Ki-Adi-Mundi

Now that the second batch has arrived, it's time to report on the newest acquisitions: 9492 TIE Fighter (2x) 9493 X-Wing Fighter 9494 Anakin's Jedi Interceptor 7965 Millennium Falcon (my 2nd - time to build up one!)

Amazon.de has several LEGO SW sets on sale. A few examples: The new TIE and X-Wing for 20% less, the Millennium Falcon and the Sith Infiltrator for more than 30% less. Goodness, what a day...

Huh, i seriously oppose the idea of randomness within LEGO sets. Indeed, I for my part would stop buying BPs - and i tend to buy multiples of a kind - if i would get something i don't know of ahead. This is a personal stance, one of having spent loads of money on trading cards stuff in my youth. Still, i can imagine that many other people might tend to it as well if there were different rarity levels of certain items within a set. Randomness works well for the single collectible minifigs and it would also do for the SW universe as well if the sets are easily affordable en masses for children's pocket money. But let's face it: most LEGO is being bought by adults - and be it for their children - who in tendency prefer to know what they get for their buck. While this point can at least partially be countered by the simple fact that social empirical studies have found out children to have impact on up to 25% of their parent's budget spending, there remains one marketing aspect TLG asmost certainly won't neglect: Part of the unique selling proposition for many LEGO SW sets is the inclusion of rare and / or highly wanted minifigs. IMHO, TLG would have to face loss in sales of bigger sets if they included rare figs in cheap BPs or even smaller products. A late reply on my part - sry for that - but i have to agree. I would love to have an ISD ASAP - and continue to hope for it - but the CW stuff might very well have priority ATM. Mos Eisley would be a real collector's gem and i keep dreaming of it - a smaller cantina set might be more realistic, though. Oh, yes - i cannot explain how i could forget to point out that! You're damned right - the time for a new cloud city set is highly due. A big set is preferrable and more likely as well. It allows TLG to release a more memorable classic as the 2003 one (gosh, that's long ago!) was, too.

TLG created quite a few sets i had hoped for a long time. Especially the new Falcon, Hoth Echo Base and Jabba's palace belong to my favourite sets. To round up the OT collection i look forward to see XXXX Imperial Star Destroyer with some 5 to 8 minifigs. After about six years a new ISD would be great. I could even live with just a cosmetically slightly enhanced 6211. XXXX Mos Eisley with the mandatory cantina (small and half open would be ok), parts of docking bay 94 (wall and gate to place 7965 next to it) one or two little market stands and maybe a small hut. Together with many well known aliens as minifigs this would be a big set of more than 100 bucks, too. But a memorable (must have) set indeed.

Received 9495 (Y-Wing Gold Leader) today. A very nice set and a worthy addition to my collection.

Thank you for this excellent review! Keep up spicing it up with funny pics and scenes! I agree that the design is pretty accurate - the model being a very good iteration of the ship. What i don't like: - the brown poles on the superstructure. They simply look awkward and don't fit there. One would expect them to be part of a hut or some other medieval structure. I would have significantly preferred white or a shade of grey. - the lack of computers and control panels in the cockpit. There should be at least something. - the missing cover of the bomb hatch. It all looks like a hole - as if something were lost or missing. Still, i like the set very much and plan to buy it. The pricing sounds acceptable to me (i am used to the utterly mismatching European TLG prices).

Well, some good reasoning here. I expect Jabba's palace to be one big set and a pretty good one actually. Winter wave does not offer much for the 'big one lovers' and Summer wave doesn't either. There must be something big coming and unlike the rest of sets, the palace does qualify for this. Printed iterations of older molds are neither the newest nor the wordt of ideas. Thus Gamorreans and 'his Slimeness' himself could pretty much produce this 'wohoho' effect we do liek so much. BTW, i like the detailed sandtroopers pretty much. Not owning many stormies, they are mandatory anyway. Them being this kind of 'unique' does make them even more appealing i think.

Although it's less than a year ago, i had to seriously think over it. I remind that it was 7929, the Battle of Naboo. Many figs (loads of B1s) and also something exclusive (clumsy Jar Jar). The set is quite iconic to EP I (i thus consider it to be something 'original') and i always had some knack for mighty arsenal of the ill fated Trade Federation. Last, it also was on sale. I would have favoured to get 6212, X-Wing, which features to be one most prominent original starsip and also offers quite some key characters. If it weren't this utterly overpriced in GER (70 EUR - mind that was about 100 USD!!!) it would surely have been my starter set. Too bad the new X-Wing won't have the same value in content. Despite feeling urged to have one, i will definitely suppress that until a serious sale (20+%). For people who wish to start out their LEGO SW collection these days, i highly recommend to get 7965 (Millennium Falcon) and upcoming 9490 (Droid Escape). With these sets solely, one gets the OT Heroes (of Yavin) and also some iconic villains. Great for (dis)play and standalone as they are. Alternatively, 8038 (Battle of Endor) remains my top contender for best LEGO SW set ever. Will future Cloud City, Theed Palace or Jabba's Palace be able to stand up to this?

Hi Stoutfiles, thanks for your advice. Actually i like your approach pretty much. Apparently you created a dedicated exhibition of your precioussss How do you keep your sets dustfree? I'd like to preserve the shiny looks of new bricks and thus put the ones i built up into a glass cabinett. Due to space issues (aforementioned) the bigger ones like the MF would require to be placed in a steep angle. I only am afraid of deformation of bricks and the build...

Hello Mitch, i don't own 7264 but from all the pics i have seen i think it is a safe bet to say that the shuttle is much smaller than the Theta-class in LEGO terms. Just compare the minifigs to vehicle size ratio. Common vids on the web show the Theta to have a fairly huge wingspan. As far as i can say, 7264 shuttle is able to house a bench with 2 (or modified even 4) minifigs.

Thanks for this excellent review, KielDaMan. # Since i haven't built up mine yet, i always love to see finished 7965s in action. It's a beautiful approach to let the minifigs present playing features - so funny. One question bothers me: Is it possible to place the new Falcon on it's side without harming the parts/structure? My glass cabinet only has some 26 cm in depth so that i cannot place the Falcon properly. Not wanting it to get dusty, i wish to know how to place it comfortably while letting it's striking looks come through all the while.

Umm, just took a look at the pics on page 1 again. We still have no set where Queen Amidala would be present. Now, i wonder whether there could be an exclusive set for her to show up last minute. Is there any chance that something like 'Theed Palace' could put us in delight in the winter wave? Is it more likely to happen in summer? What do you think?

Completed my Hoth collection this weekend. Just built up 7666 (Hoth Rebel Base), which i received. Oh, and btw., the Millennium Falcon (7965) just landed at my docking bay 94.

Ah, i see. Thank you. Yes, i too think that Maul on the boxes is meant to represent something. Well, it was 3 system sets if my count goes right. I'd not say that this is too much. The 'time ripple' between set releases and the cinema premiere makes me wonder a little. However, you are right about the OT sets and i welcome almost all of them. Your further guess is a pretty educated one, as usual. Ok, you got a point here. Still i hope that OT won't be left behind. At least sets like upcoming Jabba's palace here and there would keep us OT fans at bay. AFAIK, OT sets certainly aren't the worst sellers for TLG. So my expectations that they won't be neglected remain fairly high. EDIT: BTW, i often see minifigs with RPG stats in the signatures of some forum members. Where can we look up the 'rules' if such do really exist?

I agree with most of what you said. Maybe i am a little less critical than you are. When the prices become final, the critique might become a little more serious. ATM i still hope for some shift towards a better balance between Europe and the US. What i quote above is perfect agreement. While i assume that the playing feature (the one with the high rail) of 7879 is intended to be used with the new X-Wing, i would have highly applauded to some feature within the X-Wing set. Naboo Fighter and the old Imperial Inspection had such which made them tons more appealing. Well, something different: I am made a stand still that there isn't more about EP I. It's 3-D release next year is expected to be the headliner for the SW year. But we will see just so little in terms of LEGO about it - moreover not even a single system set. Why that? In the eyes of many fans, the film probably isn't the best of the hexalogy but still it is the opener of the saga. And most likely THE headliner of next year's SW theme merchandise. Probably the key to win the next generation of SW fans. Is it possible that TLG keeps something back to surprise us all? Are the leaked infos final and absolute?

Hello everyone. Now we seem to know what lies ahead of us. Big thanks for the pics that put the USPs into the right place. Well, from your experience - when can we expect the winter wave sets to become available online and in stores respectively? I'd like to set up a cunning scheme to make sure i can get the goodies in time.

Yes, i don't blame TLG for the idea. I put blame on them for putting this stuff into a set. I hope that Lucas reconsiders and that this was only a balloon for a test - one to abandon anytime soon. Sales of - and criticism on - the horror SW novels might speak an international language not to be misunderstood.

I am perfectly with the Doc. While 'playing' is much about fantasy and stuff - if one does imagine this to be just 'some Geonosian', it really has an ugly color and a pretty bad print. That makes for one more point to pass the set. And honestly spoken, what the heck do we do with Zombies in SW?!? Vampire Stormies or Werewolf Commandos, anyone? Maybe the next animated series will deal with Elven Sith or Dwarvish Jedi Masters. Seriously, that's an obvious shot too far from the fence. I passionately played fantasy RPGs for a decade or so, but we didn't have any blasters and Star Destroyers there. That simply does not fit for a second. Meddling those themes is just like 'Cowboys and Aliens' - dumb commerce, utter ripping and an aweful lack of creativity. Just my 2 cents.

Grogall, i bow before your very gallantry to share those brilliant pics with us! On the sets: As said before i'll go for Endor BP. The number i'll grab significantly depends on the price tag. Although it's only a single seater (Longprobe), i like the new Y-Wing very much. The frontal view is actually really stunning! Sexied up Leia is a nice gimmick. What's the price tag, anyone? The Geonosian Cannon is - despite winged Geonosians - one of the easiest passes of my Lego fandom.

TRU [GER] online shop has 10% off on all items except books and video games this sunday.

Yay, a big thanks to grogall for these crispy pics. The closer i look at 9490, better i like the set. The dirty Sandtrooper printis utterly awesome! Good to see that TLG did recolor the Endor BP tree thingy. I guess they would do well with my Kingdoms sets, too. We can already see that there will be a bunch of dreaded stickers. I'll really never like them. Hope that this has (a reduction) effect on the pricing. On the BPs: Despite their attractiveness, i cannot see anything to justify more than 15 euros for them.

Goodness, excellent find. Thanks for sharing!

Ah, please don't shock an old man to death! But fun aside, i have been lurking and checking frequently. Up to now i didn't want to comment on wild rumors. Now that KimT went a step forward to confirm, i take the things more seriously. Overall, there's quite a lot of the winter wave i can consider to buy. Endor BP is a safe 'get thrice at minimum' for me. In general i like bigger sets more than 'generic' smaller ones. Still, the set collection isn't the worst for an OT fan. Of the summer wave, Jabba's Palace is virtually preordered for me already. I definitely expect a bigger set for this. Not owning an X-Wing yet, the new one will fly to my home at full throttle as well. I like the new prints of some minifigs (3-PO, Porkins, Sandtroopers legs etc.) I can imagine to get a few of the planet sets just out of curiosity. That's nothing to be taken serious in any way, imo.

As others have said, 8038 is the best overall package, imho. The new 7879 is great for kids, too, i guess. While many AFOLs critisize the set to have too many play features - this might be a big pro on the part of a kid. The set has colourful minifigs, many moveable things, a vehicle and even an exotic animal. Stable, medical area and the secret entrance offer plenty ideas for free play i think. But honestly (personal opinion!) spoken i would not buy anything about Star Wars for a 5-yo kid. They'll be confronted with war and weapons all too soon. I am a passionate OT fan but at this age i would prefer something more peaceful/civilian for the kids.

Appears to be a sound solution. I'll try that. Thanks for the advice. Galeria Kaufhof. They just had some nice sale and i bought quite some stuff there. Sadly their price stickers are extremely sticky... Off course i would love to get rid of the stickers on other boxes i own for some time already. Ich werde es mal mit Reinigungsbenzin versuchen. Regards, K-A-M