Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle

Some time ago, I started collecting the parts for Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle (75104) with the intention of doing a rebuild.  Because I wasn't totally convinced I had all the parts, this was one of the last sets out of the storage boxes.  As it turned out, I was only missing about 4 bricks which duly arrived from Bricklink during the week with my Friday night then obvious.

I built up the more recent 2019 version (75256) sometime last year and at the time realised that these share a distinct heritage.  The obvious difference is that the original 2015 version is in dark bluish grey whereas the more recent one is slightly more striking in black.  The more recent version also has some more detailing in it but still comes out at the same number of bricks (1005)!

However, they do both share a very similar mechanism for the arms... and I very nearly did what I did last time and end up building the wings backwards.  

Overall, this set looks nice but has relatively limited playability - you get the wings, a cockpit that opens up at the front and back and has a ramp and two spring shooters... but that's it. For 1000+ bricks, you think they could squeeze a bit more in!

 

The biggest problem with doing a rebuild for this one was buying the minifigs - the Kylo Ren figure is now quite expensive.  However, the minifigs did bring something interesting on a personal basis.  I'm 99% sure that the "First Order Officer" is modelled on someone I actually vaguely knew once upon a time.  Specifically, the actress in the film (Kate Fleetwood) grew up in the same town as I did and her sister was the singer in a band I played bass for in my early 20s.  I was going to say that this is the only minifig of someone I've met, but actually that's probably not true as I crossed paths with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) at university.  And I spent quite a few new year's eves in the company of Argus Filch (David Bradley) as a teenager.  So, maybe this is the only minifig I own which is based on someone I have met.  

Update (24/5/22).  I've now gotten to deconstructing both sets and I realised that there is one key difference between the two versions: the 2019 set has wings that angle.  It had been sat on the shelf for a while.  I think I prefer the updated version.  Some more photos:






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