It was the first ship ever seen in the Star Wars universe, it carried the droids to Tattooine, the ship that Princess Leia was captured on. It’s the Tantive IV, AKA the Rebel Blockade Runner, and it’s the newest large LEGO Star Wars ship. LEGO was kind enough to send one our way and here’s our review of one of the most iconic science fiction ships to ever burst onto the silver screen.

There have been a number of LEGO versions of this ship, in a variety of scales. I was lucky enough to get the original 10019 Rebel Blockade Runner as a gift from my crew on Sin City. I used to build at work as a stress reliever and distraction. It would take months to build a single model, and I was just fine with that. While based on the same ship, that particular version was definitely “chunkier” that this version (and about 10% bigger in all directions), and I’m not certain which I prefer, I’m torn. I think I’ve always held that first version in high regard because it was such a special set. But honestly the new version more closely matches the proportions of the ILM model.

Last Saturday Mrs BrickNerd and I spent four hours building the ship, what better way to celebrate Star Wars day? It was an enjoyable build experience, as you can see if you watch the video.

The set comes with six minifigures, Captain Antilles, a Rebel soldier, Princess Leia, Bale Organa, R2-D2 and C-3PO. All are excellent figures, with double sided faces, double sided printing on the torsos and Leia comes with both a dress and legs.

One thing that sets this version apart from the original is the inclusion of play features. While adult me thinks that the “bigger on the outside” scale of sets like these is just kinda weird, the 9 year old in me loves it. You can remove the top of the center section to reveal a command center, the escape pods will fit two droids and not get blown up because there’s no lifeforms aboard (must have short circuited) and there’s pip shooters on the top cannons and flick fire missiles on the bottom for plenty of pew pew action.

While the ship is not exactly “swishable”, mostly because there’s no good way to hold it without popping off parts, the designers thoughtfully included a carrying handle. What a nifty and clever concept, and it’s even disguised as the iconic rectangular radar dish on top. Just pull it up and you’re ready to travel.

Overall I really like the set. It’s fun to build, looks great on display and has some fun play features. And it’s always fun for me to visit a galaxy far, far away. Thank you again to LEGO for sending us this set, it’s fantastic. I give it five out of five Nerdlys.