Against the grain of popular opinion and my own better judgement, much like when it comes to the Kenobi show itself, I'm surprisingly a fan of 75334. Whilst some people have criticised the large amount of pieces expended on creating a dull looking diorama for a high price, I actually believe this set is worth a second look.

Build and Parts

The build itself is largely straightforward as you create large grey square to pose your minifgures on. However, there are one or two features that make this set worth a second glance. Firstly, the whole area created is surprisingly much larger than expected, resulting in a perfect desk-sized diorama. Areas are It also features several interesting play features. A clever mechanism is skilfully hidden which recreates the flame-filled climax of the fight between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan in a fun and satisfying way, which is also easy to leave hidden for display purposes. The rotating bases and flame-spilling waggon also make for fun additions, which when displaying the set make it look far more exciting than its grey exterior might suggest. In terms of parts, very few are particularly eye-catching pieces, but as is usual with a Star Wars set, a healthy number of parts in grey are present.

Minifigures

The stand-out area of this set, as is common with Star Wars these days, is undoubtedly the minifigures. All four are unique to this, either as variants or entirely new characters. The least exciting of these has to be the undercover Rebel sympathiser Tala Durith, who has the appearance of many previous renditions of Imperial Officers, despite a slightly updated design. She features a simple blaster pistol. Her companion, the droid NED-B, on there other hand, features an entirely new moulded head and shoulder piece, and looks absolutely fantastic despite being a little on the short side. He features a brick-built weapon that only adds to his intimidating appearance. The Darth Vader figure is similarly incredibly detailed, featuring the new addition of arm printing and the updated two part helmet design. The only unique part about this figure is the head, which shows a lava-scarred Anakin rather than the original trilogy version of Vader. The Obi-Wan figure is also a unique updated design specifically from the show, featuring anew hairpiece and sufficiently tattered looking robes. Both Vader and Obi-Wan come equipped with their relevant lightsabres, and Obi-Wan has a coupe of trans-clear cylinders to simulate the somewhat dark detail of getting force dragged through the flames.

Overall

Whilst some people may not be sold on what is essentially a large slab of rocky ground to display minifigures on, 75334 is in my opinion more than the sum of its parts. With some great minifigures, interesting play features, and solid display options, 75334 makes a decent diorama and playset that is definitely worth a second look. If you can pick it up at a discount, I recommend doing so as its high price is probably the greatest drawback.

Critique écrite par un Belge (English version down this one)

Premier set de 2023 que je construis et même depuis un long moment de la gamme Star Wars et j'ai aimé ce set.

Je n'ai pas vu la série Obi-Wan et je ne compte pas spécialement la regarder mais je l'ai acheter car malgré mes plus de 10 ans dans cet hobby, je n'ai jamais une minifigure d'Obi-Wan ou de Dark Vador. Aussi Ned-B est trop cool et j'adore collectionner ces minifigures curieuse.

C'est une belle scène bien dégagé parfait pour une décoration sur une étagère ou pour une petite scène de bataille pour jouer. Il y a quelque mécanisme comme le sol de lave qui se déploie pour séparé le champ en deux, les plateformes rotatives pour donner de l'angle ou mimé un combat de sabres lasers ou encore le fameux chariot remplit de lave prêt a être renverser sur le grand Dark Vador. Les deux pièces pour créer un saut sont également les bienvenues.

Je trouve juste le set un peu cher pour un champ plat avec un peu de relief. Ce prix est justifier par le nombre de pièces présentent mais qui sont caché. Cela rend le set très solide mais je pense que l'on pourrait coupé un bon tiers des pièces afin de baisser le prix. Malgré ça je suis content de mon achat et il décore bien la salle chill de mon école. Une petite sculpture sur laquelle je joue parfois pour passer le temps.

Ce set est approuvé par le bon goût :-).

Review written by a Belgian (sorry for potential mistakes)

First set of 2023 that I build and even for a long time of the Star Wars range and I liked this set.

I haven't seen the Obi-Wan series and I don't especially plan to watch it, but I bought it because despite my more than 10 years in this hobby, I never have a minifigure of Obi-Wan or Darth Vader. Also, Ned-B is so cool, and I love collecting these curious minifigures.

It's a nice clear scene perfect for a shelf decoration or for a little battle scene to play with. There are a few mechanisms like the lava floor that unfolds to split the field in two, the rotating platforms to give an angle or mimic a lightsaber fight or the famous lava filled cart ready to be tipped over onto the big Darth Vader. The two pieces to create a jump are also welcome.

I just find the set a bit expensive for a flat field with some relief. This price is justified by the number of pieces present but hidden. This makes the set very solid, but I think you could cut a good third of the pieces to lower the price. Despite this I am happy with my purchase, and it decorates well the chill room of my school. A little sculpture that I sometimes play on to pass the time.

So, this set is approved by good taste :-).

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Upon its reveal, Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader was rightfully met with a lot of criticism and quickly became one of the more infamous Star Wars sets in recent memory. I thought the figures were neat and didn’t think much else, but I found myself pretty tempted by it once I saw a listing of it that’s less than half the normal price due to a very crushed box and, against my better judgement, decided to give it a shot.

The Build

The Epic Battle Grounds: So yeah… the build really is just a piece of boring colorless terrain. I was hoping it’d be better than it seemed on the surface, but it unfortunately didn’t offer many surprises. The problem really lies with the scene it’s depicting and the budget assigned to the set. The original scene didn’t exactly leave much to work with, and it kinda shows in the final product. Lego has done various smaller and cheaper duel sets and I see no reason why this one had to be bigger. That said, there are nice things about it. There’s a really cool feature where you can pull and retract a piece of the terrain to make a sliver of fire pop up, activated with the use of a rubber band. Other builds are in the area to break up the monotony of the flat ground, like a circular container of embers, a very much appreciated piece of high ground where you could station Tala taking cover, and a really interestingly built mine cart that can be knocked over to spill more fire onto the ground. The final play feature is a turntable-like feature where you can have Obi-Wan and Vader duking it out and it’s…fine. Its execution leaves something to be desired. A geared mechanism would’ve been substantially more fun than having to manually spin it rather awkwardly. Overall, it’s not the worst thing ever, and it does have some admittedly enjoyable functions, gotta commend the designer there. However, it just wasn’t a set worth making, at least not at this size and price.

The Minifigs

Obi-Wan: Kenobi has been losing his connection to the force at this point in the timeline, and the tattered robe detailing reflects that brilliantly. New face prints and a new hair piece are used to represent a middle-aged Obi-Wan. The choice to have the beard and hair be very clearly orange was a rather questionable one. I mean, he’s not young anymore, but everything else from the expressions to the hair mold is strong. There’s also 2 clear cylinder pieces to simulate Obi-Wan being lifted by Vader which actually looks really cool. Overall, it’s not as good as his counterpart from the Inquisitor Scythe, but a solid addition to the Obi-Wan minifigure lineup nonetheless.

Vader: I’ve been looking forward to acquiring the arm-printed Darth Vader for a while now, and he was probably the biggest draw for me. The Vader figures that have come out since the helmet update have been great, but the arm printing completes the look rather satisfyingly, and as an awesome bonus, this version is exclusive with a unique head that shows a more “crispy Anakin” as my friend would put it, with a suitable determined/upset expression. Overall, I’m glad arm-printed Vader is getting more accessible and this exclusive variant is a fine addition to my collection.

Tala: I assumed Tala would be the most uninteresting and boring figure of the set, but to my surprise, I found it to be a rather enjoyable figure. I probably say that because this is my first Imperial Officer figure though. The officer hat and the print for the uniform is great, but the lack of dual-molded legs for boots is unfortunate, but that’s just a problem with Imperial Officer figs in general. I really like the facial expression, and she comes appropriately equipped with a blaster pistol. Overall, great prints and figure, but the boots are sorely absent.

Ned-B: The MVP of minifigures in this set is undoubtedly Ned-B the loader droid. His bulk is captured excellently with what I presume to be a one-off mold for the body, and there’s even studs at the back to attach a printed slope for a “backpack”. The prints and the detail of wear are fantastic. There’s practically nothing wrong with the figure, except for the inaccurate height. He is way too short when compared to other figures, and he probably could’ve benefited from the use of Avatar limbs. Finally, his accessory is a brick-built hammer. Overall, despite its shortcomings (quite literally), Ned-B is a stellar droid figure and the obvious highlight of the set.

Overall Opinion

Lego Star Wars is already known for its gray blob sets, but this here is the ultimate gray blob. It’s not exactly inconceivably awful though, and I really gotta give props to the designer for salvaging the set as much as possible, but with that said, I think the set does deserve the flak it gets. It doesn’t make a particularly strong play or diorama piece and the higher budget was probably to include the side characters who are important to the scene, but I’m not sure if that was a worthwhile decision. The minifigures almost save the set to be honest, but I can’t really recommend the overall package. It’s an OK buy if the figures are of great interest to you, only after a clearance-level discount, which I don’t imagine will be difficult to come across.

Honestly the arm printing on the Darth Vader and the new NED-B mini figure are the best things about the set. They could have included a dual-molded imperial cap for Tala. A cloak on Obi-Wan also would have been nice, letting us have an extra accessory.

The build on the other hand was way too plain. We basically got a floor with a couple pieces of furniture (Furniture meaning the containers). The play features are pretty accurate to the real scene, but they could have used a bit more variety.

Overall, I give the set a 4/10.