LEGO Star Wars 2012 Pictures and Rumors

[helicaon]

Hmm, alright sets.

Happy to see more OT than clone wars.

I'm gonna get Droid Escape and that's all.

Just a query: is there a reason these pictures are always so blurry?

Is it not possible to get slightly clearer ones?

Anyway, yeah

because the miniature spy-cameras used to take the pics while hanging upside down from the ceiling in TLC's offices don't take great pics, and this is exacerbated by the trembling of the agents, worried they might be captured and beaten about the person with lego clubs....

[Special K]

because the miniature spy-cameras used to take the pics while hanging upside down from the ceiling in TLC's offices don't take great pics, and this is exacerbated by the trembling of the agents, worried they might be captured and beaten about the person with lego clubs....

Yeah, that's absolutely side splitting.

If anyone has anything that's not snide and smart a**e it would be appreciated.

Thanks guys.

[Emperor]

Just a query: is there a reason these pictures are always so blurry?

Is it not possible to get slightly clearer ones?

Anyway, yeah

I actually don't think the pictures are very blurry; I think the problem is that the pictures in the catalog are very small, which means a big picture (like 800x600) has to look blurry. The picture of the X-Wing is perfectly clear, because it fills a big part of the catalog page. The battle packs are just small pictures together with all the other new sets on 1 page, it isn't possible to get better pictures out of that.

[Special K]

I actually don't think the pictures are very blurry; I think the problem is that the pictures in the catalog are very small, which means a big picture (like 800x600) has to look blurry. The picture of the X-Wing is perfectly clear, because it fills a big part of the catalog page. The battle packs are just small pictures together with all the other new sets on 1 page, it isn't possible to get better pictures out of that.

Thanks so much.

Very helpful

[Vindicare]

Yeah, that's absolutely side splitting.

If anyone has anything that's not snide and smart a**e it would be appreciated.

Thanks guys.

It's called sarcasm, a joke. You can unwad those panties.((sarcasm))

I can't wait to see some real pictures for 2012. For the most part, theses pictures are a waste. Pretty much all minifigs in the pictures are just placeholders. As for the BPs, it's mostly pointless to even show them, since the big draw of BPs are the minifigs... Oh well, it's a nice tease of whats coming, but I want more!

[art_apples]

Actually I've always been curious as to why the prelim photos always seem to be blurry. Year after year the leaks always seem to have the same level of blurriness, surely the leaks can't always be from the same source? and wouldn't that mean different people would use different levels of camera's to take the pictures?

I do quite a lot of photography and have a range of different camera's that I use for different effects and ease of use and to be honest the cameras today are pretty high in terms of resolution in taking pictures, especially just from a catalogue... even the throw away type camera's would take a sharper picture than that.

The only way that sort of image blurriness would come up is if the images were absolutely tiny, almost postage stamp size, and the camera used was one of those small pinhole spy cameras that you can buy in spy shops (and can be concealed in buttons etc.)

My guess has always been though that seeing as the leaks often come via German websites, that the source was a smaller retailer in Germany. The question I've always wondered is do the retailers get a catalogue left with them... If so then surely the leaks would be of a high quality, the blurriness only makes sense if the catalogues are brought round by a Lego rep to be looked over and orders placed and then the catalogue taken back with the rep, in which case the retailer could have a mini camera set up in preparation and that would explain the blurriness.

But my real suspicion is that the leaks are acutually instigated by Lego themselves.... I know it doesn't make sense in a way as Lego clearly do ask the various sites to bring down the photos once leaked, but I still think they are behind it for the reason of getting feedback from the Lego community and to create a buzz for the online Lego community by making them feel that they are privy to insider information.

Also why do Lego create prelim box designs with placement figures in the first place? What purpose does it achieve? surely they've already worked out what figures will go in already, or is there a last minute decision made on this, like in last year with the Vos figure included in the initial Jedi shuttle and later replaced. But again if a decision was made so late in the day (which seems weird), why the need to make it using a box design mock up?, couldn't you just take a photo of the set itself and use that to decide?

Edited September 12, 2011 by art_apples

[SWMAN]

Nothing special here. I'm not really impressed with any of these. I'm glad that Lego has decided to release an OT and PT Battlepack in the same year. But if they're going to do this then they need to do it well. I'm hoping that he X-Wing is an improvement but i'm not holding my breath. The other sets seem pretty standard and don't have a lot of potential for really new or cool figures.

[Hennessy Man]

Smart man, art_apples - I absolutely agreee that Lego itself leaks the images (as classically do all big organizations - 'on the side' - i. e. not on the US web-sites or on Denmark ones for example) and then deletes them just in time everybody 've seen them - just to partly preserve the excitement for the rest.

Lego's PR department have to test the reactions of the customers, profile and study psyhological reactions to the sets +- figuires as well as to brainstorm the future products. For example - a lot of OT sets, ships, Amidala etc. Economy is sinking you know, and nothing makes money as the golden classics. Anyways, sorry for off-topic ^-)

And yeah.. where's new Mon Calamari-baased sets? Too soon?

[Lord Of The Fries]

I'm glad that Lego has decided to release an OT and PT Battlepack in the same year.

What's the PT battlepack?

[prateek]

What's the PT battlepack?

The CW one

(the one with two clones and two droids)

Edited September 12, 2011 by prateek

[StoutFiles]

When was the last time TLG made drastic changes to a preliminary model? This summer's sets saw literally no changes even though there were many complaints.

[Fallenangel]

When was the last time TLG made drastic changes to a preliminary model? This summer's sets saw literally no changes even though there were many complaints.

Indeed. KielDaMan's and KimT's comments regarding the 'preliminary' nature of these pictures are more applicable to the minifigures than anything else.

For those who intend to pick up the new TIE/ln - the cockpit and wing pylons of the TIE fighter and interceptor (the 'real' ones, not the sets) are more or less identical, down to the last miniscule kitbashed detail. In other words, a fighter-interceptor conversion is simply a matter of constructing a different set of radiator panels.

Edited September 13, 2011 by fallenangel309

[TheBrickHitHouse]

Most definitely Lego is leaking these images.

Perhaps they just want to keep the buzz of new products in the air but without the cost of advertising. Some guy only needs to scan in a preliminary design and a million lego fans will pass those images around for free for 6 months. By keeping everything 'preliminary' they can be flexible and avoid disappointments

[---Vertea---]

Actually I've always been curious as to why the prelim photos always seem to be blurry. Year after year the leaks always seem to have the same level of blurriness, surely the leaks can't always be from the same source? and wouldn't that mean different people would use different levels of camera's to take the pictures?

I do quite a lot of photography and have a range of different camera's that I use for different effects and ease of use and to be honest the cameras today are pretty high in terms of resolution in taking pictures, especially just from a catalogue... even the throw away type camera's would take a sharper picture than that.

The only way that sort of image blurriness would come up is if the images were absolutely tiny, almost postage stamp size, and the camera used was one of those small pinhole spy cameras that you can buy in spy shops (and can be concealed in buttons etc.)

My guess has always been though that seeing as the leaks often come via German websites, that the source was a smaller retailer in Germany. The question I've always wondered is do the retailers get a catalogue left with them... If so then surely the leaks would be of a high quality, the blurriness only makes sense if the catalogues are brought round by a Lego rep to be looked over and orders placed and then the catalogue taken back with the rep, in which case the retailer could have a mini camera set up in preparation and that would explain the blurriness.

But my real suspicion is that the leaks are acutually instigated by Lego themselves.... I know it doesn't make sense in a way as Lego clearly do ask the various sites to bring down the photos once leaked, but I still think they are behind it for the reason of getting feedback from the Lego community and to create a buzz for the online Lego community by making them feel that they are privy to insider information.

Also why do Lego create prelim box designs with placement figures in the first place? What purpose does it achieve? surely they've already worked out what figures will go in already, or is there a last minute decision made on this, like in last year with the Vos figure included in the initial Jedi shuttle and later replaced. But again if a decision was made so late in the day (which seems weird), why the need to make it using a box design mock up?, couldn't you just take a photo of the set itself and use that to decide?

I've made the same argument myself, but to no avail...

I agree with you 100%, except that prelims are placeholder images done up while they're still in the process of making the final parts and prints. The preliminaries need to be sent to the distributors ASAP, so as soon as even a rough idea is laid out,k they snap it, send it and then bang out the kinks.

[Vindice]

Don't forget they like to plan sets well in advance of when they are released. I think some members of the general lego-buying public think they design the new sets after the current sets have been released but it's I think about a year and a half between project design until it's released. (I'm sure someone can give more acurate info here.)

That extra few months when prelim images are going around the net gives TLG some precious extra time to do a free bit of research for future sets.

[helicaon]

Yeah, that's absolutely side splitting.

If anyone has anything that's not snide and smart a**e it would be appreciated.

Thanks guys.

nothing snide about it, and there IS a germ of truth in there, as the chances are it's someone getting a quick look at a catalogue, perhaps with only a phone camera, which won't be great at close up pics, or has taken a distant view of the entire page, then cropped and zoomed the individual bits....

[StoutFiles]

While it makes perfect sense for TLG to leak their images themselves, I still say it's an employee with a secret camera. It's not like every preliminary image we've gotten in the past is fuzzy.

If it IS TLG, then they need to start making changes based on the comments the pictures get.

[Corydoras]

I assure you that TLG already has the sets boxed and ready for sale. The company is too serious to care about any comments posted here on EB.

[Algernon]

I assure you that TLG already has the sets boxed and ready for sale. The company is too serious to care about any comments posted here on EB.

I wouldn't be so sure. In the past, LEGO has listened to the various complaints of AFOLs regarding their current themes. For example, after the first wave of Mars Mission, LEGO replaced the much-lamented alien "jellies" with an updated, more useful design. Many people also complained about the lack of airtight helmets in Space Police 3, which was fixed in the second wave as well.

I've always thought LEGO was an exception to the "big corporation" rule. It seems like they do take our opinions into account, even if that isn't what ultimately influences their decisions.

[simonjedi]

I wouldn't be so sure. In the past, LEGO has listened to the various complaints of AFOLs regarding their current themes. For example, after the first wave of Mars Mission, LEGO replaced the much-lamented alien "jellies" with an updated, more useful design. Many people also complained about the lack of airtight helmets in Space Police 3, which was fixed in the second wave as well.

I've always thought LEGO was an exception to the "big corporation" rule. It seems like they do take our opinions into account, even if that isn't what ultimately influences their decisions.

Emphasise on 'Second wave.' The sets are pretty much done by now. Lego (Quite rightly) doesn't really listen to what AFOLs say. We're not their main market.

I mean the CEO of Lego isn't going to run into the factory screaming 'SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN, Eurobricks member Fallenangel said that the droid socket is 0.3mm too shallow, scrap it and start again'

[StoutFiles]

Emphasise on 'Second wave.' The sets are pretty much done by now. Lego (Quite rightly) doesn't really listen to what AFOLs say. We're not their main market.

I mean the CEO of Lego isn't going to run into the factory screaming 'SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN, Eurobricks member Fallenangel said that the droid socket is 0.3mm too shallow, scrap it and start again'

You took it a little extreme there.

All we ask is they take a second look at certain design choices. Maybe they see it's an easy fix that makes the set better and is cost effective. Maybe not. I like to think they do listen to us and make changes for future sets.

[kris kelvin]

Have you seen this?

[nrg]

Have you seen this?

WWOOOOOWWW !

nice find!

[TheBrickHitHouse]

Look at those figs! Awesome!

But why do some stormtroopers have printed legs and others don't?!

Don't recognise that ARC?

[StoutFiles]

Have you seen this?

Nice one Kris!

The X-wing looks better than the old one. This will also stop the discussion of R2 having a third wheel.