Review: 75273 Poe Dameron's X-wing Fighter
Posted by CapnRex101,
Resistance X-wing Starfighters were introduced during 2015 and this superb vehicle has already appeared in two previous LEGO sets. 75273 Poe Dameron's X-wing Fighter is the newest version and shares several similarities with past models while offering welcome innovation.
The cylindrical engine structures look especially impressive, making effective use of new 3x3 curved arch bricks to improve upon previous designs. Furthermore, an interesting selection of minifigures are provided, including Jannah beside an exclusive Knight of Ren. I have therefore been looking forward to building this set.
Please be aware this review is spoiler free.
Minifigures
Several versions of Poe Dameron are available but this example has only previously appeared in 75102 Poe's X-wing Fighter. The dual-moulded helmet looks absolutely perfect, featuring a trans-yellow visor alongside metallic silver and dark red highlights. Aurebesh lettering also decorates this element, reading ROAEHAL, while the double-sided head underneath includes accurate stubble. An alternative hair piece is provided too.
The dark orange flight suit and white flak jacket include marvellous detail and I like the light bluish grey harness around Poe's waist. The life support unit and accompanying corrugated tube appear similarly authentic, continuing across the torso and legs. This minifigure carries a pearl silver blaster so matches the variant from 75249 Resistance Y-wing Starfighter.
Jannah occupies an influential role during Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and this exclusive minifigure is accordingly appealing. The hair piece includes fantastic texture, faithfully recreating the onscreen character's frizzy hair. Furthermore, I love her salvaged macrobinocular goggles which are beautifully printed with red streaks. The double-sided head looks superb too, displaying cheerful and angry expressions.
I am equally impressed with the torso decoration which certainly reflects the shabby appearance of Jannah's attire. Her fishleather bandolier seems particularly striking and features intricate scales while rusted grappling equipment is fixed to her belt. Unfortunately, the legs are not printed. Dual-moulding would have been ideal here and sand blue appears excessively bright when compared with the film.
However, my favourite aspect of this minifigure is the location transponder which decorates her right arm. Such details are typically omitted from the Star Wars theme and I hope to see additional details like this one in the future. Jannah is appropriately armed with her powered bow and wears a reddish brown quiver across her back, although this should be strapped to her waist instead.
BB-8 has traditionally accompanied Poe Dameron into battle but R2-D2 appears here instead. This figure seems entirely familiar but the domed head has been updated, now featuring more detail on the holographic projector and enlarged logic function displays. The cylindrical body remains completely unchanged though and could still be improved by introducing printing on the reverse.
An exclusive Knight of Ren, named Vicrul, completes the minifigure selection. Pearl dark dominates this whole minifigure and his intimidating helmet looks absolutely magnificent, featuring metallic silver decoration and a narrow visor across the front. The moulded striations also appear accurate and continue across this component. Removing the helmet reveals a plain black head underneath.
Pearl silver details are printed across the torso and legs too, replicating the rugged texture of Vicrul's coat. Its design seems relatively simple but includes accurate bands along the edge and the boots look splendid. This warrior carries a pearl silver blaster pistol but prefers fighting at close quarters, hence he also wields a lethal scythe with a red grip. Presumably the two remaining knights will appear in another set.
The Completed Model
75102 Poe's X-wing Fighter was released during 2015 and each subsequent rendition of the T-70 X-wing Starfighter has closely resembled the original model. This vehicle therefore measures 37cm in length and incorporates familiar construction techniques, corresponding with the earlier sets. Its colour scheme of orange and white is certainly distinctive though. I think this design looks great, although the black and orange craft remains my favourite.
The nose seems more faithful to T-65 X-wing Starfighters than the T-70 model, although I do like the sunken sensor window. Hinges effectively recreate the subtle tapering of the nose and a sticker is applied on one side, as exhibited below. However, this detail does not adorn the original starfighter or any other merchandise so its inclusion seems odd.
Stud shooters are fixed beside the cockpit, replacing torpedo launch tubes. They could certainly have been integrated more neatly but are easily removed if you wish. The neighbouring dark azure highlights are excellent though and the printed cockpit looks impressive, despite its width remaining inaccurately consistent for the entire length of this component. A yellow access ladder is also included.
Opening the cockpit reveals room for Poe to sit inside and store his blaster on a clip behind the seat. Several printed control panels are positioned here, including a new tile with dark red displays that has only currently appeared in this set. I appreciate the spacious design and the Astromech droid socket also looks reasonable, although its broad shape which accommodates R2-D2 is unsuitable for BB-8.
Changing the droid socket is comparatively minor but the engines have been updated dramatically. I love the light bluish grey 3x3 curved arch bricks which seem faithful to the source material, improving upon the wheel arches that were used previously. The surrounding dark azure rings are wonderful but the horizontal structures that should divide each engine are missing so they look awkward when the S-foils are deployed.
Dark azure stripes decorate the wings and correspond precisely with the original vehicle. I like the transition between orange and white panels too. Unfortunately, the structure of these S-foils is very disappointing as they should slot together when closed, forming a smooth surface. Instead, the wings overlap quite considerably so its profile appears too bulky, much like past renditions of the Resistance X-wing.
However, I appreciate the removal of spring-loaded shooters from the upper S-foils and the laser cannons look great. Additional dark azure pieces are connected to the engines and their trans-pink glow seems appropriate. 75218 X-wing Starfighter introduced a new mechanism for deploying the S-foils and that design returns here. Moving the tan element above the fuselage forwards will cause the wings to open.
The resultant profile looks quite attractive, although the wings remain too broad when compared with the source material. Nevertheless, the rapid wing deployment is enjoyable and the rubber bands are relatively well hidden since their white colour blends with the surrounding armour. The internal surface of each wing looks reasonable too, improving upon past models where colourful parts have been found here.
Further to their instant deployment, the S-foils can be quickly retracted by moving the switch on top or pressing the light bluish grey button underneath. This is intended to avoid landing the model with its wings open and potentially stressing them but is equally convenient for manually closing the wings. The retractable forward landing gear strut is also visible here but those situated towards the rear are fixed in place.
Overall
75273 Poe Dameron's X-wing Fighter certainly represents a considerable improvement upon earlier versions of this elegant vessel, although potential for subsequent development remains. The orange and white colour scheme looks magnificent and I also love the updated engine nacelles. By contrast, the inaccurate design of the S-foils is particularly disappointing because LEGO has now received two opportunities to rectify this issue.
Nevertheless, this remains an impressive set and the minifigures are outstanding. Jannah and Vicrul both exhibit exceptional accuracy and these are among my favourite figures from the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker range. The price of £89.99 or $89.99 does feel expensive though, especially since only three minifigures are included, along with R2-D2.
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 below.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review is an expression of my own opinions.
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40 comments on this article
Lovely-jubbly review!
Some say Star Wars was created to sell toys, but these constant recolours of X-Wings make me doubt that theory... ;-)
All of the Sequel Trilogy designs have a real “Malibu Stacy.... but she has a new hat!” kind of feel to them.
I think this started with the endless variations of Clone Troopers, but boy howdy the new films really upped the ante.
Orange on white x wing? Nice, but I will wait for pink on yellow. Laugh all you want, with this designing originality it will come.
Booster shaping is nice, but likely most people had their X-fix with the recent red 5.
It looks nice and slick but I'll stick with the classics...
€99.99 for this vs Temple Fair , yeah pretty crazy.
I'm gonna be bold and say it's time we got retractable rear landing gear. A nitpick? Sure--but totally possible with today's parts. Let's see it become standard!
A nice model, but unless I wanted the new color scheme, I don't see anything to really get me to upgrade from my original black-and-orage (with modified wings to look much closer to the movie). @WemWem nailed it--in the Transformers (and other toys) world, we call this one a repaint. And in fact, the non-Lego toy makera are probably enjoying be able to re-use the same molds from 5 years ago.
Another day, another X-wing.
Our price of 119.99 EUR (ca 133 USD) seems even more expensive for some reason...
A nice set but thankfully not in my interest line.
The color scheme is quite nice, but I still can't get over the lever system used to open the s-foils (this was also the case with 75128). It just leaves an ugly hole in the top. The other thing I have against this set is the wings. First, they are simply covered in exposed studs, which makes them have a much different appearance and feel from the fuselage. Also, I don't understand why LEGO hasn't managed to do accurate scissor foils with the wings, where they fold flat rather than on top of each other. I managed this with my 75149 in a matter of a few minutes, so it's really not that difficult.
I do like the engines though, with the accurate shaping (though as the review pointed out, the lack of a bottom structure for each intake is somewhat disappointing). Personally, I'll stick with 75149.
I just can't get over the price.
100 Euro?
No wonder people think LEGO has lost their marbles and buy something else instead.
That and the fact that this was such a lousy and forgettable movie to begin with.
Yeah, Lego seems to quite increase price/piece this year. Similar evolution to be seen on Minecraft sets as well. Likely they want to compensate the fact, that all gets discounted 20-30% rapidly, and they still keep the margin. Still, 2020 announces as a year to hunt for old treasure bargainsinstead of buying the new sets...
I own Poe’s black and orange X-Wing. Sure the new colour scheme looks good, but I prefer the original. The ladder is practically identical but the minifigure selection is definitely better, compared to the same Poe (without hair), another random pilot and a traffic co-ordinator. We also got BB-8 which, I think, is better than R2. The opening and closing mechanism is more obvious in the newer version with an extraordinary beige piece.
Stud-shooters!! Whoever is doing this, please stop! Most of the time, you just lose the stud! Stop it!!!
Nice set but a bit too expensive in France.
I miss the days when X-Wings cost €59.99.
I like it but I preferred the black & orange X-wing from a couple of years ago..
Nice minifigs. Decent model. Way overpriced
I really like the clever use of available parts to create that triangular orange shape all along the upper surface of this model. That is why it eventually is interesting to get IMO, even already having the previous black and orange one, and last classic version. So I will buy it as soon as I will find a good (that means big) discount. Because I can try to find any good reason for the price, which is more than 10 euros more than the previous rendition, which was almost exactly the same but for the colours, I can't find any. Thank you for your good review, as usual!
This set highlights one of the many problems with Disney's trilogy... far too much dependence on the original designs and little new. 30 years after Episode VI, we shouldn't still be seeing X-Wings and TIE Fighters.
@TomKazutara - Something 'feeling expensive' and 'being expensive' mean essentially the same thing. I prefer the term 'feels expensive' since I consider value to be partially subjective and that is reflected in my writing.
With regard to not mentioning Euro prices in reviews, that is because of their variation across the continent and the confusion which might result from their discussion.
@Tyrell_Archer said: "30 years after Episode VI, we shouldn't still be seeing X-Wings and TIE Fighters."
Well by that logic, we shouldn't have been seeing Y-Wings 20 years after the Clone Wars.
Rip off. Wait a few months and this will be half price in the sales.
Once upon a time the LEGO brand was associated with fun, creativity and imagination. It still is of course, but greed is the first word that springs to mind these days, which is a shame.
@Tyrell_Archer said:
"This set highlights one of the many problems with Disney's trilogy... far too much dependence on the original designs and little new. 30 years after Episode VI, we shouldn't still be seeing X-Wings and TIE Fighters."
If a military finds a desing that works then they will continue to employ said model with modifications based on it.
Can we see side by side pictures of the x-wing models to compare and contrast? I find this especially useful when I am thinking about getting legacy versions can new releases.
After already buying 3 X Wings in the last 4 years this one is a hard pass for me
@Tyrell_Archer said:
"This set highlights one of the many problems with Disney's trilogy... far too much dependence on the original designs and little new. 30 years after Episode VI, we shouldn't still be seeing X-Wings and TIE Fighters."
I wouldn't expect to say we wouldn't see them at all, but it says a lot that the sequel trilogy almost solely replied on slightly modified versions of the two iconic ships from the original trilogy, without any of the new and original designs making a big splash in merchandising or story. Even the prequel trilogy had quite a few hits in those departments. I'd also argue the fact most kids probably already have an X-Wing, so to speak, is part of why the merchandising lines are suffering these days.
Way too many x-wings. Period.
Nice set!
As a non Stars Wars fan I actually considered buying this as it just looked like a cool ship with a nice colour scheme but the price!
**Minor TROS Spoiler** As many people seem disappointed in Artoo's inclusion, Poe does actually fly with R2 in Rise of Skywalker, so it is effectively more accurate. However Both might've been better for its price...
@holdre007 said:
"Our price of 119.99 EUR (ca 133 USD) seems even more expensive for some reason..."
I would assume it seems more expensive because it actually is. According my calculator 133 USD is more than 89,99 USD!
Like last Xwing I will skip this. It's just too expensive. :( It's not worth the price for me.
Lego needs to take a break from the X-wing - from Brickset database https://brickset.com/sets?query=x-wing:
1999
2004
2006
2012
2015
2016
2018
2020
You could also include
2000 UCS
2002 Rerelease of 1999
2013 UCS
2019 Juniors
2019 Christmas (Lego Emplyees
@SeekerBear said:
" @Tyrell_Archer said: "30 years after Episode VI, we shouldn't still be seeing X-Wings and TIE Fighters."
Well by that logic, we shouldn't have been seeing Y-Wings 20 years after the Clone Wars."
By that logic we still shouldn't be seeing B52's, F15's or F16's either. Trust me, the sequels have plenty of issues particularly TROS (I liked Last Jedi, bite me). But as an engineering student, the idea that they are still flying X-Wings and Tie Fighters is brilliant. Look at real world heavy transport; especially aviation, maritime, and railroading; and it's common for many pieces of equipment to be pushing 40+ years. The aforementioned B52 has been flying for 68 years since its first test flight, and will be nearly 100 years old before retirement based on current estimates.
Now from a fan perspective, I do agree it would have been cool to get some unique new designs to put alongside the X-Wings. The only truly lazy ship design though that makes no sense is the Star Destroyers at the end of TROS... since it scales up the Rogue One model and straps a big gun to it, without fixing the window scale issues due to making a pre-existing model larger. Same issue J.J's own 2009 Star Trek film had with the Enterprise actually.
@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @SeekerBear said:
" @Tyrell_Archer said: "30 years after Episode VI, we shouldn't still be seeing X-Wings and TIE Fighters."
Well by that logic, we shouldn't have been seeing Y-Wings 20 years after the Clone Wars."
By that logic we still shouldn't be seeing B52's, F15's or F16's either. Trust me, the sequels have plenty of issues particularly TROS (I liked Last Jedi, bite me). But as an engineering student, the idea that they are still flying X-Wings and Tie Fighters is brilliant. Look at real world heavy transport; especially aviation, maritime, and railroading; and it's common for many pieces of equipment to be pushing 40+ years. The aforementioned B52 has been flying for 68 years since its first test flight, and will be nearly 100 years old before retirement based on current estimates.
Now from a fan perspective, I do agree it would have been cool to get some unique new designs to put alongside the X-Wings. The only truly lazy ship design though that makes no sense is the Star Destroyers at the end of TROS... since it scales up the Rogue One model and straps a big gun to it, without fixing the window scale issues due to making a pre-existing model larger. Same issue J.J's own 2009 Star Trek film had with the Enterprise actually. "
Besides the horrible Star Destoryers,
I would claim that the problem is, that original desgings where very underwhelming, while the reused assets where to prominent and not really logical. I mean, how exactly do you put a second gunner seat into a fighter with minimal space for a single pilot.
@shaase said:
"Lego needs to take a break from the X-wing - from Brickset database https://brickset.com/sets?query=x-wing:
1999
2004
2006
2012
2015
2016
2018
2020
I really don’t understand this sentiment. X-wings are the most iconic SW vehicle, but for the Falcon. There should be one released almost every year. For us in Australia sets are only on shelves for less than a year on average, sometimes much less as most of the TFF sets are impossible to find now. Admittedly 75149 might have been pushing it but take that out and it’s a 4.5 year gap between the T-70 versions and 6 years between the T-65s
Got my Red5 X-wing in 2006,
and got my Blue6 X-wing in 2016.
Am not due to get another one til 2026! ;)
This is my favorite X-Wing so far and would love to find it at discount. Thanks for the review.
@WemWem said:
"All of the Sequel Trilogy designs have a real “Malibu Stacy.... but she has a new hat!” kind of feel to them.
I think this started with the endless variations of Clone Troopers, but boy howdy the new films really upped the ante."
exept, that with clones it makes sense, with different types for differennt use.
These figures don't really vary, besides few details and are not stackable .
THE SEQUELS SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!