Agent Palmer

Designed by Ralph McQuarrie for Return of the Jedi, the RZ1 A-Wing is faster than a TIE Interceptor, perfect for hit and run attacks or recon missions. Although its first appearance was in 1983 at the Battle of Endor, the fighter has been a regular in other media, especially later episodes of Star Wars Rebels.

The Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) Lego Star Wars sets are the pinnacle of design and engineering. Built as large scale display pieces, we’ve had X-Wings, TIE Fighters, Millenium Falcons, and many, many more. We’ve never had an A-Wing before though. At $200, this set is in the (relatively) cheaper end of the UCS scale compared to the £700 Imperial Star Destroyer or £800 Falcon. As such this was my first foray into the world of UCS.

Entertainment is changing. It’s becoming independent in a way that is vastly different from what 20 years ago was indie film. It’s small, it fits on whatever device you want it to, and it streams to you, sometimes staged, sometimes live, always creative and more often than not, fiercely independent.

I am one of those people…

Around the time that the film adaptation of Lost Moon, called Apollo 13 came out, my parents who knew I was in love with all things NASA bought me the book by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.

The book, in a concerted marketing effort with the movie was also retitled from Lost Moon to Apollo 13 and with a picture of not Lovell but Tom Hanks as Lovell on the front cover. And while I read the book, or read through it when I picked it up recently, I now had the knowledge of the other books I’ve been reading.

The Mandalorian surprised everyone with just how awesome a live-action Star Wars series could be before the show had even launched Lego had revealed it’s first Mandalorian Set. With 2020’s January wave, a second set appeared.

Sadly neither were the Razorcrest set we badly need in our lives, but let’s look at 2019’s AT-ST Raider and 2020’s Mandalorian Battle Pack.