Last month LEGO revealed the next set in the Ultimate Collector Series would be 75275 A-wing Starfighter, making it available May 1 just in time for May the Fourth celebrations. Due to the current global pandemic, LEGO’s shipping department wasn’t able to get us an early copy, but we’ve finally got our hands on the set to bring you an in-depth review. The new Rebel fighter has 1,673 pieces and is available now for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99.
TBB newcomer VelociJACKtor has built the dastardly leader of the Separatist’s droid army from Star Wars. I dig the textured dark grey legs and ribs juxtaposed against the smooth tan armor plates. The arms also split as appropriate for the General’s main gimmick. As expected for a model depicting one of the most nefarious — if incompetent — villains in the Star Wars films, General Grievous has several fine lightsabers in his collection from hunting Jedi after being trained by Count Dooku. Maybe the next LEGO Grievous will have a new one.
Not getting enough Grievous in your life? Here’s a model from Marcin Otreba from last summer, or check out the official sets from 2008 and 2015.
Ever wonder what happened after Boba Fett and others fell into the Sarlacc Pit? Jabba sort of hinted there would be a thousand years of slow digestion but according to Cube Brick these LEGO denizens of the pit are having the time of their lives.
Below the sand and the menacing toothy pit lies a lively cantina scene. Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes belts out the only tune they know while a Gungan serves up hard drinks (or blue milk) for the less inebriated. A Twi’lek tantalizes patrons with a pole dance floor show.
And just when a thousand years of slow digestion seems like it couldn’t get any more enticing, the whole shebang shifts to accommodate mood lighting. Now everyone looks totally swanky! Bottoms up, weirdos!
Ah, the bantha. In Star Wars lore, these giant horned beasts serve as steeds and companions to the bandage-fetishist Tusken Raiders. In the film, they were portrayed by an elephant named Mardji in a giant costume. Not sure why I bring that up, other than to mention that wow, that’s a lot of hair. In related news, Andrew Miller has created a LEGO version of a bantha that somehow transforms plastic elements into the best representation of matted fur that I’ve ever seen.
The effect is created by a skillful combination of curved slope, claws, horns, and even modified plate rock. The legs get their textured look thanks to the inclusion of ridged 2×2 round brick. The use of all the various shades of brown in the LEGO color palete also helps to sell the effect.
But despite the apparent need for a bath, this minifigure scaled beast is still just adorable. I’d love to see this level of detail show up the next time LEGO includes a bantha in a released set.
Oh. And how do you get down from a bantha? You don’t. You get down from a goose. Silly of you to even ask.
Thomas Jenkins is the latest in a long line of LEGO builders trying their hand at one of -if not THE– most famous ships of all time. While others go for shocking size with accurate interiors, others like Thomas have opted to go pint-sized and adorable.
We’ve seen Han Solo’s pride and joy in this scale before in 2009’s 7778 Midi-scale Millenium Falcon. But in the 11 years since that release building techniques in the world of LEGO aficionados have evolved.
The way Thomas built the forward mandibles, for example, is a departure from every official rendition of the Falcon we’ve seen to date, and in fact many fan creations. The closest I can recall is Gol’s sleek version from late last year which also used slopes to achieve the acute angles. He’s also smartly used a smaller version of the wedge plate flap techniques of it’s larger siblings, and I also genuinely appreciate the effective choice to simply alternate between two different molds of the jumper plates to achieve The Force Awakens-era rectenna.
This isn’t even the first Falcon we’ve featured in a month or even in a week, but you can trust that as long as savvy builders keep coming up with fun and interesting ways to reinterpret the YT-1300 Light Freighter, we’ll share it with you.
LEGO is kicking off Star Wars Day celebrations early ahead of May the Fourth by launching the 75275 A-wing Starfighter. In addition to the UCS A-wing becoming available, LEGO is offering 40407 Death Star II Battle as a free gift with Star Wars purchases more than US $75 | CAN $75 | UK £75 (available through May 4th or when supplies run out).
LEGO is also offering double VIP points on all Star Wars sets (like the new helmet series) and various deals on other Star Wars sets throughout the weekend. The new Star Wars sets join several other LEGO products that have recently become available including Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah and the buildable Minions (which both have 2x VIP points for the entire month of May).
Click to get a closer look at each new LEGO Star Wars set now available for purchase
Revealed by retailer Amazon Japan, we get a first look at The LEGO 75288 AT-AT that comes with the label of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back. It’s been a while since an AT-AT was released at this scale with LEGO 75054 AT-AT back in 2014. It comes with 1,267 pieces, six minifigures and is scheduled to be released on Sept. 1st 2020 for US $159.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £139.99.
Every year for the increasingly merchandised “May the Fourth” Star Wars holiday, LEGO has produced an exclusive item to include for free when you buy other Star Wars products. This year’s promotional set is 40407 Death Star II Battle, a microscale vignette from Return of the Jedi featuring an A-wing and TIE Interceptor skimming the battlestation’s surface. The set includes 235 pieces, and will be included with Star Wars purchases between May 1 and May 4 from LEGO’s website over US $75 | CAN $75 | UK £75. LEGO is also offering double VIP points on all Star Wars purchases over the same timeframe. LEGO lists the set for US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £13.49, but it isn’t available to purchase directly, and likely won’t ever be unless LEGO ends up with a lot of extras after the promotion ends.
Earlier this month, LEGO revealed 75275 A-wing Starfighter as the latest Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series set in advance of the set’s release for the May the Fourth celebration, and normally we’d be bringing you an in-depth review of the set about now. However, like so many other areas of our lives these days, the coronavirus shutdowns have thrown a wrench into our plans, because LEGO hasn’t been able to get us an early review copy. So in the meantime, we caught up with the set’s designer, Hans Schlömer, to learn a bit more about the set.
75275 A-wing Starfighter will be available starting May 1, and will retail for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99.
I want to note up front that I usually conduct interviews after I’ve built the set and had a hands-on experience with it, but due to current events I don’t yet have it. So my apologies if a few of these questions would be obvious after building the set. But let’s start with learning a little about you. How did you become a LEGO designer?
Hans Schlömer: 12 years ago I was hired to design 3D models for a LEGO online game. Creating LEGO models in 3D was a hobby of mine for years. Little did I know that this would also be the perfect education and training for becoming a LEGO designer!
Twenty-one years and around 700 sets after its inception, the LEGO Star Wars theme has done something new. It has introduced LEGO sets with an age rating of 18+. No, they’re not risque models of Princess Leia, merely display models clearly targeting adult collectors who want display items for their mantle. Few LEGO themes have embraced adult collectors the way the Star Wars line has. With the multi-generational, massive fanbase for Star Wars, this isn’t surprising, since now more than 40 years after the original film there are certainly more Star Wars fans over the age of 18 than under it. And this focus on adult fans isn’t new. Back in 2001, LEGO introduced the Ultimate Collector Series, kicking off not just with an X-wing and TIE Interceptor, but also an 1800-piece bust of Darth Maul. Now LEGO has introduced a trio of new mantle decorations in the form of three iconic helmets from the Star Wars universe:
75274 TIE Pilot Helmet | 724 pcs | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99
75276 Stormtrooper Helmet | 647 pcs | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99
75277 Boba Fett Helmet | 625 | US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99
All three of the Star Wars helmets are available now, and run for the same price with around 600-700 pieces. So what makes these new sets worthy of an 18+ rating? Spoiler alert: nothing. However, that aside, let’s see how the sets stack up.
Based off of Star Wars: The Art of Solo Andrew Miller’s slick Millenium Falcon variant zooms straight out of hyperspace and into LEGO. I have to admit I’m a huge sucker for concept art, and I hold a special affinity for any bit of Star Wars-that-could-have-been.
This black-and-grey version has very few similarities to the white-and-blue edition we got in Solo: A Star Wars Story (and as the Kessel Run Falcon LEGO set.) The small black winglets on either side of the hull are interesting, and I especially like the souped up engine cowling and much longer prow. The builder even worked in an removable escape pod not unlike what we got in the movie. I suppose explaining how this Falcon became the piece of junk we all originally met in A New Hope would have been just a tad more difficult.
Check out the art this is based on:
Poland’s Jan T. has built an icy LEGO recreation of Ilum from Star Wars: Fallen Order and it’s an action-packed stage with a story to tell!
I have to admit I’ve never played the game but this model caught my eye for its boundary-breaking snowy clumps hanging off the edge of the edges of the scene. The stark gray face of the Imperial lair utilizes interesting paneling and some absolutely gorgeous cutaways reveal piping running through the walls. I also love the probe droid floating menacingly nearby.
Not content with only half the action, Jan has also included a backside to the stout Imperial fortress wall complete with an adorable little BD-1 hacking into a security droid.
Need more BD-1 in your life? We shared instructions from one of our favorite builders hachokoru24!