Whether you call it Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina, Wuher’s Cantina, or simply the Mos Eisley Cantina, there’s no getting around the fact that this much loved Star Wars location has finally – and properly – been realized in LEGO form.
The original version, which dates from 2004, was well received at the time – as were the two follow-ups that LEGO Star Wars fans saw released in 2014 and 2018. While all three were far simpler than the latest Mos Eisley Cantina (75290) set, they all had one thing in common – the most iconic building in Star Wars was brought to life.
Through their various iterations, they have waxed and waned in size. Starting from the 193 piece 4501 Mos Eisley Cantina, which gave us such LEGO firsts as a dewback, a Greedo minifigure and a stormtrooper with a pauldron. The second version came ten years later, and the bottled up excitement of both the LEGO Star Wars team and its fans were realised in 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina, which – in 615 pieces – sported an extended playset section, Bith band members and an improved dewback. Arriving in 2018 was the first true rendering of Wuher’s cantina – because it came with the bar’s chief bartender in minifigure form. At a reduced 378 pieces, 75205 Mos Eisley Cantina was half the size of the previous set (but still nearly twice the size of the 2004 original) its main upgrade was a new speeder.
Which brings us to the latest – and by far the greatest – 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina, designed by César Soares and released in September 2020. A fan from a young age, Soares stopped building LEGO in his mid-teens and finally emerged from his Dark Age in 2015 he saw his interest re-kindled, at the age of 37, when he caught sight of 10143 Death Star II on The Big Bang Theory.
“I was mesmerized by this and immediately went online to look for more. I discovered the wonderful world of Adult LEGO Fans!” he explained to BrickNerd in a 2017 interview.
He quickly made a name for himself in the MOC community with his eye for detail and clever techniques for capturing a wide variety of architectural styles. His talents were spotted by Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, the LEGO Star Wars team leader, who found a position for him at LEGO and in January 2016 he started as a product designer.
After settling in at the LEGO headquarters in Billund, he quickly produced a brick-built sketch model to adorn his desk. Whether a genuine attempt to adorn his workspace or a subtle campaign to influence a decision, it paid off and Soares was asked to come up with a new set.
Starting to build the cantina proper is very much like Luke’s initial step into the cantina – daunting – but thankfully the first section of its construction is the famously curved bar section and drink dispenser island, along with the Wuher and Obi-Wan Kenobi minifigures.
Taking a minute or two to enjoy the detail gives a chance to wonder why the same elements that are used for the IG-88 minifigure weren’t employed to decorate the bar.
“I did consider using them but one of the main characteristics of the bar is how shiny and polished the dispensers are and IG-88 heads are dark bluish grey so it would look a bit odd, sadly. Looking back now, perhaps I could have included an IG-88 head as an easter egg. Maybe next time!”
César Soares via brickset.com
The rest of the building comes together over a further four stages: the lefthand side of the cantina raised three alcoves (where the B-cast aliens mingled away from the blue milk, blasters and Bith band) and brought the R2-D2, C-2PO and Kabe minifigures to life, the entry section – along with Sandtrooper, Ponda Baba and Doctor Evazan minifigures – with its clever curved walls mimicking the foyer and ronto tethers bringing the entrance to life, section four adds minifigures of Han Solo, Greedo, the Hammerhead known as Momaw Nadon, Kardue’sai’Malloc (aka Labria) the Devaronian and the three Bith band members with the righthand wall (including the stage where some of Figrin d’an and the Modal Nodes house band perform and the booth where Han and Greedo decide to have a quick-draw contest) and back door with some very witty nods to the mundanity of life in the Star Wars galaxy – and finally the controversial roof section (that includes the Chewbacca minifigure).
Recognizing that the full layout of the cantina had never been properly mapped gave LEGO a degree of flexibility, and so Soares was able to make a few changes and adaptations to improve the model. Most notably two of the booths were removed to reduce the set’s footprint and to allow him to extend his element allowance to include two vaporators and the V-35 Courier landspeeder. When it came to adding a rear door Soares used a touch of artistic licenses and designed a practical – and authentic – service entrance that incorporates cleaning supplies and garbage cans.
Despite watching the Mos Eisley cantina scenes over and over again, using archival Lucasfilm photos as well as a number of canon sourcebooks (such as the Star Wars Blueprints and the Star Wars Technical Journals) to capture every detail certain concessions had to be made. Fans quickly noted that doors open vertically instead of horizontally – a change that was required to create a curved entrance foyer – and that the roof gave the cantina an airy and cheerful ambiance instead of leaving it as a “very gloomy and mysterious place” (to quote Soares).
It was the change to the roof (which has never been seen in any Star Wars footage) that caused much consternation amongst Star Wars purists who couldn’t accept the alteration. Though the skylight design was explained away as a removable feature to allow the bar to be swung open as well as to expose the interior when displaying the set, the fact is – as shown by original production stills – that the cantina’s roof wasn’t enclosed as supposed.
Throughout the build, there are a lot of interesting techniques and fine details that can’t be fully appreciated until the model is complete: the Aurabesh signs, the wanted poster of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the light fittings and table decorations, the mixture of different colored and textured bricks to give the walls an authentic surface, and the ronto tethers around the outside perimeter to name a few.
In particular, the application of layered plates around the outer margin of the cantina go a long way to creating the effect of drifting sand building up in the nooks and crannies of the buttressed building, and while the front steps on the outside might not be totally accurate they do allow the interior to be sunken, cleverly placing the foyer above the bar’s floor level.
Much like the outbuildings that create a Mos Eisley atmosphere around the cantina, the outside of the saloon and its perimeter are adorned with various wall decorations (like antennas and cooling units) and a number of side platforms that extend the footprint of the building and add a touch of character that brings a heightened level of realism that you wouldn’t normally associate with a LEGO playset – even at the Master Builder Series end of the spectrum. Chief among these is the dewback watering hole, which finishes off the main saloon structure with startling accuracy.
Our multipart review continues in Part Four – The Patrons, available now!
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