The 75370 Stormtrooper Mech from LEGO Star Wars is one of three sets turning classic characters from a galaxy far, far away into mecha. It was released in January 2023, and is available on Amazon.
Unlike Darth Vader and Boba Fett in the others, it’s a Stormtrooper in this one. In the Star Wars canon, we’ve yet to see much resembling a proper mech. In the latest season of The Mandalorian, we saw Grogu piloting IG-12, a droid, though it lacked the larger-than-life proportions of what you’d typically see in mech design. It makes sense considering the industrial design of Star Wars sci-fi, but LEGO have gone ahead and created a whole new form with it. Disappointingly, I wouldn’t consider this one of the best LEGO Star Wars sets for a number of reasons I will dive right into.
The result is an articulate, dynamic figure, yet a strange move from LEGO. The 75370 Stormtrooper Mech’s appearance is quite simple: compact, nimble, and efficient. The set makes use of its 138 pieces fast, creating a jointed figure that stands on its own two feet well. The mech is piloted by a new Stormtrooper minifigure that sports their own blaster, alongside the mechs. What’s missing, though, is cohesion. If you strip away the helmet and colour palette, you wouldn’t be able to tell that this was even meant to be a Stormtrooper.
You’re going to be able to pick up the 75370 Stormtrooper Mech for £12.99 / $15.99. This doesn’t look like much of a bargain in the grand scheme of things, but I think it’s a fair price. It’s available from Amazon and LEGO, among other retailers, at a little bit cheaper than LEGO’s retail price (£9.99, at the time of writing).
What the LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper Mech lacks in sensibility, it makes up for its practicality. Compared to other model mechas such as Gundams, the Stormtrooper Mech is an extremely fast build: 20 minutes, if you’re quick with it. This is in part thanks to how few pieces there are, though I expect this factor to be quite divisive.
It’s slightly bulky in some areas, though this does also give it a strong structure. There are only six major points of articulation: shoulder, hips, and feet. The three fingers on each are also movable, which gives the figure a surprising amount of expression when posing it. Unfortunately, the head basically can’t move or rotate, thanks to the typical mould of Stormtrooper helmets. It does seem like a very particular gripe, but it also means that you’re also quite limited when posing an otherwise dynamic figure.
The mech’s aesthetics mimic that of your base Stormtrooper. Clunky white armour clad over a black skeleton. The exaggerated chest and limbs do contribute to quite an intimidating posture, which makes me slightly curious as to how it could ever pan out in the film or TV mediums. A major issue I find with this set is in its visual design. While the Boba Fett and Darth Vader mech play around with the inherent DNA of the character, the Stormtrooper Mech takes it a little bit too far. It doesn’t look like upcoming LEGO Star Wars sets in 2024 will see a similar entry, which is a relief.
I praised the bulkiness from a purely structural standpoint earlier, but when it comes to how it looks – there’s not a whole lot of merit. The trooper’s arm guards are weird. In all canon media, the Empire’s lackeys have a very aquiline stature. Limbs are rounded, but narrow and long. The Stormtrooper Mech turns the forearm into a silo shape, while the upper arm does the same and bridges it with a flat round cap. It kind of reminds me of the cannons you would see on a Blastoise from Pokemon.
LEGO missed the mark here, unfortunately.
The same goes for the legs. They use the same Ninjago Mech limb piece which, while functional, limits the movement of the limb. There’s no knee joint here, so you’re not going to be able to pose the figure that well in some environments, and it’s way too similar to the arm.
The arm’s articulation, for example, would be perfect if there was another joint included. Then, you could pose the figure with two arms clasping the blaster. This is a much more accurate reflection of Stormtrooper behaviour, who very rarely shoot with only one hand.
For me, the least desirable aspect of the set is the back piece. Unlike the other Star Wars Mech sets which are adorned with rocket launchers and lightsaber holsters, the Stormtrooper Mech only sports an ugly bare backpiece. It feels like a lazy move on LEGO’s behalf. Where there could have been a jetpack or a blaster holster, or at least just some cladding, there is nothing.
If there was one point where LEGO should have broken away from the Star Wars meta – it’s here, but instead they chose to ignore it. If you do pick up the LEGO Stormtrooper Mech set, you’re probably going to want to mod the backpiece to make it a little bit less of an eye sore.
The blaster does its job well. It’s imposing, interesting and features a pretty nifty mechanism to fire studs at any rebel scum. It’s a shame that it can’t be removed easily and holstered, despite there being a spare holster clip piece on the hips.
The torso of the mech deserves attention though. The detailing on the 2×2 plate piece is fairly intricate, but its appearance and positioning is odd. In the Star Wars canon, Stormtrooper chest pieces are plain. The Empire’s insignia shouldn’t be there, and while it sort of makes sense from a visual standpoint, it’s yet another example of this set’s lack of cohesion with the source material.
Finally, the LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper minifigure. It’s one of the set’s best features. It’s simple. It features the updated helmet mould (controversial for some fans) which has intricate detailing, and the torso piece is printed with superb attention to detail.
It’s a shame seeing the design of the minifigure, and how this was ultimately ignored in the appearance of the centrepiece mech.
The 75370 Stormtrooper Mech lets me down in quite a few areas. Articulation is pretty basic, preferring sweeping movements rather than detailed movement, while the design of the actual figure is dissonant with the source material. Compared to the 75368 Darth Vader Mech and the 75369 Boba Fett Mech, the Stormtrooper is by far the biggest disappointment. It should be noted that this comes from a passionate fan of the Star Wars franchise. You expect to see a little more from the brand that effectively saved the LEGO company in the late 90s. If you’re considering buying this kit for a younger person though, I see no reason not to let them enjoy its functionality and flair.
- Price: £12.99 / $15.99
- Pieces: 138
- Review Score: 2.5 / 5
The 75370 LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper Mech is currently discounted on Amazon.
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Amaar began Bricka after a lifelong passion for LEGO.
His time building and collecting LEGO has influenced every aspect of his life, and he’s not stopped creating since.
Having played too many games growing up, Amaar is also a writer for Videogamer, where he reviews hardware and talks about handheld consoles.
When he’s not writing about nerdy things, he’s drawing graphic novels and tattooing at his Manchester studio.
