
The line of LEGO Star Wars minis is an interesting one indeed. It's strange to see how a large, detailed model can be transformed into an equally accurate small one. This seems to have been done well here.... But has it?
Name: (Mini) Jedi Starfighter (depending on who you ask)
Theme: Star Wars Minis
Year: 2005
Pieces: 38
Minifigs: None
Price: Unknown, as it was given away as a promotion
I quite like the mini JSF. It manages to capture the elegance of a normal starfighter in many fewer bricks. Highly swooshable, it excels in small dogfights; however, lacking any companion vehicles in its same scale range, its dogfights are rather one-sided. On a side note, although the design of the fighter excels, apparently the piece-sorting machine didn't: I received 2 of my 38 pieces in incorrect colors. If one looks closely, one can see where my fighter differs from the instructions... can you?
The Box (or Bag)

There's nothing really special about the bag; it shows the fighter in a nice swooshing pose, yes, but when one considers the rest of the set, the bag is merely icing on the cake.
Instructions


The instructions, as one can see, are a single sheet, lacking piece call-outs. However, on a set this small, that doesn't really matter. The colors are easy to tell apart, unlike some instruction books.
Pieces

You may note only 37 pieces there. The missing piece is a white 1x1x(1/3) round. It, along with the other (extra) short Technic pin, have vanished over the years, probably into my cases of bricks.
The Main Model

You can see the entire model at a glance here; it's fairly sturdy, but may be a little fragile unless you reinforce the bottom. I recommend a 2x2 rounded-bottom piece. That's one of the beautiful things about this model; it's very easily strengthened and highly customizable, as per LEGO tradition.
The Back

Some may find the rear of this model slightly lacking; the engines simply being two cylinders. This, as you may observe, is where the disparity occurs between my model and the instructions, my model having two light gray cylinders as engines whereas the instructions (and Peeron's inventory) say they are intended to be dark gray.
Final Thoughts/Ratings

The Ratings:
Playability/Swooshability: 10/10 (very swooshable)
Design:9/10 (If the engines had a bit more structure, it'd be better)
Price: 10/10 (free is always good, but if you're buying it, $5.00 is a good limit)
Overall:9.5/10 (A few flaws, but excellent overall)
Peeron
Brickset
BrickLink
Although the Jedi Starfighter may have some minor flaws, it is a fine set overall. I would think the gray/dark gray oddity is limited to probably only a few sets, and therefore cannot really be counted as a flaw. If one added to the engines a little, it's be perfect. If I saw another one of these up for sale for under $5.00, I'd buy it. Heavily customizable and very swooshable, I rank this among my favorite Star Wars Minis.
Brickshelf gallery with one additional picture

What is this? Some kind of cruel joke?



















