Star Wars Advent Calendar Review: Day 24
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendars have marked an end to every year since 2011 and the latest edition has been by far the best yet in my opinion. However, can the final gift of 2016 match the excellence of those which have gone before? Let's find out...
This festive Chewbacca, aptly dubbed 'Snowbacca' by LEGO Star Wars fans, is a delight. I love his white fur and the printing looks splendid despite its simplicity. Chewie wears a seasonal bandoleer which is decorated with red and green ammunition pouches while the eyes and nose are marked by black dots.
The torso and legs are left completely blank which is a bit of a shame as the standard Chewbacca minifigure has some fur printed on his thighs. Nevertheless, the figure is nicely detailed on the whole and even comes complete with a snowball-launching stud shooter and a tiny Christmas tree which are quite unlike the Wroshyrs found on Kashyyyk. It is worth noting that the green flower that forms the base of the tree is quite rare, appearing in just six sets.
This white Wookiee reminds me of Itchy from the Star Wars Holiday Special and this leaves me wondering whether a couple of the other characters could appear in future Advent Calendars. The infamous nature of the Holiday Special surely reduces the likelihood of such an occurrence but I would be delighted to see Chewbacca's family rendered in minifigure form!
Overall - 5.0 - The seasonal Star Wars minifigures are always a treat and this year's offering is no different. Snowbacca is a fun figure and marks a perfect end to a tremendous Advent Calendar.
I hope you have enjoyed this year's Advent Calendar reviews. Do you agree that this has been the strongest year for the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendars and which minifigure or model has been your favourite?
I would like to take this opportunity to thank TheBrickPal, paul_merton and MeganL for their coverage of the other calendars. Thanks also to our many readers for accompanying us on this festive journey throughout December!
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35 comments on this article
Definitely the best Calendar Lego has ever made for any theme!
Nice set, but disappointed that the Hoth Rebel with ski-mask wasn't in the set as shown on the box..
Actually, my son just informed me that we got 2 U-3POs, so maybe got that instead of the trooper. Also got spare cone and flower..
I got a spare 1x1 cone and flower. I expected the spare flower, but not the cone, so hey--free second tree. Did everyone else get those spares?
One of the best Star Wars advent calendars and one of my favorite minifigures was U-3PO.
By far the best advent calendar this year
The best advent calendar of the year, and the best SW calendar of them all. Fave minifigs are the Imperial Navy Trooper and U-3PO and outstanding models would be the AAT and the Slave I.
This is only my second Star Wars advent calendar and I do like it better than last year's. I am glad that the weapon racks are gone and the minifigures include the weapons instead.
@ResIpsaLoquitur - Mine also included spares flower and cone. I was wondering myself about that.
Can you post a picture with all the seasonal figures together?
All the seasonal figures can be seen in here: http://brickset.com/minifigs/category-Star-Wars/subcategory-Star-Wars-Other . They're not together in one photo, but there they are.
I had 2 cones and flowers too, plus extra 1x1 round,and two triggers.
By the way, I personally don't count "Clone Trooper with Santa Hat" as a seasonal figure. Yeah, he was packaged with a Santa hat, but his helmet came in the next window.
Easily the best calendar ever! I knew Snowbacca was coming but did not expect the bowcaster. And as an army builder, the unexpected stormtrooper was the cherry on top of an already AMAZING set. But the real deal for me was definitely the Bespin Wing Guard and the Imperial Navy Officer. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all builders and lovers of Lego!!
And to peeps who bought the Friends calendar... you got the shaft. And I'm sorry.
This was my first advant and I was not dissapointed! Thanks for all the reviews.
This was my first SW calendar and I was surprised to see just how much better it was than Friends and City. It was clearly worth the extra cost! The reviews at this site made it more fun.
Yeah, I got the extra tree as well.
You weren't supposed to get 2 U-3POs - it seems like there have been a lot of mix-ups like that this year in the advent calendar. I hear TLG will send you a replacement, though, so it's really a bonus for you.
I have all Star Wars Advent Calendars and this year's was in my opinion more or less flawless. The only mediocre things were the Skiff (not even the photographer seems to habe known what it is) and the Shuttle. Minifigs were exceptional, and most minibuilds were way above average, actually i think except for the two mentioned above i loved all of them.
Thank you CapnRex101!! You do a fantastic job year round! And we always look forward to your reviews. The Advent calendar specifically is a tradition to read, even when I don't get the set.
Very well done this year.
The Snow Chewbacca minifigure is really cool. It's fun that I got an extra hand for the figure. I can't understand why I got one of that. They're never in bags with other figures :P
Awesome calendar, and terrific daily write-ups. Merry Xmas to all -- may there be lots of lego under all your trees tomorrow...
Cool Snowbacca, unfortunately where I live it is 87 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius)
^ "unfortunately"???? Having recently moved from southern california to the north of england, I know where I'd rather still be.
Thanks for all the reviews. I also agree that it's the best SW calendar. Great builds, even greater figs and two absolutely awesome exclusive figs. And no weapon racks!
And in addition to the point above where someone didn't consider the clone Santa to be a proper Xmas fig, neither do I consider the 3PO and R2 from last year to be properly exclusive figs as there were no exclusive parts/prints.
Nostalgia, it's ok stand him on an ice cream. Sure you'll see one over Christmas.
Awesome work all of you reviewers.
For all intents and purposes, I am treating mine as Itchy.
Sorry if it looked like I was complaining, I just thought it was interesting that it is so hot out.
Great review and great set.
Happy holidays everyone!
Not just the best SW Advent, but the best LEGO Advent yet. Even better than the 2009 LEGO Pirates Advent, which had been my favourite advent until this one. My favourite character? I would say it's a toss up betwen Snowbacca and U-3PO... leaning towards U-3PO
I really look forward to the advent calendar reviews and this year's hasn't disappointed, with some really useful minifigures and no weapons racks!
A very happy Christmas to all Brickset staff and readers, I hope you get all the LEGO sets you want.
Thanks for all the reviews throughout advent! Some good soundbites mixed in there, such as finding out the protocol droid was in fact U-3PO and the sled was actually based on a Rebel vehicle.
I've never seen the holiday specials but heard how bad they were, I'll have to have a laugh and see if I can find them online somewhere.
The standard of the Star Wars Advent Calendar was excellent this year. Thanks for the reviews Captain.
A brilliant lot of reviews and advent builds. Some amazing minifigures and minimodels in there this year!
I wish they didn't show Snowbacco on the box, it would have been a nice surprise when I opened 24.
Must agree that this may be the best Lego Advent Calendar ever! Thank you for sharing the journey to Snowbacca with all of us here at Brickset; the Advent reviews have become part of my holiday tradition!
Best wishes to everyone at this season, whatever holiday you celebrate, and Happy New Year to all!
I generally only get the City Advent, but this year I was gifted one of these. it was really nice to have some of the army builders as I have gotten a little into SW the last year or so. The only reason I want to get the minifigs is so that I can have them outside the Palace Cinema during the new SW movies timeframe. This was a great Calendar and I will be getting them from now on.
Best. LEGO Advent Calendar. EVER!!!!
I think I like the Santa Clause Star Wars mini-figures more than this Snowbacca, but he is a great addition and mixes things up a bit! Thanks for doing the reviews!