Random set of the day: Y-wing Fighter
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 7658 Y-wing Fighter, released in 2007. It's one of 17 Star Wars sets produced that year. It contains 454 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$39.99/£39.99.
It's owned by 7085 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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35 comments on this article
I don't remember if I got this or not. I don't think I did, because it felt too similar to the inaugural Y-Wing in 7150.
I love this version of the Y-wing. Sure, more detailed versions have been released since, but this one always felt the most Legoish.
The only Minifig Y-Wing I have is also 7150
I didn't get this one more because I had a Y-Wing already, I didn't need another despite this one looking vastly more accurate and having a bombing function. I look at this now, and kind of which I had gotten any other Y-Wing besides the Clone Wars one 8037 to see how they got the 45 degree angles for the boosters. I know it's not that complicated, but still, my Y-Wing is forever inaccurate, and while I do love my classic Y-Wing, an updated one wouldn't be terrible. I probably won't get one, even a new one if it came out partly because of the price and space, and also because this version has a certain aesthetic to me that feels more like a LEGO set that's a Y-Wing and not just a Y-Wing made out of LEGO. It's petty, but it helps maintain consistency in my collection.
He looks pretty happy about his job!
My favorite Lego Y-Wing model!
Except for the first UCS Y-Wing (which came out during my second Dark Ages), I have bought ALL the Y-wing sets that Lego has released. I love that ship! I haven't done this for any other ship.
^ Impressive. Most impressive!
I always wanted this particular model.
The early years of SW had kind of a weird rhythm in terms of re-issues and remakes. They started off with the initial OT wave in 1999, and apparently in the interest of keeping iconic vehicles on shelves, they reissued the X-wing and TIE Fighter/Y-wing sets as-is with no changes in 2002. In the following years, Lego would start changing some of their standards, with the introduction of flesh minifigs for licensed sets and the introduction of "new" colors for grays, brown, and others. Swinging finger hinges were also giving way to clicky hinges, which had already been introduced a few years prior. The 2003 X-wing was a remake at the tail end of the yellow-fig era, and was a pretty big jump in detail and size compared to the first one. It came out again in 2004 in another box style. The TIE Fighter/Y-wing was reissued once again in 2004, but other than the introduction of new grays (including the helmet printing on Dutch Vander) it was identical. In an oversight, the Dutch Vander minifig still had a yellow head (a pre-SW one seen in many sets from Aquanauts to Space to Town). So while the X-wing enjoyed a huge boost in quality, the Y-wing still hung back in 1999's design with only new grays to show for it. This was also how it would appear in 2006's Lego Star Wars II, because it was the newest Y-wing available at the time. It wouldn't be until this 2007 model that the Y-wing would finally receive its second *real* iteration at minifig scale. By comparison, the B-wing and A-wing both were introduced in 2000 and both remade in full in 2006.
It's a nice model. It doesn't have the unnecessary red elements of its predecessors. The greebling and detailing is great. The engines sit lower, compared to the inexplicably high engines on the '99. One of the biggest improvements is that the engine cages have been rotated 45 degrees and now sit accurately. The head section, while appealing in its sleekness, pinches a lot at the front (the 2012 Y-wing over-corrected this and made it too wide, but the 2016 one for Rogue One does a good job). It also doesn't allow for much of the gold livery to be seen, with only three pieces comprising the ship's signature head striping. Certain aspects feel dated now, like the usage of neck brackets outside of a minifig, and the somewhat scant detailing of the interior. In any event, this was a very welcome set because it modernized the Y-wing alongside its other compatriots.
@MCLegoboy:
Instructions are available whenever you feel like looking them up. I think I did buy the Clone Wars Y-Wing, but on a guess, they just linked a few key parts together using a long axle, then fed that through a pin hole so it could rotate. Build stuff that locks it in to a specific angle, and you're good to go.
@PDelahanty:
One of my best friends from college and I had a weird discussion about this at one point. As a kid, I had _always_ wanted a Kenner X-Wing. I also wanted the Millennium Falcon, but at least one of my childhood friends had that, so I got limited access to it. To me, those were the two most iconic vehicles of the saga. My brother had the Y-Wing, though.
My friend had the X-Wing growing up, but what he wanted more than anything was the Y-Wing. Why? Because on the Kenner X-Wing, the R2 head was built in, and used to actuate the landing gear. On the Y-Wing, the astromech socket was open, allowing you to put either R2-D2 or R5-D4 inside. That was pretty much the extent of your options, but there _were_ options. Unless you busted out the model paint, an entire squadron of X-Wings would have matching astromechs.
The X-Wings and A-Wings may be the hotshots, but the Y-Wing is the rebel's real backbone as far as I am concerned.
This Y-wing has aged very well as a Lego model (and in-universe, the Y-wing aged very well as a fighter-bomber). I wanted both it and the 7660 Naboo Starfighter when they came out in 2007, but I only had money for the 7660. Still want this one, still haven't got it yet.
I remember the good old days, where SW LEGO figures were yellow and not fleshie and that for only 10 USD more you would have the Y-wing AND Vader's Tie fighter... Now redos keep getting smaller but yet for more money.
@xboxtravis7992:
Put me in the cockpit, and that's all you need. No, seriously. In the X-Wing computer game, there's a training mission where all you're supposed to do is fly past a bunch of cargo containers in a Y-Wing and scan the contents to identify a few that have weapons (which you then destroy). And if you jump out of the system, that's all there is to the mission. If, however, you drag your feet getting out of there, an ISD jumps into the system and starts belching out TIE Interceptors, six at a time, until it has unleashed a full contingent of 72. I liked to clean out the entire docking bay. With a Y-Wing.
Sure, given my choice, I would have used an X-Wing, but you get what you're assigned. I think you got a Y-Wing because you needed the extra torps for the "primary" mission against slow-moving, defenseless boxes of cargo, but it's definitely harder to score a hit on a fast-moving TIE Interceptor when you've only got two blasters that are mounted so close to each other, vs four that are spread out wide enough for a Y-Wing to fit between them.
Ahh, the dimpled golf ball hemispheres in white! Soooo nice.
I can’t remember if I ended up getting rid of this. I think this year there were about 5 or 6 SW sets so it was pretty easy on the wallet to get everything. Glad updates were made but there is something about the aesthetic of these older sets that set them apart from more recent ones.
After getting the '99 versions X and Y Wings, I didn't feel the need to buy any of the renewed sets. They were good enough for me, still are. First release of Millenium Falcon, A-Wing and Tie Advanced were not so appealing though.
Building the engine details on this felt so much more satisfying than the latest Y-Wing sets where you just apply stickers to giant half cylinder parts. I really hope we go back to this design philosophy one day.
If the newer models used brickbuilt engines like this one instead of stickers... *OK hand sign*
Until that happens, this will remain at the top of my list as “best system scale y wing”
The fastest golfball delivery service in that or any galaxy!
I'm not sure if they have even changed the back design for Y-Wings since this model.
My first Y-wing and my favourite so far....and those minfigs with a simple smile are charming to me nowadays.
Great model for its time.
I love Lego, I love Star Wars, so I cannot explain why Lego Star Wars never clicked with me. My bank account thanks me though.
Its a nice looking model for sure, but why is there an alien space-beetle-man up in the corner of the box where you would expect to see Darth Vader?
Lots of creative artwork on the box. Fun build with interesting detailing, including two telephone receivers? I wonder how many owners have lost their bright green voodoo ball 'bombs'? These dropped when you pulled out the back leaver, but there was plenty of space to make them larger so less likely to get lost.
@MandalorianCandidate:
There were 17 “sets” that year, as noted at the top of this page. One was the chrome C-3PO, and another was some sort of SDCC exclusive. Besides those, six (including 10178 and 10179) were OT, one was EU, and the other eight were PT.
My favourite minifigure scale Y-Wing. I bought it 2 years ago in MiSB condition for 300 PLN (about $80).
@Mattewes said:
"Its a nice looking model for sure, but why is there an alien space-beetle-man up in the corner of the box where you would expect to see Darth Vader? "
It's a Darth Vader design from some of the original early concept art. 2007, the year this set was released, was the 30th anniversary of the original movie, and so a lot of design focus across various Star Wars product ranges that year was based on the concept art that had first inspired it all. The concept!Vader here is only one example; and I know Hasbro turned out several action figures based on Ralph McQuarrie's original artwork as part of their anniversary Star Wars figure line too.
As others have said, nice set. I didn't have it myself, my only 2007 Star Wars set was 7663... but that one doesn't hold up anywhere near as nicely, by today's standards, as this Y-Wing does xD
Still one of my favourite Lego Star Wars models. The newer UCS version is awesome, and on permanent display, but this one was the first "Wow!" for me.
@Brickwright said:
"The TIE Fighter/Y-wing was reissued once again in 2004, but other than the introduction of new grays (including the helmet printing on Dutch Vander) it was identical. In an oversight, the Dutch Vander minifig still had a yellow head (a pre-SW one seen in many sets from Aquanauts to Space to Town). "
FWIW, the 2004 reissue of 7150 (7262) only recolored the Y-wing. The TIE Advanced was a new design that also showed up in 10131 TIE Fighter Collection. And I wouldn't call the yellow head an "oversight," necessarily, since yellow minifigs were still used on all 2004 sets until 4504 Millennium Falcon, which came out in August.
ooh, i have this one! my kids and I just modified it to make the cockpit more accurate and added a bunch of greebs. I think this is still the best model for the front end, using snot and the wedge panels.
Y-wings are the best!
there's a mission in x-wing alliance where you have to drag a cargo container to safety thru a squadron of pirate y-wings. that one was so hard, you have top out all power into engines and just run, they're too tough to beat outright.
@PurpleDave said:
" @xboxtravis7992 :
Put me in the cockpit, and that's all you need. No, seriously. In the X-Wing computer game, there's a training mission where all you're supposed to do is fly past a bunch of cargo containers in a Y-Wing and scan the contents to identify a few that have weapons (which you then destroy). And if you jump out of the system, that's all there is to the mission. If, however, you drag your feet getting out of there, an ISD jumps into the system and starts belching out TIE Interceptors, six at a time, until it has unleashed a full contingent of 72. I liked to clean out the entire docking bay. With a Y-Wing.
Sure, given my choice, I would have used an X-Wing, but you get what you're assigned. I think you got a Y-Wing because you needed the extra torps for the "primary" mission against slow-moving, defenseless boxes of cargo, but it's definitely harder to score a hit on a fast-moving TIE Interceptor when you've only got two blasters that are mounted so close to each other, vs four that are spread out wide enough for a Y-Wing to fit between them."
I kind of adopted my Y-Wing's as my first fighter main in Star Wars: Squadrons when it first launched, switching to the A-Wing later on. Yes the Y-Wing is slow and heavy, but its armor makes it noob friendly and if you can land a hit with its weapons it will shred almost anything the Empire can throw at it. Its unfortunately outclassed in competitive play in that game, but in casual settings the Y-Wing is still one of my favorites in the game. Especially when you pair its defensive abilities like seeker mines into fast moving battles to catch enemies unaware.
Sadly the Y-Wing in the game really is a second tier bomber compared to the X-Wing due to the physics of the game and its damage system making it possible to "Vandersloop" Star Destroyer's shield generators, which is better favored towards the faster X-Wing (its a move that relies on quick timing a shot through the shield with two torpedo's to instantly destroy one of the Destroyer's shield domes). BUT the Y-Wing is a beast in hunting down AI ships, and can easily rack up kills quietly in the background giving a team a competitive edge, while the other four human players focus on offensive attacks against the enemy. A homing multi-target missile in that game allows a single Y-Wing to down an entire AI TIE Fighter squadron in one shot, making it the perfect vehicle to just wipe the AI bots off the map.
Glad to let you know that with a few extra bricks it is possible to modernise that spectacular set. If anyone wants to know how, I am open to send photos, with the kind permission from the site administrator of course!
@xboxtravis7992:
I played X-Wing and TIE Fighter, but never any multiplayer games. You could pick other players’ saved games as your squadron, but it had the unfortunate side effect of deleting their saved game if they died during a real mission. We also noticed that the AI would operate the game saves in whatever manner the player did. So, for instance, I always quad-linked my cannons because I was really good at taking a snap shot at anything that crossed my field of fire. My roommate at the time preferred unlinked cannons. Neither of us was good at obeying orders and leaving when the mission was over, so my bot quad-linked, his didn’t, and both would hang around even when ordered to head back to base.
Anyways, I found that flying slower gave me better control of the sky, as it was pretty much impossible to overshoot a target, while they tended to present a defenseless aft when they inevitably overshot you and had to swing around to reacquire. In a game of chicken, the slower craft is usually better armed and armored, and will typically survive a shooting match. I also had a fondness for just plowing through TIE Fighters with a fully shielded X-Wing (aka “threading the needle”). Sure, it wipes out your forward shields, but it also wipes out the TIE’s everything.
I also figured out a neat defensive maneuver that was probably impossible to track with a target reticle. I used a Thrustmaster joystick, which was based on a real F4 Phantom stick. It had trigger, thumb, pinky, and a hat. I set the pinky trigger to initiate a barrel roll. Then all I had to do was lean the stick hard to one side, and hit the pinky trigger on a random basis to switch between a barrel roll on a straight path, and banking to one side. This resulted in an irregular corkscrew that made it nearly impossible to get a missile lock, or lead my fighter with cannon fire, and usually also resulted in my opponent overshooting me, and giving me a free shot from behind.