Lobot

I've just removed the link above to be on the safe side; sorry if that seems a bit harsh. The video is still available via a very popular website if you want to search for it. Hopefully we'll get some official images soon anyway!

Thanks - Vader's Transformation looks excellent and if the pricing quoted (€35) is correct, that falls nicely into my initial prediction of £25-30 It's interesting news about the UCS Snowspeeder, after Brickset had 'downgraded' their details for it I was starting to think that it wasn't going to happen. The original version is looking really dated and, if TLG could create something on a par with the UCS Slave 1, it would be a day one purchase for me! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much about the potential for a UCS Falcon as well, but it would make sense for TLG to link that with the release of Episode VIII or, just possibly, the 40th Anniversary of Episode IV (25th May).

I'll be very interested to the see the Bounty Hunter BP; and if the final versions of minifigures are in a 'cartoony' or OT style! I much prefer my minifigures to be the latter and still cringe at some of the 'clone wars' figures which were produced a few years ago, but that shows my age! I'm surprised that LEGO are including named characters in such a small set (assuming they do!); if I recall correctly there's a restriction in their licence which prevents them from selling individual figures, hence why all previous battle packs have a small build included. That should prevent them from ever releasing a 'CMF' SW line, but perhaps this is a way around that?

As mentioned in the 2017 UCS thread, the details for 75144 (Snowspeeder) on the Brickset database have been erased (link). I'm not too sure if this is good news or not, especially relating to the rumours of a new UCS Falcon. Personally I'd like both to be true!

The images of Vader's Transformation look very promising, almost most impressive! It looks a bit more substantial that the Carbonite Chamber and so I'd expect it to be at a higher price point; possibly in the £25-£30 range. I'm really looking forward to seeing the final version; it will be interesting if the figures are all new - in theory they could re-cycle Darth & The Emperor from 75093 plus 2-1B from 8096. Definitely one to get in 2017; hopefully there will be some others! I just hope that the rumours of a new UCS Falcon are true - it could be a great year to be a AFOL!

I don't know if it's been mentioned elsewhere, but the price of several SW sets has been increased on the UK Shop at Home website recently I can't recall seeing this strategy being adopted previously, so I'm slightly disappointed to say the least. For example the (already ridiculously overpriced) Death Star and Insult on Hoth have both increased by £10 each; with the Slave 1 & TIE Fighter also following suit. I guess that TLG feels that it's profit margins aren't quite high enough.... this isn't a good day to be a fan. Hopefully they'll have a re-think if shoppers vote with their wallets; I'll just have to focus my spending at other stores which are offering decent deals from now onwards.

If the rumour of a new UCS Falcon is true, it will be a first day purchase for me; I really don't mind if it's a re-issue or an upgraded set. I've always regretted selling my original 10179, so it would be great to own something similar again! If true, I guess it will be in the £600-£750 range (bearing in mind the current pricing strategy that TLG seem to have recently adopted); but there will be a lot of collectors who'll be more than happy to pay that sort of money for it. If there's ever an optimum time, then 2017 should the year..... I'm finally excited about the prospect of owning a new set!

I've just ordered 75096 Sith Infiltrator from Shop at Home. I refused to pay the RRP for it as a matter of principle (£84.99) but it's currently on sale at 30% off, plus the double VIP points and free A-Wing Pilot made me feel even less guilty about it! I've spent virtually nothing this year on my personal collection, but I'm hoping that 2017 will be far more interesting.... a couple of decent UCS sets would be a great way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Episode IV

Please can we keep this thread specifically for 2017 sets and rumours - this isn't really on topic, thanks I was Rogue One yesterday, and it didn't disappoint. Without giving any of the plot away there's plenty of material for TLG to work from and the current new sets are good reflections of the film models etc; I think that mortesv will enjoy some of the closing scenes especially! There were also some nice little moments that OT fans will enjoy - and several other interesting touches that you'll need to look out for. There's a couple of characters that I'd seen in LEGO form which only make very brief appearances in the film; and conversely others that haven't been made that should be! Hopefully they'll appear later this year.

I've updated the first page with some more details from the LEGO website

Thanks for the info, Stash. I've spent some time updating the details of the winter wave in the first post; I'll finish it once they're available (again) on the Shop at Home website I'll be surprised if the Bounty Hunter battle pack includes any rare minifigures, it wouldn't make financial sense for them to do so! If they ever make 4-LOM or Zuckuss it's likely that they'd be included in a UCS set to optimise their profit margin - for example the last IG-88 was available in 10221 which was £350!

Thanks CopMIke, you've just made my day! And, thanks again for running it again this year, you're a star!

It's possible that they've decided to hold them until 1st January so that they can clear a backlog of older sets that have been marked as 'retiring soon'. It will be interesting to see if there's any decent post-Christmas sales this year on LEGO's website; I certainly hope so. I've had my eye on 75096 for a long time, but I refuse to pay £84.99 for it! I don't know if different in other countries but there hasn't been much hype around Rogue One, especially compared to TFA, and this may be impacting on the overall sales. I noticed last night that Amazon had the Advent Calendar back in stock - last year it was almost impossible to find.

The UK store calendar is available on the main website (link); it runs from 11th - 31st December on orders above £25

I'm actually quite impressed by the OT sets and I'll be picking them up when they're available at a reasonable discount. The Landspeeder looks almost identical to the one in 75052, but at least it includes a Tusken Raider and Womp rat! The Skiff looks reasonable, but the colouring of the Sarlaac is a bit odd; the older version was better. And, we finally get a decent Lando, although his expression looks a little bizarre; perhaps it will grow on me

Thanks to CopMike for running this again this year My feeble attempt.... I was intending to do a nice little Christmas Wampa cave, but LDD only seem to have the arms for them!

Thanks mortesv, it's certainly been a rather interesting 6 months! I fell really hard onto concrete and managed to break my femur completely in two, just below the 'ball' part. I had surgery to re-enforce it with a large alloy bolt, followed by 12 weeks on crutches, which was incredibly frustrating. The consultant has been very pleased with my progress, and it's all fused really well, but I'll need to have it monitored for another 18 months before I'm finally given the all-clear. I'm still not 100% at the moment, but I'm just very grateful that I can walk again as I'm usually very active ....I'll be in touch shortly!

If the details are correct, it's going to be another inexpensive year for me.... Perhaps I'm getting to old for this - but I can't muster any enthusiasm for any of the Rebels or Freemaker sets. I've spent virtually nothing this year thanks to the totally mediocre UCS 'offerings' - even with the recent triple VIP points I couldn't bring myself to order Insult on Hoth, Hopefully TLG have got something really magical planned for 2017, although I think that I may have said that about 2016! The only sets which may be on my list to date are the new Landspeeder, provided that it includes a couple of Sandpeople, and possibly Vader's Transformation.

That's simply awesome, mortesv... .. It's clearly been a labour of love for you, and I'm in total awe of the result. The Nebulon B and Bloackade Runner are both exceptional; but oddly enough the tiny Slave 1 & Falcon keep catching my eye. Even at such a small scale they both look brilliant. I haven't built anything since I managed to break my hip neatly in two earlier this year, as I've been finding it difficult to sit still for any length of time, but I'm seriously tempted to make the Nebulon B a project for the winter.

....And the application window is now closed - thanks to everyone that applied Hopefully we'll be able to make an announcement within the next week.

I was raised in the early 80's with a combination of Classic Space and Technic sets, including the highly impressive 8851 Excavator which was nothing short of phenomenal to a 10 year old, especially as it was one of the very first to run a pneumatic system. I'll admit it does look a little dated these days, but I'll never forget the control system and the magic of it all. I then moved onto being a teenager, and onto other hobbies, and I eventually passed my complete collection onto my nephew. Scroll forward to about 2009 and Mrs Lobot bought me a 10178 Motorised AT-AT for Christmas - I think it was intended to be a joke, but it's fair to say that she's regretted it ever since! I don't remember having a better Christmas; as it gradually took shape it triggered something long-buried in me and even my dad was impressed to finally see it lurch across the floor! Since then I've focused on collecting SW sets, interspersed with the occasional Technic one. Over time I've gradually refined my interests and predominantly focus on UCS. It's a great hobby, but 2016 has been a low-point for me in terms of sets; hopefully TLG will have something stunning for 2017

I had my second shipping notification today following one from the 3rd October, both for the same order! In addition, the order total had increased by £10 from the previous one... perhaps a little makeover of the S@H website may be required. Hopefully they'll fix it in time for 'Brick Friday' otherwise it's likely to collapse from the surge of traffic!

I don't mind at all - whatever is easiest for you

I've just had my shipping notification for the order I made on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if the Stormtrooper polybag appears as it's listed on the S@H order but wasn't in the original notification. I get the impression that their new system is having some quite serious teething issues; the latest email didn't even include any details of what I'd ordered! It's weird that a company with a superb CS team has such an awful website - perhaps they'll fix it at some point

Just a quick note to confirm that the deadline is Friday (7th) so you've still got a couple of days to submit your entries! We've agreed to delay it a little longer than originally intended due to recent forum upgrades. And, thanks dmaclego for the prompt about the missing link to the Blog - I'll ask the Admins to see if they can restore it