Review: LEGO 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack

May 26, 2017 | 38

I’m not the most illustrious LEGO Star Wars collector and haven’t reviewed much of the theme – I mostly just collect the recent UCS sets, and a couple of Original Trilogy sets where my budget permits but it isn’t that much of a focus for me as say, Super Heroes, Friends or Elves.

I also think that the Star Wars theme has gotten pretty stale in the last few releases, so I haven’t really bought much of the theme – I think the last set I got was the AT-ST from Rogue One, which was ages ago.

That said, the upcoming “Summer” wave of Star Wars sets (or Winter, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere like me) did catch my eye and I was determined to get a few.

The Star Wars sets had an early release in Asia, and a good friend of mine sent some over so I could review them early, so to kick things off, let’s take a look at 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack!

UPDATE: Apparently, the new wave of Star Wars sets have been spotted in the wild in Target Australia, so I’d check my local if I were you to see if they’re already on shelves!

Name: Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack
Set Number: 75167
Pieces: 125
Price: AU$22.99 | US$14.99 | £11.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK] [Amazon]
Exclusive to: N/A
Minifigures: 4
Theme: Star Wars
Release Date: 1 June 2017

It was hard not to be drawn to  75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack, which features a colourful cast of LEGO Star Wars Bounty Hunters – 4-LOM, IG-88, Dengar and Bossk, all one in really affordable battle pack!

Who are these Bounty Hunters?

Still don’t ring any bells? These Bounty Hunters (along with Boba Fett) had extremely minimal screentime in Empire Strikes Back, and they were tasked by Darth Vader to capture the Millennium Falcon.

They made the briefest of appearances aboard Darth Vader’s flagship, the Executor, so don’t blame yourself if you don’t immediately recognize them. They’re pretty obscure characters but because they’re Bounty Hunters like Boba Fett, they’re deeply beloved by the Star Wars community.

The Bounty Hunters, with the exception of 4-LOM, who makes his debut in this set have had very minimal appearances in sets, most notably in various Slave 1 incarnations, as well as the UCS Super Star Destroyer which I don’t own. Dengar has also popped up recently in the Eclipse Fighter set.

The LEGO Star Wars Bounty Hunter Battle Pack’s most appealing draw is its price – AU$22.99 | US$14.99 | £11.99 for 4 named Star Wars characters is unbelievable value and I predict that this set will sell like hot cakes.

As it’s a Battle Pack, which is for all intents and purposes a glorified minifigure pack, this review is going to be a little light, but let’s take a look at what this set has to offer.

The set’s only buildable model is a Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike which has a very striking and attractive azure blue and grey colour scheme. Unlike other Battle Pack builds, this Speeder Bike is actually pretty impressively designed.

The designers nailed the Speeder Bike’s design, and the use of bright blue elements helps make the details pop and makes for quite an attractive package.

As this is a Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike, its arsenal of weaponry is also quite formidable, with blue laser cannons on the front, stud blasters flanking the driver’s seat, and more blasters attached to the back.

Unlike most Battle Pack builds which sometimes feel like an afterthought, or random selection of parts to build something, this Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike is a really attractive and tightly designed model – something that you would have no problem displaying next to your other Star Wars sets.

The minifigures are of course the only reason why you’d buy this set (or battle packs in general), so let’s jump straight into it.

First up we have 4-LOM, a protocol droid gone rogue, turning into a life of thievery and bounty hunting. His head looks like a giant robotic mosquito or insect thanks to the large orange compound eyes and proboscis-like mouthpieces.

He has a torso design that’s reminiscent of LEGO protocol droids like C-3PO, with some terrific rusted details adorning his body. The orange rusted sections contrast really nicely against the dark grey base, giving him a very worn and derelict appearance.

I love the design of the headpiece, it’s really cool and has a bit of an alien-look to it, thanks to the large compound eyes. I do wish his eyes had just a bit more colour as it does blend into the the rest of his head, with the colour looking quite fade.

4-LOM is pretty cool, I really love the concept of a protocol droid gone rogue, and I’m a big fan of his rusted torso design.

Up next is everyone’s favourite Assassin Droid, IG-88. This marks the first time we’ve gotten an IG-88 minifigure since the Super Star Destroyer, and I’m also happy to note that he’s gotten a few upgrades since his last outing in 2011.

We still get the same droid body in gunmetal grey, but we get a new printed headpiece which has a much more accurate design. Compared to the older IG-88, this one doesn’t have the comically large “eyes” and the orange spots (which I guess are sensors?) are also much more clearly defined, having benefited from current-day printing enhancements.

IG-88 has a clip on his back to hold a long blaster rifle – he’s the only Bounty Hunter in this battle back to get a proper blaster rifle – which is so much better than those stud blasters that are plaguing LEGO Star Wars.

Fans will no doubt be very happy with an affordable way of getting an IG-88, (instead of dropping a thousand dollars for the SSD) and it being slightly superior to his predecessor is yet another big plus.

Next is Dengar, who has had a bit more face time throughout the LEGO Star Wars universe, recently showing up in the Freemaker Adventures set, Eclipse Fighter. As far as I can tell, Dengar is almost identical to the one from the Eclipse Fighter set.

Dengar has got his trademark white turban (which is the same piece as the the one from Series 15’s Clumsy Guy), and his brown armour piece which has some sandy dirt stains on it. The print on his torso is remarkably accurate when compared to his on-screen version.

Dengar’s got a simple brick-built backpack on his back.

Here’s a look at his back printing, which has more of that sandy dirt design on him.

“So how did you hurt your head?”

Mostly very happy with Dengar. His design is mostly quite sound, and very accurate to the on-screen version. Some additional printing on his arms and legs would’ve been nice, but it really doesn’t detract much from his overall look.

I also think it’s really remarkable and clever that they managed to re-use the bandage hat from Clumsy Guy! It just works so seamlessly well!

Last but not least is everyone’s favourite reptillian bounty hunter, Bossk. Last seen in the Super Star Destroyer along with his mate IG-88, Bossk is a cult favourite when it comes to bounty hunters, mostly because who doesn’t like the idea of a humanoid lizard bounty hunter?

His popularity has also had a bit of a resurgence thanks to being included as a playable character in the Star Wars Battlefront game which has done a pretty good job solidifying his character as a bona fide galactic bad-ass.

Bossk is hands down my favourite minifigure in this battle pack. The moulding and details of his reptillian head are just stunning. His sallow orange eyes and toothy smile are superb, I especially like how they managed to get the white teeth inside his mouth painted.

The olive green shade of Bossk’s skin is also so much more accurate to his onscreen depiction.

His torso design has also received a massive upgrade from the Super Star Destroyer version, with plenty of intricate details on his suit. I also really like the printing on his legs, which has clawed feet on it!

Here’s a look at Bossk’s back printing.

The lack of side leg printing and arm printing is a bit of a letdown, but it still doesn’t stop this from being THE definitive Bossk minifigure. I’m still mindblown that they’ve slotted such an exceptional minifigure into a AU$22/US$15 set.

If I could pick out one flaw in this otherwise outstanding set, it would be the choice of weaponry that the Bounty Hunters are given. The stud blasters are poor substitutes for regular Star Wars blasters. The entire squad looks so much cooler and deadly when you place proper blasters in their hands.

I do get the playable aspect of stud blasters, but I wish LEGO would stop forcing them into sets in place of proper guns. For most fans with decent Star Wars collections, this is a really minor issue as you should have enough blasters to swap in for the stud blasters and give these bounty hunters a more appropriate arsenal.

What I liked:

• The set’s affordability
• You’re essentially getting 3 exclusive high quality named minifigs in a battle pack
• Bossk & IG-88’s designs are an upgrade
• The Speeder Bike is well designed

What I didn’t like: 

• Stud blasters
• Actually, nothing at all

Final thoughts: This is such an easy set to award a perfect 5/5 score to. It’s almost absurd how much value is packed into such an affordable package. Let’s get things straight, LEGO Star Wars sets are typically overpriced relative to what you get due to license fees, but the LEGO Bounty Hunter Battle Pack almost feels like an olive branch extended by LEGO, or a “thank you for all the years of support” set.

All the minifigures feel special and the designs are fantastic, but Bossk and 4-LOM gets a special mention for their hyper-accurate designs and for the overall quality of printing and moulding.

This set goes from a 9/10 to a 10/10 by virtue of the Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike, which is wonderfully designed and employs a very sleek colour scheme. It doesn’t feel like a design afterthought or a shoddily conceptualised vehicle that was shoehorn into this set to check the “buildable model” box. The relevance is great and best of all, it wouldn’t look out of place in any Star Wars display.

LEGO could’ve easily introduce these bounty hunters into separate sets as “chase minifigures” and they would’ve been able to get away with it.

The set could really use some additional Star Wars blasters, but that is such a minor, minor complaint in the face of what is quite possibly the best* and most exciting LEGO Star Wars sets out this year.

Zuckuss is missing, but I don’t think LEGO would break the 4-minifigure configuration of Battle Packs. He’ll probably show up in another set very soon to allow fans to complete the Bounty Hunter collection.

LEGO 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack is nothing short of a perfect set. I still can’t get over its pricetag which makes this so accessible. If you’re a fan of LEGO Star Wars, you HAVE to get this set, and the fact that it won’t burn a massive hole in your wallet makes this such an amazing LEGO set.

Rating: 5/5

*until the UCS Millennium Falcon inevitably gets announced

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this quick review of the LEGO Star Wars Bounty Hunter Battle Pack! I’m hoping to do the Republic Fighter Tank next. I’ve really enjoyed reviewing these Star Wars sets – it’s been awhile and makes for a refreshing break from Super Heroes and LEGO Batman Movie. Let me know if you want to see more LEGO Star Wars reviews!

I’d love to know what you think of this set in the comments section. How excited are you for this set?

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