The LEGO Group has seemingly doctored one of the images for the newly-revealed 75355 X-wing Starfighter – but it really isn’t fooling anyone.
Unveiled yesterday, just in time for Star Wars Celebration, 75355 X-wing Starfighter is the third Ultimate Collector Series X-wing. It’s also the first UCS set to include a printed info plaque, taking its cues from last year’s 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3. But where that set drew praise for doing away with the sticker on its 8x16 tile, it also came under fire for the unsightly mould mark in the middle of the piece.
Take a quick glance at the close-up of the same piece in 75355 X-wing Starfighter, and you might think that the LEGO Group has managed to solve the problem for its latest Star Wars vehicle. After all, the info plaque for Luke Skywalker’s ship has no obvious dimple in its centre. But compare it to another, slightly-zoomed-out image, and the offending spot is present and correct.
That suggests the LEGO Group has sneakily doctored the close-up image of the piece – a conclusion already reached by plenty of LEGO Star Wars fans, including YouTuber MandRproductions. This isn’t the first time official LEGO imagery has misled fans in 2023 alone (hello, 75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack box art), and nor is it the first time the LEGO Group has apparently edited its lifestyle imagery to soften issues with its elements. (That's 75345 again.)
Given you can see the problem with the piece in the very next image, and anyone buying 75355 X-wing Starfighter is obviously going to realise what’s up the moment they open the box, this feels like a strange approach. Either you’re going to be annoyed at the LEGO Group trying to mislead with its images, or you’re going to be annoyed when you find the piece doesn’t match that one image.
And when all’s said and done, these kinds of imperfections in LEGO elements are relatively easy to overlook: we’re buying into the LEGO system, and all that comes with it, rather than a diecast replica. But the LEGO Group’s decision to seemingly hide the issue is already drawing ire from fans on social media, suggesting it may have been better off simply embracing that imperfection in the first place.
We've reached out to the LEGO Group for comment. 75355 X-wing Starfighter launches on May 1 for VIP members and May 4 for everyone else, with a price tag of £209.99 / $239.99 / €239.99.
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