Review:75116 by Dorek

BS01 Reviews

75116 Finn

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: 75116 Finn

FN-2187, report to command for inspection. Today we look at one of the stars of the new Star Wars films in LEGO form: the cutely named "Finn". Does this former Stormtrooper have his own identity, or is he just another number?

The Box

Back to basics with the boxes. Nice and rectangular, with all the pertinent advertisement and information. Actually quite a tall box, compared to LEGO's usual output, but attention-grabbing in that way. Finn has a fairly simple pose, but it shows off the necessary features, and is situated on a cool forestry background. In case you weren't aware of Finn having a lightsaber in the film, well, spoiler alert.

Also, creepy disembodied FinnHead. We will talk about creepy disembodied FinnHead when it is more embodied.

The Bits

Easily one of the best things about Finn is the amount of Dark Tan included. Sure, most of it's specialty bits, but it's nice to see it as his dominant color (COUGH POHATU COUGH). Finn's really all about the alternate colors; dark grey feet (new!), brown hands (yes!), and all the dark tan.

In terms of new pieces, there's the modified torso (more on that in a bit), the chest shell, gun components, and of course, the... head. There's also the back shell, which doubles as the neck/spine, making for some build diversity going forward. And it's dark tan. Hooray!

The Build

Ah, the gearbox. How I've missed you! The 2016 BIONICLE sets opted for some new features, which are also welcome, but the gearbox was just such a love letter to fans of constraction that it's good to see it not being abandoned. The shoulders are spaced with two balljoints, which on the Toa usually meant some extra armor, but here just seems to be used for consistency.

The new torso, admittedly, attaches much more cleanly than utilizing the old Hero Factory torsos, but also doesn't include a balljoint for the head, forcing us to look elsewhere.

That elsewhere being the new back armor/spine piece. The piece overall is actually kind of clunky, but specializes for the set itself well enough, and does a good job of obscuring the internal gear workings.

Of course, the piece itself isn't too large, so Finn needs some back armor to fill him out. The results are pretty poor, ultimately. It starts off well enough using the wing paneling, but then devolves into a freefloating mess. I think the lower panels are supposed to be jacket flaps? They're just so unincorporated with the rest of the design that it's an eyesore. I was hoping that they perhaps functioned as holsters for his weapons, and it's certainly doable with mods, but it doesn't seem to have been the design intent.

Maybe Finn can get back on track with the legs? Well, sort of. The legs of these Star Wars sets are probably some of the worst aspects, but ironically, Finn does okay with it. He uses shorter bone pieces compared to others, which keeps his proportions in check and allows for simplified armor placement that works. I would have preferred the shells in tan, obviously, but it keeps with his movie look well.

The arms, conversely, are too short; an extra module on the forearms would have allowed the shells to space out and not frequently grind against one another, and pop off in many cases. They opted not to use locked joints, which I will always vouch for, but it doesn't work so much in this case. The shoulder pad piece is a fun one, however, and I can see it getting a lot of use in future creations, both fan and official. That said, Finn includes one with printing. WHY, Finn? You were the chosen one!

If you've gotten your hands on other Star Wars sets, you probably know what to expect from the lightsaber. It's a fun piece, with a slight rubbery texture, and the hilts are nifty connectors. I feel like it could have been slightly longer, but maybe I'm just misjudging the proportions.

New to the 2016 Star Wars sets is the blaster. A spring-loaded system brick attaches to the main piece (which should yield some fun combinations), while axle-connector-6 serves as the trigger. Everything else is just a bit of flair for distinguishing. The blaster itself gets some distance, so it's definitely a fun thing to mess around with.

However... when building this, I put the red axle that serves as the hilt in first. Technically you're not supposed to do this, so that one's on me. For reasons unknown, though, the blaster is designed so that the axle has the potential to run through. But if it runs through it, then the ammo doesn't fit all the way, and won't lock in place for firing. This is a huge design flaw that I'm surprised they overlooked, especially since there are open spots designed for customizing. The blaster is just half a module (or less!) too short, and it's disappointing that nobody caught that.

Oh yeah. The head. I'm sure some people will disagree, but this one's straight uncanny valley for me. There's certain poses that perhaps hide how disturbing the face sculpt is, but I'm am most definitely not a fan. LEGO doesn't lend itself to realistic humanoid expressions, at least not on this scale. The helmets and alien heads are much better.

Also, the head doesn't move particularly well on the balljoint, which is disappointing to discover this late in the build. The backpack/spine thing had potential.

Still, though, both a lightsaber AND a blaster isn't bad. The gearbox itself doesn't get much use (a single arm swinging), but the torso plate does a good job of covering it all.

The Brass Tacks

Should I get this set? No	Good for people who like: • Recolors - Dark tan, brown hands, and grey feet make for a solid parts investment. • Value - If you like the new elements, having both a blaster and a lightsaber is pretty good.
	Not for those looking for: • Fully thought out designs - Between the blaster, the back armor, and the "coat", most of the things that make Finn stand out work against him. • Proportions - Finn's legs kind of work comparatively, but this somehow meant his arms had to be shorter. Hmph. • A good night's sleep - seriously, the head is demented. No thanks.
	Other Comments: I was really tempted to put "not for those who like: traitors", but that would have required him to be a better set. --Dorek

Finn probably should have left his Stormtrooper helmet on, all things considered. And his armor. And everything. He does very well in the color department, thankfully, but only as a parts pack would I say he has any redeeming value. Anything he gets vaguely right (swinging arm play feature, for instance) doesn't do well enough to set him apart, and he's just chock full of some baffling design choices. Better luck for Episode VIII, buddy. You deserve better.