold in desirable quantities.

It's bad because it's scattered, with no single satisfying large built.
It shouldn't be marked as UCS.
It is an insult to people collecting either SW Hoth or SW UCS for a longer period of time than 1-2 years.
It's too expensive even for SW.
It should be called "The Greatest Hits of Hoth".
Amen.

"All the Iconic Hoth Movie scenes in one set", except for the most iconic of all the Hoth scenes, the AT-AT.

Are the pictures comparison from TLC or yours ? because putting the Ion cannon next to its original makes it look even worse than before, tbh (same with most of the rest, really, although I do like that little trench and its tubes)...

Also, the fact that most of the highlights thy point out are the minifigs themselves is a bit sad. It makes it seem they consider that the most important part of their business and they can just put them in anything, call it UCS to justify a high price point and call it a day...

Luckily that certainly doesn't happen often, so I'm still convinced it isn't their current stand on the matter.

Still BAD for me
I would love to see a great Hoth set, but this is not the set "I was looking for"
this price for 2 mini figures????
all the rest I already have and MANY of them can be find in brick link at reasonable prices

...eh, still looks quite meh to me. Your mileage may vary though.

I daresay this is a bit of misstep from TLC; sales figures may prove me wrong.

not buying (and I've bought all the other Star Wars UCS sets, so that's saying something)

As others have noted, it's the price, price, price. Most of these details are nice in and of themselves--who wouldn't like some new droid minifigs and a wampa?--but there simply isn't a 'big construct' worthy of $250. People don't buy huge sets for collections of little dioramas, they buy them for something monolithic. The shield doors are a start, but not enough.

And yeah, the ion cannon is disappointing.

Ok, lets look at it rational: I'm kind of "moderate" Hoth collector: I own AT-AT, Snowspeeder, X-wing, Wampa, Taun-Taun, two turrets, some trenches and other stuff (basicly 6 or 7 hoth sets containing above). What I wanted was a good base, since I started collecting too late to get 7666. Ok, 75098 contains good enough base, but what about other stuff? Canon and generator are ok, didn't exist before and they are welcome addition (if we leave out that generator has wrong number of rings). I could always use some trenches, soldiers and other equipment. Snowspeed could also come handy (there are multiple in the movie), same goes for Taun-Taun. Only thing I really dont have use for is another Wampa and its cave. Previous version is far superior and it would be strange to have two Wampas.

All in all, not so bad, but the price for it is too high. I have several UCS sets and I have no difficulties with paying 250eur for LEGO set, but it need to be something worth looking at showing to others, not this glorified expansion pack/starter pack.

lol, good product sell themselves, and lego know that they haven't execute it properly

It will be interesting to see if this has the usual 'one per household' UCS restriction and, if it does, how long before that's removed! I want to like this set, but it just seems ridiculously overpriced and I hope that the initial reaction amongst AFOLs is enough for TLG to listen. I was really looking forward to buying this on the first day of release - until I saw it.

'UCS' should be reserved for sets that are somewhere near 'Ultimate' (e.g. Slave 1, X-Wing etc) but to me this is just a big playset, nothing more. I get the feeling that this will either have a sub-year lifespan, or that it's going to be on a 20-30% discount before the end of 2016, which makes the RRP even less attractive. Time will tell, but I can't see this selling in any volumes. I just hope the UCS Snowspeeder is worth waiting for.

It's still bad because it took the place of a REAL UCS set.

with $250, i rather buy ten 75138

more pieces in count
and more battleground it looks like with 40 minifigs and 10 turrents for display

of course, you can buy other better sets with that $250

This would be an okay set on its own (not a great one, only an 'okay' one) and actually worth considering...IF it wasn't a UCS set, and IF most of us didn't own any Hoth sets from the last 5 or so years. As it stands, this set is still a slap in the face to SW Lego collectors.

That said, it's nice to see the positives highlighted in the set. Some of those minifigs are nice, too.

I hope sales of this set are poor (as they should be) so Lego gets the point that you can't just slap UCS on an overpriced SW set and expect everyone to lap it up. R3-A2 is the only thing that slightly interests me here, I have a version or multiple versions of everything else. They should have also called it something like "Massacre on Hoth" because 2 Stormtroopers is hardly an assault.

Interesting that Lego have felt the need to defend this set. I don't recall them doing anything similar with any other sets.

Maybe we'll see it half off in a year on May the 4th, like the UCS B-Wing

The thing is, I really like all the individual sections, but I'd never buy it. I have a wampa cave, several different turrets and trenches, 2 snow speeders and loads of hoth minfigures already. If they were selling just the blast doors and control room bit, I'd bite their hand off, but I just don't need all the little bits. As others have said, one big base would have sold me.

Still bad, still worse than a collection of other Hoth sets for half the price.

I've been collecting Lego Star Wars since 2000, and only have three Hoth sets, a Snowspeeder, an AT-AT, and the Laser Ice Cutter Battle Pack. So if I bought this set then yes; almost all of it would be new to me. (Although I display my Star Wars sets in white cabinets, so I kind of feel like I have Echo Base already!)

The problem is in the price tag. For what they are asking it's not worth it; and I'm not in the financial situation to spend so much on one set just out of thin air. The disjointed builds also make it hard to justify the price, I could get a more coherent build in a modular building for a cheaper price.

Still curious to see the Brickset review, perhaps it might change my mind.

As a playset it's got its good qualities, but the price and UCS context make it offputting - if I had the budget for a UCS set I'd want it to be something, as people said upthread, monumental - something like the Sandcrawler (I'm aware it costs more, but the point holds) where you can put it on the coffee table and have it be a talking point, and sit there proudly thinking, "Yeah, I built that damn thing." And even as a toy I think it'd be nicer if it had an internal structure for the base, though maybe that's not how children think about these things...

I think the hate on this set is way overblown. It is a play set for kids first and foremost with a lot of cool features and functions. Even if you had already picked up some of the smaller sets before this, it will only add to a massive battle scene you can have a lot of fun with. My main gripes would be cost and lack of Empire vehicles or troops. Who are you fighting if you only get this set? You gotta shell out or already own the walkers and snow troopers. ??

I don't think it's a bad/terrible set, but it just doesn't cut it, at least for me. Don't get me wrong, every part looks good on its own (except perhaps the ion cannon, don't like they way they built it outta bricks, could've been so much better w/ hinged pieces and probably fewer pieces too, and the shield generator w/ only 3 sections but I don't think that's so detrimental, but I think for a UCS they should have put more care into the set), but all together it still looks like 5/6 sets thrown together and not a cohesive unit. To be honesty I haven't bought a single UCS set, cost a lot and I usually prefer minifig scaled sets, but with every other UCS set I really marvel the design and the amount of attention paid to each detail, but this one I really don't get that feeling. It's a big and glorified play set, the closest thing to this set would be the Evok Village, but it's so obvious that they spent much effort designing that one

I like the coloring of the Snowspeeder, so may try to pick up that part of the set. Otherwise, it is a big pass.

lol lego s trying to justify his fail

"All the Iconic Hoth Movie scenes in one set"

Apart from, say the AT-ATs coming into view as they stride across the icy wastes. That's fairly iconic.

Exactly. It's good, not really for people who have a lot of Hoth sets, but for people like me, who's collections are very light on Hoth sets.

Actually lippidp, you're both wrong, it's April 30th!

I have no Hoth sets and collect UCS but the major issue is that is does not have the UCS feel and it is WAY too overpriced. Just some loose elements without a baseplate. I would buy this for maybe EUR 200 but not for EUR 279 (price in my country). Sometimes I feel Lego is stretching it too far, relying too much on the sense AFOL's are willing to sell their own mother to buy their sets. With this set they are simply testing the boundaries... and they crossed them.

I have always been positive about this set, and I'm really excited for buying this set. I only buy the Disney sets. The LEGO Star Wars sets, where the Disney logo is on. I don't buy any other LEGO Star Wars sets, so I don't have all this that the set has. I like the creation, because it's like the movie. One of the set I must buy this year.

Overpriced and nothing ULTIMATE about it.

Couple of new minifigs, complete lack of an "assault on Hoth" - 2 Snowtroopers, ffs.

TLG have got the target audience and therefore the price point all wrong. The target audience for UCS sets is adults, sets to be displayed not played with. This is just a play set, and a playset that is about £100 too expensive for what it is.

One (of the many) issues people have with this is that you'd have to shell out more to make it a real "Assault on Hoth". But at this point, even that isn't an option. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the Snowspeeder and AT-AT now retired? It's not like people even have any way to try to turn this into what it could/should have been. This set would have been a lot more compelling if you could add Snowspeeders and AT-ATs as you saw fit, and over time as your budget allowed.

I don't collect the Star Wars line, but I always check the sets every year. It looks like they took the last 3 years of Hoth sets and buddle them into a combo set. Seems like Lego is trying to promote this set before its release maybe there seeing all the bad feedback and are worried its gonna be a flop. If it doesn't sell well maybe there will be a limited quanity made and the set may be worth money years down the road?

If this was a £169.99 play set, then I could perhaps understand.

...But it's a £219.99 UCS set. There is zero justification for the price; just pure greed.

If they wanted to make a UCS Hoth set, then they should have focused most of their effort on Echo Base itself rather than a (nice) hangar door and a few odd computers. I mean, there isn't even the Bacta tank or Luke!

GREAT… for an oversized playset. I would only ever consider buying if the price was knocked down $100. For a $250, I'd want a newer version of some old UCS.

Can't help but notice the 3/4-of-a-shield-generator is not featured on this list of "highlights", although (as has been mentioned) given how poorly the Ion Cannon fairs when pictured next to the actual version that's perhaps just as well!

Most of this set isn't bad, but the two new pieces which would logically be the biggest draws are distinctly lacking.

At the very least the shield generator should have had four lobes, there really is no reason for it not to. If it was a part count issue they could have dropped one of the turrets or a section of wall.

The first UCS I'll NOT(!!!) be buying.
It's really not worth the price.

I have nothing against this set, but I have a lot of problems with it being overpriced :) Same issue with the Batcave, two huge 2016 disappointments for me...

Not buying.

I honestly think that Lego is trying to do too many themes each year and there is a lack of focus on many sets. There are too many sets that people are interested in only for the minifigs (think DC and Marvel and Star Wars). The build parts are lacking. This set is the prime example. Same with the large Civil War set (another Quinjet instead or more airport scenery). And two X-wings in the same year... Some great sets but the Batcave is another example of amazing minifigs and crummy build (why no hidden exit with a dropping road block like the show). Not getting this.

The set itself isn't the problem.
The price they're asking for it is. It simply doesn't present good value for the money.

IMO it's not just the price which is a problem (and it is a HUGE problem) but that and the fact its taking up a UCS slot and to make it even worse, the fact its a UCS slot and its an over kidified one at that! Stud shooters and spring loaded missiles??? In a UCS set????? Absolutely disgusting. Just look at how those spring loaded missiles and stud shooters detract from the looks of the radar gun, and even more damningly, the ION cannon, it looks like some cheap toy, not a collectors piece. None of the highly accurate and detailed look we've come to expect from the UCS label.

I get that people are saying its aimed at kids, ok fine, but if its aimed at kids, why does it have the UCS label and furthermore, why is it £220?????? What kids have that kind of pocket money???? It makes no sense, very few parents would spend that much on their kid's LEGO and the idea that some kids are so spoiled they can get such a high priced set it worrying. Either way, LEGO are alienating the adult and kid base with this move. TESB isn't even aswell known probably amongst today's kids, so why aim it at kids?

There are so many little details in this set, such as the fact its called an '''assault'' with two snowtroopers, that are way off that altogther it comes off as rather rushed and shameless. For some one who doesn't have the past Hoth sets, its still lacking due to the price in my opinion, LEGO is ripping people off. If the set was a hundred pounds cheaper and had no UCS label, I think it would be better accepted, the price would be much more in a kids range. But as it stands, its a cynical and misguided move from LEGO.

@Joehead14 - I couldn't have said it better.

With regards to UCS products, my guess is that the company (here-on) aim to release a 'play-style' or more architectural set in conjunction with a large scale craft each year, much like we have seen with Ewok Village > Red Five X-Wing, Sandcrawler > Slave 1.

However, there is obviously a conflict of interest when it comes to the intended audience - with the designers wanting to ensure the model balances both playability and display features.

This is a baffling conflict from a customer's point of view.

If the company wishes to sell models strictly for children, then there are opportunities throughout the entire year along the standard product lines.

But the reason UCS sets get their insignia is because they ARE supposed to be challenging builds with a higher attention to detail. They're the equivalent to capturing a still image from a movie and admiring it in a picture frame, where the joy of that particular design can be appreciated by someone mature enough.

It's just baffling to think that TLG could have messed this up so badly; and what makes it so funny to me is that the box artwork says it all, quite unashamedly in fact. 'Assault on Hoth' - with Luke hanging in an ice cave, a Wampa standing next to Rebel artillery, and Han randomly firing his blaster on a Taun Taun... The set just completely lacks vision.

Echo base is essentially non-existent, so where you plan the defence strategy? Why isn't there at least one corridor to a comms room?
Where is the Bacta tank that Luke recuperates in? And the droid that oversees this?
Where are Leia and General Rieekan, who actually help PLAN the Rebels attack? These two characters are vital.

Most of all, though... how can you call ONE Speederbike and TWO Snowtroopers an ASSAULT? Ha-ha-ha. Best joke I've seen all year.

Seriously, I'm absolutely flummoxed.

I have nearly all the UCS sets, so I guess another gap in my collection won't hurt. Sorry Lego, you've failed with this one.

The main defense of this set is its "play functions" but it's very weak as a display piece. Some previous UCS sets have had great play AND display value: Sandcrawler, Ewok Village, Death Star, etc.

How can this be a set for kids as some argue? Even if I would spend that kind of money on a set for my boy, I would not buy THIS set and he would not choose it, either, Star Wars or not.

I wonder if LEGO are looking at next years already underway projects, as if they are as overpriced and in this case poor, for a UCS set, they best get redesigning quick.

Don't think I have heard anyone talk about this set in a positive light. They should have shelved this when it wasn't released last year and given us a UCS Snowspeeder for May the 4th, then followed it up with a UCS AT-AT next year.

Maybe £50 of the price is 8 months of storage fees.

This set is such a joke it could've been promoted April first and gotten away with it.
A suggestion to TLG, instead of slapping UCS on a thrown together hodge-podge, you should've split this set into multiple smaller sets. That way each one could be far more developed.
Lego should've released an UCS Echo base. With a legit Ion Cannon, a Power Generator with four discs. Not to mention an accurate base interior for once.
I think we can all agree that it is kinda insulting to have this thrown at us.
Lego needs to get their act together, because they arent meeting the standards that they set for themselves.
These Throw Back Thursday's really show how far Lego has sunken. They have gone from releasing sets that appeal to everyone to releasing sets that are basically released to kids.
(mic drop......)

They should just pull the plug on this set. The only thing that seems to be not a disappointment that they could have done is they used the actual blasters instead of the stupid 1x1 round plate launchers.

And sorry to the Brickset Staff, but I don't think any amount of good PR y'all give to this set will save it. It has crashed and burned so hard it's not even funny. So the best option may be to break out the hot dogs and smores for a roast because there is no salvaging the damage done. So I guess it's a good this Lego released those new hot dog bun pieces huh?....

I like that this review is more positive and I agree. The minifigs will no doubt be excellent, and the play features clever. Some parts of the base are better than others, which might suggest multiple designers worked on different parts of the base. Perhaps that is why we feel the set is a hodge-podge, because we can subconsciously sense that several different styles were used in the building of the set????

EDIT: It pays to read the article properly. Never mind. Now I see that Lego sent the list of"positive" features I take my statement back(no offense intended to Huw, or any of the Brickset Staff. The set is........eh. I hope the Rogue One sets are better.

This is what I've read earlier, high prices and less more important parts, sorry not for me.

So many complaints about the price but this is less price per part than either of the very first two UCS sets from year 2000 and also less than the average ppp of the 1999 regular Star Wars system range. So while the cost is a large sum of money maybe the cost is not so bad especially when 17 years of inflation is taken into consideration.
This set was also teasing fans for much longer than is normal for a large set that our expectations were much to high. Especially considering it was billed as a UCS set and what we have is a skeletal dumbed down version of the Echo Base. I believe UCS sets of buildings and locations can work very well and do not need to be only vehicles. The Lego Architecture and Modular lines prove this. But a billed display piece should be just that when this kind of money is involved.

As I said, no offense to the staff here, I have no doubt the set will be reviewed fairly, as all other sets are. I guess I'd rather just forget this set and is entirety.

Is this normal or is TLG in preemptive damage control?

That little droid is going to be be really expensive, because almost nobody is going to buy this ill-conceived nonsense. I wonder what the future holds for UCS after this year's flops.

Yes, for me, it is all bad. The price is an insult to collectors and star wars fans alike. The set itself is not terrible or anything, but the price puts it into a bracket that it has no reason to be in.

LEGO actually sent this?

That in itself seems embarrassing and desperate enough, but the fact that a large number of the so-called "highlights" are either minifigures or creatures we've seen in other sets previously is just insulting. And to even try to claim it captures ALL of the most iconic moments on Hoth is ludicrous. THE standout aspect of the Battle of Hoth is the AT-ST's...

I love LEGO, but this set is a mis-step of epic proportions, and their futile attempt to defend it is even worse. I'm completely stunned.

It's pretty sad that LEGO has all the biggest LEGO news websites in their pockets. We can't even see rumors and leaked pictures anymore without LEGO intervention, or the main fan websites censoring everything. This set doesn't deserve the title of UCS, period.

I agree with everything that has been said.

When my son and I have seen the set Assault on Hoth in the Lego shop, we were really chuffed. I had just bought 75138 which was nice (despite the big stickers, I'm not a fan at all of stickers versus things built with pieces).
In the meantime, I've discovered this site and started to review the different sets, recent and past, and the very good article comparing the old sets with the upcoming one...

My conclusions so far regarding 75098:
- I'm not too bothered by the fact it's UCS and more "play" oriented...Ewok village (and Sandcrawler to an extent) are very good playable UCS sets IMHO
- Price is UCS level, but don't feel the set deserves the UCS tag thus not justifying the price
- No AT-AT? There are the main "characters" of the assault!
- No real Echo base, but rather the sliding doors with a turret, a small command room and "garage" for tauntauns...just the command room would have been enough
- Why the hell a Wampa cave for a set that should represent the imperial assault on Echo base? It's an iconic moment of Episode V, that's true, but nothing related to the assault
- I like the tauntaun, but as the wampa, it doesn't fit in the "assault" topic...
- Ion cannon is ugly and not that much related to the ground assault IMHO (unless you have Star Destroyer to fire at it)
- Generator is a good idea, but 4 dishes please!
- 2 snowtroopers, 1 motojet and e-web for the bad guys, is that a joke?
- Leia and Rieekan would have made sense as minifigs instead of the 2 droids

What Lego should have done:
- Make 75098 an enhanced 75014, with trenches (the ones in 75098 are OK), just the command room (thus saving a lot of pieces and cost), a snowspeeder, an AT-AT!!!, more imperial snowtroopers, 4-dishes generator, no ion cannon, Leia and Rieekan
I know it seems a lot, but at this price tag (250 Eur in my country), and considering all the pieces removed for the doors etc., it's defendable (also considering AT-AT is no longer sold, thus making that UCS set highly desirable like any UCS must be)
Such approach would have made 75138 a good complement for additional trench and turret (and Han Solo minifig)
- Make a revamped wampa cave set with 2 tauntauns (one for Luke, one for Han) instead of a snowspeeder like in the old set
- Make a new Echo base, with sliding doors, bacta tank, tauntaun garage, where the command room could "plug in"

What I've done:
- I've bought a new 75014 at a good price
- I've bought 2 * AT-AT microfighters (shame on me, but that was the most playable and affordable way)
- I've bought 3 snowtroopers minifigs (same as 75138)
- I've bought parts to build a second motojet like the one in 75014

"New R3-A2 droid is a first for LEGO Star Wars and has a rare translucent head."

And that'll make me spend upwards of $300 on the set? Oh, wait, no it won't. Lego's just been making odd decisions lately, and this is one of them. And this exercise in, "Look at all the set's features!" kind of just screams of damage control.

I'd argue it would have been 40% better if they ditched the Ion Cannon and Wampa Cave and instead used those parts to build a larger and thoughtfully designed base interior full of fun details. This would if anything increase play value for kids AND make adults happier too.

No need to include an AT-AT; that alone would add $100+ to the already significant price tag.

It looks awesome. I can't wait.

It's ironic that the main complaints are "I already have this" and "it doesn't come with an AT-AT"

They should've released a UCS ion cannon in the style of the death star if they wanted that cannon so badly. But a good UCS set that I think everyone would like is a full sized AT-AT with a Power Generator.

@Huw I don't often criticize Brickset, but why would you publish this? It is clearly an attempt by Lego Marketing to get extra attention to a lazy and lacklustre set. They don't deserve the attention IMO.

Very surprised at this attempt to win over brickset users by explaining to us idiots why this set is actually amazing.

This is a terrible set.

Give us a brick built building, in detail, akin to the simpsons and ghostbusters sets. Release add ons so people can complete the hoth scenes. Like how we have to add on the entire imperial side of this "attack".

There is no substance at all. Look at previous scene based UCS sets. The Ewok Village is beautiful to look at. It's coherent and self contained. Even the Death Star playset/diorama has an actual Death Star to display the scenes in. This set is pitiful in context with previous sets.

first, the bat cave and now this. mediocre and expensive. so far, the nicest expensive AFOL set i've bought this year is the GBHQ. I think everyone should save the money on these sets and buy a second GBHQ instead. lol!

there are no bad sets as long as its free

I think this set will be like the batcave for me at least. I really didn't like the batcave when I first saw the pictures of it but then I saw it in person in the Lego store and loved it and bought it right away. I think it will be better in person.

Another criticism I don't think anyone has mentioned yet... BURPs have NO place in a UCS set, regardless of how you wish to define UCS.

Oh my goodness... Guys, I'm sorry. This set has already had it's opinion set in stone. The droids are obscure characters that not many people will miss if they do not pick up. The Tuantaun and Wompa are not that difficult to obtain separately, making purchasing a set like this with a hefty price not worth going for. The base itself doesn't have all that much to it, just the hangar door and one little room. The turrents and trenches can be purchased in a new set along with Han Solo and other figures. I also honestly can move the cannons to different positions regardless. It's a building toy. moving parts onto other parts is not rocket science. The accusations of this being a mish-mash of other sets is not unjustified at all.
Guys, I'm not wanting to sound like a jerk. Really I don't, but this set is just a mess. I wish LEGO would have some sort of system in place where they can get feedback from perhaps a small number of fans on major releases, such as UCS sets like this one, in order to make improvements on it before trying to sell such a major product.

This set is a dog, pure and simple. Partly due to its inflated cost, but also lack of key elements to do an 'assault' on Hoth (ie. an AT-AT, the fact you have to buy ANOTHER set to 'complete' it with the probe droid and an at-AT, lets not get started on the one tauntaun either) 'UCS' eh?
I'm also sick of people trying to use piece count and price per part as an excuse.. How many of these parts are 1x1 tiles, plates, etc. 1x2 plates? etc.. yknow.. tiny parts? Which means you are actually overpaying for the parts in this set IMO.

Lego UCS are dead.
There will be only big set full of stuff to make children happy.
Thank you Disney!!!!

The set looks great, and tons of play value, it just doesn't deserve a UCS badge. It should be at least a little cheaper.

so I'll be going to the secondary market to purchase one R2 unit, and then I will be able to complete this set from all the other sets I bought a few years ago (which were on sale due to a flooded market at the time). Oh, and the head for Cliff Clavin, so I can place it on a postal worker's body for my MOC bar scene.

@CapnRex101 the level of detail you go into is so great, please keep up the good work. I do not have a large Hoth collection, so buying it makes some sense to me, BUT I did miss out on the AT-AT, I bypassed a damaged box version $20 off holding out for a better deal that never came along.
This whole release shows how Lego dropped the ball imo. I'm sure the set will sell to some people, but they definitely did not direct this towards the right audience. We shall see how it all turns out.

I still think that it's a shame that they didn't include Leia, which I'm not sure is a justifiable decision considering Han's presence in the other Hoth set! She seems to have been substituted with Toryn Farr, who wasn't addressed in their "List of Highlights" either...it does seem a step backward considering they have recently been trying to balance out the representation of gender in other themes.

So this is a PR puff piece? Not even going to read it.

I thought you were above this Huw -- not objective reporting, more like kissing LEGO's arse for a very overpriced, essentially recycled set.

thanks lego, i can easily save my money if this is what you have to offer *positive guy

Only a niche fan group cares about droids.

You can buy Wampas and Tauntauns on Ebay, I wager it will be cheaper than buying this giant thing.

The only figure parts that are new and exclusive to this set are the bearded soldier head, Lukes head, Lukes body, the technicians bodies, the two droids and the two pilots helmets.
I especially love how the attached picture shows the full white soldier and Han Solo who are both in the tiny complimentary set from the January wave, Han even in a better form there as he comes with a hood instead of the 30 year old brown hair.

Just comparing the models to the scenes shows how bad the model is in representing them.
Cave should be bluer.
Tauntaun and Han could have gotten some snow detailing (something which I hoped Chewbacca would get at some point as well).
Ion Cannon just looks bad. You can´t build balls so just don´t even try please. And then you purposefully ruin the canon, the easiest part to design in this.
Turrets look bad, trenches should be dug into ground plates, not just walls on a plate. I don´t care if it looks bad, at least then you would get Basics and square plates which are actually helpful in mocing Hoth related things than 500 extra white slopes and wing plates. BTW.: When a set representing a building or scenery comes with wing plates there should be a designer law that they have to come with pairs so they can be used to moc planes or spaceships. Not just 3 left 3x6 wedge plates and no right versions. Most people will just cannibalize those builds and then have to buy extra wedge plates or sell the useless wedge plates.
Snowspeeder is still white instead of grey and has the same wrong shape, just compare it to a real movie picture of the entire thing and you see the angles are all wrong.

Nobody who reads Lego fansites wants more studshooters. Please put at least normal blasters back into battle packs, there is a bad shortage on them.

Well, at least we've got the Death Star later this year, hopefully that's better than this!

Sorry but I still think its as bad now as when I first saw it.

Personally, I never had a huge issue with it. I thought it was pretty good. (Admittedly, I don't have ANY Hoth sets, so I get why people with a lot of them aren't interested) If I were willing to spend over £200 on ANY Lego set, I'd jump at this one.

For me, the fact that it's all seperate elements rather than one big white baseplate is fantastic. All my sets have to go on shelves. Sets with big baseplates just don't get to be displayed. Sets like this are great for fitting into a limited space as I can move the elements around to fit.

With all this pre-release internet community debate, it is really hard to stay subjective and to make own, uninfluenced opinion.

I'm trying to imagine what would my impression be if I just came into the store and saw this set on shelve for the first time, without any previous information. Surprisingly, I can't picture my feelings to me much different from what they are now. I'd see big, pricy playset with not much of an interesting content. I doubt there would be a fraction of the 'I want that!' desire, which I usually have when looking at big SW boxes (Slave 1, Sandcrawler, Ewok village...).

Can't help but feel that the golden resurgence of Lego is coming to an end. Many of the sets this year appear lazy and over-priced, and not just Hoth and Batcave. It's as if TLG feel that they can just turn out any old rubbish and people will buy it.

worst UCS set ever. Just an overpriced play set for kids

My Assault on hoth inspired haiku:

Assault on hoth set
no way it's a U C S
Lego you failed us

This set is just plain Bad in every way possibly imaginable in the entire universe ever!

INSULT on Hoth... it's that bad LEGO is doing damage control BEFORE the set is released.

'Pride comes before a fall'
I can't help but feel that these poorly made and overpriced sets spell the end of TLGs supremacy. Just because they are the 1 selling toy they think that they can walk all over the customers time and time again, look what happened to Tesco, when big goes bad it hurts a lot of people. If Lego do not stop with the corporate greed then they will find that the customers revolt. This year could be the start down the slippery slope for TLG.

The set itself can be considered good - if you don't own any Hoth sets from the past years, so it is a great starter set of Hoth themed builds. However additional sets are a must, because alone it's not an assault, it is missinfg a massive attacking army and vegicles (AT-AT, AT-ST)
However it is very-very overpriced.

For a collector, who is supposed to own previous Hoth sets - it is a bad set. The only interesta are the new minifigures. As a collector I will pass this set, because:
- I have loads of Hoth themed LEGO sets (multiple snowspeeders, rebel turrets, two AT-ATs, two AT-STs, a lot of snowtroopers and rebel soldiers, wampa, taun-tauns, etc)
- I have been nuilding a Hoth rebel base with significantly bigger entrance door
- Ihave built a better shield generator (with FOUR segments)

Overall, if you're new to Hoth, consider buying this set, but it's very overpriced. If you are a Hoth collector, avoid this set.

This set is fine from afar. When you get closer to it, the flaws are obvious. Overpriced. No better rehash of 4 past sets. It's labeled UCS for some reason. Did I mention it's overpriced? Only 2 Imperial Empire minifigures that are assaulting Hoth. No AT-AT. Thus the set is also misnamed. During the official designer video, even both designers referenced the previous sets.

Particularly on the set pricing I wonder if the Disney acquisition is having a bearing? Call me a cynic but the mouse always seems to have an eye on the bottom line! Also I can't help think that significantly less criticism might have been drawn had Lego not decided to brand this set UCS.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how other sites interpret this rather defensive press release, even if you weren't unhappy with the set I would think this list of rather thin justifications might prompt reconsideration. I'm not sure the whiff of desperation is a particularly great PR strategy, but then thankfully that's not my job!

I wonder if this will push the price of Wampas on Bricklink up or down!?

I'll wait for Capn's review before I make my final choice. Most likely I'll pass, but I'm willing to keep an open mind. So far it looks like I'll be spending my money on the other summer Star Wars and Superheroes sets.

I would be so interested to know the history of this set. Did LEGO think a combination of previous sets was the best sales option? Were they looking to save money/time on design? Was there a previous version with more internal detail, and they dropped it in favour of something more battle-focussed? Was the release delay caused by internal concerns over the set? I think the mess-up over the AT-AT availability shows that something unusual has happened with this one.

Now, I don't own any Hoth sets either. So I'm clearly the target market for this set... but it doesn't feel complete enough to justify the price tag. If they added Leia, a few white baseplates, the fourth lobe of the shield generator, and an AT-ST without changing the price tag, it would be a lot better.

But as-is, it's too small, inaccurate, incomplete, disjointed, overpriced, and poorly-planned to be worth buying.

"...ability to customize BATTLE play..."? How do Lego think this set is suitable for a BATTLE play without a credible enemy assaulting the base? That, and taking into account other criticisms mentioned by others have easily deleted this one from my wanted list. The good news is that this leaves more budget for better sets on my longer-than-my-money-wanted-list. Thank you very much for that Lego!

To be honest, my biggest concern, after seeing this (and the Batcave) is that the new UCS Death Star might not be all I want it to be. I've held off buying the old Death Star for quite a while now since we heard the very first rumours of a new version. I really hope I haven't set myself up for a fall!

There's always the hope that Assault on Hoth is the, shall we say, misfit that it is because Lego is focusing on this new Death Star. After seeing all the negativity surrounding this set, perhaps they will attempt to redeem themselves with a well designed Death Star.

We AFOLs are partly to blame too many have put high demands on minifig selection. More and more sets are focused (almost solely) on the minifigs as opposed to the build. So we are now starting to reap these demands and seeing poor sets of high cost with really nothing substantial to show for it.

I think what happened is TLG thought this:

"Let's assign all our best designers to the regular line, the bank, the firehouse, and allow them to work on the other two UCS sets coming this fall. Let's have the newbies work on the UCS Hoth Assault, because we don't care about that set or the BatCave"

EDIT: I really hope those two UCS sets coming this fall are good. They had better be.

I'm a lego collector and am planning on getting this set.

Honestly, I understand that people are angry about how poorly this set has turned out, and I think that soured our views of the other "less than normal" sets(Batcave, the Star Wars Summer Wave, etc)

I think if the UCS Hoth had been better, people would have been less angry and scathing about the other sets, but since this anticipated set broke *almost* everyone's dreams, everyone hurried to heap criticism on the other sets. Now I am not saying this set is wrongly accused, far from it. I think this set does have some redeeming elements:

The trench

The minifigs(which are *almost* always excellent)

The snowspeeder, wampa, tauntaun, and other minifigures.

However, I agree that the set tried to do too much in one package. I think Lego had three options when they designed this set. It was either build the actual defenses, or build the base, or build both. Of course, they tried to do both, which they might have gotten away with if they had scrapped certain elements(the snowspeeder, the tauntaun feeding thing, the wampa cave) for building the base better.

its a nice scene i love the wampa model and taun taun but i,d pay about 60 pound for it, i,d poe,s x-wing looks slightly better for the price..

Build & Review video - the kids seem happy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-m_5kT3euY

The whole thing just looks like a money grab. The set's had a UCS badge slapped on it, despite it being a play-set, just so they can charge a premium.

Then, when you think about it, you start to notice other things like the generator only having 3, instead of 4, rings... which is the sort of thing TLG do when they're working to a piece-count limit. Why such a tight limit, and for a $250 set? If the limit was so tight, better to lose the Snow Speeder (another element that's not as good as it could have been) and either stick with better detailing on the base itself, or give the Imperials a couple of extra figures and a simple vehicle.

I think this set might have been the result of TLG experimenting with a Ucs set for kids. I think people forget sometimes that Lego is mainly a children's toy, therefore Lego creates sets like this to test how it sells with them, whereas sets like the Ucs Slave 1 were geared towards Afols.

Certainly not worthy of UCS nor the price tag, and comes across as a blatant money grab.
Besides having a snowspeeder I don't have any other Hoth sets, so if in the future I can get this for 25% sale price, may consider it.

Hoping the second UCS set this year is either a Death Star or AT-AT of course connected to Rogue One
Wouldn't mind a Finalizer from the Force Awakens either

@TheBrickPal
I'm talking about the greater picture here. We're currently in the golden age of Lego, unless TLG can continue to innovate and excite then business will inevitably decline. Just look at any business.

Ugh. I'm such a pessimist.

I know it's on the iconic Hoth scene from Episode V but, there's really nothing to it. Sure, there's a door, and a big gun and the iconic Wampanoag scene, but what else. I don't think it's worth the money

It is worrying that LEGO feel the need to defend the set before it has even been released but I am even more concerned by the fact that the positive elements described in this article are not its best attributes. Perhaps LEGO themselves don't understand what went wrong.

After 130 comments l feel like the most simple criticism of this set is that it falls on two conditions:

- If you don't really have any Hoth sets then this has a lot (by no means all) of what you would want all in one place and the price is actually relatively fair for the contents. Non-AFOL parents that can set aside a little more to spend on their kids might fall into this category, considering the infamous 'play features'

- If you've bought Hoth sets for 2 years or more this is, to be frank, pretty pointless unless you are a pure completionist. As an example, I already have 4-5 sets of trenches, 5 snowspeeders, a small Echo Base, a big Echo Base, an ATAT, a Wampa Cave and tonnes of other small miscellaneous vehicles and minifigures so why would I need the same things again in such a huge set?

Considering that I thought UCS sets were meant to cater to the dedicated fan that that loves the finer details this is probably the first in this family to fail in that regard.

Why can't we see the reintroduction of not-quite-UCS sets like the ATOT and Dropship? As a decent version of a SPHA-T is unlikely why not a large section of Mos Eisley that plays out like the Ewok Village?

@JClay84

"Perhaps LEGO themselves don't understand what went wrong."

A terrifying thought. What if TLG doesn't understand the hate for this set, certainly their list of why this set is good suggests they have zero clue. That thought fills me with dread. What are we in store for if TLG simply doesn't understand what we want anymore.

Edit: Btw, 2581 brickset users still want this set. A statistic that means TLG doesn't need to improve their designs and choices because we idiots will buy it regardless.

I still like the set, I currently have precisely 0 hoth sets. If it were cheaper and not branded UCS I think it would get less of a hard time. Funnily enough as great as ewok village is I have never classed it as UCS and this will be the same. UCS for me is a large ultra detailed model only intended for display with stand and UCS information sticker. I class this set, 10188 and 10236 as large play sets. Even if this set is a bit below par to many people I really don't think it's going to begin spelling the end for Lego!!! I just hope they don't become complacent as it seems everything they touch at the moment turns to gold.
EDIT:
Just watched that build and review vid by masterbuilders on YouTube, the set has seriously gone UP in my estimations. Looks like huge fun as a play set with lots of fun features. It shouldn't be UCS though.

Instead of compiling past Hoth sets, LEGO should have produced a new and improved Cloud City set. They've only released one (not including 75137 Carbon-Freezing Chamber) and it's been discontinued for over ten years. Come on, LEGO, you're better than this.

Aren't you?

Hoth has been done a thousand times over, but if I were in charge and set not only on making another big Hoth set, but also labeling it as a UCS set, it would probably be a detailed rendition of Echo Base, all in one, big piece. Probably no minifigures, either. Others have said this but it seems more like a glorified, scattered playset than an USC set. Regions/planets are difficult to sell under that title because they rely a lot on minifigures to make them appealing, whereas sets like the UCS Slave I just have them thrown in as an added bonus and aren't made much more or less appealing because of their inclusion. I'd take a hyper-detailed base over this, though. This is effectively just Ewok Village: Snow Edition.

I see nothing "wrong" with the set... the builds themselves, at least. I just wouldn't pay 250$ for it... maybe 100$...

The builds are fine! The spherical cannon could've been done better with some spherical pieces and some stickers, but it's a difficult thing to replicate. There's nothing wrong with the set, really. It's more about the way it's being presented and marketing, and that ridiculous price. I wouldn't pay close to that, personally.

I'm surprised LEGO did not highlight the inclusion of fan favorite character Wedge Antilles, who has not been in a LEGO set in probably fifteen years. I know another pilot isn't the most unique minifig, but it's something worth highlighting.

It's not a bad set, really -- if I had the money, I'd happily buy it. But it's too expensive for the younger or novice collector, and the collector with cash to toss around already has these pieces from other sets.

...An alternative build competition perhaps?...

Calling this minifig diorama a 'UCS' set is farcical, as is including that dumb yeti from a Tex-Avery cartoon and calling it a Wampa.

I prefer a UCS set to be a single, large, detailed vehicle or spaceship. ie Star Destroyer, Sandcrawler.
Not a cobbled together collection of what are really just previously released Hoth sets.

Honesty, it is an excellent play set, which means it is aimed at Lego's ideal target audience, kids. Any child would be ecstatic to open this, as it represents hours and hours of play value.

The disappointment for me, personally, lies in creating an awe inspiring display piece which is the case with the UCS sets that I own.

I do play with them, for about 30 minutes when created and then they go on the shelf to be admired (sometimes torn apart and recreated for fun), but that is the limit.

Some UCS sets, such as the Ewok Village and the Sandcrawler beautifully cross both boundaries of play and display, this one misses the mark on display, for me personally.

Not one of lego's finer sets. The quality of the smaller sets has been falling I think. At this price the blocks should be made of gold.

I think it looks fantastic personally. I don't understand all the negative comments. Granted, it's overpriced, but it still looks awesome.

Any chance that this set is 'compatible' with Hoth Echo Base 7879? That's what I'm hoping... To add the main hanger door and the other new elements (guns, etc.) to that set. I already have all of the Hoth sets except 7666 which is way too expensive for what it is. Any thoughts?

TLDR? [Jedi mind trick]Youre going to ignore the $250 price point for a weak facade of what this could have been because MINIFUGURES![/Jedi mind trick]

Where is the side by side comparison of the shield generator from the movie versus the one from the set? I was so looking forward to reading that.

Epic fail on so many points. Comparing the shots of the source material, especially the ion cannon, makes me cringe. A giant weapon like that w/a tiny pea shooter sticking out, just... that's it, I've got a headache. I've bought a UCS set w/the rare exclusive SW minifigure promotion on every May the 4th for the last several years. My wife has come to know the month before May the 4th as the "whining/pleading for more budget busting plastic period." Well, this year Lego, my wife thanks you.... wait a second.... did she have a hand in designing this!? I've just uncovered a vast conspiracy, my apologies to all true AFOL's :(

I've had a rule the last few years. With the numerous redo or remodels of Star Wars sets my rule was to not buy anymore Star Wars sets with the exception of UCS. Well, guess I can even take the exception off my rules. Not only is a remodel of sets I already have, it is also expensive. Now, don't get me wrong, expensive good sets I can understand, I mean I purchased a 10179 last year at a hell of a markup, but not for a remodel. I mean I wouldn't pay what I did for the 10179 for a new UCS Falcon.
Is it possible to enter a second dark age? Will I come out of it? Too many remodels of city sets. Too many new licensed series that I just am not interested in (eg Angry Birds). Heck too many licensed sets. More original content. Less redos, and maybe I won't reneter the dark ages.

I don't understand why people are angry at Lego redoing sets, it's something they've always done!!! How many Falcons has there been? How many X-wings? AT AT walkers? And don't even start on the amount of fire stations and police stations over the years.
The designers even said that it's an ideal set to get all the hoth sets in one, for someone like me who has no hoth sets that's ideal. Yes, the price is high but that's licensed Lego sets for you and they've made a mistake labelling it as UCS but apart from that I don't really see the problem. As I've said before I don't think this set is the beginning of the end for Lego and is certainly no reason to enter a "dark ages". If you don't like it, don't buy it. Simples!!!

I'm surprised they didn't mention the inclusion of "a lot of cool stickers" like they did with the Retro Batcave, ha!

At least they're listening, you can't fault them for trying to make the situation better, but we can only hope they learn from their decisions and how their customers react.

One last thought; a minimum must have 20% profit margin for Lego (the most of any toy company), plus a 10% or probably higher profit margin for Disney, = greed, and a lot of ripped off Star Wars Lego fans.

Every time I see this set, I think 'That's not so bad for $150'. Then I remember that I'm off by one hundred bucks...

Although Hoth is one of the most iconic scenes in the Star Wars, this set really awful. This UCS set is more like the 4-in-1 build type... I prefer Lego to actually make a UCS build of Yavin IV.

in my opinion i think this set is awesome. Just imagine combining all the lego star wars hoth sets together and you have a huge rebel echo base and army! I don't know what i shouldn't like about this sets. yes it is expensive but why would i complain? The death star is expensive and i had no negativity towards that set

@LegoSolo77: You're only ripped off if you buy the set at all, let alone at RRP ;-)

Actually, while I do think it is overpriced and that labelling it as UCS was a big mistake, the set per se doesn't seem so bad, especially, as quite a few have mentioned, if you have none of the previous Hoth sets. I don't have many SW sets, but I do have the last AT-AT. If I somehow manage to find 75098 at a bargain price, I might just get it. But I will most definitely NOT buy this at RRP, not even close.

i guess its ok... i don't like how the sets seem to get smaller in size

stud shooters are going to be the death of lego

I don't need to give it a second thought... I thought this set was awesome since the first time I saw it!

It has a lot of awesome models, play features and minifigures! Including Major Derlin, a K-3PO redesign and a long awaited Hoth Luke with correctly colored sleeves/hands!

Sure, it could have had a few more things, like Princess Leia or the Bacta Tank...
But that should not overshadow the awesome things it does have!

I only really have 3 complaints about the set.
No Leia, the Shield Generator only has 3 of 4 Generators and Han's Coat is brown.

Other than that, I think this set is awesome and I would gladly spend $250 on it if I had enough!

I really like it! I'm really glad that Wedge Antilles is back and he finally has his copilot Wes Janson. :D I also love R3-A2! Definitely on my "to get" list.

The ion cannon is the nail in the coffin. The look is so off that I can't justify the set for the price. Too bad. :-(

To me, it's not that it's a bad set...it's more a poor UCS set. Clearly Hoth people will love this. The additions of theIon cannon & shield generator are nice. Plus, you can't have enough Taun Tauns.

The set does look good, but the price is unacceptable and I don't believe it's worthy of being a UCS set. I feel that for this Hoth set to be a UCS it would have to be more complete. No Bacta tank? No AT-AT?
For people like me who have parts of Hoth sets (snowspeeder, AT-AT, Hoth Attack) there's only a few little things that draw you to the set, but it still looks good and I'd happily buy it, but the price puts any ideas of buying it out the window! For people who have no Hoth sets this set looks great, but it is still missing things that would actually justify the price. Lower the price or add the few vital missing pieces!
People say 'if you don't like it don't buy it', but I think we all do like this set, just not the price. If the price was lower and if it didn't claim to be a UCS set then we'd all happily start, or add to, our Hoth collection. But the missing parts are just a shame, especially when you look at the price. I'm sad about this set actually, they could have done a lot more to complete the set. (I'll probably still buy it though..)

The set is not bad per se. But every year hundreds of sets are coming out and so they are easily comparable. The price for what you sell a set is part of the review process, in what light we potential buyers see a set. A Ferrari is a nice car but for my way to work it would be not necessary to spend that much money on it, I'd rather go with an Audi.

Same here. This one is 70€ too much - or it should have had an AT-ST and 5 more minifigs including Vader, Leia and other rare ones. I like playsets, I love Hoth, but no sales person could sell this to me. It's too obvious a rip-off and that doesn't work.

This is a nice set, but not worth the price for what you get. The inside of the base seems small. Doesn't feel like very much is going on. Maybe if it included more for the Empire, it would be worth it. Darth Vader is one mini-figure worth noting that is missing, as well as two more snowtroopers. I feel like the older Hoth Rebel Base released back in 2007 was worth the money more than this is. That one was only $70 if I recall.

@DarthShlomo, Han's coat IS brown in ESB. It's not blue like a lot of toys would have you believe. I've seen the coat in person, dark brown.

To me this set is by no means worthy of the UCS logo. Up until now, the UCS line consisted of vehicles that consisted of great detail and were built, in my mind, with the adult collector as the target audience. The ships were never meant to be played with. Yes, some UCS sets are mini-figure scaled, but the level of detail and features are there for display and appreciation The Assault t on Hoth Set is a play set for kids and is part of the normal Star Wars line. The fact that the snow speeder is no different than the previously produced snow speeders should be a key indicator. In addition, as pointed out here, the other past Lego Hoth sets can be combined to make this overpriced PLAYSET. If Lego never branded this with the UCS logo, there would be no questions or backlash to its target audience. But what Lego did with this set was like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama when other people were far more deserving of it. I assume the UCS brand is unique to the Lego Star Wars universe line, but if one is to dilute the UCS brand, I would give the 76052 Batman™ Classic TV Series – Batcave or even the Ghostbuster Fire House more consideration for a UCS category given their detail and target audience. I do not think price should weigh heavily on the UCS category, but $250 US for this set, is way over priced. Lego should have remade the Millennium Falcon UCS with an update of classic and new minifigs plus both the square and round radar dish.

I also wanted to add that the Star Wars Ewok Village Set 10236 is also in the same price range and presents itself as a playset similar to the Hoth base being discussed here, but does not have the UCS branding. Hence, there must have been some new criteria that Lego is using to determine if a set is UCS worthy.