Review: 912170 V-wing
Posted by CapnRex101,
The monthly LEGO Star Wars magazine provides an unrivalled opportunity to acquire uncommon minifigures, although various brilliant miniature models appear too. They include 912170 V-wing which accompanies the newest issue and seems remarkably detailed.
Additionally, this elegant starfighter has recently appeared during The Bad Batch, becoming the leading space superiority fighter immediately following the foundation of the Galactic Empire. The model should therefore prove enjoyable.
The Completed Model
Aerodynamic shaping is undoubtedly the V-wing Starfighter's most important feature and that looks excellent here, particularly when viewed from the side. I appreciate the narrow fuselage and this model measures almost 10cm in length, which enables reasonable detail. The colour scheme of light bluish grey alongside dark red appears authentic as well.
However, dark red accents are missing from the prow and I think its shaping could have been improved too. These simple 2x4 wedge plates somewhat resemble the original craft, although their sharper 2x4 wedge plate equivalents might have been more effective here. Nevertheless, the canopy looks great and the complementary curve behind the cockpit compares favourably with the source material.
Unfortunately, recreating that elegant curvature has prevented the designer from including the Astromech droid which should slot behind the pilot. The trans-bright green engine nacelles are appealing though and both wings appear impressive. Their angular design matches the source material, making good use of dark red 2x3 pentagonal tiles that create an accurate shape. The laser cannons seem rather short though.
Both wings are connected to the fuselage using Technic pins, enabling them to rotate during landing. This function works nicely and matches the onscreen starfighter, although nothing is included to restrict the wing movement. Moreover, the dearth of forward landing gear seems somewhat disappointing, needing another brick beneath the fuselage for accurate display.
Overall
912170 V-wing closely resembles the onscreen starfighter and incorporates satisfying detail, particularly towards the rear where the wings and engines look appealing. The rotating wings function nicely too, although including stoppers to limit their motion would have been splendid. The absence of forward landing gear is also disappointing.
Nevertheless, this model represents an attractive addition to the selection of LEGO Star Wars magazine gifts, especially because the marvellous Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing has not been available at any scale since 75039 V-wing Starfighter became available during 2014.
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26 comments on this article
Really nice design for a pocket fighter.
Huw, captN Rex, can you post instructions for these magazine gift / foil sets for those of US across the pond?
So you be constantly getting exclusive sets overseas and we aint get these...
I wish someone would license in US so we can subscribe ourselves (like brickmaster but paid)
@milflinn said:
"Huw, captN Rex, can you post instructions for these magazine gift / foil sets for those of US across the pond?
So you be constantly getting exclusive sets overseas and we aint get these...
I wish someone would license in US so we can subscribe ourselves (like brickmaster but paid)"
Yeah, i collect Star Wars minis and its not worth importing a subscription vs just bricklinking these every couple months. The part lists are usually on bricklink pretty quick, but the instructions are impossible to find sometimes. Hoth Bricks used to post them every month, but when i build them now i usually have to follow along with a youtube video if i cant figure everything out from the picture.
I remember my brother and I had the first release of the V-Wing back in 2005. Or was it 2006? Anyway, good memories! For some reason we never could keep the ship together, so our clone pilot had all sorts of random makeshift vehicles until we could find the instructions. We never found those instructions.
This is a nice little model of that fighter.
6205 was my very first Star Wars set as a child, and the one which got me starting a collection ... nostalgia !
The instructions are on the set page under video reviews. Nice small build, looking forward to building it. Thanks for the review.
@milflinn said:
"Huw, captN Rex, can you post instructions for these magazine gift / foil sets for those of US across the pond?
So you be constantly getting exclusive sets overseas and we aint get these...
I wish someone would license in US so we can subscribe ourselves (like brickmaster but paid)"
Really, these Star Wars ones aren’t worth it, at least in my opinion. The builds are generally rubbish, the minifigures are rarely included and when they are, they are fairly generic. If you going to go with a mag, go for the Ninjago one. The minifigures are excellent.
@milflinn said:
"Huw, captN Rex, can you post instructions for these magazine gift / foil sets for those of US across the pond?"
LegoSteps has some of the building instructions, but not the latest ones.
https://www.5minutefun.com/lego/?code=&magazine=LEGO%C2%AE+Star+Wars%E2%84%A2
As for magazines, they are not found in many countries. As far as I know, the largest number is in England, Germany and in us, in Poland. This is clearly visible in the Brickset ownership table. I always cut out instructions, or at least a photo from the magazine, and put it in a binder. There is a lot of it!
As for the prices of magazines in general, they have actually gone up. From PLN 9.99 for the first Chima magazines from 2013, which I also have (nostalgia) to PLN 13.99 now, and in special editions of Ninjago Legacy it is PLN 19.99.
When I forget to cut out the instructions, I check in the magazine's video review - then they also show the announcements of the next gift!
The best part is that Magazine Gifts now account for more than half of my collection!
i see some posts about the instructions: I use you-tube and then the set number (912170) followed by step by step instructions as search. Every SW monthly magazine set has a stop motion 'movie'.
The instructions for earlier models are here: https://images.brickset.com/library/miscellaneous/StarWarsMagazineModels.pdf
A, B, U, V, X, and Y Wings.
I need a W Wing next, and then a C or Z.
You know that it's a good mini model if the reviewer starts to wish it had landing gear ;)
Most full-scale ships don't even get that honour.
Oh man, they discontinued this magazine in Russia right before the issue with Bespin Luke came out. What a pity!
@milflinn said:
"Huw, captN Rex, can you post instructions for these magazine gift / foil sets for those of US across the pond?
So you be constantly getting exclusive sets overseas and we aint get these...
I wish someone would license in US so we can subscribe ourselves (like brickmaster but paid)"
That is a great idea
We haven't had a system scale V-wing since what, 2014? I'm surprised we haven't gotten any more ROTS sets re-released. Obi-Wan's interceptor, V-wing, Vulture Droid, Tri-fighter, ARC-170, maybe even a Venator. With Clone Wars and Bad Batch, it seems like an obvious tie in, but Anakin's interceptor is peculiarly lonely.
In landing mode the starfighter's cannons should point downwards, not upwards. Just sayin'.
Remove that cockpit piece and change the dark red accents to blue and this is a Classic Space set.
We need a new system size V-Wing. There has only been 2, to date, correct? I missed out on both of these...
@guachi said:
"Remove that cockpit piece and change the dark red accents to blue and this is a Classic Space set."
You mean, change the cockpit to trans-yellow.
Yup, it sucks that the US gets all the exclusive sets and never misses out on anything.
@ronvining:
There have been four minifig-scale V-Wing Fighters, which are 6205 and 75039 from Ep3 and the Republic, 7915 from the Empire (though I’m not sure what source it drew from), and, um...6836. Of the lot, the Imperial one has the best design aesthetically, but I don’t think I ever got the 2014 release so I can’t really comment on the build.
I recieve the monthly Issue of LEGO STAR WARS in German here in Switzerland since over two Years now. And I must say that the Level of Minifigures or Mini Models is always quite high and I am very satisfied what I get in the past few Months
@rishi_eel said:
"We haven't had a system scale V-wing since what, 2014? I'm surprised we haven't gotten any more ROTS sets re-released. Obi-Wan's interceptor, V-wing, Vulture Droid, Tri-fighter, ARC-170, maybe even a Venator. With Clone Wars and Bad Batch, it seems like an obvious tie in, but Anakin's interceptor is peculiarly lonely. "
That's why we call LEGO a dummy, they can earn bug funds but they constanly go for the safe route
This looks surprisingly large/generous for a magazine gift build.
have a feeling we might see more of this model in larger sets..maybe even the UCS scale set??
I've been waiting for someone to mention 6836. Thanks, @PurpleDave!