LEGO Star Wars N-1 Starfighter shines thanks to drum-lacquered parts

A selection of new drum-lacquered silver pieces included in 75442 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter give the LEGO Star Wars ship its distinctive look.

This year’s May the 4th UCS set has been officially revealed, with 75442 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter arriving in time for LEGO Star Wars Day 2026. The largest version of Din Djarin’s modified Naboo ship to date can be assembled from 1,809 pieces, including a number of all-new drum-lacquered silver elements.

Those specific parts were highlighted by Master Model Designer César Soares in an interview with Brick Fanatics at last year’s Fan Media Days event (which you can watch here), as he talked through the specific requirements for 75442 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter.

The vehicle certainly wasn't an easy shape to create in LEGO form and while some fans might have wanted the ship to be all chrome, the designer himself notes there is a line on the original craft that shows where the yellow paint of the old Naboo vessel has peeled away, so the model is as accurate as it can be.

“If you look at images of the real thing,” César explained, “everything is silver, right? But there is a section in the front, there are kind of two triangles [at the front] that have a shinier silver shade. We decided to have that one with drum-lacquered elements and also the engines because they have the same shade as this part.”

That design decision doesn’t seem to have been a completely straightforward process though, leading to some internal debate as to exactly which silver pieces in the LEGO Star Wars UCS set would be getting the drum-lacquered treatment.

“We recoloured, I think, 11 elements to drum-lacquer and it required some convincing because quality control is very adamant about being the best we can have and some elements don’t really get the best quality when they’re drum-lacquered.”

During the recent May the 4th livestream event, César expanded on some of those same drum-lacquered silver parts, pointing out the pieces that were utilised for the front conical sections of both engine intakes.

“We model designers are proud when we don’t have to do new elements because we like to use [parts] that we have already. We tried different things with other elements but they were just not quite right, so we designed this one that you have right here.”

75442 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter will launch on May 1, 2026 for LEGO Insiders, then receive wider availability from May 4. The LEGO Star Wars set is priced at £229.99 / $249.99 / €249.99 and qualifies for a free 40917 The Darksaber GWP and 5010320 The Mandalorian and Grogu Display from May 1 to May 6 (while stocks last).

To find out all you need to know about this year’s LEGO Star Wars Day, check out the full details of May the 4th 2026 right here.

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