Brickadeer

I think it's save to say you're right. When I ordered e.g. sw201 I never got it with a gun. Variations from the part list are mentioned in the description ("no visor", "gun included") etc.

Cool! Does it work?

A different point is that the quality of the pdf-files of old manuals is low. Lego has only begun recently to improve the quality of the pdf-files (e.g. set 6212, 56 pages: 7.8 mb v. set 9493, 72 pages: 160.56 mb).

I'm curious: how did the story end?

Yes, they will, from 2012 to 2017. Well, maybe you are right. But that's the same with certain sports car brands or the records of the Beatles, or fashion in general. So I'm not really seeing your point :)

Here for example.

I prefer the shape of the old one; the new one looks too slim and like he's on diet. I prefer the detailed printing of the new one though.

I basically agree. But I'm not sure if you agree with part you quoted or if you want to raise this as an objection to the part you quoted. If you want to express that at this point of time he already could have taken over the Republic, destroyed the Jedi Order, and turned Anakin to the dark side, I disagree. If you want to express that Palpatine knew exactly what he was doing and how things would turn out at the end of the episode, I agree. I think that by the end of ep 1 Palpatine knows already that Anakin has a tremendously high concentration of Medichlorians, and that as a consequence he has the potential to become a very powerful Jedi. I always understood his remark that "[he] will watch [his] career with great interest" not as an expression of pure interest, but as a promise to find out and possibly exploit his weaknesses - if he'd turn out to become the a powerful Jedi. So basically, I do not see this remark as an expression of "extreme foresight", but of his wickedness. I do agree, however, that he was amazing in creating situations that he'd be able to exploit for his plans, e.g., as you said, the siege of Naboo. I agree as well with your statement that he planned to make Anakin his apprentice over the course of the entire Clone Wars and to get rid of Dooku at the right moment. Sidious knows that the Jedi distrust Anakin. What he does is to exploit this situation. Anakin is beginning to have doubts about Obi Wans motives. From here on and onwards, he can no longer be sure if Obi Wan really is his friend, if he really trusts him and if he in turn can be trusted; that's what the motto of the episode is about. Palpatine on the other hand emerges as a stable, a constant factor in Anakin's life, a factor that he can rely on with certainty. I do not think that this achievement should be understimated. I think that the writers are either implicitly or explicitly aware of this point. Well, afaik, Order 66 does not yet exist, so he cannot set it in motion at this point of time. That's quite a difference with regard to ROTS. Plus, to make setting the order in motion effective Sidious must be sure that as many Jedi as possible are fighting at the frontlines. With regard to the possible outcomes you mention, I'd refer to what Clone O'Patra said in his post: I think we're supposed to believe Sidious is in complete control the entire time. As I have said already, his whole plan is not just to make Anakin envious. Sidious is confronted with a future situation, the celebration on Naboo. The "crisis" serves his plans on different levels: he keeps the Jedi Council busy in order to protect him instead of spending the same ressources to find out who the second Sith Lord is; he strengthens his disguise as Chancellor Palpatine; he further weakens the Jedi Council since it has to worry about Anakin; he makes Anakin distrusting the Jedi Council and Obi Wan in particular, while he emerges as a stable factor in his life - and the crisis may have served other aims as well. So Sidious doesn't ask himself how he can make Anakin "envious". Instead, he is confronted with a situation and tries to exploit is for his goals.

That's a lot of builds during the past 2 years! The shots of the dunes (Tatooine) and the Death Star are definetly my favorites. I hope you'll keep up the good work.

Personally, I think it's more than just some interesting points :) I do not believe that at this stage of the war Sidious is so eager to get rid of the current leader of the Seperatist movement. Things were different in ROTJ, when he had a plan to get rid of the Jedi Order as well. The same with Anakin: in ROTS, he lured him into killing Windu, and from this point of time, there was no way back. I can't see that Sidious is already able to move Anakin into a comparable situation. The whole plot furthers several goals; I wrote that somewhere earlier. Most of the Jedi were killed through the execution of Order 66. At this point, Sidious had taken over the military while the Jedi Order was de facto destroyed. He didn't exactly *need* Vader in the sense that he could not do the remaining tasks himself, or that they could not be done by someone else.

I read the review. I do not believe that Sidious planned to make Anakin joining the dark side at this point of time, and so I do not believe that he failed. The destruction of the Jedi Order, and the rise of Darth Vader go hand in hand, and this not a coincidence. At the very end of the episode Palpatine says, "one shatters to think where the galaxy would be without the Jedi". This is not simple sarcasm, constituted by the knowledge of the audience about Palpatine's true identity. At this point, he lays his plans for the Jedi Order fully open, but, of course, noone can understand that it is not the Chancellor who expresses his fears, but the Sith Lord who expresses his hopes and his ultimate future aim. The answer to the question where the galaxy would be without the Jedi is clear: it would be in his hand. Disguised, Sidious can walk among the Jedi without being recognized, and can confront the Jedi with their fate without being understood, simply because they cannot see his true identity - and he knows it. This behaviour tells us something about his personality: he enjoys to play the big game, and he enjoys to make fun of those who suppose themselves to be powerfull, of what he will call later (in ROTS) the Jedi's "arrogance". There is no other explanation for his behaviour. The function of the Jedi Order is to protect the peace of the galaxy. With the galaxy in his hand, "all the protection [he] needs is Anakin", which is another key sentence in this episode. Why Anakin? What is the point of turning him to the dark side at the end of ROTS? Apparently, he does neither need him to get the republic under his control nor does he need him to destroy the Jedi Order: by the end of ROTS, he has achieved all this by himself, by relying on nothing but his own abilities. Sidious' behaviour displayed in this episode, his hate for the Jedi, his despise for those who believe themselves powerfull, offers an answer to this question. Anakin is "The Chosen One" and as such a symbol of hope "to restore balance to the force". For Sidious, it is not enough to destroy the Jedi Order and to wipe out the Jedi physically. In his new order, the Galactical Empire, Darth Vader has the same function as the Jedi had in the old order. This new order is a caricature, a perversion of the old order: with transforming Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, he transforms the Jedi's hope into their Nemesis, and makes Vader a trophy, a lasting symbol of his superiority and his triumph over the arrogance of the Jedi; a symbol of his despise for the weak, for those who believed themselves to be more powerfull than he is, and those who tried to prevent him from taking the position that is rightfully his; that's why in ROTS he says that for the Sith, the Jedi represent the evil. In this episode, he knows that it's not yet the time to persuade Anakin. Instead, he manipulates Anakin and loosens the bond between Kenobi and him: he flatters him by expressing his believe that such a brilliant plan must have been made by Anakin, and at the same time he forces him to confess that it was Kenobi's plan, not his, and in doing so, to admit his inferiority to Kenobi. Later in the episode, Dooku says that Kenobi is a worthy adversary, but not Anakin. So the seed of envy and distrust is planted, but it's not yet ripe to be harvested.

No. Palpatine's Arrest may contain Shock Troopers, but now since I've seen Pre Viszla's Figher, I don't really think so. My impression is that they made the new ARC Trooper as a prototype, so I guess we will have to wait for the next wave to see phase II troopers. [OT] I have to disagree at this point. TCW contains too much that cannot even be understood by kids. Rather, it is made for different target groups. Personally, I have started as an OT guy, but after some time, TCW convinced me, simply because it adds to Star Wars. [/OT]

Personally, I do not know what criteria to apply to determine whether or not the price increase is rational or not. Personally, I'd be happy to see again battlepacks at amazon.de for EUR 7,86. But this is not very likely to happen. Right now, I'm not prepared to pay EUR 16,99 for a battlepack. But fortunately, there are a lot of opportunities to buy sets for prices I still find "reasonable", that is prices that I'm prepared to pay. The new X-Wing 9493 was announced to cost EUR 69,99 and still costs EUR 69,99 at Lego. But is was available for EUR 56 from the beginning, so the current actual prices are 80% of what Lego announced, the new battlepacks were available for 70% of what Lego announced.

I think is a good shot: http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/swexperience/toyfair2012/lego/pages/LEGO2012045.html And Luke (skiff) seems to wear a new piece (plastic) representing some kind of cape: http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/swexperience/toyfair2012/lego/pages/LEGO2012053.html Edit: No, it's just a printed grey torso that doesn't quite on the leg part. I see the problem. But actually, I like Boushh. I'm looking for phase II Wolffe and Rex either. So currently, this is no issue I want to complain about.

Yes, exclusive in more than in just one way. Even Barris or Sugi look way better than Padme does.

Where is this information from?

You are right, it is already available on ebay. The German customer service doesn't know yet whether or not it will be distributed among the public, and if, how.

The text on set 9488 says that the components were made in Denmark, Hungary, China, Mexico, and the Czech Republic. Since two different printings of the ARF Troopers visor exist, I'd guess that the helms are printed in at least two different countries. Does anyone have more information on this issue?

Yes, I think there'll be quite a lot of people who will pick this up, including you and me.

Ah ok. I have no idea behind the reasoning to use different kinds of troopers and no guards. Since the Senate Troopers were patrolling the immediate area around the shielded platform, I'd say their function was not merely ceremonial, especially since they knew there was a threat.

It's a perfect little scene! I found your first speeder to be the best one I've ever seen. I'm not sure yet whether I like new one better.

I found the presence of the Shock Troopers carrying heavy rifles relatively disturbing, since they constituted a strong contrast to the nature of the reason why the Chancellor was present, a celebration day. I'm not sure if this contrast, celebrating people on the one hand, an emergency situation on the other hand, was intended or not, but it would make sense.

TCW is about how Anakin became Vader. So I can't see that ROTJ is the adequate reference system for this scene. I'm not sure on that either, but I would not find it plausible that a Sith Lord doesn't know the true identity of his Master who made him a Sith Lord. I think that Palpatine knew about Dooku's plan; that's why he brought Anakin in, and that's why he said he would never regret his decision to bring Anakin in. He knew what would happen, so he knew about the plan. At least, in ROTS Dooku knew about his identity. That's why he looked so horrified about Sidious treason, that is to make Anakin kill Dooku. Even if this right, it does in no way affect the main storyline, but is a minor detail that one may be upset about to different degrees :)

I don't like her as well. She reminds me more of Steve Buscemi than of Padme.

Since the actual behaviour of the clones would not have changed the outcome of the story, I'd consider it a minor detail, not really a plot hole.