[REVIEW] 75336 Inquisitor Transport Scythe

[Clone OPatra]

There's a lot of decent competition in the $100 USD price point at the moment. Read on as I judge 75336 Inquisitor Transport Scythe on its own merits and compare it to last year's $100 Star Wars TV show foldy wing ship, 75314 The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle... if you're inquisitive that is.

SET INFORMATION
Number: 75336
Name: Inquisitor Transport Scythe
Theme: Star Wars
Released: 2022
Part Count: 924
Minifigures: 4
Set Price (RRP): 99.99 EUR / 89.99 GBP / 159.99 AUD / 99.99 USD / 129.99 CAD
Links: Brickset, Bricklink, Flickr set

INTRODUCTION
I have not watched the Kenobi show, nor do I have any interest in watching the Kenobi show, so this review won't be about comparing the set to its source material. Nonetheless, this looks like a fantastic Star Wars ship with four cool Star Wars minifigures.

Now it's my role as reviewer to see if the set is as good a package as it looks, and, to make things interesting, compare it to a couple of other ships.

Thank you to LEGO for providing this set at Eurobricks' request.

THE BUILD
Before we get into the build, a quick comment on the box art, which I have been passing over in recent reviews. The angle of the ship is kind of weird. The full thing doesn't even fit and it's hard to tell the actual shape of it. There have been worse examples of Star Wars box art but I'm really not sure why they went with this.

Carrying on, I haven't taken pieces shots per bag because there is just so much black and grey. Because of how hollow the ship becomes, making room for interior detail and space, the designer couldn't use a rainbow of colours since those colours would have bled through. There are tiny bits of yellow, blue, red and tan, but otherwise, it's all black and grey everything.

The first bag kicks off looking like nothing much, setting out a support structure common of modern sets - a combination of Technic and parts sandwiched between various brackets for strength. We also get two Minifigures straight away.

Bag 2 builds up the pilot's seat area and front boarding ramp, plus a bit at the back.

Bag 3 begins the front... mandibles(?) of the Scythe, which use a ton of brackets. At one point in the middle of building each of them the core plate begins to bow because of forces exerted against it by other parts, but it gets evened out by the end.

Bag 4 finishes up the left-hand front mandible and adds side panels. The mandibles are quite cleverly kept in place by loosely slotting a bar into a Technic pin hole, and slotting a Technic pin into a brick-sized gap. It's techniques like these that LEGO designers generally wouldn't have used even ten years ago that really show how design processes continue to evolve to make achieving complex shaping possible in sets that are still buildable for kids. I love to see it.

Bag 5 contains the mirror image of the sections from Bag 4, and there isn't too much more of interest from here on out.

Bag 6 adds the back panels, Bag 7 finishes the sides, and Bag 8 completes the model with the folding part of the wings and the canopy.

 

THE MINIFIGURES

Regardless of any thoughts about their in-universe designs, these are some exemplary minifigures. They come decked out with all of the necessary detail to match their on-screen counterparts, and while the Grand Inquisitor and Fifth Brother have been done before, they sport new shoulder and chestplate armor to accurately reflect the Kenobi show. Fifth Brother's helmet looks like it might be the same as last time, but also works perfectly.

They all have appropriate levels of torso detail front and back, and even the Kenobi figure is desirable with a good civilian but slightly sci-fi-ish torso, fun cut of poncho, and new slicked mullet hairpiece shared with the other Kenobi set.

Speaking of that new hairpiece, I was surprised to see it in the set images because at a glance it looked very similar in size to Seinfeld's mullet piece that LEGO just recently introduced. In actuality, it's quite a bit more slicked back, though does compliment the shape and overall size. 

For accessories, everyone simply comes with their lightsabers - the Inquisitors with their special helicopter Inquisitor hilts that haven't been seen since the last time an Inquisitor appeared in a LEGO set, and Obi-Wan with his standard one.

THE SCYTHE

The Scythe makes for a fantastic model. The shaping looks complex but elegantly captured, and it's suitably hefty all around for the price. Despite seeing the undersides of studs on the folding part of the wings, it looks perfectly good displayed like this in landing mode.

It doesn't have a bad angle, with the back also looking respectably detailed and covered up, with no awkward parts or colours showing through.

Given that the wings are not attached with click hinges, they can theoretically be displayed at any angle, but fold them too far and gravity will do the rest. They can't be folded all the way down in landed mode, though.

Playing with the set in flight mode is easy, as it's extremely sturdy and swooshable, which again seems like quite a feat given the shaping. To display it this way you'll need some extra pieces of your own, like I have added for the purposes of this review.

It really does look excellent from all angles.

The Scythe opens up for easy access to the copious interior space.

The chairs are built to accommodate the Grand Inquisitor's and Fifth Brother's bulky armor, and there's built in space to hold all of the lightsaber blades if you're into goofy ways to store lightsaber blades. The sides have some good Star Warsy stickered detail which is easy to apply.

With the lightsaber blades removed, the set can hold at least four more minifigures with room to spare, and most wonderfully, the top can be closed with minifigures fully standing up!

It's also possible to open just the canopy itself, though only the minifigure in the pilot seat can really be accessed this way.

Lastly, the front opens up to simulate the boarding ramp. I say "simulate" because this section doesn't actually connect through to the interior, and it's difficult or impossible to balance a minifigure walking down on the underside of studs, but it's nice LEGO included this anyway and could be good for display.

 

COMPARISON WITH THE BAD BATCH SHUTTLE

I bought last year's 75314 The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle pretty much just because I liked The Bad Batch show and because the set came with the entire "Batch" (minus Omega of course). I have never reviewed that set, but given that it's a shuttley thing at the same price point, I thought it would be interesting to compare the Scythe with it.

Right away there's the obvious difference that, though the Bad Batch Shuttle set has 45 more pieces than the Scythe, it makes less visual impact because those pieces are spread between the shuttle and two speeders. The designers would probably say that they needed to include the speeders for "conflict in a box", yet they were cool having the entire Scythe face up against a lone minifigure in this set. Especially as the two speeders were nothing important in the Bad Batch show, I'd argue that the pieces would have been better invested into the shuttle.

Just how much smaller is the Bad Batch Shuttle than the Scythe? Well, quite a considerable amount. It's a lot shorter lengthwise, as you can see here.

The wingspan is decent, but the actual body of the Shuttle is much less tall than the Scythe as well, not counting the fin.

The back of the Bad Batch Shuttle is one of its best exterior sections though, with good detail and shaping around the engines.

Another place the Bad Batch Shuttle doesn't live up to the Scythe is in landed mode. The Shuttle includes no landing gear, plus the undersides of its wings are pretty ugly and not super displayable.

Both sets give you the option of opening just the cockpit canopy or the whole top, but while the Scythe lets you actually access the pilot seat, the Shuttle's canopy hits the top fin and it isn't easy getting a figure in there.

I illustrated how the Scythe, a ship for which the interior might never be shown on the actual show, has a fantastically spacious and well-appointed interior. The Bad Batch Shuttle's interior does feature heavily in the Bad Batch show, and yet the set has barely any detail whatsoever and with just enough space to barely pack in four figures, especially tightly in the main compartment. It's easily mod-able to take away the pointless locking crate and make space for a fifth figure, but it still lacks detail overall and the cramped interior doesn't reflect the importance of the ship in the show.

Oh, and don't think about closing the top of the Shuttle with a minifigure standing up inside!

When it comes to comparing the minifigures included in both sets, it could be a toss up. The Scythe's figures are fantastic, but the Shuttle also includes the entire Bad Batch (minus Omega), and they are all highly detailed figures. Accuracy-wise, the Scythe's figures have the slight edge as they capture all of their detail better. Tech's helmet is comically oversized and really had no reason to be, and the fact that LEGO used a standard P2 helmet for Hunter, Echo and Crosshair has and always will bug me as it's just wrong. If they had introduced a new mould to share between the three I would have been ok with that, but a P2 helmet, especially for Hunter and Echo, isn't right.

COMPARISON WITH 10497 GALAXY EXPLORER
There's another spaceship with a solid interior on the market available right now, and that's 10497 Galaxy Explorer, at the very same price point to boot (though in Australia it's $20 more than the Scythe ). Of course this comparison is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but let's quickly see how they compare anyway.

It should come as no surprise that the Galaxy Explorer surpasses the Scythe in length and heft, as it's one of the most generous deals at RRP available today.

It's also a bit taller in its main compartment section, so the Explorer really is larger all around.

That said, when it comes down to the details the two sets are similar in a lot of ways - both are easily swooshable despite being made up of complex shaping, and both have generously sized and easily accessible interiors with room to seat and stand figures.

Speaking of figures, the Explorer does exactly what it needs to in the minifigure department and executes perfectly, so let's call it a draw.

CONCLUSION

75336 Inquisitor Transport Scythe packs a pretty much perfect model that's both a joy to build and to play with, four lovely minifigures, and a decent size for its price. The set stays focused on its one ship without diverting parts to extraneous side builds, and really is a feat of design. It achieves complex looking angles ingeniously, and makes room for an exemplary amount of interior space while staying super sturdy.

Its price point is also well chosen for the source material, allowing it to be large enough to achieve good detail and have playable space (unlike 75284 Knights of Ren Transport Ship), but not making it too large and expensive for its relative importance (unlike 75323 The Justifier).

Now it's up to you whether you care. As far as Star Wars ships go, it doesn't look to be the most important or even memorable, but in and of itself as a design and as a LEGO set, it's fantastic.

SCORE
How do I rate this set?

10 MINIFIGURES

Great selection with excellent unique parts and prints all around. A Joel Edgerton would've been great too, but I don't hold that against this lineup.

9 PIECES

Nothing stands out as all that interesting, but there are a good amount of parts.

10 DESIGN

Really great stuff. Sturdy yet hollow. Complex angles. Awesome.

10 PLAYABILITY

Given how swooshable it is, and how much interior space it has and how easy that space is to access, I'd say it's pretty darn playable.

10 PRICE

Also perfect for a Star Wars set, these days or any days.

9.8 OVERALL - It's a great set, full stop. But did I hype myself into this? Do you have the set and see some flaws that I have overlooked?

 

GIFT GUIDE

For a kid... It's a fun, swooshable ship that contains excellent baddies and the all important Obi-Wan to fight them, so it's good!

For an AFOL... it makes for a satisfying build with excellent unique minifigures, and also looks good on display in landed or flying modes. I wouldn't recommend it as just a parts pack unless this AFOL LOVES black, but it would still make a good gift for a Star Wars-inclined AFOL.

For a casual LEGO fan...  I would also recommend it as a great example of contemporary LEGO set design, and as long as this LEGO fan likes Star Wars, it's a good gift.

For a Star Wars super fan... They probably have it already. So get them a second copy!

[lowlead]

One of the most entertaining and comprehensive reviews I've seen in a while.  Nicely done - lots of effort went into this, clearly.

...and who doesn't love a good Star Wars foldy-wing ship??  The motley crew of Inquisitors vs. the super-swell Classic Spacemen - that photo just makes me laugh for some reason.  Probably lots of awkward small talk going on there.

[icm]

Thanks for a very well written and well illustrated review. I especially appreciate the comparison with the Galaxy Explorer and the Bad Batch Shuttle. In my headcanon the Scythe is a Blacktron vessel in hot pursuit of the Galaxy Explorer, so not only does the picture with the Classic Spacers standing inside the Scythe illustrate the height and volume of the usable Scythe interior, it also shows that the Blacktrons achieved their objective. Poor Classics .... Also, I've been on the fence about the Bad Batch Shuttle for a long time, but I just might pick it up today. The Scythe can wait a month or two for the next good GWP.

[LordsofMedieval]

Those mating photos seem unsuitable for a child-friendly website.

[Meaf]

I still don't have the Bad Batch Shuttle, and even though I kind of want it, I can't say this review convinced me to get it (hopefully the Bad Batch show up in a nicer set next year). The Scythe looks great though, I'll have to grab it at some point. Thanks for the great comparison pictures. 

[Jerac]

I don't approve the sea of studs, but considering this is easily fixable, that is a very nice build. For a long time I had a complaint that the SW team is visibly behind other design teams, but this is not true anymore. This and the new Razor Crest are truly fantastic sets. 

[LordsofMedieval]

4 hours ago, Jerac said:

I don't approve the sea of studs, but considering this is easily fixable, that is a very nice build. For a long time I had a complaint that the SW team is visibly behind other design teams, but this is not true anymore. This and the new Razor Crest are truly fantastic sets. 

Yeah, in all seriousness, the moment I saw the Scythe, I bought it. I cannot STAND Disney Star Wars, but the angling involved in this model is a thing of beauty. And I can appreciate something for what it is without loving the source.

[Jerac]

7 hours ago, LordsofMedieval said:

Yeah, in all seriousness, the moment I saw the Scythe, I bought it. I cannot STAND Disney Star Wars, but the angling involved in this model is a thing of beauty. And I can appreciate something for what it is without loving the source.

Disney Star Wars is not bad, it gave us Mandalorian, Andor and Rogue one. Just stay away from the main saga and you're good.

[MKJoshA]

The shaping on this set is absolutely top-notch and some of the best I've seen from Lego. Another set with fantastic shaping is the Galaxy's Edge IT-S Transport. Though it's far more subtle than the Scythe. Lego has really upped their game when it comes to designing space ships.

Thank you for this amazing review. I really enjoy all the ship comparisons. Now I need to crack open my copy of Galaxy Explorer...

[Tariq j]

Great review. I do forget how cursed some of the Clone Wars era minfiigures looked.

[Krol Zmija Sebastian]

Awesome.

[1340cc]

This set was the highlight of the August wave for me. Great shaping, great minifigs and a roomy interior with space for a few stormtroopers. Might be the best €100ish SW ship set to date?

[icm]

Well, I just plunked down my hundred smackers for the Bad Batch Shuttle. I’ll probably get the Scythe and the AT-TE in January or February.

[Clone OPatra]

Thanks for the positive comments everyone. It was fun doing the comparisons, and I'm glad to have provided something useful or at least entertaining with the review. And yes, it was a lot of work!

On 11/23/2022 at 2:22 AM, Tariq j said:

Great review. I do forget how cursed some of the Clone Wars era minfiigures looked.

And yet I love them anyway... I have collected every single "cursed" Jedi, except Eeth Koth who just looks downright ugly, and is now more expensive than I'm willing to pay given the ridiculous, skyrocketing aftermarket prices for Star Wars particularly. In fact it's the Clone Wars faces that I choose to display in my Star Wars display! I'm weird...

 

On 11/23/2022 at 7:22 PM, 1340cc said:

This set was the highlight of the August wave for me. Great shaping, great minifigs and a roomy interior with space for a few stormtroopers. Might be the best €100ish SW ship set to date?

While the Scythe might be technically better, 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium is my favourite $100 SW ship. It distilled the techniques of the UCS version into playscale and was SO far beyond the original LEGO version of the ship, plus had a great crew of Minifigures with outfits for Han and Leia that still haven't been redone (not enough Endor love from LEGO in general tbh). That might have been the last time we saw Endor Rebel troopers too? And they were much better than previous versions. Sure the proportions and everything on the ship aren't great, but I still love that one.

[Staley]

I bought it this summer. When I was buying it I didn't know it was so good. It looks astounding. The play functions, the minifigs work so well. I agree with this review 9.8 is the perfect evaluation for this. 

[Johnny1360]

This review was just enough of a nudge for me to buy the set. Did not disappoint, a real gem and fun to build, also a great addition to my Star Wars fleet. Thanks for the review, we see so few of these type reviews anymore, so that was a treat too.