In this episode of the Brick Magnate podcast, I dive into the review of the Lego Razor Crest set from the popular Star Wars spin-off TV series, The Mandalorian.

Despite initially vowing not to buy the set, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the build experience and the end result. Join me as I share my thoughts on the set and discuss its value for money.

Well, hello there. Welcome to episode 10 of the Brick Magnate podcast. I'm

your host Mike Morrison aka the Brick Magnate, and this is the

show where I get to share my love of Lego with my fellow brick

building enthusiasts and review some of my favorite

sets and recent builds and just talk about

this little plastic, bundle

of obsession that we all share. So this

week I'm gonna be reviewing a set that I I

did swear I was never going to buy, and that is

the Lego Razor Crest from the Mandalorian

TV series, which for anyone not familiar

is, one of the most popular probably the most popular

Star Wars spin off TV series, that there's

ever been. It's where baby Yoda is from. Like, if you're not a Star Wars

fan, you probably still know baby Yoda. Right? Let's not

get into whether that's an accurate name or any of that because this isn't a

Star Wars podcast. Although if you're looking for a Star Wars podcast,

check out Spark of Rebellion from my very good friend, Mark Asquith,

and, his cohost, I think it's Gary. They've

got a great podcast on Star Wars if you're into that. But

if you are a little more on the LEGO side and you wanna know

what I thought of the razor crest then Stay tuned for this episode. We're

gonna dive into the review very very soon. Before that though, if it's your

first time listening or if you've caught a couple of episodes, but you've not

yet taken the leap, Then make sure you hit that subscribe or

follow button in your podcast app to ensure that you get

your hands and your ears on each and every episode

of the show. And you gotta find out about the sets I'm working

on and get my reviews of Pretty much

everything worth reviewing when it comes to

awesome awesome Lego. So the

Razor Crest. This was the set that I said I was never

going to buy. I talked about it

probably episode 3, episode 4, like, a while back.

And I I was chatting about

sets that you've that part of you feels you should have,

but you just can't get excited about, and you just can't justify,

spending the money on. And it's not just about the money. Things like

the, the iron gauntlet, Lego set

from Avengers. Like, again, that's that's one of the ones I wouldn't

buy because it's it's just the infinity gold, and it's just with different color

bricks, and, you know, I don't know if it's a printable thing or if it's

a variety thing, in terms of not wanting to repeat the same

build. But, yeah, that put me off, and Razor Crest was the one I was

never going to buy because for me it just isn't iconic

enough in the Star Wars world to justify paying

such a significant amount for an ultimate collector

series set. Those UCS series, They're

big, and they're expensive. And for as much as

I spend on this shared obsession of ours, Anything

north of £500, $500, what have you, really

needs to be something special for me to throw down that kind of

money. And for me, The Razor Crest wasn't that. Don't get me wrong. I

loved Mandalorian, especially the first, series.

The first series is still probably the best. A lot of it's on the

Razor Crest. It looks cool, but just wasn't

iconic. Like, I was thinking about sets like the

UCS Millennium Falcon, which I have and which is

epic. Even the UCS AT AT, the, the AT

AT Walker, the imperial destroyer, like, Those

are iconic Star Wars vehicles,

but I, you know, I I chose not to buy those, the AT and T

and the Imperial Destroyer, because I just wasn't feeling it. Didn't think there'd be fun

builds. Didn't know where to put them. So, you know, I

already kind of have a high bar for Star Wars UCS

sets, And if I wasn't buying the AT AT and the

imperial destroyer, I definitely wasn't gonna buy the Razor Crest.

Right? I had no choice, no chance. After all, it's just from a TV

show, not the original movies or even the sequels or prequels, and

hell they blew up the the Razor Crest. Like, they blew the

thing up in the 2nd series. I would say spoiler alert, but it's been out

for years. If you haven't seen it, you're not gonna watch it. They blew

it up, and they switched to a totally different ship for the Mandalorian.

So Even in the world of the TV show, the Razor Crest isn't all

that important. I mean, imagine them blowing up the Falcon in Empire Strikes Back.

Right? So I absolutely 100% was not buying this, and I

felt good about that decision. I didn't feel I was missing out. Didn't feel I

regret but then there was a lull.

There was a quiet period where that it was earlier in the year where it

just didn't seem like there was anything sighting being released

or there were some exciting sets, but they were quick

builds, and I was just getting antsy for a nice big

set that I could get stuck into. The sort where you could

spread it out over a couple of weeks. Does that ever happen to you? Do

you find your Your Lego obsessed brain slowly talking you

into buying that set that you just weren't interested in just because it

craves those big bills, those delicious little

plastic bricks. Please say it's not just me. So anyway I caved,

and you know what? I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed this

set. So let's dive into the review. So the Razor Crest comes in

at 6,187 pieces. That's just a little

bit shy of the Millennium Falcon, the ultimate collector series

Millennium Falcon, which surprised me because I didn't have

them on equal footing in terms of the

size of the set and the scale of the build. That Millennium Falcon is

a beast, and I didn't think any other Star Wars sets other than the out

of the imperial destroyer will come close. I definitely didn't think the Razor Crest was

gonna come close. So, just shy of 6,200

pieces Cost $600 or 520,

British pounds for myself. So it's just slightly on

the right side of the 10¢ per piece

line, which is very good for a licensed set

for something with a Star Wars license. That's an ultimate collector series.

That's that's a good Average cost per per brick

piece. In terms of build experience,

this was a lot more fun and satisfying than I'd expected.

Again, my business for comparison was the falcon, which frankly

is a mixed build experience with some very lengthy, boring,

and frustrating spells. So I was a little bit worried it would be the

same with the Razor Crest, but thankfully, Razor Crest

is a lot more varied than the Falcon. And because the ship has some

quirky angles and unique features, it makes for some pretty cool

and satisfying build techniques that Make sure that the build never gets

boring. I was also so relieved to find that

you build a decent amount of detail into the interior of the

ship too. That's perhaps one of the biggest let downs of the Falcon set.

You've got your cockpit with a little separate area for Grogu in his crib to

hang out. You got the section where where the cryo frozen bounties are

stored, section with Mando's equipment up on the wall, Boba

Fett's armor from when he salvages that.

Just lots of cool little details that are easy enough to access

when the whole set It's finished. They're not just kinda sealed in there.

And for me, the most oddly satisfying part of the build was adding on those

wings. That's the final piece of the build is getting on the wings that have

those huge round engines attached. There was something very

pleasing from a tactile perspective, like the feel of it,

the bulk of it, the weight of it. Something really satisfying,

about that part of the build, and finally kind of

slotting them onto the main body of the ship, which you spend, you know,

the first kind of 2 thirds of the build experience building, like,

building out those those big hefty chunky wings,

and then the satisfaction that comes from piecing them

together with the main body of the ship and seeing that end result. It's really,

really cool that part comes at the end. It's a good way of ending that

build experience. So all in all, for such a big and lengthy build,

I don't think I was ever bored, which is rare for sets of this

scale. And I don't know if this is just me or if it's true or

not, but, you know, a lot of the Lego ships, well, the

vehicle, like, They're they're gray. There's just a lot of gray, and I think

that affects in a lot of cases your enjoyment of the build, because there's

nothing vibrant. And the Razor Crest

again is a big big gray thing, but even

so, I still enjoyed it. It didn't affect it, so I think that, You know?

It's a it's a silly point, but maybe not as silly as, as

I think it is. So yeah. I was never bored. I

was never bored, which is rare for this kind of set. There wasn't anything mind

blowing in the experience, but it was fun piecing this together

from start to finish. So I'm gonna give this build experience a 4

out of 5. Satisfying, enjoyable, and

that is surprising for this size of a build,

especially where, you know, you're building a vehicle. You're not you're not building like

a a Hogwarts, Harry Potter Hogwarts or a Diagon Alley

where there's lots of very distinct areas. Like, it's it's a

big gray hunk of metal, but it was still fun.

So it's a 4 out of 5 from me on Build Experience. In terms of

the end result, the finished set really does look great.

Argue over whether it's iconic enough or not. It looks

epic as a completed Lego set. It's a good

Satisfying size. It feels sturdy. It's weighty.

It feels chunky. Right?

Again, I hate to keep comparing to the Falcon, but the Falcon's probably the

best measuring stick. Certainly, it's the best one I've got. With the

Falcon. Anyone who's got the Falcon will will be familiar with

this. There's always the fear that if you even look at it

the wrong way, part of it will fall off.

And while there's definitely a little bit of risk of mishandling the

razor the razor quest TV show. The razor

crest. It doesn't feel quite so fragile which

was a relief because that falcon is a nightmare.

Like, anytime you try and dust it clean around it,

something falls off. Even, like, the fact they have to,

like, include very specific instructions of how

to pick it up and how not to pick it up lest you

demolish the whole thing. Like, yeah, the Falcon is a pain

to move around in display. Whereas the Razor Crest, it just

it feels sturdier. Doesn't feel as fragile. Like,

if you wanted to, you could actually play with this set not just display

it, But as a display piece, it does look seriously

impressive and accurate to the original ship. Now there are only

5 minuteifigures, which is a bit of a letdown for a set that cost

$600 and is what I would consider to be the main

signature set of the Mandalorian series. Like, it should have

more and 5 minifigures. It's a it's an

ultimate collector series. It should have more than 5 minifigures.

And in fact, one of them isn't even a minifigure. It's it's it's a creature.

Right? It's it's what I I'd I'm letting my Star

Wars fandom down here, because I

don't know what it's called. But it's one of those big elephant

lizards. It's worst description. It's just a big old

thing that 1 of the characters rides on the back of. One of the minor

characters rides on the back of. It's not a minifigure. It's not a minifig

in any way, shape, or form, but unless I'm

misremembering, they've counted it as a minifigure.

So yes. That's a bit cheeky, counting it as a

minifigure. So really there's 4 minifigs. That feels

like a letdown. It feels like a bit of a misstep, especially When other sets

have figures of characters like Fennec Shand, that could easily been included

here, you know. Unless I'm misremembering, Fennec

Shand turned up before the razor crest was blown up, and, you

know, she is a known character in the

expanded Star Wars universe and is a recurring character in

this that could have had her in it, certainly.

Yeah. It just feels like they're they're being

stingy on the minifigs.

Yeah. That sucks a bit. Overall, though, this is a great looking set, and the

fact that it has all those great interior details and it's solid enough to

both to be both playable as well as function as a really good

looking display piece. That really does elevate it. So I'm gonna give this a

4a half out of 5 for end result. Looks great, feels

great, is maneuverable, it's it's

satisfying. It's just a satisfying to look at, satisfying to

to hold, to carry, to play. Yeah. Great. Four and a half out of 5

end result. Finally, let's talk value for money again.

It's worth highlighting that this falls on the right side of that

10¢ per piece line. That's kind of the barometer for whether a set

is over or underpriced. And there's not a huge amount of those

tiny 1 square pieces or dots padding out the piece count. Either

those we listen to a few episodes, we'll know that's a bugbear of mine.

This definitely seems a rarity for ultimate collector series sets, especially those

with the Star Wars license. Like, that usually takes it way

over the 10¢ line, because the license on the UCS

angle They usually come at a big premium. So,

yeah. I I wonder whether the slightly lower than

expected pricing is reflective of of, you know,

them maybe thinking, okay, this isn't it's maybe not gonna have

as as broad an appeal as the UCS Falcon, the

UCS AT AT, you know, stuff that, like,

like, every Star Wars fan will recognize. Not every Star Wars fan will watch

Mandalorian. Every Star Wars fan watched, the the

originals, and They know what the Falcon is. Right? So maybe

that maybe that factors in it. I don't know. Or maybe the fact that they

blew the blowing ship up. They blew the ship up, which

They've referenced that they've referenced that

on the website, and I think in the the manual as well. But I

got a feeling, like they'd started working on the Razor Crest

set, the design of it, and then, like, not

knowing that it was gonna be blown up in the TV show. And

so I think that's maybe, took the wind out of the sails a

little. I don't know. Just my theory.

So, yeah, you you would need to make your mind up yourself on whether such

a short lived ship in a TV series, not the movie,

is worthy of the UCS treatment and justify

to $600 set. But, you know, for that price, you are

getting a substantial Impressive end result that

comes after a fun, enjoyable, satisfying, varied

build that will stretch over a good number of build sessions.

The low number of minifigs is a bit stingy though, so I'm gonna give this

a 4 out of 5 for value for money. Yes. It is pricey, but you're

getting a lot for your money, and they've not overpriced it, which, you

know, judging from sets released in the last year or

so, They veered more towards overpricing than underpricing,

in my opinion. So there you have it. I think it's fair to say that

going back on my vow not to build this Set ended up being worth it

as I really did enjoy this build, and I love how it all turned out.

Although I do still maintain it's not iconic iconic,

And I think the fact that this set isn't the centerpiece of any of my

little LEGO areas, those areas of the house where I've got my LEGO dotted

around, That maybe reflects it. Again, just

reflect my view. It's not taking pride of place anywhere,

but, You know, maybe I'll carve out a little Mandalorian

themed area someday if they ever release a Bo Katan helmet. You

know? I can't believe they haven't done a Bo Katan helmet. Seems like an

obvious one to do. They've done Mando. They've done Boba.

Like, do Bo Katan. It's the same shape and everything. Just, you

know, some some nicer colors and a little bit of patterning,

but they can do that, surely. Give us a Bo

Katana helmet. Give me a Bo Katana helmet, and I'll create my little

Mandalorian area. And when that happens, the Razor

Crest will take pride of place alongside my Mando

Boba, and Boba Fett's ship, which we're not allowed to

call by its original name, anymore. Yeah.

Give me Bo Katan, and I will elevate Razor Crest.

Anyway, I think that's a good place to end it. Thank you so much

for joining me for this week's episode of the Brick Magnate podcast.

Make sure you head to brickmagnet.com for past episodes and to

subscribe to the show. And if you want a closer look at the

finished article, and you wanna see the razor crest in all of

its glory, then connect with me on TikTok and on Instagram,

either both or just one of them, whatever tickles your

pickle. I can't believe I just said that on the show.

Yeah. Connect with me on Insta or on TikTok at brickmagnet.

That's brick, m a g n a t e. You will find,

the little review videos, showing off the

different sets I talk about on the show as well as some that I

don't, plus some behind the scenes looks at things that I'm

working on and other brick based, stuff. Oh, you know

what? This is totally random, and I meant to mention this in

episode 7, which was kind of the the rebirth of the podcast

episode. I've got a Lego tattie.

I just I just feel as someone who's hosting a Lego based

podcast, I need to mention that I I got I'm, Like, 4

years old now. I am full on man child with a midlife

crisis. But I got my very first tattoo, and

it is a Lego brick. Yeah. Just to kind of

solidify my obsession. And I only mentioned that

because I've mentioned TikTok and I mentioned Instagram, and there's actually a little photograph of

that on there. So if you wanna see, if you

wanna see what someone getting their first ever tattoo and deciding at the

age of 40 that that tattoo will be a Lego brick. You wanna see that?

Then head over to at brickmagnet on Instagram and

connect with me on there. You know what? No regrets. I love

my Lego brick. That is it from

me. I'm out of here to think of more Lego based tattoos. I'll be back

again next week with more brick based buffoonery, sharing my

thoughts on yet another, awesome Lego

set or not so awesome Lego set. I haven't decided what I'll be reviewing next

week. We shall find out. It's a mystery for you and a mystery for me.

But hopefully you will join me regardless. In the meantime, happy

bricking, and I'll see you next time.