Review : LEGO Star Wars 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Star Wars set 75290 Mos Eisley Winery (3187 pieces - 349.99 €), the second set to be officially stamped with the words "Master Builder Series"after the reference 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City marketed in 2018. To put it simply, this is more of a luxury playset than a pure exhibition product.

This is not the first version of the Cantina by Mos Eisley marketed by LEGO: three more or less extensive sets have been seen in the manufacturer's catalog since 2004 and the launch of the reference 4501 Mos Eisley Winery, followed in 2014 by the set 75052 Mos Eisley Winery then in 2018 of the set 75205 Mos Eisley Winery. However, this is the first time that LEGO has decided to take the subject a little more seriously and to try to deal with it more exhaustively.

Evil tongues will find that this Cantina reproduction is more or less the result of the assembly of three or four copies of the much more sketchy playset seen in the set. 75052 Mos Eisley Winery marketed in 2014. And they will not be totally wrong: we find the same assembly techniques down to certain details. Do not look for design prowess here, the set is on this aspect of the level of the usual toys of the LEGO Star Wars range, the gigantism and modularity in addition.

We quickly realize that the title "Master Builder Series"ultimately only concerns the quantity of elements to assemble and the set does not have much to offer in terms of construction complexity. We alternate between long sequences of stacking beige bricks and a few more entertaining phases during which we tackle the furniture, the two vehicles provided and the accessories.This is the subject of the set that wants that, hard to blame LEGO.

It's also difficult to talk about fun possibilities with this box, I don't see anyone spending even a few minutes "playing" with this Cantina. We can therefore consider that the possibility of presenting it in the open position or of removing the roof elements are options exclusively for the display of the product. It also lacks anything to avoid ending up with a Cantina whose floor around the counter will be that of the shelf or cabinet on which it is exposed, if you choose to leave it in the semi-open position or completely. unfolded.

A few additional plates would undoubtedly have made it possible not to "break the atmosphere" with a better finished interior. Even if it means keeping the principle used here, the designers could also have moved the fringe of tenons visible at the foot of the alcoves around the counter to have the possibility of leaving several characters plugged in near this central element even in the open position. Plan a little over a meter in length if you plan to display the Cantina and the Jawa Shop in the open position.

More than a product that would allow to "replay" certain scenes from the first episode of the saga, this Cantina is therefore a static diorama that takes advantage of the possibilities offered by the LEGO concept to offer at least a wink relating to the clash between Han Solo and Greedo. The small mechanism placed under each of the seats in the alcove allows you to tilt one or the other of the characters first, I'm not drawing you a picture. The reference is there, it will please fans and it's always better than nothing. The rest of the set doesn't have much to offer in terms of gameplay, other than the ability to position the 21 characters as you see fit and open a few doors.

The solution devised by the designer to allow relatively easy access to the heart of the playset when the Cantina is closed is interesting. The alcoves are covered with independent roof modules and the counter remains visible through the openwork structure that is simply placed on the construction.

Some people would no doubt have preferred to be able to completely close the building to obtain a truly "complete" construction, but I think that the solution used remains a good compromise. The exterior of the Cantina is neat, the set is also thought to be possibly displayed closed and nothing has been forgotten. The Dewback enclosure with its drinking trough and its ring is there, the other facade of the building is decorated with some decorative accessories and the two evaporators give a little volume to the diorama.

LEGO could also have been content to sell us only the main building, but the designers had the good idea to try to put it in a more global context by adding a few elements taken from the streets of Mos Eisley: two machines, a small additional construction and some evaporators. at 350 €, you shouldn't expect an entire village and what you get here is already a good start.

LEGO knows very well that many of those who will acquire this box are regulars in the LEGO Star Wars range and already have at least one Luke Landspeeder, a few Jawas and Sandtroopers to patrol the streets of this new diorama. There was therefore in my opinion no need to try to be even more exhaustive at the risk of inflating the public price of the product and making it even less accessible.

A version of the Ubrikkian 9000 Z001 capsule was already delivered in 2018 in the set 75205 Mos Eisley Winery. The one provided here is a variant also dressed in many stickers. The other speeder supplied in this box is a little more interesting, it is a V-35 Courier Landspeeder unseen at LEGO and seen briefly for the first time on the screen near the Cantina. The device probably did not deserve to appear in a set with limited content and more modest price, but its presence here really helps put the main building in the context seen on the screen.

The Jawa store could almost have been marketed on its own, it is detailed and functional enough to offer some playability and its level of finish is in line with the rest of the set. it can be clipped to the main building or displayed separately, it's up to you.

There is no escaping the traditional sheet of stickers, but the number of stickers to apply is rather reasonable knowing that only five of them concern the Cantina itself. The title "Master Builder Series"therefore does not allow us to escape these" perishable "elements which have nothing to do with a pure exhibition product. Pad-printed pieces are rare in this box, but we especially remember the presence of three pretty gray boxes pad printed with the words "CARGO" in Aurebesh (see below).

The endowment in minifigs is interesting even if it is content to reuse many figurines already seen, especially in other boxes that deal with the same subject. Adding a few extras and other characters whose brief on-screen presence didn't necessarily make them a priority in the usual playsets, however, should be enough to motivate fans to checkout.

In the Star Wars universe more than elsewhere, we know that the smallest character has a tendency to become "cult" over the years even if he only appears a few seconds on the screen and that we ultimately do not know. much about it. LEGO is not mistaken and the fan service reaches new heights here: Ponda Baba (with his two arms), Cornelius Evazan, Labria, Hrchek Kal Fas, Momaw Nadon, Kabe and Garindan therefore come to spice up the set and sharpen the appetite of the most complete collectors.

The rest of the cast is already present in the LEGO catalog, either identically or in a variant sufficiently close. Even the mold used here for the Dewback is the one already used for the creature seen in the set. 75052 Mos Eisley Winery marketed in 2014, and you just have to be content with a new, more contrasting pad printing which therefore makes it an "exclusive" creature. The removable and replaceable paraphernalia that allows the Sandtrooper to ride the creature is identical to that of 2014.

Only three of the seven band members Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes are present in the set, but we can not blame LEGO for having sacrificed part of the troop to integrate other characters in the box. You can always add the three members of the group present in the set 75052 Mos Eisley Winery and play the game of seven differences, the figurines are identical even if those provided in this new box are composed of parts bearing new references.

Wuher and Greedo were already delivered identically in the set 75205 Mos Eisley Winery. Obi-Wan Kenobi was in 2019 in the set 75246 Death Star Cannon. Both Sandtroopers are identical except for their respective shoulder pads and we already found this figure in the set microfighters 75228 Escape Pod vs. Dewback (2019), Luke has been in the LEGO catalog since 2016 in this version and Han Solo is already in the set 75159 Death Star since 2016.

Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead) reuses the mold of the head of the Jedi Master Ithorien already seen in 2014 in the set 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter based on the animated series The Yoda Chronicles. We will also retain the solution used to reproduce the Garindan mask with its nasal air filter. It's really very successful and it stays in the LEGO spirit.

I am less convinced by the Labria figurines aka Kardue'sai'Malloc and Kabe with their accessories to put on a classic head. A molded element would have been more suitable so as not to create the plastic overlay visible on the head of these two figures which suddenly have a little trouble to integrate visually alongside the very successful Ponda Baba and Hrchek Kal Fas.

LEGO will have done its best for the Cornelius Evazan minifigure, symbolizing the deformity of the character's face with large reinforcements of features simply pad printed on a classic head. The compromise seems acceptable to me, there was not necessarily a need to overdo it and we recognize the character at first glance. Technically, Han Solo and Cornelius Evazan suffer from the usual tint problem when it comes to pad printing white or beige on a darker background.

More than a new and refreshing interpretation of Chalmun's Cantina, which LEGO has already offered us so far via much less ambitious playsets, I think we finally get what is closest to a version that is frees itself from the usual constraints linked to the price positioning of LEGO products and therefore allows itself some refinements.

This "complete" Cantina sends the few pieces of the usual walls back to the department of simple children's toys and finally allows the subject to be treated more seriously and definitively. Even if the place only appears a few minutes on the screen, one day LEGO had to decide to push the fan service to the end instead of just approaching the issue softly. It's done and pretty well done but it will cost the modest sum of 350 € to afford this luxury playset, the main cast of the scenes taking place around and inside the Cantina and a large handful of unseen extras .

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at September 30, 2020 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.