Review: 75316 Mandalorian Starfighter
Posted by CapnRex101,
The distinctive Kom'rk-class Starfighter appears regularly throughout Star Wars: The Clone Wars and subsequent television series, accompanying various Mandalorian characters. Bo-Katan Kryze accordingly employs this vehicle across multiple series, including The Mandalorian.
75316 Mandalorian Starfighter takes inspiration from Star Wars: The Clone Wars though and contains appropriate minifigures for that period, including Bo-Katan! This proficient warrior remains exceptionally popular while her ferocious nemesis, Gar Saxon, is provided here as well, alongside another exclusive Mandalorian figure.
Minifigures
Following her introduction during Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Bo-Katan Kryze has appeared prominently during Star Wars Rebels and The Mandalorian too. This character's bright armour has remained reasonably consistent between distinct television series and her helmet displays particularly intricate detail, corresponding precisely with the source material.
Metallic silver armour protects Bo-Katan's chest, featuring two yellow stripes which distinguish the animated character from her live-action equivalent. I appreciate the intricate scratches and considerable detail continues across her belt and onto the legs, integrating further blue armour plates. Removing the helmet reveals Bo-Katan's distinctive headband beside accurate freckles and differing expressions.
Bo-Katan leads the Mandalorian Loyalist faction that emerges following Maul's ascendancy. However, this minifigure is based upon Death Watch from season five, rather than the season seven loyalist faction. That seems notably strange, especially since candidates like Ursa Wren or the opposing Rook Kast occupy important roles. Either character would have been splendid additions here.
Nevertheless, this exclusive design includes extensive detail. The blue accents decorating the armour look marvellous and authentic battle wear covers the entire minifigure. Additionally, the printing appears wholly consistent between the torso and legs. As expected, this generic figure incorporates a plain black head beneath the helmet.
Gar Saxon appears anything but generic, sporting an extraordinary helmet which confirms his loyalty to Maul and the Shadow Collective! The distinctive horns appear slightly too short when compared with the source material, although their angular design is appealing. Moreover, I love the yellow visor and red markings that differentiate this Mandalorian helmet from others.
Impressive red and black designs continue across the chest armour, matching Maul's famous tattoos. Yellow accents are also included here, contrasting against the predominant pearl dark grey colour and demonstrating pleasing fidelity to the original character. Saxon's head appears perfect too, including accurate facial hair with an appropriately grim facial expression.
Unfortunately, this minifigure lacks a hair component, although his hairstyle is relatively short. Bo-Katan includes a suitable hair element though and each Mandalorian features a pearl dark grey jetpack. Furthermore, these warriors wield boxy blaster pistols which loosely resemble the WESTAR-35 weapons favoured by most Mandalorians, capturing their angular shape.
The Completed Model
Dramatic angles are present throughout traditional Mandalorian design and the Kom'rk-class Starfighter definitely maintains that style. This distinctive vessel occupies both starfighter and transport roles and is surprisingly large onscreen, hence the LEGO creation has necessitated certain compromises. Nevertheless, this model captures an appropriate shape and measures 31cm in length, which is relatively substantial.
The most important feature of this vehicle is undoubtedly the rotating fuselage, which enables outstanding manoeuvrability while the cockpit remains relatively steady. That function is neatly integrated here, employing a ball joint to support the cockpit section. The motion certainly feels smooth and I am pleased that the cockpit cannot rotate freely because it is frequently shown in alignment with the wings, even during combat.
9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter became available during 2012 and 75316 Mandalorian Starfighter shares numerous similarities with its predecessor, especially concerning their sizes. However, this design actually represents a different variant of the Kom'rk-class Starfighter, with an alternative fuselage and laser cannon arrangement. Additionally, the distinct blue, dark blue and light bluish grey colour scheme looks fantastic.
The wings comprise layered plates and their angular shape achieves excellent accuracy when compared with the original vehicle. The growing selection of wedge plates has proven decisive here and the patterns look wonderful, most notably beside the cockpit where 2x2 wedge plates are integrated to good effect. I think the blending of studs and tiles works nicely too.
Unfortunately, this construction method inevitably leaves the underside of plates exposed. The same problem has impacted other sets, although this example is especially bothersome as the landing configuration clearly shows the underside of each wing. That significantly detracts from the starfighter, but I am unsure how this issue could have been rectified without weakening the structure or dramatically increasing the cost.
When landing, these starfighters' wings rotate upwards, so occupy less ground area. That vital feature appears here, employing exactly the same technique as 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter. The engine nacelles therefore become landing supports and I was pleasantly surprised that both spring-loaded shooters avoid interference with the landing configuration.
However, the absence of landing gear to support the nose is absolutely inexplicable. The craft looks dreadful without any support, leaving the fuselage to tilt downwards. Retractable landing gear could easily have been included and was present on the rendition from 2012 so I am very disappointed by its omission. Instead, the vessel rests on 1x3 double-inverted slopes which are completely inadequate.
Substantial problems continue around the cockpit, where conspicuous gaps are visible beside the canopy. Narrow gaps are forgivable when the shape necessitates particular canopy pieces but this design is poor. Furthermore, the broader cockpit shape scarcely resembles the original vehicle, despite the addition of three stickers to augment the bodywork.
As mentioned previously, the Kom'rk-class Starfighter is considerably bigger than comparable vehicles, easily exceeding light freighters like the Millennium Falcon. Of course, recreating the vessel in minifigure-scale would therefore be impractical, although I think enlarging this design somewhat would have enhanced the model. That would benefit the cockpit in particular, which accommodates two minifigures but too closely resembles traditional starfighters.
The stud shooters mounted alongside the cockpit appear reasonable though and the textured wing mounting includes brilliant detail. However, studying the source material closely confirms that only this wing mounting should rotate, while the rearmost section remains aligned with the cockpit. These inaccuracies are frustrating because ample reference material is now available, permitting much greater improvement upon the 2012 design.
Another bewildering deviation from the onscreen vessel emerges at the back, where only one laser cannon is situated. The rotation is perfect, although a second weapon should be located opposite the first. Nevertheless, I like the simulated access ramp underneath the laser cannon, despite its obvious incompatibility with minifigures. This function is missing from official images which leaves me to wonder whether it was actually intended.
Overall
75316 Mandalorian Starfighter has proven somewhat disappointing. Certain features appear reasonably successful, including the colour scheme and wing shaping, but numerous notable issues are also present. These include the inaccurate cockpit and missing landing gear, along with the fuselage rotation which functions perfectly but deviates from the onscreen vehicle.
Personally, I would rather the starfighter had been represented at a slightly higher price point because the actual cost of £49.99 or $59.99 necessitates too many compromises. Increasing the scale of this design would enable far greater accuracy with additional functionality for play, potentially integrating troop deployment racks beneath the fuselage. However, the minifigures are truly outstanding, with Bo-Katan and Gar Saxon impressing in particular.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review represents an expression of my own opinions.
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35 comments on this article
Too bad Bo-Katan's armor isn't in gunmetal gray like in the official pictures, but other than that, great set & great minifigs!
Not as good as I would have expected for 9 years after the original rendition of this vessel, which I played with extensively when my brother had it assembled, but still seems to be a well-constructed model. And the figure selection is just as fantastic as the original version in this case!
People might ask about comparison photos with 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and I would love to provide them. Unfortunately, I cannot actually find the set currently. I certainly have it, but am unsure exactly where it is stored at the moment.
Hopefully I will find it soon, in which case I might publish a separate article to compare both models.
Great figs. Can't wait to buy this set.
Let be honest. I am a SIMP for Bo-Katan so this set is a must for me...
Hoping Slave I doesn't have glaring problems like this one.
I will still get this but I am surprised at the compromises, most notably the lack of landing gear. I love the 2012 version and was quite looking forward to this update.
Bo Katan looks great! Saxon’s head could be used for a pre vizsla
Thank you for another thorough review Captain! I'm left debating on this one, as Bo-Katan and Gar Saxon are definitely must have Minifigures. However, I have the 2012 version and don't see much improvement in this set. Although I would like to see the two sets displayed together...
I feel like they could have closed up the cockpit, because once you see those gaps you cannot un-see them. Also if about 25% larger they could have left enough of the rear section hollow to allow for two troops. Throw on a basic front landing gear and that would have been a truly "Must Have" set for me.
@ CapnRex101 - Thanks for the detailed review. I see it the same way: beautiful figures but the fighter leaves me somehow irritated. Too big gap at the cockpit and no landing gear - that's a shame!
But somehow, to mee this one looks more like a Fang-class starfighter, also known as Fang fighter or Protectorate fighter with a different "nose-design" and a "passenger-seat". For a Kom'rk-class Starfighter this one is way to small. But maybe, one day we get a real Kom'rk-class Starfighter with a proper troop deployment rack and landing gear. What do you think?
To be honest, I think it looks excellent. The layers and textures of the wing makes it a lot better than 9525 for me. The cockpit’s rotation is fantastic and looks great. The wing underside is a little unsightly but unavoidable. The minifigures are beautiful and well detailed, although another one would have been nice for £50 but I’m happy as it is.
If we’re so intent on picking out the inaccuracies, shouldn’t the middle also hold a squad of Mandos to deploy?
Finally someone agrees with my sentiment about the starfighter. I think the 2012 one was a significant improvement over the newer model, and the only thing that makes this set shine is the minifigs. There is no landing gear, the underside of the wings look horrible, and the cockpit just looks off
there are 2 types of mandalorian fighters, the big troop transports and the small fighters used by the Protectors in Rebels. this seems to be the smaller kind, not the big ones that are large transports/dropships, so the complaint about the size seems off to me.
I agree about the underside of the wings though, but I can fix that.
@Slobrojoe said:
"To be honest, I think it looks excellent. The layers and textures of the wing makes it a lot better than 9525 for me. The cockpit’s rotation is fantastic and looks great. The wing underside is a little unsightly but unavoidable. The minifigures are beautiful and well detailed, although another one would have been nice for £50 but I’m happy as it is.
If we’re so intent on picking out the inaccuracies, shouldn’t the middle also hold a squad of Mandos to deploy?"
The fuselage should house Mandalorians for deployment and that could perhaps have been achieved if the model was larger, as mentioned in the review.
@ahughwilliams said:
"there are 2 types of mandalorian fighters, the big troop transports and the small fighters used by the Protectors in Rebels. this seems to be the smaller kind, not the big ones that are large transports/dropships, so the complaint about the size seems off to me.
I agree about the underside of the wings though, but I can fix that."
You are describing the Fang-class Starfighter, introduced during Star Wars Rebels, which is a significantly smaller and completely different vessel. That and the Kom'rk do share aesthetic similarities but this model is definitely intended to represent the Kom'rk.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @Slobrojoe said:
"To be honest, I think it looks excellent. The layers and textures of the wing makes it a lot better than 9525 for me. The cockpit’s rotation is fantastic and looks great. The wing underside is a little unsightly but unavoidable. The minifigures are beautiful and well detailed, although another one would have been nice for £50 but I’m happy as it is.
If we’re so intent on picking out the inaccuracies, shouldn’t the middle also hold a squad of Mandos to deploy?"
The fuselage should house Mandalorians for deployment and that could perhaps have been achieved if the model was larger, as mentioned in the review.
@ahughwilliams said:
"there are 2 types of mandalorian fighters, the big troop transports and the small fighters used by the Protectors in Rebels. this seems to be the smaller kind, not the big ones that are large transports/dropships, so the complaint about the size seems off to me.
I agree about the underside of the wings though, but I can fix that."
You are describing the Fang-class Starfighter, introduced during Star Wars Rebels, which is a significantly smaller and completely different vessel. That and the Kom'rk do share aesthetic similarities but this model is definitely intended to represent the Kom'rk."
yeah the fang doesn't have a rear turret and no room for a copilot. this seems like a compromise, especially since they named a generic "starfighter" and didn't say either name.
Is the helmet printing on Bo-Katan supposed to be asymmetrical? I'm not familiar with the source material, but it looks janky to me...
@CapnRex101 said:
"People might ask about comparison photos with 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and I would love to provide them. Unfortunately, I cannot actually find the set currently. I certainly have it, but am unsure exactly where it is stored at the moment.
Hopefully I will find it soon, in which case I might publish a separate article to compare both models."
Not being able to find Lego you know you have makes you a true collector lol
Day one purchase for me, same with 75315.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @Slobrojoe said:
"To be honest, I think it looks excellent. The layers and textures of the wing makes it a lot better than 9525 for me. The cockpit’s rotation is fantastic and looks great. The wing underside is a little unsightly but unavoidable. The minifigures are beautiful and well detailed, although another one would have been nice for £50 but I’m happy as it is.
If we’re so intent on picking out the inaccuracies, shouldn’t the middle also hold a squad of Mandos to deploy?"
The fuselage should house Mandalorians for deployment and that could perhaps have been achieved if the model was larger, as mentioned in the review."
Yes but smaller ships before have had an interior. I’m sure you could fit a seat for a Mando and a space for his weapons in the back if they tried really hard, or maybe sacrificed a seat of the cockpit
@Agnew said:
"Is the helmet printing on Bo-Katan supposed to be asymmetrical? I'm not familiar with the source material, but it looks janky to me..."
No, that looks like a misprint. Normally the markings would be symmetrical
@Agnew said:
"Is the helmet printing on Bo-Katan supposed to be asymmetrical? I'm not familiar with the source material, but it looks janky to me..."
I was wondering that too. It looks like a bad print from Lego
@CapnRex101 - I love your reviews, I am going through them from the start a reading all of them.
I have also read your Whats Missing. I real loved it!
Keep up the good work! :)
I don't collect SW , but actually love the parts in this set, lots of angled plates in different shapes, and Dark Blue isn't what you often see.
Might consider picking this up at some point.
@CapnRex101 said:
"People might ask about comparison photos with 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and I would love to provide them. Unfortunately, I cannot actually find the set currently. I certainly have it, but am unsure exactly where it is stored at the moment.
Hopefully I will find it soon, in which case I might publish a separate article to compare both models."
Nice to know im not the only one who for the life of them can not find specific sets!
Thanks for the review! Your attention to detail down to the minutiae is excellent and appreciated.
The previous iteration did three things better than this one: the shaping around the cockpit to minimise gaps (including the stickering), the landing gear, and finally replicating the same pattern on both sides of the wings. Even though showing the underside of plates is inevitable, the old one still had a pattern to it, so it didn't look too bad. It feels like this one, and perhaps the Maul vs Ahsoka set too, were rushed into production to capitalise on Clone Wars S7 interest before it's gone.
However, despite the issues the flight mode of this ship still looks exceptionally nice, and if one's aim is to keep it permanently displayed in landing mode, I image it's very easy to take off the wings and swap them around.
@Virgilnz said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
"People might ask about comparison photos with 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and I would love to provide them. Unfortunately, I cannot actually find the set currently. I certainly have it, but am unsure exactly where it is stored at the moment.
Hopefully I will find it soon, in which case I might publish a separate article to compare both models."
Nice to know im not the only one who for the life of them can not find specific sets!"
There are many of them on ebay, and while most are rather expensive there are a few that aren’t unreasonable considering it’s from 2012.
Color? In Star Wars?
You know, from the top it looks good. But those things Rex pointed out are quite glaring.
Off topic but it's weird how Star Wars universe ships have no issue with height? No ship struggles to fit inside a hangar when landed - looking at you Imperial Shuttle, and Kylo Ren and Krennic's personal ships!
Actually the Mandalorian loyalist is based on a real character, albeit a background one who appears in many scenes of the Maul on Mandalore season 5 arc.
This is a picture from one of the scenes he appears in:
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/3/34/Almec%27sCommandos.png/revision/latest?cb=20131025015839
I understand the complaints about how this set isn’t perfect, but at the same time I really appreciate the price point. More so now than ever with so many must have sets coming out for Star Wars. I assume that Lego took the price of the other sets coming out into consideration when designing this. It is quite reasonable to assume that people purchasing this set will also purchase the Bad Batch ship and Gideon’s Lightcruiser (not to mention Ashoka/Maul). It’s hard enough to justify buying all these sets, as it is I’m going to wait for sales or at least good GWP.
Great review! I like the color scheme, probably not buying it...
@lost_scotsman said:
"Off topic but it's weird how Star Wars universe ships have no issue with height? No ship struggles to fit inside a hangar when landed - looking at you Imperial Shuttle, and Kylo Ren and Krennic's personal ships!"
That's a good observation - they like to show off, I guess. Those grand, lofty designs can be symbolic of power, hubris and limitless resources. The bad guys always seem to have the cool stuff - I was an Imperial/Cobra/Decepticons kid growing up =oD
@CapnRex101 said:
"People might ask about comparison photos with 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and I would love to provide them. Unfortunately, I cannot actually find the set currently. I certainly have it, but am unsure exactly where it is stored at the moment.
Hopefully I will find it soon, in which case I might publish a separate article to compare both models."
Where do you store all your sets? It must be a huge place!
@Mirakle said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
"People might ask about comparison photos with 9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and I would love to provide them. Unfortunately, I cannot actually find the set currently. I certainly have it, but am unsure exactly where it is stored at the moment.
Hopefully I will find it soon, in which case I might publish a separate article to compare both models."
Where do you store all your sets? It must be a huge place!"
I agree with @Mirakle , it must be a huge place. When a set is provided for review by lego do you get to keep it?
I want this set!!!
However I am saving up for a 75159 Death Star, so it will have to wait
Thank god I didn’t pick up Pre Visalia’s before this for the fighter!