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Set Review: 75199 General Grievous' Combat Speeder
 Monday, March 19th, 2018 at 12:33pm by Benjamin, BZPower ReporterToday we are diving into a LEGO Star Wars set that takes place before Rogue One, back when two of the coolest characters were General Grievous and Mace Windu. This set has both, along with a sleek ride. This month we're reviewing Star Wars sets as we promote our Art Contest: The Definitive Edition!, where you are challenged to create a work of art redesigning a Star Wars set. Check out the review and watch the video of General Grievous' Combat Speeder, and then get inspired!
First, thank you to LEGO for providing the set so I can share my opinions on it. I didn't have either character in minifig form, so I was really excited to see this on the toy store shelves. The set itself comes with 157 pieces and retails for $30 USD, so that's almost 20-cents a piece. Not my favorite ratio, but we usually expect to see Star Wars sets marked up. Hopefully it is worth it. Presentation
The box front shows all the action with Jedi Master Mace Widnu attacking General Grievous as he is out on a joy ride—how rude! We see the vehicle, the majority of the set, speeding by, with the bright lightsabers' colors attracting the eye. The border has the usual logos and required information (or in the case of this European box, not the piece count as it is not required), along with The Last Jedi art to signify this wave. The back shows some play features and more combat, which we will explore in this review. Building
I found the build to be clever in using angles, Technic, and SNOT pieces to assemble the look of the speeder without being boring and flat. The base and engine are connected to the front fins that is secure but implied mobility.
The build wraps up with the back platform using some curved bricks and Technic connections. A few layers of other pieces allow some spring-loaded missiles to be attached. Grievous stands in the center securely. Set Design
The newest piece in this set is the 2x2 angled plate in dark blue, which we saw in Nexo Knights last year. Everything else is just cool, from the curved bricks, the yellow axle, and a return to silver (but not chrome) lightsabers hilts, which is always refreshing after the stint of grey hilts. Getting some dark blue in the midst of usual grey Star Wars pieces is also nice.
The speeder rests on a handful of clear 2x2 skid plates, allowing it to glide along as if hovering. It has some pointy bits in the front and an engine in the back. The round platform is nice, giving it some bulk and something to hold while playing with it. Underneath we see storage for General Grievous' lightsabers, as well as some missiles.
Mace Windu and General Grievous are the stars of the set. Windu has been in many sets, especially when the Prequel Trilogy was prominent, and it is good to see him back. Grievous is a little rarer, probably because of how many pieces it takes to build him, but he is welcome and looking great. He has articulation in his shoulders and second pair of arms, and is very closely printed/painted to be as accurate as possible at such a small scale. This is the same fig that was released in 2014, based on the 2010 version, but a step up from his first appearance. Playability
The set looks sleek, but does not offer much in playability outside our own imaginations. We have the spring-loaded missiles, and the lightsaber storage. After that, only the conflict between good guy and bad guy remain. Not very fancy for a $30 set that is supposed to entertain kids. Final Thoughts
Let's talk about the bantha in the room: For $30, 157 pieces and only two minifigs, this set is disappointing. This feels like a $20 Star Wars set. If there were two more minifigs, even run of the mill clone troopers, that would lessen the pain. But two popular characters are not enough to make this fly off the shelf. Ignoring limited play features, it looks cool and would be fun in a kid's playroom to compliment other Star Wars vehicles. But what is the real motivation for buying this other than two minifigs? You decide.
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