Peow's Passions: March 2011

04 March 2011

Lego 6212 - X-Wing Fighter

This is one of my favourite Lego sets. Together with the 6209 Slave I that I just reviewed, this set seems to be aimed at pulling new collectors into the Lego Star Wars line, given the appeal of the starfighter models and being chock full of mini-figures of the major characters in the films. The X-Wing Fighter is one of the most famous ships of the Star Wars saga. In the hands of the Rebel Alliance's brave pilots, the X-wing starfighter helped to destroy two massive Death Stars.

This set was purchased from a local Toys R Us outlet which had plenty of stock way back in 2007. I recall it being sold for $89.90 and this was offset by some TRU vouchers I had from credit card redemptions. Overall, this is a fairly fun-to-play-with set. The mechanical system that fold open the wings is fun, it's easy to hold and fly around, and with six mini-figures, there are really a lot of options when playing with this set.

The box, instructions and build aren't that special. In fact, the X-Wing model seems to be an exact re-release of the one from Lego 4502 (to be reviewed) which was released in 2004. Nonetheless, one could get this as a fleet builder. It's just so much fun seeing how all parts eventually fall into place and fit together perfectly. The construction isn't too complicated, since it is rather small (only 437 pieces), so young builders can have some fun too with this set, probably without help. What immediately struck me when building was the likeness to the movie models. Lego really did a more than great job on the designing part.

There are a couple of ways this set could be improved. Firstly, the front landing gear is very weak, and the X-wing must be put back very carefully if you don't want it to fall or break off. The cannons also seem a little short compared to the models in the film, where they go past past the cockpit.

One key attraction of this set is the number of mini-figures it came packaged with - six of them! Two pilots (including the first ever release of Wedge Antilles), Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Princess Leia.

The finished set looks good, and even better with the S-foil wings opened to attack position. It also has a cargo hold and lots of authentic details. Lovely!

Box (front)

Box (rear)

X-Wing Fighter

Fits one R2 unit

Cockpit (canopy open)

Cockpit (canopy closed)

Customise your X-Wing with either Red Two, Red Three or Red Five colours

X-Wing Fighter (rear)

X-Wing Fighter (rear; S-foils in attack position)

X-Wing Fighter (front; S-foils in attack position)

Luke Skywalker (pilot; light flesh)

R2-D2

Wedge Antilles

Princes Leia (Hoth outfit)

Han Solo (Reddish brown legs with holster pattern; light flesh)

Chewbacca (reddish brown)

Instruction manual and spare bricks

02 March 2011

Lego 6209 - Slave I

I've always thought the Slave I was an odd-looking thing, but it happens to be the craft of choice for Jango and then Boba Fett, the coolest looking bounty hunters in the Star Wars Galaxy.

This Lego set was among the first ones I bought back in 2007, picking off the last piece from the shelf at Simply Toys during their sale. This one impressed me more then i thought it would. It is bigger then I expected, and sturdy. 537 pieces and no brick stickers at all!

What is impressive about this set is the amount of features that I didn't even realise it had when I bought it. It has a cargo hold, realistic detailing, many very good minifigs, a bomb compartment, visible swinging guns, missile bays, and a real launching one, for heaven's sake! The cockpit moves up and down according to the movement of the ship, and there are compartments in the side for anything you might care to put in there.

There are four minifigs, including three of the five bounty hunters hired by Darth Vader to hunt down Han Solo. They could have done a better job on designing Han Solo though. Also, the cockpit dosen't open, you have to take it off.