>> Product Reviews

By Rakesh Gosai (SAFOLs Brick Deputy)

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This year’s long-awaited LEGO® Modular Building is the Police Station. Designed by Chris McVeigh. With styling cues from the 1950’s era, this building would fit perfectly in any LEGO® Modular scene. As predicted, this year, the LEGO® Creator Advanced Series has changed styling to fit in line with the 18+ Range and has the “Modular Buildings Collection” name on it. As with all sets of this size, the instruction manual is sealed in its own bag. A favourite in these sets are all printed tiles and no sticker sheet.

Chris McVeigh has been designing LEGO® models long before he started working for LEGO®. Please have a look at his website for the unofficial models he has made : https://chrismcveigh.com/cm/welcome.html I started following his work when I was looking for some inspiration for the interior of the earlier LEGO® Modular Buildings, as these were bare inside. Chris has also designed a few popular sets, namely the LEGO® Brick Sketches series, LEGO® Botanical Collection 10289 Bird of Paradise, and the LEGO® Winter Village Collection 10275 Elf Club House to name a few.

This set has 14 numbered bags with a 32×32 baseplate. This set has 2,923 pieces in it with a few new printed pieces, rare colours, and a few new pieces. One of my favourite printed pieces from this set is the daily brick newspaper with the headline “Donut Thief Still Hungry”. Depending on your building speed, this build should take a few hours. As you build, the three structures takes shape quickly with the donut shop on the left, the news stand on the right and the police station in the centre. Two of the printed pieces form a billboard for “Soap ‘n Suds”, the laundromat from the Brick Bank Modular Building.

The stairs in this build are amazing. Be sure to keep an eye out for this when you are building. The other items that really make an impact are the two desks which have a typewriter and a rotary telephone. Chris McVeigh has a lot more of these designs on his personal website. The donut shop is two stories high with a few hidden gems on the second floor. The bed is able to lift up, revealing an opening to steal donuts from the shop. Sneaky hey!

I do not know how important this detail is but there are two toilets in this building. One in the jail cell and the other in the police station. You would also notice that inside the jail cell, the bed is able to lift up, revealing an opening to a tunnel with a spoon, apparently used for digging. There is also a tunnel at the base of the building which adds an exciting element to the build.

I would rate this build 9/10. The Minifigures selection are good, build has many hidden gems and overall, a beautifully designed building. 

By Marick Hornsveld (SAFOLs Member, Founding member of CapeLUG. Loves Creator vehicles, Harry Potter, and Ninjago dragons. )

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Creator fans rejoice, another Volkswagen icon has just been released – the T2 Camper Van. Available in South Africa from the beginning of August 2021, it joins the LEGO Volkswagen line-up which includes the 2008 Beetle, 2016 classic Beetle, and most notably, the 2011 T1 Camper Van – a fan favourite which was available for almost 10 years.

With Creator sets, especially the Creator Expert or 18+ line, becoming ever-more detailed and impressive, I had high expectations of this set, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

The box is enormous and is filled about ¾ of the way. Pieces come in the usual numbered, plastic packets. The instructions and stickers are shipped in a plastic sleeve. The instructions feature some history of the T2 and photos of the designer, Sven Franic, who based the model on his own T2.

The build offers a master-class in SNOT-techniques (studs not on top), and the direction in which sub-assemblies are placed and attached is sometimes quite surprising. The body mainly uses tiles (flat and sloped) attached to SNOT plates, rather than bricks.

The size of the model quickly becomes evident – it measures 42 studs in length, 20 studs in height, and 18 studs in width, and is therefore considerably larger than its predecessor, the T1 Camper Van.

The build starts with the chassis, and once that’s together the frame starts to take shape. The focus then turns to the interior where delightful details are added, including a fridge, sand-green kettle, and folding bench/ bed. Exterior details continue to be added, and eventually the front interior, and nose area is completed. The build up to this point has been very enjoyable, and I’m sad to see that I am nearing the end. Then comes the pop-up roof…

The next 47 pages are dedicated to the construction of the pop-up roof. The mechanism is built mainly with Technic pieces. It is tedious and non-Technic builders will more than likely not enjoy this part of the build. The pop-up roof is completely over-engineered and the amount of parts it takes up does not nearly warrant the resultant operation, which is disappointing at best. I am quite certain that a similar operation could have been achieved with far fewer parts. The inclusion of so many Technic parts to create such a small part of the model is rather perplexing. The piece count could have much rather been used to add details to the dash, such as instruments (represented with only a sticker), more interior details, and better interior finishing, such as on the inside of the doors, and the boot area.

In stark contrast to this, the sliding door is executed brilliantly, and with very few parts. Its movement captures the closing motion of the real VW van perfectly, and it’s the one feature I believe truly makes this model. The two front doors close satisfyingly well – the joints and transitions of the model overall is exceptional with almost no gaps visible.

During the build, a few areas feel quite flimsy, especially because of the pop-up roof which essentially floats on top of the model. Most, but not all, of these flimsy areas are strengthened. Two notable areas that could have been strengthened further is the panel above the left rear wheel – pressing too hard here pops the interior SNOT panel right off and fixing it requires some disassembly. The front-bumper also falls off at the slightest touch. The use of stickers are also disappointing, especially because the colour-matching of the stickers are poor. These are minor gripes, however, and don’t detract from the overall great impression the model gives.

The set also features steering which is connected to the interior steering wheel, and to the front spare tire – a really fun feature.  

The colour combination of white and medium azure is very attractive. The tan and dark orange upholstery is equally attractive, and really gives it that era-specific feel. The chrome hubs with VW-logo adds that special touch. A sticker sheet is also included that allows the builder to customize their bus with flowers and lettering – flower power!

The added surfboard gives it that California feel, and the two folding chairs add another fun detail.

Considering its size and the level of exterior detail, the set feels like good value for money. It is a beautiful display set and offers a great building experience. Younger AFOLS will definitely remember someone who drove a ‘ou, blou Kombi’, while the older generation may even reminisce about driving one of these beauties.

I highly recommend adding this set to your Creator or Volkswagen collection.

Reviewed by Riëtte Badenhorst (SAFOLs Member)

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Set number	76394
Theme	Harry Potter
Pieces	597
Age	10+
Released	June 2021
Cost (Lego SA)	R 829.99

Disclaimer: I’m not used to building sets with a lot of Technic™ pieces and some of the gear placements I found a bit tricky but my son built the Hedwig set on his own at age 10 and this set has the same difficulty level, so that could just be me!

Build Process

The set comes with 4 bags and the instruction booklet.

Bag 1 contains mostly the base and the central pedestal structure around which the bird is built. First up is old Dumbledore and his Fawkes of course who would patiently keep an eye on the build.

This part of the build was straight forward but the turning mechanism used in the wings’ motion proved a bit of a challenge to me with the gears and such to get them aligned and in place. I would not rush this build as I did at times and then had to reverse some steps when I realized things weren’t lining up correctly, but was still easy to follow if that should happen.

The Fawkes plate is printed and not a sticker. (sigh of relief)

The rest of the build focuses on the phoenix itself. The wing structure is quite intricate, and looking closely, it seemed odd how it was designed that way. When you look at the build as a whole, it is really beautiful and truly makes the mechanics work.

Here is what it looked like from the top after bag 3.

Once the build was complete, these were the spare pieces left over. Subject to change of course.

Pros:

I liked the challenge of building something different from modular buildings and at the lower price point it was a financially forgiving alternative.

The displayability (that is a word now) of the piece is great, especially to pair it with Hedwig. I’m not a collector/builder of Harry Potter sets in general but these two can be displayed without being too heavily “HP” themed.

It’s a beautiful set with bright colours that will surely be an eye-catcher when displayed.

The wing-motion works very well but I would treat it carefully so you don’t have pieces flying off.

Cons:

As mentioned I struggled a bit now and again to keep gears and other technic pieces in place.

A strange thing that happened a few times was that pieces would dislodge themselves from elsewhere as I tried to put sections in place. It was as if some parts’ ‘click’ didn’t ‘grip’. The wing pieces that connected to Technic™ parts also had to be treated with patience at times.

Under Pros I noted that the set is bright. It is VERY bright which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I might have preferred a slightly deeper red and orange.

Final Thought

I’m very happy with my Fawkes. I had a company registered as Red Phoenix as I identify personally with the phoenix because of my life story. Getting it was an absolute no-brainer. I truly hope Lego will make more sets like these to display together.

Reviewed by Malcolm Keevy (SAFOLs Member, CapeLUG Member)

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LEGO® has made several memorable real life space sets over the years, but the first one I ever bought was the IDEAS® Saturn V set, which was a combination of such an iconic machine and an amazing LEGO® set. Then the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander (10266), in addition to the obvious link, has that same status – an instantly recognizable and historically significant vehicle.

That comes through from the start with the instructions, as although it is a CREATOR® set, the instruction manual looks more like the IDEAS® range, with a few pages of history and images from the Apollo missions.

The Build

The first bag is the base. It is not a particularly exciting build, with a single crater in the middle. The purpose of the circles becomes apparent later. The one lovely detail is the light grey layer underneath that are the footprints.

The lander has a difficult octagonal shape to achieve which requires some interesting building techniques, using ball and sockets to join the intermediate sections, and then once it is all finished off you still have the details of the tanks tucked into the base. Once it is one the base it is already a cool model.

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The module is built in a few different directions and has some cool techniques. It almost starts with the panel stickers and builds out from there, as the internal space it tight and cramped to fit the two Minifigures in, which made it difficult to fit my big fingers in but reflects the actual size.

Final Thoughts

This is a great model. It was an enjoyable build and overall makes a great display piece. It does have quite a few stickers, but at the finished product is superb. For fans of the other space sets it is a must-have addition to the Saturn V and space station.

By Joanna Jezewska (SAFOLs Member, jhbLUG Member)

Is there such a thing as too many pink LEGO® frogs?

LEGO® set 10281 Bonsai Tree from the Botanical Collection sets out to prove that the answer is no, there is no such thing as too many pink LEGO® frogs.

Presentation

LEGO® Bonsai Tree embarks on bringing the long-held tradition of growing miniature trees, which originated over 2000 years ago in China, to the world of LEGO®. It does so in a sophisticated manner, embracing its new 18+ adult focused branding (read: plain black background means this is surely not a toy for kids anymore!). If the aim was to entice not only the avid fans of LEGO®, but adults looking for an interesting creative outlet and something that would not look out of place on an office desk or coffee table, then I personally feel that LEGO® succeeded with its presentation. The instruction booklet which comes with the set, continues the 18+ branding, but I am happy to confirm that when it comes to the actual set building part of the instructions, the background is a light greyish blue, making the steps easy to understand and follow.

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The Build

The set gives the builder an opportunity to build various components of a bonsai tree.

The actual black bonsai pot build is simplistic but cleverly utilises rubber tyres as its feet for the pot ensuring that the bonsai tree will not slide around too easily on any table or display shelf.

The tree itself was a fantastic build full of interesting part usage and unusual techniques. It plays around with differing shades of brown and shapes to create an organic looking bonsai trunk complete with roots, twisting vines and bending branches.

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Once the tree trunk is inserted into the bonsai pot, 200 one stud sized round tiles meant to resemble pebbles are used to fill up the bonsai pot. These tiles are placed in four different coloured bags of 50 tiles which are meant to be opened and mixed before being placed into the bonsai pot. A word of caution be careful when you open these packets as picking up a lot of small pieces off the floor adds significant building time to this set!

Lastly, we are spoilt with two different types of foliage for the tree. The first foliage incorporates three different green plant elements to build a more traditional looking bonsai tree, with the slightly darker and smaller leaf pieces meant to look like juvenile shoots. This part of the build was also quite simplistic and given that each branch was built the same way, it was also quite repetitive. Where the LEGO® Bonsai Tree set really shines, in my opinion, is the building of the cherry blossom foliage. It is a mad mixture of white leaves, dark pink flowers and 100 light pink frogs, which when combined bring colour, height, drama, and texture to the Bonsai tree that just feels so organic. LEGO® designer Nicolaas Vas has developed a reputation for loving to insert frogs into the sets he has designed, but with his design of this set, it never feels like a gimmick but rather a necessity. 

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To encourage a quick change of foliage, the set is cleverly designed to easily unclip the clusters of leaves and insert the different foliage. Additionally, LEGO® Bonsai Tree encourages endless customisation and creativity with the instructions even showing some of the LEGO® designers’ own ideas for bonsai tree designs ranging from other realistic looking bonsai to truly fantastical creations. The sky (and your LEGO® budget) is the limit for what you can do with your creation.

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Lastly, you have the option to build the bonsai pot stand which, with its reddish-brown long tile pieces, resembles a wooden slate stand often used to ensure proper drainage for bonsai pots (note: watering of this bonsai is strictly optional and not encouraged!). The stand is also an uncomplicated build and nicely completes the set.

Coming in at a retail price of R999.99, is LEGO® Bonsai Tree worth it? Some of my thoughts around the pros and cons:

Pros:

• I love the customisation potential of this set. When building mine, I was inspired by the daffodils I saw blooming around us and added extra leaves and yellow flowers. I cannot wait to change it up every season;

• Interesting build techniques for the tree itself and the cherry blossom foliage;
• An excellent set to display and really looks organic and beautiful; and
• The large green leaves, smaller white leaves, and brown root pieces are part of LEGO®’s “Plants from Plants” program intended to replace plastics made from fossil fuels with more-sustainable plant-based materials.

Cons:

• At 878 pieces, do not be fooled into thinking this is a large set. With 200 pebble pieces and 100 pink frogs (plus 1 brown one used in the tree trunk design) the actual set pieces come in at under 600 pieces. While it is not a tiny bonsai tree by any means, LEGO® Bonsai Tree can be built under an hour or two. Some may feel short-changed by the price given the actual time spent building;
• Speaking of pebble pieces, the inner perfectionist in me hates that the pebble pieces do not all face smooth side up. Somehow, I don’t think many people will be bothered with this;
• Not enough green foliage is given to really flesh the green traditional foliage out and create enough texture. To give perspective, I added quite a lot of smaller leaves to fill out the bonsai tree when I added the yellow flowers; and
• At times, the build is repetitive, but luckily not Taj Mahal level repetitive so it’s still enjoyable.

Given the huge worldwide demand for this set, and the number of times I have seen this set out of stock at various retailers, LEGO® Bonsai Tree certainly is proving to be popular. I could not wait to buy mine, and minor gripes aside, I loved it. It was well worth the hype and wait. With its customisation potential, this is a set that can be displayed and inspire creativity for many years to come.

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Reviewed by Patryk Szymanski (SAFOLs Member, CapeLUG Member)

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My return to LEGO® building started in 2016. The second set I bought was the VW Camper Van and this set introduced me to the LEGO® Creator vehicle world. I soon thereafter bought the Mini Cooper and thereafter the VW Beetle. It was with the VW Beetle that I was introduced to the design work of Mike Psiaki.

I have never been into cars. However, I have been fascinated by the way in which LEGO® designers have been able to replicate these real-life structures into super scaled playable models. Although there have been many designers involved in the creation of the LEGO® Creator Expert vehicle range, it is Mike Psiaki who has been at the forefront of the design and engineering of these vehicles. And it was only deserving that he takes on this project.

So, let’s get the basics out the way. The Ecto-1 is based on the Ecto-1 from the yet to be released Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie. In reality, the Ecto-1 is a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Futrara Duplex. These cars were used as a limousines and ambulances in the past.

The set compromises of 2,352 pieces. It comes in the adult collector’s style box with images of the movie and the model on it. The box contains 23 numbered bags with an unnumbered bag containing the tires and some other bits. The instruction book cover has been stylised to represent that of a car manual. The first few pages cover the history of the Ecto-1, along with some information about the vehicle including the challenges faced in the design of the LEGO® model.

The set contains some new and rare parts as well as a few printed pieces. The highlights for me are the new steering wheel and thelarge 6×14 curved windscreen. The set also contains three 1×4 Ghostbuster logo printed panels. Disappointingly, there is a large sticker sheet which is predominately populated by rust stickers.

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So, onto the fun bits.

The build is great! I built the model over a few evening sittings completing about one bag per sitting. This was intentional on my part as I wanted to savour the building experience. There are quite a few interesting building techniques, some of which I have seen used in previous Mike Psiaki builds, such as the door hinge mechanism that he developed for the Ford Mustang Creator Expert set. Of note is a phenomenally inventive method used to attach the hind quarter panels to the car (not going to say more than that!).

The Cadillac engine looks great and is shielded by the car grill made of forty silver roller-skate pieces. Nice parts usage!!! The car interior is sparse, but this is purposeful as there is a fare bit of under-the-hood Technic building and mechanics that needs to be housed inside the vehicle.

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As with the Aston Marton DB5, Psiaki incorporates some very cool action features which includes functional steering which can be turned through a knob on the roof, the impressive gunner’s chair which is activated by pressing on a section of the car’s exterior (this is awesome!!) as well as a red barrel antenna and clear plastic dish that move and rotate when the car is rolled. There is a trap door mechanism at the rear of the car that when activated by pulling a lever releases the “Remote Trap Vehicle” or R.T.V. The R.T.V is a new technology that is going to be released into the Ghostbuster universe. Finally, there is also a little Easter egg in the form 2×4 slope build onto which a Stay-Puft Marshmallow sticker is applied. This pays homage to the Marshmallow Man seen in the original films.

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The completed model boasts a length of 47cm with a height and width of 22.5cm and 16.5cm, respectively. This makes the ECTO-1 a formidable display piece. The complex curves and angles of the real-life Cadillac are exceptionally well portrayed in this LEGO® model. Special mention should be given to the back light ensemble which looks amazing! The model is also very sturdy and allows for a good amount of play without bits falling off, however the front barrel headlights do tend to fall off.

My main criticism of this set is the large number of stickers used. It would have been nice if the Cadillac, R.T.V, dashboard/cockpit and licence plate labels were printed onto the tiles and bricks. As for the rust stickers, a total of 38, but I can appreciate the fact that printed pieces would likely have pushed the price of the set up a fair bit. Furthermore, not printing the rust onto bricks may have been for more stylistic reasons. I would imagine that some AFOLS would prefer to build the vehicle in the likeness of the original Ecto-1 seen in the first two Ghostbuster films and leave the rust out of the build all together.

There has been talk in various forums that it would also have been nice if a display plaque and some special edition minifigures were added to the set as was done in the 1989 Batmobile. I suppose that it would have been a nice touch, but the addition thereof would likely mean a price increase. I would rather have the model come in at a cheaper price without the extras, as the main beauty of this build is exactly that… the build!

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So, what is the final verdict??

My love for LEGO® building lies in the engineering, design and playability and Mike does this seamlessly in his latest offering. I have built every Creator vehicle that he has designed and my greatest enjoyment in this build came from seeing how he has managed to incorporate building techniques he has learnt from previous models into the Ecto-1. The curve and angle techniques are reminiscent of his work on the Ferrari F40 and VW Beetle. The mechanical workings are a culmination of his designs found in the DB5, Ford Mustang and Fat Boy Harley. And yet he is still able to surprise with new building techniques.

The Ghostbuster Ecto-1 is an exceptional model, it looks great and has super playability. Retailing at R3,999.99 it is not cheap and for that price I would have appreciated a few more printed pieces. Nonetheless, it is a welcome addition to my Creator vehicles collection!

All images used from the official press release.

Reviewed by Alain King (SAFOLs Member, CapeLUG Member)

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This set went on sale in October 2019 and added to the Ultimate Collector Series of Star Wars models that have been released since 2000. This is the second time that a Star Destroyer is created in this series with the previous one coming out in 2002. As a massive Star Wars fan, I was glad to be able to add this one to my collection as the older one is very difficult to obtain (and we are not going to talk about the cost).

First Impressions

The box that the set comes in is huge and even has markings on the outside to ensure that you get the correct experience when opening it. The first box that comes out of the box is a long thin one which contains the instruction manual (the ring binding is a nice touch for a manual of this size) as well as the sticker sheet. The sticker sheet contains a single sticker for the plaque that goes on the stand giving you information about the ship. A nice touch but I do wish these were printed as they are very difficult to get on properly. There are an additional 4 boxes which contain all the parts for the set. There are 19 stages of the build with multiple bags per stage as well as some of the larger parts in unnumbered bags. A tip for anyone building this, take the larger parts out and keep them to one side as they keep popping up at various stages of the build (one is needed right on the first step) otherwise I found that all the bags for each step were grouped nicely in each box.

The first section of the instruction manual includes some details about the ship and interviews with the designers. A great read with some really interesting information, if you don’t have the set and want to read it, download the massive manual from the LEGO® website. The last page of this section includes directions on how to move the model around which gives an indication of how big it will be (There are dimensions on the outside of the box but the picture with a human arm in makes the scale easier to visualise).

The Build

The build starts with the stand and from there quickly progresses to complete the framework (made of technic elements) which gives you an idea of the size of the set. It is huge. You also build the 2 minifigures which come with the set which have some nice details but are not famous characters. They are very detailed and do include arm printing so a nice addition to the collection.

The next stage that you construct is the panelling – these are huge pieces made from connecting plates together. There is some evidence of the curvature that this can produce on the really long pieces. They snap onto the bottom of the ship using clips but there are only a few on each side and some of the support is an axle in a hole. This does cover well and there are minimal gaps as a result, but you need to be aware that this is a display model, it is not something you will be swooshing around and playing with. This lower section also includes the bay where the ships land and here we actually build a micro Tie Fighter. This Tie Fighter model does look a little odd, but I don’t think I could do any better myself.

After finishing the bottom covering, we move onto the top which is some very large parts that get assembled. The highlight for me was assembling the gun turrets of which there are four on each side, three of these are identical but the fourth is different. There are some clever parts used to create these. After putting the skin on the top of the ship, you start building the bridge section. This results in a great looking structure with interesting building techniques to get the shape they are going for. I did enjoy the nod to the construction sequence shown in Solo: A Star Wars Story which was included in the way we went about building the bridge. The final build in this set is a Tantive IV which shows how massive the Star Destroyer is compared to the rebel ship.

Final Thoughts

When this model is complete, the volume of space it takes makes it feel impressive and reminds me of the first time we saw this ship in the opening sequence of Star Wars IV: A New Hope especially as I have it high up on a shelf. As a fan of Star Wars and LEGO® Ultimate Collector Series models, I did feel that this was a necessary addition to my collection. There is no way to write a review of this set and not discuss the cost. It is an expensive set, but after building it the size of the finished model makes it feel worthwhile. If you can get this set for anything below full retail price and you like the big Star Wars models, then go for it, you will not be disappointed.

I am now left with hope that the LEGO® group will re-release the Super Star Destroyer and Death Star so I can complete the series of ships which indicate the scale.

Reviewer’s build images

Reviewed by Xavier Cordeiro (SAFOLs Member)

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Season 2 of The Mandalorian ended not long ago, so I thought it’d be fun to take a look at a set from the series. This particular set is based on Chapter 1 of Season 2.

The Minifigures

The 3 Minifigs included are The Mandalorian, now donning full Beskar armour, the Child, (AKA ‘Baby Yoda’) and a single Tusken Raider.

When I first built the Mandalorian, I was surprised by the level of detail. With printing on the legs, torso, and even on both arms, I can say that this is certainly the most detailed Minifig I own. I don’t get particularly excited about extra arm printing, but I appreciate how far LEGO went to make this Minifig accurate. They even went as far as to include the Mudhorn symbol on his right pauldron. Underneath his iconic helmet is a black head. His grey cape is included, along with his rifle and blaster to complete the look.

The Tusken Raider is the same we have gotten for years, and there is really no reason why it shouldn’t be. The design is very good, with a moulded head piece, and printed torso and leg pieces. He comes with his ‘Gaffi Stick’, which is a simple build with 4 pieces.

And finally, the possible highlight of this set, The Child, whose name we learn in Season 2. It’s difficult to capture the cuteness and character of The Child with 2 small pieces, but LEGO did a good job. His design isn’t super detailed, which I think works better here. He has some torso printing, and his head is a rather hard plastic, with slightly flexible ears. Overall, there are really no faults I could find with these Minifigs, and the Mandalorian and the Child are possibly the highlight of my collection now. I believe that a full 10/10 is deserved here.

The Build

This set consists of three builds: The Tusken Raider’s hut, his ballista, and Mando’s Speeder bike.

The hut is definitely the weak point of this set. While the colour scheme works well, I feel like a handful of pieces could’ve been used to fill the gaps in the walls. The walls are hinged, so by pushing them out the gaps disappear, but I think the general look of the more enclosed hut works better. Although I’m not the biggest fan of the hut, I can say that the other two builds are some of my favourite small builds from Star Wars.

The ballista is small, but the build is surprisingly fun, and it looks great when completed. The use of small pieces gives it a mechanical look, while staying primitive, which is good for a weapon built by the Sand People. The winch at the rear is so well done that for me it’s almost the highlight. There’s just enough friction to make it seem like there’s really something to winch back.

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Last is Mando’s Speeder Bike. Again, the build is really fun for a small speeder.

I like how it isn’t super oversized like other LEGO speeders/bikes, but it’s still large enough to work as its own build. There’s some nice greebling for detail, and even accommodation for The Child. Overall, the speeder looks great, and is my favourite small vehicle from Star Wars.

The ballista is excellent, and the hut, although not bad, could have been slightly better. I think less than 8/10 here would be unfair.

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Packaging

There’s not really much to talk about here. The box is just the standard ‘$30’ box size, with three plastic bags inside. I know that LEGO is working to cut down on plastic use, so something that I always wonder about is why they don’t use slightly smaller bags, or just fewer bags. It’s a minor point, but I feel like it could help slightly. A single instructions manual is included, which gives us a look at the yet unreleased March Star Wars wave. In case anyone’s concerned, the blue Lightsaber blade with Luke from the Imperial Shuttle set is just a misprint and has been confirmed to be green. An additional point to mention is that no stickers are included in this set. There’s never really much wrong with LEGO’s packaging, and I believe 9/10 is fair.

Playability

There aren’t many play features in this set, but I personally don’t like too many. There’s obviously the feature where the hut can hinge back to make a more open space, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a play feature. The only real play feature here is the spring-loaded projectile on the ballista. It works decently, and the ballista’s legs allow it to adjust up or down. I like the positioning of the projectile, as it’s just high enough to hit Minifigs square in the torso, which is always fun to play around with. I’ve found it slightly difficult to launch sometimes, because the design of the back of the ballista makes it difficult to push the projectile down far enough to launch, so you have to just press down a little higher up on the missile. It feels a bit strange to me, but aside from that it works fine. The ballista is a rare case in Star Wars sets where the projectile almost exactly matches the in-universe weapon, both in colour and design, so I feel some credit should be given there. 9/10 meets the case here in my opinion.

Value

This set costs between R580 and R600, with 276 pieces. That comes to about R2.13 per piece, which feels a bit steep. For the price, I feel that another Minifig like an extra Tusken Raider would make the price perfect. Alternatively, if the price were nearer to R500-550 I’d be perfectly happy. However, it should be considered that the Mando minifig is highly detailed, and the set provides a cheap way of getting the two main characters in the series. In conclusion, I feel that one or two things could’ve been changed to make this set really worth the money. Given the quality of the Minifigs and the builds, I feel that 7/10 is about right for value.

This is a tad unconventional, but I have one recommendation for this set. As I’ve said, it’s a great set, but to take it to the next level, I suggest pairing it with set 75265 – T-16 Skyhopper vs Bantha Microfighter to create the perfect Tatooine environment. The T-16 doesn’t really fit, but the Bantha and the extra Tusken Raider make it a really complete combination. I’ve put them into the same display, and it almost feels like they were designed for each other. It brings some more life into the whole scene, and makes the link to the episode it’s based on even better.

Overall, I really enjoyed this set. It’s been sitting on my shelf for over a week now, and I still like it as much as when I built it. Sure, the value isn’t perfect, but there are so many merits to this set. The builds are great, with the hut being a minor let-down. The Minifigs are honestly perfect for the set, and although I feel like the value isn’t excellent, what you get once you’ve built it feels good. The ballista and the speeder bike are very complete builds, and again, Mando and The Child are great additions to my collection. It’s not perfect, but I believe LEGO designed a great set with just 276 pieces. My overall score comes to 86/100, which I think is just right: Not perfect, but close to it for a small set.

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