Random set of the day: Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive Booster Ring
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 7661 Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive Booster Ring, released in 2007. It's one of 17 Star Wars sets produced that year. It contains 575 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$49.99/£48.95.
It's owned by 6881 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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36 comments on this article
And it’s back! Perfect timing! And what a set as well!
That is a weird UK price though, I’ve never seen a set for that specific amount.
Good morning @Huwbot, another lie-in today? :)
I have this one, still holds up nicely as a display piece today although I’ve updated the Obi-Wan minifig in it.
A very cool set. I was going to get it no matter what because a Booster Ring hadn't been made before, the dark blue colorings were new for the Eta-2, but it was the random Kit Fisto included that made it essential to get. And then half the printing rubbed off the rubber head...
Also these flag pieces used for the S-Foils have a problem with the clips, every version and update have the same problem, these are the most stressful parts to own. Stickers on a part with fragile clips, yeah, it's not fun having to replace them.
That's $25 for the fighter and nother $25 for the ring, please...
Yeah, quite the reason I don't own one of these; in universe they're stupid anyway imho.
Interesting set, with a useful horizontal beam in the booster ring to hold the star-fighter for display, but made it difficult to pass through when playing! Always wondered what sci-fi spacecraft could be created by combining the two?
When I first saw this, I was like YES!
Wait when did Obi-Wan acquire a blue Jedi Starfighter?
@jkb said:
"That's $25 for the fighter and nother $25 for the ring, please...
Yeah, quite the reason I don't own one of these; in universe they're stupid anyway imho."
You do see the price per part ratio on this licensed set, right?
And while it may be your opinion, the booster ring makes perfect sense in universe as at this point in the timeline, hyperdrive technology just isn't small enough to fit in personal starfighters or it is just too expensive to include in every starfighter. The larger starfighters at the time like the Y-Wing used in the Clone Wars are able to jump into hyperspace, but they are huge compared to the Delta-7 and Eta-2. Even something like the V-19 Torrent which is similarly big still needs a booster ring to jump into hyperspace. I imagine that because of the war, technology was advancing and smaller hyperdrive technology was in the works right when the war ended, so it wasn't as necessary anymore, but was still implemented in ships that would later be used by the Rebellion. I find that the booster ring adds a lot to the worldbuilding in the prequels, and with how the scenes are shown, so much can be inferred without a single person explaining anything. There's a 20 year time difference, of course there will be differences in technology, the booster ring is a beautiful way of showing that. But that is just my opinion.
@Jack_Sassy said:
"Wait when did Obi-Wan acquire a blue Jedi Starfighter?"
His red starfighter was destroyed in the hanger of the Invisible Hand. It was in the back half that broke off, too. He gets this blue one on his mission to Utapau in search of General Grievous.
@MCLegoboy said:
"A very cool set. I was going to get it no matter what because a Booster Ring hadn't been made before, the dark blue colorings were new for the Eta-2, but it was the random Kit Fisto included that made it essential to get. And then half the printing rubbed off the rubber head...
Also these flag pieces used for the S-Foils have a problem with the clips, every version and update have the same problem, these are the most stressful parts to own. Stickers on a part with fragile clips, yeah, it's not fun having to replace them."
I have 2 of this set for the same reasons ;)
And because dark blue is awesome, I customized my 75281 set in blue. But most of my flag pieces are now broken, so I had to build the panels with plates. Although they are thicker (1 to 2 plates) I'm satisfied with the result.
For each panel I used this pieces, among others, to reproduce the shape :
- 6337751: PLATE 6X4 W/ANGLE
- 6214811: LEFT PLATE 1X2, W/ BOW, 45 DEG. CUT
- 6214812: RIGHT PLATE 1X2, W/ BOW, 45 DEG. CUT
@Goujon said:
"That is a weird UK price though, I’ve never seen a set for that specific amount." I believe that's because that's the last price the set was sold for on Lego.com, and when this set was discontinued VAT had temporarily been reduced in the UK, making the prices for a lot of things irregular. If you check other sets that were discontinued around 2009 you'll see a similar thing. For example, 7662 is listed as costing £78.29
Ahh, this is one of those sets I always wanted back in the day and would jump at the opportunity to own if I could.
LEGO made so many Jedi Starfighters during my Star Wars off-years (say, 2006-2017) that I don't remember them all. This one looks completely unfamiliar, but I'm digging the colour scheme.
As Jedi Starfighters go, this looks like one of the best: colours, the inclusion of the ring, having a movie appearance, an excellent (albeit random) additional Jedi. Grades around a B+.
@MCLegoboy said:
" @jkb said:
"That's $25 for the fighter and nother $25 for the ring, please...
Yeah, quite the reason I don't own one of these; in universe they're stupid anyway imho."
You do see the price per part ratio on this licensed set, right?
And while it may be your opinion, the booster ring makes perfect sense in universe as at this point in the timeline, hyperdrive technology just isn't small enough to fit in personal starfighters or it is just too expensive to include in every starfighter. The larger starfighters at the time like the Y-Wing used in the Clone Wars are able to jump into hyperspace, but they are huge compared to the Delta-7 and Eta-2. Even something like the V-19 Torrent which is similarly big still needs a booster ring to jump into hyperspace. I imagine that because of the war, technology was advancing and smaller hyperdrive technology was in the works right when the war ended, so it wasn't as necessary anymore, but was still implemented in ships that would later be used by the Rebellion. I find that the booster ring adds a lot to the worldbuilding in the prequels, and with how the scenes are shown, so much can be inferred without a single person explaining anything. There's a 20 year time difference, of course there will be differences in technology, the booster ring is a beautiful way of showing that. But that is just my opinion."
I know. I also respect your opinion. BUT. They have had more than 20K years of hyperspace travel and technical development. They couldn't fit a small Hyperdrive in an Delta 7 or Eta 2 but into simillarly small fighters JUST 20 years later? I don't buy that and that's why I believe it's stupid. They also could have just used/built slightly larger spacecraft. So the ring may add to the world building, but it's not very plausible world building and therefore (at this point) not very good. Plus you have to rely the ring is still there where you left it when you come back to get it. And it's 50% of the piece count and 50% of the price.
This was the set the set that first demonstrated to me the awesome ability of retr0bright. Got it secondhand in an eBay mess containing many, many formerly-white parts. It was honestly depressing to look at.
But the power of peroxide prevailed and the white bits look as good as new.
Never worry about yellowed LEGO; yeah, ideally, it shouldn't happen, but it is surmountable.
Thanks for happy memories, Huwbot!
@jkb said:
"BUT. They have had more than 20K years of hyperspace travel and technical development. They couldn't fit a small Hyperdrive in an Delta 7 or Eta 2 but into simillarly small fighters JUST 20 years later? I don't buy that and that's why I believe it's stupid."
This. In my mind, there is no technological advancement anymore in the Star Wars universe. Everything that can be invented has been, after such a long time of continous civilsation. There is only changing uses of existing tech, or at best the rediscovery of things forgotten.
The silly ring booster ship never bothered me, though. But that's probably because I don't require Star Wars ships to make sense (because then I would still be stuck on: why do all the spaceships with repulsors have WINGS?!)
I remember wanting to get this set, back in the day, even though I already had a Jedi Starfighter in the form of 7256 and this one didn't look much different other than the colour and inclusion of the hyperdrive ring.
But let's be honest: for me, the real attraction to this set was the Kit Fisto minifigure. These obscure minor Jedi characters were endlessly fascinating to me as a teen, and Kit was only second to Plo Koon (who wouldn't be realised in minifigure form until TCW dropped) as my favourite of them. I wavered for a while in a state of 'I don't care for the set that much but I want that minifigure', but eventually forgot about it and didn't end up getting it.
@BrickRandom said:
" The silly ring booster ship never bothered me, though. But that's probably because I don't require Star Wars ships to make sense (because then I would still be stuck on: why do all the spaceships with repulsors have WINGS?!)
"
OK, you got me X)
Somehow I'm not that into Prequal or Sequal vehicles. On the other hand , almost every originial trilogy vehicle looks iconic to me. Two exceptions are the Sith Infiltrator and Queen Amidala's first cruiser.
@MCLegoboy :
Yeah, they found about the second worst combination of rubber and paint possible (worst would have resulted in the rubber deteriorating due to a chemical reaction with the paint). Agents had Dr Inferno and Dr D Zaster who both had spiky rubber hair with three stripes painted on the front. I can verify from personal experience that you can just pinch the edge of the paint between your fingernails and peel the whole stripe off in one piece. In that case, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing, as the Inferno hair works for a Teen Titans Go! Robin, and the Zaster hair makes a great anemone.
@BrickRandom :
X-Wings supposedly use them for heat dissipation, X-Wing and B-Wing both have their cannons mounted to the tips so they have more spread,, all TIEs have wings that are solar panels, and high speed atmospheric dogfighting with what is essentially hi-tech hovercraft technology as your only means of navigation seems about as effective as wearing a fish costume and sitting in a barrel.
I was a wee 7 year old when this set was in stores and I had nowhere near the buying power to get it. Now I'm in college and my roommate sold his old one to me for retail price :) I'm planning to redesign it to hopefully integrate the newest interceptor model.
@Lego_lord said:
"Somehow I'm not that into Prequal or Sequal vehicles. On the other hand , almost every originial trilogy vehicle looks iconic to me. Two exceptions are the Sith Infiltrator and Queen Amidala's first cruiser."
The way you worded that makes it seem like you said those two ships were from the OT lol
A great set from a great time of Lego SW. Shame we dont see sets like this much anymore.
Wild, I was literally looking at this set yesterday when looking at old Eta-2 designs. Huwbot never ceases to amaze me...
Have it, love it. Great Kit Fisto minifig for the time. Rubber heads are fun.
Still hope to get this one day
@MCLegoboy:
I’d hate to see Obi-Wan’s insurance bill. The (stolen) speeder on Coruscant, the Aethersprite on Geonosis, the red Eta-2 above Coruscant, this (not destroyed, but you could argue stolen) and the borrowed Boga on Utapau, and I can’t remember if he let something happen to the Soulless One on Mustafar.
@bananaworld:
You’re fighting chemistry on that one. Plain styrene probably doesn’t yellow, but you add in the acrylonitrile and butadiene, and the only question is if your pigment is saturated enough to overpower the eventual yellowing that’s bound to happen.
@PurpleDave said:
"I’d hate to see Obi-Wan’s insurance bill. The (stolen) speeder on Coruscant, the Aethersprite on Geonosis, the red Eta-2 above Coruscant, this (not destroyed, but you could argue stolen) and the borrowed Boga on Utapau, and I can’t remember if he let something happen to the Soulless One on Mustafar."
This is why he hates flying...
@PurpleDave said:
"You’re fighting chemistry on that one. Plain styrene probably doesn’t yellow, but you add in the acrylonitrile and butadiene, and the only question is if your pigment is saturated enough to overpower the eventual yellowing that’s bound to happen."
Yeaaaah... not exactly fighting chemistry; more like using chemistry to reverse the inevitable yellowing. It's not a new discovery, but nice use of big words, Purpy!
Got this recently in an assorted Lego bin some local guy was selling at a yard sale that also had several other early 2000's SW sets, for only $100... All disassembled and missing some pieces. But I knew I had to have the bin as soon as I saw the pieces of framework of that ring. Awesome set.
@MCLegoboy said:
" @Jack_Sassy said:
"Wait when did Obi-Wan acquire a blue Jedi Starfighter?"
His red starfighter was destroyed in the hanger of the Invisible Hand. It was in the back half that broke off, too. He gets this blue one on his mission to Utapau in search of General Grievous."
Wasn't it in bronze?
(After checking some film captures, it truly proves to be blue, don't know why did I think it was in bronze.)
I distinctly remember purchasing this set, with 7663 Sith Infiltrator, at LEGOLAND Windsor back in 2008. Kit Fisto alone was enough to sell it to me!
I have always appreciated the 2007 range because it feels like the beginning of LEGO Star Wars attempting some relatively obscure designs.
Hey Huwbot
Do more lego power miners and rock raiders :)
-i hope he reads messages-
@ThatBionicleGuy:
To be fair, there’s also the fact that almost every time he flies somewhere, someone tries to kill him. There are a few instances where this is not the case, but the only one I can recall offhand is when they get off the bus on Coruscant. Maybe someone at Disney has plans to rip off Speed and shoehorn it into the middle of the movie...
@bananaworld:
I earned a living working with ABS for six years. Got that beat? No? Then maybe you should consider what I’m saying (maybe even actually research it) instead of acting like you’re trying to send me back to the kid’s table.
ABS turns yellow because manufacturers add bromine as a flame retardant. Bromine reacts with part of ABS (most likely either the “A” or the “B”, which are the rubberizing agents that they add to Polystyrene) and turns yellow by way of a chemical reaction. Chemical reactions are something that happens in chemistry. So, now you’re fighting not just chemistry, but you need to have your doctor check out that gnarly case of foot-in-mouth disease.
@Jack_Sassy:
Agh! No! Don’t turn this in to one of those “which color do you see” memes!
@CapnRex101:
I bought this one because of a combination of the first Kit Fisto minifig and the first hyperdrive ring, but I think I assumed it was supposed to be his Eta-2, not Obi-Wan’s (though I have it displayed with Obi-Wan in the cockpit, and Kit standing on top of the hyperdrive ring).
Pretty neat set. I got this about two years ago when a colleague of my dad’s gave me her son’s LEGO... for free! There was the 2007 MTT, 2008 AT-TE and 2007 Droid Battle Pack which were all 99-100% complete and in good quality and were repaired.
On the other hand, this and Anakin’s 2005 Interceptor didn’t make it to the shelf unfortunately, due to missing and damaged parts. Kit Fisto was also missing, but I kept the Obi-Wan. I might see if I can repair it one day.