First seen all the way back in the Summer of 1976 in Star Wars, the Death Star Gunner finds its way into minifigure form in the Winter Wave of 2014 in the 75034 Death Star Troopers set.
The gunners are seen in a few scenes in Star Wars and make a brief re-appearance on the Second Death Star in Return Of The Jedi. They are seen 'operating' the Death Star superlaser when Alderaan gets zapped. When they are not flicking switches and pumping their arm in a gesture that you don't need a protocol droid to interpret ("pull the big lever that fires the big gun"), they are also firing the Turbolaser batteries (That would be GREEN turbolasers, Lego!) at X-Wings and Y-Wings during the Battle Of Yavin.
So whether you are "commencing primary ignition" or trying to shoot down Porkins, these little minifigures are going to be nice to have. And with two in a box alongside two new Imperial Guards you are not really going to mind parting with £11.99.
The stand out feature for me is the Helmet. A unique piece, made for purpose and a good representation of what we see in the films. It is black in appearance with a curved form to front and rear. At the front of the helmet in the centre is an Imperial Insignia in silver grey. On the right hand side of the helmet is a pronounced area which looks like a communication device with a few coloured buttons and features. A comunication device can also be seen on the left hand side of the head piece so I'm not sure what this area is supposed to be, what use it has, so any enlightened readers please comment below.
In this Battle Pack, we have two head pieces (for two figures). The facial details are very similar on both - single print to the front - heavy set black eyebrows, round black eyes with white pupils, brown facial lines, the principal difference being the set of the mouth. On the left hand side of the face is a rather nice communication device. A feature we also see (although is printed differently) on Anakin Skywalker in set 75038: Jedi Interceptor which is part of the 2014 Winter Wave. Given how frequently we seem to be seeing the Phase 1 Clone Trooper Face from 2013 in the 2014 Winter Wave, it would be nice to see subtle facial expressions/differences in this manner on the Clones, even if we have to stick with the same base features (they are clones after all!).
The torso is simple, printed on both sides and predominantly black with silver grey lines picking out the features of the tunic. The lower part of the torso includes a silver belt before continuing with the silver grey lines delimiting form and features down onto the hips and front of legs. The arms and hands are black. What can I say, the printing is simple compared to some of the other elaborately printed torso's that are released in this wave, but it does the job.
The figures are equipped with the new 2014 blasters, so I guess when Luke starts to 'Trust his feelings' in the film and takes out the turbolaser (The one that fires GREEN turbolasers Lego!) they can at least resort to firing little red studs at Red Squadron.
It's a rally nice figure with some good unique pieces. I like the helmet and the uniform (compatible with Imperial officers and shuttle pilots), and the new face also works for clones as well!
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