There's nothing better than having a substantial-sized Lego build to complete over the holiday season - and thanks to my soon-to-be brother-in-law, my fiancée and I had just that with the Lego 75187 BB-8 set this Christmas.
We'd been eyeing up this set for some time, so were rapt to receive it as a gift. Coming in at around 1100 pieces, BB-8 is a hefty chunk of plastic filled with wonderful details. Every side-panel (including the bottom) is uniquely detailed with greeblies, and BB's signature facial details are perfectly rendered with the ingenious use of a handful of radar dishes. What's most impressive, however, is the way in which the designers have managed to duplicate the droid's spherical shape using predominantly non-curved bricks.
BB-8 comes with a couple of nifty play features, including a spinning head and his trademark 'thumbs-up' lighter which emerges from an opening hatch. Both mechanisms are controlled by rotating a respective side panel, and work incredibly well. BB's head mount is particularly nice - being fixed to an elasticised gimble contraption. This means that instead of spinning somewhat 'robotically', BB's head bobs back and forth slightly with each turn - cleverly emulating the more natural movements of his on-screen counterpart. Our only (very minor) criticism of this set regards the door that conceals BB's lighter. While it pops open nicely when the lighter is extended, it needs to be manually closed after the lighter is retracted. It would have only required a small modification (and the addition of an additional elastic band) to have this door automatically close - but it would have added an incredibly satisfying finishing touch.
That small gripe aside, this is a damn-near perfect set. As added bonuses, BB also comes with a fantastic stand and nameplate (the likes of which we usually only see in Ultimate Collector Series sets) and a minifigure-scaled BB-8 for size comparison. The whole package makes a wonderful display piece, and one that will be front-and-center in our living area for a long time to come!
