LEGO BB-8
December 2017
Andy
Andy
Manufacturer:
LEGO, product code 75187
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Size:
25H x 15W cm (without stand)
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Year of release:
2017
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Price:
£84.99 / $99.99
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Ah, BB-8. An instant hit after appearing in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the little astromech droid quickly gained a cult following, coupled of course with the inevitable blitzkrieg of orange and white merchandise that hit the shelves both before and after the movie’s release at the end of 2015. This cult following will no doubt be further cemented by an excellent performance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
I, like most people, was a huge fan of BB-8 in The Force Awakens. The little droid’s actions and sounds were very cleverly designed – it’s amazing how a series of beeps and movements actually translated into emotions and feelings translatable to a human’s. One scene is particularly memorable…
Finn is attempting to persuade BB-8 to share the location of the rebel base. BB-8’s dome-head (is it even a head? Do droids have heads? Let’s call it a dome for now, but share your thoughts fans!) moves side to side and up and down rather sheepishly, and then after sharing the location, a small hatch opens and a blowtorch unfurls and ignites. Effectively BB-8’s thumbs-up. Awesome! |
“But I thought we were here to talk about LEGO”, I hear you cry! Well, the above is very relevant, because LEGO often includes mechanisms or actions to replicate things that happened in the movies. At first, it seems like the LEGO BB-8 is a static model, similar in scale to the Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2 (set 10225), but upon closer inspection, the dome has some movement and there is a built-in mechanism for the thumbs-up blowtorch sequence, which is really cool. More on that later.
As you can imagine, I had to add this piece to my LEGO Star Wars collection, and I was really pleased to see it on offer in Tesco back in November 2017, priced at just £56.00. Against the RRP of £84.99, I considered this very good value and got my hands on a set. I couldn’t wait to get inside the box (which has the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi branding for 2017). Inside was a large and comprehensive instruction manual running to a total of 168 pages, 6 numbered bags of LEGO bricks containing a total of 1106 pieces, and a single sticker for the adjoining plaque that forms part of the stand. Now, this BB-8 set isn’t officially part of the Ultimate Collector Series, but the plaque is one of the features that cross over to that range. This, coupled with the black Technic stand and the set’s similarity to UCS R2-D2 10225, means that in many fans’ eyes, this set is an honorary member of the UCS ‘stable’. Time will tell if this is reflected in the future value of the set, which tend to skyrocket once they are retired by LEGO. |
On to the build…
I expected great things from the BB-8 build, and on the whole, I was not disappointed. The designers at LEGO have done a great job in designing a spherical shape out of mostly squares and rectangles. A small number of pieces have an angled or gradient top and they help to create a little smoothness to the sphere shape, but it is mostly a very gradual squared off sphere using a number of 1x1 pieces to help reduce the visual impact of the angular edges. I’ll get the one minor negative out of the way first, and that is that the build is a little repetitive. This was no great shock. After all, the set is essentially a cube with each of the six faces built up using layers to make the overall shape more spherical. Each ‘face’ of the cube is similar but not identical, offering just enough variance to keep me interested. LEGO aided this by not having me build all six ‘faces’ in one go but instead breaking up the process with a few of the other elements of the build. |
Talking about other elements, let’s address the really cool flame thumbs-up feature, which shares the inner workings with the movement mechanism for BB-8’s top piece. The entire thing is pretty much a frame that is built using a number of LEGO Technic parts. It includes a clever cog and slider based mechanism for the thumbs-up, and a rocking and spinning mechanism for the dome, which is made much more realistic by the simple use of an elastic band. I cannot stress this enough, the movement really is superb and very cleverly integrated within the build.
Each side of BB-8 has a circular panel, and three of the four are actually used as part of the movement mechanism. One can be turned a full 360 degrees, spinning and moving the dome piece. The faster this wheel is turned, the more lateral movement the dome has, creating the movie-realistic rocking motion. The second, on the opposite side, can be turned around 180 degrees, pushing opening the third panel to reveal the thumbs-up sequence. Turning the second back to its original position retracts the thumbs up, but leaves the panel open. It would be a nice touch for it to close automatically, but I don’t see how this could easily be incorporated into the design without adding much more complexity to an already complex inner structure (and packed, there really isn’t much room in there!).
Each side of BB-8 has a circular panel, and three of the four are actually used as part of the movement mechanism. One can be turned a full 360 degrees, spinning and moving the dome piece. The faster this wheel is turned, the more lateral movement the dome has, creating the movie-realistic rocking motion. The second, on the opposite side, can be turned around 180 degrees, pushing opening the third panel to reveal the thumbs-up sequence. Turning the second back to its original position retracts the thumbs up, but leaves the panel open. It would be a nice touch for it to close automatically, but I don’t see how this could easily be incorporated into the design without adding much more complexity to an already complex inner structure (and packed, there really isn’t much room in there!).
Once the main ball of the droid is complete, it is onto the dome. Small amounts of movement are built into this in the form of adjustable antennae and the main black circle, which I assume (maybe incorrectly) is the ‘eye-piece’. Once completed, it simply slots into the main ball with a reassuring click. The LEGO designers have done a great job with the dome. Given the relatively small dimensions, they have packed in a huge amount of detail. The only improvement I would suggest is a colour hue closer to silver for the accents, instead of the duller grey used.
The UCS-style stand that comes with BB-8 are robust enough to hold it in place for display, but moving the figure can easily dislodge a couple of the pieces that hold it upright. A small gripe, but I would expect these to be a little firmer. As with all stickers, I held my breath and went very slowly when applying it to the shiny black plastic plaque that attaches neatly to the frame. I think you either like stickers or you don’t. Personally, I hate them and would prefer all parts like this to be printed, but loads of you guys love them too so it’s a divided subject. Let us know what you prefer! Also included is a BB-8 minifigure, and there is a dedicated space for it to be displayed, right in front of the larger brick-built version. |
Verdict
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed building the set. I think the movement mechanism is fantastic in both its design and realism, which is a real selling point that helps justify the fairly steep RRP of £84.99. Yes, the ratio of 7.7 pence per piece is actually comparatively cheap for Star Wars branded sets, but most of the pieces are fairly small so on that basis, the RRP I feel is a little high.
Regardless of that, it’s a great set, it looks absolutely brilliant on display in my sitting room and I would thoroughly recommend it. If you can get your hands on one, you will not be disappointed. And of course, let us know what you think of the build!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed building the set. I think the movement mechanism is fantastic in both its design and realism, which is a real selling point that helps justify the fairly steep RRP of £84.99. Yes, the ratio of 7.7 pence per piece is actually comparatively cheap for Star Wars branded sets, but most of the pieces are fairly small so on that basis, the RRP I feel is a little high.
Regardless of that, it’s a great set, it looks absolutely brilliant on display in my sitting room and I would thoroughly recommend it. If you can get your hands on one, you will not be disappointed. And of course, let us know what you think of the build!
Andy
p.s. Thanks to our mate Scott, who upon seeing my 7.7p per brick statement, said maybe they used the droid’s name as inspiration and made sure you could Buy Bricks for 8p. GROAN!!!
p.s. Thanks to our mate Scott, who upon seeing my 7.7p per brick statement, said maybe they used the droid’s name as inspiration and made sure you could Buy Bricks for 8p. GROAN!!!