LEGO 75244 Tantive IV to be re-released for May the 4th 2019 (non-UCS)

April 13, 2019 | 10

If the Episode XI teaser hasn’t gotten you all hot and bothered for all things Star Wars, maybe this announcement will.

LEGO has officially announced 75244 Tantive IV, an update to one of the most-requested Star Wars sets that have just been begging to be remade.

It will surprise (and probably disappoint) most fans that the Tantive IV is not a UCS set, which begs the question – where is the UCS Star Wars set for 2019?

The 2019 Tantive IV is made out of 1,768 pieces and has a release date of 3 May 2019, just in time to celebrate Star Wars Day on May the 4th. The set will cost US$199.99 and AU$329.99.

See below for regional pricing:

• 75244 Tantive IV  [US] – US$199.99
• 75244 Tantive IV  [AU] – AU$329.99
• 75244 Tantive IV  [UK] – £179.99
• 75244 Tantive IV  [EU] – €199.99 (regional EU pricing applies)
• 75244 Tantive IV  [CA] – CAD$269.99

Long-time LEGO Star Wars fans have been clamouring for decades for LEGO to re-release the Rebel Blockade Runner, one of the most iconic ships in Star Wars history from its feats in a New Hope (and recently Rogue One), so I think it’s great that LEGO have been listening to the fans.

The set includes 5 minifigures, Bail Organa, Princess Leia, Captain Antilles, C-3PO and a Rebel Fleet Trooper, plus an R2-D2 droid LEGO figure.

Star Wars fans will be delighted to see Bail Organa make his debut as a LEGO minifigure, and is one of the strongest selling points of the set.

Leia also looks incredible, with the use of the new dress-slope piece for her outfit. This is probably the definitive version of Original Trilogy Leia.

Here are more detail and close-up shots of the set.

And here’s a comparison of the original LEGO Tantive IV and the updated 2019 version.

It might be a perspective thing, but the newer version looks much skinnier than what I remember the Tantive IV to be.

I don’t own the original LEGO Tantive IV, so I’m not really that qualified to make any assessments, but I sure am glad that it’s back on the market.

The thing that bothers me about this set is the price – we’re pretty much approaching UCS-level pricing for what is undecidedly a non-UCS set.

I also think it’s a big miss for LEGO to not have released a proper UCS-scale Tantive IV which is what Adult LEGO Star Wars fans have been wanting the most.

This will satisfy some demand for the Tantive IV, but it still doesn’t completely fulfill what Star Wars fans really want.

The price is going to upset a number of LEGO Star Wars fans, as is the lack of the UCS for 2019. I’m curious to know LEGO seems to have pushed out the UCS set this year… but I’m starting to believe the rumours that we’re truly getting a UCS Falcon-sized Star Destroyer later in the year.

For me, I’ll probably give this set a miss. I’m not a big enough Star Wars fan to justify dropping three hundred big ones on a non-UCS set.

So that’s my thoughts on the Tantive IV. Let me know what you think in the comments section!