@Brickbuilder0937:
They were still kinda nailing down the format back then. Even as late as 2006, they used “Ultimate Collectors’ Edition” on 7784. It was probably shortly after that set came out that they formally restricted “UCS” to Star Wars, and some time after 75098 in 2016 that they took the next step and rigidly defined what could be UCS vs Masterbuilder Series.

@MCLegoboy:
Meh. They keep making more yellow whip antennae every time they make a new minifig scale version of this ship. I’d be far more concerned about scratching or chipping the chrome bits.

Oh I picked up this bad boy, I wish I’d gotten two. But I was a little light on funds back then. I did not apply the stickers. At least, not to the set.

I think I might’ve used a few of them on a MOC somewhere.

@mrzeon said:
"Inflation also inflates the price, it looks like $40 USD in 2002 would be $65.99 today. That’s 37c per brick."
Yeah that's true, I was thinking that too.

Now.. when you say 'special'.....

Not caring back then, I'ld be worried about the chrome pieces today. I'ld keep it in a tightly closed display if I owned one.

This is the Naboo fighter I missed as a kid, someday I’ll try to build it without the chrome parts.

The only version to get the general shape of the hull correct. The body should kind of flare out beneath the wings.

I was just emerging from my dark ages when this set was new, and while I was still a sufficiently rabid SW fan in general to see even the much-maligned prequels multiple times theatrically, I began focusing my LEGO SW attention overwhelmingly on the iconography of the OT I’d already loved so dearly and so long. I therefore passed on this then, even when I saw it discounted 50%. Now, of course, I wish I’d scooped up dozens. But I just didn’t have that much money then…

Man, I was BORN in 2002, wish my baby self would've grabbed these back then!!

With no actual room for a pilot, you reckon it’s R2 or the autopilot that’s controlling that thing?

*Literally* brilliant!

Is this the first UCS set to be RSOTD?

Chrome... <3

I find it interesting that they marketed this ship based on Attack of the Clones, where they only show up very briefly in the opening scene, rather than The Phantom Menace where they were crucial to the climax. Tying in to the New Movie Hype™, I guess; especially with the overwhelming amount of TPM merchandise still left over from three years before, they needed it to stand out. But I still find it curious.

That said, I have a huge soft spot for AotC - even though it was widely the most derided SW movie before The Last Jedi stole that title - because it was the first time I saw one of them brand new in the cinema, so it makes me happy to see it acknowledged ^^

@Binnekamp:
I was shopping PAB and ran across The One Ring, which looked like it had been switched to gold ink. I added one to my order just to sate my curiosity, and it arrived this week in gold chrome. Seems that part is _still_ color-locked. Pity. It’d be nice to see them in transparent colors, since that’s how the various DC Lantern Corps are depicted, clutching color-coded transparent bracelets since there’s no way to put a ring on their fingers. BTW, The One Ring is actually large enough that you can pop a minifig’s hand out and fit it over the wrist.

@ThatBionicleGuy:
TPM set records for both the sheer amount of movie tie-in merchandise sold…and again for the amount of leftover product. The article I read cited an entire warehouse of unwanted Jar Jar and Darth Maul neckties. Anyways, it’s fairly standard that, when a new movie is out, continuing product lines are rebranded to match. This might be meant as a form of advertising for movie ticket sales, but also to make sure that casual buyers don’t pass it by because it’s branded for a different film.

@GSR_MataNui said:
"Everything's chrome in the future! "

Came for the Spongebob references, was not disappointed.

I want chrome.

Very nice design!
Would love to see a new release at a bigger scale and built from the current selection of available parts!

Great set with awful stickers.

Man I wish there'd be more UCS sets at smaller sizes. It's not "UCS," but the Buzz Lightyear ship released recently just proves a quality product can be made at an affordable size. Some smaller Starfighters like this one would be most welcome!

The current secondary prices are ridiculous, as apart from the chrome fairly generic pieces, but if you must have chrome then there is no hope!

The one that got away. Oh well, can't have everything. The chrome is fantastic! I have the other versions and those yellow antennas perfectly exemplify the part shedding of early SW product.

Now, I know the Star Wars Special Editions are generally a matter of great disapproval, but that's the Star Wars I grew up with, so let me tell you:

There are no Naboo Fighters in the Special Editions. :-p

“Let’s try spinning that’s a good trick”

@Formendacil:
RotJ:SE, 02:05:47 during the interplanetary celebration scenes, they do a wipe cut from Tatooine to Theed City on Naboo, and you can see at least six yellow N-1 starfighters fly in a delta formation across the top right corner of the screen.

BTW, that’s on the 2006 release. The relevant time stamps may vary based on precisely which edition of the Return of the Jedi: Special Edition you watch (I think there might be at least four at this point). If so, it’s Bespin, then a city with tan domes and a T-16 flying right down the center of the screen, and as a tower crosses the screen from L-R you see green domes appearing to the left. Some of the N-1’s disappear off the top edge of the screen before the wipe cut is complete, but at least three of them should be easy to spot.

@TheLegoFan:
Geez, now I’m envisioning the Ep4 trench run with the quizzical reactions of Vader’s two wingmen as the voice of James Earl Jones saying that line comes over their comms.

@Formendacil:
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/208062/why-did-we-only-see-the-n-1-starfighters-in-one-film

This site has a screenshot, though the quality is pretty bad. It also notes that they were only added to RotJ:SE after Ep1 released. Besides the original 1997 theatrical SE cut, tweaks were made for the 2004 DVD release, the 2006 Limited Edition DVD release, the 2011 Blu-Ray release, 2015 digital release, and 2019 4k release. The N-1’s were added in 2004, and have been present in every subsequent release except the Bonus Disc from the 2006 DVD, which had a transfer of the 1993 North American Laserdisc cut (except the opening crawl for the Bonus version of Ep4, which came from an original 1977 film print), and are the closest we’ve seen to the original theatrical cuts on home video except maybe the Japanese Laserdiscs.

@mrzeon said:
" @Robot99 said:
"I know that the chrome pieces inflate the price dramatically, but just imagine the hilarious outrage if this was announced today with that price tag, lol."
Inflation also inflates the price, it looks like $40 USD in 2002 would be $65.99 today. That’s 37c per brick.
"

It doesn't change the fact that now MiSB costs insane $1300. I used to buy 10179 and 10030 for so much, but I think spending so much on such a small set is pure madness. I'd buy it for a maximum of $200.