LEGO Star Wars fans call UCS TIE Interceptor a ‘substantial upgrade’ – despite the stickers

Following the official reveal of LEGO Star Wars UCS 75382 TIE Interceptor, fans have scrutinised every inch of the set, from the stickers to the just-visible minifigure.

The latest entry into the ongoing LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series, 75382 TIE Interceptor has now been officially revealed ahead of its exclusive release in LEGO stores and on LEGO.com next month. LEGO Insiders can get early access from May 1, 2024, with wider availability opening up from May 4, 2024, and the set will retail for £199.99 / €229.99 / $229.99.

Now that the LEGO Star Wars community has had time to marinate with the LEGO Star Wars UCS build, here’s a look at what people have to say about the enormous build.

Why is there no minifigure?

LEGO Star Wars UCS builds tend to include minifigures, so how come 75382 TIE Interceptor doesn’t? Well, it actually does but you’d be forgiven for missing it in many of the photos. The all-black stand and minifigure combination means that many people missed the TIE pilot minifigure, let alone the even smaller mouse droid that’s also on the stand. Easily done, but rest assured – there certainly is a minifigure included in the upcoming LEGO Star Wars 75382 TIE Interceptor.

Yet that minifigure still has issues

Now that we’re on the right page with the TIE pilot minifigure, let’s get into the details. Fans who could see the pilot were generally pleased with the inclusion of arm printing but, especially considering this is a UCS build, many expected a little bit more.

“I just wish the Imperial pilot had tubes just like the First Order pilot had,” commented one person on Instagram. “Kind of a miss for a UCS TIE [Interceptor] with an ‘exclusive’ pilot. I feel like the TIE helmet hasn’t changed in years and this could have been a great time to get that.”

Seeing as there aren’t any clear images of the TIE pilot on the official LEGO listing, it’s tricky to get into the details of the one and only minifigure in the set. However, the first review of the LEGO Star Wars build does confirm that it’s sporting the same TIE Pilot helmet we’ve had for several years now. From what we can see, the only new element appears to be the arm printing.

Space-saving efforts can start now

Of course, the main focus of any LEGO Star Wars UCS set is not the minifigure, but the main build itself. The overwhelming response the brick-built Interceptor has been positive, complimenting the sculpting around the cockpit and the detail on the tapered wings. In fact, the overall effect of 75382 TIE Interceptor is so impressive that it’s getting people thinking about taking drastic measures to be able to fit it into their LEGO collections.

“I need a house,” quipped one commenter over on reddit. “This housing crisis in LA has saved me so much money from buying LEGO stuff purely because I would have nowhere to put these larger sets.”

Displaying LEGO Star Wars UCS TIE Interceptor could be tricky

Once you have the space to display a set the size of the 1931-piece 75382 TIE Interceptor, you might also come face-to-face with another criticism of the set. The way that the UCS set is posed in most photos is angled up, which works well when you’re looking at it from above. Conveniently, this is how all the photo angles are taken, but fans are concerned that higher shelves might leave you with a less than favourable view of the expensive build.

“My only gripe is how angled upward it sits,” mused one reddit user. “I like to put the LEGO set on shelves above eye level and this, along with last year’s 75355 X-Wing Starfighter, feel like they’re too angled up for display and you lose a lot of detail.”

“I don’t like the display angle,” agreed another commented on reddit. “I just finished 75355 X-Wing Starfighter and have the same complaint. It doesn’t display as well on higher shelves.”

A disappointment in the form of stickers

Zooming in even closer, the interior of 75382 TIE Interceptor has plenty of detail, but unfortunately much of it is stickered. One eagle-eyed commenter even noted that there appears to be a single-stud sticker, an option that’s notoriously hard to align correctly – so much so that it actually appears off-centre in the official LEGO images of the set.

“Disappointed that the interior seems to be done with mostly stickers,” commented one LEGO fan on reddit, earning themself dozens of upvotes that are evidence of the community’s displeasure at the presence of stickers.

A long time coming for a LEGO Star Wars UCS TIE Interceptor

All in all, however, the response has been a positive one, full of nostalgia and admiration for the attention to detail. The callback to the original LEGO Star Wars UCS Interceptor, 2000’s 7181 TIE Interceptor is tugging on heartstrings for many, with several people on reddit sharing that 7181 TIE Interceptor was their very first UCS set. That makes the release of 75382 TIE Interceptor feel like a full-circle moment for many.

“I have been waiting YEARS for this,” enthused one commenter on the LEGO Group’s official announcement on Instagram, while on reddit, similar sentiments were shared: “Unlike the new X-Wing, that looks like a pretty substantial upgrade over the original version.”

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by buying your LEGO sets using our affiliate links. Thank you!