Unpopular Opinions related to Lego Star Wars

[Pedilego]

29 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

 10. The original trilogy is the most famous, most well-recieved, and IMO the best trilogy. Almost all children that have seen star wars have seen the original trilogy, and so it makes perfect sense that juniors OT exists. Kids that young rarely pick out their own toys, anyway.  

I completely agree. The $25-30 playsets are ok, but there need to be more big playsets.

Thanks for addressing this lol. I sensed a lot of... bitterness. I'm a prequel kid, too, but I started my kid off on ANH. Luke's journey is timeless, as are the core characters.

That said, a lot of the other points mentioned are valid, including the one about playsets. IMO the PT/CW has better world-building & should theoretically be more conducive to a Lego sets - since there's more variety (at the expense of 'iconicity') and the 'good guy' faction is cooler. It's just a shame that its almost exclusively vehicles besides, what, Duel of the Fates? Hopefully the prequels get at least one of those large scale playsets (e.g. Jedi Temple, Geonosis) as well as more small ones.

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, Pedilego said:

Thanks for addressing this lol. I sensed a lot of... bitterness. I'm a prequel kid, too, but I started my kid off on ANH. Luke's journey is timeless, as are the core characters.

That said, a lot of the other points mentioned are valid, including the one about playsets. IMO the PT/CW has better world-building & should theoretically be more conducive to a Lego sets - since there's more variety (at the expense of 'iconicity') and the 'good guy' faction is cooler. It's just a shame that its almost exclusively vehicles besides, what, Duel of the Fates? Hopefully the prequels get at least one of those large scale playsets (e.g. Jedi Temple, Geonosis) as well as more small ones.

Agreed. I grew up on TCW, and my parents showed me the original 6 films when I was too young to really understand what was going on in them. The OT has been my favorite trilogy since I was old enough to understand the plot.

You do bring up an interesting point about the "coolness" of the good guys, I'd think lego would want clones on shelves at all times, since they're commonly agreed upon as the coolest looking faction, but they don't, really. Also agreed about the prequels conducting themselves better to playsets (or at least most playsets, I think Hoth and the Final Duel will always make great location sets), stuff like pentaki really needs to be released as a set.

Speaking of the clones being the "coolest good guys" and this being the unpopular opinion thread: I like the rebel fleet trooper design more than I like the clones'. 

[RetroInferno]

8 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Agreed. I grew up on TCW, and my parents showed me the original 6 films when I was too young to really understand what was going on in them. The OT has been my favorite trilogy since I was old enough to understand the plot.

You do bring up an interesting point about the "coolness" of the good guys, I'd think lego would want clones on shelves at all times, since they're commonly agreed upon as the coolest looking faction, but they don't, really. Also agreed about the prequels conducting themselves better to playsets (or at least most playsets, I think Hoth and the Final Duel will always make great location sets), stuff like pentaki really needs to be released as a set.

Speaking of the clones being the "coolest good guys" and this being the unpopular opinion thread: I like the rebel fleet trooper design more than I like the clones'. 

Playsets in the OT settings just haven't be tried much; Until recently Obi wan's home and yoda's hut had never been sold as a standalone set, Luke's home on tatooine (which has an interesting design) has not been done. Plenty of mos eisley locale and coruscant stuff could also be exploited but have not been so. 

On clones being the ''good guy'' faction with the best design I would partially agree, more so to younger audience. They look a bit too much like toys and have quite the personnalities for a mass produced weapon. I see them more as a scary tragic tool. Aesthetic wise I prefer the faceless, cold and imposing style the empire has. 

I also agree on your taste for fleet trooper design 

[lowlead]

• I find the 501st set boring af.  Don't care, keep it.

• Slave I aside, the 20th Anniversary sets were lame and a wasted opportunity.  Thankfully the Slave I is awesome.

• There can never be enough Lambda Shuttles - I'm disappointed about the false rumor.

• I really like the UCS Star Destroyer, and I think it's priced fairly. *dodges rotten vegetables*

• The lack of a new TIE Bomber in the mix is getting stupid at this point...although TLG may be aware of this sentiment.

• I'm still waiting for a Sith Infiltrator that doesn't look like garbage.

[Pedilego]

3 hours ago, RetroInferno said:

Playsets in the OT settings just haven't be tried much; Until recently Obi wan's home and yoda's hut had never been sold as a standalone set, Luke's home on tatooine (which has an interesting design) has not been done. Plenty of mos eisley locale and coruscant stuff could also be exploited but have not been so. 

On clones being the ''good guy'' faction with the best design I would partially agree, more so to younger audience. They look a bit too much like toys and have quite the personnalities for a mass produced weapon. I see them more as a scary tragic tool. Aesthetic wise I prefer the faceless, cold and imposing style the empire has. 

I also agree on your taste for fleet trooper design 

You're one of those that think the Empire are the good guys, huh?

But yeah, it's interesting how George cleverly found a way to have what are effectively faceless troops because, you know, aimed at kids and all - and then ended up reversing that in the show by giving, really, both sides personalities / clear sentience.

 

Off the top of my head, the PT has the 1999 Qui-Gon & Jar Jar vs. STAP in the Naboo swamps, Duel of the Fates, and Dooku vs. Yoda whereas the OT has Mos Eisley (thrice + UCS), Hoth (countless various location builds, Wampa Cave, multiple trenches, Echo Base, Medical Bay, etc.), Endor (Bunker, Bright Tree Village, various smaller ones), Final Duel (4 times if you count the 2 OG mini-sets that I was so fond of as a kid) and Yoda's Hut in the X-Wing set, too. That's 3 sets vs. close to 20, from my personal memory at least.

 

Unpopular Opinion:

• I think the newer Turbo Tank is underrated & most late 00s sets are overrated for similar (or rather opposite) reasons: The old ones have size but lack sturdyness. 

[LurkingEhlek]

52 minutes ago, Pedilego said:

Off the top of my head, the PT has the 1999 Qui-Gon & Jar Jar vs. STAP in the Naboo swamps, Duel of the Fates, and Dooku vs. Yoda whereas the OT has Mos Eisley (thrice + UCS), Hoth (countless various location builds, Wampa Cave, multiple trenches, Echo Base, Medical Bay, etc.), Endor (Bunker, Bright Tree Village, various smaller ones), Final Duel (4 times if you count the 2 OG mini-sets that I was so fond of as a kid) and Yoda's Hut in the X-Wing set, too. That's 3 sets vs. close to 20, from my personal memory at least.

 

Unpopular Opinion:

• I think the newer Turbo Tank is underrated & most late 00s sets are overrated for similar (or rather opposite) reasons: The old ones have size but lack sturdyness. 

The OT also has 5 Jabba palace related playsets.

I can also extend the Turbo Tank Problem to a lot of sets actually that are more frail in older versions. A lot of that value perception comes from this being an AFOL community emphasizes display rather than wear and tear, making scale more important.

 

Unpopular opinion adjacent to that: UCS sets do not have to be $200 minimum in exchange for inflated scale. I could go for smaller ucs crafts at the $90-160 range than deluxe cases like the A-Wing and Tie Fighter which were both noticeably out of scale. I am going to assume part of that hesitation comes from the last time Lego trying a lower price UCS was Obi-Wan's Starfighter which I think would be fair to assume did not do well.

[JaCor653]

On 8/24/2020 at 5:44 PM, LEGODrongo01 said:

UCS Falcon definitely isnt minifig scale

The model is a bit too long, the width is almost perfect, and it's a bit too tall.

[Graupensuppe]

On 8/25/2020 at 12:44 AM, LEGODrongo01 said:

UCS Falcon definitely isnt minifig scale

What scale are you using? In "3 studs = 1 meter" scale it should be 34.5 * 2.4 = 82.8 cm. The model is 84 cm long.

 

- TCW style minifigures are hideous and useless, and that includes the 2020 clone troopers.

- The 2013 X-Wing is not a good model, it does not have the level of detail and accuracy I expect from a UCS set.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Graupensuppe

[TheAbsoluteSt81]

8 minutes ago, Graupensuppe said:

- The 2013 X-Wing is not a good model, it does not have the level of detail and accuracy I expect from a UCS set.

I like it myself but it's definitely one of the weaker UCS sets - compared to the B-wing from the previous year it doesn't hold up as well imo. The worst part if the lack of a tilt down the front, which is understandable in playsets as it's difficult to do with good stability as minifig scale, but should have been essential in a UCS set.

9 hours ago, lowlead said:

• Slave I aside, the 20th Anniversary sets were lame and a wasted opportunity.  Thankfully the Slave I is awesome.

• I'm still waiting for a Sith Infiltrator that doesn't look like garbage.

I like the Anakin podracer as well, but overall there were a lot of missed opportunities there - especially with the lack of AOTC sets

I had the 2007 set as a kid and for all of it's flaws, the wings are the closest Lego has come to accurate so far and I think that the next version should be at that scale, maybe for £40 and throw in Watto, Qui-Gon and Anakin

7 hours ago, LurkingEhlek said:

Unpopular opinion adjacent to that: UCS sets do not have to be $200 minimum in exchange for inflated scale. I could go for smaller ucs crafts at the $90-160 range than deluxe cases like the A-Wing and Tie Fighter which were both noticeably out of scale. I am going to assume part of that hesitation comes from the last time Lego trying a lower price UCS was Obi-Wan's Starfighter which I think would be fair to assume did not do well.

Yes, definitely. 2 more possibly unpopular opinions of mine related to those 2 sets are 1. the wedges at the front of the A-wing detract from an otherwise great model and 2. Lego should have made new quarter-dome pieces for the UCS TIE, the exterior is as good as they could get with the pieces they had but I don't think that model is going to age well

[Mandalorianknight]

10 hours ago, lowlead said:

 The lack of a new TIE Bomber in the mix is getting stupid at this point...although TLG may be aware of this sentiment.

Oh, they know. The designers said they won't make another one, and also to "buy everything day one". 

12 hours ago, RetroInferno said:

On clones being the ''good guy'' faction with the best design I would partially agree, more so to younger audience. They look a bit too much like toys and have quite the personnalities for a mass produced weapon. I see them more as a scary tragic tool. Aesthetic wise I prefer the faceless, cold and imposing style the empire has. 

I also agree on your taste for fleet trooper design 

Oh no I definitely agree there, they're the "coolest" good guy faction primarily to lego's target audience, kids, probably because Lucasfilm wanted them to be popular merchandise. (I feel like that may have something to do with why they look like toys, too) Stormtroopers and mandos are always going to be better at the "imposing armored soldier" thing. 

Good to see a fellow fan of the fleet trooper!

 

Unpopular opinion: the summer 2020 wave was the best wave in a while and as a whole was better than most, if not all, of the 08-13 clone wars waves.

[TheAbsoluteSt81]

3 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Oh, they know. The designers said they won't make another one, and also to "buy everything day one". 

Really? If so why did they offer the TIE bomber as one of the UCS options recently? If they said it a while back my guess is that it wouldn't apply today - the last TIE bomber came out before all of Lego's target demographic were born - but I could see why they're hesitant as I don't think other TIE variations (defender, crawler) sold particularly well and that could also explain why we haven't seen an OT interceptor since 06

[TeddytheSpoon]

2 hours ago, TheAbsoluteSt81 said:

Really? If so why did they offer the TIE bomber as one of the UCS options recently? If they said it a while back my guess is that it wouldn't apply today - the last TIE bomber came out before all of Lego's target demographic were born - but I could see why they're hesitant as I don't think other TIE variations (defender, crawler) sold particularly well and that could also explain why we haven't seen an OT interceptor since 06

The interview was only a few weeks ago so it's definitely recent, and concerned a system scale rather than UCS scale model.

We've speculated in other threads that LEGO have kind of designed themselves into a corner with this one. The last TIE was £65 IIRC, which would make a bomber of similar scale around the £90 - £100 mark (I think @Mandalorianknight did a cost experiment along the same lines with a rather good bomber MOC recently). The designers said in the interview that the play features they'd be able to fit in wouldn't really be justified at the price point, and I guess a similar point could be made about the interceptor.

You do raise an interesting point about the variants, though if the defender and crawler did sell poorly I would put it down to just being really obscure variants. I would like to know how well that '06 interceptor sold though.

[Mandalorianknight]

30 minutes ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

The interview was only a few weeks ago so it's definitely recent, and concerned a system scale rather than UCS scale model.

We've speculated in other threads that LEGO have kind of designed themselves into a corner with this one. The last TIE was £65 IIRC, which would make a bomber of similar scale around the £90 - £100 mark (I think @Mandalorianknight did a cost experiment along the same lines with a rather good bomber MOC recently). The designers said in the interview that the play features they'd be able to fit in wouldn't really be justified at the price point, and I guess a similar point could be made about the interceptor.

You do raise an interesting point about the variants, though if the defender and crawler did sell poorly I would put it down to just being really obscure variants. I would like to know how well that '06 interceptor sold though.

First off, thank you!

I agree with your point on the crawler and defender. The amount of kids reading the dark horse comics or playing empire at war was probably low enough that those sets didn't sell well. The interceptor, on the other hand, feels iconic enough, they should make it. It'll definitely be one of my next MOCS, at least.

2 hours ago, TheAbsoluteSt81 said:

Really? If so why did they offer the TIE bomber as one of the UCS options recently? If they said it a while back my guess is that it wouldn't apply today - the last TIE bomber came out before all of Lego's target demographic were born - but I could see why they're hesitant as I don't think other TIE variations (defender, crawler) sold particularly well and that could also explain why we haven't seen an OT interceptor since 06

Sorry, I meant system-scale. The interview was very recent, but their points were along the lines that, as @TeddytheSpoon says, it would be pretty expensive, as well as a lack of play features. (I dispute the latter point of the designers, the bomber has at minimum 3 different weapon play features you could make.

[Kit Figsto]

On 8/24/2020 at 1:35 PM, Makin Bacon said:

I'm disappointed that lego gave in to fans with the 501st battlepack. While it was proven to be a smart business decision, it sets a precedent that any time fans want something, they can get it by relentlessly brigading and spamming.

100% agree here, I'm hoping that this sort of thing never happens again.  It sort of did with the UCS Gunship, and when, as many of us have been saying, it inevitably isn't minifigure scale, or doesn't include Captain Rex, or whatever, I think there's going to be a lot of angry people on social media, even though LEGO never said it was a minifigure scale model.

On 8/25/2020 at 4:50 AM, Tariq j said:

- Not sure whether this unpopular but I loved the Planets line. I would have loved to see it continue and was gutted when they cancelled it and I’m not a huge fan of the microfighters. I don’t think they’re bad but they’re just not my thing.

- I sort of miss when we got waves where the sets complimented one another. Like in late 2013 when we got all those Episode II sets or in early 2014 when we got all those Episode III sets. Currently we have an AT-AT but no Snowspeeder to go with it. We have Anakin’s Jedi Starfighter but no Vulture Droid to chase it. Granted we may get some of these sets next year so I may be speaking too soon. 

Agree on both points!  I really enjoyed the Planets sets too.  There was a lot of potential there, and it was an awesome way to get some obscure figures.  I mean, we got a new Lobot figure from it!  I also liked when we got dueling battle packs as well, like they'd put out the Hoth ones or Clones and Droids, or Rebel Troopers vs Stormtroopers.  On a similar note, I actually liked the 2v2 battle packs, I think we only got a year or two of them (If I remember correctly, there was an Endor one, an ARC Trooper one, a different clone one, and there was probably a 4th one I forgot about).  They weren't as good for army building but it was pretty cool to get a miniature battle scene for $12.99.

Finally, for my own unpopular opinion, this summer wave is one of the best LEGO Star Wars waves we've gotten in a very long time.  It covers all three trilogies plus Mandalorian, has adult collector sets (that look very nice too) and kid's stuff, a good selection of figures, and stuff we haven't had for a few years either.  I think the reason so many people are complaining is because it doesn't focus on one specific trilogy, and people tend to favor one over the others.  OT people think we aren't getting enough OT stuff, PT people think we aren't getting enough PT stuff, etc.

[Paul11283652]

7 hours ago, Kit Figsto said:

Finally, for my own unpopular opinion, this summer wave is one of the best LEGO Star Wars waves we've gotten in a very long time.  It covers all three trilogies plus Mandalorian, has adult collector sets (that look very nice too) and kid's stuff, a good selection of figures, and stuff we haven't had for a few years either.  I think the reason so many people are complaining is because it doesn't focus on one specific trilogy, and people tend to favor one over the others.  OT people think we aren't getting enough OT stuff, PT people think we aren't getting enough PT stuff, etc.

I don’t disagree but for perhaps another unpopular opinion, the October 2H wave last year was even better than this years 2H wave. All the designs were good to excellent and none were especially overpriced. The only negative is that it focuses on what turned out to be an underwhelming movie. Compared to this year which is another wave of good designs, but most are overpriced or unnecessary in the case of the ITS.

[RogueTwo]

1. Hans Burkhard Schlömer designs really fragile sets with poor connections (and the UCS Slave I is terrible)

2. 75218 X-Wing is infinitely better than either UCS version.

3. Jordan Scott is my favorite UCS designer.  

4. I’m going to keep going to Firestar Toys if Lego keeps cheaping out on Star Wars figures

5. I DO NOT want to ever see a Star Wars CMF, because I believe blind-bag purchases go against Lego’s philosophy.  

[TheMainBricker]

I hate it that Ewan McGregor is constantly referred to as ginger in both Hasbro (usually Clone Wars) and Lego toys. The dark tan colour is a much more suitable colour. In Lego terms he has the same hair colour as Ron Weasley and Black Widow.

[Makin Bacon]

43 minutes ago, TheMainBricker said:

I hate it that Ewan McGregor is constantly referred to as ginger in both Hasbro (usually Clone Wars) and Lego toys. The dark tan colour is a much more suitable colour. In Lego terms he has the same hair colour as Ron Weasley and Black Widow.

I believe medium nougat would be a suitable choice, they used it for the obi-wan buildable figure a few years back

[TheAbsoluteSt81]

23 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I agree with your point on the crawler and defender. The amount of kids reading the dark horse comics or playing empire at war was probably low enough that those sets didn't sell well. The interceptor, on the other hand, feels iconic enough, they should make it. It'll definitely be one of my next MOCS, at least.

True, EU sets have always been a bit of a gamble. I remember those comic packs hasbro did in 2007/8 which ended up warming the shelves in Toys R Us for years (although I got a few for £10 or less when I was younger and now they're worth £40+ each). Not sure how the last interceptor sold but it was a tie-in to a TV show which got a pretty bad reception iirc and isn't talked about much now so maybe sales weren't great and that's why Lego are reluctant to put another one out.

I saw your MOC thread btw, the bomber is fantastic! Love the rebel trooper battle pack as well, the original was my first ever SW set (I believe I got it for £8 from Asda in Cambridge, got the stormtrooper one shortly after)

1 hour ago, TheMainBricker said:

I hate it that Ewan McGregor is constantly referred to as ginger in both Hasbro (usually Clone Wars) and Lego toys. The dark tan colour is a much more suitable colour. In Lego terms he has the same hair colour as Ron Weasley and Black Widow.

That would probably work for AOTC Obi, not sure about ROTS though - I think reddish brown would be best, or maybe the light brown that's usually used as a skin tone

4 hours ago, RogueTwo said:

1. Hans Burkhard Schlömer designs really fragile sets with poor connections (and the UCS Slave I is terrible)

2. 75218 X-Wing is infinitely better than either UCS version.

3. Jordan Scott is my favorite UCS designer.  

4. I’m going to keep going to Firestar Toys if Lego keeps cheaping out on Star Wars figures

5. I DO NOT want to ever see a Star Wars CMF, because I believe blind-bag purchases go against Lego’s philosophy.  

A few very controversial ones here! Firestar does have a good range

17 hours ago, Paul11283652 said:

I don’t disagree but for perhaps another unpopular opinion, the October 2H wave last year was even better than this years 2H wave. All the designs were good to excellent and none were especially overpriced. The only negative is that it focuses on what turned out to be an underwhelming movie. Compared to this year which is another wave of good designs, but most are overpriced or unnecessary in the case of the ITS.

Yes, the X-wing, Kylo Ren shuttle and Falcon were all fantastic. Could have used more small sets but there were some great ones there

[Sucram]

On 8/26/2020 at 9:20 PM, Graupensuppe said:

What scale are you using? In "3 studs = 1 meter" scale it should be 34.5 * 2.4 = 82.8 cm. The model is 84 cm long.

 

- TCW style minifigures are hideous and useless, and that includes the 2020 clone troopers.

- The 2013 X-Wing is not a good model, it does not have the level of detail and accuracy I expect from a UCS set.

It just looks too big lol.

Also yeah the UCS X Wing kinda stinks, especially the tiny engine things.

[karmajay]

That is funny about the playsets because I wished they had a series in the vein of the helmets that were just spaceships. No minfigs. Just spaceships and some type of elevated base. It would be a good opportunity to put sets out there that aren't the main ships and people won't complain about the minifigures in the set. :)

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, karmajay said:

That is funny about the playsets because I wished they had a series in the vein of the helmets that were just spaceships. No minfigs. Just spaceships and some type of elevated base. It would be a good opportunity to put sets out there that aren't the main ships and people won't complain about the minifigures in the set. :)

That would be cool. They wouldn't have to worry about it fitting a minifigure and could focus on getting the proportions exact, and it would also mean that x-wings wouldn't have to go for $90 (Not that they should anyway...).

A midi-scale fleet series of capital ships with micro scale starfighters could be cool too.

[Sucram]

Speaking of UCS sets I want more UCS level detailed minifigure scale sets for smaller ships. Not every UCS set has to be really big, and it would be nice to have all my ships scaled correctly to eachother

[TeddytheSpoon]

6 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

A midi-scale fleet series of capital ships with micro scale starfighters could be cool too.

I suspect this isn't an unpopular opinion, but I thought the two midi-scale sets we got were great for that reason, especially the Star Destroyer.

[Daddy_Stardust]

1. Probably not too controversial, but I hate microfighters. They're just an over-expensive way of releasing small packs with either unique characters or desirable army-builders (usually with a unique update) that would have been far better in a battle pack rather than with a hideous novelty version of a vehicle I'm just going to use for spare parts. Like the exclusive U-Wing pilot who had the accurate dual-moulded helmet; I appreciate they made it cheaper to obtain post-release of the big U-Wing set, but should have been in a rebel pilot battle pack (or with the actual main U-Wing set in the first place).

2. I hate microscale ships that come with calendars and magazine foil bags. They're just bags of spare parts IMO.

3. I can't stand brick-built animals. If they're meant to co-exist in a world with minifigures, then I feel any other lifeforms should be actual moulded posable characters too.

4. Whats the deal with so few vehicles containing actual seat pieces? Really bugs me. It's a single piece instead of a collection of tiles, modified tiles etc. If it can accommodate a real upright seat piece then stick one in!

5. I'm sure some people do for their dioramas, but I really don't like the really really really scene-specific minifigures that get released with books or other giveaways. Like batca-suit Finn, award-ceremony medal-wearing Luke and Han (and Vader) etc. I'm sure some people find these fun and quirky, especially if you make dioramas, but they are really limited in their usage (like I'm fine with them releasing Luke in the yellow jacket for potential numerous uses, but just not with the medal printed on, especially when lego have a medal accessory piece). These avenues for release would be better filled by characters who've never had a minifigure even though they feature extensively in a production (Dryden Vos, Bo Katan, Saw Gerrera, Galen Erso, General Dodonna, Iden Versio etc).