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

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Is it just me or does it seem that Lego Star Wars pricing here is Australia just gets more and more with each set, early 2021 was a reprieve with the very fairly priced X wing and TIE fighter, but, take for example the Duel on Mustafar set, which was 208 pieces, with two unique minifigures: AU$29.99. Along comes 2021 and with it Duel on Mandalore, 147 pieces, for AU$32.99 with one new figure, or the Bantha and Skyhopper with one new figure, with 198 pieces, for AU29.99, and with 2021 comes the AT-AT and Tauntaun, with only 7 more pieces and a same amount of new figures, but also experiencing a price increase to AU$32.99. It seems TLG are trying to inflate the prices of their smaller sets lately.

 

Edited by Stuartn

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10 minutes ago, Stuartn said:

Is it just me or does it seem that Lego Star Wars pricing here is Australia just gets more and more with each set.

Definitely inflation and just an overall price creep, although I don't think number of new figs or piece count is a factor, just conversion from OS prices plus tax, shipping and whatever else they can sneak in. Conversions seem to be all over the place, with the Probe Droid going from $60 -> $120, Imperial Shuttle $70 -> $130 and BB Shuttle $100 -> $150, so double, almost double, and then only 50% more. 

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Theory—no one would really care about the quality of the figs if the shuttle were better. They’d certainly get some criticism, but people would still be grateful that the full BB were in the set. The problem is that the shuttle itself has too many serious problems with it, (asymmetry, weird cockpit, size, and color) for it to be as good a set as something like the Razor Crest, which just had somewhat good figs, that were probably on par with these ones. This leaves the figs as the main draw for the set, putting them under a lot of scrutiny.

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13 minutes ago, Brickroll said:

Theory—no one would really care about the quality of the figs if the shuttle were better.

Um, maybe for some people, but I don't think so. I like the shuttle. I like it as is. I like the lime speeder and the Barc is a Barc but I get why it's there and that's fine.

A better shuttle isn't going to smooth over serious issues (in my eyes) with figures of the main characters of the show. They could come with the most fantastic UCS-scale Kamino model that comes with the first ever Kaminoans and they'd still be just as flawed as they currently are.

It's a good thing they spend a lot of time with their helmets off, though. I could just forget about the helmet altogether.

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10 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

Um, maybe for some people, but I don't think so. I like the shuttle. I like it as is. I like the lime speeder and the Barc is a Barc but I get why it's there and that's fine.

A better shuttle isn't going to smooth over serious issues (in my eyes) with figures of the main characters of the show. They could come with the most fantastic UCS-scale Kamino model that comes with the first ever Kaminoans and they'd still be just as flawed as they currently are.

It's a good thing they spend a lot of time with their helmets off, though. I could just forget about the helmet altogether.

I thought I'd add some of my perspective...
I watch everything Star Wars (including the Clone Wars and Bad Batch) but have really only focused on LEGO Star Wars sets from the OT, Rogue One, Solo, and the Mandalorian.
I know a little about the differences between what phase each Clone Trooper looks like, but would be hard pressed to give a lot of details without looking at pictures or stills from the movies/shows.

Having said that... the Bad Batch Attack Shuttle set looks great from my slightly more "outside" perspective.

Every figure is new/unique either due to a new mold or printing and the quality of each looks really good.
Since I don't focus on (or know) what version clone helmets are, I couldn't really tell anyone if there are any detail differences between the figures and show.
I know from the set which character is which from the show and don't need any sort of guide or image for reference.

As for the ship itself - it looks very much like the one in the show.
And I consider its size decent since it can fit all of the figures that come with the set.
While it may not be scaled perfectly, I understand that it never could (as a sellable LEGO set).

TLG simply did the best they could based on what we know about budgeting versus the output.
It looks pretty good and has playability.
If I wanted a detailed or more accurate version of any Star Wars character - I would look to Hasbro or Hot Toys.

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You people will take anything Lego throws at you...

56 minutes ago, lomis said:

If I wanted a detailed or more accurate version of any Star Wars character - I would look to Hasbro or Hot Toys.

This is so...where to begin?

Yes, I think we are all aware that Lego has it's own style, but for kriff's sake, they still make a concerted effort to get the looks as right as possible. This is uninspired at best. Some of these make bootlegs look better by comparison..

Crosshair looks nothing like Crosshair. Full stop. Hunter looks slightly like Hunter. Echo is weird because while I get it, it's just so off-putting that he and Hunter have the same helmet.

The Bad Batch is supposed to be unique. Different weapons, different gear. They don't share the same helmets, because each one is fitted to their specific specialty.

Yes, Tech looks great, so does Wrecker, and I'm not too bothered by Hunter, but come on guys. I would say its okay to be fine with mediocrity, but trying to say that "just good" is "good enough"? No.

1 hour ago, lomis said:

TLG simply did the best they could based on what we know about budgeting versus the output.

And had they scrapped those pointless speeders, they could've done better.

12 hours ago, Brickroll said:

Theory—no one would really care about the quality of the figs if the shuttle were better. They’d certainly get some criticism, but people would still be grateful that the full BB were in the set. The problem is that the shuttle itself has too many serious problems with it, (asymmetry, weird cockpit, size, and color) for it to be as good a set as something like the Razor Crest, which just had somewhat good figs, that were probably on par with these ones. This leaves the figs as the main draw for the set, putting them under a lot of scrutiny.

I'm a minifigure collector first and foremost, so I'm gonna call Bantha bricks. Now granted, I tend to be bothered less by certain choices regarding minifigs (I love TCW designs, and the Rebels' Stormtrooper. Sacrilege I know), but I think these guys deserve all the hits they've been getting. I mean, would it have killed them to at the very least attempt to give Crosshair a new helmet? One with a hole, preferably. His rangefinder is critical to his character design.

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Maybe, there are internal requirements that LEGO is constrained by as well as plastic production methods concerning mold making / design, injection molding and polymer flow that restricts the design of the parts. 

I don't know, but offering some potential suggestions. 

LEGO did, in my opinion, well, but they can certainly do better and we have seen it. 

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16 hours ago, BigA_7 said:

Why is no one talking about Tech’s goggles? They are too small when you put his helmet on, you can see his forehead peaking through

More importantly, Tech clearly can’t turn his head when he’s wearing that helmet. How is this acceptable to anybody? They’re taking away the minifig’s already limited articulation... Bad enough that generic stormtroopers are stuck facing forwards and now this problem is creeping into the main characters too. 

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2 hours ago, ARC2149Nova said:

Crosshair looks nothing like Crosshair. Full stop. Hunter looks slightly like Hunter. Echo is weird because while I get it, it's just so off-putting that he and Hunter have the same helmet.

The Bad Batch is supposed to be unique. Different weapons, different gear. They don't share the same helmets, because each one is fitted to their specific specialty.

Yes, Tech looks great, so does Wrecker, and I'm not too bothered by Hunter, but come on guys. I would say its okay to be fine with mediocrity, but trying to say that "just good" is "good enough"? No.

And had they scrapped those pointless speeders, they could've done better.

They definately are unique. They have different weapons (I mean, they literally all come with different weapons, so I'm not sure why that's there), they have different gear. They don't share the same helmets, but lego can't put 5 new unique molds in a single set. Especially considering the sheer amount of new figures and prints this wave. We have 14 new characters (Paz Vizla, Armorer, Gar Saxon, Bo-Katan, Mandalorian Loyalist, Moff Gideon, Fennec Shand, Dark Trooper, Mortar Trooper, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and Echo.), 3 new variants of existing characters (S2 Greef Carga, Post-ROTJ boba fett, S7 Maul, and I won't count it but technically a new Gonk too),  3 new arm-printing torsos (Fennec, Boba, and Echo), 4 new helmet molds (Armorer/Gar Saxon, Dark Trooper, Fennec, and Tech), and a new armor mold. Add in that you've got around 70 new prints, and it's no wonder they couldn't fit 3 more helmet molds in the budget. I'll grant that they maybe could have given fennec hair instead of a helmet and used that mold for crosshair, but Echo and Hunter definately don't need new helmets. The only problem with hunter's helmet is the fin, but seeing as he's got paint exactly where the fin would be on his helmet and the p2 fin is pretty minor, I really don't think it's a big deal. Echo's helmet has a raised bit pretty much where the fin is and basically the same shape, and the back might be a little different, but a: it's not exactly noticeable and b: if I remember correctly none of us had any clue what was going on back there with his actual character until we got a view of how it's put on around 5 episodes in. 

TLDR: We have 5 new molds, 14 new characters, 3 new variants, and around 70 new prints this wave, so expecting each batch member to have a new mold might be a bit much. Crosshair probably needed one, but echo and hunter didn't.

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8 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

They definately are unique. They have different weapons (I mean, they literally all come with different weapons, so I'm not sure why that's there), they have different gear. They don't share the same helmets, but lego can't put 5 new unique molds in a single set. Especially considering the sheer amount of new figures and prints this wave. We have 14 new characters (Paz Vizla, Armorer, Gar Saxon, Bo-Katan, Mandalorian Loyalist, Moff Gideon, Fennec Shand, Dark Trooper, Mortar Trooper, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and Echo.), 3 new variants of existing characters (S2 Greef Carga, Post-ROTJ boba fett, S7 Maul, and I won't count it but technically a new Gonk too),  3 new arm-printing torsos (Fennec, Boba, and Echo), 4 new helmet molds (Armorer/Gar Saxon, Dark Trooper, Fennec, and Tech), and a new armor mold. Add in that you've got around 70 new prints, and it's no wonder they couldn't fit 3 more helmet molds in the budget. I'll grant that they maybe could have given fennec hair instead of a helmet and used that mold for crosshair, but Echo and Hunter definately don't need new helmets. The only problem with hunter's helmet is the fin, but seeing as he's got paint exactly where the fin would be on his helmet and the p2 fin is pretty minor, I really don't think it's a big deal. Echo's helmet has a raised bit pretty much where the fin is and basically the same shape, and the back might be a little different, but a: it's not exactly noticeable and b: if I remember correctly none of us had any clue what was going on back there with his actual character until we got a view of how it's put on around 5 episodes in. 

TLDR: We have 5 new molds, 14 new characters, 3 new variants, and around 70 new prints this wave, so expecting each batch member to have a new mold might be a bit much. Crosshair probably needed one, but echo and hunter didn't.

I added the different weapons just to accentuate how different each member is. I for one don't exactly care about the reused helmets on Hunter/Echo, but for those who do, it's a tad tiring to hear about "Lego did the best they could!" or "Lego's knocked them out of the park" or my favorite: "It's Lego not Hasbro" (not throwing shade, I've seen it said many times about multiple figures in the past). Crosshair is the absolute biggest offender. I'm sure they could've squeezed out a couple of extra cents to make a proper helmet for him. Maybe if we get him in his OG outfit, I dunno.

Also, I was a tad bit irritated at issues outside of the forum, so I admit I was a bit salty in my prior post. Echo's got far worse problems than the helmet of course, which, barring a new arm, will be difficult to rectify (even the current purist solution gives him an arm that's way too long).

If you like them, fine. But I feel like making excuses for Lego (in general) isn't in anyone's best interests. They do what they do, and if it's not their best work, it just isn't. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Personally I'm over the moon at the exceptional work done on the Mandalorian figures (still pissed about that Mortar Trooper helmet :cry_sad:), so the Bad Batch being "meh" doesn't move me either way.

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4 minutes ago, ARC2149Nova said:

Also, I was a tad bit irritated at issues outside of the forum, so I admit I was a bit salty in my prior post. Echo's got far worse problems than the helmet of course, which, barring a new arm, will be difficult to rectify (even the current purist solution gives him an arm that's way too long).

What is the current solution, isn’t it a screwdriver arm or something?

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33 minutes ago, Brickroll said:

What is the current solution, isn’t it a screwdriver arm or something?

Yes, the cyborg arm with screwdriver attached. Sadly, in practice it would be way too long and unwieldable.

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Since when do we get different weapons other then some oversized builds and the mix between the 4-7 parts that can be used by themselves?

SW maybe less then other themes but there are still always debates about reused and wrong used molds. Thinking Ahsoka, P2 helmets without holes, any clone helmets which differentiate from the part they use.
..or oversized helmets.

Now people complain about this and lack of arm printing - seriously? Since when do we get arm printing in 100$ SW sets? Like since a year. And this set even has one figure with arm printing. I feel like some people here never purchased (official) SW sets before.

I understand that people are sad there's not unique molds for any helmet or at least a few. But as long as enough kids get the sets Lego runs fine with it. Some extra precise AFOL's are not the core market for this kind of set.

What is problematic here is how personal people take their frustration. This set is still much higher quality then many other sets before. It's understanably not up to your standards but that doesn't mean it's total trash and Lego doesn't try or care. Lego is a company wanting to make profit. Designers maybe are trying but they have limits to what they are allowed to do.

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1 hour ago, Mandalorianknight said:

They definately are unique. They have different weapons (I mean, they literally all come with different weapons, so I'm not sure why that's there), they have different gear. They don't share the same helmets, but lego can't put 5 new unique molds in a single set. Especially considering the sheer amount of new figures and prints this wave. We have 14 new characters (Paz Vizla, Armorer, Gar Saxon, Bo-Katan, Mandalorian Loyalist, Moff Gideon, Fennec Shand, Dark Trooper, Mortar Trooper, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and Echo.), 3 new variants of existing characters (S2 Greef Carga, Post-ROTJ boba fett, S7 Maul, and I won't count it but technically a new Gonk too),  3 new arm-printing torsos (Fennec, Boba, and Echo), 4 new helmet molds (Armorer/Gar Saxon, Dark Trooper, Fennec, and Tech), and a new armor mold. Add in that you've got around 70 new prints, and it's no wonder they couldn't fit 3 more helmet molds in the budget. I'll grant that they maybe could have given fennec hair instead of a helmet and used that mold for crosshair, but Echo and Hunter definately don't need new helmets. The only problem with hunter's helmet is the fin, but seeing as he's got paint exactly where the fin would be on his helmet and the p2 fin is pretty minor, I really don't think it's a big deal. Echo's helmet has a raised bit pretty much where the fin is and basically the same shape, and the back might be a little different, but a: it's not exactly noticeable and b: if I remember correctly none of us had any clue what was going on back there with his actual character until we got a view of how it's put on around 5 episodes in. 

TLDR: We have 5 new molds, 14 new characters, 3 new variants, and around 70 new prints this wave, so expecting each batch member to have a new mold might be a bit much. Crosshair probably needed one, but echo and hunter didn't.

This exactly, I'm not going to say lego could or could not do more if they wanted, but seriously comments recently are getting soo nitpicky about whats missing and what's not perfect. We are getting a lot this wave, Gar Saxon is beautiful, and many of the prints and molds are amazing! I was in my 20s before lego released a TIE fighter that wasn't bright blue :pir_tong2: so the grumbles about the sand blue seems silly to me, when you own nearly every star wars set some sand blue is lovely amid the see of LDB.  If all 5 bad batch members weren't in one set and spread out there would be nothing but complaints about that. I'm just happy to see all the main characters of a show making it into the first run of sets, (accept i guess Omega).

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We haven’t gotten better pictures of the Armorer but she’s the biggest disappointment for me. The horns just do not look good. 

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1 hour ago, Archer said:

I'm just happy to see all the main characters of a show making it into the first run of sets, (accept i guess Omega).

I find Omega's absence more annoying than the helmets, in all honesty, although I'm remarkably unmoved by both. It's still a decent set and, crucially, a good toy.

I think the LEGO =/= Hasbro argument has some merit, but only because the scales are so different. There's only so much you can do with helmets that fit comfortably within a cubic inch, and the cost of adding or subtracting more details at that size (molded, not printed) is far greater than it would be for a the mold for a Hasbro action figure, for instance. The helmets are all clearly different shapes in the show, but shrink that down to minifigure size and the physical changes are much harder to represent. Besides, LEGO has already been increasing headgear sizes recently, presumably precisely to fit more detail in (Vader, the stormtroopers, Tech and the short-lived dual-molded rebel pilot helmet all spring to mind), and that hasn't exactly been universally popular...

The removal of the fin is a valid gripe (albeit a small one - kids aren't gonna disappointed with a subtly different helmet) since it's a relatively minor change to the mold, although I don't know how noticeable a change it would be compared to the P2 helmet. I think we had a similar discussion about the P1 clone pilot helmet, but the fin on the P1 helmets is far more prominent so would be more worthwhile IMO. Has anyone done a custom where they've removed the fin from the P2 helmet? It would be interesting to see the comparison.

What I will say on arm printing is that it's now three waves in a row where figures have had some pretty sweet arms. Are we starting to see it become more commonplace?

Edited by TeddytheSpoon

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47 minutes ago, Archer said:

This exactly, I'm not going to say lego could or could not do more if they wanted, but seriously comments recently are getting soo nitpicky about whats missing and what's not perfect. We are getting a lot this wave, Gar Saxon is beautiful, and many of the prints and molds are amazing! I was in my 20s before lego released a TIE fighter that wasn't bright blue :pir_tong2: so the grumbles about the sand blue seems silly to me, when you own nearly every star wars set some sand blue is lovely amid the see of LDB.  If all 5 bad batch members weren't in one set and spread out there would be nothing but complaints about that. I'm just happy to see all the main characters of a show making it into the first run of sets, (accept i guess Omega).

yes. I can always understand people wanting more and better - but the tone makes the difference. We really get a lot this wave.

It will be the first wave in a long time where so many sets are tempting and the minifigures are interesting. Since 2017 I mostly just glanced over entire SW waves due having no connection to them, bad deals or simply not liking the designs of both figures and ships. So getting sets or not I am can enjoy from afar already that new molds and prints are not just for the 10th version of FO stormtrooper/officer or Luke but for many to most characters people here desire.

...and we get freaking arm printing. Like when was this ever something regular? The 250 $ Boba Fett? No; now we get it in 20 and 50$ sets for multiple figures.

So let's hope this wave will be a huge success so that similar quality follows. Otherwise we are stuck with Anakins starfighter just because it works on the market.

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2 hours ago, ARC2149Nova said:

I added the different weapons just to accentuate how different each member is. I for one don't exactly care about the reused helmets on Hunter/Echo, but for those who do, it's a tad tiring to hear about "Lego did the best they could!" or "Lego's knocked them out of the park" or my favorite: "It's Lego not Hasbro" (not throwing shade, I've seen it said many times about multiple figures in the past). Crosshair is the absolute biggest offender. I'm sure they could've squeezed out a couple of extra cents to make a proper helmet for him. Maybe if we get him in his OG outfit, I dunno.

Also, I was a tad bit irritated at issues outside of the forum, so I admit I was a bit salty in my prior post. Echo's got far worse problems than the helmet of course, which, barring a new arm, will be difficult to rectify (even the current purist solution gives him an arm that's way too long).

If you like them, fine. But I feel like making excuses for Lego (in general) isn't in anyone's best interests. They do what they do, and if it's not their best work, it just isn't. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Personally I'm over the moon at the exceptional work done on the Mandalorian figures (still pissed about that Mortar Trooper helmet :cry_sad:), so the Bad Batch being "meh" doesn't move me either way.

To be fair though, they most likely did "they best they could" with what they were given. Would you rather the dark trooper not get a new mold, or gar saxon/the armorer, etc? They would all have worked much worse with existing molds than hunter and echo did. They don't have infinite new molds, and I think the 5 they had this wave were the best choices (save maybe crosshair instead of fennec). I wouldn't say it's making excuses, I'd say it's explaining that you've got to temper your expectations, given any sort of precedence from previous sets you can't expect 4 new unique helmet molds in a single system set. It is a good point that it sometimes comes off that way though. Definately agree that crosshair sorely needs a new mold, though, they should have gone with him over fennec and given her the helmet later in the BoBf sets in 2022. Although now that I think about it, maybe that's why she has the helmet here, so it can be re-used. In which case the dark trooper could be considered, since it'd only be used on one figure, though using any other helmet for the dark trooper would be more inaccurate than crosshair with a p2 helmet... I wonder how molds are allocated here.

Although for Echo about half the merch seems to have a hand for that arm (the hot toys one even has some looney-toons like hammer and grapple arms), so I'd say it's not unlikely he'll get a hand in the show.

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People seem to think I care about the BB figs more than I actually do.

I personally hate seeing people gush about stuff and dismiss any criticism of said product because "it's alright to me!" Full stop. Whether or not the product makes do, or you think it looks great isn't an issue. The Bad Batch shuttle is, imo, the least interesting set of this wave (save for maybe the Trexler, but I digress). They knocked it out of the park with the Mandalorian and Clone Wars sets, hell, I've even come around to the throne set. The Havoc Marauder is a thing, it does its thing, and it's an okay thing. The figures are there, but acting as if they're beyond critique just because (insert multitude of excuses here) is just jarring.

The end point remains the same: regardless of "only X new molds", "other figures are better", "Lego did it's best guys!", or whatever, these figures just aren't that great. That doesn't need a rebuttal, it doesn't need a defense. At the end of the day, we'll all just deal with it.

This is still by far one of, if not the best wave we've seen in a while, and nothing can really distract from that. If a few figures are lackluster, then they are lackluster. They do not require a defense, and neither does Lego. Ironically, those making the excuses actually prove the point that these figures simply aren't what they could have been. So why don't we all just agree to disagree? It's not like the BB aren't likely to be redone in the future, anyway.

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3bjia1zw58021.png  It is a shame that lego can't make quality figs like they used to though.

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1 hour ago, ARC2149Nova said:

these figures just aren't that great. That doesn't need a rebuttal, it doesn't need a defense. At the end of the day, we'll all just deal with it.

you can't say that like it's an objective fact, at the end of the day that's just your opinion. Sure, they could have been more accurate, but most people do not have an issue with the shortcuts being taken. Lego reused the shoretrooper helmet for tank troopers, even though they look extremely different. Lego reused the mudtrooper helmet for general veers, even though the goggles are completely different. Lego uses the exact same hood pieces for every single hooded character. Leia has used the same queen hairpiece for years, even though it has two buns at the back that Leia never had in the movies. At the end of the day, there are going to be workarounds. While they definitely could have done better, they did not do bad in the first place. 

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33 minutes ago, Archer said:

  It is a shame that lego can't make quality figs like they used to though.

Man, seeing that really puts into perspective how much the quality has dropped over the years.

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45 minutes ago, Archer said:

  It is a shame that lego can't make quality figs like they used to though.

I had that fig when I was younger and didn't understand WHAT it was :pir_laugh2:
...but a pretty cool faceprint anyway.

I remember 6 years ago - when I came back into Lego, it wasn't the norm all figs had back printing. And for some reason around that time they started to put out hairmolds and helmet molds like crazy. Before they'd just reuse an existing (not fitting) mold or not make the figure at all (at least not with the missing hair or helmet piece).

There's been crazy improvement over this time. Sure there are also some downs but this wave surely is a huge step up. Compare this set to the Rebels AT-ST: no helmets, inaccurate skin colour, no hairpieces, no leg prints.

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2 minutes ago, Kim-Kwang-Seok said:

There's been crazy improvement over this time. Sure there are also some downs but this wave surely is a huge step up. Compare this set to the Rebels AT-ST: no helmets, inaccurate skin colour, no hairpieces, no leg prints.

Ohh, you mean the Rebels AT-TE? The clones were rough, but they killed it with the Inquisitor. 

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