Review: 75050 B-Wing

Set ID: 75050 B-Wing

Number of Pieces: 448

Year of Release: 2014

Minifigs: 3

Purchased Price: About SGD 100

There were a total of 3 B-wings produced since the year 2000 (UCS not included). Since its first appearance in 2000, the next variant showed up in 2006 with much better brick choices and sleeker design. And between that version and this, LEGO went ahead to launch the first, and only, UCS B-wing. Having built quite a number of B-wings over the year, the idea of building another, albeit a new one, was not quite appealing to me. As such, this set was tucked in a corner amongst my collection and pretty much forgotten. That was until my son pointed to its obscure location and asked me "What is that, dad?" (Cue a beam of light shining through the storeroom and setting it on the box, with dramatic music effect in the background ...)

B-wing, B-grade?

With less than 500 pieces, I have to manage my expectation of the finished product. B-Wing always pose 2 big challenges for designer and collectors.

(1) Lack of SNOT finishing on the dorsal wing, or all three wings, for that matter. Ideally, SNOT will be great to accentuate the sleekness of this vehicle. However, I would be happy to accept stud-up appearance on the wings, BUT on both sides of the wings. In a typical horizontal wings profile, the underside of the bricks will not be constantly exposed but for the dorsal wing of the B-wing, one side (in this case its left) will always be seen exposed. This does restrict the photo taking angles to just the right profile, reminding me of Mariah Carey's preference of her right sided profile. On that note, the 2006 version (set 6208) does pip this set in terms of its better use of the sloping bricks and SNOT approach.

(2) Given the "weird" shape, it is never easy to display the B-wing. Its flight mode is always the better looking profile but without a stand like that in the UCS version, it is never easy to keep it vertical on its own. Its landing stance is certainly more stable but honestly, it appears more like a door wedge to me than a lethal fighting machine that is is meant to be.


The cockpit of the B-wing is supposed to remain level regardless of the plane of travel, offering pilot who suffers from vertigo a chance to take flight. To do this, the cockpit is designed with 360 degree rotatable versatility. However, this gyroscopic property cannot be fully demonstrated in this set as the cockpit rotation design is actually quite stiff. As a result, it does not stay level as desired. This will not be a problem until you put a pilot in it. Why? The entire cockpit seat is entirely SNOT designed, i.e. the pilot will not be affixed to the seat at all. Unless the cockpit remains level, the pilot will better be equipped with some really strong seat belts to keep him safe. Air sickness bag will be a bonus.

Spring loaded missiles spoiling the profile of the B-wing

According to DK's Star Wars Complete Vehicle Guide, the B-wing is a formidable fighting machine, in the league of X and Y-wings. This is clearly reflected in large choices of the guns / cannons, especially those at the tips of the wings. For some unknown reasons, I do find the guns at the end of the dorsal wing a little too short for my liking. And for goodness sake, I can really do without the ugly spring loaded cannons for so-call "playability". I can accept this play feature IF the entire spring loaded brick is concealed and the long rear end of the cannon is not exposed. Not many sets managed to do this but it is possible. In this set, if LEGO does insist that the feature must be incorporated, then my suggestion is to compromise on the movie accuracy and embed one of those fearful cannons below the cockpit.

With the limited SNOT surfaces to apply stickers on, there is some saving grace that the limited stickers are only found where necessary.

Guns a little short at the tip

Building Experience

I have to admit that I always think there are only 2 ways to pose the wings in the B-wings, distinguished by 90 degree differences. It was when I was peering at the box art of this set that I realised the versatility of the wings to be quite impressive. In fact, the front box art illustrates the B-wing in flight mode with the the 2 side wings at 7- degree with the dorsal one. Nice angle to look at, but impossible to pose in real life.


The bricks can be found in 5 different packs. Minifigs are also found in different packs to keep you interested through the build process, which should be in the range of 45 min or so. Box content also include an instruction booklet and a small sticker sheet, crumpled in my case.

Same brick, different origin probably

Over the years, and most likely due to commercial reasons, LEGO has started moving manufacturing out of Denmark. The latest venture being in Asia (China to be specific) and that was greeted by jeers more than cheers. Price remains (inflated in fact) and quality, well ... Why am I mentioning this? In this set, I found evidence that QC is starting to a blind spot of my beloved toy brand. In this picture below, two 2X1 plates in the same set are actually "different" As subtle as it may seem, such difference does matter, at least to the brand it self. Yes, both serve the same purpose and should not compromise on the integrity of the built, but NO, they speaks volume of a brand that might be growing too big to pay much attention to such details, details that matter to fans around the world.

Minifigs

Nice minifigs included!

3 unique minifigs come with this set, and will certainly go down well with minifig collectors. Ten Numb is supposed to also fly a B-wing in Battle of Endor so I am a little confused who should actually command this ship, given that there is another unnamed pilot in the set? The clue lies in the red overall that Ten is wearing so I reckon his role here is more of a mechanic than the pilot. His wrench further confirm my suspicion.

Ten Numb - He is rare, appearing only once before in the 2006's B-wing set. Instead of dressing in white flight suit, this variant is in a red overall printed on both sides with high level of details. The breathing tubes printed on the front extends beyond his torso towards the leg piece too. Although not seamless, at least it is an effort to give a sense of continuation between the torso and leg pieces. Ten Numb has rather complex facial features, especially his frog-like eyes and wrinkled complexion. All these are nicely represented on both sides of his head piece, differentiated by a printed mouth piece that integrates with the helmet. Talking about the helmet, it is my favourite part of this minifig. Very impressed with its details and movie accuracy.

General Airen Cracken - Surprisingly, this minifig is only printed on one side of his head piece. His expression is intense and rightly reflect Airen's emotion during the Battle of Endor. Also printed is his microphone and ear piece used for his communication with the rest of his troop. Airen's torso is printed on both sides with details such as the wrinkles and badges on his vest. Leg piece is printed with utility pockets and more creases.

Gray Squadron Pilot - Although unnamed, this pilot is another "hero" in my opinion that epitomise how much research and details the minifig designers have invested in. His unique helmet comes with so much details that I believe it will be hard to recycle this helmet for other minifigs in the future. The full faced helmet is also very accurate with its colour especially when it is used in tandem with the visor-faced expression. The pink visor is very unique to this pilot as the visor printings in other minifigs are typically yellow or clear in colour. The other expression is one with a smirky smile, useful to reflect his more relaxed emotion when not in battle. Similar to Ten Numb, his flight suit is also printed on both sides with tremendous amount of details that extend to his leg piece.

Conclusion

+ This is hard. It adds to my B-wing collection??
+ Nice unique minifigs with accurate details

- Brick inconsistency within the same set. Not a structural problem, but a brand image one
- Uninspiring built
- Can do with more SNOT design on the wings
- Pilot cannot be secured in cockpit

Review: 75060 UCS Slave I (photo shootout with 6209 Slave I)

Set ID: 75060 UCS Slave I

Number of Pieces: 1996

Year of Release: 2015

Minifigs: 4

Purchased Price: About SGD 330

2 reviews ago, I introduced the 2006 version of the Slave I and gave it a thumbs up for its playability and design, pretty much based on the limited SNOT bricks almost 10 years ago. The thought of doing a shoot out between that set and the UCS version never really goes away, and with the temptation growing too large, I decided I will include a small section of comparison (NOT a shoot out) Part of me still feel that it is not a "fair" contest if I am going to pip David against Goliath.

Not difficult to see where the 9 years gap went to

For collectors, there have been a long debate on whether a particular set is regarded as "UCS" or not. In the past, that recognition was based on the 5-digits set number, but once that became a norm for all sets from 2013, 5-digit set numbers was no longer exclusive to UCS sets. Then came the debate if Ewok Village is an UCS set, and so was Cloud City? Does it have to be a vehicle or come with a display stand + plate before it can be considered one? One thing that's undisputed... UCS are expensive. I don't think anyone will disagree with me on that. No such dilemma with this set. LEGO has decided to settle the identity crisis once and for all by printing a "Ultimate Collectors Series" label on the box design. A label that guarantees a few things:

1) It's going to be massive in brick counts
2) It's going to have something exclusive about it
3) It's going to take up some space for display
4) It's going to be sought after by collectors in years to come
5) It's going to burn a hole in your pocket

If this UCS Slave I is a benchmark for all the other UCS sets that follow, I will not hesitate to part with my hard earned money to have more dosage of UCS-compulsiveness in me. With a few little flaws here and there, that's not enough to take away that orgasmic satisfaction of appreciating the finished product. I can't help but to look deep into my current collection now to decide what's next in line to be built amongst my UCS sets (some of which date back to more than 10 years ago ...)?

Building Experience 

The box is much larger than I thought it is. When the first picture of the set was leaked on internet, I was expecting the box to be slightly larger than that of the previous couple of variants of Slave I. It turned out that the 2000 bricks were packed into this beautifully design box, and size worthy of the UCS tag. The box art on the front features the Slave I in flight mode in the proximity of the Cloud City. An inset photo shows the display mode, with the finished vehicle propped majestically on the display stand. The Slave I featured on the back of the box is in landing mode, accompanied by the minifigs included in the set. A panel of photos featuring several playable features complete the box art at the back.

All the bricks were distributed rather evenly into 13 portions, and the 4 minifigs were also found at various stages of the building, rather than to have all of them in the same pack. For this UCS set, I have also engaged 2 of my children to lend a helping hand. Given that there were a fair bit of symmetry in the design of this Save I, having another person to help with "the other side" did help to accelerate some of the more boring steps.

Besides the bricks, the content inside the box include a 300-page building instruction nicely sealed in a cardboard backed pack, a sticker sheet, a 15X7 SNOT plate for the vehicle specification plate, and the customised clear plastic cockpit canopy. This is the first time (beside the Architecture sets) that I see the instruction booklet being used to introduce the set as well as the designers in a Star Wars themed set. It is much welcomed for me and it certainly make the UCS label more distinctive from the others. I have no preference on whether the instructions should be in one or multiple booklets, as long as they are not erroneous and easy to flip the pages. However I have to say that the super dark background colour on each page does make my comprehension a little challenging, especially under inadequate ambience lighting.

Dark background makes reading a little challenging

Nice "UCS" touches to upmarket the instruction booklet

A good mix of Systems and Technics building methods were used throughout. After the first few packs that built the egg-shaped frame (which my kids commented that it looks like a shoe of Iron Man, and I do agree!) the building started to become very "Technicy". This was when my 7-year old gave up as there were too many Technics pegs to handle. Also by this time, I realised that the model is getting really heavy to handle with one hand, in another word, starting to behave like a UCS.

Stickers are always a ... sticky ... issue but have been used brilliantly here to enhance some of the details on the Slave I, mostly to create the visual of damages and wear and tear, or basically the lack of care from Boba Fett for his ride. However, as nice and necessary as they may seen, my suspicion is that they will not last the humidity here in Asia, especially those applied on the curved surface.

Salivating over the Slave

The completed set is a sight of marvel. It is not just big in comparison to its other siblings, but its accuracy and sheer presence deserve more than a thumbs up from me, For a UCS set, it is not meant to be swooshed around (although I did that a few times with the semi completed one during the built) so its 3kg mass is not a major concern. In any case, the display stand did its part to hold up the Slave I in its most intimidating stance - the vertical flight mode. But if you still want to swoosh it like what you think you can do with the smaller Slave I, I have no recommendation on where you can hold to do that.

Concealed weapons by the side 

Since this Slave I is more for admiration than play, there are not as many play features as what you can find in the earlier "swiss army knife" variants. The rotating wings are still a main key feature in the Slave I. However, it was rather disappointing to note that the cockpit is not joined to the wings and therefore will not rotate in tandem with the wings. The armoury is limited to a pair of concealed weapons on each of the side of the Slave I. I do like the fact that they are not totally symmetrical so you get a different weapon on each side. There is no flick or spring action missiles here so the weapons are solely to enhance its menacing look. One slight downer is the difficulty to open the concealed hatches of the weapons. They flush so well with the side panels that big fingers will find it challenging to peel the hatches out. The other playable weapon is the pair of rotating cannons at the bottom tip of the vehicle. Both cannons are connected to each other so they will rotate in tandem when moved.

The large cockpit canopy allows plenty of light to penetrate the cockpit and made it easier to spot its pilot within. Removing and placing this canopy is not too easy as it is attached to the fuselage via insertion of 3 Technics pegs. The canopy therefore has to be lined up properly before it can be secured. But rest assure that once it is secured, it does not come off easily. Plenty of details can be seen within the cockpit with many control panels around to keep Boba busy during flight time.

Peg in Cockpit canopy

One of the main functions of the Slave I is to ferry Boba to his bounty hunting mission. As we all know by now, one of such missions is to deliver the carbonited Han Solo. This is done through the flipping hatch to access the cargo compartment of the Slave I. Unlike the other variants where the carbonited Hans slides up into the cargo area, this one has Hans clipped on so that it will not be tossed around during flight time. How considerate of Boba!

Display stand

This Slave I is also quite a looker, with the SNOT finishing (not just the top, but the bottom too) and details of the engine compartment and wings most impressive to me. Propping it up on the display stand only makes it look even more majestic and impressive. It will be nice if I can MOC the display stand to display it in an alternative way ...

Minifigs

Boba Fett - I can imagine that this minifig will be one of the more sought after minifigs in a decade amongst the minifig hunters. With every new variant, the Boba Fett minifig never fail to impress collectors with its improvements, be it accuracy, colour, or details. In this variant, there is hardly any space on him that is un-printed, and I must admit this probably the most decorated / printed Star Wars minifigs that I have seen in all of years of collection. Yes, even the sleeves were printed! Love the single shoulder pauldron that is exclusive to this Boba, love the battle damage prints on his helmet, love his leg piece detailed prints. THIS is a keeper.

Bespin Guard - This minifig only appears twice in LEGO Star Wars set. First one was a brown complexion variant in the 2006 Slave I (6209), then this, the lighter complexioned Bespin guard without a specific identity. The head piece is printed only on one side as the peak cap is not able to conceal an alternate face if there is one. He has a friendly expression with some lines to highlight his wrinkles or chiselled features. I cannot decide which is which. Torso is printed on both sides with accurate details of the designs on the uniform. This Bespin guard is equipped with a short pistol for his duty on Cloud City.

Han Solo - Despite the large number of Han Solo minifigs that have been produced, LEGO has made a conscious effort to ensure that each new variant has something different unique from the others. This is no exception. This Han has an alt faced head piece, one with a stunned expression (possibly due to the carbonited process) and the other with a cheeky grin. His torso is only printed on the front, with a semi opened shirt and heavily creased lines, a sign of the rough treatment Han suffered in captive.

Storm Trooper - Need I say more? Just when I thought this is just another Stormtrooper, I noticed that the prints on his torso and legs are so detailed and accurately reflecting that in the movie. The effort to make this common, a dime a dozen, storm troopers must be commended. Check out the different knee prints on the leg piece and compare that to a picture of an actual storm trooper. You will be impressed. This variant also comes with a single print with intense expression on the head piece.

Conclusion

A UCS seldom scores low with me and this is no exception. After a few longish UCS set, at least I am happy to have a tallish one to display amongst my collection. At press time, the other tallish UCS set may be my next project, spells X ...

+ Excellent and unique minifigs, especially Boba Fett
+ Very accurate to the movie version, in terms of colours and size (in proportion to minifig, that is)
+ Nice SNOT finishing on most of the Slave I
+ Some unique brick pieces, check out the single piece transparent cockpit canopy

- Wings and cockpit not in tandem
- Too heavy to swoosh (and it will not be a negative if you don't intend to)

David vs. Goliath

As promised, I still want to pip the 2006 Slave I against the 2015 UCS version. Both have their merits but when placed side by side, I realise LEGO has come a long way to not only upsize this classic vehicle, but also improved on the design and better use of SNOT techniques in its construction. They both serve different purposes for me now, the smaller one for nostalgic reasons and the bigger brother for, well, showing off.