Tag Archives: Star Wars

LEGO Star Wars is one of the most popular LEGO themes of all time. Far beyond X-wings and TIE fighters, there’s a whole expanded universe of inspiration, and an army of LEGO fans ready to build whatever comes out of George Lucas’s head next.

Lego Star Wars Kashyyyk Troopers 75035 [Review]

The Lego Star Wars Kashyyyk Troopers is one of the three new battle packs released in March 2014. This set retails for $12.99 and is available on Amazon. Below is a brief video review and my remarks regarding the set.

This is my favorite of the 3 battle packs. The swamp speeder is the highlight of the set and includes a surprising number of new and hard-to-find parts as I have mentioned in the video. The speeder itself is also well-designed for its size and is acceptable for army-building. The set also include 4 of the new functional blasters.

Lego Star Wars Death Star Troopers 75034 [Review]

The Lego Star Wars Death Star Troopers is one of the three new battle packs released in March 2014. This set retails for $12.99 and is available on Amazon. Below is a brief video review and my remarks regarding the set.

The set features 4 new minifigures. The Royal Guards come with dual-colored capes and the death star gunners have different head printings. The turret has a flick-fire missle but is otherwise unremarkable and not so useful for army-building. Parts-wise, it contains an ok selection of brackets but nothing that makes it outstanding. I think this is an average battle pack.

Lego Star Wars 75018 JEK-14′s Stealth Starfighter [Review]

75018 JEK-14′s Stealth Starfighter is one of the sets from the 2013 summer release of Lego Star Wars sets. It contains 550 pieces and retails for $69.99, which you can buy from the Amazon.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below.


Pros:

  • Wing-folding mechanism with simulated hydraulics
  • 4 unique minifigs


Cons:

  • High price per piece ratio
  • Average overall selection of parts

This is a decently-designed Star Wars ship that suits well for display or swooshing. The wing folding mechanism is a highlight, but the rest of the play features are typical of a starfighter. I do not recommend this set for its parts due to the high price per piece ratio. Amazon currently has the set for 20% off, which is how much I would like to see this set priced at to begin with.

V is for V-Wing, Among Other Things

Since 1977, there has been no shortage of Star Fighters being built inspired by various letters of the alphabet. While I don’t find the resemblance to the letter V particularly striking in this ship, I think that may be a good thing. A little subtlety in approaching the lettering system is part of what makes this ship by halfbeak () good. The use of a Christmas tree ornament for a cockpit is very well executed, and blends well with the other organic elements of the build.

I’m in a Star Wars sorta mood

As a child my life revolved around Star Wars, however, for the last 10 or 15 years I have somewhat lost interest in the genre. I pick up the occasional Star Wars set from time to time, but mainly for parts. However, my oldest son recently received several Star Wars sets for his birthday and it somewhat rekindled my interest in the style. Now seeing all the brilliant starfighters being created for the Alphabet Fighter Contest being held over at FBTB has made me want to explore the style even more with some of my own builds.

One of my favourites that I have stumbled upon is this Incom I-Fighter by Lego Junkie. It just has that right look to it. I would not be surprised to see this swooshing along side an X-Wing or being used to bulls-eye womp rats. This makes me really want to play Rogue Squadron on the ol’ N64.

Incom Corporation I-Fighter.

LEGO Star Wars Sets for 2014 Unveiled [News]

Looking remarkably like previous years’ offerings, the 2014 sets have been revealed for your perusal. With only one exception, this wave is all from the prequel films, and I believe all of the vehicles in this wave have already appeared in previous versions. So if you’ve missed out on your favorite one before, you’ll get another chance as soon as these hit stores.

75045 Republic AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannon

75045 Republic AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannon

See the rest of the 2014 Star Wars sets after the jump!
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Lego Star Wars 75024: HH-87 Starhopper [Review]

75024 HH-87 Starhopper is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 362 pieces and retails for $39.99, which you can buy from the LEGO Shop.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below.


Pros:

  • Unusual color for a Star Wars ship
  • 3 unique minifigs


Cons:

  • Average play features
  • Hardly any new elements
  • Messy design on the wing pattern and the nose

This is an average Star Wars ship at an unremarkable price. I was originally drawn to its unusual color scheme. Unfortunately, the dark tan parts are not uncommon and the lime green tiles are very cheap to obtain. I do not recommend this set for its parts. Even for a display set, the design is messy at places such as in the pattern on the wings and the nose. For kids, it’s a sturdy model and will stand up to lots of play, and they will likely not be as picky as an adult builder when it comes to parts selection and design. Thus, this set is best suited for the young ones, as it is meant to be.

Lego Star Wars 75021: Republic Gunship [Review]

75021 Republic Gunship is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 1175 pieces and retails for $119.99, which you can buy from Amazon.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below. The video also compares the set to its previous 2008 version.


Pros:

  • Very sturdy design, can be lifted by just the wings
  • Include 5 unique minifigs
  • Improved aesthetics over the previous version


Cons:

  • No major flaws, but this is a third version of a Star Wars ship.

This version of the Republic Gunship has the best design in terms of looks and sturdiness. It makes for a good display item and can be handled more roughly without sustaining serious damage. Despite these qualities, the set doesn’t feel very new to me because it has been made twice already in the past. Even the minifigs are just new versions of previously existing ones. If you haven’t been jaded by Lego’s recreations of popular Star Wars ships, then this is a great set to have.