Review: 75058 MTT

Set ID: 75058 MTT

Number of Pieces: 953

Year of Release: 2014

Minifigs: 12

Purchased Price: About SGD 180

This set is released as a TRU Exclusive here in Singapore (am not sure if it is the same anywhere else in the world). Regardless, I chanced upon it as I was walking past a TRU near my office after a heavy lunch. With a $20 discount thrown in, there is no reason I am not getting this set. In a swift move lasting less than 10 minutes, I was happily lugging the MTT in my hand, with a new City polybag thrown in as part of the promotion, which I gave away to a colleague's kid. It has been some years since the MTT made an appearance in the Star Wars collection. Well spaced out over the last 14 years, the first MTT was released in 2000 (set 7184) and the second was the fantastic 7662 released in 2007. Of the three versions, this latest interpretation of the MTT would probably earn a silver medal, pipped by its immediate predecessor. This should not take away the credit that this latest set is joy to build and play, for it does have its merits too.

The under-designed droid rack

MTT stands for Multi-Troop Transport. By the word "multi", I believe there should be a sizeable amount of battle droids to fill the void within the massive interior. Unlike the 2007 version (which comes with 21 battle droids and very movie accurate), this MTT has compromised its scaling by adding playable features in place of droid carrying capacity. As a result, it can only deploy a miserly six droid every time it opens its front hatch. Imagine this, the MTT arrives at the Battle of Naboo in its usual majestic movement, and when its hatch opens, ermmm .... six droids came rushing out. Now, if I am with Jar Jar Binks and Co. confronting the enemy, I would probably died laughing than fighting...

That's probably all I can complain about. The rest of this MTT have brought more pleasant surprises - in a very swiss army knife way ...

The MTT Swiss Army knife

MTT on wheels! Fake levitation but who cares?

The MTT now comes with wheels! As with some of the latest vehicle sets, this MTT comes equipped with six transparent wheels well concealed at its bottom. The MTT was initially designed like a battering ram, which explains the rounded design of its front, and although the LEGO version does not fully exude the appropriate rounded profile (its made of bricks after all), the wheels do help with any battering movement it was intended to.

Playable features are aplenty in this compact MTT. What's "aplenty"? Starting from the front ...

Opened missile chamber

1) The MTT is protected by its thick brown armour and a pair of front facing cannons, mounted on ball sockets. These are more posable than playable. However, how can LEGO miss an opportunity to throw in a pair of spring loaded missiles too? They are loaded on the side of the cockpit and can be deployed by flipping the missile hatch open, that is, if you can get them opened. The hatch doors are (too) flushed to the contour of the MTT that you will find it hard to find a grip for the hatch door.

2) The pilot droid is able to control the MTT via the elevated cockpit. It is a single seater with a sliding cockpit platform. Pilot can access the cockpit from any of the left of right hatch doors. Cockpit design is a simple affair with a joystick and stickered control panel.

3) The main playable feature of the MTT is always the droid deployment rack. This version has a rather underwhelming rack, only capable of accommodating a single storey of 6 droids. If I have to be specific, the droids are also placed in the wrong direction as compared to the movie version. Deployment of the rack is cool though. Using a elongated row of Technic gears, the rack can be pushed out from the front by a simple turn of a knob. The droids are arranged on a sliding deck that should be removed first before "peeling" the droids off it.

Knob for droid rack deployment

4) Towards the rear of the MTT, there are two more opening hatches on the sides, one for the gun rack and the other for the PK-4 droid.

5) Amongst the half dozen or so hatches in this MTT, the most spectacular one is probably the flipping hatch at the rear. Flipping it open reveals the compartment where a Droid scout scooter is hidden! The innovative sliding design allows the scooter to be secured effortlessly. Talking about the scooter, there are quite a fair bit of bricks committed to its design, therefore creating a rather detailed and good looking vehicle.

Building Process

It was a sea of brown when I opened this box. What do you expect?

The bricks are distributed over six numbered packs, sharing the box with a cardboard backed pack of instruction manual and sticker sheet. All the above fill the box nicely with little void remaining. Good use of space! The same principle was applied to use almost the entire space on the back of the box to showcase all the playable features of the MTT.

The playability map on the back of the box

Following the recent trend of construction technique, the MTT is also built around a primarily Technic frame. This probably explains the inflation of the brick count despite the seemingly smaller body as compared to the other 1000+ piece vehicle sets.

The completed model is really sturdy, even when you hold it in your hand for some swooshing action (not meant to be though). This is most likely attributed to its heavy use of Technic parts that made up the main frame of the vehicle. One thing that LEGO has constantly been improving and innovating is the design of the hinges. The new generation hinges have somehow moved away from the old-school clicking mechanism but still retained the stiffness to allow doors and hatches to be opened to various degree.

Put aside 2 uninterrupted hours to indulge yourself on this set.

Minifigs

Despite the large number of minifigs included in this set, this section should not get too long as most of the head counts have been attributed to the generic Battle Droids, eight to be exact. This is not to say that they are homogeneous. Of the eight, the pilot droid comes with a blue torso and the scooter rider has a pair of similar arms (the others have different left and right arms for the purpose of holding their gun in the right way). The inclusion of the PK-4 worker droid in this set still baffles me as I am almost certain that it did not reside in the MTT in the movie (or at least I did not see its existence in the movie) The designer has done a good job with the droid from waist up but the heavy leg section makes it look more like on a roller than on its feet.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn did not excite me too much. The zero marginal utility law has applied to these two minifigs some years back when the headcount reached ten or so. For the sake of differentiating them from their predecessors, let me see what sets them apart?

The young Obi-Wan has a double face and just enough details on these faces, i.e. no over elaborated lines and wrinkles / dimples. His torso is printed with braided hair and a very detailed belt. his tunic design also extends beyond his torso onto his leg piece. Qui-Gon Jinn also comes with two faces, which honestly look like replicant of each other. If there is a chance to print two faces, why would anyone design both to look so similar to each other??? His dual tone leg piece looks unique to me as I suspect it is the first Qui-Gon minifig to have such a design.

The Naboo Security Guard is brand new, and a nice one too. If I can choose to ignore the inaccurate yellow colour used for his arms and legs, the other details are pretty spot on and movie accurate, down to the intense expression on his face and logo on his peak cap. Thanks to LEGO for keeping his face 'simple' too.

Conclusion

I am a self-confessed Episode 1 "hater", and that sentiment does overspill onto the sets that were released with the Ep 1 label. It didn't help with the primitive looking sets released in the early years of LEGO Star Wars (think Sith Infiltrator). But this MTT, is a nice game changer, a pivotal moment in my biased opinion of all the Episode 1 sets.

+ Colour accurate
+ Multiple playable features
+ Sturdy and swooshable (although not recommended)
+ Fake levitation using smooth concealed wheels

- Should have more droids (MTT is their bus to work, isn' it?)