Inside the Mandalorian covert beneath the surface of the ashen world of Nevarro, the Armorer presides over her forge. Their secrecy is their safety, and the Armorer is their guide to preserving their heritage, concealing their faces, and designating signets for those who have earned them.
And now you can build your own. StarWars.com is excited to reveal a new LEGO Star Wars set, The Armorer's Mandalorian Forge, as seen in The Mandalorian on Disney+, a captivating new release that incorporates exquisite details, functionality, and new minifigures of Paz Vizsla and the Armorer, alongside the titular Mandalorian. We recently sat down with LEGO Star Wars designers Jan Neergaard Olesen and Madison Andrew O’Neil to learn more about the creation of this new play set, available for pre-order in the U.S. exclusively at Target and LEGO retail stores starting today and arriving September 1 worldwide.
StarWars.com: This is such a lovely set. The Armorer's forge is a small but incredibly important moment in storytelling for The Mandalorian. What made you want to recreate it in LEGO form?
Jan Neergaard Olesen: The Armorer's forge is a very important place -- sort of the heart and central part of the Mandalorian's hideout on Nevarro, where they have their armor and helmets made -- and there are some very cool and iconic characters present in the scenes.
We wanted right from the start to recreate that important scene in LEGO bricks with the key ingredients from the iconic scenes with the characters, and with what we think was the most important things in the interior: the forge, the tools cabinet, the table where Mando and the Armorer sit and talk, the computer panel with the holographic view of the armor for Mando, and so on.
StarWars.com: There are so many great details and minifigures here. I think this is the first time we're seeing the Armorer realized as a minifigure, and the heavy Mando, Paz Vizsla. What details were essential for capturing those intricate costumes and setting each individual Mandalorian apart within the constraints of the size and types of pieces available?
Madison Andrew O’Neil: I believe one of the most challenging aspects of creating this set was designing the character Paz Vizsla. He's such a cool looking character and this was an ideal set to be able to include him in, but his overall size and unique armor shape posed some problems. One of the most important things we needed to do was to make him look bigger -- give him a bigger silhouette. For that we decided to make a brand-new armor piece that we can use for any “big brute” type characters. His helmet is also quite different from the other Mandalorian helmets so it was important to make use of the decoration in a way that would shape the helmet to make it look unique.
For the Armorer, one of the key features that distinguishes her from other Mandalorians is her helmet, so we created a new element to closely capture her look. She has a series of horns across the top, as well as a very uniquely shaped visor that we created with decoration.
StarWars.com: The playability is really fun. The forge moves and you can see the plans for the armor and the Armorer's tools. What's your favorite small detail from this set?
Madison Andrew O’Neil: The Mandalorian armor hologram printed on the transparent round brick was a fun detail to be able to include in the surrounding workshop, and a callback to the show.
Jan Neergaard Olesen: For me, personally, the best detail is the tools cabinet where there is a lot of playability. The challenge was to make it small enough, and still have the ability to contain some tools hanging on the wall and some “surprise elements” in the canisters. If the fights should get too messy, a blaster pistol and thermal detonator will always come in handy. And a spare beskar armor part is always good to have.
Another small detail that I also like is the forging hammer and the big tong beside the forge that the Armorer uses when she fights the stormtroopers.
