Set Name:X-Wing Starfighter
Set Number: 9493
Theme: Star Wars
Year: 2012
Pieces: 560
Minifigures:4
MSRP: $74.99 (CDN) $59.99 (USD)
Description from Shop@Home:
Lead the Rebels into intergalactic battle with the X-Wing Starfighter™!
Take to the stars in the classic X-Wing Starfighter™! Featuring wings that fold into attack mode, proton torpedoes, retractable landing gear and opening cockpit, this most iconic vehicle of the Star Wars™ universe returns to turn the tide in the battle against the evil Empire! Includes 4 minifigures: Luke Skywalker, Jek Porkins, R2-D2 and R5-D8.
Includes 4 minifigures: Luke Skywalker, new Jek Porkins, R2-D2 and R5-D8
Features X-Wing Starfighter™, 1 blaster, and 1 Lightsaber
X-Wing Starfighter features retractable landing gear, 2 proton torpedoes, opening cockpit and wings that fold into attack mode
Extra wing markings also included
Set the wings to attack mode!
X-Wing Starfighter measures over 12” (33cm) long
Battle the 9492 TIE fighter!
link: http://shop.lego.com/en-US/X-Wing-Starfighter-9493
This marks the fourth version of the mini-fig scale X-Wing that LEGO has released since acquiring the Star Wars License. (The original in 1999 was well, kind of disappointing, but the Stuck in Yoda's swamp version in 2004 and the full to the brim of minifigures from 2006 which were for all intents and purposes exactly the same ship, just different minifigures and accessories, were very good.) And even though the last version came out in 2006, it was available for purchase for over 4 years. Are we getting X-Wing fatigue? Is a new X-Wing really necessary? Lets take a closer look.
First up, we have the front of the box. This shot appears to be the X-Wing racing down the Death Star Trench. We see that it comes with four figures, two of which are new, and that the X-Wings open and close.
The back of the box shows a few of the play features of the ship, and some shots of the mini figures in action.
Inside the box, we have 5 numbered bags, an instruction sheet and a small sticker sheet. BOO! HISS! Stickers, yet another sign that LEGO is gouging.
The cover of the instruction book.
A random shot of the instructions. The X-Wing has a lot of technique parts inside for the X-Wing opening/closing mechanism, so showing them in detail is helpful. There are also some new and interesting building techniques not present in older versions of the X-Wing so the detailed building steps are very welcome, especially for younger builders.
The dreaded sticker sheet. These stickers are used for the call sign markers of Luke and Jek and for the front of the engines. Really LEGO, you are going to nickel and dime us for 10 lousy stickers? Sigh. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I really hate stickers.
Contents of bag #1. This bag contains the minifigures, as well as the start of the main body of the X-Wing. If you are concerned about all the odd colours here, don't worry, they are all interior parts and not visible in the finished model.
The mini figures. We get from left to right, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and for the first time ever, Red 6 himself, the first pilot to give his life for the Rebellion Jek Porkins and his equally doomed astromech r5-d8. If you take the heads off, Luke and Jek look exactly the same, which is surprising considering that Jek is well, lets just say it, he's a big fat guy. The new r5 model (the Tie fighter comes with a black version) is a nice addition to the Star Wars universe. A couple of disappointments here, neither pilot have reverse-able heads, which is odd, since Jek comes with visor down, but not up, and Luke with visor up, and not down.
And from the back. Nothing to see here, move along.
Now, the reason we're all here, the build itself. A very early shot.
I still haven't figured out if LEGO puts all these odd colours in for a reason, such as making them easier to find or visibility during the build, or if they just throw them in because they have extras lying around. Whatever.
In this shot you can see the beginnings of the mechanism that will open and close the X-Wings. For those of you who own either of the last two models, you notice the lack of the large gear box they used to use for this job.
The mechanism is taking shape how, and you can see where the pilot will sit up near that yellow piece.
The model at the end of bag #1. It doesn't look like much does it? The extra parts from this bag are in the foreground. And if you look at the rear of the ship you will notice some upside down parts. Your eyes are not deceiving you, this ship makes use of some cool inverted bricks. And no, they aren't stuck to anything, they are put in loose and then pieces above them trap them in place.
The contents of bag #2. These parts will form the exterior of the X-Wings main body.
The tapered shape of the front of the ship is once again achieved by using hinged pieces.
Its now starting to look like an X-Wing, at least from this angle.
See those white pieces sticking out just near the opening mechanism? Upside down. Cool eh?
Here you can see the new cockpit accessory, the targeting computer screen.
Almost done this bag. Still using the classic cockpit piece.
And what it looks like at the end of bag #2, with the single sad extra piece. A lot of people have stated that this set looks the same as the last ones, and while it does look similar, it is very different. The main difference at this point, beside the new opening mechanism, is there is no belly storage area that opens and closes that the last two models had.
The contents of bag #3. This bag makes 2 of the wings. Bag number 4 makes the other 2, which are mirror images of these two.
A top and a bottom view of the wings at an early stage of construction. There is nothing else added to the bottom of the wings after this point.
The wings are another area where new construction techniques are used in this model.
The "completed" wing. Well, completed as of the end of this bag. And again, would it have killed LEGO to include a printed part up there for the call sign instead of a sticker?
And the two wings attached to the ship. One goes on the top of one side, and the other on bottom of the other side.
And the contents of bag number 4. Like I mentioned earlier, these parts form the last two wings, which are just mirror images of the first two. So I'm going to just skip to the finished product for this bag.
Here we are at the end of bag 4. We see all the wings on, and the extra parts in the fore ground. Something looks likes it missing right? Well, remember, we have 5 bags in this set.
And here are the parts for that bag. These are the finishing touches for the model.
Here is the finished back of the ship. We can see the wheel that you turn to open and close the X-Wings. This mechanism opens more like the one in the movie, very quickly instead of winding open and closed like the last two versions of this set. Its still not a perfect open/close, its nice.
And the completed model with figures. To turn this into Jek's Red 6, you add those 1x1s seen next to Jek's feet to the wings.
So, how does the new X-Wing stack up? Honestly, I'm conflicted. In terms of looks, it really doesn't look that different from the old ones. It is a nice looking ship so its got that going for it. It does have 2 new exclusive mini figures in it, so if you are trying to build your own Red Squadron, its got that going for it. One thing that bothers me, you have to put the droid in sideways. If new and cool building techniques float your boat, its got that going on too. If you are a parts hound, there really isn't anything new or exciting that I saw in it. And then there is the price. (I know, I know, the horse is dead, I can stop beating it) Unless you really enjoy paying full price for things, wait for a sale (like I did.) In terms of play value, it passes the test, and if you bought the new TIE, you need something to go shoot it down right? For hard core collectors I'd say this is worth getting, but if you have the 2006 version and are happy with it, you don't need to get this one.
Ratings:
Minifigures 4/5 (how many pilot Luke's do you need?, and Jek is kind of disappointing, although the new R5 is very nice.)
Parts 3/5 Not a lot of new parts but plenty of technique pieces.
Play Value 4/5 Its swoosh-able, and the landing gear retracts, the wing open and close. Not a lot true, but the whole point of this set is to recreate dog fights, and it does that.)
Price 3/5 (Canadian pricing) 4/5 (American) As usual, too expensive to recommend buying at full price. Wait for a sale.
Overall score 3.5/5
[REVIEW]: 9493 X-Wing Starfighter
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[REVIEW]: 9493 X-Wing Starfighter
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Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?
Re: [REVIEW]: 9493 X-Wing Starfighter
I'll be picking one up...just for the Porkins.
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