I dig these “adventure sets” that Hasbro is pumping out on an annual basis.  I wish there were more of them.  They provide the much needed backdrops to the figures we own, and put the “world” in world-building.  Some might complain about the price, missing accessories, lame figure pack-ins, or a lack of perceived value, but to me, these sets are all fantastic.  I’ve bought multiples of all of them so far, even though I can pick out some deficiencies for each.  In the end, these help bring our displays to the next level, instead of just having our figures posed around a blank canvas. 

This is the first set that wasn’t inspired by the Original Trilogy.  This one comes from current media, “The Mandalorian”, to be exact.  It includes much of what is needed to help complete (or nearly) complete a major set piece from the last 2 episodes of Season 1.  Using the “battle damaged” side of the cardboard window insert, along with several pieces of broken barware, you can have your Din Djarin, Cara Dune, Grogu, and IG-11 make a last stand against Moff Gideon and his troops.  While we lack Greef Karga in his proper season 1 attire, you can pretend that the one we have from season 2 works well enough if you remove his cape.  As for Gideon, the set comes with Death Trooper, which many collectors have already army built, as well as stormtroopers, flame troopers, and the Imperial Troop Transport.  We’re even getting an updated E-Web canon, although you could use one that already exists in the line.  Oh, and if you want to litter the interior with bodies, you can use your Remnant Stormtroopers and Death Star Droid to add some depth.  Besides The Client, The only major thing we’re missing is Gideon’s TIE Fighter.  So Hasbro has done an excellent job of nearly completing the scene.  We could almost say that we’ve “Scene It.” 

If you prefer to go the peaceful route, flip the window to the undamaged side, and you can use the various pieces of pristine barware to accessorize the cantina.  Populate it with the Death Star Droid as a bartender, and throw in whatever backgrounder figures you see fit.  While this comes with 2 barstools, it does lack the booth that Mando uses to meet with Karga.  While not quite as dramatic as the battle scene, it still makes for a striking setting.

The set comes with 4 main components - the wall/window, the bar, part of an arch, and a doorway.  They can be configured a bit to your liking, and can also be combined with additional sets.  While the window has clean and damaged sides, the cardboard door only has one printed side, but is removable so as to be displayable either opened or closed. 

While previous sets were slim in the accessory category, this set goes all out with the bar.  You get several stackable “frame” pieces (3 slightly different kinds that work in specific ways) that hold the multi-color decanters, which in turn have blasted and intact versions.  A trio of bottles also come in broken and in tact versions.  A bottle of spotchka and 2 drinking glasses help round out the bar display.  Lastly, you get 2 bar stools.

Hasbro opted for a re-carded Imperial Death Trooper, going for the Mando logo and the “Nevarro” parenthetical.  A nice choice.  While unlikely too many people would be picking up 6 of these sets, fortunately many collectors stockpiled enough Death Troopers from previous releases to make the 6-trooper team that arrives outside the cantina.  The figure was already reviewed in depth several times, but if you want more detail, take a look at our VC127 write-up.  The main difference here is that this figure does not include the removable body harness/pauldron combo.  True to their appearance in the episode, these Death Troopers are “naked”.  The figure includes the same rifle and blaster that accompanied previous releases.

I have no issue with the cardboard, as Hasbro opted for this to save money rather than go the all-plastic route.  I think the cardboard works well-enough, and is easy to flip/remove.  The only real complaint I have, and it’s a bit of a bummer, is that the cantina walls are not double-sided.  This was one of the drawbacks of the original Adventure Set, the Jabba’s Palace set.  That one was a great representation of the carbon block wall, but the backside was unsculpted and gave you no additional display value.  This was remedied to great success in the Tantive IV set, which not only gave us the main hallways, but also the alcove where Leia programmed R2.  Sadly, this set didn’t go that extra step and give us the cantina exterior.  So if you want to depict the battle, you’ll have to do so from the perspective of the heroes inside.  Hopefully any future playsets will pick up on the Tantive’s double-sided nature.

That complaint aside, this is a really nice set, and a great way to compliment the figures and toys we have from the Nevarro battle.