[Review] 4502 X-Wing (Dagobah Version)

[searrius]

Set Number: 4502

Name: X-wing Fighter

Theme: Star Wars, Episodes IV-VI

Released: 2004

Pieces: 554

Minifigs: 3

MSRP: $50 USD

Brickset | BrickLink

This is another discontinued set I picked up from Bricklink in used/like-new condition - although this time there was no box, the instructions are falling apart and a couple pieces were missing or in wrong colors. It was on sale though, and I was able to replace the necessary parts from my existing collection so I could finish building it and review it for all you nice folks here

Instructions

The manual I received has obviously seen better days (the outer pages, at least). It has the same picture that was used for this set in S@H catalogs, as well as on the box I didn't get.

Random page, showing construction of Yoda's humble abode. Strangely the part colors were rather inconsistent from one page to the next, which served to keep things exciting, though not in a particularly helpful way

The last page has a nifty scene from the Hoth hangar. Trivia - all three of those sets were released in 2004, but only this one still used the old gray/brown colors.

Minifigs

From left to right: Yoda, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2

This is one of three sets the sage, old, non-Clone-Wars-style Jedi master came in. Luke in his Dagobah outfit (which looks Rambo-esque to me, in a good way) was unique to this set. R2-D2, on the other hand, has been in a number of different sets.

Yoda's torso has printing on the back and Luke wears an interesting brick-built backpack.

Since the set comes with two lightsabers, it's not too much of a stretch to start imagining an epic duel between Luke and Yoda.

Thanks to this set I'm now the proud owner of eight Lukes and four Artoo-Detoos. This picture makes me think of those scenes aboard the Baseships in Battlestar Galactica with all the duplicate Cylon models.

Completed Set

Here it is, in all its glory Lego thoughtfully provides extra seaweed pieces so that you can give your finished X-wing that authentic just-got-pulled-out-of-a-swamp-using-the-force look that's all the rage these days (swamp slug not included).

Luke's X-wing

"That's right, space cadets: statistics show there are at least 47 TIE fighters out there just waiting for you to blow them to smithereens. Join the ranks of the Rebel Alliance's X-wing pilots today!!"

Yoda lends a hand showing off some of the X-wing's highlights. Here we see the sweet retractable front landing gear. Now that I think about it, I can't remember ever seeing an X-wing's rear undercarriage in the movies, so I guess maybe I can't blame Lego too much for not putting as much effort into the rear "landing gear" on this model.

A handy (and, I believe, canon) storage compartment can be found underneath the cockpit.

Turning this gear on the back switches the wings from flight mode to attack mode. The mechanism uses an internal worm gear to make it stay where you set it, and a couple pairs of rubber bands hold the wings tight against the knobs sandwiched between them.

Here you can kinda make out the knobs that push the wings up and down into the attack position. Also, on either side of the front landing gear you can see the inverted slope pieces that support the back of the model.

Yoda's House

"Slimy? Mudhole? My home this is!"

I like how they made it circular like it's supposed to be (except for the back side). And the entrance is nicely Yoda-sized

The roof is a brown inverted dish piece with an awesome gnarly tree roots design (no stickers here!).

The walls fold out to provide access to the interior, which includes a number of details from the movies, such as a makeshift oven and Luke's cup of creepy stew from ESB, and Yoda's bed from ROTJ.

Underneath the bed is a form-fitting compartment for a lightsaber hilt... and lightsaber blade

Bonus Pics

Closing Thoughts

I bought the first Lego X-wing (#7140) way back in 1999 (I think it might have been my first Star Wars set, in fact). I personally feel this one (along with #6212, which is very similar) does a better job of recreating the look of the model used in the films. I also prefer this one's fancy mechanism for switching to/from attack mode to #7140's simple use of click hinges (I do realize that might be a personal opinion kind of thing). And of course only #4502 has Yoda's house

Build: 8/10 - Not boring or too repetitive; the contrast between the X-wing and Yoda's house provides some nice variety. Unfortunately it's somewhat hindered by the color printing issues in the instructions.

Design: 8/10 - Although the Yoda's house is more open-aired than I'd prefer, the X-wing has a strong resemblance to the models used in the films.

Construction: 9/10 - The X-wing is very solid and stands up well to swooshing-related duress. The folding walls and hinged roof on the house are a nice touch as far as playability.

Parts: 8/10 - I may not use all the parts from this set again, but there are plenty of good ones here in a number of colors.

Price: 10/10 - The original U.S. MSRP had a lower than $0.10 price-per-piece, which isn't too shabby for a licensed Star Wars set.

Total: 8.6/10 - All in all, a pretty good set.

Edit: Image hosting changed to Brickshelf.

Edited May 4, 2010 by searrius

[ADHO15]

Darn it. I was going to do this one, but seeing as you did a far better job than I could have done, I don't mind at all!

Amazing review, searrius! Excellent pics and well-talked about.

Very well done!

Welcome to Eurobricks too, by the way!

[Mraz Skintas]

A very nice review of a wonderful set. Thank you Yoda for being our tour guide today, and searrius for the presentation. I hope to see some more reviews from you in the future.

Enjoy your stay.

-'Skintas

[Henning M.]

Nice review, brings back memories from when I built the X-wing fighters. And yes the picture from Hoth inspired me at the time to try a layoutbuild of the inside of the rebelbase. Maybe that should be tried again. It is so often the outside is built as a large diorama. Well let us see. It is a jubilee of sorts next year in LEGO star wars. Interresting things might happen

And maybe a similar review of Lukes landspeeder when it is reissued next year.

Best regards Henning M.

[Big Cam]

Nice work, our list of reviews needed is shrinking!

As an owner of the most recent X-wing I see no need to obtain this version since they are so similiar, but you covered the review nicely.

[DarkFader]

Really nice review of one of my personal favorite sets; the X-wing is an improvement over the old one and the inclusion of Yoda's hut is great. It's good that I got this for my birthday back in '04 since I don't think I would have spent my cash on it because of it's high price.

Edited December 12, 2009 by DarkFader

[prateek]

I love this set, it is probably my favourite SW set ever, but I didn't get it. Time to go cry in a corner.

[drdavewatford]

Great review of a very nice set - thanks !

Given that I have 4 other X-Wings (7140, 7142, 7191 and 6212, not to mention a number of mini versions) it would have been hard to justify paying over the odds for this on eBay were it not for Yoda's hut which is great ! Some nice colours and interesting pieces.

A good set, but if all you're interesting in is the X-Wing itself then go for 6212 which is still available, rather than paying double the original price for this version.

Dr. D.

[KAFX]

This was one of the first Star Wars Lego sets in the house. Thanks for the blast from the past. Yoda's Hut has never been equalled.

[RileyC]

I really like this set because of the additional bits you don't get from the other x-wings. Yoda's hut looks really cool and its cool how you can open it up. The weeds on the x-wing is clever and the look really good.

Great Review!

[searrius]

Great review of a very nice set - thanks !

Given that I have 4 other X-Wings (7140, 7142, 7191 and 6212, not to mention a number of mini versions) it would have been hard to justify paying over the odds for this on eBay were it not for Yoda's hut which is great ! Some nice colours and interesting pieces.

A good set, but if all you're interesting in is the X-Wing itself then go for 6212 which is still available, rather than paying double the original price for this version.

Dr. D.

I want to note that, like I said in the review, I did get this set on sale from Bricklink and actually only had to pay ~$67 plus shipping. Obviously that's a long way from double the price, which was good for me since I'm anything but rich. In fact, given how much Star Wars sets are marked up nowadays I bet you could expect to pay almost that much for this set (if it were being sold now) from a store like Toys 'R' Us... especially if you had to pay sales tax. Just sayin' - and I don't mean to imply that everyone will be able to get the deal I got, because unfortunately that's probably not too likely.

Anywho, thank you for the nice feedback everyone!

[CommanderFox]

Very nice Review searrius.

I really liked this set, as it came with yoda's hovel, which I personally Loved!

It was really nice seeing pics of the inside of it.

The X-wing is very nice, but I think that Lego did a better job with the remake 6212, which I own.

Nice review!

CommanderFox

[def]

Great review. I have 6212, so I won't be tracking down this set, but Dagobah Luke and the Yoda house are certainly nice!