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LEGO Star Wars 2021 Set Discussion - READ FIRST POST!!!

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5 minutes ago, ArrowBricks said:

As a UK fan I’m so frustrated that they put it in a set not accessible to all! 

Especially after they said “no more regional exclusives”. I get that it was an unused convention exclusive but they really should not have released it. I was hoping Bespin Duel would receive a wider release this year under a new set number but I guess not. Final Duel it is for arm printing... if only I could find it in Australia :wall:

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23 minutes ago, Brikkyy13 said:

Especially after they said “no more regional exclusives”. I get that it was an unused convention exclusive but they really should not have released it. I was hoping Bespin Duel would receive a wider release this year under a new set number but I guess not. Final Duel it is for arm printing... if only I could find it in Australia :wall:

Well, it was a choice between making no money or making some money, there was really no reason not to release it besides avoiding fan backlash.

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On 1/19/2021 at 9:10 PM, hondohnaka said:

Edit: in an effort to make this comment not solely about bashing MandR, what's the price tag on the imperial shuttle going to be? I've heard 70 or 80, was wondering if anyone knew specifically.

I believe it's going to be $80 USD

75302 | Brickset

Edited by MAVERICK26
Typo

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The shuttle looks alright. At least the TIE fighter and the X-Wing have a good figure line up. I feel the 2015 version was a little better. 

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14 hours ago, ArrowBricks said:

I just can’t understand this move. Lego only losing out on money as I would have purchased this set if Vader had arm printing. Shame. 

Honestly, I think very few people would make that decision based on armprinting only, but I do agree I dont see why though

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14 hours ago, ArrowBricks said:

I just can’t understand this move. Lego only losing out on money as I would have purchased this set if Vader had arm printing. Shame. 

You're right. They're losing sales on that by not including any exclusive or rare/desired figure. I guess that's why the price point is so low compared to the previous iteration. Even though, I might eventually get the shuttle when the price goes down since I own none of the previous ones.

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39 minutes ago, Brikkyy13 said:

Especially after they said “no more regional exclusives”. I get that it was an unused convention exclusive but they really should not have released it. I was hoping Bespin Duel would receive a wider release this year under a new set number but I guess not. Final Duel it is for arm printing... if only I could find it in Australia :wall:

It’s just annoying. Rewarding people going to a convention, when they’re are proper Lego fans supporting the company day in day out. Doesn’t sit well with me at all! Like Duel on Cloud City was better than most of the sets they actually released!!!

13 minutes ago, BigGuy4U said:

Well, it was a choice between making no money or making some money, there was really no reason not to release it besides avoiding fan backlash.

Obviously, but it is a stupid idea to have a convention exclusive of such quality. 

10 minutes ago, Sneakguest said:

Honestly, I think very few people would make that decision based on armprinting only, but I do agree I dont see why though

Respectfully disagree. Minfigures are the main draw to a set. A uk fan here that already has the Death Star Duel from 2015 and cannot access the Cloud City set for any reasonable price would be clambering for this set. I know I’m not the only one. Heck it’s Darth Vader. The most I iconic villain figure in Star Wars who has new unbelievable arm printing!!

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45 minutes ago, Brikkyy13 said:

Especially after they said “no more regional exclusives”. I get that it was an unused convention exclusive but they really should not have released it. I was hoping Bespin Duel would receive a wider release this year under a new set number but I guess not. Final Duel it is for arm printing... if only I could find it in Australia :wall:

Isn’t there supposed to be a darth vader’s chamber 18+ set similar to bespin coming out soon?? that one should have arm printing..?

Edited by Northoftheborder

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12 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I assume it has something to do with the cost of the set, as arm printing is likely pretty expensive compared to other prints (since it's on smaller, heavily curved parts as opposed to a normal cylinder or flat surface like most prints). Therefore, they'd want to use it sparingly, so it makes sense it'd only be in the most expensive sets and 18+ sets.

The set has 3 minifigures and costs $80. They could afford to give Vader arm printing.

Edited by ood0

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28 minutes ago, ArrowBricks said:

It’s just annoying. Rewarding people going to a convention, when they’re are proper Lego fans supporting the company day in day out. Doesn’t sit well with me at all! Like Duel on Cloud City was better than most of the sets they actually released!!!

Obviously, but it is a stupid idea to have a convention exclusive of such quality. 

Respectfully disagree. Minfigures are the main draw to a set. A uk fan here that already has the Death Star Duel from 2015 and cannot access the Cloud City set for any reasonable price would be clambering for this set. I know I’m not the only one. Heck it’s Darth Vader. The most I iconic villain figure in Star Wars who has new unbelievable arm printing!!

U can disagree all you want but many AFOLs and more or less all parents who buy lego for their or other kids would not even notice the armprinting.

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Just now, Sneakguest said:

U can disagree all you want but many AFOLs and more or less all parents who buy lego for their or other kids would not even notice the armprinting.

Again this is subjective. You’re talking as if it’s fact. Strange. Either way I’m disappointed and that’s all that matters to myself. 

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1 hour ago, ArrowBricks said:

As a UK fan I’m so frustrated that they put it in a set not accessible to all! 

Death Star Final Duel had it though and it’s not that more expensive than the Shuttle... 

Not sure I buy it, either way it’s not good enough from my point of view. Ohwell. 

Same issue here mate, not really interested in the final duel set and I don't fancy forking out £25 on BL for him. Fingers crossed this new meditation chamber set has them - It's an 18+ set so I'm hopeful. 

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Is it possible LEGO is just not putting arm printing to drive up sales of the Final Duel? It goes together with the shuttle and is priced much worse than the shuttle itself.

On another note, it occurred to me that this year we are getting all of the ships in that last Mando episode—the Tie, the X wing, the Moff’s cruiser, Slave One, the shuttle, and the Mandalorian fighter.

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Based on the new pictures of the Imperial Shuttle, I have to say it looks really great.
But I don't see a lot of change from the current design, so I'm just gonna stick with that one :classic:

Regards,
Mitch

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1 hour ago, Northoftheborder said:

Isn’t there supposed to be a darth vader’s chamber 18+ set similar to bespin coming out soon?? that one should have arm printing..?

Lots of figures should have arm printing, but are they going to do it? We don’t even get arm printing in D2C sets. Last one was what, the pilots in the UCS Snowspeeder? They flip flopped on that and the pilot in the Y-Wing had normal arms. 

Also, isn’t that set meant to cost something ridiculous like $60 US?? In the past when they’ve done Vader’s meditation chamber it’s been a handful of parts in a much larger set, I don’t see how they’re going to pull this off. It’ll need to be something impressive for me to spend the $100 AUD they’ll probably ask for it, and arm printing on Vader isn’t going to cut it if it’s just a black display base with the pod slapped on top and a wall with a screen on it. 

14 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I assume it has something to do with the cost of the set, as arm printing is likely pretty expensive compared to other prints (since it's on smaller, heavily curved parts as opposed to a normal cylinder or flat surface like most prints). Therefore, they'd want to use it sparingly, so it makes sense it'd only be in the most expensive sets and 18+ sets.

This argument goes out the window when other themes get arm printing in cheaper sets. It’s like the minifigure count discussion we had a few pages back, other themes simply have it better than Star Wars does. I didn’t reply to that at first, but it’s not unreasonable to want more than the bare minimum of figures in sets. Anakin’s fighter has one normal minifig as opposed to Obi-Wan’s hut with 3 at the same pricepoint. The galaxy’s edge transport has 2 minis while final duel has 5, again same pricepoint. Something is wrong with the figures in Star Wars sets and it has been for a long time. I doubt it has to do with licensing fees, does anybody actually have specifics on how these fees work? If I had to guess they’re probably paying a percentage of sales for the license as a whole and maybe royalties to actors for using their likeness if that wasn’t taken care of by Disney (because I wouldn’t put it past them to put clauses in the actors contracts saying that Disney owns their likeness now). So really, what the hell is stopping them from putting more faceless troopers and droids in sets??

1 hour ago, ArrowBricks said:

It’s just annoying. Rewarding people going to a convention, when they’re are proper Lego fans supporting the company day in day out. Doesn’t sit well with me at all! Like Duel on Cloud City was better than most of the sets they actually released!!! 

It’s more than annoying, it’s downright infuriating. They’ve been doing it for years, they’re not going to stop. They try to justify it by saying “the people who go to the conventions want something to make them feel special.” Oh, so actually going to the convention and having a once in a lifetime experience isn’t enough?? They want a keepsake???? Nothing says “I went to SDCC” more than the goddamn ticket you used to get through the door. 

What my sad little brain finds hilarious is the fact that we got so many sets that fans have been asking for FOR YEARS in 2020 and LEGO managed to screw the pooch on most of them. We finally got a buildable lightsaber hilt... as a GWP with the most expensive set of the year. Obi-Wan’s hut was one we asked for, and we got an overpriced beige box that fits in the palm of your hand (not that it needed to be bigger, but $45 for what we got is horrendous). 501st battle pack? How about 2 oversized vehicles at double the price you wanted to pay? Nebulon B? Region exclusive, nothing learned from Bespin Duel. UCS A-Wing? Out of proportion. I could rattle off a list of so many things wrong with every set from last year, it’s not funny. 

Apart from the minifigure front, I’m thankful that this year is shaping up to be a bit of a course correction for LEGO Star Wars. Lower prices and great selection of sets for once. I disagree with people when they say that minifigures are the main draw for a lego set, it varies from set to set. Something like the tatooine mando set is carried by its figures, but something like the UCS Star Destroyer you’re there for the build. I look at it like this: I’ll buy a set with a meh build if the figures are great, I’ll buy a set with meh figures if the build is great, I won’t buy something if neither of those draws are there. 

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4 hours ago, lomis said:

 

I have the Tyderium and was thinking of getting the 75302 Imperial Shuttle as well.

But after seeing some higher resolution images, I'm not so sure...

The minifigures are nothing special and the underside for the shuttle (landing gear and area below the cockpit) looks very rough.

 

Normally, I tend to upgrade the sets as new ones are released, as long as they are superior (very often).

I finally got the new X-wing and I am very satisfied (just few mods needed), in fact more than with the previous ones since it is scaled better to other rebel ships.

I cannot say the same for the Lambda shuttle or the Slave 1, where previous sets where already very good. Those are bigger ships compared to smaller fighters and, as such, less suitable to be scaled down. I also have the Tyderium and, looking at these new images, I wouldn’t consider buying the new shuttle. If I hadn’t one, as an AFOL, I would still prefer to bricklink the old one.

However, it is appreciated to see an effort to produce and release sets which are finally more affordable to anyone, still looking good.

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13 hours ago, Kit Figsto said:

I think, like some people said a while back in this thread/the 2020 one, treat arm printing to be the exception, not the norm.  

Exactly.

10 hours ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

I know the 4+ sets aren't supposed to be anything special, but this one feels so phoned in even by that low standard. They could've at least thrown in a bit of village wreckage or something? I can't imagine that will sell well at all.

Eh, it's for 4-6 year olds, they just want a spaceship and the funny orange and white ball. The 4+ sets have never been a great standard of quality.

4 hours ago, Brikkyy13 said:

Especially after they said “no more regional exclusives”. I get that it was an unused convention exclusive but they really should not have released it. I was hoping Bespin Duel would receive a wider release this year under a new set number but I guess not. Final Duel it is for arm printing... if only I could find it in Australia :wall:

You'd have preferred them to just not release the set, so no one could get it? I don't see the upside of that, I do own a copy so I may be biased but I think some people getting it seems objectively better than no one getting it.

2 hours ago, ood0 said:

The set has 3 minifigures and costs $80. They could afford to give Vader arm printing.

Minifigure count is not some universal metric of value. By that measure, the Razor Crest was super overpriced and a single 501st set would have more value than it. You have to take into account that this is a ship almost as large and detailed as the previous version, but $20 cheaper even before accounting for inflation. Having the figure count dip from 5 to 3 seems a reasonable trade off for it to be $20 cheaper. ($27.18 once you account for inflation).

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1 hour ago, Brikkyy13 said:

This argument goes out the window when other themes get arm printing in cheaper sets. It’s like the minifigure count discussion we had a few pages back, other themes simply have it better than Star Wars does. I didn’t reply to that at first, but it’s not unreasonable to want more than the bare minimum of figures in sets. Anakin’s fighter has one normal minifig as opposed to Obi-Wan’s hut with 3 at the same pricepoint. The galaxy’s edge transport has 2 minis while final duel has 5, again same pricepoint. Something is wrong with the figures in Star Wars sets and it has been for a long time. I doubt it has to do with licensing fees, does anybody actually have specifics on how these fees work? If I had to guess they’re probably paying a percentage of sales for the license as a whole and maybe royalties to actors for using their likeness if that wasn’t taken care of by Disney (because I wouldn’t put it past them to put clauses in the actors contracts saying that Disney owns their likeness now). So really, what the hell is stopping them from putting more faceless troopers and droids in sets??

There was a similar debate happening on the Castle sub-forum about the new Blacksmith Shop.  A few people were questioning why a goat wasn't included (which would've required a new mold, since apparently the old one is unusable), yet smaller sets like Friends or Ninjago can get new molds all of the time.  One user linked a Reddit comment from Mark Stafford who basically said that larger sets, like those 18+ sets, tend to get produced in much smaller quantities than your average Ninjago/Friends type set.  As a result, it can actually be cheaper to do a new mold in those smaller sets, when they're going to have a really high volume of sales, offsetting the cost.  I don't have the exact comment offhand but that was sort of the gist of it, it was in the Blacksmith Shop thread if you're curious about the actual wording of his answer.

Anyway, my point is that, while I don't think that's necessarily what's happening here, there might be other factors that LEGO has to deal with that we as fans aren't as privy to beyond just "LEGO is being cheap" or whatever.  In the case of a $30 set getting arm printing in this wave, it might have something to do with that same quantity issue, perhaps they're expecting more of it to sell than they are the $80 Shuttle, so they can justify arm printing for Mando, and maybe the budget for this wave only would allow for using arm printing with one figure, and I'm sure most would agree, Mando would definitely take precedence over some gray lines on Vader's arm.  That's 100% speculation on my part, but I'm just saying that there's probably more to those types of decisions that could make seemingly random decisions appear more logical. 

I agree it kind of sucks from a fan's perspective, but it seems like expecting printed arms at this point is just going to result in letdowns.  I was kind of disappointed that Ponda Baba and Greedo both didn't have printed arms in the Cantina, and to me that decision made no sense, but I'm willing to give LEGO the benefit of the doubt that there was some justifiable reason that they didn't print those characters' arms.

Edited by Kit Figsto

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While the discussion is technically on-topic since we're debating Star Wars sets. It's also off-topic since it's focused on Lego's marketing strategies. Try to bring things back to Star Wars specific stuff.

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2 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

You'd have preferred them to just not release the set, so no one could get it? I don't see the upside of that, I do own a copy so I may be biased but I think some people getting it seems objectively better than no one getting it.

I cannot speak for @Brikkyy13, but personally I don't begrudge North American buyers getting the set. I don't mind convention exclusives, since for only a very small handful of people in the convention area is it easy to get the set. The problem is that with Star Wars sets, Australian consumers are practically ignored. On S@H, the Star Wars section has 6 pages of products in the US, and only 4 in Australia. Some of these sets are only available at Australia's (very) limited number of Lego stores, are discontinued here or are just not available here at all. The Bespin Duel and Nebulon B are just some example of a percentage of Lego SW consumers being given much better treatment than others.

Australia is one of the biggest countries by landmass in the world, with a comparatively small and widely distributed population, so I don't mind not being able to access all sets for as long as other countries' consumers, and SW is only a small part of Lego's product range, but something to make Australian (and European, Asian, African and South American) consumers feel valued would be a nice change.

Likewise, North America is probably one of the largest consumer bases for Lego SW and they deserve to access exclusives and whatnot.

 

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3 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

You'd have preferred them to just not release the set, so no one could get it? I don't see the upside of that, I do own a copy so I may be biased but I think some people getting it seems objectively better than no one getting it

Quite frankly, yes, I would have preferred them to not release it at all. They’ve catered to the Americans long enough, throw the rest of us a bone. If LEGO insists on getting that set out of their warehouse they should have waited until the next convention and have it be an exclusive as originally intended, or send it out to SDCC ticket holders directly and be done with it. The way they’ve released this set has pissed off most of their fans all around the world, the only ones who are happy seem to be the Americans who got it on the cheap and the scalpers who flipped it to desperate fans.

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It's definitely frustrating that Vader doesn't have arm printing because that would have made the shuttle set so much better and it's  not like it costs LEGO that much more to add, just pennies on the dollar especially considering it's only one color and is a fairly simple design. I don't have any intention of getting the Death Star duel remake so I guess I'll have to bricklink that Vader. 

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I would assume that two reasons contributed to LEGO not releasing the Bespin Duel worldwide—it was a con exclusive, and it has little appeal outside of AFOl circles. Kids are not going to want a set with only two figs just because the Vader has arm printing and the Luke is exclusive—there would have been plenty of other sets worth getting in their eyes.

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5 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

You'd have preferred them to just not release the set, so no one could get it? I don't see the upside of that, I do own a copy so I may be biased but I think some people getting it seems objectively better than no one getting it.

 

I love this mentality. It’s as if you take offence by us complaining. So odd. It’s not your fault. How do you not understand people’s frustrations though? Like these sorts of comments just make it seem that way. 

You’re so biased. Either way it was off topic but this comment made my blood boil haha! 

19 minutes ago, Brickroll said:

I would assume that two reasons contributed to LEGO not releasing the Bespin Duel worldwide—it was a con exclusive, and it has little appeal outside of AFOl circles. Kids are not going to want a set with only two figs just because the Vader has arm printing and the Luke is exclusive—there would have been plenty of other sets worth getting in their eyes.

Erm what? The most iconic scene in Star Wars? Have a day off sunshine. 
 

Apologies Mods. Back on topic now. Last time I’ll mention this specific topic. 

Edited by ArrowBricks

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Its crap, it sucks. USA get exclusives everywhere else doesn't. It'll always happen that way too. So just get over it already. Same as the bloody arm printing, that crap is f'in boring and pointless. TLG will screw over SW with arm printing. 

Move on already....

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