I loved the LEGO Snowspeeder. Loved. Past tense. My bitterness began when LEGO would re-release the same model over and over again with nary a difference between releases and would even charge more in some cases. And during the entire run of Snowspeeder models there’s one thing that never changed: the canopy. It is absolutely the wrong shape. And it’s been like this for a thousand years!
Okay, so I may be carrying a bit of baggage over the whole thing and it all came screaming back when I pulled today’s polybag, 30384 Snowspeeder, out of the bin.
It’s not a good model. For starters, the nose is all wrong. The Snowspeeder model would normally use a slope brick and the negative space between it and the forward tips of the wings would create the illusion of the angular nose piece. Here, there is no slope and it is completely flattened from the orange tiles.
The orange tiles were used to accommodate the curved slope brick used for the cockpit canopy. Probably the worst way to execute the canopy as it doesn’t look right at all.
The two “shoulders” are comically way too large in relation to the scale of the rest of the ship. They give the Snowspeeder a chibi sort of quality but the end result doesn’t have quite the same level of charm or kawaii-ness. They actually kind of remind me of shoulder pads for women’s power suits from the ’80’s. But like those shoulder pads, these don’t look good either.
The rear radiator actually is a bit clever in how it solves the problem of incorporating the main thrust nozzles. It extends the sideways mounted plate by an additional stud on each side the radiator so a 1×1 cone can be mounted. The cones are in the general proximity of where they should be, close enough for to pass muster.
The rear of the craft also has the requisite harpoon launcher.
The bottom of the ship is worth mentioning only because there are a pair of 1×3 inverted slopes that are part of the landing gear. The slopes are set tandem and not parallel and rely on the wing tips to stabilize it when landed. It’s lame. Hey, I didn’t say it was noteworthy because it was good.
Does It Suck or Does It Rock?
This set sucks! It’s ugly, the proportions are all wrong, and it’s just not a satisfying build. If it weren’t for the angled wings, it almost doesn’t even look like a Snowspeeder.
You Can Win This And Every Other Polybag I Review This Year
I’ll be raffling every polybag I review this year in one big lot, all 260 sets (with the possibility of more). Each set will be individually stored in a ziploc baggie complete with the extra pieces, instructions, and the actual polybag bag it came in. The cost of a raffle ticket is just $1 USD and you can enter as many times as you want. Send a PayPal payment to paypal@fbtb.net for $1 USD for every ticket you want to purchase. DO NOT send one payment for multiple entries i.e. do not send one $5 USD payment for five tickets; five $1 USD payments must be made insteavd. Raffle is open to everyone in the world except where raffles are illegal. Be sure to put “POLYBAG RAFFLE” in the notes section of the payment in order to be entered successfully. Winner will be drawn sometime early January 2023 and contacted at the PayPal email address the payment was sent from to arrange for delivery. For a running list of all the sets that you can win, check this Google spreadsheet.
