Review: 2013 Star Wars polybags

 

  • Review: 2013 Star Wars polybags

    Posted by Huw, 13 Mar 2013 06:14. Filed under Set review.

    It's been a while since I posted any reviews, hasn't it. I've been busy with scanning my instructions, but now that's coming to and end I have time to crack open some sets and review them for you.

    From a polybag point of view, this year has been unusual in that nearly all those that were revealed earlier in the year by LEGO in their building instructions portal, are now available in one place or another. Normally, we have to wait months to get our hands on them, more often than not, for the first UK newspaper promotion (which may or may not be happening this year).

    Thanks to Bricksetters in the USA, Canada and elsewhere, I now have the four Star Wars polybags 30240-30243, so I thought it might be worthwhile taking a look at them all together so you can decide which to buy. Of course if you're a polybag collector you'll want to get hold of them all, but if not you might want to just pick up those that are decent models with good parts, because polys can be comparatively expensive when sold in the likes of Target and even more so on the secondary market.

    30240: Z-95 Headhunter

    2013 Star Wars polybags It's common for LEGO to produce micro-scale versions of currently available minifig-scale sets, perhaps as a marketing attempt to get you to buy the larger, expensive one. 30240 Z-95 Headhunter is one such example.

    It's a sleek model that works well at this scale. It's a pretty good representation of the later variant of the ship which you can see at Wookiepedia.

    2013 Star Wars polybagsNotice the new, and still rare, 3x3 grey plate at the bottom. Note also the landing gear, which is a nice touch, and which balances the model when it's laid down.

    This is a great model, which is very 'swooshable' and is definitely worth getting hold of.

    In the USA, it's available in Walmart.

    30241: Mandalorian Fighter

    2013 Star Wars polybags30241 Mandalorian Fighter is a Toys R Us exclusive in the USA and Canada. It's a mini version of last year's 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter.

    The wings are well made and robust but the means by which they attach the the fuselage, using a 'Double Bush 3M Ø4.9' means that they flap about a bit. I don't know if they are supposed to, but it's annoying!

    The cockpit rotates which enables the ship to adopt the configuration shown on the bag, with the wings vertical.

    2013 Star Wars polybagsThere's not much to look at underneath, it's all a bit plain.

    I'm not so impressed with this one: attempts to swoosh it usually result in the wings flapping about and while it looks much like it should, it doesn't quite work at this scale, IMO.

    30242: Republic Frigate

    2013 Star Wars polybags30242 is the model that's currently available when you spend $75/£50 on Star Wars sets at shop.LEGO.com. The full size version of the frigate 7964 came out in 2011. Comparing the shape and design of the two, I think the designers have done a pretty good job of minitaurising it. Perhaps the engines are as bit prominent, but otherwise it's spot on.

    2013 Star Wars polybagsNot much to see underneath other than the SNOT techniques at the front, for the escape pod.

    Not a bad model, then. If you still have 2013 SW sets to buy, and don't mind paying full price for them, then it's worth doing so now in order to get hold of it. I think it's true to say that it's unlikely to be available elsewhere in future now that it's been used in a LEGO promotion.

     30243: Umbaran MHC

    2013 Star Wars polybagsLast but not least is 30243 Umbaran Mobile Heavy Cannon. This is another one that's a miniature version of a current model, 75013, which I have but haven't built yet.

    It's an interesting vehicle that makes a nice change from spaceships. It's spider-like form has been recreated elegantly in this model.

    2013 Star Wars polybagsAlthough it will support its own weight on its legs, it's easy to squash it from above and splay out the legs, so a 2x2 trans-clear round brick is provided to prevent that.

    It's a good model for parts if you're after 2x2 plates with bars/clips.

    The only availability we have noted in the database is for Canada where it's available in Chapters bookstores. I believe it's also been seen in eastern Europe. Hopefully it will become more widely available soon, because it's definitely worth picking up.

     To summarise then, I'll rank the four models from 'must have' at the top to 'could give it a miss' at the bottom:

    • The Z-95 Headhunter is easily the best of the bunch: a great looking model which is fun to play with
    • The Umbaran MHC is an interesting and unusual model
    • The Republic Frigate is a competent representation of the large space craft, but perhaps a bit boring
    • The Mandalorian Fighter looks OK but flaps about in the wind as soon as you pick it up

    I hope that helps you with your purchasing decisions: happy polybag hunting!


    15 comments, latest one posted 2 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by Lordmoral in Puerto Rico, 13 Mar 2013 08:07

Getting th Z-95 and the MHC. Thanks for the news.

Posted by Demarco Murray in United Kingdom, 13 Mar 2013 08:22

Huw, are you going to publish a review of the Palace Cinema? I'd like to know what you think of it.

Posted by The_Creator in United States, 13 Mar 2013 09:16

I think I'll get 30240-30242, 40&42 for parts and they look nice, 41 just for parts. If I can find them at TRU, Target, or Walmart that is.
Btw, I saw Republic Frigate at Target a while ago.

Posted by vpustote in United States, 13 Mar 2013 10:32

@The_Creator, I keep hearing people say that they've seen that set at Target. I have looked constantly between 3 of them, I can't find it. It's really annoying me.

Posted by paul_merton in United Kingdom, 13 Mar 2013 11:50

I remember buying some Star Wars Lego last year to get the free 8028 polybags, only to find that they were given away in the Sun for 30p(?) two months later. That sort of puts me off buying anything at full price just to get the 30242 Republic Frigate polybag. I'm not sure what I dislike most - missing out on a polybag completely, or discovering that I could have got it for 10x cheaper :)

Posted by CapnRex101 in United Kingdom, 13 Mar 2013 14:32

I will doubtless be getting all four eventually, but that Z-95 Headhunter looks particularly brilliant. Thanks for the reviews Huw.

Posted by Margot in United States, 13 Mar 2013 14:55

I've seen 30053- Republic Attack Cruiser at Target. Are you sure @The_creator that you've seen 30242 there?

Posted by jpw150 in United States, 13 Mar 2013 17:26

In my opinion, the Republic Frigate looks the best.

Posted by Dragon_Master_48 in United States, 13 Mar 2013 23:36

I'd say, at least for me, that the Mandalorian Fighter seems the coolest, due to the rotating wings (I don't think I would mind the wings), but Umbaran MHC looks the best.

Posted by TBOC in United States, 13 Mar 2013 23:59

Has anyone seen the Umbaran MHC is the US? I'm assuming not, since it's not in the post... but I really hope to find it at some point in the near future.

Posted by sirob in Germany, 14 Mar 2013 15:29

n1 set in germany... 30242 is availiable over lego but the rest...... the german-starwars-polybag-nightmare :(

Posted by The_Creator in United States, 14 Mar 2013 15:37

@Margot, now that I look at it, given a choice, I think it was actually 30053…

Posted by Margot in United States, 17 Mar 2013 19:33

Great review, thought I would LOVE the Mandalorian Fighter but after building it thought "eh". Didn't much care for the Headhunter until building it, then thought "COOL"! Have yet to build my frigate and am anxiously awaiting the appearance of the Umbaran MCH in the US.

Posted by aranobilis96 in United States, 18 Mar 2013 16:10

I just picked up the Z-95 headhunter at walmart. Strangly I found it in the easter section.

Posted by Margot in United States, 21 Mar 2013 20:54

Just ordered some of the Umbarran polys off of EBay, from Canada. Couldn't wait for it to come to the US.

Commenting has ended on this article.