Droid Commander

Building this is less about one long sit-down and more about three quick, punchy builds you can lay out at the same time. Each droid is fairly simple on its own, and the whole point is that the electronic brains, the Move Hub, motor, and sensor, swap between them, so you're constantly rebuilding and reconfiguring rather than finishing a single showpiece. The Gonk is the standout to assemble because you're putting together an actual walking mechanism out of gears, turn shafts, and the motor, and seeing that come alive is the best moment in the box. R2-D2 and the Mouse Droid are quicker and more straightforward. Because it all runs through the app, the pacing is dictated by the missions, which is engaging for a kid but can feel babied if you just want to build.

On parts, there's more here than the coding focus suggests. It debuted a new 4x4x3 dome-top brick in light bluish gray that forms R2's head, plus new smooth-spinning 18x14 wheels with no traction. You get lovely printed pieces too, including R2's dark blue curved slopes and, as a nice bit of nostalgia, a white slope with seven black vertical lines that first appeared in Classic Space in the 1980s. There are genuinely rare recolors: a light bluish gray fez, several dark turquoise elements showing up in that shade for the first time, and a dark blue 2x14 plate and hinge plate that are basically exclusive to this set. At 1,177 pieces the price-per-part math is unkind, but for a parts collector chasing exclusive colors and prints, the inventory is richer than you'd guess.