LEGO Star Wars 2024 Set Discussion - READ FIRST POST!!!

[CloneCommando99]

4 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

If we get the Kenobi variant before the JFO/comic ones I AM GOING TO DENMARK.

You have my sword

4 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Are 501st painted Stormtroopers canon still? 

No. But they are by far more recognisable than 187th clones. Lego appears to be a bit more lenient on troopers rather than Legends characters.

4 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

And SW is rapidly approaching the 50/50 ratio of gimmick sets to non-gimmick sets...

Perhaps it’s Lego being cheap. For every vehicle and character Lego makes in a set they need to pay a licensing cost. Correct? By making the build the same as the character Lego would theoretically need to pay the licensing costs for one Star Wars property. Therefore being a cheaper endeavour than a playset with lots of different figures who would each have individual licensing costs.

 

10 hours ago, Swordy said:

I personally expect to see a sharp decrease in buildable items by 2026 at the earliest, as I don’t think this recent crop of sets are that popular with LEGO Star Wars fanbase, much less with the general public. It’s too early to see if they are viably successful at all, though.

I hope you’re right. We need to return to 2-3 BPs per year.

[TeddytheSpoon]

2 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

Perhaps it’s Lego being cheap. For every vehicle and character Lego makes in a set they need to pay a licensing cost. Correct? By making the build the same as the character Lego would theoretically need to pay the licensing costs for one Star Wars property. Therefore being a cheaper endeavour than a playset with lots of different figures who would each have individual licensing costs.

I'm not sure that's how it works; I presume LEGO's licensing fee is done on a periodic/lump sum basis, rather than set-by-set. There might be something extra for using a particular actor's likeness, but again, I would assume that's built into the licensing deal. With fewer minifigures there might be less printing to account for though.

I quite like the midi ships and the helmets, but I do think they're in danger of oversaturating the line with that sort of set. I'd much sooner have more system scale sets.

Edited August 28 by TeddytheSpoon

[BrickBob Studpants]

9 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

If we get the Kenobi variant before the JFO/comic ones I AM GOING TO DENMARK.

Most likely, neither will get the minifig treatment, but if it‘s just one, I‘d say the one showing up in a live-action show has mucher better chances than the one making appearances in a videogame and some comics

(Also, I personally prefer the Kenobi design. Your torches and pitchforks don‘t intimidate me )

Edited August 28 by BrickBob Studpants

[CF Mitch]

On 8/27/2024 at 5:05 PM, CloneCommando99 said:

Just standard black/ dark grey armour. Not muddy unlike the ones in the 2018 Tie Fighter.

Ah, yes, of course!
Those would be neat to have, too!

Regards,
Mitch

[Kaijumeister]

I always found it odd that Lego went through the trouble of resurrecting the 212th Airborne Trooper helmet mould in 2020 for Grievous’ Starfighter and proceeded to only ever reuse it for the 2022 Fighter Tank. I was certain at the time they were intending to use it for Purge Troopers.

Cynically I think this increased emphasis on buildables is just a way for Lego to squeeze out some more profit without having to use any budget for new prints / moulds etc. outside of a few recoloured parts. Wouldn’t be the most far fetched thing to argue that the minifigure-based vehicle and location sets are the heart and soul of this theme, though.

[BrickBob Studpants]

31 minutes ago, Kaijumeister said:

Cynically I think this increased emphasis on buildables is just a way for Lego to squeeze out some more profit without having to use any budget for new prints / moulds etc. outside of a few recoloured parts.

Counterpoint: The recent C-3PO came with quite a few new prints and two new moulded pieces that were specifically created for this set. Also, all the plaques are printed now

The buildable figures are not necessarily that much cheaper to produce than playsets. Certainly less cheap than a playset with reused minifigs

[Mandalorianknight]

16 hours ago, Meaf said:

Sure but anecdotal "evidence" is essentially all we have to go off, so I don't really see the harm in pointing it out. It's not like Lego releases sales data for us to scrutinize, and what sets get discounted isn't inherently indicative of them selling poorly and/or not to Lego's expectations. I think gauging the temperature online is at the very least interesting, and at least it gives us something to talk about instead of just blindly guessing what's going on and what people think.

I do think these at the very least sold very well a few years ago. Lego managed to really shift the narrative on buying lego as an adult with the 18+ lines, and I know a LOT of people who buy these sorts of sets but view buying the system sets/playsets as weird and kiddie. 

That said, they've REALLY saturated the market with these. We really are nearing 50% of the sets being 18+ sublines for this theme.

16 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

No. But they are by far more recognisable than 187th clones. Lego appears to be a bit more lenient on troopers rather than Legends characters.

That's true- I'd guess because it's essentially just a coat of paint on a canon design and they know people'll recognize "clone trooper" or "stormtrooper" if not the specific legion or variant. That said, I struggle to think of a set that would be made by lego and reasonably include a 501st stormtrooper- it's not like your standard clone you can slot into any given TCW set.

13 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Most likely, neither will get the minifig treatment, but if it‘s just one, I‘d say the one showing up in a live-action show has mucher better chances than the one making appearances in a videogame and some comics

The one showing up for like five seconds in a limited series that wasn't exactly a breakout hit over the one that's been a consistent major presence in games and comic run, etc? (and also doesn't require a new mold). That's like saying a Spacetrooper is more likely than a shadow trooper

Edited August 28 by Mandalorianknight

[Darth_Bane13]

17 hours ago, Meaf said:

That all said, I'd kill for some hard data on how individual sets sell. I just find that stuff so fascinating, and in the case of Lego Star Wars, I feel like it would also settle a lot of debates about what Lego "should" be making to some extent.

not quite the same but you can see how many people own a set on brickset which at least gives you an idea on how well a set sold.

[Mandalorianknight]

3 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

not quite the same but you can see how many people own a set on brickset which at least gives you an idea on how well a set sold.

Unfortunately, this mainly helps for seeing AFOL reception to a set. A lot of the 18+ stuff is targeted at more casual fans who don't know about or use brickset. (Also, I never got the appeal of listing the sets you own on brickset.)

Edited August 29 by Mandalorianknight

[CloneCommando99]

8 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

That's true- I'd guess because it's essentially just a coat of paint on a canon design and they know people'll recognize "clone trooper" or "stormtrooper" if not the specific legion or variant. That said, I struggle to think of a set that would be made by lego and reasonably include a 501st stormtrooper- it's not like your standard clone you can slot into any given TCW set.

501st Battlepack 3: Electric Boogalee

15 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

 

Most likely, neither will get the minifig treatment, but if it‘s just one, I‘d say the one showing up in a live-action show has mucher better chances than the one making appearances in a videogame and some comics 

(Also, I personally prefer the Kenobi design. Your torches and pitchforks don‘t intimidate me )

I admit, I do like the unique design. But the JFO Purge-trooper has much more screen time and is more versatile imo.

Hopefully we get some more info on the ARC-170 soon. It’s the only set that seems promising this January.

Edited August 29 by CloneCommando99

[Llewop]

4 minutes ago, CloneCommando99 said:

501st Battlepack 3: Electric Boogalee

I admit, I do like the unique design. But the JFO Purge-trooper has much more screen time and is more versatile imo.

Hopefully we get some more info on the ARC-170 soon. It’s the only set that seems promising this January.

If we got a battle pack for inferno squadron, having one with Purge troopers isn’t completely out of the question. Could easily have a commander and 3 troopers and that would keep everyone happy. 

im of the delusion that they could easily turn the games in to a disney+ series. Fallout and last of us have proven it’s possible to bring games to TV and if they could do that then they would have zero excuses not to do any sets 

[BrickBob Studpants]

8 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

The one showing up for like five seconds in a limited series that wasn't exactly a breakout hit over the one that's been a consistent major presence in games and comic run, etc? (and also doesn't require a new mold).

True, in terms of screentime and presence the older design is a lot more prominent. My point was a different one though, namely the films and shows being way more likely to be covered by TLG than the games, books, or comics  

9 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

That's like saying a Spacetrooper is more likely than a shadow trooper

Ignoring that we already got two versions of Shadow Troopers, it kinda is  We know how much they love the OT and Spacetroopers are the only Stormie type from the OT we didn’t get minifigs of yet, even though it’s just a regular Stormie with a rebreather pack.

[MaximillianRebo]

With the big push TLG has been making over the last few years to capture the casual fan and cashed up 18+ market - not just with licensed sets but also lines like Icons and Ideas - I don't think Eurobricks, which is largely populated by people who are very aware of what is happening across the Lego spectrum and would buy many more sets than the average consumer, is a good indication of what does and doesn't sell in the casual market. I'd wager there'd be a lot of people who buy a helmet, a midi-scale ship, a diorama, as a desk ornament but don't post on forums, don't follow news and leaks and just buy the occasional set that appeals to them who are completely unknown to forum posters but very well known to Lego's market research team. It's not a hard and fast rule, but since Lego keep pumping out non system scale set they must feel like they're doing something right, and given the news of their 1HY profit increase (across the board, not specifically for LSW) there isn't a lot of reason in money terms for them to change direction in the near future.

[Darth_Bane13]

17 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

 (Also, I never got the appeal of listing the sets you own on brickset.)

I think its a good way to keep track of your collection. I personally will sometimes sell an old set I don't care as much about to make room for something new, and sometimes I forget about a set so brickset helps with that. they also have a section called set collection analysis where you can see interesting graphs and data on your collection.  

[AD_Bricks]

Rebrickable is also good for that, it's less comprehensive but I personally like the UI more, plus it helps with making MOCs and alt builds.

Edited August 30 by AD_Bricks

[Something_Awesome]

On 8/18/2024 at 8:21 AM, Flieger said:

Or to put it differently: Disney Star Wars has consistently failed to attract new, young audiences. Last time I (teacher) saw kids talking Star Wars all the time was the TCW era, with a mild intrest in TFA but then it was gone. All the shows aimed at young people had no impact. Who even remembers Resistance?

Lego Star Wars reflects this perfectly. Now we get entry level sets exclusively aimed at adults. What 7-year old wants Jedi Bob or an Ackbar trooper? That is pure 90ies nostalgia and memes, i.e. 100% adult. This is where we are.

A Lego diorama of the Death Star conference? Sure, I would buy that immediately! Same with many other diaramas. ...I am 40 years old.

It is high time we hold Lego to that standard of adult collector's item and stop defending inaccuracies by mindlessly saying its a kids' toy every single time an inaccuracy is mentioned. (Yularen's wrong uniform details cost as much in printing as would have the correct one e.g., in an 650€ set!). Not to mention Lego prides itself being the top of the line, premium producer...

I agree that LEGO Star Wars is not for kids anymore. Which is a shame. Not a fan of LEGO stuff that is just meant for display. Hate the dioramas; hate the display-only UCS sets; hate the helmets; hate the midi-scale ships.

LEGO will drop the Star Wars license eventually. 

[Shiva]

midi scale ships?

swooooshhh

More swooosh

[CloneCommando99]

2 hours ago, Shiva said:

midi scale ships?

swooooshhh

More swooosh

Based

Speeders go vroom? 

3 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

I agree that LEGO Star Wars is not for kids anymore. Which is a shame. Not a fan of LEGO stuff that is just meant for display. Hate the dioramas; hate the display-only UCS sets; hate the helmets; hate the midi-scale ships.

LEGO will drop the Star Wars license eventually. 

I do think that Lego’s currently pricing out a lot of kid consumers. But if LSW is not for kids anymore then please explain why they are still making 4+ sets and play-sets. The way I see it is that it’s currently for both kids and adults. (Though I do think that there’s been to much emphasis on adults recently)

On what evidence? Lego’s profits increase every quarter. With Star Wars constantly being one of the top 5 bestsellers.

Sure kids may be losing interest in new content, but many of them still adore the PT, OT and TCW when their parents watch it with them. Which are what the majority of play-sets are based off.

 

Edited August 30 by CloneCommando99

[Llewop]

3 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

Based

Speeders go vroom? 

I do think that Lego’s currently pricing out a lot of kid consumers. But if LSW is not for kids anymore then please explain why they are still making 4+ sets and play-sets. The way I see it is that it’s currently for both kids and adults. (Though I do think that there’s been to much emphasis on adults recently)

On what evidence? Lego’s profits increase every quarter. With Star Wars constantly being one of the top 5 bestsellers.

Sure kids may be losing interest in new content, but many of them still adore the PT, OT and TCW when their parents watch it with them. Which are what the majority of play-sets are based off.

 

All of everyone is saying is opinion. No facts really except for the fact that SW is one of the top selling themes. There is interest in all age groups but since Covid it’s obvious Lego is aiming more and more sets at an adult audience. From my experience a lot of my friends started collecting during the lockdowns and I’m sure they aren’t alone that’s the aim of the icons line and it’ll be a phase and eventually Lego wilL go back to mostly system sets. 

kids will always like SW but you don’t hear from them because they aren’t on social media they aren’t on this forum. There are different kinds of SW fans there are those who literally just watch the films and don’t bother with the animated stuff or comics or books and they are still fans as much as everyone else

maybe what will hurt Star Wars in the long run is its recent reliance on cameos and fan service. Like showing Zeb in the Mando trailer only people who’ve watched rebels will know who he is others’ll think he some hairless wookiee. I admit it’s something which takes me out of the show, but it’s just Disney trying marvelify Star Wars 

[BrickBob Studpants]

26 minutes ago, Llewop said:

Like showing Zeb in the Mando trailer only people who’ve watched rebels will know who he is others’ll think he some hairless wookiee. I admit it’s something which takes me out of the show, but it’s just Disney trying marvelify Star Wars 

Or, get this, he‘s an important character in the movie and people will know who he is after having seen it?  Familiar characters showing up in new shows and movies wasn‘t invented by Marvel, you know. If the audience connects with a character, it doesn‘t matter if it‘s a new or established one.

[Sneakguest]

15 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

I agree that LEGO Star Wars is not for kids anymore. Which is a shame. Not a fan of LEGO stuff that is just meant for display. Hate the dioramas; hate the display-only UCS sets; hate the helmets; hate the midi-scale ships.

LEGO will drop the Star Wars license eventually. 

Totally agree with you, but I like when they do not include ninifigures in those coz it just gets expensive to collect a minifig from a set like the droids set now, when it only contains baby Leia.

15 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

I agree that LEGO Star Wars is not for kids anymore. Which is a shame. Not a fan of LEGO stuff that is just meant for display. Hate the dioramas; hate the display-only UCS sets; hate the helmets; hate the midi-scale ships.

LEGO will drop the Star Wars license eventually. 

Totally agree with you, but I like when they do not include ninifigures in those coz it just gets expensive to collect a minifig from a set like the droids set now, when it only contains baby Leia.

[ForgedInLego]

2 minutes ago, Sneakguest said:

Totally agree with you, but I like when they do not include ninifigures in those coz it just gets expensive to collect a minifig from a set like the droids set now, when it only contains baby Leia.

Totally agree with you, but I like when they do not include ninifigures in those coz it just gets expensive to collect a minifig from a set like the droids set now, when it only contains baby Leia.

You're right that it is less expensive for Lego, but it doesn't feel like those savings are being passed on to the consumers. The Millennium Falcon has all printed parts, which counts for something, but look at the Tantive IV and the Helicarrier...

[Flieger]

On 8/25/2024 at 2:41 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

I couldn't agree more People who make these statements, that 'kids don't care' are certainly not around children. And it sounds like an excuse is made up in support of Lego being lazy because children are dumb and they won't notice or care anyway. The opposite is true!

And i remember, as a child, playing with castle and pirates Lego in the 90s, i always aimed for the most realism possible. I read a lot of books about these topics at that time and had more knowledge than any adult i knew  Of course i would have wanted to get the most realistic and true-to-source Lego as possible. Only the best is good enough eh!?!

So we had the same experience. I for one refused to give a knight in plate armour the 'long' kite shield, because they did not coexist. A friend of mine build Lion's knights only trying to emulate Richard Lionheart's time.

I can tell you: we were not alone; we are not alone.

Not every child is as pedantic as I was when it came to that particular issue. But I can guarantee that when it comes to a favourite character modelled by a favourite toy (which is insanely expensive, too), kids will notice the smallest details. Also, the same kids we are supposed to teach fractions are supposed not to notice the difference between ... white and pink, for example? You know, pre-school stuff? This is so mind-boggling because we are not even approaching a level of discussion that would require some of my expertise. Sorry, that is why my posts on that subject are a little personal.

 

@BacktoBricks merci

 

15 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

Not a fan of LEGO stuff that is just meant for display. Hate the dioramas; hate the display-only UCS sets; hate the helmets; hate the midi-scale ships.

Same here.

Though, in all fairness, Lego actually moved closer to playset stuff recently. If you compare the TIE of the Solo-line to the more recent ones, you can see a development that favours the toyish approach (kinda weird one has to notice that as a positive for a ... toy company). The newest Uglies are a great concept, if a bit simple in the execution, and again priced horribly. Sell them seperately and let the kids play with each other, exchanging the parts with friends. There is always one who likes the Empire and always one who likes the Rebels. They meet, they rebuild, they play, rebuild again, and go home. We were this close to greatness.

Anyway, I do not mind adult sets because I perfectly accepted that Lego is for adults, too. I am just annoyed by quality issues when the claim says I am buying the best and the higest quality. And I am more annoyed when I am told I must not care because kids do not care, which is both untrue regarding children and inappropriate regarding such a high-price product.

[Kaijumeister]

On 8/28/2024 at 5:01 PM, BrickBob Studpants said:

Counterpoint: The recent C-3PO came with quite a few new prints and two new moulded pieces that were specifically created for this set. Also, all the plaques are printed now

I stand corrected!

I wonder how likely it is for Lego to play ‘catch up’ with things people have been asking for next summer (granted, that is an endless list). With this being the calm before the storm of the Mando film / Filoni’s Heir to the Empire film etc. in the coming years it’d be a great time to revisit the Mandalorian Seasons 1 and 2 if only to put out things like Cobb’s Speeder Bike and Gideon’s Outland TIE. Although of course I’d love nothing more than a Stinger Mantis and something with Enoch and more Night Troopers in it too.

I agree with the sentiment that children aren’t as oblivious to detail as people may assume - however, nor are they also excessively pedantic. With the direction this theme is going in with higher prices and more shortcuts, I don’t necessarily think the ‘this is just a children’s toy’ can be completely reconciled with that. You can apply the same argument to media too, how many objectively incredible films and TV shows are made with kids in mind yet have universal appeal? The ones that don’t underestimate their audience.

Edited August 30 by Kaijumeister

[Tariq j]

On 8/29/2024 at 9:15 AM, MaximillianRebo said:

With the big push TLG has been making over the last few years to capture the casual fan and cashed up 18+ market - not just with licensed sets but also lines like Icons and Ideas - I don't think Eurobricks, which is largely populated by people who are very aware of what is happening across the Lego spectrum and would buy many more sets than the average consumer, is a good indication of what does and doesn't sell in the casual market. I'd wager there'd be a lot of people who buy a helmet, a midi-scale ship, a diorama, as a desk ornament but don't post on forums, don't follow news and leaks and just buy the occasional set that appeals to them who are completely unknown to forum posters but very well known to Lego's market research team. It's not a hard and fast rule, but since Lego keep pumping out non system scale set they must feel like they're doing something right, and given the news of their 1HY profit increase (across the board, not specifically for LSW) there isn't a lot of reason in money terms for them to change direction in the near future.

Yeah, I feel a lot of adults got into the hobby during the pandemic and LEGO have a made an effort to appeal to those people outside the usual AFOL fan base. Like you said people will get them as desk ornaments/housewarming gift etc. And there’s nothing wrong with that - I don’t mind them doing the odd helmet set or diorama. But it is disappointing they have taken up the whole line. 

The line has obviously changed a lot throughout the years - the style of the battlepacks has changed, we’ve seen themes like the planets line and the action figures come and go - but it does feel very jarring to see a shift like this.