Lobot

I've said it several times before but if TLG did a limited run of 25,000 new UCS Falcons at £600-750, they'd be sold out in a couple of days. There's enough 40+ year old SW fans who won't think twice about such a purchase (me included!); just take a look at some of the vintage figures on Ebay (1977-84) such as Blue Snaggletooth, Yak Face & DT Lukes to see what I mean. The aftermarket for SW has exploded in the last couple of years and I'm amazed by some of the prices at the moment, and TLG must be aware of it. This sort of set isn't ever going to be targeted at children; there's plenty of others in the range for that. It would be a clever move for TLG to do this; especially to coincide with the 40th anniversary - and I can't wait!

Considering that 10129 was released in 2003, you'd hope that a new Snowspeeder would be a totally new design! With a retail of around £180 it should be impressive - and in the 1600-1900 part range. As much as I like the old version, it does look incredibly dated but that's due to the limited range of elements available at the time. I'm optimistically hoping for something akin to the quality of the Slave 1; that would go a long way to making up for the last two 'UCS' offerings which I can't must any enthusiasm for

I'd be surprised if TLG don't align it with May 4th to maximise the potential sales, but t's just possible that they may do an 'early access' for VIP card holders during the latter part of April. However, I'd be happy to wait for a couple of weeks to combine it with any promos that are available. I just hope that they're a little more respectable that last year, which were meagre to say the least! Thanks for the information @Sir von Lego - is that euros? If so, that would place it at the same price-point as the UCS TIE & Slave 1 in the UK (£179.99). Do you have any idea of the part count, dimensions, or whether it's from Episode V or VII...? I'm very hopeful that 2017 will be a good year for UCS sets; a decent Snowspeeder and Falcon would do very nicely!

Thanks, benderisgreat! I'm really surprised how much I like the Rathtar Escape, I can see that selling well. It's good to have another set with Episode VII Han, apart from the Falcon so it should give anyone with a limited budget the opportunity to own him. The Rathtar seems to have been 'inspired' by the Doctor Strange set, although I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm not sure about the Bounty Hunter Battle Pack - the image is a bit fuzzy but that looks like the old Bossk? Darth Vader's Transformation looks brilliant if a little smaller than the earlier images indicated. I'd expect that to be in the £20-£25 range, but time will tell. All we need is a UCS Snowspeeder & Falcon this year, and I'll be a happy bunny!

Thanks, it doesn't look too bad, but I think that we were really spoilt in 2016, so it was always going to be difficult to maintain that sort of level. It has a few nice minifigures and it will be a good way to obtain a cheap BB-8 if anyone is still looking for him

As much as I adore my 10178 I don't see it as being a 'UCS' and neither do Bricklink or Brickset. It brought me out of my dark ages, and is an incredible feat of engineering, but it's not 'Ultimate' in any respect (e.g. size, accuracy or appeal!). I hope that TLG will release one at some point; they should be able to create a stunning model in the 2,500 - 3,000 part range, as several fans have already demonstrated. My wish-list is all OT; UCS Falcon, Star Destroyer, Blockade Runner, AT-AT & TIE Bomber. I've almost given up hoping that we'll ever get a UCS Cloud City after seeing 2016's feeble offerings - but I guess you never know. Perhaps 2020 could be the year....

I've just removed the link above to be on the safe side; sorry if that seems a bit harsh. The video is still available via a very popular website if you want to search for it. Hopefully we'll get some official images soon anyway!

Thanks - Vader's Transformation looks excellent and if the pricing quoted (€35) is correct, that falls nicely into my initial prediction of £25-30 It's interesting news about the UCS Snowspeeder, after Brickset had 'downgraded' their details for it I was starting to think that it wasn't going to happen. The original version is looking really dated and, if TLG could create something on a par with the UCS Slave 1, it would be a day one purchase for me! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much about the potential for a UCS Falcon as well, but it would make sense for TLG to link that with the release of Episode VIII or, just possibly, the 40th Anniversary of Episode IV (25th May).

I'll be very interested to the see the Bounty Hunter BP; and if the final versions of minifigures are in a 'cartoony' or OT style! I much prefer my minifigures to be the latter and still cringe at some of the 'clone wars' figures which were produced a few years ago, but that shows my age! I'm surprised that LEGO are including named characters in such a small set (assuming they do!); if I recall correctly there's a restriction in their licence which prevents them from selling individual figures, hence why all previous battle packs have a small build included. That should prevent them from ever releasing a 'CMF' SW line, but perhaps this is a way around that?

As mentioned in the 2017 UCS thread, the details for 75144 (Snowspeeder) on the Brickset database have been erased (link). I'm not too sure if this is good news or not, especially relating to the rumours of a new UCS Falcon. Personally I'd like both to be true!

The images of Vader's Transformation look very promising, almost most impressive! It looks a bit more substantial that the Carbonite Chamber and so I'd expect it to be at a higher price point; possibly in the £25-£30 range. I'm really looking forward to seeing the final version; it will be interesting if the figures are all new - in theory they could re-cycle Darth & The Emperor from 75093 plus 2-1B from 8096. Definitely one to get in 2017; hopefully there will be some others! I just hope that the rumours of a new UCS Falcon are true - it could be a great year to be a AFOL!

I don't know if it's been mentioned elsewhere, but the price of several SW sets has been increased on the UK Shop at Home website recently I can't recall seeing this strategy being adopted previously, so I'm slightly disappointed to say the least. For example the (already ridiculously overpriced) Death Star and Insult on Hoth have both increased by £10 each; with the Slave 1 & TIE Fighter also following suit. I guess that TLG feels that it's profit margins aren't quite high enough.... this isn't a good day to be a fan. Hopefully they'll have a re-think if shoppers vote with their wallets; I'll just have to focus my spending at other stores which are offering decent deals from now onwards.

If the rumour of a new UCS Falcon is true, it will be a first day purchase for me; I really don't mind if it's a re-issue or an upgraded set. I've always regretted selling my original 10179, so it would be great to own something similar again! If true, I guess it will be in the £600-£750 range (bearing in mind the current pricing strategy that TLG seem to have recently adopted); but there will be a lot of collectors who'll be more than happy to pay that sort of money for it. If there's ever an optimum time, then 2017 should the year..... I'm finally excited about the prospect of owning a new set!

I've just ordered 75096 Sith Infiltrator from Shop at Home. I refused to pay the RRP for it as a matter of principle (£84.99) but it's currently on sale at 30% off, plus the double VIP points and free A-Wing Pilot made me feel even less guilty about it! I've spent virtually nothing this year on my personal collection, but I'm hoping that 2017 will be far more interesting.... a couple of decent UCS sets would be a great way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Episode IV

Please can we keep this thread specifically for 2017 sets and rumours - this isn't really on topic, thanks I was Rogue One yesterday, and it didn't disappoint. Without giving any of the plot away there's plenty of material for TLG to work from and the current new sets are good reflections of the film models etc; I think that mortesv will enjoy some of the closing scenes especially! There were also some nice little moments that OT fans will enjoy - and several other interesting touches that you'll need to look out for. There's a couple of characters that I'd seen in LEGO form which only make very brief appearances in the film; and conversely others that haven't been made that should be! Hopefully they'll appear later this year.

I've updated the first page with some more details from the LEGO website

Thanks for the info, Stash. I've spent some time updating the details of the winter wave in the first post; I'll finish it once they're available (again) on the Shop at Home website I'll be surprised if the Bounty Hunter battle pack includes any rare minifigures, it wouldn't make financial sense for them to do so! If they ever make 4-LOM or Zuckuss it's likely that they'd be included in a UCS set to optimise their profit margin - for example the last IG-88 was available in 10221 which was £350!

Thanks CopMIke, you've just made my day! And, thanks again for running it again this year, you're a star!

It's possible that they've decided to hold them until 1st January so that they can clear a backlog of older sets that have been marked as 'retiring soon'. It will be interesting to see if there's any decent post-Christmas sales this year on LEGO's website; I certainly hope so. I've had my eye on 75096 for a long time, but I refuse to pay £84.99 for it! I don't know if different in other countries but there hasn't been much hype around Rogue One, especially compared to TFA, and this may be impacting on the overall sales. I noticed last night that Amazon had the Advent Calendar back in stock - last year it was almost impossible to find.

The UK store calendar is available on the main website (link); it runs from 11th - 31st December on orders above £25

I'm actually quite impressed by the OT sets and I'll be picking them up when they're available at a reasonable discount. The Landspeeder looks almost identical to the one in 75052, but at least it includes a Tusken Raider and Womp rat! The Skiff looks reasonable, but the colouring of the Sarlaac is a bit odd; the older version was better. And, we finally get a decent Lando, although his expression looks a little bizarre; perhaps it will grow on me

Thanks to CopMike for running this again this year My feeble attempt.... I was intending to do a nice little Christmas Wampa cave, but LDD only seem to have the arms for them!

Thanks mortesv, it's certainly been a rather interesting 6 months! I fell really hard onto concrete and managed to break my femur completely in two, just below the 'ball' part. I had surgery to re-enforce it with a large alloy bolt, followed by 12 weeks on crutches, which was incredibly frustrating. The consultant has been very pleased with my progress, and it's all fused really well, but I'll need to have it monitored for another 18 months before I'm finally given the all-clear. I'm still not 100% at the moment, but I'm just very grateful that I can walk again as I'm usually very active ....I'll be in touch shortly!

If the details are correct, it's going to be another inexpensive year for me.... Perhaps I'm getting to old for this - but I can't muster any enthusiasm for any of the Rebels or Freemaker sets. I've spent virtually nothing this year thanks to the totally mediocre UCS 'offerings' - even with the recent triple VIP points I couldn't bring myself to order Insult on Hoth, Hopefully TLG have got something really magical planned for 2017, although I think that I may have said that about 2016! The only sets which may be on my list to date are the new Landspeeder, provided that it includes a couple of Sandpeople, and possibly Vader's Transformation.

That's simply awesome, mortesv... .. It's clearly been a labour of love for you, and I'm in total awe of the result. The Nebulon B and Bloackade Runner are both exceptional; but oddly enough the tiny Slave 1 & Falcon keep catching my eye. Even at such a small scale they both look brilliant. I haven't built anything since I managed to break my hip neatly in two earlier this year, as I've been finding it difficult to sit still for any length of time, but I'm seriously tempted to make the Nebulon B a project for the winter.