Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, it reset the Star Wars canon making some content part of the Legends stories. That made some of the vast content created as part of the Expanded Universe no longer part of the main Star Wars canon. However, some of the recent Star Wars live-action series have delved into the Legends stories to bring some elements of the EU into the ‘Disney’ canon. This new LEGO® Star Wars set is an example of that, as the upcoming Ahsoka series is bringing a previous comic book ship into live-action. Continuing my look at the new LEGO Star Wars sets, here’s a look at the New Republic E-Wing Vs. Shin Hati’s Starfighter set.
Product Details
Set Name: New Republic E-Wing Vs. Shin Hati’s Starfighter | Set Number: 76264 | Pieces: 1056 | Theme: Star Wars
RRP: £94.99/$109.99/104.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 10 | Instructions: 1 x Paper booklets + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Minifigures: Baylan Skoll, Shin Hati, Morgan Elsbeth, Captain Porter & a New Republic Astromech Droid
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail from September 1st
It’s also tricky to reflect on a set which is inspired by something yet to be released. Thankfully, there are only a couple of days until Ahsoka premieres on Disney+. But we have glimpsed both of these ships in various trailers. The most prominent is the E-Wing. This New Republic ship was originally introduced in a Star Wars comic series called Star Wars: Dark Empire. As they followed the X-Wing Starfighter, they had a similar design. As you build the set, you’ll notice the body of the ship is basically the same as an X-Wing. With the ship lacking the split wing feature, the rear of the set isn’t as complex. Its fixed wings are located in a similar place towards the back of the ship.
As the wings slope downwards, a trio of stands have been added to the underside of the ship. Allowing it to stand neatly. The cockpit is similar to an X-Wing and uses the same angled canopy, which is thankfully printed. I hate putting stickers on clear surfaces. The cockpit also features a removable seat, which not only makes it easier to get to the minifigure but also allows you to store, Captain Porter’s blaster below it. Just behind the cockpit is a space to slot in a Droid. Due to the scale of the ship, the Droid sits side-on, which does look a little odd.
The second ship is unnamed, merely dubbed Shin Hati’s Starfighter, which clearly suggests the set is used but the presumed ‘bad guys’. Whereas the E-Wing clearly looks like other ships used by Rebel Alliance/New Republic, this ship does scream the Empire/Sith. The overall appearance is similar to a Naboo Starfighter, thanks to the wings being mounted at the front of the fuselage. These are simply clipped to the body of the ship, meaning there aren’t any complex connection points.
One of my favourite features of the ship is the front section, a series of plates are mounted to a simple core. This creates a sort of turbine-looking engine. The cockpit is found towards the rear of the ship and uses another printed canopy. A similar element is used just behind it and hides a section where a weapon can be stored. I always enjoy a sneaky place to store minifigure accessories. Although the colour scheme of this ship feels a little odd, I assume it’s been repurposed. The sticker details add a little wear and tear, as does the mismatched placement of some elements on the wings.
Along with the two interesting ships, the set also features an impressive line-up of characters. Each of the four minifigures plus the Droid are unique to the set. If the Rebels aren’t your thing, then you’ll be pleased to know three of the characters fall on the shadier side of the Force. Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati aren’t neither Jedi nor Sith although they both use lightsabers. There has been some discussion as to the colour of the blades, with a suggestion they are a shade of orange, in LEGO form they are red. Both of these characters have fairly simple outfits, which are similar to Jedi robes, but feature a chevron pattern on the front and buckles on the back. Morgan Elsbeth is another character with questionable intentions but actually made her debut during an episode of The Mandalorian. Her minifigure is a spot on recreation, in part, thanks to the unique hair element and print detail.
The set also features a New Republic pilot called Captain Porter. It’s unclear how but a role he will play in the Ahsoka series, but the flight suit and helmet are similar to that of the original trilogy X-Wing pilots. Instead of being orange, it’s blue. Interestingly, during an episode of The Mandalorian, Zeb from Rebels makes a cameo and wears the same uniform. The print detail is great on the torso and even more so on the helmet. You can also swap the helmet for hair, with Captain Porter’s two expressions reflecting this. It wouldn’t be a Star Wars set without a Droid and this set features one of the most uniquely coloured ones yet. The unnamed Astromech Droid uses the same elements as Artoo but its livery is bright blue and yellow. I’ve decided to dub it IK-3A. Unfortunately, the print detail doesn’t extend to the back of the Droid.
Overall
I like that all aspects of the set are unique. Both ships offer something different from other LEGO Star Wars sets as well as each other. The E-Wing is a great addition to the line-up of Rebel ships – familiar, yet different. Shin’s ship feels a little more generic despite being the more unique of the two craft. It feels like something out of the Star Wars: Resistance show as well as feeling a little like a Spitfire plane. Much like Ahsoka’s Jedi Shuttle set, the minifigures provide another line-up of pretty impressive characters. The followers of Thrawn do an OK job of capturing the look of the live-action characters, although Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati’s hairstyles could have been better. Captain Porter is nicely detailed much the star of the show is the Swedish Furniture store-inspired Droid. I’d love to see more random Droids such as this appear in sets.
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The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
