Review: 75248 Resistance A-wing Starfighter
Posted by CapnRex101,
The nimble RZ-1 A-wing Interceptor has proven exceptionally popular and its notable successor appears splendid too. 75248 Resistance A-wing Starfighter replicates the majestic profile of the onscreen craft, although this vehicle resembles past models more closely than expected.
Despite sharing multiple similarities with those previous models, this set costs £24.99 or $29.99 which seems to represent better value than comparable modern designs. Furthermore, these renditions of Snap Wexley and Lieutenant Connix are exclusively available here, hence I think the model provides marvellous potential.
Minifigures
75125 Resistance X-wing Fighter introduced the first Snap Wexley minifigure and this version of the character appears relatively similar to its predecessor. The dark orange flight suit remains unchanged but looks fantastic, featuring an attractive flak jacket beside straps and tubing which continue from the torso onto the legs. The resultant design appears perfectly faithful to the movies.
The intricate helmet decoration remains similarly unchanged. I love the trans-yellow visor and every detail corresponds with the source material, including some Aurebesh lettering on the reverse which reads 'POPSAEBOO'. However, the head component has been altered slightly as Snap's beard now includes more textured detail. This minifigure carries a standard blaster pistol, as usual.
Lieutenant Connix appeared during Star Wars: The Force Awakens but her significance has grown throughout the Sequel Trilogy. This minifigure differs quite substantially from past movies, featuring a tan jacket which replaces her earlier padded clothing. Nevertheless, I think this design looks nice and appreciate the accurate rank badge displayed on her torso.
Unfortunately, the medium nougat hair piece and double-sided head might have been improved. They only loosely resemble the onscreen character, although I like the implicit connection between Princess Leia and Connix because Billie Lourd, who portrays this Resistance officer, is Carrie Fisher's daughter and their minifigures share matching hair. An alternative head would have been ideal though.
The Completed Model
Vehicles deployed during the Sequel Trilogy are frequently based upon craft from earlier movies and the RZ-2 A-wing Interceptor definitely conforms to that trend. This model appears relatively similar to 75175 A-wing Starfighter and they both measure 20cm in length. However, its proportions have been updated quite significantly as the new starfighter is narrower and looks accordingly sleek.
The white and dark green colour scheme differs from A-wings which appeared during Star Wars: The Last Jedi but looks reasonably attractive, resembling the vehicle from 7754 Home One Mon Calamari Cruiser. Stickers are applied towards the prow and these are nicely detailed, although the concussion missile tubes are missing and I think the towing slot should have been depicted physically rather than relying upon a sticker.
Spring-loaded shooters are situated beneath the fuselage and these can be activated separately by pushing buttons on top. This function has been integrated perfectly and the swivelling laser cannons are excellent too, featuring single barrels rather than the weapons and targeting laser that appear on the RZ-1 variant. An odd sticker is placed here, featuring an emblem which seems reminiscent of the Open Circle Fleet from the Clone Wars.
Additional stickers form dark green bands across the cockpit and opening this canopy reveals ample internal space for the pilot. Unfortunately, there are no controls which is extremely unusual within the modern Star Wars range. The external detail is marvellous though and I like the pearl gold highlights beside the cockpit. Moreover, the shape of the bodywork around the laser cannons looks great.
Three landing legs extend from beneath the starfighter. They are attached to the fuselage using click hinges and appear relatively accurate, although the forward leg is positioned above the others so the model does not land evenly. Nevertheless, I like how the landing gear can be retracted and there are few unsightly elements on the underside.
A-wings consistently include angled engines, although that design feature was only introduced to the LEGO renditions during 2016. The angle of these engines appears slightly too steep but the fins look brilliant and I like the asymmetrical stickers. Furthermore, the circular thrust vector rings are perfectly positioned beside trans-yellow 2x2 round bricks, returning from 75175 A-wing Starfighter.
Each engine nacelle is connected to the fuselage using Technic pins, thereby creating an angle. The blue pins seem awkward and the engines can move which is somewhat disappointing. However, that would be difficult to avoid and the fusion reactor exhaust looks superb, capturing the onscreen shape with absolute fidelity.
Overall
LEGO renditions of the A-wing Interceptor have improved quite dramatically during recent years and 75248 Resistance A-wing Starfighter continues this advancement. The model seems perfectly robust and replicates the streamlined design of its onscreen counterpart fairly effectively, only diverging from the source material around the nose which should appear marginally narrower.
The functionality is outstanding though and I appreciate these two minifigures, despite the inaccuracy of Lieutenant Connix's head and hair element. Furthermore, I think the price of £24.99 or $29.99 feels quite reasonable, especially when compared with earlier A-wing models. For those reasons, I am very satisfied with this rendition of the vehicle.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your opinion of the set in the comments.
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23 comments on this article
I like this set and have put it on my wish list.
The price is not that expensive as some other sets released the 4th October.
It would have looked better if the undersides of the outer edges of the wings were filled in with 1x1 plates behind the cannon and a 2x2 45 degrees wedge plate in front of the cannon. Currently the only defining trait that differentiates the RZ-2 from the RZ-1, said wing extensions on the side, looks like an afterthought in the Lego model.
Really weird that they did not include a control panel as there is an available 1x2 space. I guess this is one set that if I get it i'll modify slightly.
I bought the A-wing on Tuesday and I really love it it is a excellent little set and the price is actually reasonable in my opinion.
I have the very first A-Wing from way back when. I liked the last one but the price was too much. I really enjoyed this one until Jang pointed out the horrible dark green sticker needs to be perfect and he's right. It's slightly off on yours and it looks distracting. Still it might be time to upgrade.
Finally a nice set at a reasonable price.
This is an actually fairly priced set, I am not getting it but it looks good and I am glad Snap jumped from the SW Aftermath stories to movies abd LEGO sets, now Mister Bones will never be a figure.
I don't know if I would call this an "advancement". It's missing a control panel or controls of any kind! What is this, 2006? Even back then, that little V-Wing starfighter gave the illusion of a control panel with the random 1x2 white grill plate. That and the uneven landing gear, the slightly wobbly engine attachment, and the sticker defining the front notch on the ship don't really show me how this A-wing is worth buying over any of the predecessors I already own. Granted, it sure looks nice and shiny and shaped well, but I don't just plop out $30 for a Lego set merely because it superficially looks good. This is an average set. Nothing wrong with that, but my advice would still be to wait for a sale down to $20. For that price, it's fine and you can mod it with your pieces to make it more accurate and ship-shape.
I like this set and So glad the price is only £24.99. I liked the last one but the price was too much
Thankyou again, Great review, can I just say I love the "in the wild" pics, although this one does look as if its on a nose dive to destruction, keep them coming.
Meh, sequel trilogy, hard pass for me. No need to upgrade (or should that be downgrade?) to this when you've a good ol' red A-Wing already.
Not to mention the poor fig lineup; a Microfighter figure and a figure that doesn't at all look like Billie Lourd.
It looks pretty nice, the best part being the price back to 30€. 50€ for the last one was insane, even by Legos standard. Still, I'm probably not going to get this. Sticking to my 75003 in red.
What's with the color inconsistancies in the green? The 1x4 tiles across the front of the ship, for instance, look quiet a bit less saturated than, say, the 1x2 with one stud or the curved tiles right near them.
Thanks for the review. This looks nice, but still a bit compromised. I do love that it's got folding landing gear, though I think I'll be sticking with 2013's 75003 for now. The real solution, of course, would be for them to finally give us a UCS A-Wing.
Was about to post almost the same as @yamaki - £25 for this v £45 for the last one seems like a steal. That said, this one just doesn't seem as substantial as the last one, even after stripping out the 3rd minifig and side-build. It feels like a bit of a step backwards.
Does anyone know what “POPSAEBOO” means?
Did you have to throw it in the air to get that pic?
@The_Teenage_Brickster I agree that the CW-era emblem is interesting, as well as the whole ISD thing and Y-wings again. On the topic of this set, I really think that it looks great. This and the Y-Wing are the only ones from this wave that really appealed to me in general.
I Just build it, and I am not happy with it. The missing control panel is annoying. The stickers are a hell to put on. I thought I was good at it. But the front stripes came out askew. And the cockpit ones got crinkles! So bad. Not a good model.
I managed to buy & build a day or two before FFF. Enjoyed the small changes that differ from the previous version and it's a nice addition to the fleet. I don't mind adding controls, I often do that anyway. Great to have a fighter at this price.
My only disappointment is in the pilot - we already have a near identical Snap Wexley, this would have been a great chance to give us a new interesting mold like Ello Asty, Nien Numb, or at least some diversity (and new helmet prints) with Bastian or Pava.
Great review Cap'n. One thing I wanna mention though, is that the photos are quite over-exposed. It's hard to see the white details in those shots. Otherwise it's another quality review from the Brickset team!
I'd have liked to see a different pilot. Particularly not one that appeared in a different ship
I own a couple of classic red ones I bought from a Woolworth's years and years ago. Unfortunately their stickers cracked away into nothing at least 5years ago. also got the green A-wing from the Mon calamari ship set, the few stickers on that are OK thankfully .
Seeing all the stickers on this new one turns me off it completely
A-wing is my favourite ship from starwars, so if they'd put this set out with less of the details reliant on stickers it would of been the first starwars set I've bought in years. Last one i bought was a jawa battle pack for affordable Jawa's.
Just bought it and was pretty impressed especially with the value, where I bought it it was cheaper than anakin's starfighter and death star escape