LEGO Star Wars Mandalorian Fang Fighter vs. TIE Interceptor 75348 review! Strong main, weird alts

[@Mr.HeisenbergTheCook]

Lego somewhat has a weird track record of basing sets around scenes that don't make it into the final product 😄

[@RoscoeWasHere]

That's because most of them are based on either concept art or whatever limited information Disney gives them.

[@asgads]

saw this in my lego store. the fang fighter is a bit too "studdy" for me, but the tie fighter is really surprisingly large

[@xeron_7433]

This set feels oddly unbalanced in a way, the Interceptor looks great and well-made overall, ignoring a few minor issues, but the gang fighter just leaves so much to be desired, I’m sure members on the design team were aware of its shortcomings though. Still not a bad set overall, great review as always, Jang!

[@Mr.HeisenbergTheCook]

Given this entire scene didn't make it into the series who knows how detailed the information were that Lego got from Lucasfilm? They might not even have known this was supposed to be the same type of Fang fighter we saw in Rebels. The Mandalorian fleet commander probably was supposed to have a larger role in the final episode at some point as well.

[@filipefreitas5365]

Agree. Honestly this feels like they just added the Fang Fighter as a side build, and the budget they had just wasn't enough to give it the rotating wings.

[@noelopez3437]

I'll say it again, it would've been better if Lego split the two vehicles into two different sets, TIE $40ish ideally, $50 in reality, and the Fang $25-$30 ideally, $40 in reality.

[@chocolatebear333]

Jang I could say this a million times but thank you for all the hard work you put into reviewing Lego for all of us. Really appreciate and value the effort and care you put into your reviews .

[@ENCHANTMEN_]

I was pleasantly surprised by the fang fighter, it's simplistic, but sturdy and swooshable. It's a fun build to hold.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

I'm in the market for TIE Interceptor, and this one looks great. However, the Fang Fighter... I really don't care about it and it kind of just elevates the price from my standpoint. Hopefully a solo Interceptor of this or similar design will happen one day. Way back when in 1999 they offered Anakin's Podracer either solo for a much lower price or as more expensive entire Bonta Eve race with two additional podracers.

[@DailyWeeklyBuilds]

This was a day 1 purchase for me. I’m not a Star Wars fan, so I don’t recognise it from any source material, but I love the look of the Tie Interceptor, and the Fang Fighter reminds me of spaceships I’d make as a kid, pretty flat with studs showing and lots of plates.

[@jasonmaiden5026]

Just finished the tie interceptor and it is just so good! One of my favorites for sure! I also love imperial astromechs so I can't complain about getting another one. Printing on mine is nice.

[@JerseyJake98]

I really like how the fang fighter is full of studs, reminds me of the retro spaceship Lego released awhile back

[@EchoBaseplates]

I wish the TIE came with the round Imperial logo tiles, even though it is post-Empire based. It would just be a nice touch for customization to go with the other TIE variants that have been released. Nonetheless, I think this is an A- set, especially since I don't have to deal with stickers. The Fang Fighter not spinning doesn't really bother me so much since it is accurate to what was depicted in The Mandalorian, but it would have been a nice feature. The TIE Pilot should just have a black head or just throw one in the set for when the helmet is on. This one should have just been the TIE Interceptor, TIE Pilot, and maybe throw in Bo-Katan with a jet pack, make it $60, and call it a day.

[@DJ-1Q84]

Would've bought that interceptor for around $50 but I'm not paying $100 for it bundled with a Mandalorian pancake fighter.

[@Smiley1701]

Really happy to get a new interceptor but those gaps are disappointing. I wonder how easy it would be to swap some slopes from the struts to the fuselage to try to hide the gap more

[@mjiopytrklk]

The interceptor is really great and the figure and the fang fighter are decent enough. Still feel it's too pricey, but not in the unreasonable realm (i would say 60 for the interceptor and 30 for the fang = 90). Thanks a lot for the review

[@bricknight810]

idk about the price felt like it should have been $85. But tie fighters tend to get inflated prices anyway.

[@calvinsallee]

6:18 I agree although this doesn't feel like as big of a mess up as kylo rens shuttle. I feel like I would still have as good of a play experience with it not having rotsting wings especially since it's so small and the wing rotation may have taken away from the looks of the model being the size it is

[@mbphilipblack8993]

I LOVE THIS!!!! set and two pack ships in general from Star Wars. The Interceptor looks sleek as hell and highly swooshable, a highly detailed and premium model a shame that the back has those blue technic pins exposed but i can certainly get over it as it looks gorgeous. For £90 in the UK its a MUST BUY/EZ purchase for me. The FANG Fighter looks like a solid build and a fine addition to my collection, very happy with this set now all i need to do is buy it. Might even save it for a B-Day present XD.

[@popculturehero]

Kind of reminds me more of a Z-95 headhunter. The predecessor to the X wing rather the fang fighter. or some kind of airspeeder. The difference not having the proper shaping makes. Love that we have a new Tie interceptor and it does not look bad at all here. Yeah Axe Woves kind of needed to be in this set. But the toy companies clearly did not know how little a role the Fleet Commander played in the show.

[@MaxRawhide]

I looked it up and I paid just over 50 euro for the Solo Tie Fighter which also came with three figures (I think). The Fang Fighter isn't worth the difference, even permitting inflation. Especially since I have no interest in the Fang Fighter, or the Mandalorian figures in the first place. Going to wait for prices to drop, because I do really want the TIE Interceptor.

[@adrianbarbour5098]

You can minimize the gaps on either side of the cockpit by swapping out the four 1x2 tiles on each side for 1x2 jumper plates. This doesn't entirely solve the problem, but it definitely looks better.

[@adamstevenson6122]

Ordered this on May 4 haven’t Received it yet, but can’t wait. Looks awesome.

[@rndmpinkiepie64]

Gotta admit, I'm glad it doesn't have the rotating wing system. Last Mandalorian starfighter I had, I added parts to keep the rotation from working. Though I do like the angling wings used to land but this is a good compromise to me

[@supremeleaderm]

I don't think the blame is on Lego for the Fang Fighter not rotating. Concidering the Gauntlet doesn't have the spinning cockpit in the show I'd assume that this was the case for the Fang Fighters as well before the combat scenes with them were cut. Is it unfortunate that they cut out a key feature of these fighters in the Mandoverse version of the ships? Yes. But I don't think this is a case of misinformation but rather something intentional by Lucasfilm, which was then passed onto Lego.

[@grizzly._.]

Was the Mandalorian Fleet Commander played by The Rock? 🤨

[@danielmcbride6413]

I’m a big fan of droids, but this set needed to have 4 minifigures. If there was also a droid, great, but for $100, this should have come with Beskar Moff Gideon, the tie interceptor pilot, Axe Woves, and then the four could have either been the fleet commander or Koska reeves. That would’ve been more in line with the price. Mando and grogu are in a $15 microfighter now; there’s no reason to include him here.

[@odinspiff9423]

Hi Jang. Any thoughts on the Interceptor not having some kind of stand? I built it on the weekend and have some concern that it’ll warp a bit over time just sitting on its bottom ‘wings’ since there’s a bit of flex.

[@silverschannel8578]

Honestly I personally prefer the fang fighter because I think it's a really cool ship and more similar to a real life fighter than the tie fighters. of course I understand being unrealistic is a huge draw for fans of Star Wars. I think it's understandable if the same fighter did not exist before the Mandalorian: they were really cool ships in rebels and they were able to rotate even in the TV show so even if the designers did not get the updated images for the new show they, like you said, should be able to find the original images and videos on KZbin or whatever but overall I do honestly enjoy the lack of a rotating function because like you said it will be a better toy and well like I said it's more realistic this way although I totally 100% agree with you that it is not a great representation of the actual fang fighter for the Star Wars universe

[@ComicBoy750]

Honestly, I’m not a Star Wars fan & only have 10 minifigures I like out of context, but I really like that Fang Fighter. I’m gonna part that out so I can have it in the colors I like instead of just grayscale.

[@Benjamin0119]

I was pleasantly surprised to see this set come out. The TIE Interceptor is my favorite TIE Fighter. I would love to get the Interceptor by itself. I think LEGO put them together because they didn't think the Fang Fighter would sell well enough on its own? It still is pretty cool though, and you took the words right out of my mouth. It looks like something from classic spaceship shooter games, or the original Battlestar Galactica. I didn't realize the thing about the wings, so I am cool with it. No stickers is a miracle!

[@seanylewl]

I've always wondered how you get so many wonky astromech prints when I have literally never had one be crooked! I'm in Australia and I guess the QA is better here too

[@narc1408]

i think there is a special factory making wonky headed droids specially for you :)

[@adamstevenson6122]

Love your Content been following for years all the way since you made her affect your videos. Keep up the great work. Love the videos.

[@whysitthat3515]

I remember the ONE time in recent memory that I got a well-printed astromech. I believe it’s an R4, and when I noticed it was properly printed I was so taken aback lol

[@siobibble9078]

Shame they’re not continuing droid back printing for all r2 units now

[@jamesadowney]

Jang. You've been calling out the "wonky" printing on astromechs for years. And I always thought this was maybe too much to ask of lego on a round part. But if Europe gets straight printing, it means they can do it, and you are right for demanding it.

[@xanderkan2971]

yo @Jang's LEGO Reviews, I believe the reason the wings don't rotate is because the rotating wings wasnt shown in the series. It was for the Kom'rk class fighter/transport, but I don't beleive so for the 1-man fang fighters

[@Daakman]

Your voice soothens my soul, Jang.

[@skyborne80]

I'm glad to finally get an Imperial TIE Interceptor after all these years, but I'm slightly disappointed at the final product. The last TIE style ship I owned was the Fighter from the Solo movie and I thought it was extremely well done. This Interceptor is a slight step backwards in quality imo and those gaps are just incredibly awkward. I wasn't aware of the Fang fighter's wing functionality when I bought this set, so that's certainly a huge miss. However, before I knew that and I was building the Fang, I was pleasantly surprised. For a ship that's just stacked plates, it's done really well. And I absolutely love the forward gray elements. It kind of tricks my eyes into seeing the prongs as curved slightly inward like a beetle's pincers. Very well done by the designer.

[@rarewhiteape]

I am a massive fan of the TIE Interceptor and have been waiting on a minifig scale version since I came out of my dark ages about 12 years ago. I have to say that I think it’s WAY too big. I’ve bought all of the minifig scale TIE variants since 2012 including all the ones seen in Rebels, etc, and between the TIE/LN that came out with the Solo movie and the more recent downsized TIE/LN that came in 2021 (which a lot of people didn’t like) I think this version would be better if it was scaled alongside the smaller one. Placed next to the new TIE Bomber, it is comically large. The bomber fits nicely in-between the most recent TIE/LN scales but the new Interceptor is too big. Yeah I said it. Good build though. I enjoy it a lot.

[@warhead5225]

Lego had the perfect customer in me. The Fang Fighter I found passable enough. I really wanted that Tie interceptor tho so I bought it. Didn’t realize until later the Mando fig(and the exact variant) comes in a $15 set. That’s not cool. They got me. Didn’t realize one of the 4 minifigs was one they cheaped out on rather than going hard for the $100 set of the wave. He’s not even supposed to be there. Last I checked, he had the N1 starfighter. They should’ve included a newer moff Gideon. It would make sense because you could switch out the tie pilot with moff and it would make sense that he’d fly one. With the fleet commander flying the Fang, Mando has no place in this set. Unless it’s another Mandalorian you could switch the fleet commander out with. Repeat minifigs should be kept to a minimum in waves. And they should not be the same exact selling point (variant and all) in a $15 set vs a $100 one. Take better care of your customers who are spending that. I’m not saying we need premium variants of figs from cheaper sets, but newer minifigs entirely that could’ve and should’ve been added especially if they were in the show. Unfortunately, if you want something like beskar Gideon, you’d have to wait until the seasons over. We’ll probably get him in a set in like half a year from now. With this and the Fang Fighter design, Disney needs to be less stingy with letting Lego see what they’ve got cooking so that they can makes sets based off it. So there’s 2 problems currently. 1. Disney doesn’t give Lego enough insight to design models the fans consider accurate 2. Lego will cheap out and reuse a minifig even when it’s the most expensive set of the wave and so that set should probably get some killer minifigs. Idk about the first problem, but the second one has gotten worse as time goes on. Minifigs are just as important. Look online at some of the prices for them now after retired for years. There needs to be more care given to the minifig selection.

[@cameronmcarthur4044]

I really want to see what source images LEGO had to design the Fang Fighter. In the show we only ever saw it from a super wide frame, so a viewer could assume it's an identical model to the one seen in Rebels. But this design is very different with the engine and weapon placement. Also a shame this is combined in one set! It would be great for army building both sides.

[@gregm963]

I don't understand why those gaps are there because Lego has made umpteen TIE variants without gaps. I have zero interest in the fang and would probably give it to my nephew without building. Overall this is a miss.

[@Bucketroo]

Yeah, the TIE Interceptor is pretty good. It will look nice next to my Solo TIE Fighter. That recent Chibi TIE Fighter needed longer struts to truly look like the Rebels TV show version, which is itself based on the original Kenner action figure toy version. LEGO missed a trick with that one.

[@captain_barnacles]

I think it's fair to say many will get this for teh interceptor and feel less keen on the Fang fighter (not thing it even appeared in the final edits of the show) however is a 'nice' model of a spaceship (though could have gone with something a bit more like the Buzz lightyear x15 kit in terms of complexity etc rather than simple plates). The price - certainly in the UK - is crazy, best look for a deal when it's around a third or better off.

[@owene2530]

Man I'd buy this if I wasn't broke 💀

[@fabbricks8138]

I feel you, alot of us are broke in today's world. Majority of the world

[@EchoBaseplates]

Wishing you good fortune.

[@somethingawesome9547]

For the Fang fighter, if any of you have the parts, replacing the dark gray parts with dark blue makes it look real nice.

[@shinkojima8903]

I did get several wonky R2 heads in Europe but when I wrote in to Lego customer service about one of them they at least sent me a perfect one. I don't know if their service is as good in the US.

[@0l3gb4l]

TIE Interceptor looks great ! 🙂👍

[@argosgreen2823]

Thanks for the review! Yeah, those gaps in the middle stand out and tbh honest look awful, we’re accustomed to many types of gaps in such models but this is a first

[@argosgreen2823]

So, really a bunch of “meh” indeed. Durability is an important factor but those gaps and this weird flat Fang fighter as well as emphasis on minifigures (I don’t like when there is no space to place those, as if they are meant to fill a boring set with some kind of meaning) - these things are disappointing Thanks again for an honest review!

[@stoopidapples1596]

Yea the fang fighter looks really gross... The tie interceptor is amazing tho. I hope people figure out some good alt builds for that half of the set.

[@FunksIncKeys]

I , like most, bought this set for the Interceptor. However, the more and more I look at the Fang on display, the more I love it.

[@destinycaptain247]

5:33 - It looks suspiciously like the Thunderfighter from the 70’s Buck Rogers show. That ship was originally to be the design for the Colonial Viper in 70’s Battlestar Galactica. Both ships were designed by legendary Star Wars designer Ralf McQaurrie. True story. And yeah. That set it too damn high. $50/60 at most. I don’t care how comparable it is. Been building since 1975. The pricing absurd at this point. Used to feel bad about buying clones bricks. Not anymore.

[@ed9564]

I would have preferred a TIE Interceptor as the new UCS set, but at least this is a good kit and build!

[@warrennewman5325]

Awesome review jang

[@BrotherDog]

The Fang reminds me so much of the 80s Gil Gerard, Buck Rogers fighter.

[@Greenflame_24]

Harkening back to your TIE-Bomber review, you said the Bomber and regular TIE seemed to fit into the same universe. Would you say the Interceptor also falls into that category, or does it feel different when compared to the others?

[@dgray3771]

I got all 3 and multiple of the regular ties. They feel somewhat the same. They work well. The Interceptor really looks like a larger more menacing foe to deal with.

[@jedisith3864]

The fang fighter that FFG put out for their X-Wing Miniature table top game also had no gyro while U-wing and many other ships were getting more articulate. I really don't think it's a big deal.

[@RoscoeWasHere]

I think the lack of movable wings on the Fang just comes down to budget constraints. In order to design it to include that feature, it would have taken more design engineering and money, and they just didn't want to.

[@jakedaonlysnake]

I'll be grabbing this as soon as it goes on sale for $80 :)

[@Mr.HeisenbergTheCook]

You already get it for 69€ in Germany 😄

[@theodorej.burkhardt8844]

Just my personal opinion, I’ve had this set for a week now: the gaps on the Interceptor are really not that noticeable… and the more I look at it the more I’m starting to like the Fang fighter. It’s small and thin, and the set does feel unbalanced in a way, but I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would. I bought the set for the interceptor, but I’m starting to appreciate both. Overall, a very nice set.

[@empatheticrambo4890]

It’s great to get new tie

[@SaturnCanuck]

Nice review Jang. I agree with most of what you say, but some of my thoughts, as I got this for May the 4th. I agree of the gaps on the Interceptor and I too thought I’d made it wrong. Over all a strong and sturdy build and I agree of the Mini-figs. I had wanted an Interceptor for a long time so perhaps I am biased. The Fang fighter, while good, was not needed. Was in a few shots in two episodes, way in the back, and we had all thought there was a battle between these two ships - but alas, not. I think if they knew of the revolving wings they never would have made it. To be honest, with the 40th of Return of the Jedi, the Interceptor should have been a stand-alone build branded as 40th ROTJ. I would have liked that better.

[@the_corndog_kid_1168]

It’s definitely in scale with the HOLO TIE and Rogue One Striker

[@neph701]

Glad I got this for 72 euros instead of 100 euros. Nice review Jang!

[@garlixbread]

I think this set is great except for the figures, see if these sets were released seperately it would've been Tie Interceptor (70 dollars, 4 figures as seen with the Solo Tie Fighter) Fang Fighter (30 dollars, 3 minifigures) But instead we get 4 figures, which really sucks considering if we could've gotten an Axe Woves for the Fang Fighter, a beskar armored Stormtrooper and a Moff Gideon for the Tie Interceptor and that would made this set perfect, I still don't understand how some magazine got concept art of both of these characters but Lego didn't.

[@MrKlawUK]

the fang fighter almost looks like Buck Roger's spaceship. If it had been sat on by an elephant

[@lbricks7631]

Thats one nice interceptor.

[@MrFranbu67]

even lego now makes unnecessarily large boxes

[@FlymanMS]

Can’t justify $100 in any way. It’s not that exciting set and we don’t get a lot of stuff so $60 tops.

[@Vadahann]

The fang fighter looks like it has been flattened. While the general shape is still there, some proportions are too wide making it looks awkward. The interceptor is fine but considering the various TIEs they made recently it should be more than just fine. The set will work fine enough as a playset but for display I will pass.

[@KarstenDB]

I do like droids... but its so weird to get imperial droids that you don't see on screen, It should have come with a beskar trooper

[@RCmies]

It is quite disappointing to me if the Lego designers don't have enough source material to make the thing actually look like what it's supposed to. I don't think that's something you should be understanding of as that is a major flaw. Why doesn't the fang fighter have any gaps between the fuselage and wings, why don't the wings move, where are the orange stripes? You often complain about prints not being exact same colour as the bricks but this is a much bigger problem when it comes to getting good sets in my opinion.

[@ddrguy3008]

Definitely worth it for the May the 4th freebies or 20% off sale, but otherwise probably not worth the price.

[@rolego168]

This looks good

[@empatheticrambo4890]

It’s surprising to me that there’s that visible gap on the Interceptor... that’s a pretty big miss

[@eastonsaccount]

This set seems pretty great to me but there are always head scratchers like the consistently terrible astromech dome printing/lack of back printing as well as no hair piece for Mando when the unnamed Fleet Commander gets one

[@vincentSD1]

I see that Guardian Games jacket Jang😏

[@bluesquadron8667]

I think a lot of people dont understand that lego cant just make whatever they want. They can only make what disney comissioms and can omly base it on what is shown to them

[@nayrained]

No Din Djarin hairpiece because he can't remove the helmet... This is the way

[@trolldrycken]

I really dislike the decision to bundle these 2 together so they could have a higher price set, when i can imagine very many people just want to complete their tie collection now when we have all three but instead of paying 60-70$ this is 100

[@Johan_S847]

I saw one on the market for 80 euro's. That's a good price isn't it? Don't know if I should wait or not.. I wanted to buy another modular first but now I don't know..

[@moko350]

I'm pretty sure the wings of the fang fighter don't rotate in the show

[@deltawolf8636]

I've built my TIE Interceptor exactly like the instructions shown but mine has been sitting lopsided, like it leans right sharply, and cannot figure it out. Has anyone else had this problem with their Interceptor from this set?

[@MiG-31893]

“Slightly deformed version from rebels” Truer words were never spoken!

[@leftygurl]

i feel like the fang fighter was superfluous to what the designers wanted from this set. i dont even remember seeing them in mando, it was all gauntlets to my recollection. it seems like filler, honestly, it’s just sort of flat, colourless, and generally uninspiring.

[@samhogan3826]

Does anyone have a problem with the interceptor when you place it down the bottom two wings buckle inwards?

[@anm10wolvorinenotapanther32]

My biggest disappointment is definitely the fact that the Fang Fighter lacks it's iconic spinning wings, even if it's accurate to the show or not idc (I've not bothered seeing S3 after hearing it's just TBOBF and Kenobi all over again) but at least it still retains the distinctly flat shape of it and still look darn gorgeous. In terms of the color I don't think the plain white/gray colors of the Fang Fighter is bad which is funny since I'm personally tired of seeing light gray blobs all the time both as a Star Wars and aviation fan. Also I feel the Fang Fighter is a little bit too studdy considering how sleek the "real" thing is,could definitely use some tiles like the TIE-Interceptor did. For the TIE-Interceptor it's definitely almost perfect it really just needs it's cockpit be a lot rounder and the gaps for the wing connectors removed. I think this is a genuinely great set and not a bad purchase in general, though even for 2023 standards this is definitely slightly overpriced, though not by much. I hope LEGO won't take 10 or more years before making a new Fang Fighter there's definitely a lot of room for improvement and also I've been dying to get my hands on a Mandalorian Pilot minifig for a while now and I'm not even a minifigure collector by any means I just love pilot armor in Star Wars, not counting Rebel and Resistance pilots.

[@Dracos145]

Bro, I wish it had a little bit of a better mini figure selection.

[@benjammin3381]

worst thing about the fang fighter is the fact that they have built it before with those turning wing features.

[@LordZenZen1]

It looks quite strange from the front

[@judysears6417]

WHY oh WHY don't they put in GREY technic pins???? what a concept!! And if they don't make them they need to because like on the new Batmotorcycle it looks awful! What is the matter with them?

[@Sonny-vq6qp]

Im watcing this while building the same set😂

[@placenta4850]

After getting into Warhammer 40K lego seems like it’s extremely fairly priced

[@Styreta]

I have like 8 Din Djarin figs from the sets over the years and they all have the saggy visor print on the helmet. I hate it, terrible quality control on those and it looks so so stupid...

[@Llortor]

Far too expensive, bloated by the inclusion of minifigs who have nowhere to be and nothing to do in the context of the set. Lego knows that nobody is or will buy this for the Fang fighter, and it seems like a very strange decision to pack it together like this when every other TIE they've ever released was standalone. They really went and put a cheap alt build with The Thing That Everyone Wants. I'm surprised how it sold out so fast as well and hasnt been restocked.

[@DiggerPat]

Let’s be honest: you pay $100 for a pretty solid TIE design and a bunch of spare parts.

[@KyloRenmcgoo]

Very characteristic of Lego to give the random fleet commander hair but not the main character, I wish they’d stop doing that sort of thing

[@jamesmorgan3623]

I like think the gaps are a homage to the toy's exploding feature.

[@Knightswords]

The bottom plates of the Fang fighter matching the top the plates and tiles color wise is a pretty good indicator that Lego knew the wings were supposed to spin.

[@Lanterns_light]

Pass on this