Tag Archives: Starfighters

LEGO Star Wars 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter: the comeback story arc [Review]

Before the X-wing, there was the ARC-170. Well OK, technically there was nothing before the X-wing as the original Star Wars came out before the prequel films – but let’s not get into semantics just yet! While the former has seen plenty of LEGO iterations down the years, there have been just two sets of the Republic’s main starfighter, and none since 2011. None until now, that is! LEGO Star Wars 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter forms part of the new line of LEGO Star Wars sets coming out on January 1, 2025. With 497 pieces, it can be pre-ordered now for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99, and will likely be available on eBay and Amazon too. Does this hotly-anticipated comeback live up to its billing? Read on to find out!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Take flight in our review to see how this fighter stacks up!

Dogfighting Star Wars starfighters in LEGO form

It’s fair to say that the Star Wars prequels had a lot of ups and downs. Among the definite ups, though, is the opening scene to the third instalment, Revenge of the Sith. Spaceships! Dogfights! Explosions! Sassy Jedi! LEGO builder Thomas Jenkins has got us reminiscing about that scene with this ARC-170. Billed as the predecessor to the venerable X-wing, it’s a ship design I’ve always loved. Thomas is a dab hand when it comes to LEGO spaceships, so it’s no surprise to see some fantastic shaping mixed with admirable attention to detail.

But it takes two to tango dogfight! So to oppose the Republic starfighter, we’ve also got a Separatist Vulture Droid from the same builder. What I like the most about this one is the walking wing mechanism, achieved with clever use of Mixel ball joints.

Tasty little LEGO Star Wars fighters leave you wanting more

LEGO Star Wars advent calendars have some pretty neat microscale ships, but it’s hard to get many good details at such a small size. Tim Goddard has no such trouble with these four microscale fighters, packing these pint-sized ships with a ton of great details and ace part usage, like screwdrivers for cannons. The iconic Y-wing and A-wing are fantastic, but the angled noses of the X-Wing and E-Wing are simple but especially effective.

Micro Star Wars

Can I get an E-wing, but with extra E, please?

You may have noticed a distinctly blue-green tint to some of our featured LEGO starfighters lately. The likes of Inthert, Mansur Soeleman, and now Alec Hole are building up a Star Wars squadron based around the best colour in LEGO’s palette: teal. This one is loosely based on the E-wing that finally entered the Star Wars canon in the Ahsoka series. I say loosely, as it’s a tad bigger than the in-universe design. Bigger engines, bigger hold, bigger guns. So naturally, it had to be called the Capital E-wing! A nice tongue-in-cheek name for a very fine starfighter.

Teal 9 - Capital E-Wing - 01

A tiny starfighter that belies its size? “Y” not?

Check out this superb LEGO Y-wing built by FlyInSpace. It’s a dead ringer for one of the original studio props! Superb shaping, a ton of greebles, and… The same size as your smartphone?! Yes, this model is actually a lot smaller than it might look at first! Certain pieces do provide clues as to its scale, such as the pair of cabinet doors used as the cockpit roof. Quite how FlyInSpace has managed to pack so much greebley goodness into such a tiny package boggles the mind. A miniature marvel!

Midi-Scale Y-Wing • Main View

Why not a Star Wars Y-Wing?

It turns out, the formula for successfully getting featured on The Brothers Brick is Star Wars. Oh, and LEGO. That part is crucial. The dubiously-named Simulterious takes pretty much the only two pages of TBB’s Book of Winning the Entire Internet and combines Star Wars and LEGO. And now everyone is as pleased as punch. It doesn’t hurt that this crowd-pleasing Rebel workhorse is outfitted with some nifty details and build techniques. Thanks to this builder’s amazing work, this article was really not much effort on my part. You just type up a couple of stream-of-conscious quips, then sit back and watch the success roll in. Thanks, Simulterious !

Y-wing starfighter

Intergalactic Insect Extermination

Is your quadrant overrun with insect infestations? Ask for the Insectoid Incinerator by builder WyndGekko. The latest craft by an talented designer, this ship features a twin prong weapon system straddling each side of the pilot’s canopy. The massive heat output from the weapon discharge is managed by the large vent systems next to the pilot. Angular plating covers the engine and fuselage while giving the ship a sleek but aggressive presence. Simple landing craft can be seen below the ship, allowing for easy traverse throughout the universe, as long you have enough uranium in your engines!

Insectoid Incinerator

Speaking of engines, check out the ones that the Insectoid Incinerator is sporting. Twin boosters on each side compliment the weapons in the front while providing a boost to your pulse engine while you make your way through a system. You never know when you’ll need to engage your warp or close in on an opponent in the skies of an alien world but with engines like these, you’ll never have to worry. The builder chose a sleek, tapered nozzle for the boosters featuring barrels in light bluish gray. The Rock Raiders drill piece makes for great bulky design for the main engine and WyndGekko’s choices for the larger, stubbed nozzle were wise. I also love this better angle of the white and red plating over the ship’s body. From above and at this angle I can’t help but think of Kill la Kill or Gurren Lagan. Not too shabby of a way to dig to the heavens if you ask me.

Insectoid Incinerator

A Nahuatl future

Taking its name from the Aztec or Nahuatl word for strength, the Chikautok Jr-2 by Flickr builder Oskar certainly has a strong design. This spacecraft features some powerfully contrasting color blocking to break up the otherwise smoothly flowing body. Various Bionicle elements work their way into the engine and wing sections, adding texture and a technological feel to the build. White rubber bands blend in with the triangular engine/wing combos, serving a functional purpose with a design flair. The red canopy for the cockpit flows smoothly from one side of the craft to the other while blending in almost seemingly with the red stripe along the center of the craft.

Chikautok Jr-2

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Intergalactic Telephone Crew: Volume Two

It’s been a while since we covered the fourth of 8 builds from the second round of the Starfighter Telephone Game, or STG, so lets do a recap as we highlight the final build in the series. The STG-2 Beyonder, built by Simon Liu, the spaceship legend himself, made for a super strong finish for the whole game. For those not in the know, the game includes eight builders, passing along a spaceship design that they reimagine and redesign with each subsequent build. As such, the form and function can shift and change in dramatic ways from the first ship to the last. The bright green canopy surrounded by white angular canopy pieces smooth out the cockpit and compliment the triangular shaping achieved with the left and right roof tiles that Simon pulled from the Bone Demon set. Dark grey mock-wings stretch out from the green, white, and blue fuselage while gold tiling on the engines can be seen peeking out from behind the craft. Unfortunately Simon hasn’t provided much of a look at the back. Thankfully, the front is so beautifully built it’s worth appreciating on its own. The greebly, detailed interior of the cockpit feature’s many LEGO fans’ favorite frog piece as this sleek ship’s pilot.

STG-2 Beyonder

Check out the previous ships!

Release the TIE fighters!

Well, those are a different kind of TIE fighters… Dan Ko built the most striking microscale spaceship for a Space Jam contest. I’m in love with it, and that may or may not be because of the teal – my favourite colour. The colour scheme with the purple highlights somehow feels like it belongs in an established universe. Whether it be LEGO Classic Space, or any sci-fi franchise, this carrier appears to swoosh straight out of it. The part usage is also worth noting – teal coloured brick separators and the little bow ties that represent the tiny starfighters.

The Wraptor Carrier

Want to see more builds with teal? I sure do! We have a whole collection of them here!

Spacey-Racey Swoosh Champions

When you love spaceships, it’s impossible not to like racecars. And vice versa. They two go hand in hand like… Cheerios and milk. PaulvilleMOCs combined the best of both worlds in this colourful racer. The racecar influence, as well as the respective sponsor decals, stems from usage of odd car elements from an old promotional LEGO set released in Cheerios boxes.

Cheerios Spacecraft Space

PaulvilleMOCs originally built this racer as a parts experiment for our good friends at New Elementary. Check out his article where he explores these strange promotional sets which barely pass as LEGO, proving that even the weirdest of the weird can be used in LEGO creations!

Penelope’s Friendly Viper

What do you build when your sister asks you to play with her LEGO? I’d say a Disney castle or a fantasy adventure diorama. But according to Frost, sister’s bricks are perfect for building a Vic Viper or two. Obviously, for her favorite characters, like Penelope. I like this one for its shape and glowing coral color, which looks amazing with open space in the back. Even such a simple Vic Viper got a couple of nice piece combinations, like the tiny bow and arch pieces on the tip of the wings.

Penelope's Friendly Viper