After my LEGO habit hit a fever-pitch in 2022, I’ve tried to cool off a bit.  I’m a grown man with important things to do!

… but the appeal of building a good LEGO set is hard to ignore, and I can’t resist a good sale.  So it was that I picked up LEGO Star Wars 75333: Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Jedi Starfighter:

I’m not doing very well at putting aside childish things.

This set appealed to me right away.  The prequel trilogy is obviously inferior to the original trilogy (and both are vastly better than the execrable sequel trilogy), but I always loved Obi-Wan’s little Starfighter, and his trip to that planet with the long-necked aliens.  I particularly liked that I’d get one of the long-necked aliens (Taun We) and a plucky astromech droid (R4-P17).

This build was not difficult, as it’s pretty clearly a kid’s set, but it featured some of the fun “logic” I’m starting to see in newer LEGO sets.  The chassis of the ship is very narrow, so LEGO builds up the tailfin of the ship vertically, and the wings and affix to the undercarriage.  The whole design is sleek and aerodynamic, and everything clicked together with a satisfying firmness.

A fresh instruction booklet

End of Bag 1

End of Bag 2

End of Bag 3 – Overhead View

The Complete Fighter (without Astromech Droid)

Undercarriage Lightsaber Storage

Ready for Take Off!

My neighbor’s son—a fellow LEGO fanatic—figured out that the droid’s head goes onto the little grey spinning disk on the port wing while the droid’s body is stored within the ship.  It will sound odd, but I was relieved to know that there was a way for the droid’s entire body to be a part of the ship.

This set was a fun addition to my eclectic collection, and I’d definitely recommend it for a quicker but satisfying build (it probably took me an hour, maybe a bit less, to complete).

Happy Friday!

—TPP