Star Wars Advent Calendar - Day 14
Posted by CapnRex101,
Minifigure-scale models from Star Wars Advent Calendars are often underwhelming, but I think Darth Vader's sandcastle was quite enjoyable on day thirteen.
Find out whether day fourteen impresses after the break...
Rebel fighters are a mainstay of LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendars, but the B-wing has never appeared before! This model of the heavy starfighter captures the shape of the source material with impressive accuracy, including functional folding wings and even laser cannons at their tips. The cockpit looks good too, but could be improved by covering the exposed studs with ingots.
Unsurprisingly, the S-foils cannot fold as flat against the central wing as they can onscreen and the model looks better from one side than the other, given its asymmetry. These problems were unavoidable though, whereas replacing this trans-red engine cluster with trans-orange improves the design easily. Despite those minor issues, the B-wing Starfighter looks superb.
Overall - This microscale B-wing is immediately identifiable and I love the adjustable S-foils.
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I suspect a busy afternoon at Brickset Towers with the Advent articles being published early. Exciting!
Now this is pod racing.
Very nice and cool.
Finally, we've reached the point where sufficient pieces exist for a microscale B-wing. I've seen MOCs in years past, but they looked pretty flimsy from the parts available 5 years ago. It's a bit chonky, but it'll do.
I'm largely a casual SW fan, but the B-Wing has always been a big favorite of mine. I'm looking forward to LEGO putting out another minifig-scale version in the coming years, since I missed out on the modern releases (having only returned to LEGO in 2018). As a child I did get the first version back during the dawn of LEGO SW, however!
Anyhow, I didn't pick up the SW calendar this year, but I'm definitely going to recreate this microbuild with my own parts.
Very cool!
I think I made a mistake in not picking up the SW calendar this year. I’m really liking what I’m seeing. Thanks for the vicarious daily reveals at a price that couldn’t be better!
Looks like they did a microscale B-Wing only twice before this. One was one of those foil packs that come with magazines that don’t seem to be available in the US, and the other was the fourth wave of Planet sets…that also wasn’t available in the US.
Do we know if it's a Rebel B-Wing or a Resistance B-Wing? I only ask because the nose seems a bit stubby and there's not even an attempt to add the orange accents.
EDIT: Okay, it's definitely Rebel because the Resistance ones are tan, wouldn't have even known that.
Rebel: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/A/SF-01_B-wing_starfighter?file=BWingsKillISD2-ST.jpg
Resistance: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/B-Wing_Fighter
Last year’s SW calendar was a bit of a disappointment - not enough of one that I regret getting it, but a bit of a letdown compared to others, both within the SW theme and outside it.
This year’s is making up for that, though. Even though most of these builds are just regular parts (without unique prints or anything like that), there’s something very satisfying about these simple but clever and effective builds that show how one can effectively depict a bit of iconography from this saga with a small, literal handful of pieces. And the figures are great, too - not one, not two, but three (at least!) unique fun seasonal variants of core SW characters (I’m counting the Artoo we already know we’re getting), plus multiple army-builders useful for filling out the ranks and populating one’s LEGO SW universe long after the rest of the calendar has been broken down and absorbed into the general parts collection. We’re not far past the halfway point, but I think it’s safe to say this is one of the best LEGO SW ACs we’ve gotten since they started doing them in 2011.
As a proud owner of 7180 I approve of today's mini build. It looks pretty good, but the neck could have been thinner. Maybe. Probably not. But the foldability of those wings is *chefs kiss!
Given how many proper sized B-Wings we’ve had I’m surprised this is its first showing in the advent calendar
A lovely little model. The cockpit could sit a bit higher, maybe on a 1x1 plate, but in the interest of stability, I can see why that wasn't done.
In any case, it looks nice, there's folding wings, and it's great that the B-Wing finally gets to be in an advent calendar too.
Great build, looks perfect for a B-wing and instantly recognizable, but this morning my brain decided to see the cockpit as an eye and the engine as a mouth and now I can't unsee a screaming robot.
Sublime design. This years Advent Calendar has to be one of the best.
@BulbaNerd4000:
Hey, you’d be screaming, too, if you realized they’d built you with only one leg. Ever read the story about the tin soldier?
I like it!
@PurpleDave said:
" @BulbaNerd4000:
Hey, you’d be screaming, too, if you realized they’d built you with only one leg. Ever read the story about the tin soldier?"
Well, the one armed one legged robot dinosaur from the Jurassic World calender isn't screaming either. Mind you, it really wants to, it but can't. Not even with that fire coming out the back...
I thought this was a V-19 Torrent until I finished putting it together. I was like, "Aren't we done with the Clone Wars era?"
@Spritetoggle: 7180 was my only Lego B-Wing until this morning, too. I really regret not getting 6208 or 75050.