Lordhelmet

I wanted the sail barge at 20% in the US, that was the one I was hoping for this year, I suppose there is next year to hope for that deal (barring a surprise). I thankfully grabbed the infiltrator from Walmart here with the discount and bonus set but the sold out quickly.

Agreed, it has gotten worse for discounts(in the US at least) for the past few years. This year is very disappointing going into Black Friday, hardly any good deals and very few on sets I’m interested in. I was hoping for a Sail Barge deal from Lego this year but it looks like they are only doing that in different regions. i have only bought one small exclusive set for my kids and only bought from Lego directly because it was exclusive. The other sets have all been from retailers who actually have decent sales. Oof - what a miss

I want a Lego tie avenger for Christmas. Only a Lego tie avenger will do. No more clones or juggernaughtavengers. I only like Lego tie avengers. And Lego tie avengers want me too.

Saw on the usual place there was a calendar of events with sale prices listed. You are right not for Black Friday but insiders week. The list had a UK and EU section with the sail barge listed, US not so lucky.

EU/UK is getting 20% off on the sail barge this week? I want that deal in the US, wonder if we will get it as a surprise deal or maybe better luck at May the 4th. edit: plus the gwps and assuming 2xp

Too quiet for me on the leaks, would like to know price, minifigure count, and (I know it's early) but at least one of the design sketches we have seen for some other themes.

Hey the Star Wars logo is actually pretty nice (especially on discount). I have it on my shelf and it really adds a lot to the display value of the shelf. I am surprised that the 4+ set is that high on the list. I also don’t get the v-19 being low while th acclimated is high. I would think clone stuff stays higher based on the other trends. And happy to see the u-wing towards the top. Hopefully Lego sees that and recognizes the importance of andor sets and a tie avenger . Also US Amazon numbers advent calendar 30k Grogu and pram 10k (been on discount) 327th 9k (been on discount) Rex micro 9k plo koon micro 9k midi falcon 9k (just threw this in for fun) Star Wars sign 4k Ashokas interceptor 4k mauls mech 3k Jango slave1 2k V-19 2k U-wing 2k Zombie battle pack 2k jango helmet 1k Arc 1k Force burner 1k acclimator 1k Didn’t go further but I looked for the juggernaut at 800 it was behind at least buildable k2 and the mtt whic were at 1k)

Truth, the best ones were not the ships but terrain based/ combos like the speeder bikes with Luke or a snow speeder with a bunch of terrain for snow troopers. Big ships were my least favorite to play with even though they were cool.

I thought the book nook was a good idea (for all three IPs it was used on). The media is based on a book after all and even if fans didn’t necessarily read them Lego does a bunch of Easter eggs that nod to aspects of other IP that not every fan has been a part of. Example of the Death Star including the hot tub and mini kit from the game. I never played the game but I can appreciate the nod to the media platform. Granted a book nook is more direct as the whole concept of the set is a nod to the origin, however that would still be a strange reason not to buy the set if you’re fan of the media in general as th designs are based on the movies. The more important factors would be value and set design than concept (and build experience). I get if someone doesn’t like some combination of those and chooses not to get the book nook. The designer really made the set to appeal widely in my opinion even if you did t like the concept. I personally bought it and display it (mostly) open more like a diorama (complete with quote). I think the balrog looks awesome (especially with the teeth replaced to black), the pillars and fire work, and Gandalf was the right choice. Could it have been bigger and cost 2x, sure but I’m happier with a smaller set that still feels big and captures one of the most iconic scenes. And I appreciate the designers choice to have the balrog function outside the book nook. So if I really hated the concept I could still have a balrog to put into the middle earth collection. lastly I get those saying they just wanted the balrog and not the “extra rock work”, fair we need smaller sets for LOTR. I would add though that the “extra” parts are mostly useful ones which I appreciate if I wanted to tear this down and build a new MOC.

Hoping for the same, happy they are coming out with a smaller set based on OOT.

I miss the $10 (less back in the day) castle sets. They would be a total win for Lego to have something small that has decent imaginative play options. Lego is missing something like this in their line up, everything with minifigures in that $10 range feels like a car, a mech, or a spinning thing (maybe true, maybe not just feels like that when I see Lego in stores). They all feel like one off buys for kids, limited variety, and they all have some named character. Having a few faction sets with one or two minifigures and a small build (wall, cart, catapult, etc.) would be a nice alternative to the normal $10 stuff.

I am already over grogu and mando, going to be a long year of emphasis about the movie.

Barring any good sales on sets Black Friday the gwps don’t look like they will convince me to buy from Lego directly this year (unless I can’t find a deal on the sets I am looking for from a different retailer and have to pay full price). Not that they are bad but given the price increases they aren’t worth the 20% premium. It dos help that my kids only want one Star Wars set this year (but also shows how the theme has changed).

Seconded, a smaller at-st is better (more accurate) and the detail can be there. I would love a new one. despite being oversized I did like the hoth one although it is a different model. So good, these have been missing for so many themes for so long. I can’t wait till we get some generic trooper versions down the road.

All quiet, hoping we get some more details on minis Tirith (especially the price)

This is interesting my kids are starting to show more interest in castles than star wars sets lately. I blame the limited play sets, they got the one or two sets that they wanted in a decent price range and now are asking for PAB and castle themed things instead of more Star Wars sets.

Follow up. I like the Balrog set, I did end up changing the teeth from brown to black. It looks great in person (better than the pictures). The prints look nice for the face, some extra prints around the arms/chest could have worked but I don't think it is lacking as is. It was bigger than I was expecting too. I did pick it up for $100 so it was on sale, but totally worth it, and a good Balrog that fits the theme well. (I also like that it is set into the scene because it feels more like the balrog is coming out of the shadows). I also like the reuse of the wings which fold nicely, and the quote in the front is awesome. Strong set and a good Balrog/Gandalf scene.

While it’s not a tie avenger, I am moderately looking forward to this set. We haven’t had a tie advanced for a while, smart Vader might be one of better smart figures due to the cape covering the ugly printing (and I don’t care about getting another Vader). But will the ship look good? If it looks good I’ll buy (maybe on sale later on) but I am concerned based on the x-wing picture that was out there.

These are going to be the premium figs reserved only for the best sets I bet. Like UCS level sets (sarcasm by the way) also I wonder if that fancy side torso printing counts against their “frames”. Does Lego Star Wars only get so much per year and do these count against it? and think of the printing costs. lastly, I don’t hate the idea, if its executed well, but the back printing and side torso printing negates that to me. And it will be at a premium cost. Vader could be great with the cape covering the terrible back printing. Figures without a cape will be poorly executed with back printing like that. do we think the minifigure has A speaker in it or only activates smart brick when close?

Or just a brickhead

As much as I would love a new armor piece (to emphasize the shoulders, but not as much as the D&D dragon paladin one), I think the real win is getting a new helmet, and then hopefully a new sheild. I think the current LOTR sword line up is sufficient. Curious to see if they do capes for any of the soldiers, lots of the soldiers don't have capes, but then the guards typically do. Will be interesting to see what Lego did (assuming they are already in production if it is coming out in 2026). Also, yes should have been done a decade ago. I am really hoping (not expecting in the least) some type of battle pack for Gondor/Orcs. That would be nice, but I doubt it as long as LOTR only exists in the Icons range. I also updated the teeth on the Balrog to all black, anyone else done this yet?

Any thoughts on what you would want for official Gondor soldiers, assuming we can only get one or two new molds what would you want? Thinking standard soldiers. 1)helmet 2)shield 3)new armor (probably my priorities, I think the shoulder armor would work or the plate)

I agree with this, I think with the architecture of Lothlorien and the trees, Lego could actually have something on par and unique like Rivendell. I love other locations from LOTR, but things like Moria are dark or specific. I think Rivendell intrigued buyers who may not love LOTR but think the set looked good. I think Lothlorien has this same potential. I modify sets, or moc from them all the time, I suppose collectors who aren't willing to do this would think they wouldn't get a particular set, but I even make small update - on the shire, I took out the clothesline, I added flowers in the garden areas, changed the garden in the front, and then added some small farm land leading up to bag end. On Barad dur I replaced all the brown and orange in the middle level with black, on the Balrog I am replacing the teeth with black (so the horn elements, and the teeth on the top). Helms Deep, I bought two, and then two of the wall section sets and combined them all (with some other legos to raise up the base by about three bricks and expand the ramp) now I have a significant helms deep display that has the same feel as the set. I am sure I have done more, but I am totally on board with this approach.

I would be up for a massively set, would still prefer three to four battle packs that I could buy $400 worth of to build an army the way I would want to but I agree the minifigures are my general priority as MOCs work so long as I have the minifigures (I am not a customs fan unless made with LEGO parts) This looks great, Hoping for loth Lorien trees, or grey havens next. Expecting helms deep or edoras (would prefer edoras to a lot of things) https://beta.ideas.lego.com/challenges/58660122-6eea-44ec-bfb4-a0d26f4015fa/entries/d947fb2d-e741-45ce-bc26-7d1b8cf89187 I saw the other ideas set mentioned but I thought the micro scale winner of this challenge could align to a strong minis tirith set. (Then have it open to show minifigure scaled scenes)

This is the way. (In reality getting a range trooper and the red/black tie pilot outfit would be sweet though) I am curious how many sets would be sold if it included Mara Jade. Like if a rebuild the galaxy set, or some anniversary set included Mara Jade would it be marginal, or are there still enough book fans to make a significant dent in sales. I just re-read the Thrawn trilogy, and am now re-reading the hand of thrawn books and they really get me more excited about Star Wars than anything that has come out minus Andor.