Kit Figsto

Well, the Gunship being over 3,000 pieces means that thing will likely be huge and definitely not minifig scale, those are like 1,700 pieces. Price per piece on the Slave I looks great, seems like it should be right in line with the 2006/2010 versions, which were both fine in terms of size, and I know some people were concerned about the scale of a $50 model, but I think it'll be great. Also, almost 7,000 pieces on the AT-AT...wow.

I don't know if there's ever been a totally original Legoland world/zone/area/whatever you want to call it. From what I can think of, pretty much everything is based either on a theme directly (Ninjago, City/Town, Technic, Aquazone, Adventurers) or based on an overall concept of a theme (Pirates, Castle, etc) despite not being based on a specific subtheme of those genres. So I think we're kind of in uncharted territory as far as whether or not this might spawn a new theme. I definitely think you raise some good points, even if I disagree that HP and Castle should be equated (I can maybe see it with some casual fans but I feel like most people that buy a lot of Lego or are HP fans wouldn't equate the two), but I don't think HP and Castle shouldn't and can't be able to co-exist. There was a period between about 2006-2010, like you said, where we didn't really get much HP at all, I think we got the Hogwarts in 2007 from Order of the Phoenix, and that might be it (?), and I believe a dead period with HP between around 2014 and a couple of years ago, but it seems like now it's one of their marquee licenses that I don't see them losing/dropping anytime soon. I would hope that they won't just discount the possibility of a Castle theme because Harry Potter seems like it's here to stay for a while. There's so many different ways they can go with Castle that are clearly distinct from HP - Fantasy Era castle or stuff like the Dragon Knights/Fright Knights, while containing wizards and dragons, are very much not the same as HP (I know you're not saying they're identical), and stuff that's either Forestmen or more traditional knights/kings/queens/castles type of thing, which is definitely different. I feel like especially with the latter, the only difference between that sort of castle and a Hogwarts castle is that they both have the word "castle" since they tend to look very distinctly different in color/architecture, among other differences.

Oops, I forgot about the Carbon Freeze Chamber, and I apparently mentally glossed over that 2017 Skiff remake. For whatever reason, I thought the 2012 version was the most recent, I guess I just sort of didn't pay attention to the newer one since it's more or less the same set and I already had the 2012 one.

Love the Kamino set idea, the only thing I'd add is a 99 minifig. And yeah, the Landspeeder and Slave I are the two that I'm most surprised haven't been made. I know they did Chibi versions before Microfighters were even a thing, at Celebration/Comic Con, but very few people got those. Plus, a Slave 1 giving people access to Boba Fett for $10 would sell like hotcakes, especially among kids, since the cheapest Boba Fett set in like eight years will be the $50 Slave 1, which is still kind of a lot. The last time I can think of an inexpensive Boba Fett was in the Skiff set from...2013? 2014? Which was $30 or whatever. On the topics of wishlist, by the way, that one is definitely due for a remake.

Microfighters list - Single packs: Gungan Sub (Jar Jar Binks) Trade Federation Control Ship (Nute Gunray) Venator-Class Cruiser (Clone officer or clone pilot) Eta-Class Jedi Starfighter (either Anakin or Obi-Wan) Solo Millenium Falcon (Solo Han) Cloud Swoop Bike (Enfys Nest) Solo Blue landspeeder (Qi'ra) Luke's Landspeeder (ANH Luke) Death Staar (not going to happen but it would be kind of hilarious, Grand Moff Tarkin minifigure) Slave I (ESB Boba Fett) Cloud Car (I know one came in that book, but I'd like to see one with a wider release, either a Bespin guard, Cloud Car pilot, or Lando, if they want to be really generous) A-Wing (Arvel Crynyd) The Razor Crest (Mando) Moff Gideon's TIE (Moff Gideon) Double packs: Anakin vs. Sebulba's podracers (young Anakin & Sebulba minifigures) Kaadu vs. MTT (Gungan Warrior & Battle Droid commander minifigures) Coruscant Chase (Zam Wessell & AOTC Anakin minifigures) Slave I vs. Jedi Starfighter (Ep II Obi-Wan & Jango Fett minifigures) Geonosis Arena (Reek vs. Geonosis speeder thingy, Padme and Geonosian minifigures) Grevious' Wheelbike vs. Boga (Obi-Wan & General Grievous minifigures) AT-Hauler vs. Convex Train (Rio Durant & Range Trooper) Jabba's Sail Barge & Skiff (Maybe make it a bit larger, $30 and have it fit Jabba, or otherwise do a Gamorrean Guard and ROTJ Luke)

What is the etiquette as far as a lost package? It would appear that the USPS has lost a package that I sold, the buyer has been extremely polite with me and isn't blaming me or anything, and it's not a high-dollar item (I think the seller paid about $10 total). It was shipped without tracking, which was stated in my store policy (anything small I ship using First Class envelopes, unless the buyer asks otherwise, which does not provide tracking) and it's been over a month, when this typically takes about a week. I'll try to contact the USPS first and see if I can file for a missing package, but am I supposed to refund the seller in this case, or is the "risk" of losing the item transferred to the buyer once it's been sold and shipped? Ultimately it wouldn't be a huge deal for either of us, as it's only $10, but if this were something that cost, say $40, or even $100+, which I assume would be tracked, what happens, or is it on the seller/buyer to work out an agreement?

I think the late 80s/90s castle was enough of a mix between established story and ambiguity to allow for sets that had appeal in the models but also in terms of playability. I'm too young to have grown up with those, but I feel like Classic Space/Castle were both very good at that. With Castle, you had about 6-7 different factions, some that seemed more clearly "good" (Lion Knights, Royal Knights, etc), some that appeared to be more "bad" (Wolfpack, Fright Knights) and then a bunch that were sort of in the middle (Forestmen, Dragon Knights, etc). But, you weren't necessarily held to those constraints, you could make the Forestmen the good guys fighting the Lion Knights, or whatever you wanted to do. That's what I'd like to see in a Castle reboot. I know that the 2007 Castle has mixed opinions due to the fact that it had more fantasy elements, but I think it did that fairly well, even if on a smaller scale (Knights, Skeletons, Dwarves, Trolls). It was a bit more obvious who the "good guys" and "bad guys" were supposed to be, but with additional groups like Dwarves, you could pit them against the Knights or against the Skeletons and Trolls.

Exceeded: Going back a few years, but the U-Wing from Rogue One is absolutely fantastic, there's very little that I would change on that thing and it needs a remake for sure. I know that it's technically a bit too tall for how narrow it is, but for an $80 set, I can't complain too much. I basically just grabbed it near the end of it's shelf life because I wanted to get some RO figures (loved the movie but for some reason that's the only non-constraction set from the film that I own), but the set itself is so cool to me. The crew compartment is perfect, there's a good amount of play features, and it's a really good size - you can pick it up and swoosh it around in one hand but it's large enough to be very detailed.

To me, the new one looks a lot better, especially for ESB Han (like this). It's not perfect but I think the old one looked a bit too simplistic compared to the upgraded Luke or Leia hair pieces.

This probably bodes well for the helmet line in the future. I'm not a ST fan and have no interest in a FO Stormie helmet (don't really like the design much, honestly), but the fact that they're branching out beyond the OT in just the second wave of these things suggests that the first wave probably did very well. I'm curious how this one turns out, the Boba Fett helmet, to me, looked the best, because it's the most "square" of the helmets, whereas both the TIE pilot and Stormtrooper are a bit more angular and rounded, but the FO Stormtrooper helmet to me seems even more curved than the OT Stormtrooper helmet. It might actually be easier, because they can sort of make it a lot more spherical without worrying about strange angles, whereas the helmets from last year had the problem of being kind of spherical but also kind of not, if that makes sense.

The other thing that they have going is that, for whatever reason, every other building brick brand's figures that I've had experience with don't hold together as well as minifigures. I think part of it is that they tend to make their figures more pose-able, which means you can display them better, but when it comes to play, they seem to have parts come off a bit more. I have a handful of the OYO sports figures, which is an interesting case of a brand that did have some major licensing and was seemingly everywhere for a while, at least in the US, then just dropped off the face of the Earth a couple of years ago. While they're cool as a sports fan and do display nicely, the hands aren't as sturdily attached and some pieces, like a helmet visor, for example, don't stay in as tightly as do minifigure parts. A quick Google search gives me a paywalled article that LEGO sued them like a year or two ago, I guess for using the term "minifigure" and it seems they may have lost one of their licenses a year or so before that too, which was probably a big factor as well. Can't read the article, though, so not certain.

That's not on LEGO, though, that's on re-sellers. BL is generally cheaper than Bricks and Pieces and has a much wider selection, if there's a comparison to be made between a clone brand selling pieces and LEGO, it would be between Bricks and Pieces and whatever other service exist. Agree. Take the Cantina, for example. When that thing first came out (no idea if it's back in stock, actually), you could've probably parted it out for more than it was worth, because the figures plus the Dewback alone were like $250. However, nobody was going to seriously part it out via Bricklink, they were just buying the figures alone because they didn't want to spend $350 to get Ponda Baba or whatever. Like you said, I'd bet that some people buying multiples of it to part out have sold the figures quickly, but have a bunch of random tan tiles and plates laying around still unsold after six months. I think the other things being forgotten in this whole "LEGO will fail" debate is that 1) LEGO has licensing power and a lot of it. They've also shown that they have the financial resources and ability to overtake other companies and snag their licenses. I forgot which brand was doing Minions stuff a year ago, now that's a LEGO license. Same deal with Mario, there was K'Nex Mario Kart stuff, now LEGO has Nintendo. There is a less than zero chance that any random clone brand can swoop in and steal Star Wars or Disney or Nintendo or whomever and give them enough money to pull away from LEGO and take a license with them. The only companies that could would be another major toy manufacturer, like Mattel or Hasbro, and that's also unlikely for a couple of reasons. They're already successful at what they do and the brands they make, why take a risk and try to undercut LEGO when there's a big question mark associated with that, and also, LEGO isn't in the same spheres as them. Toy bricks and Hot Wheels cars or Paw Patrol toys aren't really the same market. If someone buys a toy from a Mattel/Hasbro brand, it's not necessarily cutting into LEGO's sales, in the same way that person buying a $40 LEGO set isn't really cutting into Mattel or Hasbro's sales. The only exceptions I can think of are licensed action figures that LEGO also has the license for, and maybe Barbie/Friends undercutting each other. I know Hasbro has Kreo but I don't think they're going to suddenly ramp up production and divert a ton of financial resources to that. 2) LEGO has way more brand goodwill than any other building block company, and that goes a long way. "Minifigure" is pretty much part of anyone younger than 25's vernacular at this point, there are literal brick and mortar storefronts opening just to resell LEGO (in an age when brick and mortar stores is apparently a contracting industry), and stores like Target and Walmart can't keep certain super popular sets on the shelves. I don't think anyone can come in, even if they offered the same brand quality, including customer service and everything, at a lower price (which I kind of doubt), because LEGO has established such a brand dominance.

I think dual-molding will probably become more common as they can figure out a way to do it and keep costs down. It could maybe expand into bricks, too, so you could have a 1x6 that alternates color every stud or something, since it's more stable than stacking 1x1s on top of each other.

Last year I think it was late April anyway, I believe we got pictures around the last week of March. SW pics are sometimes all over the place, there's been times that sets have been released and literally zero pictures of it have existed until someone found it on the shelves.

The most difficult part would be determining how people voted that didn't have any of the final four on their initial ballots. I personally voted for Adventurers, Model Team, and Rock Raiders, then went with Castle in the final vote. My intuition tells me that the system themes likely picked up most of the voters that didn't vote for any of the finalists, since I think most Bionicle fans would've voted for it in the first place, and I think there's fewer people that are just "meh" on Bionicle - for the most part I think you sort of either like it or you never really got into it. The biggest question for me would be, did the three system themes rob enough votes off of each other to prevent a majority and then Bionicle won?

It's coming, and like someone already said, the only summer set we don't know about is a $30 set that's apparently a Target exclusive in the US, will likely be exclusive to a different retailer in Europe (plus LEGO stores/online shopping). There's always a chance of other sets that may pop up, like last year the IT-S ship was a surprise, but given the size of this wave, it's probably less likely? Anyway, what we know we're getting: Ahsoka vs. Maul duel from S7 of Clone Wars Unknown $30 set Imperial Troop Transport from Mando episode 12 Slave I, apparently based on ESB Mandalorian Starfighter, apparently based on Clone Wars Bad Batch Shuttle Gideon's Light Cruiser Vader's Meditation Chamber 18+ set, no one's really sure exactly what that is UCS R2-D2 in May UCS Gunship at some point UCS AT-AT in the fall I think that's it?

Agree. The problem is that a $150 playscale gunship is already relatively close to the scale of the source material. They can't really make it any taller without being absolutely ridiculous in height, the width is decent, and scaling up the length, okay, that's maybe going to get you to a little more expensive, but not a UCS-size set. Minifigure proportions are weird to where you're never going to get anything exactly right. Any sort of wheeled vehicle (City, Speed Champions) are perfect examples. The 6-stud wide City vehicles tend to be too small and very minimal in terms of space and detail, but when you scale up to 8-studs wide in Speed Champions, they look more detailed on the outside and can more comfortably fit a minifigure, but they look way too wide or way too long. The playscale version of the Gunship is as close as you're going to reasonably get to minifigure scale, so there was no real justification to make a UCS version that's the same size, since the price would be basically the same.

I also would imagine that they do the prototypes at LEGO's HQ, rather than at their factories, which may or may not be in another country. I remember a while back they did videos showing their process of designing sets for the Cars line about ten years ago, and I think they did their initial prototype production in their offices in Denmark. Now, that may have been a simplified version of it just for the videos, and this was also a decade ago so the process may have changed as technology has changed, but it would make more sense than the element designers saying "Hey we need to test this new mold" and having to call their factory wherever, get them to set up the new mold, produce a handful of parts, and then ship them back to Denmark. I think sometimes these colored figures are legitimate prototypes, but when all of these come up at once, I doubt that they were prototypes. I mean, why would they need to make a clear version of the figure?

I think some of the weird colored figures that pop up on eBay or wherever else are prototypes, but I've never seen a full rainbow like this. Interesting.

They got around it before by just putting Boushh instead. A sail barge would be tougher to avoid, since she was kind of a key character in that scene and they can't exactly give an alternate outfit. And as far as my wishlist:

I think if there was any group of people that fell into that category, it would most likely be people from Instagram/Reddit/YouTube. EB, from what I've seen over the past year, had pretty realistic expectations for the model and/or minifigure selection. The comments on the other social media platforms are where most people are complaining.

The weapon seems to be this machete pieces, available in 23 sets: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=29109&in=S That torso appeared in 5 sets, two of which (30225 and 60011) had the sunglasses head, so it's likely from one of those, though the head is so common that it could be a mixture of figures very easily too. https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=973pb1436c01&in=S Either way, the weapon definitely was from a different source than the rest of the figure. Hope that helps!

I don't see why they couldn't do it again, I'd frankly be super disappointed if they didn't make any sets. I highly doubt we'd see anything like the tank chase from Last Crusade, as much as I'd want to, just because they've never really directly made a tank, but they did a fine job with the original sets of just removing any insignias or logos from vehicles or minifigure designs. Plus, I would hope that they see the secondary market prices for the sets and know how popular these are, it was probably one of the few licensed themes that lasted only a couple of years but wasn't considered a flop, if I remember right, the rumor was that they put the theme "on hold" after 2009 and that we'd get more in 2010/2011, but obviously that never happened. I think it'd be a mistake not to do it, Lucasfilm/Disney related LEGO stuff seems absurdly popular, and I don't think IJ has the appeal for other licensed toys that Star Wars does. That is, with Star Wars, in addition to LEGO, they have like five different lines of action figures, plush toys, toy lightsabers/weapons, trading cards, and other types of toy too. With IJ they can maybe do one line of figures, some whips/hats, and maybe one line of trading cards. LEGO would be one of the few opportunities for an almost guaranteed successful tie-in. At the very least, please just give us a Sallah minifigure!

I am curious to see if the Scout Trooper helmet lifts up in the front. It's unlikely, because then they'd have to actually build a stand underneath it and probably would require making the helmet hollow (and thus much less stable) but it'd be cool... Anyway, I wonder if them cutting back to two helmets was always the plan or if they decided to change it from three. I think it makes more sense to do two per year, the sets last year seemed to sell okay (at least around me, they seemed to be selling really well at retail stores), that way they don't run out of potential candidates for helmets as quickly, since there's only really a dozen or so characters that have helmets recognizable enough to actually sell a $60-70 set of.

If I remember right, someone in the Castle subforum brought it up, I believe Mark Stafford said something to that regard talking about why smaller sets can often have a lot of that kind of stuff and sometimes they don't always bring out new molds for expensive D2C/UCS stuff. I don't have the exact quote, so I have no idea what constitutes a cheaper set (like, is it any system set under $100, or is it just the more "impulse buy" stuff that's $25 and under?) but it was kind of interesting to think about. It's possible, but I don't know if they would want to have both on shelves at the same time. The last version of Anakin's fighter from the Clone Wars show was out for seemingly two years, so I'd imagine the ROTS version would have a similar shelf life, and if you've got both on the shelves at the same time, they might run the risk of cannibalizing their own market. Collectors or completionists would buy both no problem, but if a kid is in the store, they're probably just going to pick whichever color they prefer or whichever character they prefer, since they're essentially the exact same model outside of that. I do think we'll get a remake of it at some point, though, since it's been like seven years, and it'd be nice to get one some buzz droids.