It’s no spoiler at this point that the Mandalorian has got a new upcycled ship. Ironically, 75325 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter is easily the most anticipated set from The Book of Boba Fett, bringing us Din Djarin’s salvaged and upgraded ship. The set also includes the first-ever version of Din Djarin with a face print, along with the first version of Peli Motto and a BD Droid. Grogu is, of course, also included. The 412-piece set will be available starting June 1 for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Unboxing the set and contents
The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter comes in a standard LEGO Star Wars box that’s fitting of the set’s $60 price, though it’s not packed particularly full.
Inside the box you’ll find just three bags, two labeled for section 1 and the third for section 2. There’s also the instruction manual and a tiny sticker sheet.
The sticker sheet only has three stickers on it, for the cockpit controls, the round turbonic venturi power assimilator on the hood, and a bit of detailing on the left engine. The manual gets a clean look with white borders (that feature a subtle brick pattern) but, like most sets that are not targeted specific at adult fans, it does not have any intro or behind-the-scenes info, jumping straight into the build.
There’s only one wholly new element included in the set (apart from the BD Droid that we’ll look at later), which is a light grey slope element (part 80222). The 6-wide by 7-long slope seems to be a canopy element, though obviously it’s not yet available in any transparent colors. It’s used to form the N-1’s sloping nose.
The build
As a single starfighter, the N-1’s build is not particularly complex. There are more pieces, and many of them are smaller, but the construction follows the same basic pattern as the original Naboo Starfighter from 1999. It all starts a boat hull type construction on the bottom. The brown 2×4 jumper tile is used to center the single dart launcher in the N-1’s nose.
The completed model
The Naboo N-1 Starfighter has been made in minifigure scale several times before, and this version is radically different in terms of the actual parts used. About the only holdovers are the main canopy and middles of the engines. The result is a different design that in some ways is better, and in some ways is worse, even accounting for the uniqueness of Din’s salvaged model.
This version of the N-1 also has a compartment in front of the cockpit where the Mandalorian can store the Darksaber and his jetpack, which he can’t wear while piloting the craft.
Back in the cockpit—or I should say, cockpits, since Din’s custom N-1 has removed the astromech slot and added a second cockpit for Grogu—the space is quite limited, just big enough for the minifigure and baby Yoda, respectively.
Around the back, you can see the hyperdrive that’s been grafted onto the venerable old ship below the cockpit.
It’s a much smaller ship than Din’s old one, especially once you account for the fact that the minifigure scale Razor Crest was smaller than it should have been. Nevertheless, the two do look cool on the shelf together.
The minifigures
The set comes with two minifigures of Din Djarin and Peli Motto, along with figures for Grogu and a BD Droid. It’s a good cast for the set, though I’d have loved to see a pit droid included as well.
Din Djarin will be a big draw for this set, because it’s the first set to finally include a printed head. All the previous versions of the Mandalorian have included a plain black head, which made sense for the first season of the show. But now that the surprise of who’s under that shiny helmet is lifted, it’s overdue that we get an updated minifigure. The new head is single-sided with a slightly frowning face. Somehow a single, dour expression seems perfectly fitting for Din. The rest of the minifigure is identical to the version that first appeared in last year’s 75299 Trouble on Tatooine. Grogu is the same as previous versions.
Din carries the Darksaber, a black-bladed lightsaber. It sort of makes sense then that the Darksaber in LEGO form would just be exactly that; a LEGO lightsaber with a black blade. Nevertheless, the result is very unsatisfying. On-screen, the Darksaber is a flat blade surrounded by a shimmering white outline. Looking at what LEGO has done for specialized weapons for Ninjago, it’s hard not to feel cheated on the Darksaber.
Both Peli Motto and her BD Droid are exclusive to this set. Peli gets a brown jumpsuit with unprinted legs, along with a utility belt. Beneath her frazzled, dark brown hair she’s got a double-sided head with neutral and cheerful faces.
The BD Droid is a new, single-mold element with printing on both sides and the front. It’s got two points of connection with an anti-stud on the bottom and a hollow stud on the back.
Conclusion and recommendation
The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter is an awesome ship, both on-screen and in LEGO form. And this LEGO version does a very good job of making a fun, swooshable ship that’s recognizable. It is not without flaws, however. As I mentioned, the shaping is off at parts, particularly to the sides of the cockpit and behind it. Some tradeoffs are natural, though, to get a kid-playable version, and this one lives up to that task being quite sturdy and fun to zoom around. However, the light and dark grey colors are a poor substitute for the flat silver color that it ought to have been. The minifigures are top notch, with the version of the Mandalorian we’ve all been waiting for. Peli Motto looks great and the BD Droid is a fun new design. However, it’s hard to get over the price of this set, which is $60 USD for just 412 pieces, which brings it to just under 15 cents per piece; very high for a set with only two minifigures and few large elements. $40 would have been right on target for this set, and even $50 would have felt reasonable enough given that it’s a Star Wars set. But if you can get over the price, this set is worth a buy, warts and all.
75325 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter contains two minifigures and 412 pieces. It will be available from LEGO starting June 1 for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99. It may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
As a bonus, here’s the latest version of the N-1 Starfighter next to the original 7141 Naboo Starfighter from 1999. Whatever you think of this latest one, it’s clear we’ve come a long, long way.