Well a bit late to the game but finally got an X-Wing of my very own. With no other basis to compare it to I will just have to relay my impressions of this piece, bear with me if I make any errors in describing some of the details of this craft. Let's get started.

Contents:

Inside our rather large box we get a handful of bags and the usual wordless manual.

Minifigures:

For our X-Wing we get a good selection of figures, though I do wish we had gotten at least one more Stormy to take on the X-Wing. These are well printed and it is nice to get a Flametrooper. Up until 2017 these guys were tough to come by unless you got multiples of the FO Transporter set. We also get Lor San Tekka and the ever popular BB-8. Piloting the craft is Poe Dameron and he comes in his Jakku gear from the start of The Force Awakens. This print is different from the one given to Finn in other sets. His helmet is also a very good design with dual moulded visor and fine printing.

Our figures also get 2 faces, except for BB8 and the Flametrooper.

Here is a comparison shot with Finn:

The Build:

The build was really fun. I liked how the taper towards the tip of the craft was achived. Though parts were a bit repitative, that is unavoidable given it has 4 wings. There were a number of stickers and I would suggest and adult apply these as lining them up is paramount to achieve the best look. The control panel also is a sticker but we get a skeleton leg for a flight yoke.

The inner housing for the S-Foils was interesting to put together and once the rubberbands were applied it is like a huge eureka moment since you finally see how the whole thing works to get those to open and close.

Overall, most kids should be well engaged and filled with anticipation at the model to come when it is all said and done.

Here are your spare parts when you are done, these are a pretty good selection.

The Completed Model:

The completed model is big. It doesn't even fit in my light-box, I had to do a some post-production on a shot or two to get it all in. But it looks amazing. At least the X-Wing. The side build is really not necessary and a figure should have been included in the place of that or maybe even 2 more figures.

The side build is rather small but also has an action feature where you push on a technic ball joint and the whole vaporator assembly comes tumbling down.

The X-Wing comes with a feature also, aside form the 4 spring loaded shot and dual stud shooters we get an engine housing. You can pretend to fix the X-Wing and the setting panel for the engine is a GONK droid face plate fully printed.

This on top of the knob to activate the S-Foils makes for a great toy. Also the rubber bands tend to vanish on this model since they're blue they blend in so well, they feel like living working components of the machine. I also think these engage children in some way, specially younger ones as they realize what their purpose is.

The model has a very sleek frontal view and the canopy piece is well printed and really fleshes out the design. It also benefits from a mixed esthetic of plates and studs along the entire surface. The only weakness, if any, are the small technic pins holding the engine pods in place.

Overall:

I really like this set. The model makes for a great display piece and also a great play piece. It is very swooshable and the action for the S-Foils is a cool and welcome touch.

As per the usual pricing can be issue but if you can get this on sale it would be a great addition to your resistance fleet.

The only other gripe is that this set commemorates probably one of the most brutal events ever depicted in Star Wars. The razing of an entire village and it's inhabitants. Thankfully the control panel shows the attack on Starkiller Base so you can simply part-down the vaporator build and display the craft alone in all it's X-Wing glory!

An excellent example of what LEGO Star Wars can be: well designed, playable and elegant ships.
I'm an ex-collector who still buys the occasional set, and this one is a beauty. I'm usually pretty disappointed every time I see a new wave of Star Wars sets at the lack of elegance and attention to detail on teh models, however this set is a rare case that actually really thrilled me. A great playable set once built, and a really enjoyable build.

I never liked the whiter X-wings LEGO pulled out over the last 10 years, so to see them finally use grey is lovely. I haven't built Poe's Black and Orange X-wing, but I'm sure that one is also a nice set - I simply much prefer the grey and blue model - it's much kinder on the eyes.

Like all Star Wars LEGO, it's overpriced, but that's the nature of the SW licensing - it's about average when you compare to other licensed sets. I managed to get mine 45% off our local retail, and at that price, it's a steal.

Certainly a set to get your hands on if you can! I'd highly recommend this set

For someone who already has the other two (75218 & 75273), it does not offer anything new from a construction point of view. On the contrary, the models which came after significantly improved many points. It is of no particular interest, except for a collector. The figures of Poe, BB-8 and Lor San Tekka are remarkable.

As a kid, even medium sized sets like the #7140 / #7142 X-Wing were out of my price range (or maybe I could've gotten them instead of lots of little sets). Now, bigger sets like this are well within reach.

The stormtrooper and antiaircraft gun seemed somewhat gratuitous, but it's common for LEGO to include a small model from the other faction so the set has more play value by itself.

4 wings/engines didn't get too repetitive to build.

The top and bottom wings don't look quite aligned, whether or not I noticed the sand blue 2x2 plate during the upper wing builds. The wings stay steady when locked open, but not when closed.

I loved watching the ship take shape - the structure in bags 1 and 2, the wing spreading mechanism in 3, the wings on each side in 4 and 5. 5 also has the ammunition; I'm storing it off the ship so as to not stress the firing mechanisms.

As usual, I'm glad I waited for a sale. Also, this was cheaper than #75102 Poe's X-Wing, nearly the same except for the color scheme and accessories.

The opening scene of The Force Awakens had a tremendous burden - pull audience members into this new story with intrigue, excitement, new characters, and new energy. For fans disenchanted with the prequel trilogy, this needed to feel like Star Wars again. For fans of the prequel trilogy (and any fan in between), it had been 10 years since a live-action Star Wars film had hit the screen. JJ Abrams and company had a lot of work to do to establish a new plot, new characters, and pull people into Episode 7 - and they didn't waste time.

To help usher in the new story, Abrams enlisted a film legend in Max Von Sydow to provide a brief but memorable beginning, teasing a missing Luke Skywalker, a familiar backstory for our new main villian, and assisting Poe Dameron on his mission given by "Royalty."

75102-1 launched with the first TFA wave in 2015 to bring us Poe's memorable personal X-Wing, but 75149-1 brings to life part of the critical opening scene in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.

Box/Instructions

75149-1 comes in an attractive but overlarge box (the parts and instructions were bunched up on one end of the box). It probably compares to other sets in this parts range (740) but could have been reduced in size. The front depicts Poe flying the X-Wing while a First Order Flametrooper burns a small set while an anguished Lor Sen Tekka flees.

The instructions are in 1 perfectly-sized booklet in a plastic bag to keep the sticker sheet from bending.

Parts

Anyone familiar with 75102-1 will recognize most of the parts included as this set is almost identical in design, with a recolor appropriate to the Resistance X-Wing fleet. This results in a lot of slope and SNOT pieces in attractive blue, gray, and bluish-gray.

I love the transparent-pink cone and brick pieces included here. I've made some Ghostbusters MOCs utilizing pieces with this color and I always love to get more interesting transparent color pieces - reminds me of the Space days of my youth!

I always love accessories and crates and the tiny Jakku set with some kind of equipment/antennae features a couple of crates and a shovel. Why not?

Minifigures

This set includes 4 mini-figures, including two exclusive to this set.

When I first saw the Lego version of BB-8, I was impressed by the accuracy/mold of the new pieces but the anti-stud on the bottom felt too large to quite get the droid right. Now that I have seen him in several sets and actually placed him next to his co-star minifigures, the scale seems just right. He's an appropriate figure for this set, being introduced right at the beginning of the film spotting the oncoming First Order Transporters and warning Poe. BB-8 was a wonderful new character in the Star Wars mix, and his interactions with Poe, Finn and Rey throughout the film brought many of the biggest laughs and warmest moments.

A First Order Flametrooper is included to represent the attack on the village that opens the film. This figure previously appeared in 75103-1. I may be wrong, but I believe this set is the first Star Wars set to utilize the relatively new transparent-orange stud-with-hole which allows the Flametrooper's weapon to attach a fire piece to show the flamethrower action. The figure itself has a film-accurate helmet which has a great new design - this is a worthy addition to your First Order collection. I would have liked to have seen a larger First Order presence in this set, however.

Poe Dameron, "the best freakin' pilot in the galaxy," as Oscar Isaac said in an interview, makes his second appearance in Lego form, this time sporting the awesome jacket that his new friend Finn will wear later in (and for most of) the film. Utilizing the new hairpiece created for Superman earlier this year, and the same head as his appearance in 75102-1, Poe features a new torso to represent the jacket with his undershirt and plain brown pants. The set also includes the helmet he tries to use before his X-Wing is blasted by First Order Stormtroopers, so you can have him in flight or fight action. One minor annoyance - the inclusion of a small black blaster for Poe - in this scene he uses the new pearl dark gray Resistance blaster.

Finally we reach the minifigure that I was most excited about - Lor Sen Tekka. Though he appears only for those brief scenes, his presence carries significant weight, providing us the stakes, some exposition, and the aforementioned teased information, as well as the devastating emotion of watching his village destroyed by the First Order. Abrams knew he had to make an impression so he enlisted the star of such films as The Seventh Seal, Three Days of the Condor and Minority Report - one of the great actors of cinema, Max Von Sydow. What does this mean? Max Von Sydow is a Lego Minifig! How cool is that? The figure itself features unique torso and leg pieces showing his long robe and shirt, as well as the accessories, necklace and belt he was wearing in the film. Lego has yet to find a way to pull off a hairpiece that depicts the very short hair he had in the film, but the hairpiece here works okay, and the head shows a slightly pleased expression and an appropriately anguished expression - which look a LOT like Max Von Sydow's facial expressions. After Rey, this may be the most accurate new TFA character minifig facial expression to their respective actors.

The build

As mentioned earlier the set is very similar to the 75102-1 in design and could be viewed as a way to build a Resistance X-Wing fleet if you were so inclined.

The build begins with the small Jakku model, which is managed quickly enough along with Lor Sen Tekka and the Flametrooper. As an AFOL, I am constantly impressed by the playability modern Lego designs are able to manage in such a small piece count - the Jakku model is knocked over with a small Technic assembly and reveals a roaring fire caused by the Flametrooper.

Construction on the fighter begins. The bottom of the craft starts off the build, establishing the sturdy brick and Technic-assisted interior that will hold the craft together. For anyone building X-Wing sets over the years, many of the techniques used are very much the same, with a Technic rod used to rotate and expand the "S-Foils" to attack position with the appropriate spacing. The actual addition of the S-Foils will come later.

As the base expands the cockpit is added, where I first begin to notice subtle differences in the design from the earlier model. Behind the cockpit seat, the new model includes a wrench and fire extinguisher - the earlier model did include a clip but I don't believe a fire extinguisher or space for one was included. The computer display and positioning is roughly the same, however a change has been made with the control stick - instead of utilizing a classic joystick piece, the set includes a black skeleton leg! At first this seems like a distracting and hilarious inclusion, but the "foot" of the leg has a shape which can appear to be a bunched up rubber base to a control stick, and so this addition is actually an ingenious detail - no stone left unturned.

Much of the build from here is almost identical to the earlier model, focusing on the angling and supports fo the nose of the ship, the functions that will expand the wings and finishing the ship's body before moving on to the S-Foils. Technic assemblies on both sides will attach the S-Foils securely. A new feature of this model is at the back of the craft. Utilizing a visually similar exterior, a part of the engine can be taken out of the back of the craft adding a playability element appropriate to the scene where Poe briefly evaluates the damage to the ship. This part is difficult to remove without accidentally taking apart the engine assembly, but I like the effort at playability.

The S-Foils begin to come together in a repetitive build. The only difference I noticed here, and there may be others, is utilizing a 2x2 "Sport" slope on the top of the wings rather than a 2x2 "Suction" slope as on the earlier model.

The usage of some dark tan pieces on the undersides of the wings looks a little off, but it's not a major distraction. It's possible this is accurate to the film, I can't recall if this color was on the craft. Most of the rest of the color scheme is very film-accurate and very handsome - and I love the efforts in this and Poe's version to maintain the striping and color lines of the ship.

Most of the stickers included are applied to the S-Foils and provide nice engine and paint-job detailing, though probably could be avoided if you want without much visual impact to the ship - it's a solid design just with the bricks. There could have been opportunities maybe to include some blaster damage via stickers, but avoiding this allows for a uniform look if you are building a fleet.

The completed model

Finally assembled, this makes for a fine addition to your Resistance fleet. I prefer this color scheme to Poe's personal craft, but the impressive design remains mostly unchanged (which is an asset, and not a criticism).

Stud shooters on the underside and launchers on each S-Foil are included for playability. The spring-loaded launchers make the ends of the S-Foils a little bulky but the best possible integration to the design has been attempted here given the overall look of the ship.

Overall opinion

If you're a Force Awakens fan, this set provides an opportunity to more fully re-create the opening scenes of the film. Add 75103-1 and 75104-1, and maybe even some variation of 30605-1, and you've assembled a pretty complete re-creation of the attack on Jakku which sets several critical character arcs and plots in motion. It may have been nice to include a larger Jakku setting - with huts in the village and other residents, and maybe a strong First Order presence for more playability, but the draw of this set is the Resistance X-Wing. Add in the extra pilot from 75102-1, or even better - include Greg Grunberg's Snap Wexley from 75125-1, and you've got a Resistance Fleet to take down Starkiller Base.

Still there's fun to be had with this set itself, and the inclusion of the early Poe Dameron appearance and Lor Sen Tekka make this an attractive draw for TFA fans. The price point remains on the high side, but with the 740 piece count and $79.99 USD, it's not out of line. Kids and AFOLs alike should find plenty of fun and value here.