In my last guest post, I featured one of my larger Star Wars Legos ships (General Grievous’ Malevolence) and I’ll check back on some of the larger sets in the future. However, I thought it might be fun to look at one of my more recent purchases, the Phantom.
Lego Set 75048 Star Wars Phantom
The Phantom is from the Star Wars Rebels series, which at the time of purchase I had yet to even view an episode. I liked the look of the ship and thought it might be fun to check it out. Really, I got it because it was on sale for $19.99 (normally $24.99).
Included in the 324 piece set were two mini-figs: Ezra Bridger and Chopper (C1-10P). So for the price, I was really excited.
The Phantom is comprised almost completely with “generic” Lego pieces. My use of the quotation marks is because some of Lego purists are not fans of the new Spring Shooter piece (piece #6048898), but sorry friends, the piece is awesome and here to stay.
The wings are able to bend and fold in many different positions, there is a swinging flap to reveal the small cargo space at the back, and the top pops off to reveal the area where Chopper holds up in the ship. The cockpit is the common one found in most new Lego ships (with a little more Star Wars flare of course), and it can separate from the back end of the ship in an emergency.
The Phantom is a pretty unique ship as it is built to transport small cargo, yet hold its own in an open space dog fight. With a compact design and protective capabilities, it offers a pretty cool project for the Lego enthusiast.
Final Thoughts on The Phantom
I absolutely love this set and my wife and I immediately went out and bought one as a present for our nephew who likes Legos very much!
Now I have a few additional comments about the brilliance of Legos, and how to play…er uh create with them, and their partnership with Star Wars. First, the brilliance of Lego is that even as they create new parts to fit their set needs, they still stimulate the users’ creativity, and hopefully always will.
Personally, I like to make my sets even more unique than they already are. For instance, I do not like to use the stickers that are provided with the newer sets. I feel that once you use them, then the sets are just like all the rest and those pieces are usable in rebuilds as well. You never know when you will want to take apart a set and make something new, right? So my Phantom has a few different pieces that give it a different look, and I have also given Ezra Bridger some different accessories. Specifically, I made the Phantom a little darker and gave Ezra a different gun and a cape. Why not, right? If we learned anything from the Lego movie, it was not to be a slave to the directions. So venture out with your Legos, friends. Have fun with them!
The Future of Star Wars and Lego
Lastly, regarding Lego’s partnership with Star Wars—like I said previously—I had never seen an episode of Star Wars Rebels. After completing this set, I happened to be flipping through the channels and caught an episode of Star Wars Rebels. While I previously may have skipped over it despite my enjoyment of the Clone Wars episodes, I was extra intrigued to find out more about the set I just bought. Previously Lego may have needed viewers of animated series to see their commercials and then go buy the Legos, but for this lover of Legos, the Legos themselves acted as a commercial for the show.
Either way, as the one advances (the Lego franchise or the Star Wars Empire), so will the other. This is a great partnership for both parties.