Review:75113 by SPIRIT

BS01 Reviews

75113 Rey

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars spoilers likely contained within. If you still haven't seen it yet (seriously?), consider yourself warned.
This set was provided to BS01 by LEGO, but the opinions of the set are those of the reviewer.

Review: 75113 Rey

She's the new star of the record-breaking Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but is this a greyt set or just second reyt? Let's find out. (Okay, those are the only puns. I swear.)

The Box

Well it looks like Bionicle is the only line to get unusual packaging. Rey just gets a rectangular box. They've got some pretty great box art, though. Every pose Rey is in she looks like she's ready for action and here to kick some First Order butt.

The Bits

Compared to a modern day Toa set, Rey doesn't really have that many pieces. There are a lot of tan parts if you wanted to make some sort of sand-themed MOC, I guess. You can also see Rey's robe, which is a continuation of that interesting trend of fabric in Technic sets that started with Vezon. As far as the material itself goes, if you've felt one piece of Technic fabric, you've felt them all. I did notice that the edges of her robe were a bit sharp right out of the box, so the robe would catch on itself, but I feel like it's a problem that will go away on its own.

What's this? Pictures from Kylo Ren's journal? Oh, no, it's just Rey's disembodied head. As far as manufacturing goes, it's a sturdy piece of plastic -- a lot of substance to it. It doesn't offer Rey a whole lot of range of motion in her head, but of note is the fact that she can only turn her head around as much as a normal human. So for all you realists out there, Lego designed this set with you in mind.

But then there's the design... And I guess we get to the crux of things here. Look at this picture here:

Does that look much like the head piece Lego has included? And they also gave her the helmet she wears for 3 minutes of the movie rather than her distinctive hairstyle that she has for the rest of it.

Let's not beat around the bush, though. They did this to make Rey seem less feminine to help the toy appeal more to boys. It's a real shame that while Star Wars was willing to break new ground by casting a female star, Lego wasn't willing to put in that same effort.

The Build

I did not heed Yoda's advice and I judged Rey by her size. Even though she's a small set compared to some of the other Star Wars and Bionicle figures out this year, she still has a fairly complex build. That robe took me forever to get on her, but it really suits her and add a bit more substance than Lego parts alone can really capture.

They've put a lot of detail into this set, actually. Rey has her staff, her blaster, and even different coloured arm bands. The staff itself is pretty interesting too because it's tipped with those System cone pieces that have been around forever. I also learned while building this set that those cones are actually compatible with a Technic plus rod! I acknowledge that I'm probably late to the party on this, but it's always nice to find out what other possibilities Lego envisions for its pieces.

Rey also gets a gear function which is... well it functions. I mean, that's not really how you use a spear, but at least they tried. Gear functions make a bit more sense in the context of knocking masks off of your opponent. I'm not saying that it was a bad thing to include, just that it felt unnecessary.

The Brass Tacks

Should I get this set? Yes	Good for people who like: • Detail - The robe makes for an visually distinctive appearance, and the staff looks cool • Play value - Swinging arm, good poseability, well designed overall.
	Not for those looking for: • Androgyny - As an empowering female star, it's sad to see Rey bundled up. • Speaking of androgyny - Face mould leaves something to be desired.
	Other Comments: I reygret nothing. --SPIRIT

I struggled with the verdict on this set for a while. On the one hand, the set does not really look like Daisy Ridley's portrayal of Rey. Lego took steps to defeminize the character and we're left with a set who could really be anyone. If this upsets you, you could either buy the set so that it's really popular and Lego wants to make Rey again better for the next movie, or you could boycott it and hope that Lego gets the message.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a well-made set with a sense of style and action... then I think this might be the set for you.

If you can overlook the face, I think it's still a pretty good set. Many of the other Star Wars sets suffer from being too skeletal in my opinion, but this isn't an issue Rey has.

And besides! She's the main character! You can't really have a Star Wars collection without the main character! Whatever your political agenda may be, I think Rey still deserves a place on your shelf.