[REVIEW] 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina
Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. - Obi Wan Kenobi.
So what is so wretched about this place anyway? Let's find out in my 33rd RA review, 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina.
Overview Name: 75290 - Mos Eisley Cantina
Theme: Star Wars / Master Builder Series
Year: 2020 (2H)
Pieces: 3187
Minifigures: 21
Price: USD 349.99 / EUR 349.99 / GBP 319.99 Introduction Cantina in Spanish literally means canteen but in modern days it is widely referring to a type of bar with wine, alcohol and appetisers which makes sense because etymologically, it is derived from the same Italian word for cellar.
If you have been following Star Wars, you are probably familiar that there are similar bar scenes in other Star Wars trilogy that tried to recapture the same magic from this scene. But why is the original so special? Undoubtedly, it is the equivalent of a wild west bar or fantasy tavern, but instead of cowboys or elves, there are aliens. The array of aliens alone is the first exposure of the audience in the Star Wars universe, and personally, that is the reason why I think people love the scene so much. There are also many accounts that this scene was penned in the original script and is one of the few scenes in the initial plans that stayed in the final script. To alot of people, the funky music in the cantina stays in their head. One's inability to dislodge this tune is also a wonder of its own, and if you’re one of them, perhaps you are already humming the music in your head. To avid Star Wars fans, the inspiration for the backstory of these patrons are limitless. You might have also heard that in Star Wars, every minor character has a backstory, and this adds to the appeal of the cantina with over 60 characters within the vicinity. So with that primer, let us dive deep in the Star Wars Master Builder Series - Mos Eisley Cantina. Once again, big thanks to TLG and the awesome staff of Eurobricks in making this review possible. All opinion about this set is my own. Front Box Panel First of all, the right corner really looks like that. It is not black -- it has the binary sunset golden hour background on that right corner only. At 3187 pieces, this is the largest version of Cantina that got released. The first one is a measly 171 parts back in 2004.
Back Box Panel The back shows the typical scenario you would like to set up, but feel free to make your imagination run wild.
The side of the box showcases the 21 minifigures that you are getting from this set. What’s inside the box?
Right out of the box, we have numbered plastic bags 10 to 18... so how about the bags labelled 1 to 9? Answer: it is in another smaller white box inside the main box. After dumping all the contents inside the white box, here's what it looks like: There are also loose items such as the unbuilt Dewback without its jaw, plastic without number, as well as the instruction book with sticker sheet inside. Instruction Booklet Yes, there is a small sticker sheet in this set. Since I have seen the trailer for this set, I already expected there are stickers for the speeders. However, looking at the sticker sheet, the only graphics that I wish the designers insisted to be printed on LEGO element is the droid detector. The aurebesh script reads "Cantina" if it wasn't that obvious. The rest of the graphics are not necessary to complete the set. At least, that is how I treat most of these stickers, so I am not going to apply them in my build. The instruction booklet is a brick and a tile tall only. I wish to use the digital instruction similar to what I have done with big sets that I have build recently. However, as the instructions or PDF is not available at the time of this review, I had no choice but to use the book. Now, let's fast forward to the minifigures. Minifigures Let’s start first with the minifigures because I know a lot of the people are excited about the new aliens introduced in this set. I will summarise my thoughts about the minifigure line up after I ramble about each one of them. So for now, just follow along In my list below I will include the name of the minifigure followed by the race in parenthesis, e.g. Chewbacca (Wookie). Ponda Baba (Aqualish) is a thug who smuggles spice for Jabba the Hutt alongside his partner in crime, Dr. Evazan. The minifigure sports a new head mould, which many minifigure customisers had dreamt of in years. It is a face only a mother could love -- but look how awesome it is in minifigure form! The designers seriously had balls to put the pinkish bulbous fangs more prominently than it should be. I don’t think they don’t mind if it becomes the butt of all jokes. As you can see from the picture above, the aqualish jaw or the "balls" are too big to even allow movement of the minifigure head. The orange jacket looks nice, with front and back printing. Sadly, no side printing or leg print. "Negola dewaghi wool dugger?" - Ponda Baba
"He doesn't like you." - Dr. Evazan Dr. Cornelius Evazan (Human) from plant Alsakan famously boasted about having death sentences in 12 systems while picking a fight with Luke and we know it didn't go well after that. This talented cosmetic surgeon got his mind corrupted and went cuckoo to perform “creative surgery” leaving his patients disfigured. Needless to say, his hideous crimes had put bounty on his head. His uneasy partnership with Ponda Baba started after the aqualish thug saved him from a bounty hunter encounter which left his face scarred. Since minifigures generally don’t have noses, this criminal doctor doesn’t look as ugly as he should be. I guess it is fine. The new slightly tattered clothes printing gives him that ragged wanderer vibe. No side or leg printing. If you recall in Rogue One history lesson, Jyn and Cassian bumped into criminal duo Ponda Baba and Dr. Cornelius Evazan, too. During this time, the duo has already adopted the alias Roofoo and Sawkee respectively.
Kardue'sai'Malloc (Devaronian) was a cruel army captain from Devaron who fled to Tatooine and hid under the alias Labria. Devaronians skin colour could be brown, purple, red or anything in between. Being red with pointed horns and awkward grin on his face, he could possibly be the devil himself. Just look. The minifigure looks “cute” but it can get creepier the more you look at it. If you don't like the grin, thankfully there is a second face print that looks disappointed. The headgear with horns and ears is new. The torso print is also new. Too bad there is no leg print (this is going to be common remark in other minifigures, so get ready...)
Hrchek Kal Fas (Saurin) hailed from planet Durkteel. They look a lot like Trandoshians (remember Bossk?) because they share the same ancestors. Notable difference is that Saurin has a different skin colour and they have 5 fingers instead of 3. Obviously, that won’t matter in minifigure form but at least Hrchek colour is dark tan instead of sand green. I always welcome diversity, so this is awesome. In the film, this reptilian droid trader followed C-3PO and R2-D2 outside the cantina, likely thinking how to profit on them, but immediately lost track of the droids in the streets of Mos Eisley. In Star Wars legends, he was also accompanied by another Saurin named Sai'torr Kal Fas who was reported to be his female cousin and bodyguard, too. Sadly, she did not join Hrcheck in this set. The head sculpt is the same as Bossk. I like the olive green arms on tan torso part. Although not accurate to the forest green colour, this is better than getting a regular green or dark green, in my humble opinion. Again, no leg printing. Hrcheck would have benefited from dual moulding because he wears a boot... Unfortunately, we don't get dual moulded legs either. Unlike most patrons in the cantina, Momaw Nadon (Ithorian) is not a criminal or a person of interest. Nicknamed “Hammerhead” in classic Kenner action figures, he was only exiled to Tatooine for revealing the agricultural secrets of his homeworld Itor to the Galactic Empire. He is likely chilling out in the cantina after a day’s work on his secret garden in the southern mountains of Mos Eisley spaceport. This isn’t the first time Star Wars released an Ithorian minifigure. The first was the Ithorian Jedi Master in set 75051 back in 2014. Oh boy, that was 6 years ago! Hard to believe this is only the second time we are getting another Ithorian minifigure. It is an interesting alien race because they love peace and philosophy, so I reckon we should have more of these in Star Wars. This minifigure is one of the few ones that has legs printing. The torso print, front and back, looks appropriate for a farmer alien. Don’t be fooled by this cutesy appearance. Kabe (Chadra-Fan) rhymes with babe, and yes she’s a girl and not a chad, even if Chadra-Fan’s homeworld is called Chad. In the film, she annoys the bartender into giving her blue milk using her high pitch squeak. While not begging for milk, she scams and pickpockets alongside her buddy Muftak (Talz) which is regrettably not included in this set. If you want to get her a buddy, your only hope is getting the Talz minifigure in set 8085 which was released over 10 years ago. Indeed, she’s a girl in a cantina. So what is a girl doing in a cantina filled with filthy hoodlums? Based on the canon story "The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper" in the book From a Certain Point of View, she was entangled in a mess that led her life at risk, involving all the aliens in the same cantina booth seen here. Eventually, Han ended the kerfuffle by killing Greedo, which then freed her and Muftak from the messy situation. For the minifigure itself, the head is using bat ears, which makes sense because the Chadra-Fan species are rodent-like creatures with bat faces. She has short legs, but I think they should have given her with a clothe skirt to complete the look. No one is going to figure out she's a girl unless they've already dug the deep rabbit hole, which is reading about every cantina patron's backstory. Garindan (Kubaz) is not a patron of Chalmun’s Cantina but he roamed around the streets of Mos Eisley as a spy. Considered to be the greatest and greediest imperial informant in Mos Eisley, he located the missing droids that the empire is looking for, and passed information to the Sandtroopers which enabled them to catch up with the protagonists before they could even board the Millennium Falcon. This minifigure torso looks familiar because it looks like an imperial officer uniform, even if it's not. More importantly, many people got interested in this minifigure because of the long snoot nose that is protruding on its head. As seen in the picture, this is achieved by attaching a neck accessory instead of a completely new head mould. I think TLG should make more aliens with this approach. So, those are 7 new named Star Wars minifigures in the set. That is equivalent to 5 new alien species, too. At this point, I feel like we could have gotten more than 5 new alien species, but more on that later. Below are the minifigures that we are more familiar of.. Sandtrooper Squad Leader The orange pauldron reveals the rank of this Sandtrooper as Squad Leader. Look beneath the headgear and you'll see a non-Angry Clone Trooper face! This is good progress. Sandtrooper The only difference between this and the squad leader is the pauldron. This one got black. It also has a different face print than the squad leader. TLG, you're spoiling us here! In all seriousness, sincere thanks on behalf of all AFOLs who are sick and tired of the Angry Clone Trooper heads. Wuher (Human) You got to have the bartender if you're running a bar. This is the same one from year 2018. Jawa
Adding Jawa in this set makes sense. But then, why make it generic? This could have been one of the named Jawa patron inside the cantina... but it's probably too much to ask for a unique torso print. It does not help that many people probably got several (probably even dozen) Jawas from Tatooine Battle Pack back in 2018 that this could have been easily replaced by a different named character or totally new alien species. Bith Musician (x3) Now, the Bith Musicians. Perhaps a little disappointing that none of them ever got named, but I get it. None of them got official names in the previous sets either, so why change now? In Star Wars canon, there are 8 known band members. Namely: "Fiery" Figrin D'an (front man) - Kloo Horn
Doikk Na'ts - Dorenian Beshniquel (Fizzz)
Tedn Dahai - fanfar
Tech Mo'r - Ommni box
Ickabel G'ont - Double Jocimer
Nalan Cheel - bandfill
Sun'il Ei'de - drums
Lirin Car'n - backup Kloo Horn I'd wager that the Bith Musicians included here are the first 3 in that list because Figrin has a silver Kloo Horn, Tedn has gold fanfar and Doikk has black Fizzz. The LEGO instruction manual recognises all the band members officially but as they all look alike, it makes sense that they are all simply called Bith musicians. Fun fact: Do you know what the music genre Figrin D'an and the Model Nodes perform? It’s called Jizz. Yup, not jazz. It’s called jizz. It is the same genre Max Rebo band plays in the prequels. Greedo (Rodian) Hello Greedo. I don't understand why you don't get side printing when it has been done before in a much cheaper set. Is it because Han shot first? This variant also came in set 75205 back in 2018.. Leg printing is good, but I kinda prefer the leg printing from set 75052 (2014) because it also got printing on hips. Maybe next time, we won't get any leg printing if TLG follows this trend. Hopefully not, please! Han Solo (Human) Solo, because he isn't many, quite literally, as the origin story implied from that self titled movie that is now canon. This is the exact same minifigure that appeared in 2 other sets, 75159 and 75205. Chewbacca (Wookie)
This minifigure is very common now, I can't believe this appeared in 12 other sets. This marks Mos Eisley Cantina as this variant 's 13th appearance. It's great that we get leg printing here, but as common as this minifigure is, it is already expected. Obi Wan Kenobi / Uncle Ben (Human)
The minifigure is exactly the same as the one found in set 75246 (2019). Luke (Human) This variant is considered common too because it appeared in more than 5 sets, including the Star Wars Advent Calendar 2020, set # 75279. C-3PO My copy of C-3PO has a little defect on head printing. If you look at it, C-3PO seems to be looking on his left (your right). It looks funny but I don't know how often this kind of printing error occurs. As for the minifigure itself, it is very common too, appearing in 10 sets since first appearance in 2016. R2-D2 This variant of R2-D2 appears to be the latest version with "large receptors" (those blue rectangles in front of the dome). However, the amount of R2-D2 appearances is staggering. Even if this minifigure is relatively new, it is already appearing in 3 other sets, besides this Mos Eisley Cantina set. So that is all about the minifigures included in the set. It is really great that we have 7 new named characters. That is groundbreaking alone. I can't remember this ever happened in any Star Wars set before. With all the minifigures all done, we can proceed on the build details.
Build The moment of truth... we're back on paper again.
Bag 1 out of 18
These parts are meant for the V-35 Landspeeder. We also get a teal brick separator. In this bag, the minifigure included is Luke. Bag #1 progress - some kind of speeder or something I can't remember the last Luke's Landspeeder that I built because I skipped all the recent ones.
Bag 2 out of 18 Continuing the build for the V-35 Landspeeder, we get all the parts to finish this vehicle. Hrcheck is included in this bag. Bag #2 Progress - Finally, a different landspeeder ! In between building steps, I took a picture of the reverse stud technique as seen at the tailend of the landspeeder. Simple and clever way to attach the while windshield part that serves as the support for the 3 thrust turbines. Quick Comparison: old Luke's Landspeeder vs new V-35 Landspeeder NOTE: Luke's Landspeeder is not included in set 75290. It is just added here for comparison I am very relieved that we are not getting yet another Luke's Landspeeder because this V-35 Landspeeder looks awesome. We LEGO Star Wars fans often complain about the umpteenth version of Luke's Landspeeder. Now that we finally got a new vehicle, this is a big win for the fans as there are less things to complain and bicker about. Bag 3 out of 18 Now, here comes the start of the actual Cantina build. The minifigure included in this bag is Wuher, the Cantina bartender who disdains droids. Bag #3 Progress - here goes the watering hole Basically, bag #3 is the centre counter and beverage dispenser. We are on the right track.
Bag 4 out of 18
We now see more tan and dark tan as we prepare the parts for the booths. Obi Wan Kenobi is included in this bag. Bag #4 Progress - Booths
This looks plain right now but it has to be the most refined booth lounge design TLG has designed so far. Bag 5 out of 18
Step by step, we build up the walls of the cantina. In this bag, Kabe is included. Bag #5 Progress - still working on booths
Even at the early build progress, it is already looking posh. Bag 6 out of 18
More wall needed for the part. R2-D2 is here. Bag #6 Progress - booths... booths...
As the wall gets taller, it reminds me how much improvement the Cantina got after several iterations. Bag 7 out of 18
More wall needed for the part. C-3PO is here. Bag #7 Progress - booths... booths... booths.
With 2 arches almost done, and 3 booths almost complete, we are switching shortly to the lobby after this.
Bag 8 out of 18
Here goes the lobby parts, and one of the Sandtroopers is included here. Progress This is not the best angle of the lobby. The angle of the entrance door as well as the construction of the swipe up door is oddly satisfying. Bag 9 out of 18 - Roofs
Parts included here are meant for the dome as well as the arch of the lobby. Nothing ground-breaking there. What's groundbreaking is the inclusion of 2 minifigures here - Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan. Another new addition in this cantina design are the roofs. With the roofs on, there are less light entering the booths. When I did my MOC for Chalmun's Cantina many years ago, I remember adding spaces for the walls and tables for LED lights because the original set is very dark that it begs to be lit. Obviously, this set does not come with any LED lights, but one way or another, people will find ways to light this scene up. I am already thinking about it as I review this set right now. Bag 10 out of 18 What is Cantina without the music. In this bag, we have parts for the other side of the room, including the bandstand where Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes perform. Most appropriately, the Bith musicians are included in this bag. Bag #10 Progress - another booth, and stage
This is the other side of the cantina, detached from the rest of the building. When attached, this is how it looks so far without the walls on the other side. I am taking a moment to highlight the play feature here that ejects the sitting patron on chair. This is obviously meant for Han Solo and Greedo -- but it is located at the wrong side of the cantina. The concept is not new as similar play feature had been added in set 75205. What's new in this version is that you just need to tap the technic part 6536 to decide who goes down in the laser gun shooting. Before I proceed, understand that there are so many layout that exists in the internet that depicts which booth Han and Greedo met for the last time -- it's always been the side nearer to the Dewback. Even with the earliest cantina set, this has always been the case. However, for this set, the booth where you can recreate the Han vs. Greedo scene is on the other side. One could argue it is totally inaccurate -- but I get it, ok? The play feature is added there because the Dewback pen already occupied the space needed for the eject mechanism on the original spot. I guess this is better than nothing. It does not take away the play feature and only the most critical Star Wars fan will nitpick about this detail anyway. Bag 11 out of 18
Bag 11 includes more parts for the far side of the cantina. Momaw is included in this bag. Bag #11 Progress - Stage
You have to wonder why the bandstand has to look this way. The designers had to take liberty on their design here because it appears more interesting that it should, compared to the film set. Bag 12 out of 18
More arches on the way, and Han appears in this bag randomly.(Not so random if you buy the idea that the ejector seats awhile ago could be located anywhere in the cantina) Bag #12 Progress - walls and arches The far side of the cantina appears more complete, but we are 4 bags away from completion, so stay with me. Bag 13 out of 18 This bag includes parts for the angled corner of the cantina as well the parts for the other speeder parked outside, the 9000 Z001 landspeeder. In the early blueprints, it is labelled as Ubrickian Landspeeder 9000 Z001, an obvious reference to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. And then, there's Greedo. It is suggested in this set that Greedo drives the speeder, but I cannot find references that confirms or denies this. No one really knows who owns this speeder in the movie. Quick comparison: Old versus New
The one on the left is the old model with transparent dishes and grey part 99206. The internals are pretty much the same to the new one except some colour swaps. I prefer the new one because the clear dishes don't work with me. All you can see is the dark bluish grey bar 1L with tow ball behind them. At least the black dish creates an illusion that those are darkly tinted windows. Bag #13 Progress - More arches Now that the other side of the cantina is fully built, we can connect them together. Bag 14 out of 18 I need to get this out of my chest before I proceed.... I think 2 plastic bags with the same number is fine. But then 3 plastic bags? What is going on here? It does not help that the biggest plastic bag has 2 small plastic bags inside, so there are 4 or 5 plastic bags just for bag(s) # 14. For the actual contents, these are the parts for more roofs, and storage room at the back. Bag #14 Progress - more roofs and storage room
As mentioned in the instruction manual, the back of the cantina is never seen in any of the films, concept art, animated series or even graphic novel. Therefore, the addition of the storage room at the back is based on creative liberties given to the LEGO designers. Bag 15 out of 18
Inside are parts needed for the moisture vaporator. Chewbacca minifigure is also included in this bag, because... why not? Bag #15 Progress - complex machinery and odd shapes
As far I know, this is the most detailed attempt to create the GX-8 water vaporator. All other previous designs pale in comparison. The roof that "covers" the rest of the cantina looks odd but I think the gaps are really intentional to allow some light. Frankly, if the designers decided to cover the cantina completely, I won't mind as long as the exterior look presentable.
The moisture vaporator connects to the main building with clips. Notice the grey crate box here with the empire symbol on it. There are 3 of these parts included in the set and they are scattered throughout the build. The aurebesh script reads as "cargo".
Bag 16 out of 18 Bag #16 includes the part for the Dewback's pen as well as parts to complete the Dewback too (it's jaw and backside) Bag #16 Progress - Do the dew ... back
Here, we get another moisture vaporator but not as big as the previous one. The pen connects at the side of the cantina also where the Dewback can enjoy it's meal for the day, before hauling cargo and moving Sandtroopers from point A to point B again. Bag 17 out of 18
This is the penultimate bag which includes parts for 1 of the 2 extra buildings modelled after the typical style of Tatooine buildings. Random Jawa included. There must be at least a few scrappers in the landscape of Tatooine so why not Jawa, right? Personally, not a big deal with me-- However, what episode VII taught me is that everyone could be a scrapper. Having this Jawa in the set is just convenient.
This one-room abode could fit any alien you wish to shelter. The roofs can be easily detached too for easier access to the interior.
And just like anything in this set, it could be attached to the main building as shown in the picture above. The main building alone is already 52 cm wide and 58 cm deep when opened wide in "L-shape" configuration. Adding the auxiliary building on the either side extends the structure with additional 24 studs or 19.2 cm length. Bags 18 out of 18
Finally, the last bag! Here is the final building which attaches to the other smaller building.
Bags #18 Progress - Junk shop This is supposed to be a junk shop, but you could imagine it could be any shop for sundries, merchandise or whatnot. When you open the junk shop, it is 24 studs long, but once you connect it to the other building it offset by 1 stud, so it is effectively 23-stud long only.once connected.
In total, when you open up this small buildings, and attach them to one another, the total length adds up to 47 studs or 37.6 cm. Add that to the length of the main building (in "L:-shape" config) and you're looking at a potential 89.6 cm or 95.6 cm length display model. Mind you, we are not even counting the 2 vehicles! If you want to stretch it out further, you can fully expand the cantina so that all the booths line up together on one side, with the centre beverage dispenser sticking out in the middle, then attach the 2 other small buildings fully expanded, too -- and you get yourself an oddly long cantina display that is over 1 metre. This set is deceptively long, and unlike other sets that are showing building facets only with shallow doll house structure and open backs, 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina gives us a full building with an option to be displayed and played with wide open, with extra side builds that you can orient whichever way you like. I am still figuring out how I can fit the entire set wide open on my table top photography mini studio. For now, the only way I can take picture of the entire set is to put it all together as compact as possible. Here is how it look like without the minifigures. And here is how it looks like with minifigures. I had to take this out of my living room so that I can finally get a great top view of the whole MBS. https://www.flickr.com/gp/80720650@N02/H8tq46
if you can't see the measurement, the total length is about 43.5 inches or 110 cm Here is another angle: https://www.flickr.com/gp/80720650@N02/C02L60 Now let's step back a little bit and recap what we have built. We do get the main building with a lobby, 5 booths, 1 bandstand, central beverage dispenser/counter and 1 storage room. We also get 6 covers for the booths and bandstand. Then there's also the open roof contraption in the middle that merely serves as the finishing touch. Outside, we do get a Dewback pen, 2 moisture vaporators and a staging area for cargo. There are a lot of things going on here, and yet it looks quite organised. Add the minifigures and there countless things you can stage in this build. The most obvious scene to stage immediately and recreate is that fight scene that left Ponda Baba missing an arm.
You wish you didn't do that
How about the scene outside when Garindan sneakily followed the most wanted droids? Kids can make their own scenarios with their playmates (or parents). It will be countless hours of fun re-imagining the Star Wars story, and creating new ones, too. Parts Now lets dial back a little and focus on the individual parts for the moment. The biggest piece in this set is none other than the Dewback itself. The print is slightly different. The spots are more widespread on the legs and backside of the new Dewback. The eyes colour are prominently more orange than before, and the nostrils of the new Dewback looks different. Old (left) vs New (right) If you look at this angle, the new Dewback appears to be less gentle and has an annoyed look. The old one looks more "relaxed" and less likely to cause trouble. Turn the Dewback upside down and you'll notice that a hole appeared... on its belly. No, I don't believe it is a belly button, but the older mould does not have this hole. Other than this tiny difference, they are practically the same mould. One peculiarity is the removal of the teeth print on the upper jaw of the new Dewback. In order to show this, I have to position the Dewbacks upside-down too. No one could really notice this difference unless you look at the Dewbacks in this awkward position, so it is a wise decision to remove this print for cost-saving measure, when no-one could really see them anyway.
As for the bridle, we don't get the reddish brown one from the old Dewback. Instead, we get this new medium nougat flexible 22L with 2 connector ends. It is not far from the realm of possibilities, that the only reason why we get this weird colour as a Dewback bridle, is that this exact piece is used in another set 31109 Pirate Ship. While there are a handful of exclusive minifigures in this set, the amount of new parts and recolour is severely lacking. It is not a big deal because I don't see people buying this set and using it as parts donor. It only means that there are less exciting elements in this set for parts collectors. Perhaps the budget for new moulds were mostly allocated to the minifigures so new parts recolour is very minimal in this set. There are parts that are not new but could be considered uncommon such as the following: 27965: Zipline, 22L with 2 Connectors - Flexible - Medium Dark Flesh -- only appeared in set 31109 this year, as mentioned above 34816: Brick Special 1 x 2 with Vertical Closed Handle on Edge - Dark Tan -- fairly uncommon as it just appeared once in another Star Wars set. 6314982 looks exactly like the previous element 6289818 but it is a different element number. Not sure what has changed Other than the new moulds from minifigure parts, the following are new parts/element that I have identified: 37352: Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 No Studs - Reddish Brown (used as booth chair back rests) 6314440 - Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 43L?/ 34.5cm? -- really no clue if this is new but if my measurement is correct, this hose size is different from what is out there currently (used as railing for the centre counter) 6314069: Cloth, tattered with holes (small building shade) Let me know if I have missed any. I will be happy to update this list. Hello Greedo
Conclusion If I would let my personal bias get the best of me, I would rate this set perfect, simply because I really have fond memories about this particular scene in the very first Star Wars movie. But of course, I am better than that, so objectively let's see the positive and negative critiques and weigh in the verdict. Pros A playset that is screaming out loud "play me! play me!", even if the suggested age is 18+ Equally good as display A full structure that has respectable depth and breadth, not a skinny "open dollhouse" facade Extra Tatooine buildings add extra flavour on story crafting. Detailed interior and exterior Comes with 2 vehicles Could be displayed fully wide open, reaching over 1 metre in length Cons Could have had taller side buildings, as not all structures in Mos Eisley is that short. At this price range, the minifigures could have benefited from extra side printing and dual moulding. Missing female patrons, save one rat-bat girl called Kabe I am ignoring the conscious decision made by the designers to add the seat ejector play feature on the wrong booth. It is good that it is there only because kids could play them if they wanted to. As adults, there is no harm if located anywhere. You can totally ignore this if it bothers you. Seriously, there are more pressing matters than accurate re-creation of the Han and Greedo scene. Take the last negative critique for instance. Some people will find the lack of other female patrons in this LEGO set disturbing as Kabe is the only rose among the thorns. Venerable jury, I present you the interview posted in StarWars.com, in which the selection of minifigures to be included was deemed difficult. The article mentioned that the committee based the selection on how important they are to the story, which ones are most iconic, and which one would work best as LEGO minifigures. They also did research on which ones were highest on the LEGO Star Wars fans’ wish list. Armed with this information, it makes me wonder -- Is Labria really that high in the wishlist? Come on LEGO. No Snaggletooth, for real? Also, even if the Tonika sister's appearance is minor, the twin sisters were present in the background during the conversation of Han, Chewie, Obi-Wan and Luke. Aren’t they relatively easy to make as minifigures? Wuher even tried to hit on one of the sisters at the beginning of the Cantina scene. Isn’t that more important to the story than just the split second appearance of a Jawa? No? On the flipside, here is the juicy part. The problem why we are not getting any Tonika sisters minifigure is probably the same reason why Hasbro has not done anything about these 2 female patrons. One of the actresses who portrayed them did not sign (or was not able to sign) a contract about their likeness or any sort of royalty for Star Wars merchandise such as toys. Another story is that during production of Star Wars, the nicknames given to the sisters were allegedly “Star ******” (sounds very close to “wars”) and legend has it that GL (and by extension, Disney) allegedly did not want anything to do with them because of that. You can read more about this decade old discussion on the internet, so move along, move along. I know, it is such a bummer whatever the reason is. There are over 60 aliens and humans present in this quintessential cantina scene; this set does not even cover half of the patrons and by-standers. While the existence of this set gives the spotlight on more prominent side characters, it also means that more alien species and minor Star Wars characters are yet to be released in the future. We are just scratching the surface, and hopefully it continues in the right direction. Finally, who is this set for? Without hesitation - I really think this set is meant for all Star Wars fans and not just grown-ups. The 18+ age recommendation is not a strict guideline. I like to think that the age recommendation is there to testify the new commitment of TLG for adult fans, and not to create barriers of entry. MBS is shaping up to be the exact opposite of UCS, One is focused on display set, whereas the other is focused on playsets that one should be playing instead of keeping MISB. Between these two, I am really leaning towards MBS because it is such a fun series to have. I even promised my kids that after I finish this review, we will play this set immediately. I really look forward to playing this set with them soon. Buzzling Cantina Review summary Design / Building Experience: 9/10 - Building a compound filled with diverse aliens in the Star Wars universe is pure bliss. Really wish there is at least 1 taller building as a side build. Playability: 10/10 - MBS, might as well stand for mind-blowing s** ...set. Playset. Then again this is rated 18+ so whether parents will buy this expensive toy for minors, is purely out of their discretion. Minifigures: 9/10 - I really wanted to score this higher because in terms of story and screen time, all the minifigures included in this set makes sense. However, at this price point, fans will always desire to get a better value. There are still many unrepresented aliens in the Star Wars universe. Until then, making custom minifigure for other cantina patrons would be necessary to fill this gap. Price / Value for money: 8/10 - At 11c per piece, this is very acceptable - this is better than 75222 and 75098. However, outside Star Wars, similar sets with the same parts count or price tag tends to have better pricing. Overall: 9/10 - Whether one loathes the badge “Master Builder Series” (MBS) or not, one can’t deny that the force is strong with this one as this playset appeals to a wide array of audience despite the set having the 18+ age suggestion.. Full Flickr album could be found here.
So what is so wretched about this place anyway? Let's find out in my 33rd RA review, 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina.
Overview Name: 75290 - Mos Eisley Cantina
Theme: Star Wars / Master Builder Series
Year: 2020 (2H)
Pieces: 3187
Minifigures: 21
Price: USD 349.99 / EUR 349.99 / GBP 319.99 Introduction Cantina in Spanish literally means canteen but in modern days it is widely referring to a type of bar with wine, alcohol and appetisers which makes sense because etymologically, it is derived from the same Italian word for cellar.
If you have been following Star Wars, you are probably familiar that there are similar bar scenes in other Star Wars trilogy that tried to recapture the same magic from this scene. But why is the original so special? Undoubtedly, it is the equivalent of a wild west bar or fantasy tavern, but instead of cowboys or elves, there are aliens. The array of aliens alone is the first exposure of the audience in the Star Wars universe, and personally, that is the reason why I think people love the scene so much. There are also many accounts that this scene was penned in the original script and is one of the few scenes in the initial plans that stayed in the final script. To alot of people, the funky music in the cantina stays in their head. One's inability to dislodge this tune is also a wonder of its own, and if you’re one of them, perhaps you are already humming the music in your head. To avid Star Wars fans, the inspiration for the backstory of these patrons are limitless. You might have also heard that in Star Wars, every minor character has a backstory, and this adds to the appeal of the cantina with over 60 characters within the vicinity. So with that primer, let us dive deep in the Star Wars Master Builder Series - Mos Eisley Cantina. Once again, big thanks to TLG and the awesome staff of Eurobricks in making this review possible. All opinion about this set is my own. Front Box Panel First of all, the right corner really looks like that. It is not black -- it has the binary sunset golden hour background on that right corner only. At 3187 pieces, this is the largest version of Cantina that got released. The first one is a measly 171 parts back in 2004.
Back Box Panel The back shows the typical scenario you would like to set up, but feel free to make your imagination run wild.
The side of the box showcases the 21 minifigures that you are getting from this set. What’s inside the box?
Right out of the box, we have numbered plastic bags 10 to 18... so how about the bags labelled 1 to 9? Answer: it is in another smaller white box inside the main box. After dumping all the contents inside the white box, here's what it looks like: There are also loose items such as the unbuilt Dewback without its jaw, plastic without number, as well as the instruction book with sticker sheet inside. Instruction Booklet Yes, there is a small sticker sheet in this set. Since I have seen the trailer for this set, I already expected there are stickers for the speeders. However, looking at the sticker sheet, the only graphics that I wish the designers insisted to be printed on LEGO element is the droid detector. The aurebesh script reads "Cantina" if it wasn't that obvious. The rest of the graphics are not necessary to complete the set. At least, that is how I treat most of these stickers, so I am not going to apply them in my build. The instruction booklet is a brick and a tile tall only. I wish to use the digital instruction similar to what I have done with big sets that I have build recently. However, as the instructions or PDF is not available at the time of this review, I had no choice but to use the book. Now, let's fast forward to the minifigures. Minifigures Let’s start first with the minifigures because I know a lot of the people are excited about the new aliens introduced in this set. I will summarise my thoughts about the minifigure line up after I ramble about each one of them. So for now, just follow along In my list below I will include the name of the minifigure followed by the race in parenthesis, e.g. Chewbacca (Wookie). Ponda Baba (Aqualish) is a thug who smuggles spice for Jabba the Hutt alongside his partner in crime, Dr. Evazan. The minifigure sports a new head mould, which many minifigure customisers had dreamt of in years. It is a face only a mother could love -- but look how awesome it is in minifigure form! The designers seriously had balls to put the pinkish bulbous fangs more prominently than it should be. I don’t think they don’t mind if it becomes the butt of all jokes. As you can see from the picture above, the aqualish jaw or the "balls" are too big to even allow movement of the minifigure head. The orange jacket looks nice, with front and back printing. Sadly, no side printing or leg print. "Negola dewaghi wool dugger?" - Ponda Baba
"He doesn't like you." - Dr. Evazan Dr. Cornelius Evazan (Human) from plant Alsakan famously boasted about having death sentences in 12 systems while picking a fight with Luke and we know it didn't go well after that. This talented cosmetic surgeon got his mind corrupted and went cuckoo to perform “creative surgery” leaving his patients disfigured. Needless to say, his hideous crimes had put bounty on his head. His uneasy partnership with Ponda Baba started after the aqualish thug saved him from a bounty hunter encounter which left his face scarred. Since minifigures generally don’t have noses, this criminal doctor doesn’t look as ugly as he should be. I guess it is fine. The new slightly tattered clothes printing gives him that ragged wanderer vibe. No side or leg printing. If you recall in Rogue One history lesson, Jyn and Cassian bumped into criminal duo Ponda Baba and Dr. Cornelius Evazan, too. During this time, the duo has already adopted the alias Roofoo and Sawkee respectively.
Kardue'sai'Malloc (Devaronian) was a cruel army captain from Devaron who fled to Tatooine and hid under the alias Labria. Devaronians skin colour could be brown, purple, red or anything in between. Being red with pointed horns and awkward grin on his face, he could possibly be the devil himself. Just look. The minifigure looks “cute” but it can get creepier the more you look at it. If you don't like the grin, thankfully there is a second face print that looks disappointed. The headgear with horns and ears is new. The torso print is also new. Too bad there is no leg print (this is going to be common remark in other minifigures, so get ready...)
Hrchek Kal Fas (Saurin) hailed from planet Durkteel. They look a lot like Trandoshians (remember Bossk?) because they share the same ancestors. Notable difference is that Saurin has a different skin colour and they have 5 fingers instead of 3. Obviously, that won’t matter in minifigure form but at least Hrchek colour is dark tan instead of sand green. I always welcome diversity, so this is awesome. In the film, this reptilian droid trader followed C-3PO and R2-D2 outside the cantina, likely thinking how to profit on them, but immediately lost track of the droids in the streets of Mos Eisley. In Star Wars legends, he was also accompanied by another Saurin named Sai'torr Kal Fas who was reported to be his female cousin and bodyguard, too. Sadly, she did not join Hrcheck in this set. The head sculpt is the same as Bossk. I like the olive green arms on tan torso part. Although not accurate to the forest green colour, this is better than getting a regular green or dark green, in my humble opinion. Again, no leg printing. Hrcheck would have benefited from dual moulding because he wears a boot... Unfortunately, we don't get dual moulded legs either. Unlike most patrons in the cantina, Momaw Nadon (Ithorian) is not a criminal or a person of interest. Nicknamed “Hammerhead” in classic Kenner action figures, he was only exiled to Tatooine for revealing the agricultural secrets of his homeworld Itor to the Galactic Empire. He is likely chilling out in the cantina after a day’s work on his secret garden in the southern mountains of Mos Eisley spaceport. This isn’t the first time Star Wars released an Ithorian minifigure. The first was the Ithorian Jedi Master in set 75051 back in 2014. Oh boy, that was 6 years ago! Hard to believe this is only the second time we are getting another Ithorian minifigure. It is an interesting alien race because they love peace and philosophy, so I reckon we should have more of these in Star Wars. This minifigure is one of the few ones that has legs printing. The torso print, front and back, looks appropriate for a farmer alien. Don’t be fooled by this cutesy appearance. Kabe (Chadra-Fan) rhymes with babe, and yes she’s a girl and not a chad, even if Chadra-Fan’s homeworld is called Chad. In the film, she annoys the bartender into giving her blue milk using her high pitch squeak. While not begging for milk, she scams and pickpockets alongside her buddy Muftak (Talz) which is regrettably not included in this set. If you want to get her a buddy, your only hope is getting the Talz minifigure in set 8085 which was released over 10 years ago. Indeed, she’s a girl in a cantina. So what is a girl doing in a cantina filled with filthy hoodlums? Based on the canon story "The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper" in the book From a Certain Point of View, she was entangled in a mess that led her life at risk, involving all the aliens in the same cantina booth seen here. Eventually, Han ended the kerfuffle by killing Greedo, which then freed her and Muftak from the messy situation. For the minifigure itself, the head is using bat ears, which makes sense because the Chadra-Fan species are rodent-like creatures with bat faces. She has short legs, but I think they should have given her with a clothe skirt to complete the look. No one is going to figure out she's a girl unless they've already dug the deep rabbit hole, which is reading about every cantina patron's backstory. Garindan (Kubaz) is not a patron of Chalmun’s Cantina but he roamed around the streets of Mos Eisley as a spy. Considered to be the greatest and greediest imperial informant in Mos Eisley, he located the missing droids that the empire is looking for, and passed information to the Sandtroopers which enabled them to catch up with the protagonists before they could even board the Millennium Falcon. This minifigure torso looks familiar because it looks like an imperial officer uniform, even if it's not. More importantly, many people got interested in this minifigure because of the long snoot nose that is protruding on its head. As seen in the picture, this is achieved by attaching a neck accessory instead of a completely new head mould. I think TLG should make more aliens with this approach. So, those are 7 new named Star Wars minifigures in the set. That is equivalent to 5 new alien species, too. At this point, I feel like we could have gotten more than 5 new alien species, but more on that later. Below are the minifigures that we are more familiar of.. Sandtrooper Squad Leader The orange pauldron reveals the rank of this Sandtrooper as Squad Leader. Look beneath the headgear and you'll see a non-Angry Clone Trooper face! This is good progress. Sandtrooper The only difference between this and the squad leader is the pauldron. This one got black. It also has a different face print than the squad leader. TLG, you're spoiling us here! In all seriousness, sincere thanks on behalf of all AFOLs who are sick and tired of the Angry Clone Trooper heads. Wuher (Human) You got to have the bartender if you're running a bar. This is the same one from year 2018. Jawa
Adding Jawa in this set makes sense. But then, why make it generic? This could have been one of the named Jawa patron inside the cantina... but it's probably too much to ask for a unique torso print. It does not help that many people probably got several (probably even dozen) Jawas from Tatooine Battle Pack back in 2018 that this could have been easily replaced by a different named character or totally new alien species. Bith Musician (x3) Now, the Bith Musicians. Perhaps a little disappointing that none of them ever got named, but I get it. None of them got official names in the previous sets either, so why change now? In Star Wars canon, there are 8 known band members. Namely: "Fiery" Figrin D'an (front man) - Kloo Horn
Doikk Na'ts - Dorenian Beshniquel (Fizzz)
Tedn Dahai - fanfar
Tech Mo'r - Ommni box
Ickabel G'ont - Double Jocimer
Nalan Cheel - bandfill
Sun'il Ei'de - drums
Lirin Car'n - backup Kloo Horn I'd wager that the Bith Musicians included here are the first 3 in that list because Figrin has a silver Kloo Horn, Tedn has gold fanfar and Doikk has black Fizzz. The LEGO instruction manual recognises all the band members officially but as they all look alike, it makes sense that they are all simply called Bith musicians. Fun fact: Do you know what the music genre Figrin D'an and the Model Nodes perform? It’s called Jizz. Yup, not jazz. It’s called jizz. It is the same genre Max Rebo band plays in the prequels. Greedo (Rodian) Hello Greedo. I don't understand why you don't get side printing when it has been done before in a much cheaper set. Is it because Han shot first? This variant also came in set 75205 back in 2018.. Leg printing is good, but I kinda prefer the leg printing from set 75052 (2014) because it also got printing on hips. Maybe next time, we won't get any leg printing if TLG follows this trend. Hopefully not, please! Han Solo (Human) Solo, because he isn't many, quite literally, as the origin story implied from that self titled movie that is now canon. This is the exact same minifigure that appeared in 2 other sets, 75159 and 75205. Chewbacca (Wookie)
This minifigure is very common now, I can't believe this appeared in 12 other sets. This marks Mos Eisley Cantina as this variant 's 13th appearance. It's great that we get leg printing here, but as common as this minifigure is, it is already expected. Obi Wan Kenobi / Uncle Ben (Human)
The minifigure is exactly the same as the one found in set 75246 (2019). Luke (Human) This variant is considered common too because it appeared in more than 5 sets, including the Star Wars Advent Calendar 2020, set # 75279. C-3PO My copy of C-3PO has a little defect on head printing. If you look at it, C-3PO seems to be looking on his left (your right). It looks funny but I don't know how often this kind of printing error occurs. As for the minifigure itself, it is very common too, appearing in 10 sets since first appearance in 2016. R2-D2 This variant of R2-D2 appears to be the latest version with "large receptors" (those blue rectangles in front of the dome). However, the amount of R2-D2 appearances is staggering. Even if this minifigure is relatively new, it is already appearing in 3 other sets, besides this Mos Eisley Cantina set. So that is all about the minifigures included in the set. It is really great that we have 7 new named characters. That is groundbreaking alone. I can't remember this ever happened in any Star Wars set before. With all the minifigures all done, we can proceed on the build details.
Build The moment of truth... we're back on paper again.
Bag 1 out of 18
These parts are meant for the V-35 Landspeeder. We also get a teal brick separator. In this bag, the minifigure included is Luke. Bag #1 progress - some kind of speeder or something I can't remember the last Luke's Landspeeder that I built because I skipped all the recent ones.
Bag 2 out of 18 Continuing the build for the V-35 Landspeeder, we get all the parts to finish this vehicle. Hrcheck is included in this bag. Bag #2 Progress - Finally, a different landspeeder ! In between building steps, I took a picture of the reverse stud technique as seen at the tailend of the landspeeder. Simple and clever way to attach the while windshield part that serves as the support for the 3 thrust turbines. Quick Comparison: old Luke's Landspeeder vs new V-35 Landspeeder NOTE: Luke's Landspeeder is not included in set 75290. It is just added here for comparison I am very relieved that we are not getting yet another Luke's Landspeeder because this V-35 Landspeeder looks awesome. We LEGO Star Wars fans often complain about the umpteenth version of Luke's Landspeeder. Now that we finally got a new vehicle, this is a big win for the fans as there are less things to complain and bicker about. Bag 3 out of 18 Now, here comes the start of the actual Cantina build. The minifigure included in this bag is Wuher, the Cantina bartender who disdains droids. Bag #3 Progress - here goes the watering hole Basically, bag #3 is the centre counter and beverage dispenser. We are on the right track.
Bag 4 out of 18
We now see more tan and dark tan as we prepare the parts for the booths. Obi Wan Kenobi is included in this bag. Bag #4 Progress - Booths
This looks plain right now but it has to be the most refined booth lounge design TLG has designed so far. Bag 5 out of 18
Step by step, we build up the walls of the cantina. In this bag, Kabe is included. Bag #5 Progress - still working on booths
Even at the early build progress, it is already looking posh. Bag 6 out of 18
More wall needed for the part. R2-D2 is here. Bag #6 Progress - booths... booths...
As the wall gets taller, it reminds me how much improvement the Cantina got after several iterations. Bag 7 out of 18
More wall needed for the part. C-3PO is here. Bag #7 Progress - booths... booths... booths.
With 2 arches almost done, and 3 booths almost complete, we are switching shortly to the lobby after this.
Bag 8 out of 18
Here goes the lobby parts, and one of the Sandtroopers is included here. Progress This is not the best angle of the lobby. The angle of the entrance door as well as the construction of the swipe up door is oddly satisfying. Bag 9 out of 18 - Roofs
Parts included here are meant for the dome as well as the arch of the lobby. Nothing ground-breaking there. What's groundbreaking is the inclusion of 2 minifigures here - Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan. Another new addition in this cantina design are the roofs. With the roofs on, there are less light entering the booths. When I did my MOC for Chalmun's Cantina many years ago, I remember adding spaces for the walls and tables for LED lights because the original set is very dark that it begs to be lit. Obviously, this set does not come with any LED lights, but one way or another, people will find ways to light this scene up. I am already thinking about it as I review this set right now. Bag 10 out of 18 What is Cantina without the music. In this bag, we have parts for the other side of the room, including the bandstand where Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes perform. Most appropriately, the Bith musicians are included in this bag. Bag #10 Progress - another booth, and stage
This is the other side of the cantina, detached from the rest of the building. When attached, this is how it looks so far without the walls on the other side. I am taking a moment to highlight the play feature here that ejects the sitting patron on chair. This is obviously meant for Han Solo and Greedo -- but it is located at the wrong side of the cantina. The concept is not new as similar play feature had been added in set 75205. What's new in this version is that you just need to tap the technic part 6536 to decide who goes down in the laser gun shooting. Before I proceed, understand that there are so many layout that exists in the internet that depicts which booth Han and Greedo met for the last time -- it's always been the side nearer to the Dewback. Even with the earliest cantina set, this has always been the case. However, for this set, the booth where you can recreate the Han vs. Greedo scene is on the other side. One could argue it is totally inaccurate -- but I get it, ok? The play feature is added there because the Dewback pen already occupied the space needed for the eject mechanism on the original spot. I guess this is better than nothing. It does not take away the play feature and only the most critical Star Wars fan will nitpick about this detail anyway. Bag 11 out of 18
Bag 11 includes more parts for the far side of the cantina. Momaw is included in this bag. Bag #11 Progress - Stage
You have to wonder why the bandstand has to look this way. The designers had to take liberty on their design here because it appears more interesting that it should, compared to the film set. Bag 12 out of 18
More arches on the way, and Han appears in this bag randomly.(Not so random if you buy the idea that the ejector seats awhile ago could be located anywhere in the cantina) Bag #12 Progress - walls and arches The far side of the cantina appears more complete, but we are 4 bags away from completion, so stay with me. Bag 13 out of 18 This bag includes parts for the angled corner of the cantina as well the parts for the other speeder parked outside, the 9000 Z001 landspeeder. In the early blueprints, it is labelled as Ubrickian Landspeeder 9000 Z001, an obvious reference to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. And then, there's Greedo. It is suggested in this set that Greedo drives the speeder, but I cannot find references that confirms or denies this. No one really knows who owns this speeder in the movie. Quick comparison: Old versus New
The one on the left is the old model with transparent dishes and grey part 99206. The internals are pretty much the same to the new one except some colour swaps. I prefer the new one because the clear dishes don't work with me. All you can see is the dark bluish grey bar 1L with tow ball behind them. At least the black dish creates an illusion that those are darkly tinted windows. Bag #13 Progress - More arches Now that the other side of the cantina is fully built, we can connect them together. Bag 14 out of 18 I need to get this out of my chest before I proceed.... I think 2 plastic bags with the same number is fine. But then 3 plastic bags? What is going on here? It does not help that the biggest plastic bag has 2 small plastic bags inside, so there are 4 or 5 plastic bags just for bag(s) # 14. For the actual contents, these are the parts for more roofs, and storage room at the back. Bag #14 Progress - more roofs and storage room
As mentioned in the instruction manual, the back of the cantina is never seen in any of the films, concept art, animated series or even graphic novel. Therefore, the addition of the storage room at the back is based on creative liberties given to the LEGO designers. Bag 15 out of 18
Inside are parts needed for the moisture vaporator. Chewbacca minifigure is also included in this bag, because... why not? Bag #15 Progress - complex machinery and odd shapes
As far I know, this is the most detailed attempt to create the GX-8 water vaporator. All other previous designs pale in comparison. The roof that "covers" the rest of the cantina looks odd but I think the gaps are really intentional to allow some light. Frankly, if the designers decided to cover the cantina completely, I won't mind as long as the exterior look presentable.
The moisture vaporator connects to the main building with clips. Notice the grey crate box here with the empire symbol on it. There are 3 of these parts included in the set and they are scattered throughout the build. The aurebesh script reads as "cargo".
Bag 16 out of 18 Bag #16 includes the part for the Dewback's pen as well as parts to complete the Dewback too (it's jaw and backside) Bag #16 Progress - Do the dew ... back
Here, we get another moisture vaporator but not as big as the previous one. The pen connects at the side of the cantina also where the Dewback can enjoy it's meal for the day, before hauling cargo and moving Sandtroopers from point A to point B again. Bag 17 out of 18
This is the penultimate bag which includes parts for 1 of the 2 extra buildings modelled after the typical style of Tatooine buildings. Random Jawa included. There must be at least a few scrappers in the landscape of Tatooine so why not Jawa, right? Personally, not a big deal with me-- However, what episode VII taught me is that everyone could be a scrapper. Having this Jawa in the set is just convenient.
This one-room abode could fit any alien you wish to shelter. The roofs can be easily detached too for easier access to the interior.
And just like anything in this set, it could be attached to the main building as shown in the picture above. The main building alone is already 52 cm wide and 58 cm deep when opened wide in "L-shape" configuration. Adding the auxiliary building on the either side extends the structure with additional 24 studs or 19.2 cm length. Bags 18 out of 18
Finally, the last bag! Here is the final building which attaches to the other smaller building.
Bags #18 Progress - Junk shop This is supposed to be a junk shop, but you could imagine it could be any shop for sundries, merchandise or whatnot. When you open the junk shop, it is 24 studs long, but once you connect it to the other building it offset by 1 stud, so it is effectively 23-stud long only.once connected.
In total, when you open up this small buildings, and attach them to one another, the total length adds up to 47 studs or 37.6 cm. Add that to the length of the main building (in "L:-shape" config) and you're looking at a potential 89.6 cm or 95.6 cm length display model. Mind you, we are not even counting the 2 vehicles! If you want to stretch it out further, you can fully expand the cantina so that all the booths line up together on one side, with the centre beverage dispenser sticking out in the middle, then attach the 2 other small buildings fully expanded, too -- and you get yourself an oddly long cantina display that is over 1 metre. This set is deceptively long, and unlike other sets that are showing building facets only with shallow doll house structure and open backs, 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina gives us a full building with an option to be displayed and played with wide open, with extra side builds that you can orient whichever way you like. I am still figuring out how I can fit the entire set wide open on my table top photography mini studio. For now, the only way I can take picture of the entire set is to put it all together as compact as possible. Here is how it look like without the minifigures. And here is how it looks like with minifigures. I had to take this out of my living room so that I can finally get a great top view of the whole MBS. https://www.flickr.com/gp/80720650@N02/H8tq46
if you can't see the measurement, the total length is about 43.5 inches or 110 cm Here is another angle: https://www.flickr.com/gp/80720650@N02/C02L60 Now let's step back a little bit and recap what we have built. We do get the main building with a lobby, 5 booths, 1 bandstand, central beverage dispenser/counter and 1 storage room. We also get 6 covers for the booths and bandstand. Then there's also the open roof contraption in the middle that merely serves as the finishing touch. Outside, we do get a Dewback pen, 2 moisture vaporators and a staging area for cargo. There are a lot of things going on here, and yet it looks quite organised. Add the minifigures and there countless things you can stage in this build. The most obvious scene to stage immediately and recreate is that fight scene that left Ponda Baba missing an arm.
You wish you didn't do that
How about the scene outside when Garindan sneakily followed the most wanted droids? Kids can make their own scenarios with their playmates (or parents). It will be countless hours of fun re-imagining the Star Wars story, and creating new ones, too. Parts Now lets dial back a little and focus on the individual parts for the moment. The biggest piece in this set is none other than the Dewback itself. The print is slightly different. The spots are more widespread on the legs and backside of the new Dewback. The eyes colour are prominently more orange than before, and the nostrils of the new Dewback looks different. Old (left) vs New (right) If you look at this angle, the new Dewback appears to be less gentle and has an annoyed look. The old one looks more "relaxed" and less likely to cause trouble. Turn the Dewback upside down and you'll notice that a hole appeared... on its belly. No, I don't believe it is a belly button, but the older mould does not have this hole. Other than this tiny difference, they are practically the same mould. One peculiarity is the removal of the teeth print on the upper jaw of the new Dewback. In order to show this, I have to position the Dewbacks upside-down too. No one could really notice this difference unless you look at the Dewbacks in this awkward position, so it is a wise decision to remove this print for cost-saving measure, when no-one could really see them anyway.
As for the bridle, we don't get the reddish brown one from the old Dewback. Instead, we get this new medium nougat flexible 22L with 2 connector ends. It is not far from the realm of possibilities, that the only reason why we get this weird colour as a Dewback bridle, is that this exact piece is used in another set 31109 Pirate Ship. While there are a handful of exclusive minifigures in this set, the amount of new parts and recolour is severely lacking. It is not a big deal because I don't see people buying this set and using it as parts donor. It only means that there are less exciting elements in this set for parts collectors. Perhaps the budget for new moulds were mostly allocated to the minifigures so new parts recolour is very minimal in this set. There are parts that are not new but could be considered uncommon such as the following: 27965: Zipline, 22L with 2 Connectors - Flexible - Medium Dark Flesh -- only appeared in set 31109 this year, as mentioned above 34816: Brick Special 1 x 2 with Vertical Closed Handle on Edge - Dark Tan -- fairly uncommon as it just appeared once in another Star Wars set. 6314982 looks exactly like the previous element 6289818 but it is a different element number. Not sure what has changed Other than the new moulds from minifigure parts, the following are new parts/element that I have identified: 37352: Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 No Studs - Reddish Brown (used as booth chair back rests) 6314440 - Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 43L?/ 34.5cm? -- really no clue if this is new but if my measurement is correct, this hose size is different from what is out there currently (used as railing for the centre counter) 6314069: Cloth, tattered with holes (small building shade) Let me know if I have missed any. I will be happy to update this list. Hello Greedo
Conclusion If I would let my personal bias get the best of me, I would rate this set perfect, simply because I really have fond memories about this particular scene in the very first Star Wars movie. But of course, I am better than that, so objectively let's see the positive and negative critiques and weigh in the verdict. Pros A playset that is screaming out loud "play me! play me!", even if the suggested age is 18+ Equally good as display A full structure that has respectable depth and breadth, not a skinny "open dollhouse" facade Extra Tatooine buildings add extra flavour on story crafting. Detailed interior and exterior Comes with 2 vehicles Could be displayed fully wide open, reaching over 1 metre in length Cons Could have had taller side buildings, as not all structures in Mos Eisley is that short. At this price range, the minifigures could have benefited from extra side printing and dual moulding. Missing female patrons, save one rat-bat girl called Kabe I am ignoring the conscious decision made by the designers to add the seat ejector play feature on the wrong booth. It is good that it is there only because kids could play them if they wanted to. As adults, there is no harm if located anywhere. You can totally ignore this if it bothers you. Seriously, there are more pressing matters than accurate re-creation of the Han and Greedo scene. Take the last negative critique for instance. Some people will find the lack of other female patrons in this LEGO set disturbing as Kabe is the only rose among the thorns. Venerable jury, I present you the interview posted in StarWars.com, in which the selection of minifigures to be included was deemed difficult. The article mentioned that the committee based the selection on how important they are to the story, which ones are most iconic, and which one would work best as LEGO minifigures. They also did research on which ones were highest on the LEGO Star Wars fans’ wish list. Armed with this information, it makes me wonder -- Is Labria really that high in the wishlist? Come on LEGO. No Snaggletooth, for real? Also, even if the Tonika sister's appearance is minor, the twin sisters were present in the background during the conversation of Han, Chewie, Obi-Wan and Luke. Aren’t they relatively easy to make as minifigures? Wuher even tried to hit on one of the sisters at the beginning of the Cantina scene. Isn’t that more important to the story than just the split second appearance of a Jawa? No? On the flipside, here is the juicy part. The problem why we are not getting any Tonika sisters minifigure is probably the same reason why Hasbro has not done anything about these 2 female patrons. One of the actresses who portrayed them did not sign (or was not able to sign) a contract about their likeness or any sort of royalty for Star Wars merchandise such as toys. Another story is that during production of Star Wars, the nicknames given to the sisters were allegedly “Star ******” (sounds very close to “wars”) and legend has it that GL (and by extension, Disney) allegedly did not want anything to do with them because of that. You can read more about this decade old discussion on the internet, so move along, move along. I know, it is such a bummer whatever the reason is. There are over 60 aliens and humans present in this quintessential cantina scene; this set does not even cover half of the patrons and by-standers. While the existence of this set gives the spotlight on more prominent side characters, it also means that more alien species and minor Star Wars characters are yet to be released in the future. We are just scratching the surface, and hopefully it continues in the right direction. Finally, who is this set for? Without hesitation - I really think this set is meant for all Star Wars fans and not just grown-ups. The 18+ age recommendation is not a strict guideline. I like to think that the age recommendation is there to testify the new commitment of TLG for adult fans, and not to create barriers of entry. MBS is shaping up to be the exact opposite of UCS, One is focused on display set, whereas the other is focused on playsets that one should be playing instead of keeping MISB. Between these two, I am really leaning towards MBS because it is such a fun series to have. I even promised my kids that after I finish this review, we will play this set immediately. I really look forward to playing this set with them soon. Buzzling Cantina Review summary Design / Building Experience: 9/10 - Building a compound filled with diverse aliens in the Star Wars universe is pure bliss. Really wish there is at least 1 taller building as a side build. Playability: 10/10 - MBS, might as well stand for mind-blowing s** ...set. Playset. Then again this is rated 18+ so whether parents will buy this expensive toy for minors, is purely out of their discretion. Minifigures: 9/10 - I really wanted to score this higher because in terms of story and screen time, all the minifigures included in this set makes sense. However, at this price point, fans will always desire to get a better value. There are still many unrepresented aliens in the Star Wars universe. Until then, making custom minifigure for other cantina patrons would be necessary to fill this gap. Price / Value for money: 8/10 - At 11c per piece, this is very acceptable - this is better than 75222 and 75098. However, outside Star Wars, similar sets with the same parts count or price tag tends to have better pricing. Overall: 9/10 - Whether one loathes the badge “Master Builder Series” (MBS) or not, one can’t deny that the force is strong with this one as this playset appeals to a wide array of audience despite the set having the 18+ age suggestion.. Full Flickr album could be found here.
See one of my reply I quoted above. That is the dimensions for the fully closed Cantina.