Jedi Dart – LEGO Star Wars Magazine, June 2021

Things are slowly looking up for the Corona pandemic, but everyone still has to be careful, so getting your LEGO fix is still not easy. That’s why I enjoy my little excursions to the newsstand even more, be that just as a means of getting to build a small model once a week. That is also the case for this months LEGO Star Wars magazine, technically the June 2021 edition.

The main comic is again of the slightly weirder type with the Mos Eisley Cantina band having been transplanted into some sort of other musical venue and the blue guy, Rebo, being chased by Boba Fett. Aside from the plain strangeness of the concept it unfortunately looks rather sterile and empty, not just  because of the blue colors. It kind of fails on both fronts, that is idea and execution. The other, shorter comic as usual ties in the extra, which is Obi-Wan‘s Jedi Starfighter, and is much more vibrant and vivid, though equally crazy.

The posters are okay-ish with the primary one taking a stab at the original Drew Struzan movie poster style from the 1970s made so famous by Star Wars, Indiana Jones and many other films. The backside poster is at least interesting in that it depicts the three different Darth Vader minifigure helmet styles we’ve gotten so far, but otherwise doesn’t offer much.

The already mentioned Jedi Starfighter extra is serviceable, just a bit on the sparse side. That’s not entirely LEGO‘s fault, though, as even the original is skinny as a paper plane. Still, I feel they could have added some more elements for the central fuselage. Also the whole thing is pretty apparently much too short, so just throwing in some more of them wedge plates could have made a difference. Interestingly, the 1 x 1 studs used for the engine exhaust rings are in Pearl Dark Grey, not he more common Flat Silver, so minor as it may be, it’s at least something special.

This is pretty much a very average issue. Not really bad, but not particularly exciting, either.

Jedi Fighter – LEGO Star Wars Magazine, December 2020

After the craziness of the last issue of the LEGO Star Wars magazine – I’ve literally seen pictures on Facebook from people having bought twenty or more – we’re now back on more normal, more mundane territory again.

The main comic takes us back to Endor and portrays some hijinx that believably could have happened off-screen in The Return of the Jedi. I definitely prefer this type of story rather than some wildly crazy, concocted stories that don’t fit the story and lore as I know it. The second comic is just that and inevitably ties in with the extra that comes with the mag, Obi-Wan‘s Jedi Interceptor.

The model of said fighter is okay, but pretty unspectacular. That were of course true even if you bought a bigger set and an inherent strength or weakness with the slick, yet somewhat boring overall design. After all, it’s just a big barrel cockpit with some wings and huge flaps. Therefore for me the only real value in parts are the Dark Red ones. Not particularly rare, but it’s a nice color to have as it’s useful for many different applications.

A highlight this month are the posters, which satisfy my designer’s taste buds. They’re nice graphical designs and reasonably balanced with the only caveat being whether or not you could get over LEGO‘s version of The Child‘s all too alien-baby looking black eyes. I really wish they’d include those hazel-colored irises to make it look a little less terrifying.

Not much going on in the activities department this time around, though, with only some super simple games providing a bit of engagement. As it is, this issue enjoyable enough for a few minutes, but offers no longer-lasting distraction from the current misery around us.