Iegosw80

I think it is simply because this is UCS and not MBS. You only get 2 figures to place next to the plaque, so if one of them is Mace Windu the other should be a clone. From Episode II that can either be the pilot or the captain and they went with the latter. I don't really see the controversy. Not like the clone pilot is some major cult character or hasn't been made in a set before. While I'm very excited to finally get a large sized UCS from the PT I am also worried LEGO is comitting the same mistake as before with those films, playing it too safe. In principle there is nothing wrong with the set, they've done plenty of oversized sets for popular ships before. But in this case most fans would be more than happy with a slightly enlarged regular set with lots of minifigures. Say 6 to 8 with a mix of Jedi and Clones. A set like that would receive negative complaints from almost no one. When they first opt to go as large as 3000 pieces the Venator is much better choice for a flagship Prequel set. In universe it is a little bit smaller than the SD so the size would be close to perfect. It would also be something completely new. The CW set they made years back was alright but clunky and inaccurate. With 3000 pieces you could make a real nice display set which I would assume is highly wanted by that section of SW fans. On the other hand the quoted prices for these upcoming sets seem low. Only 300 dollar for a 3000 pcs set? The last Star Destroyer was $ 700 with less than 5000 pcs.

Obviously we can only guess since they seemingly ignored the winner. I don't think they ask for no reason or as a marketing ploy (value of that sounds dubious), so either the figure people wanted is already planned in a different set, or they felt an EIII figure in a II set would make no sense. I know there has been some backlash when they include these unique figures in large set, because then some fans feel they are forced to buy a huge set just to get a figure, so perhaps that is a reason too. They want to know what fans like, get a general idea, then if it fits with their plans they do it. I remember they did something similar years ago, asked fans what kind of special sets they wanted. I think they were Battle of Endor, Mon Calamari Starcruiser and Palpatine's Arrest. All of them were made, so I'm sure fans opinions matter to them.

Unique figures are better served to prop up smaller sets imo. Like the Chancellor Palpatine in the Droid Tri fighter set a while back. Not the type of vehicle fans will necessarily be overly excited about, so that figure really helps to make it a good deal. A UCS set is all about the display value. When a set is oversized you can't even put figures in it and make it look good, so I understand why they went with just the two which will likely just be placed on the plaque, not in the set itself. Cody can be included in just about any Utapau themed set if they want to do that.

You're right. It was in the Sail Barge instead. They might feel the need to include her in a MBS set though. Those typically include every scene and minifig.

I'm curious if we will finally get some long wanted CW/PT era sets now that the OT has been all but spent in the UCS line. Even for MBS there isn't that much they can do for the OT any more. Jabba's Palace MBS would be fantastic. If they can make a 3000 pcs Cantina, they can do the same for this. The previous Palace when you couple it with the the Rancor set already looks pretty good, so the potential for a classic set is there. If not for the Slave Leia issue I would put this as a dead ringer to be made. Venator UCS a little surprised they haven't done this yet. Think it would do really well. Invisible Hand UCS would require a large piece count to be good so might not happen. On the plus side it was in ROTS which was the most popular of those films. Palpatine's Shuttle UCS think it would look fantastic if done right. Wouldn't require more than 2000 pieces really. Petranaki Arena MBS with a Genosian Warrior battle pack. With these MBS sets having such large piece counts I think this goes from "never going to happen" to "there is a chance". Naboo Starfighter UCS. A very sleek ship so they could get away with a very low piece count and a high price point. Jedi Temple MBS. Could make it a Episode II version to avoid allusions to the massacre in III. Have the Jedi Council, Archives and maybe the Youngling teaching room as interiors. If they did it like they do the Creator sets it could be amazing with a large interior covering all the scenes. Battle of Endor remake with about double the piece count. I don't think it serves much purpose making it larger. Could be a small, secondary MBS set. Coruscant Chase remake. It's been 20 years and both ships look great. They only need 3 figures. Would be an easy way to spice up a tired Classic SW line. Stuff like Palpatine's Arrest, the "war room" set with Mon Mothma from ROTJ, I would like to see but it doesn't look like they are going for those type of sets much these days.

Imo Lego are still struggling to find an equilibrium after Disney jacked up the license and forced them to either increase the price or make the sets smaller. In the UCS and MBS market there seems to be enough spending power for the former to work, but apparently not so much for the regular sized sets.They still make larger sets when there's a new movie, but then it tapers off immediately. Either the sets aren't selling well enough or there is not enough interest when the hype dies down. In the OT and PT lines large and medium sets have become more scarce. Those we do get tend to be remakes of best sellers. On the other hand the MBS line is offering some incredible sets, and now with a proper PT UCS we might see some good sets from there in the MBS line as well. But of course they only get released every other year or so. The few new and interesting sets we get in regular scale are almost always small 2-300 piece sets, which is disappointing. Talking about the OT and the PT here (and CW). If you're into everything Disney Star Wars I think it's harder to argue that the golden age is over. The big and medium sets since 2015 have been dedicated to those films. I can't comment too much on their quality, but they are certainly not a step down from the past in terms of size and accuracy. 2020 and 2021 have been a little better for the simple reason that there has been no new movies. 22 and 23 will likely also be better for the OT, PT and CW. Hopefully the Gunship does well, that could mean a return for larger CW era sets.