New Republic E-Wing vs. Shin Hati’s Starfighter

The first thing you should know about this LEGO® set is that it's a two-ship duel pack from the Ahsoka series, and the two ships are not built to the same level of love. The E-wing is the star. It's chunky in the best way, feels great in the hand, and lands right in that sweet spot where a starfighter is big enough to look like something on a shelf but small enough that you'll actually pick it up and swoosh it around the living room. Reviewers kept coming back to how tactile it is, and that really is the word for it. The wings, the cockpit, the little astromech socket, it all comes together into a ship that feels finished.

Then there's Shin Hati's fighter, and I'll be honest with you, it's the weaker half of the box. It's a perfectly nice model with a WWII-fighter-plane silhouette and an unusual color scheme, but next to the E-wing it reads as a little plainer and less developed, like the design team spent their best ideas on the other ship. That's the recurring note in the community too. So if you're buying this expecting two showstoppers, adjust that expectation to one showstopper and one solid supporting act.

The price is the other thing worth sitting with. At $109.99 for 1,056 pieces, the per-piece math is fine but not thrilling, and a big chunk of what you're paying for is the minifigures. The good news is those minifigures are excellent. You get Captain Porter and a New Republic astromech on the good-guy side, and then three villains from Ahsoka: Morgan Elsbeth with a new head and hair, plus Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, both with proper leg printing and Shin with some arm detail too. Getting three named Ahsoka villains in one box is a real draw, and it's a lot of the reason this set holds its value.

So who should grab it? If you're an Ahsoka watcher, or you've been quietly wanting an E-wing on your shelf for the last three decades, this is a happy purchase. The E-wing alone justifies a lot of it and the villains sweeten the deal. Who should skip it? If you only care about display-grade accuracy on both ships, or you're chasing pure parts-per-dollar value, the uneven second model and the minifig-heavy price might nudge you elsewhere. But for the right fan this is a warm, easy recommendation, and it's on its way out, so the window to grab it at retail is closing.

One small heads up if you're a stickler for screen accuracy: onscreen, Baylan and Shin swing lightsabers with a distinctly orange-red tint, and LEGO just gave them standard red blades. It's a tiny thing, but it's the kind of detail the die-hards noticed, so I'll flag it for you.