LEGO Star Wars has been around for more than 20 years, and for the first time LEGO is producing Star Wars accessory packs. They’re effectively the same as the boxed Battle Pack sets, but packaged in the minifigure-shaped clamshells that are used on a variety of other themes. 40557 Hoth Rebels Minifigure Accessory Pack contains 64 pieces and includes three Rebel troops in Hoth outfits plus some defenses, and will retail for US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £12.99. 40558 Clone Troopers Minifigure Accessory Pack has 66 pieces (a foreboding number) and includes three Clone Troopers and a few bits of gear, and should retail for the same  US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £12.99. Both sets will be available starting Jan. 1.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with early copies of these sets for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Unboxing the sets and parts

LEGO is reusing familiar packaging here, with a minifigure-shaped transparent clamshell surrounded by a cardboard backing that allows the box to hang on a retail peg. A word on the names: The packaging doesn’t feature the sets’ names, and at the time of writing, LEGO has not been able to confirm the precise names of these sets. I’ve guessed based on the naming for similar sets, but it’s possible LEGO will call them something slightly different once they’re available.

 

With 60-odd parts in each set, the elements are packed together in a single bag, and the instructions are just a small folded sheet. There are no stickers.

Since the sets contain only minifigures and a few very small builds, they take only a few minutes to assemble. The minifigures are the highlight here, as there aren’t any new elements or particularly unusual ones. The one standout is that the Hoth pack will be especially great for people trying to source more Star Wars blasters. Since they’re used as the legs on the portable turrets, you’ll get an extra six medium blasters beyond the three large blasters carried by the troops, for a total of nine. The Clone set, meanwhile, has five, with three medium blasters carried by the troopers and two large in a weapons rack.

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The completed sets

The Hoth set includes two small portable turrets with remotes. I’ll admit that my Star Wars knowledge is failing here, as I’m not sure the precise model these are meant to represent; they’re vaguely similar to the Imperial E-Web, but given their inclusion here I’m assuming that they’re Rebel weapons. The other included weapon is a very small version of a P-Tower. It’s not particularly accurate but I suppose it gets the point across. LEGO ought to have included another minifigure instead.

The real highlight of the set is the three minifigures: two with the white jackets of Alliance Gunners, and one with a dark tan coat. Both versions sport new designs, though they’re quite similar to previous iterations from past sets. The key difference for the gunners is that they have two pouches on their belts rather than a single large pouch like previous designs. The female trooper has a single-sided head, while the other two have double-sided heads.

After the debacle that was LEGO’s last big visit to the Battle of Hoth, it seems they’re wanting to do a better job this time around. So far LEGO has revealed four sets from the iconic battle, with the largest of course being the minifigure-scale 75313 UCS AT-AT. The other two buff out the Imperial forces with an AT-ST and Snowtrooper Battle Pack. Watch for the review of those coming soon, but in the meantime, here’s how our poor, outnumbered Rebels feel with the monstrous AT-AT bearing down on them. No wonder it’s called The Empire Strikes Back.

Now let’s turn back time 25 years to the Battle of Geonosis and the Grand Army of the Republic to look at some Phase I Clone Troopers. The Clone Trooper Minifigure Accessory Pack includes the troopers, a small weapons rack that holds two large blasters, and a small command pod.

Perhaps someone more versed in prequel lore can pinpoint the exact piece of equipment this command pod is meant to be, but I suspect that it may be a design of LEGO’s making rather than a canon piece of lore. It has four printed screens, a few antennas, and folding doors. The feet made with dark red plates feel very tacked on and I’m left with the same impression as the Hoth pack’s P-Tower gave: LEGO should have included another minifigure instead.

The pack features two standard Clone Troopers, and one bright-light-orange-marked Clone Trooper Commander identical to the formerly exclusive one in the $350 75309 UCS Republic Gunship. The two regular Clone Troopers technically feature a new torso design, though it’s the same as the commander’s just without the highlights. All three clones naturally feature identical, single-sided heads.

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Conclusion and recommendation

Star Wars affords many opportunities for army builders, whether you want a legion of Clone Troopers, Storm Troopers, Mandalorians, or even Rebels. So these packs make a great way to amass troops. For better or worse, at $15 each, that puts them on par with Collectible Minifigures, and you get some bonus accessories as well. Whether that says more about these being a good deal or CMFs being a bad deal is a different question. As I mentioned before, I’d have preferred that LEGO include fourth minifigure in place of some of the accessories. That said, if you’re looking to bulk out your Grand Army of the Republic, or even just give those Rebels a fighting chance against the new AT-AT, you’re going to want to pick up at least one of these sets, if not multiples.

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40557 Hoth Rebels Minifigure Accessory Pack contains 64 pieces and includes three minifigures and will retail for US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £12.99 starting Jan. 1. It may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

40558 Clone Troopers Minifigure Accessory Pack contains 66 pieces and three minifigures and will retail for US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £12.99 starting Jan. 1. It may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

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The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with early copies of these sets for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.