By Jim James - images & text © 2015 Tweet Poe's X-Wing Fighter Scale: 1/60-ish - about 9" long x 7½" wingspan (229mm x 191mm) when assembled Parts: 18 – prepainted very dark gray plastic. Instructions: Large pictorial fold-out sheet; very simple and almost unnecessary. Decals: None - all markings are pre-painted. Molding Quality: 6 – sharp but a little toy-like Detail: 6 Accuracy: No idea MSRP: $19.99 USD (~$26.30 CAN/ € 17.61 EUR) (as of 9/2015) Overall Rating: 6 – it’s snap fit toy X-Wing! I picked this up from Target the first morning it was available (September 4). It was the last model kit on their shelves. OK, it’s a snap fit, box scale, prepainted kit and I had it built in under 15 minutes. Image: What you get: fuselage and cockpit Image: Wings and things Image: Instructions could not be simpler Image: Sound unit

As a snap kit is goes together nicely with hardly any joins showing. The preprinted markings are crisp but there’s an obvious opportunity for more detailed painting. The fuselage back panel, top panel and cockpit are nicely molded but have no coloration. There are working parts. The cockpit canopy opens - albeit incorrectly – and there’s no Poe pilot figure. The wings snap to the open or closed position. Best of all (be still my heart), when you press the BB-8 droid behind the cockpit, you hear a selection of battle sounds! The main landing gear is removable and there are no wheel wells. The front landing gear folds up into the nose leaving a rather ugly hole. Immediately aft of the gear is the access cover for batteries and the slots for the sound effects speaker. There’s no stand. Overall, it’s a great kit for someone who wants to be the first on their block to have a Force Awakens model kit but if you’re looking for an accurate X-Wing, wait for the Bandai kit. Image: Ready to fly around the room Image: Cockpit closeup Image: Rear view Image: Comparison with Revell's "classic" snap-fit X-Wing

First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter By John Lester - images & text © 2015 Scale: 1/50-ish - about 7" tall x 5½" long ( 178mm x 145mm) Parts: 18 injection molded plastic. Instructions: One fold-out pictorial guide. Decals: None - all markings are pre-painted. Molding Quality: 8 - no obvious flaws Detail: 7 - details are sharp but appear over-scale/ simplified. Accuracy: Not rated. MSRP: $19.99 USD (~$26.30 CAN/ € 17.61 EUR) (as of 9/2015) Overall Rating: 6 - the best of the kits, but still pretty much a toy. The First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter is probably the best of the four Level 1 (Build-and-Play) kits Revell has issued (two different X-Wings, this TIE and Millennium Falcon). It actually looks fairly imposing, sitting on the bookshelf behind my desk.

Each kit comes in a flimsy, end-opening cardboard box. The parts are not attached to sprues; rather, they ar packed into clear vacuformed plastic "shells" which both protect the finish and strengthen the box. There were no divots or nubs on the parts that might interfere with assembly - at least in the two kits I bought. The TIE is less "toy-like" than the other kits. The button for the lights/sound effects is unobtrusive - though the top hatch is both overscale and very loose fitting. The cockpit is suprisingly well detailed. There is no pilot. As with the X-Wing, assembly is fast and easy. Parts fit is quite good, with minimal seam lines. I thought about gluing the pod halves together, but I found that the friction fit is quite strong as it is, so I left it alone. I had both the TIE and the white X-Wing assembled in about 5 minutes each.

Image: Parts Image: Rear view Image: Rear/ low Image: Front/ low Image: From above In action (YouTube):

Conclusions I can't argue with Jim's assessment. Sure, with some basic modeling skills you could make these into better display models, but it doesn't seem to me to be worth the effort. To be fair, these kits are designed for kids to build and play with (and as a ten year old, I would have loved 'em, even if I couldn't afford a $20 model .... in 1975!). They are probably best as a gift for a kid who has never built a model. Revell's next releases, the "Level 2" snap-fit kits, are supposed to be bigger and dispense with the toy features. I'd wait for those if you want a more faithful replica of the vehicles from the movie. Many thanks to Jim's wallet (and mine) for providing the review samples. Manufacturers and retailers, interested in getting your wares reviewed and publicized on a site averaging 6000+ readers a day? Contact us!

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the reviewer.
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This page copyright © 2015 Starship Modeler™. First posted on 18 September 2015.