Kaijumeister

I wouldn’t be surprised if Saw / Fives / Malak / Nien ate up most of the budget for the anniversary figures, given that both Cal and Leia have no specialised prints nor new moulds / elements of some sort like the others do. A new poncho element may have been challenging to make, but I feel the ponchos that were made for the 2015 Tydirium set were also pretty detailed, so it’s certainly not impossible. What’s most annoying IMO is that with these figures being deemed unworthy of being in sets of their own, this is seemingly all we’re going to get for JFO / Survivor, and they couldn’t be bothered to do more with the figure - especially as it’s in one of the most expensive sets of the summer as well. I guess the first batches of anniversary figures had such great quality that I raised my expectations too high. At the very least, I do hope Cal’s hair is bright orange (hard to tell from the lifestyle images) and this is just a case of the rendering looking poor like it did with Saw.

That’s a really good point, definitely seems likely.

There’s no way the Fell Beast won’t be based on the Dead Marshes scene from TTT right? Quick and easy way to reuse Sam, Frodo, and a Nazgul figure. A Witch King figure would be incredible but making a custom mould for him just for a GWP wouldn’t make sense at all.

The rumours keep emphasising a new mould for the Hylian Shield but nothing about the Master Sword which is kind of worrying. The sword is so visually distinct that half-bricking it with an existing mould would be disappointing. I agree that a Phantom Ganon would’ve been an infinitely cooler figure instead of a third Link variant, but then again I still think BotW / TotK are far too popular to be locked behind a massive D2C to begin with and the idea of it doesn’t sit well with me. I’m still going to buy the heck out of this though. Also regarding the Horizon ‘teases’, I interpreted them to mean something about a Lego game rather than more sets based on the games, but the latter makes far more sense.

Yeah with three sets being directly based on Rebuild the Galaxy, this unknown set being a buildable *thing* just seems like a waste of a slot, especially if a buildable Threepio is already a part of the same wave to begin with. I guess what kind of sucks is the set’s price point and piece count too, which could’ve gone towards something more interesting. I’m curious to see what conclusions Lego drew from the sales figures and overall response to Chewbacca last year. As far as ideas go I respect them trying new stuff out. Saying that, as much of a cool novelty as non-system sets are, I feel like we’re getting too many of them at this point but that’s just me. Also hoping that August set pictures are imminent. It’s frustrating when sets from the same wave are revealed in such a piecemeal fashion.

Hmm, not sure how I feel about so many minifigure slots being taken up by original characters which don’t sound that interesting.

'Meesa gonna hurt yousa.' - Darth Jar-Jar, [TBD] ABY / BBY Should be fun, I'm in So it begins, Jedi Bob vs. Darth Jar-Jar, the great battle of our time. All in all, it seems 3 summer sets will be based on this show (Jedi Bob's Starfighter, the X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, and Dark Falcon). The figures at the very least should be quite unique.

Yep. I thought I was overreacting (probably am), but it’s pretty disappointing. A Cal figure like this would be fine if it came in a normal set alongside BD-1 and some other characters, but it just doesn’t work as an anniversary figure. Not only because previous anniversary figures have set a precedent for above-average minifigure quality, but also because being represented as an anniversary figure means a regular set based on a character / their media probably won’t ever happen anyway. Really bums me out that this is all we get after years of people clamouring for Lego to tackle the Jedi series. My excessive complaining over a small ABS figure aside, I really want to buy the ISD just for Cal, but it just isn’t worth it. A massive set comprised of basic Imperials isn’t the most appealing when we already got the Boarding the Tantive IV set. Hopefully the other summer sets are stronger.

BD-1 definitely isn’t in the set, and yeah he was in the 25th anniversary animation which makes his absence even more annoying. After the really strong anniversary figures of March and May, I think my expectations for Cal were higher than they should have been. Just noticed the ISD’s carry handle can be completely concealed by some opening flaps on the outer hull, that’s quite brilliant. Also loving the little holographic display depicting a space battle (I think?) in the interior.

ISD pictures are out. Really strong set overall, but I feel the Cal figure could’ve been much better. Not only is there no poncho, but he doesn’t even include BD-1! The mould was only produced 2 years ago, that’s so disappointing.

The newest Acolyte trailer and poster look awesome. The poster especially confirms that Jedi Vectors are indeed in the show! If we ever get any sets based on the show, I'm sure one of them has to be Master Sol's Vector (I'm assuming he uses one in the show lol). It would be awesome to get some of those High-Republic era Jedi in minifigure form. I'd wager that sets for the show are indeed planned but will hit a little later due to the premiere being pushed forward, although Hasbro have certainly adapted better than Lego so far with their lineup of Black Series figures.

There’s no way the Imperial Armoured Commando helmet won’t be repurposed for Hunter, right? The overall shaping is close to a perfect match.

Seeing that the Paz Viszla vs. Moff Gideon Battle is £35 here in the U.K, that’s…not too bad. I love Jang’s use of ‘volume of stuff’ as a metric in his reviews, and whilst this set doesn’t necessarily reflect that, the solid minifigure lineup (including new moulds) and really nice little location build ticks the boxes for me. I’m hoping the Battle on Peridea set is like this, nice little contained build and solid minifigure lineup. It has almost 100 more pieces than this as well.

Hah, at least we got official images of the June sets (not saying much given that official pictures release a month in advance of the release date, but still). Unfortunately I suspect the August wave won’t be revealed for quite a while. HD box pictures are also now out, looks like Gideon gets a much more accurate head this time round!

Yep I completely agree. Chamber of Secrets and Polyjuice Potion Mistake were both phenomenal sets, it’s a shame the rest of the sets with that system were so lacklustre. Okay so now that it’s monsoon season, I really do prefer this method of interior with the *new* Hogwarts Castle. The fact that you can remove and fold out modules is quite clever and allows for better interior detail, especially as exemplified by the Potions Classroom.

A Star Destroyer is far overdue and I’ve never owned one, so this is pretty exciting. It obviously comes with the territory of being a OT set but the minifigures just being Vader / Stormtroopers / Imperial Officers makes perfect sense but also a little boring. Cal is obviously a big selling point but all the same, I’m just complaining about nothing. Disappointed that the May 4th livestream was nothing but hot air. All the May sets were revealed a few weeks ago but I guess it makes sense that for the average consumer this stuff is still brand new anyway.

HD August set pictures are releasing left, right, and centre for other themes. I’m sure Star Wars isn’t far behind. Here’s hoping the livestream reveals the upcoming anniversary sets at least.

The Mandalorian Bunker and Battle Pack look awesome! My only nitpick is the Praetorian Guards should’ve had shoulder armour, the lack thereof makes their helmets look more oversized than they actually are. Can’t believe they actually went through the trouble of making a new mould for Gideon as well. The models themselves are actually really well built too? Especially the bunker. And of course Rex’s Microfighter will sell out so quickly a new unit of time will need to be derived. Very solid wave. Let’s hope at least some of the August wave will be revealed in today’s livestream.

Holy sh** you can chain Surtur’s head to Thor’s back!

These all look really good. Will only be buying the Milano but solid lineup of sets all around. I spy a new Baby Groot (potted plant) mould in the Milano too, looks adorable!

Seriously, all I want out of this theme is the Bat, Batpod, and Batman, Catwoman, and Bane from TDKR :( The Batpod and buildable figure looks genuinely fantastic. But it always hurts like a brick when something gets covered via buildable figures and not system scale sets.

I somewhat think there’ll be more to Cal and Leia than what we’ve seen so far. Nothing major of course, but all the anniversary figures are a cut above the average LSW minifigure (which for the most part are already pretty fantastic). I’m sure we’ll learn more on May 4th.

Yeah I noticed that too. Probably has something to do with the fact that none of the sets were formally revealed (or even leaked!) when the reviews were uploaded. Miscommunication between Lego and LAN perhaps.

Same here, this already beats the post-2021 Hogwarts system for me. The interiors for that system were extremely minimalistic which was off-putting. Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the Great Hall and Potions Classroom.

Huh, Fives doesn’t have arm-printing in the video (can’t believe I’m even saying something like this). Perhaps the detail of the animation doesn’t necessarily reveal everything about these new minifigures… Also I completely agree the cheese slopes on the side of the X-Wing is a MUCH needed update. Certainly curious to see how the X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter set will look now.