The Stud

This is all spot-on and is exactly the way I've been feeling about this season. After Season 2, it feels like they have reset just about everything to the status quo in the most lackluster ways and the big event that should have been the culmination of the entire series ended up feeling so rushed and easily achieved in the last two episodes of this most recent season. I'm at the point where I still love the characters and the first two seasons, but my love for the series itself, and excitement for future seasons, has definitely waned by quite a bit. I remember one of the reliable Star Wars leakers had heard about production problems on the set of this and Skeleton Crew, which makes me even more nervous for that series. I'm still very excited for Ahsoka though (production reportedly went smoothly on that one), and it'll be nice to be getting more shows outside of the "Mando-verse" next year with The Acolyte, Andor season 2 and more Star Wars animation goodness. And as for the other set ideas you mentioned, I'm also surprised that we still haven't gotten Cobb Vanth's Speeder. That would just be an easy set to make. I think we could get a set based on TBOBF finale ahead of the rumored Season 2, sort of like how Boba's Throne Room was technically based on the Mando Season 2 post-credits scene and not TBOBF itself. Probably not unfortunately, unless it's just Lego throwing some of the characters into other OT-related sets. Maybe if we're lucky, we could get specific ship variations from Rebels like the B-Wing Prototype or Hera's X-Wing, but those seem unlikely. I'd love a new TIE Defender though and I don't think it's implausible that we could get a Rebels version at some point. Lego and the other toy companies are probably more worried about merchandise of the Rebels characters and vehicles based on the more-current Ahsoka series, which means no new Kanans anytime soon most likely. (To be fair, he at least got his two main outfits represented in Lego form, whereas the other characters never got their S3/S4 looks.) Next year is the 10th anniversary of Rebels so maybe we can get a few little goodies, but as we've discussed on this board many times, Lego is very inconsistent with how they treat anniversaries. And Lego in particular is probably still really wary of Rebels after how poorly the sets did initially but don't get me started on that again.

Those renders look fantastic! I don't know how likely it is, but a New Republic battle pack would be so cool.

Now that Season 3 of The Mandalorian is wrapped up, I think that now would be a good time to look back on the series thus far and see what noteworthy sets and minifigures we're still missing. Season One Nevarro Cantina Showdown ($40): Similar to the 2018 Mos Eisley Cantina set, this set could depict the big showdown in the final episodes of Season One and can get us a few of the key minifigures we're still missing from this season. There would be the bar and table from the scene, and maybe a play feature for fire and for the window to break. Minifigures would include reuses of Mando and IG-11, and new figures would include The Client and Incinerator Stormtrooper. Imperial Troop Transport ($30): The Imperial equivalent to 2020's 501st set. The builds for this set would be based on the classic Kenner toy that appeared at the end of Season One and an E-Web cannon. Minifigures would include three Stormtroopers and an updated Death Trooper. Additionally, it would be nice if there was a cheaper way to get Kuill in a set, but I don't think that's super likely at the moment. Season Two Cobb Vanth's Speeder ($30): I'm surprised Lego hasn't made this yet, but this seems like a no-brainer. Cobb's speeder is a cool design and homage to the Podracers of TPM. If Lego needed to throw in a side build, they could do a moisture vaporator. Minifigures would include Cobb Vanth in Boba Fett's armor (New!) and Tusken Raider Boba Fett (New!). Honestly, I think that's the only major thing we're still missing from Season Two. Somehow getting minifigures for Tython Boba Fett, Frog Lady and the Morak juggernaut pilots would be nice to get down the line as well. The Book of Boba Fett Battle for Mos Espa ($80-100 range): With rumors of a Season Two on the way, it'd probably be a good idea to do a set with the noteworthy things we're still missing from Season One to tie in. A set depicting the battle between Boba Fett's Rancor and the Pyke Scorpenek Droid would be sufficient. Both would be brick-built. Minifigures would include an updated Boba Fett (with the proper dark green color for his helmet), unarmored Cobb Vanth (New!), Krrsantan (New!), Cad Bane (New!) and maybe a Pyke soldier if Lego's feeling really generous. I think that this one set would be enough to cover what's still missing from this series, or from its first season rather. Season Three I already wrote out what I think we still need from Season Three and don't feel like I have anything to add following the Season 3 finale. I'll just copy and paste it here:

The Target I went to today had all three Indy sets. The Well of Souls had the correct price, but the Temple of the Golden Idol and Fighter Plane Chase still had Target's inflated prices. As tempted as I was, I'm still holding off on getting the sets until June-ish, hopefully during a double VIP event. I did get the Hasbro Adventure Series Indiana Jones figure though.

Nothing this year unfortunately. I believe Jedi: Survivor was originally rumored to be releasing last fall so that BD-1 was probably planned to be a tie-in with the new game at some point in development. Hence why we're getting nothing this year, BD-1 was most likely supposed to be the tie-in set. I'm right there with you though; now that we're getting a Ghost remake and a new Gunship this year, the Mantis is probably at the top of my set wishlist now. Glad to hear that I'm not alone in thinking that. And yeah, the Season 2 wave was so strong. The sets were all good models with interesting figures and the prices weren't too egregious, whereas the Season 3 sets all seem extremely overpriced and boring, and the figure selection is sorely lacking. The updated helmet print on Din Djarin and the new Bo-Katan figure are great, but all of the other figures are either reuses or just not super interesting. All of the sets (well, besides the microfighter I guess) all feel like they're missing something. That Snubfighter should absolutely have come with a third figure like Greef Carga, the Spider Droid is missing its pilot and the set feels so hollow with that being the only build, and the minifigure selection of the Interceptor vs. Fang Fighter is just so mid. And for some reason, Lego thought it was a good idea to retire the Armorer's Forge just months before the new season came out, which prominently featured all three characters in that set.

I won't go into spoilers, but I was honestly pretty let down with Mando Season 3. Honestly, I felt like a lot of the fan speculation and predictions were a lot more interesting than what we ended up getting. As someone who loved Seasons 1 and 2, and those two Mando-centric episodes of TBOBF, this season felt like a significant drop in quality. That's not to say that I hated or even disliked this season, (Chapters 18, 21 and 23 were all stellar episodes and there was still a lot of good stuff throughout the rest of the season) but I'm just disappointed with how they squandered the opportunities of where they could go following the Season 2 finale. It feels like they even undid a lot of the cool things that the Season 2 finale accomplished. But unlike a lot of other Star Wars fans, I'm not going to sit around and ruminate on the stuff I didn't like. We just had Celebration and there's plenty of other content that looks exciting, so for this one thing that let me down, there's going to be plenty of other things that I'll enjoy. Heck, Jedi Survivor comes out next week and I'm so excited for Ahsoka in August. I don't feel like I have anything to add for my list of potential Season 3 sets. The Corair, an updated Gauntlet Fighter and a battle pack of those guys would be sufficient for Season 3. I still feel like the Mando sets we are getting for 2023 are super dull.

Has anyone found the new CMFs at anywhere besides Target yet? Kohls maybe?

I did see a small selection of the new Indiana Jones merch at Target and Go Calendar this weekend and all but a few of the toys for younger kids were based on the original three films. I've found this merchandise strategy to be a little odd, but it did give me a boost of nostalgia seeing Indiana Jones toys on store shelves again having been a young kid when KOTCS came out in '08. It is a major bummer that more and more each day, it seems like these three April sets will be the only Indiana Jones sets we get as a part of the revival but I'm still very excited to get my hands on them regardless. I'll probably hold off on getting them until June so that I can build them when I rewatch the series leading up to when Dial of Destiny releases. Oh yeah, and as for the Temple of Doom situation, at this point, I’m choosing to believe that a combination of all of the factors discussed here and elsewhere on the interwebs is the reason we’re not getting it. I think there was some issue with the build (whether it was a stability issue or something to do with the Kali statue) and Lego chose to just cancel it rather than delay it because a) they got cold feet about any potential cultural backlash and b) they underestimated demand and decided to half-megablocks this revival of the theme by only doing three sets (based on only the first and third films) and barely promoting them at all. (Which to their credit, the sets managed to sell out anyway.) I hope this success will help the theme live on a little longer but I’m very doubtful at this point. It’ll just be a nice surprise if we do get more.

I posted about this in the wishlist thread but I think they'd only need to do two more sets: and a battlepack: to hit all the major stuff we'd want from Mando Season 3 before calling it a day. We've gotten a lot of the key characters and ships already in recent years. I'd imagine that we could see those throughout next year, as well as the big Ahsoka stuff we're missing, including the Phantom 2, new Ezra + Thrawn figures and some of the more spoilery things.

We've still got the season finale to go but I'm going to write out the set ideas I could realistically see us getting for this season of The Mandalorian.

I don't know about either of them going down in price; they are different versions/appearances of the characters after all. If we got updated versions of Rebels Ahsoka and Season One Sabine, then the value may go down but who knows. To give you a straight question though, I don't see them dropping in value but I also don't foresee them rising in price anymore either. If I'm wrong, well, I'm glad I got both of those sets last month.

Hey, technically I was just fixing a typo. Or was I? FluffySky indicated just a New Republic ship, but again, I think that'd be a bit odd with three antagonists and what is probably just a generic NR pilot and droid in the set. I wouldn't be surprised if it was another TIE Advanced VS. A-Wing or TIE Interceptor VS. Fang Fighter type set. We didn't get a good look in the trailer but Shin did appear to be flying a starfighter of some sort. Then again, we did also see Baylen and Shin boarding and attacking some sort of New Republic vessel as well, so who knows?

I wouldn't expect anything. Technically speaking, Boba Fett and General Grievous started in animation before live-action. Update on 75364 from Promobricks: it's supposed to include a New Republic pilot and an Astromech droid with a dark blue and yellow color scheme. Three of the villains from the Ahsoka trailer are also included: Baylan, Shin and Morgan Elsbeth. (The former two were the ones with the orange-ish lightsabers and the third one we know from The Mandalorian Chapter 13: The Jedi.) This updated minifigure selection is a lot more interesting than just getting a bunch of New Republic pilots like we previously thought, though it is curious that we are getting three villains in what is presumably a hero ship set. I'm just glad that we're getting those specific characters this year though; that's less we have to worry about getting in additional Ahsoka sets next year. It just occurred to me that this is the first Disney+ series to be getting more than two sets at launch, unless you happen to count those Obi-Wan Brickheadz from last year which would tie this series with OWK. I do think it's a bit odd that all three sets are hero ships (especially in a very hero-oriented summer) but I'm excited for all of them! I do also want to point that the leaked Hera face and headtail pieces that leaked match her appearance in the trailer, so I definitely think they're legit.

Lots of exciting news from Celebration today, and it was only the first day! Hopefully we get a bunch of really cool sets based off of what's coming. As for Ahsoka, I'm really glad I got the Phantom 2 last year. I could see us getting a remake of that next year since it probably won't be included with The Ghost.

It's from the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special from 2020. It kinda went under the radar with all the other news. No set number attached or price attached. It's been described as a "promo type of set", whatever that means. Supposed to come with Rey, Finn, Chewie and BB-8. As for the Fang Fighter Vs. TIE Interceptor, I think I may have been a bit too harsh on it when pictures first leaked. I still have some of the problems with it (the price, the incredibly lackluster minifigure selection and I was right about no rotating wings on the Fang Fighter), but man, those builds look really good. That TIE Interceptor especially looks gorgeous. Assuming I can get a good discount on it at some point, that would be an excellent one to get multiples of to build up both your Mandalorian and Imperial fleets. Hopefully it shows up at Costco for $60 like the two Boba Throne Rooms I got around this time last year.

My spending plans are a little more nebulous this year with college and moving into a house next semester, so for Lego, I'm mainly prioritizing sets that are retiring this year and then trying to keep up with Star Wars. I'll probably space out my purchases quite a bit. My birthday's in mid-September so I'll probably make a Lego Store trip to get at least the three Ahsoka sets then. I'll probably get the Coruscant Guard Gunship close to release as well. All of the Mando S3 sets will probably be my next priority; I'm just waiting on deals for all of them because I don't really love any of the sets and since I've been lukewarm on the season itself, I'm not in a huge rush to get them. That just leaves Yavin IV, the TIE Bomber, extra 501st Specialist Battle Packs and the Swamp Speeder (the latter of which I'll definitely try to army build when it gets discounted) for me to get throughout the rest of the year and possibly throughout the early part of next year. Additionally, I skipped the Advent Calendar last year but I might try to get it this year, as well as this Holiday Special diorama. For remaining 2023 sets: I'm saving the two 2023 dioramas for next year. I'll either get them on sale or wait to save up my VIP points so I don't have to pay those ridiculous prices. The UCS Venator is a long-term purchase that I'll get after I finish college and get caught up on the other large Star Wars UCS sets, so long as it sticks around for two or more years. I have mixed feelings on the UCS X-Wing so I'm not sure if and when I'll get that one. Everything else that I didn't talk about (which isn't much lmao) is probably a skip for me.

I'm pretty sure the Fox render is from a mobile game, not TSS. I'm not sure which one though.

I don't remember if this has been answered yet, but what rebel pilots are coming with Yavin IV? I'm still missing a Wedge and am hoping he comes here.

We don’t know at this point. It could have been delayed, cancelled or a false rumor, though the fact that we’re getting two dioramas instead of three like last year leads me to believe that this was actually planned at some point. A theory a lot of people are going with is that they’re waiting to release it closer to the potential UCS Sail Barge next year (so that both sets using the Jabba mold can release closer together), while others think the set got cancelled *because* of that Sail Barge. (So that people have more incentive to get the larger set.) It could also just be because there’s already so many expensive Star Wars sets coming out this year, they didn’t want to compete with themselves too much. What we do know is that it probably wasn’t cancelled because of any potential controversy (which may have played a role in the Temple of Doom situation though the jury’s still on that one) since we did get the same location represented in Boba Fett’s Throne Room last year.

Technically the logo on Jesse’s helmet is the Republic logo, which is very close to the Empire symbol anyway. As for Ahsoka, she’s supposed to have two outfits as far as we know. The gray outfit from Mando and BOBF, which is what the figure in the Shuttle set will be wearing, and the white robes from the Rebels epilogue since this show is overlapping with that. So assuming we get more Ahsoka sets next year (fairly likely imo), we will probably see another Ahsoka variant. It must be a shared exclusive of some sort because I could have sworn that we’ve pictures of the set at a Lego Store. Maybe they mean it’s a timed exclusive, kinda like how you could get the Tantive IV early at Celebration 2019. As for the leaked renders, assuming they’re real, I think that from what we can see, Fox and Hera look really good. Not sure about Vaughn but I guess the good thing is that it’ll be easy to convert those extra Vaughn figures to normal 332nd Troppers if you’re getting multiples of the set like me. You’d just need some extra torso without the little badge of his. If the Gunship were a standard one, I’d definitely get multiples. Since it seems like it’s going to be a Coruscant Guard version, it’s going to depend on how easy it is to mod into a standard Gunship. I definitely want multiples of the new Coruscant Guard troopers but hopefully those will also be available in a battle pack eventually. Two of those and two P2 shinies in a battle pack ought to be a no brainer.

Whelp, I don’t feel bad about skipping May the 4th this year then. Like I said previously, no Jabba set and no rush to get the other sets I was planning on getting (two Mando S3 sets, TIE Bomber and extra battle packs) has massively lowered my incentive to save up for May the 4th. I might just go ahead and buy the new Indiana Jones sets and get caught up on collecting Star Wars this fall. While I will say that these updated rumors have a bit of a monkey’s paw twist to them (not a standard Republic Gunship, Hera and Chopper being the only OG Ghost Crew members in The Ghost, some bad prices), I’m still very excited for everything. I’m very curious what the deal is with this $100 New Republic set though. No major characters (especially no Zeb or Carson Teva) and another “good guy” ship in a very light side-oriented year is a bit of a bummer, but getting some New Republic soldiers and pilots is really cool. Also kind of lame that it doesn’t include some of the more interesting characters from the Ahsoka series rumors, but we’re essentially getting three Ahsoka sets (the T-6, this set and now The Ghost) versus the two we were expecting so I’m not complaining. I’ve been saying for a while to not expect updated Ezra and Thrawn figures until 2024, and it appears that I was right unfortunately. Hopefully we get some substantial coverage for the rest of Mando Season 3 and Ahsoka next year.

Man, we’ve sure been in a drought for Lego Star Wars news recently, am I right guys? Oh wait, I forgot that the remaining 2023 Mandalorian set leaked: 75348 Mandalorian Fang Fighter vs TIE Interceptor. Like the other Mandalorian sets this year, I unfortunately find this one to be pretty underwhelming. The TIE Interceptor looks really good and the Fang Fighter looks relatively decent, apart from the fact that it appears they didn’t include the rotating wings, which are a key component of the ship or at least when it appeared in Rebels. It was super cool how the wings spun around the stationary cockpit in the show and for an already overpriced set, the fact that they failed to include that important feature is so disappointing. Not to mention the immensely underwhelming minifigure selection: Din Djarin reuse (technically the first time we’re getting this updated version I guess), a TIE Pilot that is probably a reuse and that leaked (Clan Kryze or Protector?) Mandalorian figure were expected, but I assumed that we’d get at least 1-2 more interesting figures in the set. Instead, we get a generic Astromech Droid… and nobody spoilery or interesting whatsoever. It feels like Lego did not learn their lesson from the last time they did a set like this: Vader’s TIE Advanced vs. A-Wing Fighter from Rebels. That was another solid-but-overpriced set with two $30-40 sized ships and a small figure selection. That set at least had more interesting figures going for it (none of which were a wasted generic Astromech) and more iconic ships as well. Honestly, the fact that the Jabba’s Throne Room set is delayed/cancelled, the two May Mando S3 sets are so underwhelming and how I’m not in a rush to get any other current sets is leaving me tempted to skip May the 4th this year, unless they have a super desirable promo. Kind of a bummer that this is the only new Lego Star Wars development, and it’s another recent Lego thing that I feel negative about. Wait a minute… I forgot the boatload of amazing news that we just received! Genius move by Promobricks to drop the rumor of all these highly requested sets coming on April Fool’s Day to keep people guessing if it’s true or not. The fact that they doubled down on it, claimed it wasn’t a joke and posted about it on all of their platforms made me raise an eyebrow. Still, I was taking a massive grain of salt (these all sounded very wishlistly and too good to be trye) but was hoping it would pan out. And here we are. Here are my thoughts on everything: -75359 Republic Swamp Speeder: Remember when people thought the idea of Rex and Luminara coming in this set was absurd? Honestly a very bizarre vehicle choice for a pseudo-332nd Battle Pack, but I’m just happy that we’re getting a 332nd Battle Pack, especially with Vaughn. And unless they were going to make up a random vehicle, it’s not like there were any small vehicles Lego could have used for these troopers from the Siege of Mandalore arc. For a Swamp Speeder set, yeah, I would have preferred Bly and some 327th, or even more 41st Kashyyk Troopers, but I’m still very happy with this set. Definitely going to get multiples. Very smart choice to do this as an Ahsoka tie-in, as these are her troopers. -75354 Republic Gunship: Oh my god. It’s finally coming. I’ve been awaiting for a new play-scale Gunship for so many years but I already gave up hope of us getting a new one in 2023. This is the best Lego news in such a long time for me. The minifigure selection is surprising (no Jedi and I didn’t expect Coruscant Guard/Shock Troopers to be the troopers focused on here) but I’m here for it. FINALLY a new Padme figure (2019 notwithstanding) and probably in a new outfit this time! A new Chancellor Palpatine is awesome too and it’s great that we’re getting an updated version of his iconic red outfit without the awful TCW stylization. Commander Fox was a character I never thought we’d get in Lego form, so I’m very excited to be getting him. And of course, getting new Shock Troopers is amazing. Like last year’s AT-TE, I plan on getting multiples of this set before it retires. -75357 The Ghost: Lego. I know I’ve been really hard on you lately. But oh my god, I cannot believe that you’re putting out updates of two of my all-time Lego Star Wars white whales this summer (the Gunship and the Ghost). Okay, granted, I did actually get the original Ghost set for a great price last summer. However, while I made a lot of modifications to it and do like that original set, I still really wanted a remake and here we are. For almost double the price of the 2014 set, I have to imagine that this one will see major improvements over the original. I’m curious to see how they handle the back of the ship: is there still going to be a Phantom? I guess it depends on what’s there in the Ahsoka series, as the minifigure selection leads me to believe that this set is based on that series with Jacen, Quarrie (who is a bit odd but I feel like I kinda sorta remember hearing a rumor about him being in this series?) and what is probably a new character included in this set. While my preference would have been to get a Rebels-based Ghost remake with the whole crew in their S3-S4 attire (that we never got in Lego form aside from Kanan), I’m still super excited about this one. -75367 UCS Venator Star Destroyer: Another dream come true. I love the Venator ship and a UCS version is one of the few remaining UCS ideas that especially interests me. I figured that we’d get one eventually but I didn’t think it’d be any time soon, and I thought that it was a pipe dream to think otherwise. I’m glad to say that I was wrong! I think this thing will look beautiful. I definitely won’t be getting this for a few years (I still need to get the UCS Razor Crest, AT-AT and Falcon before this…) but I definitely plan on getting it at some point. Getting a Clone Wars-era Yularen will be super cool and for those worried about this Rex being exclusive: I would not sweat it. I saw people pointing to figures in other UCS/MBS sets remaining exclusive but unlike the rest of them, Rex is way too important of a character to only include here. The fact that the bandaged face is being highlighted so much leads me to believe that that could be the exclusive element here, plus a wide release version may omit some finer detailing. -75364 Ahsoka’s Shuttle: This one’s from Reddit, not Promobricks, and we pretty much already knew it was coming, we just didn’t know with what figures or if it was the $70 or $100 Ahsoka set. Not to brag but I believe that I predicted this set to a tee during or shortly after Celebration last year: a $70 T-6 Shuttle with at least Ahsoka, Sabine and Huyang. Very excited for this one as well, can’t wait to see how it looks. I’m curious as to what the $100 Ahsoka set will be now since it’s not going to be the T-6 Shuttle or The Ghost. I’d guess a villain ship (not Thrawn’s Star Destroyer) since this wave seems very light side heavy. Well, consider me impressed Lego. I’ve been really burnt out recently and I had mixed feelings on the summer wave and 2023 as a whole for Lego Star Wars, but these rumors have really turned things around. Yeah, Buildable Chewbacca and Star Wars mechs are still super lame, but getting these sets, plus other things like Yavin IV this year, have gotten me excited. Can’t wait for more details.

Tangentially related, but rumor has it that the next Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Haslab project is The Ghost and it’ll be revealed at Celebration next weekend. This is probably being done to tie-in with the ship (most likely) appearing in the Ahsoka series and with Star Wars Rebels turning 10 next year. Now this is a crowdfunding thing, and I might be drawing a connection where there’s none to be drawn, but the fact that Hasbro’s looking to do a version of The Ghost could be another potential sign of Lego doing a Ghost remake within the next year or two. As for the Speeder Bike Chase set, I’m kinda baffled that they almost went out of their way to do those Luke and Leia figures so poorly. Ponchos are really needed for those versions of the characters in my opinion. They could have just reused the Final Duel Luke figure with a poncho and hat, and slightly updated the 2015 Endor Leia figure.

That's a very good point I hadn't thought of before. Lego's set selection and release schedule is kinda all over the place. The set selection tends to primarily be a bunch of random stuff coming out around the same time: this recent January wave is a great example. We got a "ROTJ 40th Anniversary" OT set, a "Clone Wars 20th Anniversary" Battlefront 2 battle pack and a BOBF Microfighter. That's not to say that we don't still occasionally get waves with a consistent theme: last January, there was a bunch of Hoth related stuff following the UCS AT-AT and we got a strong Disney Plus-centric wave in summer 2021 focusing on Mando Season 2 and TCW/TBB. These waves seem to be far and few between though, and it's usually only a small number of sets around at a given time with a common theme. The release schedule is kind of all over the place too. We used to get a January wave, a spring/early summer wave and then a wave in the fall to go with the new film. Now, it's a few random releases of sets periodically throughout the year. This year we have the aforementioned January wave, the helmet wave in March, the May 4th wave (with two Mando S3 sets, some ROTJ 40th Anniversary sets and the UCS X-Wing), the August wave (with the Swamp Speeder, Yavin IV, the remaining Mando S3 sets, the mechs), a September wave (with the two Ahsoka sets and two mystery sets) and the fall UCS coming out in October or November. On one hand, it's kind of nice to have these releases more spread out but it's also hard to keep track of when everything's supposed to be coming out, especially with the August and September waves being so close together. I can't even remember which month buildable Chewbacca is supposed to be releasing. And personally, I feel like there's just more hype when there's a few decent-sized waves periodically versus a bunch of tiny ones throughout the year.

Is his skin tone in the game really that different from the existing Lego figure? His plaque is still inaccurate in that game too, so I wouldn’t take his character model as an indication one way or the other. Ezra on the other hand probably will have the nougat skin color they give him in the game, as his previous figure looked very white-washed and the game developers designed that Season Three model from scratch unlike Thrawn, who just uses the physical design we did get. Regardless though, I’m still 50/50 on whether we’ll actually get updated versions of those characters this year. I could definitely see Lego saving them for a spoilery Ahsoka set in 2024. As for these new diorama sets, I like them a lot but at the same time, they don’t blow me away and the prices make me roll my eyes yet again. 75352 was one of the Star Wars sets I was least looking forward to this year. This scene is a bit oversaturated in Lego form (three models of it in eight years versus only one $20 set of the Mustafar duel for example) and the 2015 set was actually one of my first Star Wars sets ever. That being said, this model looks fantastic. The detailing around the window and of the throne itself is very impressive. I really like the ROTJ 40 plaque as well. I’m so happy to finally see ROTJ Luke get an updated hairpiece instead of that same outdated male one. I like the updated Palpatine a lot too. Now, that face reminds me a lot of TSS in-game version. 75353, on the other hand, initially interested me a lot more than another Death Star Final Duel remake but the finished model really underwhelms me. First off is that the Luke figure looks so odd with tan printing instead of just giving him a poncho over the same torso and legs from the other set. I can’t tell if Leia has a poncho or not but I expect that figure to be underwhelming too. Aside from cost-cutting, I don’t know why Lego has gone backwards for detailing on a lot of these figures. For example, they stopped distinguishing X-Wing and Snowspeeder jump suits, they update and replace molds that really don’t need updating (cough, Iron Man helmet, cough) and they seem really wary of using any cloth accessories besides capes. The model itself looks so sparse with only two trees and two speeder bikes, but at the same time, it also looks so cramped because the base is so small. I saw someone sketch out how the model could look a while ago and their vision would have been so much cooler. The base should’ve been longer with more trees as a backdrop, plus another speeder bike. The start of the chase scene that this set depicts has Luke and Leia chasing two Speeder Bikes, not one. The model still looks good enough as is, but for $80!? Lego would’ve been better off doing a normal playset for like $30 with just two speeder bikes and a tree. If this were a few years ago, we probably would have gotten just that: just compare the 2018 Yoda’s Hut to the 2022 diorama. Or the new Final Duel diorama that’s the same price as the last two for a smaller model with less figures and less of the throne room itself. That’s what gets me about these diorama sets. I love the concept of them because I like getting more detailed location builds but by doing them as this bland 18+ subtheme, they all just feel like too little for too much. It’s just another example of what I dislike about their recent 18+ approach: they are charging more for everything just because they slap that lame branding on there. They include a bunch of pieces for a base to fill up the piece count and throw it all in a simultaneously generic and pretentious black box because god forbid adults want to buy something remotely colorful. I guess I’m wrong though, since a good number of these 18+ sets have generally been successful. I want to collect all of the Star Wars dioramas, but I refuse to pay full price for any of them. The Trash Compacter is arguably the most egregious one and I got that for half off at the end of last year thanks to my VIP Points. It’s really easy to find the other two 2022 dioramas for significantly cheaper on eBay for some reason, so that’s probably where I’ll shop for those two. I’ll probably do the same thing for these two new dioramas: either save up my VIP points (which will be more difficult because there’s less I want to buy directly from Lego these days) or find a good deal on them elsewhere. It’s especially crazy compared to that new Indiana Jones 18+ diorama. It’s still an expensive set, sure, but it actually feels like you’re getting a reasonable amount of content for the price. As for the Jabba Throne Room, I hope that’s still coming and I’m less worried about it getting straight-up cancelled than the Temple of Doom, but at this point, it wouldn’t surprise me. I have no idea what Lego’s thought process is most of the time these days.