Mandalorianknight

I actually could see ATLA at least starting out with just the one 18+ set. Unlike Spongebob, ATLA's had a much more difficult time staying popular with kids, I could 100% see lego deciding that a 18+ Appa with the main cast would be the way to go to start out. I don't know how popular they are among kids here, but they're certainly beloved enough by plenty of adults. If you're suggesting a line of playsets I don't know that they would do well, but a line of 18+ or an Icons subline would both do just fine.

Wise Vanth's speeder and the 332nd pack are enough to make him reliable for me. The rest are understandable guesses (though maybe not all at once), but nobody could have guessed Cobb's speeder, and NOBODY could have guessed lego would throw a SECOND 332nd battle pack out 2.5 years after the last one. Yup- Thanks- sort of like how you adjust your profile picture for your next desired character, I've been trying to keep it updated to represent my next MOC project. The last one just got really delayed so I stuck with the old PFP for almost a year. You never know, Pershing did canonize glasses... but fair to assume he'll have his own print. He is the main character in a star wars movie, so re-using prints ideally wouldn't be a budgetary necessity anyway.

I'm surprised that meme hadn't been used yet for your crusade. The quantum mechanics that go into PAB pricing elude me- the standard captain america helmet is nearly $7, and there are plenty of unprinted, smallish parts at multiple dollars each- but regardless of any PAB clues, I'm sure we'll see a lot more of the pauldron. Plenty of characters wear it, and it's usage on the sandtrooper implies lego views it as not era-specific and here to stay. (I'm still the old man yelling at cloud about this- I prefer cloth pauldrons- but given how cheap they are I'll probably PAB some to try them out.) I have been awfully tired recently... and I did wake up covered in ABS pellets and the remains of a round-trip ticket to Denmark... plus there's this weird alter outside covered in aurebesh and hieroglyphs. (I've been trying to keep my profile pic updated to point towards my next project, it was just stuck on the anniversary stand for so long because of how delayed my progress was on that wave.)

I looked it up to see how ridiculous the price was... and it's 31 cents in the US? I thought it would be multiple dollars each. Next time I have a lego order I'm adding 10 of these if they're still in stock. That's a great price.

You're right that it's likely some kind of nickname. There's a run of the Vader comic set 1 year after ROTS that shows the inquisitors (invading Mon Cala) and they all already have their -brother or -sister names. I haven't investigated myself but I heard the trailer shot was cut weird so that it LOOKS like maul's slicing Marrok when really it's someone else. With how expensive Lego Star Wars is at this point, I don't know if I would. Probably adds $5-10 to whatever the set would have cost.

I get that, but at the same time wouldn't it be considered more of a waste if you kept collecting something you didn't want to collect? Sort of a Sunken Cost Fallacy issue. The good news is that legos keep their value extremely well, and you could recoup a pretty big chunk of the original cost put in by selling off the collection you no longer want. It won't be (my guess is it's a Venom bust, maybe Hulk or Groot?) BUT how awesome would a Magneto bust be? You could have his actual face obscured by shadow with just white eyes showing like a lot of his aura farming panels do. This remains the most interesting one to me, just because of how far ahead of the other doomsday sets it is. Exactly. There's no obligation to pour X amount of money into legos every year.

Drumlaquer is a whole different- and more expensive- process than standard parts, so it's got a similar issue to chroming, just without the super dangerous byproducts. The issue then also becomes a higher-level version of the reason they aren't just pearl silver- not enough parts currently exist in that color and single sets don't typically have the budget to recolor dozens of parts. If they could start slowly rolling out more pearl silver parts, eventually we'd have a good base built up for an N-1 or Crest in that color. They've done this with Pearl Gold and are now able to produce mostly pearl gold sets like the golden ultra dragon. It would speak to what @BrickPrick was saying if us not forcing or pressuring lego into swapping the bag material means they don't do it here. Which I don't have an issue with, I'm OK with lego not being pressured into changing their packaging material. (Though we are starting to get the paper polybags in so I think it's more likely they just chose to start in europe and are now expanding.) I do think there's a good chance we get Anakin's Delta this year, but Giant Fig Vader could easily be a 50th anniversary set. I wouldn't say that a set being based on a single movie would really count as evidence that it's for the 50th anniversary- most sets are based on specific single movies or shows. Death trooper helmet is a good idea, and I think it would do pretty well. I can see it having some pop to it if it's got dark green lenses. A midi-scale Zeta or something could be a fun build too.

Hey! I remember reading Clone OPatra's review back when it came out and being impressed by what was essentially an objective upgrade of an alt-build to the U-wing. This mod is excellent as well, though honestly I think your username is the best thing in the post. Radmiral Thrawn is hilarious.

With "most" of that wave being moved to 2027 -and "most" being a bit vague in terms of how many exactly, the possibility had opened that it would just be an 18+ set or two in that september/october D2C area. But if there's some system sets still coming, that august wave has to be real. I'd assume Anakin's Delta and hopefully the Ewok Village are 2026 as well. Given there were a number of celebration-y sets on there, it's possible those are all the 2027 ones and Bounty Hunter Pursuit is this year as well. Got it. He is pretty reliable so if he says it's coming I'm sure we're getting it. I absolutely agree with you in general on the environmental stuff rarely being what we're told it is, but like you say, in this case lego probably did the right thing. (Though I want to make clear the actual chrome elements are perfectly safe. The carcinogenic/mutagenic chemicals are a byproduct of the manufacturing process and are not in the actual product, if you have a chrome part in the collection it poses no risk to you. It's sort of like how when you finish building a set you have a few extra parts, if instead of some 1x1s they were dangerous chemicals. So no kid would be injured by the finished parts, the risk would be to factory workers. And even them I'm sure lego's safety codes were up to standard and it was more about the cost/risk associated with disposing of all those chemicals.) This has to be a regional thing- I have yet to see a single paper bag inside a cardboard-box set. We've started to get the paper polybags in, but it's just Botanicals and I think a city or friends one at all the stores around me.

I still can't find this- do you happen to remember where they said it? There are situations where that's definitely true- even with lego specifically-, but in the specific case of chrome parts it's not so much vague environmental reasons as an actual toxic byproduct of the manufacturing process. It can release some pretty nasty carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals- definitely something I could understand a toy company re-evaluating the risk on and deciding isn't worth it. Even if they didn't encounter any accidents in production, that type of thing is an expensive nightmare to dispose of, trust me. If the shuttle really is an august set, that's great news as it would seemingly confirm an august wave as you say.

This is my preferred option (Though I think Tahu Mata would be more accurately represented with red and trans-pink since most of the back of his head is transparent. Most of the grey head piece is covered by his mask or the transparent brainstalk) Given how accurate the body is, I think there's a really good chance we get a near-perfect molded helmet (For figure reasons, it has to be a helmet- Tahu's mask extends over the top of his head, and since neck attachments- well, attach- under the head, you can't get the shaping right without making it a helmet. As for the torso and legs, man, those are beautiful. Absolute perfection, I really couldn't ask for anything better. If the helmet and sword can keep it up this might be one of my favorite minifigures ever. I really, really hope they manage to get us the other Mata somehow- they did their best with the GWP style but only managed to get Onua's mask snuck in.

Thank you! I made it intending for it to hit that $160-180 price point, so it'd be comparable to the Dark Falcon or... well, the price of the turbo tank if not the contents. Don't worry, my avenging brother, despite a few of the character designs included in the one interior shot to fill it out, I intend the MOC to be fallen order based. Nobody included would be aware of tanalorr yet and therefore able to take it from you... or me. Because, clearly... Tanalorr is mine. It was my discovery, my home, and they just expected me to throw it away?!?! Thank you! I did my best to replicate as many parts and details of the interior as I could at that size. Thank you! I get it on some level- it's a video game, and I could see lego viewing that as riskier than products based on the saga films or The Mandalorian, but the games have also sold millions of copies- I don't think it would be a CRAZY risk.

I've never been into the games, but they seem enjoyable. I am surprised they cancelled Sands of Time with how well-known of a franchise it is. A last airbender set would be pretty cool. I know Avatar notoriously struggles with spinoffs and adaptions, but they at least keep the IP in the public consciousness, and the combination of that and how beloved the OG show is would definitely let an Appa set sell well. I had failed to consider video games- I would love some Smash Bros content, though it's sort of an amalgam of other IPs, many of which have started to show up in lego form (though somehow only Zelda at figure scale). I'm not huge into video games, but many of my favorites are part of IPs we have sets for and yet little to no coverage for the game itself, which I guess is part of more what I think about with dream themes at this point- dream subthemes. Jedi: Fallen Order/Survivor: We got one statue and a minifigure in an unrelated set, but between the Stinger Mantis ship, tombs and other iconic locations, and all the giant creatures, it would make an awesome subtheme. Not to mention all Cal's ponchos where you could get unique, desirable minifigures just by swapping out the pattern on a piece of cloth. Marvel Rivals: PLEASE, lego, you give me Rivals waves and I'd never ask for anything again. This is the only game I've played multiplayer on in years. It's got some of the best designs most of these heroes have ever had, and it has so much set material between the convoy vehicles and some of the more iconic locations. It even has a prime option for the buildable characters lego loves with Jeff the Land Shark. You could fill endless CMFs with all the characters and skins, and sets at varying price points with all the vehicles and temples. You've even got a giant mech with the Vampbuster suit. Moon Knight: The two MCU minifigures we've had- much like the show itself- aren't bad, but really aren't who Moon Knight is in the comics. MK himself would be great for sets, as in the modern era he consistently runs with two outfits simultaneously, has a fun group of supporting characters (Former avenger Tigra, vampire receptionist Reece, essentially his own henchman/goon in Soldier, his spiritual brother Hunter's Moon, and so-bad-at-being-a-villain-he-gave-up-and-joined-the-good-guys 8-ball), and unlike many marvel heroes, he actually owns stylized cars, jets, and planes. And not even just sci-fi VTOLs like his newer mooncopters- MK used to run with a stock white helicopter called the Mooncopter, and as recently as a few years ago drove the Moonmobile, which would fit right in at that $25-35 superhero car set slot. The Justice League: There's this little known group from a small indie company called Detective Comics. Lego technically owns this license for their small Batman line, and so the door is open to making sets based on these really obscure but fun heroes like "Wonder Woman", "The Flash", or "Green Lantern".

It was absurd that Jessica and Scarlet Spider both got snubbed, but we got werewolf and sun-spider. At least the spider-cyborg seems to have been intended to have more of a role in the movie at one point (Though given the series released two years later, I guess that excuse doesn't really work.) I bet he'll be a sandwich board like the Ewoks.

In my last MOC wave thread I had mentioned there was a project intended to be part of it that I ended up leaving out as it was becoming more complex than a standard set. Here it is: It's 1504 pieces without minifigures and, where the complexity comes in, actually has functional wing movement. The complexity, as you can probably already see, comes from the fact that the main wing/gyroscopic cylinder rotates around the fuselage, and that the third engine outrigger can rotate independently of both, clipping into a slot for either landing or flight mode. It's also got an opening ramp on each side and a set of spring shooters. Here's a look around the back And here's a look at the interior. Seating for a pilot, copilot, and navigator, the holotable/mission select, the living area with couch, table (and the holocron placed on top) - and while, it's difficult to see, some 1x1 flower and plant elements built into the wall-, and a tiny kitchen at the rear. And here's a look at the interior filled up. This is my second attempt at a system Mantis, with the older one being made at around 810 pieces- here are the two of them together. The Mantis is a ship I really wish lego would make an official version of, but I'm satisfied with my current one. I'll be bricklinking parts for a physical rendition soon and will show it off here when I'm done.

P stands for Prince of Persia. A returning franchise AND video game related. (Obviously not- I assume, maybe there's a new game coming or something, but it's funny how well that lines up) As I've said here before I've been lucky to get almost every IP I love in lego form- even Dune somehow. (At least, all of them that can get sets- I understand we'll never get Lego JJK or Invincible and respect that). The one thing I really want that we don't yet have is for Transformers to escape Icons and become a full theme.

Aw, man, I totally had it in my head that "big bad wolf" referred to Death. I was planning on getting him and Puss In Boots together for a diorama, but now I'm not sure I'll get any of these figures- I don't have much of a connection to Shrek, and while I loved The Last Wish, the only physical recreation of it I'd want to make is the final battle between Puss and Death. That said, taking away my personal thoughts on it, it's objectively a perfect choice for a CMF and is going to sell like hotcakes. A TON of millenials and Gen Z will be buying these trying to get Shrek himself.

I purchased the set at release, my first big UCS set I bought. I sold some other sets to recoup most of the price and as such can't really comment too much on the initial price. I absolutely love the set. It's a full, minifigure-scale walker with a completed interior. One of my favorite things in large sets is when they have that level of detail inside. It's also an engineering marvel, and shockingly stable for what it is. I've got it on a shelf a good 4 ft from the ground and have never once been concerned about it tipping over. That said, whether or not it's worth it depends on a few things. Like @Darth_Bane13 says- absolutely not worth the current aftermarket prices for a brand new one. I would say if you really want it, $1000ish is probably the max I would go assuming you're comfortable spending that much money on a lego set. Anything more than that and the value's just not close to being there. Luckily, you can buy it used- there are good condition, complete copies floating around out there for as low as $500. That's absolutely worth it in my view, but I know a lot of people don't like to purchase used sets. And of course with anything secondhand there's always some risk the product won't be what you expected.

They really did some excellent work on the head design, which as you say makes it all the more unfortunate it was compromised to accommodate a smart feature. Eh- I always prefer for the lego models to be accurately proportioned when they can. Gimmicks like the Microfighters being Chibi are fine, but I prefer the main system sets to be proportioned as accurately as they can. Remind me once the set starts hitting 30-40% off and I'll pick one up to fix it. I don't think it should be too hard- I'll probably end up redoing how the panels on the head attach entirely, but bare-minimum you really just need to panel off the back, and assumably it doesn't even need to be load-bearing. I have about 8 billion projects in the works at any given time, but one that's been floating around the 3rd or 4th in line has been sort of a full army-building wave of just various stock rebel and imperial vehicles, equipment, and bases. I might end up piggybacking off the smart at-st's head design for that one. The Devaronian specifically was just a joke about the piece count and the alien's devil-like visage, but I agree, they should have thrown in one new or rare cantina alien to add some value. I also think they should have replaced Old Ben with Han- without Luke or Ponda Baba there's not really a reason for Ben to hang around the cantina, and you could replace luke with him in the falcon if it was that important to have a "smart" old ben. Eh, it's tough, there's no great solution. I think for the sides 1x2 grille tiles work best, but you can't pull off the curve with those well. The grey stripe clearly is a panel flush with the side of the speeder- hence why I don't like the flex tubes- but if you just use normal curved bricks like the 2020 or 2026 models, you lose the profile texture. Short of a new grille arch/grille curve, I think the curved plates are the best move. Don't bring that up- I don't want to think about the alternate universe where this was a normal wave of sets that got smart-ified. (Actually, that could be a fun MOC/MOD exercise, I might work on that at some point.)

You're never going to make everyone happy with GWPs, but what I would go with is something that, while not including any exclusive elements, does provide an addition (though not an essential one) to the set/sets it comes with. In Gondor's case, a mini Grond with some re-used Barad-Dur Orcs, or a Gondor Soldiers Battle Pack would both be excellent choices. That way you get something that feels worth buying the set day 1, but at the same time dedicated collectors can bricklink or PAB the parts separately if they missed out.

Not the same, but the Hoopty had a similar thing in that regard. (Which, side note about that, might be the only retired lego set I've ever run into that's not only readily availible below MSRP at walmart, but at 40% off... and even then it doesn't reach that coveted 10 cents/piece people look for.) I still think if they're gonna do that for the Cantina they should have thrown in the Devaronian. I never put that together about the Volume, but it makes a lot of sense. Probably also one of the reasons Mando never ends up painting his armor in the show. I hope you're right- we've had mostly pearl-metallic builds before with some of the Ninjago dragons in gold- even the infinity gauntlet in drumlaquer, though I think that one's pretty unlikely. It comes down to how many recolors lego can fit into the budget. But with a movie wave budget... one that as of now seems like it wouldn't have more than 1-2 nonessential new molds max.... Ironically, the more specialized elements like cones already come in flat silver, whereas lego would need to produce recolors for generic plates and tiles. For some reason they've produced very few in flat silver, but given Pearl Gold has over time received a lot of these, I think there is a chance, however slight. I don't know about those specific parts, but Lego's definitely produced a number of liftarms in clear before. It is an odd decision, though I suppose it's better than bright red. Another thing about Yoda's hut that sticks out to me is that the terrain is pretty well-built for a 6+ set clearly aimed at a younger demographic. Bit of a tonal shift with the technic ferris wheel, but credit where credit's due.

You gotta use the bat-credit-card. Impossible to max out. The joke does illustrate the issue LEGO runs into though. If they're only making batmobiles, and if the batmobiles do poorly, is that because people want wider DC stuff, or because even batmobiles don't sell anymore? Conversely, if they're a smash-hit, does it mean people want more batmobiles, or that they want more DC in general? Unfortunately as much as we want to say LEGO should make wider DC/Justice League sets, kids just don't know or like the characters that much. The reason the 18+ sets generally have that same issue is, I would guess, a lot of the adult market is the guys who would, for example, get scared off if there were minifigures in the midi-scale star wars ships. I'm sure their research has found that there's a lot of adults who will buy the UCS batmobiles but think DC stuff besides Movie Batman is dorky or whatever. Hopefully Arkham does well and we can start to branch out again. Thanks, I'll check it out.

For Lord of the Rings specifically I understand this, because the sets are all ~$500, but for most themes, would you not simply take whatever budget you planned on using for the old theme and transfer it to the new one?

Oh, I love getting new troopers- merchandising's always been a big part of star wars, and I have no issue with them making some new variants every time they do a new film- real-world militaries have plenty of different uniforms that change plenty over the decades. I agree it's a really weird choice not to do any new trooper types- similarly, I think it's a major misstep not to give Mando and Grogu new outfits. Most kids who like those characters have minifigures, plushies, or action figures of them already. Same with collectors, as it seems to be an almost identical suit (And in lego's case, they don't seem inclined to make new minifigs for the slight changes to Mando's gear between seasons anyway). I have some hope the movie will be a fun adventure, but I do worry that the merchandise sales are going to be rough. Great quote, great picture. The set may be overpriced, but they really went all-out on the two included characters. Well said. And good callout on the packaging- whatever flaws the actual sets have, the packaging engineers pulled out the best work I've ever seen for lego sets. Get these guys on the 18+ sublines immediately. Another major issue I've noticed with the smart brick is that you need to assemble it into a specific spot to use just one feature. For example, with the X-wing set, you have to put it in a different spot for the X-wing, Turret, or console. So unless you have 3 smart bricks you can't use the features in tandem with eachother. (The falcon is maybe the roughest example here- it looks like you can choose to either have the engines glow/make a noise or have the laser firing noise, but you need to build the smart brick into a different spot depending on which- and you have to open the falcon up to get at the engine spot too). As @Kaijumeister says it's a bit of a step backwards from some previous lights and sound systems, as you have an expensive piece of tech that can make only one light or sound at a time. My thoughts on the sets: Intellectual brick Luke visits space BP station: If it had just been Luke, the jawa, and speeder for $20ish it would have been a fine set. I usually like side builds, but the issue with a lot of the smart sets is their inclusion of side builds that clearly don't fit within the universe. It's fine for 4+ sets, but I think even your 6-8 year old is old enough to notice that it's weird the jawa has a green squeaky hammer (what's up with that, by the way, they're in a few sets. I assume the smart brick has a color sensor and that's why they're bright green, but it's still a strange choice). Also, as a certified GNK droid aficionado, you guys have to head back to the drawing board on this one. Even with the constraint of the tile needing to be on top, I think there were better ways to do it. Astute brick Tall Wicket solos the entire galactic empire: I'll give praise where praise is due- this AT-ST has a lot of great things going for it. If it had legs more proportionate to the head, and a closed back, it would be one of the best we've ever had. When I find this on a 30% or more discount I will probably grab it to mod. Now, on the other hand, it does just have an open back and a chibi head, so as a stock set it's rough. And another situation where even as a 6 year old, I think most kids will dislike the fact that the AT-ST has an open side and can be defeated by wicket just waiting for it to turn around. Genius brick Tall Yoda's carnival: I see the vision here, I get what they were going for, but I think they needed to use clear liftarms. It's a ROUGH build otherwise. The Hut is a nice size but unfortunately loses a lot of the advancements in shaping we'd made in the past few versions. Scholarly brick Greedo lives to watch the bith concert another day: I wonder if they had a mandate to avoid action-themed features as much as possible, because I feel like food is a lot more prominent in these than in the actual saga. I think making the focus of the set a stage that plays barely audible, non-cantina band music was a critical flaw, though I will assume the designers were making it on the assumption that it would be the actual music and had their legs cut out at the last second. The figure selection is also somewhat baffling, and the Dewback unfortunately will set back my campaign to make star wars creatures brick-built significantly. I know somebody's gonna point to this every time I bring up the concept... Perceptive brick Millenium Falcon has an open cockpit and I really hope Han and Chewie can breathe in space: I'm not joking about that issue- this is something that bothered me with sets when I was the target age range of these. It would irritate me to no end that Han and Chewie are just exposed to the void here. I spoke already about the issue inherent in having to move the smart brick whenever you want to use a different play feature on the falcon as well. Overall there are some great designs here- elements of the AT-ST specifically look excellent- but the smart brick accommodations critically damage each set. If anything, I think these will end up having poorer sales than the actual smart sets.

I can't speak for everyone, but I don't really collect many of the DC offerings. I bought the 2021 Tumbler and some of the polybags and that's about it for this modern all-batman era. I would love it if lego would branch out into more heroes again- as of now I only have some batmen and robins, the 2014 Flash and the 2013 Soup- but as-is, I'm fine with my batman and batmobile and don't see the need to collect too many other batmen and batmobiles with my limited budget and space. I may pick up the BvSmobile to mod into the Snydercutmobile because while I don't like BvS much, I'm apparently whatever the limited target audience was for the snyder cut (despite only being vaguely aware of it before the trailer) and would like a representation of that film -the best job any live-action DC has done at conveying that sort of new-mythological comic book event feeling-, but in general I'm just not looking to collect every batmobile. And since batmobiles are about all we get, it means I don't really collect much of the DC universe. For people who do, I suspect there's almost an element of the limited offerings being more of an impetus to purchase the few things we do get- I'm sure there's many people who, if the coming 3 batmobiles and logo released alongside a wave of justice league stuff, would choose the justice league stuff. But since these 4 sets may well be the only options for the year, there are probably a number of DC fans out there who consider something better than nothing and pick them up.