I found The Mandalorian season 3 to be a bit of a mixed bag. Some episodes were properly dramatic and interesting, while others fell flat and felt like filler. And if I’m being honest, I’m done with Grogu, aka Baby Yoda. But I can’t blame Spaceships for this season.
what we play
Welcome! This column is part of a series in which members of the Tom’s Guide staff share what they’re playing and enjoying right now, with the goal of helping you find great games you might have missed. Be sure to check out our previous entry where we also talk about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and how it’s a game about breaking things.
Star Wars has always had good starships, which despite being in the sci-fi rather than sci-fi genre, still offer iconic designs. From the hamburger-shaped Millennium Falcon to the brutal trio of Star Destroyers of the Empire, Star Wars ships have almost always been the scene-stealers. And that was true of the latest entry in The Mandalorian.
Not only did we get to see Bo-Katan Kryze’s starfighter in action, but also a lot of the excellent TIE Interceptor (an underappreciated TIE ship in my humble opinion) and the Fang fighter that the Mandalorians wield. They look great on screen, so when I was shown the Lego set, consisting of both of the latter two ships, courtesy of the UK retailer GameI picked them up.
This is the way
Since adult Lego is definitely a thing, I have no problem being a 36-year-old sifting through bricks and other parts to make a model. But I’ve never played Star Wars Lego. Nostalgia rules this viewpoint, as I feast my eyes on the old and much discontinued Castle and Space Lego sets; To me, Star Wars Lego felt too rigid, matching licensed designs rather than offering something new and original.
However, I found myself spending several two- to three-hour sessions hunched over a table in my dimly lit apartment assembling a Fang Fighter and a TIE Interceptor. What I thought would be an overly standard experience relying on custom parts, ended up being a much more elaborate and refined process. Everything from the engines to the panels to the wings are built and layered using parts I’m familiar with from my childhood in the early 90’s.
There was an unexpected complication of the entire building project, with so much detail given to parts of the ship that could not be seen from the outside. I found myself wondering how the designers come up with such creations and filtering them into easy-to-follow instructions; I’m sure they have all kinds of CAD programs and engineering or design degrees, but I was still confused.
All of this focused the practical side of my mind, and let the rest of my thoughts wander, almost in a form of meditation. Again, I’m not really one to indulge in adult Lego — I simply have too many other things already vying for my attention — but the timing of the arrival of this Lego set ended up being a minor marvel of mineral health.
disintegration and building
This is because I broke up with my girlfriend. Even for an emotionally nearly dead drone, I found this sad. And because I live alone I could feel sad.
I certainly have many games and gadgets that distract me, from God of War Ragnarok to PSVR 2. But I often need to be in the right frame of mind to think about such things. So I needed a more worldly distraction which yielded something.
I can’t sew, draw, or paint. My DIY skills are more destructive than constructive. And only so many can cook in one day. So I turned to a Lego Star Wars set, dumped some bricks and pieces onto my table, and immersed myself in the surprisingly thick instruction books.
The pseudo-meditative state allowed me to process my feelings without too much self-pity, and at the end of it I had two fairly neat models with many miniatures – I appreciated a good miniature for decorating the desk and window. I’m not a doctor or psychiatrist, but for the moments when you need to address something difficult, I think you could do a lot worse than opening a box of Lego instead of a crate of beer.
As for the Fang Fighter and TIE Interceptor themselves, I have to say I’m impressed. There’s a lot of detail, especially on the Interceptor, with the Lego aesthetic really complementing the star Wars brand’s sci-fi tough and lived-in look.
At $99 / £89, the Mandalorian Fang Fighter vs. The TIE Interceptor is far from a quick buy. But I think Star Wars fans will get a kick out of it. And it’s worth looking for different deals, as Star Wars Lego can often be discounted at sales events like Amazon Prime Day.
So while the column is about PC games that Tom’s Guide has been playing and is still playing, it was different for me this week, and my next steps would be to find a place to feature the Lego Starfighters games virtually. The younger Roland would have taken it apart and made something new.
But I fear those days of creativity are behind me, and all my inspiration comes out in the form of words to you, dear reader, even if you may not agree with a great deal of them.
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