Review: LEGO Star Wars 75278 DO

Today we quickly tour the LEGO Star Wars set 75278 DO (519 pieces), a novelty that will be available on the official online store from April 19 at the public price of 74.99 € / 89.90 CHF.

As was already the case for sets 75187BB-8 et 75230 Porg, it is about assembling an exhibition model of one of the many mascots that the LEGO Star Wars universe imposes on us over the episodes of the saga. DO is therefore the character we love or hate in the latest episode and LEGO offers us an adaptation based on bricks that we sell as a product for collectors accompanied by its presentation plate.

The assembly of the model is rather interesting with some original techniques which allow to realize the wheel of the droid. The "belt" of parts threaded onto flexible tubes which must then be bent to obtain the tread is well thought out and even if one doubts for a moment the reliability of the solution imagined by the designer, it must be recognized that everything is fits correctly when it comes to connecting the two ends of the headband to the inner part of the wheel. Two side panels showing the various details seen on the screen on the body of the droid finish filling the spaces and the whole is mounted on the presentation stand. At this point, we obviously understand that the wheel does not turn on itself and that's a bit of a shame.

The droid's black neck is then set up via an offset arm attached to the wheel. It is consistent with the version seen on the screen and so far the result is aesthetically convincing with in particular a few tubes which circulate between the wheel and the stroke of the character. The DO head is for its part composed of half-cones at the base of which is fixed the black plate equipped with antennas via a through axis.

It is at this stage of the assembly that an aesthetic detail seems annoying to me: the head is only fixed to the wheel via an axle plugged into the black neck which turns on itself and, from certain angles, we really have the impression that she is not united with the rest of the droid. I understand that the use of the two white half-cones for the head here requires this type of offset mounting, but I find the solution a little disappointing. Regarding the little green half-cones used for the droid's head: the injection points are really very visible on these elements (the light spots visible in the photos) and it's a bit unsightly.

This droid only has two features, if we can call them that: The head rotates on itself via a first wheel placed on the side arm and it can be tilted forward or back via a second wheel placed lower. Since this is a pure exhibition product, we can consider that these functions only make sense to vary the presentation poses. No one will play with this droid and after a few turns of the dial to put it in the desired position we quickly move on. I wish I could have tilted the whole droid forward slightly to put it in a more dynamic position and create a displacement effect.

Note that there is only one sticker in this box, that of the presentation plate. The three black bands of the head and the grille of the muzzle are pad printed. The presentation plate is also irrelevant, it only lists some basic information and LEGO could have made an effort on this point, just to strengthen the collector's side of the thing.

LEGO also provides a droid minifigure in this box, it is the one already seen in the sets 75249 Resistance Y-Wing Starfighter et 75257 Millennium Falcon in 2019.

In short, despite the questionable aesthetic compromise at the level of the head, I already know that this exhibition product will necessarily find its audience among those who like to exhibit the various reproductions of droids from the Star Wars universe. DO will take place on a shelf alongside R2-D2 and BB-8 but you will have to deal with the different scales imagined by LEGO: the BB-8 version of the set 75187BB-8 is 25cm tall for a droid who is actually over sixty centimeters tall. The LEGO version of DO will therefore slightly exceed its pal with its 27 cm high for a real screen size of only 30 centimeters. Too bad for the consistency of the duo.

The set is now referenced on the official online store and it will go on sale on April 19. My advice: wait wisely for May 1 and the launch of the offers of May the 4th operation before having fun.

Note: The product presented here, purchased by me, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at April 30th next at 23pm. the shipment of the prize to the winner will only take place when the sanitary situation allows it.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.