Major Vonreg’s TIE Fighter is one of two sets released this year based on the Disney XD animated series Star Wars: Resistance. After Lego gave Star Wars: The Clone Wars several years of dominance in the Lego Star Wars theme, only to let its successor Star Wars Rebels fade into a diminishing release schedule in its final seasons (thank goodness we at least got one set with Thrawn out of that theme before Lego stopped producing Rebels sets) it seems Lego is taking a bit of a cautious approach to Resistance with two medium-large sets rather than the massive waves Clone Wars and Rebels both got around the launch of their first few seasons. It’s a bit of an understandable choice though, seeing Resistance is destined to share the store shelf with sets left over from The Last Jedi and Solo, the 20^th Anniversary sets, and the upcoming Mandalorian, Fallen Order, and of course Rise of the Skywalker set waves. In comparison both The Clone Wars and Rebels got lucky to have their peak Lego sets coincide with times in the Lucasfilm release schedule when there wasn’t much else going on outside of the animated TV series!

Of course with just two sets for Resistance it seems odd that the ‘hero ship’ The Fireball is omitted from this first release wave in choice two TIE based ships; one a villain ship and a secondary hero ship that via its inclusion of the word "TIE" its title might lead non-fans of the series to wrongly assume its also a villain ship! I have hope that we might see a second batch of Resistance sets for 2020 with the missing ships included, but until then we'll have to hope this wave satisfies the fans of the show.

Minifigures

Major Vonreg, is the title character of the set and in the TV series plays the role of a secondary antagonist from The First Order. Spoilers ahead, he’s dead by the end of Season One! Despite being such a one off character, he’s got a pretty neat TIE Fighter in the show that is the basis for this set; and is used in a few dogfights against Poe Dameron and Kaz throughout the first season. As a minifigure, Vonreg will certainly draw attention for his so far exclusive dual molded helmet piece. The red hue used for molding this figure is the same color as used for Snoke’s guard, so Vonreg fits in nicely with those figures when placed in a First Order centric display. Vonreg comes with a small blaster as an accessory like the other human figures in this set. His head is solid black, since his face was never shown in the series. Unless he somehow managed to cheat his apparent death in season one, I am going to bet this will be the only set we manage to get this character in.

Kazudo Xiono, the lead character of the series; this figure has already gained attention from the AFOL community for his dual colored hair piece that is molded in tan-like color with the top part painted black. His double sided faces both show a serious and angry ‘battle face’ and I have to say, that is a pretty off depiction of the character. As a Resistance spy stationed on the Colossus refueling station, in the show Kaz is a pretty goofy greenhorn who nearly blows his cover a half dozen times over because he’s such an over eager novice. He really doesn’t start showing his more serious side until towards the end of the first season, when the First Order occupation of the Colossus and the (prematurely presumed) 'death' of his parents during the attack on Hossnian Prime( as seen simultaneously in the TV show and The Force Awakens) forced Kaz to grow up quickly. Even then, Kaz still has such an abundant youthful energy it’s hard to imagine him as dead serious as the Lego figure seems to be. I think an overly cocky smirk or some goofy outlandish expression would be more appropriate for the character in place of the serious face.

General Leia Organa, surprisingly this is only the second version of ‘old’ Leia we have got in the last few years, and in my opinion is one of the highlights of this set. There’s a grandmotherly like smile on one alternate face, while the other has this wicked looking smirk that would make the late Carrie Fisher proud. Compared to Kaz, I’d dare say that Lego absolutely nailed the facial expressions of Leia. The outfit is very similar to the 2016 version of the character, but has new details for the suit; while simplifying the belt buckle printing. While Vonreg's helmet may be a technical molding masterpiece, Leia's wonderful graphic design makes her the best figure in this set in my opinion.

R1-J5 ‘Bucket’, each Star Wars animated series has a tradition of supporting astromech droids; from R2-D2 in The Clone Wars and Chopper in Rebels. Resistance does it three times over, with BB-8, CB-23, and of course Bucket all playing roles in the series. As of yet CB-23 is the only one of the three not to be seen in Lego form; but I am very glad we got Bucket here. The build is kind of fun on this guy, echoing elements of Chopper from Rebels, while also using a few pieces and a unique helmet print to really give off the sense this is a rusted out & beat up early generation astromech droid. Without creating any new molds, I feel this is as close as Bucket could be represented in Lego and I am very satisfied with this character. Of course the inclusion of Bucket raises a question, were is his owner Jarek Yeager? Yeager is one of this wave’s biggest omissions, and I hope Resistance does get a second set wave were Yeager is released.

The Build

Ever built any Lego TIE fighter from the last seven years? Major Vonreg’s touches on a lot of the same tried and true formula. It leans a bit more towards the TIE Striker with its Technic core being used for stability in the model than it leans towards any of the other TIE sets I have built, but despite that the familiar trappings of a Lego TIE are all still there. But that is not a bad thing, if it ain’t broke why fix it? The obvious inclusion of the striking red color though give’s Vonreg some visual flair the gray Imperial sets all lacked.

The Finished Model

Vonreg’s TIE is a stunning set piece with that red color so dominant. Trust me, when put alongside the gray and black colors used in most First Order or Imperial sets, this red is going to pop out! The spring loaded shooters have a lever to fire them off, but while it doesn’t look to bad it doesn’t look to great either and I imagine some modder’s will omit it in their set. The wings are securely attached to the body via Technic, but have a lot of give to them. There is no risk of the wings falling off, but it is strange to see them wiggle so much while handling the set. Overall this is a satisfactory model, and I imagine its design being modified via MOC builders to make some more traditional TIE Interceptors over the coming months. It wouldn't surprise me if someone already has!

Conclusion

This set with its figures from Star Wars: Resistance will hopefully be enough to satisfy fans of the show until we can get a second wave with more characters from the series, the omission of Yeager being something I hope to see rectified in another wave. Leia in particular is a highlight of this set, being her first release in her Sequel Trilogy outfit since 2016. The build is a great rendition of Major Vonreg’s TIE and with a few modifications should represent an Original Trilogy TIE Interceptor for any Lego fan willing to do some extensive color swapping. The wobbly wings and mechanism for the spring loaded shooters aren’t great, but are something I can live with. Overall, I recommend this set to any fan of the TV series, or a Lego collector hoping to add a unique vehicle to their collection of First Order sets and some unique figures to their Resistance line up, especially if it can be found at the discounted $56USD price that has been rather common for it on store shelves.

I confess to not having got round to watching Star Wars: Resistance yet, so I was a bit thrown by this set and 75242 Black ACE TIE Interceptor, as I couldn't place where they were coming from and initially thought they could be from the upcoming Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. If only I had fully digested what the Bricket database's 'Resistance' tag meant....

Anyway, on with the review. The model itself is decked out in a very striking red and black design and generally resembles a TIE Interceptor from the 'classic' Star Wars era, circa Return of the Jedi.

The build itself is reasonably straightforward and if you have ever built a LEGO TIE it will feel very familiar. The main fuselage and cockpit are just fine, with some nice aerial(?) detailing and missile launchers, which are fired using a natty rocker switch on the back of the ship. The wings go together well and fit tightly to the ship. Standing the completed model on the wings works just fine. The fighter is heavily armed with the previously mentioned missiles and multiple blaster cannons on the wings.

Frankly, it looks brilliant. The colour scheme is great and it's well scaled to the minifigures. The shooting launchers are nice play features and it is one of the best examples LEGO have made in the TIE Fighter area.

Major Vonreg fits snugly in the cockpit and is bedecked in a striking red flight suit. He doesn't have a face and instead features a plain black head piece, I assume you don't get to see his face in the TV series.

Resistance characters make up the rest of the minifigure contingent. Princess Leia is attired in her general's uniform which is very similar to that featured in LEGO's previous The Force Awakens sets. The torso has been updated but it is quite slight. Leia has two expressions, one a gentle smile and the other more of a smirk.

Kaz Xiono is one of the central characters of Star Wars: Resistance and his minifigure represents him very well. Kaz is well detailed and has either a serious or gritted teeth expression. His two-toned and very slick hair is quite original and overall he looks good.

Finally there is R1-J5, a heavily modified astromech droid also known as "Bucket". R1 features a shorter body than the traditional R2 model and is therefore more similar to Rebels' Chopper in that respect. He has three legs and interestingly, a head similar to IG-88 with a flight helmet purchased on top of it. Bucket's look is quite original and he's a great little droid figure as a result.

Three minifigures and a droid isn't bad going in a set of this size, but boy do you pay for it. £64.99 for a vehicle of this size is pricey, even with the minifigure complement. There are no other items to build and the build itself isn't particularly lengthy with just 496 pieces in the set (13p per piece). There is no denying it looks cool and within a Star Wars collection, could well end up being essential. But you will pay handsomely for the privilege.

I am pleased to own the set and from that point of view, the price is OK. But if you're not sure, it's definitely worth waiting for a discount, at which point you should absolutely get this TIE Fighter, as it's a great model of the type.

Vonreg's Tie is actually an Interceptor only in red. If you want an interceptor, this is an only recent option.

The model seems very nice until you have either Imperial Tie, First order special Forces Tie or Sith Tie in you hand. All of these models cost the same but are much heavier/bulkier. The Vonreg's Tie is dwarfed in comparison and feel like you got less for the same money.

Vonreg mini figure has a very nice custom helmet (but no face, just all black piece). Otherwise, you get old princes Leia, Kaz and astromech droid Bucket. I didn't see the show, so I'm not big on those figures.

Spring-loaded shooters have a unique shooting mechanism - a lever on the top. Push left or right to fire one of the missiles.

I think it is a good set but it wouldn't be my first choice. I recommend it for fans od the Resistance animated show, Tie Interceptor fans or if you can get it with a nice discount (30% at least). Otherwise, there are better options available.

To sum up:

• (+) Great shape, only Interceptor option from Lego in a long time.
• (+) very nice title character model with custom helmet.
• (+) nice shooting mechanism, unique to this set
• (-) very small model for the same price
• (-) lackluster minitures apart for one.