For a price point of $49.99, you'll be getting 448 pieces with three minifigures: A Gray Squadron Pilot, General Airen Cracken, and Ten Numb (who, to my dismay, isn't Nien Nunb, but I'll talk about that later). As you can see, the B-Wing is a good-sized build, consisting of various shades of gray. In that regards, it's not a very dynamic looking piece, but I suppose it does hold true to the official design.
The stand outs of this set are definitely the minifigures. In modern minifigure fashion, they are highly detailed and really stand out from the monotony of all that gray.
I'm a bit surprised Lego wasn't able to find some character name for the Gray Squadron Pilot, not that it's terribly important, I just thought it was an interesting observation. As for the minifigure itself, I really liked the way this one turned out. The printing on the front of the mini is highly detailed, showing straps and tubes that really makes it feel like the mini is prepped from space flight. And the helmet is really well done. I wish the visor was part of the helmet and not printed on the mini's head, but I suppose this would've made the helmet too bulky. The minifigure also comes with a blaster pistol and a double-sided head, one with his visor down, the other with no visor.
When I first picked up this set, I was super excited to get this minifigure... because I thought it was based on someone else. This is Ten Numb, a B-Wing pilot from the Legends (formerly Expanded Universe) line, not Nien Nunb, Lando Calrissian's co-pilot during the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi. Not that it really matters, both characters look pretty much the same. It's just something that strangely disappointed me when I realized it.
Anyway, I still think this is a great minifigure. Just like the pilot, the detail is very well done. I'm not quite sure why he came with a wrench as an accessory, since he's supposed to be a pilot, but I guess they had to give him something to do besides shoot at no one. The mini also comes with a double sided head, one side with a flight mask, the other showing off his beautiful smile.
Lastly we have General Airen Cracken, who's based on a character we saw for all of a few seconds during Return of the Jedi (who had to be retroactively named because he was just an extra in the original movie, all the more reason to attach a name to the Gray Squadron Pilot). There's nothing special about this mini, as he's wearing standard rebel military guard, almost looking like he'd fit in as an older Han Solo (which I'm sure we'll be getting minifigures of thanks to Episode VII!!!) Cracken has a pretty stern look on his face, and comes with a blaster pistol as his accessory.
Now it's time for the star of our show, the B-Wing.
This is one of the few Lego sets I don't have a comparison to, since I never purchased any of the previous sets based on the ship. That being said, I do think this is a cool piece, but there are several things that I didn't care for. The balance of the ship seems off. Obviously this is a top heavy piece, with the bulk of the bricks found around the cockpit, but if you look closely at the full shot of the B-Wing (excuse the hand, I couldn't figure out a way to get this upright without holding it) you can see the ship starting to bend. Granted, it probably wasn't designed to be held like that, but I'm not too keen on my Lego plates potentially snapping while holding my build.
The cockpit is designed to spin with the movement of the ship, so that the pilot stays "upright" in regards to the rest of ship. It's a great design choice, and worked really well for the Slave I, but it leaves a bit to be desired here. The cockpit does spin, but it doesn't seem to be weighted properly, so it doesn't fully turn on it's own. This is a minor gripe, but if I'm spending money on your product, I expect it to work the way it should.
Grievances aside, the B-Wing is nicely designed. The use of the spring loaded missiles (which is becoming more common for modern sets) is really well done. I like the way the wings work, and since they're held in place with three hinge joints, you don't have to worry about them breaking off during play. I wish there was more color to this build, but I can't really knock it for staying true to the movies, especially since I'll be reviewing the AT-AT later on, which is predominantly made of gray bricks.
The Verdict
I like the B-Wing. I really do. But I admit this build could be better.
Aesthetically, the ship looks great, and if you're buying it for display, it's worth it. But if you're planning on playing with it, you might want to think twice about getting this set. The minifigures are great, but obviously not must have characters, so your mileage with them will vary.
I don't quite want to say it's a step down from the Snowspeeder, but if you had to choose between one or the other, I'd say go with the Snowspeeder.
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