LEGO Star Wars 2020 Set Discussion - READ FIRST POST!!!

[CasperTheGhost]

11 hours ago, Lego-Freak said:

Star Wars is in the top 6 best-selling themes of 2019, so looks like some people‘s narrative is about to fall apart 

I knew something was up when people kept parroting the "not even 7th best theme" stat without any real sources. Among kids and adults there's no way Star Wars isn't one of their top themes (Especially with this graphic illustrating that among its competitors are Classic, City, & Technic, staple LEGO IPs that don't need the extra markup for licensing and are always going to sell well. Just look at pop culture for the last however many years, right now LEGO Star Wars is trending and the sets from the latest wave have flown off the shelves before ever getting the first 20% markdown. I don't want to venture into off topic territory, but I do think we need to take a step back and re-evaluate a lot of the cynicism that gets re-quoted and spread around here and elsewhere as we discuss the 2020 Star Wars waves.  

The 2020 sets so far are turning out really well, covering a lot of previously uncovered territory (Ben's Hut, Bantha) while giving us updates for iconic sets that haven't been seen in years, giving a lot of us a chance to finally pick them up (AT-AT, AAT, Jedi Interceptor). Price-wise (especially with the forced movie waves) I'm sure there's some credence to Star Wars underperforming, but that's likely largely because LEGO has been pricing out it's main consumer bracket: kids. I'm optimistic for this clone wars wave though because $30-$40 sets and lower are the golden range for collectors operating on a budget, whether kids or adults. A lot of adult collectors dump on LEGO's standard $30 playsets (Ahch-to, Yoda's Hut, Death Star Escape) but these are available to a much wider audience than priced-up versions of these sets would be, while offering minifigs & setpieces for iconic parts of the star wars films. A large reason why I loved the 20th anniversary wave is because sets like 75261 & the Dropship were reasonably priced while offering a unique array of figures / vehicle or landscape features to either display or play with. 

[jdubbs]

I don't know why people fixate on this stuff so much, or what it really has to do with this thread, but if you connect the dots between the two reports:

According to HothRebel, who who referencing something said at the German Toy Fair back in January: "Top 7 is in no particular order Architecture, Ideas, Harry Potter, City, Disney, Ninjago and Technic." A month or two later, LEGO's annual report infographic lists Marvel Superheroes and Star Wars in their Top 6. Marvel and Star Wars: both owned by Disney. So, this could easily be a case of those two getting lumped together under the "Disney" umbrella at the German Toy Fair, but broken out as their own separate themes in the annual report... just a different way of slicing and dicing the stats.

Also worth pointing out that these are are all pretty meaningless. LEGO is not a publicly traded company, is under no obligation to itemize sales down to this level, and can pretty much make up whatever they want in these "reports". Listing a bunch of themes in their "top 6" or "top 7" is pretty vague, since concrete metrics aren't identified. What makes them "top-selling"? Number of units sold? Gross sales? Net sales? Most profitable? Most improved? It's anyone's guess. These lists could mean anything. Or nothing at all.

[lego_guyon02]

1 hour ago, PreVizsla said:

You misunderstood me.I didnt mean that new report is for Europe only.I was talking about the other stats that Hoth Rebel and others that visited Nuremberg were referring to,and i speculated that what they heard was Europe or Germany only financial report and now we got actual entire world financial report.

Oh, I see. That's on me then, my apologies 

[Mandalorianknight]

1 hour ago, CasperTheGhost said:

The 2020 sets so far are turning out really well, covering a lot of previously uncovered territory (Ben's Hut, Bantha) while giving us updates for iconic sets that haven't been seen in years, giving a lot of us a chance to finally pick them up (AT-AT, AAT, Jedi Interceptor). Price-wise (especially with the forced movie waves) I'm sure there's some credence to Star Wars underperforming, but that's likely largely because LEGO has been pricing out it's main consumer bracket: kids. I'm optimistic for this clone wars wave though because $30-$40 sets and lower are the golden range for collectors operating on a budget, whether kids or adults. A lot of adult collectors dump on LEGO's standard $30 playsets (Ahch-to, Yoda's Hut, Death Star Escape) but these are available to a much wider audience than priced-up versions of these sets would be, while offering minifigs & setpieces for iconic parts of the star wars films. A large reason why I loved the 20th anniversary wave is because sets like 75261 & the Dropship were reasonably priced while offering a unique array of figures / vehicle or landscape features to either display or play with. 

It's great to see some optimism on this forum. People complain about everything, but when you look at this year objectively it's not that bad. As you say, new things we've never had like ben's hut and the bantha, and then updates of sets that are pretty expensive on the secondhand market and pretty iconic, too. There's sequel, OT, and prequel sets. (In fact, I think the prequels might have the most system-scale sets of any era coming out this year if you count the mandalorian separate from the OT). Sure, the april wave is looking to be weaker than the others, but the other sets we're getting/have gotten this year are great for the most part. I mean, who can complain about a mandalorian battle pack, a $30 set with multiple GAR vehicles and 4 clones, another AT-AT and AAT, the Razorcrest, etc?

[Kit Figsto]

I definitely agree, this year so far has been one of the stronger years in recent memory.  New stuff that people have been asking for for a while, remakes of things like the Duel on Mustafar (that hasn't had a proper set in fifteen years, not counting Anakin's fighter that came with two small dueling floaty platforms), one of the best battle packs in a while, and we still have the Mando AT-ST on the shelves.  Even though the summer wave is smaller, we're getting two "bonus" sets with the Razor Crest and the unknown retail exclusive, and there's an appeal to both prequel and OT fans.

Not specific to this year, but we've also seen a lot more sets in recent years that we likely never would've gotten in the past, like the Death Star Cannon or Death Star Escape, that are more location-based dioramas rather than vehicles or battle-focused sets.  

[LegoStarWarsFan777]

News has died down a bit from what I can see but that’s perfect conditions for Lego to reveal something... (hopefully ) 

But seriously I do think this summer wave is going to be a good one, there’s something for a fan of every trilogy! 

[Master Jedi]

Thinking the same thing ,gone quite -too quite ,something must be happening  soon for showing what's yet to come this year

[Mandalorianknight]

21 hours ago, Kit Figsto said:

I definitely agree, this year so far has been one of the stronger years in recent memory.  New stuff that people have been asking for for a while, remakes of things like the Duel on Mustafar (that hasn't had a proper set in fifteen years, not counting Anakin's fighter that came with two small dueling floaty platforms), one of the best battle packs in a while, and we still have the Mando AT-ST on the shelves.  Even though the summer wave is smaller, we're getting two "bonus" sets with the Razor Crest and the unknown retail exclusive, and there's an appeal to both prequel and OT fans.

Not specific to this year, but we've also seen a lot more sets in recent years that we likely never would've gotten in the past, like the Death Star Cannon or Death Star Escape, that are more location-based dioramas rather than vehicles or battle-focused sets.  

I agree with your agreement, especially the part about the increase in location sets.

20 hours ago, LegoStarWarsFan777 said:

News has died down a bit from what I can see but that’s perfect conditions for Lego to reveal something... (hopefully ) 

But seriously I do think this summer wave is going to be a good one, there’s something for a fan of every trilogy! 

It would make sense for them to reveal the april sets, seeing as it's already march!

Edited March 5, 2020 by Mandalorianknight

[LegoStarWarsFan777]

12 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

It would make sense for them to reveal the april sets, seeing as it's already march!

You’re right! Lego typically reveals their sets a little over a month before releasing but correct me if I’m wrong.

[Kit Figsto]

Yeah, I'm definitely a little perplexed about how we've had the entire summer wave minus one set leak, with pictures of one, and we're still in the dark about this spring set.  I know that some rumors point to it being either a Lego or retail exclusive, which typically leaks a bit later, but we have known about this set for quite a while, unlike the August exclusive that pretty much just popped up a week or so ago.  If it is the Duel on Exsogal set, it at least makes sense as to why it was kept under wraps for so long, due to spoilers, but that's purely speculation (and also because I'm not totally sure what they'd put at a $70 price point as the only system scale set in the wave).

[Mandalorianknight]

4 hours ago, LegoStarWarsFan777 said:

You’re right! Lego typically reveals their sets a little over a month before releasing but correct me if I’m wrong.

We had the endgame images a year and 4 days ago. These sets are supposed to release two weeks later, I think, but still, there's no way 2 helmets and a retail exclusive should have more secrecy than endgame.

 

[jdubbs]

1 hour ago, Mandalorianknight said:

We had the endgame images a year and 4 days ago. These sets are supposed to release two weeks later, I think, but still, there's no way 2 helmets and a retail exclusive should have more secrecy than endgame.

I don't think it's as much a matter of "more secrecy" for these particular sets as it is a matter of LEGO getting better at plugging the leaks. 

The vast majority of minifig leaks came from Chinese factories, where workers would (allegedly) smuggle figs out at the end of their shifts and sell them on the gray market. Over the last year, LEGO appears to have clamped down on those, cutting off a reliable predictor of the sets coming 3-4 months down the line. (For instance, we knew that the UCS Y-Wing was coming once a Gold Squadron minifig leaked; we knew Cloud City was coming once the Cloud Car Pilot leaked, and so on.) 

The retail catalogs no longer have box shots of many upcoming sets, and those stores that receive them are reluctant to share, for fear of digital watermarks being traced back to them. Fewer sets are shown publicly at Toy Fairs, and product shots are distributed to retail stores closer to launch. Several of the more prominent leakers got muzzled one way or another, and the rest realized that sharing everything you receive the minute you receive it, is often counter-productive if you want your sources of info to remain viable long-term. So, all-in-all, there are fewer ways to see sets/figs far in advance than there used to be.

Edited March 6, 2020 by jdubbs

[lego_guyon02]

I actually kinda like how we don't know anything about that one april set. Kinda changes things up instead of always knowing what is coming months in advance. It's not something I'd want to happen for all sets but this does keep discussions alive.

4 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

We had the endgame images a year and 4 days ago. These sets are supposed to release two weeks later, I think, but still, there's no way 2 helmets and a retail exclusive should have more secrecy than endgame.

There wasn't much to be secretive about with LEGO's Endgame sets, none of the sets had anything to do with the movie (except for maybe the 4+ police stati.... I mean Avengers Compound)

[BrickBob Studpants]

53 minutes ago, Guyon2002 said:

It's not something I'd want to happen for all sets but this does keep discussions alive.

I generally agree, but in this particular case it also keeps self-indulgent speculation alive since there’s virtually NOTHING to go off of  So little so that we can’t even be 100% certain that thing even exists. And if it does, disappointment will be almost inevitable 

[LegoStarWarsFan777]

11 hours ago, jdubbs said:

I don't think it's as much a matter of "more secrecy" for these particular sets as it is a matter of LEGO getting better at plugging the leaks. 

The vast majority of minifig leaks came from Chinese factories, where workers would (allegedly) smuggle figs out at the end of their shifts and sell them on the gray market. Over the last year, LEGO appears to have clamped down on those, cutting off a reliable predictor of the sets coming 3-4 months down the line. (For instance, we knew that the UCS Y-Wing was coming once a Gold Squadron minifig leaked; we knew Cloud City was coming once the Cloud Car Pilot leaked, and so on.) 

The retail catalogs no longer have box shots of many upcoming sets, and those stores that receive them are reluctant to share, for fear of digital watermarks being traced back to them. Fewer sets are shown publicly at Toy Fairs, and product shots are distributed to retail stores closer to launch. Several of the more prominent leakers got muzzled one way or another, and the rest realized that sharing everything you receive the minute you receive it, is often counter-productive if you want your sources of info to remain viable long-term. So, all-in-all, there are fewer ways to see sets/figs far in advance than there used to be.

That makes a lot more sense as to why we don’t have the fourth April wave set. Regardless, it’s March and they should reveal pictures soon so it’s just a matter of waiting and being patient for now...

Edited March 6, 2020 by LegoStarWarsFan777

[Mandalorianknight]

14 hours ago, Guyon2002 said:

I actually kinda like how we don't know anything about that one april set. Kinda changes things up instead of always knowing what is coming months in advance. It's not something I'd want to happen for all sets but this does keep discussions alive.

There wasn't much to be secretive about with LEGO's Endgame sets, none of the sets had anything to do with the movie (except for maybe the 4+ police stati.... I mean Avengers Compound)

This is different though, for endgame I remember marvel wanted NOTHING to be revealed about that movie, so even stuff like the 4+ "thanos attacks a police station" sets were kept under wraps. With this, they have no reason whatsoever spoiler-wise, even if the final set is for exogol, since it's march. I think it might be more like @jdubbs's reasoning.

12 hours ago, Lego-Freak said:

I generally agree, but in this particular case it also keeps self-indulgent speculation alive since there’s virtually NOTHING to go off of  So little so that we can’t even be 100% certain that thing even exists. And if it does, disappointment will be almost inevitable 

You're telling me it might not be a massive $70 501st battle pack with 18.67 501st troopers?

Spoiler

the .67 was because if there's four figures in a $15 battle pack, mathmatically there's then 18.66... for what would be a $70 battle pack, but it can be echo 

 

[Brickadeer]

21 hours ago, Lego-Freak said:

I generally agree, but in this particular case it also keeps self-indulgent speculation alive since there’s virtually NOTHING to go off of  So little so that we can’t even be 100% certain that thing even exists. And if it does, disappointment will be almost inevitable 

Yes, the times were only catalogs and no internet existed are over :) Right now, we don't even know if the summer wave will feature phase 1 or phase 2 clones or both :/ And without further leaks, that won't change until...well...June or July.

[LegoStarWarsFan777]

17 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

This is different though, for endgame I remember marvel wanted NOTHING to be revealed about that movie, so even stuff like the 4+ "thanos attacks a police station" sets were kept under wraps. With this, they have no reason whatsoever spoiler-wise, even if the final set is for exogol, since it's march. I think it might be more like @jdubbs's reasoning.

We even have the pictures for the Razor Crest which is coming out in September yet we don’t have pictures for the April sets that come out in a little over a month. Lego is definitely getting a little bit better about keeping sets secret (especially the fourth April set). However I do kind of like it because it adds an element of surprise and something to look forward to like @Guyon2002 was saying.

[BigGuy4U]

54 minutes ago, LegoStarWarsFan777 said:

We even have the pictures for the Razor Crest which is coming out in September yet we don’t have pictures for the April sets that come out in a little over a month. Lego is definitely getting a little bit better about keeping sets secret (especially the fourth April set). However I do kind of like it because it adds an element of surprise and something to look forward to like @Guyon2002 was saying.

I agree, Lego suddenly making an announcement for a set we didn't even know was coming is a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Although I wouldn't be surprised with how long we've waited for the fourth April set it'll be more of a feeling of "finally", immediately followed by disappointment that it doesn't meet anyone's wild but unfounded expectations.

[ArrowBricks]

Stormtrooper and Boba Fett helmets have leaked. 
 

Personally think they look quite good! 

[AMD]

16 minutes ago, ArrowBricks said:

Stormtrooper and Boba Fett helmets have leaked. 
 

Personally think they look quite good! 

Same here, it looks very impressive when displayed at the shelf. I'm going to get the Boba Fett one for sure.

Also the boxes are in age range 18+ in which rumors are confirmed that we will be getting 18+ sets like this one

Edited March 7, 2020 by AMD

[BrickBob Studpants]

These look indeed very cool and I'm glad to see they really are helmets rather than busts  I also appreciate the box art, very slick! Appears to be a new box size, too.

 

[HalfBloodPrince]

I am starting to think the $70 set was cancelled like the other 3 we heard about from promobricks. We have no name, no images, we only know it is $70. 

[THELEGOBATMAN]

Yikes. Honestly, I think those look bad. I appreciate the box art tho, it's amazing.

Stormtrooper helmet is awful. I hate those studs all over the helmet. Eyes and mouth are too small. Really bad.

Boba Fett helmet is cooler, but not much. I hate the studs, but there's less of them than on Stormtrooper one. Visor (black upper part) looks really weird. 

[BrickBob Studpants]

15 minutes ago, HalfBloodPrince said:

I am starting to think the $70 set was cancelled like the other 3 we heard about from promobricks. We have no name, no images, we only know it is $70. 

Not necessarily. According to the rumours, the fourth set is an exclusive of sorts, so it'd make sense for it not to leak along with the busts  Once the helmets and D-O appear on s@h and the fourth set doesn't, then we can start worrying 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Lego-Freak