The X-Men has been a popular part of the Marvel universe since the early 60s. In the early 90’s they leapt to the small screen in the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series. They also lit up the big screen in Fox’s Marvel Universe. Now back under the creative control of Marvel Studios, Mutant-kind is slowly being introduced into the MCU and one of the first major X-Men projects is the continuation of the animated series. Later this year, X-Men ’97 will revisit the characters and stories of the original cartoon. The return of the X-Men has also seen them inspire various LEGO® sets. Following on from the Wolvering buildable figure and a trio of characters in the second series of collectable minifigures is a new version of the X-Jet. Here’s a closer look at this brand-new LEGO Marvel set.
Product Details
Set Name: X-Men X-Jet | Set Number: 76281 | Pieces: 359 | Theme: Marvel
RRP: £74.99/$84.99/84.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 4 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Characters: Cyclops, Rogue, Magneto and Wolverine | Insiders QR: Yes
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
The X-Men first appeared in LEGO form during the advent of the Marvel Super Heroes theme in 2012. A LEGO X-Jet would also be released in 2014. They wouldn’t appear in LEGO sets again until last year. Now the characters are being introduced in various MCU projects, this particular set takes inspiration from the upcoming Disney+ animated series, X-Men ’97. The set features the X-Men’s X-Jet craft along with four characters from the show. It could be considered a remake of the set from 2104, as that also included the jet and some of the same characters. There’s a lone sheet of stickers, which add detail to the set, mostly to the interior.
The X-Jet is an iconic part of the X-Men series, even when the craft appeared in live-action, it largely kept the same design. This new version is very similar to the 2014 set, which is to be expected due to the source material. It does make use of a few newer elements to help give it a slightly tweaked design. Most noticeable is the front section of the jet. On the underside of the X-Jet are a pair of bolt missiles along with two stud shooters. These are built into a sort of landing ‘gear’ which helps the set to lay stable on a flat surface.
The interior can be accessed by flipping up the two different coloured canopy plates. Opening these uncovers two cockpit areas where three minifigures can be seated. Most of the stickers are used here and they add some nice detail, in particular to the two screens. Just behind the rear section of the jet is a pair of ‘mailbox’ elements, which can be removed and used to store the extra stud shooter ammo.
The set includes four characters, some of whom have previously appeared as minifigures. The most prevalent of those is Wolverine. He appeared in the original X-Jet set and a Mighty Micro set along with the recent mech suit and Marvel minifigures series. However, his appearance in this set is the most disappointing thing about it. The minifigure is wearing the same outfit as the Series 2 minifigure but for some strange reason, it loses the dual-moulded legs and arm print. The yellow printing on the blue legs is washed out and also has a slight break in the print, which makes it look poorly finished. All this makes the version is this set, extremely disappointing.
Thankfully, the other characters fare a lot better, with Cyclops also returning from the 2014 set with an updated appearance and hair, which makes this a much better representation of the character. Magneto also appeared in the 2024 set but has had a bit of a makeover for this new set. His new look is very retro, the M logo torso screams 60’s chic and this lost his iconic helmet for flowing white locks. It’s not what you’d expect Magento to look like, but I quite like that it offers something unique. Finally, a fan-favourite mutant appears for the first time in minifigure-form. Rogue played a major part in the original series and the live-action films, her appearance in this set is based on the original 90s TV.
It’s great to see the X-Men appear in more LEGO sets, however, the pricing of this set is too high in my opinion. Thankfully, it’s not as bad as the recent set inspired by The Marvels, but for what the set is the price tag feels far too much. What’s even more disappointing is you are paying a premium for the set and you’re getting an inferior version of Wolverine. It’s especially annoying due to the fact a far better version of the character was already created. I hope we see more X-Men characters appear in future sets. Now the characters are set to appear in upcoming MCU films such as Deadpool, I expect we’ll see more mutant minifigures. If nothing else, the X-Jet is great when combined with the X-Men characters from the series 2 Marvel minifigures. (Please note Beast and Storm are not included in this set)
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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.
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