I grew up on Star Wars. As an adult, my taste in science fiction has veered away, but my son and I have watched most of the Clone Wars series. When I first saw the images for these new Star Wars Buildable Figures, I was excited to see the potential. When they finally came out last week, I picked up a lowly Clone of my own.

Like most constraction sets, Cody consists of a small number of larger elements (which is why the price per piece is so different from system sets). There is a fairly muted palette here, but that is to be expected based on the source material.

This is one of the simpler sets, so the build is straight forward. The limbs click together and armored plates clip on the outside. His pack is a quick little technic build and the technic-built rifle is well done, but there isn’t much to get excited about there.

The finished model is great. I really like the new elements for the greaves and shoulder pads, those should both see use in the future. The helmet is nicely detailed, though of limited reuse. All in all a handsome display figure.

The added advantage of these constraction figures is that they are awesome for play, easily posed and durable in the face of abuse.

My biggest problem is the back. One of the weaknesses of this system is that it tends to leave parts of the armature exposed and that is particularly jarring with the back of Cody’s legs. I have already seen AFOLs customizing these kits to address flaws like this.

All in all, I like the set. I look forward to seeing other figures in the series and I suspect that LEGO will have more success with these in the adult market than they have had with Hero Factory and the recent Bionicle re-boot.

If you’re a Star Wars fan and not too much of a system snob, these Buildable Figures are worth a look.

Keep building and enjoy!