Today we’ll take a quick look at the last of three new LEGO Star Wars sets for January 2023. 75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack returns to the popular 501st Legion, with their distinctive blue markings. In fact, the 501st was the subject of the most recent battle-pack-like set to feature clone troopers, 501st Clone Troopers. Let’s see if it’s a worthwhile return to the subject matter. The set comes with 119 pieces and 4 minifigures and will be available Jan 1st for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
The packaging and instructions
The box is standard for battle packs, showing an action shot on the front, and naming all of the included minifigures across the bottom. The back shows an alternate view that features the three different kinds of included minifigures, with an alternate view of the AV-7 Antivehicle Cannon. Inside are the instructions, two unnumbered bags of pieces, and one bag of clone trooper helmet accessories, molded in blue for the first time!
The Minifigures
Two 501st Clone Heavy Troopers are included. The instructions show each of them with the blue visor, but one of the joys of the helmet holes returning is that it’s easier to make small differences that round out a larger troop by mixing and matching the accessories. They also wear printed backpacks, with a lovely 1×1 tile representing a pack with a Galactic Republic emblem, looking quite screen-accurate to these characters’ appearance in the game Star Wars Battlefront II.
The other two minifigures are unique – a 501st Clone Trooper Officer and a 501st Clone Trooper Specialist. The officer has a blue belt and the suggestion of a kama on his legs and features the blue rangefinder. The specialist uses the same helmet but adds a completely new macro binoculars mold to it, which looks fantastic. Both figures feature detailed printing on the backs of their torsos, though the backs of the legs are plain. Dual-molding to let the kama wrap all the way around, or a fabric element would have improved the officer figure when viewed from the sides or the back.
The Finished Build and Recommendation
Given the count of 119 pieces, the included Mobile Cannon is an impressive likeness. It’s downsized a fair bit – an AV-7 to scale with the gunner should be at least twice as big, with a much longer cannon bore – but if you compare it to the source material it’s quite clear what it is.
Is it a good buy? If you collect Clone Troopers in general, or specifically the 501st, it’s basically a must-buy. The minifigures all have detailed, new prints, but also stay consistent with previous 501st troopers, allowing for nicely varied squads or legions to your army build. At $20, though, battle packs are not quite in the realm of a “pocket money purchase” anymore. Four new minifigures, a solid accessory build, new colors for the clone helmet accessories, and the all-new macrobinoculars make it a decent value, but it’s not a bargain. If it goes on sale after a while at 20% off, which is not uncommon for smaller Star Wars sets these days, it starts to look quite attractive.
75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack includes 119 pieces and 4 minifigures, and will be available Jan. 1 from the LEGO Shop for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.
It may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Great review of the LEGO Star Wars 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack!