Knights of the Old Republic has no shortage of strong female characters, regardless of whether they are Force wielders or just regular people trying to make their way in the universe. The street smart Mission Vao and conflicted Jedi known as Juhani are only two of many great characters in the series’s first installment, and now they are here, brought back in Lego form!
Juhani:
When your party reaches Dantooine in the first Knights of the Old Republic game, her inner turmoil is affecting the native wildlife throughout a once peaceful valley. Being pulled to the extremes of light and dark caused groups of local kath hounds to become aggressive, in turn causing attacks on nearby settlements. The player character has options, and can either encourage her fall to the dark side or sway her toward the light once more. Female player characters, in time, can also pursue a romance path with Juhani, who was the first lesbian character written into the Star Wars universe. (You can read about that arc specifically and other LGBTQ+ Star Wars characters in one of my favorite articles here.)
Purist Juhani Parts:
- Similar to my custom Bastila, Juhani uses the body of a Naboo security officer, the blue version with sand blue arms. Hands can be swapped to flesh color, though I used a slightly different shade.
- The head piece I used is from The Ancient One (from the Doctor Strange set, piece ID 3626cpb1644.) Originally the lines represent tattoos on the side and back of the character’s head, but I used the piece to represent the cat-like fur around Juhani’s face.
- Ponytail is created using a single stud with a hole in it, pearl gold, and a black ponytail piece from masks in the Ninjago theme. Brown could also be used here, though black also looks good and is more affordable than similar pieces in brown. (For example, Aura Sing’s ponytail is much more expensive on BrickLink, being exclusive to her figure.)
- Lastly, sand blue legs match the sleeves of her tunic. A blue lightsaber is most commonly associated with her, but if you’d rather she chose the dark side (or just a different color blade) you can give her any saber you wish.
With the ponytail pulled to one side you can see the hair-like pattern on the back of the head. The torso I used also has back printing. I believe there is an earlier version out there without back printing, so the choice is yours – if you like extra printing, be sure to check which version you have or are shopping for.
Mission Vao:
An orphan with only an older brother as her known familial connection, Mission grew up in rough circumstances. Her brother was a gambler, con artist, and drinker who routinely failed at his get rich quick schemes. Her most recent home, the planet Taris, is similar to Coruscant. An endless expanse of skyscrapers covers the planet’s surface. Those seen as less-desirable, namely the poor and many alien species, are banned from the upper levels and populate slums beneath the towering upper city. The under city is plagued with disease and crime, and it’s here that Mission begins learning crucial skills as a child.
In the game, Mission introduces stealth mechanics. Thanks to a personal stealth field generator, she can sneak attack enemies or avoid them altogether. She is also a proficient slicer (computer hacker) and a good shot with a blaster. Thanks to time spent with her loyal best friend Zaalbar the Wookiee, she can also understand the Shriiywook language. Sadly, I am using a stand-in for Big Z, but I’m very happy with how Mission turned out in Lego form.
Purist Mission Parts:
- Mission mainly uses parts from a fellow Twi’Lek, Aayla Secura. The head, lekku (headgear,) and right arm all come from Aayla as seen in the 75182 Republic Fighter Tank set. The head has an alternate angry expression for fight scenes. Hands are swapped to black to represent gloves and obviously a matching blue arm is added.
- The torso is one of the rebels from the Rogue One rebel battle pack (set 75164.) Arms are switched to the blue ones mentioned previously.
- Mission’s legs are from a collectible minifigure, the Spooky Boy from series 16. This captures her grey pants as well as high boots, and honestly the wallet chain isn’t out of place in my opinion.
- Lastly, add a preferred blaster. Default usually winds up being the small blaster pistol (with or without a technic pin added to the barrel.) Mission is also seen using blades on occasion in-game, so a sword or knife would also be appropriate.
I hope you enjoyed this batch of customs, and thanks for reading!
-David
TheEmpiresElite.com 