Review: LEGO Star Wars 75334 Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader

Today we make the tour of the LEGO Star Wars set very quickly 75334 Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader, a box of 408 pieces which will be available at the public price of €49.99 from August 1, 2022 on the official online store and in LEGO Stores and for a little less at some retailers.

As you probably already know, this product is inspired by a scene from the third episode of the Obi-Wan Kenobi mini-series, the broadcast of which has just ended on the Disney + platform, it should in principle make it possible to reproduce the clash between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

On the bottom, it must be recognized that it is fitting with the reference scene. Tala Durith and NED-B are there when the battle ends: the droid saves Obi-Wan from the flames, but Tala Durith, hidden away, has already gotten rid of her uniform by this point in time. story.

In terms of form, this set easily enters the top products derived from the LEGO Star Wars range which frankly make fun of fans: the base to be built is incredibly sad despite the few integrated functions and the scene is sorely lacking in volume. This box brilliantly embodies in my eyes all the laziness of LEGO when it comes to doing fan service without forcing on the rest, with the implicit certainty of selling buckets of them just because the minifigs are emblematic enough, new or nicely executed so you don't have to worry about the creative side of the rest of the inventory. All that was needed, however, was a simple additional structure with a few pipes and other beams to give a bit of cachet to the proposed staging.

The decor of this mini-diorama is at the level of a very young fan who understood that you can simply stack bricks but that you also have to add a few small pieces to refine the work: it's cute on arrival , parents always see it as a work of some creativity because it's the fruit of their offspring, but it's not worthy of an official product sold for €50. There is also almost no context apart from a few flames vaguely embodied by the small orange bricks and the presence of Tala Durith in imperial dress is undoubtedly due to the impossibility of placing her in another set that does not exist. not.

The designer has tried to go to the end of the limitations of the specifications provided by his superiors by integrating two rotating platforms, a lever which makes it possible to store the "curtain" of flames and to take it out when the need arises. makes sense and a system that allows the yellow minecart to be ejected under the effect of the Force, but this abundance of functionality falls flat because the context is not there. LEGO even manages to impose a rubber band on us which remains clearly visible on the side of the base, at this stage, we cannot even speak of a lack of motivation.

The "endless possibilities of creative play" are therefore in my opinion not there despite what the manufacturer claims in the official description of the product and this even if LEGO goes there frankly in the nod to the scene concerned by providing us with two transparent pieces that allow Obi-Wan to be put in the bad aerial posture seen on the screen. One cannot speak of a pure show product either, the workmanship is simply not up to par. Small consolation, there are no stickers in this box.

If we forget the too flat base with a too coarse and simplistic finish for a product sold for 50 €, we therefore have a handful of minifigs which are rather successful and for some new. The star of the set, in my eyes, is the droid-carrier NED-B whose figurine is frankly successful for a secondary character. The pad printing is beautiful and the minifig is very convincing. Too bad the effort is a little spoiled by the rest of the product, NED-B deserved better.

Obi-Wan Kenobi would also be very correct if he didn't once have to deal with LEGO's inability to stamp light areas on dark-tinted parts. Don't be fooled by the heavily retouched official visuals, the character's neck doesn't actually match the color of the head. Same observation for the shirt under the tunic, it is disappointingly pale. the mullet cut provided by LEGO is not in the best taste, it will have to be done with it.

the Tala Durith figure is a bit on the economy with her neutral legs. It has at least the merit of allowing us to obtain an unpublished imperial officer's torso with the rank of Senior Lt. if we rely on certain nomenclatures or captain if we take into account the dialogues in the series. The head of the character is new, the cap has existed since 2017.

Darth Vader minifig reuses legs and torso already seen in multiple sets since the reference 75291 Death Star Final Duel marketed in 2020 and the helmet in two parts available since 2015. Too bad for the cape which could have been molded for the occasion, it will be necessary to be satisfied with the usual piece of fabric. The head is new, it is in the spirit of the one seen in several sets in 2017.

The possible presence of two Stormtroopers could have contributed to making the pill easier even if it would then have been even more obvious that the few pieces provided only serve as an alibi to justify the designation of construction toy. As it is, I won't spend €50 on this box and I'll wait wisely for Amazon to offer a more reasonable price that matches the content of the set. That's the whole problem: we won't end up buying this box, and LEGO will in the end deduce that this type of somewhat sloppy product still sells very well. Why make an effort when the fans always end up cracking up?

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at July 2, 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.