• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• Day 11
• Day 12

• Day 13
• Day 14
• Day 15
• Day 16
• Day 17
• Day 18
• Day 19
• Day 20
• Day 21
• Day 22
• Day 23
• Day 24

The 2023 LEGO® Star Wars calendar takes off running with a Minifigure. Personally, I’d love to see an Advent calendar that comes with only Minifigures one year… imagine the price on that… But today, we get Omega from the Bad Batch animated series along with a toboggan. Sadly, Omega is a stumpy child without moving legs. That’s a serious drawback considering she is supposed to go sledding. With that said, I like the Bad Batch and did not have an Omega minifig before now. She is identical to the one that comes with the Justifier set (75323), but at a fraction of the price.

Given that Day 1 brought us Omega, I should have guessed that Day 2 would be the Justifier. However, I built this ship and I did not immediately recognize it. I had to look it up to figure out what ship it was meant to be. Of course, now that I know its the Justifier, I’m thinking “duh”. But the likeness is not great if I couldn’t get it right away. Let me know what you think though.

Unlike yesterday’s build, today’s ship was instantly recognizable. Perhaps that is because you see this ship more often in the various Star Wars series than the Justifier. Or perhaps it is just a clearer build. Either way, Day 3 brought me the Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter. It’s a bit chunkier than the “real” thing, but a pretty good representation given the small number of bricks used.

Day 4 brought a droid! While not a Minifigure, these buildable droids are the next best thing. I quite like building little robots from spare parts. I’ve shared instructions for two different models belore (click here or here to see them). As far as robots go, this one is pretty simple. However, it provides a lot of customization potential using just the base model. The character also comes with a sac.

For the second time in five days, I find myself at a bit of a loss. On building this, I did not know what it was. Apparently, today’s offering is a Clone Turbo Tank… It has a passing resemblance if you Google the vehicle. The LEGO® Group has produced a larger version of the Clone Turbo Tank. Additionally, the tank appeared in Rogue One and two episodes of The Bad Batch… However, if I’m being honest, I don’t remember ever seeing it despite watching both of those. Perhaps more obscure vehicles are not the best choice for the general, Advent calendar purchasing public?

It’s a Minifigure day! I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, these LEGO® Advent calendars are all about the minifigs for me. Today, I got a clone trooper from the 212th battalion. Those familiar with the Clone Wars know that the 212th was under the command of none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is the third appearance of this particular Minifigure. Previously, it came with Issue 93 of the LEGO® Star Wars magazine in Europe. Additionally, three of these clone troopers came in set 75337, AT-TE Walker.

Day 7 brought another build I did not recognize. After looking it up online, I determined that it is a forward command center used during the Clone Wars. These were mobile hubs set up at fronts during the war used by commanding officers to coordinate battles. The semi circular portion at the front is supposed to house computers. As such, a printed computer tile would have been nice in this build to help identify it. So far, I’ve had three builds I did not recognize in the 2023 LEGO® Star Wars Advent calendar… Am I just not as big a Star Wars fan as I thought?

What would a LEGO® Star Wars Advent calendar be without a battle droid? I don’t think I own a single battle droid that is not from an Advent calendar… I’ll say maybe one or two to be safe. But the vast majority certainly hail from Advent calendars. Though you generally only get one per calendar, if you’ve collected calendars for several years, they start to add up. Roger, roger.

Today’s build is a Single Trooper Aerial Platform, or STAP. These flying devices carried individual droids into battle during the Clone Wars. We first saw this vehicle in Episode 1. Additionally, it appeared in one of the earliest LEGO® Star Wars sets ever: 7121, Naboo Swamp from 1999. I like this build because I recognized it, and because it goes really well with yesterday’s battle droid.

Day 10 of the 2023 LEGO® Star Wars Advent calendar brought an IG-227 Hailfire-class Droid Tank. Once again this build hails from the Clone Wars… and once again I did not recognize it. I need to rewatch the prequel trilogy it seems… supposedly this one appears in Episode II. The Hailfire also appeared as a LEGO® set in 2015. Set 75085 was simply called the Hailfire Droid.

Today, I built an armoured assault tank. The model itself looks fantastic for something so small, and it was immediately recognizable. However, the build instructions left much to be desired. SImilar to yesterday’s Hailfire Tank, the build is a little too complex to convey in one image. Don’t get me wrong, I was able to figure it out, and I’m sure you can too. However, I had to pause and think about the orientation of the parts. I am enjoying the instructions in the 2023 LEGO® Employee Christmas gift Advent calendar a lot more…

We’ve reached the halfway point in the 2023 LEGO® Star Wars Advent calendar! Every year I reflect on how December seems to fly by as I open these Advent calendars, but I digress… Today, I built an E6 Power Droid. Of course, in retrospect, I think I built mine wrong. The E6 does not have arms, but I positioned the appendages as such. I think they’re supposed to be antlers now that I examine the photo I took more closely. I build these before my morning coffee, I blame the lack of caffeine.

Today’s build is an Imperial Shuttle. Of course, this one is nothing new for LEGO® Star Wars Advent calendars. Nor is it new for LEGO® sets. In fact there have been three in Advent calendars thus far, and eight different sets. As far as the Advent calendars go, this is probably the best one so far.

We’re now two weeks into the 2023 LEGO® Star Wars advent calendar, and it’s time for another Minifigure! Today’s character is Princess Leia in her camouflage, Endor gear. If I am not mistaken, this is the fourth time the LEGO® Group has released a camo Leia, and the second one for this year. She also appeared in the Endor Chase Diorama set from earlier in 2023. However, she wore a helmet in the diorama, and here we get her with hair. Otherwise, the Minifigure looks the same based on images.

What would Endor Princess Leia from Day 14 be without an Ewok Village? These Endor themed entries in the 2023 LEGO® Star Wars Advent Calendar have me quite hopeful that my leucistic Ewok is coming soon… Interestingly, my first Minifigure Ewok (and only to date) also came from an Advent calendar. In 2015, the LEGO® Star Wars calendar had a regularly coloured Ewok as well as a different version of the Ewok Village.

We’re still on Endor today! This build represents the secret entrance to the Imperial outpost on the forest moon. The outpost housed the deflector shield generator for the Death Star II. I never really understood why the deflector shield generator was on Endor… Shouldn’t it be on the Death Star? But I digress… I feel my leucistic Ewok getting ever closer 😉

Sticking with the Endor theme, the build for Day 17 is an All-Terrain Scout Transport, also known as an AT-ST. While these Imperial machines first appeared in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, they featured more prominently in the Battle of Endor in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The AT-ST has appeared in over a dozen LEGO® sets, and this marks its third appearance in an Advent calendar. Previously, it appeared in 2017 and 2022.

Geez – how long are they going to push this Endor theme before they give me my Ewok Minifigure! LOL. Day 18 brought a speeder bike with it. Of course, we’ve seen that vehicle elsewhere in Star Wars lore. But they were fairly prominent in Return of the Jedi. In fact, that movie marked their first appearance in the Star Wars universe. This is the third time that a speeder bike has appeared in a LEGO® Star Wars Advent calendar. The first time was in 2018, and subsequently in 2021. As for LEGO® sets, let’s just say there’s been a lot speeder bikes over the years.

This year’s Star Wars Advent calendar sure is Return of the Jedi heavy. For the sixth day in a row, we have a scene from Endor. Of course, there is at least one more Endor related entry to come, meaning at least 1/3 of this calendar is related to Return of the Jedi. That’s a lot. In any case, today I built the deflector shield dish used by the generator station on Endor to project the energy shield around the Death Star II.

I will confess, I do not always like the builds in LEGO® Advent calendars. I have no use for piddly, little micro-builds in most cases. Sure, there’s the odd exception. So, why get a LEGO® Advent calendar every year? For days like today, that’s why. I love the Minifigures in the Advent calendars, especially the exclusive ones. Day 20 was a bit of a surprise because it brought Emperor Palpatine in his ugly Death Star Christmas sweater. I knew he was coming, but I thought the white Ewok would come first. I figured the Emperor would be the December 24 entry. I’m not complaining, both are amazing minifigs and either one is worth of the final entry. The sweater print here is amazing. This is also my first Palpatine!

What’s an Emperor without his throne? Today, Darth Sidious gets somewhere to sit as he contemplates how to bring misery to the Galactic Empire in his lovely Christmas sweater. Little builds like this that really compliment the awesome minifigs in an Advent calendar are really what we need to see more of. I’ve been saying it for years, the builds in these kits need more consistency and they should come together to make something grande that tells a story.

Day 22 brought with it a Star Destroyer. This is the fourth Star Destroyer we’ve seen in a LEGO® Advent calendar. Previous versions arrived in 2012, 2015, and 2019. This particular model is quite simple, but it gets the point across. There is no need to try and guess what it is.

Similar to Day 21, today’s build compliments a Minifigure. However, unlike Day 21, we have not gotten the Minifigure yet. I’m not complaining though, I would much rather get a Minifigure tomorrow than a build. Today’s build is a simple little glider for our leucistic little Ewok friend. Like I said with the Emperor’s throne, I like the builds that go along with the characters in the Advent Calendars.

It’s the day I’ve been waiting for. Not only is it Christmas Eve, but I finally got my white Ewok! This was the whole reason that I wanted this calendar. I grew to enjoy Star Wars more in my teenage and adult years. However, when I think of Star Wars from my childhood, I think of Ewoks. I loved the Ewoks and I wanted to live in their tree village. I think this is only the second Ewok to ever appear in an Advent Calendar, the first being from 2015.