Star Wars Advent Calendar - Day 23
Posted by CapnRex101,
With two days remaining, there is a connection point on the workshop scene that has yet to be filled. Since I doubt this calendar will finish with it, I expect the final piece today.
Let's see whether that is the case...
This is quite an underwhelming finish to the scenery in this Advent Calendar, unfortunately. The use of dark tan corresponds with past scenery models, but the shovel is a strange addition and there is nothing for Babu Frik or the Jawa to interact with really. The only element of note is the red droid arm, which has only appeared three times before and is vaguely festive, at least.
Assembling the whole workshop scene, I think it looks reasonable, but it is hard to get excited about such a nondescript location. There are some visually distinct locations that may suit this kind of model, though Babu Frik's workshop is not among them. Moreover, the small Babu Frik figure cannot engage with most of the accessories, which is surely a missed opportunity.
Overall - I have definitely seen worse scenery in Star Wars Advent Calendars, but this is still a weak finish to the series.
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32 comments on this article
Really? They saved what is arguably the weakest build in the calendar for the penultimate day?
Nobody's ever whelmed. It's either over- or under-. I'm surprised you didn't assemble all the spare droid bits for the bonus B-1.
Disney: Cool idea and parts 4.5/5p
Friends: 4/5p
Minecraft: Interesting cake... 3.5/5p
Harry Potter: 4.5/5p
Star Wars: Noooo 2/5p
Now we have all the spare battle droid bits, are we going to see what it looks like assembled in the final scene?
This being the last day, here's a look back at the various weapons racks we’ve gotten over the years. Higher scores are given if the rack itself does something useful; lower scores are given if the rack amounts to filler where the weapons really should have been included with their intended minifigure.
(I think I need to break this up--Brickset seems to have a character limit for comments.)
2011, Day 3: Nute Gunray’s Mechano-Chair. I realize our first item is absolutely not a “weapons rack,” but I’m adding this item last minute because it fits in the larger theme of interactive items in Advent Calendars that aren’t a minifigure or microscale build. Anyway, it’s a chair and it’s recognizable. It’s relatively small and doesn’t have the back support, but there’s ample room to customize it.Boo
2011, Day 7: A bucket, tools, and bowcaster. Probably intended as Millennium Falcon storage. OK as a play environment for that year’s Chewbacca. Rating: C.
2011, Day 17: An odd structure holding Yoda’s lightsaber and some Clone Wars weaponry. The accessories are good, but the rack itself doesn’t resemble anything. Rating: F.
2011, Day 23: A Christmas tree. Rather puny, but may be useful as festive dressing. Rating: C.
2012, Day 11: A turret vaguely resembling Hoth rebel weaponry. Pretty puny, somewhat functional for the included Hoth trooper. Rating: D.
2012, Day 14: A weapons rack holding two guns and Darth Maul’s lightsaber. This rack, by itself, is essentially a brick with some clips. Very weak. Rating: F.
2012, Day 19: A catapult with a Gungan shield and spear. Thematically, this fits with the Gungan figure giving him a tad bit more playability, although it’s much smaller than and shaped nothing like an actual Gungan catapult. Rating: C+.
2013, Day 7: An angled curve setup holding three guns. Pretty weak, doesn’t resemble anything without the weapons. Rating: F.
2013, Day 16: A weapons rack holding a Geonosian blaster and Jango Fett’s pistols. This rack is at least colored in Geonosian hues and is passable as an environmental play feature. Rating: C.
2014, Day 5: An angled display holding two guns and a Phase III helmet (complementing the Clone Trooper on Day 4). By itself, it’s a sad but colorful rack; holding all the weapons, it looks like an appropriate Clone Wars era storage bay and is somewhat useful with the Clone. Rating: C+.
2014, Day 7: Somewhat resembles an E-WEB blaster, except with a white stud shooter (suggesting snowballs). This pairs well with the included Snowtrooper. Rating: A.
2014, Day 17: Some kind of snow mound with a stud shooter on top and a blaster. Since the calendar comes with General Rieekan, it’s likely intended as a play environment for Hoth to contrast the E-Web blaster. Rating: C.
2014, Day 23: A Sith fireplace holding Luke and Vader’s lightsabers and a holocron. A somewhat useless item that looks ridiculous holding lightsabers by its blades, but it does cleverly resemble a festive Death Star display and is passable on a silly level. Rating: B.
2015, Day 6: An Endor stump or bongo that holds an Ewok’s bow and, for some reason, a Jawa’s blaster. This is a clever environmental build and would at least be useful in an Endor display. Rating: A.
2015, Day 9: Another Endor display? We get a small catapult. OK, it sort-of complements the Endor rack and gives your Ewok something else to do. Rating: C.
2015, Day 12: A gray rack holding three blasters. This is a little more elaborate with some kibble pieces, but it still doesn’t resemble anything in-universe. Rating: F.
2015, Day 15: A double stud shooter that...well, I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a micro playable Death Star turret (compare with 2019’s build) or a minifigure play accessory. Or both. It’s *functional* but the ambiguity throws it. Rating: C.
2015, Day 21: Clearly intended to be a Hoth Echo Base command center, albeit a much smaller version of anything on film. But it has a blaster and control panel. Nicely complements this year’s Hoth Rebel Trooper. Rating: B.
2016, Day 8: Not really a weapons rack, but resembles a scaled down version of a Rebel hoth dish turrett. I can’t tell if this is intended as a play environment or a micro-build. Filing here because it doesn’t cleanly fit anywhere. Rating: C.
2017, Day 4: Again, this isn’t a true “weapons rack,” but a mounted blaster probably intended for the Resistance trooper on Day 5. Passable as a play environment. Rating: B.
2017, Day 8: This appears to be intended as a Jakku junk market display given the dark tan base and storage container. It’s otherwise a wrench for...somebody, and a blaster for the First Order Trooper. So, fine, it’s passable as a Jakku play environment. Rating: C-.
2017, Day 15: Not really a “weapons rack”--it’s a snowblower intended for the First Order Snowtrooper in the calendar. It’s passable as a silly Starkiller Base environment item, but doesn’t function beyond that. Rating: C.
2018, Day 10: A mounted stud-shooter blaster that doesn’t fit with any specific figure. Fine as a generic Star Wars cannon, but doesn’t really represent any specific known environment. Rating: D.
2018, Day 14: We’re back to generic weapons racks that don’t resemble anything without their included blasters. This uses some creative black and gray coloring with trans-red highlights (maybe it’s a micro First Order environment?) but it doesn’t appear particularly special. Rating: F.
2019, Day 4: No official weapons racks, but we did get a black and white blaster that complements the calendar’s First Order stormtrooper. It appears to be intended to be a First Order heavy blaster rifle and is passable for that role (although the calendar doesn’t include its accompanying First Order heavy trooper). Rating: B+.
2020: No weapons racks. Amazing. Rating: A.
2021: This calendar had a running set of multiple stud-shooter toys and protective barriers, including Day 4 (an E-WEB blaster), Day 5 (a pair of targets), Day 9 (a sand barrier holding a Tusken gaffi stick), Day 10 (a Tusken stud-shooter), and Day 14 (an Imperial-looking barrier with a pair of pistols). The overall combined effect is a little shooting gallery where the characters could shoot studs at the two targets and hide behind protective walls. Good for the kids and some capacity to make a play environment. Individually: D (except the E-WEB; solid B+ there). In the aggregate: C.
2021, Day 21: The only true weapons rack in this calendar is a gray stand with a trans-clear screen on top and a trans-red grill on the side, otherwise holding IG-12 and the Mandalorian’s rifles. The stand itself looks vaguely Star Wars-y but otherwise has no independent usefulness. Rating: D-.
2022, Day 16: The closest thing we got to a weapons rack is an Imperial shooting range with a wall, studs, a micro MSE-droid, and a blaster. Since the calendar comes with both a Snowtrooper and a Clone Trooper, the wall is useful for either minifigure to use as a shooting range. Rating: B.
2022, Day 22: A micro vignette of the Hoth Wampa cave. Given that it’s rectangular, it’s a little boring, but it’s more effective when combined with the calendar’s Hoth Luke. Rating: B (A when combined with Luke.)
2023, Day 21: No weapons racks. But you get Palpatine's chair. For Advent restrictions, it’s a decent, recognizable build. It might have benefitted from some purple and the ability to rotate, so fans may want to mod this for additional accuracy. Grade: B+.
2024, Day 7: No weapons rack, but we did get a video game minikit. It’s a nice easter egg, albeit it’s missing the 2x2 bumper bottom piece. Rating: B+ (A if it had the bottom slider.)
Day 23:
0 points (+ 52 from yesterday = 52): Fr - honestly each present could have been distributed as part of another day's gift. Like that, it appears as the designers were reminded last second that the calendar also needs presents.
1 (+46 = 47): MC - really, not much
2 (+27 = 29): Dy - Looks good!
3 (+71 = 74): SW - Well, you haters made it! Congrats, now you can build the additional scrap-B1!
4 (+65 = 69): Ct - Seats 1,5
5 (+69 = 74): HP - Unusual christmas tree. Why not?
Will SW or HP wein the top spot this year? Will Disney climb over 30? We'll see tomorrow!
And finally:
2025: No weapons racks. However, days 2, 5, 9, 10, 18 and 23 combined to give us a micro modular Babu Frik workshop, a crate of droid parts, and a chair for C-3PO, recreating a scene in Episode IX. Individually, these were pretty unpopular. In the aggregate, they do give you a functional vignette for the completed calendar. Opinions will vary on whether this is effective as a whole or a very weak departure from micro-ships and more minifigures. Rating: Individually, C-. As a whole, B. Honestly, I like this, points deducted maybe because it’s a lot of kibble that only works with the larger gaggle of droids included.
(Sorry for the multiple comments: I tried doing one big one and it kept getting rejected. I also tried doing hyperlinks to each piece's respective article and no dice.)
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"This being the last day"
what about tomorrow?
@ResIpsaLoquitur:
Appreciate all of the research. Great ratings.
Feel like SW is the worst Calendar this year.
Can you build a whole droid from the parts?
@ResIpsaLoquitur Thanks for the effort, much appreciation also from me!
@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"This being the last day"
what about tomorrow? "
There is no tomorrow
@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"This being the last day"
what about tomorrow? "
Bleah. This being the last day *of weapons racks* (and other odd minifigure-interactive builds).
Ok, this is not so impressive but an overall good build.
I keep telling people: fold it backwards at right angles. You end up with a nice little 8x8 frame that makes a decent vignette. Put the box inside the center and it fits perfectly with room for one minifigure to stand inside.
What the heck. I had a writeup on mini-vehicles too.
2013, Day 23: Jango Fett’s Sled. It’s a mix of brown pieces whose appeal is really that it includes the jetpack for Day 24 Jango Fett (who would wear it, except he comes with a gift sack). Once you remove the jetpack, it doesn’t resemble much. Grade: C-.
2014, Day 19: Endor Speeder Bike. An OK effort, but it lacks handlebars and doesn’t quite capture the shape of a traditional speeder bike. Includes a sack with presents, which is supposed to represent an Endor bike’s kit bag but opened. Also includes a pistol for rear fire, I suppose. Grade: B.
2015, Day 23: Lightsaber Sled. Intended for Santa C-3PO, although there’s nowhere to attach Reindeer R2-D2 other than to position him in the front. Fine if you need two extra lightsabers, but it’s otherwise a mass of brown bricks. Grade: C-.
2016, Day 23: Hoth Rebel Troop Transport. At least, that’s what I think it’s supposed to be. There’s room for a minifigure to sit on here, but it’s really an accessory holder for the included hockey sticks, skates, and pucks so the Hoth Trooper and Snowtrooper can play hockey. Cute, but on its own not great. Grade: B-.
2017, Day 23: Sled with four bricks for presents. Barely resembles anything, has room for a standing minifigure. Grade: F.
2018: No mini vehicle. YMMV.
2019: No mini vehicle. Also YMMV.
2020: Three years with no mini vehicle? Amazing.
2021, Day 15: White speeder bike. Likely intended for the Scout Trooper in the calendar. This one is in some ways better and some worse than the 2014 model—they included triangle clips to get the shaping, but it’s overall very boxy. This may appeal to kids who want a play vehicle; for adults wanting accuracy, it’s weak. Grade: D-.
2022: No mini vehicle. Have mercy.
2023, Day 1: Sled. A sled that came with Omega. The Omega figure is fine; the sled is obviously an accessory because she’s a kid, but absent her, it’s a very generic pile of parts. Grade: D.
2023, Day 7: Republic Clone Forward Command Center. Loved when I saw this on the package; hated the actual build. It’s a chibi accessory for the Phase II Trooper in the set, but it’s barely an accurate representation of the actual ship with the colors actually inverted. Grade: C.
2023, Day 9: STAP bike. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. It’s a slightly smaller version of previous STAPs but overall accurately captures the shape and function of a minifigure sized vehicle. Despite being slightly smaller, you really won’t notice when you put your B-1 Battle Droid on it. Grade: A+.
2023, Day 23: Ewok Glider<. Fairly simple shaping with a few pieces, but you know exactly what this is when you build it. The studs on the “wings” bring this down only a bit. Perfect for the festive Ewok included. Grade: B.
2024: No mini vehicle. Wow!
2025, Days 13-14: “Sandcrawler” with crane. “Sandcrawler” is the best guess here—it's vaguely a Jawa vehicle, but really misses the mark on the shaping of any previous vehicle. With the crane, it sort of resembles the vehicle in 75198. Again, fine for the kids, not great for someone wanting an accurate-ish crawler. Grade: D.
@jkb said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur Thanks for the effort, much appreciation also from me!
@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"This being the last day"
what about tomorrow? "
There is no tomorrow"
Rubbish. We are on the edge of tomorrow. Ask Tom Cruise if you don’t believe me.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"I keep telling people: fold it backwards at right angles. You end up with a nice little 8x8 frame that makes a decent vignette."
I took your advice and did that on mine as soon as I attached them together. It looks really good.
@BabuBrick said:
"Really? They saved what is arguably the weakest build in the calendar for the penultimate day?"
Sure. Spare the unobservant a few more days of not realizing there would be _FOUR_ tool racks linked together at the end. On the other hand, you now have all the parts necessary to build the second B1 that said unobservant people didn’t notice is spoiled right on the box.
@Yooha said:
"Can you build a whole droid from the parts?"
Yes. It’s spoiled right on the box.
@gunther_schnitzel said:
"Rubbish. We are on the edge of tomorrow. Ask Tom Cruise if you don’t believe me."
You mean we have to keep reliving this SWAC? Eh, at least it’s not the GotGAC.
What a bunch of crap!
Hey kid, she's got it where it counts... oh, forget it. This is crap.
@PurpleDave said:
" @BabuBrick said:
"Really? They saved what is arguably the weakest build in the calendar for the penultimate day?"
Sure. Spare the unobservant a few more days of not realizing there would be _FOUR_ tool racks linked together at the end. On the other hand, you now have all the parts necessary to build the second B1 that said unobservant people didn’t notice is spoiled right on the box."
At least the Battle Droid parts save this day from being a complete dud. I enjoyed building him over a few days.
I love the idea of this set but man, this has to be the worst advent calendar Lego has done in the past decade. Makes the Marvel ones look like the Friends ones by comparison. Just a complete miss.
@StyleCounselor asked for red arms yesterday, and today that wish came true.
With all the spares, I've now quite the motley of droids. I might even have enough spare bits for another of some sort.
while each day hasn't been great, I still think this SWAC is greater than the sum of its parts. I've enjoyed the build-ability across multiple days and all the interchangeable Droid parts. That's the fun of building with Lego.
@SolidState said:
"I love the idea of this set but man, this has to be the worst advent calendar Lego has done in the past decade. Makes the Marvel ones look like the Friends ones by comparison. Just a complete miss."
Nope. GotG took four days for Rocket to cook a turkey.
What will tomorrow bring? All I can say is "Oh, I have a bad feeling about this."!!!!!
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"I keep telling people: fold it backwards at right angles. You end up with a nice little 8x8 frame that makes a decent vignette. Put the box inside the center and it fits perfectly with room for one minifigure to stand inside."
I did and it's super satisfying. As if Babu wanted to have everything important nearby.
I now have three red droid arms, the third is a spare from one of the Botanicals sets, so I can almost replace the arms on the medical droid as someone suggested yesterday.
If you the 4 parts of the workshop the other way to your second picture, you get a hollow square which you can put evil C3PO inside of on his chair, and it makes a nice bit of scenery.