Lego 75183 Darth Vader transformation is one of the more iconic scenes in Star Wars history and this is the second version of this, but the first was many years before and things have changed a lot in Lego since the set has 282 pieces including 6 mini-figures and has an RRP of £19.99.
Being fans of Star Wars many of these sets are great to own, and when they do Scenes they can be a bit risky, some look a bit rubbish but some are great and iconic, many of the big scenes on Hoth, Tatooine etc are essential for your display regardless that’s its a scene, this is perhaps not as iconic as those but let’s face it, at the end of episode 3 which for me is still a great film its the final point to what was happening for the whole of the 3 films together.
Table of Contents
Anakin Skywalker
So this set is one of the only ones that has Darth Vader and Anakin, largely to show the difference between the transformation and the Minifigures because it would get confusing in description lol, however, this version is excellent, it shows the scars of the battle with Obiwan, Lego uses pearl grey pieces to indicate the loss of limbs etc, I do feel they missed the opportunity to have pieces missing to show it, Lego seems to stand firm in Amputees in there world and not showing it, which is unfair for disabled people but maybe we will see this change.
Darth Vader
The flip literally is Darth Vader, this was the version that changed in 2015, as one of the oldest and arguably most iconic characters he has changed a few times, ultimately the last couple has been great and good enough, with the large helmet and the printing, the back is empty because of the cape and the head is the Anakin scarred head.
Emperor Palpatine
The Minifigure design and look has settled into this design though he isn’t as common as you would think, the Dearth Star version is the same but the Due and the arrest has different versions so the chances are for some that they don’t actually have this Minifigure, the skin is a wrinkled yellowish colour which is unusual and the printing on the back torso is solid, hood and cape are fine whereas the lightsabre has a rare gold hilt.
DD-13 medical Assistant Droid
In the scene, there are droids etc doing the transformation for the Emperor, and the DD-13 is one of them, now he isn’t exactly accurate and its quite difficult to do in Lego but you can still see how it is, the legs are little off but again it would be tough to do.
Transformation chamber
Now the room in the film is a circular one but lego have tried to do it but its more of an octagonal design similar to freezing carbon chamber that worked before its a shame because they could have gone that route but it kept the piece count and thus the price low with the design.
From first look it’s simple in one hand but very mechanical on the other, personally, it’s not the prettiest set and aesthetically not that pleasing but it’s about the process of it all, so I get it. If I wanted to take this further I would build a circular room on the base plate using large white or grey curved pieces etc, then this would fit perfectly, but that’s something for another day.
The centrepiece is a Technic inspired transformation design, the idea is that one sits on one side and the Minifigure sits the other side you can lift and spin etc so once you have made the transformation he can rise much like the film, it works very well again its a bit grey but that’s the theme of them, around the sides are different platforms again as I said earlier to show a circle ESC design, on these are accessories etc and where the droids would stand.
The last droid is the FX-6 Surgical Assistant Droid, which is fantastic and is arguably a Minifigure in its own right with the level of detail put into him, The circular head and light, with multiple arms and unique standing design are all great, he holds a variety of accessories and has coloured cylinders on him to indicate a surgical procedure.
Overall
It’s a great set, the piece count is ok and for £19.99 it does exactly what you expected and wanted, there are some exclusive figures here and the droid selection is also solid, its actually pretty good to get an Anakin as well as Darth Vader, the mechanism works well within the chamber, it does what you need it to do.
Much like the Carbon Freezing chamber from before, for many this might be a set they will miss, the play value is fine but a little limited, the overall shape of it is ok but not my favourite as I said earlier but don’t get me wrong, its a good solid set at a reasonable price.
