Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Star Wars set 75381 Droideka, a box of 583 pieces available since May 1, 2024 on the official store at the public price of €64.99 and for a little less elsewhere.

You will have understood this if you were already passionate about LEGO products in the 2000s, this product stamped with the logo celebrating the 25th anniversary of the LEGO Star Wars range pays homage to the LEGO Technic version of the Droideka then marketed under the reference 8002 Droid Destroyer.

From the initial approach exclusively based on elements from the Technic ecosystem, only a few subassemblies using these parts remain here but the reference to the version of the time is very present.

The Droideka gains here in finish thanks to the balanced mix between beams and more classic parts, it is in my opinion aesthetically very successful if you observe the thing from a certain distance.

Up close, it's visually a little messy in places but the challenge was met and I think the designer is doing quite well. The construction remains fragile in places, it will be necessary to handle it with care, especially when trying to take advantage of THE integrated functionality: the possibility of putting the droid into a ball.

The transformation process is relatively simple but the droid is not fully modular. It is indeed necessary to temporarily remove its three legs to reverse their direction and then fold the arms and the central mane to obtain the desired effect.

We could have hoped for a better integrated solution to reverse the direction of the legs but this is a detail which does not harm the product as the simple possibility of being able to put it in a moving position is appreciable. In the other direction, the Droideka obviously does not deploy automatically, it must be manually returned to the attack position.

We are therefore here more on an exhibition model which offers two distinct variants than on a toy with accomplished functionalities, this Droideka is designed to end its career on the corner of a shelf instead of spending hours rolling on the ground between the hands of the youngest fans.

This bias is reinforced by the presence of a plate distilling a few facts about the droid like the products in the range Ultimate Collector Series. The presence of the small display supporting the plaque, the brick celebrating the 25th anniversary of the LEGO Star Wars range and the micro version of the Droideka may seem superfluous but it is ultimately this accessory which announces the color and gives its model positioning to the product , while creating a collector's effect which seems rather appreciated by collectors.

The mini thing that sits on the display and which in principle is also a Droideka on a reduced scale is not the best, but we will still appreciate the effort to expand a little on the support delivered in this box with a reproduction of the main model: it is completely in line with the other products which use the same “collector” layout.

For those who are wondering, the plate presenting the droid is pad printed as in the sets of the universe Ultimate Collector Series but you still have to stick a few stickers on the body of the main construction of the set. This Droideka will, however, do just fine without these stickers if you decide not to apply them.

I am on arrival rather convinced by this modernized homage and which makes good use of the complementarity between the elements of the Technic ecosystem and the more classic pieces of the LEGO inventory, it is in my opinion very successful and the possibility putting the Droideka into a ball is a nice refinement.

The few black whips used are annoying because they never fail to come off, the whole thing is a little fragile in places especially when transforming the droid but the construction still looks great.

As is often the case, it will be appropriate to try to pay a little less than the €65 requested by LEGO, unless you take advantage of the May the 4th promotional operation currently in progress on the official online store to offer you some gifts in thank you for your financial effort. I gave in without waiting, this set is worth the effort in my opinion and the products offered more than compensate for the impression of having paid a little too much for what it really has to offer.

MAY THE 4TH 2024 ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 11th May 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : the set is online on the official store at this address.

Notice to fans of city dioramas, from August 2024, XNUMX they will be able to add a tram to their city using the LEGO CITY set. 60423 Downtown Tram, a box of 811 pieces which will be available at the public price of €89.99. On the program, a platform, a few rails, a tram in three sections and a handful of minifigs which give pride of place to inclusiveness.

The set is not yet online on the official LEGO store, it will be directly accessible via the link above as soon as this is the case. Other products are obviously expected in the same range, you will have to wait for resellers to list them in their catalog or for LEGO to announce them.