WhiteFang

PRESS RELEASE for LEGO 75222 - Betrayal at Cloud City Announcement

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I love the Cloud City set. 

To be honest, I'm not a Star Wars fan. I make a rule of buying as few Star Wars sets as possible, primarily due to the fact that Star Wars Lego is, indeed, more expensive than most other varieties. 

But as far as I can see, the only bad thing about this set is the absence of a roof. And that's totally understandable given the already significant part count involved. 

Speaking as someone who likes to play with their Lego just as much as display it, I like the playset design. And it doesn't look like this thing has any noticeable flaws for what few action features are included. 

It's big ask, especially since it's more expensive and has fewer parts than the Ninjago City Docks. But if I can get a good price on it and have room in my budget, I'm certainly not going to pass it over. 

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An amazing looking playset with almost every Cloud City location from the movie included. I am looking forward to seeing it in person how the different scenes are interconnected.

The Cloud Car an Slave 1 are beautiful designs, very smooth.

I might need to build a stand for the set though, it would look really cool if everything was elevated bit :) 

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12 hours ago, Sneakguest said:

Some really good point here, I must say. So long since I saw ESB back so couldn't even remember she changed outfit again for the escape, but when I check it out now, it's just plain white. Maybe that is the reason why the thrugh in another Hoth version. It's not that hard to MOC a Bespin escape version of Leia. Again the only thing missing in my point of view here is the hair, which will be hard to visualize without making a own mold 

Problem is without an accurate torso print or hairpiece, a MOC version of Bespin Escape would be no better than the Hoth figure that's substituting it. If anything it would be a lot worse and unsatisfying.

The costume might seem a bit plain in the movie, but it's still the last version of Leia in the OT yet to be made in Lego form. When you consider that the minor costume differences between the X-Wing and Snowspeeder flight suits, Boba's ESB and ROTJ armor and even the four different variations of Luke's ROTJ costume - it's a shame they missed the boat here and took the easy way out with the Hoth costume.

It's not impossible for that to change in the future though. She could always show up in a future Slave I release and Depa Billaba could pave way for an accurate hairpiece since both characters share the exact same hairstyle, but obviously it's not going to happen anytime soon and was a missed opportunity not to cover it here.

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20 minutes ago, Robianco said:

I may even get a torso printed up before then! :)

Do firestar make their own hair molds?

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25 minutes ago, Sneakguest said:

Do firestar make their own hair molds?

Nope. Getting things moulded isn’t their bag. Quite an expensive deal.

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On 8/22/2018 at 12:44 PM, JarJarBonks said:

And what is the master builders series? Is it like UCS? I don't understand. It'd be nice if they added a lid to it to for the AFOLs.

Master Builder Series is the large playsets that were under the UCS label in the past, so people can finally stop going on about how they're "not real UCS". Everything else will stay the same: Big, expensive sets, limited retail, big announcements with a lot of hype. I'd bet they'll settle into a pretty regular release schedule and put out one UCS and one MBS each year, and that anyone who thinks this will free up a slot for another UCS (i.e. big display model of a ship or vehicle) per year is kidding themselves. It's a branding move to hopefully put an end to fans complaining about how the UCS name has been so terribly tainted by playsets, and how those should go away. Even if ten years of such sets (provided we count 10188 as the first) shows they're not going to go anywhere.

Since they have never bothered officially defining UCS (which makes it extra funny that people get so up in arms about it), I doubt they will do so for MBS.

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10 minutes ago, LegoFjotten said:

But are we sure that MBS is not just the new term for ALL large sets, replacing UCS entirely?

Nope, we're just speculating about it. 

It would make sense though, because we got a UCS set this year, which was a display model. It's the only evidence we have either way. 

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1 hour ago, LegoFjotten said:

But are we sure that MBS is not just the new term for ALL large sets, replacing UCS entirely?

It doesn't make much sense to get rid of the UCS tag. It does make sense to separate the playsets and display models though.

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1 minute ago, Eaglefan344 said:

It doesn't make much sense to get rid of the UCS tag. It does make sense to separate the playsets and display models though.

Someone in marketing might say it makes no sense to promote large D2C sets under different names, and that it will just cause consumer confusion to have two names. :wink:

Not disagreeing with the speculation though, personally I think it would make sense to separate the two.

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3 minutes ago, LegoFjotten said:

Someone in marketing might say it makes no sense to promote large D2C sets under different names, and that it will just cause consumer confusion to have two names. :wink:

Not disagreeing with the speculation though, personally I think it would make sense to separate the two.

We probably won't know for sure until the May 2019 UCS set (or MBS) is revealed.

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On 8/21/2018 at 9:05 PM, Sneakguest said:

 

Hehe, honestly I don't. He was pretty easy to MOC. And lets face it, if you are not a real star wars nerd, you don't know Willow Hood. Most kids who buy or get sw lego are not that deep into the SW saga so they would have any clue about the name or even remember they have seen that character before.

Yeh, but LEGO aren't beyond playing to us nerds. We got Nik Sant in 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium, after all.

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Regading MasterBuilder sets: question was asked officialy on Lego Ambassador Network and Kim (formerly from Eurobricks, now admin there but also big fan of LEGO Starr Wars) said that there will be official statement about that comng next week, so we will get “official” answer.

Regarding set price: he also said that proper way to value set would be by weight, taking into account number of minifigures and licensing cost. Judging just by piece count is not proper (as we saw many times).

I also got information that playsets (even large ones) are very popular with children (at least in some ares, where parents could afford it), including “infamous” Hoth set, but some fans complained about using UCS label so MBS sets may be answer to that.

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I really feel the set is quite messy to be completely honest.  I was expecting it to be in a similar shape to the Death Star playset, which personally I think would have looked a lot better.  My only other gripe with this set is the lack of area for Luke and Vader to battle it out, I really felt they could have done a bit more with that considering that’s the most memorable thing from Cloud City.  

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The Good: 

1) The minifigures are great.  Han has a printed holster on the side of his leg... 'nough said.

2) I think this set is much bigger than it appears at first glance, There's more space in each room than it looks like.

3) Slave1, I think it looks awesome and for better or worse will fill in that blank'ish entire quadrant of a landing pad when it's docked down.

4) Playset.  Love playsets.  Glad it wasn't just a display model.  And SUPER glad it wasn't micro-fig scale.  Never micro-fig scale for sw please.

5) It's definitely not an eye-feast like Ninjago City, but for a star wars set it's pretty colorful.  And accurate IMO, notwithstanding the Cloud Car.

6) The microbuild "city" at the tippy-top... i like that.

7) Almost all the rooms.  Other than more space for Luke-Vader duel, everything is included.  Even the 3PO "oh my!" closet!

 

The Ok:

1) Would it have been better with a smaller circumference but on 2 levels?  Before seeing this I would have said yes, but now i'm not so sure.  Imagine using the top 1/2 of the Death Star as a reference, there would be tons of space on the lower main floor but not much at all on the top.  Would all the "white" quadrant of this set have fit on that top floor?... Probably not?  Would the "dark" quadrant have looked better and fit on the lower floor?, definitely.  Landing pad is a wash.  Would the Carbon Freeze Chamber have looked better on the imagined lower floor?... definitely because it would have had a roof above it to add some really awesome detail.  Would the duel scene have looked better?... maybe... it's hard to imagine that catwalk fitting in better but at least there would have been more room for the post-chamber-pre-catwalk fight scenes which are basically missing here. 

2) Cloud Car.  It's ok. 

3) Catwalk right next to Freezing Chamber looks weird... but it's hard to judge height in these pics... and when it swings out I can't decide if it looks worse or better.

4) Price.  It's in line with the Death Star so deal with it.

5) The bottom... what is going on underneath the floor plates... is it elevated a bit or am I seeing things?

 

The Bad:

1) Completely missing Luke's dangling from antenna scene.  Not sure how that could have been added but still.

2) Needs more space for the Vader-Luke fight before the catwalk

3) That box art style just doesn't work here like it did with the Falcon.  Looks boring.

4) Missing Leia Escape outfit.

5) Missed opportunity for Lobot head piece.

6) Missed opportunity for a new 3PO that mold-thing that chewwie can carry on his back.

7) That pathetic little green stick-tree thing in the corner of the Han-Leia room... seriously?  Seriously though, i'm using it to represent a lack of polish the whole set seems to have.  Places with exposed studs that look bad, too many blank featureless walls, exposed technic esp on freeze chamber.

8) The name.  Just call it Cloud City.

9) Overall I think the amazing modulars, the astounding Ninjago City (including the docks), and to a lesser extent the Batman/Ghostbusters sets have raised the bar on what a LARGE lego playset is capable of.  Compared to those, this set is a bit underwhelming.  

 

Edited by jedge

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I love the rooms, scenes and the minifigs, esp. Landos cape. The midi Slave I is awesome and a perfect addition to the system Falcon (maybe Boba should sit one brick lower). Despite the wrong color I also like the Cloud Car. The downside for me is that everything stitched together looks rather... rough and unfinished with a strange shape. I also miss a bottom floor in the freezing chamber.

Pretty sure I'll be getting this on the inevitable discount. :)

Edited by zz-80

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Ugh, this one pops negatively in my eyes. The old cloud city had a charm in the vignette-kinda-way although it had nothing to do with shape and structure of the cloud city seen from the outside. I was afraid lego would go this way now, and even though i always appreciate attempts, i think this just doesn't work the way it should. Box Art is ugly, looks almost like a prototype. As a display piece, it fails. I guess its mostly the shape that bugs me. They could have made a two-story vignette setup and i would have liked it better i think. Also to add some more elevation and depth. Could have been like a half cut death star

I do love all the small stories crammed in there though, and there is a ton of play value in this. And the micro scaled vehicles are absolutely fantastic. 

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18 minutes ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

...absolutely stunning! :wub:

Is it really? I am always honestly surprised by these very saturated comments, whether solely negative or solely positive, with a set like this, which I personally perceive as kind of *meh*... it has plenty of both good and bad aspects. I would be interested in why do you find it so cool, maybe I am really missing some point :)

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39 minutes ago, krisandkris12 said:

Is it really? I am always honestly surprised by these very saturated comments, whether solely negative or solely positive, with a set like this, which I personally perceive as kind of *meh*... it has plenty of both good and bad aspects. I would be interested in why do you find it so cool, maybe I am really missing some point :)

All these positive comments surprise me as well. I get a feeling that people know something great about this set that is missing on the pictures. Mainly because people who have spare money to spend on that set must be adults in general, and I don't see how a grown up person could spend a huge amount on that. It's not a collectible, it's badly designed, not a display model for sure.

It doesn't look like a rational option for a present for a child either. I'd imagine if my relatives ever gifted me a set like that back when I was a kid, I'd be like "really?". 'cause it's messy and poor looking. I'd better go and gift my child a Ninjago City, for example, because it's a stunning model and we could watch the latest movie together as well. I'm not sure every kid can even recognize this huge (talking about 75222) pile of weirdly connected pieces.

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I would have either made the exterior really accurate at the expense of the interior or vice versa.  I think this is too in between and terrible.

Edited by OCD_Chad

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8 hours ago, AndrewShun said:

All these positive comments surprise me as well. I get a feeling that people know something great about this set that is missing on the pictures. Mainly because people who have spare money to spend on that set must be adults in general, and I don't see how a grown up person could spend a huge amount on that. It's not a collectible, it's badly designed, not a display model for sure.

It doesn't look like a rational option for a present for a child either. I'd imagine if my relatives ever gifted me a set like that back when I was a kid, I'd be like "really?". 'cause it's messy and poor looking. I'd better go and gift my child a Ninjago City, for example, because it's a stunning model and we could watch the latest movie together as well. I'm not sure every kid can even recognize this huge (talking about 75222) pile of weirdly connected pieces.

It really feels that you can't imagine anyone buying it because you don't like it. 

You're saying kids don't want it because you think it is messy.

A lot of kids aren't looking for the most attractive set in the world, they want something they can play with. Ninjago City looks amazing, but it isn't the most playable set. 

Cloud City isn't perfect, but it's not as awful as some people are making out. I have a couple of issues with it, and won't be looking to get it myself, but it's not the world's most horrendous set. Pretty much all of my issues would be solved by moving the carbon freezing chamber to the back. The rest of it looks pretty good. 

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23 minutes ago, nikhkin said:

It really feels that you can't imagine anyone buying it because you don't like it. 

You're saying kids don't want it because you think it is messy.

A lot of kids aren't looking for the most attractive set in the world, they want something they can play with. Ninjago City looks amazing, but it isn't the most playable set. 

Cloud City isn't perfect, but it's not as awful as some people are making out. I have a couple of issues with it, and won't be looking to get it myself, but it's not the world's most horrendous set. Pretty much all of my issues would be solved by moving the carbon freezing chamber to the back. The rest of it looks pretty good. 

Stop youing.
I can imagine a lot of people buying it, just because they tend to buy things no matter how crappy or useless these things might be. I'm also not saying kids wouldn't want it, because kids tend to differ, they're humans. And if you don't see it's bad, it's not my fault either.

I appreciate your reply, though don't really need it.

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