Review: 75408 Jango Fett Helmet
Posted by CapnRex101,
Mandalorian helmets have become a symbol of Star Wars, hence their several appearances in the Helmet Collection. Fortunately, the helmets have improved every time and Jango Fett's blue-accented headgear certainly looks good.
75408 Jango Fett Helmet faithfully captures the desired shape and colours, though the quantity of stickers above the visor is a concern.
Summary
75408 Jango Fett Helmet, 616 pieces.
£69.99 / $69.99 / €79.99 | 11.4p/11.4c/13.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Jango Fett's helmet is expensive and the stickers are irritating, but it looks fantastic
- Accurate shaping on all sides
- Appealing colours on display
- Large number of stickers
- Overpriced, especially in Europe
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The Completed Model
Like others in the collection, Jango Fett's helmet is presented on a black plinth and measures almost 19cm in height, excluding the rangefinder. The blue and grey colours used for Jango's helmet are unique though, which is appreciated in a series dominated by more muted shades thus far.
Naturally, there are plenty of shared features between the three Mandalorian helmets, but their development over time is clear. 75277 Boba Fett Helmet captured the general shape fairly well, before 75328 The Mandalorian Helmet followed with subtler angles and better sculpting around the visor. Jango's helmet makes a few more improvements, most notably on the cheek panels.
2x5 wedge slopes are used to superb effect on the cheeks, matching the tapered shape of the original helmet. Additionally, the combination of blue and dark blue pieces is effective and I like how the visor is constructed. Its vertical section is perhaps a little too wide, but it certainly looks better here than on Din Djarin's helmet, which features a much narrower visor onscreen.
The arrows and black stripes over the visor are a distinguishing feature of Jango's helmet, so I am pleased to see those represented. However, the stripes require fourteen stickers and many are repeated, so it feels like they could have been printed. I suppose the stickers mean you can line up the stripes more accurately than printed parts might be, but that is little consolation.
Unsurprisingly, the model is constructed very similarly to 75328 The Mandalorian Helmet, with clips securing the cheeks and small ball joints the angled panels on each side. The curved top has been altered though, now incorporating a few slopes to soften anywhere the layered plates change direction.
There are obviously some colourful elements inside, but these are completely hidden once the helmet is complete. The rangefinder design comes from 75349 Captain Rex Helmet and again offers a great improvement over Boba Fett's helmet, as the rangefinder's proportions are much better and it lines up correctly with the visor when lowered.
Din Djarin's helmet is flat at the back, unlike Jango and Boba Fett, whose helmets flare out very slightly. The whole rear panel is therefore attached with small ball joints, so its angle reflects the design from Attack of the Clones. This seems basic, but requires this panel to be mounted lower than others, creating just enough of a gap for the angle to work.
Overall
As the third Mandalorian helmet in this collection, 75408 Jango Fett Helmet is not particularly innovative. Even so, its design is impressive, taking the best qualities from other helmets and making further refinements where possible. The use of 2x5 wedge slopes for the cheek plates and creating an angle at the back are two definite improvements, for instance.
The stickers are the model's most significant problem, primarily because so many are repeated and seem suited to printed parts. Eight are placed on 1x3 curved slopes, for example. Also, the European prices of £69.99 or €79.99 seem pretty expensive, relative to other helmets, whereas $69.99 in the US is more like what I expected. Still, when discounted, this is a worthy addition to the series.
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33 comments on this article
How has this line not died already
And how come everyone complains about the Starship Collection not having minifigures but these are somehow fine
Those stickers....especially in a €80 set consisting of just 600 mostly pretty common pieces, that's really telling how Lego thinks about their customers.
That said...the good thing about stickers in this particular case is it's all up to you how well they align. With print's you'd be pretty sure the alignment would be all over the place....
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"How has this line not died already
And how come everyone complains about the Starship Collection not having minifigures but these are somehow fine"
I imagine it’s because a lot of people like them and buy them.
Are we at the point where it is self-evident to say a LEGO Star Wars set is overpriced and has too many stickers? It's like saying this water is too wet
A great sub theme with many designs left to do. Long may it continue.
Arguably one of the best Lego sw helmets. Also great review!
It's pronounced "Jango." The "D" is silent.
@WizardOfOss said:
"Those stickers....especially in a €80 set consisting of just 600 mostly pretty common pieces, that's really telling how Lego thinks about their customers.
That said...the good thing about stickers in this particular case is it's all up to you how well they align. With print's you'd be pretty sure the alignment would be all over the place...."
Which in itself says a lot about the company who's motto used to be "only the best is good enough".
Other manufacturers, most of whom offer far cheaper products than the Danes, have proven for years how good prints can be.
This looks like a fantastic helmet, definitely the best between the three Mando helmets, imo.
I wonder why the Kylo helmet has all those printed pieces and Jango has stickers? Very interesting.
Your helmet is very impressive you must be very proud
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"How has this line not died already
And how come everyone complains about the Starship Collection not having minifigures but these are somehow fine"
Minifigures should only ever be in minifigure-scale sets.
@BabuBrick said:
"This looks like a fantastic helmet, definitely the best between the three Mando helmets, imo.
I wonder why the Kylo helmet has all those printed pieces and Jango has stickers? Very interesting."
Kylo Ren is extremely popular - even the aftermarket prices for stuff related to him tend to be several times that of equivalent sets, at least based on when I was trying to pick up microfighters. I suspect they looked at their sales data (and, if they’re sensible, also those aftermarket prices) and made a guess as to which is going to have bigger numbers and therefore justify the expense of printing.
Which I do not say to justify the choice - I think they ought to have printed both.
@Hiratha said:
" @BabuBrick said:
"This looks like a fantastic helmet, definitely the best between the three Mando helmets, imo.
I wonder why the Kylo helmet has all those printed pieces and Jango has stickers? Very interesting."
Kylo Ren is extremely popular - even the aftermarket prices for stuff related to him tend to be several times that of equivalent sets, at least based on when I was trying to pick up microfighters. I suspect they looked at their sales data (and, if they’re sensible, also those aftermarket prices) and made a guess as to which is going to have bigger numbers and therefore justify the expense of printing.
Which I do not say to justify the choice - I think they ought to have printed both."
The designer of Kylo Ren’s helmet touched on this a bit in the May 4th livestream. He said something about the silver being integral to the design of Kylo’s helmet, hence they were able to get prints. I would guess the lines on Jango’s helmet are seen as a more minor detail.
@Hiratha said:
" @BabuBrick said:
"This looks like a fantastic helmet, definitely the best between the three Mando helmets, imo.
I wonder why the Kylo helmet has all those printed pieces and Jango has stickers? Very interesting."
Kylo Ren is extremely popular - even the aftermarket prices for stuff related to him tend to be several times that of equivalent sets, at least based on when I was trying to pick up microfighters. I suspect they looked at their sales data (and, if they’re sensible, also those aftermarket prices) and made a guess as to which is going to have bigger numbers and therefore justify the expense of printing.
Which I do not say to justify the choice - I think they ought to have printed both."
Makes sense. He's my favorite Star Wars villain. And he's got more screentime than Jango.
I always thought it was kinda dumb that they killed off Jango in Episode II. Like, it would've been interesting for him to see the results of his Clone Army, and the eventual impact it had on the Galaxy.
@TheMikeStrikesBack said:
"I would guess the lines on Jango’s helmet are seen as a more minor detail.
"
Honestly, they're the kind of minor detail I hadn't ever noticed before. If I got this set for myself, I'd leave off all the stickers, since they're just for the thin lines around the top of the helmet. I usually leave off a lot of the stickers when I build a set.
*Brick-built Temuera Morrison head not included underneath.
There will always be a demand for helmets much like there is for the plethora of sub-themes under Star Wars (and other licenses). Helmets/Starships/Microfighters/Dioramas/Character Builds/Droids/UCS/MBS on top of just minifig-based sets. Marketing knows they have to feed all these demands but I would be good if they would either pare back or even produce sets on an alternating year, which it seems like they have done for Helmets and Dioramas.
Having been a "completionist" since the beginning (1999) will admit that even 10 years ago there has been a change to my buying habits...and this was reinforced 2 years ago with the hefty price hikes over the summer. Repeat UCS sets have not entered my collection esp. if they are more than CAD$400...the disposable income is no longer there.
@AustinPowers said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"Those stickers....especially in a €80 set consisting of just 600 mostly pretty common pieces, that's really telling how Lego thinks about their customers.
That said...the good thing about stickers in this particular case is it's all up to you how well they align. With print's you'd be pretty sure the alignment would be all over the place...."
Which in itself says a lot about the company who's motto used to be "only the best is good enough".
Other manufacturers, most of whom offer far cheaper products than the Danes, have proven for years how good prints can be."
@CapnRex101 said: "The stickers are the model's most significant problem"
The color-matching seems pretty good in the above photos. However, I've seen American reviews with awful mismatched stickers for this set. The Mexican factory can't get stickers or droid heads printed correctly. :(
@AustinPowers said:
"
Which in itself says a lot about the company who's motto used to be "only the best is good enough".
"
They changed the motto to "good enough is the best".
@Maxbricks14 said:
"*Brick-built Temuera Morrison head not included underneath."
It should have a display stand that looks like the hands of a young Daniel Logan.
@WizardOfOss said:
"Those stickers....especially in a €80 set consisting of just 600 mostly pretty common pieces, that's really telling how Lego thinks about their customers.
That said...the good thing about stickers in this particular case is it's all up to you how well they align. With print's you'd be pretty sure the alignment would be all over the place...."
Trust me, with my skill it'll always be wonkier than prints!
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"*Brick-built Temuera Morrison head not included underneath."
It should have a display stand that looks like the hands of a young Daniel Logan."
Perhaps the black base represents dedicated tissue?
Too soon?
Too late?
I'll eat my hat.
@CCC said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"
Which in itself says a lot about the company who's motto used to be "only the best is good enough".
"
They changed the motto to "good enough is the best"."
We used the phrase "Only good enough is the best" at the Lego store I worked at, whenever stuff like this would come up. Just not on the salesfloor.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"*Brick-built Temuera Morrison head not included underneath."
It should have a display stand that looks like the hands of a young Daniel Logan."
Perhaps the black base represents dedicated tissue?
Too soon?
Too late?
I'll eat my hat."
Shooting that take took *forever*.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"*Brick-built Temuera Morrison head not included underneath."
It should have a display stand that looks like the hands of a young Daniel Logan."
Perhaps the black base represents dedicated tissue?
Too soon?
Too late?
I'll eat my hat."
Shooting that take took *forever*."
*desiccated (darn auto substitution)
It will complete my mandalorian helmet collection , only because I was able to get one with a discount: 64.99€ on cdiscount. I know have to find a minifig to put next to it, like I did for Mando, Boba, Rex et Cody.
@legomaster65 said:
" @CCC said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"
Which in itself says a lot about the company who's motto used to be "only the best is good enough".
"
They changed the motto to "good enough is the best"."
We used the phrase "Only good enough is the best" at the Lego store I worked at, whenever stuff like this would come up. Just not on the salesfloor."
I suspected as much.
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"How has this line not died already
And how come everyone complains about the Starship Collection not having minifigures but these are somehow fine"
Although this is seemingly an unpopular opinion I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. I bought one of the first ones that came out (Boba Fett's helmet) and can honestly say that this series is among the most boring among all the different themes I have tried since escaping my dark ages a little more than a decade ago...
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"How has this line not died already
And how come everyone complains about the Starship Collection not having minifigures but these are somehow fine"
They wouldn't keep making them if people weren't buying them.
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"How has this line not died already"
Oh, just because you don't like them?
How bizarre!
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"How has this line not died already
And how come everyone complains about the Starship Collection not having minifigures but these are somehow fine"
I mean personally I love these sets , and I don't mind at all that they don't come with minifigs. I don't see any reason for them to come with them. I buy Lego sets like this to put on a shelf and display, Minifigs are cool, but only really make sense in a play set or a ucs set where the plaque is big enough to put a minifigure on without it looking weird.
@the_asgardian said:
" @WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"How has this line not died already
And how come everyone complains about the Starship Collection not having minifigures but these are somehow fine"
I mean personally I love these sets , and I don't mind at all that they don't come with minifigs. I don't see any reason for them to come with them. I buy Lego sets like this to put on a shelf and display, Minifigs are cool, but only really make sense in a play set or a ucs set where the plaque is big enough to put a minifigure on without it looking weird."
C'mon, you don't think it would be amusing to have this thing plonked down on top of a standard minifig?
Rewatching Ep2 today, and it seemed an appropriate time to document this. At 1:53:15, just after Windu has decapitated Jango, and the latter's body has slumped to the ground, they cut to a patch of the arena floor. You can see two shadows going from the left side of the screen to the right. The smaller shadow on the right continues off the right side of the screen, while the shadow on the left ends up converging with Jango's helmet when it lands on the ground. The other shadow is clearly meant to represent Jango's head, without earning an R-rating for the film. So, empty helmet when Boba picks it up.
And an odd thing that I just noticed after all these years. He's wearing a different jetpack in this scene, that doesn't have the long missile projecting from the center like the one Boba wears in the OT. That much I'd known (Hasbro released Jango with both jetpacks, to represent his appearances on Kamino and Geonosis). What I hadn't noticed before is that the little dome in the center, that looks like it was taken from a jet engine, gets partially chopped off when Jango's beheaded.