TeddytheSpoon

Got my Gunship out of the clutches of the Finnish postal system (3 days to go 6km...!), so have some evening/weekend building to do. Built the Ideas sailboat in the meantime which was nice.

I agree, but with the exception of Geonosis and maybe Kashyykk (and trying to set aside my bias for TPM ) I think Theed would make for a better set from TLG's perspective. I'll happily be proven wrong but I can't see them making an MBS set these days primarily based on an old animated show (since I'm not sure you could pad Kamino as it was in AOTC with enough minifigures besides a lot of P1s), and the Jedi Temple question has been covered plenty here. TCW sets would definitely be more popular, but unfortunately that doesn't always align with what LEGO does...

I don't think the Jedi temple will make it as an MBS, but I always thought Theed was in with a shout. A lot of major plot developments happen there including the climax of the film, you could include pretty much every major character, and there's a broad range of locales (hangar, the throne room, the place where the Maul duel happens, various corridors and outdoor spaces). If you throw in Naboo as a whole as well to get more Gungans, you've got nearly half of the entire film at your disposal.

+1, I grew up with the Designer sets which were full of stuff like that. So good. I actually find it interesting to see how a ship looks in a different colour - this is kind of like seeing unpainted car shells in a factory, seeing Slave I without either of its iconic liveries is cool. And the model is fantastic, obviously!

If Jabba was thrown in I would almost expect the piece count to be way out of whack compared to the price. If the set was $100+ I could see them adding him in but I think it would need more than just the dias. What's the cheapest set that mold has appeared in? Must be the first Palace, right?

I could see a $60-$70 set with Boba's/Jabba's throne, the plinth it's on, and maybe some background decor - the arch, perhaps? - with Boba and Fennec being our next 'budget' (hey, it's all relative) 18+ set. I'd probably buy it in all honestly, would make for a better display piece than Vader's cocoon.

Agreed, modding is a pretty good middle ground to get some really nice models, and it's a bit less daunting than creating a new model entirely from scratch. With enough mods it can even become a MOC in its own right eventually. I don't think LEGO treats AFOLs as a joke any more. Historically that's probably true but it's hard not to notice their change in approach in the last year or two; regardless of what you think of the execution, they're clearly very aware of the adult market (note that that doesn't include playsets). I do think the consistency of colours and prints (especially prints) needs some improvement, but TLG has no control whatsoever over old sets and parts other than to keep producing them ad infinitum (which, frankly, is how companies go bust). There's not really anything they can do for that and I doubt they'd stand to gain anything from doing so. And if we're bringing morality into it (I realise ironically, given that @Kim-Kwang-Seok pointed that out ), then that rules out a LOT of the alternative-to-LEGO brands.

Agreed, it is a good choice. Fan favourite, not been done before, and the montrals will hopefully make it a bit more of an interesting build than the standard Brickheadz. I have to assume they'll go for the TCW S7 look.

It's a new-from-the-ground-up game, all nine saga films (I seem to remember reading somewhere there would be five levels per episode, so one fewer than the previous trilogy games). No levels from things like anthologies, the Clone Wars or the Mandalorian (at least not at release), but I think the characters will be available in the game or as DLC packs as with the TFA game. That, mind you, is if the game is ever finished, since it was supposed to come out last Christmas and there are all sorts of rumours flying around about TT games...

That's not really on TLG though. The collector market that will pay through the nose for individual figures like you say is much smaller than the kids' or even adult market (not necessarily minifig collectors) that makes up the bulk of their business. I can see Gar and a few other figures recently going the same way as well. I'm not a figure collector by any means but I do hope the bubble bursts soon, if only to get the secondary market to chill a bit.

I might be in the minority but I don't think Maul needs the longer hilt. The lightsabre hilts are already basically as long as a figure's leg, and while I appreciate the scale is way out whack, I don't think the longer hilt would achieve anything other than looking slightly goofy.

This is a good illustration of the demographic problem that set had IMO - cheap enough to be accessible to younger fans, but younger fans don't buy UCS sets that much (even more so 10 years ago). What are the aftermarket prices for that set like? On the one hand i assume the scarcity would drive it up, but then if the demand hasn't ever caught up...

I thought I saw a black and grey colour scheme, but it could easily be the dark red instead (I haven't had a chance to go back and look at screenshots yet). But you're right, it would be easy to fix.

I did find the line "plenty of room for troops from the cockpit to the cabin" mildly amusing, given the scale saga. I wonder if that was tongue-in-cheek

I feel like the Sandcrawler will be left alone for a bit, IIRC the last one had a fairly long shelf life by LEGO standards. We did have the 'playscale' one four (?) years ago as well, although we had an AT-AT last year which doesn't seem to have stopped them making a UCS one shortly afterwards, so not sure that would affect it. That said, the amount of screen time for the V-wings would make them pretty good candidates for a set in my eyes. I'd prefer to see one in Republic colours since the only one I have is the Imperial one from 2010, but I wouldn't complain if that got an upgrade.

I would guess more similar to the Executor with scene-accurate figures - so General and two AT-AT drivers. I'd be surprised if Veers at least wasn't included (VeersWatch will be pleased).

One or two years for the whole development cycle is a figure I've heard thrown around a lot (although don't take it as gospel from me), and for a company like LEGO that seems like a sensible time frame... At least these days. It's fairly well-documented that LEGO in the late 90s to early 00s was a very different business to what it is today, and not in the best way. The number of new molds (battle droids, lightsabres, Jar-Jar, Qui-Gon, R2-D2, etc) would suggest they'd had at least a year of planning if not two, but back then TLG might not have been afraid to throw money at the problem to make things go quicker. Its certainly an interesting question - would love to hear if anyone knows any more on it, or has more knowledge of LEGO's business processes from 20 odd years ago.

I don't think "future canon" will be a problem in all honesty. The only examples of retconning recently tend to overrule the books and/or comics, and are mostly fairly minor in the grand scheme of things. Overruling the films would be sacrilege and I imagine the story group knows that. (just don't mention Palpatine...) To be fair, you could make the same argument about the Cantina minifigs - a few of the figures included there only have a couple of seconds' worth of screentime, although I agree that they're not as memorable in the palace. Really like the idea of a MBS barge though, that would be a heck of a set.

It would be nice, but I can't see it happening. When the P1 helmet came out with the holes for accessories they were changing the mould from the previous see-through visor version, so it was one of a few upgrades; other than the accessory holes, the P2 helmets are pretty perfect at the moment. Once the moulds reach the end of their serviceable life, then perhaps it'll happen, but it's such a minor change that I doubt they'd waste time and money on it at this stage.

I agree on the first point, I more meant that existing Star Wars fans often gain a new appreciation of the prequels after having watched TCW. That is another benefit of the OT - if you're going to introduce someone to Star Wars, that's where you start. Unless you're a monster. To the casual I think the memes have given them a cult status, but from what I've seen the prequels' increased appeal is coming from existing Star Wars fans as well as the casual meme fan, hence my point about storytelling. It's nigh on impossible to tell how much each contributes though.

I agree that the PT will never be as popular as the OT, simply because without the OT it wouldn't exist. I'm not sure the ST has made the PT more popular, though. They have issues as films (wooden scripting being the big one, IMO), but some of the CGI used on them was pretty advanced for the time, even if it looks dated now. I think the PT's increased popularity comes largely from the Clone Wars - that fleshed out the stories of a lot of characters in a way that couldn't really fit in three movies. The memes probably didn't hurt, but I'd wager fleshed-out storytelling was a bigger draw. The prequels also had a ton of world building - new species, new planets, new ships with some really interesting designs. Granted the budget and technology wasn't really there for that in the OT, but even the two anthology movies we got have been better than the ST in that regard.

Is it really?! Damn! Admittedly I've only seen a few bits of gameplay from Squadrons, and that was a while ago, but for some reason I didn't pick up on the size from the books. I guess it makes sense with the tractor beam thing though.

I've never seen one on sale, though I've only really seen them regularly at LEGO stores. If anywhere, John Lewis might be a possibility - I picked up the Technic Chiron for quite a bit less than RRP a year or two ago, and I know the one in Sloane Square had (and probably still has) the Falcon and ISD in stock, but again I'm not sure they have regular sales.

Ah yes, the NHOSAS-type BISADGB*-class of ship. *But It's Still A Damn Good Build. Just had another idea - how about either Starlight Beacon from the High Republic, or the New Republic capital ship in Squadrons and the Aftermath trilogy? I think they're called Starhawks? I should stop backseat building and have a go myself really

I almost think the palace is more likely to happen as an MBS than a playscale set, but I'm not sure if I'd prefer that or the Sail Barge. Having the Barge as an MBS would be pretty unique by MBS standards, and I think it would be more complete than a palace. That said, Leia (who I would have to assume would be included in both) could appear as Boushh in the palace, whereas she'd have to be in her *ahem* skimpy outfit for the barge, and I don't know if TLG are particularly keen on that. A UCS barge could just include different figures though (say a Gamorrean guard and Luke, perhaps).