Gear

LEGO Resistance X-Wing: Affordable but misses the mark

Admin March 16, 2021

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After taking a look at the new LEGO Imperial Shuttle and Hoth Microfighters that launched earlier this month, we’re now moving onto the last of the latest Star Wars creations. Designed with younger builders in mind, we’re taking a hands-on look at the new LEGO Resistance X-Wing to see if it’s an affordable price tag and smaller design that make it worth adding to your collection.

Hands-on with the new LEGO Resistance X-Wing

First things first, the new LEGO Resistance X-Wing isn’t geared toward your average builder. Previously the creation would have entered into the LEGO Juniors lineup of kits before that branding was changed to being a 4+ kit. Fitting that target audience has resulted in a much more simplistic build that ditches some of the more authentic features for the essentials.

Stacking up to 60 pieces, the build is far from intricate, relying on plenty of larger bricks to pull off the X-Wing’s iconic design. Despite being one the simpler side of things, the LEGO Resistance X-Wing still manages to pack in many of the expected play features.

It really wouldn’t be an X-Wing if the kit couldn’t expand its S-Foils into attack position, and this model delivers on that. The design isn’t anywhere as intricate as the higher-end version of the iconic starfighter from earlier in the year, but it does the trick.

Otherwise, there’s no landing gear or anything of the sort that fits into the category of more detail-oriented features. The engines are quite simple and do a fine job at pulling off the source material for the size, but aren’t too accurate by any means. Though in contrast to the corners cut by the more affordable design, there are some nice printed pieces that are certainly a noteworthy inclusion, considering even some of the more expensive sets lack that luxury.

A closer look at the included minifigures

To round out the kit, The LEGO Group includes a Poe Dameron minifigure as well as his trusty droid companion, BB-8. Neither of the figures are unique to the build, with both Poe and the droid appearing in quite a number of kits over the years. Printing is pretty consistent across the two inclusions, and the dual-molded Resistance Pilot helmet design is still pretty slick.

For the price, the two included characters are actually pretty solid here all things considered. It’s one of the more affordable ways to bring home the two Sequel Trilogy icons, and it’s been over a year since either of the minifigures were released in a new kit from The LEGO Group. So consider this one area where the build excels.

Should you buy the LEGO Resistance X-Wing

Clocking in at $19.99, the new LEGO Resistance X-Wing only features 60 pieces. While that price per part ratio is far lower than we’d like to see, it is worth pointing out that most of the bricks included in this build are on the larger side. The size of the model isn’t really the issue either, it’s the overall lack of completeness.

Even for a creation geared toward younger builders, it’s just missing some overall value to really make this set worth the cash. If The LEGO Group had included a First Order Stormtrooper for Poe to fight against, that would drastically improve the experience. But as it stands now, there’s not much to make the LEGO Resistance X-Wing stand out. At least not enough to make it worth adding to your cart.

9to5Toys’ Take

At the end of the day, the new LEGO Resistance X-Wing is a tougher sell than any of the other Star Wars creations introduced this year. $20 goes a long way in the LEGO world these days, so for the amount you’d spend on this kit you could bring a number of better builds to your collection. Sure, the emphasis on younger builders is worth something, but there are still kits that I’d easily recommend over this one for the price.

Unless your little one is the biggest fan of X-Wing in general or has been eyeing up BB-8, this kit is unfortunately just not worth the cash. There are some redeeming aspects, but at the price point, it’s just too tough to recommend, especially for older builders.

If The LEGO Group had entered the new Resistance X-Wing at a more affordable price, maybe $15 for instance, it would be been a much easier recommendation. So when we inevitably see a discount on this one, it might be worth giving this one another chance. But until then, better spend your cash on one of the other LEGO kits we’ve reviewed.