Review: 40407 Death Star II Battle
Posted by Huw,
40407 Death Star II Battle is the gift with purchase (GWP) with orders exceeding £75/$75/€75 of Star Wars sets at LEGO.com this weekend.
It's the third Star Wars diorama of its type, following on from 40333 Battle of Hoth - 20th Anniversary Edition and 40362 Battle of Endor, which were GWPs last year.
LEGO has kindly sent us a sample to review.
Like the others, it's packed in a flip-top box of higher than usual quality. Inside are three bags of parts, which are predominately grey, and the instruction manual.
The base is constructed as a wall, in three sections, which prevents the thin one-brick-deep structure from breaking while you're building it.
There's a good level of greebling on it that results in an interesting textured surface.
The three towers affixed to the back are somewhat fiddly to build, due to the dark red 1x2 grille tiles being held on with just one stud, which therefore need to be aligned with some care.
The 2x4 tile on the front is printed and is one of only two unique parts in this set, the other being a trans-clear 1x1 tooth element used on the A-wing.
The microscale TIE Interceptor, made from just 20 parts, looks pretty good in my opinion, thanks primarily to the new 2x4 wedge plates that are used for the front of the wings.
The same can't be said for the A-wing, however, which looks more like an 'H-wing'. It's particularly disappointing given that there have been better ones in Star Wars Advent calendars, for example, this one from 2015.
It's all held together by single studs so, again, takes some fiddling about to get the parts lined up.
Nevertheless, despite my reservations about the A-wing, it's not a bad freebie and will look great displayed alongside the other two. It's a shame I don't have the Endor one to be able to do so...
It's available now at LEGO.com, until Monday, or while stocks last, which probably won't be until then.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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19 comments on this article
A parts pack and a half!
I really like the set.
If there were any good offers in the store, I would buy it. If LEGO doesn’t change the current offers, I hope they will sell this set in the future again.
Free with spend over $199 in Australia, not that there is anything to buy as everything has been out of stock for weeks.
Anybody knows if there will be other items on sale the next three days, or will it only be those few uninteresting in my opinion) sets which are on sale right now?
@i_amtrunks said:
"Free with spend over $199 in Australia, not that there is anything to buy as everything has been out of stock for weeks. "
I know the whole of Australia seemed to be out stock of LEGO. Online stores everything.
@greenhorn said:
"Anybody knows if there will be other items on sale the next three days, or will it only be those few uninteresting in my opinion) sets which are on sale right now?"
No idea, but I definitely agree that they are uninteresting.
The "offers" this May the 4th are a joke. Nothing worth getting at RRP.
I'd rather buy something that interests me, like the Boba Fett helmet, at a substantial discount, from a standard online retailer and get this set later either via Bricklink or during some later offer from LEGO themselves. Has been done several times with past May the 4th GWPs already.
I'm very happy with this and looking forward to getting it. I put off pre-ordering the Razor Crest until today so was able to get the GWP and the double VIP. The texture of the base looks good to me and far superior to the flat green slab from the Endor one. At the very least, it's a lot of free parts.
The microscale Tie Interceptor is lovely.
Why does the tile on this one say "LEGO Star Wars 2020" when the previous two were "20 Years LEGO Star Wars"?
Utter rubbish, looks like one of my "extra pieces from sets" jars thrown together
"Why does the tile on this one say "LEGO Star Wars 2020" when the previous two were "20 Years LEGO Star Wars"?"
Those sets were released last year, it's now been more than 20 years of LEGO Star Wars.
Looks like Lego is sticking to it's tradition of bad preparation when it comes to big promotions, As of now 23 out of 63 Lego Star Wars sets/gear is out of stock or on back order.
@Duq said:
"Why does the tile on this one say "LEGO Star Wars 2020" when the previous two were "20 Years LEGO Star Wars"?"
It’s not the 20th Anniversary of Lego Star wars anymore
Replacing the A-Wing with one from the advent calendar is a good idea! Heck I may just replace it with an x-wing vs. tie fighter for fun.
I've noticed every SW promotion is usually a mess. Not enough sets on sale, not enough stock, inundated website, etc. Glad I got this one, by holding off and buying all of the smaller sets i've been wanting. Spent 80 on the 2 micro fighters, the 2 battle packs, 1 brickheadz, to get 2 GWP's. Patience is a virtue, and I'm not driven to just by anything SW.
I hate to say it, but this is a pretty weak micro-diorama compared to the last couple we've gotten.
Freebies are always welcome and it is great to see the Death Star II getting some love!
Thanks LEGO!
I suppose once I get this I will see what I think about it. I got the Hoth set last year and loved it, but I feel like that set had much more detail and I loved the AT-AT design. I suppose this set is more about the details on the Death Star, but it would have been much more interesting if it were an enclosed tunnel (given this is the second Death Star) or make it the original one and build it as a trench.
I’m very tempted to redesign this set as a trench once I get it and throw a few mini X-wings into it.
@Judgeguy said:
"I'm very happy with this and looking forward to getting it. I put off pre-ordering the Razor Crest until today so was able to get the GWP and the double VIP. The texture of the base looks good to me and far superior to the flat green slab from the Endor one. At the very least, it's a lot of free parts."
Bravo!!! I did exactly the same! Also redeemed my VIP point code for the Boost Polybag figures. Thankfully, I held out for the Razor Crest, as there wasn’t a single new system set to come out in April/May. Which, IMO, is so odd. This will likely be one of the most rare premium with purchases, provided it is not re-released.