Set ID: 10227 UCS B-Wing Starfighter
Number of Pieces: 1487
Year of Release: 2012
Minifigs: None
Purchased Price: About SGD 385
You need the following before you build this UCS set:
1) Money to buy a set. Or two, if you intend to keep one MISB.
2) Patience. Never rush building a UCS set. Appreciate the beauty of the product, the thoughts behind the design and the subtle details that can go unnoticed in such a big set.
3) Display space. UCS sets are never intended for play, which explains the display stand that comes with all of them. They are huge and space consuming, but good looking nonetheless.
4) Special liking for the unconventional-looking, or a strong affiliation to the B-Wing, which I don't
5) Compulsive LEGO Star Wars collector. Which I am.
4) Special liking for the unconventional-looking, or a strong affiliation to the B-Wing, which I don't
5) Compulsive LEGO Star Wars collector. Which I am.
Once all the above are in place, you are ready to slice open the tapes on the box and begin your construction.
It has been some months since I last build a UCS set (the last one being the beautiful R2D2) and I have been itching to build this for a while. Despite having other large UCS sets in my possession, my decision to open this up was based on its recency (and therefore less valuable) and the fact that it is not one of my favourite Star Wars vehicles.
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| B-wing? t-wing? |
The arsenal of this ship is phenomenal. There are no less than 10 laser / cannon blasters found on the B-Wing. I wonder how the pilot can actually make a judgement of which one to use when engaged in a dogfight. Unlike a conventional flying machine, the cockpit of the B-Wing remains level while flying and the wing(s) will rotate around it to maneuver through space. My engineering rationale is quietly creeping into the picture again ...
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| Check out the gaps adjacent to the fuselage |
The fuselage / engine unit of the B-Wing is pivotal (pun intended) to the success of the design. It houses the huge air intake valves in the front as well as the four exhaust outlets at its rear. It was built by putting two symmetrical parts solidly together. It was so solid that nothing came apart when I cartwheeled it for a few rotations on the floor.
Adjacent to the fuselage are two sausage-like parts that I presume are the fuel tanks, not unlike those found on the space shuttles. My research on a schematic diagram of the B-wing did not reveal the identity of these mysterious parts. Anyways, I am bringing this up because they were surprisingly, and disappointingly, badly designed. Similar to many other parts in this B-wing, these tanks were put together by two symmetrical parts. However, without having to closely examine it, you will be able to see the wide gaps between the two parts, especially those found at the tapering ends. For some reasons that I cannot comprehend, the two symmetrical parts seemed to warp and arch away from each other, resulting in this unsightly gaps. For a brand which spells perfection and quality, hmmm, I beg to differ.
Adjacent to the fuselage are two sausage-like parts that I presume are the fuel tanks, not unlike those found on the space shuttles. My research on a schematic diagram of the B-wing did not reveal the identity of these mysterious parts. Anyways, I am bringing this up because they were surprisingly, and disappointingly, badly designed. Similar to many other parts in this B-wing, these tanks were put together by two symmetrical parts. However, without having to closely examine it, you will be able to see the wide gaps between the two parts, especially those found at the tapering ends. For some reasons that I cannot comprehend, the two symmetrical parts seemed to warp and arch away from each other, resulting in this unsightly gaps. For a brand which spells perfection and quality, hmmm, I beg to differ.
The completed model sits on the custom made display stand at a 45 degree angle. I like this pose as it gives you to feeling of the starfighter in flight. However, unlike most of the other UCS sets, the model does not have a dedicated slot where the display stand can fit it. Without that, it sits precariously on the display stand, performing a delicate, yet amazing, balancing act. This is not to say that it wobbles from side to side undisturbed. In fact, due to its sheer weight, the center of gravity is very close to the tip of the display stand, making it rest stably. However, in the process of moving the model for phototaking, I encountered my fair share of toppling the model over, resulting in a few repair work to be performed.
Don't get me wrong. This is a rather solid model when completed. The best way to hold it up is by the fixed wing, which to me, is the most well built part of this B-Wing. Despite its length, the fixed wing does not feel slender as it was put together by combining two symmetrical pieces back-to-back. Having said that, there are also many other smaller parts that do come off easily if you accidentally touch it, especially those near the laser blasters.
Cock up at the cockpit
My biggest gripe of this set must be the cockpit unit. The complaint list is quite long:
1) The cockpit canopy does not open up easily. It can only do so if you remove a flap above it that is holding it in place. Fair enough, the set is not meant to open up for play time often but this is a really troublesome design.
2) The cockpit does not rotate back to level easily. This can be due to the more than necessary tightness of the rotating mechanism or that the base of the cockpit is not heavy enough to ensure that regardless of the position, the cockpit will self rotate to its original position. As this is one of the key features of a B-wing, I am rather disappointed that the designer did not get this right. (I prefer not to blame the builder)
3) The rear of the cockpit unit is flimsy. The bricks used to form the tapering design of the rear kept coming off with the slightest touch.
4) The track in the middle of the cockpit unit doesn't seem to fit well despite all my adjustments. They were quite a pain to put together too. 36 pieces! Seriously?
Building experience
I do like the box design. Not the art work (although it is not too bad), but the way which the box is designed to open. In many other LEGO sets, you will have to really rip the box up along the perforated lines in order to access the content. For this set (as well as the UCS R2D2), all you need to do is to break 2 seals without having to damage the box. LEGO, please make this into a standard box design if possible. Thank you!
The box is big. Huge. But knowing how LEGO has the tendency to overkill the box size, I opened it with much sceptism, knowing that there are only 1487 bricks to greet me. Sure enough, the box was half filled with bricks, the half filled with ... air. As a collector, I do keep all the boxes in its original shape (and hopefully condition), and the size of such big sets certainly does not go down well with my lack of storage space.
The entire building process was broken down into 10 parts. Some parts do require more than a pack of bricks, which was why there were more than 10 packets of bricks in this set. As can be expected of a symmetrically designed starfighter, there were a fair bit of repeated steps in the construction of the wings. This was especially necessary, given that the designer was trying to eliminate the exposed bottom side of the bricks which can be unsightly. As with any UCS or large sets, there were plenty of extra bricks / studs left after the construction.
Don't get me wrong. This is a rather solid model when completed. The best way to hold it up is by the fixed wing, which to me, is the most well built part of this B-Wing. Despite its length, the fixed wing does not feel slender as it was put together by combining two symmetrical pieces back-to-back. Having said that, there are also many other smaller parts that do come off easily if you accidentally touch it, especially those near the laser blasters.
Cock up at the cockpit
My biggest gripe of this set must be the cockpit unit. The complaint list is quite long:
1) The cockpit canopy does not open up easily. It can only do so if you remove a flap above it that is holding it in place. Fair enough, the set is not meant to open up for play time often but this is a really troublesome design.2) The cockpit does not rotate back to level easily. This can be due to the more than necessary tightness of the rotating mechanism or that the base of the cockpit is not heavy enough to ensure that regardless of the position, the cockpit will self rotate to its original position. As this is one of the key features of a B-wing, I am rather disappointed that the designer did not get this right. (I prefer not to blame the builder)
3) The rear of the cockpit unit is flimsy. The bricks used to form the tapering design of the rear kept coming off with the slightest touch.
4) The track in the middle of the cockpit unit doesn't seem to fit well despite all my adjustments. They were quite a pain to put together too. 36 pieces! Seriously?
Building experience
I do like the box design. Not the art work (although it is not too bad), but the way which the box is designed to open. In many other LEGO sets, you will have to really rip the box up along the perforated lines in order to access the content. For this set (as well as the UCS R2D2), all you need to do is to break 2 seals without having to damage the box. LEGO, please make this into a standard box design if possible. Thank you!
The box is big. Huge. But knowing how LEGO has the tendency to overkill the box size, I opened it with much sceptism, knowing that there are only 1487 bricks to greet me. Sure enough, the box was half filled with bricks, the half filled with ... air. As a collector, I do keep all the boxes in its original shape (and hopefully condition), and the size of such big sets certainly does not go down well with my lack of storage space.
The entire building process was broken down into 10 parts. Some parts do require more than a pack of bricks, which was why there were more than 10 packets of bricks in this set. As can be expected of a symmetrically designed starfighter, there were a fair bit of repeated steps in the construction of the wings. This was especially necessary, given that the designer was trying to eliminate the exposed bottom side of the bricks which can be unsightly. As with any UCS or large sets, there were plenty of extra bricks / studs left after the construction.
There were many Technics parts and unique brick pieces which I have never seen before in any other sets. The Technic parts are common features in UCS already and they do require a higher level of finger dexterity to put together. While 16+ is the recommended age range, I do believe my 11 year old son should be able to put this together with little assistance from me.
Talking about those unique bricks, I do not believe they are unique to this set but they are indeed rare. Here's a few:
I built this over 2 installments of 2.5 hours, sandwiched by a 2-hour "break" on trying to finish off level 13-14 of the LEGO Batman 2 Wii game and a simple lunch. I will strongly advise any builder to do the construction on a flat surface because in some of the steps, the additional bricks were supposed to be placed next to the completed parts and the next step will complete the attachment process. This left some parts loose and difficult to account for.
It was amazing how heavy each of the part weighs. With the weight, the completed parts do feel solid when they were completed. To test this, I have the tendency to toss the parts in my hand and see if anything falls out. Unfortunately, for this set, there were some pieces at the edges that only manage to hang on with only two or three studs. Any slight knock will dislodge them easily. Quite irritating actually.
I have to say I do appreciate the limited use of stickers for this set. They were only applied twice (as huge orange dot) on the wings and once as the sticker label for the specs on the display stand.
To B or not to B?
Not to be. Really. Given the cash that I splashed on this set, I believe I will derive higher level of satisfaction (or 'utility' as some economists defined in their literature) if I spend it on another UCS R2D2. As much as it looks good as a final product, the few design flaws that I pointed above did quash my ratings and good impression a fair bit.
Talking about those unique bricks, I do not believe they are unique to this set but they are indeed rare. Here's a few:
I built this over 2 installments of 2.5 hours, sandwiched by a 2-hour "break" on trying to finish off level 13-14 of the LEGO Batman 2 Wii game and a simple lunch. I will strongly advise any builder to do the construction on a flat surface because in some of the steps, the additional bricks were supposed to be placed next to the completed parts and the next step will complete the attachment process. This left some parts loose and difficult to account for.
It was amazing how heavy each of the part weighs. With the weight, the completed parts do feel solid when they were completed. To test this, I have the tendency to toss the parts in my hand and see if anything falls out. Unfortunately, for this set, there were some pieces at the edges that only manage to hang on with only two or three studs. Any slight knock will dislodge them easily. Quite irritating actually.
I have to say I do appreciate the limited use of stickers for this set. They were only applied twice (as huge orange dot) on the wings and once as the sticker label for the specs on the display stand.
To B or not to B?
Not to be. Really. Given the cash that I splashed on this set, I believe I will derive higher level of satisfaction (or 'utility' as some economists defined in their literature) if I spend it on another UCS R2D2. As much as it looks good as a final product, the few design flaws that I pointed above did quash my ratings and good impression a fair bit.
Question for you as I did not see it mentioned. Did you have an extra Ora he sticker? I just finished this set and only used 2 of 3 orange stickers. I have never had left over sticker with any UCS set. I have gone through the manual several times.
ReplyDeleteI just built mine today, yes there is a left over orange dot sticker. I thought it was weird too.
DeleteThe only other gripe I have with the set is the small wings. Usually they’re fine, just had an incident when one fell off (maybe because I was messing about with the stand a bit)
Frankly I can’t remember now as this set was built some years back. However I do have a faint recollection that there is one left.
ReplyDelete