Star Wars LEGO Review | 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina

This set was top of my wish list for years before its 2014 revisitation finally came. There’s not a vista out there that screams Star Wars as much as Tatooine’s, and there are few scenes in the whole saga as iconic as Han’s indifferent despatching of Greedo. Having recently given Jabba’s Tatooine operation and the Jawa’s sandcrawler long-overdue facelifts, LEGO have now brought the site of Han’s infamous Rodian showdown up to spec. The 616-piece Mos Eisley Cantina now sits beautifully beside all the other recent Tatooine sets, leaving us only a homestead away from a clean sweep.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this particular set is how expansive it is, particularly for its relatively low piece count. Beyond the eponymous “hive of scum and villainy”, builders are also treated to the most accurate representation to date of Luke’s soon-to-be-sold landspeeder, as well as a giant dewback megafigure, storm-weathered sandtrooper and all.

The landspeeder is very nearly identical to the 2009 rendition that renewed my interest in LEGO; the only (welcome) difference is that the paint scheme has been inverted back to match that of the film. As before, there’s enough room to sit both Obi-Wan and Luke in the cockpit (and, indeed, stow their lightsabers in the trunk), but there are still no back seats, so you’d be hard-pressed to squeeze the droids in there (not that they’re included here, mind).

The Obi-Wan and Luke minifigures have undergone their obligatory re-release redesign, and once again probably for the better. The “crazy old hermit” looks more haggard than ever, though the absence of an optional cape and hood is sure to annoy those who can’t just pluck them from an earlier Obi-Wan in their collection. Luke looks unreservedly excellent in his finely detailed legs and torso, and the designers have got the style of his hair nailed now, if not the shade, which in my view is closer to really light brown (as has since been acknowledged in the spectacular Ewok Village set) than the LEGO blonde generally favoured. His face is perhaps a little too detailed now, though; the extra detail and expression only serve to make him look older than he should be (at least pre-Wampa).

The dewback is one of my favourite components in the set. Fashioned with the same love and finesse that has brought us the updated Jabba and Rancor megafigures, the detail on the beast of burden is incredible. Its mouth even opens to chew - and, if required, hold and pose with - its bone. In the time-honoured style of LEGO horses, it’s up to the builder whether to brick up the creature’s back to give it a natural look, or - as I prefer - to build the saddle that carries the set’s sandtrooper and his small arsenal of weaponry. With his sand-speckled armour and flesh-coloured face, the Imperial agent is the set’s finest minifigure by far; I’d even goes so far as to say that he’s the most realistic-looking LEGO stormtrooper that I own.

Of course, the set’s real selling point is the Cantina itself which, whilst much smaller than I would have liked, has been deftly designed with a number of hinges that allow the roughly 18cm2 building to open out in a 32cm playset. Its distinctive booths, which are probably too small for even a young player to get his or her fingers into, benefit from slide-out floors, allowing even those of us at triple the maximum recommended age to get our eager protuberances in there.

The level of detail both inside and out the building is duly impressive. The distinctive-looking moisture vaporator is wonderfully redolent of Star Wars, and I love the sliding-door entrance and door scanner which, again, reek of the original movie. The set would have been better if it would’ve had a more complete roof though - one dome, however evocative, looks a little lost and incomplete.

The Greedo and meaner-looking Han minifigures make up for any minor shortcomings in the set though; both are flawless. And I don’t blame LEGO at all for giving us the hard-sell with their, “Recreate the famous showdown between Han Solo™ and Greedo™ from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope!” because it is such a seminal scene in the saga. I haven’t had such fun recreating a key moment since I finished building the Death Star. I just wish I could decide who shoots first...

The set is completed with a near-identical trio of Bith musicians with whom I can find no fault. Like Greedo, specially-moulded headpieces ensure that they are the spit of their silver screen selves, particularly when adorned with wind instruments cleverly crafted from LEGO City taps. It would have been preferable to settle for a brace of Bith, and get a unique alien barfly in place of the third, but as it is I’ve just had to draft in a few minifigures from elsewhere to fill up the place.

Overall, this set is excellent value for its price tag, offering builders at least as much good stuff as they got with the similarly-styled Echo Base and Battle of Endor sets, but for far less money and with none of the surplus. A must.

The Mos Eisley Cantina is available to buy from LEGO directly for £64.99 with free delivery. However, today’s cheapest retailer is John Lewis, who are selling the set for just £51.99 with the option of free delivery to your local John Lewis or Waitrose.