Kev Levell (@kevlevell) gives you double LEGO® Star Wars love today as he examines the parts in 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter & 75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing Fighter before creating MOCs using both their parts. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.
These two new iterations of iconic LEGO Star Wars ships have been available for a little while now. There are a very small number of notable new parts and even dealing with both sets at once, it is a scant offering. However, both sets feature elements that I wanted to investigate. None of the parts are presented in very great numbers either, but their connections and geometry may reveal them to be slightly overlooked gems. I’m hoping they aren’t disappointing, unnecessary introductions into the inventory.
I have elected not to use the stickers for 75301, and there were thankfully none provided with 75300.
Parts
New parts in 75300
The major part of interest in the new Tie Fighter is the thing holding the “solar array wings” on: Plate 6 x 6 with 5 Center Holes in Light Bluish Gray (6326482 | 73110) and fairly obviously there are 2 of them. They are exclusive to this set currently.
The modified plate is one brick high and shares that dimension with a part I have a real fondness for: the Nexogon - and no, I’m still not done investigating it!
The previous piece designed for the purpose of perpendicularly attaching solar array panels (30373), is a total of two bricks high, so there’s definitely a space saving benefit here.
Rare parts in 75300
1x Dish 4 x 4 Inverted with TIE-Fighter Print in Light Bluish Gray (6224386 | 3960pr0038) is available in two other sets including the 2018 version of this set.
1x Dish 4 x 4 Inverted with Open Stud in Light Bluish Gray (6317090 | 35394) is supplied and again, can be found in just two other sets. This open stud variant was introduced in 2018; the first time I noticed it was in its printed form in 21314 TRON: Legacy and some copies of that set included the original closed stud – I have examples of both. I assumed that this meant that the traditional radar dish 3960 was being superseded, however I have seen the part concurrently available to date. Indeed, in 75300 both parts are included simultaneously.
So, sadly, that’s really just the one part for us to explore from this set.
New parts in 75301
75301 fairs a little better, I feel.
4x Brick Round 3 x 3 x 2 with Recessed Center with 2 x 2 Studs and Axle Hole in Light Bluish Gray (6326483 | 73111) it’s exclusive at the time of writing, although I strongly suspect it will appear in more sets and other colours will follow relatively quickly. It looks a bit like a paint pot, and for ease that’s what I’m going to call it.
It shares the same diameter as the original 3x3 engines 30360/93168 available on the very first X-wing 7140 from way back in 1999, and to me that really doesn't feel all that long ago, but we have apparently come full circle!
The paint pot is two bricks deep with a one brick deep recess. This is a nice part, definitely a welcome addition to the family of round bricks. In many ways plugging the gap between the 2x2 & 4x4, but doing something more too.
I haven’t used these larger cylinder pieces in the MOCs later in this article but the paint pot fits concentrically with 68325 & 68327 ('Minions Goggles').
8x Technic Brick Special 1 x 2 with Pin Hole and 1 x 2 Plate in Light Bluish Gray (6326478 | 73109) is currently also only available in 3 others sets, but none containing this many.
I'm thinking that it is potentially a very useful if not wholly world-altering piece, particularly where edge or wall stability is concerned.
8x Brick 1 x 1 with Axle Hole in Light Bluish Gray (6336539 | 73230) it’s available in six sets from this year and is available in orange in just one other set currently, 21169. I have to say I feared for the durability of this piece but I have been reliably assured that in practise they hold up just fine without cracking along that imaginary horizon.
I think it probably offers some fairly interesting opportunities to build off in opposite directions or even 4 directions. In this configuration though, the part is close but does not appear to be precisely flush on all sides. A little wiggling might fix that, but the part seemed like a fairly snug fit to me. To the extent that it would probably deter me from using this technique where alignment in all four directions is absolutely crucial.
Rare parts in 75301
Brick Special 1 x 1 with Studs on 2 Adjacent Sides in Dark Bluish Gray (6332045 | 26604) is new in this colour but sadly only a meagre 2 of them are included. It now also comes in 76193 The Guardians’ Ship where there are 4.
Just 1 lonely Tile 2 x 6 in White (6332042 | 69729) comes in the set, although more can now be found across nine other 2021 sets.
Technic Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Double Split in White (6338918 | 41678) is a pretty rare re-introduction. First seen in 8623 Krekka and not available since 2006’s 500 piece Bionicle 6620 Ultimate Accessory Set.
Minifigures in 75300
These minifigures are made up from parts that have all been seen before. The Protocol droid is sporting some new updated prints however, and it’s good to see this kind of droid appearing in a more affordable set. There really isn’t much else to report.
Minifigures in 75301
Here are the minifigures for the X-wing… There are some nice new prints here for Luke and particularly General Dodonna. We’ve seen R2 and Leia before though.
Minifig Hair Swept Back with Widow's Peak Chin-Length and Bushy in Back in White (6128875 | 21269) has only been previously available in the BTTF Dimensions Doc Brown Fun Pack set where it wonderfully represented the eccentric inventor’s hair.
The finished models
These sets have been reported on extensively elsewhere, and my opinion of these sets doesn’t add much to those voiced in other reviews. I think it’s great to have these ships appearing at a much more affordable price point. I didn’t manage to secure one of the last iteration of the X-wing; set 75218 was far too expensive for me as I already have a number of the previous depictions.
I could compare these two models to their many respective previous versions having built a fair number of them, but as with many things, what one hand gives, the other takes away. Compromises have been made, but my feeling is that they are very fair compromises and that if you are looking for an X-wing and/or a TIE fighter for your collection - these really are excellent representations of those ships.
Kev Levell's MOCs inspired by 75300 & 75301
If you’ve read my articles you’ll have noticed my interest in Star Wars, particularly poking fun in a gentle but affectionate way. The first thing I did was to swap the wings of the two models to create a pair of stupid hybrid ships.
The Tie-wing and H-fighter were born! This amused my son and I ...and then we did a bit of swooshing these silly ships around “REEEEEYAUUUUUGH!”
All the subsequent MOCs are alternate builds, using only the parts provided in just the two sets.
Dali Class Elephant-hant Imperial Walker
My son was helping me take apart the sets and he chose to
“unwind” the light bluish grey edge of the TIE’s wings and I just saw
long legs...
Those long legs made me think of Dali’s “Elephants”, I’m not usually that much of a fan of Dali’s work, I do, however, love a silly-take on a familiar theme. I built a little Snowspeeder from the available parts too to go with it.
Mantaray Droid fighter
There are a whopping 28x Plate Special 1 x 2 Rounded with 2 Open Studs in Black (6210270 | 35480) included with the TIE Fighter.
My Manta can also be built at the same time as the Dali AT-AT.
The Albatross
At some point during the rebellion, Princess Leia got a bee in her buns and jumped in this fighter to right some wrongs! I don’t know why it’s called the Albatross. Other than being white with black markings and having a wide wingspan. Also, for the Python fans amongst you - Albatross!
The tipped wings are achieved by using the TIE fighter wing support plates pinned back to back with 4 of those Technic Brick Special 1 x 2 with Pin Hole and 1 x 2 Plate in Light Bluish Gray (6326478 | 73109) sandwiched between.
Prospector
A sort of geophysical surveyor robot. This little character has opened a floodgate of thoughts about other possible autonomous robo-tools that I think may weigh heavy on my mind, and possibly inform upon MOCs I attempt going forward.
This guy uses a very similar construction method to the Albatross wings above, this time, 2x Plate Special 2 x 2 x 0.667 with Two Studs On Side and Two Raised 6046979 | 99206 are sandwiched back to back on each corner.
This relatively simple construction reminded me of something I had in my LEGO box as a child. An Ipso sweets container… I think they were a UK only thing and I was surprised to find the Wikipedia page as I’ve never seen any mention of them anywhere else online.
And seeing that configuration of studs, I was struck by how much is now possible with simple construction, this robot was the sort of thing I would have loved to be able to do back in the 1980s.
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Good review! A bunch of these new parts look very useful.
ReplyDeleteThe recolor of the new 4x4 dish surprises me a little because prior to this the new mold had only replaced the older one for transparent dishes! Getting it in a solid color might indicate that the classic one might be phased out for those as well before long.
The "paint pot", as you call it, looks tremendously useful. 3x3 circular parts have been somewhat rare in the past—there's no standard round bricks or plates and we only recently got a tile in that size. This isn't quite a standard brick, but it's sort of close—unlike the bulky older SNOT part it replaces for X-Wings, this new part can be stacked to make longer pipes or columns relatively easily, without hard-to-fill gaps.
The new Technic bricks seem useful as well, particularly the 1x1 brick with cross axle hole! I've already seen it used to great effect in themes like Monkie Kid (where it's used to align armor for the front legs of the Spider Queen's Arachnoid Base).
The reason it doesn't appear "flush" in your construction where you rotated it 90 degrees is a little quirk of Technic parts where the axle/pin holes are actually raised slightly compared to the studs on SNOT bricks, to allow the stud underneath the brick to fit cleanly (as well as studs underneath Technic parts attached to the outside. Lego designers have to be mindful of that in instances where that slight offset can create gaps or weaknesses in the build. It's not a bad thing for fans to keep in mind, either!
The MOCs you came up with in the end are lovely. The silly ones where you exchanged the wings of the two ships remind me of the very earliest days of the Lego Star Wars theme, where the back of the instruction booklets included humorous comics where Star Wars characters rebuilt their vehicles into some of the various alt-builds pictured on the backs of the boxes. Sadly as those alt builds went away, so did that lighter take on the Star Wars story for the most part.
I also love the technique you used on the "albatross" for the front intakes/cannons! It's a great example of something cool that can be done with those newer parts.
Thanks for the kind words and thoughtful insights! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteDoes that 3x3 paint pot brick fit a cylinder brick tightly within, or is there wiggle room? I cringe at the idea of losing a piece in there!
ReplyDeleteHa, I was going to say "look at the pic he took" and realised I failed to add it to the post! - it's now included. Spoiler: there's room
Delete