A Special Report from Agent Hunt
The Mandalorian surprised everyone with just how awesome a live-action Star Wars series could be before the show had even launched Lego had revealed it’s first Mandalorian Set. With 2020’s January wave, a second set appeared.
Sadly neither were the Razorcrest set we badly need in our lives, but let’s look at 2019’s AT-ST Raider and 2020’s Mandalorian Battle Pack. This review will mirror the show’s western theme:
The Good
We’ll start with the Battle Pack first. It’s really good. Battle Packs have suffered lately from having too many officers and not enough troopers, but this is just four Mandalorians, each with different armour and helmet prints. There are also accessories for the helmets too if you want to customise even further. The speeder is sufficient, but that’s standard for Battle Packs these days. The little debris build can mount a gun, which adds to the play value. Also, where else are you gonna get a set with so many capes for $15?
The AT-ST Raider isn’t without its flaws (see below) but overall it’s good. There are lots of cosmetic differences between the walker and the 2016 version, and there are even some structural changes that make the vehicle stand more upright than it’s cousin. The set is sticker heavy which is the nature of the beast given the parts count and design, but the finished product looks good and really stands out on the shelf.
The minifigures that come with the Raider set are solid. The Mando and Cara Dune figures look really good, while the two Kaltooninian bad guys look exactly like they should.
The Bad
There’s nothing outrageously wrong with either set, however, if you’ve built the 2016 AT-ST (75153) from Rogue One, then you’ll find the build a little tedious, as a lot of it is the same as the previous model. Both look good on the shelf, but both suffer from annoying inaccuracies i.e. you can’t sit two pilots in the cockpit without modifying the set. Aside from that, both the Raider and Battle Pack are solid sets at reasonable prices (the Raider is already showing up at reduced prices).
My only other gripe is the same gripe I have with every Battle Pack. No weapons, only stud-shooters. I get the play value for the kids but they look weak on the shelf and it really can’t add more than a few pennies to the cost to add some proper weapons.
The Ugly
This isn’t a criticism of the actual sets, but rather the choice of vehicle. Chicken Walkers are cool, but this one (slight spoiler alert) didn’t feature very much in the show. Even the funky lizard-like Blurgg creatures get more screen time.
This is probably more down to how much information Disney shares with the Lego designers prior to the show’s release, as well as the limited time Lego has to produce a set. It’s not surprising that they chose to rehash an older set. At least the vehicle was in the show, which is more than can be said for the First Order Heavy Scout Walker (75117) but that’s a conversation for another day.
Should you buy them?
Yes! Definitely buy the Mandalorian Battle Pack, you get four cool figures.
Agent Hunt aka Mike Laybourne (@mikelaybourne) is a British husband and father to two girls. Aside from briefly playing bass in a short-lived band, he’s never had any musical aspirations despite being fortunate enough to live in Manchester; the music capital of the world. He can be found contributing to the4thlinepodcast.com and believes everything sounds better on vinyl. Check out his previous A to Z Playlist or his other Collaborated British Isles A to Z Playlist.