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I've built both the A-Wing and Darth Vader's TIE Fighter before. Neither build had previously done a lot to excite me. I remember building 7150 TIE Fighter and Y-Wing back in 1999. That particular build colored my perception of Star Wars LEGO for the next decade and change. I also built 8017 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter which was miles better and 75003 A-Wing Starfighter. None of them really excited me enough to keep. I wish I had held onto them in order to compare and contrast, but that's the breaks. I didn't really need another Darth Vader or another Sabine Wren without her helmet. It feels overpriced. The original retail for 75003 was $24.99 and 8017 was $29.99. But their piece counts were 177 and 251 respectively. This set is more than 270 pieces more than both of those combined. Is it worth $35 more? REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75150 Name: Vader's TIE Advanced vs. A-Wing Starfighter Theme: Star Wars Parts: 702 Price: $89.99 BOX CONTENTS Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 7 numbered baggies (numbered 1-6 with duplicate bag 6) and a bag containing stickers and a pair of instruction books. BAG 1: Instruction book 1 is all about building the A-Wing. When you begin construction of this fighter, it's different from previous versions of the ship, or most of your average Star Wars ships. You create a tile platform below a set of railing. It's pretty obvious that something slides here, but what and why? This segment appears to have be the part that slides. I'm not sure if it's the impeller or impelled. It appears to be the lever. The base of the fighter appears to be the platform that the upper section slides upon. You may notice that more of the body shape is being filled in, but it's quite a few steps before it looks like the end product. It's sort of hard to see here, but there are a pair of spring missile launchers underneath the front. The slide appears to be part of a completely hidden feature to launch the spring missiles. I like that it's unobtrusive. I actually couldn't picture what an A-Wing looks like at this point in the build. I had to pick up the box again to try to make it out. Underneath of the chassis is a pair of rubber bands. This prevents the top from sliding on its own and launching the missiles by accident. I like that the slide feature isn't loose. And here's the end of bag one. It's not much yet, It's a lot more complex than the last A-Wing that I built though. Bag 1 also contained the 2 hero minifigures, Sabine Wren and an A-Wing pilot. BAG 2: I like that the details are green. I get a little tired of the white grey and red of most of the Star Wars universe. You expand the body and fill it in. It really begins to bulk up from here on out. You add slopes to continue shaping it, but to me, it still doesn't look like the ship I remember. Bag 3: I love these new wing pieces. I love the way these engine pods look. You guild them out separately. You snap the engine pods on. They pivot somewhat which is kind of offputting, but look great. Make a duplicate/mirror image engine pod. attach it in the same way with a hinge. You make the gun pods separately. They seem a little large to me. The guns rotate, reminding me of the old Kenner A-Wing. It looks great to me. The action feature is nice in that it is hidden. There's no dial or lever or hole. For a smaller build, it had a lot of stickers. BAG 4: You begin the build of Vader's TIE Advanced. You also begin Instruction book 2. As you can see, there's 2 spring missile launchers fairly early in this build. Since you can't really do round, of course you use slopes. There's a lot of random colors that will be hidden in the final build. I don't really understand why there's tiles in here. Vader's got a comfy seat and a Battle Droid torso to steer with. You have to frame the TIE Fighter because the TIE Advanced has a lot of extra bulk. It looks like the tile is there to let you slide a sideways slope on. Youngish Tarkin and Vader inhabit bag 4. BAG 3: I'm going to call this section the Hyperdrive. Maybe it's the shield generators. What kind of Star Wars geek am I that doesn't know what this section is for? Anyway, it's the part that sticks out from the back, making it obviously different than most TIEs. That's what makes it advanced. Maybe it's just the advanced stickers. Where 8017 used various pieces of kibble (or greeblies if that's your thing) this one has a couple stickers. Sort of disappointing from a build perspective. It's kind of hard to see here, there are 2 technic pieces that act as triggers for the spring missiles. You fill in the body shape and snap on a couple rounded hatch covers. I like the forward hatch a lot better than the old style cockpit piece. The upper one is larger and more detailed than before too. BAG 6: there's 2 different attachment points for the wings. There's an axle hole in the center to hold the axles sticking out of the main build. You also have a post attached to the wings that slot into the ship. Filling in the back of the wing was actually kind of fun. I liked the variety of pieces used to match the shape. Grab the second bag because there's a X2 at the end of book 2. Snap the wings in place and put the spring missiles in. Vader's TIE is complete now. REACTION: The individual builds are satisfying. I think that they look good and represent the vessels well enough. The size of Vader's TIE seems a little puny.It really seems that, for the cost, they could have made it a bit bigger. I honestly liked the puzzle aspect of putting the inside of the wings together. Remembering how flimsy the first TIE's wings were, this is a definite improvement. Plus, no blue. The A-Wing is satisfying in the build, but doesn't necessarily look to me like what I think of . The cannons are bulky, the body is stubby and not too sleek. But, when I look at pictures of the Rebels A-Wing, it's all accurate enough. When I thought that it would work well enough for an original trilogy display, it's going to be a bit off. Ok, so I'll talk about value for money. $90 is a lot for 2 smallish ships. The price per piece is high and there are no large pieces to offset the cost. The number of minifigures is low for the price point. For $90 we're overpaying for a few unique minifigures and a couple of redone ships. $65 or $70 seems more in line with what you get. If it weren't for coupons and discounted gift cards, I'd feel really put out by the cost of this set. Vader's the same as the Death Star Final Duel with the white head and the 2 piece mask. I didn't review that set, so I'll say what I would have said then. The design of the helmet causes it to tilt up ever so slightly, so Vader appears to be looking up. The head in white seems a little goofy to me, but that's a personal thing. I understand it entirely, but neither of these are changes that excited me. Tarkin really reminds me of the 12th Doctor. Probably because of the hairpiece. The tan costume is a weird choice. I don't think that he's even depicted in that color in Rebels. Kind of a fail for me from top to bottom. The female A-Wing pilot looks good. She's functional as far as troop building, and since her body isn't decorated to be obviously feminine, you can head swap to fill out any number of aliens or others. Sabine Wren is almost entirely different than the previously released version. I think the body deco is better on this one and the black sleeved arms is better than the flesh arms in the previous versions. I hate the hairpiece used. I wish she came with her helmet. I'd rather have a Mando helmet than that ugly hairpiece any day. FINAL THOUGHTS: At $89.99 this should be a pass, unless you're hardcore. I don't know how long after retirement it will be before it even reaches MSRP. This set should be clearance fodder. OT purists will be disappointed that they took liberties with the designs. I expect that there will be discounts for a while. I just don't see huge potential on a set that was way overpriced from the beginning. EXTRA PIECES: Most of the extra pieces are exactly the ones that you would expect. I didn't picture the brick separator, but rest assured, there is one. The lower part of Vader's mask has low utility. Please take a look at the other Star Wars Reviews: #75060 Slave I (click here) #75078 Imperial Troop Transport (click here) #75085 Hailfire Droid (click here) #75087 Anakin's Starfighter (click here) #75092 Naboo Starfighter (click here) #75094 Shuttle Tydirium (click here) #75100 Snowspeeder (click here) #75101 Tie Fighter (click here) #75102 Poe's X-Wing Fighter (click here) #75103 First Order Transporter (click here) #75109 Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure (click here) #75125 Resistance X-Wing Fighter Microfighter (click here) #75127 The Ghost Microfighter (Click here) #75131 Resistance Trooper Battle Pack (click here) #75132 First Order Battle Back (click here) #75133 Rebel Alliance Battle Pack (click here) #75134 Galactic Empire Battle Pack (click here) #75135 Obi-Wan's Jedi Interceptor (click here) #75136 Droid Escape Pod (click here) #75137 Carbon-Freezing Chamber (click here) #75139 Battle on Takodana (click here) #75141 Resistance Troop Transporter (click here) #75148 Encounter on Jakku (click here)

I have to admit that I am a fan of this ship. When I came back into LEGO collecting as an adult, I wanted Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter. I loved Star Wars, and I loved this ship. Sadly, it turned out that it was only available in the exclusive 7283 Ultimate Space Battle. I spent a lot of money bricklinking that set, only to be disappointed in how flimsy the build was. Eventually I got rid of the whole thing. I liked 9494 Anakin's Jedi Interceptor and 75038 Jedi Interceptor, but wondered if LEGO would ever revisit Obi-Wan's ship. As soon as this set was announced, my hands twitched to get one to build and review. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75135 Name: Obi-Wan's Jedi Interceptor Theme: Star Wars Parts: 215 Price: $24.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 24.99 the price per piece works out to almost $.12 each. This is on the high/middle side of pricing for a licensed set. There are 2 minifigures. The minifigures are Episode 3 Pilot Obi-Wan Kenobi and R4-P17. Both figures are unique to this set. BOX CONTENTS Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 3 numbered baggies, a sticker sheet, and an instruction book. THE BUILD AND EXECUTION BAG 1: I've built 9494 and 75038. In fact I built and modified 75038 several times. I expected that I knew what to expect from this build. Right from the start it is different. I was pretty happy with this build. I had expected one or two inverted slope pieces, but you build it out of a variety of pieces. It's more interesting than the previous versions. I like that you're not using the same wheel pieces as usual for the thrusters. Although it doesn't look as much like a thruster port. I think that in all previous builds, the cockpit canopy was almost dead last on the build. It makes so much more sense to finish it up now instead of coming back to it. Obi-Wan wants you to have a nice day. BAG 2: Here you build the first wing. I noticed right off that instead of leaving a hole in the wing right next to the attachment points for the wing tips, it's just recessed. Notice the large void where the Astromech docking slot is. Check out the stickers. If you look at the comparison pictures at the end, you can decide if you like the sticker half hexagon, or the brick built shape on 75038. I like the details on the stickers, I just worry about them coming up later on. The blaster kind of disappointed me. It seems squat, and I dislike the gap between the cone and the rest that shows off the red pin. Here. you are building the "seat" for the droid. I was dissatisfied with how high she (yes, the droid is canonically a she) sticks up out of the port, so I tried removing some pieces. She still sticks up too high, and was impossible to remove. Although, funnily enough, her head came off and left the rest behind when I tried. (Just like in the movie.) The round bottomed plate seems perfect as a foot for resting on a flat surface. Another sticker showing off all of Obi-Wan's kills. I kind of like the difference in the slope I love the new outer wing stickers. I wish it could have been printed, but whatever. BAG 3: THis bag is pretty much the same as the last one, in mirror, without an Astromech. I'm going to skim this one a bit. Interesting that there's a big Astromech sized hole in here, I was pretty sure they were going to fill it in pretty soon. Almost the last thing you build here is a pod to attach to the bottom and fill in that hole. This made no sense and felt a little lazy since they were just mirroring the previous wing. It should have had a different design here. Hard to tell here, but the vessel does not rest on the wing pods or the base of the cockpit. It's completely on the tips of the wings. REACTION I loved this set, it was almost entirely satisfying. Some things were done better previously. I was not a fan of the Astromech socket. Poor R4 sticks entirely too far out and looks like a whack-a-mole. The fact that the ship rests on the wing tips instead of the cockpit base or even the pods on the underside of the wings is a design flaw, IMO. It places stress on the hinges that will more than likely cause them to slip and change the profile from the canted position to flat. I'm probably going to extend the lower part of the cockpit to relieve the weight on mine. I like the stickers. I can completely understand why people don't like them. Hell, in many cases I agree. I just like the added detailing that we wouldn't have gotten without them. I compared the 9494, 75038, and 75135. I liked the added detailing on the wings. I liked the kill marks and the hexagonal cutout. The brick built cut out on 75038 seemed awkward to me. I like the blasters better on the 75038. I think that the slopes are kind of a wash. I couldn't tell you which was more accurate, all I know is that I am glad to have them both. The Dark Red pieces of this set appeal to me. It goes with all of the other Republic vehicles. It's just more satisfying with the rest than Anakin's jarring yellow one. Too bad it is impossible to display with wings extended unless you build a stand for it. Both of these figures are unique. The printing on the R4-P17 is extensively, but subtly different. Obi-Wan has a serious and a worried expression. The head with headset is the only real difference between this one and the one packaged with 75040. FINAL THOUGHTS As I recently blogged about, the future of Star Wars investing is (most likely) changing. We're looking at a future that may be lacking in Prequel era sets. This particular iteration of the Jedi Interceptor has been on the backburner for over a decade. I feel like this set is sure to be a steady gainer. If you can package this with a 75038 Jedi Interceptor or even better add a couple 75041 Vulture Droids, you'll have a winner. The low buy in of this set will keep away most of the prestige level buyers that eschew anything that's not an exclusive. The relatively low level of speculator interest in the cheap sets will keep away the riff raff. Look for a price drop online in a few months as Amazon and Wal-mart try to offset buyer fatigue. Initial values will likely be low as people anticipate PT stuff to continue to be dogs. A spate of post retirement clearances will have the horde fighting each other for the bottom on this set, but stick it out. This set will have legs. Stick it in a hole and bring it out again in a couple years. I know that some of this probably sounds like the overly enthusiastic ravings of a fan, so let me sum up my thoughts. It's a hero ship that pairs nicely with existing retired items. It's unlikely to be remade anytime soon (after all it's been 11 years since the last time.) Younger fans who came of age with the Prequels and Clone Wars will be getting better jobs with more disposable income and will be looking to get sets that remind them of their youth. It's likely to get passed over because A.) it's a cheap set and easily available and B.) it's a Prequel Trilogy design so the common thinking is that it's just not as good. That last point may continue to hold some water amongst older collectors, but someone has been buying all the PT sets that have been coming out for a decade and a half. RARE PARTS I'd like to take a look at some of the rare or unique parts that are in this set. This should help to highlight the pieces that may become more valuable once this set is out of production. Trans-Black Windscreen 10X6X3 with Jedi Starfighter pattern with a square cutout was only available in 1 other set 75038 Jedi Interceptor Dark Red Flag 5x6 hexagonal was only available in 2 other sets 7283 Ultimate Space Battle and 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter Dark Red Wedge Plate 8X3 (Right and Left) were available in 2 other sets 7283 Ultimate Space Battle and 7259 ARC-170 Starfighter Dark Red Plate 1X10 was available in 3 other sets 60069 Swamp Police Station, 75019 AT-TE, and 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina Dark Red Wedge, Plate 6X3 Cut Corners was available in 2 other sets 70137 Bat Strike and 75003 A-Wing Starfighter Light Bluish Grey Tile 1x1 Round with SW Republic pattern was available in 2 other sets, 75038 Jedi Interceptor and 75076 Republic Gunship Microfighter EXTRA PIECES COMPARISON PICTURES The control areas are all different. 9494 had a joystick, 75038 had a tile with a big sticker and 75135 has nothing notable. See how much higher out of the socket R4 is than R2 Here are the new R4-P17 (left) and the older one from the Kamino Planet set (Right)