BrickPrick

Yep, the additional three+ weeks for today's occasion have been very well worth the wait, as expected. Of course, if this brand new Bane had launched any other time than January, this set would have been one of these rare signature day one™ purchases. But alas... very happy. And according to my current gut feeling, whenever I look in the sky from now on, I shall see the iconic twin sun rising. And thank you, man. I appreciate your empathy.

I just got gifted the V-19 Torrent Starfighter plus Cobb Vanth's Speeder and could hardly be any happier right now.

Yep, this would have been my bet as well. Although owning everything is much easier for The Lord of the Rings than it is for Star Wars, it must still be an impressive display. Given your enormous private collection, have you ever considered to get some commercial usage out of it? Less selling some of it and more like for presentation purposes. Or is that not something you would be ever interested in and rather keep your private collection as such?

Ha, you know I already had the honor of asking you this, so now I will ask you again for this theme: how many LOTR sets do you own; is it the majority again?

Just because it makes more sense to do some things for certain themes than others, in this case to include a single minifigure in an 18+ sub-theme, doesn't necessarily mean it isn't still missing in the first place. As for Star Wars helmets, if you look at the line-up as a whole, you can see a mixed bag regarding the availability of the characters the helmets are based on. Sure, you've got your common everyday main characters like Darth Vader and the Mandalorian, which wouldn't make the inclusion of a minifig terribly relevant. But then you have helmets like Boushh Leia and Kylo Ren, which haven't had minifigures in ages at this point. You have cookie cutter troopers like the Stormie been on steady supply on one hand, but the AT-AT driver is no longer available as the helmet released. Cody is locked behind a set twice the price as the helmet is. Rex wasn't available in a cheaper set until later on. So I don't see this topic as quite one dimensional as it may seem at first. Not that it would hurt anybody to just include a single minifig anyways. Especially at the high price points Lego is asking for.

I was about correcting your comment but thanks to it, I only now realized that it indeed might have been just an random Ent. Could have sworn it was Treebeard all along. Maybe it's supposed to be? I mean the likeness is... uncanny for sure! The new Sauron helmet instantly including a minifigure is the stuff of distant dreams. Take notes, Lego Star Wars. The time of finally getting one of these helmets might be finally here for me. I just want some LOTR minifigures, man. Though depending on how much it settles, purchasing the figure separately might be the wise thing to do. =)

Yeah, I feel this way too. We have to think about the fact that lots and lots of people grew up with The Lord of the Rings during their childhood. In other words, they weren't necessarily at an age with disposable income back then, but they are adults by now. And like it's already been mentioned, Lego wasn't the same company that it is nowadays. It has significantly broaden it's reach to speak to much more targets groups. There wasn't this explicit focus on the "adults welcome" mantra and no regular D2C sets. So you now have to factor in all these additional casuals who may have never touched anything brick-built in their lives. But as far as anyone is concerned, they never had to. As they may just be big enough TLOTR fans and wanna impulse buy Rivendell because it looks very beautiful and appealing to them. So no, in no world would "many people already owning the 2013 Orthanc set" be a good enough reason for Lego to don't do a remake in the 2020s or beyond. That'll make $35, good sir.

Yes, exactly. I would be hard-pressed to name any other relevant licensed theme where remakes feel as significant and justified as it's the case for The Lord of the Rings, which was put on ice for a decade. While it's a brutal way on Lego's behalf to ask some people to break the bank to return to brick-built Middle-earth, you can definitely build upon these D2C offerings. So yeah, I'd like to have some of that metaphorical Landspeeder magic. Though not having anything Gondor-related for all this time has been crazy for sure; your X-Wing comparison is rather fitting. Very excited for the official Minas Tirith reveal.

Given I come from the Lego Star Wars theme, don't mind me when "too similar" is something I have to chuckle at. Like when did this ever stop Lego from releasing another set, a long overdue remake no less. And no, I don't think the fact some selected hardcore fans buying off the old Orthanc set for a fortune would prevent Lego to release a new one either. If anything, these sky-high collectors prices might work in their favour when they can offer a cheaper alternative.

Okay, gotta say, with my personal The Lord of the Rings fever slowly but surely reigniting, it's time to step in some yet to be explored Eurobricks corners. I always said to myself if Lego was to bring back play scale sets of this undercooked theme again, I would even put my favorite franchise, Star Wars, on ice for the time being. So many opportunities for great remakes waiting to be re-released. Leak-wise, though, I'm not quite as engaged for this one as I used to be, so nothing new on that front, I guess? We are still at a single expensive D2C set on a yearly basis, plus a few gimmicky products along the way? Helm's Deep can only be a matter of time. So is a new Orthanc to pair with Barad-dûr. So I see either of those for next year. Here's hoping they won't touch anything from the Hobbit anytime soon.

Enough said. So, although not for me, I got two very reasonable deals on the 327th and newly released Siege of Mandalore Battle Pack. Can't say seeing everything in person rekindled my interest for the format being based on Clones, though. New legion is fine, the recycled one I can totally do without. The side builds are genuinely great, though. But yeah... I look at that stuff and think to myself "yeah, how about I wait another six months while I get the more excited sets in the meantime". This would be unheard of whenever a new BP released before, but reaches common ground for me by the day. In any case, I assume I'm now officially part of the problem. Thought this was never about not buying them at all, but about waiting for the right price. And as far as I'm concerned, the ongoing wait to be appropriately excited.

I never truly minded the lack of backpacks for some troops. Like I can't have Boba Fett without his jetpack, but I'm fine with Rebels, Imperials and Clones missing their accessory. Yeah, that's probably true. Most people won't be buying multiple Battle Packs at all. It's just begs the question if the ones that do can have an noticable impact in the grand scheme of things. When I see some guys buying hundreds of some good army builder's, I don't even bat an eyelid anymore. While it not nearly became the gold standard by now, it isn't exactly that extraordinary anymore either. Suffice to say, all good as far as I'm concerned. Just saying... make some OT stuff again, please. When they didn't even have enough time to properly cover up the crime scene, that must have been one hell of a last second change, then. Yes, and I'm not just talking about different discounts and sales situations, but different MSRP as well. Every so often I heard about some crazy full priced Lego sets up there in Norway or Sweden. Don't know how much that's the case anymore... but it was bonkers. Okay, Stonewars just confirmed what we were all afraid, er, I mean, what we were all eagerly anticipating. The reveal of the Smart Brick business is upon us. In about a good five hours from now on. Now is the time, Eurobricks. The beginning of the end.

Yes, they were overpriced as heck. Which ultimately kept me from getting any of those. Though I really enjoyed the redesigned Rebel Hoth Troopers. I would imagine they still make a ton of money due to mere amassing some of the better army builders. But when you have the freedom to do like exactly the same thing as you did the year prior, but just slap an additional 50% price tag on it, then yeah... those things are bound to generate even bigger profit margians. Now that you say that... Yeah, I think I've heard about this after all. Memory is a fascinating mechanism, so to speak. That's precisely it. A good set to accompany a flagship set or a variety of other products. A somewhat bad "be all end all" kinda set. Ha, me neither. I was much more involved in the so-called "console war" (always hated that term) before I reached adulthood. But nowadays, thanks to the crazy console consolidation, there is not much of a competition left to fight for. Been a PlayStation fan as long as I want to remember, by the way. And hey, getting a console to play some high quality Star Wars games is always a good thing. Exactly! You even have the 1x2 grill pieces which would be pitch perfect functioning as your minifigure stands. It really is like Lego is intentionally trolling and taunting us putting them there in the first place! No matter where we stand, be it you as an american, or me as an european, we obviously can never speak for an entire continent worth of different countries featuring their own economic environments. I could tell you all day long how awesome Lego deals can get here in Germany, yes. But people in the northern regions of Europe would definitely tell a different tale. Same goes for the US as well... but on a much larger scale. All those different tax territories alone will see to that. Anyways, here's hoping you will eventually get what you are looking for. =) Yeah, I tend to be passionate about the things I care for. But I never want to reach toxic territory while I'm at it. Passion should never equal or involve toxicity. This is where I personally draw the line. I honestly mentally prepare for this as well. To clinge onto play scale sets as much as you used to, despite the clear shift in direction on Lego's part, may be the romantic type of thinking... but not very realistic. Well, let's just say I give myself a few years time to even consider it. That's exactly the point! In all fairness, Lego constantly shows that they do care about the products they make and do listening to fan feedback. Otherwise we wouldn't get some of the long requested minifigures you just listed. And in some cases, certainly not at this quality level. But then there are plenty of other head scratcher scenarios where you feel like you can't afford to give them the benefit of the doubt anymore. It's almost like someday Dieter is in charge of things, but the next day it's Detlef who's taking over business. As much as someone may aspires to be, no one is or ever will be perfect. This defeats the nature of the human being. But this ain't about perfection. And that's not what fans ask for. No, it's about consistency. And to see that level of inconsistency over such a long period of time, one way or another, is what can drive us a little bit mad sometimes. But to speak for myself, I also have a lot of fun doing so. Back to your point... yes, they are clearly overcompensating. Having next to no TCW stuff on store shelves late last decade, was an extreme. But to keep shoving Clone Craziness down our throats is the other side of the extreme. I really hope we can reach that sweet spot level again. Okay, that right there is like the grandmother of all points. If you, due to all these mother flipping different formats, have so few set slots available to use already... at least give us more variety in sub-themes when you do something more exciting again. By today's standards, it actually feels like 50%+ of all yearly released LSW sets are non play scale sets. While like 30/40% of the remaining half is reserved for Clones. That's like saying it's totally fine having only two Sith and thousands of Jedi around at the same time. No, it's not cool, it freaking sucks megablocks! And yes yet again... giving people what they want won't kill this theme in any way. It's not like they completely broke the bank by giving us the incredible new head mould for Plo Koon. They even may have increased the price for this particular Microfighter for this exact reason. Of course. It's always a matter of perspective. Everyone can only play the piano notes in front of them. You may get a new sheet every now and then, but the musical performance will still be your own. And yep... fully aware the veterans or longtime fans were and always will be outnumbered by the average casual consumer. Yes, as entertaining as spending time on Eurobricks is, at the end of the day it's yet another online bubble. One of the better ones out there for sure... but a bubble nonetheless. And I too believe an Avenger, contrary to the general hype in here, would still do decently on the overall market. Andor niche factor or not, this is still an appealing looking imperial vehicle. This is just part of the fun to discuss, predict and speculate about stuff we will never know for sure. Yet if you truly think about it... it makes next to no sense to do so at all! But I enjoy it so much.

I don't wanna sound arrogant or anything, but whoever is in charge of these decisions, has clearly no idea what he's doing. Like it makes no sense whatsoever to ignore a critically acclaimed and fairly popular videogame like that. Not when you literally supported other games that weren't even as well received within the same timeframe. Yes, we are all on the same page for this one. Not much to add beyond from me what wasn't already said countless times in here. Bring back minifigure compatible 18+ stuff or just leave me alone, Lego! Oh, how right we were to have a little bit of faith to see it happen. And how wrong we were by thinking Lego could be even bothered to do the right thing there. On the ongoing topic about Battle Packs right now, not even a Purge Trooper BP saw the Lego light of day. It's kinda maddening, to be honest. Awesome, I will give this a read later on. Thank you for sharing. Yes, its the mixture of two things which makes me go back and fourth on this one. On one hand, the amount of available Star Wars sub-themes for any given set is unquestionably unprecedented nowadays. To pick your poison must be giving those responsible a tough time. Like I said on numerous occasions, I don't exactly envy those people. But on the other hand, seeing an unprecedented amount of Lego Star Wars formats is insane all the same! Like why would you limit yourself in terms of providing a reasonably balanced portfolio to such a degree? Why would you willingly bring that curse onto yourself? But the thing is, to them it's not like that... not even in the slightest. But about maximizing profits across the board. Which they do, when, say, five longtime fans of the theme don't support something, but six new people casually and typically not into Lego do. Because of Grogu or something. All in all, this discussion is a strong reminder that multiple things can be true all at once. What's the perfect heaven to one individual, might be perfect hell to another. Of course, we are the cool, knowledgeable fans, so we just know better.

Darth who? Well, I liked the analogy about the Rancor being a solo beast better anyways. Speaking of additional formats, do you remember these bizarre Action Battle sets Lego did for Endor and Hoth in 2019? Other than the 4+ thing, which I shamefully have to admit is actually in my possession, that's like the closest Endor based play set we got for what feels like forever. And no, I don't really count the Battlefront II Inferno Squad BP. Every once in a while, it is my personal belief Lego seems to be allergic to making even more money than they already do. I mean, come on, is there really an easier, more efficient opportunity to make the most bang for your own buck with as little as possible than freaking Battle Packs? I don't think so. As expensive and overpriced as anything 18+ can be... it clearly ain't for everyone. Battle Packs are truly compatible with all ages. Kids play with them. Adults collect and display them. It represents the best of both worlds. Yet besides experimenting with the bigger Battle Packs, Lego does relatively little with them for the better part of this decade by now. Yeah, you could say it was fun while it lasted. It shore is. Let me reashore you... I intend to own all of those terrific troops. Especially a couple of the regular ones. Also interesting fact about the tanks... I wasn't aware about this at all. Yes, I really like it, too. Emphasis was on "only". As in imagine getting absolutely nothing based on Cal Cestis' journey only to get just a buildable droid a couple years later on. But the build itself was absolutely adorable... Immersive is a good way to describe it. One of the rare few exceptions of this sub-theme I can appreciate the set for what it is. I considered getting it at some point, but I didn't. It just wasn't, like you said, a first choice kind of set. Obviously no match for a Stinger Mantis flagship. On another note, I thought you were one of the good guys, but then you said Xbox. Yeah, it never feels like Mission Impossible to include some neat figures, exclusive or not, to this otherwise appealing format. They just need to do it. Same goes for the Micro-scale Dioramas. Excluding figures just because you can't integrate them directly in the scenary feels like an excuse to me. And not a very good one at that. You put it next to the quote plaque and call it a day. The Lego sales situation you partially have in the US seems so crazy for me. I basically can't acquire the 327th BP for over 30€ anymore. It's been comfortably sitting at ~27€ on Amazon DE for a few months now.