An excellent set! Detailed, almost perfect compared to the actual design. Smart construction, robust. The cockpit could be more detailed. The minifigures are very decent. The price level is rather stingy (exceeds the limit of EUR200), despite its significant size. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this set, especially if there is a corresponding emotional side: I first saw it in the cinema in 1979, it is the first Star Wars ship ever!

This is an odd set. Released in 2019, it was long rumored to be a small take on a UCS Tantive IV to go along with the large UCS ISD we would be getting that year. Then the set was revealed it was not a UCS however included some nice, at the time new, black box art and was at the $200 price point as a D2C. Finally, the set went out to consumers and we got to see the set in person, its large size, and its UCS-styled instruction booklet. I find this odd because on paper this is either an MBS or a UCS set however it is titled as neither. Now that I got my tangent over with, this is a great set and perhaps one of the best sets from the lego "capital ship" line.

Starting with figures first, the obvious standouts are Leia, Bail, and Antilles. All three were exclusive until 2021 when Leia appeared in Luke's X-Wing. It is still a great figure and a great inclusion with alternative legs to swap her dress piece for when you want to position her in a seated position. Bail is simple yet accurate and effective. The green cape is one of my favorite Minifigure accessories and the face print is perfect. The Antilles is fine, his face print is nice and the torso is very accurate. Dual molded legs to represent his dark tan boots would have been great, maybe next time. The rebel fleet trooper is as good as ever, C3PO and R2 are appropriate for this set but nothing special. A duel-molded silver leg for C-3PO would have been great.

The build is elegant. It is detailed in almost every place and is pleasantly very asymmetrical. The shaping is uniform however the greenling changes on almost every mirrored component which is a great touch. The 11 engines are jaw-dropping and look great while still being sturdy. The 8 engines that are fully built all have unique greenling and detailing which is nice to see. A handle has been integrated into the radar dish and makes handling the ship a breeze and avoids you from touching the fragile fins in the middle section. The interior space is nicely done with two main seating areas and a total of 6 removable panels. The first two are up front where the two top half cones can be removed to seat two figures in a simple bridge area. The middle section adapts the conference room from Bail's own Tantive III as seen in Revenge of the Sith during his meeting with Yoda and Obi-Wan. The middle section has storage for two spare spring-loaded shooter bolts (the shooters are located under the bridge, the top turret also has stud shooters), and on either side of the rear of the ship, you will find two detachable escape pods.

Overall this set is a very solid package. You get some great figures, a great build, a nice interior, and an awesome display model. This thing is huge, I have yet to find a playlet longer than this one. I would recommend this set to anyone who likes Star Wars, especially if you like large detailed build.s

When I found someone selling this brand new for $150 I had to jump on it, and wow! This is a truly amazing set as it looks absolutely amazing. The only thing I don't understand is why it isn't considered UCS, but what does it really matter, that's just a label.

The Box and Instructions

The box looks fantastic, like this is truly a collector's set and not just something you would buy for your kids. It looks like a UCS box, just without the UCS label. The instructions also start out with information about the ship and the design which is something you would expect from a set like this. Overall I am very impressed with the presentation.

Minifigures

So the highlight here is perhaps the third most famous senator from the galaxy far, far away, Bail Organa, who has never been a minifigure before. And he does not disappoint, he looks just like the senator from the movies (definitely not a Clone Wars cartoon figure). The cape also looks fantastic on him.

Princess Leia is also included, and best of all she comes with a dress and legs. My only complaint is that her legs aren't printed so you really need to use the dress if you want her to look good.

Next come the droids. R2 and 3PO may not be too exciting but are certainly necessary for this ship.

Finally you get 2 crew members in different colors. One is supposedly Captain Antilles, but if you ask me they are both generic. I would have liked it to include more of them, and a Darth Vader would have been nice as well. But you really can't ask for more than 6 figures and the model really can't hold anymore anyways. These two definitely are very nicely detailed so I am very happy.

Parts

This is my largest Star Wars set, and third largest Lego set overall. It goes without saying that you get a lot of great parts with this set. My big complaint however is the stickers. When a set is this expensive why can't you print the parts, especially the large irregularly curved cockpit parts.

The Build

This is a very fun build and uses plenty of different techniques throughout the entire build. It does get a little repetitive near the end as you build the many boosters, but I do appreciate how each one is different so you aren't seeing "x2" all over the place.

The build also jumps all over the place, so it is constantly changing and this keeps you very interested. But my favorite thing is that the base you initially build stretches the entire length of the ship so you immediately see just how big this thing is.

The build isn't anything super technical, but it is quite interesting due to the fact that the ship is so varied and this it incorporates a handful of different techniques. The most difficult part is actually attaching the top over the play area as it only connects to a few studs on either end and spans a very large distance.

The Model

I have to say that it looks fantastic. The details are all there and the complexity of the design is amazing. However, despite the immense size of the ship, it really has very little room for playing with the minifigures. Most of the ship is inaccessible, and the parts that are accessible are disconnected so you can't travel through the ship. This isn't like the Millennium Falcon which can be used to hold a minifigure party.

I do like how it uses the two cylindrical parts coming out the sides as escape pods. While the actual escape pods are merely decorations, these can hold both R2 and 3PO and jettison them onto Tatooine. This is really the only play feature in the set, but what else can you really expect? The inclusion of this greatly increases the playability of the set.

There is also a handle for carrying the ship with integrated into the radar. As a result it doesn't really detract from the overall look any, but gives you a much needed way of carrying/flying the ship.

my biggest disappointment with the design would have to be the cockpit. Not only do you need to apply stickers to a conical brick, but you need to deconstruct the cockpit in order to open it up and put pilots in. Not really worth the hassle, especially since you won't see them in there once you close it up again.

Overall

I feel that this is an excellent depiction of the ship that started everything. Unfortunately, it is not a ship that translates well into a play piece, so this one is mainly for display. You will perhaps need to build the senate chamber of you want Bail Organa to see some realistic action! I do recommend this set if you are looking to get this ship. The build alone makes it a very enjoyable set, and it looks fantastic. That said, it isn't my favorite Star Wars set since it is just too limited in playability. If you can get it for a good discount I'd jump on it.

Great set

Perfect proportions, and is bigger than you think.

Minifigs are awesome, even though I'm too old now to play with them, it's just nice to see that they put in the effort to give us some great quality ones

And for the build.. was great, and I could tell that they did their best to make the rear not too repetitive (it was a little bit, but it was still great)

Would highly recommend to someone if they're a fan of the ship, but if you're not a massive fan, probably wait for a better price, as it's pretty expensive in Australia atm.

The build: satisfying, if unspectacular. Plenty of greebling and colour variation to keep things interesting, and the eleven engines being split across several bags prevents too much repetition. Nothing truly revolutionary as far as building techniques are concerned. Stickers are used somewhat sparingly and are mostly unobtrusive, with one notable exception: the cockpit cones. Stickers on flat and even curved slopes are generally fine, but lining stickers up well on conical pieces is nigh on impossible, and frustrating when they affect the look of the ship as much as they do here. Printed pieces would have been nice! 6/10

The figures: a great mix of figures that complement the ship well. Three protagonists in Leia, R2-D2 and C-3PO that all look fantastic, and the inclusion of both legs and a dress piece for the princess is appreciated. The remaining three are equally excellent - Bail Organa gets his first minifigure, while Raymus Antilles gets his second appearance in as many Tantive IV playsets. Both are exclusive to this set, with the Alderaanian Honour Guard a nice complement. For the price a second one wouldn't have hurt, but no real complaints here - after all, the focus of the set is the Tantive IV herself. 8/10

Play value: while there is a debate to be had whether a playset should be nearly £200, there are a few neat play features integrated within the Tantive IV. The most useful is undoubtedly the carrying handle: well integrated on the top, less so on the underside, it gives a useful reference point to handle the ship's considerable weight from. This weight does make the ship slightly unwieldy when swooshing, so the inclusion of stud shooters and spring-loaded shooters is slightly mystifying, but in both cases they are unobtrusive and don't detract from the look of the ship. The various removable compartments - cockpit, escape pods, spare missile storage and a mess room - give ample opportunity for stories to be acted out, if not exactly represented in the films. 7/10

Model value: the Tantive IV from the films is a real looker, and this model is no different. Dark red and white colour scheme looks great, and as with the build the asymmetric greebles and colour variation keep the eyes entertained. The new large cone pieces are a much better approximation of the cockpit than the previous version in 2009, sticker issues notwithstanding. Some angles do leave a little to be desired - as with many Star Wars ships, the underside has been slightly neglected, and the engine nacelles have gaps between them that are noticeable from some angles. The fin pieces on the ship's midriff give only an impression of the shape on the studio model, but an accurate representation of this complex shaping would likely have heaped on the pieces, adding cost and weight as a result. When walking into a room and glimpsing this on the shelf, though, it is hard not to be impressed by its looks. 7/10

Overall verdict: a good-looking model of a good-looking ship. Great figures with some nice exclusives complemented by unobtrusive yet perfectly adequate play features. Some quibbles can be had with the design, but no deal-breakers. While it doesn't blow previous iterations out of the water, for those that have been wanting to add this ship to their collection, this is as good as any of them. 7/10