This is my ninth Lego set is my third within the Star Wars theme/collection.

Key Statistics

Official Page: Lego.com
Brick Instructions: Link
Pieces: 570, 176 unique parts & 19 rare
Mini Figures: 4
Age group: 8 – 14
Date assembled: 18 February 2015
Assembly duration: 1 hour
Main steps: 78
Total steps (includes repetitions & sub-components): 248

Selection & Theme

Having already purchased and assembled two Star Wars Lego sets, it was only a matter of time before I picked my next set. As future posts will demonstrate, the selection of this set – the Wookiee Gunship – was fitting since it was an incremental increase in terms of similar or slightly bigger Lego set. At this point in time, the Wookiee Gunship made sense; there were other larger sets which would come in due course, bur for now, this set made sense. From within the Lego Star Wars theme, the secondary theme here is Rebels, which is the latest instalment within the Star Wars franchise – the 2014-current made-for-television animated series. The storyline arc of Rebels provides a parallel to the Clone Wars series since it is set in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, whereas Clone Wars is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Official Description (Lego.com)

Protect Wullffwarro and his Jedi friend, Kanan Jarrus, with the powerful LEGO® Star Wars Wookiee Gunship. As featured in the Star Wars: Rebels animated TV series, this amazing battle-ready craft has loads of weapons to see off any invading force, like movable front cannons and an elevating top cannon. When the action really heats up, raise the wings into attack mode and unleash the never-before-seen rapid shooters! If you run low on ammo, open the side hatches to access the spare supply, then lower the rear bay door and unload the mobile gun post.

Build

Spread over two booklets, the first bag of brick assembles the base hull of the Wookiee Gunship along with two Wookiees. The head-piece of a Wookiee provides the furry skin cover over a regular brown upper torso piece. The first segment assembles over seven steps a gun-sled unit, with the final seventh step forming the steering stick over three minor steps. The next nine steps continuous build upon each other to form the first foundation layer, with hollow middle. At step ten, we temporarily flip the structure upside down to add three yellow-coloured 2×6 pieces on the underneath. Step 11 sees a two-step sequence assemble the rear compartment which is then connected to the main section via a yellow T-piece. The distinctive rear exterior slope is first seen in Step 12, via the yellow inverted 1×2 roof tile pieces. Single bricks with side knobs provide the rear connection pieces that will enable side-facing additions. These side-facing additions have additional support pieces added in Step 13, attached to a base square plate.

By Step 15, we have commenced the second layer which is simply flat brick pieces that help to give the rear compartment a fixed connection to the main section, along with a middle section with flat-faced pieces. Steps 16 & 17 focus on building up the rear compartment to add sliding pieces, indicating that the rear section will contain a modular component that is detachable. Steps 18 through 23 all continue to build up the rear section, adding in another distinctive long yellow piece that protrudes up above the current height. By this stage the rear exterior is well-defined by four layers of the inverted roof tiles. Side knob pieces at the top layer are separated from the wall/arch structure that segments the rear from the front. From Step 24 onwards, we shift focus to the front section, first concentrating on the side parts before adding brown bricks that give the front centre a distinctive look and feel. Step 27 sees the front compartment floor added on whilst Step 28 adds a rocker bearing with complementary rocking plate that will provide the future front gun. Steps 29 through 32 finish off Bag #1 by building up the front dashboard, formed as a semi-circle and fluro-blue dashboard, which is simply a sticker added on.

The build objective for Bag #2 is the core Wookie Gunship structure. In Steps 33 – 35 we add a layer of distinctive gray pieces to add the next layer of walls, completing the exterior structure. Step 36 sees the three-dimensional 6x6x2 square piece added to the middle section, providing a raised flooring. This clearly shows that the Gunship as three compartments. Step 38 returns focus to the rear with the addition of another layer of yellow bricks. Step 39 sees a unique white 2×4 brick added into the middle of the Gunship, made distinctive because it is the only white brick in a set that has so far utilised yellow, gray and black. At Step 41 a unique red brick is added to the middle-rear compartment.

A six-step procedure defines a separate module that is added to the rear of the Gunship; adding another yellow T-piece. Step 43 adds the complementary piece to half-cover the white brick – the hole with half-beam pieces reflecting the future extension beyond the core Gunship structure (book #2). At Step 47 the two transparent cockpit pieces are added to the front two compartments, thus using up all content of Bag #2.

The third bag shows the end result of this section being Kanan and Wullffwarro, the Wookiee warrior. a five-step procedure adds the rear compartment door, which is first attached whilst positioned horizontally. Step 49 shows that the gun-sled slides easily into the rear compartment. At Step 50 we start dressing up the sides, with Step 51 adding the left wall covering, with the sticker design providing the artistic design. Step 52 contains five minor steps to define the front left door, which closes by folding up; the sticker design aligning the front and back sections snugly. Before swinging the door up in Step 53, the front covering with twin guns is attached; the three sections show a continuous pattern formed by the positioning and alignment of the stickers. Steps 54 through 58 repeat the same build for the right-hand side. The precious cargo – a chest full of green coins is added to the cargo hold at Step 57.

The second booklet of instructions begins with Bag #4, adding the rear wings. A nine step process, with the 12 minor steps along the way form one complete side of the wing. At Step 10 we see each wing is to be snapped into a Beam 3M Snap/Ball piece. Repeating the same 10 steps for the other wing sees it come together at Step 61 in the main instruction series. To help securely fasten the wings in place, Step 62 sees connector axles  used to strengthen the structure. Steps 63-64 add the top-facing panels which are dressed up with the same series of stickers, thus using up all pieces from the bag.

Bag #5 develops the two turbine-based gun turrets that are constructed over a nine-step sequence and then attached to the underneath of each wing. The transparent single-pieces are added to the six-shooter housing piece; this piece being a newer innovation for Lego. The way the gun operates is by rotating the turbine structure, the bullet bricks are squeezed such that they pop out and thus are fired at a target. Over an 11-stage process the rear wing is defined and added to the Gunship. In Step 70 a long axle is used to provide an additional link across the rear compartment. A 7-step subcomponent creates the top gun, which attachs behind the second cockpit compartment. Cosmetic touches are added through to Step 75, before Step 76 and 77 add the three landing pads – two at the rear and one in the front centre. The finishing touch is the flag which is dressed up with stickers covering both side of the flat plate – Step 78.

Statistical Analysis

An extra 170 additional steps were counted to increase the 78 main steps to a total of 248 actions taken to fully assemble this Lego set. This is a 318% increase, which signifies a detailed level of complexity. The general trend that may be detectable across the Lego sets being documented is that each set generally extends and increases the level of difficulty as measured by such statistics.

Final Thoughts

The final model is a pleasant visual design, with the complementary yellow and brown bricks, along with the side stick-based motif. Playability is highly built into the set since the four main sections of the Gunship are accessible; two cockpits, a cargo hold and a rear compartment with detachable gun-sled. The ability to fire the rear guns based on the design of the six-shooter housing piece and rotatable turrets helps to provide a somewhat realistic action-based set.