Review: LEGO Star Wars 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter

Today we quickly tour the LEGO Star Wars set 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter, a box that will be available from January 1, 2021 and which confirms to us that LEGO knows how to compromise without being extremely simplified.

This Tie Fighter of barely more than 400 pieces offered at 39.99 € has neither the presence nor the level of detail of a version which would cost twice as that of the set 75211 Imperial Tie Fighter marketed in 2018 at the public price of 79.99 € but it is doing in my opinion with the honors. The most assiduous collectors will also remember the reference 9492 Tie Fighter marketed in 2012 at the public price of 59.99 € with a Tie Fighter of 400 pieces barely bigger than this one and 4 figurines.

This new, even more affordable version of the ship is not easy, however, and offers its share of interesting assembly techniques. This is not a luxury "4+" and we especially escape the metapieces usually provided in these boxes for toddlers who have grown tired of DUPLO products.

The cockpit is a relatively complex assembly of small parts that results in a fairly convincing sphere. LEGO is also reusing the glass roof already seen in several sets since 2015 and the dish pad printed created in 2018 for the set 75211 Imperial Tie Fighter. The result makes it possible to install the pilot in command without having to go with a shoehorn, it's no frills but the essential is there.

The wings are of a design also without big aesthetic risk taking but the result is generally satisfactory. We may regret that tiles The gray ones placed in extra thickness only fit on two tenons and they will tend to unhook too easily during handling.

The two wings are fixed to the body of the vessel via three pins which plug into a unique 6x6 piece with five holes arranged in a cross, they will not accidentally come off. Note that the borders attached to the edge of the wings are only held at their ends via two clips, the ball joint central simply ensuring the fold that allows to respect the angle.

No stickers in this box, and that's good news. Of them spring shooters are integrated under the cockpit and it is sufficiently well done not to annoy those who would have done without. Ammunition sticks out at the rear, but that's the price to pay to be able to take advantage of the mechanism of these spring-loaded missile launchers.

The result: a vaguely Tie Fighter Midi Scale, a little bit of chibi with its large cockpit on the usual scale and its wings of a wingspan much smaller than the version of the ship marketed in 2018, but a product sufficiently detailed not to be likened to LEGO 4+.

The minifigure assortment may seem uninspired but in my opinion it remains relatively interesting for a young fan who is trying to build up a collection and an army. The Stormtrooper is the one delivered in several sets since 2019. The Tie Fighter pilot's helmet dates from 2015 and the torso from 2016, these are elements seen since on various pilots of the range.

The Death Star protocol droid, here named NI-L8 (for annihilate) takes the lead of the version seen in 2016 in the set 75159 Death Star and benefit in this new version of a superbly pad-printed torso. A fourth character would not have been refused, but the endowment still seems very reasonable to me for a box of 39.99 € under Star Wars license.

With this box and the set 75301 Luke Skywalker's X-wing Fighter (474 - 49.99 €) which we will talk about in a few days, LEGO finally offers two emblematic ships of the saga at reasonable prices without being petty in terms of inventory, design and minifig endowment.

It will obviously be necessary to accept the fact that these two ships are more compact and a little less detailed than their predecessors but this is the price to pay to take advantage of a more accessible price than usual. The youngest fans who will be looking for how to optimize the use of the money they may have received at Christmas will be able to afford both boxes for less than 90 € and that, in my opinion, is very good news.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 19, 2020 next at 23pm. 

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.