Entry posted by xccj
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Onto more quick set reviews!
Today I’m looking at 75090 Ezra’s Speeder Bike. This is from the new Star Wars Rebels cartoon, which is actually pretty decent. It features Ezra, the main character and a Jedi-in-training, along with ally Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian, against a generic Stormtrooper. Ezra and Stormy have appeared in last year’s Rebels sets. (In particular, this exact Stormtrooper, who I guess has some slightly different printing, including blue vents, that makes him stand out from others.) Sabine, however, is the last of the Rebel crew to appear in minifig form. While Ezra’s character looks close enough to the cartoon version to work (although maybe a little taller than he should be. . . guess they don’t want to give him short legs) Sabine’s character looks a little off. The hair piece especially seems too large for her (and I do believe it is a new mold?). Maybe the slenderness of her character didn’t translate into fig form very well. Normally that doesn’t bother me, but it does this time. 
She also doesn’t have her colorful Mandalorian helmet, but it sounds like they’re saving that for a pricier set this summer, so maybe she’ll look better then.
As for the bikes, my first reaction was disappointment when I realized both have the same designs with just different colors. Like, it’s not even a Toa Inika kind of thing where the structure is the same with some different armor and weapons; these bikes are completely identical, with only color differences to set them apart. But after building the bikes, I find that this doesn’t bother me too much, because they have some excellent builds. There’s a lot of interesting SNOT designs (studs not on top) and a bunch of curved slopes that really makes the vehicle have a smooth exterior. I know I’m not a very knowledgeable Lego Star Wars fan, since I really only started collecting a few years ago, but these are the best Speeder Bike designs I’ve seen. (And I’ve bought like 3 other sets that came with one, so at least I have some experience on the matter.) As it is, I’m totally fine having the same design repeated twice, because it’s a good design. (Like the Bohrok. . . although I won’t be buying twelve different speeder bikes just for a completion’s sake.) Anyway, they’re stable and relatively swooshable, and having two of them means you have a fairly even field as far as the chase goes.
As far as pieces are concerned, you get 253 in a $19.99 USD set. That’s actually a pretty good value, as far as Star Wars sets are concerned, even if a lot of those are small detailing pieces. You get a bunch of SNOT bricks and brackets, and a fair amount of curved slopes, including a few exclusive ones in dark green. Plus, the trans bright green 1x1 studs for Ezra’s stud launchers, which are still a fairly uncommon piece. Oh, and Ezra has a light-sabor coming out of some binoculars; this makes absolutely no sense unless you’ve seen the show, but there is a reason for it. IMO it looks cooler in the show.
Anyway, it does seem like kind of a niche set for those who watch the cartoon and not so much for those who only follow the movies. (But hey, they’ve been doing Clone Wars cartoon sets for a while too, so nothing new there.) Still, good characters (or passable, in Sabine’s case, even if she could be better) and great bike designs make it worthwhile. If you’re interested in the material anyway.
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