LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2016

December 1, 2016 | 356

It’s that time of the year again! Welcome to the annual Jay’s Brick Blog Advent Calendar countdown! If you’re new to this, I will be counting down the 2016 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar on this very post here.

Update: Click the link if you’re looking for the 2017 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar countdown post!

I’ll be updating this post every day with the contents of each window, as we count the days to Christmas! I don’t really fancy putting up a new post each day and clog up my entire blog feed (and the inbox of my subscribers), so be sure to check in everyday to see what we get!

I’m opening each window up as I go, and have (mostly) been able to stay spoiler-free so this is hopefully as exciting for you as it is for me!

Update: I’m also doing a countdown for the 2016 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar in a separate post if you would like to follow that one too!

Spoiler warning! I live in Australia, and we’re generally ahead of most of the world, so if you don’t want each day’s surprise to be spoiled, look away or come back when you’ve opened your window!

This is a look at the front and back of the Star Wars Advent Calendar box. There are plenty of spoilers on what you can expect, which I had hoped that the design team would tone down. Eh, maybe next year.

To make it easier for you to check out each day’s section, as this post is going to grow longer with every new window, all you have to do is click on the Day you want, and you will instantly jump to the corresponding section. 

• Day 1 – Slave 1

• Day 2 – Bespin Guard

• Day 3 – Tie Interceptor

• Day 4 – Imperial Navy Trooper

• Day 5 – Hoth Turret

• Day 6 – Snowtrooper

• Day 7 – Snowtrooper Snowman

• Day 8 – P-Tower

• Day 9 – Hoth Rebel Trooper

• Day 10 – Venator-class Star Destroyer

• Day 11 – Armoured Assault Tank (AAT)

• Day 12 – Droid Gunship

• Day 13 – Battle Droid

• Day 14 – Obi wan’s Jedi Starfighter

• Day 15 – Tantive IV

• Day 16 – E-3PO U-3PO

• Day 17 – Gonk Droid

• Day 18 – Jabba’s Palace

• Day 19 – Luke Skywalker

• Day 20 – Desert Skiff

• Day 21 – Stormtrooper

• Day 22 – Imperial Landing Craft

• Day 23 – Ice Hockey Sleigh

• Day 24 – Snow Chewbacca

• Final Thoughts on the 2016 Star Wars Advent Calendar

I recommend bookmarking this post to check back each day, as I will be continuing to post other things throughout December. Alternatively, you can also access it from the home page by clicking this link on the navigation bar. If you’re on mobile, you have to expand the burger menu (the button with the 3 lines) to find it.

Don’t forget to also subscribe if you’d like to be notified of other posts & reviews. You can also follow the Jay’s Brick Blog Facebook page, where I’ll be updating it daily at the end of the day to avoid accidentally spoiling people!

If you’re new here and in the mood for all things Christmas, why not check out my review of this year’s Winter Village set – the Winter Holiday Train!

Like previous years, the front flap can be folded out to create a nice little playmat where you can arrange each of the day’s build under a backdrop of Tattooine, Naboo and Hoth.

If you’re new to Advent Calendars, be very, very careful when opening each door. They’re made of cardboard and can easily tear if you force them open too strongly.

The instructions for the Star Wars Advent Calendar LEGO models are printed on each door. Some of them are easy to follow, but sometimes they can be pretty tricky and you’ll have to study the diagram quite hard to ensure that you’re building the models correctly.

The instructions for the Star Wars Advent Calendar LEGO models are printed on each door. They’re fairly easy to follow as most builds are only made up of a small number of pieces.

Without further ado, let’s kick off the 2016 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar!

Day 1

Day 1 of the 2016 Star Wars Advent Calendar gets off on a flying start with a model of Boba Fett’s Slave 1, one of the most beloved ships in the Star Wars universe. Slave 1 made its first appearance in Empire Strikes Back and is known for its unique “clothes iron” shape.

The Slave 1 model is designed quite well and captures the general shape of the ship. The use of dark green elements and dark red slopes are also right on the money and I love that they’ve gotten the curved bottom of the ship mostly right. The gap in the front is a little distracting but it doesn’t detract from the overall look.

Here’s how the actual Slave 1 actually looks like.

Here’s how Slave 1 looks in its upright “flying position”.

The instructions were rather tricky to figure out, and I think younger builders might get stumped trying to figure out where everything goes so I took this photo above which should help highlight how all the pieces come together.

Lastly, here are the spare parts!

Looks like we’re off to a fantastic start – it’s always nice to get an Original Trilogy ship, especially one that’s so loved by Star Wars fans! Check in tomorrow for Day 2!

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Day 2

Day 2 of the Star Wars Advent Calendar brings us a really cool minifigure – a Bespin Guard from Cloud City! Together with yesterday’s Slave 1, it seems like we’re getting started with a whole series of Cloud City models and builds. Think of Bespin Guards as Cloud City police.

As the first minifigure of this year’s Advent Calendar, I’m quite happy with the Bespin Guard, although I think he will appeal more to hardcore Star Wars fans as it’s an unnamed character. That said, the Bespin Guard is rather rare – he’s made an appearance in the UCS Slave 1 (albeit with a different face) so it’s awesome to be able to get him in such an affordable set.

I like the printing on the Bespin Guard’s torso, both back and front – it’s quite subtle and not too loud. I also really like his cool blue hat.

I’m not a fan of his choice of weaponry. He comes with a gun (and a spare) which don’t feel particularly Star Wars-y since they’re not traditional blasters. LEGO sometimes use them as fuel nozzles.

I guess that comes in handy when the Bespin Guard is called upon to refuel the Slave 1! Anyway, that’s all for Day 2! Check back in tomorrow to see if we get another Cloud City build!

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Day 3

The good guys are nowhere in sight in this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar! Day 3 brings us a TIE Interceptor, a speedy and maneuverable starfighter that was employed by the Galactic Empire to hunt down pesky Rebel ships.

The TIE Interceptor is instantly recognizable by its sharp, arrow-shaped profile, which sets it apart from the blockier and more hexagonical TIE Fighters.

After building it, I really liked the overall look. The wings can be adjusted slightly to alter the TIE Interceptor’s shape, and I was very pleased to get a printed cockpit glass dome! It’s been awhile since we’ve gotten a printed piece in a Star Wars Advent Calendar, and this one just manages to enhance the Interceptor’s look so much more.

What I didn’t like was the colour inconsistencies on the wing clips. No idea why LEGO couldn’t standardise the clips and use dark grey instead of a distracting mix of dark and light grey. Also, the model doesn’t really stand up on its own well, so you may need to build some sort of stand to display it properly.

Here’s a look at the actual model of the TIE Interceptor (via Wookiepedia).

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened Day 3’s window and saw the instructions as it was pretty complex – I don’t recall any other Star Wars Advent Calendar builds being this complex! If you thought Day 1 was tricky, this takes it to a whole new level. Here’s hoping younger builders don’t struggle too much with it.

My tip on getting the TIE Interceptor build right is to focus on the wings. Here’s a photo of all 4 wings, and their corresponding bars/clips that attach to the underside. If you can match this image above, that’s almost half of the work done.

Also, here’s a look at how the clips and bars come together when you’re assembling the wing.

Here are the spare parts that you get! I was quite happy to get another neck brace piece (the one on the far right) which is a really useful piece for building or minifigures. 

So that’s it for Day 3 so far! The TIE Interceptor is a neat little build, but I’m hankering for some good guys or Rebels! Check in tomorrow to see if we manage to even the scales or if the Galactic Empire continues its dominance in the 2016 Star Wars Advent Calendar.

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Day 4

Day 4 of the Star Wars Advent Calendar brings us yet another nameless minifigure – an Imperial Navy Trooper. They’re usually found working on Star Destroyers or the Death Star and are quite easily recognised thanks distinctive black helmets.

Like Day 2’s Bespin Guard, the Imperial Navy Trooper minifigure is quite rare, having only made an appearance in 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer making this yet another great addition for Star Wars collectors. The downside, is that for most casual Star Wars fans, he may not be as appealing as a named character.

I really like the Imperial Navy Trooper’s highly detailed torso, which also has back printing. It’s a really cool, rather neutral black uniform that can be used for all sorts of other applications and the printing is nice and sharp too.

He comes equipped with a proper blaster, yay!

All in all, I’m very happy with the Imperial Navy Trooper – he’s an excellent minifigure with a really cool hat. The fact that he’s also a rare minifigure makes it all the better. But really, his hat is just dope.

C’mon, we really need some Rebels in Day 5!

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Day 5

Yay something Rebel-related! Too bad, it looks kinda lame. Day 5 has us building a micro-scale DF.9 Turret that you may recognise defending Echo Base in Empire Strikes Back.

Remember these?

The build is a little too simple for my tastes, although I did enjoy the fact that you build the base of the turret upside down. The rest of the “snow” details are achieved with white cheese slopes and a solitary triple slope. You can swivel the Turret around, but that’s the extent of what it does.

It’s a little boring and in my opinion, way too small to be interesting. I would’ve really liked a micro-model of the Echo Base doors like the ones in the Assault on Hoth set.

Looks like Day 5 is our first real dud, so I had to make the group photo a little more fun by turning the TIE Interceptor and Slave 1 into balloons. Here’s hoping that we get an AT-ST or AT-AT in Day 6’s build, so the Turret has something to shoot at and isn’t all on its own!

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Day 6

What’s this, another minifigure? Hurrah! Day 6 gives us a Snowtrooper, further bolstering the Galactic Empire’s presence in the Advent Calendar. Day 5’s turret has something to shoot at, which is nice.

The Snowtrooper has been a staple in Hoth sets, most recently being seen in 2016’s stinker of a “UCS” set, the Assault on Hoth. The only difference is that this version doesn’t come with the fabric “skirt” seen in those other versions.

It’s not a bad minifigure, in fact the printing is rather detailed and I’m glad that he comes with a blaster rifle. Not a fan of his grey g-string being visible on his pants though…

Here’s a look at the Snowtrooper’s back. He has back print, but it’s mostly obscured by his backpack, which has a printed tile.

We even get a spare printed tile AND another neck piece!

I’m really loving the Star Wars Advent Calendar so far, we’re a quarter of the way into it and there hasn’t been any particularly shabby builds. Check back tomorrow to see what Day 7 brings!

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Day 7

Today, we get a build which contains some nice little surprises – a Snowtrooper snowman! Brick-built Snowpeople are a bit of a fixture in City Advent Calendars, so it’s nice to see that we’re getting a Star Wars-flavoured one.

The Snowman is pretty cute and is made out of some rare-ish parts. I like the white “pot” piece that’s used as the base, and the deal breaker here is the Imperial Pilot Helmet, which makes its first ever appearance in White!

I was pretty surprised to get it, as I’ve only ever seen this in grey. Super cool of LEGO to unexpectedly drop a rare (for now) colour variant into the Advent Calendar! The model also comes with a stud-blaster which fires off snowballs. It adds a little bit of playability, but it’s quite flimsy especially if you want to fire it.

Not too bad for Day 7, although I’m starting to miss some vehicles! Check in tomorrow to see if we get another Hoth-inspired ship or vehicle!

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Day 8

Day 8 gives us a bit of a head scratcher! It took me a while to figure out what this was, but I’m fairly sure that it’s a P-Tower! One of the laser cannons employed by the Rebels outside Echo Base to defend against the Imperial onslaught of AT-ATs and AT-STs.

The build is nothing to shout about, but it captures the look of the P-Tower really well. It’s just a little boring. There is a handlebar at the back of the P-Tower, possibly for some Rebel to grasp. But we don’t have a single Rebel minifigure. Perhaps this is a sign of what’s to come on Day 9!

That’s all for Day 8! Check in tomorrow to see if we finally get a Rebel character to slow down the Imperial offensive!

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Day 9

As I predicted, Day 9 brings us a Hoth Rebel Trooper! He’s a familiar face, making an appearance in this year’s Assault on Hoth set. He’s got a really nice face, with a healthy crop of facial hair, including a very impressive ‘stache. He’s outfitted in typical Hoth Rebel Trooper attire, and the printing is nice and sharp.

It’s not the most exciting minifigure, but for Star Wars army builders (especially those of you who are working on Hoth scenes), generic troops are always a good thing.

Here’s a look at his back printing. I also like the Rebel Trooper’s helmet, which allows you to affix the eye goggles in two different positions. As you receive a spare, you can also put both on at the same time for maximum dorkiness.

Combined with Day 8’s P-Tower, the Hoth Rebel Trooper is able to threaten the Snowtrooper!

So that’s it for Day 9 so far. I’m getting tired of these structures and generic minifigures and am hankering for another ship build!

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Day 10

Wish granted! Day 10 delivers a micro Venator-class Star Destroyer and it is a thing of beauty. I believe that this is the first time that the Venator has appeared in any Star Wars Advent Calendar, and the designers have absolutely nailed the ship.

The dagger-shaped ship is a precursor to the Star Destroyer and featured in Star Wars Episode III. As soon as I built it, I immediately knew what it was, a testament to the overall design of the micro-scale ship. The use of grey slopes to recreate the Venator’s unique shape was a brilliant one and the dark red tile helps make it instantly recognizable as well.

The only thing I really dislike are the thrusters at the back, which in my opinion are a little too long and large, throwing the delicate balance of the ship off ever so slightly. If they were half as short, I think they’d be perfect.

Day 10 is my favourite day so far out of this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar, and I am really loving nearly everything about it this year. Check in tomorrow to see if Day 11 manages to keep up the momentum of what seems like the best Star Wars Advent Calendar yet!

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Day 11

LEGO are really killing it with the micro-models in the 2016 Star Wars Advent Calendar. Day 11 has us building an Armoured Assault Tank which you may remember being employed against the Gungans in the Battle of Naboo in Ep I: The Phantom Menace.

These tan-coloured hulking tanks were manned by droids, and have a distinctively organic look thanks to all the curves on the tank. As a kid watching The Phantom Menace, I always thought these were very inspired by the Protoss from Starcraft.

Anyway, the AAT is a great model, and just like yesterday’s Venator, the micro-scale tank is instantly recognizable. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of elements contained in this model. It’s not as challenging as some of the previous builds, but I’ve added a photo of the top part of the tank above to help younger builders get a sense of how it all comes together. The orientation of the brown brick might take awhile to get.

One of my favourite things about the AAT build is that the design allows for the top half to swivel, very much like the actual vehicle! Combined with the ability to adjust the grey “nozzle” guns at each side, it gives this small but very well designed model a lot of extra playability that you wouldn’t normally expect from something this tiny.

We’re almost at the middle point of the Star Wars Advent Calendar, and at the rate that this calendar is going, I really don’t want it to stop!

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Day 12

We’re at the halfway point of the Star Wars Advent Calendar, and I feel like we’ve hit our first real speed bump on Day 12. I’m generally not that big a hater of the prequel trilogy (except for Episode 2 and Jar Jar), but I just can’t make myself like Day 12’s Droid Gunship.

I’ve never been a fan of the original model, as it looks like a weird flattened snail with wings. The colour scheme is also drab and it just really looks like a bug that just got squashed.

In a sense, it’s rather accurate to its ugly source material, but it just doesn’t do it for me.

Sorry, but Day 12 is just not doing it for me. Here’s hoping tomorrow brings a better model.

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Day 13

Here on Day 13, we get yet another Droid-related content with a Battle Droid minifigure! I kinda like these guys as I think they look kinda goofy. They’re pretty well designed, and because I don’t have the largest LEGO Star Wars collection, I don’t have too many of them – so this one gets a warm welcome into my collection.

The Battle Droid comes with a blaster rifle and some spare arms as well, which allow you to have some variety of the orientation of their hands.

So we’ve got a Trade Federation AAT, a Droid Gunship and now a Battle Droid all hanging out together. While I don’t hate any of them, I am getting weary of Droid and prequel-themed builds and am more than ready for a change of scene!

Check in tomorrow to see if Day 14 delivers something new!

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Day 14

We’re still in prequel territory in day 14 with Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter or if you prefer its full name, the Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor. When I was first assembling the model, I had initially thought that it was an A-Wing, but as the shape came together, it started to resemble the Jedi Starfighter.

You could call it a regular Jedi Starfighter, but I’d like to think that this one specifically belongs to Obi Wan.

The model’s design is pretty true to the original starship, and I like how sleek it looks. The dark red slopes on the side also looks nice, but I’m not a fan of the exposed studs on top of the model.

It’s pretty basic, but it’s nice to see LEGO pay homage to what is probably the most unforgettable UCS Star Wars sets ever – 10215 Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter. Also, I’m really glad that we seem to have progressed from Droid-related builds!

I’m a big fan of the micro models of the Star Wars Advent Calendar, so I’m still pleased with today’s model, despite it being tainted by the prequel’s legacy. Looking forward to see what we get tomorrow – today’s build has me feeling optimistic again!

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Day 15

Day 15 brings yet another excellent micro-build with the Tantive IV, a really iconic Star Wars ship and also a fan-favourite LEGO set. I really like the build as it’s instantly recognizable and it’s very cleverly designed. It’s a little rough around the edges, with a lot of exposed studs but it’s pretty charming in a way that only a Tantive IV can be.

The ship holds a special place in Star Wars lore as the ship in which Princess Leia was on when Darth Invader infamously boards it.

The Tantive IV’s most defining feature are the massive array of thrusters powering it. We get a set of 6 on the micro Tantive, and the design is executed very, very well.

The Tantive IV is a great addition to the Advent Calendar and purist Star Wars fans are definitely going to love the fact that we’ve left the prequels for A New Hope. It looks like the Star Wars Advent Calendar is picking up steam again! Looking forward to seeing what the next few days brings!

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Day 16

Update: Looks like I was wrong with this one – it appears that this minifigure is actually U-3PO and not E-3PO as I had initally thought! Thanks to Kim & G who pointed it out!

It’s Day 16 and we get our very first exclusive minifigure from the 2016 Star Wars Advent Calendar – E-3PO U-3PO! He’s a silver protocol droid, and is within the same model series as the gold standard for protocol droids – C-3PO, which explains their similar look.

We’ve never had a silver protocol droid, so this is an amazing minifigure for those that collect them. The design is nearly identical to the newest C-3PO in terms of the torso design, but he sadly lacks arm and side-leg printing, which is a bit of a disappointment but not a complete deal breaker.

We do get back printing!

I really like the pearl silver colour of E-3PO – I think it works very well with the protocol droid. Chrome silver would’ve been sweet, but that’s a little too much o ask, in my opinion. Also, LEGO seems to have been steering clear of chromed parts. Also, We’ve had a Chrome Protocol Droid in TC-14.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate my C-3PO minifigure to photograph them side by side, so here’s a photo from Empire Strikes Back! U-3PO actually appears in A New Hope, on board the Tantive IV, yesterday’s build!

Overall, I’m very pleased with with U-3PO! Only 8 days remain in the Star Wars Advent Calendar! At the rate that we’re going, I don’t want this to end!

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Day 17

More Original Prequel goodness with Day 17’s GNK Power Droid, or more affectionately known as the Gonk Droid! Making its first appearance in A New Hope, the simple, fairly junky looking droid that looks like a walking rubbish bin has quite a large fan following in the Star Wars Universe.

The Gonk Droid looks delightful, and I like the mix of brown, nougat and flesh coloured elements to give it a very rusty and weathered look. I also love that they got its cute little legs right with the ribbed texture.

It’s not a particularly challenging build (not as challenging as some of the previous ones) but I took this photo because part of the build is obstructed from view in the instructions.

All in all, I’m quite happy with two droids in a row. These were the droids I was looking for – no offence, Battle Droid.

Check in tomorrow for Day 18! Only a week’s worth of Star Wars Advent Calendar to go!

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Day 18

One of the things that the 2015 Star Wars Advent Calendar did really well was to introduce micro-scale buildings and locations into the mix. I was afraid that they removed them altogether this year, so imagine my delight when I opened the Day 18 window and was greeted by this micro-sized Jabba’s Palace!

The home of Jabba the Hutt is quite apparent with the large circular dome, and the Minarets that tower up it alongside it. The tan base, and slopes are as Tatooine as they get and I’m overall quite happy with it.

Here’s a bit of LEGO Trivia: Did you know that the most recent Jabba’s Palace set generated quite a bit of controversy in 2013 when some crazy parties accused LEGO of making it so that it resembled a Muslim Mosque?

All in all, I am super happy to see the return of Micro-scale buildings! With only less than a week remaining, I’m hoping for at least one more micro-scale location before we arrive at the grand finale!

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Day 19

Now we’re talking! In Day 19 of the 2016 Star Wars Advent Calendar, we get the man himself, Luke Skywalker in his Jedi Master outfit from Return of the Jedi. Return of the Jedi was a massive movie for me growing up, and when we get introduced to Luke who has undergone his Jedi training in his new black outfit and green lightsaber, my mind was just blown away by how bad-ass he was.

This is a pretty uncommon minifigure, having only made an appearance in the recent Death Star Set and the Death Star Final Duel, both of which are pretty pricey sets. The fact that you get the best and most updated version of ROTJ Luke in the Advent Calendar is an awesome present in itself.

The printing on his torso, front and back is great and he has a double-sided face too. His right arm is black instead flesh-coloured, as he has a robot hand as a result of daddy slicing off his hand at the end of Empire Strikes Back.

You can’t not love the Jedi Master version of Luke Skywalker. I’m thoroughly delighted with the contents of Day 19 – now that we have a Jedi and a lightsaber, it really feels like a Star Wars Advent Calendar!

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Day 20

We continue our foray into Return of the Jedi with a Desert Skiff on Day 20, the vehicle employed in the dramatic rescue of Princess Leia aboard Jabba’s Sail Barge, and also the demise (?) of Boba Fett.

I had initially thought that it was some sort Speeder Bike (if you position it backwards), but after giving it a closer look and following the theme so far, a Desert Skiff makes much more sense.

Here’s the movie version for comparison. The model is not much to shout about. I mean, I know what it is and the shape is accurate-ish – it’s just not the most exciting build since it’s so bland.

Only 4 days remain till the grand finale!

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Day 21

Day 21 of this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar gives us a Stormtrooper! It’s the equivalent of receiving a LEGO set for Christmas. Even if you’ve already got the set, you’re still mostly happy to get LEGO and you’ll find a way to fit it into your collection.

One can never have enough LEGO or Stormtroopers.

This Stormtrooper minifigure is the exact same one as the one we got in last year’s Advent Calendar and outside of Advent Calendars, this variant is fairly rare, found only in large sets like 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer, 75060 Slave 1 and 75159 Death Star.

Still the same old angry Stromtrooper face underneath and the back printing is excellent.

Want to hear a really bad Stormtrooper Christmas joke?

What’s a Stormtrooper’s favourite thing about Christmas?

… The Miss-tletoe.

Because they keep missing their targets.

Oh, God, that was really bad. Please forgive me.

Is it me or is this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar not particularly Christmasy?

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Day 22

Update: Edited this part thanks to Karl and Chris for pointing out that it’s a Sentinel Class Landing Craft instead of an Imperial Shuttle!

So my bad, I had initially thought that this was an Imperial Shuttle, but it looks like Day 22 is an Imperial Landing Craft. Now that it’s out of the way, I think my words can be kinder since it looks quite close to the original model.

It also makes sense with Day 21’s Stormtrooper since these Landing Crafts were used to transport the troopers. I’m still not sure if these ever featured in the movies, Wookieepedia says that it made an appearance in a Special Edition of A New Hope, but I can’t for the life of me remember it!

Anyway, the Imperial Landing Craft looks quite good. I like the cockpit and the wing flaps which can be used to alter the shape of the ship. I’m still not a fan of the tan plate, and I feel that it would’ve been better if it were grey to give it a more uniform look.

The back of the Imperial Landing Craft does look quite nice with the transparent blue tile!

That’s it for Day 22! Not too bad, but for what seems to be quite an obscure ship, I did expect a bit more from the 3rd last day of the Advent Calendar. It’s not a bad model by any means, but I would’ve liked something a bit more iconic.

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Day 23

On the second last day of the Star Wars Advent Calender, we get a bit more of a seasonal build, an Ice Hockey Sleigh! I’m struggling to think of what Star Wars vehicle or ship this could be! My best guess is that it’s loosely based off the Imperial Troop Transport set or one of those trolleys from Echo Base, like the one we got in the Assault on Hoth set.

Either way, I’m not too hung up on the accuracy of this model, as this is meant to be a fun festive build to celebrate the Winter months, since it comes equipped with two hockey sticks, a puck and a bag to hold a pair of ice skates!

Here’s a look at the back, where we get a sack containing two pairs of ice skates.

I was also very tickled by the face on the sleigh!

Despite it being light on the “Star Wars” factor, I quite like the Ice Hockey Sleigh, mostly because it gives me the chance to set up an impromptu game of ice of ice hockey to finally settle the feud between the Rebels and the Galactic Empire.

Only one day left in the Advent Calendar… we all know what’s coming tomorrow, but let’s try to act surprised anyway!

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Day 24

So here we are, the grand finale of the 2016 Star Wars Advent Calendar with one of the worst kept secrets ever – the Snow Chewbacca minifigure! The Snow Chewbacca is a special edition Christmas-themed Star Wars minifigure that ends every Advent Calendar.

Also known as the White Chocolate Chewbacca (I made this up), the Snow Chewbacca is probably an homage to the Abominable Snowman/Yeti and is the perfect way to cap off this year’s fantastic calendar.

The Albino Chewbacca is decked with festive decoration, where his bandolier (ammo strap) is painted in red and green. He comes with a snazzy new bowcaster which fires off snowballs (1×1 studs) which is always a great weapon to have. He also comes with two miniature pine trees which I thought was a very nice wintery touch and some spare snowballs.

The all-white Chewbacca also has back printing, which sees the Christmas-coloured bandolier run all the way down his back.

It’s a really fun and outlandish variant to add to other festive Star Wars characters from previous years. Snow Chewbacca would’ve been one of the main reasons that most people picked up this year’s Advent Calendar and he certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Here’s a comparison between the Snow Chewbacca and the regular Chewbacca.

Looks like everyone is pretty pleased to welcome Snow Chewbacca to the group. Just in time for Christmas Eve!

Final Thoughts

In the micro-ship department, let’s start with the Original Trilogy ships. My favourites out of this bunch is Slave 1, followed by the Tantive IV. I wasn’t a big fan of the Imperial Landing Craft, and the Desert Skiff was a pretty bad addition.

Probably not the strongest showing for Original Trilogy fans, but I kinda expected it seeing since last year’s calendar was absolutely stacked in the OT department.

For all the hate that the Prequel Trilogy gets, I think the selection of prequel ships in this year’s calendar was a lot better than the Original Trilogy. They’re all strong showings, except for the Droid Gunship. With great designs that are accurate to their on-screen counterparts, it was a nice surprise to see the Prequels get their chance to shine.

Also, my favourite ship in this calendar goes to the Venator-class Star Destroyer from Day 10.

One of the best things about this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar is the lack of any sort of Weapons Rack or Catapults, which for years have been the bane of Star wars fans. That alone should rank this as one of the best Star Wars Advent Calendars ever.

I was kinda disappointed that we didn’t get more location-based micro-models in this year’s calendar. Jabba’s Palace was really nice, but I would’ve loved to see more especially after last year when they were first introduced. A micro-Echo Base, or even Cloud City would’ve been fantastic additions.

Special shout-out to the Gonk Droid for being as cute as ever.

This year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar really shined in the minifigure department. We got a whopping NINE minifigures in the Advent Calendar, a pretty massive jump from 2015’s 7 minifigures and I love all of them.

From exclusives like U-3PO and Snow Chewbacca, to popular named characters like Luke Skywalker, to army-builder fodder like Stormtroopers, Battle Droids and Snowtroopers, this year’s minifigure lineup is nothing short of spectacular.

The value of all these minifigures alone, more than covers (in fact, exceeds!) the cost of the Advent Calendar.

I have to say that this is LEGO’s best Star Wars Advent Calendar yet. From the very first window, the pace was almost perfect and each day managed to build on top of the previous. Apart from some blips like the Desert Skiff and Droid Gunship which I disliked, nearly every build was fun in its own way.

The best thing that LEGO did this year was remove any sort of Weapons Racks, which shows that they’ve listened to our rants in previous years about how little value they provide to the overall experience.

So yeah, very pleased with this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar and I’m really excited to see how they top this next year. I would really like to see next year’s be Force Awakens-themed to incorporate some of the newer ships and characters from Episode 7.

Thanks to everyone that has been following this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar countdown! It’s been an absolute pleasure documenting each day with all of you!

I really enjoyed chatting in the comments section, and to hear about your own experiences with the Advent Calendar! It’s been the best Christmas present ever and yes, you can definitely count on me doing this again next year, so I hope to see you again! I might even do the City one next year as I got quite a few requests, so stay tuned!

If you’ve enjoyed following, please feel free to stick around and read some of my other reviews or musings about LEGO as we head into 2017. It’s shaping up to be yet another exciting year for LEGO and I’ll be writing as much as humanly possible.

Do check out some of my other LEGO Reviews if you want some light reading material. To stay up to date with the latest posts, you can subscribe with your email address in the right sidebar to receive notifications. You can also follow my page on Facebook where I update on a much more regular basis with news about LEGO. I’m also on Instagram as @jayong28 if you like photos!

Thank you once again to everyone that has been following and commenting. I hope you have an excellent holiday season and that you score plenty of LEGO as presents!

Merry Christmas!