LEGO One Piece 75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker review

LEGO One Piece 75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker leaves something to be desired compared to the stunning Loguetown, yet is still charming. 

75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker is one of the new mid-range LEGO One Piece Season 2 sets, taking the opportunity to depict a slice of the sprawling Loguetown. However, it comes with an unfortunately split focus.

The set’s representation of Loguetown consists of just two buildings and a market stall, all of which are relevant and accurate to the season. They fail to capture the elegant architecture of the town, though – the scenes of which were shot in the Italian Riviera, setting lofty expectations.

The set’s piece count doesn’t allow for a huge amount of detail, to be fair, especially when much of it goes towards a detailed motorcycle and other side builds. Despite what we feel is a missed opportunity, the buildings themselves have enough space for play and exteriors that are great to admire. Their stickered references are especially inviting, and you’ll find yourself taking a moment to appreciate the Easter eggs during the build. 

Unfortunately, these two connected buildings come across as too small for the cost, but the rest of the set helps make up for that. 75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker is based mostly on the scene where Sanji and Luffy take on Captain Smoker, despite the buildings suggesting otherwise. The presence of the smoke legs and motorcycle reinforces the play potential for this scene. The Captain’s smoke form is a fantastic addition to the build that doesn’t take up too much of the budget and provides a new piece.

The bike is a different story, but it’s hard to imagine a Captain Smoker minifigure without his three-wheeled bike. The motorcycle build is notably part-dense, and we can’t help but wonder how much better the buildings would have looked without it. 

Despite our concerns with the two buildings, 75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker’s contents are far from bad and teeming with charm. We just wish there was more in the model to make sense of the price. For instance, at least two minifigures are missing. Tashigi and Zoro need to be visiting Ipponmatsu’s armament shop but are nowhere to be found in the set.

Instead, you can find the duo and another slice of Loguetown in the much more costly 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship for £149.99 / $179.99 / €169.99. It leaves 75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker looking like an add-on to that larger build. However, we don’t have this issue with the minifigures that are included in this set.

Captain Smoker is fantastic, even without the cigars, which would go against the LEGO Group’s values and are therefore excluded. Luffy and Sanji have exclusive outfits, and the latter character was hard to find in the previous LEGO One Piece wave. Then you have Dragon.

Without going into spoilers, Dragon is a hugely important character in later One Piece arcs, which the live-action may never get to considering how much ground it still has to cover. As a One Piece fan, Dragon’s inclusion in any LEGO set is fantastic. As a LEGO fan, this purple suit is sure to be useful in other minifigures. Dragon is simply an incredible addition to 75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker. 

What minifigures are present here are amazing, but the set is still felt to be lacking at least two. Even Zoro alone would have greatly increased the overall value.

We can’t deny that 75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker is overall worse value than all of the first wave of LEGO One Piece, and most of its second wave. That’s in a theme that continues to boast excellent value across its sets, though. This one is only fine in comparison. 

Indeed, it's not without flaws – yet through Easter eggs and other thoughtful inclusions, the model is packed with charm. Don’t feel bad about picking it up at launch in August if you want it day one – even if that means paying full price – but ideally wait for a sale on this one.

75642 Showdown with Captain Smoker will be available from August 1, 2026, for £54.99 / $69.99 / €69.99.

This LEGO set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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