Star Wars Advent Calendar - Day 24
Posted by CapnRex101,
Star Wars Advent Calendars have historically concluded with festive minifigures and I expect another such character today, perhaps residing within Darth Vader's fortress from yesterday.
Find out after the break...
The most appealing Christmas characters are frequently those which seem least associated with the season and this Darth Vader minifigure looks fantastic. The malevolent Sith Lord has previously appeared in 75056 Star Wars Advent Calendar, wearing traditional Santa attire, but this version instead sports a Christmas jumper and therefore complements Poe Dameron from day two.
Both minifigures wear jumpers with circular icons in the centre and the Death Star suits Darth Vader perfectly. The decorative snow looks wonderful and superb detailing continues onto the reverse of the torso, as demonstrated below. That is usually concealed beneath Darth Vader's cape so I appreciate its presence. Furthermore, the printed legs are splendid and remain from previous minifigures.
Darth Vader's intimidating helmet looks excellent and removing the upper section reveals his scarred visage inside. The facial expression, which appears surprisingly friendly, seems ideal within this seasonal context too. As usual, the Sith Lord wields a red lightsaber so is prepared for any Rebel incursions and to impose the will of the Galactic Empire!
Overall - 5.0 - The juxtaposition between Darth Vader and his cheerful jumper is delightful and I love the detailed torso element.
Ten different LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendars have been released since 2011 and 75279 Star Wars Advent Calendar is definitely among my favourites. Of course, the new minifigures are outstanding and the inclusion of two festive characters with unique prints is very welcome, supported by D-O and the snowman Gonk Droid. A satisfying selection of characters for army building are also provided, along with the unique Pit Droid.
The exceptional variety within the Advent Calendar is equally appealing. All three trilogies of movies are covered while Fortress Vader and the Razor Crest expand beyond the saga films! Some mini models are obviously better than others but several of these are among the best to appear with Advent Calendars. Darth Vader's Castle, the Millennium Falcon and the Lucrehulk-class Battleship are highlights in my opinion!
Are you impressed with this Advent Calendar and which have been your favourite items? Let us know in the comments.
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49 comments on this article
This year’s swac was actually better than the last few years.
In my opinion. ;)
Palpatine: "Hey, what's with the sweater?"
I really liked this one. 4 Christmas-themed characters (Poe, D-O, GNK Droid and Vader) is more in-line with what I’d like out of these. They’re generally fun, but rarely festive (with a few exceptions being 2014 with 3 Christmas minifigs, and 2012 and 2015 having 2 each).
I’d say this year’s advent calendar has been great! There is plenty of festive stuff in here, and the seasonal mini figures are always a highlight. Now there’s two of them, three if you count the Gonk droid! (No weapons racks FTW!)
As for Vader himself, it’s kinda nice to see him take a holiday from hunting down Jedi and blowing up planets. Must be a stressful Job along with his terrible boss. Maybe that’s why he’s always so angry...
I'm really hoping that some future build is Carbonite Han in a festive package color.
I think my top two SWACs are this one and 2016's 75146. This year, it has great festive additions. Some of the models are fantastic, clever, and great parts usage. As for the Christmas Vader, such a fantastic minifig! Superb--I'm in love with it. Vader, Poe, and D-O can all go caroling now.
I love how this calendar ties in directly with the Christmas/Life Day special.
My favourite build was either the A-wing or Darth Vader’s Castle, with my least favourite build being the pod racer without a doubt.
All the minifigures have been pretty good except the battle droid and I wasn’t too thrilled with Luke either but all the others have been great.
Good way to give a taster of that dual moulded stormtrooper helmet that is given way too much hate.
One of the best Star Wars advents, not as good as the 2016 one mind you, but still a great calendar. Worth the £22.50 I paid XD.
Thanks for these opening @CapnRex101 and Merry Christmas to you and all :D
Odd that it uses the older style cape
Pretty good calendar, but the 2013 one is still the best for me
Those mini models are awesome as is Vader.
We were so excited to open Vader today, but the cape was missing from our set. I already ordered a replacement from Lego, but it is currently out of stock.
This is the first year I have read the reviews along with the set and really enjoyed it. Happy Holidays everyone!
This was definitely a nice advent calendar. The minifigure selection is nice with the two ugly Christmas sweater variants, some good army builders, and some really good ships including that awesome X-wing and the Episode 1 federation ship. There were a couple of hiccups such as the unnecessary shield generator, however overall I am glad we got this one.
I don't have the calendar myself; but from the reviews and photos here, I think my favourite entries from it are the A-Wing, the pit droid, and this festive Vader, with the droid control ship's first Lego appearance being a neat highlight too. All in all, looks like a fairly nice turn-out this year ^^
My only gripe (and it’s a minor one) is that I already have Santa Vader, so a second holiday-themed Vader is somewhat redundant. I might pick up some version of the Emperor and give him the sweater, since he’s never been Christmasized.
Wait, where is the cape? I had no cape :(
Hard to pick just one favourite... Vehicle: X-Wing, Creature: Tauntaun, Minifig: ??? (but my eyes keep getting drawn back to the exquisite printing on the Sith Trooper...).
What REALLY surprises me is the MASSIVE pile of spare parts - I wonder if I can get at least another 2 or 3 builds out of those...! How about a contest...? ;)
Completely random question. Does anyone know where you can preorder the Skywalker Saga video game and get the Luke with Blue Milk minifig? I’m in the US.
Yes.
Tauntaun.
@MrKoshka said:
"Wait, where is the cape? I had no cape :("
I asked myself if there was no cape there, but here on Brickset I saw that most of them had it. So I opened the box and found an additional package in the 24th compartment ...
This was my first Lego advent calendar. I greatly enjoyed the micro builds. The minifigs were hit and miss for me (don't care for the sequel characters and already had the Luke).
I like the surprise element each day, but I would have preferred more surprises (not giving away so much on the box).
I've enjoyed the daily reviews and comments here at Brickset.
If not for todays review and the comments, I may not have realised my Vader is also missing his cape.
In the past 3 years I have been indulging in Advent Calendars I can honestly say that this year's Advent calendar has been the best. My thanks to CapnRex for sometimes enlightening me as to what exactly it was I had just built! I wish everyone reading this a happy Christmas and I hope all your wrapped presents tomorrow have that distinctive LEGO sound!
Absolutely magnificent minifig. Merry Christmas to all Brickset members and Lego fans.
@BrickRandom:
I actually checked the HPAC this year, and of 24 days, only 13 are spoiled on the box (the last of which showed up on the 23rd, so they maintained an element of surprise the whole 24 days). One of those is the sofa, and the accompanying golden egg is still a surprise when you build that day. Of the six minifigs, only three are directly spoiled (including only one of the three exclusives). The presence of one Patil twin kinda hints at the other, and the included versions of Harry and Ron kinda point to which Hermione will inevitably show up. That last part is really the only flaw in the HPAC format. You expect those three characters will factor into every HPAC, so the only question is which outfits they’ll be wearing.
Last year’s HPAC also kept 11/24 of the days secret, including two minifigs (both exclusive, but one only on a technicality). However, three of those days were House banners, so showing even one of them hinted at the other three. And again, the last day was kept secret on the box.
For the SWAC/DWAC, tradition holds that the final day will be a Christmas-themed exclusive minifig, and Marketing holds that it should be shown on the outside of the box where anyone can see it before they buy a copy.
I enjoyed this one. I'm curious if TLC would consider adding a few non-standard sized doors and having a bigfig like the Wampa, taun-taun, han in carbonite, etc? It would raise the price for sure. Might be better suited for a Marvel Super Heros one perhaps? With a Santa-Iron-Man?
@aap said:
" @MrKoshka said:
"Wait, where is the cape? I had no cape :("
I asked myself if there was no cape there, but here on Brickset I saw that most of them had it. So I opened the box and found an additional package in the 24th compartment ..."
I just found the cape after reading your comment. Thanks!
How early did people work out what the "secret" code for Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is? I'll admit to not actually paying attention to the letters till late on, then went to check them and I groaned.
@Slobrojoe said:
"My favourite build was either the A-wing or Darth Vader’s Castle, with my least favourite build being the pod racer without a doubt.
All the minifigures have been pretty good except the battle droid and I wasn’t too thrilled with Luke either but all the others have been great.
Good way to give a taster of that dual moulded stormtrooper helmet that is given way too much hate."
Agreed. This A-Wing is the best mini version yet. Much better than the one from the DS2 Trench Run giveaway from 2019 (or was it 2020?). Nice to get the new Stormie and D-O also.
I wonder if there is enough source material from Starkiller Base to do a decent calendar for next year....
Shame I didn't buy it this year, because reading along I'd say this is the best since 2016.
@MandalorianCandidate:
I suspect they’re leery of doing so. The first SWAC was easier to find the following year than the second SWAC, and the first HPAC also had piles of unsold copies around Christmas Day. Aside from stumbling out of the gate, both genre advent calendars have sold well...except 2017. That was the year they shifted from SWAC to DWAC, and the complete lack of any OT/PT material is the only likely explanation for why sales tanked for one year and immediately rebounded the following year when they started mixing the Lucas and Disney eras.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKAH, HAPPY HOLIDAYS
TO HUW, ALICE, CAPNREX101, MEGAN, FLAGZNZ, and all
you Brickset users! This year has been terrible for me personally (as it has for many others) but Brickset's increased activity and comment sections has been a bright spot. Not everything is terrible. Peace to everyone!
@Al_S said:
"How early did people work out what the "secret" code for Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is? I'll admit to not actually paying attention to the letters till late on, then went to check them and I groaned."
I knew what it was since the third day with a code digit.
Best SW advent cal of the 3 or 4 I've purchased...great figures, mostly exceptional mini-builds (I'm looking at you, pod racer), and no weapons rack. I initially bought this for myself but my son took a liking to it (to put it mildly) so I guess it's part of his collection now. Here's hoping next year's edition is even better. Now to wait a few months to find out what this code is all about.
Happy Holidays!
Top 3 this year IMO :
1) Vader Castle
2) Lucrehulk
3) Falcon
Bottom 3
1) Vanilla battle droid
2) Porg
3) Any wet blanket who poo-pooed the Mando comments. But I hope you were able to still feel excitement even though you chose not share in it.
Everyone please stay safe and smart, and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! I'm hoping that Yoda in the plaid vest from the Holiday special makes it into the calendar next year!
@jltesq said:
"We were so excited to open Vader today, but the cape was missing from our set. I already ordered a replacement from Lego, but it is currently out of stock.
This is the first year I have read the reviews along with the set and really enjoyed it. Happy Holidays everyone!"
It was in a little box seperate from the bag. You may have missed it, lots of people did
In my opinion, builds 13 - 15 were the best. The inclusion of the prequels was great to see, and what's the harm in one more battle droid?
Given the immense success of the Mandalorian, I wonder if that will be considered in next year's advent calendar. Maybe Mando and the Child could be the bookends (one on Day 1 and the other on Day 24).
"Decorative snow" or X-wings?!
Is it just me or does it feel like the advent calendar and DK book minifigs feel cheaper?
Was I the only one who thought the cape was missing and then realised that it was in a separate box inside the window .......phew ??
@legospaceslug said:
"Was I the only one who thought the cape was missing and then realised that it was in a separate box inside the window .......phew ??"
nope
@stevesheriw:
“Immense success”? It’s a premium show with a premium audience. People used to talk about how successful The Sopranos was, but the truth was if you asked around, there were far more people who were just talking about it than were ever watching it. They wanted to be part of the zeitgeist, without paying the entry fee. It was a darling with the media, though, so it got tons of free PR. Years later they measured the success of Game of Thrones in terms of how pirated it was (which doesn’t help them one bit).
You got me curious, though. I looked up viewership numbers, and Disney- has about 60 million subscribers. Of those, just over 1 million households were watching the show on D-. That’s basically on par with shows that even the CW is cancelling, but the difference is it’s paying subscribers rather than ad revenue that covers their expenses (which gets tricky because they’ve noted that a lot of them signed up for D- just long enough to watch S1, cancelled, and didn’t come back until it was time to watch S2, after which they’ve probably cancelled again). Well, and merchandising. Toy sales could be paying better than subscriptions right now. That’s how it worked for the Pixar Cars franchise, which is up there with Mickey Mouse, Frozen, and Disney Princess as one of their top money-makers, on the strength of sales of die-cast cars alone.
I had the whole figure built before I notice the cape box still hiding in the tray.
The ship builds were really well done this year. Thanks very much CapnRex for all the reviews for this and the Harry Potter advent calendars. It was a lot of fun to check in each day to see what surprises were behind each door. Merry Christmas!
@BulbaNerd4000 said:
" @jltesq said:
"We were so excited to open Vader today, but the cape was missing from our set. I already ordered a replacement from Lego, but it is currently out of stock.
This is the first year I have read the reviews along with the set and really enjoyed it. Happy Holidays everyone!"
It was in a little box seperate from the bag. You may have missed it, lots of people did"
Yep, we found it after I read some comments here.
I really liked this set as did my son. Haven't had one before so feel pretty chuffed about picking a good year.
I did get a couple of the models wrong though so it's good that you publish a daily review!
What a lovely end to the Advent Calendar! This has been my first one and it was certainly a joy to explore it every day. Especially since I was immediately surprised with a gift of 75251 on the 25th!
I would also strongly encourage everyone to check out this year's LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, which this year's advent calendar is actually based on, especially the box art, the besweatered Vader and Poe, and the snowman Gonk. It's a lovingly made special, pretty funny, and chock-full of amusing references for die-hard SW fans.
Happy holidays, everyone!
@HandPositions said:
" @Al_S said:
"How early did people work out what the "secret" code for Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is? I'll admit to not actually paying attention to the letters till late on, then went to check them and I groaned."
I knew what it was since the third day with a code digit."
Although I can’t work out what I’m suppose to do with it!
@MrKoshka said:
"Wait, where is the cape? I had no cape :("
Not the only one and LEGO says its out of stock when you request it via missing parts on lego.com