Attack of the Clone Helmets
by Lukas Mack
Long-suffering Clone Wars fans finally have representation amongst the popular line of Lego Star Wars Helmets. Alongside the March release of Captain Rex, LEGO deigned to also grant us a Commander Cody and ,uh, Boushh (Leia) as well. With 854 pieces, Captain Rex will set you back $99.99 at LEGO but you can often find a deal at Amazon. Was this Clone Wars helmet worth the wait? Let’s see troopers!
If you’ve had the opportunity to build one of these helmet sets already then there won’t be a lot to surprise you here with the build. The black stand follows the same configuration of those that have come before which keeps them all uniform and the helmet ‘core’ is very familiar. Where this model differs is with the degree of detail on the face of the helmet. As it is in the canon, Rex’s helmet is a literal coming together of a couple helmet designs and consequently it is a delicate combination of curves and compound angles. As a result the build can be somewhat fragile to assemble; particularly the central face area. Once built however, the model is plenty solid enough for display and the posable rangefinder is a strong and necessary addition.
Now safe on your shelf, was it worth it? Did the designers do our Captain justice? Welllllll…kinda. Some liberties were taken. For example, the bottom of the face is a fair bit off with the mouth section short on either side. This set also has a whopping 17 stickers and 6 must be carefully aligned to approximate the distinctive weld lines. To be fair, the designers have acknowledged their shortcomings and the issue is one of scale and complex angles meeting complex shapes. Although I think at this price point, the number of stickers is excessive, the final design maintains more than a mere resemblance to the great Clone. To any casual viewer or collector alike, this is Captain Rex.
At 854 pieces, Captain Rex is actually the largest Star Wars helmet set by piece count, beating out the more expensive Darth Vader at 834pcs and S119.99RRP. If price-per-piece is your measuring stick for value then it’s hard to argue with. Piece count is never the full story however. Those added pieces are very necessary to capture the intricate face shape to the helmet and yet, it must be said that this set makes compromises. There could be more prints and even new moulds to bridge some of those gaps. This is an 18+ set and comes with that accompanying premium price tag after all. At the end of the day though, this is a mighty fine Captain Rex Helmet, ‘scars’ and all.
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Words by Lukas Mack
Photos by Lukas Mack
Editors Note:
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This set was provided free of charge from The LEGO Group. Opinions expressed in the review are those of the reviewer
Perth Lego Users Group 