Review: 75405 Home One Starcruiser
Posted by CapnRex101,
Despite their pivotal role at the Battle of Endor and beyond, Mon Calamari Star Cruisers have rarely appeared in the LEGO Star Wars theme. 75405 Home One Starcruiser is thus a superb addition to the Starship Collection and looks impressive at this scale.
Of course, the bulbous shapes of Mon Calamari vessels are tricky to translate to LEGO form, although I think the designer has achieved a high degree of accuracy here. Additionally, the vessel's organic hull shape should stand out on display within the Starship Collection.
Summary
75405 Home One Starcruiser, 559 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 10.7p/12.5c/12.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Home One looks magnificent at this scale, with stunning detail, but feels overpriced
- Accurate and clever shaping
- Numerous subtle details
- Hidden features inside
- Nebulon-B Frigate is underwhelming
- Quite expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Reference
Source - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
The Completed Model
Mon Calamari cruisers are renowned for their organic forms, in stark contrast to the Empire's angular Star Destroyers. Organic shapes are not always suited to LEGO elements, but I think the Home One looks superb overall. At this scale, the seams between curved slopes and other elements seem to blend into the bodywork, mirroring the patchwork hull of the ship onscreen.
Also, the model is more substantial than I expected, measuring 33cm in length and becoming quite broad amidships. It is nowhere near to scale with 75356 Executor Super Star Destroyer, but displaying this pair together makes sense, as opposing flagships at the Battle of Endor. A fleet of Rebel Alliance starships works too, although I find the differing scales more distracting between those three.
Like the other Starship Collection models, the Home One stands on a black display base. Its clean lines look good and black was a sensible colour choice, contrasting with most potential candidates for the series. A printed plaque is also included, although as the resident Star Wars pedant, I will take this opportunity to quibble over formatting 'Star Cruiser' as one word!
The proportions of the model are accurate to the onscreen vessel and I find the colour scheme appealing too. The sand blue, dark tan and dark red details are not very visible in the films, but similar patches of colour can be seen on the original ILM model. I wish the same approach had been taken for 77904 Nebulon-B Frigate, much though I love that set.
I would imagine Home One's prow was the most challenging section to disguise, featuring far fewer bulging features that can disguise transitions between rounded pieces. Fortunately, 4x4 curved wedge slopes form an effective shape, alongside 1x10 curved slopes attached via clips. Also notable are the new 1x1 curved slopes used at the nose, of which twelve are included.
Admiral Ackbar's flagship features a number of elevated external pods, housing the command bridge and sensor suites. These are correctly positioned along the top of the vehicle and I like how ice skates have been used for the smaller ones. Moreover, the 1x2 rounded tiles and 1x2 rounded plates adding texture look superb.
Like the elevated pods, these bulbous hull panels are distributed as accurately as possible, so many are asymmetrical. The hangar bays are notable for their asymmetry too. There is one on the starboard side, shown extensively in Return of the Jedi, but two on the port, where Ahsoka's shuttle and the Ghost are docked in the Ahsoka Disney+ series.
The designer, Niels Bundesen, has clearly paid close attention to the source material and this even extends to the underside! The shaping is simplified here, but I am pleased to find further rounded panels and splashes of colour visible from all angles.
Like other Starship Collection sets, there are several Easter eggs to be found inside. Much of the interior is actually reserved for these details and the side panel is designed to be removed easily, which has not been the case on earlier models.
Towards the front we find Admiral Ackbar seated in his command chair and a Green Squadron A-wing, based on the fighter from 7754 Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. I much prefer a couple of the Advent Calendar models, especially the 2020 design, although this one needed to fit in a narrow space.
Ahsoka Tano and Hera Syndulla occupy the space near the back, standing beside a holotable and represented by stacks of 1x1 round plates, as normal in these sets. Hera's vibrant attire is instantly recognisable, even at this tiny scale.
The engines are arranged exactly as seen in the movie, with five pairs of two engines situated around the stern. Their relative sizes look good, although I am not sure about the black pieces on some engines. I think these are intended to denote dense mechanical detail, but they stand out a little too much for me.
A tiny Nebulon-B Frigate is also provided, showing the sheer size of Home One. Ironically, the flagship's true size is often disputed because its canonical length of 1300m seems quite small, but if we assume that measurement is accurate, the Nebulon-B Frigate should be roughly one and a half times longer. I think a larger scale would have been helpful because its shape could definitely be improved.
Overall
I have long wanted a full LEGO model of the Home One, so my expectations for 75405 Home One Starcruiser were high. Fortunately, the design does not disappoint! The rounded shape is remarkably accurate and I love the scattered colours, as well as the numerous intricate exterior details. The designer obviously paid careful attention to placing these correctly.
Sadly, the price of £59.99, $69.99 or €69.99 is simply too expensive. Though this set provides better value than 75376 Tantive IV, the Home One is significantly smaller than 75356 Executor Super Star Destroyer, which costs the same. I think something around £54.99, $59.99 or €59.99 would be fair, at which point I would highly recommend the Home One.
113 likes
40 comments on this article
It would be interesting to see if some creative person makes the rest of the rebel fleet in the correct scale to Home One.
Not as bad as I thought it was in official images. Overall, a nice set. But the price... Hard pass.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Not as bad as I thought it was in official images. Overall, a nice set. But the price... Hard pass."
Are you going to be able to MOC it for comparable or less??
@amourack said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Not as bad as I thought it was in official images. Overall, a nice set. But the price... Hard pass."
Are you going to be able to MOC it for comparable or less??"
I don't want it that much bro.
I love the space battle over Endor sequence from JEDI soooo much, it was the source of endless excitement for me as a nerdy kid and is a major reason why JEDI is a lowkey favorite of mine (EMPIRE is technically better but I kinda *love* ROTJ more in many ways).
So I really love this model! It's just very overpriced. I know these are kind of like Star Wars ARCHITECTURE sets where there's an adult gloss over the whole thing that LEGO thinks it's appropriate to charge extra for, but at the end of the day it's still a plastic toy that I'm only willing to spend so much on.
So a great rendition of an oft-overlooked SW capital ship, but hard pass.
Nebulon-B? More like Nebulon-UGLEE!
It's quite a nice little model. Interestingly, I find ships that have never been made before, like this and the Invisible Hand, most appealing in the Starship Collection.
@WemWem: The RotJ space battle is SO GOOD. The whole last third of the movie, with space battle, ground battle, bunker infiltration, and the duel all unfolding simultaneously is great, but the space part especially is spectacular. With two massive fleets on screen, you can tell the ILM crew just went all out with what they learned from the two previous films.
£60 for a grey turd is.. insane.
@Rob42 said:
" @WemWem: The RotJ space battle is SO GOOD. The whole last third of the movie, with space battle, ground battle, bunker infiltration, and the duel all unfolding simultaneously is great, but the space part especially is spectacular. With two massive fleets on screen, you can tell the ILM crew just went all out with what they learned from the two previous films."
Isn't it mindboggling to think about the fact that the whole thing is done optically? The sheer amount of labor that went into all the modelwork and planning of the battle is truly heroic.
I always wish they had found a way to get the B-wings working the way they wanted for the film. As a kid I always loved seeing them in the fleet massing and was sad we never saw them in action.
IT'S A TRAP!
(I can't believe nobody has said this yet!)
I think it's the best they could've done at this scale, but I just don't think the parts exist to capture the ship's bulbous-ness.
An occasion where I think putting it at a smaller scale might actually have helped, let them take advantage of the curved pieces that already exist
One of those Star Wars sets that you take one look at and immediately realize why it took 25 years for LEGO to get around to it
@WemWem said:
"I love the space battle over Endor sequence from JEDI soooo much, it was the source of endless excitement for me as a nerdy kid and is a major reason why JEDI is a lowkey favorite of mine (EMPIRE is technically better but I kinda *love* ROTJ more in many ways).
"
Another aficionado of the ROTK space battle here. Loved it as a 7 year old, still love it now. It also makes ROTJ my heartfelt favourite.
This looks cool, but will wait for a discount.
@dellyot said:
"£60 for a grey turd is.. insane. "
lol
@CapnRex101:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Galactic_Starcruiser
Disney has officially used this term as one word, so it is now...still very much debatable, just like everything Disney has done.
I'll be honest: it looks like a grey turd to me.
@dellyot said:
"£60 for a grey turd is.. insane. "
No, it's a gray pickle.
@PurpleDave said:" @CapnRex101:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Galactic_Starcruiser
Disney has officially used this term as one word, so it is now...still very much debatable, just like everything Disney has done."
Not *everything.* Nobody argues that Han's last name needed an origin story.
@TheOtherMike said:
Not *everything.* Nobody argues that Han's last name needed an origin story.]]
Amen!
@PurpleDave said:
" @CapnRex101 :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Galactic_Starcruiser
Disney has officially used this term as one word, so it is now...still very much debatable, just like everything Disney has done."
I am not disputing that it can be formatted as one word, but this is an 'MC80a Star Cruiser', never an 'MC80a Starcruiser', at least in any material I know of. To me, it is like referring to the X-wing as an 'X Wing'.
Much better than the initial images led me to believe. I suppose I am happy they are doing these larger ships in small scale.
However, I have yet to build any of these, and even 77904 still lingers in the box. Display models without minifigs have a limited amount of attraction.
This price is insane. There's nothing of the size, intricacy, or printed pieces that justifies this. The giant dark red piece also does not look good to me.
I'm happy it's been made into a set.
I kept misreading it as 60 euro though and thought that was expensive. Then I saw it was 70 euro and I now feel bad for even looking at the thing anymore for that price.
@TheOtherMike:
Clearly two people would disagree with you, otherwise it wouldn’t have been written into the script, or it would have been cut by the director.
"Source - Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi."
This thoroughly confused me for a second and I thought it was just because I was tired. (Should be "Episode VI")
@srekket48 said:
"I'll be honest: it looks like a grey turd to me."
I've never had a turd look like this.
I csn't unsee it, that's a 70€ grey turd
"Source - Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi"
Source - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
@WemWem said:
[Isn't it mindboggling to think about the fact that the whole thing is done optically? The sheer amount of labor that went into all the modelwork and planning of the battle is truly heroic.
]]
There’s a behind the scenes video where they show some of that. For the scene at the start of the battle, where the Falcon runs into the Imperial fleet and all the TIE’s fly past it, they showed how they had to shoot something like 60 individual models and then combine them all into one shot. It’s just insane.
@neallyd2 said:
" @srekket48 said:
"I'll be honest: it looks like a grey turd to me."
I've never had a turd look like this. "
Trying chewing less, especially corn and beets, maybe some barely chewed nuts. That should get the job done.
I don't know about the black stand. You'd probably better see a doctor if that comes out.
I'm still upset that 77904 was never widely available.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @neallyd2 said:
" @srekket48 said:
"I'll be honest: it looks like a grey turd to me."
I've never had a turd look like this. "
Trying chewing less, especially corn and beets, maybe some barely chewed nuts. That should get the job done.
I don't know about the black stand. You'd probably better see a doctor if that comes out."
Sometimes he's nutty
Sometimes he's corny
He can be brown or greenish brown.
@DekoPuma said:
"I'm still upset that 77904 was never widely available."
You and me both.
@amourack said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Not as bad as I thought it was in official images. Overall, a nice set. But the price... Hard pass."
Are you going to be able to MOC it for comparable or less??"
Yes. The Starship collection sets are priced as if you order the pieces for a MOC from single-parts sellers, this makes the sets just as expensive as any MOC of about the same scale. Just looking up these sets on Rebrickable it calculates that the Tantive IVs inventory goes for 3€ less than the MSRP on Bricklink. Invisible Hand and Executor look like you could get the parts for MSRP if you order the right pieces off of Pick-A-Brick alongside a Bricklink order, ignoring shipping costs from multiple stores.
The cost advantage of a Lego Star Wars set is getting slimmer and slimmer, especially the minifig-scale sets. The Coruscant Guard Gunship is 150€ MSRP but MOCs of the same design switched to the regular color-scheme and without minifigures cost between 100 and 120€, making MOCs serious considerations for sets if one already has enough minifigures.
But I seriously like that new curved slope piece, another very useful and necessary part that will be common throughout sets of every theme.
Probably not going to get it (sets that aren't minifig-scale aren't as appealing to me), but this looks like a nice set! They really got the shaping of the ship looking nice here with all of those curved slopes.
Nevertheless, overpriced as usual....
I'm sufficiently impressed by how the designer captured this very difficult shape that I'm on the verge of breaking my "no-more-Star-Wars-ships" rule to get this and keep it on display. If I see it discounted I very likely will buy it! (Significant statement from someone who is now refusing to buy sets that are too big for reasonable display if they don't represent a building or garden.)
@yellowcastle said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @neallyd2 said:
" @srekket48 said:
"I'll be honest: it looks like a grey turd to me."
I've never had a turd look like this. "
Trying chewing less, especially corn and beets, maybe some barely chewed nuts. That should get the job done.
I don't know about the black stand. You'd probably better see a doctor if that comes out."
Sometimes he's nutty
Sometimes he's corny
He can be brown or greenish brown."
Howdy Ho!
South Park is just down the road from me.
@dellyot said:
"£60 for a grey turd is.. insane. "
Bristol 3
I love the easter eggs on the interior! That's the kind of thing I fall for every time.
A definite purchase for me....at a minimum 30% discount.
Admiral Ackbar would be proud.
I guess this really just hammers home why Starwars isn't the best to translate into Lego. I mean it looks recognizable to me as a Starwars fan, so well done on that part. But realistically, it's just a lump with bumps and wholly unattractive.