First look at LEGO 75309 UCS Republic Gunship, which bears an unfortunate printing error

July 15, 2021 | 19

After months of teasing, and drip-feeding LEGO Star Wars fans with information, and the no-show at LEGO CON, I can now officially reveal 75309 UCS Republic Gunship in all its glory!

The 3,292–piece Ultimate Collectors Series (UCS) set edged out two other models in the LEGO Ideas UCS Fan Vote reinging supreme with over 30,000 votes, accounting for 58% of all votes cast.

The LEGO UCS Republic Gunship has a release date of 1 August 2021, and will be priced at US$349.99 / AU$579.99 / £329 and will be available exclusively from LEGO.com and your local LEGO store.

See below for regional pricing and links:

• LEGO 75309 UCS Republic Gunship [US] – US$349.99
• LEGO 75309 UCS Republic Gunship [AUS] – AU$579.99
• LEGO 75309 UCS Republic Gunship [UK] – £329
• LEGO 75309 UCS Republic Gunship [EU] – €349.99
• LEGO 75309 UCS Republic Gunship [CAN] – CA$479.99

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The set’s designer  Hans Burkhard Schlömer, and its dimensions are 33cm / 13in (height), 74cm / 29 in (width), and 68cm / 27 in (length).

This is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated LEGO Star Wars sets of 2021, as LEGO have traditionally sidelined Clone Wars ships and vehicles from the UCS line, but the popularity of the Clone Wars (thanks to the Dave Filoni’s animated series) has brought us into a renaissance of all things Prequels, and this is LEGO’s first Prequel UCS set since 2010’s UCS Obi Wan’s Starfighter

Here’s a look at the packaging of the UCS Republic Gunship from the official press kit.

Now take a look at the packaging from my review copy. Wait, is that the Imperial emblem?

So a pretty massive printing and design error has occurred on the FIRST run of UCS Republic Gunship sets, where the graphic designers accidentally used the Imperial logo instead of the Republic logo on the packaging.

This will only affect the first batch of products (including my review copy), will be fixed in December/January releases, and doesn’t appear in the press kit photos. 

The set and model have accurate stickers, but this mistake is isolated to the packaging and manuals.

Here’s LEGO’s official response:

The dark side blurred our vision and we used the Galactic Empire logo on packaging and instructions for the 75309 LEGO Star Wars UCS Republic Gunship, while of course we should have used the logo of the Galactic Republic. However, the infiltration didn’t affect the actual model- which proudly displays the Galactic Republic logo. We are working to update the packaging and instructions.

And here’s the difference between both emblems – the Imperial logo was derived from the Republic, but with how anal Star Wars fans are about accuracy, I’m really shocked this made it through undetected.

While slightly embarrassing on LEGO’s part given this is such an important release, printing errors like this are actually prized by collector’s and fans. Look at Pokemon cards where there’s a massive market and premium for misprinted cards.

What LEGO may have inadvertently done here is make the first batch (aka the Bad Batch) highly desirable for collectors as this will be the only batch with Imperial logos.

So expect the UCS Republic Gunship to sell out immediately on day one – prepare accordingly, especially if you’d like to own a piece of UCS Star Was history.

The set comes with 2 minifigures, which according to social media is a massive disappointment to fans.

The set comes with an exclusive Mace Windu, and a Clone Commander Pilot aka Ponds (CT-411)

Let’s set the record straight, while there were high expectations that Jedi Bob would be included, LEGO UCS sets have never been about minifigures, so I really don’t get the fuss and unrealistic expectations that we’d get a Phase 2 Commander Cody in this.

First things first, this set is absolutely massive, as you’d expect from a UCS set. It measures 33cm / 13in high, 74cm / 29 wide, and 68cm / 27 long, with a particularly impressive wingspan.

It’s a beast to display but it does make an incredible visual impact, and has tons of display presence.

Here are more official product shots to enjoy. As you can see, there is a truckload of new printed elements, such as the pilot’s windscreens, and the bubble turrets, which is a first for LEGO Star Wars UCS sets – it’s incredible that they were able to do that with the glass elements.

LEGO Star Wars, especially fans of the Prequels are going to love this set. I’ll share my full thoughts in my review, but this is a masterclass in LEGO UCS design, and the design team have overcome some really interesting challenges to get the Gunship’s iconic shape right, and it’s terribly impressive to hold or display.

I think the price US$349.99 / AU$579.99 is quite fair, and you get a lot of really large elements, and it feels like a much more pricey set due to its overall size and footprint.

Like any large UCS set, it’s size also presents its own drawbacks – you’ll need to clear plenty of space to display the UCS Gunship, which is something that’s easier said than done – especially if you collect and display UCS sets.

Check out more close-up details and shots below

This is a fantastic set, and I’m personally glad that LEGO is finally giving the prequels a chance. I’ll share my full thoughts in my review which should be completed this weekend, but I really think LEGO have smashed the UCS Gunship out of the park.

The LEGO UCS Republic Gunship has a release date of 1 August 2021, and will be priced at US$349.99 / AU$579.99 / £329 and will be available exclusively from LEGO.com and your local LEGO store.

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Now that you’ve seen it, what do you think of the UCS Republic Gunship? Will you be picking it up at launch?