The LEGO Star Wars community has wasted no time finding ways to upgrade 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter, ranging from subtle modifications to extreme makeovers.
While the newly-released 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter is pretty much what you’d expect from a LEGO Star Wars set in 2025, serving up a scaled-down version of the ship with increased detail, it hasn’t fully satisfied many fans in the LEGO Star Wars community. Thankfully, this is LEGO, so you can modify the set to your heart’s content – and that’s exactly what we’re now seeing popping up around the web.
These modifications run the gamut from tiny fixes and subtle changes to sweeping redesigns and – in one case – an extreme, ground-up rebuild that doesn’t actually share a tonne of DNA with the original model. If you’re looking for ways to modify your own ARC-170, or want to see what else is possible before you take the plunge on picking up a copy, here are some of the best and most interesting mods we’ve spotted so far…
Tiny tweaks
YouTuber The Studded Brick offers a few relatively minor modifications to 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter that can go a long way to improving the ship without spending a lot of money on additional pieces. First up is a common upgrade among the community, lengthening the stubby cannons that sit on the tip of each wing, while also swapping out the spring-loaded shooters for more accurate (if less play-friendly) alternatives.
The Studded Brick also suggests two simple changes to improve the accuracy of 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter. First, add a pair of 2x2 plates underneath the rear turret to close the slightly-too-pronounced indent; second, add a pair of 1x2 plates to close the gaps beneath the front cockpit (without impeding the minifigure’s sitting position). Both of those changes feel so obvious that it’s difficult to imagine why they weren’t there to begin with.
A bigger upgrade
If you feel like the above changes don’t go far enough in fixing 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter’s flaws, there are more substantial upgrades available – if you’re prepared to put in the money and effort. YouTuber Solid Brix Studios and Rebrickable user Quarries Workshop have both tackled the proportions of the ship with their modifications, substantially increasing the wingspan, nose length and size of the engine intakes.
Quarries Workshop’s build comes in at 693 parts, using 324 of the original model’s 497 pieces along with 369 extra elements that you’ll need to source separately. Solid Brix Studios’ version doesn’t include a parts list, but you can see exactly which pieces you’ll need to complete the mod by checking out the video – which also includes a full building tutorial for recreating it at home.
A complete reworking
If you’re still yearning for more from your LEGO ARC-170, there’s always PiXEL-DAN’s ground-up rebuild, which – as per the Rebrickable user’s existing library of LEGO models – combines the Ultimate Collector Series aesthetic with a play-scale starfighter. The result is an incredibly detailed ARC-170 that sits on a brick-built display stand, still plays well with minifigures, and… shares very little in common with the original set.
In fact, PiXEL-DAN’s ‘modification’ (which builds on his original pre-release design) includes a whopping 1,145 pieces, 928 of which you’ll need to source in addition to picking up a copy of 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter. You’ll therefore use less than half of the pieces of the stock model, but it’s probably still easier to buy the complete set than those pieces separately – not least because you’ll then also get the minifigures you need to man the finished version.
You can check out our review of 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter as it comes in the box by heading here. If you're yet to pick up the January 2025 set, you can currently bag it for 15% off at Brick Deals in the UK and US.
Featured image: PiXEL-DAN
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