Kaijumeister

@ArrowBricks For sure. The past few years have shown that sets based on the new shows are at least solidly done for the most part. As long as each year offers a little bit of something for everyone which is no small feat given the subsets of fans for different media, it won’t be so bad.

@The Stud Pretty much my viewpoint as well. From the initial pictures, these sets certainly do scream a priority on ‘film tie-in’ rather than solid, well designed sets in their own right. Yet most of us will still buy these because, hey, Indy’s back! All things considered, the Harry Potter reboot of all themes has really set the standard (for the most part) for licensed themes that seem like there’s genuine effort and attention to detail put into them instead of coasting on the fact that people will just buy these because they’re based on a popular property. I’m still optimistic about the Indy lineup having some positive surprises once the HQ images release though, and eagerly await more info on the DoD wave. At least these sets are all system scale unlike the buildable object / sculpture mania other licensed themes are indulging in this year.

I feel like it’s a case-by-case thing when it comes to Lego minifigures. Part of what makes minifigures so appealing is that they’re interpretations / abstractions of characters rather than 1:1 renditions of them. But at the same time, you want to have them be recognisable and desirable. It’s like with the old Simpsons theme, which I don’t think would’ve worked at all as standard minifigures, hence the moulded heads. It feels like there’s more wiggle room when it comes to Mario, but moulded heads and standard minifigure parts both have their pros and cons I guess.

Doesn’t seem likely. If a Gunship was coming, it would be part of the confirmed listings we have already (plus it wouldn’t be slated for September). @ArrowBricks Agreed. Damn shame it’s not just a battle pack when considering that this sort of price point last year gave us Obi-Wan’s Delta-7, which was a solid set in my opinion. Can’t help but feel some whiplash when comparing the past few summer waves to this one, the change in quality and diversity is jarring, but I’ll keep my hopes up for the set numbers that don’t have definite information just yet. As long as we get at least a few solid winners this summer, I’ll live. It’ll be interesting to watch the inevitable interviews with the design team later this year to glean what drove these set choices.

The Swamp Speeder PPP just seems extreme, even with the warnings of inflated prices we’ve been given. What seems like a barely battle pack worthy set now occupies an even higher price point? Either it has some large pieces or the minifigures will be that desirable, which I somehow doubt given the minimum leeway 106 pieces can provide. @QuietBricks I think he definitely has a source on this, plus one of the usual leakers did confirm another Mando S3 set for the summer some time back.

Yeah I had another look at the leaked image and also think it’s the regular one unfortunately. @FoggyFate Wanted to ask, were you implying in the Lego Star Wars thread that the Dial of Destiny sets will be lacklustre?

Certainly seems to be an upward trend with these licensed themes. The cheaper mech sets I can understand, but I can’t say I’m a fan of ‘Buildable object or sculpture in the hundreds of dollars’ idea that these themes are latching on to so fervently. Not to mention the fact that even normal price points are now getting allocated for buildable characters too. This is obviously one opinion of many, but Lego sets are at their best when they combine good builds with minifigure compatibility. There’s a charm and timeless quality to that pairing that makes Lego as popular as it is, and it’s a shame when they seem to be so eager to move away from that. Otherwise for what it’s worth, I do think there’ll be a second, smaller NWH set with Lizard and a reused Peter #1 variant. I can’t see why Lego would wait to release material on this film for so long only to omit one of the five villains in favour of including Ned and MJ.

Yeah, this is a really lacklustre wave. Yavin IV sounds cool though, certainly a location that’s needed representation for a long time. I find it hilarious that a buildable Chewbacca is actually happening, given how many memes / fake rumours have been floating about for ages. If it look great, then awesome! But I do wonder what sort of market exists for this sort of thing, I suppose the LSW design team were inspired by the BP Bust and upcoming buildable Captain America shield from Marvel. As for the Swamp Speeder, I’ll reserve my thoughts until we get confirmation that it’s not based on Kashyyyk. I don’t know, I thought Summer 2021 and 2022 were fantastic waves for this theme and was hoping for that trend to continue this year, but this is thoroughly underwhelming so far. And to top it off, the Dial of Destiny sets are going to be lacklustre too it seems? Fingers crossed the remaining sets are something worthwhile, I’m glad we’re indeed getting stuff on Ahsoka at least. Curious that mechs and microfighters will be running concurrently.

To be fair, I think it will. Summer 2020 was a dud in this respect outside of the Razor Crest, but Lego has been pretty decently on the ball with tie-ins for new media over the past two years. Plus the popularity of Ahsoka as a character is something even Lego can’t ignore. But beyond that, I’m shocked that they’re choosing not to do anything for a Jedi-series game again (although we don’t have the full picture I guess).

At this rate, I’m just going to put my stock in the Ahsoka sets being good and will keep an open mind for everything else to stave off the disappointment. Everything that’s leaked about the show which I will not utter here sounds like excellent Lego material. Mechs / buildable figures sound like such a waste, but I’m sure market research supports their introduction into this theme. Let’s see how things pan out.

I presume because a good chunk of these will be based on media from this year. The initial Summer 2022 list Promobricks released around this time last year had numerous TBDs corresponding with the Kenobi and Andor sets. All these cryptic hints sound pretty disappointing so far though, I guess we better keep our expectations low.

That house is beautiful and packed with so much personality! I love it, and can’t believe we get Ellie’s book in there too. @BrickBob Studpants Didn’t know the rest of the lineup was intended for June, thanks for the heads up.

I don’t like to sound negative, but this lineup seems extremely half baked. I do like the presence of a low price point set, Rocket’s ship is wonderfully unique and the colour scheme of the Bowie is gorgeous, but overall the wave is so…disappointing? Not sure what’s happening with this theme this year, because right now the only thing I’m looking forward to is the Statue of Liberty Battle. The first Guardians lineup in 2014 was so cool, especially that Milano. I wish the sets accompanying the final film in the series would’ve been better.

Looks like the official reveals for these are coming later today, sure hope the other anniversary sets get revealed too.

That would really be something. Let’s not forget brick-built Guardians that play those anxiety-inducing piano keys! As much as I love the idea of the Deku Tree set representing two different games, could that also be why the predicted price point is so high? Usually with ‘optional’ elements in a set, they’re quite minor. But in this case the overall model does look significantly different between the two iterations. No doubt that’s padding out the price quite a bit. Also wondering if we’ll get a glider for BotW Link. A little off topic but tangentially related, but I finally beat the Trial of the Sword Beginner Trials on Master Mode. That 10th stage with the Lizalfos is just awful.

Don’t forget the NWH minifigures! Otto doesn’t need much in terms of fancy printing but I have expectations for the three Spideys, Electro, and Green Goblin especially.

Carl’s house is a must-buy. It definitely needs more balloons but I don’t mind too much given that the house itself looks great from the 3-4 pixels we can see. Cant believe we’re getting Carl, Russell, AND Doug. Love the inclusion of a squirrel too! It looks like Russell has a new hair/cap piece? Also, given the differences in packaging art, I take it the Peter Pan Storybook is indeed not a 100th Anniversary set.

This is by no means a knock against the current digi-figure play pattern for this theme, but I really think scale and space rapidly becomes an issue. The course builder system relies on maximising space to populate with diverse builds to create an immersive ‘world’ for the digi-figures, but it comes at the cost of efficient space usage. There are of course exceptions to this with some sets, but it’s just my opinion - and I say this as someone who has bought a fair number of sets. That’s why I don’t think adapting Mario-Kart with the current system in play is the best idea. Comparatively minifigures would do a better job here, and I’m hoping like many of you that this summer brings about minifigure-scale sets. The product portfolio over the past 3 years has been quite vast and definitely enough for people to start designing their own courses, and I’m sure Lego could keep the course builder system going for a while at least with new scannable tiles and firmware updates, not to mention completing the Koopa kid cast. But all this aside and regardless of preferences for which direction this theme should go in, I don’t think anyone can deny that the buildable characters in this theme are impeccable. Both the large and small scale ones.

Had to check out the video after I saw your comment, apparently the Rex / Cody helmet sets might be the only Clone Wars content we get this year as well. I was hoping that the introduction of Cody last year and getting a buildable Rex helmet this year (not to mention the 501st Specialists…) indicated that the stars were finally aligning for a P2 Rex minifigure, but alas. As a general comment, I do hope the summer flagship set this year isn’t yet another big grey vehicle. It’s the been the pattern since 2019 now I think, and whilst they’ve all been fairly solid outside of the Justifier, I’m hoping for something to break that trend this year.

The new Dial of Destiny Super Bowl spot is fantastic, Voller’s plane is definitely going to be a set I’m sure.

It doesn’t help that the winter waves are so small now, which inevitably heightens our expectations for what awaits in the summer (Mando S3 sets, helmets, and dioramas notwithstanding). Hoping for a set list in the next 2 weeks.

Yeah…I can totally see something like: Darth Vader Mech Armour Luke Skywalker Mech Armour Stormtrooper Mech Armour The Mandalorian Mech Armour Nice and cheap way for younger fans to get popular characters. As long as we get at least some decent System-scaled sets this summer, I won’t worry much.

Hear hear. I’m still excited for the return of this theme even if most of what we’ve seen hasn’t wowed me as much as I’d hoped.

In light of the recent Marvel reveals, I’m crossing my fingers that the Star Wars summer wave doesn’t double down on non-System scale sets. The helmets and the occasional buildable droid here and there are more than sufficient. Hopefully a full summer set list isn’t as far away as it seems.

Some thoughts: - NWH Statue of Liberty: YES. I’m not expecting the best build given the piece count, but hopefully all the minifigures are top-notch. Let’s not forget Promobricks speculated upon a second possible set, so that’s how we may get Lizard. - Buildable Figures: Honestly, is the demand for these that substantial? Just seems like a waste of slots, but I’m sure kids will enjoy these. Not so sure why Lego wants to get into the action figure market so badly though, especially when Marvel Legends figures are cheaper than these. - Venomised Groot: I’m sure it’ll look cool, but again, who is asking for this sort of thing? - Ant-Man: All the hype for seeing what the May set entails and it’s just another buildable figure. It would have been more than fine if Wasp and Kang were included as minifigures at least. Seems quite pathetic. - Captain America’s Shield: I’ll paraphrase Ultron, “A $200 price point, and they use it to make a frisbee.” I’m sure it’ll look great on display though, and wonder if this entails an Iron Man helmet / repulsor gauntlet / Arc Reactor D2C for next year. - Captain America and Black Widow Motorcycles: Given that we got the 4+ AoU Cap just two years ago, I hope this one is based on the Winter Soldier film. I’m beyond excited for the No Way Home set(s), and sincerely hope the wait will be worth it, alternative heads for the three Spideys would be great! As for everything else, why is there such an emphasis on non-System scaled sets? Buildable figures, another Groot, Captain’s Shield…is the budget for new minifigures being eaten up by something?