Review: LEGO Star Wars 75323 The Justifier

Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Star Wars set 75323 The Justify, a box of 1022 pieces which will be available at the public price of 169.99 € from August 1, 2022. For those who wonder where this new ship comes from within the LEGO Star Wars range, it is a product derived from the ninth episode of the anime series The Bad Batch available on the Disney + platform.

As usual, this is just a children's toy and not a model. We also feel that the specifications of the product required above all to slip in the mechanism which allows the reactor to be folded down to 90° to switch to the flight position, even if it means sacrificing the rest a little. The designer applied himself to include the functionality but we quickly notice that the aesthetics and the solidity of the ship have been a little left aside even if this Justifier still has allure.

The Technic beams which serve as a relay for the mechanism to synchronize the rocking of the engine and the movement of the landing gear remain clearly visible and no effort has been made to integrate them in a slightly more discreet way. Those who want to expose the ship in flight position and with the landing gear deployed because it's sexier will be able to do so, the mechanism is easily modifiable thanks to the two upper flaps of the wings which allow access to it without having to dismantling to be done.

Playability inside the ship is relatively limited, you have to make do with the cockpit and the cell designed to accommodate Omega because the imposing mechanism of the reactor clutters up the central part and limits the internal space available. Access to the front of the vessel is possible by removing a sub-assembly placed on the upper zone and care must be taken not to overdo it with the product in the hands because this assembly is simply placed on the front of the cabin. There is indeed a hold with a hatch at the back of this ship, but it is difficult to access when the ship has landed...

However, we cannot blame this interpretation of the ship for being totally sloppy, the appearance of the thing is indeed generally consistent with the exception of the growth under the reactor which is reduced here to allow the ship to hold on to flat when exposed in flight situation. Those who have seen the relevant episode of the series The Bad Batch will easily recognize the Justifier at first glance, this is the promise of the product and it is delivered with the added bonus of an integrated functionality that allows you to enjoy a ship with the same capabilities as the version seen on screen.

LEGO therefore manages here overall to satisfy the two audiences targeted by the product thanks to the usual technique of double scale: a vessel with a sufficiently acceptable exterior look that will end its career exposed on a collector's shelf and some interior spaces vaguely the scale of the minifigs which allow to have a little fun.

Even taking into account the fact that it is, according to LEGO, a simple toy, I still think that this product frankly lacks finish and solidity and does not live up to the manufacturer's usual claims on these two points. And that's not to mention the price that places these few grams of plastic in the category of luxury products.

Seen from a distance, this Justifier in the LEGO version will be enough of an illusion for many fans, closer up it is still in my opinion very messy with somewhat hazardous adjustments, visible tenons which do not help the readability of the together and subsections that only fit on a few pins or are simply held on by two clips on one side and nothing on the other. The set is in my opinion a little too fragile and will not allow the usual fantasies of the youngest fans who wish to play with this vessel.

The number of stickers to stick on the fuselage is relatively limited but the background color of the two large side stickers is very far from fitting with the color of the parts. The three stickers used to reproduce the canopy of the cockpit are presented on a transparent background and their application with the glue which remains visible in places will not facilitate the visibility of the interior of the front of the ship.

The fans wanted the minifigs of Omega and Cad Bane, LEGO heard them but the manufacturer is above all a seller of derivative products and these two characters are therefore delivered here in a box at a very high public price. The other two characters delivered in this box, Hunter and Fennec Shand, are not off-topic but they were already available in other sets. LEGO does not force the assortment of characters, but it is in keeping with the context of the episode of the animated series.

The minifig of Omega is acceptable, in any case it will be necessary to be satisfied with this version of the character even if there was undoubtedly better to do in terms of the length and the color of the legs of the figurine to stick to the version view on screen. Legs with a piece of tunic extended from the torso would also have been welcome.

Same observation for the hairstyle used, this highly anticipated figurine probably deserved better than this lambda hair. The torso is correct, LEGO has even made the effort to stamp the two red areas present at the shoulders and sleeves and the color of the neck area matches that of the head. The character is popular with fans, LEGO could have treated the figurine a little to satisfy those who were expecting something a little more accomplished.

Cad Bane, absent from LEGO since 2013 and the version seen in the set 75024 HH-87 Starhopper preceded in 2010 by that seen in the sets 8098 Clone Turbo Tank et 8128 Cad Bane's Speeder, is also globally successful even if I would have appreciated two patterns for the repulsors on the sides of the legs and a little more details on the arms. We can not have everything. The new respirator is a nice piece, but the color of the accessory seems a bit too light to me. Personally, I would have preferred a Cad Bane figurine based on the character's appearance in the series anyway. The Book of Boba Fett.

LEGO doesn't really make any effort on the accessories, Omega's handcuffs are in the usual version while it would probably have been possible to offer a blue version embodying the lighting visible on the screen, Cad Bane makes do with two generic black blasters that struggle a bit to embody the character's handguns, and Fennec Shand lugs around the classic brown suitcase.
The presence of the little droid Todo 360 is appreciable even if the molded micro-thing is ultimately only a somewhat simplified allusion to the reference robot. We'll do with it, getting the character is already good news.

Hunter and Fennec Shand both come with their helmets and additional hair that will show off their respective faces. The two figurines are not new, Hunter is also delivered in the set 75314 The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle and Fennec Shand is also provided in the sets 75315 Imperial Light Cruiser et 75326 Boba Fett's Throne Room, with only his helmet in one and his hair alone in the other.

Some, too happy to be able to add Cad Bane and Omega to their collection, will perhaps think that I quibble over unimportant details, but this set is in my eyes an expensive pretext to obtain two new minifigs. Even the youngest fans of the animated series were bound to get an Omega figurine, their parents will have to resign themselves to buying everything else with it to satisfy them. I therefore find it a bit of a shame to have to pay 170 € for a product without panache and which seems to me tailor-made to take advantage of the foreseeable enthusiasm for two of the figurines that it makes it possible to obtain.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at August 10, 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.