[75059] Sandcrawler

[mortesv]

This is a very nice looking set! Built using classic UCS technique - technic skeleton with plate surface. A brick built technique could have been used though, but plates have their own lego charm and gives the model texture. Anyway it looks much better than the old playset. I do imagine though, that I would try to cover up those studs a bit. The solution for the windows is, while certainly very stable, a bit cheap looking and deserves some modding as well.

All in all this set not only has display value but looks fun to build (and even to play with?!? :D )

[naf]

This is a very nice looking set! Built using classic UCS technique - technic skeleton with plate surface. A brick built technique could have been used though, but plates have their own lego charm and gives the model texture. Anyway it looks much better than the old playset. I do imagine though, that I would try to cover up those studs a bit. The solution for the windows is, while certainly very stable, a bit cheap looking and deserves some modding as well.

All in all this set not only has display value but looks fun to build (and even to play with?!? :D )

I might try covering the outside in plates after I build it to see how that looks.

[Mencot]

I think someone on here said we might be getting the Slave 1 in September. Don't hold me to that though.

Crossing fingers that it will be true because that will be the UCS I will buy

[Legoman123]

Crossing fingers that it will be true because that will be the UCS I will buy

In all honesty, I would much prefer a new system scale Slave 1.

[Thorpe]

What the hell happened to Luke's face? It looks like they based it off of the Holiday Special.

There's far too much printing on Luke's face and Owens for that matter.

[rloesberg]

It looks good, and although Im a proud owner of the original, it is indeed an improvement. However....I wish lego would design more new sets and stops issuing all the releases.

[Cyberbricker]

Is it just me, or is the face printing getting uglier and uglier?

[Darth Nader]

Is it just me, or is the face printing getting uglier and uglier?

It's not you, it's lego thinking that by adding lots of unnecessary cheek bones and wrinkles the figures look more detailed. I really hope they realize the figures end up looking ugly by the time the episode VII sets come out.

[Kaitan]

Is it just me, or is the face printing getting uglier and uglier?

It's not you, it's lego thinking that by adding lots of unnecessary cheek bones and wrinkles the figures look more detailed. I really hope they realize the figures end up looking ugly by the time the episode VII sets come out.

Still not as ugly as the CW faces...

[Legoman123]

Is it just me, or is the face printing getting uglier and uglier?

It's not you, it's lego thinking that by adding lots of unnecessary cheek bones and wrinkles the figures look more detailed. I really hope they realize the figures end up looking ugly by the time the episode VII sets come out.

I actually don't mind the face printing.

[Blondie-Wan]

I started to respond to this post a few days ago, but had a browser glitch just after I'd finished typing a bunch of stuff and lost it all, and I didn't feel like coming back to it right away. Oh, well.

This is a great-looking set, and I must have it. It's a little vexing that it's only the second set ever to include Jawas in the entire fifteen years of the theme, and this set and its predecessor combined have just seven Jawas between them (when they're both large, expensive sets of the Sandcrawler), but since I do indeed have that previous Sandcrawler at least I'll be able to combine the ones from that with the ones from this and have seven. I also look forward to eventually combining the two sets to MOC my own, but this is a sufficiently nice-looking set that I think I'll be happy to just keep it together for a while.

From TLG regarding packaging:

The decision has been made to change the packaging for future “LEGO® exclusive” Star Wars™ sets to include the UCS seal and de-link from the core Star Wars packaging. In addition to the packaging change an update has been made to the building instructions. The building instructions will have additional pages detailing the model’s connection to the movie and its development process. Much as the Creator Expert badge differentiates the larger models from the core assortment the goal of this change is to better communicate to builders that these sets represent our biggest building challenge in the LEGO® Star Wars™ theme.

That sounds nifty. So the manuals will be something like the ones for Architecture and CUUSOO sets? That should be pretty sweet.

Couldn't they wait a little while longer with a new big release? I still haven't gotten around to buy the Ewok Village set and there are still some other regular sets on my purchase list.

Argh, welcome to my world. I still don't have the Death Star, never mind many of the other sets from the last couple years (my current priorities are the Death Star, Jabba's Palace, the Battle of Hoth, and the last wave of Planets, if I can get them).

[Brickdoctor]

e.g. 4 1x1 bricks side by side....why do they don't take a 1x4 brick? and so is it in every set since the last view years.....

The generally accepted explanation for the 'use multiple smaller bricks instead of one larger brick' issue is that if it can be done, it can save TLG money on the packaging side of things by making the parts inventory simpler. (But in this case, I don't know if that's the reason, since I don't know if there are other 1x1 or 1x4 bricks in brown in the set.)

[TheBrickHitHouse]

Champing at the bit for this. I think we can safely assume VIP's can get it 2 weeks early, so a month to go?

[Legoman123]

Champing at the bit for this. I think we can safely assume VIP's can get it 2 weeks early, so a month to go?

I think that's what has happened with the other D2C sets this year, so I think this will be the same.

[Brickmamba]

Will cop with may the force figure

[Faefrost]

The generally accepted explanation for the 'use multiple smaller bricks instead of one larger brick' issue is that if it can be done, it can save TLG money on the packaging side of things by making the parts inventory simpler. (But in this case, I don't know if that's the reason, since I don't know if there are other 1x1 or 1x4 bricks in brown in the set.)

It's not so much "in the set" as it is "in the bag or bag grouping. They set up the fill stations for each numbered bag. So they may use a part in bag one, but then elect not to use it again and use 2 smaller pieces to do the same job in bag 2 or 5 in order to simplify the bag filling process. This is why it often seems confusing to we lay people. The numbered bags and assembly sets mean Lego treats each numbered bag as a separate "sub set" for purposes of production and packaging automation.

[OBI-WAN37]

I'm on the fence about this one. The shape is great, I like the figs a lot (though I'm not sure I would bother displaying them with the Sandcrawler, pretty sure based on the cuusoo crawler they're not quite to scale), however I have a thing about flat tiles sticking out where the rest is covered in studs (because it's not really level, and therefore, not accurate, and I love models being as accurate as possible). Still looks really great. I just wish LEGO would release more sets on this scale (or hopefully even bigger) based on the prequels, which I prefer.

[rollermonkey]

I think if the area immediately around the 'windows' and a couple studs down were clad in tiles it would look better, but I'd have to try it out to decide for sure.

[jnd2k3]

3PO gets a restraining bolt? R2 should have, as well. Would make this set that much more valuable down the road.

[BrickieB]

I will definitely be getting this set. I can't wait to get it, build it, and have my kids play with it. Usually I don't let them play with my UCS sets as they are too fragile, don't offer enough playability for them and are a pain to rebuild once they had their hands on them. But I think this one's going to be different...

Yes it's overpriced - although looking at the evolution of price/part over the last models, it seems the x-wing was worse.

And finally my thoughts on the lightsaber: obviously TLG understands that anyone who would buy this kit would be in desperate need of another lightsaber, as these are very hard to come by... :P

[BJM]

I put this in general questions, but got no replies so trying again...

Well I am mega mega excited about the sandcrawler but... $300 US is £180 in the UK and yet the sandcrawler here is going to be £250. The £70 quid difference is $116 which is just huge (and would cover the cost of the cantina on top).

I have seen that Australians often seem to get a raw deal (sorry), but really this seems way off. I would buy in USA and ship over but all the tax stuff just gets way too complicated.

Would really like to hear views and any suggestions on whether it will be worthwhile buying American. I could almost afford the airfare with the mark up..!

[rollermonkey]

Are any of the EU countries getting this at a better price than the UK? I'd think that would be an easier route than trying to get one from the US.

[TheBear]

I agree with you that this set seems too expensive for what it is. I would really like it but I am not sure it is worth £250 to me.

People get annoyed when they see how cheap the US price is, but this excludes sales tax which is charged locally. If you take the VAT off the UK price the difference is only £26 which can easily be accounted for by the increased cost of doing business in a smaller market. The same goes for all the EU prices which have similar VAT rates to the UK.

[rollermonkey]

Sandcrawler can now be seen on the storefront at LEGO.com

But you can't just go to the Star Wars theme and see it that way...

Search for May the Fourth, and it will be one of the results. (Some of the others are odd... )

Release is shown as May 3rd so far, nothing about an early release for VIPs just yet.

[BrickG]

Comparing it to the Endor $250 set and it's still no contest. Kind of depressing.