75315 Imperial Light Cruiser: Mando’ade To The Rescue

Of the six minifigures included in 75315 Imperial Light Cruiser it is an even split between new and reused which makes it a good option for a variety of fans. While the price point may be somewhat off-putting, the new minifigures help to make up for some of the cost.

Although Imperial Light Cruiser was actually a term used to describe the Arquitens-class Command Cruiser, Moff Gideon’s ship was technically a Class 546 Cruiser. They are similar in appearance which perhaps would explain why the name was selected. Our first look at the ship comes in The Mandalorian Season 2 Chapter 12: The Siege. It would continue to make appearances in several other episodes prior to the end of the season.

Cara Dune

This tough chick from Alderaan is easily one of the most controversial characters due to the actress who plays her. Within the Star Wars universe though, Carasynthia is the ex-Shock Trooper turned Marshal of Nevarro that we meet in Season 1.

Cara primarily wears blue and brown clothing with notable aspects of her outfit including her padded vest with shoulder pads, knee pads, and gloves with wrist guards. These features are captured by the unique torso and leg printing on the character. The LEGO version opted for plain arms which is not surprising. The dual-sided head is also unique to the figure and includes her cheek tattoo. The hair has been used on numerous minifigs over the past decade.

She was previously included in 75254 AT-ST Raider and after the drama that the actress was involved in came to light, it was assumed that she wouldn’t appear in another set. Now that Lucasfilm has announced that Gina Carano will not be returning for the next season, the question comes down to whether or not a new actress will replace her.

The Mandalorian

What else is there to say? He’s a great character and although we’ve done a highlight on him in another set, not everyone purchases the whole wave, so we will include him here as well.

The Mandalorian has swept Star Wars fandom, and LEGO has made sure to get in on the action. Although he is a main character, Mando has already had a couple of variations after only 16 episodes and a third is coming in a different set from this wave. This Din Djarin minifigure is the same as the one found in 75299 Trouble on Tatooine and 75312 Boba Fett’s Starship.

He comes with a dark brown body with silver Beskar armor comprising his plated vest, pauldrons, vambraces, gauntlets, and greaves. His bandolier is printed across the torso and gives the figure a good amount of detail. He comes with a dark gray cape to complete the look. For this set, he comes with his Amban phase-pulse blaster and the Beskar staff that he got on Corvus.

The Child

If you thought a baby Ewok was cute, you didn’t stand a chance with a baby Yoda. This adorable green alien stole the hearts of fans of all ages – yes, even the middle-aged men.

Although the baby body has been used since 2016, it was a surprise to see it repurposed for Grogu. It was the first time the body was molded in dark tan and the hands were added in sand green. The front of the body was printed to represent the hood on Grogu’s robe. In order to get the head proportional to the body, a new mold had to be created. It is similar to the Clone Wars style Yoda in that the head is a rubbery material.

Since he is a main character in The Mandalorian it is not a surprise that LEGO has included him in several prior sets – 75292 The Razor Crest, 75299 Trouble on Tatooine, and 75318 The Child.

Dark Trooper

These large, menacing Troopers were actually advanced combat droids. There were several phases of Dark Troopers in the Star Wars universe, but the ones seen in The Mandalorian were third-generation designs.

After their initial appearance in Season 2 Chapter 12: The Siege, this Trooper was a must have in LEGO form. While some fans took to making their own versions, others waited for an official one to be released. Their thick-plated armor was black and silver in color which is captured nicely by the unique torso and leg printing for this minifig. Dark Troopers were bulkier than prior droid versions we have seen so using a standard minifigure body made sense.

To get the look of the upper body correct, LEGO turned to using the same shoulder armor as Wrecker has – this time molded in black and printed with a mechanical pattern. The figure is completed with a brand-new helmet mold which is my favorite piece of this wave! The head is also uniquely printed and allows the red photoreceptors to show through the helmet.

Fennec Shand

Fennec is an assassin/bounty hunter first introduced in Season 1 of The Mandalorian and then written into The Bad Batch. She will play a role in The Book of Boba Fett series as well since we saw her take over Jabba’s Palace with Boba Fett at the end of Season 2.

We don’t know much about Fennec Shand yet, but her back story will most likely be revealed in future episodes. For now she remains indebted to Boba Fett after he rescued her on Tatooine. It was almost a guarantee that she would be included in a set, so it is good to see her in LEGO form.

She dresses all in black and wears brown gloves and boots that have orange detailing on them. Although the leg printing primarily depicts the kama that she wears, there are orange lines on the arms to represent her glove pattern. The torso printing is also unique and shows off her waist sash and padded vest well. Like the Dark Trooper she also got a new headgear mold to represent her open-visor helmet with the contrasting black and orange coloration. She is equipped with an MK sniper rifle.

Moff Gideon

Moff Gideon has positioned himself as the primary antagonist through both seasons of The Mandalorian. His pursuit of The Child is unyielding to the point of using Dark Troopers to capture him.

He wore an Imperial uniform with battle armor covering the chest which is well captured by the unique torso printing on the minifigure. There is no leg or arm printing on this figure. Moff Gideon of course comes with his dark red cape. The LEGO version also features a unique headprint. Moff Gideon is still wielding the legendary Darksaber.

The minifigure version of Moff Gideon is fairly basic when compared to the other figures in this set. However, he was an obvious exclusion from the prior wave of sets after many thought that we would have gotten him in an Outland TIE Fighter set. Regardless the figure is a good likeness to the Moff and is another welcome addition.

This is overall a good set in terms of minifigures and unless a Dark Trooper comes in another set, it will likely be the selling point. It sure would have been nice to get a pair of them!