Box/Instructions:

Comes in a small/medium size box. The dimensions of the box is 10.3 x 7.5 x 2.4 inches and weighs 0.82 pounds. It comes with a small/medium size instruction booklet.

Parts:

You get some nice parts in this set. You get six 1x4 trans blue tiles, two 1x2 trans blue tiles, four trans pink dishes, clear satellite dish, clear 4x4x1 2/3 cockpit, and a 4x4x6 light grey wall. You get one sticker which is used on the light grey 4x4x6 wall. Overall some really good pieces. The total piece count for the set is 208.

Minifigures:

Darth Maul:

Darth Maul is my least favorite figure in this set (Reason why in a few sentences). He has his classic head piece with the black and red spikes which looks good. His head printing is great (besides his facial expression). The red markings are only on the front of his head (and not the rest which is disappointing). His facial expression is a smile which I don't like at all. Maul isn't known for smiling and that out of every expression they could have given him, they choose that one is really disappointing. The printing on his torso and legs do a nice job of showing his robes and belt (which look great). He has his classic doubled-sided red lightsaber.

Qui-Gon Jinn:

Qui-Gon is my favorite figure in this set. He has his brown hair with a pony tail in the back. The hair is a really good piece to capture Qui-gon's look. He has a double-sided head. On one side he has a neutral facial expression and the other is a surprised face (like when Maul kills him in the movie). You have a brown-grey beard and a brown moustache which look great. His torso and legs have printing of his Jedi robes and belt. The detail is amazing in showing the robes. He is armed with his green lightsaber.

Obi-Wan Kenobi:

You get Obi-Wan as a padawan. He has his orange hair and has a double-sided head. On one side you get a neutral facial expression and on the other side you get an angry face (like after Maul kills Qui-Gon). He has his robes and belt printed on his torso and legs. On his torso he has his Padawan braid on it which is really cool. He is armed with his blue lightsaber.

The Build:

The build was easy, and took me a less than 30 minutes to build.

Overall Opinion:

Overall this is a really nice set to get. This is an iconic scene from the Phantom Menace. Getting Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Padawan), and Darth Maul are great figures to get in this set. I am not overly pleased with Darth Maul figure (specifically the head). I wish they choose a different facial expression and added more of his red tattoos around the rest of his head. Other than the figure is really nice. The build itself is pretty good. You have few play features like being able to open and close the ray shields and a clear dish that you can use to propel a figure up out of the shaft. There is enough room to display the figures having their lightsaber battle. I do hope that Lego creates a larger version of this in the future because it would be great to see this set with more detail and design on it on a larger scale. Overall this is a great set to get (Maybe just a little over priced) but still great. I highly recommend this set to any Star Wars fan or to add to your Lego collection. Overall I'm giving it a 5-star rating.

Summary

I generally like the Star Wars sets depicting scenes and locations, and this little set was quite high on my list. What put me off was other sets being ranked higher, and its high price, especially here in the Netherlands. Overall this set was a fun 30 minute build, and IMHO the result generally looks good. The mini-figures IMHO are excellent, and there are two OK play features included. I see CapnRex's point about the location of the gate-feature, which now takes away significantly from the 'battle space'. I would suggest - if you have them available - to swap out some of the bright technic parts for grey or black pieces.

Overall I think the designer has done a good job with this set, given - presumably - the constraints of the price point. And here we touch upon my major problem with this set. Its UK price is and American prices are acceptable, its continental European RRP IMHO is not. Worse, in the Netherlands prices close to 40 euros are not uncommon. I would have been perfectly fine leaving it on the shelves if I had not come across it at a significant discount. So to me, getting this set would depend on whether you can get it at a (serious) discount.

Build experience

This set is marked ages 7-12, and has the pieces divided over 3 bags. Why? IMHO most younger children would be able to deal with the Technic elements, and are good enough searchers to be able to deal with a pile of 200 pieces (look at the Great Pile of Lego that most of them create their builds from). The Technic construction is not overly complicated; the only potential hick-up I see is inserting the red 2-length Technic axles. But then again, the vast majority of kids would need help with the one sticker anyway.

Overall, the build was quick and easy. The build sequence is logical, and the steps are not too big, but also not too small as to put off more advanced builders. The Technic construction has been well integrated, and could actually be a nice introduction to younger children to show what can be done with Technic.

The one thing I would do, is look to swap the aforementioned red 2-length axles, the yellow 3-length axle, and the yellow half-height bushings for grey and black pieces. That alone would seriously enhance the look of the set.

The minifigures

All three minifigures are so far unique to this set, which is very nice.

The young Obi-Wan Kenobi is IMHO the least impressive of this set.His torso-print (front and back) and leg-print lines up nicely, and generally looks good. He has two nice face prints, but his hair is a little to short. His bottom of his mouth in the 'angry face' is visible just underneath the hair piece. I am still glad we got two facial expressions though.

Darth Maul simply looks evil, with his fighting staff, his black garb and his horned head. The grey-on-black print is impressive, and very well done. There are a few silver highlights. His face print is technically well done, and continues nicely on the 'crown'-piece that provides the spikes. Lego has done a nice job preventing his yellow eyers giving him a deer-in-headlights spooked look. I am not sure about his mouth though. From a distance, the white grin almost looks like a white laugh.

Qui-Gon Jinn is probably the most impressive figure. I really like his hair piece and the two facial expressions. The torso-print (both sides) and leg print look very good. IMHO especially the leg print is impressive, since it is light paint on dark legs, which easily results in the dark bleeding through. Nothing like that can be seen in my example.

The build

The scene this build refers to is instantly recognizable, which is good. For such a small play set, it also looks remarkably complete and finished. In some ways, this set is actually too compact. Moving the gates 4 studs out (by extending the walk-way) would have made a big difference in posability of the minifigures. Now, one of the four sides of the shaft is simply unusable. The gates themselves and the built up wall seem to me to be remarkably sturdy (which is a good thing).

By and large, the designer has also done a good job in NOT using off-colour pieces, or a least hiding them. Many of the mechanisms are cleverly designed. The Obi-Wan Kenobi launcher at the bottom of the shaft is loose, but IMHO not too loose. Making it a fixed launcher would probably have needed a much more elaborate construction, which would have raised the piece-count, and I doubt it would have made the whole set look better (or give a significant improvement in its function).

In general, I think this might actually one of the better 'micro-scenes' like Darth Vader's Transformation (set 75183) or the Carbon-Freezing chamber (set 75137).

I also like that the designer has gone this route, as there already there are much bigger settings for a similar scenes available: Death Star Final Duel (set 75093) and Snoke's Throne Room (set 75216).

Play vs display

This is above all a play set, as it simply lacks size for a stand-alone display set, in reference to the actual movie scene. As a play-set it works OK, though I think the placement of the force-field gates was a mistake; it now takes away too much space from the 'battlefield' surrounding the shaft. The minifigs look great, and are all armed with sword. And the Obi launcher works surprisingly well (as long as his light-sabre does not get stuck).

This set could be part though of a collection of small Star Wars scenes though, and would be one of the better sets, IMHO.

The verdict

Overall, my major issue with this set is its price. For (parts of) continental Europe, it is simply too much. Yes, the minifigures are unique and good looking, but still. The overall idea behind this set, and its general design I think is also well done. There are IMHO some issues with the execution though, that can fairly easily be improved upon. Overall, my initial opinion of this set was - to me - vindicated: it is OK to good, with some serious limitations. Worth getting at a discount, but not at its full price.

Duel on Naboo. The climatic scene where Darth Maul kills Qui-Gon Jinn. Including a laser gate and a non-technical catapult that is meant to launch the distraught Obi-Wan Kenobi out of the hole and at Darth Maul. This set includes vast options of scenes and is a sure favorite for LEGO fans.

Minifigures

• Darth Maul
• Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Qui-Gon Jinn

Parts

There are some parts included that many sets do not have as many, or some that are not included in many sets. For instance, these pieces.

These parts are not very common.

Instructions

The pieces in this set are divided into three bags.

Each bag contains a minifigure. The instructions are easy and simple, but all instructions seem to be like that. That's the good thing about LEGO. You never get stuck on building the models.

Portability

To carry this set, all you need to do is stick the minifigures and their lightsabers (in Maul's case, a saberstaff), and you can easily carry the whole thing.

Features

There are two key features in this set.

• The laser gate
• The catapult that launches minifigures out of the hole.

The laser gate uses some pretty amazing technical features to get the whole scene in motion. The four-way plus connector serves a key part in the whole action of the gate, and I am proud to be the owner of such an important piece.

When I saw the catapult feature on the box, I expected a technical feature. But I was surprised to learn that there is only basic LEGO construction involved, and no Technic pins or connectors whatsoever. While regular catapults more commonly use a brick-build box, this one uses a clear radar dish. The flaw to this feature is that you are never sure which direction your minifigure will fly in, so you don't know where to position Darth Maul.

Playability

What was previously written describes the key parts of the set, but another important part is the lightsabers (and, in Maul's case, a saberstaff). It is fun to clash the deadly blades together and see who will be knocked of the set, or into the hole first. Personally, I made a small stop-motion movie depicting the duel between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan, but made Obi-Wan throw Maul over the edge.

History

This set is in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, though technically, considering the order the movies came out, it is really Episode IV. Anyway, on Naboo, Darth Maul and Qui-Gon have an epic battle, and Darth Maul wins. All that time, Obi-Wan was trapped behind the laser gate, but at the death of his master, finds a way to get past the gate, and cuts Maul in half. An easy way to depict this scene is to destabilize Maul's torso from his legs, and hit the small gap inbetween with Obi-Wan's lightsaber. Amazingly, Maul survives, and ends up like this later.

In all, this set is great for playing with, and I enjoyed building it and dueling Jedi vs. Sith. Many other LEGO fans like this, I'm sure, and I sure did. This set may be small, with a piece count of only 208, but it sure still is awesome.

I decided to get this as I really liked 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber which was the same price and while I don't think this set is as good I still like it.

The Build

A mostly straightforward build which took me about 25 minutes, with only one sticker but one that needs care as it will be noticeable if it is wonky, the catapult mechanism and the pink discs are not actually attached to the model but are only held in place by other pieces. The gate mechanism is sturdy and works well but I would have preferred colour coordinated technic bars as the yellow looks out of place and is easily visible

The Minifigures

All three are nice and worth getting the set for if you are a collector or are missing someone (i needed a Qui-Gon Jinn but didn't buy the set just for him), there are issues with a flesh colour on the Jedi torso but you can just pretend it is an undershirt and the Darth Maul is smiling but that may have been done to break up an otherwise very dark and expressionless headpiece.

Overall opinion

I like the set as a whole and it is very well designed for a set of this size and price, I may find a light grey Technic bar to replace the yellow one but that is a minor problem in an otherwise good set. The only reason I only gave a four out of five is that the gate opens onto the top of the shaft so you have to position the Minifigures so they don't get hit by the bars but again it is a minor problem.

Lego continues releases from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace with the mini playset Duel On Naboo.

Box/Instructions

The standard small rectangular kit box for sets in this price range. Darth Maul is the figure of choice on the top.
The front of the box shows the three figures engaged in battle in the playset. The back shows playset without figures on it and the three engaged in a duel to the side. There are 3 panels showing the play features of the ship.
There is one small rectangular instruction book.

Parts
The price per piece ratio is average for a kit this size. The pieces are primarily grey and black with some blue, pink and clear transparent pieces for detailing.
There are 3 bags in the box.
Bag 1 contains parts for the base of the complex, jump plate and Qui-Gon Jinn.
Bag 2 contains parts for the platform, conduit structure, force field control mechanism and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Bag 3 contains parts for the platform flooring, wall, force field and Darth Maul.

Minifigures

The set comes with three minifigures.
Qui-Gon Jinn has nice detailing on his torso and legs. The silver highlights on his belt are a nice touch. He has serious and worried faces on his head. He's armed with his green lightsaber.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is also nicely detailed across his torso and legs, right down to his Jedi braid on the front of his tunic. He has serious and angry faces on his head and comes armed with his blue lightsaber.
Finally we have Darth Maul, the best of the three. The detailing on his black torso and legs is superb and the subtle silver highlights at his waist are nicely done. He features the horned head piece to correctly show his Dathomir heritage. He's armed with his red double-bladed lightsaber. My one criticism is that the character looks more like he's smiling than fighting.

The build

Total building time, 15 minutes.
While the playset is very small and hints at the final battle on Naboo between the three, the designer has done enough to make everything instantly recognisable. The two play features are nicely done and tucked away at below floor level so they don't interfere with the look.
Nothing complicated in the build at all and the kit is a nice, sturdy display piece when finished.
There is one sticker to apply, the detailing inside the wall piece on the upper level.

The completed model

Lego playsets can be a very hit-and-miss affair but, despite its size, the Duel On Naboo is quite a fun little piece. I'm sure kids will love it to simply get three main characters for a cheap price in one place.
The force field mechanism is nicely done. By pushing the lever forward into the set, it opens the red blades representing the field forward as well. Not entirely accurate but pretty good for something this small and it conveys the general idea.
The pit is also nicely done. A minifigure can hold on by one hand to the red light section in the hole and there is a clear jump plate in the bottom. By pushing down hard on the lever at the base, you can catapult Obi-Wan out of the pit and at Darth Maul. This simple action works very well and you can fire Jedi out of there with ease.
Underneath there is a clear dome with a power coil of pink discs underneath which only serves as decoration.

Overall opinion

A nice little playset and with a good minifigure selection for a set in this price point. While adult collectors would want something more akin to a large £60 playset of the entire Theed generator room packed with play features, this little version still does a fun job of giving us the final moments of the duel in Lego form.