LEGO Star Wars helmets: 75274 TIE Pilot, 75276 Stormtrooper, & 75277 Boba Fett [Review]

Twenty-one years and around 700 sets after its inception, the LEGO Star Wars theme has done something new. It has introduced LEGO sets with an age rating of 18+. No, they’re not risque models of Princess Leia, merely display models clearly targeting adult collectors who want display items for their mantle. Few LEGO themes have embraced adult collectors the way the Star Wars line has. With the multi-generational, massive fanbase for Star Wars, this isn’t surprising, since now more than 40 years after the original film there are certainly more Star Wars fans over the age of 18 than under it. And this focus on adult fans isn’t new. Back in 2001, LEGO introduced the Ultimate Collector Series, kicking off not just with an X-wing and TIE Interceptor, but also an 1800-piece bust of Darth Maul. Now LEGO has introduced a trio of new mantle decorations in the form of three iconic helmets from the Star Wars universe:
75274 TIE Pilot Helmet | 724 pcs | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99
75276 Stormtrooper Helmet | 647 pcs | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99
75277 Boba Fett Helmet | 625 | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99

All three of the Star Wars helmets are available now, and run for the same price with around 600-700 pieces. So what makes these new sets worthy of an 18+ rating? Spoiler alert: nothing. However, that aside, let’s see how the sets stack up.

The box and contents

LEGO sets tend to come in a pretty standard size packaging, but the helmets break the mold right away with their thick, tall rectangular boxes with large images of the helmets on three sides and plenty of negative space.

The packaging is exemplary, with the design setting the tone right away that these are premium products for collectors, not toys, despite the fact that these sets are not in the Ultimate Collector Series. In fact, the packaging feels both more “ultimate” and “collector” focused than some of the more recent UCS-branded sets like the Snowspeeder. Thankfully, LEGO has been slowly fixing that, and the upcoming UCS 75275 A-wing appears to have great box art befitting a collector set.

Inside, however, you’ll find a regular set packaged as normal. The LEGO Star Wars team may be upping their game for exterior packaging, but they’ve still got a long way to go to match the experience of a top-end Technic set like the 42083 Bugatti Chiron. The TIE Pilot has six bags of parts, while the Stormtrooper and Boba Fett each have five.

There are only a few printed elements in the series. Each character has a 4×6 modified tile as a nameplate, and both Imperials have identical printed 2×2 dark grey tiles for the front air vents. The TIE Pilot also has two 4×4 black radar dishes printed with the Imperial crest.

The two Imperials also each have a tiny sticker sheet–be sure to locate them right away when you open the box. They’re so small they easily stick to bags or the box with static, and would be easy to throw away by mistake.

The manuals kick off with an introductory spread from LEGO Star Wars Creative Director Jens Kronvold Frederiksen about the helmets series and the specific characters. It’s not nearly as in-depth as what you’d get from a UCS set, but it does lend a little bit of extra interest. In fact, an intro like that is something I’d love to see in all the Star Wars sets, regardless of their target audience. What young Star Wars fan building an X-wing wouldn’t love the manual to have a picture of it in the movie and a paragraph about it?


The build

The first bag for each model is full of brightly color pieces, since it serves as structural fodder and won’t show on the finished model. All three start with a rough 8×8 stud cube covered in studs facing out, to which the sides of the helmet will be attached. The two Imperial helmets have nearly identical builds at this stage, while Boba’s breaks from the mold a bit on the front to accommodate his large visor. I’ve added classic minifigures to the early stage photos rather than captioning, so you can tell which helmet is which.

By the end of bag one, you’ll have also started adding a bit of the helmet’s top. Boba’s iconic dent is visible already.

Next up are the stands, which are pretty much identical across all three, except for the colors of a few hidden elements and the attachment points for the TIE Pilot’s air hoses.

After that, the build moves along swiftly, first adding the back of the helmets. Most of the segments are built as sub-assemblies and then attached as a completed side or part of a side to the central cube.

The segments largely consist of plate stacking to get the studs-out look. This method of building is a bit difficult to follow in the instructions, since only the TIE Pilot’s instructions have the new pieces that are added in each step outlined. The other two models frequently had me studying the instructions to locate where the elements belonged, since it’s difficult to find the position of a new white 1×1 plate when working on a large section of stacked white plates. LEGO should have outlined the new elements in all three manuals, as this is certain to be a point of frustration for casual builders.

While the builds are mostly stacked plates stuck to a cube, there are a few points of interest along the way, such as the Imperials’ noses, or Boba Fett’s yellow checkered pattern.

The distinct nose and lens shapes on the Imperial helmets are accomplished with a compound series of hinges braced in place.

One of the most interesting techniques is also one of the most iconic: the TIE Pilot’s prominent air hoses. These are created with a piece of flex tubing, strung with train wheels like beads. The flex tubing is then bent back to attach to the stand. The result is brilliant and makes an excellent ribbed hose.

 

Boba’s pattern is a sideways construction of stacked plates that attach with a clip.


The completed models

When finished, each of the helmets is a little larger than a softball, the perfect size for your desk or display cabinet. The trio of white, black, and green helmets makes a striking set that’s sure to draw attention.

The builds themselves are instantly recognizable, with the complex shaping of the helmets achieved well, especially for this scale.

The various details on the builds are fun, with Boba’s helmet standing out in particular with lots of SNOT techniques for the decorations.

However, the “knitted” texture from the studs-out construction won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s certainly not mine. It is LEGO’s iconic style and a very intentional design choice here to make the builds obviously “LEGO”, but I’d have much preferred smoother sculpting with more slopes and tiles.

The bottoms of the helmets, of course, don’t have much to look at, but that’s not a flaw. The helmets can’t really be displayed any other way, so you’ll never see that anyway.


Conclusion and recommendation

At the outset of the article, I noted that LEGO has listed these sets as recommended for ages 18+, which is a first for Star Wars sets (I believe for any LEGO sets, but I can’t confirm that positively). Why they’ve got this age rating is a marketing ploy rather than a serious recommendation, to make the set seem even more adult-focused. As far as the build difficulty, there’s nothing here that you won’t find in any standard ages 8+ set. With absolutely no play functions, the completed models are not toys; they’re purely display pieces. That means they won’t appeal to the majority of kids, so it’s understandable that LEGO wouldn’t want to mistakenly target that audience. But this puts them in the same category as previous sculptural sets like 10018 Darth Maul or 75227 Darth Vader Bust, which were rated 14+, or even the current 1,771-piece 75255 Yoda sculpture, which is only rated as 10+.

So are these truly something special? No. But even if they don’t rise above the usual standard of UCS-style sets, they do meet it. The helmets are fun designs representing an avenue for character and prop models that LEGO has only begun to explore. I am very keen to see what else LEGO has in store along these lines; more helmets perhaps, or maybe life-size lightsabre hilts? The helmets are also a great segue to LEGO collecting for adult Star Wars fans who haven’t picked up a brick since they were kids. Come Christmas, these are going to be great gifts for Star Wars fans. A new builder will have fun taking their time assembling them, and is sure to be extremely pleased with the result. And priced at $60 each, the cost is in line with what you could expect for a nice Star Wars prop model of this size, regardless of whether it is LEGO or not. For LEGO fans simply hunting for parts, the price-per-piece value is good, but the parts selection isn’t great. You’ll be better off looking elsewhere unless you want a lot of basic plates in one of three colors.

Ultimately, if you’re a Star Wars fan looking to add a cool new piece to your collection, these are fantastic models that can look great in any environment, whether on the shelf in your LEGO room or your desk at work.

All three sets are available now from the LEGO shop online:

75274 TIE Pilot Helmet | 724 pcs | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99
75276 Stormtrooper Helmet | 647 pcs | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99
75277 Boba Fett Helmet | 625 | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99

They may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.


The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Check out the gallery for all the images:

2 comments on “LEGO Star Wars helmets: 75274 TIE Pilot, 75276 Stormtrooper, & 75277 Boba Fett [Review]

  1. Jamie

    The storm trooper design is terrible. The stacked plates, horrible studs out look and weirdly sliced breathing tubes are just a mess. The storm trooper helmet is known for its super smooth glossy curves. Surely they could have come up with something better than this??

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