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

[Kit Figsto]

Didn’t really see anybody talking about it, but Landino on IG said that the X-Wing apparently has a different nose construction and less detail on the wings, comes with Luke and R2-D2, and that the TIE has the same cockpit but scaled down wings and 3 figured.  Curious if the X-Wing comes with any other figures (one fig and a droid in a $50 set vs 3 in a $40 set seems really odd, especially since I doubt the TIE comes with a droid).  I’d assume a TIE pilot is inevitable, but I’m very anxious to see pics and who else comes with it.

[wesker]

Re-releases are fine and I will hold judgement on the scaled down redesigns until I see photos. I think many of us can agree the prices for sets like the X-Wings have gotten a bit too high over the years and bringing them down to a more affordable level can only be a good thing. There's a few sets I think could actually benefit from being scaled back (Landspeeder, AT-ST, Naboo Fighter, ARC-170 etc) and if it means eventually getting that overdue TIE Bomber remake they've been reluctant to release due to the price range then I welcome the decision.

Where this new wave disappoints me is with how empty and minimal it feels compared to past winter waves. Microfighters and helmets are fine for those who collect them but for anyone who is more interested in the system scale side of things there just doesn't seem to be a lot on offer.

• No battle packs
• No location playsets like Yoda's Hut
• No lightsaber duels
• Only one mid range "great vehicle" set in the wave
• Nothing from either the Prequel Trilogy or The Clone Wars
• The only Sequel Trilogy set is from the 4+ range
• A fairly safe line up of characters that doesn't seem to offer much in the way of new and interesting figures

Maybe the summer wave will have a more substantial selection of products but as of now I can't help but feel underwhelmed by it.

[Pedilego]

I hear the people saying "be patient" and "product development takes time" but allow me a couple of counter-points:

• Season 7 of the Clone Wars aired early this year. Streaming numbers don't necessarily equal sales but that and the consensus reviews on the Siege of Mandalore arch should've gotten TLG's attention.
  • I feel like TLG tapered back because of poor toy sales from Disney Star Wars. @jdubbs mentioned Rebels but it's been pretty universal. However, the Clone Wars audience justified a lot of lines over the years. Now those kids/fans are older, have money, might have their own kids, and the audience has expanded to others, too, due to streaming.
• There are people at TLG whose job it is to analyze these things and make decisions. A window missed does reduce the chance we see certain sets. The further a potential product release is away from the release of the source material, the less likely it is that Lego can/should/will try to ride the wave.
  • I think the popularity of SoM demands that we'll see Ahsoka vs. Maul, new Mandos (Bo? Maul Mandos, etc.) but chances for stuff like a 501st Y-Wing diminishes with each wave, and hope for something like a CIS MTT happening seems long-gone.

 

5 hours ago, Agent Kallus said:

All that said I do hope they aren't trying to make this wave more 'kiddish'. Kids like the normal sets as do Adults, and for anything more simple they still have 4+. I do find it somewhat crazy that when lego realised that a lot of star wars sets sell to adults that they tried to change them, we already like what they had. Now nothing against the Art and the Helmets (which I know are both also trying to attract non lego buying adults) but if system sets are what brought people here then they should remember that.

I agree with you and @wesker. I like that they're trying to appeal to AFOLs, even if I'm not into the product lines, but not when there's multiple going at once and it feels like they're at the expense of system.

 

BTW Since when have the set numbers been known? One YouTuber speculated the quantity of sets and/or dates of release could be due to COVID, which would make it much more understandable.

 

Anyways, it's nice to see most people being measured in expressing thoughts & concerns while taking a wait & see attitude before really passing judgment. While I'm disappointed in a couple of ways, I'm also still interested to see the sets. I agree with @Brikkyy13 about the Slave I & Vader Tie. They're really accurate, fit the figs, and kids can actually swoosh them against each other at the same time.

[jdubbs]

19 minutes ago, Pedilego said:

BTW Since when have the set numbers been known? One YouTuber speculated the quantity of sets and/or dates of release could be due to COVID, which would make it much more understandable.

Since Toyfair NY, so February. Covid may be to blame for the staggered release of the 1H 2021 sets, but it is highly unlikely that it had anything to do with the total number of sets or their composition. 

Edited September 13, 2020 by jdubbs

[MaximillianRebo]

Happy to hear about the Tauntaun microfighter as I was hoping TLG would continue this trend following on from the Bantha and Dewback.

Regarding the X-Wing / TIE news, I crunched some numbers on previous sets. Just looking at Red 5 X-Wings, the new ship is rumoured to be 474 pieces. In contrast the 2018 model was 731 pieces, 2012 560 pieces and 2006 437 pieces. Piece wise I could see it being doable, the question is will the lower piece count mean a reduction in size or detail? I doubt TLG would make up the shortfall with bigger pieces at the rumoured price point. It's the old conundrum of size/detail/price - pick two.

I'm not fussed about minifig scale, just having most ships scaling to each other - the Falcon gets a pass for example as it basically has to be UCS size to scale to other system scale fighters. I really like the Solo TIE but it dwarfs other comparable ships (519 pieces in this model compared to a rumoured 432), so it will be interesting to see how the new one looks. There's often talk about redesigns of helmet molds and how they do/don't fit with older figs, maybe this is an attempt by TLG to reset the scale of their smaller fighters going forward. On a side note, maybe such a down-scaling could open the door for a TIE Bomber in this potential new scale in the future.

[m4st3rt3ch]

At first thought i'm not thrilled about the downsized TIE. I got 3 sitting here side by side, all the same size (9492, 75101, 75211) and it looks great. A new one being substantially smaller...let's wait and see.

[Redroe]

I am interested to see if the newly dialled back sets still scale reasonably with other stuff in the theme. Like the mando hero vehicle. Will it be itself a lighter, cheaper version of a large vehicle or will it "do a BARC" and be large and complex to target Afols alongside kid friendly system stuff for the OT?

Maybe I'm Barcing up the wrong tree.

 

 

Sorry.

[wesker]

The original blue TIE Fighter from 2001-2005 was a good scale. I'd be completely fine if the new model is a similar size to that.

I'm also hoping the lower piece count for the TIE Fighter means we can get a rounded cockpit design again. 2016's TIE Advanced and TIE Striker both did an excellent job at capturing that look just by using basic slope and corner bricks as well as the 6x6 windshield for the top hatch.

The 2018 Solo version however was far too jagged and blocky and could really have benefited from a more simplified build.

[Seasider]

For all the moans about the next wave, I’m glad to see the Helmet collection gets a second set. Hopefully some interesting helmets like a scout trooper or the royal guards or boushh from ROTJ rather than going for the obvious fan favourites of Vader and Kylo.
As to the UCS set, the A-Wing is a great set, so it shows cheaper UCS sets can work.

[Redroe]

49 minutes ago, wesker said:

The original blue TIE Fighter from 2001-2005 was a good scale. I'd be completely fine if the new model is a similar size to that.

I'm also hoping the lower piece count for the TIE Fighter means we can get a rounded cockpit design again. 2016's TIE Advanced and TIE Striker both did an excellent job at capturing that look just by using basic slope and corner bricks as well as the 6x6 windshield for the top hatch.

The 2018 Solo version however was far too jagged and blocky and could really have benefited from a more simplified build.

After the bomber chat a few weeks back I did a TIE moc at the same size as the 2001 model with common design features of the 201(6?) TIE advanced. I'm quite proud of it and must get some pics onto flickr. It's nowhere near as good as the flagship TIE mocs on the web but shows quite well how they could do a perfectly viable cheaper design at that scale. 

The very first wave of models did a good job of representing the vehicles (mostly... slave 1, bleh) with limited parts and techniques. Imagine how they could work at that scale now with modern parts and experience? Based on vehicles like the microfighters and midi Slave 1 I am very excited to see what they come.up with.

[ArrowBricks]

Damn this wave...wow how very awful. 

Interesting (although not good) that they’re experimenting less detailed sets. 
 

Genuinely baffled by this wave. Roll on the second part of 2021.

 

[TeddytheSpoon]

2 hours ago, MaximillianRebo said:

Regarding the X-Wing / TIE news, I crunched some numbers on previous sets. Just looking at Red 5 X-Wings, the new ship is rumoured to be 474 pieces. In contrast the 2018 model was 731 pieces, 2012 560 pieces and 2006 437 pieces. Piece wise I could see it being doable, the question is will the lower piece count mean a reduction in size or detail? I doubt TLG would make up the shortfall with bigger pieces at the rumoured price point. It's the old conundrum of size/detail/price - pick two.

From what Landino and one or two others have said, it seems that the reduction will be more in detail and not size (although the TIE will have slightly smaller wings apparently). If that means the X-wing is somewhere between the 2012 and 2006 models I'm all for it. LEGO models are meant to be representations of their subject matter turned into a toy, not detailed scale models.

I agree on your conundrum triangle as well - pick two of size, detail and price to have in a set, and then complain about the last one.

[Nootella]

Alot of questions asked here are already answered in the source article but ill dunk it here quickly.

The MF microfighter is said to have brown jacket solo, meaning spinoff solo or hoth solo minifigure. 101 pieces

The dual Micro pack is a brick-built Tauntaun with luke skywalker and an ATAT with the generic ATATpilot

Third Micro is unknown but I speculate it will be a TIE fighter.

The smallest system set is mandalorian themed set for the good guys at 30 euros and is 276 pieces

The junior 4+ set is an x wing trench run again but this time for the ST blue x wing

The TIE fighter is 40 euros for 432 pieces, has 3 figures and has the same sized body but the wings are drastically reduced. Its described to look like a rebels TIE fighter and has way less detail. Probably just a smooth look.

The Xwing is the same deal, 50 euros for 474 pieces and only has luke and r2. The wings and tail are much simpler looking and the nose is a new building technique. The size is about the same as the ones on the market.

Theres a imperial shuttle for 80 euros

Eventually we get a buildable figure and three helmets, two helmets are 10 euros more expensive and one is 10 euros cheaper. Rumor has it the helmets could be a vader and scout trooper and the buildable bust may be a probe droid(?)

My personal opinions are that I'm glad lego is taking a step back and finally making their product affordable to their target demographic:kids. If I were a kid/teenager I would be overjoyed to know my savings could get me an affordable and fairly accurate version of a very iconic and desirable ship, I wouldn't care for accuracy and greebling and even as an adult I rarely do unless its something like a Y wing or a UCS set.

Im also more than happy to have a year of a break atleast from needing to spend money at lego especially with todays economy.

They missed a big opportunity to have maul vs ahsoka 1v1 style set they did with mustafar and starkiller base. Doing a clone themed set should've also been a no brainer. Maybe next years summer wave or the wave after that will have something bad batch themed.

[Redroe]

57 minutes ago, SCREDEYE said:

Alot of questions asked here are already answered in the source article but ill dunk it here quickly.

The MF microfighter is said to have brown jacket solo, meaning spinoff solo or hoth solo minifigure. 101 pieces

The dual Micro pack is a brick-built Tauntaun with luke skywalker and an ATAT with the generic ATATpilot

Third Micro is unknown but I speculate it will be a TIE fighter.

The smallest system set is mandalorian themed set for the good guys at 30 euros and is 276 pieces

The junior 4+ set is an x wing trench run again but this time for the ST blue x wing

The TIE fighter is 40 euros for 432 pieces, has 3 figures and has the same sized body but the wings are drastically reduced. Its described to look like a rebels TIE fighter and has way less detail. Probably just a smooth look.

The Xwing is the same deal, 50 euros for 474 pieces and only has luke and r2. The wings and tail are much simpler looking and the nose is a new building technique. The size is about the same as the ones on the market.

Theres a imperial shuttle for 80 euros

Eventually we get a buildable figure and three helmets, two helmets are 10 euros more expensive and one is 10 euros cheaper. Rumor has it the helmets could be a vader and scout trooper and the buildable bust may be a probe droid(?)

My personal opinions are that I'm glad lego is taking a step back and finally making their product affordable to their target demographic:kids. If I were a kid/teenager I would be overjoyed to know my savings could get me an affordable and fairly accurate version of a very iconic and desirable ship, I wouldn't care for accuracy and greebling and even as an adult I rarely do unless its something like a Y wing or a UCS set.

Im also more than happy to have a year of a break atleast from needing to spend money at lego especially with todays economy.

They missed a big opportunity to have maul vs ahsoka 1v1 style set they did with mustafar and starkiller base. Doing a clone themed set should've also been a no brainer. Maybe next years summer wave or the wave after that will have something bad batch themed.

Struck me that the rumoured Mando set might actually be a Bad Batch set?

Gonna wait til I see if it includes Beskar Mando and baby Yoda before I finally pull the trigger on Razor Crest.

[Cyberfounder]

Wow, pretty disappointing wave for system sets if the spring leaks are accurate. An other X-Wing, an other MF... 

An other wave with nothing interesting. 

[TeeNuggetTa]

I don't mind making the system scale smaller and more affordable, but they should've given them in a different wave, maybe the end of this year even because we have two x-wings in this wave already and one the year before.

[BrickBob Studpants]

3 minutes ago, TeeNuggetTa said:

I don't mind making the system scale smaller and more affordable, but they should've given them in a different wave, maybe the end of this year even because we have two x-wings in this wave already and one the year before.

Exactly. It’s not upsetting to me that we get another bunch of X-Wing and TIE Fighter remakes, what does bother me however is that they make up half of this wave’s regular sets  I wouldn’t mind them at all if there was something in this wave to balance it out, but there isn’t.

...well, there’s the Mando set, but I don’t put too much faith in it until we get some more details 

[Phoenix__Phyre]

Hmm... it'll be interesting to see what the X-wing, TIE Fighter, and Imperial Shuttle look like. Of the two options; 1. Small & Detailed or 2. Large & Simple I'm not sure which I'd prefer, but I'll reserve any judgement until pictures get released. In the past I've avoided buying a TIE Fighter due to the price, so I'm looking forward to *maybe* adding one to my collection.

Most X-wing sets tend to contain 4 or more mini figures, so it's interesting to see that only Luke and R2 will make an appearance, although I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. I wonder how much minifigs contribute to the overall cost of a set? The 2015 Imperial Shuttle and 2018 Landing Shuttle both had 5 figures, so it'll be interesting to see what selection we get this time round. I wonder what 3 figures we'll get with the TIE Fighter. Obviously a TIE Pilot, but with the other two it would be nice if we got at least 1 named figure, although nothing wrong with some generic stormtroopers and officers.

I'm looking forward to the Mandalorian set, although if we don't get a full Beskar minifig I'll be less enthused. 

Overall I'm a bit disappointed that there aren't any sets beyond the OT (besides the Mandalorian set of course) although I've gotten used to that in the past few years. I understand that TLG couldn't design a bunch of CW sets in reaction to the AAT and 501st Battle Pack that just came out, BUT they did know that enough fans wanted a PT Gunship from the UCS poll back in February, beating out two other iconic OT ships, so surely that indicates that the prequel fanbase is large enough to cater to with at least *one* set each wave?

In general I don't mind remakes too much, especially if they improve on set design and include updated/new minifigs, but with the quantity and rate at which TLG releases remakes I'm worried we'll never get an original set again, especially when there is SO MUCH that hasn't be done yet. There is still the summer wave, and in previous years there have been surprise sets in waves, but for now I'm quietly resigned.

Sorry this post is a mess of thoughts!

[FeepoGerbin]

Saw a comment on r/legostarwars of someone claiming to be a LEGO employee, saying that generally January waves are intended to be smaller simpler playsets while the bigger, more exciting/interesting sets show up around the holidays.

Is this evidentially backed up by previous years’ early waves or is that guy lying?

[ArrowBricks]

2 minutes ago, FeepoGerbin said:

Saw a comment on r/legostarwars of someone claiming to be a LEGO employee, saying that generally January waves are intended to be smaller simpler playsets while the bigger, more exciting/interesting sets show up around the holidays.

Is this evidentially backed up by previous years’ early waves or is that guy lying?

Winter has always been known as a wave of smaller sets. 
 

However they were still exciting, well built and had new figures, ships and vehicles. 
 

This wave just looks bland all over.

[Mandalorianknight]

 

8 hours ago, Redroe said:

I am interested to see if the newly dialled back sets still scale reasonably with other stuff in the theme. Like the mando hero vehicle. Will it be itself a lighter, cheaper version of a large vehicle or will it "do a BARC" and be large and complex to target Afols alongside kid friendly system stuff for the OT?

Maybe I'm Barcing up the wrong tree.

Sorry.

Apology accepted, captain needa. 

I assume the mando set will be a normal system scale set.

6 hours ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

I agree on your conundrum triangle as well - pick two of size, detail and price to have in a set, and then complain about the last one.

This is legitimately supported by the last wave, especially if you factor in figures and iconicity. Some examples: Grievous starfighter has good size and detail, but a horrendous price. AAT has great figures and is accurately sized, but some details are off and it's pretty expensive. The only set that seems to be pretty good on detail, size and price is the galaxy's edge set, due to how few people know what it is.

4 hours ago, SCREDEYE said:

My personal opinions are that I'm glad lego is taking a step back and finally making their product affordable to their target demographic:kids. If I were a kid/teenager I would be overjoyed to know my savings could get me an affordable and fairly accurate version of a very iconic and desirable ship, I wouldn't care for accuracy and greebling and even as an adult I rarely do unless its something like a Y wing or a UCS set.

They missed a big opportunity to have maul vs ahsoka 1v1 style set they did with mustafar and starkiller base. Doing a clone themed set should've also been a no brainer. Maybe next years summer wave or the wave after that will have something bad batch themed.

I agree on both here. People tend to forget that these are meant for kids. It shouldn't set you back $170 to get a TIE and x-wing, like it did this january. The cheaper prices allow more kids to get the sets, which drives up lego's sales. I assume they've done some calculations, or at least figure that the cheaper price will translate into more sales.

3 hours ago, Redroe said:

Struck me that the rumoured Mando set might actually be a Bad Batch set?

Gonna wait til I see if it includes Beskar Mando and baby Yoda before I finally pull the trigger on Razor Crest.

I doubt it, these leakers have been accurate so far.

As someone who got the razor crest, I'd go for it even if there's other ways to get baby yoda. This is one set where, at least in my opinion, the build really shines, which is somewhat ironic as that's where most sets should shine but it's somewhat rare nowadays. It's large, detailed, has tons of interior space, and a good price. It also begs to be modded, which some people may not like but I enjoy tinkering with sets like this.

[hands on]

I'm actually mixed on the 2021 rumors

while there're no battlepacks, clone wars sets, and everything is a recent remake besides the mandalorian set, this is the first time lego is committing to reversing the trend of inflating their prices. If the x-wing and tie keep to a similar size and comparable level of detail to their predecessors I think this wave will be a home run for their core audience. 

[doclord]

For some reason I don’t expect Beskar Mando in that small set, but at the same time I remember when Enfys Nest was in a cheap set too. Considering we have all the good guys aside from the Ugnaught and the named Mandos I wonder who will be in the set? Maybe it actually is the Ugnaughts ranch and the vehicle is the lizards?

I wonder if Mando will be mostly in AFOL sets after the success of the Crest? Not tying Moff Gideon into the next TIE set was a sad move but he’ll be around for a while.

Edited September 13, 2020 by doclord

[PreVizsla]

14 hours ago, wesker said:

No location playsets like Yoda's Hut

Well its possible that the hero Mandalorian vehicle can be Bluurg with Kuiil and his small hut,if its not the speeder that hasbro made or something new from season 2.

Also maybe these original trilogy ships can be related to that new Squadrons game,not necessarily sets from game but maybe LEGO thought those will sell well if game gets popular.
 

1 hour ago, Mandalorianknight said:

People tend to forget that these are meant for kids.

I never saw a kid that asked for original trilogy set or actually buy one at the store,they mostly ask for clone wars and then leave sad with speed champion set

[RODDY]

I’m very curious to see how they do the Imperial Shuttle at $80. Might pick it up if it’s decent and has good minifigs. Is this wave disappointing? Definitely so when it comes in regards to set selection. But there are some positives. With smaller waves, it becomes so much easier to collect and with lower prices, it’s going to be even better. I’ve always believed that Lego put too much details in the system scale sets, in the builds and minifigs alike, so I’m glad to see more of a difference between system and UCS sets. These aren’t black series, screen accurate props it’s Lego and that form is what makes it fun. That’s what I liked about the 2006 style sets so I’m glad the old way of thinking is back.