Star Wars

Mandalorian Fang Fighter vs. TIE Interceptor

One nearly flawless little ship, one that made me wish LEGO had tried a bit harder.

Brick Rated Score

3.9/5

Set 75348 · 2023

Pieces957

Minifigs4

Year2023

Set number75348

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The verdict

The TIE Interceptor is the reason to buy this box, and I say that as someone who went in expecting to love the Fang Fighter more.

The Interceptor's solar array wings are shaped so cleanly that I kept turning it over to admire the angles, while the Fang Fighter, honestly, is a slab of white and light grey panels with fixed wings and none of the rotating cockpit that makes the real ship special. Two swooshable fighters plus four figures for a hundred dollars is fair, and now that it has retired it is worth chasing if you want the pair. Just know going in that you are buying one great ship and one merely fine one.

Best for: Star Wars display fans who mainly want a crisp midsize TIE Interceptor

The full review

What it is

This is a two-in-one Star Wars set built around a face-off, the Mandalorian Fang Fighter against a classic TIE Interceptor, with 957 pieces and four figures to fill both cockpits. I came to it assuming the Fang Fighter would steal my heart, since I love the Mandalorian ships, and instead the TIE Interceptor is what got me. Those angled solar-array wings are shaped with wedge plates that come together so cleanly they look almost machined, and the whole fighter feels solid in the hand rather than fiddly. It is the kind of midsize ship that photographs beautifully and takes up just the right amount of shelf.

The catch

I'll be straight with you about the other half of the box. The Fang Fighter is a letdown compared to its rival. It builds up as a run of white and light grey panels without much drama in the process, and the cockpit is fixed as one solid piece, so you lose the rotating cockpit that makes the actual Mandalorian ship so distinctive. The wingtip laser cannons look lovely but snap off if you handle the ship the way anyone would want to, and the spring-loaded shooters have a habit of firing themselves the moment you start swooshing. At the full hundred-dollar price the pairing is fair value, but the two ships are not equal partners, and you feel that gap while you build.

Who it's for

If you want a clean TIE Interceptor for display and are happy to treat the Fang Fighter as a bonus, this is an easy set to recommend, especially now that it has retired and the hunt is part of the fun. Younger builders around nine and up will get a proper dogfight out of the two ships and the four figures. The people I would gently steer away are Mandalorian purists who care about screen accuracy, since the Fang Fighter reportedly never even appears in the season three finale it is meant to represent, and anyone who wants both models to feel equally special. Buy it for the Interceptor and let the Fang Fighter be the sidekick.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The whole thing goes together in about an hour across the two ships, and it is a friendly build with no real technical hurdles, which makes it a nice one to do in an evening. The Interceptor is where the cleverness lives, with the wing structure clicking into those crisp angles and holding firm once assembled. The Fang Fighter, by contrast, is mostly panel work in white and light grey, functional but not thrilling, and you will notice how quickly it comes together compared to its rival.

For parts hunters, the draws here are the figures and the prints rather than exotic new molds. The Mandalorian arrives with a darksaber and a helmet print that was new for May 2023, and he sits alongside a Fleet Commander with jetpack, a TIE Pilot and the little R2-E6 astromech, two of the four being exclusive to this set at release. There is a healthy pile of light grey and white wedge and slope pieces useful for anyone building their own starfighters, so the near-960-piece count spreads across two full models and lands as reasonable rather than generous.

Fun facts

01The set retired in December 2024 after a shelf life of roughly one year and eight months, and sealed copies now trade a little below the original hundred-dollar price.
02The real Fang Fighter is famous for a cockpit that rotates independently of its wings, but LEGO built this one as a single fixed piece, so that signature trick did not make the cut.
03The Fang Fighter reportedly never appears in the season three finale it is tied to, which made this one of the more loosely-sourced Star Wars releases of its year.
04The Mandalorian minifigure's helmet print in this set was a fresh design introduced for May 2023.