Welcome to our LEGO 75329 review, the last in our mini series of LEGO Star War's Diorama collection reviews. If you've followed our LEGO Dagobah Training Diorama and LEGO Death Star Trash Compactor reviews, then you'll already know what you're getting in for today.
For those who haven't been following along, though, today's post is just a detailed review of the LEGO Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama set, where we look at everything from the price to the building experience, and all the good and bad points along the way.
So if you're ready to hear our thoughts, buckle yourself into your X-Wing, and get ready to jump to hyperspace because it's coming at you thick and fast today folks!
Also read: How To Light Up 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama
Set Details
First, let's talk about the set itself. LEGO Star Wars 75329 is the Death Star Trench Run Diorama, which means it's representing that all-important scene from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope where Luke takes his X-Wing to the one and only spot on the Death Star that's vulnerable to attack (strange that the engineer could make a planet-destroying Death Star completely indestructible apart from one small part in the trench, but hey, that's a matter for Darth Vader to bring up at his insurance meeting...).
The point is, this is an important scene for the entire franchise, not just Episode IV, so getting it right is important for LEGO if they want to keep us loyal Star Wars fans happy, right? And leaving everything else aside for a moment, and just focussing on the look of the finished set, they don't disappoint.
Over the 665 piece set, they manage to capture:
- Luke's X-Wing
- Darth Vader's Tie Advanced Fighter
- 2 Tie Fighters
- The intensity of the movie scene
- The details of the Death Star's trench
- And many other small nods to the movie that fans will appreciate
So, yes, LEGO impresses on that front. But you'll need to look at more than just the aesthetic before this set drops on April 26th 2022, to decide if it's for you...
Price
One of those things you'll want to focus on is the price, right? And at $59.99, this is the cheapest of the Diorama collection so far, so it sounds like a pretty sweet deal. When you work it out as price per part, then you're paying less than 10 cents a brick for this one considering it's 665 pieces, so for many people it'll seem like a reasonable price to pay.
However, keep reading today's post and you might just find out something that'll shock you considering the near-$60 asking price... Still, compared to the other two Diorama sets (the Dagobah Training and the Death Star Trash Compactor Dioramas), we'd have to say that this one is the best value for money.
Building Experience
Another really important aspect for us LEGO fans is the building experience. It's why we consume our Star Wars products via LEGO, because not only do we want to admire the scenes, but we want to feel like we've achieved something by building them to begin with. And in terms of the building experience, yet again, LEGO gets it right.
The building instructions are really clear, and helpfully LEGO splits the build up into two parts which then connect to each other (the base and the back of the build, essentially) which is actually very convenient for those of us with busy lives.
Have a little time to spare this afternoon and a little time next week? No problem, with this set you can easily split the build in two and pick up where you left off without a problem.
Once the two parts are built, you simply line up the back of the build with the base and fix them into place with the two rods that come with the set and Voila, it'll hold in place.
And don't worry if that build technique sounds flimsy, we can assure you that this build is solid and robust, and it won't move anywhere easily, so as a display piece, you can be confident it'll stay looking its best.
Without a doubt, the fun build experience and resulting sturdy build makes this one feel more like it's worth that premium price tag.
Minifigure Deep Dive
One area where you might feel like the price is a little steep is with the minifigures. Why? Because there aren't any. None. Nada. And for a $60 set, this is disappointing.
Yes, it's cheaper than the others, and yes, it's depicting a scene that takes place in battle ships as Luke careers towards the vulnerable spot on the Death Star, but to have no minifigures in a set of this size for a set of this price, is disappointing.
And we take the point that the only real minifigures they could have used would have been Pilot Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader and LEGO have done them so many times that any fan of LEGO Star Wars will already have them anyway, but LEGO has proven that they don't mind reusing old minifigures in their new sets (just look at Leia and Chewwie from the Trash Compactor Diorama, or Yoda from the Dagobah Training Diorama), so why they didn't find room for Luke and Darth Vader here is beyond us.
After all, the whole point behind this new Diorama range from LEGO is to show off some of the best LEGO Star Wars movie scenes in all their glory, and without the characters, what would that scene have been? Just a few Tie Fighters firing at a random X-Wing without context. And that's sort of what this feels like after you've spent $60 on it and realized there are no minifigures to be found...
The Goods
We're not saying this is a poor set by a long shot. In fact, there are many things to love about it and we can round-up the main ones for you below:
- The instruction guide that ships with this set is especially interesting - showing behind the scene images from the movies and explaining how they created it, which, for Star Wars fans, will be interesting to find out more.
- The scene itself looks amazing - it's action-packed and tense, and the X-Wing escaping the 3 Tie Fighters looks exciting and it's something that is definitely display worthy.
- Intricate details - the defense turrets all over the Death Star are featured in this set and you can move the position to track Luke's X-Wing, and there's even a printed R2-D2 tile on the top of the X-Wing to represent how he helped during the movie scene (but we have more to say on this tile in the 'Bads' section below, too...)
- Trench Run looks amazing - the way they have created the scene with the pipes along the Trench, and the lasers coming from the Tie Fighters is really impressive and this all adds to the drama and realism of the set - which it has in spades!
- 'The Force is strong with this one.' Darth Vader quote - one of the most recognizable from the franchise, and this quote tile at the front of the set automatically transports you back to hearing that quote for the first time and realizing that there was way more to Luke and Vader's relationship than met the eye...
The Bads
As always, with the goods come the bads:
- $60 set with no minifigures - we can't get past this one and many of you won't be able to as well, especially considering it's only 665 pieces and is 4 inches tall x 8.5 inches wide... It just seems too pricey.
- Rear of this set is bland - this isn't something that would usually bother us about a display set like this, since the back of display pieces usually are bland, but when you take into account that the Jedi Training Diorama had an interior shot of Yoda's Hut at the back and the Death Star Trash Compactor has R2-D2 and C3PO at the back trying to stop the compactor from crushing their friends, this one falls flat. It's just a bunch of gray tiles and it's a shame they couldn't work something interesting into this one too.
- Back to the printed R2-D2 tile now - considering everybody's favorite droid features in all 3 of the new Diorama sets, we were hoping to see the exciting, freshly designed R2 minifigure we get in the other 2, so to have R2's presence in this one simply be a printed tile is a nice nod to the scene, but feels lacking when you compare it to the other 2 Dioramas.
- Overall, this is the Diorama with the least amount of play features - in fact, there are precisely 0. Once everything is set up, sure, you can move the ships ever so slightly on their stands to rotate them a little, but that's all the movement you get. This is a true display piece in every sense of the word, but with the other 2 Diorama sets catering to every type of fan, this one feels like it has been specifically designed for older fans who don't play with their sets at all. And yes, these fans deserve representation in the sets that LEGO offers, but when the other 2 Diorama sets cater to every type of fan, you'd have hoped LEGO would have repeated it again here. They don't, so it's disappointing for those who like a little play with their display.
The Verdict
We've probably complained more about this set than the other 2, and whilst we still love this set, for us, it's probably the least exciting of the 3 new Diorama sets for LEGO Star Wars. Throughout our LEGO Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama review, we've learned that whilst the price is the best of the lot, you get less for your money as a result, and that's disappointing.
Don't get us wrong, we'll still be picking up the set, but mostly just to complete the Diorama collection. It's an exciting set depicting an exciting scene, but it just seems to fall a little flatter than the others. Any big LEGO Star Wars fan will want this set anyway, but maybe it'll be worth waiting for the price to drop a little before picking it up. At least then you won't miss the play elements and minifigures quite so much...
Lightailing Light Kits
Of course, you can bring even the most lackluster LEGO sets in the world to life with a Lightailing light kit, so we thought we'd just finish by suggesting one of our kits for LEGO 75329. Making your own light kit can be a lot of fun, and when you add it to the set, you can get much more satisfaction from your display pieces since they'll really pop and stand out from the rest.
We can picture it now - the way the X-Wing lights up as it tears along the Death Star Trench, or the way the Tie Fighters shine as the light from their lasers flash as they fire away.
You can make this scene much more powerful with a light kit from us, and all you need to do is head to our Product page and buy the parts you need today. That way, when this set arrives on April 26th, you'll be able to make it even more special!
