April X-Wing – LEGO Star Wars Magazine, April 2023

The LEGO Star Wars magazine lately seems to have taken a turn to the dark side, that is it has become very minifigure centric. You know, those surveys asking whether one prefers buildable spaceships or minifigures seem to have had an effect. I always favored buildable extras, which I know inevitably put me in the minority. Most would simply have the same Stormtrooper a hundred times than a single TIE-Fighter. For me this kinda sucks, so I’m even more happy that at least for the April 2023 issue we’re getting something based on studs and not just a tiny mannequin.

The first comic once more delves into the goings-ons of a Stormtrooper‘s mundane everyday life inside The First Order, which is all well and good, but still makes me cringe.

The second comic is more in line with what I would expect. It pokes some fun at Yoda living in a swamp and Luke crashing his X-Wing there. You know, it’s based on established lore, but with a twist and that comment about Luke possibly needing a dry stand for his clothes is in fact genuinely funny.

the posters are very graphical, which in my world is always a plus. The front has yet again Vader asking to join The Empire and the back has Bo Katan set against some imperial troopers.

The extra is an X-Wing for like the hundredth time, but since the actual build is always slightly different I’m not complaining too much. I just wish they’d occasionally go for the lesser known variants of other pilots with different color schemes and not always for the main ones piloted by Luke. The model is in fact quite similar to the currently available polybag version (30654), only slightly smaller and with less pieces. I didn’t pick up the polybag or else I could have offered a direct comparison.

This is by no means the most exciting issue of this mag, but it’s okay overall. It would really be nice to get a few more innovative vehicle builds, though. With so much new stuff having come out in the last three years or so I’m surprised we’re still stuck with repeats based on the movies. I can’t imagine why it should be so hard to do a Ferrix attack shuttle or an N-1 Fighter from The Mandalorian.

Bo-Bo-Bo Katan(a)? – LEGO Star Wars Magazine, February 2023

It seems like Christmas was only yesterday, yet here we are again already one month into the new year with the LEGO Star Wars magazine for February 2023 knocking on the door.

The main comic is yet again one of those stupid “Vader gets himself into trouble” things that I don’t look particularly favorably at. It just doesn’t do it for me, no matter how well the panels are composed and drawn.

The second one is more realistic and shows an encounter on one of the barren worlds as they are see in the The Mandalorian series. As you would expect, it also serves as the glue that brings the mag and extra together.

The posters are okay in that they’re not too ugly and not covered in pointless text and fake effects, but at the same time we definitely had better ones just as well.

The inevitable extra is Bo-Katan Kryze in minifigure format. Apparently she’s been in some animated Star Wars series as well and was introduced in season 2 of The Mandalorian. Since Disney+ subscriptions don’t fall out of the sky I still haven’t seen any of that beyond what the various trailers and snippets on YouTube reveal, but it’s notable insofar as the character is played by the great Katee Sackhoff who really made a splash in the early 2000s as the cocky Starbuck in the Battlestar Galactica series remake.

The figure is remarkable in that previously it was only available in the Mandalorian Starfighter (75316) set. The set itself clearly wasn’t a hit with audiences, but the figures are in high demand and thus relatively costly on the secondhand markets. The inclusion in the mag should mitigate the situation a bit. The other interesting observation here is that the package comes with the small foil bag for the helmet shields and visor “hammer”. Why am I telling you this? Obviously this little gimmick isn’t included in the latest Microfighter Boba Fett’s Starship (75344). Therefore buying this magazine would be a simple way to fix this omission and also give you two more spares to possibly repair other such appendages on other minifigures.

As so often the extra saves the day on an otherwise just average magazine and if minifigures are your thing, then next month will be another treat with a 212th Clone Trooper. I have a feeling this will be one of those issues that some people will buy in stacks to deck out their dioramas and displays with walkers…