LEGO Star Wars’ smaller and cheaper sets were inspired by the response to a 2018 model

The LEGO Star Wars design team says this year’s smaller and cheaper sets were inspired by the response to a 2018 model.

So far, 2021 has brought us much more accessible versions of classic LEGO Star Wars ships in 75300 Imperial TIE Fighter, 75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-wing Fighter and 75302 Imperial Shuttle. That line-up will be joined by 75312 Boba Fett’s Starship in August – and it was actually a previous version of Slave I that inspired the LEGO Group to adopt this wallet-friendly format.

“We thought that the prices of these classic models had become relatively high, with an X-wing at $90 or €90,” LEGO Star Wars Creative Lead Jens Kronvold Frederiksen tells Brick Fanatics at this year’s LEGO Fan Media event. “And then we thought, ‘Hey, there must be something we can do here.’

“We saw the reviews of 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City, and especially how people were reviewing the mini Slave I. And then we thought, ‘Hey, maybe we can make super-cool models that are scaled down.’ The brief that I gave to the designers was to make a cool X-wing or TIE fighter with the same level of detail – and preferably also [the same] features and functions – but almost half the price.”

Where 75300 Imperial TIE Fighter was concerned, fulfilling that brief meant carrying over the design aesthetic established by 2012’s 9492 TIE Fighter. And for Design Manager Michael Lee Stockwell, the success of that set ultimately determined the fate of the new format.

“We had raised the bar back then with the design of the wing,” Michael explains. “We didn’t really want to step backwards and have to leave out the edge detail that we’d created. So that was the first study to see, okay, if we’re going to go this route, scale-wise, will we be able to provide that detail? And it worked out, so now you can get two models for what you’ve been paying for one X-wing.”

75300 Imperial TIE Fighter, 75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-wing Fighter and 75302 Imperial Shuttle are all available now, while 75312 Boba Fett’s Starship will join the range on August 1. You can check out reviews of all four sets by hitting the links below:

75300 Imperial TIE Fighter
75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-wing Fighter
75302 Imperial Shuttle
75312 Boba Fett’s Starship

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