First Look: This set caught my eye when it first came out, but it didn't necessarily jump off the Amazon page at me. It looked really nice, if not a little small for the price. I kept my eye on it for well over a year until I finally got it this Christmas. I originally contemplated buying it, but the price wasn't favorable (especially the $69.99 retail). However, the price dropped significantly to around $55.99 in most places. This--and a sudden renewed interest in the original and sequel trilogies--was enough for me to put it at the top of my LEGO list. Now that I own it, it far exceeds my expectations.

Build: The build was fun, if not a bit monotonous as many sections of the symmetrical set need to be repeated several times. The set is much, much larger than the box shows, and this is something I've run into before that I think might decrease LEGO's sales on some sets. Most sets I purchase, especially this, look much, much smaller on the box than in person, which is always a nice surprise but sometimes causes me to hold off on sets that I would otherwise purchase; the main reason this set hopped back into my radar was seeing it assembled in Target. Anyways, the set looks awesome. The red stickers (which I don't mind) look great around the cockpit and the pieces used in the front half of the starfighter create a nice shape. I love the way the pieces used on the back half of the set work together to form the classic, messy look of a Star Wars starfighter (I love this look on MOCs and other sets in which this design is present. I'm a huge fan of prequel trilogy architecture, but it's slick and misses this messy look.) The engines on the back look really nice and give a lot of length to the set with very few pieces. The set is over 17 inches long and almost 8 inches wide. My only complaint about the set is the awkward build of the cannon behind the cockpit. I'm glad it's there, and I guess it's accurate, but the front half is higher than the back half and the attempt at reconciling this awkwardness is a curved 1x1 1/4 circle tile on either side that creates a sort of step up to the higher level. I would have liked to see them use sloped tiles to make this angle, but I'm not too picky, and it doesn't bother me too much.

Playability: This set has a fair amount of playability, although it is quite large. While it is definitely playable, I might prefer it as a display set. The set is suitable for either. As for play features, it has two long blasters on the front, though they don't move, a rotating turret behind the cockpit that can spin and move up/down, and two spring-loaded shooters, one on either side of the starfighter's midsection. The main action feature, however, drops bombs inserted in the top of the mechanism and spun out the bottom.

Minifigures: The minifigures in this set are pretty good, but they aren't what attracted me. Poe Dameron looks very nice and is easily my favorite here. His outfit is accurate and his face and hair look fairly accurate for LEGO. His satchel is a nice touch. Zorii Bliss is a bit bland but she looks good as a minifigure and I'm happy. The First Order Snowtrooper looks awesome and I like his torso design and cape. Additionally, I'm very, very pleased that his helmet stays on well; I'm not sure whether this is a chronic issue but I found the original First Order Snowtroopers to have very loose helmets. The astromech is a cool teal color and, while he isn't amazing, he adds a little something to the set. Finally, D-O is a nice addition and is designed very nicely, but he's very small and easy to lose.

Price: As I mentioned earlier, the original retail price of $69.99 is a bit much and I'm much happier with the current $55.99 sale, but honestly, for the amount of plastic I see here, even $69.99 isn't horrible. It's much bigger than I expected and the value is very nice. As for the price-per-piece ratio, the $55.99 sale looks much better than the retail. The retail price-per-piece is 12.1 cents, about 2.1 cents higher than I would like to see. With the sale, it's about 9.7 cents, which I'm much more content with. As I always say, look for the sale; it's often a “mark up to mark down” situation, but a sale is a sale, and who doesn't like saving money? (Note: While I stick to the "10 cents a piece" rule, I acknowledge that the Star Wars theme can be overpriced, and I appreciate that this is not too terrible in price, even at its $69.99 retail.)

Recap: Overall, this set is a favorite and has almost no drawbacks. The minifigures and playability aren't bad, but again, are not what attracted me. I simply really like the way this starfigher looks and how it fits into my collection. I'm excited to see how LEGO continues developing models (especially Star Wars!) into the future and I'm definitely looking forward to the upcoming 2021 sets!

Of all the sets on sale for Black Friday this year, this one was the most intriguing, especially since I don't have a Y Wing yet. But then when I saw the minifigures I had to get it. Rise of Skywalker is still two weeks away, but this set includes 2 of the new characters that have made it into the trailers, and I'm sure that after I see the movie I'm gonna want to have them. So let's get to the review.

Box and Instructions

Nothing too special here, both are pretty standard. The box certainly looks nice, and it does feature the names of the new characters. The instructions are of the stapled variety, I would have preferred them perfectly bound for a set of this size but not a big deal. In the back it has a two page spread of this most recent wave with one page showing the minifigures and the other showing the models. Both pages have identical designs so the minifigures are in the same box on the page as their corresponding model is on the opposite page (although they did make one mistake).

The Minifigures

D-0 is a simple one, he is a single brick without any articulation. He is also very small which seems accurate. I would have preferred his head had been a separate brick just to give him some playability, but not a big deal. He looks great and it is a very unique mold. There is a stud on the back of his head which I haven't experimented with yet, but could offer some interesting possibilities.

Zorii Bliss is next, whoever she is, and clearly Lego was asking the same question as her head is a blank black one. The coolest thing about her is easily her dual molded helmet. She seems to look fairly accurate based on what little we see of her in the trailers.

The other really cool minifigure is the turquoise and nameless astromech droid. I can only assume that it will appear in the movie, but regardless, it looks amazing and this new color is a very welcome addition to my droid collection.

Poe is a little boring, his clothes seem very normal. He also carries a bag which has to be removed if you want him to pilot the Y Wing. But he of course is an X Wing pilot so it's a little odd that he is in this set. Although I can assume based on how The Last Jedi ends, he may possibly be the leader of the rebellion, or at the very least number 2 after Leia.

Finally you get a very unique Snowtrooper that wears a cape. Definitely a very cool look.

Parts

The parts in this set aren't anything too exciting. Nothing all that unique really aside from the minifigures. But then again, this isn't the kind of set I get for parts, this is the kind of set I get because I want the ship.

The Build

The set is divided into 4 bags, with the first three taking me 20 minutes each, and the final one taking me 30 minutes. It is actually a fairly simple and straightforward build.

It consists primarily of basic stacking throughout the first three bags, with the only technic being the mechanism for dropping bombs. These first three bags, while making a symmetrical design, don't really have a repetitive nature to them. While it may not be complex, it is fun.

The fourth bag however changes all that. It is is this bag that you build the engines and the build becomes incredibly repetitive. The worst is when you have to build the 8 identical supports. This bag also includes a lot of smaller bricks, while the first 3 contained mostly larger ones. But this of course is not Lego's fault, how else can you build a Y Wing.

Unfortunately there wasn't really anything to learn from this build, which to me is a major negative, especially considering the size of this set. But it was a very fun build nonetheless.

The Model

When completes, it looks amazing. Of course it has a new color scheme which I assume we'll be seeing in two weeks, but it is a perfect representation of a Y Wing. It is also incredibly strong for such a fragile looking ship. Definitely something capable of being played with.

It has three play features. First is retractable landing gear which does a great job of supporting the ship. You have two spring loaded missiles. And then you have the bombing feature which while incredibly simple, is easily the most interesting. Basically it's no different than a revolving door turned on its side. However, just like a revolving door, it has openings on two sides. Now it may seem logical that you would load the bombs on the top and they would fall out the bottom, but the issue is it makes it very difficult to load all three bombs into it. You need to seal the bottom with your fingers so that it doesn't drop a bomb when you are loading the third one in. It also can't securely hold all three bombs in place as one will always be on the top and capable of falling out should the ship turn over. As a result you probably only want to carry two bombs if you are fighting TIE fighters or attacking the Death Star. But the best part of the bomb feature is it blends into the ship perfectly.

Overall

A highly recommend this set if you are looking to add a Y Wing to your collection. I feel like it has an excellent collection of minifigures as it covers what seems to be the two major new characters in the upcoming film. The red and white color scheme looks great, although it is disappointing that it is created exclusively with stickers. Plus, the play features are wonderful and very appropriate. I couldn't be happier with this set and I'm thrilled to have all these new minifigures as they will certainly keep me entertained until a Baby Yoda minifigure is released!

I absolutely recommend getting this set, but wait until it goes on sale again. The msrp is a little on the high side, but if it's discounted again like it was for Black Friday then it's an excellent deal.

I really love Y-wings and this one satisfies me completely. Small differences-improvements from 75172 of 2017. One will enjoy both construction and playing. The figures are good: Zorii, another Poe (different clothes), snow trooper with cape (unique) and new Astromech Droid. I highly recommend it, especially if you find it at a discounted price, e.g. EUR60 instead of EUR90 (= better price / piece ratio).

Detailed, fun, and slightly challenging build. Great mini figure selection, with other great details on ship. Favorite features are 360 rotating gun, explosive drop feature, and four mini figures. Front end feel sturdy while the back feels flimsy, which is to be expected with a design like this. Slightly expensive at $69.99 USD so look around for deals, I got it from Amazon for $55 USD. Great addition for collections, or kids building up their fleet.