Lego Brickheadz 75317 The Mandalorian & the Child

It's been a slow year for Star Wars Lego Brickheadz. Last week, however, my wife finally got her hands on what just might be the best release yet in this line: 75317 The Mandalorian & the Child.

Let's be honest - this set was always destined for greatness. Both the Mandalorian and the Child are incredibly well-suited to a brick-based realisation. What I didn't expect, however, was just how good that realisation would be. The Mandalorian features an insane amount of detail - from his wonderfully sculpted helmet, to his sidearm, to his (detachable) over-the-shoulder rifle, to the metallic cartridges clipped to his belt.

But, of course, the real star here is the Child. While much simpler in design, the team at Lego have managed to perfectly capture the heart and soul of this character. The pivoting ears (featured in their 'sad' downturned position in the image below) add even more character to this build. And don't forget the pram. While this accessory could easily have been phoned-in, Lego instead put an enormous amount of time and care into extracting the smooth curves of the Child's conveyance from a small handful of chunky bricks. Further, some extra detailing at the hinges gives the illusion of a real, working mechanism within the build - a wonderfully nice touch.

Taken together, these separate elements make for a set that I cannot recommend highly enough!

Lego 75265, 75270, and 75271 Tatooine Sets

Given the dearth of new 3 3/4" figures hitting stores, I've been exploring other ways of getting my collecting fix. To that end, my wife and I have been delving more into Lego's Star Wars offerings as of late. We recently picked up a wonderful trio of new Tatooine-themed sets: 75265 T-16 Skyhopper vs Bantha Microfighters, 75270 Obi-Wan's Hut, and 75271 Luke's Skywalker's Landspeeder.

Retailing at $44.99 each, Obi-Wan's Hut and Luke's Landspeeder are designed as a particularly synergistic coupling - the combined pair providing you with the full quartet of Obi-Wan, Luke, C-3PO, and R2-D2 (as well as a second ponchoed Luke for variety). Also included are a pair of native Tatooine denizens - a Tusken Raider in 75270 and a Jawa in 75271. Luke's Landspeeder gives us an incredibly detailed upgrade on previous Lego iterations of this vehicle, complete with a rifle mount and nifty opening cargo compartment.

Yet it's Obi-Wan's hut that's the real standout. The sit is brimming with hidden features and Easter Eggs (did someone say blue milk?) that make the set both a joy to build and to explore upon completion.

While not a direct companion, the simultaneous release of the T-16 Skyhopper vs Bantha Microfighters for $34.99 is fortuitous indeed. While the under-scaled Skyhopper isn't a perfect match, the set is justified on the basis of the adorable brick-built bantha alone. The addition of another Tusken Raider and a Tatooine bush pilot only sweetens the deal even more.

Taken together, these three sets make for a wonderful combined display - and go particularly nicely with the 75136 Droid Escape Pod I gave my wife for Christmas last year.

Lego 75267 Mandalorian Battle Pack

Let's be honest - everyone loves The Mandalorian. Despite this (or, perhaps, for this very reason) Mandalorian merchandise has been hard to come by. The 6" Black Series Mandalorian and the Hot Wheels Razor Crest are nowhere to be found, and we won't be seeing any 3 3/4" Mandalorian figures until at least April. For that reason, I pounced on the one (also very sought-after) piece of Mandalorian merchandise I've come across - the Lego 75267 Mandalorian Battle Pack.

Retailing at $22.99AU ($23.97NZ), this set comes with four uniquely decorated Mandalorians (two male and two female) from the enclave on Nevarro. The detailing on each is phenomenal, with three of the four even featuring printed leg pieces. Also included are four fabric capes, four rangefinders, and four visors; allowing you to customise each figure according to your own preferences.

These battle packs usually come with a slightly contrived vehicle build - like the drastically undersized First Order snowspeeder in the Sith Troopers battle pack. In this pack, however, we get a perfectly scaled screen-accurate vehicle in the form of the Balutar-class swoop from the Clone Wars animated series. Previously released in a 2011 Mandalorian battle pack, this updated version of the swoop now comes with a rundown, mismatched colour scheme - no doubt the result of three decades of wear and neglect. As an added bonus, there's also a small fortification build that provides a mount for one of the four included studshooters.

In fact, the studshooters might be my only gripe with this set. While I understand that they provide some additional play value for kids, they do look a little cumbersome on the figures. While one or two 'heavy weapons troopers' might be able to brandish these, it would have been great to receive a wider variety of armaments for the other figures to wield. Fortunately I've got an abundance of new blasters from my Lego Star Wars advent calendar for these Mandos to pillage!

Lego 75136 Droid Escape Pod

Today's post comes on behalf of my wife. A few years back, she missed out on the Lego 75136 Droid Escape Pod set and has been searching for it ever since. After a little hunting, I managed to track one down and surprise her on Christmas Day. She just completed the build, so I thought I'd take the chance to grab a few photos and share our thoughts.

All up, this is one of the nicest Star Wars builds I've seen in a long time. Lego does all it can to keep the prices of these mid-size sets down, but often this means they come out feeling a little light on parts - lacking density and seeming a little fragile as a result. Not so here, however. The construction is tightly packed and sturdy as hell. It feels like this pod really could survive a crash landing.

The main sculpt is based around four large curved panels that carry most of the graphic detailing. Sadly these pieces are stickered, not printed - but again, this is about Lego doing its best to maximise the affordability of its sets. The necessity of the stickers also becomes apparent once you realise that several of the panels are decorated both inside and out - with the internal walls featuring a display screen and an adorable window with a view of the underside of the Devastator. Utilising these four large panels to fill out most of the build also allows for the remaining piece count to be used in providing an insane level of detail elsewhere. The exterior of the pod features eight separately gimbaled thrusters, a printed cockpit window, and even two tiny manoeuvring jets on the nose. The fantastic detailing continues on the interior, where a novel building technique changes the orientation of the studs. C-3PO and R2-D2 each receive their own mount, with handlebars for the pilot. A (stickered) control panel can also be removed to reveal the (printed) stolen Death Star plans.

This set should make a great companion to the just-released Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder and Obi-Wan's Hut sets - both of which my wife and I already have our eyes on!

Lego 75245 2019 Advent Calendar

After making excuses for many years, I finally decided to splurge on a Lego Star Wars advent calendar this holiday season. Having just finished my 24th day of tiny builds, I'm now left with only one question: Why didn't I do this a long time ago?

In short, these calendars are a phenomenal amount of fun. I mean, who doesn't want to wake up each morning to a mystery Lego build? They also provide amazing bang for your buck. While prices varied by retailer, I was able to nab mine from Kmart for only $34.00AU ($36.19NZ). This year's calendar contained seven minifigures (ten, if you count the mynock, gonk droid, and porg). That's the kind of minifigure count you usually only see on sets north of $150. On top of this, you get nine miniature vehicles, three micro-scale pieces of terrain, and a couple of buildable accessories for your minifigures. These builds come from throughout the filmic saga, and provide a nice representation of both heroes and villains (as shown above).

Granted, there isn't an enormous amount of thematic linkage between the different builds - but the point here is to give you a wide variety of builds from across the enormous breadth of the franchise. Ultimately, it's been a great way to inject some variety into my Lego collection, and I'm sure I'll be picking up each future calendar from here on out!

Lego Brickheadz 41627 Yoda, 41629 Luke Skywalker, and 41628 Princess Leia

Over the last few months our collection of Star Wars Lego Brickheadz has steadily expanded. My wife picked up two of the latest releases from the line - 41627 Yoda and Luke Skywalker and 41629 Boba Fett - when we were back in Houston, and added 41628 Princess Leia shortly after we moved to Sydney.

The Yoda and Luke is the first two-pack we've picked up, and it's a great way of being able to introduce smaller characters that might not otherwise merit a full set to themselves. Despite his diminutive size, Yoda is admirably well-designed, and makes a great complement to the heavily-detailed Luke (I mean, just look at that hair!)

The hair sculpting is also the best part of Leia, who - while being an otherwise simple build - nevertheless makes a welcome addition to this line.

But all three of those figures pale in comparison to the Boba Fett - who, at 161 pieces - comes in at nearly twice the brick count of many other characters in this line. And it's easy to see where they all go. Boba's detailing is second-to-none, with every familiar facet of his armour carefully executed through the most novel uses of Lego bricks. His appearance is further enhanced by a staggering number of uniquely printed parts.

This quartet will go especially well with the Darth Vader and Stormtrooper we picked up earlier last year. There's no word yet of any future Star Wars Brickheadz release, but here's hoping we'll see plenty more characters represented in this great little line.

Lego 41619 BrickHeadz Darth Vader and 41620 BrickHeadz Stormtrooper

Today's post comes partially on behalf of my fiancée. Well, I say that - but I'm becoming just as obsessed with these particular collectibles as she is. They are, of course, BrickHeadz - the new line from Lego that is rapidly expanding to cover all kinds of franchises. Most recently, their range has been riding the nostalgia wave, releasing adorable brickified versions of characters from classic films such as Back to the Future and Ghostbusters. While there've also been a handful of Star Wars releases, these have solely been characters pulled from the new films (like Captain Phasma). Now, however, Lego is turning it's attention towards the original trilogy, beginning with Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper. My fiancée ordered the pair on their day of release, and they finally arrived just a few days ago.

Like their predecessors, these BrickHeadz certainly don't fail to impress. Using familiar pieces in clever ways, the sets manage to sculpt incredibly accurate (if stylised) likenesses of their on-screen doppelgangers. It's the little details that really make these sets - like the tiny thermal detonator on the stormtrooper's back, or the utilisation of certain pieces to create the appearance of pleats in Vader's cape.

At $9.99USD a pop, these BrickHeadz also continue to provide wonderful bang-for-your-buck. Not only does each set give you a great Funko-like figure for display (and at the same price point), it also provides a nice injection of Lego bricks for your collection. In fact, at around 100-120 bricks per set, each BrickHead comes with around 50% more pieces than you'd get in other Lego sets at the same price point.

With more classic Star Wars BrickHeadz characters on the way, this part of our collection will soon be expanding rapdily. Stay tuned for updates!

Lego 75187 BB-8

There's nothing better than having a substantial-sized Lego build to complete over the holiday season - and thanks to my soon-to-be brother-in-law, my fiancée and I had just that with the Lego 75187 BB-8 set this Christmas.

We'd been eyeing up this set for some time, so were rapt to receive it as a gift. Coming in at around 1100 pieces, BB-8 is a hefty chunk of plastic filled with wonderful details. Every side-panel (including the bottom) is uniquely detailed with greeblies, and BB's signature facial details are perfectly rendered with the ingenious use of a handful of radar dishes. What's most impressive, however, is the way in which the designers have managed to duplicate the droid's spherical shape using predominantly non-curved bricks.

BB-8 comes with a couple of nifty play features, including a spinning head and his trademark 'thumbs-up' lighter which emerges from an opening hatch. Both mechanisms are controlled by rotating a respective side panel, and work incredibly well. BB's head mount is particularly nice - being fixed to an elasticised gimble contraption. This means that instead of spinning somewhat 'robotically', BB's head bobs back and forth slightly with each turn - cleverly emulating the more natural movements of his on-screen counterpart. Our only (very minor) criticism of this set regards the door that conceals BB's lighter. While it pops open nicely when the lighter is extended, it needs to be manually closed after the lighter is retracted. It would have only required a small modification (and the addition of an additional elastic band) to have this door automatically close - but it would have added an incredibly satisfying finishing touch.

That small gripe aside, this is a damn-near perfect set. As added bonuses, BB also comes with a fantastic stand and nameplate (the likes of which we usually only see in Ultimate Collector Series sets) and a minifigure-scaled BB-8 for size comparison. The whole package makes a wonderful display piece, and one that will be front-and-center in our living area for a long time to come!

Lego 41486 BrickHeadz Captain Phasma

Today's post comes on behalf of my fiancée, who has recently been delving into Lego's new 'BrickHeadz' line. These adorable little sets come in at $9.99US ($14.45NZ) a piece, and are essentially the Lego equivalent of a Funko Pop! figure. So far, the line has included characters from Disney, DC, and Marvel, but on November 1st Lego finally tapped into one of their most lucrative licenses with 41485 Finn and 41486 Captain Phasma - the latter of which my fiancée picked up without a moment's hesitation.

Put simply, Phasma is a phenomenal little set. Promotional images had made me somewhat sceptical about her headsculpt - especially the flat 4 x 1 across the front of what should be a very curved helmet. It seems these concerns were for naught, however, as it all works very well. In fact, there's a staggering amount of detail in her head alone, which might explain her very high part count of 127 pieces - 36 more than Finn. Another excellent touch is her red-trimmed cape, which - despite the blocky medium from which it's built - still seems to give the impression of flowing and falling naturally over her shoulder. 

Her blaster rifle is adorned with a single metalised silver piece, but this raises the question: why was the entire figure not built from bricks of this colour? My only thought is that Lego isn't yet producing the necessary pieces in silver, so ruled it out for cost reasons. Still, while Phasma works well enough in grey, having her rendered entirely in metalised parts would have really made her pop.

All up, this set has us incredibly excited for the future of Star Wars BrickHeadz. With an (albeit exclusive) Boba Fett and Han Solo in carbonite debuting at NYCC this year, and rumours of more sets early next year, there's a good chance Phasma will have some friends in the near-future.

Lego 30277 First Order Star Destroyer Mini Building Set

While searching for the Lego First Order Heavy Assault Walker Mini Building Set, I stumbled across another polybag vehicle that - despite being released almost a year ago - had so far been completely absent from any of my local stores: the First Order Star Destroyer.

Retailing at $3.49US ($5.49NZD), this set is at the opposite end of the feature-spectrum when compared with the Heavy Assault Walker. Put simply, it doesn't do a darn thing. The silhouette isn't quite right either - with the sharp, elongated prow being traded in for a much stubbier nose. Nevertheless, I've become something of a completionist with this line, and there are still a few nice details incorporated into the design: chief among which is the usage of some transparent tiles to simulate running lights. It'll also nicely complete the set of Force Awakens mini building sets I've been building, including Poe's X-Wing, the First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter, and Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle.

Lego 30497 First Order Heavy Assault Walker Mini Building Set

Along with the 3 3/4" figure line, my other main collecting focus (at least, now that Micro Machines are out of the picture again) are the Lego polybag mini building sets. With the prices of full-scale Lego sets rising dramatically in recent years, these polybags have been a great way for me to keep my hand in with Star Wars Lego. Force Friday saw the release of the first polybag vehicle from The Last Jedi - the First Order Heavy Assault Walker. It's proved to be incredibly elusive in Maryland, but a couple of days ago I finally tracked down a lone set at a Target store in Delaware.

This might very well be one of my favourite polybag releases to date. Unlike static sets such as the First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter, this model is packed with features. The legs feature a surprising ten points of articulation - allowing for all kinds of poseability - and the nifty ball-jointed neck only adds to this versatility. The bomb bay on the rear of the torso also tilts - but it's yet to be seen if this is a movie-accurate feature, or simply a by-product of the construction.

Most importantly, all of the most distinctive design elements of the heavy assault walker (such as the angular chin, bent-back 'paws', and shoulder-mounted cannon) are rendered in ingenious and aesthetically pleasing way.

It's a phenomenal set, and fantastic value at only $3.49US ($4.83NZD)!

Lego 30276 First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter Mini Building Set

One Lego mini building set I missed on its initial release was the First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter. In a stroke of luck, I came across a bunch of these sets on clearance at Target this week for only $1.98US ($2.89NZ).

Once again, Lego have hit the ball out of the park on this sculpt. The easily-recognisable silhouette of the TIE Fighter is there, while the cockpit antenna and addition of cogs to the wing struts clearly denote the features that distinguish the 'Special Forces' variant of the starfighter. I love the asymmetrical splash of red (also a signature of the SF TIE), and the printed cockpit window puts this leaps and bounds ahead of previous Lego mini versions of this ship. My only real citicism is in regards to the colouring. The wings of the SF TIE are supposed to be a stark white, while on this model, Lego have opted instead for a standard light grey. It's a minor innacuracy, but one that seems as though it could have been easily remedied.

All-in-all, this set will make a great companion to both the Lego mini Poe's X-Wing and Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle I've added to my collection over recent months.

Lego BB-8 Keyring

In addition to my miniature U-Wing model, I also picked up this BB-8 keyring for $4.99US ($7.09) while at Florida Legoland.

Lego now have a range of minifigure keyrings available in their stores, but you'll be hard-pressed to find one more adorable than this!

Lego 30496 U-Wing Fighter Mini Building Set

While at Legoland Florida, I picked up a Lego mini building set for $4.99US ($7.09NZ) that I'm yet to see available anywhere else: the 30496 U-Wing Fighter.

The U-Wing is the latest in a line of bagged miniature vehicles that I've become incredibly fond of. Small, affordable, and simple to assemble, these sets still pack an enormous amount of detail into very few parts. The U-Wing Fighter is no different. It's a great representation of the ship made famous by Rogue One - accurately capturing a number of distinctive features, right down to the open troop bay on the underside. My only real disappointment is that the wings are fixed in the forward position. Previous Lego mini sets have managed to capture some great moving features (like the opening S-foils on Poe's X-Wing, and the lowering boarding ramp on Kylo Ren's Comand Shuttle), and there are certainly Lego pieces available that could have made rotating wings a reality without greatly increasing the part count. In fact, that modification is most likely one I'll make in the near future - so stay tuned for updates!

Lego 30279 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle Mini Building Set

It's no secret that I have a real love affair with Lego mini sets, and for my birthday this year my girlfriend surprised me with a new addition to my collection - Lego 30279 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle.

It's clear that - as has come to be expected with these smaller models - Lego put an enormous amount of thought in to how to best represent this ship with such a tiny number of pieces (43, to be precise). The silhouette is perfect, and the addition of a handful of flat tiles allows the shuttle to retain it's signaure streamlined wings - which is no mean feat when you're working with an innately blocky medium. My favourite feature, however, has to be the ingenious use of a flag piece to give the model a fully-functioning boarding ramp.

This model never saw the light of day back in New Zealand, which makes it an even more unique addition to my growing contingent of Star Wars mini sets!

Lego 30275 TIE Advanced Prototype Mini Building Set

With Star Wars Lego increasing dramatically on price over the last few years, my collecting focus has tended to favour the smaller (and far more affordable) miniature vehicle line. While new releases tend to be sporadic, Target almost always has at least one bagged vehicle hanging by the checkout. Recently, I managed to nab the 30275 TIE Advanced Prototype for just $3.49US ($4.77NZ).

As is usually the case with these sets, it's a whole lot of Lego for a very small price. The model nicely emulates the design made famous in Star Wars Rebels, and even manages to squeeze in four folding wings to further enhance the accuracy. My only complaint (and it's a small one) is that Lego didn't stretch to one of the printed cockpit bubbles like we saw in the 9676 TIE Interceptor & Death Star set. That would have been a great finishing touch on an otherwise fantastic little set.

May 2016 KZone Magazine with Lego 30278 Poe's X-Wing Mini Building Set

As well as containing some brief Force Awakens coverage and a 12-page Star Wars Rebels comic, the May 2016 issue of KZone magazine also comes with a Lego 30278 Poe's X-Wing model. The magazine is priced at $6.90, and has been spotted at most magazine retailers throughout New Zealand.

I've always had a weak spot for the Lego Star Wars mini sets, and Poe's X-Wing is an excellent addition to the range. The silhouette is spot-on, and the black and orange colour scheme makes for a striking build. The final product has the wings oriented differently than in the film (with the lower wing facing backwards, instead of forwards), but this is easily swapped if you're after a more screen-accurate appearance.

Lego sets - especially Star Wars Lego sets - don't come cheap, so this is a great little freebie to get your hands on!

May 2015 KZone Magazine with Lego Star Wars 30272 A-Wing Mini Building Set

As well as containing a brief "May the Fourth" feature, the May 2015 issue of KZone magazine also comes with a Lego Star Wars 30272 A-Wing model. The magazine is priced at $6.90, and I've spotted a plentiful supply at each of the Wellington New World grocery stores. Hopefully, they'll be easily found at most other supermarkets and magazine stores throughout the country.

I've always been a huge fan of Lego Star Wars mini sets, but hadn't yet added an A-Wing to my collection. While it's a little chunky in certain parts (particularly the nose and tail fins), the model is still a great representation of the classic A-Wing design. Inverting the cannons - as I did in my build - also gives the ship a much more streamlined and accurate appearance.

Lego isn't cheap - so being able to pick up a great little set like this for free is all kinds of awesome. A special thanks goes to Michael_Lee over on the Star Wars New Zealand Message Boards for giving me the heads up on this one!