LEGO 75098 Assault on Hoth video review

[Sariel]

I seem to be among the first to review the new addition to the UCS line. Long story short: it's not a terrible set, but I have completely no idea why LEGO thinks it belongs with Ultimate Collector's Series. This is everything I DON'T expect to see in a $250 UCS set: old, recycled, cheap and full of cut corners.

To be honest, I find it the UCS badge on this set completely unwarranted, and the price only adds to the insult. This thing has 150 pieces more than the 75060 UCS Slave I set, but somehow it's 25% more expensive. And to make things worse, they were both designed by the same man. I mean, someone decided that the next task for the creator of exquisite 75060 should be "sell these same 4 old sets again".

Edited April 24, 2016 by Sariel

[Markalus]

A very nice detailed review Sariel, thank you! I like the "Wampa" It also looks like you had way too much fun destroying the shield generator, which looked very cool in slow motion by the way. But I think this pretty much confirms the fears of many here. Regardless of the UCS playset vs display debate they have cut so many corners here it beggars belief. Half finished models with ugly backsides, BURPs, exposed technic (& technicolor) pieces and vignettes that are represented by too few elements. I mean really, why couldn't the shield generator have the correct number of fins! And why put a place for a minifig in the ion cannon if the canopy won't close? The minifigs would seem a big draw here for collectors but why do the rebel pilots not have the new helmets with molded visors? And why do most of the rebel soldiers have an almost serene expression on their face as opposed to the ubiquitous angry clone face on the snowtroopers? Maybe the snowtroopers know their fate is sealed in this lopsided "assault"!

Edited April 25, 2016 by Markalus

[Japanbuilder]

I am sure most of us have said our peace on this matter.

LEGO getting stung as these sets fail to sell and the price is reduced by a ton is going to be the only way they learn to either redefine what UCS means or simply not make a UCS set like this ever again.

Even as a recently returned AFOL I certainly expect a lot better than this offering from TLG. But as they say; live and learn right? Like many here I will simply vote with my wallet. That is the best way to get a company's attention.

And with all of that I feel sort of bad for the next UCS set that follows in the wake of this one. Imagine the pressure on the designer too.

[Lobot]

Thanks for the review, Sariel

It has re-inforced my initial thoughts about it - a very expensive playset, but certainly not worthy of the UCS label. I've been looking forward to buying it since I heard the first rumours last year, but like the overwhelming majority I'm very disappointed by the final design. There are some nice little elements, but it looks very unfinished overall - the reverse of the blast doors look awful! The exposed technic parts, and combination of Black and Grey just looks cheap. I'm not usually that bothered by minifigures but the selection seems quite odd. The one highlight is K-3PO, but the others are quite forgettable.

I'm still undecided about buying this on 30th April; I'm highly tempted to wait for the inevitable sale.

[YellowCorvette]

Thanks for the video review!

But this is still a disappointing set for me. The play features is ok, but this set isn't worthy for a UCS label. It is overpriced, the back of the Ion cannon and the blast doors looks terrible, poor collecting value, the build isn't that good, and the minifigure selection is kinda odd (Where is Leia?).

Hope that the new Death Star will be way better than this .

[Calanon]

...but why do the rebel pilots not have the new helmets with molded visors?

Because the new helmets with moulded visors are Resistance flight helmets! That said, this would have been a great way to add Alliance flight helmets with moulded visors. Also would have meant that Wedge & Wes could have had more unique faces.

[Markalus]

Because the new helmets with moulded visors are Resistance flight helmets! That said, this would have been a great way to add Alliance flight helmets with moulded visors. Also would have meant that Wedge & Wes could have had more unique faces.

Rebels/resistance...same/same. A bit like mold vs mould really. But I see you're from the old country so I stand corrected

[merman]

So if you own no Hoth sets at all like me, is it worth the steep price of €279?

[Calanon]

So if you own no Hoth sets at all like me, is it worth the steep price of €279?

It really depends on how badly you want it and if you're willing to spend that much. Personally, I wouldn't say it's worth it and even if I had no Hoth sets I wouldn't buy it unless I had more money than I knew what to do with it or I wanted every set. Unlike other UCS sets this, in my opinion, needs a substantial amount of modding before it can be a good display piece. It's much more a playset, yet the actual assault side is weak and therefore lacks playability too.

[Flandy]

Looks like a "wait for discount" set to me. I hope sales are poor so that happens sooner rather than later. This should never have been a UCS set.

[Only Sinner]

Thanks for the review, Sariel

It has re-inforced my initial thoughts about it - a very expensive playset, but certainly not worthy of the UCS label. I've been looking forward to buying it since I heard the first rumours last year, but like the overwhelming majority I'm very disappointed by the final design. There are some nice little elements, but it looks very unfinished overall - the reverse of the blast doors look awful! The exposed technic parts, and combination of Black and Grey just looks cheap. I'm not usually that bothered by minifigures but the selection seems quite odd. The one highlight is K-3PO, but the others are quite forgettable.

I'm still undecided about buying this on 30th April; I'm highly tempted to wait for the inevitable sale.

So if you own no Hoth sets at all like me, is it worth the steep price of €279?

No, don't buy it just yet. Wait for the inevitable mark-down. TLG is just testing the market to see how gullible people are and want to know if they can get you to pay lots of gold for invisible clothes. Remind TLG of what UCS really means and who ultimately holds the purse strings, here. This should have been a retail playset and never a UCS. We need to let TLG know that we don't appreciate being insulted by a shallow / greedy marketing technique and they might want to rethink their labeling strategy.

LEGO is mostly for ten-year-old kids sure, but those same kids don't buy UCS. We do.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Only Sinner

[Richpepperell]

I'd love to pick up most of the components of this set, but other than May The Fourth, I've never even seen a UCS discounted in the UK. Is there somewhere people are picking up this sort of set on sale that I don't know about? Please share!

[Midlife-crisis]

thank you for your review!

I´m sure now, i will skip this set. UCS? Maybe i will look for minifigs elsewhere. Most disappointing for me is the main gate

the door size compared to the snowspeeder is bad. And the snowspeeder itself is terrible for me.

And if i want shooter overkill i´ll went for battlepacks.

[Schneeds]

Good review. Wasn't planning on getting it before, and definitely will not be now. I still cannot for the life of me figure out why they wasted a UCS slot on this. Shave the UCS label off and the price a bit and literally no one would be complaining right now.

[KevinYoung]

I'll be waiting for discount too. Upon further review this is not a UCS set and price tag is way to high. Let lego know how disappointed we are.

[lanesteele240]

So what do you buy to get up to $150 to get the space slug set. I have all the other sets i want. Ewok village is kinda in the same boat as this and the only set that i dont have. I have an invite to get in early and the money to buy it. I stopped collecting lego and missed the whole original runs of the sub sets. I have three at-at waiting to attack something, a table full of fakeO white 16x32 base plates and need to compete something.

I may get the set and sell the two rebel pilots. Maybe i can get $20-25 each out of them offsetting the stuipd high cost and making it feel less of a gyp. If they had just left off the UCS labe nobody would care.

Any discount will come 1-2 years down the road

[Lobot]

I'd love to pick up most of the components of this set, but other than May The Fourth, I've never even seen a UCS discounted in the UK. Is there somewhere people are picking up this sort of set on sale that I don't know about? Please share!

It's possible that the set may be available at either Argos, TRU or Smyths within a few months (other exclusives have been - X-Wing, R2-D2 and Slave 1) and so you could find it on sale at some point, but you'll need to keep an eye out as they'll sell out fast.

Alternatively, there's just a chance that TLG will discount it although this seems to be less common in recent years; the best I'd expect would be 10-20% but if you can catch it at the same time as other deals (e.g. free polybags etc) it can become quite a good deal. Usually the sales happen on 4th May, 'Brick Friday' and 1st January. A few years ago the UCS B-Wing was sold at 50% off in the US - but it was eventually sold in the UK at 30% off a few months later. If I recall correctly I managed to get my X-Wing at 20% off. This may be a good contender for a 20% discount at some point in the next year - I get the feeling it may have quite a limited shelf-life for a 'UCS' set but time will tell.

[namioik]

Any discount will come 1-2 years down the road

Not quite true, I've seen the UCS B-wing get discounted less than 12 months of its release date! (September to the following May)

[Richpepperell]

It's possible that the set may be available at either Argos, TRU or Smyths within a few months (other exclusives have been - X-Wing, R2-D2 and Slave 1) and so you could find it on sale at some point, but you'll need to keep an eye out as they'll sell out fast.

Alternatively, there's just a chance that TLG will discount it although this seems to be less common in recent years; the best I'd expect would be 10-20% but if you can catch it at the same time as other deals (e.g. free polybags etc) it can become quite a good deal. Usually the sales happen on 4th May, 'Brick Friday' and 1st January. A few years ago the UCS B-Wing was sold at 50% off in the US - but it was eventually sold in the UK at 30% off a few months later. If I recall correctly I managed to get my X-Wing at 20% off. This may be a good contender for a 20% discount at some point in the next year - I get the feeling it may have quite a limited shelf-life for a 'UCS' set but time will tell.

I'll be keeping my eyes peeled - thanks! At 30% off, plus a good polybag I could be tempted. Thinking about it now, I do remember the sandcrawler being heavily discounted in Smythes once (there were never any in stock though!).

[Flandy]

Smyths is pretty good for Discounts, they had the 75105 Millenium Falcon for £20 less than usual 3 days before Christmas! Had the same discount a couple of weeks ago too.

Thinking more, an ongoing discount offers thread would be good where you can post up money off specials you spot in stores and online.

[Navy Trooper Fenson]

So if you own no Hoth sets at all like me, is it worth the steep price of €279?

Depending on which country you live in I think you are even better off money-wise by buying used, retired sets. Really depends on what you want and need. A Wampa cave isn´t needed for the actual battle of Hoth, neither are Tauntauns, that already shaves off some cost. The gate of 7666 is a downgrade to the new one but the new one isn´t exactly perfect as well. As a UCS set I would expect a gate that at least fits a 150€ Millenium Falcon but this doesn´t do it.

The wonder of Lego Star Wars Hoth sets is that if you don´t like a design you can just wait 3 years on average and you will get another try that might better fit you style. It´s not like they will ever stop doing Hoth sets. Though they probably go a bit mad, or at least I do when I think about how this is the SEVENTH re-release of the barely changed Snowspeeder that still makes no attempts to look like the movies model in terms of shape and even color. I wonder, does nobody ever object in the design process, that they use the same, inaccurate model with just slight differences for 12 years now? It feels like really nobody cared at all and designers should start objecting when they see discrepancies like this, making the Flash Speeder police thingie bigger than the AAT tank or giving Kanan a Speeder Bike that is even too big for the 90s Technic Figures, let alone minifigures.

Well, I sure as hell will never buy this. It´s worse than the Ewok Village. With that the biggest fault was missing Lando, Wedge, Nien Numb, the Force Ghosts and replacing them with more Rebels, Scout troopers and the worst version of the Stormtrooper to date.

But here? You really can´t begin describing it all, it´s all the same. I would rather say what they did good for once:

New Rebel Soldiers (first released in the calendar and 30€ Hoth set but they wouldn´t have made those sets without this one in production)

Perfect Rebel Soldiers (well they would be perfect with grey/white moulded legs but that´s too much I presume)

That freight speeder thing

Lukes face

Wes Jansons helmet

All in all? I really hope that there will be new Hoth Battlepacks soon.

[BigEl]

50 bucks cheaper + No UCS = Fine.

The way it is, its absolutely unacceptable!