LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV (75376) review: This is the consular ship your desk is looking for

1/17

Note: This feature was first published on 3 May 2024.

The Tantive IV needs no introduction – it's literally the first starship we see at the beginning of the first Star Wars movie (A New Hope), being pursued very closely behind by Darth Vader's Star Destroyer, the Devastator. As a part of LEGO's Star Wars Starship Collection, the Tantive IV rightfully earn its place as one of Star Wars' most iconic ships.

You can find it on: Amazon | Lego.com | Bricks World | Lazada | Shopee

2/17

Just like the Millennium Falcon (75375) that was reviewed recently (read it here), the Tantive IV set also features a cool Easter egg that references a very memorable scene in A New Hope during the building process. Here, we see C3-PO witnessing Princess Leia sending an SOS recording to R2-D2.

3/17

Unlike the same Millennium Falcon set, however, the Tantive IV set comes with a sheet of stickers which is a little bit of a shame as all the elements with stickers could have been printed. If LEGO could do it for the Millennium Falcon, I'm not sure why it can't do the same for the Tantive IV considering that these are high-end display sets. I hope they don't peel off over time.

4/17

This Tantive IV release is also a part of the celebration of the LEGO Star Wars theme's 25th Anniversary this year.

5/17

At about 32cm in length, the 654-pieces Tantive IV is a midi-scale set that may looks complex but is actually relatively easy to build despite its "18+ years" age label. Clearly, the Starship Collection are targeted at adult fans of Star Wars who want to display their favourite ships from a galaxy far, far away, on their study or work desk.

6/17

And the details on the Tantive IV is quite impressive, especially on such a small scale. Although most of the really good details are towards the end of the ship, around the rear engines area and is where the bulk of the weight of the set lies.

7/17

Apart from having to use stickers, another gripe I have with the set is the rather simplistic design of the Tantive IV's bridge at the front. I supposed this is one of the pitfalls of designing this ship at midi-scale, where details can be a tad harder to bring out as compared to its larger scale sets.

8/17

But apart from the bridge, the rest of the ship is full of details including one missing escape pod (as depicted by the grey element above). It's one of those Star Wars moments where you go, "if you know, you know".

9/17

While this Tantive IV is pretty much a static display set, there are minor play elements such as the rotating top and bottom turrents. You can also remove it from the stand for some "swooshing" fun too, if you so like.

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Along the mid-section of the Tantive IV are plates (with the single-laser turrets and escape pods) that clip into place and are angled against the core of the ship.

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Further down are the docking tubes (go watch the animation Star Wars Rebels), which look superb, and the primary radar panel situated above it (spoiler: the Devastator blast this part of the Tantive IV away in the opening scene of A New Hope).

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And yes, that part of the Tantive IV is also a play element and can be rotated 360-degree too. 

13/17

Arguably the most distinctive feature of the Tantive IV, the enormous drive houses 11 engines to give the corvette its impressive speed and its "blockade runner" moniker in the Star Wars universe. There are a lot of mechanical details around the engines and LEGO has recreated it pretty well here despite the midi-scale. The tiles could have been printed on, rather than having stickers plasted onto them. LEGO should really stick with printed tiles for its Starship Collection series.

14/17

LEGO has also included the same details at the bottom of the drive block, which is a nice touch. But because the stand places the Tantive IV at level, you don't get to see these unless you enjoy 'swooshing' the Tantive IV around often. Which brings me to another point, should LEGO build a stand that display the Tantive IV at an angle instead, like the Millennium Falcon from the same collection?

15/17

Here's another look at the drive block from the side. You can really see the scale of this part of the Tantive IV here and the impressive details.

16/17

LEGO uses orange-coloured 1x1 cones to the back of the engines, breaking the mundane white, red and grey colours. It also gives the Tantive IV an illusion of speed.

17/17

The Tantive IV corvette may not be as imposing as the Super Star Destroyer or as fun to build as the Millennium Falcon, and the stickers are a big sore point for me personally at least. But I have to admit that despite my gripes, the Tantive IV is still a great display piece and its story in the Star Wars lore makes it a worthy addition to the LEGO Star Wars Starship Collection. The LEGO Tantive IV (75376) is now available for S$129.90.

You can find it on: Amazon | Lego.com | Bricks World | Lazada | Shopee