The LEGO 8083 Rebel Trooper Battle Pack set takes its inspiration from the original Star Wars movies, more specifically The Empire Strikes Back. This movie takes place mostly on the snow covered planet of Hoth, and therefore the set comprises a combat speeder and four LEGO Star Wars minifigures, all wearing cold weather clothing. The set has 79 pieces and retails at around $12. It was released in December 2009 and is suitable for children aged 6 and over.
The four LEGO Star Wars minifigures which come with the set are a Rebel pilot called Zev Senesca, who features in the movies and was killed during one of the battle sequences of the movie. He is the character in orange. The other three figures are Hoths, two Hoth soldiers and a Hoth officer. All three have a khaki coloured vest. The officer has a mustache, grey arms and white legs, whereas the two soldiers have darker legs and khaki sleeves. All three come with pistols and are fully equipped with cold weather armor and helmets, including visors which can be placed over the figure’s eyes, or up on the helmet. Any of the four mini figures will fit in the speeder. The main speeder itself is simple to assemble and most LEGO enthusiasts should have no trouble putting it together quickly.
The speeder unit is mainly white for camouflage on the snowy surface of Hoth, with accents of black and grey. The playability of the set comes from the fact that the speeder features two torpedoes, one on each side of the main vehicle, which can be fired out at the enemy by popping a clip. The speeder is sturdy and solid when built, and does not feature lots of little parts which tend to fall off when the speeder is being played with. The only drawback to the set is that there is only one seat for the pilot of the speeder, leaving the remaining three Hoth figures with little to do. This represents great value for money though and is the ideal purchase for those wishing to boost their collection of sets from the original Star Wars trilogy of films. There are many other products in the same range which can be used to create a larger battle scene, including Luke Skywalker and the Wampa ice cave (set number 8089) and the AT-AT set, which comprises the AT-AT itself and 8 mini figures including Han Solo and two snowtroopers (set 8129).
Hoth and the speeders feature heavily in the Empire Strikes Back movie, as this planet is where the Rebel Alliance made their headquarters, called Echo Base. When the Empire discovered the base they suddenly attacked, forcing the Rebels to flee to the surface of the planet. The sequence of the Hoth Battle, featuring the massive AT-ATs and the Rebel speeders and spacecraft is one of the most memorable parts of the whole Star Wars series of movies. Although the sequences were filmed on location, these parts of the films have been well adapted into the LEGO world and this set guarantees hours of fun.
