Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s first set reveals the recipe for a great LEGO starship
The first LEGO Star Wars: Skeleton Crew set has a disadvantage right out of the gate, but deftly overcomes that obstacle to demonstrate what makes a LEGO starship great.
There’s no doubt that LEGO Star Wars 75374 The Onyx Cinder faces an uphill battle, hitting shelves four months before its corresponding project – Skeleton Crew – arrives on Disney+, and long before anyone has been able to form an attachment to the series’ characters and, therefore, their minifigures. That means this is a set that needs to shine purely as a strong LEGO starship independently of its source material.
Thankfully, 75374 The Onyx Cinder does indeed have quality on its side – and as we’ve already covered in our review, it’s one of the most impressive LEGO starships ever conceived in its play features, interior space and exterior design. Even facing great challenges in the months leading up to Skeleton Crew, 75374 The Onyx Cinder reveals the crucial ingredients for a great LEGO starship.
It succeeds inside and out…
Some of the more expensive LEGO starships, such as 75192 Millennium Falcon, may feature a strong selection of minifigures and some beautiful exterior detailing but they don’t always make the best use of the space inside the set. When the high-budget spaceships do focus on this aspect though, it’s an overwhelming success, including in 75331 The Razor Crest and 76286 The Milano Spaceship.
This design decision encourages fans to get hands-on with the ship instead of keeping it solely on display to appreciate the finer details and Easter eggs inside. That means that the ships need to be sturdy enough to be held frequently, though.
It’s strong and sturdy…
Comparing 75374 The Onyx Cinder to 7965 Millennium Falcon and 75357 Ghost & Phantom II, the newer model is sturdy enough to hold and effectively swoosh while the interior remains accessible. 7965 Millennium Falcon has a more accessible interior but its size and structure mean that while it is just sturdy enough, it can be awkward to grip.
75357 Ghost & Phantom II has a similar issue in that its roof section is loose and can come off easily. While this makes the (small) interior space accessible, it doesn’t feel nearly as sturdy as other LEGO starships. 75374 The Onyx Cinder trades accessibility for stability as fitting the minifigures inside can be a challenge for bigger hands. The roof cannot be removed – but that’s thanks to an impressive play feature.
It’s built for play and display…
Most LEGO starships are limited on play features, usually fitting in missiles of some kind, opening cockpits and more. 75374 The Onyx Cinder takes that to the next level though. It has four moving engines all operated with one lever that is cleverly hidden while being perfectly accessible in the middle of the ship’s structure.
10497 Galaxy Explorer’s ejecting rover is another example of a well-integrated play feature in a LEGO starship and that set’s interior is nothing to complain about for the price. The retired LEGO Icons set also introduces another important point for strong LEGO starships: realism. Minifigures can realistically board the ship via boarding ramps and an airlock.
Similarly, 75374 The Onyx Cinder balances realism with the fact that it is entirely the wrong scale. It features plenty of ramps and doors for minifigures to access its interior spaces while focusing on the correct scale on the exterior through stickers and brick-built decorations.
The new LEGO Star Wars set posits that minifigure scale isn’t always necessary and that you can balance the correct scale with a more affordable price tag. Its focus on exterior details extends to all sides of the model too. This includes turrets on almost every surface and a striped pattern that curves around the ship. While 75192 Millennium Falcon may not have a complete interior, it has a complete exterior and exceeds that of 75374 Millennium Falcon with details to appreciate from every angle.
…and it holds all those things in balance
Finding the balance between exterior details, interior space, realism and play functions isn’t easy and the LEGO designers across all themes rarely manage to walk that fine line completely. It’s for these reasons that 75374 The Onyx Cinder is a fine example of what makes a LEGO starship strong enough to stand on its own two feet (or landing gear).
Given how far ahead of Skeleton Crew 75374 The Onyx Cinder has launched, some may think it’s a strange inclusion in the 2024 line-up, and might have been better saved for early 2025. That’s a fair point – but as discussed in our review, the ship’s generically rugged nature and spacious interior mean that it’s easy to customise it to your liking, and it has plenty to offer beyond ties to its source material.
LEGO starships show no sign of slowing down any time soon across Star Wars and other themes and the LEGO Group’s design teams have learnt a lot over the many decades, but we’re sure there are more lessons to learn yet. For now, we have a good idea of what makes a brick-built spaceship worthwhile and fun, as encapsulated by 75374 The Onyx Cinder.
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Author Profile
- LEGO has been a part of my life ever since I was young. It all started when my brother passed down 7657 AT-ST to me. It’s guided me through my early years, through school and eventually through my degree in journalism. I still have all my collection proudly on display, including my many NINJAGO sets, my favourite of all the LEGO Group’s themes. Outside of Brick Fanatics I am an avid gamer and enjoy a good game of Dungeons & Dragons.
