After audiences were wowed by the scale of the Star Destroyer lurching onto screens in pursuit of the much smaller Rebel ship, they would soon be introduced to cinema’s most iconic villain. As alarms blared out and a squadron of panicked Rebels Troopers defended their ship, a dark figure stepped out of the smoke and the rest is history. Darth Vader’s introduction has to be one of the most memorable and one of the newly released LEGO® Star Wars 25th Anniversary sets is the first to recreate the moment in LEGO form. Continuing the look at the 25th Anniversary LEGO Star Wars sets, here’s a review of the Boarding the Tantive IV.
Product Details
Set Name: Boarding the Tantive IV | Set Number: 75387 | Pieces: 502 | Theme: Star Wars
RRP: £49.99/$54.99/54.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 4 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Characters: Darth Vader, 2 Stormtroopers, 2 Rebel Fleet Troopers & Captain Antilles, plus 25th Anniversary ARC Trooper ‘Fives’ | Insiders QR: Yes
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
As the first thing ever seen on cinema screens in 1977, the Tantive IV ship has been the subject of numerous LEGO sets, including a new microscale version released alongside this particular set. But this is the first time the opening scene on board the ship has been recreated in a LEGO set. It is similar to a set released in 2022, which was based on a scene from the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian and it is one of a handful of Star Wars sets to recreate a particular scene in place of a vehicle or location.
The basis of the set is the moment when the Rebel forces battle the Empire in the corridors of the Tantive IV. As soldiers on both sides trade blaster fire, a hush falls as, through the previously sealed door, Vader appears. It’s an action-packed scene which has been recreated in the set’s play features. As you build the section of the corridor, the floor features four 1×1 flat tiles which are mounted on Technic axles. These each link to small handles dotted on the front edge of the set. These can be used to flip back minifigures.
Another play feature is built into the wall section of the corridor. As you build the part of the set, you’ll connect a series of Technic axles, which stretch along the back wall of the set. Eventually, these connect to a plate which slots into the smaller section of the wall. This has a dual purpose of being both a door and the smouldering hole left after it’s blasted open. The use of transparent red and orange elements does look slightly odd, but it’s a decent job of representing the glowing embers of metal left in place of a door. Flipping the handle allows the door to slide to reveal either of these sections of the door.
These two play features sufficiently replicate the action of the scene. Whilst, the visual aspect of the set uses a mix of elements and stickers to match the 70s aesthetics of the ship’s iconic interior. The use of white bar tiles does an excellent job matching the walls of the corridor and I like how red plates are used for some of the inlay panels so their colouring peeks through, representing the illuminated panels on the walls. This could easily have been stickers but this method looks much better. I would say the floor is a little darker than it appears on screen.
The set includes a decent selection of minifigures. They have all previously featured in other sets. The Rebel Troopers design was slightly tweaked last year and the two in this set use the same torsos. The troopers both have identical heads which is a little odd. Captain Antilles has previously been featured in Tantive IV sets, the last being in 2019. Similar to the Rebel Troopers, his torso has been slightly tweaked making it unique.
The Rebels are joined by Lord Vader and a pair of Stormtroopers. These have all been featured in previous sets. Vader was last updated in 2020 and it’s the same version included in this set. This uses the two-piece helmet and includes a decent level of print detail on the torso, including on the arms. Under the lids of the Stormtroopers, you’ll find both a male and female head. In recent years, the Imperial forces have been a little more diverse.
But for many the only minifigure they will be interested in, is the special 25th-anniversary character. This has no connection to the actual set. The Tantive IV features ARC Clone Trooper CT-27-5555 also known as ‘Fives’. We first meet Fives during the latter episodes of the Clone Wars. He’s one of the few troopers to learn the truth about the inhibitor chips as well as being a member of Vader’s Fist. Now I know there is an unhealthy obsession with the LEGO versions of the Clone Troopers. Minifigures are not 1:1 replicas of characters, but you can tell this is Fives, thanks to the addition of a material pauldron around his neck and a backpack. Under his helmet is a unique head, which includes the ‘5’ tattoo on Fives’ head. The minifigure is then mounted on a special 25th Anniversary stand. This can then be connected to other special characters, the second of which can be found in the recently released R2-D2 set. A further three special characters will feature in upcoming LEGO Star Wars sets.
On the subject of connections, the instructions show that you can combine two sets to create a longer corridor. They can be connected at each end via a couple of Technic pins.
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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.
