9493 X-Wing
Posted by Huw,
It's been a few weeks since I reviewed the minifigs in this set, so this concluding look at the X-Wing itself is a bit overdue.
I wasn't able to photograph it satisfactorarily in my 50cm light tent so I ordered up an 80cm one from eBay (for about £15/$20). It's certainly big enough now but it's huge and a bit unwieldy to use in my LEGO room. The photos here and on flickr are the first I've taken in it and, while they are not bad, I'm sure they'll get better as I refine the lighting setup.
Anyway, on to the model itself. This is the fourth minifig scale X-Wing to be made (7140, 1999; 4502, 2004; 6212, 2006) so if you have any of the others you'll want to know whether this set is any better and whether to buy it. The simple answer is yes, this is the best X-Wing yet. However I think there's room for improvement...
The first thing you notice when comparing this to previous versions is that the wings on the other three were all 'studs-up' whereas on this one, the lower wings are 'studs-down'. It seems such an obvious way to build it to ensure symmetry that you have to wonder why LEGO hasn't made them like this in the past. It makes such a huge difference to the final appearance that if this was the only change made it would be worth 'upgrading' to this model for this reason alone.
The use of SNOT doesn't end there though. Clever use of upside-down sections round the wings has further ensured the symmetry between top and bottom: the 65 degree 2x2x2 slopes at the bottom of the back are, of course, upside down because LEGO doesn't make an inverted slope at that angle.
Other differences between this and the last X-Wing were neatly summarised by Kulturkampf in a comment to the last news article, so I will copy those here:
- The laser cannons are at a more correct length.
- The engines are now placed correctly off center.
- The nose is now 3 studs wide instead of 2 before it hits the 6x4 slope, giving a much better ease into the nose.
- The pieces on the side of the cockpit are the new, longer slopes, making it sleeker.
- The fuselage is now correctly hexagonal.
- There are now slopes at the side of the engines down to the wings, like there's supposed to be.
- There are now markings inside the engines (even though they are stickers.... :/)
- This one has proton torpedos.
- The best one - on the old X-Wing, it took ages to open the wings. On this one, they snap open with only half a turn.
So, what can be improved? Well I'm not totally sold on the colour scheme. Apart from the first 1999 version of the craft, all others, at all scales, have been predominantly white with splashes of red and grey. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't the pictures at Wookiepeida show that they should be red and grey without any white at all? Why then do LEGO insist on making them white? It would be a useful and interesting exercise to convert this one to grey to see the result.
An excellent rendition of the most iconic Star Wars vehicle and some superb minifigs to boot: the set deserves a place in everyone's collection!
You can order from shop.LEGO.com: UK | USA | Canada.
More pictures on flickr. Which do you prefer -- a black or white background?
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46 comments on this article
I prefer the black background for this one since the ship's white; it looks much better and shows the set better. I think it all depends on which set your shooting pictures of; the TIE does well in the white background, for instance. The X-Wing looks really nice, but does it feel as though it has a "I'm a general's ship" personality to it? As though it's owned by a wealthy man?
Just thought I'd point out that the title is "9403 X-Wing", but the set number is 9493 :)
^ fixed
80cm, like how a TV is measured (diagonally)? Because that's really big.
Anyways, this set looks really good!
Black background definitely.
Been meaning to point out... I totally meant it "took" ages to open the wings. I don't know why I typed "looks"....
Anyway I do have to agree with Bobszaar. The black background does look better for this one. On other ships however, such as the TIE Fighter, it would seem more appropriate to use a white background. All depends on the color of the ship I guess.
Also if you take a look at brickshelf, search "9493", and you'll see there is one person who has rendered this X-Wing in gray on some computer program. Looks cool to me.
^ Thanks, I missed that. I have enough trouble spotting my own typos :-)
Here't the link: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=5323254. That looks far better, doesn't it!
Haha, thanks for fixing it! Now I look just a little more intelligent. :)
I agree it does look far better, except for the markings inside the engines. I wonder why they are those old red pieces.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but don't the pictures at Wookiepeida show that they should be red and grey without any white at all?" I don't know, to me it looks like white, just dirty. I guess it might look better grey, but I think an X-Wing, after being hosed down, would look white.
Here's my review: http://www.brickset.com/reviews/?ID=42477
I think the white colour scheme is the factory new model, in the films they are a bit dirty etc. and are more grey.
Great job. Thanks for the review. Looks like I'll be getting this set. I like the 2 pilot, 2 x-wing concept.
Background? I like the black better.
In Star Wars George Lucas always wanted ships to be from a "used universe" with the exception of Royal Starships and their escorts. So a factory fresh X-wing would have been white only when new and dirtied down as it aged.
However if you look at pictures from the SW archives the models of X and Y fighters are matt white which could give a grey impression on screen. Tie Fighters were also white at the start but tinkering with the films changed them to blue!
Anyway this looks like a great model, now lets get some green wing markings and turn into a corellian police vehicle!
I agree with jezzathesed,Gandalf1,and CapnRex101.That picture is a battle damaged one, so it's obviously going to be early.If you've watched The Empire Strikes Back,when Luke leaves Echo Base,his X-Wing is white.That is all I have to say.
Huw, a question:
If you could only get one of them, which would you pick: the X-Wing or the TIE Fighter?
I want them both (badly), but I find it hard justifying to myself spending all that money to get both so I'm thinking of just getting one of them, at least for now. Deciding which one to pick is proving mighty tough though, so maybe you who've actually built and seen them up close could help out.
Graysmith, even though I am not Huw,I recommend you buy the X-Wing if you want a little challenged.On the other hand I recommend you buy the TIE Fighter if you think its way much better then the X-Wing.I'm getting both.Or you can just save up and get both when you can.
I'm surprised no one brought up the fact that the RD unit sits in the ship the wrong way when in all the older versions he sits correctly. The ship looks really nice but that one thing keeps bugging me and I can't get over it...
yys4u,
You know you can just take off the head and put it on the way you want it, right?You probably don't know that.
@Gandalf1- I agree with you wholeheartedly; however, the Rebellion was too poor to afford any starfighter washes, so I can see Huw's point...
@Graysmith- I'm not Huw, but I'll say that the TIE Fighter is better, just because of its drastic changes. The new X-Wing is great and improved, but it's not worth it if you have the 2004 or 2006 version according to me.
@yys4u- You're correct, but the correct term would be astromech droid. Idon't mean this rudely, but I am a nerd.
@LinkBrick - I think we all know that! The point yys4u is making is probably that the fact that the Astromech has to sit sideways is sometimes a bit annoying as it is just nicer to have the model as movie accurate as possible.
Quick and dirty http://i.imgur.com/Qw7ym.png
@Atkinsar, Im with you, Im glad they kept to the white color scheme, the tie fighter on the other hand, Im glad they changed it to grey. deffinitely want to get both of those sets
I like the black background better. I own the 2006 variation, but now I might get this set!
@KillDeer - Yeah, I like white a lot better...
@Linkbrick
Yes. I'm well aware you can change the orientation of the head. Its the body that bugs me. Especially because you can clearly see the "shoulders" facing the wrong direction.
@bobszaar
Sorry I meant to say R2 Unit haha
@yys4u
now i know why you didn't like it
@yys4u
I also forgot to say,lego did this because they wanted to conserve more space.
@Huw
I have one question, is there a button to shoot the proton missiles,or do they just stay there for detail?
I do actually like the color of this X-Wing. I have the 2006 version (which I believe is identical to the 2003 version), and it's definitely one of my favorite Lego sets - a similar design to the 2005 ARC-170. I definitely like the black background better, especially since this ship is white.
@Linkbrick
Yea that's what I figured, they wanted to save space... but I don't get it. Why would they go through the trouble of making it more accurate with the slopes next to the engines, the hexagonal back, and proton torpedoes, then take away from accuracy by making the droid sit the wrong way? It seems like that little detail would have made this set so much better and a easy buy for someone like me who doesn't collect SW LEGO at all. Now I have to really contemplate if its worth it, because I'm sure in another couple years they'll make another X-wing only more accurate than this one.
For those in Europe that own the new XWing, would it be difficult to mod this new version so the R2 unit sits the correct way? I know once I find this in the U.S., I'm going to buy it because this is one of my top four space ships ever!
@Huw, depending on the image, the different backgrounds play better. In white, I really like the image that shows the back of the Xwing.
@yys4u
the next one might fly LOL
^Hahah! Good point..
@Energyarrrow,
You don't seem to know what a joke is.Also it will be available on the 30th of this month for us Americans.I'm going to the Lego store on the 29th to get them 1 day early.Plus,they might have discounts!
Oh AND cool thing! They seem to be arriving at my local Wal-Mart. There are places and price tags for the sets so I asked a guy and he said they would be in in a few days. Checking Wal-Mart on a daily basis now....
here are the star wars sets i plain on getting this year 2x Y-wing, 2x-tie fighte,r 3x Driod escape, 4x endor battlepack, (maybe more) and some of the bigger sets.
^ No X-Wing??
maybe 2 x-wings because you can build 2 differnt versions.
@krklint, yes I think you probably could if you were to accept some slight aesthetic compromises. Perhaps I'll have a go later...
I agree with you that the color scheme is not yet perfect, but i think that white is nearest to the color that an X-wing should have when it exits from the factory, as this schematic shows: http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/e/e1/X-wing_schematics.png
@Huw
Can you please answer my question?!?
@linkbrick the x-wing was released in the UK at the 1st of Jan but Lego decieded to make us wait longer : ( and by the way lego did a great job with the new x-wing
@thebearcollector
THATS NOT MY QUESTION.MY QUESTION IS IF THE X-WING SHOOTS THE PROTON TORPEDOES.
Linkbrick it says in the artical.
@LinkBrick
Are they really going to have discounts for these new sets?
I'm trying to decide if I want these sets, LOTR sets, the superhero sets, or the other Star Wars sets that will be released later this year (ex. Jabba's palace). It's going to be a rough year for my wallet..
@thebearcollector
IT SAYS IT HAS PRTON TORPEDOES.IT DOESN'T SAY IT SHOOTS THEM.
and
@trickydicky0880
1.You have a weird name
2.Maybe at you local lego store.