Swordy

A total of… 11 TIE Avenger Requests late, but wanted to say I completely agree. The blue tint of TIEs has always been a unique quirk I’ve appreciated, but alas, thanks to Kenner, many see the TIE as boring, dull grey. Interesting to note—if I recall correctly from my last viewing of the OT on cable—the TIE Fighters, Advanced, and Bomber had the bluish tint, but in RotJ the Interceptors and even regular TIEs too had become plain grey. Still, if it were up to me, all LEGO TIEs would’ve been blue, then sand blue, and that would’ve been that. Furthermore, I’ve recently come to realize that the SSD Executor also has a bluish tinge in TESB (especially compared to the Star Destroyers flanking it in several shots). So… sand blue Executor when?

Sounds to me like LEGO Batman has gone with the Speed Champions-model; that is, include one very good minifig with one very good car at around $20-30. I definitely would prefer a secondary character—and with the PpP of, say, the BvS-mobile, I’d say they should’ve—but I’ve always preferred the idea of doing one thing really well instead of underperforming on a lot of things. Not to suggest the designers have ever been lazy (they are put in their best effort on intentionally messing up clones, lol), but that the mystical “budget” they face means that the little we get will be the best it can be. Similar to the approach with the Benatar, Milano, or AoU Quinjet. Of course, I can only speak in hypotheticals until, hopefully, tomorrow. I say all of that and now I fear I’m becoming a LEGO apologist. Uh, uh, we must get TAS-style Two-Face next year or the LEGO House burns! Getting a Batman 5 Superman set without Soups is outrageous—it’s unfair! LAN members suggesting DC fans buy a Marvel set to complete Killer Croc is unthinkable! Send in the Blacktron forces! (Woah woah, I went too far. Must remember the steps… right, I heart M-Tron.) I’m looking forward to seeing whether or not LEGO Batman Legacy comes with a pre-order exclusive minifig. That might compel me to buy after all—despite me not owning any of the platforms to which it’ll publish, lol. The gameplay and added difficulty levels are sweet, even if the lack of characters is not so.

Hot take: I like most of the cast announcements for Doomsday and I’m excited to see them all, interacting and quipping. The recent potential leak of the character designs (where Thor, interestingly, has gold plating and Mystique has her long-overdue white suit) gets me excited for new minifigures. I’m resigned to the fact that Doomsday will be a total mess, but I hope to have some fun watching my favourites team-up. For Disney+ shows, I loved Loki, then Wandavision and Hawkeye are tied for second. I’m probably going to try out FatWS since I liked John Waker so much, but I avoided that show for so long because of Sam’s “Do better” speech. I’m intrigued enough by the prospect of Wonder Man to look into it, and Vision Quest can’t come soon enough. I will abstain from Agatha All Along, sorry (witchcraft and horror just ain’t my thing). If there’s any other D+ shows I need to see, let me know. Oh really? Then hi there, hello. Consider this a single count of online interest in Thor being brought back. I agree, though. I think the Thor movies worked best with Loki, and without him there’s not much left other than stupid humor with Korg. (I say this as someone who liked a lot of aspects of Thor: Love and Thornder.) I’d say Infinity War did more to kill interest in the Thor franchise by sacrificing all the people surrounding Thor just to prop up Thanos. Thor is just not an interesting character outside of the Asgard setting, which is the opposite of how I feel about Loki. All of that being said, my hope is that Chris Hemsworth gets a proper sendoff to the character after he fights alongside the X-Men and Fantastic Four; such marvelous team-ups shouldn’t be reserved for mere LEGO games, after all. Hear me out: imagine our only LEGO Doctor Doom next year is in the Daily Bugle…

It bugs me that somehow Palpatine returned, no, the earlier model of AT-AT outlasted the later one. Is it canon that Galen Erso was consulted on the “updated” design of the AT-ATs we see in Empire? According to our Andoralogist, @CloneCommando99, the TIE Avenger was one of the last bits of production for Andor, and very late in its development, despite being part of the first episode. So, it’s very likely the TLG simply didn’t have an early enough heads-up before planning out their sets this year. Here’s my two cents on LEGO Andor: TLG has standards, yes, but ultimately they’re trying to make a buck. I think their rule of thumb is strictly whether the show/movie is R/TV-MA or not. After that, it’s about the numbers as well as if the show has toyetic value. Andor at least has critical appeal, and while it’s numbers were nowhere near Mando’s, Andor is certainly more watched than Acolyte. Even then, Skeleton Crew got a set simply for being a, quote, “kid’s show—no wait, a show about kids but not for kids—I mean, a family show.” Of course, I don’t think anyone expected SC to do so poorly, but TLG usually plays their bets well in that regard. Like you said, the U-Wing has broader appeal than, say, Maarva’s Funeral™ Diorama, but it’s also one of the few marketable ships from Andor that isn’t Justifer-sized (as much as I still yearn for a playset Fondor…). The TIE Avenger was the other one of them. Should the U-Wing do well enough (which I do believe it is) then I believe we’ll see the Avenger as soon as possible. Like I said last year (I think it was last year—time flies [like a bee]), if Twilight could get a LEGO set, then all bets are off—so long as the media isn’t adult-rated.

….was in Mando Season 3, not Season 2. To me, the thematic disconnect between seasons and projects is proof of Disney/Lucasfilm’s meddling, not the lack of a good story. I’ll also present this thought: stories are, at their core, connections between events, times, or characters. Beyond the story of the Mandalorian, there’s the story of the larger SW galaxy at play. If everyone in Mando S2 was a brand new character, then the story would seem meaningless amidst that larger story. Moreover, the connections to the greater galaxy enhance the current story, not weigh it down into the canon of a dozen hours of animation. I don’t understand how everyone is okay with Bo Katan but not fine with Ahsoka or Luke. Bo Katan gets a cool action sequence where she saves Mando (like Luke does) and easily could’ve been another Mandalorian seeking the Darksaber. Instead, because that the character literally has a story outside of the show, she becomes more three-dimensional. The same is true of Luke; if a random Jedi says, “Talent without training is nothing,” that’s an okay line, but with Luke saying it, after we’ve seen his training on Dagobah, you understand more about his line of thinking than any line of MacClunky dialogue could share. The same is true of Ahsoka when she speaks of attachments. I wish she had said something explicitly about Anakin, but, again, those who know her story will catch the reference. Those who don’t know will have enough to understand from the face value of her lines. I say all that, then I think of all the greats from Season 1. My favourite episodes of Season 2 are Chapters 9 & 12, ones with none of the legacy characters involved, because those episodes were required to stand on their own with their characters. I don’t find the fan service particularly pleasing all these years later; Ch 14 is a mess of a plot—why would Boba ask Mando to take off just his jetpack of all things!—and Ch 13 is slow and filled to the brim with MacClunky dialogue. I maintain that the episodes had to feature a Mandalorian, a Jedi, and a Jedi at the end of this book, and that someone ought to have a greater connection. However, I agree that the execution wasn’t always proper. Yeah, that’s what really irks me about Ahsoka. (Not Mando Season 2, mind you. The two are unrelated releases, and if anything it’s Ahsoka’s fault for not keeping in line with Mando S2.) I understand Ahsoka’s reasoning, where she wants to be the master that never abandons Sabine where maybe Anakin wasn’t for Ahsoka. I can understand how Sabine’s act of giving the map is in line with her character at that moment. What I don’t understand is that “all’s well because it ends well:” Sabine and Ahsoka trade places with Thrawn and Ezra, literally the reversal of Ezra’s sacrifice in Rebels, and Sabine doesn’t learn anything from it. She feels regretful—as she should—but never faces the consequences from, say, Ezra finding out. Ezra would be livid, and rightly so. Besides that, Sabine never sees how selfish attachments are ultimately destructive. They’re the crux of the finales of the Prequel and Original trilogy! Ezra lives to see another day, Sabine nor Ahsoka are exactly miserable to be in another galaxy, and Thrawn is ready to take command of the empire once more with an undead army to boot. There needed to be greater, personal consequences to Sabine for choosing her selfish wants over the needs of her galaxy, and because there isn’t, Ahsoka is antithetical to the core values of George Lucas Star Wars. If Season 2 rectifies this, it’d still be too late, but gratifying all the same. Compare the consequences of Sabine’s choice (none that personally affect her, given she’s in another galaxy and her best friend lives) to character choices in Andor, Season 2: It’s a painful story, unforgiving to its audience, but meaningful all the more because of the sacrifice both characters make. Moreover, it’s the message central to Star Wars. Ha, the same choice is made at the end of Mando S2, and if the story ended there, that moment would be all the more powerful. For Mando, I personally blame the executives who are so short-sighted to prioritize merchandise over meaning. (Let’s not forget that Season 3 also reversed IG-11’s death by saying his head and torso were somehow recovered when that was exactly where the detonation took place. I’m absolutely sure that wasn’t in their minds during Season 1.) For Ahsoka, I have to look to the man in the cowboy hat who wants his action figures lined up for a cool fanfic and believes SW fans only want spectacle and never substance.

True. So maybe it’s the $75 set instead? ($20ish reserved for the Hutt, of course.) Right, I got the prices and predictions flipped. I’d still argue that $150 in 2025 might be too small, but yes, it can be done at the expense of an interior. The last one was $160 in 2020, or $200 nowadays. Ouch time. The Razor Crest doesn’t have to be the largest set in the wave, true, but it will undoubtedly have a larger role than the AT-AT, so the larger set might be justified. It’d be like if—forgetting relative size for a moment—the Falcon and Kylo Ren’s shuttle swapped price points, or like what did happen with the Bad Batch shuttle and Justifier. Edit: To be clear, I’m suggesting no AT-AT at all and a $150 Razor Crest. I realize there’s nothing we know so far that can be slotted into the $120 spot, but a $150 AT-AT with enough space in the interior to play out Mando versus snowtroopers plus an AT-RT doesn’t sound entirely right to me. Where did you see a Y-Wing in the trailer? The closest I’m seeing is a U-Wing (which I think will be piloted by Zeb, unless Filoni stated outright that Zeb can fly a Y-Wing only). Nevertheless, I do like your prediction list a lot. I’m trying to think outside the box, is all. I look at you all, see the clone sets there that's shelf-warming While my wallet gently weeps I look at Andor and I see it needs TIE Avenging Still my wallet gently weeps…

A bit late, but like a purple-wielding maniac in an alternate, inverted galaxy far far away once said, “This party’s getting started.” The M&G trailer looked cool. Like others said, it didn’t increase nor decrease my level of excitement for this movie—that said, I’m actually pretty excited for the film. I’ve enjoyed the movies I’ve seen of Jon Favreau, including Chapter 9 of Mando, and it does indeed look like he’s put his style through the SW lens. Story-wise, I don’t expect much, but the same is unfortunately true of every upcoming project besides the Maul Show, (I hope Ahsoka S2 can surprise me, but I just don’t know,) thus I don’t condemn this movie on that account. Bottom line, though, is this is the first SW film done completely in iMAX and I’m beyond ecstatic. Could we see a playset of the gladiator arena wherein we see that stinkin’ jacked Hutt? I know TLG never did a Geonosian arena, but there was a lot of other things from that act of Episode II to tackle instead. Maybe that’s the $100 set instead? I’m thinking that AT-AT fight is what opens the movie, so I’m curious if we will see a playset of it after all; it’ll depend on whether that particular Hutt plays a large enough role (pun unintended) to warrant TLG investing in a new mold, or if that sequence too is likewise inconsequential. If the former, then I expect an arena; if the latter, then AT-AT. (Still, $100 doesn’t feel like enough to do an AT-AT justice, particularly one with a lot of interior action more than exterior.)

I think TLG will use a design close to Galaxy of Heroes, which is the most modern depiction of the character. If I could tweak it, though, I’d make her jumpsuit a simple black leather, rather than the mixed pattern of the GoH outfit. I agree with @Mandalorianknight’s point about her using tactical armor instead, but most people know the jumpsuit design, and it’s cleaner and simpler comparatively. I also think that sleeveless, for better or worse, is an iconic part of her look. (I remember how desperate I was for light nougat arms to complete my purist Mara.) I like her tan scarf and googles; some people might want her Imperial look, but that’s less interesting in my opinion. Holster and belt should be reddish brown for a nice pop of colour as well. As for her hair, some days I think she outta have classic LEGO red, while other days I’m okay with dark orange, however mute. Tomato soup/LCSP’24 orange would be the likeliest choice for TLG these days, and while that’s a nice medium, I believe it looks too cartoonish while feigning realism. I guess it doesn’t really matter so long as she doesn’t have a custom hair mold, though. However she comes, whenever she comes, Mara Jade Brigade forever!

When Garmadon was evil, he didn’t have hair, but when he turned good, he grew a nice set of greys. Cowincidence? I think not!

I don’t know, the print on the legs makes the design too bright in my eyes. Maybe if the white kneepads were just the outline instead of a whole white block? I also dislike the choice of metallic gold for the printed Blacktron logo; when in doubt, classic yellow is always the way to go. If it’s a commander, I would’ve liked to have seen epaulets or a rank badge printed on him. That would’ve helped him feel less like an overly-detailed revamp. Just my two-cents, of course.

Rats. Comics get weird, man. I think I’ll stick with more significant media… like, y’know, Venom: The Last Stance Dance or It’s Morbin’ Time: The Morbin’ Story of a Morbin’ Morbius Morbin’ Around in a Morbin’ Morb World—or this Aslume for that matter! Y’know, though, if Lex could pull Lois away from a man literally declared to be made of steel… I’m sorry, but I don’t believe Syril stands a chance. My respect for the Lex rises! It does fascinate me how characters that start out as simple can be grown into complex individuals in storytelling… granted, it took a couple presumably-short marriages (that in real life would cause his archenemy to question if Lois really loved him or not, then to take flights everywhere [like a bee] to think his relationship through, then crash into the side of a black box with a cutout of a bat, then fold it open to discover @Dolor’s wonderful brick-built cave inside, and then find a new purpose in fighting villainy via a mech as Soup) for Lex to arrive at that point. Who knew a comic character could have such depth? Maybe we should see TLG try and tackle all the vast and rich characters of the DC universe? Just think of the possibilities for, say, a four-set wave in winter 2026? /s What. My respect has been totally abased. Why would Lex have a child only to give him away to his arch nemesis to raise to be the next generation of hero Lex hates? Is he stupid? Stupid bricks in Batman logo confirmed? I am disappointed this forum got zero references in the Arkham set. A sticker of a turtle was all we needed, but yet again DC fans and casual enthusiasts alike are disappointed. 0/1,000,000,000,000 stars.

Is Lex known for his rizz, though? (I’m speaking rhetorically, of course.)

…no comment. (I genuinely forgot what the context was for the last time I said it. I only remember saying that sort of thing too often for even my own concern. Here I am now, in the same calendar year, after the double shot of an oversized diorama compilation and undersized clone vehicle both at outrageously high prices, and I’ve lost the proverbial fire to start a fire… that’ll light the flame… that’ll burn the LEGO House down.) Gingerbread AT-AT is neat and wholesome. I struggle to find a reason why I’d pay $70, but I quite like it. Jangbrick’s DS reveal video summed up my thoughts better than I could’ve—or would’ve on the UCS DS. To summarize, I dislike the set so much that I’m apathetic about it entirely. The concept, the design choices, then on top of it all the price are not for me. That said, one of the few things that does actually bother me is the Hot Tub Stormtrooper; moreso this line from the minifig designer, Matty O'Neil: “But I think we've like taken that [design from the video games] and done a more modern interpretation, perhaps, of the same thing. We wanted to stay true to the spirit, but bring it into LEGO Star Wars now, I guess you could say. (Solid Brix Studios’ Death Star designer interview, timecode 19:09.) In my oh so humble opinion, this completely speaks of hubris. The classic design is so beloved for a reason. No one who hasn’t played the video game will care, yes, but that’s precisely the point; the ones who will care are the ones who are familiar with the stupid thong stormies or striped one-piece ones. In trying to update it to “LEGO Star Wars now”—whatever that means—they’ve pleased no one.

Agreed! BtSV sets are a sure bet at this point… right? I also hold out hope to see something from ItSV; the most prominent missing minifigs, more than an anime schoolgirl that can be easily recreated, are Miles’ finale suit and the Prowler. (Trust me, though, I want a Penni with her mech.) Raimi versions of MJ, Green Goblin, and Harry/New Goblin are my top requests after the SM2 Train scene. (That said, that new Doc Ock is enough to make me happy for a long, long time.) This is pure speculation, but I thought that the lack of Sony Spider-Man has been due to A) Disney discouraging LEGO from marketing a competitor, like with the FoX-Men/X-Men in general, and B) that the licensing costs for both the characters and the adaption of the films from Marvel and Sony respectively would be too high. I believe a case for the latter can be made with the overpriced, Spider-Verse Bodega… although we’ve seen even worse in other themes with less potential fees in consideration. I came across two Indias at the LEGO Store (that’s an outrageous statement out of context), but no Spider-Punk or Spidey 2099. Target was a different story, but I suspect that’s due to the day being September 1st, thus too early for anyone else to strike. It makes sense if Spidey India and Spider-Punk are the more sought after ones, though; the pair are far less likely to receive future minifigs (except, to be fair, for a potential inclusion in a theoretical BtSV wave), while Miguel is rumored to face off against Spidey’s fourth mech this January, and likely will return in future comic-adjacent sets. Same here. Having to squeeze past a line of tired people at checkout just to scan some silly minifigs is inconvenient at best, disheartening at worst. On a positive side, the placement at Target is likely effective enough at stopping scalpers, in contrast to Walmart. I had previously heard B&N placed sticker tags over the barcodes. Glad that seems to be no longer the case.

Between runs to two different Target and the local LEGO Store, I found all nine minifigs I wanted! Both Target stores had the more sought-after characters, like Miguel O’Hara and Spider-Punk (both times with the latter, actually). I’m very thankful my hunt only lasted a day, and I wish everyone else good luck! (For anyone curious, those nine were as follows: Prowler, Spider-Byte, Web-Slinger, Peter B. Parker, Spider-Gwen, Miles as Electro, Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Punk and Spider-Man India—the lattermost pair I grabbed duplicates of which as gifts to two of my family.) Top three figures would have to be Spider-Punk, Miguel O’Hara, and Prowler, but I love them all. Each one are, dare I say, perfect as representations of their respective characters. A clear example that LEGO minifig designers can do above-and-beyond if given budget and authorization. My only criticisms are that Spider-Punk’s hair is pushed too high up and needed to be fuller around the sides, Miguel’s hair is too bright, and figures like Spider-Gwen and Spider-India could’ve and should’ve had doubled-sided expressions for their masks. One point I want to say is, as much as Miles is truly superfluous, in hand that blue electric print really pops, and might make him one of my favourites in the lineup. Being the huge fan of Across the Spider-Verse I am, seeing each and every one of these characters given so great care brings me equally great joy. If one movie deserved a CMF, in my opinion, it was this one. All these years, after 2018 where we lamented no ItSV sets, then 2023 where LEGO seemingly ignored the movies again, to see this CMF two years later makes the long, long wait worth it.

Hm. I’m a bit underwhelmed. The emphasis on recreating movies is a wrong one, I feel. The weird mix between The Batman against Dark Knight and Tim Burton characters is, well, weird. They have a LEGO Arkham with comic-style Bat-villains, so I wish they had gone with that instead. The gameplay, meanwhile, reminds me too much of LSW:TSS; maybe future trailers can alleviate that concern. Even if I wanted to play, TT Games won’t be releasing it to the OG Nintendo Switch, my current console. Nothing I’ve seen so far would entice me to upgrade. (Honestly, not much of anything would entice me besides a new LEGO Marvel game or LEGO City Undercover sequel/second remaster.) What. So I won’t even be able to play as the villains? That’s the main shtick of LEGO games—specifically LEGO Batman! This is TT Games, after people complained LSW:TSS had too many characters or something, shifting into reverse so hard that I’m flying out the front window. I’m confused on how they’ll handle Gotham in free world now; golden bricks aren’t nearly as interesting as new characters in my experience. Meanwhile in 2018, TT Games released the most comic-filled LEGO DC game while the DCEU sets were dominating the line. We still don’t have half of DC Super-VIllians’ character roster, and that was one of the lighter ones. If they were limited to the past few years, let’s not forget they could’ve gone the TAS series route too and given us Mr. Freeze and Harley, as well as that glorious Batsuit. Same here. Must be whomever took over in the video games after the TAS voice actor passed away. At this point, just give me Will Arnett doing his Keaton impression. That reminds me of when DC Super-Villains inserted your custom character into the cutscenes. Thank the Maker if that’s the case. I’d far prefer playing as one version of Bats (probably TDK one) than awkwardly switch between the four throughout the story.

The difference is that one is a “playset” and the other a “dis-playset;” one is supposed to prioritize accuracy over stability, while the other is supposed to do the opposite. (Ironically, the Tiny Tank is neither entirely accurate nor stable.*) Nonetheless, no LEGO set should be as unstable as you’re describing, agreed. I hope it is. Everyone I’ve seen has sung the praises of the ARC-180, V-19 and Jango’s Mini Slave 1, but I’ll keep saying that the U-Wing is the real winner this year. “Somehow… I’ve always known.” So that’s why Deigo Luna looks a tad bit older in early S2 than later, so that the jump from the finale to Rogue One is smoother. Brilliant. Look, now that I know Mara Jade is the official sponsor of the TIE Avenger project, I’m on board. (That Tower of Fate set ought to come with a mini TIE Avenger build for Mara to pilot, methinks.) It’s funny how we went from Thrawn having dual-molded legs in a $55 set and a GwP this year to no dual-molding in the most expensive LEGO set to date. My thinking is that dual-molding is expensive, yes, but it was possible to spread out that expensive across multiple sets and themes last year and this year. Now, we see those LSW—as well as several Marvel sets—with dual-molding phasing out of production this year, while the sets set up for long-term production come without dual-molding. Why they can’t afford to spend the extra funds is beyond my understanding. If I may speculate, TLG is stretching themselves too thin with so many different licensed IPs, like they did in the early 2000s with their own in-house themes, that they need to cut costs on the bestsellers to make up for losses elsewhere. (I say that when the Galactic Marines are one of the most deluxe army-builders in the past couple years, granted, in a very overpriced set.) *I’m shocked nobody has pointed out how the wheel-builds of the Tiny Tank are disproportionate to the in-universe model. The in-universe model’s wheel are taller than they are wide, but the LEGO model’s wheels are wider than they are tall. If the design had used 8x8 wheels, I think it wouldn’t look so tiny.

(Whoops, I wrote a short essay again. ) I’m going to sound picky when I say this, but no, this is not for what we asked. We have contended that affordable playsets from the OT—arguably the strongest and definitely most central piece of SW—is better than the current state. That includes the TIE-Wing V X-Fighter; it’s unique, but then there’s the weak minifig selection. (To give an example the Clone Bros would detest, it’d be like an AAT and AT-TE with swappable parts included a fanfiction clone legion and made-up Jedi.) This newest rumor succeeds at unique but fails in reaching its audience. To have a classic X-Wing with classic minifigs from the classic films is repetitive, yes, and I probably wouldn’t buy it, but it’s a necessary purchase for any new fan. Unlike we on the Eurobricks, most new AFoLs, and most of all kids, don’t have ten versions of Luke, Han, or Leia. A boring set to me in mid ‘25 was not so when I began in late ‘19, and the same will be true of the kid buying his first LSW set today. The OT works, and so does the PT, TCW, Mando, and even the ST. My issue, I realize, isn’t necessarily with this year in particular—although there’s many problems—but with the direction of the theme as a whole. More over-priced sets, more gimmicks, more collectible minifigs locked behind large paywalls. The MTT and Clone Tiny Tank aren’t accessible to kids, and the latter isn’t even made that well to be a kid’s toy! If LEGO wants to survive to the next generation, we need the repetitive mixed with our shulp gittos, but with a proper understanding of the fans of each. Since you ask of in practice vs on paper, let’s review. Clone Mania in practice: Clone troopers are derided for their inaccuracies (which is valid, but I wonder if the designers are being intentional to cause a stir), the sets with massable figures are up-charged (V-19 and JFS1 are the only two with reasonable prices, and neither contain three of the same minifg), the character selection is poorer than Sam’s Doomsday Avengers, the return of older models are diminishing at best, there’s no current project tie-in or appeal to general public knowledge, 37th X-Wing on paper: I’m guessing you’re counting advent calendar builds, polybags, and mini kits, right? Then the same has to be said of CW-era minibuilds, too, but I digress. I dislike the current rumor for the 2026 X-Wing because it isn’t affordable nor proper for a perianal X-Wing. The smart brick is new and interesting, if that’s what you’re after. Imagine if the next Clone BP was overpriced because of a gimmick… of wait, they did it without the gimmick anyway. For both the 327th Clone BP and 327th iteration of X-Wing, I believe both will flop just as hard because both miscalculate the wants of each audience. I’ll add this thought that’s still developing: one generation of fans grew up collecting ships and characters, then the other grew up collecting factions and action figures. That very difference in the OT vs PT toy markets is on display in the opinions discussed on this forum, I feel. This isn’t boycotting. This is the voting with your wallet. A boycott would never work because of secondhand business owners and adults with little self-control. Remember that pricing is entirely subjective; some objective points, but lots of minutia in between for us enthusiasts. Public opinion will decide if “these LEGOs are too expensive” or not. Not back in 2023 with the Bomber and Interceptor? Not on the LSW Wishlist forum? Way to dismiss any OT fan’s dreams. At any rate, it’s a popular vehicle from the first SW movie. I do believe many would’ve rathered a TIE Advanced V Y-Wing in ‘27, but a TIE Advanced at all is a worthy return in my books. It’s a shame it’ll likely be ruined by a pricey piece of unnecessary electronics.

Just because we didn’t know of the TIE Avenger a year prior thanks to some outrageous leaks doesn’t mean it wasn’t in circulation behind closed doors. Juxtaposed to Andor, which had no leaks aside from maybe the Coruscant Spaceport, Ahsoka had massive leaks from the finale episodes, which still surprises me to this day. If development on the Ahsoka finale began a year prior, then the same could be true of Andor’s premiere—moreover, of a practical set that Lucasfilm showed off in every trailer leading up to release. TLG must have known, must have been given the choice, and choose the returning U-Wing over a new TIE variant. While I still hope we see a TIE Avenger next year, I’m beginning to doubt if TLG will ever revisit Andor in the system scale. Never say never, but the longer the wait, the slimmer our chances.

Love the reference to Summer of Slug ‘25, truly a highlight of my summer. I’m saddened by how far off and lonely Man is from the rest of the group. D. Dummy is the best part, of course (the big monument in the top left, yes, but also the little emoji next to the chopped LEGO logo). Curious why Twitchy from Ninjago is in a large, looming silhouette; never in my all my days did I consider him a part of the LEGO Omniverse-war-lore, large or small.

Brand New Day is shaping up to be, dare I say, amazing! I hope for a few sets, but nothing is promised. So long as we get then I’m good for a long time. For those who are in the know more than I, do Spider-Man films always begin shooting this late to release? Will TLG even have enough material to make sets, given the flip-flopping of the story during pre-production? TLG has been trying to keep to a spoiler-free-while-movie-accurate approach as of late, so maybe just one set? Then again, this is Spider-Man, so surely they would throw plenty of budget toward this, implying a multiple-set wave, right? Nah, that’s way too fair of a match. More likely, we’ll get a Hulk mech vs Spider-Man, because we all know the Hulk doesn’t need a mech. I’m anxious for news on the rest of the January ‘26 wave like everyone else. I’ll just throw out there my only and very random guess to the $120 18+ set: a recreation of the black suit Spider-Man cover from Secret Wars with a construction figure instead.

I see a little silhouette of an Imperial set. Tie Avenger, Tie Avenger, will you be a LEGO set, oh? Bix-cident in Andor, very, very risky—Me! CloneCommando! (CloneCommando) CloneCommando! (CloneCommando) CloneCommando, a non-Clone Bro Luna, Deigo, oh, oh, oh! I’m just an OT fan, LEGO doesn’t love me He’s just an OT fan who wants more Andor, Spare him his wallet from this masterpiece Easy come, easy go, will you build a TIE? Avenger! NO, We will not let you build (Let him build) Avenger! We will not let you build (Let him build) Avenger! We will not let you build (Let me build) Do not like your builds (Let me build) Never, never, never, never let me build! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Oh, mama tia, TIA ‘Venger, TIA ‘Venger, let me build January 2026 has a set put aside for me, For me, Hopefully…? (Can’t remember if you’ve done a parody of Bohemian yet or not. Anyway, the song came to me like a gust of inspiration, and I was compelled to jot it down.) What is LEGO thinking with the Death Star? Has designing the Aslume set driven them insane? I demand the man who pitched “rectangular, advent calendar style, wall-art Death Star for $1000” to visit Eurobricks’s Aslume post haste. Sorry to dissappoint, but I don’t believe that’s a hot take at all. Maybe not at $500, since the model in my mind would become too big not to have at least a room or two; regardless, a $350 DSII of exactly what you described is my dream set. Dioramas fulfill the location aspect, so go all in and make a UCS DS a vehicle set first. Nobody’s commented on this yet, so I guess I’ll be the weirdo who does: Why is that Leia’s belt has progressively become tighter on her, lol? Pleasantly surprised to see the ANH trio receive updates to their figures. Things like Luke’s brown trousers and Han’s low collar are welcome additions/semi-returns. However, I believe we’re at the point of accuracy that I’d rather see that budget diverted to add new characters instead. These 2025 renditions of Han and Luke may be the two best we’ve gotten to date, but I don’t think Leia absolutely necessitated a new torso (at least, not before we phase out that terrible 2019 face). It feels like a mismanagement of budget. I’ll add that if it must be to the main trio, then why not add variation? Different expressions for the characters, more accurate faces, unique weathering for different environments. I wonder if the minifig designs delete their project files after so many years, and thus make a whole new design to keep around for another five years, just in case they need to create a variant. Maybe each graphic designer just wants to make his mark on the classic design? Again, the use of minifig designs feel terribly mismanaged. Oh, before I forget: Dear LEGO, not including dual-molded legs for the Imperial officers is stupid. Without boots, they look like they’re wearing pajamas and rather silly at that. I’m in the same boat as you, I think. The issue is that it used to be that both were possible; remembering fondly on the triumphs of the past and looking forward to an exciting future. Nowadays people have only the former of those options. There’s some to be said for rewatching something with fresh eyes; that cannot happen unless there’s new media to distract from and recontextualize–better yet enhance–the old, beloved media. Watching Rogue One after seeing Andor S2 is a prime example. A negative example would be… well, Kenobi to the OT or Mando S3 to the earlier seasons. It takes a discipline to enjoy something on its own, yes, but the same media fondly remembered, no imagination stirred or hope revived, is how a franchise dies. I can only hope Maul: Shadow Lord will do that for TPM and Ahsoka S2 for S1. (I just don’t see how the Mando movie can add depth to S1-3, but I’m hoping for a fun adventure with two of my favourites nonetheless.) Still, these are small potatoes compared to an TFA or Mando, and anything else is too abstract to gage our expectations. Why, none of the rumors around Starfighter involve any titular starfighter!

My votes: 75409 UCS Jango Fett’s Starship (2025) (Slave 1 is my favourite SW ship design, and the recreation in LEGO is near-perfect.) 76286 The Milano Spaceship (2024) (If I had to pick one set to represent the best of the best LEGO Marvel can offer, it’d be the Milano. Probably and most definitely the most uncultured pick, I’ll admit.) 10350 Tudor Corner (2025) (I mean, in my eyes, it’s easily one of the best modulars in a long time–maybe one of the best ever.) 10316 The Lord of the Ring: Rivendell (2023) (Most likely to get Number 1, and deservedly so. It’s one of the best, barring the tedious step of placing dozens upon dozens of 1x1 tiles.) 10497 Galaxy Explorer (2022) (*insert gloating about how poorly done the Renegade was* …but this set is how you redo a classic and exceptionally so!) Funnily enough, I own none of these sets as of yet, so take all that I said with the appropriate grain of salt.

It was insane when the Aslume thread kept pace with the 2024 Marvel one just off us jonkling off topic. To be blunt, it’s outstanding that this thread can keep pace just because of one movie that didn’t get any sets. Haven’t seen the movie yet, but that wishlist @CloneCommando99 dreamed up sounds exciting enough, even to an extremely ignorant fan of DC. Hope for the best… and I always wish I could send off with “Excelsior” but this ain’t Marvel!

I had a solid laugh at the Venomized Wolverine. It’s ridiculous, and it would be better if it were an exclusive in a $400 Oscorp, but I’m not gonna complain that it exists. Ghost Rider’s Bike at $10 is sweet. It might be a Day 1 buy for me, actually, along with the Rhino vs Spidey 4+ set. After recently acquiring the Daily Bugle, I’ve got the Spidey’s-Villains bug. It’s interesting to think that the 4+ Spidey set with have a new, albeit simplified, version of Spidey, but the mainline Marvel set will only see yet another blue and red Spidey. It should absolutely exist somewhere in the sub-$50 range, don’t get me wrong, but since the 2025 set reveals, I’ve been itching for something different. Mechs are there. They don’t offend me one bit, but my range of reaction to these will be from “Ooh, cool, a new 2099 and Doc Ock from the comics!” to “Glad to see good value continue on to these sets.” (Although, in reality that Doc Ock vs Spidey mech should have at least 4 minifigs to be comparable in value. I think TLG mixed up good value for them with good value for us, and I believe someone outta sit them down and talk them through their confusion.) Random idea: Could the Doc Ock in the mech be Liv Octavius from Into the Spider-Verse? Funnily enough, I saw LEGO 76097 today and thought that TLG ought to and could have done Johnny Storm the same way they did Firestorm back then. I’m partial to the all-red look since it aligns better with the very original Human Torch illustrations, but a mixture of classic or tomato soup red with trans-orange could work rather well for the cinematic appearance.