Review: LEGO Star Wars 75310 Duel on Mandalore

We continue to quickly go around the expected novelties in the LEGO Star Wars range from August 1 with the set 75310 Duel on Mandalore, a small box of 147 pieces which will be sold at the public price of 19.99 €.

The set is inspired by episodes 10 (The Phantom Apprentice) and 11 (shattered) from the 7th season of the animated series The Clone Wars with the possibility of reproducing the duel between Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul and then locking the latter in the Mandalorian Vault, the sarcophagus from which he will then escape with the help of Ahsoka.

The proposed scenes, which will remain in the memory of fans for a long time, undoubtedly deserved better than this really summary interpretation. However, LEGO only highlights here the duel between the two players, as is historically the case in other boxes with such minimalist content since 1999, the most recent being the references 75236 Duel on Starkiller Base (2019) et 75269 Duel on Mustafar (2020)

I had the opportunity to speak recently with two of the designers of the LEGO Star Wars range and their only excuse to justify the existence of this mini-set is to want to offer a range of products that allows all budgets to be met. to please.

It makes sense, but The Clone Wars is not a series only liked by the youngest people who are trying to make the most of their pocket money and many older fans with a little more purchasing power also appreciate this series and always hope to be able to make a difference. offer derivative products a little more elaborate than this type of ultra-minimalist set.

The iconic throne of the animated series The Clone Wars is summed up at its simplest and the whole really lacks volume to do justice to the reference version. It is too compact to hope for a sufficient level of detail and the thing is probably only there to justify the designation of construction toy of the product.

The stained glass window placed just behind the armchair tilts backwards, a reference to the duel between the two protagonists and which sees Darth Maul being thrown against the glass. The functionality at least has the merit of existing but we do not find the two side openings left by the passage of the lightsaber. For once, I am not going to blame LEGO for diverting elements from their primary function and the two orange colored sheets advantageously replace the lights installed on each side of the throne.

The Mandalorian Vault is very correct for a reproduction on this scale but it lacks a sticker inside to reproduce the orange atmosphere seen on the screen. The very large sticker which covers the door of the sarcophagus is graphically well executed but it is on a transparent background and the glue hides a little from certain angles the opening through which we can usually distinguish the face of Darth Maul. A cut in this area would have ensured better visibility.

We could blame the designer for not having used the new saber handle available in quantity in the Monkie Kid range to finally equip Darth Maul with a more suitable accessory, we will be satisfied with the usual handle.

The interest of the set obviously lies in the two minifigs provided and only Darth Maul is partially unpublished with a torso and legs very faithful to the outfit seen on the screen and a head identical to that of the "exclusive" minifig supplied with the 'work LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia New Edition . The crown of thorns clipped to Maul's head is the one used by LEGO since 2011. Ahsoka Tano's minifig is not unique, it is the one seen in the set 75283 Armored Assault Tank (AAT) marketed since 2020.

In the end, this little set lacks ambition and the scenes in question deserved in my opinion a more serious treatment. The Star Wars range often has a bit of trouble daring to develop iconic locations with the same level of detail as the countless ships it offers and that's a bit of a shame. A real diorama that honors the context of this mythical duel would have been welcome, but we will have to be content with this little set, a little too expensive for what it has to offer.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 1er July 2021 next at 23pm. For newcomers, know that you just need to post a comment to participate in the draw.

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.