Star Wars

Imperial Probe Droid

The creepiest droid in the galaxy, hovering right there on my shelf.

Brick Rated Score

4.2/5

Set 75306 · 2021

Pieces693

Minifigsn/a

Year2021

Set number75306

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

This is one of those sets that looks far more expensive than its parts list suggests, because almost none of those pieces go into hidden internal frame and nearly all of them end up as visible detail.

The spindly hanging arms and that floating pose over the Hoth ice sell the whole thing. I love it as a display piece, and I love that it does not need a single minifig to have presence. Just know going in that the legs are delicate and this was never meant to survive a five year old's hands.

Best for: The grown-up Empire Strikes Back fan who wants a moody shelf piece, not a playset.

The full review

What it is

The first time I got the Imperial Probe Droid floating over its little patch of Hoth, I actually laughed out loud at how menacing it looked. That mix of dome, dangling sensor arms and the clear pole holding it just off the snow captures the exact moment from The Empire Strikes Back when this thing crash-lands and starts sniffing out the Rebel base. It has no minifigs and it does not need any. The droid is the whole star, and for a set that only runs to 693 pieces it has a surprising amount of stage presence. What got me is how little of that piece count is wasted. There is barely any internal skeleton to speak of, so nearly every brick goes straight into the shape and surface you actually see.

The catch

I will be straight with you about where it falls down. The legs are flimsy. That is the single complaint that comes up in almost every review, and it is fair. The longer arms attach with bar and clip connections that do not have quite enough grip, so they knock loose while you are posing the model and a couple will drop off if you nudge the whole thing. It is not a dealbreaker for a piece that lives on a shelf, but it does mean this is a look-don't-touch build. The other honest caveat is value. Sixty dollars for a 693-piece set that builds in roughly two hours is not a bargain by part count, and if you love long, involved builds this one is over fairly quickly.

Who it's for

So who is this really for. If you are an adult Star Wars fan who wants a characterful display piece with a strong silhouette and a bit of diorama flair, it is an easy yes. It sits beautifully next to the small-box helmet busts and gives you something with actual pose and personality instead of another head on a stand. If you are buying for a kid who wants to play, or you want a long meaty build for a rainy weekend, look elsewhere, because the fragile legs and short build time will frustrate on both counts. For me it lands as a very good set with real caveats, and one I am genuinely glad is on my shelf.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building this is mostly an exercise in surface texture and greebling, which I find weirdly relaxing. The main body comes together across the middle bags using some clever techniques to get that round, panelled dome, and a few control-panel stickers go on here. The real joy is the arms. You build six of them, three larger sensor arms and three smaller underside ones, and each is tipped with a different clamp, blade or tool so no two feel repetitive. It is fiddly, detailed work rather than big satisfying structural chunks, so if you like the meditative side of LEGO you will enjoy it.

On the parts front, the star of the show is the humble small rounded cone that shows up throughout the arm joints and gives them that authentic spindly, movie-accurate taper. A handful of the little pre-pack detail elements appear here in their colours for the first time, which is a nice bonus for parts collectors. Beyond that there is nothing hugely exotic in the box, it is more a lesson in how far smart part usage and minimal internal structure can stretch a modest count. The clear brick-built support pole is also a satisfying little sub-build that does a lot of the visual heavy lifting.

Fun facts

01This was the first non-helmet set in the small-box 18-plus Star Wars display line, breaking the pattern of the bust-on-a-stand format.
02It released in March 2021 and retired at the end of 2022, and sealed copies have since climbed well above the original 59.99 dollar RRP.
03The whole model recreates a single moment from The Empire Strikes Back, the probe droid scouting the ice planet Hoth for the hidden Rebel base.
04Despite looking like a large model, it has almost no internal framework, which is why nearly every one of its pieces ends up as visible exterior detail.