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Resistance & Poe's X-Wing


Mike

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Star Wars - The Force Awakens
Resistance & Poe's X-Wing

Revell


boxtop.jpg

boxtop.jpg


Well, if you've had your head jammed behind a wardrobe for the last six months it might be news to you that we're being treated to a new Star Wars film under the Disney auspices, with J.J.Abrams at the helm. A raft of new characters, the return of some of the old favourites, and a host of new hardware will be gracing our screens as of December 2015, and quite frankly I can't wait!

The new X-Wing is a sleeked-down aerodynamically superior design, with a shorter nose, and new interlocking airfoils. The intakes for the engines are also new, with a reduced frontal profile and semi-circular shape that were initially criticised for having half a fan in each one, before folks realised they were more akin to a tea-strainer than actual fans… and this is Sci-Fi. Puny humans! They have a new style astro-droid in the shape of BB-8, which has a similar "head" to an R2 unit, but a spherical body with internal stabilisation (I'm rationalising Sci-Fi again, aren't I?). Poe's X-Wing is a darker colour than the standard, to differentiate him from the crowds during the frantic battle sequences.

The Kit
The first thing to get straight is that this is a kit, but it is firmly aimed at the younger audience, and has been simplified with them in mind, as well as being provided with a small sound-module that also has some lighting effects built in. inside the box the parts are held firmly by two vacuum formed clear end caps, with the smaller parts in a small polythene bag, with the parts being identical between both kits, with only the base plastic colour and painting differing between them. There are 18 parts for you to put together, and if I'm honest I'm quite impressed with the quality of the detail, although it's probably not up to a serious modeller's standards without some upgrades. That said though, it builds up in just a couple of minutes in the hands of an adult of limited intelligence such as this reviewer, and when it's done it looks really nice. Seriously! I've only shown the parts from the Resistance kit, as the lighter plastic shows the detail off better than the darker stuff of Poe's ride.

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It is moulded in ABS rather than normal styrene, as it gives a lot more strength to the finished model. It has some fun features like a retractable nose gear and removable main gear legs, plus an opening canopy in painted clear, and of course a little button in the shape of BB-8's head that activates one of three sounds. If you've watched the videos I posted up the other day, you'll be pleased to know that they're a lot better than the audio would suggest, and they are as follows:

  1. Firing cannons
  2. A general swooshing sound
  3. A muddled sound with a rather unconvincing electric swoosh

The cannons are a lift from the previous films (I think), while the 2nd and 3rd samples are a bit poor compared to the cannon fire. There are no lights on this one, as the module is situated below BB-8 (who has a slightly oversized head, presumably to make it easier for little hands to press the button) but some cockpit lights might have been nice.

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Poe's X-Wing

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The famous X-wing airfoils split for "attack-position", revealing some nice moulded in detail between them, but when you want them closed, you'll need to apply some light thumb pressure to get them to sit flush, or the whistling as you fly through the atmosphere will be terrible!!!!

Conclusion
If you buy it expecting a highly detailed model of a new Resistance, or Poe's X-Wing, you might be a tad disappointed, although I think that it has potential if you're willing to put the effort in to turn it into a "proper" model. I was a little concerned that this one was going to be way too short in the nose from the PR materials, but it doesn't look too bad in the flesh, which is a relief.

If you're a kid with a liking for Star Wars however, it will seem absolutely awesome to you, and I can't wait for my five year-old to see them when he comes home from school. As a bit of an update, the older Resistance X-Wing kit has endured much play at the hands of my son and his friends, with all the parts fully intact, including the wingtip cannons, which is a testament to their strength, as he's a big lad for his age, and as clumsy as you'd expect.

Highly recommended if you understand what you're getting in the box.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update: My son absolutely loves these lights (on some of them) and sound Star Wars kits, and hasn't stopped playing with them since he got them. My other half is also well impressed... that's a hearty vote of confidence for them :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pfff... it's a good inch or two shorter than the level 2 kit, and it is 218mm from stem to stern. The larger Level 2 is 1:50 and is 251mm long. Does that help at all? :shrug::lol::wacko:

If not, try 1:78, which I got from Revell's site here! :lol:

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Pfff... it's a good inch or two shorter than the level 2 kit, and it is 218mm from stem to stern. The larger Level 2 is 1:50 and is 251mm long. Does that help at all? :shrug::lol::wacko:

If not, try 1:78, which I got from Revell's site here! :lol:

Cheers Mike!

:lol: I think he got smeared all over the first Death Star, didn't he?

4076010710_479fdab3ab.jpg

C'mon guys - at least Porkins stuck with his damaged ship to the very end!

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Pfff... it's a good inch or two shorter than the level 2 kit, and it is 218mm from stem to stern. The larger Level 2 is 1:50 and is 251mm long. Does that help at all? :shrug::lol::wacko:

If not, try 1:78, which I got from Revell's site here! :lol:

the constructor of that kit mentioned on the Facebook that Revell did a typo on their web pages and the scale is actually 1/58

the calculation from your measurement is close to 1/58 too

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:lol: I think he got smeared all over the first Death Star, didn't he?

4076010710_479fdab3ab.jpg

I swear, that red thing in front of him looks like a coke cup that you'd get from a fast food joint. It even looks like it has a straw!

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I swear, that red thing in front of him looks like a coke cup that you'd get from a fast food joint. It even looks like it has a straw!

You mean that Coke cup and mystery food object that someone photoshopped into his hands in the still?

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  • 1 month later...

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