Review: 75060 UCS Slave I (photo shootout with 6209 Slave I)

Set ID: 75060 UCS Slave I

Number of Pieces: 1996

Year of Release: 2015

Minifigs: 4

Purchased Price: About SGD 330

2 reviews ago, I introduced the 2006 version of the Slave I and gave it a thumbs up for its playability and design, pretty much based on the limited SNOT bricks almost 10 years ago. The thought of doing a shoot out between that set and the UCS version never really goes away, and with the temptation growing too large, I decided I will include a small section of comparison (NOT a shoot out) Part of me still feel that it is not a "fair" contest if I am going to pip David against Goliath.

Not difficult to see where the 9 years gap went to

For collectors, there have been a long debate on whether a particular set is regarded as "UCS" or not. In the past, that recognition was based on the 5-digits set number, but once that became a norm for all sets from 2013, 5-digit set numbers was no longer exclusive to UCS sets. Then came the debate if Ewok Village is an UCS set, and so was Cloud City? Does it have to be a vehicle or come with a display stand + plate before it can be considered one? One thing that's undisputed... UCS are expensive. I don't think anyone will disagree with me on that. No such dilemma with this set. LEGO has decided to settle the identity crisis once and for all by printing a "Ultimate Collectors Series" label on the box design. A label that guarantees a few things:

1) It's going to be massive in brick counts
2) It's going to have something exclusive about it
3) It's going to take up some space for display
4) It's going to be sought after by collectors in years to come
5) It's going to burn a hole in your pocket

If this UCS Slave I is a benchmark for all the other UCS sets that follow, I will not hesitate to part with my hard earned money to have more dosage of UCS-compulsiveness in me. With a few little flaws here and there, that's not enough to take away that orgasmic satisfaction of appreciating the finished product. I can't help but to look deep into my current collection now to decide what's next in line to be built amongst my UCS sets (some of which date back to more than 10 years ago ...)?

Building Experience 

The box is much larger than I thought it is. When the first picture of the set was leaked on internet, I was expecting the box to be slightly larger than that of the previous couple of variants of Slave I. It turned out that the 2000 bricks were packed into this beautifully design box, and size worthy of the UCS tag. The box art on the front features the Slave I in flight mode in the proximity of the Cloud City. An inset photo shows the display mode, with the finished vehicle propped majestically on the display stand. The Slave I featured on the back of the box is in landing mode, accompanied by the minifigs included in the set. A panel of photos featuring several playable features complete the box art at the back.

All the bricks were distributed rather evenly into 13 portions, and the 4 minifigs were also found at various stages of the building, rather than to have all of them in the same pack. For this UCS set, I have also engaged 2 of my children to lend a helping hand. Given that there were a fair bit of symmetry in the design of this Save I, having another person to help with "the other side" did help to accelerate some of the more boring steps.

Besides the bricks, the content inside the box include a 300-page building instruction nicely sealed in a cardboard backed pack, a sticker sheet, a 15X7 SNOT plate for the vehicle specification plate, and the customised clear plastic cockpit canopy. This is the first time (beside the Architecture sets) that I see the instruction booklet being used to introduce the set as well as the designers in a Star Wars themed set. It is much welcomed for me and it certainly make the UCS label more distinctive from the others. I have no preference on whether the instructions should be in one or multiple booklets, as long as they are not erroneous and easy to flip the pages. However I have to say that the super dark background colour on each page does make my comprehension a little challenging, especially under inadequate ambience lighting.

Dark background makes reading a little challenging

Nice "UCS" touches to upmarket the instruction booklet

A good mix of Systems and Technics building methods were used throughout. After the first few packs that built the egg-shaped frame (which my kids commented that it looks like a shoe of Iron Man, and I do agree!) the building started to become very "Technicy". This was when my 7-year old gave up as there were too many Technics pegs to handle. Also by this time, I realised that the model is getting really heavy to handle with one hand, in another word, starting to behave like a UCS.

Stickers are always a ... sticky ... issue but have been used brilliantly here to enhance some of the details on the Slave I, mostly to create the visual of damages and wear and tear, or basically the lack of care from Boba Fett for his ride. However, as nice and necessary as they may seen, my suspicion is that they will not last the humidity here in Asia, especially those applied on the curved surface.

Salivating over the Slave

The completed set is a sight of marvel. It is not just big in comparison to its other siblings, but its accuracy and sheer presence deserve more than a thumbs up from me, For a UCS set, it is not meant to be swooshed around (although I did that a few times with the semi completed one during the built) so its 3kg mass is not a major concern. In any case, the display stand did its part to hold up the Slave I in its most intimidating stance - the vertical flight mode. But if you still want to swoosh it like what you think you can do with the smaller Slave I, I have no recommendation on where you can hold to do that.

Concealed weapons by the side 

Since this Slave I is more for admiration than play, there are not as many play features as what you can find in the earlier "swiss army knife" variants. The rotating wings are still a main key feature in the Slave I. However, it was rather disappointing to note that the cockpit is not joined to the wings and therefore will not rotate in tandem with the wings. The armoury is limited to a pair of concealed weapons on each of the side of the Slave I. I do like the fact that they are not totally symmetrical so you get a different weapon on each side. There is no flick or spring action missiles here so the weapons are solely to enhance its menacing look. One slight downer is the difficulty to open the concealed hatches of the weapons. They flush so well with the side panels that big fingers will find it challenging to peel the hatches out. The other playable weapon is the pair of rotating cannons at the bottom tip of the vehicle. Both cannons are connected to each other so they will rotate in tandem when moved.

The large cockpit canopy allows plenty of light to penetrate the cockpit and made it easier to spot its pilot within. Removing and placing this canopy is not too easy as it is attached to the fuselage via insertion of 3 Technics pegs. The canopy therefore has to be lined up properly before it can be secured. But rest assure that once it is secured, it does not come off easily. Plenty of details can be seen within the cockpit with many control panels around to keep Boba busy during flight time.

Peg in Cockpit canopy

One of the main functions of the Slave I is to ferry Boba to his bounty hunting mission. As we all know by now, one of such missions is to deliver the carbonited Han Solo. This is done through the flipping hatch to access the cargo compartment of the Slave I. Unlike the other variants where the carbonited Hans slides up into the cargo area, this one has Hans clipped on so that it will not be tossed around during flight time. How considerate of Boba!

Display stand

This Slave I is also quite a looker, with the SNOT finishing (not just the top, but the bottom too) and details of the engine compartment and wings most impressive to me. Propping it up on the display stand only makes it look even more majestic and impressive. It will be nice if I can MOC the display stand to display it in an alternative way ...

Minifigs

Boba Fett - I can imagine that this minifig will be one of the more sought after minifigs in a decade amongst the minifig hunters. With every new variant, the Boba Fett minifig never fail to impress collectors with its improvements, be it accuracy, colour, or details. In this variant, there is hardly any space on him that is un-printed, and I must admit this probably the most decorated / printed Star Wars minifigs that I have seen in all of years of collection. Yes, even the sleeves were printed! Love the single shoulder pauldron that is exclusive to this Boba, love the battle damage prints on his helmet, love his leg piece detailed prints. THIS is a keeper.

Bespin Guard - This minifig only appears twice in LEGO Star Wars set. First one was a brown complexion variant in the 2006 Slave I (6209), then this, the lighter complexioned Bespin guard without a specific identity. The head piece is printed only on one side as the peak cap is not able to conceal an alternate face if there is one. He has a friendly expression with some lines to highlight his wrinkles or chiselled features. I cannot decide which is which. Torso is printed on both sides with accurate details of the designs on the uniform. This Bespin guard is equipped with a short pistol for his duty on Cloud City.

Han Solo - Despite the large number of Han Solo minifigs that have been produced, LEGO has made a conscious effort to ensure that each new variant has something different unique from the others. This is no exception. This Han has an alt faced head piece, one with a stunned expression (possibly due to the carbonited process) and the other with a cheeky grin. His torso is only printed on the front, with a semi opened shirt and heavily creased lines, a sign of the rough treatment Han suffered in captive.

Storm Trooper - Need I say more? Just when I thought this is just another Stormtrooper, I noticed that the prints on his torso and legs are so detailed and accurately reflecting that in the movie. The effort to make this common, a dime a dozen, storm troopers must be commended. Check out the different knee prints on the leg piece and compare that to a picture of an actual storm trooper. You will be impressed. This variant also comes with a single print with intense expression on the head piece.

Conclusion

A UCS seldom scores low with me and this is no exception. After a few longish UCS set, at least I am happy to have a tallish one to display amongst my collection. At press time, the other tallish UCS set may be my next project, spells X ...

+ Excellent and unique minifigs, especially Boba Fett
+ Very accurate to the movie version, in terms of colours and size (in proportion to minifig, that is)
+ Nice SNOT finishing on most of the Slave I
+ Some unique brick pieces, check out the single piece transparent cockpit canopy

- Wings and cockpit not in tandem
- Too heavy to swoosh (and it will not be a negative if you don't intend to)

David vs. Goliath

As promised, I still want to pip the 2006 Slave I against the 2015 UCS version. Both have their merits but when placed side by side, I realise LEGO has come a long way to not only upsize this classic vehicle, but also improved on the design and better use of SNOT techniques in its construction. They both serve different purposes for me now, the smaller one for nostalgic reasons and the bigger brother for, well, showing off.