LEGO Star Wars 2013 Pictures and Rumors

[helicaon]

I really like it, and great that we see the final set already; I had absolutely not expected that!

Small gripe: no studs on the top of the animal. In the Star Wars EU it occurs from time to time that people ride Rancors as they would on Tauntauns, Kaadu etc.:

But apart from that: I love it

Next up: LEGO Bantha's!

there DO appear to be studs on top of the Rancor - on the shoulders...

[MstrOfPppts]

A lovely set, really happy about the fact it has a Gamorrean Guard, which means their BL price might get a bit friendlier (:

And rancor is just beautiful! I really prefer the moulded Trolls and dragons to brickbuilt ones - the Vikings theme was terrible for my taste ...

[Lobot]

I was trying to avoid buying Jabba's Palace because of the ridiculous RRP, but the new set has tipped the scales for me. My favourite part is the dungeon....I love the mix of colours

[Mr Man]

It looks OK but try combining it with the old Jabba's Palace set and the Sail Barge and Skifs.

[Blondie-Wan]

Wow, coolness!

I don't see how a Rancor Pit could be made to look much prettier than what we have here. The mottled colors really suit the cavernous setting IMO, and help it look a little less smooth and "pristine" with their varied textures.

Perhaps with fully-SNOT wall details it could be done in monochrome without losing detail, but as it is it seems about as good as I could imagine at a typical LEGO Star Wars age range and non-exclusive price point.

I'm inclined to agree. The "actual" rancor pit is just a big, dank, dark room with a couple ways in and out, and rocks, sand/dirt and bones strewn about. The set's color scheme is faithful to the essence of the place without mirroring it exactly, and is more visually interesting for it. Honestly, I don't think sets that use the original actual Star Wars color schemes are as desirable as ones that play with the colors just a bit; I think the color selections here were a wise move, and if anything I'd have encouraged the designer to get just a wee bit more adventurous with the palette, rather than less so. As far as the construction goes... a more "complete" set would be a bunch of bricks to build basically a big box, adding a bunch of cost to the set without adding features. This design strikes a good balance between economy, accuracy and features, and anyone who wants more of the pit can easily just fill in the walls or expand the set or both using bricks from one's general inventory.

I love the inclusion of the pitchfork. Nice little detail!

[nrg]

The Rancor Pit isn't too big for the first wave?

[eric729]

The Rancor Pit isn't too big for the first wave?

I HOPE NOT!!!!!

[AmperZand]

I collect fantasy/historical, not SW and even I'm tempted by the Rancor set. The Rancor looks great and could easily pass for another kind of (LotR) troll. Not to mention the Gamorrean could be an orc. And the pit itself could be somewhere in Moria.

If it isn't too expensive, I'll get this set, maybe in preference to a LotR set.

Incidentally, there's a mistake in the opening post: there are four minifigs in this set, not three.

Edited July 13, 2012 by AmperZand

[whitswj]

I can usually find redeeming qualities in most sets, but my initial impression of the Rancor Pit is that it looks pretty terrible. As a stand alone set, it's incredibly ugly. I can only imagine that Jabba's Palace sitting on top would result in a ridiculous looking structure. It'll be interesting to see what the price is, but I'll bet it won't be pretty. The set is bound to please many though...

I'm still saving final judgment until more pics and price become available.

I agree. I would like to see a picture of Jabba's Palace attached to the top of it. I imagine from the look of it that it is made to fit together with Jabbas palace. It should function well with the trap door however.

[MrHansolo26]

This looks great! I take it it sits under the new Jabba's palace?

[Spider-Man]

I wonder if the modularity of Jabba's palace will set the stage for future sets with the same capabilities! I could totally see a Jedi Temple that you can buy 3 or 4 sets and combine them all to make an even bigger temple! Or even with Palaptine's arrest coming up. It has all those technic pin holes all over, so maybe there will be stuff you can add on?

[Aanchir]

To me the structure looks like a hollowed out cube, not a subterranean dungeon cave. I wouldn't suggest raising the piece count as I'm sure it's already decently high, and I wouldn't want the cost to go up more. IMO the Hoth Wampa Cave did a much better job of giving the impression of a cave (even if just the entrance) and I'm sure its piece count will be significantly lower than the Rancor pit.

When I think of the Rancor pit scene from RotJ, I think of the trapdoor that opens and drops Luke down a chute and into the pit (Trapdoor - check, though it's in the Palace set which is fine. Chute with closing gate - nope). The big gate in the pit opens and the Rancor enters (Big gate - check). Luke hides in a gap in the rocks and the base of one of the walls, out of reach from the Rancor (spot for Luke to hide from the Rancor - nope). Luke eventually gets picked up by the Rancor, but shoves the bone in its mouth and it then drops him on the sandy floor (Rancor can pick up Luke with a bone - check. Floor of the pit is sand and thus tan would be a suitable colour - nope, the base of the set is a hole in the middle, and grey around the edges). Luke tosses a rock at the switch and the gate closes (Switch - check. Rocks for Luke to throw - nope).

My memory of the scene in question may be a bit foggy, but I had thought it was a skull that Luke threw at the switch-- and a skull is present in the set. As for a gap in the rocks where Luke can hide, it may not be the most accurate representation, but do you see how one of the rock columns is slightly thicker than the other? It looks like that might hinge or break open to create a hiding place.

I know they (TLG) want to increase play value by having easy access into the pit and thus have three open sides to the structure. But three open sides!? You need to have a gate on one side, and ideally you'd have a chute on the right side, and something for Luke to hide behind/under on the left side. That would still leave the front open for hands to get in. Even just having two sides open would be ok, as that would allow for the gate plus a rocky wall to give the impression of a dungeon. Those three big arches give the impression that the pit continues on in those directions and that it's almost infinitely big.

Building dark indoor scenes can be difficult for a lot of reasons. Not only do you want open space for a person's hands when they're playing with the set, but you want there to be openings to let the person playing with the toy see inside, as well as to let in a decent amount of light (even in a scene that should be very dark, you're reducing play value if a person can't see what they're playing with). Thus a cave that is open on only one or two sides (and not even the top, when Jabba's Palace is connected) would reduce play value greatly. It should also be considered that having the Rancor Pit seem to continue further than what's shown offers additional play value since the Rancor is a very bulky design that wouldn't have too much space to move around if the Rancor Pit were walled in on three sides.

As for the colours, it's one of those cases of there being too many colours. I'm seeing both light and dark grey, white, and tan. If it were made up from light and dark grey pieces, cool. I could even handle some tan in there too, because everyone loves tan. But white? Yuck. It reminds me of the original MTT, where there was just a mish-mash of too many coloured bricks.

I don't see any white bricks at all in this picture of the Rancor Pit. If you're talking about the slopes, those look light gray to me. Compare them to the skeleton parts, which are white. Likewise, I don't see any tan parts-- they all appear to be dark tan, like a lot of the parts from Jabba's Palace.

I know some of the stuff that I mentioned was being way too picky and unrealistic to expect from a system set. But this is one of those extremely rare instances where I am truly underwhelmed with what we're getting. This feels like yet another one of those cases where the design of the main part of the set is being compromised just so that we can get new figures. I know everyone loves figs and will buy anything just to get the figs they want, but sometimes it seems as though those of us who don't value figs as much get stiffed with a lackluster set with a big price tag just so those figs can be made. I'm aware of the whole argument about us being able to build whatever we please because of the variety of pieces available, but on the other hand highly detailed and unique figs can't simply be made my common folk. I don't want to go on about minifigues as I'm already too worked up, and they're beside my original points.

I do not mean to offend anyone, I am merely stating my opinion. I love Lego, just not this set (not yet at least).

That's understandable, believe me. Don't think that my perspective on the set is that it's flawless. There are some things that people would want in a Rancor Pit that TLG's designers consciously failed to provide. I simply mean to express that I understand a lot of the design choices that went into this set, and that personally I believe they paid off.

There's no reason to think of this as a set that's only worth getting for the figs. Like Jabba's Palace before it, even if you think the structure as a whole is underwhelming, it's an amazing parts pack to get you started on building your own version if you should so choose.

I recognize that I tend to be pretty forgiving of sets in general, including Star Wars sets-- I was quite pleased with last year's Echo Base model, which managed to work in all of the scenes I remembered best. So don't think just because I happen to like this set that I feel everybody else should feel the same way. Different people look for different things in set design. Sometimes this leads them to like the same things for very different reasons, while other times it makes their tastes totally different.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Aanchir

[gotoAndLego]

Edit: Also look at this link. http://ow.ly/i/HJQX/original

In the Star Wars section, you can see what looks to be like a really cool Ewok Village.

It could be just a MOC, but it would be great as a new set.

This might have been discussed elsewhere, but all the way on the left, sitting on the wall above the Death Star, are those two unreleased Alien Conquest sets?

Edited July 13, 2012 by gotoAndLego

[Tobias_Jay]

This set is quite a looker. The funny thing is I'm not a fan of Star Wars but the latest sets from the last 3 years have brought me to my knees, and this is definitely one of them. That Rancor could probably be used for some thing else like space or something. The thing I'm worried about is if I get this I'll have to get Jabba's Palace to add it on (I'm a sucker for that sort of thing!)

[Brickscape]

ROTJ has always been my favorite of the SW films (it was the first one I saw as a child) and this Rancor set (along with the new version of Jabba's Palace) are a real dream come true for me. I was always bummed that I missed out on the first Jabba's Palace sets but these are WAY better. Good things come to those who wait I guess.

This might have been discussed elsewhere, but all the way on the left, sitting on the wall above the Death Star, are those two unreleased Alien Conquest sets?

I know this is a Star Wars thread but good catch on that one! Now I'm really curious....

[lincolnwho]

can anyone with enough bricks try and copy this from the pics then lob their palace on top , would be awesome to see it done before release?????

[Brickdoctor]

Incidentally, there's a mistake in the opening post: there are four minifigs in this set, not three.

Oops, I forgot about the skeleton. Thanks; it's fixed now.

[Admiral-Ackbar]

Could anyone explain to me why the Rancor is not counted as a minifigure considering that the Wampa was counted as one in the Wampa Cave? I'm quite confused about this.

[Faefrost]

Could anyone explain to me why the Rancor is not counted as a minifigure considering that the Wampa was counted as one in the Wampa Cave? I'm quite confused about this.

It's a tax accountingthing. Due to his gross size he gets recorded as a capital expense instead of an employee of the Hutts. As a result the set lists him as a "vehicle" instead of a minifig.

[prateek]

Well I be buying it for my son since his getting Jabba's Palace....perfect addition, but it doesn't look like it can join underneath the palace though ?

The four pyramid thingies on the top of the pit fit into 4 2x2 holes on the bottom of the palace.

[Bilbo Baggins]

The Rancor appears to be Hulk size, a little too small

[naugem]

I like the rancor a lot.

The rest of the set doesn't seem interesting.

[The_Chosen_1]

The Rancor appears to be Hulk size, a little too small

The Rancor is easily 3x the size of Hulk. Even by just looking at it, it's pretty easy to see that it's roughly triple the height of your typical minifigure.

[CaptainBermuda]

Does anyone else remember the Padawan Menace short? Because it showe dthe new jabba and rancor in it.

[purpleparadox]

Does anyone else remember the Padawan Menace short? Because it showe dthe new jabba and rancor in it.

I have that on DVD. I remember someone else pointed out the new Jabba. Now I have to go check for the Rancor.