Personally redesigning the interior of this set would be a major undertaking as a great deal of the main section is structural support and gears for the folding wings, in generally inconvenient places. Structurally (with regards to some of the Technic skeleton), it would need a major redesign to make this thing a proper cargo vessel, which is what it is supposed to be. If you can only afford one Star Wars ship from the 2021 line-up, 75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-wing Fighter is probably the one to go for, but if you want to add an equally iconic spaceship to your LEGO Star Wars armada, 75302 Imperial Shuttle is a great option. And hey, if it’s good enough for Vader to fly around in, it’s good enough for us. The wings are effectively two giant sub-assemblies, too. Angled Technic lift arms slot together with plates and tiles attached to add the necessary shape and detail. Once the wings go on, the unmistakable silhouette of the Imperial Shuttle is complete. It’s worth mentioning that although the mechanism to fold the wings is rudimentary, it is nonetheless firm with a decent amount of friction. — Characters — The mechanism for the set’s main functionality, the folding wings, is also constructed at this early stage – well, ‘mechanism’ is probably a bit of a stretch. The wings are connected to two Technic rotation ball joints on either side. To operate you’ll need to manually fold them up and down, and seeing as both are independent you’ll need to do them one at a time. It works, but does feel a little too simple. A more involved and connected mechanism would have made for a more interesting build, as well as a more entertaining play feature to use. Shine a light on the splendid UCS Display Plate with one of our Spotlights, to give the Imperial Shuttle display pride of place amongst your ultimate LEGO Star Wars collection.

So, in general, it looks and displays great, but isn't very playable. Also, as usual, LEGO is EXTREMELY stingy about hooking you up with enough minifigs to make your collection fun, which also hampers playability. It’s not that they are necessarily bad minifigures – in fact, Darth Vader is excellent – it’s just we’ve seen them before. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker remains unchanged from 2016, and Vader doesn’t even have his new arm prints that were introduced last year. Considering this is the most expensive Star Wars set in this current wave, you would have hoped for the most desirable minifigures too. Structurally it could be better, but if you are just displaying it then you shouldn't have any major problems. The top fin is a little wobbly (the connect wasn't designed well), and getting the side wings to sit properly when folded upright without outright resting against the top fin requires some finesse, and is not a problem that should exist with thi s set. Before you get a sense of where to grab it, you will likely grab it by the sides of its hull which generally fall off easily if you do so. That said, this is the first time in six years that a Lambda T-4a Imperial Shuttle has been released, and for those who missed out on it last time round this is a really good option. It’s priced right, small enough to offer great play value (it’s very swooshable), will give younger builders just enough of a challenge without being too frustrating to construct, and from certain angles looks fairly decent too.Includes 5 minifigures with assorted weapons: Han Solo in Endor outfit, Princess Leia in Endor outfit, Chewbacca and 2 Endor Rebel Troopers Luke Skywalker’s X-wing Fighter includes one exclusive minifigure and one incredibly desirable minifigure; 75300 Imperial TIE Fighter includes one exclusive droid minifigure, and 75302 Imperial Shuttle includes… zero exclusive minifigures. Trihederal wing tips light up and signal with an ominous blink, true to the shuttle's on-screen sightings thanks to our Blink Effects Board! Complete the delivery of the Emperor's cargo by turning each LEGO crank and raising the iconic wings, the set retains full playability and motion with our expertly designed kit installed. LEGO Star Wars Imperial Shuttle 10212 is a mixed bag. It looks great, has a LOT of pieces, and scales very well with the regular minifig-type Star Wars Lego starfighter sets (not the faux-scale capital ships though of course). It is very big. The exterior look of it will really put all your other Lego sets to shame, which isn't exactly a bad thing. From many angles it doesn't even look that much like a Lego, more like a scale model. The predominant colour is obviously white, but there’s just enough light grey added in to help break it up while remaining accurate to the on-screen vehicle. It’s not perfect, though: it’s only one stud wide, and so looks a little thin when viewed from the front. It’s a problem that’s been present in past models too, and this would’ve been a great chance to update that. The sides of the fin do have some wonderful detail added through more smart sub-assemblies, though, giving 75302 Imperial Shuttle the sleekest and most stylish finish of any official recreation of this ship to date (bar the UCS version, of course).