2018 Star Wars Advent Calendar

I know what you are thinking. This set is a year old, and you are right. I will be looking through last year's advent calendar. I know I am a bit late, but I didn't get this one until Christmas. So, spoiler alert for a set that's a year old.  These are all scheduled posts, because December is a very busy month for me.

Day one starts us off with the Original Trilogy Landspeeder. I actually quite like this build. It is very simplistic, like most of the builds in this set. I do like that one of the engines looks different than the others. I do wish that the front did not have the Technic pin hole. I do like that they used the hollow studs for the engines.

Day two of last years Advent Calendar brought us Rose Tico, the controversial character from The Last Jedi. She also came in the Resistance Transport set from 2017. I didn't mind Rose in The Last Jedi, but I am not one to get needlessly fired up about a movie. I like Rose's hairpiece, and she has an upset alternate face.

Day three brings us the Arrowhead from the Freemaker Adventures. I don't think this was the best build to include, it isn't a very iconic vehicle. I don't think that this is a very good approximation of the vehicle. It just looks like an ugly blob of parts to me.

Day four brings a republic tank from The Clone Wars. I will say the same thing that I said about yesterday's build. I don't think that this is a good approximation of the in-universe vehicle. It isn't bad; it just doesn't look quite like the actual thing. I do like the use of antenna for the cannons, and the use of a Minifigure backplate is pretty cool.

 

Day five's build is a great improvement over the last couple builds. IG-88 is a pretty cool figure. His body and legs are the normal droid parts in grey. The assassin droid's head is made from a cone and a cylinder. I like the print on his "head" quite a bit. IG-88 has a clip on his back which allow his large rifle to be attached to him. I am really happy to get a copy of this figure.

This is probably my favorite build so far. Cloud City made it's appearance in Empire Strikes Back. The main part of the build is made from two dishes of differing size on top of a couple of round tiles. A cone and a 3 brick long bar finish up the bottom. Attached to the side of the city is a Cloud Car, which looks pretty decent for its incredibly low piece count. I like how accurate this looks, despite its small size.

Day 7 brings us a smaller version of the Naboo starfighter from the Phantom Menace. I actually think that this is a really great approximation of the vehicle. The design uses plenty of SNOT for such a small build. As much as I strongly dislike the prequels, some of the designs created are fantastic. This is probably my favorite build so far.

Day 8 brings us the ever abundant B1 Battle Droid. I actually don't have too many of these, so it was a fine addition to my collection. I am honestly not a big fan of this design, and I think it is about time for an update. The droid feels too spindly for my tastes. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it I guess. I am happy to get this, but I feel like something better could have been done in it's place.

Grevious's Starship makes it's appearance in day 9. I really like the in-universe ship. This looks incredibly accurate, and I love the inclusion of the smaller angled plate pieces. I think the color scheme. The wings are a little loose, just because of the way the parts work. I think this is one of the better builds in this set.

And now we get to the ever present cannon build in an Advent Calendar. From what I have seen in other Advent Calendars, small Minfig scale cannons are quite common. This one rotates up and down. There is a stud blaster and a couple of extra studs. I think this is fun for younger kids, but this could have been something much cooler. I don't think these builds are going away, but something else could be done in their place that is more exciting.

Day 11 of the Advent Calendar brings us Rowan Freemaker from the Freemaker Adventures. Do any of you remember that? I never watched any of it, but maybe other people did. The figure has a blue lightsaber accessory. The torso print is really nice, and it has a cool logo on the back. Rowan has no alternate face however.

Day 12 brings us Anakin's Jedi Starfighter. It is honestly a fairly good representation of the vehicle. I do wish that the Astromech droid was blue. It is honestly the most swooshable build in the set. I like that it is fairly easy to reproduce in other colors, so you could have a fleet of Jedi Starfighters for each Jedi.

Day 13 brings the Imperial Troop Transport, which I think was used in Rebels. The build honestly looks like a gray blob. I think it looks kind of like the actual vehicle, but it is a little off. The lever used as the cannon is much too big for this scale, but what can you do?

Day 14 gives us a weapon rack. Yay? I think this build is kinda lame and it should have been something else. The sand blue tile at the bottom is the best part of the set. And maybe the fact that there are not Stud Blasters. I just don't see what you are supposed to do with this.

Day 15 brings a Death Trooper from Rogue One. I love this design for a figure, but I wished the included the version from Director Krennic's Shuttle. It is a good figure nonetheless. He is supposed to use the blasters from the gun rack, which I guess makes it useful? He uses the angry clone head, which I guess is to be expected at this point.

Day 16 brings a Rathtar from the Force Awakens. I like this build and it's incredible use of parts. The back of the creature uses a fez and he tentacles are horn pieces. It is a bit simple but I like it. The gold stud with a hole in it is nice to get as well as the red clip piece.

Another build from The Force Awakens appears today; the Guavian Death Gang member is a better installment of this set. I love the design of this figure is great. The specialized head mold is pretty fantastic, and I love the intricate printing on the torso and legs.

The Special Forces TIE Fighter is a build similar to what we have seen a million times before, but this time there is some red. It does approximate the shape of the vehicle quite well. There are no special pieces to make this build stand out, but it is fairly solid.

The AT-ACT from Rogue One is a fairly decent build. I look forward to the day we can get a full scaled version of the vehicle. I like that they included the orange section in multiple builds, but it is a pity it cannot be removed. The legs move and the figure can have a few poses. The neck also can move back and forth.

Day 20 is the Zeta Class star ship from Rogue One, one of my favorite Star Wars films. I really like this shrunk down version of the ship. The ship has a little orange spot on the bottom where the the Kyber crystals are stored. The ship also has two little turrets on the front. I really like this miniaturized ship. It is a shame it can't share a container with the At-Act.

This build is probably my favorite. It is the speeder bike from Return of the Jedi. I love this build so much. It has perfect proportions even though it doesn't quite fit any pre-established LEGO scale. I love it. It even has a lovely stand that simulates the speeder flying. I love the genius use of the bucket handle as a controls. This build was made by an actual genius!

Ah, finally a Christmas themed build. This is a holiday themed moisture vaporator. I really like that it resembles the Christmas tree. The build (aside from being green) is pretty accurate to the in-universe thing. I really like this one too. These last few days have been really good.

Only a few more days left to go! Day 23 brings us General Merrick. I am really glad to get another character from Rogue One. He is sporting a blue rebel jumpsuit. He has tussled hair and two faces. His accessory is a small blaster. I really like getting this figure. 

Christmas is tomorrow! Can you believe it? The final day brings us a snowman who is wearing General Merrick's Helmet. I think this is a cute way to finish the set. I love the exclusive head  print that can be used basically anywhere. The build is simple, but I really like it.