This brilliant new LEGO kit celebrates one of Star Wars' most iconic spaceships

The best LEGO Star Wars sets are brilliant things, and they're up there with the very best LEGO sets of all kinds. If you've been hoping for a new Star Wars project to get your teeth into, you're going to love what LEGO just announced. It's 1,949 pieces of sheer Star Wars joy.

The new LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series X-wing Starfighter is based on the iconic T-65 X-Wing from the Star Wars saga, and it's incredibly detailed right down to its Incom 4L4 fusil thrust engines and Taim & Bak KX9 laser cannons. First seen in Star Wars: A New Hope, this particular fighter was manned by the Rebel Alliance's most elite pilots and played a key role in the nerve-shredding battle between Luke and Darth Vader in the trench of the Death Star.

A Star Wars ship you're going to want to show off

The new set joins other iconic vehicles from the Ultimate Collector series: the AT-ATTM, the Millennium Falcon (our current pick of the best LEGO Star Wars sets), the Razorcrest and Luke's Landspeeder. And like those sets the finished model is massive: it's 55cm (21.5 inches) long, 44cm (17.5 inches) wide and 27cm (10.5 inches) high, making it a great bit of home decor when you're done. You can display it with its wings open or closed, and it comes with Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 minifigures and a display plaque. 

The LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series X-wing Starfighter will be available to LEGO VIP members on the LEGO Star Wars site and in LEGO stores too from the 1st of May. It's set number 75355 and its price is £209.99. 

If you can't wait that long to take a loon, it'll also be on display at the forthcoming Star Wars Celebration event in London this week: the event runs from 7th to 10th April and you'll find the X-Wing at the LEGO booth.