Naboo yellow

Barring a couple of the Y-wings and some of the Jedi interceptors, there isn't an awful lot of yellow in the Star Wars cannon, for some reason.  The big exception is the Naboo starfighter which is pretty much defined by its yellowness.  

I will be open that this was never my favourite vehicle: it comes from my least favourite Star Wars film and is noted for being piloted by a very irksome Anakin Skywalker.  I think they wanted it to be beautiful and streamlined but I feel it misses on this, even in the film.  The Lego versions do their best to try and capture the flowing lines but are hampered by the brick nature.  As such, I've never been a fan of these.

Over the years, Lego have released 5 minifig-sized versions, albeit one of them not including any minifigs and being (just about) part of the UCS series. Way back in 1999, one of the first SW sets was the "Naboo Fighter" (7141).  For its time, it was pretty good but, in my humble opinion, it's not really stood the test of time in the same way that some of those very early sets have.  The lack of curved slopes really comes to the fore here and make it very blocky.  

In 2002, the UCS version (10026) was released.  This one is definitely my favourite of the Naboo starfighters: apart from the chrome silver front (looks really smart), the fact that the rear doesn't try to fit in minifigs means that it ends up being much more streamlined. Here's a photo of these two:

It was then another 5 years before 7660 was released in 2007.  This version includes a vulture droid and just 3 minifigs.  You do get a spring loaded rubber bolt on the bottom and this version definitely sets the mould for later versions.  Anakin looks suitably frightened!

After this, 7877 in 2011 and 75092 in 2015 returned very similar overall designs (the underside improved) and basically did what Lego has been doing for years: add more minifigs and extra little side vehicles.  7877 features 6 figs and 75092 no less than 9 plus four bits of accessory. 

Putting aside the UCS version, 7877 is probably my favourite... just.

A final parting thought: one of the things that has always bothered me most about the prequel films is that this set highlights that Obi Wan and R2-D2 (and C-3PO) were all well acquainted in Anakin's youth.  Yet in A New Hope, he shows no recollection of two droids he spent a very significant amount of time with!  No explanation...

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