ArrowBricks

I was just about to post the same! Let’s hope it meets my new, high expectations.

My wallet-buster wave - I am a huge Prequel fan, sorry everyone! 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Troopers £25: Phase II 187th Battalion Clone Trooper (x3), 187th Battalion ARF Trooper Imperial Science Division Troopers £25: TK Stormtrooper (x2), TK ShockTrooper, Imperial Commando Republic Falchion Tank £65: Plo Koon (Insignia), Commander Wolffe, Phase II WolfpackTrooper (x2) Phase 1 Clone Pilot Helmet (AOTC) £70 Imperial AT-AC £75: Dr Hemlock, Omega, Echo, Imperial Commando “Scorch”, TK Stormtrooper Buildable General Grievous £120 Naboo Royal Starship £130: Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon-Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ric Olie, Captain Paneka, R2-D2, R2-B1 Venator-Class Republic Cruiser £200: Anakin Skywalker (Insignia), Captain Rex (Phase I), Phase I Clone Trooper (x2), Republic Officer (x2), Medical Droid Jabba’s Sail Barge (w/Skiff) £220: Jabba the Hutt, Bib Fortuna, Luke Skywalker, Nysad, Barada, Brock Starsher, R2-D2, Max Rebo

I am happy to hear the Commando Droids are returning, it should make the MTT better value.

This is a fair point. Intrigued to see where the value is with 900 pieces and likely £150. Seems to be some value in the new cloth/pauldron and obviously new moulds for the helmets, but definitely not in bigger pieces with the wheels being brick built. I can’t comment if it would be 300+ pieces given I have not seen the set - I would like to assume there’s a lot of smaller pieces inflating the value proposition, though… All fair points/observations. I will reserve final judgement for the AT-ST; I hope I’m pleasantly surprised! I just don’t like the idea of it likely having 1 figure and being advertised as 18+ and displayable, only. It will be too big for figures, essentially. Ships that are too large is subjective, I guess. In my mind, a Turbo Tank cannot be adequately done in this current climate at £140-£150. U-Wing is a good example. Agreed with the Milano example; the Tantive IV from 2019 is another illustrative example - a Sail Barge would work wonders here, as would a Turbo Tank. My guess re. Flagship pricing is two-fold: - UCS Death Star - more ambitious moulds for figures Yes, so I will be careful not to complain too much. If it’s not scaled, the inclusion of figures won’t make sense. I think that’s where I am at with it. Yes, I absolutely would expect price increases! Problem is, I am not advocating for UCS techniques, scaling, advertising etc. I want figures, play features, scaling that feels like (and ultimately are) the flagship sets. If the Turbo Tank and the MTT had another 300 pieces each, and cost £180 or so, that works for me. The Star Destroyer is solid, just for me, the value isn’t there due to the size. It doesn’t feel worth the price, but I can completely appreciate that’s my own opinion. However, I do think what they’re doing with the buildable droids is phenomenal. The battle droid with STAP is a perfect display piece. It exists as a display piece, which is by far the best angle to take.

This is exactly what I am advocating for. These wouldn’t ever exist in the current structure, bar the Venator, but I think we can push the envelope on that more given the figures etc it’s probably $170, minimum. Would you want it the same size as the Star Destroyer? Think I have done my wallet buster wave before, but I like the name and it’s an excuse to do it again!

Well they definitely aren’t $180. Interesting point about the AT-ST. I can’t comment fully as I have not seen it, but it does sounds like it’s a displayable piece, no figures etc. Is it an 18+ set? Either way, not sure we really needed this set… There is space, $170-$230 is a huge window. Just because a UCS set fits in that window too doesnt mean what I am suggesting can’t either. The UCS TIE interceptor is $230, X-Wing $240, FireSpray $300. Lego got the Dark Falcon right last year, that’s the sort of set the Turbo Tank and the MTT should be. The Star Destroyer last year should have been just that little bit bigger. Figure wise there’s a little left on the table and I don’t think anyone of us would complain if it’s was $170 if it was bigger, Cal had the Poncho and an extra Stromtrooper. The Ghost at $160 is near enough perfect, minus the figures. Again, that’s the standard. In my world, the 2013 UCS Ewok Village would become what I am talking about now. It’s not a UCS set, but it’s a playset, with amazing figures and detail. Unusually overpriced at the time vs £.

I’ve never said I do not want the prices increased. I want sets that feel worthy of their price point, and I want sets that bridge the gap between the high-end system scale playsets and the UCS sets. Price-wise the gap is huge, quality wise it’s even bigger. I define quality in all the areas you will, including size. Hence, if the downscales continue to exist, especially for the larger sets, I need a new type of set that is larger, has better functionality, and better figures. I’d still need a strong level of detail. You’ve seen in the future Star Wars thread I’m not against downscales per se, but I am if there is now no viable alternative. Perhaps my illusion of value, is size. But I would also feel less aggrieved by smaller sets if I felt the quality was there - figures, moulds, functionality. A lot of that is a 8/10, maximum.

More downscales… The Fortitude £119.99, 900 pcs - Resistance Pilot (x2), Finn, Jannah, Beaumont Kin, BB-8, Resistance Soldier (Orbak) First Order Transport £74.99, 550 pcs - Sith Trooper (x3), Sith Jet Trooper (x2), Finn, Jannah First Order UA-TT £54.99, 500 pcs - First Order Walker Driver, First Order Snowtrooper Captain, Lieutenant Barok, Poe Dameron, Zorii Bliss Geonosian Starfighter £29.99, 160 pcs - Geonosian Pilot, Winged Geonosian, Luminara Unduli Polan 717 Jedi Transporter £69.99, 650 pcs - Jedi Master Indara, Jedi Master Sol, Jedi Padawan Torbin, Jedi Master Kelnacca Z-95 Headhunter £39.99, 350 pcs - Phase II Clone Pilot, Phase II 442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper (x2) Millenium Falcon £139.99, 1050 pcs - Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Ben Kenobi, Garindan, Sandtrooper (x2) Emperor Palpatine’s Shuttle £59.99, 500 pcs - Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Clone Pilot, Medical Droid, Commander Thyre Republic Attack Shuttle £69.99, 550 pcs - Adi Gallia, Phase II Clone Pilot, Anaxes Clone Trooper (x2)

I did type out a much larger response than this, but thought better of it. I can think of many, many sets 10-15 years ago that met all these requirements, hence I do strongly believe what I am asking for is certainly realistic. For 2025, my options are buy a Slave One at £260, a Death Star at $1000, or some displayable buildable droids and/or helmets. 1 is extremely expensive, 2 are designed to be mainly displayable, and 1 realistically meets most of my requirements detailed in my previous post, albeit still expensive. A downscaled Turbo Tank and MTT doesn’t satisfy me, and most would agree. Granted this assumes the figures match the stylistic choices of the past few years, which would be disappointing, and they are in fact downscales. The flagship system scale sets are getting smaller whilst UCS sets are getting larger and more expensive, leaving a big gap in the market for folks like myself. Ultimately, I don’t think I’m being unreasonable with my requests. There’s a gap, and it’s widening. “but how do they draw improvements from that” - I think you answered your own question in your own post. Stop producing naff downscaled sets - which such a decision ultimately feels like is designed to increase sales of increasingly pricier UCS sets.

I made the argument in the future Star Wars sets thread that there is a gap in the market currently for AFOLS that can’t afford UCS sets but want detailed sets with good features and figures. Not sure a downscaled Turbo Tank and an MTT fill my desire to buy Lego Star Wars at an affordable, worthwhile price.

Andor was sensational. Genuinely felt connected to most of the characters. I think the 3 episode per week releases worked exceptionally well. If one episode was more slower, the next one made sure the payoff worked. Disney needs to implement it more often in shows, even if the story does not make sense for it to be 3 at once - in order words any 3 episodes that happen to be chronological rather than 1 per week.

Downscaled sets that should exist - Part 1. Gungan Sub £54.99, 380-420 pcs - Qui-Gon-Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jar-Jar Binks, Boss Nass Naboo N1 Starfighter £44.99, 350-380 pcs - Anakin Skywalker, R2-D2, Theed Padme Amidala Trade Federation Landing Craft £149.99, 1100 pcs - Captain Tarpals, Naboo Royal Guard, Battle Droid Commander, Security Battle Droid (x2), Battle Droid Pilot, Battle Droid (x6) Count Dooku's Solar Sailor £44,99, 350 pcs - Count Dooku, Yoda, FA-4 Droid Republic Dropship £119.99, 900 pcs - Kit Fisto, Phase I Clone Pilot, Phase 1 Clone Trooper, Geonosian Battle Droid (x3) Republic AT-RT £24.99, 135 pcs - Luminara Unduli, AT-RT Driver, Wookie Warrior, 41st Kashyyyk Scout Trooper, Battle Droid (x2) Republic AT-AP Walker £64.99, 500 pcs - Stass Allie, Commander Neyo, Phase II 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps Clone Trooper (x2) Republic Y-Wing Starfighter (red) - £49.99, 400 pcs - Anakin Skywalker, Phase II Clone Pilot, Arc Trooper Jesse Republic AT-OT Walker £159.99, 1200 pcs - Barriss Offee, Quinlan Vos, Commander Gree, Kashyyyk Clone Trooper (x2), 41st Kashyyyk Scout Trooper Republic Cruiser £149.99, 1000 pcs - Shaak Ti, Republic Officer, Phase II Kamino Security Forces (x2), Republic Astromech, Medical Droid Darth Vader's Tie Advanced £39.99, 350 pcs - Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, Stormtrooper Imperial AT-AT Walker £159.99, 1100 pcs - Darth Vader, Imperial Officer, AT-AT Driver, Stormtrooper, Scout Trooper, Luke Skywalker, Endor Rebel Commando (Nik Sant) Imperial Super Star Destroyer £169.99, 1250 pcs - Darth Vader, Imperial Officer (x2),, Boba Fett, Bossk, Dengar, 4-LOM, Zuckuss, IG-88 Resistance X-Wing Starfighter £49.99, 460pcs - Resistance Pilot, RO-H2, Finn, Vober Dand First Order Tie Fighter £39.99, 430 pcs - First Order Tie Pilot, First Order Heavy Trooper, Captain Phasma Resistance A-Wing (Blue) £29.99, 220 pcs - Tallissan Lintra, C'ai Threnalli, Resistance Soldier Kylo Ren's Tie Silencer £54.99, 480 pcs - Kylo Ren, Moden Canady, First Order Stormtrooper Resistance V-4X-D Ski Speeder £44.99, 380 pcs - Poe Dameron, Finn, Admiral Ematt Resistance Lifeboat £39.99, 350 pcs - General Leia Organa, Lieutenant Connix, C3-PO, Resistance Pilot Kylo Ren's Tie Whisper £49.99, 430 pcs - Kylo Ren, Rey, Sith Sovereign Protector Resistance B-Wing Starfighter £44.99, 415 pcs - Aftab Ackbar, General Larma D'Acy, Rose Tico Poe's X-Wing Starfighter £49.99, 460 pcs - Poe Dameron, BB-8, Boolio, Klaud Kylo Ren's Tie Echelon £59.99, 500 pcs - Kylo Ren, Commander Pyre, Agent Tierny, First Order Stormtrooper Imperial AT-ACT £159.99, 1200 pcs - Imperial AT-ACT Driver, Shoretrooper (x2), Stormtrooper, Maze Malbus, Chirrut Imwe, Pao

99.9% it’s a downscaled Turbo Tank. It just shows that many leaks come from the figures and not the other way around, hence the confusion. Leakers make logical assumptions. The figure lineup points to anything but a Turbo Tank, and everything to a UT-AT Along the way, there must have been a specific leak pipeline that knew some form of Turbo Tank was coming, hence the original rumour of its being Rebuild the Galaxy.

This is a really interesting suggestion, and one I think is brilliant! It’s almost like the mid-scale ships on steroids. Would be interesting to think how many could be made mid-scale, but I think these would sell well given the detail, displayability, and exclusive figures. The Twillight could be a 25th Anniversary Animated Clone Wars set, and would be accompanied by something smaller in the year, perhaps a Phase I Clone Trooper Helmet and a Twillight mid-scale ship. Can I confirm these would be on stands?

All good ideas, and match the price point I’d expect given the likely downscaling. Would love to see more of these, especially in the groups of 3! The sort of sets you’d love to buy all at once and put the corresponding film on whilst you build. Is your Catamaran lineup assuming Tarfull would be released in a different set, otherwise I’d swap him and Chewbacca.

I love all the years from 2008-2014, especially 2012-2014. I felt the theme lost its way a bit post around 2017, mainly due to the relative failure of the sequels. It picked back up again in 2020, before consolidating massively by 2022. I think it can go up a few notches, though. They need to get the figure design bang on, and stop cutting corners! Fatty Fortuna would never have happened during 2008-2014 Less downscales, better prices, reduce the amount of collectible and displayable models and replace them with with affordable yet highly detailed and playable sets and LEGO makes a ton.

That Plo Koon figure is good, very good.

Love the B1 w/Stap! Shame it exists when there are too many buildable droids and characters on the shelves. Either way, I’ll be getting this at a discount 100%. Now we need this level of detail in sets such as the Turbo Tank and MTT.

Naboo N-1 Starfighter £54.99 Anakin Skywalker R2-D2 Theed Padme Naboo Engineer Security Battle Droid (x2) Republic Y-Wing (red) vs CIS Vulture Droid £89.99 Phase II Clone Pilot Republic Astromech Droid Pilot Tactical Droid Falchion-Class Assault Tank £69.99 Plo Koon (republic insignia) Commander Wolffe Wolfpack Trooper (x2) Battle Droid (x2) Rebel Hover Tank £39.99 Rebel Jungle Commando (Human) Rebel Jungle Trooper (Sullustan) Rebel Jungle Trooper (Mon Calamari) Imperial Science Division Battle Pack £17.99 Imperial TK Stormtrooper (x2) Imperial Commando Imperial ShockTrooper Imperial-Wing £24.99 TK StormTrooper Imperial Commando Scorch Omega Imperial Death Star Troopers Battle Pack £17.99 Death Star Trooper Death Star Gunner Stormtrooper (x2) Corporate Alliance Tank Droid £34.99 Battle Droid Commander Battle Droid (x3) Kashyyyk Clone Trooper (x2) Imperial AT-ST (Endor) £59.99 Chewbacca Wunka Widdle Imperial AT-ST Driver Scout Trooper CIS Proton Cannon w/Flitknot Speeder £44.99 Commando Droid (x2) Battle Droid (x2) Anaxes Clone Trooper (x2) Republic AT-AP Walker £59.99: Stass Allie Commander Neyo Phase II 91st Corps Trooper (x2)

@Tariq j, thank you…it is always great to see someone else agree. I love your ideas, too. I think the Star Cruiser would cost more purely for the interior, but it’s a brilliant idea. Think I’d like one more Mon Cala, though! Invisible Hand would sell extremely well.

Yes, what a great example! The Ninjago Legends line is something I decided to leave out, but yes it’s certainly in that spirit. You could even add the most detailed Hogwarts modular series, especially the new August addition, to this idea. I do plan on fleshing out my original post with help from anyone here, because I think I am onto something good!! Love your ideas, too! I think I’d want a little more from the Endor bunker, figure wise and additions (Ewok traps, speeder bikes, even the radar dish), which would bump it up to closer £200.

A couple of examples of the above - 75XXX Jabba’s Sail Barge & Skiff £219.99, 1800 pieces. Takes inspiration from the UCS sail barge, with the sailes, cockpit, prison cell, gun turrets, and bar but on a smaller scale. Jabba, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, Barada, Nysad, Brock Starsher, Saelt-Marae, Shasa Tiel, Max Rebo 75XXX Venator Class Cruiser £209.99, 1800 pieces A playable version of the UCS set, similar in style to the Star Destroyer (2024), but a larger scale, and more detailed. Cruiser can open up to reveal the Bridge, medical chamber, and holo-desk. Anakin Skywalker (Republic insignia arm printing), Republic Officer, 501st Clone Trooper (x2), CH-33P, Medical Droid 75XXX Jedi Temple £229.99, 2000 pieces Modular style, with council chamber, Jedi archives, private rooms for Council members, meditation chamber, training area. ROTS Council members (x12), Temple Guard (x2), Jocasta Nu

Welp, let’s hope the Turbo Tank figures are good.

As an adult fan of Lego Star Wars, I have a disposable income which I can buy LEGO sets. Currently, there are a wide variety of sets available, 11 to be precise.* Undoubtedly, this is an age of Lego Star Wars VARIETY - at no point in the history of Lego Star Wars have we had this much choice and diversity! Ironically, despite this variety, I think there is a gap in the market, one that LEGO has yet to exploit. Paradoxically, this gap in the market has been exacerbated by this very diversity. Currently, we have different styles of sets that cater towards specific traits and audiences. For example, helmets, mid-scale ships, buildable characters/droids, and Brickheadz, are all collectible and displayable, with each except Brickheadz predominately advertised as 18+. They are designed to be displayed, not played with and do not include many minifigures, if at all. I argue that what characterises the “golden age” of Lego Star Wars (the consensus being from around 2008 to 2014, then slowly decreasing as the Sequels rapidly decreased in popularity), is the incredible consistency of well balanced, well rounded sets. I define a well balanced set as a set with the following: Good prices, new moulds, excellent and accurate builds, innovative play features yet great display pieces, and spectacular figures. Simply, this diversity was within each and every box - the set represented all the different types of audiences and traits of a good LEGO Star Wars set. At the same time, as UCS sets get more detailed, include greater functionality, and are larger and more expensive, for example the Venator and the Sail Barge, LEGO have controversially, yet steadily pursued smaller, less playable system scale sets such as the MTT (2015), Republic Gunship, and the most recent U-Wing, to name but a few. This widening of the gap between the two types of sets which are inherently meant to be the most balanced, has led to a big hole for adult fans like me who do not have the budget to spend £400+ on a UCS set, yet feel underwhelmed by smaller, less fun sets. Granted, if LEGO were producing superb minifigures and controlling their prices, it would have softened the blow of such downscaling. But they aren’t. Or, these fans have to buy multiple different type of sets just to experience the main traits of what LEGO Star Wars is all about. If I buy a helmet, a buildable droid, and a system scale set, I still feel something is missing… And I do not want to lose the diversity we are currently blessed with, because I think it has led to amazing sub-themes, namely the helmets and the buildable droids. It has also democratised Lego Star Wars for fans of Lego and Star Wars. I also don’t think the answer to this problem is solved by up-scaling sets - granted eventually they’ll have to do this to keep it refreshing. Rather I believe a new sub-theme must be introduced, one that produces more affordable, yet quality sets that compromise on far less. A sub-theme that takes serious all of the important traits needed for an adult fan of LEGO. This theme will return to the colourful box-arts, will be priced between £180-£230, have several new minifigures, and take inspiration from their UCS counterparts (if a UCS set exists). This sub-theme will provide opportunities for sets never released before because they are either too big to be downscaled and too small to be translated into a UCS/MBS set. This sub-theme will not compromise, except on ensuring the sets are affordable, yet high quality. The elephant in the room is that the introduction of this new sub-theme would take sales off of UCS sets. After all, UCS sets are the crown jewel of LEGO Star Wars. But, I do not think this would be the case because UCS sets are the crème de la crème, the best designed sets that would simply be unmatched at a £180-£230 price point. Moreover, this new sub-theme would enhance these sets, including minifigures that would go with the UCS counterparts. This sub-theme will learn from the UCS set, whilst concurrently strengthening the UCS sets appeal. These sets could be displayed alongside a larger version, in a similar vein to how microfighters are sometimes sat next to their UCS counterparts - the RazorCrest is a good example. I want you to imagine a Sail Barge with a Skiff that learns from the amazing techniques of the UCS set, includes some of the same figures yet includes new figures, and costs atleast a half less. Think of a more affordable, more easily displayable and function-able Venator. Think of an improved Yavin Temple. Think of the possibility of seeing a Jedi Temple and a Petranaki Arena. All these sets will be downscaled relative to their UCS versions, but feel complete, worthy of being displayed. So, when the next time I want to spend my disposable income, I feel I have the option to buy a well balanced set at once, One that hits all the key traits of what we can all agree a LEGO Star Wars set should be. To conclude, this new sub-theme would sit in between the more expensive, downscaled system sets and the most expensive sets on shelves, the UCS sets. This theme would provide a well-rounded alternative and fans and LEGO would reap the benefits, all whilst keeping afloat its currently diverse Lego Star Wars roster. This theme would solve the problem I know many LEGO fans are facing: as prices increases, quality decreases and when prices continually increase as a reward for quality we become priced out. I fully intend on doing a large post with my ideas in the coming days. In the meantime, I’d love to hear thoughts on the above including if you disagree!! *(System scale, helmets, mid-scale ships, buildable characters/droids, Microfighters, mechs, Battle Packs, UCS, Rebuild the Galaxy, diorama’s, Brickheadz)

Problem is it will be locked behind a paywall!