March 1st was a release date for many of LEGO’s Spring line here in the States. As per usual, Star Wars had a very notable presence in this release wave. I was thrilled to see a renewed focus on recreating some of the most recognizable scenes for Star Wars lore in LEGO form. Moreover, I was even more excited to see that several of these sets were reasonably priced compared to many of the other high-ticket (and high brick count) releases leading up to now.
One set in particular caught my eye. I scoured the Richmond, VA area Target stores looking for this prized addition! It felt like I checked or rechecked a new store every other day only to be disappointed at their delayed receive to shelf time frame. Over the weekend I hit the jackpot, finally, and found my prize – the Carbon-Freezing Chamber!!
I giggled with geeky delight when I first saw the images of this set! The living room of my house is Star Wars themed (my hot wife’s idea, believe it or not). We have paintings of a zombified Storm Trooper, Vader, and Boba Fett. Our curtains have a stylish yet subtle Death Star print. The crown jewel is definitely our full-sized Han Solo in carbonite rug. My point behind revealing all of this, is that recreating the freezing chamber scene, one of the most famous scenes of the saga, is an opportunity that simply cannot be passed up.
LEGO Star Wars: Carbon-Freezing Chamber #75137
I’ll start with the minifigures because they are utterly fantastic! First is a new mold – the Ugnaught. I can’t say this is a character I’d ever sought as a minifigure. These weird little aliens were at the controls when Han Solo was lowered into the steamy chamber. Even though I never thought enough about him to want a minifigure, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t found a place in my collection of obscure characters in the imaginative plethora that is Star Wars.
Next up is one of my obvious top favorites, Boba Fett. This print is very similar to the desert skiff Boba. There is a bit more definition in the coloring giving the bounty hunter a cleaner look and his fabric cloak is cut to better emulate the pose he took in this famous scene. Mandalore’s finest hasn’t appeared in that many sets (even fewer priced below $30) so he’s a perfect component of the Carbon-Freezing Chamber.
Han Solo in his glory days – it doesn’t get much better! I didn’t have Han in this outfit before now so I was thrilled to have him. His facial expressions are particularly well done here. Best of all – A LEGO VERSION OF HIM FROZEN! This piece alone is worth the cost of the entire set. The way it’s designed to allow the normal figure to step into, and securely remain in, the slab is brilliant.
Minifigures aside, the actual build was equally entertaining. It’s pieced together in an almost modular way that connects into a way that forms appropriately curved platform. My single complaint is that the stairs are two pre-built pieces. Had they made it something you had to build from scratch then there’s a chance the end product wouldn’t have looked as flawless but it still threw me off. They did make up for this a bit by having every orange translucent piece separate (see the previous picture of Boba Fett for a closer look).
The playability factor here is tremendously high. Clever mechanisms are built in for an elevator and for the platform Han stands on to be tipped back. Once tipped back it can be rotated using the same mechanism so he returns to the upright position in his famous frozen form. The control panel for the Ugnaught is thankfully printed rather than decal-applied because I despise decals!
Here’s the rotating mechanism mid-turn.
Presentation is everything and this set nails it. Maintaining a LEGO collection can be frustrating due to the amount of space fully constructed sets take up. This concern often is the deciding factor in whether or not I buy a set. Minifigures are easy thanks to their low profile but full sets can take up a heck of a lot of space. With that said, I will be keeping this set intact on my shelf. Even fully constructed, the Carbon-Freezing chamber doesn’t occupy an inconvenient area. It’s made like a podium to present its faithful representation of the movie I love.
The awesome design and perfect minifigures are made even better by the fact that it’s priced at $24.99 (in most stores). I hope LEGO continues to put out sets at that price point that depict scenes as perfectly as the $100.00 and up sets. My next target is the Escape Pod #75136 which is set at the same level.
My rating of LEGO Star Wars: Carbon-Freezing Chamber #75137 is a perfect 10 out of 10.
If you’re a collector and having found this one yet then it’s worth searching for. If you’re reading this as a Star Wars fan who hasn’t really dabbled in LEGO, this set could be the one that hooks you!
Belligerent Barnes 