strangely

I actually like the Batjet, other than those awful lavender pieces (hopefully those aren't final, they look so out of place). The Harley Quinn set looks decent too. I'm hoping her hair isn't a rubber piece (though I'm heavily prepared to be disappointed). Does anyone know if that's a new hair piece on that guy? They should really create some new leg molds for the mini-dolls, there is just not enough variation here. Otherwise, the designs aren't bad.

Well... The structure of the Frozen palace isn't bad, it gets the overall shape of it right this time, but I feel like it repeats some of the previous mistakes we've seen with the Frozen sets. Like the previous version, the colors aren't right. Quite simply, there needs to be far more trans pieces, which hopefully will be corrected in the final product. The other, but bigger, problem is just that it's flat. For the Arrendale palace you can kind of get away with a flat facade because the style of the building is supposed to look flat to a degree (sort of like a Mary Blair illustration), but that just doesn't work for the ice palace. They needed depth and angles on the front of this and this just doesn't have it.

That's what I've been figuring based on how far it rotates. I'm hoping they give us pictures of the back soon. The shape it has in the Dimensions pictures seems pretty similar to her ponytail here, so I'm guessing the hairpiece for the cowl is also a ponytail.

Yeah, I was confused when we first got pictures of the lowrider because it looked like the hair was in different positions. But then today when the new pictures dropped someone on Reddit brought it up and yeah, her hair is in completely different positions. There's no way Lego would create multiple cowls with different hair positions. So it seems this is indeed two separate pieces. I really have to give Lego credit for this one. The hair won't block the cape like the old cowl did. Too, we'll be able to create some interesting action poses. And for anyone who just wants to display the suit (like in a display case as in the animated series) they can likely just take the hair off (Assuming it's a peg connection of some sort, which given the rotation and the size of the piece would pretty much have to be).

So, Batgirl's hair is able to swing back and forth? That's pretty neat. I'm guessing it's attached via a peg. Hopefully we get pictures of the back of this cowl soon.

Finally, a story pack I actually want. It'll be nice to play in a world that's a more fleshed out Gotham. I'm not a fan of the Gotham/Metropolis combo for the DC portal. Interesting to see two minifigures in a story pack. Makes me hope that a few of the others get the same treatment.

So, already there's 3 different ways to get Batgirl. I'm happy about that.

They are well chosen. As close as possible with what's available. I understand why they can't do new molds, but I think that's something they need to change eventually. In a way it makes Ideas sets seem like the ugly stepchild of the group. The regular sets get all the new molds while the Ideas sets are stuck with the hand me downs. At the very least they could have included a new piece in the CMF just so it could be used for this Ideas set. That probably true, but I think they should have put arm printing above leg printing in terms of importance. Not having the stripes on the arms kind of ruins the look of the coat. I would have gladly traded his leg printing for correct arms.

It's a weird art style. So, it's even weirder to see it translated to Lego. I can understand why people have had the reaction they're having. Accuracy doesn't necessarily mean it's aesthetically pleasing. Too, I can't help but think maybe people were expecting something different, the Yellow Submarine Beatles are definitely different from the real life people. Even being familiar with the movie I was expecting something different. Ringo should have had printed arms. Some new hair molds would have helped too. These more generic pieces with printed sideburns don't exactly work that great. Too, Paul's coat might have been better as a clothe element.

So here's a few updates for anyone interested. Here's the factory with the new rounded window piece. I have to say, this is one of my favorite new pieces, it really gives a nice variety to windows. Too bad it doesn't have a trans piece to put in it though. I've been trying to update the minifigure designs. I'm still tinkering with the hair. I think I might end up using Fred's hair for Augustus (I'm not entirely pleased with the piece I chose for this render). For Veruca I changed it to Wonder Woman's hair. It's not exactly the right style, but it doesn't cover the torso printing like the previous piece I was using. This render I did as part of a tribute to Gene Wilder (Which can be read here: https://ideas.lego.c.../131256/updates). Ultimately when it comes to printed pieces for the chocolate room I think just the two lollipops and two mushrooms (Orange one is in the back and not seen). As for the minigifure design of Willy Wonka I changed the leg printing to be done in the style of the Dr. Who minifigure. Side leg printing would be nice too, but that's been rare. I photoshopped the Doc Brown hair and top hat together. I know Ideas doesn't make new pieces for sets, but I did anyways just for fun (And maybe to encourage the Lego designers to consider a piece like this... Hint Hint). So that's it for now. I'm still working on updating the other characters and of course drumming up some support. I did get an official Lego comment since I hit 100 supporters in 60 days, so they added an extra year. Oddly though only like 60 days were added. So I don't know if that's a mistake or if I'm just misinterpreting the official comment. I might end up messaging them to straighten that out.

I really like the molded belt piece. For Robin I think it's okay it's printed, his belts are usually more sleek anyways than Batman's utility belts. Plus the new mold gives Batman a little extra height. Plus now Batman's belt can be stolen by villains. I hope this becomes the standard from now on. We've had dozens of Batmen over the years, this might be a great way to refresh the lineup. I'm hoping we get this belt piece in tan and gold at some point.

I don't see why anything beyond archive audio is needed for HP. If they were intending to use him in the main story of the game or give him an original story for a level/story pack than I would agree getting the original actor back would be needed. But that doesn't seem to be the case here. Peter Capaldi's character was a part of the main story and his lines couldn't be accomplished using archive audio, hence the need to get him. There were several franchises in year 1 that used archive audio, so it's only to be expected that this would happen with year 2 as well.

Those minifigures... So little improvement. I'll be getting Han's hair and Leia's torso. Past that the rest doesn't interest me even a little.

They could include an extra torso with normal arms.

Qui-Gon probably wouldn't have dual molding given that his boots are close in color to his pants, so I imagine they'll keep using the leg printing they have now. Obi-Wan definitely needs dual molding though.

Hooded Obi-Wan... It's amazing how despite wearing that hood for a combined minute in TPM we're now getting a fourth variation of that. I understand not being able to make a completely accurate Padwan mold (That thin braid would just break). But, I had really hoped that in the nearly two decades since the first variant they could have just given us a short spiky hairpiece with a subtle ponytail down the back. Even throwing in a newly colored version of Kanan's hairpiece would have been better than yet another hood! They better make up for this with dual-molded legs.

Yeah, I don't understand that in the slightest. His robe is so long they might have well just given him dual molding. Or better yet they could have just given him a cape like they do for literally all Jedi. Printing the robe was a bold experiment and all, but the current method just doesn't work. Either they devise a new method or they go back to the old. Not shocking, even a little. It took over a decade for them to just replace that torso, so sometime around 2027 we should be getting leg printing. They could have at least thrown in a white hood so Leia can have some variation. My only remaining hope for this set is that maybe C3PO is updated to have the polybag printing with a silver leg. I know that won't happen here, but I want to cling to the idea just a little bit longer.

Well, it's good to hear there are more than I thought. Unfortunately, it doesn't take away from the fact that this line-up ended up being on the cheap side. Honestly if the price increase weren't so steep I'd be more okay with so many minifigures being recycled, but it makes it hard to overlook.

I actually am okay with the build. The only thing I would have wanted different is possibly cheese slopes to smooth out the curve. Otherwise I like the small improvements and am happy with it. My real disappointment is the minifigures. I thought it was lazy the first time around, but now the lack of effort is showing even more. If I'm seeing right then literally Princess Leia's torso, Tarkin's torso and two droids are the only new minifigures in this set, everyone else looks to be variants that we've had in the last couple of years. Han's hairpiece is nice, but that will show up in a smaller set soon enough making this kind of pointless. For that price tag we should have gotten arm printing, leg printing, Luke's ep4 hair should have been recolored, they should have thrown in a new ep6 hair for him, Han should have gotten a Tattoine variant complete with boot molding and pinestripe printing on the side of the legs plus new facial expressions for one and all. I'm thinking I might just wait to buy it without minifigures on eBay.

That seems like a really made up excuse... And it's not like there aren't other places to post it if you really had it.

I thought he said it would be after he got back from school. Really though he should probably just post them on reddit and cut to the chase. Here there's a decent chance they'll get removed.

I also remember never buying Playmobil because it seemed boring and old and there never seemed to be anything new for it. Plus, I don't think you can do that with Star Wars. There's a decently long list of sets they recycle, to have them all sitting on the shelves all at once would consume the entire Lego section of any given store (and the world ). By re-releasing every few years you're able to filter all the fan favorite sets through the stores without over-saturating the market. Too, by putting a couple of years between releases you give the market time to rest. You can swap in that years gimmicks (stud shooters) and add some new and cool art to the box and throw in a couple of updated minifigures and you have a set that not only new customers buy, but the old ones too. Well, I don't think you can really update an existing set without it being a different set number. If they just threw the new parts into the old box then technically everyone who bought the set can demand the updated parts through customer service. After all it'd be the same set number, wouldn't customers be entitled to have what they already actually bought? How many millions of those minifigures would Lego suddenly be forced to ship out to customers for free? It would be a costly controversy. Lego wants to keep selling the Death Star, but some parts of it just don't pass current standards and thus as time goes by it's a harder sell (I really wanted the set but by the time I got into a position to where I could buy it I opted not to due to the fantastically out of date minifigures). Hence releasing a slightly updated set. Sure, it sucks for the people who bought the last one, but the same thing happens with the smaller sets too (It's just the bigger price of the Death Star sets that compounds the issue). It is unusual that this is releasing while the other is pretty much still out there and inevitably that'll lead to some blow back (Just look at this thread after all), but ultimately people will get over it (Ultimately most of the minifigures will show up in smaller sets). They probably should have waited a year or two, but I'm guessing the Rogue One movie with it's focus on the Death Star made them want to push it out now to capitalize on the moment.

But really, isn't that a problem with pretty much all Star Wars merchandise across the board? Whether it's action figures, video games or DVD's they're pretty much always recycling the exact same things. Much of the time the action figures have the same mold they had a decade ago. Articulation in Star Wars action figures seems to get worse yearly. I don't really feel like I can blame Lego for using the same strategy that every other Star Wars merchandiser is using. Sure, it would be wonderful if they could rise above the system and create truly new and amazing products, but why should they abandon the practices that have made them one of the largest toy brands in the business? If sales are bad they'll change, but if they're good than they'll stay the course. Sure, this new Death Star is going to be pretty much the same as the last, but the reality is that there's a whole new generation of children who weren't around for the last one (And when you get down to it the main audience for Lego is children). Ultimately that's why Star Wars products recycle so much, there's always new customers. If it sold well for the last generation than all they need to do is run a new coat of polish over it and it's ready for sale. As the old adage goes "if it isn't broke, don't fix it". Too, I'll say it like this; 10188 had pretty much every single thing you could want in a Death Star, does it really need to be reinvented? Maybe I'm alone, but a re-release with new minifigures is pretty much all I wanted.

I don't think it's right to blame the designers. The last version was very popular. Likely Lego dictated to the designers that this only to be an updated version of that set rather than something completely different.

I always wanted the previous one, but could never afford it. So, it's nice that I'll have many years to come to save up for the new one.