75140: Resistance Troop Transporter review

A Star Wars fan with £60 to £70 to spend is currently spoilt for choice with X-Wings, TIE fighters, Wookiee gunships and now the Resistance Troop Transport. But with more iconic alternatives, is this set destined to the one you’ll only get if you have the cash spare?

Set Description

Battle the forces of the First Order with the Resistance Troop Transporter!

Lower the ramp and climb aboard the Resistance Troop Transporter. Jump into the cockpit and get ready for takeoff. And if the First Order tries to attack, arm the shooters and get ready to fire!

• Includes 4 minifigures: Princess Leia, Admiral Ackbar and 2 Resistance Troopers.
• Features opening top hatches and cockpit, a lowering ramp, space for 4 figures inside and dual spring-loaded shooters.
• Load the troops and transport them into battle.
• Fire the dual spring-loaded shooters to keep the enemy at bay.
• Weapons include 2 blaster pistols and 2 blasters.
• Also includes 2 Resistance Trooper helmets.
• Combine with the 75139 Battle on Takodana for even bigger forest-based adventures.
• Create your own scenes from the epic Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie.
• Measures over 3” (8cm) high, 12” (33cm) wide and 7” (20cm) deep.

The Review

I like this ship. I’m going to say that right now. I think a lot of the hard work has already been done by Lucasfilm on this one because the asymmetrical sideways design is really growing on me, there’s something so… Star Wars about a design like this. And digging around for images of the film version, I think this set is a decent first attempt. Firstly, there’s none of that “wait, shouldn’t it be black?” or “hang on, shouldn’t the wings go out in a big V?” that we were left with on Kylo Ren’s command ship. It makes me wonder if it being a second wave set has made it a little less rushed and a lot better for it.

I like the minifigures in this one too, the resistance troopers are nice and generic with helmets that use that new ‘attached trans visor’ technique that LEGO have figured out in the last year or so. I’m not a fan of bespoke moulded heads but think Admiral Ackbar’s is a decent job too – well detailed and decorated. He isn’t on this ship in the film, but it’s Admiral Ackbar. General Leia Organa is okay, it would have been nice to get detail on the legs though.

The build is unremarkable but enjoyable, and when I got the horrible feeling this might be another ‘Ghost’ where the interior space was a complete let-down, I placed the figures in standing up and built the ship around them. My fears were appeased, it’s no auditorium in there but there’s good ‘play space’ for the characters and even Ackbar with his taller moulded headpiece can stand in the central area.

I enjoyed the way the panelling came together too and the new ‘1x2x1 and 2/3 brick with 4 studs on 1 side’ as it will probably be called, was a nice new part to get in numerous quantities. Then there was silence…the kind of calm that makes the faint hum of a light bulb very noticeable. An involuntary twitch began below my left eye and a shudder of distaste like fresh orange juice straight after brushing your teeth… It’s bad enough that they ‘insist’ putting spring loaded shooty things on everything and it’s bad enough when they’re just plonked somewhere on the outside; at least you can just ‘unplonk’ them. But cutting away a chunk of exterior panelling to leave room for them… And I was having so much fun. I had a decision to make: continue with annoying, very noticeable shooters or dismantle and replace to match the other side. The bricks needed were fairly common so I easily sourced what I needed and before I knew it, it was like they had never been there in the first place… And I was happy again.

Shooters aside, the features are simple and effective, a disk turns to pop the canopy in a nice simple way and the roof opens nicely to expose the interior. What I really like though is something the ‘original’ doesn’t do (that we’ve seen) because the modular construction means the two end pieces can be detached and (with some black pins) put together without the passenger section. Makes me wonder what else you could build and put between them. The more I think about this set, the more I like it. It doesn’t have any problems that aren’t easily fixed, it looks great and it has great, simple playability.