I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and irritating and it gets everywhere. That’s what Anakin Skywalker says, and I fully agree with him. Even so, sometimes it’s necessary for me to go and play on the beach and get myself (and all my stuff) covered in sand for the good of this blog. This is one of those times. While it’s been over a month since I got my discounted LEGO Star Wars Summer 2014 Mos Eisley Cantina set online, I had my first opportunity this week to go out and take review photos of the set the only place they should be taken–in the sand! Was the LEGO Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina 75052 worth getting attacked by seagulls for? Read on…

The Right:

Despite being one of the most memorable locales in movie history, the Mos Eisley Cantina has really gotten the short end of the LEGO stick. The previous (and only) 2004 LEGO Mos Eisley Cantina was, uhhh… “underwhelming” (to say the least), and LEGO surprisingly has never revisited the setting since (at least, not until now).

So when I saw the new-for-2014 LEGO Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina at the New York Toy Fair 2014 back in February, it instantly sprang to the top of my must-buy list of LEGO Star Wars Summer 2014 sets.

The LEGO 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina is actually a very straight-forward and simple build, despite containing 616 pieces. I built the set straight-through in one evening with just a handful of minor mistakes (which is highly unusual for me).

Funny story (which was not funny at the time): Once I had my 75052 LEGO Mos Eisley Cantina built, I just had to take it with me to the beach for a, uh, “business trip” where I’d take the review photos for the set.

What I didn’t expect on this odyssey was that while I walked back from the restroom, seagulls would dive-bomb the box I had my iPhone and the LEGO set in, pecking at the box and unbelievably flipping the contents into piles of sand. No, seriously. You don’t know terror until you’ve dug your $400 phone out of the sand while scouring for LEGO pieces.

But anyway, back on-topic…

Although the LEGO Mos Eisley Cantina 75052 retails for $69.99 for 616 pieces and is slightly over my “LEGO Value Threshold” of ten cents per piece, I’m willing to overlook that this time since the set includes a mighty eight Minifigures on top of an all-new large LEGO Star Wars Dewback mold.

You get a big assortment of eight minifigures (plus a Dewback!) with the LEGO 2014 Mos Eisley Cantina, and every one of them is a great inclusion. The headliner of this set is the first LEGO Greedo minifigure in a decade. The original LEGO Greedo figure has always been expensive and in-demand on the aftermarket, so it’s great to finally see him available again. I was surprised to see LEGO use the same Greedo LEGO head mold from 2004, but I guess you don’t mess with success!

The 2014 LEGO Greedo minifigure has superior coloration and prints on his torso and legs, though he’s unfortunately lost the arm printing that the 2004 LEGO Greedo had. However, I still consider this to be the far more accurate and better-looking Greedo LEGO figure.

And while I’m talking about Greedo, I’ll touch on his arch-enemy/bounty, Han Solo. This LEGO Han Solo minifigure is pretty standard. The print is good and he looks like he does in the LEGO Star Wars video game (and he’s obviously a must to pair with Greedo), but otherwise he’s a pretty generic A New Hope Han Solo minifig.

After Greedo, the next most-anticipated figures in this set are the never-before-done LEGO Cantina Band minifigures! When I was in my Star Wars heyday, I probably could have rattled off the names of all the Bith Cantina Band Members, but that knowledge is long gone now.

Even so, I’m very excited about having the first Modal Nodes Cantina Band LEGO Minifigures ever, which feature a totally-new head mold (obviously) and brick-built musical instruments. These are great-looking LEGO Star Wars figures that I have no doubt will be quite expensive on the secondary market, as many collectors will want five (or six) LEGO Bith musician minifigures to complete their bands.

Next up, we have the LEGO Luke Skywalker (Tatooine) minifigure. Flash fact: the Tatooine Luke Skywalker is my favorite iteration of Luke Skywalker, and this is the best-printed LEGO Tatooine Luke Skywalker minifigure ever. I already have this Luke Skywalker from the LEGO Sandcrawler set that came out earlier this year, but he’s still great for those who don’t have $300 to spend to pick him up.

And where Tatooine Luke Skywalker goes, the LEGO Obi-Wan Kenobi minifigure must follow. This is another pretty boring minifigure, as we’ve gotten plenty of Episode IV Obi-Wan Minifigures over the years. There’s nothing wrong with this Obi-Wan per se, but I do wish he had a more serious reversible head side to go with his smiling face.

On the Imperial side of things, we get a lone LEGO Sandtrooper minifigure. I love the dirty paint deco on him and the new print on his mask, although it’s a bit irritating that the sand deco doesn’t run all the way down his legs. This might not be the best LEGO Sandtrooper ever (due to limited printing), but with his blaster and brick-built backpack and pike, he is a ton of fun to play with. I like this figure quite a bit, which is a surprise since I’m not usually into Stormtroopers.

The new LEGO Dewback figure is just awesome. He looks absolutely terrific whether he has his saddle on or off, and opening and closing his mouth is a lot more fun than you’d expect. If you prefer a wild Dewback, LEGO was kind enough to include pieces in the Dewback’s skin-tone to complete his back with the saddle off. Now Dewbacks can “run” wild and free, just as The Maker always intended. Thanks, LEGO!

We’ve had several LEGO Landspeeders before (in fact, we just got one in 2010!), but I prefer the look and aesthetic of this LEGO Star Wars 2014 Landspeeder to all of them.

There’s no huge advancements over the 2010 LEGO Star Wars Landspeeder or anything like that–it just looks better to me. The hidden compartment behind the rear thruster is still present (and very useful for stowing lightsabers), and the decals really bring this LEGO Landspeeder to life for me. Your mileage (or opinions) may vary.

Finally, we’ve for the 75052 LEGO Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina set’s Cantina itself. The Cantina is… okay. I like that LEGO is giving is another set that can be compressed or fully unfolded depending on our moods, and the set does have a few aspects that I find rather neat.

The three most famous moments at the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars Episode IV are the “duel” between Han and Greedo, Obi-Wan at the Cantina bar, and the Modal Nodes (the Cantina Band) playing in an alcove. All of those moments can be replicated here (to an extent).

I love that the Dewback bone trough on the back of the LEGO Star Wars Cantina can be pressed to push out the two “scenes” inside the Mos Eisley Cantina, as it makes inserting the various minifigures vastly easier and more fun. Likewise, sliding the cantina door open and closed is more fun than I expected (for some reason).

The Cantina bar itself is a lot smaller and simpler than it is in the actual Star Wars Episode IV movie, but what is here is well-designed and fun to build and look at. There’s even opening and closing drawers, a favorite feature of mine on sets like this!

While there aren’t a ton of features to the LEGO 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina set, kids will have fun re-enacting Han shooting first, the Cantina Band (or about half of it) performing, Obi-Wan hanging out at the bar with Luke, and the LEGO Sandtrooper patrolling on his Dewback. There can be no doubt that what’s here is fun. What isn’t here, however…

The Wrong:

It’s going to sound really whiny to complain about a lack of LEGO Star Wars Minifigures in a set that includes seven Minifigures and a LEGO Dewback, but I’m about to do just that.

What really makes the Mos Eisley Cantina iconic is all of the various aliens and inhabitants of the Cantina, and very few of them are present here. What good is having a bar with no LEGO bartender minifigure and no aliens to drink at it?

I know intellectually why there’s no LEGO Wuher minifigure in a children’s toy set, but I would’ve at least liked a Long-Snoot to snitch to the Imperials or a LEGO Walrusman minifigure for LEGO Obi-Wan to lop the arm off of. Alas, now there’s really no logical place to include a LEGO Garindan minifigure or a LEGO Ponda Baba minifigure.

In addition to having more minifigures included, I could have done with the LEGO Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina including more, well… Cantina. What is here is fine, but this set falls short of feeling like a totally complete Mos Eisley Cantina.

Personally, I would have upped the price $20-$30, included a couple more LEGO Star Wars Minifigures and about 200 more pieces of the cantina itself. As it is, the building feels more like “Scenes from the Mos Eisley Cantina”. I love what is here, but I want more.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

I bought my LEGO Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina online with no tax and free shipping, which is always my preference for mass-release LEGO sets. Most regular retail stores should also be stocking the LEGO Cantina now, though it’s unlikely to be any cheaper in-store (especially after tax).

Overall: The LEGO Mos Eisley Cantina is a set that I ever-so-badly want to be completely and utterly mesmerized by, but it just doesn’t quite reach those extremes.

The new 2014 LEGO Dewback is outstanding, the new version of the LEGO Landspeeder vehicle is the best iteration of it ever, and the set includes some incredible minifigures (particularly LEGO Greedo and the LEGO Cantina Band).

But the LEGO Star Wars 2014 Mos Eisley Cantina itself feels a bit too small and unlike a full building, and the LEGO Star Wars figures that aren’t here are a glaring omission. I’m still giving this set a strong recommendation for everything that is included, but I am disappointed by what isn’t here (as unfair as that may seem).