Yes, another A-Wing review, but this time it’s for 75171 A-Wing Starfighter. To date, I’ve liked all of the A-wings, scoring them (6207, 75003) 4 out of 5 stars. I never officially reviewed the original chunky 7134 A-wing Fighter, but even that one had its charm back in the day. Each version improved upon the previous iteration enough to make the purchase worthwhile. Does 75715 A-Wing Starfighter carry on that tradition? Tl;dr: why yes, yes it does and by a wide margin.

The MSRP for this set was a whopping $39.99. What helps mitigate the sticker shock is the fact that you get 358 pieces and out of that you can make two vehicles and three minifigs, all of which were unique at the time. Let’s dive right in.

The Minifigs

75175 A-Wing Starfighter General Lando Calrissian front

Let’s talk about the biggest draw to this set, General Lando Calrissian. Lando in his General outfit was only available previously in the Toys’R’Us exclusive 7754 Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser set eight years earlier. Not overly detailed, he is pretty much perfect.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter General Lando Calrissian back

He’s the only figure in this set to have a double sided head changing his expression from serious to a mischievous smirk. His light blue cape is a nice shade of blue and he comes equipped with a blaster that seems way too big.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter General Pilot frontThe A-wing pilot is a tad out of focus now that I’m taking a look at this picture. He was also unique at the time; he has been since re-released in the juniorized 75247 Rebel A-wing Starfighter.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter General Pilot back

At first glance this may seem like just a lighter green version of the pilot found in the previous set, 75003, but it is every so slightly different in the print. Also, the helmet, still using that excellent mold, is painted differently from the previous version. It may not seem like much but it’s nice to see that some attention was given and effort was made to make it distinct beyond just the color of the flight suit.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter General Rebel Ground Crew frontThe mechanic / technician is the third and final unique figure in 75715 A-Wing Starfighter. He has not been re-released in another set either. His torso print borders on being overly detailed but I’m okay with it. My favorite little detail is the cable print going from the device on his belt extending to the hips. But now that I’m looking at that, it feels like the belt is a bit too high.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter General Rebel Ground Crew frontThe back is nothing to write home about but it’s included here for completeness.

All in all, the value from the unique minifigs alone makes this set worth getting. But there’s much more to this set than just minifigs.

The Maintenance Vehicle

75175 A-Wing Starfighter maintenance vehicle

Aside from the obvious A-Wing you build in 75715 A-Wing Starfighter, you also get this. Not sure what else to call this so I’m going with Maintenance Vehicle, or MV for short. It carries extra missiles to reload the A-Wing’s armament, has what looks like a welding device, and a panel indicating WiFi strength.

There’s a storage box tying everything together. It’s a nice little touch to add some additional play value to an already full-featured small vehicle.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter cup holder

And for those long journeys across the hangar bay, there’s a cup holder for hot beverages, probably Sith Roast (and if you get that reference, you get 1,000 points).

The ladder in the back detaches so that the pilot can climb aboard while the MV can go do some other work.

The A-Wing Starfighter

With the minifigs and the MV already setting the bar high, it’s time to see how the A-Wing turned out. And it is great! Improvements galore!

Not gonna lie, when I looked at the box and saw those long curved slopes flanking the cockpit canopy, I was kinda turned off. But after building it and really looking at the ship from all angles, they turned out great. It adds a nice curve the overall structure instead of a straight angle, complementing the curved wedge pieces near the front.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter angled fins

The tail fins are now properly angled. And much thinner thanks the one-piece fin instead of the brick-built ones from previous ships. There’s also loads of stickers for added details.

Gone are the traditional Star Wars engines. Instead, these are brick-built and more accurate exhaust tips. The yellow brick is to simulate the engine glow and also hide the axle supporting the ring that’s sandwiched between the ends of the fins. Here’s a pic of the source material to show you just how much more accurate the construction is:

Since the model no longer uses the Star Wars engines, they are a bit more blockier than they should be but necessary to achieve the angle to the fins.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter rebuilt engines

Until LEGO makes curved cheese, this makes a good compromise. The engines were a bit wobbly but I performed a very easy mod to stabilize them a bit more.

Tucked behind the boat plates on either side are 1×1 light grey round plates. The instructions originally had them as 1×1 light grey tiles, but I swapped them for the round plates since the nubbin on top gave it a little more height to push up against the engines making them less wobbly.

While we’re staring at the backside of the A-Wing, take notice of the landing won’cha? Because they are just awesome.

The previous models of the A-Wing had the ship, when grounded, resting on the rear fins along with a single landing gear to hold up the nose. It always kind of bothered me because the original blocky-as-heck A-wing had three landing gear to at least convey the idea that the fighter was not resting on something that wasn’t meant to be used as landing gear. Then things got worse with each rendition after that first one with the design just chucking the two rear gears. 75715 A-Wing Starfighter makes things right again as it now has three landing gears.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter front landing gear

When in flight, the front one tucks away quite nicely.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter rear landing gear

I wish I could say the same for the rears but I cannot. They just sort of fold back in a Go-Bot transformation sort of way. BUT STILL, this is a HUGE improvement considering how absent they were after the first version of the ship. If this model was two studs longer, the rear gears probably would have tucked away just as nicely as the front one.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter bottom

The bottom looks to be slightly more decorated than what LEGO normally does. I mean, there is some color blocking. I think ideally, what I’d like to see are more inverted curved panels to hide the ugly anti-stud look.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter cockpitThe cockpit is actually quite roomy. The pilot can keep holding his blaster. It makes playing with him easier so he can board and de-board quickly without you having to disarm and arm him constantly.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter storage compartment

Still if you prefer to have him disarmed more often, there is a storage compartment in the back. Remove the cover to expose the ample trunk. There’s only two studs securing the cover down and I initially thought this was going to be a fairly weak connection making the cover prone to popping off but I was wrong.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter trunk cover

The plating around the cover is one plate higher following the angles of the cover making it a bit more secure. It’s not so easy to remove it but still easy enough to access the cargo area.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter rotating cannons

The ship’s armaments on either side rotate up and down. They use a friction pin so they  hold their position really well. This was a nice touch since I can’t stand moving elements that move too freely and that will move out of position simply by breathing on it.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter hidden spring loaded missilesThere are two spring-loaded missiles on the bottom and the trigger mechanism is cleverly built into the top of the ship.

75175 A-Wing Starfighter spring loaded missile triggers

The two grey Technic elements whose curves you see poking up just in front of the cockpit canopy are the triggers. Simply press down on one to launch the corresponding missile. Hidden triggers like this are a real treat. It shows that the designer really took though and care into improving the ship while adding new features. It’s easy to just tack on the spring loaded missile launchers and have these ugly stems stick out from the back, but these are hidden, and just beautifully incorporated.

Final Thoughts

75715 A-Wing Starfighter is simply a stellar set. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the price tag was quite high. The previous model’s MSRP was $24.99, this one was $39.99. But what you get out of the box, top to bottom front to back, makes it all worth it. Further comparing it to the previous 75003 model, it’s been completely re-engineered to give it a more accurate look, roomier cockpit, exquisite landing gear, and hidden spring-loaded missiles while retaining roughly the same dimensions. The stickers were also reworked so it doesn’t feel like the same sticker sheet was modified slightly like the Snowspeeder models tended to do. The addition of the MV and the three unique (at the time) minifigs gives this set a far better value for the money than initial impressions. It gets a full 5 out of 5 stars for there isn’t a single thing that cries out to be improved upon. I cannot be happier with this set and I plan on picking up some extra sticker sheets from this and from 75003 to really deck one out. 75175 A-Wing Starfighter is just superb.

Will It Fit In A Ziploc Freezer Bag?

Yep!

Can I Still Buy It?

75175 A-Wing Starfighter box

Yes, but at a cost. The set came out in 2017, so it’s long been retired. Amazon has third-party listings starting at about $75 and some change (and if you buy it from there after clicking through, we make a small commission). Bricklink sellers have them too, starting at around $50 for a US seller, less if you’re willing to buy from overseas but then you might have to pay more for shipping.

All The 75715 A-Wing Starfighter Pictures

 

 

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