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Madd Nomen’s looters at the abandoned Erithrista capitol building are surprised
by the sudden appearance of a squadron of the republic’s new Y-wing fighters.
“Are you serious?” barks the pirate leader. “I could outrun those bloated
beasts on foot! Take ‘em down!!?”
His skilled pilots jump to their attack
ships, certain their speed will quickly bring down the slow-moving republic
craft while the rest of the pirate crew man the mobile ion cannons. But minutes
later three pirate fighters are down, two of the cannons are destroyed and the
republic fighters still haven’t lost a ship.
“Forget this!” bawls Madd. “Time
to hightail it outta here, boys, we’re losing our profits!”
I was a die-hard fan of the early Lego Star Wars models that came out in the
late 1990’s. Years have passed and while my interest isn’t as great as it once
was (many of the current models I simply don’t recognize) there’s an occasional
model that catches my eye, one of these is the 8037 Anakin’s Y-Wing Starfighter.
I used to own the 7150 TIE Fighter and Y-Wing set and pretty much enjoyed those
models. This version of the Y-wing is decidedly a step backwards
(chronologically, that is, by no means in terms of quality). I’ve waited to
pick up the set because of the hefty price tag but figured I finally better pick
one up before they discontinue it and the price skyrockets.
The set consists of a Y-wing fighter that is a much earlier version than that in
the 7150 set (that is to say, in the Star Wars timeline this version was
produced probably 20-30 years earlier than the 7150 Y-Wing). This is a much
heavier, robust craft.
The craft consists of a central body/cockpit and two
large thrusters. The central body features a cockpit and disconnected
rear-facing gunner seat (the bubble for this ‘pops’ off/is not hinged, but is
nicely built to allow for Ahsoka’s large pointy head), followed by an astromech
pit and a small storage bin for tools or lightsabers. Some may complain that
the rear gunner doesn’t rotate but I didn’t have a problem with it (and I have
no idea if the actual ship has rotating guns or not).
The astromech is set up
as a trigger for a spring-loaded missile on the belly of the craft and when the
mech is pulled backward the missile flies. This is a pretty cool feature and
it’s nice that the belly assembly in no way hinders the ability of the craft to
stand well in the landed position. Parents will want to note that the thrusters
feature numerous sub-assemblies with lots of small parts that can easily fall
off if the craft is used for ‘rough’ play. It’s probably a better ‘display’
model for younger hands.
No expense is spared in the design of this model. There are a number of areas
where a ‘juniorized’ part could have been used but instead numerous parts make
up the assemblies and it produces a quality model. It features a number of
areas where lateral design is implemented with terrific results and this
provided me with lots of inspiration for my own future designs.
Model colors are the obvious yellow and white with some minor grey details.
Part selection is a great assortment of bricks, plates and brackets with a good
quantity of cylindrical elements and round plates thrown in for good measure
(plus lots of technic pins). There’s such a great collection of parts that I’d
seriously consider this set on par with a creator set (there are a LOT of
potential alternate models here which definitely make it worth the money).
Figures included are Anakin, Ahoska Tano and R2D2, along with two lightsabers
(blue and green). Stickers are included to adorn the thrusters (pilot canopy is
preprinted).
I try to always be careful whenever spending more than $50 for a set but this
purchase has proven to be quite worthwhile. I strongly suggest picking up one
of these models whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not (it’s decidedly worth the
price tag even without the ‘collectible’ figures).
!!! 4x2ReVu Stats !!!
Rating: Seven out of eight studs
Pros: Excellent array of parts adds up to a great principal model or leaves
open possibilities for alternate models.
Walletwise: 570 pieces for around
$60.
Date: 3/28/11
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