Star Wars

X-Wing Starfighter

The third crack at a UCS X-Wing, and easily the best one yet.

Set 75355 · 2023

Pieces1,949

Minifigs2

Year2023

Set number75355

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The verdict

If your mate has ever wanted Luke's Red Five sitting on the shelf, this is the one to get.

It finally nails the hexagonal fuselage the older versions fudged, the greebling is spot on, and it looks fantastic on the angled display stand. It's got a few honest flaws and it's a fairly quick build for a UCS set, but as a display piece it's genuinely lovely. Tell them to grab it, especially now that it's on the way out.

Best for: Star Wars fans who buy sets to display, not to swoosh

The full review

What it is

This is the LEGO® set a lot of Star Wars fans had been waiting years for. The X-Wing was one of the two original Ultimate Collector Series sets back in 2000, and it got a second run in 2013, but neither quite got the shape right. This 2023 version is the one that finally does. At 56cm long it's bigger than the old 10240 Red Five, and the big win is the fuselage: it actually reads as that tricky hexagonal cross-section instead of a rounded-off approximation. Add in balanced greebling all over the hull and the classic S-foils that open into attack position, and you've got a model that looks the part from every angle. It sits on an angled brick-built stand with a printed info plaque, and there's a spot for Luke with his lightsaber next to it.

The catch

Now the honest bits. For a set this size and price, it builds surprisingly fast, and the back half gets repetitive because you're assembling the same engine four times over. Some reviewers felt a touch short-changed on build time for the money, even though $239.99 is actually pretty reasonable by UCS standards. There are a few finish niggles too: the round Technic pieces in the laser cannons aren't snug and can rattle, there's some visible gapping in the nose, and the exposed Technic pins between the engines and fuselage are the kind of thing you notice once and can't unsee. It's also not built for play. Panels can dislodge and the wings sag if you grab it wrong, so this is a shelf piece, not a swooshing toy.

Who it's for

So who's it for? Anyone who wants the definitive display X-Wing without building a MOC or hunting down the old versions. If your mate loves the original trilogy and has the space to show it off, they'll be thrilled with it. The one genuinely odd choice is R2-D2 being a minifig plunked into a slot behind the cockpit rather than a scaled build, and it does throw the look off a little. But that's a small gripe against a model that finally gets the most famous ship in the galaxy right. It's leaving shelves now, so if they've been on the fence, this is the nudge to grab it before it's gone.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build splits into the fuselage, the four wings, and the display stand, and it's an enjoyable ride with real pockets of cleverness. The core comes together with modern wedge plates and curved panels rather than the brick-heavy approach of older X-Wings, which is what lets it hit that hexagonal body shape. The wings are brick-built for all the colour blocking and paneling, so you get the red-and-white striping laid down piece by piece rather than relying on stickers for everything. Where it drags a bit is the engines: each of the four is basically the same sub-assembly, so by the fourth one you're on autopilot. Still, it's a satisfying afternoon and never feels like a slog until that final stretch.

For parts nerds there's proper stuff to enjoy. The headline new mould is the 3x3x2 quarter-round panel in light bluish gray, and you get sixteen of them forming the engine intakes. It's the first two-brick-tall studless panel LEGO has made, curved or otherwise. There are useful recolours too: four white 3x3x2 round bricks with recessed centres (set-exclusive at launch), a dark bluish gray game controller tile, and eight sand blue 1L Technic pin connectors. The info plaque is printed for the first time on a UCS stand rather than stickered, which is a nice touch. Luke's the collectible headliner though, with a fresh printed torso and arms and the first-ever rebel pilot legs done in dual-mould. For 1,949 pieces at its price, the part-count value stacks up well for a display-grade UCS set.

Fun facts

01This is the third UCS X-Wing, following 7191 in 2000 (one of the two sets that launched the entire Ultimate Collector Series) and 10240 in 2013.
02It introduced a brand-new element, the 3x3x2 curved quarter-round panel, which was LEGO's first two-brick-tall studless panel, and sixteen of them form the engine intakes.
03Rather than copying the curved-slope bases of other modern UCS sets, its display stand deliberately recreates the look of the original 7191 X-Wing's stand from 2000.
04Luke Skywalker here is the first rebel pilot minifigure ever given dual-moulded legs, alongside a new printed torso and arms.