Star Wars

Y-Wing Starfighter

The definitive UCS Y-Wing, and honestly one of LEGO's best-executed display ships.

4.4/5

Set 75181 · 2018

Pieces1,967

Minifigs2

Year2018

Set number75181

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The verdict

If your mate loves Star Wars and wants a big display ship that actually feels solid in the hand, this is an easy yes.

It's the best rendition of the Rebel bomber LEGO has ever made, and it looks great on a shelf. The catch is it's retired now, so prices have climbed well past the original 200 dollars. Grab it if you find it near retail, but don't panic-buy at scalper prices.

Best for: Star Wars fans who want a UCS display ship without a Star Destroyer sized commitment

The full review

What it is

The BTL-A4 Y-Wing is one of the most recognisable ships in all of Star Wars, the workhorse Rebel bomber that flew the trench run at Yavin, and this LEGO® set finally does it proper justice. At 1,967 pieces it's the second official UCS take on the ship, replacing the chunky 2004 version, and putting them side by side the difference is night and day. This one has a slim, detailed fuselage, a proper opening cockpit, spinning ion cannons up top, and those two long exposed engine nacelles that make the Y-Wing look like it's been stripped for parts in the field. It's a set that reads as a serious model rather than a toy, and it earns its Ultimate Collector Series badge.

The catch

Now for the honest bit. This is a retired set, pulled from shelves back in December 2019, so the friendly 199.99 dollar price tag is a thing of the past. Sealed copies routinely trade for well north of 400 dollars now, and a chunk of that value is locked up in the two exclusive minifigs alone. If you can track one down anywhere close to retail, brilliant, snap it up. If you're staring at a 550 dollar listing, take a breath and decide how badly you want it. The build itself also asks for patience: those gorgeous engines involve a lot of repetitive greebling, placing tiny detail pieces over and over, which some builders loved and others found a bit of a grind. There's also more cockpit stickering than a set at this level really ought to have, which is a common gripe.

Who it's for

So who's this for? Anyone who wants a proper UCS display ship but isn't ready to commit shelf space (and a mortgage) to a UCS Star Destroyer or Millennium Falcon. It's big and impressive without being absurd, it sits nicely on the included tilting stand with its info plaque, and it's sturdy enough that you can actually pick it up and show it off without bits pinging across the room. Skip it if you're purely after play features for a kid, or if the aftermarket price makes your wallet wince, there are cheaper ways to get a Y-Wing on a shelf. But for a Star Wars fan who wants the definitive version of this ship, it delivers exactly what it promises. Community scores back that up, sitting around 4.4 out of 5 on Brickset.

The parts story

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

The build breaks into logical chunks and paces itself nicely. You start with the central fuselage and cockpit, which is where a lot of the clever internal Technic framing lives to keep the whole thing rigid, then move out to the two big engine nacelles. Those engines are the heart of the build: long runs of small detail pieces, plates, clips, bars and greebles layered on to capture that exposed, mechanical look. It's satisfying when a section clicks into shape, though be warned the two nacelles are near identical, so you're essentially doing the same detailed sequence twice. The cockpit opens for Gold Leader, the ion cannons on top actually rotate via a wheel, and there are retractable landing skids plus a slot for the astromech.

On the parts front, the value story is strong for LEGO fans. You get 1,967 pieces for the original 200 dollars, which is well under 11 cents a part for a licensed UCS set, and the box is stuffed with useful greebling elements, clips, bars, cheese slopes and small plates in Rebel-friendly grey and tan. The real collector draw is the two exclusive minifigs: Gold Leader, the callsign of Jon Dutch Vander who flew at both Scarif and Yavin, and R2-BHD (nicknamed Tooby) from Rogue One, who made his very first LEGO appearance here. Both are unique to this set, which is a big reason sealed copies command the prices they do.

Fun facts

01The set launched on May the 4th 2018, Star Wars Day, and retails as the second official UCS Y-Wing after the 2004 original.
02R2-BHD, Gold Leader's astromech nicknamed Tooby from Rogue One, appeared as a LEGO minifigure for the very first time in this set.
03Gold Leader is Jon Dutch Vander, who flew both at the Battle of Scarif and the fatal bombing run on the Death Star at Yavin.
04It retired in December 2019 after less than two years, and sealed copies have since climbed well past double their original 199.99 dollar price.