Pieces: 295
MSRP: $69.99
Theme: Star Wars / Smart Bricks
Best For: Star Wars kids, Smart Brick newcomers, kids 7-12
StudSon saw the Smart Brick demo at the LEGO Store. I watched his face. I knew immediately that we were buying it. That is how set 75421 ended up in our house. Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, Smart Brick included. He built it. It has been flying around the living room ever since. Vader has breathed approximately four thousand times. Here are our thoughts, which are very different from each other.
The Build Experience
295 pieces and a straightforward build, designed so a younger builder can get through it without help. StudSon had it done in one afternoon. The Smart Brick goes in at the end and that is when everything changes. Vader’s breathing kicks in, the Imperial March plays, the laser sounds fire up, and suddenly you are not looking at a set anymore. You are looking at a kid who has completely forgotten you exist. That part LEGO absolutely nailed.
StudDad’s Take
The open back bothers me. I want to get that on the table first. LEGO had to make the Smart Brick accessible so kids can swap it between sets, and I understand that decision, and I still do not like looking at the back of the TIE Fighter and seeing a rectangular hole where there should be a finished panel. It is a design compromise that only bothers adults. StudSon has never once mentioned it.
Then the price. Sixty-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents for 295 pieces. You are paying for two things: the Star Wars license, which is never cheap, and the Smart Brick technology, which has real development costs behind it. If you do not own a Smart Brick yet, this set is your entry point and that changes the math a little. The smaller Smart Play sets that come without a brick are priced much more reasonably once you have one in the house. You have to start somewhere. I just wish somewhere started at a better price.
What I cannot argue with: watching StudSon use this exactly the way LEGO intended it. Swooshing it around the living room, shooting everything, playing the Imperial March at 7am on a Saturday. The technology works. The experience is real. My complaints are adult complaints. This set was never made for me.
StudSon’s Take
VADER BREATHES. He literally breathes and it sounds exactly like the movie. The swooshing sound when you fly it is perfect. The lasers fire and make the right sound. The Imperial March plays and it is the actual song, not a cheap fake version. There is a fueling station feature and when you do it correctly the sounds change and I think that might be the coolest thing LEGO has ever built into any set ever. I told StudDad about it and he did say it was pretty cool, which from him means it is incredible.
I give it 9 out of 10. It loses one point because Vader does not actually say any words. He just breathes and makes dramatic sounds. I wanted him to say something scary like in the movies but he does not talk. That is my one complaint and it is a real complaint. Still 9 out of 10 though because the breathing sounds are honestly so good.
Should You Buy It?
Do not pay $69.99. Set a price alert and wait for it to drop to $55 or less. May the 4th sales, Black Friday, holiday sales — this kind of set moves on discount and it is worth waiting for. At around $55 the value math works out and you get a Smart Brick in the house, which opens up the rest of the Smart Play lineup at much better prices per piece.
If you have a Star Wars kid who has not stopped talking about the demo at the LEGO Store, you know what you are going to do. Just try to do it on sale.