LEGO Star Wars sets

[GoN2Broadway]

There's a lot to discuss in terms of the difference in Star Wars Lego when it first began, and the focus of today's Star Wars Lego. As mentioned multiple times before, the sets now are quite wonderful in terms of sleekness, quality, and playability (most of the time ;) ). The focus has moved towards a more realistic Lego design (for most Lego set designs, not just Star Wars). I personally love the move towards a more realistic vehicle, although this is sometimes at the cost of new, specific pieces which do occasionally limit our imagination building (or at least until we figure out how to incorporate new parts into our arsenal of designs).

In regards to the costs, of course prices have risen because of the failing economy and because of inflation. I don't know about everywhere else, but bread that used to cost $.99 is now $2.50. There are a lot of costs that have been raised, and as a result, in order to keep a product that is high in quality (which, for the price of lego we expect - this is somewhat a "Catch 22") and viable for a number of Lego and Star Wars fans, Lego does have to raise prices. I hate that they have to raise these prices, but it is somewhat expected. On a personal note, i would be very interested to see what the price increase has been in terms of the actual weight of the Lego sets, rather than the piece count. I mention this, because as I am perusing my collection of both old and new Star Wars sets as I write this, the new sets seem to have "larger" pieces, whereas the old sets were more blocky due to the fact that they were made of smaller pieces (again another argument that could be made for or against the sets!).

You can argue that the older sets were a "steal", but compared to the inflation prices and everything else, back then they were quite expensive as well, and I at least had arguments about whether certain sets were worth what they were being sold for. It is always easier to look back and think of the what-ifs in terms of that, and all too often we think back on the old days as the good days, however, we typically remember things with rose-tinted glasses. Things look better than they were. At the time, those were the only Star Wars sets that were available, and they were quite wonderful then (and matched fairly well with the rest of the designs of Lego. Again, this would be easier to answer if we knew what the price per weight ratio used to be in sets, and what the price per weight ratio is now (if I had the time to figure this out I would, but alas, I don't!).

In terms of the newest wave of released Star Wars sets (Venator, Anakins Y-Wing, Corporate Alliance Tank, Hoth, Endor, etc), I think the balance now is between playability, functions, and looks. I think all of the sets look wonderful, for the most part, but I am disappointed by the lack of playability features. In terms of Seperatist Shuttle, we did get some wonderful figures with the set, but overall I am disappointed with the playability of the set. There could have been more playability figures, but, as they brought back the Rodian head and made a new piece for Nute Gunray, they had to take a few things away from the set. While I do love the minifigures, and they do influence my decision as to whether I get a set or not, I think we have pushed the Lego Corporation to focus more upon introducing new Minifig molds, which does impact the cost of a set more so than usual. I'm not sure which balance is best: More new minifigs (who doesn't want an Ayala Secura, or Ki-Adi-Mundi, or new Jetpack and DETACHED Mandalorian helmets?) and less playability in a set, or more playability features (well, bigger sets) but less special minifigs? Look at the prices of Brickarms, Brickforge, The Little Armory, etc. While nearly all of us would agree that the quality and "niche"-factor make these pieces worth the cost, we often don't realize the costs involved in creating new molds and new designs, and the specialization and training that requires (in CAD, engineering, etc.). We forget that Lego has to include those costs, and it is not just the raw materials that we are paying for. As I get further in my education, I can charge more for my specialized skills - and as Lego demands more of their creation staff, the price for their skills also goes up.

I did not intend to create such a large post, but I thought I would share my thoughts, which could be summed up as - I don't think anyone is stating that today's legos are better because they are newer, but because of the playability and the more realistic look. We do like to complain about the rising costs, but, in reality the cost difference should be expected. I personally love the newer Lego designs, and look forward to every new set (although my wallet does not!). Just thought I'd throw out a couple things to think about.

[starwarsfanatic]

I think that LSW in general has improved (look at the Battle of Endor and Tantive IV sets), but a few sets are outstanding and can never be knocked off the top lot (enter CTT).

[Mission Commander]

Well if you look at the first Slave 1 and the second Slave 1...YES!!!

[CloneCommanderDelta7]

WILL THEY GET BETTER??? WILL THEY GET CHEAPER OR HAVE BETTER VALUE FOR MONEY IN A FEW YEARS???

[BlueDragonZ]

I think star wars sets have greatly improved in both accuracy and detail. They contain more "newer" lego pieces and are much better designed with better functions. But it is true that star wars sets are getting more expensive each year with the amount of pieces we get. Limited edition sets seems to be more of a "super overprice" set rather than a good value set. They just add a few new figures and raise the price dramatically. Ex. Ahsoka starfighter, Midi-scale falcon, pirate tank.

And definatley not they won't get cheaper. You can be sure of that. Just take a look at jabba's sail barge VS the Clone Wars AT-TE. Same box size, around same amount of pieces... but guess what? Its $75 USD for sail barge and $90 for AT-TE. Another example is the venator.. Its smaller, has lesser pieces, yet its $20 more expensive than the Imperial Star Destroyer.

Edited November 3, 2009 by BlueDragonZ