Gary Collinson reviews LEGO Star Wars’ Jakku Quadjumper set…
Summer is here, which means a brand new wave of LEGO Star Wars sets! And, with the Star Wars: The Last Jedi tie-in sets not arriving until later in the year, The LEGO Group has taken the opportunity to revisit Star Wars: The Force Awakens for a couple of brand new offerings, including the 457 piece Jakku Quadjumper (75178).
What’s a Jakku Quadjumper, I hear all but the most ardent of Star Wars fans ask. Well, it’s the ship that Rey and Finn attempt to make their escape in as they flee the Jakku marketplace, only for the First Order to blow it to smithereens, forcing them to turn their attention instead to a rather iconic piece of garbage, better known as the Millennium Falcon.
One big plus from the Jakku Quadjumper is the choice of minifigures, particularly for those who are yet to start collecting the Sequel Trilogy sets. There’s five in total in Rey, Finn, BB-8, a First Order Stormtrooper and Unkar’s Thug. We’ve seen all of these minifigures before in previous sets – apart from Unkar’s Thug, which was only available under the name Unkar’s Brute as an exclusive in DK’s LEGO Star Wars: Chronicles of the Force book – but this is only the second set to feature both of our new heroes and BB-8 together. It’s also the cheapest way to pick those three characters up.
While the Quadjumper may not be one of the better known ships in the Star Wars series, it definitely has a rather unique and interesting design which is right at home with the aesthetics of the galaxy far, far away, and LEGO’s designers have captured this perfectly with the main build. The ship itself is built in two sections, with the first two bags containing the body, and the remaining two bags consisting of two engines apiece. It’s a relatively straight forward build, with some Technic pieces used to construct the main play feature whereby pushing down on the ball on the top of the Quadjumper causes it to ‘explode’ – but fear not, it’s easy to put back together!
In addition to the exploding engines, we have a front cockpit with room for two minifigures, and a rear gunner station which opens to reveal a stud shooter. This compliments the two at the front, boosting the ship’s firepower should you wish to rewrite history and have Rey and Finn make their escape from the First Order using the Quadjumper.
Given its exceptionally brief screen time in the film, the Quadjumper may seem a somewhat odd choice for a set, but that certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t worth your time or money. It may not be the most recognisable ship in the Star Wars galaxy, but it’s no hunk of junk either!
The Jakku Quadjumper is available from June 1st, and retails for $49.99 in the U.S. and £54.99 in the UK.
SEE ALSO: Order the new LEGO Star Wars sets via Amazon US or Amazon UK
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
