REVIEW: LEGO 75344 BOBA FETT’S STARSHIP MICROFIGHTER

LEGO seems to love making Boba Fett’s Starship Slave I at different scales, and the newest one for 2023 is the smallest yet – a microfighter version! 75344 Boba Fett’s Starship Microfighter is now available as part of the small January 2023 wave of LEGO Star Wars sets, and available online, or from Amazon.com.

The biggest draw will undoubtedly be the post-ROTJ Boba Fett minifigure appearing in the most affordable set yet, but is the rest of the set any good too? Let’s find out!

This is a guest review from our resident LEGO Star Wars correspondent, vaderfan_2187, who is covering the new 2023 wave of LEGO Star Wars sets.


75344 BOBA FETT’S STARSHIP MICROFIGHTER SET DETAILS

Set Name: Boba Fett’s Starship Microfighter
Set number: 75344
Pieces: 85
Minifigures: 1
Retail Price: US$9.99 [USA] / AU$15.99 [AUS] / £8.99 [UK] /  €9.99 [EU] / CAD$13.99 [CA]
Theme: Star Wars
Release Date: 1 January 2023

UNBOXING 75344 BOBA FETT’S STARSHIP MICROFIGHTER

The front of the box shows Boba Fett flying the Slave I, with Jabba’s Palace and Tatooine in the backdrop – fitting, given the setting of The Book of Boba Fett TV show.

The back of the box has the Slave I in landed mode, plus the play feature of flick-fire missiles. Pretty normal box design for a microfighter.

Inside the box is a small instruction manual and three unnumbered plastic bags. No sticker sheet for this set!


75344 BOBA FETT’S STARSHIP MINIFIGURE

There’s only one minifigure included, Boba Fett himself. This minifigure is unchanged from its previous appearances in terms of the prints, the only difference being his rangefinder is now missing.

It is disappointing, but the omission was necessary for the figure to fit into the microfighter.

Otherwise, the details and prints look good, and it’s nice to get such a detailed main character figure in an affordable set.

Under the helmet, you’ll find Boba’s disgruntled printed face. He’s armed with his usual brick-built rifle, and from this angle you can see the printed arms which look great too.

On the whole, despite the lack of his rangefinder, I think this minifigure still looks great and will be the reason many LEGO Star Wars fans buy this set.

THE BUILD

The build in the set is a shrunken down version of the Slave I. The previous LEGO Slave I was already smaller than usual, but this one takes the cake!

Nonetheless, the shaping of the Slave I is replicated well here, although the cockpit section is enlarged, similar to other microfighters.

Just like the in-universe ship, the microfighter can also be placed in a horizontal, landing mode. The little winglets on either side of the cockpit are attached via Technic pins so can be rotated for landing mode, although they don’t automatically rotate like the wings in bigger sets.

One nice feature about this model’s small scale is that it can be easily balanced in its vertical flight mode without the need for a stand, which bigger LEGO Slave I sets have been unable to achieve.

The back of the ship uses a 2×2 radar dish and some trans-orange pieces to add engine detailing.

The play feature of this set is the ability to fire the nose cannons, which are actually a pair of flick-fire missiles!

These pieces haven’t appeared as missiles in Star Wars sets recently, and it’s nice that they are being used again.

The cockpit piece is a curved trans-black panel, which can be hinged open. Unfortunately the cockpit can’t close fully but that’s understandable given the unusual shape of the model.

Boba Fett can be inserted into the cockpit to pilot his mini Slave I. He’s not attached with any studs here but is still secure thanks to the way the pieces wrap around his legs and helmet.

And yes, the cockpit canopy can close with him inside.

What surprised me was the fact that you can also put him into the Slave I in its horizontal landed mode! This feature is present in larger versions of the Slave I, but I didn’t expect them to recreate it here.

They don’t show it on the box so this was a pleasant surprise.

This isn’t the first time LEGO has made a Slave I in microfighter scale – there was one released in 2012! However, that was a promotional set exclusive to Star Wars Celebration, and while the older model had a less stubby design, I think the 2023 model is more detailed overall.


COMPARISON WITH OTHER LEGO SLAVE I

Here’s how the microfighter Slave I stacks up against its larger cousin, 75312 Boba Fett’s Starship. Despite being very simplified, you can still see the shared DNA between the two models. My only main criticism of the microfighter is that its wings are too small.

And here’s how the two ships look like in landed mode!


Final Thoughts:

On the whole, I think this is a pretty good microfighter. The build itself is a bit over-simplified, but I think it’s acceptable considering the complex shape of the Slave I. The ability to fit the minifigure in flying and landed modes plus the flick-fire missiles are decent play features, and the Boba Fett minifigure is really good considering the set’s price point.

That said, I would only recommend this if you want the Mandalorian-era Boba Fett and don’t already have it – the microfighter is decent but definitely not a must-get.

Minifigures [4] – Great minifigure included at this affordable price point, especially considering microfighters used to only have generic troops.
Real Value [3] – Fair price for a microfighter but not really a steal.
Innovation [2] – Not really innovative, but making Boba Fett fit in such a small space in two different ways is pretty clever.
Keepability [1] – Unfortunately, not an iconic set at all.

Rating and score: 2/5 ★★✰✰✰ – Get it only if you want the minifigure.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts, and if you plan on buying this set, in the comments below!

 

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