No knob on the back has freed up ample space for some very convincing greebling, and the knob on top is well disguised within a similarly fine-looking panel of greebling. This is because moving the knob from the rear of the ship to the top has made for a much-better-looking product overall. And yet, I think I'd still take this flawed, new mechanism over the older ones… This new mechanism does cause the wings to sag quite notably when in the closed position, and while most will display the S-foils in attack position by default, that’s not a good enough excuse for a UCS model. The downside is that it doesn’t feel particularly robust and never quite works as seamlessly as you feel it should. An upside is that the wings open much quicker, just like they do in the film. The latest set’s mechanism uses a knob on a Turntable piece – on top of the craft – to drive a rotating bar construction that pushes against a pair of rubber bands that pull against and cause opposing wings to rotate. Both operate using a knob at the ship’s rear and while they’re structurally very sound - the S-foils open and close relatively slowly. A more primitive collection of Technic cogs, axles, and bricks with holes were used to build the original model’s mechanism, while the 2013 set used a single cog to drive a rather elaborate Technic beam construction. This new mechanism does cause the wings to sag quite notably when in the closed positionĮach of the now three UCS X-Wings released over the years have featured a slightly different S-foils mechanism, although the first two sets worked much in the same way.
There's obviously four wings to build too, so younger Lego fans may find the repetition a little difficult to sit through. Mounting the S-foils mechanism is particularly challenging and attaching each wing can be a bit fiddly. This isn’t the most challenging UCS set to put together, but the 18+ moniker is definitely warranted. If you’ve built the 2013 model, you’ll find that the wings, laser cannons and rear portion of the thrusters provide a healthy dose of déjà vu, while the rest of the build largely incorporates new techniques. Only one instruction booklet is included, complete with the usual few pages of design and prototype information.
This set comprises 1,953 pieces, split across 10 bagged sections, and it took me just under five hours to build.
0 kommentar(er)
