The UCS Republic Gunship (75309) has officially been revealed by The LEGO® Group, arriving in stores and online on August 1, 2021. The long wait finally ends with a very impressive, very large set. This will be a global release with no pre-order or VIP pre-sale option. The Ultimate Collector Series sets are among the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year for the Star Wars theme. And it won’t be alone on August 1st as it joins a number of other Star Wars sets releasing that day. I hope everyone has been saving their pennies. Let’s check out some details.
UCS REPUBLIC GUNSHIP
- NAME: UCS Republic Gunship
- SET #: 75309
- THEME: Star Wars
- COST: $479.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 3292
- MINIFIGURES: 2
- RELEASE DATE: August 1, 2021
- COST/BRICK: $0.146 (average value)
- BRICK-TO-FIG RATIO: 1646 bricks/fig (standard values N/A for UCS sets)
- DIMENSIONS: 68cm long x 74cm wide x 33cm high
The UCS Republic Gunship is packaged in the traditional 18+ box with a black background. The scale is very impressive and allows for many more screen accurate details. The weapon pods look fantastic as does the cockpit. The large free-swinging doors on both sides are some of the largest moving parts ever created in a LEGO® Star Wars build. The set is also completely open beyond the nose portion thanks to an open technic frame. The build rests atop a display stand with a standard information plaque. 2 minifigures accompany this set: Jedi Master Mace Windu and a phase I Clone Trooper Commander. The challenge of creating the Star Wars Republic Gunship was given to designer, Hans Schlömer who also designed the iconic UCS Millennium Falcon and UCS A-wing. I’d call this another triumph!
The Fans Have Spoken
The USC Republic Gunship (75309) was first discussed in early 2020 via the LEGO® Ideas website. Fans were given the enjoyable task of helping choose the next UCS set. Naturally we all leaped at the chance to have a say. 3 options were on the table: the UCS Gunship, Nebulon-B Escort Frigate and the TIE Bomber. On February 5, 2020 the Gunship was announced as the overwhelming winner:
Fans have shared their passion, ideas and creative takes on the beloved saga with the LEGO Group for more than 20 years. So, the LEGO Group invited fans to vote on the top three requested sets via the LEGO Ideas website, and the Republic Gunship rose supreme with over 30,000 votes, accounting for 58% of all votes cast.
Prequel Appreciation
There has a been a growing love and support for the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy over the years. I think a lot of this can be attributed to the fantastic success of The Clone Wars animated series, where the ship was prominently featured. First revealed in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the gunship made a bold entrance rescuing our heroes and introducing the clone troopers to the galaxy. It’s somewhat hard to believe that this is only the third UCS set based off of the prequel trilogy! I hope this is a trend that continues, the original trilogy has definitely had it’s time to shine. And perhaps we’ll even see something from The Mandalorian, Rogue One, Solo or….if necessary…. the sequel trilogy.
Something to Discuss
Let’s address something that will surely cause some heated discussions – the minifigures. Many fans (myself included) were hoping this would be a more-than-obvious opportunity to include a key minifigure to the Star Wars line-up. Commander Cody in his phase II armor has been requested, nay, begged for by the fans for several years. Not including him here seems like a missed opportunity. There’s so much love for the clone characters that it’s always a little frustrating to keep on waiting for more. Does that take away from the overall appeal or incredible design of the set? Absolutely not. But I think it will undoubtedly sour a few fans.
The inclusion of a phase I Clone Commander makes sense. But including Mace Windu does feel oddly out of place. For a set this large and expensive, you expect exclusive minifigures. Neither figure seems like a new print, although the clone trooper now includes the standard leg printing. Mace Windu looks identical to his previous release in General Grievous’ Combat Speeder (75199) from 2018. Since recent UCS sets seem limited to only 1 or 2 minifigures, fans tend to have high expectations. But as always, we’ll just have to wait and see what (or who) might show up next.
“Build it, you must” – Yoda
The UCS Republic Gunship will undoubtedly be a huge success. Fans have been waiting patiently and I think the overall design is really striking. There’s little denying that this is expertly designed and will be a big, bold addition to any collection. But what do you think? Is this a day 1 purchase? Are you a little disappointed in the minifigure selection? Does it make any difference on you picking up the set? Let us know in the comments, and as always, keep on brickin’.
-Frank
Editor’s Note:
Just prior to publishing this article, The LEGO® Group informed True North Bricks that the packaging for the first wave of the UCS Republic Gunship will contain an error. Rather than the Republic Logo, the Imperial logo will appear on the box and instruction manual. This mishap will be corrected on sets coming out from December or January forward. The LEGO® Group had the following to say:
The dark side blurred our vision and we used the Galactic Empire logo on packaging and instructions for the 75309 LEGO Star Wars UCS Republic Gunship, while of course we should have used the logo of the Galactic Republic. However, the infiltration didn’t affect the actual model- which proudly displays the Galactic Republic[MM(1] logo. We are working to update the packaging and instructions.
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Really interesting that the packaging got the wrong logo – glad they were able to get it right on the ship.
Yeah, the logo thing is wild. Bet some collectors will go crazy for that soon-to-be rare box 🙂