After waiting for more than a year (yep, delayed gratification lol) I finally got this set! And boy was it worth the wait!

Box/Instructions

Normal sized box, one very-slightly-thicker-than-usual instruction manual.

Build

A fun build, nothing too amazing thanks to the mirror imaging of the wings, but some variations are used to cover up the astromech droid "hole" on the right wing.

Parts

The most obvious one is the cockpit (thank God it's printed), but there are also 4 yellow flaps and two (one is a spare) 1x1 round tiles printed with the republic insignia. Black lightsaber hilts used for backup cannons are useful too, as you get TWO spares (one in bag 2, the other in bag 3). Yes, there are about ten stickers >.< but they are relatively easy to apply and add detail.

Playability

This set is very fun to play with. You can put Anakin and his lightsaber into the cockpit. The lightsaber hilt and blade are held by clips behind Anakin. Close the cockpit and swoosh this awesome ship around!! (I am a TFOL) Also, there are two spring loaded shooters with green missiles underneath which were new to 2014.

Minifigures

At this price range I would have liked 1 more, maybe a buzz droid, but the two included are superb nonetheless. Anakin has a dual sided head, one stern and the other smiling. I prefer the stern look. His torso and legs are both well detailed despite the dark colors. R2-D2 is awesome and is the same as the Sandcrawler one, so no need to pay hundreds of dollars for his new figure!

Value

At the price range, the final model is quite large. It is a good size for swooshing, not too small, yet not too heavy.

Verdict

Get it. At this price, it's a set that performs solidly.

It's not the first Jedi starfighter I buy, but it's surely the best one. I enjoyed it more than I expected, and I think it's "bigger inside", just to quote Doctor Who: it seems very small, but you can have a lot of fun with it.

Box/Instructions

The box has small-medium dimensions, and the instructions are clear.

Parts

It has several particular parts: cockpit, flaps, shooters, etc.. There aren't many pieces, but they are all researched and not so standard.

Minifigures

It contains only two minifigures: a late Clone Wars Anakin from "Episode III", with his lightsaber, and R2-D2.

The build

I built it in very few time. It wasn't ever boring, and it was pretty easy.

The completed model

The completed model is high detailed and very well done although it dimensions. The shooters are hidden, while the real guns are represented very well, like every part of it. R2 has its slot, Anakin his cockpit. Nothing to say: it's very fine to see.

Overall opinion

It was one of my best acquires, and it's surely the best Jedi starfighter. And comparing it to other "Star Wars" fighters, I've to say that he can loose just against a pair of them, because it can be so awful although the dimensions. I'd suggest it to everyone.

Pros:

– Very similar to original version

– Awful cockpit part

– Well built cannons

– It’s surely worth the little price

Cons:

– Cockpit opening mechanism is a bit disappointing

I bought this set in March 2014, and it had a low price, too, 38$, so i'm pleased with the price.

Box/Instructions

The box has the same size as all other 53$ sets this year, and inside are: 2 numbered bags, a sticker sheet and an instruction manual. The sticker sheet does not have many stickers and i'm pleased with that. The stickers are:

S-foils (4)

Ship controls (1)

Republic sign (2)

In total, there's 7 stickers.

Parts

This set includes some really nice parts, like the new spring- loaded shooters, the S-foils and the Cockpit window. I also like the 1x1 Jedi sign.

Minifigures

both minifigures are new and exclusive, but has appeared in other sets, but with other design.

=ANAKIN SKYWALKER=

This minifigure is my favorite in this set, because it has nice Episode III design. It is as often 2- faced, a satisfied expression and an angry expression. it has the normal anakin hair from 2008, but it's dark brown instead of light brown. Both faces have a headset.

=R2-D2=

This minifigure is made of the same pecies as normal, but they have other design. The legs are the same as normal, but the body and the head have a diffirent design.

The build

There are no parts in the build worth mentioning, except the S- foils and the guns.

The completed model

I like this set very much, but there is one thing i'm not satisfied with and it's the back. i really don't like how the back looks, but if lego would design it so that the back looks better the cockpit wouldn't open.

Overall opinion

Overall: 4/5

Building experience: 5/5

parts: 5/5

Playability: 3/5

Value For Money: 5/5

Wow. So I'm the first AFOL'er to review this set! What an honour that is...

In a word, its brilliant. I've never owned an Episode III style pseudo - TIE Fighter designed fighter craft and missed out on the 2008 iteration. This one reminds me of the opening scene from the Battle of Coruscant in the prequel as well a brings to mind Anakin's fateful last flight to the volcanic world that would finally give rise to the iconic version of Darth Vader...

I guess other Bricklinkers will review this in more detail but I'll stick to the main brief factoids I feel are important to know:

The spring fire mechanisms are powerful. I wonder if they'll cease them as quickly as they've brought them out as they could be unsuitable for smaller children.

The plates used to build the movable wings is intricate, well, I thought it was and takes time to do if you want to correctly position and overlap plates as instructed.

Theres some nice spare parts, usual 1x1 studs and the black 'lightsaber handle' style 'lazer barrels that could make for nice Sith Lightsaber handles if you have a spare translucent red rod or two.

I also was pleased that the Old Republic insignia 1 x 1 stud had a spare, so added that to the other wing to create some nice symmetry that the instructions and images on all Star Wars material pertaining to the craft don't do design wise.

R2 - D2 is a 'new' figure. I guess that means new tampo printed parts and he can sit inside the wing as the Fighters Astro Mech without needing to remove his head from his body. The cockpit can hold Anakins Lightsaber with two clips. Anakin himself is a 'new' figure and I like him. His 'tough' face is better imo than his 'worried' look.

There are the stickers as usual, I don't gripe much about these as there aren't that many. All in all its a brilliant set around the size of last years A-WING FIGHTER.

I recommend buying it. Thanks for reading!

Box/Instructions

Small, classic, $30 sized box, but is slightly wider than most others.

Parts

Good variety of parts and the new spring-loaded missiles work really well. They shoot surprisingly far.

Minifigures

My favourite part of the set by far are the minifigures. R2 has a darker silver head than we've seen which is nice to have to prevent duplicates with other sets. Anakin is really neat. He has the small gold headset on which is very movie-accurate and a dual printed face. Good printing on the torso but only little black parts on the upper part of his legs. His left hand is flesh coloured and his right is black because it is mechanical hand.

The build

Average build; first we build the base of the cockpit, then the right wing, then the left, and lastly place clear cockpit piece. There a quite a few stickers, some large and some small which is unfortunate because placing stickers has never been my strong suit and is difficult for younger builders that this set would appeal to.

The completed model

The final model is brightly coloured and would be perfectly suited to "swooshing" around the room. I imagine the playability being very good with this set and I am happy with the minifigures.

Overall opinion

This is not my all-time favourite set in my collection but I still really like it and I enjoyed the time spent building it. As with other sets, R2 is forced to sit sideways but that's alright. I would recommend this set because of it's price point and minifigures.