Built Of Beskar: 75319 The Armorer’s Mandalorian Forge

Forced into exile by the Empire during the Great Purge, the people of Mandalore lost their homeworld and access to the only known source of beskar, one of the toughest and most legendary metals in the Star Wars galaxy. Faced with the extinction of their way of life – known simply as the Way of the Mandalore – they congregated in small, secretive clan-based cells to preserve their traditions.

One such group – known as The Tribe – ekes out an existence in subterranean chambers on the Outer Rim world of Nevarro, where they remain hidden to the Imperial forces on the surface. Forced to serve as mercs and guards-for-hire, they know that – for now – there’s no other way and wait for their time in the light to come.

With the lore of the Mandalorian’s first revealed in Star Wars #68 and expounded by Karen Traviss in the Republic Commando series of novels relegated to the Expanded Universe, the full canonical history of this race of mythical super-warriors only materialized in the second season of The Clone Wars animated series. Since then it has been further fleshed out in the Rebels animated and The Mandalorian live-action television series.

Far removed from the Geonosian droid factories and industrial-scale shipyards of Fondor, The Armorer conducts her work in secrecy; keeping the tradition of making Mandalorian body protection (as well as the rites and rituals of the Mandalore) alive in an underground smithy.

75319 The Armorer’s Mandalorian Forge

Ages	Pieces	VIP Points	Item	Minifigures	Value

Not surprisingly, this 258-piece set is an easy 30-minute build that perfectly combines a fun little playset and a well-appointed display model.

Comprised of three sections, each with a separate build phase, the model consists of the central forge and exhaust hood, and two separate work areas.

The main forge, with its circular fire pit and sticker-sheeted containment field, a crucible for the beskar brick and tool clips, is the set’s main focus but the two workbenches deserve a lot more attention.

The doorway section, with its stickered mythosaur sigil over the entrance, has a shelf that holds an unadorned Mandalorian helmet (known as a blank in the world of blacksmithing), and an anvil cunningly made from an upside-down skate. The other half of the workshop incorporates a 3D blueprint hologram projector atop a small computer terminal, bookended by a workbench with a secret compartment (on the right) and a forge press (left).

Accessorizing the playset with three beskar bars, a broom, smithing tools, a small hologram projector, a silver blaster, and a thermal detonator, LEGO has given this set a depth of play that we haven’t seen for a long, long time.

Perhaps the most understated feature of the set is the small table and chairs that sit on the element that connects the workbenches to the forge. It represents the scene where The Mandalorian handed over his bars of beskar, which were stored in a camtono, to The Armorer. Oddly, LEGO chose a dark bluish-gray round brick and a translucent stud to represent it.

This year has seen The Mandalorian collection double in size, adding three vehicles and two playsets to the range of sets that supports the live-action TV series and with its combination of attractive colors, fun play features, exciting minifigures that have cool prints, and – for those that prefer to display their sets – a model of a smithy that is highly presentable, this set stands out above the rest.

That said, there are two niggles – the beskar ingot would have been better as a 2×1 pearl silver tile with a sticker, and the forge’s exhaust hood doesn’t sit directly over the forge. Aside from these two trivial issues, this playset is perfect.

Check out our reviews of other The Mandalorian sets:

• 75254 AT-ST Raider
• 75267 Mandalorian Battle Pack
• 75292 The Razor Crest
• 75299 Trouble on Tatooine
• 75311 Imperial Armored Marauder
• 75312 Boba Fett’s Starship
• 75315 Imperial Light Cruiser

With two of the three – Paz Vizsla and The Armorer – being all-new for the year, and The Mandalorian a variant (of sorts) this set, of all the ones released this year, probably has the most interesting assortment of minifigures.

Sporting an impressive and eyecatching amount of body art, and a few new-for-2021 elements thrown in, the set’s collection of minifigures is both authentic and sensible – but it’s high time that LEGO Star Wars fans had a face for their Din Djarin minifigures.

With its $29.99 price tag, three minifigure headcount and 258-piece inventory, 75319 The Armorer’s Mandalorian Forge is easily the set with the best value for money (0.12 DPB) and can be purchased through LEGO.com, Target (United States), Toys R Us (Canada), Smyths Toys in Germany and the United Kingdom, and BigW (Australia).

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