LEGO® Star Wars parts review: 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina

Thomas Jenkins (on Instagram) has written for us previously, revealing his Iron Builder techniques, and today joins us as a regular contributor! He's facing 3187 pieces in LEGO® Star Wars 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina and so we're dividing his review; starting with the elements today. The set is available priced US$349.99/ CA$449.99/ £319.99. If you're buying this set, consider using our LEGO Shop at Home affiliate links: USA or UK. New Elementary earn from qualifying purchases. The product in this article was provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the release of LEGO® 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina largely thanks to some long-awaited fan-favourite characters making their first appearance in ABS form.

But what other new LEGO parts can builders look forward to when they step inside this “wretched hive of scum and villainy”? There aren’t a lot but there are a few treasures to be found among the sea of tan bricks!

New parts in the LEGO Mos Eisley Cantina

Obviously, there are some great new parts used in the minifigs, and we’ll get to those later. To start, we’ve got some unusual new elements.

We receive a very long Hose, Rigid 3mm D. in Silver Metallic/ Flat Silver (6314440). It measures 43 modules in length or 344mm. As far as I’m aware this is a new offering from LEGO, as the closest available lengths I could find on the online inventories were 40 modules and 44 modules.

The only other new element to appear is this tattered cloth element in Dark Brown (6314069) which is used as a canopy in one of the smaller Tatooine buildings. It’s a decent size, fitting within the area of a 6x10 plate. It tapers from 9 modules at one end to 8 at the other. The distance between those two attachment holes is 6.5 modules. I can see builders using this to create other buildings or market stalls (as it is used here) but it could also find a place as a tattered sail on a ship, or even as a piece of clothing for a large figure.

Recoloured and printed parts in 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina 

Above are the parts unique to 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina but there are also some interesting recolours that make their first appearance here.

The appearance of Container Box 2 x 2 x 1 in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6318313) is a surprise to be sure, and a welcome one. It’s the first appearance of the element in this colour, having previously appeared only in Medium Nougat and Flame Yellowish Orange/ Bright Light Orange, as well as in some other colours with prints. The element is printed on all 4 sides with the Imperial insignia and the word ‘cargo’ in Aurebesh. The inclusion is surprising as I’m sure the existing Medium Nougat variant would have sufficed - or even an unprinted grey version - as the element doesn’t play a prominent role where it is placed in the set. This is a neat little piece to add more authentic detail to Star Wars MOCs and dioramas. We get 3 of these boxes here.

Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 No Studs in Reddish Brown (6311210|37352) appears here for the first time. Its use in the plentiful seating of the cantina means it appears in relative abundance here: 20 are included in the set.

Somewhat surprisingly, it’s the first time for Minifig Head Plain [Hollow Stud] to appear in Titanium Metallic/ Pearl Dark Gray (6275509|3626c). The blank head is now available in 38 different colours! It’s used as Garindan’s head, so we only get one here.

Brick Special 1 x 2 with Vertical Closed Handle on Edge (6310836|34816)  makes its debut in Sand Yellow/ Dark Tan, appearing twice in the set. Concurrently, it also comes in 75293 Resistance I-TS Transport.

The Dewback consists of two pieces: the body (6308162) and the jaw (6316604). At first glance there doesn’t appear to be any discernible differences between this new version and the version released with 2014’s 75053 Mos Eisley Cantina, shown below.

Fellow New E contributor Inthert was kind enough to provide the above image of the older Dewback figure (16875pb01) to compare, and indeed upon closer inspection it appears that the previous mould has been given new printing. The facial features have received an updated design and the spots on the legs and body are printed in a different shade.

What’s more, a puzzling choice made by the designers is revealed when the figure is flipped on its back: the older figure (above left) has teeth printed on its upper jaw, whereas the newer one does not.

But perhaps that’s not the reason why Inthert’s Dewback has teeth and mine doesn’t…

...maybe it’s the care he takes in maintaining his LEGO collection! Thanks to Inthert for this delightful image.

Other noteworthy parts

Speaking of the Dewback, there is another element new for 2020 which is used to represent the beast’s bridle. Zipline, 22L with 2 Connectors - Flexible appears in Medium Nougat (6299954 | 27965) in only one other set, LEGO Creator 11109 Pirate Ship. It actually appears there 11 times in total; just 2 are included here.

Dish 6 x 6 Inverted - No Studs with Handle in White (6250155|18675) has only appeared twice in the past. The last time it appeared was 2018, in 75205 Mos Eisley Cantina no less. It makes a welcome appearance once again here.

The new Minifigure Headwear Hood (59276) appears in two flavours here: Dark Brown (6281912) and Black (6281919). I’m sure they’ll be back, and in greater numbers, as they are the perfect Jedi headgear.

The Ithorian head (6308157) makes a return here. As with the Dewback, I’m pretty sure this is the same as the element that appeared in 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter which has avery high price on the aftermarket. I’m sure collectors will appreciate a second chance to get their hands on this sculpt.

It’s the third time for Brick Special 1 x 1 with Studs on 2 Adjacent Sides in Bright Light Orange (6292145|26604) to make an appearance this year. Four are included.

Finally, although it’s not a new piece, this is the most times Weapon Chakram / Hoop Blade (6207840|35485) has appeared in a single set. I’m very happy to receive 5 here in Flat Silver, as I think they have great potential in sci-fi builds.

These bricks are hardly noteworthy by themselves, but they do appear in very large quantities:

• 67x Plate 1 x 1
• 79x Brick 1 x 2
• 86x Brick 1 x 3 
• 117x Brick 1 x 4

According to online inventories, this is the most times the latter two bricks have appeared in a single set.

Windscreen 8 x 8 x 3 Dome with Dual 2 Fingers (6314982|95198) is the perfect part to represent the architecture of Tatooine, having been included in the 2014 Mos Eisley Cantina as well as the 2020 release of 75270 Obi Wan's Hut. It appeared once in each of those sets (the latter is still available) and it appears here 3 times.

Stickers in the new Star Wars Cantina set

For such a large set I was relieved to find a modest sticker sheet. Most of the stickers are used to add extra flair to the two speeders.

The stand-out for me is the delightful ‘No droids’ poster, and I can see myself using some of the control panel stickers in some of my MOCs. Sticker number 4 is applied to a 1x2 cheese slope, and although Tatooine-specific, would make a welcome change from the prints usually used in vehicles. Sticker number 10 reads ‘cantina’, in case you were wondering!

Exclusive Minifigures in 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina

As I said before, the main draw of this set is surely the minifigures and the likeness of these characters has been so well translated into ABS, they deserve a closer look. There are 21 included here, 7 of which are completely new.

The new figures are (from left to right above):

• Kardue’sai’Malloc, aka Labria the Devaronian
• Saurin (which is apparently a subspecies of the Trandoshans, which have appeared in LEGO sets in the past)
• Ponda Baba the Aqualish thug
• Dr. Evazan
• Momaw Nadon the Ithorian
• Kabe the Chandra-Fan
• Garindan the Kubaz Imperial spy

The new parts are distributed among these characters and they all have new printing on their bodies.

There are plenty of other fan sites that have or will cover the minifigs in greater detail; we’re mostly interested in the new elements here at New E. So let’s take a closer look at some of the new moulds and recolours that contribute to their construction and their charm.

New minifigure heads 

1. Devaronian horns and ears (6316560)
2. An Aqualish head (6308156)
3. Garindan’s snout (6380158)

The Aqualish head is made of plastic whereas the other two moulds are made of a soft rubber. As these are minifigure heads or headgear, they might have some limited use elsewhere, but mostly I’m sure Star Wars builders and collectors will be delighted at the availability of new characters to populate their builds and add to their collections.

Recolours and new prints of minifigure heads

There are two minifigures sporting recoloured parts in 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina. We have a Trandoshan head in Brick Yellow/ Tan (6308161) for the first time, adding some diversity to the species. They’ve appeared in both Olive and Sand Green variants in the past. Minifigure, Hair Bat Ears (6308159) is used to represent the large ears of the bat-like species. This isn’t a recolour but simply a new print, adding some more detail to the alien’s ears.

The villainous Dr Evazan and his buddy, the Aqualish thug Ponda Baba have been a hugely anticipated component of the set and they were certainly the characters I was most excited to receive when I found out I was reviewing this set for New E.

Dr Evazan has a surprised expression on the reverse of his head, the perfect reaction to his companion’s sudden amputation.

I had a lot of fun playing around with these two characters!

Conclusion

75290 Mos Eisley Cantina is a massive set of over 3000 bricks, and we will publish my review of the build soon. Parts-wise, there’s a handful of new ones on offer, most notable of which are those of the minifigures which makes this a very desirable set among Star Wars fans. The Tan bricks come in abundance and in many varieties, so if that’s your colour you’re in for a treat!

READ MORE: Seasonal set 40424 Winter Snowball Fight may be small but it packs a punch for nice parts

LEGO® Star Wars 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina has 3187 pieces and is available priced US$349.99/ CA$449.99/ £319.99. If you're buying this set, consider using our LEGO Shop at Home affiliate links: USA or UK. New Elementary earn from qualifying purchases.

Help New Elementary keep publishing articles like this. Become a Patron!

Massive thanks go to our 'Vibrant Coral' patrons: Iain Adams, Font Review Journal, Baixo LMmodels, Andy Price, Anthony Wright, Geppy, Chris Cook, London AFOLs, Gerald Lasser, Big B Bricks, Dave Schefcik, David and Breda Fennell, Huw Millington, Neil Crosby, Antonio Serra, Beyond the Brick, Sue Ann Barber & Trevor Clark, and Kevin Gascoigne. You're awesome!

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon USA: Amazon.com Canada: Amazon.ca UK: Amazon.co.uk Deutschland: Amazon.de

Search New Elementary

All text and images are © New Elementary unless otherwise attributed.