Hello BadBrickLord back at it again with a review of the 75150 Vader's TIE Advanced vs. A-Wing Starfighter. It contains 702 pieces and its LEGO retail price is $89.99 (USD). It is recommended for ages 9 through 14.

Box

The box is a large rectangle. In the top left isthe LEGO logo along with the Star Wars logo as well, and Kylo Ren is in the top left corner. The minifigs (Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, Sabine Wren, and A-Wing Pilot) are displayed in the bottom left corner, and the Rebels logois to the right of the minifigs. In the center, Vader's TIE Advanced is engaging the A-Wing, launching its twin SPS (spring-loaded-shooters).

Minifigs:

Darth Vader: Lord Vader has the usual torso printing, albeit more detailed than earlier versions. Leg printing is minimal. His cape is made out of a soft fabric, and covers his barely-printed back. He has the new-two piece helmet, which is more movie-accurate than the mold used for the past 16 years. He has a chrome-hilted crimson lightsaber.

Grand Moff Tarkin: Ordinary figure, nothing special. Trarkin has a olive-drab uniform with his coded cylinders on the top right, and his rank plaque on the top left. The plaque is very neat. He has a two-sided head with two expressions: one determined, the other more of a "Oh Really?" expression. He has a custom gray hair mold. He comes with a blaster pistol.

A-Wing Pilot: Great minifig. Sand blue uniform with a life-support pack in the middle of the chest. No leg printing. Back torso printing is very simple. She has a double-sided head: one with a smile and the other with a "pondering"(?) expression. Her helmet is why you should get this minifig: it is also sand blue, but has green and yellow printing on the lower sides, a red stripe with twin green dots at the hairline and a gold and tank visor. A mic is molded into the helmet and she comes with a blaster pistol.

Sabine Wren: Sabine has a dark gray torso with a brown chestplate. In the upper corner of the chestplate, two white stripes can be found. On the opposite side, the rebel insignia is shown. She has a utility belt. Leg printing adds detail to the belt and gives her shin guards. She has a bright green, light and dark blue hairpiece. She has alternate faces: one a "puzzled'(?) expression and a "KILL THEM ALL" expression on the other. She comes with twin custom blaster pistols.

A-Wing: Since this is a Phoenix Squadron A-Wing, it is mainly light gray (with a hint of dark gray), with dark green and yellow. This build is extremely sticker-heavy using 12 stickers but I feel that the end result justifies the amount of stickers. The A-Wing looks great from above, but looks choppy from underneath. The SPS (Spring-Loaded-Shooters) are launched by pulling back the center fuselage. It rests on three landing struts that fold backwards for flight.

TIE Advanced: Vader's iconic starfighter from A New Hope is refurbished after 7 year wait. Unlike the A-Wing, the TIE Advanced only uses a couple of stickers, and leaving the off, won't be very differentiating. The printed top hatch and windscreen look awesome. Twin mechanisms launch the SPSs by pushing them down. Vader has a battle droid torso as a joystick/steering mechanism.

Conclusion: If you're willing to pay $20 extra for a 700-piece set and you like stickers (or just a challenge), this set is for you. A cool thing about the A-Wing that I didn't mention above was that the guns swivel 360 degrees.

Lego continues to expand it's range from Star Wars: Rebels with the excellent Vader's TIE Advanced vs. A-Wing Starfighter.

Box/Instructions

Large size rectangular box for a kit in this price range. Darth Vader is the figure of choice with a panel showing the other 3 figures next to it. The front shows both fighters in a battle scene. The back has a planetary battle scene, the blue tech specs for both ships and 5 panels showing the play features of each craft.
There are 2 small square instruction books, one for each craft.

Parts

A good number of parts for a kit of this size with a nice mix of colours present, more than you would expect from the ships included with some nice dark green, golden brown and clear pieces. Some nice new pieces for me as well in the set, especially the grey 2x2 tile half wings.
There are 7 bags in the box.
Bag 1 contains the central hull of the A-Wing, the A-Wing Pilot and Sabine Wren.
Bag 2 contains the finishing touches to the main hull of the A-Wing.
Bag 3 contains engine pods, primary cannons and cockpit top of the A-Wing
Bag 4 contains the lower and central sections of the TIE Advanced main hull, Darth Vader and Tarkin.
Bag 5 contains the aft and upper hull of the TIE Advanced
Bag 6 contains the wing of the TIE Advanced. There are 2 of these in the box.

Minifigures

The set comes with 4 minifigures.
Firstly we have Darth Vader. This is the same as the issue from the 75093 Death Star Final Duel from 2015. There is nice printing and detailing on the torso and legs and features the removable helmet top. He has a black cloth cloak and is armed with his red lightsaber.
Grand Moff Tarkin is a great figure. Decked out in the brown officer's uniform with some nice details on the front, the grey hair piece and double sided head make this a great minifigure. The head has a stern face on one side and an intrigued face with raised eyebrow on the other. He comes armed with a black compact blaster.
The Phoenix Squadron A-Wing Pilot is a great addition to the growing Rebel forces. She has a nice print on her torso and the helmet has nice detail markings on both sides. She has a double sided head with smiling and concentrating faces. She comes armed with a black compact blaster.
Finally we get to Sabine Wren. A much better version of the Mandalorian than previously released, the detailing on her torso and legs is superb. She has black arms this time and the tricoloured hair is a great improvement. She has a double sided head with smiling and angry faces and comes armed with her 2 trademark black blaster pistols.

The build

Total building time, 50 minutes - 25 minutes per ship.
The designers have taken their time with both craft in this set. You don't feel like you're building the same ship all over again as we've had 2 of Vader's TIE Advanced and 4 A-Wings before this. These two are probably the definitive versions of the ships to date and certainly the most satisfying to put together.
The builds are not particularly complicated but there is a great amount of detailing, effort taken to get the angles of the ships and a good overall design effort. The sweeping wings around the A-Wing's engine pods are a good example.
The TIE Advanced has taken some design nods from the 75082 TIE Advanced Prototype in the construction.
Yes there are stickers, 17 to be precise, but they do add to the set. The 12 stickers for the A-Wing are mainly for the markings on the front, side and aft wings. The other 5 on the TIE Advanced are all on the aft hull and show the aft thruster vents and a little detail on the top.

The completed models

The A-Wing is a great craft and definitely the best version to date. It features and opening cockpit which seats 1 figure, 3 positionable landing legs, rotating wing cannons and moveable engine pods. It also has two front mounted spring loaded missile launchers. These are fired by pulling the central hull backwards. The missile triggers are staggered to allow for 2 step firing. It measures 19 cm long, 15 cm wide and 7 cm tall - either on landing legs or the height of the wings around the engine pods.
The TIE Advanced has been brilliantly made, with lots of detailing and a smoother look to the hull and wings, giving a much nicer appearance and feel to the craft than any previous issue. The top and front of the cockpit hinge open, there is a positionable control stick and it seats 1 minifigure. There are two spring loaded missile launchers in the lower hull and they can be triggered by pushing down on the black technic beams which sit snugly just behind the cockpit. The wings are nice and solid, the 6 clips on each angled piece making them nice and sturdy for play or display.
There are 6 red missiles provided for the missile launchers, the A-Wing getting 4 and Vader's TIE getting 2. I guess Sith are better shots.

Overall opinion

A fantastic set, not only for a good selection of minifigures but also for probably the best versions of these two iconic starfighters released to date. They are both nice and solid in their construction so great for kids to play with and very flyable.
If there is one major quibble in this whole set, is that it's about £20 overpriced. To be honest, this should be at £60 and not £80, but seeing as it's on sale almost everywhere, you can get it below R.R.P. already.
Putting that aside, this is definitely a recommended purchase for any Star Wars collector and adds some great ships for your dioramas and displays.

Summary

I always wanted Darth Vader's Tie Fighter as part of my Star Wars collection. In many ways this set was what I wanted, but not at RRP. I finally found it at a much better price (35% off), and got it. It did not disappoint. To me the Tie Fighter looks the part, and the A-wing is also very good looking. The minifigures do the set justice (IMHO). I also had great fun building the set at a leisurely pace. The designer also used some interesting construction techniques. Overall I am very happy with this set. That said, for all its qualities IMHO it is hard of not impossible to justify paying RRP for this set (or something close to it). Look for it on sale or online.

Build experience

This set contains 7 bags (numbered 1 through 6, with tw nr 6 bags): the first three build the A-wing, the final four build the Tie Fighter. Some of the other reviewers mentioned the stickers; to me they were no problem, do one has to take care when applying them so they do look straight. That said, when as I have become used to Ninjago (Movie) and Batman Movie sets, to me they were not much of a problem. IMHO they also add to the look of both vehicles, especially the A-wing. Take your time, and with some judicious use of Windex the result can look great. IMHO kids younger than 9 should be able to build the set, with some adult help for the stickers.

The build of the A-wing is smooth and easy, and not that hard - as long as one pays attention to the attachment of the springloaded-shooters; I did not, which resulted in the shooters not shooting, and me having to take the A-wing apart. The shooters are cleverly integrated in the structure of the spacecraft. The whole center section is moved backwards to launch the missiles. Because of this, the structural core of this A-wing is completely different from that of the December 2016 A-wing (set 75175). On the whole, it took me about 45-50 minutes to build the A-wing.

Darth Vader's Tie Fighter took me a little longer, about 60 minutes. To me it looks the part, which is what it is all about. The most interesting part of the build is the construction of the 'beam' that integrates the back to the main fuselage, and connects the fuselage to the wings. This build is a little more tricky, because construction jumps around a little more, with bricks being attached to various parts of the assembly in a single step. The wings/solar panels are constructed in step 6, and a x2 build (as they are identical). Overall, the Tie Fighter feels fairly solid, though the wings flex a little. The spring-loaded missile shooters are integrated nicely. Off coloured core pieces (white and blue) are nicely hidden from view.

The minifigures

There are four minifigures included: Grand Moff Tarkin, a generic A-Wing pilot, Sabine Wren and Darth Vader. All - or at least these versions - are unique to this Lego sets (though Sabine Wren was included in an advent calendar). Overall, IMHO, the minifigures are excellent.

The generic A-wing pilot - a female - looks good, with a nice print on the helmet and the torso (front and back). There is no print on the legs. There are two faces printed.

Sabine Wren looks very good. Colourful hair, and great print on the torso (front and back) which is continued on the front of the legs. The leg print lines up well with the torso print. Immediately visible is that the colour of the hands is different from the face (which is regular skin colour. The face has two prints, different from that of the A-wing pilot.

Grand Moff Tarkin looks the part, and represents the movie character well, IMHO. It has a nice print on the torso (front and back), and great print on the face (two prints). I like the hair style.

To me Darth Vader is the star minifigure of ths set: the cape, the great print on the torso (front and back) and front of the legs, the two-part helmet, and above all, his head. I love the face print, with the scar printed on the back. The soft cape gives Darth Vader simply a menacing look.

Overall, I think the minifigures in this set are great, and one of the better groups of minifigures included in a set.

The build

The A-wing looks smooth, nice and fairly stocky. It is of almost identical size, shape and outward design as its December 2016 cousin (set 75175) which is slightly longer (on stud). I really do like the colour-scheme. It is quite easy to insert the pilot, and the spring-loaded shooter mechanism works well. IMHO the guns on the wing tips could be attached more firmly (as they move easily), and the two tails hit the ground when the A-wing is put on its landing gear (something set 75175 improved upon). The trigger mechanism for the shooters works quite well. Overall the build is solid and feels sturdy.

The Tie Fighter looks the part, IMHO, feels surprisingly heavy and solid - with the exception of the slightly flexing solar panels. The two domed pieces are look the part for the cockpit, and provide easy access to put Vader in his seat. The spring-loaded shooters are well integrated, and so is the trigger mechanism (though the shooters can be launched directly by hand). There is clever use of SNOT parts to create the correct angle for top and bottom of the solar panels.

Play vs display

Both the A-wing and Tie Fighter have great swooshability, and great play value. They are also easy to hold, solid, and the shooters are fairly easy to operate. Smaller children should be able to fly both aircraft as well. The four included minifigures offer additional value.

I do think both fighters do make good displays as well, especially if one builds a small diorama around it (like a landing platform), or displays them in flight. They are striking enough, and well designed enough.

The verdict

IMHO this would have been a super and extremely desirable set if one could ignore its price. Unfortunately, the vast majority cannot. Star Wars is already an expensive (overpriced?) Lego theme to collect, and this set is one that is a prime example of it. If not for the IMHO superb design and looks of both the A-Wing and Tie Fighter, as well as the high quality minifigures, at RRP this would have been a 3 star or maybe even 2 star set. As it is, the set gets some decent value for money at roughly 25-30% off (when looking at the euro price). And that is a shame for such a great set (by design) with includes such an iconic fighter.

At long last our long awaited meeting has come! *cough.* Vader rides into battle aboard his TIE Advance X-1. Is it a match for the rebel scum or can he be bested? Let's examine our vehicles.

Packaging and Parts:

The box graphic, front and back, are superb. They give you a good sense of the overall play value and features included in the set.

Inside you will find 8 bags. 1 unmarked bag contains 2 manuals and a sticker sheet with 17 stickers. The others are numbered 1 to 6 with bag 6 doubling up and containing the same contents.

When you are done you will have the usual left over bits of extra shots, technic pins and other random studs and 1x1 pieces.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PiodF2][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PiodF2]PC252567[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PiodrV][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PiodrV]PC252568[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/QwX1DM][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QwX1DM]PC252569[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Piodge][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Piodge]PC252570[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Piod9v][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Piod9v]PC252571[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Piod2B][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Piod2B]PC252572[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

Minifigures:

Four minifigures are included in this set and they do not disappoint. Darth Vader is the newer version but with back printing and a softer cloth cape. Tarkin comes with a Rebels TV show specific dark tan uniform and looks pretty good. Sabine is sporting a new print front and back has sleeves for her armor now. Sadly Sabine does not get a helmet with this set. The A-Wing Pilot is supposed to be generic but I believe she is based on an actual character from the show.

Three of the figures have double faced heads. Vader's has a print on the back but they are scars.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PiocYF][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PiocYF]PC252573[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PiocQ4][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PiocQ4]PC252574[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PiocBZ][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PiocBZ]PC252575[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1JJ][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1JJ]PC252576[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

I was particularly taken by the A-Wing pilot. Though her face print has been seen in the Resistance Fighter included in the First Order Transporter her helmet sports a unique print. It looks just as sharp as the one given to the Rebels in the Battlefront pack. Here is a comparison shot:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1Hm][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1Hm]PC252577[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

The Build and Completed Model:

You can't get more iconic than Vader's TIE Advanced and an A-Wing Starfighter and this set delivers the goods. The A-Wing I believe is based off of original concept work for ROTJ and looks the part as seen on the Rebels TV Show. The building process was very enjoyable for both ships and it was a real treat seeing the firing mechanisms and other techniques used to bring these to life.

Beneath the main chassis of the A-Wing are rubber bands that activate the hidden firing mechanism for the spring loaded shooters. It is very clever and I appreciate the fact that it is hidden as it does not affect the display value of the model itself. The model also looks very sleek.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1Fs][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1Fs]PC252578[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PiockB][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PiockB]PC252579[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PXZiih][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PXZiih]PC252580[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

The TIE Advanced is in this set only taller than the A-Wing. The latter is longer and just as wide as the TIE. That said the general geometry and shapes for something like a TIE Fighter are well represented here and the ship looks great! Specially head on. Vader slides in great and his cape just folds gently to help him sit inside his cockpit. The spring loaded shooters also are well hidden as long as you don't look directly under the model.

Sadly, this model does not have storage for Vader's Light Saber. But I will suggest a small modification to help with that if you feel you need it on your model.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PXZieu][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PXZieu]PC252581[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1td][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1td]PC252582[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1qh][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1qh]PC252583[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

Final Thoughts:

The set is fantastic! Though sticker heavy on the A-Wing it was enjoyable and they really accent the ship well. The play features are well hidden and as a result both ships look sleek and ready to fight. The figures included are great and if you have more Rebel sets or sets around the original trilogy then you can't go wrong with this set in bolstering your fleet.

If I had any gripes about the set is it is price. Both ships together do not equal the cost in my opinion and for the cost they should have tossed another figure or two and certainly Sabine's helmet. This detracted for me slightly the overall rating.

Still if you can snag this on sale jump all over it. The ships and figures and play value are all off the hook!

Further Modifications:

As there was no storage for Vader's saber I had to make my own storage solution for the ship. It is similar to the official build in the previous TIE Advanced but the build on this model prevents identical position so I had to slide it to the side. Hope this helps you in case you want a place to stow his saber while in flight.

Here are the pieces you will need:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1oo][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1oo]PC252584[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

And this is where I affixed these to my ship:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1nm][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PfE1nm]PC252585[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/139708441@N07/]Macster Tome[/url], on Flickr

Thank you for reading my review I hope you enjoyed it.

When during this spring I saw this set on Brickset.com, I was really amazed. I had waited for A-wing fighters since The Siege of Lothal, the premiere of Star Wars Rebels Season Two, and when I saw an A-wing taken directly from the TV series (and not from Return of the Jedi or maybe from Battlefront) I found it wonderful. The addiction of the TIE Advanced didn't appeal me so much, since I don't love this starfighter model, but however the presence of Darth Vader and Moff Tarkin, both missing in my collection, made me very resolved. And so, when I found an offer, I bought it immediately!

Box/Instructions

The box is slim and interesting. On the front there are TIE Advanced chasing A-wing in the space. On the back the main picture shows the fighters landed and characters fighting, Vader advancing toward Sabine and the pilot trying to save the ally. Then, as usual, there are all play functions, that are quite numerous, since the set includes two models. Instructions were contained in two books, and this is pretty rare. They were easy to follow.

Parts

In this set I found a lot of rare bricks, many of them I haven't seen yet. Particularly in the A-wing there are very strange pieces, like the ones forming the "wings" on reactors. There are some dark green bricks, which are pretty rare, overall in Lego Star Wars; some yellow ones, that are more common; and a lot of light grey pieces, used for both fighters. Black ones are particularly bi-dimensional bricks, used in Vader's TIE wings.

Minifigures

Minifigures are great. Also the less appealing, A-wing pilot, is very rare and it's also pretty nice, very similar to the show. Sabine Wren also appeared in the Ghost, but here she has differently colored hair as in Season Two. Moreover her torso is more complex and more beautiful: I do appreciate this darker printing. Grand Moff Tarkin is another extremely rare minifigure, and this is the only way to buy it without spending more than 100€. I like how TLG made it, with all the wrinkles on the face and the degrees on the torso. Last one, Darth Vader, is my favorite. They modified the helmet to make it in Star Wars Rebels way, with respirator narrower in the part below. Also the torso is different, particularly in the upper part. I do appreciate the use of a piece under the helmet to complete it.

The build

The build was faster than I expected. When I saw seven bags, I expected to take some days (since I have few time in this period), but it wasn't so. The A-wing is all built over its shooting mechanism, which makes the upper part slide toward. It was very enjoyable to build it, because it was never repetitive (and this since it doesn't have long wings). The TIE Advanced was a bit more boring; the central body was very nice to build, it's build in an unconventional manner (in my opinion, obviously), so I loved it. And I've to say that in the whole starfighter more complicated techniques are preferred to easier and more linear ones also to create basic parts. However, wings have to be build in a speculate way, and I hate this fact. I also had to build near-identical parts in the same wing, and so this made me build like the same piece for... four times! Although this drawback, I did appreciate the build.

The completed model

The completed models are nice. They are not so small as they could seem, and the most important thing is that they are very similar to original vehicles. The A-wing is pretty balanced in its proportions, while in a first moment it seemed to me a bit stubby. I do appreciate its reactors and cannons. The TIE Advanced never seemed to me very appealing, but I've to say that this model is very nice and well made in all its surface details.

Overall opinion

Overall I can say that it was a very good acquire. I'm still convinced that it's pretty overpriced, but since I paid it 60€ (plus about 7€ for shipment), it was a fantastic affair. The problem is that these two ships singularly could cost about 30€ each (maybe 40 the TIE Advanced), and so why to pay 30/40€ more just because they are sold together? However, although this issue, the set is very likeable and I suggest it to everyone, especially fans of Star Wars Rebels.

Pros:

– very similar to original models

– rare and unique minifigures

– fast and easy to assemble, nice techniques

Cons:

– seriously overpriced

– many stickers (but it's pretty normal lately)