Lego Star Wars Inquisitor Transport Scythe review

Fans of really cool spaceships will definitely want to get their hands on the Lego Star Wars Inquisitor Transport Scythe - it's sleek, stylish, and a super fun build.

Whether or not you’ve seen Disney+ TV series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Inquisitor Transport Scythe (75336) probably looks very familiar. And that’s because Disney has a penchant for delivering brooding red and black spaceships, and a Lego incarnation is never far behind. In fact, Krennic's Imperial Shuttle (75156) and Kylo Ren's Shuttle (75256) represent some of the best Lego Star Wars sets around, and we’re pleased to report that the Inquisitor Transport Scythe trumps both of them.

We get our first glimpse of the Inquisitor Transport Scythe in Part I of Obi-Wan Kenobi, where it ferries a trio of bickering Inquisitors to Tatooine, all of which are present and accounted for in Minifigure form. Reva (the Third Sister), the Grand Inquisitor, and the Fifth Brother would have been enough to justify the $99.99 MSRP, but the set also includes an exclusive Ben Kenobi for the evil trio to hunt. 

If you’re an adult collector who can’t justify the price or space for a large 18+ Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) set, like the Republic Gunship (75309) we reviewed recently, and would rather search for Lego Star Wars deals, then this playset’s surprisingly challenging build and good-looks-over-play-features ethos could be the Lego Star Wars set for you.

Lego Star Wars Inquisitor Transport Scythe: Build

• 924 pieces
• Surprisingly challenging build
• Technic pieces add stability

The Inquisitor Transport Scythe comprises 924 pieces, providing a good value price-per-piece ratio of 10.8¢. This is also prevalent when the ship is built, thanks to its meaty size and spacious interior. The build is spread across eight sections. You begin by tackling the chassis and partial interior before moving onto the inside of the pincer-like frontage, built using a clever mix of Lego and Technic pieces to achieve some incredibly accurate angles. You then build the pincer’s side plating before completing the interior and moving onto the rear plating. You finish by constructing the folding wings and adding the beautiful, printed cockpit canopy.

The excellent Minifigures are somewhat spread out throughout the build, with the Grand Inquisitor and Fifth Brother built during the first section, Reva built during the third section, and Ben Kenobi constructed during the final section. 

The all-black aesthetic, folding wings, and sharp angles are very reminiscent of now retired Krennic's Imperial Shuttle set (75156), released in 2016. And while this set was really well received, a huge shoutout goes to the designers of the Inquisitor Transport Scythe, because they’ve refined the formula with an altogether tidier build.

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That said, this is one of Lego’s harder playsets to put together as the all-black aesthetic makes it very easy to misalign or simply miss out components altogether, even when following the instruction manual carefully. Plus, a good number of Technic pieces are used to achieve those spot-on angles which can prove tricky to line up or click into place.

On the one hand, it’s a shame there’s no Technic handle integrated into the build for easy handling during play. This is a feature present on many other sets nowadays and the ship’s big size would certainly benefit from it. However, we can’t see how this could have been added without impacting on the spacious interior and possibly compromising on what is one of the coolest-looking builds of the year.

This already good value build features a sizeable printed canopy – a unique addition to this set – as well as a printed cockpit control panel. Elsewhere you’ll find a total of nine stickers and although applying stickers is rarely fun, these ones make fine additions to the interior, representing control panels and consoles that pop against the dark color scheme.

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Lego Star Wars Inquisitor Transport Scythe: Design

• Near-flawless representation of the real ship
• Some of the best Lego Star Wars Minifigures currently available
• Accurate angular paneling achieved via clever design

It’s hard to imagine how Lego could improve upon the Inquisitor Transport Scythe at this scale. Sure, a few gray bricks could have been black to complete the all-black exterior and a few more smooth panels would have covered up more of the largely studded exterior, but other than that, there’s little else we’d change. This ship looks absolutely stunning and devilishly accurate at every angle – bar the undercarriage of course – and the angular design from the folding wings to the pincer-like frontage are near perfect. While scrutiny will reveal the odd gap here and there, they’re mere slivers, with no large, unsightly gaps to speak of at all.

In order to achieve the ship’s complex array of irregular angles, not everything is fixed down via studs or clips. This does mean that some sections of paneling flex slightly under stress and two long, one-stud thick bars that run along either side of the base of the hull are particularly prone to flexing as they’re easily grasped when you pick the ship up. However, we’ve had nothing break off on the exterior at all, so kudos to the designers for a surprisingly sturdy build.

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The interior doesn’t fare quite as well, since stickered panels on either side are prone to unclipping or coming apart, but these are easily avoided once you realize they’re a bit delicate. Inside you’ll find three seats for the inquisitors and an ample 6 x 6-stud space that provides storage for their six red lightsaber blades (via a few panels with knobs), as well as room to stand three additional figures with enough headroom to close the hinged exterior panels fully.

Due to the more mature nature of the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series on Disney Plus and the ship’s incredible accuracy, we’re happy to report that play features that could hamper the overall aesthetic clearly weren’t a priority. You’ll find a spring-loaded shooter on the undercarriage of each wing, a ramp that can be lowered so the inquisitors can leave the ship (although it’s not really designed to allow them to pass through), and the wings fold down when the ship is in flight mode, making it look arguably even more magnificent.

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Now that we’ve finished gushing over the build, we’ll move onto gushing over the four Minifigures. While we’ve seen the Grand Inquisitor, Fifth Brother, and obviously Obi-Wan before, they’re all brand-new variants for this set, while Reva appears in Minifigure form for the first time.

The Fifth Brother and Grand Inquisitor are the cream of the crop here. Lego could have given them the same pauldrons, but they’re both unique and the Grand Inquisitor’s even boasts minute printed details. The same could be said for the front and back torso prints. They look identical at first glance, but are subtly different on closer inspection. There’s a clip on the back of the pauldrons to hold a rounded lightsaber hilt and while both figures are incredible, the Fifth Brother is our favorite since Lego has included a back-of-head print (not an alternative face print). This is a truly exquisite detail, since it’s largely covered up by the helmet.

Ben Kenobi and Reva are great figures too. The former features a nice cloth poncho, a simple yet effective torso print, beautifully molded hair, and two face prints. While the latter’s molded hair piece really captures Reva’s style and a slightly thinner cape helps to convey the character’s slim build. If we’re really picking holes, arm printing would have been a nice addition, since Reva doesn’t have a pauldron or printed legs.

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Should you buy the Lego Star Wars Inquisitor Transport Scythe?

The Obi-Wan Kenobi television series certainly felt like it was designed to appeal to an older demographic that grew up watching the prequels and the Inquisitor Transport Scythe’s sometimes tricky build and zero compromise in the looks department certainly suggests that Lego decided to follow suit.

This is a must-have set for collectors and anyone looking to purchase a top-quality playset alike. The engrossing build, stunning aesthetic, and incredible roster of one-off Minifigures makes the Inquisitor Transport Scythe one of the best Lego Star Wars sets of the year and one of our favorite Lego playsets of all time.

Other Lego Star Wars sets to consider

The Inquisitor Transport Scythe is one of only three sets themed around the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader (75334) has an MSRP of $49.99 and features a top-notch roster of exclusive Minifigures: Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, Tala, and NED-B. The other set is the charming Obi-Wan Kenobi & Darth Vader (40547) BrickHeadz double pack which will set you back just $19.99.

If you’d rather revel in the glory days of the Jedi and don’t mind spending $399.99, there’s currently no grander Clone Wars era set than the UCS Republic Gunship (75309). Playset fans can indulge in the magnificent AT-TE Walker (75337), while bolstering their clone army with no fewer than four 212th troopers, for an MSRP of $139.99.