ARC2149Nova

I'm making the transition to full-time Legends fan, so Clone Wars 03 is the only S-tier show imo. I still enjoy TCW, Mando (even Season 3), and the Dooku Arc of TotJ, and Season 1 of Andor (I wasn't a fan of Season 2). The other shows, I either haven't seen, or they're just meh to me. Rebels was a mixed bag, TBB struggled with its identity (though its final season was pretty good), Ahsoka has issues (though Baylan and Shin aren't among them), TBoBF should've been Star Wars Sopranos (Mando saved the ending at least), and Kenobi should've been restricted to Tatooine. The Tatooine stuff and the scenes with Owen were great, but other than that, meh. I remember liking Resistance for what it was. It has issues, particularly the setup isn't all that convincing, but genuinely some good character beats and fun storylines. It feels tonally disjointed from the ST, though, and it never got the marketing push it needed to succeed.

The 327th BP may legit be the only LSW thing I bought all last year. My old favorite legion, now #2 (behind the almighty 212th), I had to get them. I want to buy a couple more, but definitely at way below MSRP. If Bricklink orders count, I picked up some more 2016 Hoth Rebels, now I'm up to 10.

Short, sweet, and to the point. Good choices, I'd love a new TIE Defender in particular. Some more ideas: Naboo Royal Starship ($149.99): Ambitious flat silver. Not sure if those bricks are harder to produce/more fragile, but if not, well, there you have it. Qui-Gon Jin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Captain Panaka, Queen Amidala, Padme Naberrie, Anakin Skywalker, Jar Jar Binks, Ric Ollie Naboo Royal Guard, R2-D2, R2-R9. Senate Duel ($89.99): Darth Sidious, Yoda, Mas Amedda, Shock Trooper (x2), Bail Organa. Includes Bail's Airspeeder. Droid Escape Pod ($29.99): R2-D2, C-3PO, Sandtrooper Squad Leader, Sandtrooper. Jabba's Retinue ($22.99): Little Skiff. Barada, Ree-Yees, Klaatu, Nikto Home One Briefing ($89.99): Similar to the 2009 set, just bigger. Admiral Ackbar, Crix Madine, Mon Mothma, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Wedge Antilles, Rebel Commando.

In defense of the pricing, I was just saying that anything above the "normal" battle pack price is a no-go. No $30-45 "battle packs". $19.99 felt like it should've been the barrier, but greed is one helluva thing. I could barely stomach paying $36 for the 327th Troopers, and that was just because they're one of my favorite clone designs.

I'd be on board with an Endor Rebel Battle Pack if they don't jack up the price. Anything above $22.99 is a no from me. I've got the old Shuttle Tyderium from 2015, and I bought two more of the trenchcoat rebels from that set, so I've got a little team, but we could use some new ones in the same style/slight variant. Not sure if it's been discussed, since I've been AWOL for a minute, but does it bother anyone else that the Siege of Mandalore Battle Pack wastes time with even more kriffing 332nd troopers? Like, after the battle pack, certainly the community has gotten its fill, right? We had an opportunity for a full pack of Supercommandos or a split with Death Watch (different styles from the 2024 pack).

Don't give me hope. A new SpongeBob theme with all the works? Maybe even new molds for the classic gang? "I'm putting my own money into the register, Mr. Krabs!"

"Somehow, the ARC Trooper returned." New Republic Troopers Battle Pack ($22.99): Speeder. 3x Human NR Troopers (bonus points if given white boots), 1 Mon Cala NR Trooper (NEW head) 91st Recon Troopers Battle Pack ($44.99): 2x BARC Speeders, Crab Droid. 2x 91st Clone Trooper (regular Phase II), Commander Neyo, 91st BARC Trooper (maroon macrobinoculars) Rogue Squadron Snowspeeder ($49.99): Wedge Antilles, Wes Janson, Trey Callum, Tauntaun. Assault on Endor ($89.99): Endor bunker. Han Solo, Princess Leia, Rebel Commando, Lt. Renz, Imperial Navy Trooper, Scout Trooper. B-Wing Starfighter ($79.99): Keyan Farlander, Lt. Blount, General Lando Calrissian GR-75 Transport ($49.99): new midi-scale. Millennium Falcon ($149.99): Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2-D2, C-3PO, 2x Stormtroopers

Turtles canonically have 13 regenerations after all.

Tantive IV is unlikely to receive a proper UCS anytime soon, the Nebulon B is most likely going to precede it. If I had to guess, probably a new Endor set for the fall. We've been anticipating one for years, and maybe they'll finally pull the trigger. We're either going to get a new prequel UCS set or another outlier (D+/ST) for the spring. My money is still on either a JSF, or an ARC-170. Or, as a longshot, Mando's N1.

So, I thought you all might like to know, I started playing DC:Dark Legion a few days ago (I know, I'm so cool), and I joined the discord. Guess the name of the chatbot/admin? It may not be teenage, mutant, or a ninja, but it's definitely a Turtle. I don't believe in coinci-I mean, "conspiracies", but damn if that wouldn't be a good one. By My Black Claw, Dead Themes Will Rise!

It was perfect, down to the most minute detail...then they massacred my boys. 2018 was a really good year, I love the Imperial Dropship.

@Mandalorianknight @icm 2004 was a bad year not because of remakes or low set numbers, it's a bad year because TIE vs Y-Wing was a 1:1 rerelease (not a remake) of the 1999 (and 2002) set. I thought the snowspeeder was the same too, but upon further inspection there are quite a few differences between them. It also had way too many micro sets (similar to how we complain now about the 18+, i.e. non-System, sets). I don't think the sets themselves are bad or anything like that, but compared to even waves of the era (literally sandwiched between 2002 and 2005, 2003 was also saturated with minisets) it is one of the weakest overall. As for 2006, despite the low set number, the sets themselves are bangers. New A- & B-Wings, Slave I, first system ISD, Jabba's Sail Barge, TIE Interceptor, and the debut the GOAT Wedge Antilles...I'd say 2006 was a pretty good year. I think it is far too early to consider 2025 the worst year of LSW, full stop. Without pics of the summer wave (or even a complete idea of all the sets to be released) I think it's a bit of an overreaction to say otherwise. If pricing is a factor, then perhaps it is the worst, at least value wise, but we've had absurd prices in every year. I also think 2025 is quite solid, myself. Even among the 18+ sets, you've got gems like the STAP/B1, Acclamator, Chopper, Home One, and the Jango helmet. The system sets released so far are also pretty good, prices aside. Even the U-Wing, though I feel it's a step down from the 2016 one.

All the good air comes from overseas. Anyways, I love the buildable STAP. I might actually try to get that. Also, Plo Koon is a remarkable update, though I've grown used to the duller look of the original (I know, rubber vs ABS).

My favorite year personally is 2009: best of the clone wars era sets, the first system-scale Tantive IV, debut of Ackbar, the Endor Commandos, and the Tauntaun, and the last OT TIE Advanced. 2010 was an excellent follow up, with the Hoth sets, my first LSW set ever (Luke's Landspeeder), the TIE Defender, ARC-170, Tri-Fighter, and Turbo Tank. Objectively best? 2014-2015 had a great mixture of sets from all eras, solid new design style, both the sets themselves and the figures. The worst? 2004. 2 straight rereleases and a bunch of minisets. The new sets were good for the time, however. But overall, not a strong year for LSW.

To make it more believable. It actually takes more skill to create a "deadly situation" in which a target is supposed to escape. One false move and a key player goes down. You can't hit Luke without risking hitting Leia, and you can't kill Solo or the Wookiee because they're the pilots. Besides, we're acting like every soldier always hits their targets. Real firefights are rarely as accurate as the movies portray. Yes, it's CQB, but again, they're supposed to escape (which is the plan, btw. They put a tracker on the Falcon after all). Besides, the whole "Stormtroopers can't aim" is a tired and overused joke that needs to die already. It's almost like people forget the entire concept of plot armor.

I mean, yes, they still are. I personally did my country-matching for uses in more real world historical projects, figuring which figures fit best where. As a purely LEGO matter, of course they're all uniquely their own. But where's the fun in that?

I always thought of the Kingdoms' Lions as being England. The tournament knight CMF feels more Germanic to me, and the Black Falcons seem more French. I also imagine the Fantasy Era and 2013 knights being Scotland, though I have absolutely no historical basis for that.

Maybe the leaks got it wrong. Maybe we are getting Jaxxon the GOAT.

So yeah, Thunder's the family name.

I'm going to safely assume no rumored/upcoming licenses, right? (i.e. no Star Trek)

Well, at least the set will still be worth it for the minifigs. Though all the rumored builds sound promising to be honest. Facts. The action figure industry is getting hit with this pretty hard too, fortunately I only collect one line now. Anything else I want is already on ebay.

Isn't the guy from Dino (2012) named Josh Thunder or something like that? I think Johnny Thunder is his real name, the rest are just aliases. Though I would like to headcanon that he went by Sam Grant in the old JPIII sets.

He's just trying to promote peace amongst the new empire forum members. At the end of the day, we focus on the Lego. Prices have been climbing before any tariff stuff began, so massive increases shouldn't surprise anyone. In LSW news, I would like to know what's the status of the UT-AT, is it confirmed to be a turbo tank now or is that just conjecture?

I would accept this answer if Battlefront II wasn't a (canon) thing. Also, unlike real militaries, the Empire doesn't shift uniforms a lot (or at all). Almost all major troop types remain unchanged for 20+ years. I just don't like the new armor design, it doesn't feel all that different from, say, the Hovertank driver. I like the chest armor idea from Rebels, it reminds me of LEOs that wear a kevlar vest during raids and such.

And here you thought Lego only loved Republic clones. Syril should've gotten a unique face to begin with, Resistance/Rebel/Stormtrooper/Action Man has been the generic minifig face for a while at this point (10 years and counting), so if anyone stole anyone's face, it's old boy. Identity crisis aside, why isn't the ISB Tac Agent more Kallus-esque? I know that's a Disney question more than a Lego one, but this uniform feels rather lazy. Basic white armor with a black cap. How original. I'd have rather gotten a regular ISB Agent. I do like the shield piece getting more work, though it could use a print.