LEGO Slave 1 – Boba Fett's Bounty Taxi

Among the various Star Wars sets by LEGO, the model of Slave 1, the ship used by Boba Fett the bounty hunter, has been released in six different versions . These versions have ranged from two small, pocket-sized ships to several larger ones that measure more than a foot long. While Boba Fett has just a small part in the overall Star Wars stories, he has captured the interest of many of the story's fans. His ship has also turned into an object of great interest among those same fans.

According to the Star Wars plot, Boba Fett, the bounty hunter, has a role in the story in both Episodes V and VI. A bounty hunter, he's is hired by Darth Vader find Han Solo, capture him, and turn him over to the gangster Jaba the Hutt. Boba's ship, Slave 1, was passed down to him by his "father", Jango Fett (Boba is actually a Jango clone!), who, shall we say, "obtained" it during his escape from the prison located on Oovo IV. The ship was a prototype of the Imperial Firespray class patrol ship. Jango stole it while making his escape from the prison.

Calling the ship Slave 1, he began a program of major improvements, and he put a lot of effort into arming the ship. After bringing the ship to the Kuat Drive Yards he had them install their powerful drive engines into the ship. They were a tight fit, as they took up two-thirds of the space available in the hull. The weapons that he added to the ship included double, twin blaster cannons, a pair of projectile launchers, plus two rapid-firing laser cannons. He also added a mine laying system that could deploy seismic charges.

The LEGO versions of Slave 1 feature a lot of these weapons. The level of detail in the models has increased as with each new model that has been released. The first release of Slave 1, designated LEGO 7144, was released in the year 2000. While it captured the basic elements of Slave 1, it looked a bit primitive, since it didn't have the specially designed elements that were added to the later models. This initial version looked a lot like something a LEGO fan would build using nothing but basic LEGO parts.

The Slave 1 version released next by LEGO was designated as LEGO 7153. Here, the quality and level of detail began to improve a bit. The cockpit for this ship was a piece of molded plastic with a dark tint. The pieces on the upper side of the landing shoe were also special pieces, which gave it a more finished look. This model was larger, it had more than two times as many pieces, (358), as the 7144 version, which had just 165 pieces. This set also came with mini-figures, unlike its predecessor.

The Slave 1 model which LEGO designated LEGO 6209 followed when it was released in 2006. As before, this was a significantly larger model than the previous one, having 537 elements. At this juncture the design of LEGO Slave 1 really began to develop. The use of specialized parts was increased, which produced a much more finished appearance. This ship includes a cargo hatch that could be opened so that you could load the Carbonited Han Solo aboard. The finished model also included the mine launchers, and the missile launchers. The twin cannon arrays are also provided. The set of four mini-figures (five if you include the Carbonited body of Han Solo) was the highest number to be included in a Slave 1 set.

The current version of Slave 1, LEGO 8097, is still in production. It is a larger model than its forerunner once again, but only slightly – it contains 572 elements as opposed to 537. The level of attention to detail in the model has increased once more. They use more special pieces in this set to create a highly finished appearance. The cover over the cockpit is hinged and can be opened, and you can place a mini-figure pilot inside. This latest version comes with three mini-figures (fewer than the last set!), and also has the Carbonite skid. The skid is designed to fit the Han Solo mini-figure, so that it can be "Carbonited" for delivery to Jaba, for great realism. The finish details on this newest model are quite impressive, and the finished model has a look of bounty hunter utility to it.

Finally, the last two versions of Slave 1 that LEGO produced were mini- (pocket-sized) versions of Solo's ship. The one designated LEGO 20019 was included with the January 2011 Brickmaster Catalog issue. It wasn't intended for sale in stores. The other miniature was one part of a two-ship set that was released in 2003 – the second ship was a model of the Delta-7 Aethersprite Class Starfighter flown by Obie-Wan Kenobi. These older Slave 1 LEGO sets are all available in the reseller market, and the current set is available on the primary retail market, so it's never too late to build out your collection of Slave 1 ships. If you don't have a Slave 1 in your fleet, better get one soon before they do disappear.

For more information about the LEGO Slave 1 sets, including where to buy them and where to get the lowest prices, go to Lego Slave 1 . To find more great LEGO Star Wars themed gifts for the true fan on your list, go to Lego Star Wars Sets, where you can find lots of information on some of the best Star Wars LEGO sets, including those hard-to-find sets that are no longer in production (but in most cases, are still available).