Finding new ways and creative ways to satisfy the Star Wars community is a never-ending task for LEGO, and with the arrival of two accessory packs – 40557 Defense of Hoth and 40558 Clone Trooper Command Station – it looks like they’ve come across a winning idea.
Fans of the City, Marvel, DC, Ninjago, and Harry Potter themes have been enjoying these accessory packs since 2019, but Star Wars collectors are only getting them now with the release of the Winter wave at the start of 2022.
The unique packaging, as well as their trial nature, is an indication of why these are exclusive to LEGO stores in the bricks and mortar world; retailers prefer boxed to pegged items because they need less shelf space.
This means it’s going to be a long time before these start making it to the mass market, and gives LEGO an additional draw to its online and real-world footprints.
40558 Clone Trooper Command Station
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| Ages | Pieces | VIP Points | Item | Minifigures | Value |
Packaged on a backer card that’s reminiscent of Hasbro’s action figures, the minifigure-shaped blister contains three clone troopers and an assortment of accompanying accessories, providing all the builder needs to provide a forward command post to the Grand Army of the Republic in a quick 10-minute build that wouldn’t cause the youngest fan to struggle.
Assembling the three minifigures first delivers a yellow-helmet Clone Trooper Commander and two regular Clone Troopers in phase 1 armor, as befits the first generation of clones who took part in the Battle of Geonosis at the very beginning of the Clone Wars. All three are armed with short blasters that have their barrels extended by black candle elements for their DC-15S blasters.
Following that, the first accessory to be built is the weapon rack. It holds two long blasters with extended barrels (and represents a BlasTech DC-15A blaster rifle) and has a small console. The second build is the command station, a slimmed-down version of the forward command center that Yoda took up station in on Geonosis. Its consoles and computer panels are augmented by two communication arrays, and overall it does a great job of filling in a gap on the battlefield.
Comparing these to the much-loved battle pack shows that at roughly $5 per minifigure it isn’t as economical as the earlier battle packs which contained four minifigures at $3 each. That said, the reduction in packaging is a good indicator of where LEGO is heading with its sustainability, though – unless it’s made of bio-plastic – the blister is a setback.
That this set has been released in the year that will enjoy the 20th anniversary of the release of Attack of the Clones is likely not a coincidence, and one can hope that more sets from this ill-represented installment of the Skywalker Saga will follow. Whether it is happenstance or not that this set, which depicts the opening battle of the Clone Wars, is made up of 66 pieces will likely never be known.
This set is only available through LEGO.com and its branded stores for US$14.99 / CA$18.99 / UK£13.49 / DE€14.99 / AU$24.99, while stocks last.
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