Tag Archives: Starfighter

LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series 75181 Y-wing Starfighter [Review]

Each year, LEGO releases at least one new LEGO Star Wars set in its long-running Ultimate Collector Series line of large-scale sets. Last year saw the release of the monumental 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon (the largest LEGO set ever released at 7,541 pieces) as well as the excellent 75144 UCS Snowspeeder. This year’s UCS release is 75181 Y-wing Starfighter, built from 1,967 pieces, retailing for $199.99 starting on May the Fourth or “Star Wars Day” 2018.

Of course, this is not the first UCS Y-wing that LEGO has released — 10134 Y-wing Attack Starfighter was released fourteen years ago, way back in 2004. We’ll take a closer look at how this latest UCS Y-wing stacks up against the first one in our hands-on review.

Read our hands-on review of 75181 UCS Y-wing Starfighter

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Classic Space gets a facelift

The classic space theme is always near and dear to my heart, as my very first LEGO set with a minifig was 487 Space Cruiser. There have been many LEGO creations paying tribute to this theme, from scaled up versions of classic sets to microscale. This long-range scout ship by Alec Hole represents a significant reboot.

The classic division of light gray wing/underside and blue fuselage pays homage to the theme while prolific greebling and other details throughout the model give it a very modern feel. There are a number of elements from the classic sets used here to connect this modern vessel to its historic roots, from the overall blue and gray color scheme to the little “bumblebee” stripes.

Enforcing the law in a single-seat escort starfighter

Details are one thing, but Jeremy Williams takes it to astronomical levels with the Krait Single-Seat Escort. There are so many intense details all around that it’s hard for me to even recognize the pieces or techniques used. It is not just about the intensity, colours help too. We’re so used to seeing gray textures on mecha and spaceships that even black, let alone blue versions of it come out as a total surprise.

I shouldn’t just emphasize the textures and details though, even if they are the build’s highlight. The colour blocking is excellent and the shape of the spacecraft is believably blocky with no redundancy. A genius addition is the microscale space station in the background, which is a solid build in its own right. The post-production on the picture is very attractive too, making it look almost like box art for an official LEGO set.

Patrol the Martian safety perimeter aboard the Mercury-class interceptor

Polish builder Marcin Grabowski is no stranger to large spacecraft. We featured his DragonFLY-class dropship last year, and he’s recently completed this wonderfully angular starfighter set against the planet Mars. The heavily armed, predominantly white fighter fighter is complemented by technical components in shades of gray. The lines of yellow make the vehicle look like a racing ship, and I love it.

You can see the top and rear of the spacecraft better in this multi-angle collage.

Protect Naboo with a microscale Naboo Starfighter [Instructions]

Naboo is an idyllic world close to the border of the Outer Rim Territories in the fictional Star Wars world. It is a peaceful place inhabited by humans, called the Naboo, and an indigenous amphibian species called the Gungans. Protecting their home is essential, and the Naboo Starfighter is the sleek craft that patrols the sky and space above Naboo. Thanks to these instructions by Justin Chua, you can build your own microscale Naboo Starfighter, resplendent in its classic yellow and grey colours.

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Flying this ship is as easy as Aurek, Besh, Cresh

Aurebesh is the writing system in Star Wars used to transcribe Galactic Basic, one of the most used languages in the galaxy. It first appeared in the 1983 movie Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, but it was expanded into an alphabet by Stephen Crane of West End Games for gamers to use when playing Star Wars video games. Jake RF has created a starfighter that resembles the letter Enth (shaped like a backwards E and pronounced /Æ/) in the Aurebesh alphabet. There’s a lot of nice textures going on here, and the colour scheme works well to make this a believable Star Wars ship.

Jake RF shared some work-in-progress views and the original concept artwork. It’s not often we are able to get insights into the design process of a model and it is interesting to see.

Classic Space Supra-light Starfighter

If like me, Jonathan Samson, you were a child of the 80’s, chances are higher than a snowflake in the White House that you’ll remember LEGO Classic Space. As long as I can remember I have always wanted my own Classic Space Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP – allow me to present the Fruit Bat.

Affectionately named for the Megabat family Pteropodidae – due in part to its stunning manoeuvrability at high-speeds, but mostly because the pilot is a lotta bit nuts.

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What does the millennium fox say?

With the release of the new Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon it seems like everyone just lost their minds and interstellar space is now cluttered up with countless falcons. Miro Dudas makes a good point: why falcons and not a fox? Fox makes just as much sense as a falcon in intergalactic travel! So, why would you fly a piece of garbage when you can choose this fluffy orange beast?

Become an Imperial engineer and build your own TIE Fighter [Instructions]

The ‘twin ion engines’ in a TIE fighter help to make these little starfighters fast, agile and perfectly suited for a dog-fight in a narrow trench. Every Star Wars fan surely needs at least one sitting on their desk? Thanks to instructions provided by Inthert, you can build his LEGO version of this iconic starfighter and take on the nearest X-wing.

There are three pages of instructions provided. Page one provides the steps for building the solar array wings…

Page two completes the wings and provides instructions to start the spherical central cockpit area…

Finally, page three completes the cockpit and shows how to put everything together…

Thanks to Inthert for taking the time to make instructions as his TIE-fighter looks to be a fun build.

Blue & green, small but mean, she’ll shoot you down right to Georgetown

Generally, in life, bigger is usually better. However, that is not the case with this neat little starfighter by TOKYO TAG TEAM. The build is a wonderful blend of colors, shapes, and angles compacted into a very small package, but for me, it’s the stickers that really set the build apart — I dig the little symbols plastered over different parts of the fighter. In particular, the use of the long blue stickers on the windscreen were an excellent design choice. Without them, the windscreen would likely feel very bland.

After close inspection, I am only left wondering how the pilot steers the craft. Neuro-controlled maybe? That’s probably it.

A lurid red flash in the skies

Marcin Grabowski is at his best designing aggressive-looking LEGO starfighters. This vertically oriented vibrant beauty has the distinct shape of a wasp and is also loaded with a ton of formidable weapons. It’s hard not to fall for the brilliant choice and distribution of stickers across the fighter’s body — the fonts, the numbers, and even some tiny warning signs, all work well in highlighting the ship’s edgy frame.

Thales Orbital Defence Orcinus Class PAD Gunboat

Immersed in and inspired by a broad range of innovative source materials in sci-fi — from novels and short stories to TV and video games — builders of LEGO space creations have no boundaries to their creativity. Tromas proves this by not only building a chunky, believable starfighter but also giving it a chunky, believable name with a chunky, believable backstory. This gunboat sports a massive quad cannon toward the rear, with lovely orange stripes on a white hull. The reclined cockpit configuration has a viewport built from a transparent hexagonal wing piece integrated among wedge plates. But what really draws the eye are all the little technical details around the edge — not your usual gray greebles, but hyper-realistic black and gold thrust nozzles, white sensor arrays, spots of sand green, and more.

The rear includes no less detail, with primary engines that match the color scheme of the small directional nozzles.

Check out more pictures of this great spaceship after the jump