Review: 75269 Duel on Mustafar
Posted by CapnRex101,
The dramatic lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader is integral to the entire Star Wars saga. However, that crucial scene has appeared in comparatively few previous sets so 75269 Duel on Mustafar has inspired particular attention since its announcement.
Both minifigures are exclusive and they appear superb, although this Mustafarian terrain looks rather small and does not necessarily capture the majestic scale of its source material. The earlier 75236 Duel on Starkiller Base, which shares some design features with this set, was remarkably impressive though. This simple model could therefore exceed my expectations.
Minifigures
Several years have passed since the last minifigure depicting Obi-Wan Kenobi was released, based upon Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This rendition is accordingly distinctive and includes magnificent detail. The visible volcanic ejecta strikes are particularly effective and I love the belt which corresponds precisely with the original movie, featuring metallic silver and gold capsules.
Obi-Wan's legs have also been upgraded for accuracy while his dark orange beard incorporates more realistic texture. The differing expressions look perfect, capturing appropriate emotions of anger during combat and desperate exasperation at Anakin's fall to the Dark Side. In fact, the only component which has remained the same is the hair piece and I think that looks reasonable.
Darth Vader has also been updated here and this minifigure certainly compares favourably with the source material. Once again, damage sustained from the deadly lava appears across the torso and I love the colour combination of black with dark brown. These designs continue onto the legs while the belt appears somewhat similar to Obi-Wan's attire and therefore reflects the film.
The double-sided head is undoubtedly my favourite aspect of this minifigure though, featuring an appropriately determined expression on one side while the other displays furious rage. The bright yellow eyes and arched eyebrows look fantastic, although dark brown would probably have been a better shade for the hair piece. Both characters are suitably armed with their blue lightsabers.
The Completed Model
Distilling the most important aspects of the expansive lightsaber duel between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi must have been extremely difficult. Their combat continues through various locations during the movie but this set is relatively small so focuses entirely upon the collapsing collection arm and lava fields. I think that decision was sensible since the infernal Mustafarian terrain is immediately recognisable.
Much like 75236 Duel on Starkiller Base, this model comprises two sections which are connected by hinges. You can therefore change the configuration of the environment, separating the minifigures on their respective platforms or connecting them together. The result is extremely effective here because part of the duel takes place on moving platforms, although the model only measures 12cm wide when closed.
Nevertheless, the designer has incorporated some enjoyable functions. They include launching lava bombs which are represented by trans-orange 1x1 round plates. A comparable function appeared in 75139 Battle on Takodana but this mechanism seems more successful as pushing the black 1x2 grille tile inwards will launch the projectiles. Their range is reasonably short but does reach the neighbouring platform which is significant.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader leap onto harvesting platforms and a simple DLC-13 mining droid during the movie. Those details are accordingly present here, although the proportions of the mining droid are inaccurate as its arms should extend below the photoreceptors. However, that compromise was necessary since both structures are required to rotate and slide along 1x8 plates with rails. This function works beautifully and there is plenty of room to stand minifigures on each platform.
Unfortunately, the combination of red, flame yellowish orange, black and trans-orange parts beneath the platforms looks somewhat awkward, although faithfully recreating the texture of lava would require many more pieces. The collection arm has been simplified too. The texture along the arm looks superb when compared with the movie, although the blue Technic pin seems completely out of place and there should be more than two vertical pylons at its end.
Overall
75269 Duel on Mustafar exhibits some significant compromises as multiple important moments have been condensed into this set which only contains 208 pieces. Nevertheless, I think this is an excellent model for play. The functions have been integrated effectively and they correspond with moments from the movie which is always beneficial. These exclusive minifigures are brilliant too, featuring great detail.
The lava could certainly have been improved while the collection arm bears little resemblance to its onscreen counterpart because of the reduced scale. I think these designs are perfect for play though and am impressed with the slopes situated along the collection arm. Furthermore, the price of £19.99 or $19.99 seems reasonable so I am satisfied with this set, despite its limited display value.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your opinion of the set in the comments below.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review is an expression of my own opinions.
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39 comments on this article
Too many compromises and you're left with..."what's the point anymore?", unfortunately.
Such a critical scene requires far more investment in piece count, price point, etc.
Thanks for the review!
“It’s over Anakin! I have the low ground!”
In all seriousness, this set is pretty decent, but it would have been better with a high ground. However, I completely understand why LEGO didn’t portray that, as Anakin (Darth Vader) literally gets burned by lava, not to mention losing limbs beforehand.
Great review as always! Might pick this up down the road.
I'm just glad there's finally an ep3/cw style anakin face without sticking to the TCW animated style, having a silly pilot's headband printing or permanent sunken/sith eyes. Took a ridiculous amount of time.
MUST HAVE for me, since this scene is my favorite in the whole franchise. Yes, I'm rather disappointed in the quality of the set, especially after Duel on Starkiller Base this year, but the figures are fantastic, and at the very least, it's a good parts pack
Why does Anakin have the high ground?
It is unacceptable that this set has such big inconsistency. Seriously, they got it all wrong, I can't stand this....
I can't believe that Obi-Wan isn't with the high ground.
Well done CapnRex for understanding at this point Obi Wan was fighting Darth Vader.
Most reviewers would still call him Anakin...
@SirBrick1 said:
"Well done CapnRex for understanding at this point Obi Wan was fighting Darth Vader.
Most reviewers would still call him Anakin..."
It’s unfortunate that the box art also calls him Anakin
@fakespacesquid said:
" @SirBrick1 said:
"Well done CapnRex for understanding at this point Obi Wan was fighting Darth Vader.
Most reviewers would still call him Anakin..."
It’s unfortunate that the box art also calls him Anakin "
In all honesty though, LEGO might have called him Anakin because Obi-wan referred to him as Anakin throughout the entirety of the sequence, refusing to accept that Anakin was lost.
I can see the arguments for both sides, but for everyday kids, they know that Darth Vader has a mask, and that Anakin is a regular maskless human, if that makes any sense lol
Wait a minute, since when does Darth Vader has the High Ground (except on that Fallen Order scene)? Looking at this small set makes me wonder why they decided to use tan brown on Vader Castle..... I may get this to build my Volcano but if I miss it meh, there are more impprtant sets both in 2020 and in BrickLink that are a priority for me.
Mneh.
@MasterofLightning Well yeah, that's a very good point.
These small duel sets will became a new trend from TLG? If so, I would very much like to see a duel set between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker on that specific Bespin platform or the duel between D.V. and old O.B.1 on the first Death Star.
@SirBrick1 and others:
"And there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon.
That there was no Vader.
That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker.
Only you.
You did it. You killed her.
You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking about her, you were thinking about yourself...
It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith—
Because now yourself is all you will ever have."
- "Revenge Of The Sith" by Matthew Stover, Del Rey, 2005
No thanks. Too simple and small. I hate the look of the lava.
Hmm, those figures indeed look fantastic. The yellow eyes Darth Vader is positively menacing.
But the set itself looks pretty bad too me, but the "lower" price point does reflect that somewhat.
I think Obi-Wan is an ideal candidate for dual moulded legs. His boots are the right colour of brown and go to an appropriate height. The place where the printing cuts off looks strange.
The figs are great but not a big enough change since the previous versions to justify wasting money on the build. The Mustafar droids were much better in Anakin's Jedi Interceptor from 2012.
I much preferred the Duel on Starkiller Base, and I feel like this set is just a lacklustre copy of that one.
This along with Duel On Starkiller Base is a nice trend of iconic lightsaber duels in affordable mini dioramas. Hopefully this extends to Obi Wan vs Vader from a New Hope, Luke Vs Vader at the Cloud City and beyond...
@Thunbear you could get this type of Anakin minifigure you described from the Palpatine’s Arrest set in 2012, and with a cape to boot, but that’s probably the only other time we’ve had one that meets your criteria until now.
Alas, if these two had only fought in this small of an environment in the film, like they did in their first (last) encounter...which had more meaning, soul, heart and emotion.
Oh wait...this is about LEGO...
Neat set. Obi-Wan’s hair isn’t TOO smooth... :D
Ugh. I'm going to buy this set for the figures and I hate myself for it.
Not having any earlier version of this (or any other) lightsaber duel, I think I'll add this to my wishlist. I appreciate how TLG seems to be compensating for what I'll guess are higher licencing fees by putting out smaller, but still well-designed, sets with excellent minifigures, so that fans who don't have bottomless pockets can still afford something interesting from the lower end of the range.
This set has awesome mini-figures for only $20! The set's not the best, but I still hope to purchase this sometime!
The only thing that interests me are the minifigures though Anakin’s calmed expression doesn’t beat the actor’s likeness and seems a bit off with the Lego proportions. The overall set in it’s more square-like configurations looks good but the lava is not convincing at all. Needs more trans orange and less red. The rock should be a combination of dark grey and black. And where’s the high ground?!
I might end up picking this up just for the novelty and to review on my YouTube channel: The Right P-art (sorry for the shameless plug but could you please check out my Tumbler moc video?):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_Kz7awdhjA
Thanks!
Like many recent SW offerings, this isn’t a “set” with much real value or appeal. It’s a vehicle to sell two minifigures
Going to buy this and incorporate it with 7257 Ultimate Lightsaber Duel; both have strengths and weaknesses.
While I'd prefer the scale of the Death Star II Final Duel Throne Room or Snoke's Throne Room from The Finalizer... this set, is not great, but it's a range of small builds, starting with Episode 1, reflecting key lightsaber duels. Hope they'll revisit every duel across the 9 films in this range.
Those minifigures are SUCH an improvement on the ones from 7257 Ultimate Lightsaber Duel, which I had back in the day, that it's not even funny. For that fact ALONE this set holds appeal to me that's disproportionate to its small size, as that set was a favourite of mine at the time.
Whether I'd buy it or not... not full price. But if it came on sale, I might well scoop it up. We'll see ^^
@ephseb - Oof, thanks for punching me in the emotions; that quote hurts me every time and I LOVE IT :''D
These dueling vignettes are some great material, and I sincerely hope a Duel on Bespin isn't far behind.
Nice figures and stuff but that lava looks like a colourful mess.
I personally believe that this should have been a larger set, and should have included a great deal more detail. I like the idea of making it similar to how the set based around the Force Awakens was, but this is a truly iconic duel that deserved a far larger build
Why do they haven't make those liscensing minifigs with dual-moulded parts?
even they have done that easily with CMS, Ironic.
@Thunbear said:
"I'm just glad there's finally an ep3/cw style anakin face without sticking to the TCW animated style, having a silly pilot's headband printing or permanent sunken/sith eyes. Took a ridiculous amount of time."
ikr
the one from palpatine's arrest has sunken eyes tho. It also has unnecessary facial feautures.
Nice figs, but the build is kinda disappointing, but I'll still pick it up.
Obi-Wan's expression here is impressive, it almost makes you feel that scene, his frustation, his disappointment, "You were the Chosen One!"... Definitely my favourite part of this kinda small set.
I like it but due to the compromises, I think it's more of a (very cool) display base than anything else. Thanks for the insightful review!