Sorting through the numbered bags of LEGO Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (set 75428), priced at $83.99 today (was $140), starts the process with the large-scale B1 Battle Droid rather than the vehicle it rides. Early bags focus on the torso and limbs using a mix of standard bricks, brackets, and Technic ball joints in tan. Those joints give the figure movement at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees while keeping the finished piece stable enough to stand on its own feet.
A brick-built blaster comes together next and clips either into the hands or onto the backpack, matching the way the droids carried weapons in the film. After three or four bags the figure stands roughly 30 centimeters tall, complete with a printed head element that captures the familiar faceplate and a small backpack detail.
- PLAY & DISPLAY BATTLE DROID– Star Wars fans can construct a detailed LEGO Star Wars Battle Droid with STAP (75428) from Episode 1: The Phantom...
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- STAR WARS MODEL KIT– The completed droid can be displayed on its stand with information plaque or removed for dynamic pretend battle scenarios
The focus then shifts to the Single Trooper Aerial Platform (STAP), which is an interesting piece to say the least. The chassis for bags 6-10 is a deep reddish brown that begins with a core spine and then expands with some excellent angled and curved pieces, all held together with elegant small clips and bars. The turbine tiles are fixed on the back for esthetic purposes, and the dual cannons with radiator details protrude from the front.
Meanwhile, the handlebars and foot pedals snap in and out with a simple clip system, allowing the entire setup to simply rock back into that classic riding stance and stay place when mounted on the stand. Bricks’ fondness of sideways building, combined with a few well-placed stud-less designs, allows them to replicate the smooth, swooping lines of the true STAP without creating large gaps everyplace.
When you put it all together and place it on the accompanying display stand, it’s about 38 centimeters tall, 30 centimeters long, and 14 centimeters wide, which is rather large. The stand is a bit of a beast, weighing in at over 130 pieces to keep it stable, and it has one of those printed info plaques that you’d find on a larger collector’s base.
To make things even more intriguing, there’s also a miniature replica of the STAP and a B1 minifigure with a matching backpack, allowing you to see the subject from two different scales in one little display, which is a wonderful touch. If you remove the large model from the stand, you can place it on a shelf or table.
If you’re a collector who already has some of those large Separatist droids, you might notice that this B1 appears a little more… rounder, especially up top and down the legs, when compared to the incredibly skinny on-screen models. That’s because the creators had to use some excellent huge ball-joint parts to ensure it could hold its own in a variety of positions while remaining linked to the STAP.
Yeah, the knees don’t bend as far as you’d like, only around 40 degrees, so you can’t get into too deep a crouch. All this implies is that the wrists and elbows are free to move about, allowing you to hold the blaster in two hands or simply drape it across your torso for good measure. Even so, the finished model looks authentic, especially with the tan droid standing out against the excellent brown STAP.
