About LEGO Star Wars

LEGO Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker Sets Review

There is a lot happening in a galaxy far, far away. There’s the pending releases of The Mandalorian, the highly anticipated Disney+ show and Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, the final chapter in the latest Star Wars trilogy.

There are lots of reasons for a lot of new sets of Lego Star Wars, but for now I will talk about the recent release of the new Lego Stars Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sets, inspired by the next movie.

LEGO Star Wars 75248 Resistance A-Wing Starfighter

The A-Wing (more precisely the RZ-1 A-Wing interceptor) is an ultra-fast single-seat fighter used by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War and by the Resistance during its battles against the First Order. This is the sixth LEGO created for this ship on this scale. The latter was marketed in 2017. So, this represents the most “recent” version, which will probably be visible in Episode IX -The Rise of Skywalker.

The construction of this Formula 1 of the space is simple, and if you already have an earlier version, you will not be surprised in any way. I assemble the main hull, the two wings, the two engines, and behold, I come up with Wing A ready to go and kill TIE fighters.

A very aggressive and aerodynamic profile, and its very thin fins, placed on the engines at the rear, reinforce this hunter’s appearance. The two engines integrate well and their bodies remain very cubic looking like the earlier versions. Let’s see what the A-Wings will look like in the new film.

As for playability, we have two missiles to launch (three are provided), by pressing two small, discreet buttons on the hood, in front of the canopy. The landing gear obeys the smallest service: very simple, they do not fold completely under the ailerons, leaving an unsightly piece of landing gear lying around…

This model has to many stickers, whether on the front of the ship, on the fins, on an engine, on the wings, on the canopy… Certainly, they are plenty and they theoretically make it possible to lower the model’s price.

The point that bothered me the most was the inside of the cockpit: it is completely empty. We sit our pilot on it, and that’s it. No steering wheel, no sleeve, no plate with buttons, nothing at all: Snap Wexley is reduced to the status of a passenger! And yet, there is no space shortage. Will the A-Wings be drones in Episode IX?

Two mini-figurines are provided, the Snap Wexley Resistance pilot and Lieutenant Connix.

Snap Wexley, whose second appearance in LEGO after its performance on the controls of an X-Wing Microfighter in 2016, wears the same flight suit as at the time, a new head that is not revolutionary, and a magnificent, detailed helmet with a transparent yellow visor integrated.

Lieutenant Connix, played by Carrie Fisher’s daughter, wears a hairstyle like her mother’s character, Princess Leia. The head has already been seen before for other female characters, but the tunic is – for the moment – exclusive to this set.

LEGO Star Wars 75249 Resistance Y-Wing Starfighter

The LEGO Star Wars 75249 Resistance Y-Wing Starfighter in October 2019 is also not really new. Compared to the last Y-Wing Fighter, the set has a slightly different colouring, reliefs were added, but is mostly based on the old ships.

Composed of 578 pieces, the ship is followed by 5 mini-figures: Poe Dameron, Zorri Bliss, a snowtrooper, the D-O droid and a turquoise Astromech droid. In terms of dimensions, the Y-Wing Starfighter measures more than 7 cm high by 43 cm long and 19 cm wide.

“The fork”, as it is called in Episode IX, is a fighter-bomber. So we find among the ship’s weapons, bombs that can be dropped and two spring guns that work. On the characters’ side, Poe and Zorii are armed with blaster pistols and the First Order Snowtrooper with a blaster rifle. “The fork” also has a cockpit with a space that can accommodate a mini-figure and a retractable landing gear.

LEGO Star Wars 75250 Pasaana Speeder Chase

The planet Pasaana is the scene of a chase race between our heroes of the Resistance and the First Order, at least that’s what the trailer tells us! Pasaana is by the way a desert planet at the edge of the galaxy, on which the Aki-Aki live. However, not much is yet known about the planet and its role in Star Wars Episode IX.

This set comes with the following characters: a classic BB-8, Rey version Episode IX, a First Order Treadspeeder Driver and a splendid First Order Jet Trooper. You will be able to build the speeder used by the Resistance and the First Order Treadspeeder, but also a small stand with some very nice accessories. With 373 pieces on the counter, 3 bags and a sticker sheet (I hate them) the construction will be easy and relatively fast, count half an hour to complete.

It is always exhilarating to build new vehicles that have not yet been discovered in the movies. The design of these two speeders is particularly original and will come out of other revisited constructions like the Millenium Falcon or the Y-Wing recently released.

The first bag will allow you to build the First Order Speeder and discover the 2 soldiers. No difficulty here. The second bag will allow you to build the first part of the famous speeder. Superbly designed, no difficulty and the suspension will end with bag number 3. The third and last bag will allow you to finish the speeder, the small shed with its accessories and Rey!

I especially like the character of Rey from Episode IX. The speeders are very chic, but how well they fit in with the movie idols has yet to be seen.

LEGO Star Wars 75256 Kylo Ren’s Shuttle

Finally a set a little more focused on the bad guys! Here we discover Kylo Ren’s personal shuttle which, as the jacket reminds us, is now the First Order Supreme Leader.

Kylo Ren’s Shuttle is part of Star Wars Episode IX again and this is a new edition of Kylo’s Shuttle from Episode VII. The LEGO Star Wars 75256 Kylo Ren’s Suttle Set has 1.005 pieces and the minifigures include Kylo Ren, General Pryde, a Sith Trooper, a First Order Stormtrooper and two Knight of Ren. At least one of which is apparently equipped with a thermal detonator. Besides the two speeders and the figures there is a small tent with tools and accessories.

In contrast to the last version of the shuttle, the wings can be extended and opened here. This is actually an improvement.

LEGO Star Wars 75257 Millennium Falcon

The Millennium Falcon is once again at the heart of the Episode IX and LEGO takes the opportunity to propose another version of the ship.

The LEGO Star Wars 75257 Millennium Falcon has 1.350 pieces and include 7 minifigures: Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, Finn, R2-D2, D-O and a still unknown alien named Boolio. But the biggest surprise for me is: the Millennium Falcon doesn’t have any gaps in the roof anymore!

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the inside of the ship is a big void… even creating a scene with the mini-figures, you will miss the details. The only positive point is the Dejarik table, which is identical to that of the Millenium Falcon UCS.

Like all Falcons on this scale, the corridor cannot be used by mini-figures, but the cockpit can still accommodate two characters under its canopy as well as D-0 the new small droid of the film. The two mandibles, however, once again include a “Spring Shooters” system that will delight the younger ones. The firing mechanism is hidden in the vents and is rather discreet. The roof is completely removable to increase playability in this large empty space.

There are no less than six characters and let’s note that this is the first Millenium Falcon set without Han Solo. In the Rise of Skywalker, we find at the helm of the ship Lando Calrissian who is entitled to a brand new mini-figure and Chewbacca who remains the same. Both are escorted by Finn and the still mysterious Boolio, as well as R2-D2, C-3PO and D-0 who, in my opinion, cannot be counted as a mini-fig.