405 replies to this topic

[Lobot]

Solscud007, on 09 April 2012 - 02:51 PM, said:

I dont understand why there is so much gripe about getting this figure. I did not jump at every new released set as soon as it hit the shelves. I bought the few that I wanted. But held off on others. Partly because I know that Lego sets are not exactly short packed items. They are rather easy to find. Sure waiting for sales is a good idea too but again it is not like I have to have all the sets asap. The UCS R2 is a fantastic piece and hoping that there is no delay, I will be getting that. Even the Tie Fighter is nice which I have yet to get. All you need to do is buy that and like two sand trooper sets and you can army build some sand troopers. Sell off the droids if you dont care for them.

Some people are complaining too much. It is what it is. Deal with it and enjoy that the figure is not a Chrome Ewok as some earlier rumors led us to believe.

Well said, Solscudd007...on both counts!   I think that the $75 (and, I assume, £50?) minimum spend is reasonable; it's not like you've got to buy a SSD to buy one, and Lego will probably include free shipping.  It's not like this is unexpected, and I'm genuinely amazed that anyone wants to moan about the prospect of getting a really cute, shiny, free minifigure!

[legofett990]

Lobot, on 09 April 2012 - 04:13 PM, said:

Well said, Solscudd007...on both counts!   I think that the $75 (and, I assume, £50?) minimum spend is reasonable; it's not like you've got to buy a SSD to buy one, and Lego will probably include free shipping.  It's not like this is unexpected, and I'm genuinely amazed that anyone wants to moan about the prospect of getting a really cute, shiny, free minifigure!

It's still more than some of us have available in our budgets! I think people are more moaning at the prospect of not getting the lovely shiny minifig more than anything else  

[Solscud007]

legofett990, on 09 April 2012 - 04:16 PM, said:

It's still more than some of us have available in our budgets! I think people are more moaning at the prospect of not getting the lovely shiny minifig more than anything else  

While I dont know your financial situation, It would have been better to have waited. You say you buy them when you can afford them. Can't you just set aside that money that you were going to spend and just waited? You already spent that money. Why not wait and hold onto the money for a sale or in this case a Promo figure.

It seems that last year it was only £50 for the UK fans. So not as bad as your previous £75 expectation. I think you should try to get the set. buy a SW item and whatever else you want that is not SW. Ring them up at the counter and see if the clerk will let you have a TC-14. Most if not all LEGO store employees are rather reasonable, at least the ones I have purchased from. Granted if you buy a key chain and argue that a $2 keychain qualifies you for the TC-14 then you may be asked to leave haha  

Just try to get it. What is the worst that can happen? They say no you need to buy only SW sets. Ok then you leave and they miss a sale. Then you try to buy one on Bricklink or ebay for an inflated price.

Considering the ARF sold for $20+ last year, I would expect TC-14 to fetch a higher price. Considering it is a more desirable figure for any SW fan. The ARF was only a PT/CW fan based item.

[sealslip3]

Solscud007, on 09 April 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

Considering the ARF sold for $20+ last year, I would expect TC-14 to fetch a higher price. Considering it is a more desirable figure for any SW fan. The ARF was only a PT/CW fan based item.

I agree- I'm guessing it will settle in the $30-$40 range.

[legofett990]

Solscud007, on 09 April 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

While I dont know your financial situation, It would have been better to have waited. You say you buy them when you can afford them. Can't you just set aside that money that you were going to spend and just waited? You already spent that money. Why not wait and hold onto the money for a sale or in this case a Promo figure.

It seems that last year it was only £50 for the UK fans. So not as bad as your previous £75 expectation. I think you should try to get the set. buy a SW item and whatever else you want that is not SW. Ring them up at the counter and see if the clerk will let you have a TC-14. Most if not all LEGO store employees are rather reasonable, at least the ones I have purchased from. Granted if you buy a key chain and argue that a $2 keychain qualifies you for the TC-14 then you may be asked to leave haha  

Just try to get it. What is the worst that can happen? They say no you need to buy only SW sets. Ok then you leave and they miss a sale. Then you try to buy one on Bricklink or ebay for an inflated price.

Considering the ARF sold for $20+ last year, I would expect TC-14 to fetch a higher price. Considering it is a more desirable figure for any SW fan. The ARF was only a PT/CW fan based item.

As I stated in a previous post, I didn't expect anything special as I previously have had no interest in the promos. I shall definitely be doing as you say next year though, experience is a great thing eh  

I hope it's £50, I just thought I'd seen £75 mentioned somewhere so assumed the higher price.

I would happily give that a go - only problem is Lego shops are sparse here in the UK and my nearest is 3 hours-ish away, so my order would have to be placed online. I hope you see where my problems are here, all considered I feel I'll be better off to wait for the secondary market to come into play and grab one from there. It'd just make it that bit easier for quite a few people I know are in a similar position to me if they expanded it to a purchase over £50/£75 (whichever it turns out to be) which included a SW set, or some similar kind of offer, rather than limiting it to purely SW over that value.

[Sam892]

legofett990, on 09 April 2012 - 04:41 PM, said:

As I stated in a previous post, I didn't expect anything special as I previously have had no interest in the promos. I shall definitely be doing as you say next year though, experience is a great thing eh  

I hope it's £50, I just thought I'd seen £75 mentioned somewhere so assumed the higher price.

I would happily give that a go - only problem is Lego shops are sparse here in the UK and my nearest is 3 hours-ish away, so my order would have to be placed online. I hope you see where my problems are here, all considered I feel I'll be better off to wait for the secondary market to come into play and grab one from there. It'd just make it that bit easier for quite a few people I know are in a similar position to me if they expanded it to a purchase over £50/£75 (whichever it turns out to be) which included a SW set, or some similar kind of offer, rather than limiting it to purely SW over that value.

I agree lego needs to invest in more shops in the UK I have to spend £7 on the train to go to my nearest one which is milton keynes. Whenever I have been lucky enough to go to the US theres always a lego shop(theres one in Disney world for goodness sake). Its a shame that you live so far away from a lego shop I have heard rumours that last year that so many arf troopers were left over that the employees started to sell them in the store for a couple of pounds. I have also found this to be the case with other promotions like the christmas sets that were given away with orders for £75 or over (not sure if this will happen with TC-14). I do understand you point lego could have promoted it better i don't think other than the calender we have had a offical press release. i think the reason it has to be all star wars lego is because of the hulk promotion which is a week later they most likely want to make people spend £50 on star wars and £25 on superheroes instead of £50 on both star wars and superheroes.plus there most likley trying to clear some of the shelves ready for the star wars summer sets in a few months. On the plus side there was lots of chances to get the arf trooper after may the forth like in November and January this year hopeful you will have another chance to get this figure in the future if you miss out this time round.

[mutley777]

I am expecting to get something very similar in the post this year, so as a reminder here is what I got last year.

[Fuppylodders]

legofett990, on 09 April 2012 - 04:09 PM, said:

I've never actually cared for any of the previous SW promos though. White Boba Fett? Have no use for him, not a great fig IMO. Shadow ARF? Not interested in TCW. Chromed Stormtrooper? About as pointless as a chromed Ewok   I didn't anticipate this year being any different, and couldn't see myself being bothered about a promo fig.

Secondly, I do not plan my year out based around various sales, promotions, offers and other things like others seem to do. I operate on a very tight budget and make my purchases as and when I can afford to- and unfortunately May 4th/5th this year I'm not going to be able to justify splashing £75 on a SW set I already have or dislike, whilst I could probably just about justify the purchase of a few smaller sets here and there from both SW and other themes to make up the £75. I understand that TLG cannot accommodate every taste, and no matter what they do they will leave a portion of fans feeling aggrieved and alienated. It's the same with any company, entertainment business etc. My point is I feel that TLG could have tweaked their offer slightly to accommodate a much wider variety of fans. Just my 2 cents though  

I hate to say it, but you have literally landed yourself in this situation of which you have no one to blame but yourself. (I'm not having a go, sorry if it sounds like it, I'm just stating there is no justification for yourself to gripe about it in your situation)

You havn't cared for the promotions, that is fine, but what about those that previously did, and so this year decided to hold fast until they knew what it was, and are now happy they waited? As you stated, TLG can't cater to everyones preferences for promo figs.
With the increase in technology/better designed figs ok, a white Bobba Fett wasn't anything special to you, but just because nothing previously entertained your preferences, didn't mean they would have failed your preferences this year. Assumptions leave *HUGE* room for errors, of which should be taken into account when doing as such.

As for the tight budget, that argument is totally moot. If you could justify spending the money back then regardless of it being budgeted or not, there is no difference in not making your purchasing back then, but putting that money aside and discounting it for all other reasons until May 4th came up and THEN spending your money on your budgeted for LSW sets.

It's a SW promo, not a random promo. They could tweak it but it would start getting ridiculous with specifics...
***** Free TC-14 with every $75 purchase of which $30 must be purely on Star Wars sets!*****
That still doesn't bring the overall price down. If you can justify spending the other $45 on other sets then it can also be spent on LSW which can be parted out and sold for more as many people already do and make profitable. Don't you want something for that otherwise $40minimum you'll end up spending on an aftermarket version?

They are promoting LSW, not other themed sets. They want people to buy LSW. Hence why they are advertising it as just LSW. They also know that people desperate enough will scratch and scrape enough funds to get one of these figs one way or another.

I really don't understand why people are still having a problem with the fact that this time round its a good fig and you have to spend $75 on purely LSW... Last year as an excuse that it should be with every $75 purchase is not an excuse/reason because everyone knows it was a mess up of which I am sure they will ensure doesn't happen this time round armed with that knowledge.

Heck, last year I didn't even know about May the 4th. I've missed out on loads of promo stuff. I'm not moaning about the fact that no one told me it was on, its my own fault I found my way to Eurobricks when I did and learned whatever I learned from here after last May the 4th. I'm now armed with the knowledge that every May the 4th there couldd potentially be a promo fig. Regardless if I end up wanting it or not, I'll hold off on certain purchases until I know whether I want one or not.

*edited out useless analogy :P*

Edited by Fuppylodders, 09 April 2012 - 08:49 PM.

[Sam892]

I agree that previous promo figs haven't appealed to me apart from chrome c3po and vader but I'm doubtful I will buy because of price. I'm just happy I waited to spend some of my money. I'm gonna get a couple of Tc-14's or maybe 3. One to keep in the polybag one to open and use and a spare knowing my luck the arms will crack or the chrome will chip. If I can pick up more then I will for resale purposes. Don't worry I won't put stupid crazy prices on them I will just put enough on to get me my money back and a little profit. I'm against all those sellers who charge £75 for a promo fig. On a side note 100 posts !!!!!!!!

Edited by Sam892, 09 April 2012 - 07:39 PM.

[legofett990]

@Fuppy, I typed a big reply out but I thought we might be getting a bit off topic since I know how good an arguer you are   so I PM'd you my response instead  

[Fuppylodders]

legofett990, on 09 April 2012 - 08:19 PM, said:

@Fuppy, I typed a big reply out but I thought we might be getting a bit off topic since I know how good an arguer you are   so I PM'd you my response instead  

Reply sent  

When the ARF trooper was getting sold by itself after loads being left (someone said a lego shop was selling them after promo day) how much were they being sold for? How soon after were they selling them? And would it be worth it to phone up a store asking them if they have any left over for sale or just to go down there? My closest store is about 45 miles away

[Sir_Basil_Ashton]

Fuppylodders, on 09 April 2012 - 09:25 PM, said:

Reply sent  

When the ARF trooper was getting sold by itself after loads being left (someone said a lego shop was selling them after promo day) how much were they being sold for? How soon after were they selling them? And would it be worth it to phone up a store asking them if they have any left over for sale or just to go down there? My closest store is about 45 miles away

I believe it varies store to store. The LEGO stores near me, continued the promo after May the 5th until they ran out of ARF Troopers. I checked because others were reporting being able to buy as many of these minifigs as they wanted.

[Piranha]

Solscud007, on 09 April 2012 - 02:51 PM, said:

Some people are complaining too much. It is what it is. Deal with it and enjoy that the figure is not a Chrome Ewok as some earlier rumors led us to believe.

I agree, we are getting a really cool minifig. All that matters is TLG sticking to the promo guidelines. I know that every year TLG runs this promo and that is why I have not bought any new SW sets this year in anticipation for this event. That way, I have plenty of selection to add up to the $75. I will probably get the new X-Wing & Droid Escape set.

I am going to guess those who do not want to spend $75, should be able to buy one off BL or eBay for $20 or so.

[Flipz]

My main gripe is that $75 is a lot to spend on a theme that, franky, is a low priority for me.  If it had been $50, I wouldn't have complained; between 2 or 3 different sets, I would have TC-14, and I'd be happy.  $75 takes a huge chunk out of my budget, especially with a second promo later in May.

Ironically (considering my main gripe is about money), my other problem is that the big SW sets are just not as appealing as the big sets in other lines.  I have to spend tons of time and effort into figuring out how many of set X plus how many of set Y I need to get to $75...whereas if the Hulk promo followed the same rules as this one, I'd just buy the Quinjet and be done with it, one set, one calculation, boom, I'm done.  The pricing for the LSW sets are just weird, and it's a pain figuring out how to maximize value while saving enough for sets later in the month and later in the summer.  

It also doesn't help that I had no idea LEGO did an annual May the Fourth promo until December of last year, the last time I heard about it I thought it was a one-time thing.  As a result, and because the early leaks for LSW this year didn't look as promising as I would have hoped, I budgeted for a completely different spread of sets, and that budget is in shreds now if I want TC-14.

[Oky]

Like I said a few pages ago, if the recent Shadow ARF promotion is any indication, you might not have to buy only SW sets, despite what the ad says, at least when ordering online. You could just get a SW battle pack or keychain even and then add sets from other themes to your cart until you reach $75 and the polybag will be added to your list as long as you have something from SW in your order. That's how it was for me anyway and it might work for TC-14 as well, so don't go off on rants just yet.

[Sir_Basil_Ashton]

Oky, on 10 April 2012 - 07:18 AM, said:

Like I said a few pages ago, if the recent Shadow ARF promotion is any indication, you might not have to buy only SW sets, despite what the ad says, at least when ordering online. You could just get a SW battle pack or keychain even and then add sets from other themes to your cart until you reach $75 and the polybag will be added to your list as long as you have something from SW in your order. That's how it was for me anyway and it might work for TC-14 as well, so don't go off on rants just yet.

With the latest Shadow ARF Trooper promo, I didn't purchase any LEGO SW sets and I still received the minifig.

[Edmond Dantes]

Sir_Basil_Ashton, on 10 April 2012 - 03:47 PM, said:

With the latest Shadow ARF Trooper promo, I didn't purchase any LEGO SW sets and I still received the minifig.

Yes, same with me - this is typical for S@H orders.  The type of set doesn't usually come into play - as long as you hit the price point, you're usually fine.

[mutley777]

Hoth bricks has some great new pictures of the TC-14 fig!

[prateek]

Wow! I could do without the printed eyes, but hey, it's still awesome!

[Fuppylodders]

Amazing to see the difference in print quality on each!

[The_Chosen_1]

Man, May 4th can't get here fast enough!  This minifig looks fantastic.

I'm anxious to find out which SW sets will be on sale, too.

[TheDarkness]

Fuppylodders, on 12 April 2012 - 11:52 PM, said:

Amazing to see the difference in print quality on each!

I was thinking the same thing.  The gold C-3PO looks dated

[Sam892]

TheDarkness, on 13 April 2012 - 12:15 AM, said:

I was thinking the same thing.  The gold C-3PO looks dated

Ye i think it's time Lego made a chrome C-3po with printed eyes and the new torso. Maybe released the other protocol droids with new print like K-3po.... Just saying Lego don't think that just because you have release TC-14 you have quenched are thirst. In fact now our theist is bigger than ever for chomeness

Edited by Sam892, 13 April 2012 - 01:49 AM.

[willybob]

Sad to say, but I was quite disappointed by printing quality on TC-14.
Lower part of the torso seems like to peel off somehow. And those plastic hands are meh. Otherwise, I like it, and I hope TLC will redo the C-*PO chorme gold one with the new torso design like in Droid Escape and on TC-14...

[Mr Man]

Very nice , the printed eyes make it look like a owl .