RRP $24.99
Available from most book stores.
The LEGO Star Wars Adventure Pack is a little different to some of the other books I’ve had the chance to review. As the name suggests this is a pack rather than a single book.
There are four elements to the product – LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary: Rebels and Imperials, Darth Vader’s Empire Sticker Book, Yoda’s Jedi Army Sticker Book, and 30272 A-Wing Star Fighter.
With my excitement levels for The Force Awakens at an all time high after the latest trailer I can’t wait to get stuck into something Star Wars related.
LEGO Star Wars The Visual Dictionary: Rebels and Imperials
This book is a small, soft cover version of a much larger and detailed book. I think it’s worth pointing that out up front. If you are expecting the same experience as the full $29.99 hardcover book then you’ll be disappointed.
The brief introduction is essentially just a blurb about the LEGO Star Wars product range. There is also a explanation of the product detail boxes that you will find throughout the book.
The layouts of the pages are packed with lots of detail. I was expecting a pack intended for young LEGO fans to have a book that was fairly simple and silly. It certainly seems that this is spreads from the full visual dictionary shrunk down for the smaller format.
Despite being quite small the pictures are all clear and detailed. The only issue with the size is the fact that some of the printing was a bit small for my terrible eyes. If you have normal eyesight it’s unlikely to be a major concern.
With just over 40 pages of actual product details I actually found this book quite packed with information. DK have done a great job of picking a good mix for this cut down version. It covers good guys, bad guys as well as some classic LEGO sets. It may be a little unfair to show kids the 10179 UCS Falcon set though.
This book is obviously less impressive than a full LEGO book but it’s still a good read for younger LEGO Star Wars fans.
30272 A-Wing Fighter
The set included in this pack has been around for a little while via various sources but it’s unlikely that a lot of people will already have.
With just over 50 pieces this is a fairly quick and straightforward build. You can expect to put this together in just a few minutes. There’s no complicated techniques although the rear half of the model does feature some angled plates and sub-assemblies. The instructions are a single double sided page, as is common with smaller polybag builds.
The A-Wing is not the most well known vehicle in the Star Wars universe. Despite being less recognisable than something like an X-Wing you can still easily identify this model as an A-Wing if you know what an A-Wing looks like.
I quite like this set. Yes it’s quite small but it has all the detail that you’d expect it to have. If you’ve got a collection of other micro-scale Star Wars vehicles then this would be a welcome addition to your fleet.
Ultimate Sticker Book: Darth Vader’s Empire
The first half of the book is pages where you can place specific stickers next to a brief blurb about that character. It’s essentially a puzzle or match game. Each page has a particular theme such as the Battle of Yavin.
Despite what the name says this isn’t just bad guys. There are stickers such as Hoth versions of Han and Leia. I wasn’t expecting the range of characters that are included so that was a pleasant surprise. Unless I am mistaken the range of stickers are all from the original trilogy. This is a little surprising as younger fans are more likely to know the prequels and clone war characters.
The last page is a collection of tiny stickers – slightly smaller than a postage stamp. These small stickers don’t have a corresponding page in These are labelled as reusable stickers but I think that would depend on the sort of surface you place them on.
Ultimate Sticker Book: Yoda’s Jedi Army
A lot of what I said about the other sticker book is also true for this one, so I’ll try and keep this fairly brief.
The first half features the themed pages with placeholders for the stickers. You’ll notice fairly quickly that this book focuses on the earlier part of the Star Wars timeline – the prequels. There is of course a mix of good and bad guys too.
I’m not the biggest fan of the prequels but I don’t hate them. The range of stickers on offer should appeal to the younger audience that have a good knowledge of episodes 1 – 3 thanks to the clone wars cartoon.
This book also features the page of tiny stickers.
Overall
This pack is very obviously aimed at young Star Wars fans. Adult fans are not going to get a heap of value from this and unless it’s available really cheaply it probably makes more sense to buy the set online if you’re after that part of it.
Taking a moment to listen to my inner child though – there is certainly something here for young fans. I can picture the scene now; a bedroom door covered with LEGO Star Wars stickers, the A-Wing model sitting on the floor (waiting for somebody to step on it) and a child sitting on their bed reading facts about the Millennium Falcon.
If your young LEGO fan is always a Star Wars fan then this pack might make a nice present this Christmas.