A Special Report from Agent Hunt
On April 1st, Lego released five sets commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Lego Star Wars theme, each set came with a new version of an old set, as well as a limited edition minifigure presented in their original guise. These minifigs (Darth Vader, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian) are pretty much the main reason people will want to buy these sets as they each come with a commemorative stand and look pretty snazzy.
Anakin’s Podracer is a set I wasn’t overly hyped about as I never had the original, but I am a completionist and unsurprisingly the set is already available at a marked-down price if you shop around. Officially it’s an homage to the 1999 set (7371) which also came with Anakin and Padme. The design, however, borrows heavily from the 2011 Anakin Vs Sebulba set and a lot of the designs are the same.
The Build
Anakin’s Podracer is built from three bags. The first contains the cockpit, stand and anniversary version of Luke Skywalker. The cockpit itself is compact and doesn’t use any unusual building techniques, but aside from the eight (!) stickers, is fun to build.
The second and third bags contain an engine each, and the latter bag has the set’s other two minifigures. The engines are quite involved given the relatively small number of parts, but I didn’t really enjoy the build. Some of the assembly designed to give texture was a bit fiddly. There are a further three stickers on each engine.
Thoughts On The Set
I knew there was a reason for holding off on this one, and that reason was justified. I don’t really know who this set is aimed at. I’m reminded of the AT-RT is as much as it looks good, but it doesn’t look enough like the source material to be a quality display piece. The display/flight stand is great for kids (with tiny hands) but detracts from those looking for something that will grace a shelf. The engines are over-textured and feel more could have been better done with fewer elements.
The many stickers add to screen accuracy, but most are small and tricky to place. The 1×3 slope at the back of the cockpit has three stickers on it alone. Anakin and Padme also graced the original set, albeit they’re more accurate now as neither has adult sized legs anymore! Both figures look good, as does the Luke Skywalker figure. I wish it came also came with Anakin’s pit droid like the original set.
Should You Buy It?
If you can pick it for $20 or less then sure. When built the set is 14” long so does take up a surprising amount of shelf space and despite adjustable vanes, has little play-value. If you only have $20 and need to choose, I’d take the Imperial Dropship instead.
Agent Hunt aka Mike Laybourne (@mikelaybourne) is a British husband and father to two girls. Aside from briefly playing bass in a short-lived band, he’s never had any musical aspirations despite being fortunate enough to live in Manchester; the music capital of the world. He can be found contributing to the4thlinepodcast.com and believes everything sounds better on vinyl. Check out his previous A to Z Playlist or his other Collaborated British Isles A to Z Playlist.