Always the ever-inventive company, LEGO has delivered Star Wars collectors a whole new way to access minifigures and interesting add-ons with the arrival of two accessory packs – 40557 Defense of Hoth and 40558 Clone Trooper Command Station.
While fans of the City, Marvel, DC, Ninjago, and Harry Potter themes have enjoyed these blister packs since 2019, advocates of the Star Wars theme have had to wait until the release of the Winter wave at the start of 2022 to get their first taste.
The striking nature of this set’s 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 boxes to pegged items because they fill up shelves more easily than products that need specialist displays.
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.
Packaged within a backer card, the cunningly-shaped blister contains three minifigures and three accompanying accessories, providing all the builder needs to engage in some small unit tactics.
40557 Defence of Hoth
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| Ages | Pieces | VIP Points | Item | Minifigures | Value |
Opened by breaking the seals at the back, the contents – packaged in a single baggie – and the instructions slide slid out easily and provide an easy 10-minute build.
First to get assembled are the two tripod guns and power supplies (which look so much like boom boxes that it’s easy to imagine the Rebel troops working their way through their playlist while they wait to see the whites of the Imperials eyes) and then it’s on to the rotating laser cannon blaster – or Radar Laser Cannon if you hail from the old Kenner days.
The included weaponry would be useless without trained troopers to handle them, so included with this accessory pack are three minifigures: one white male who is presumably the operator of the rotating laser cannon blaster, and two trench fighters (a Black male with a graying beard and a Latino/Asian female).
Comparing these to the much-loved battle pack shows that, at $14.99, this is a more affordable way to get your army started than the currently available 75320 Snowtrooper Battle Pack, but 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.
After having received three Imperial sets – 75313 AT-AT, 75322 Hoth AT-ST, and 75320 Snowtrooper Battle Pack – from the Hoth theatre of war, it’s nice to finally get a Rebel complement. It’s just a shame that they are so numerically outmatched. More, please!
This set is available only 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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