LEGO 4502 - X-Wing Fighter

This is an old set from 2004 that I obtained through the secondary market while shopping on eBay. Although it is called the "X-Wing Fighter", this is really based on "The Empire Strikes Back" where Luke goes to the Dagobah system to search out Master Yoda and begin his Jedi training.

I've already said quite a bit about the X-Wing's design when I reviewed LEGO 6212, and the fighter in this set appears similar. What distinguishes this set from other X-Wing releases is the inclusion of Yoda's hut and the vines on the X-Wing. Yoda's hut folds in upon itself to form a nice, compact dwelling, but smoothly opens up to expand into a playset. There are 563 pieces to this set and includes three minifigures: Yoda, Luke in Dagobah fatigues and R2-D2. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the build process as the set was already assembled and displayed for a few years. Enjoy the pictures.

Yoda's hut folded out (exterior)

Yoda's hut folded out (interior)

Yoda's barang-barang

Yoda's bed and barrel

Yoda's hut folded in (rear)

Yoda's hut folded in (front)

Yoda's hut folded in (top), with a unique printed piece

Minifigures (l-r): R2-D2, Luke (Dagobah outfit), Yoda

Luke has a pilot helmet. Unfortunately, the lightsaber is green.

X-Wing Fighter (with vines):

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

Lego Star Wars SDCC 2010 exclusive Cube Dudes

This is the third year in a row that Lego has released an exclusive product under its Star Wars line at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). Participants at SDCC 2010 had to enter a raffle and picked for the right to purchase this Clone Wars edition of Cube Dudes for US$75 each. My own set is numbered #0302 out of approximately 2000 sets available and was purchased off a seller on eBay.

The set of 5 Star Wars Cube Dudes came packaged in a cube cardstock box and were designed by Angus Maclane. The set consists of 5 figures from the Star Wars franchise, namely C-3PO, R2-D2, Yoda, Captain Rex and Obi-wan Kenobi. They are characterised by relatively large boxy heads stuck on top of tiny bodies for a cartoony feel.

Angus Maclane has been creating hundreds of Cube Dude characters from a range of popular culture, TV, movie and toy franchises. You can check out his other designs on his Flickr stream. Lego took notice of his efforts and began collaborating with him. By day, he is an animator at Pixar, whose movie credits include the award-winning "Wall-E".

On the whole, these are cute little darlings that are easy to put together and would be a good addition to any collection. I spent barely an hour putting the five figures together. They also display well if you have more than a few of them. I certainly look forward to further Cube Dude releases in future.


Box (front)


Box (back)


Box (top)


Box (underside)


Serial numbered #0302


Contains 416 pieces. Unfortunately, I was missing a 1x2 white plate brick.


2 of 5 bags containing C-3PO (l) and R2-D2 (r)


2 of 5 bags containing Obi-wan Kenobi (l) and Yoda (r)


1 of 5 bags containing Captain Rex. There was also a supplemental bag with 2x 1x1 smooth square plates which they must have included after realising an error in the number of pieces required.


Instruction booklet (front and rear covers). Note the glossy figure silhouettes.




Instruction booklet (interior)



Obi-wan Kenobi



Captain Rex (my favourite figure from this set)



Yoda



C-3PO



R2-D2 (I had to steal one non-essential piece from him to build Obi-wan's hand)


The Laurel and Hardy duo from Star Wars


Full line-up


Mini-figure included for scale comparison (As you can see, they're really quite tiny...except for the head)