BrickPrick

Oh shoot, I haven't thought of that. What was the deal with it again; was it ever on sale or something? I couldn't find it on Brickset at first glance. They don't even list every Advent Calendar GONK variant ever made. Perhaps the archives are incomplete. Yes, he will. Like at least $160 flagship set level of expensive just like Cal Cestis via the Star Destroyer. I absolutely agree. There's too much optional, dare I say inappropriate... stuff kids have to deal with nowadays anyways. It's never a good idea to force the minorities mindset upon the majority. Word up. I mean, there's a certain entertainment property which gracefully expanded upon this, while still retaining that very core of Good vs. Evil, but yeah... that's what it always was and ultimately should be. A fairly simple fairy tale in space. What you can do to keep it interesting and fresh is to highlight all the different perspectives from various factions throughout several timelines.

Every GONK Droid™ is a G.O.A.T Droid in my eyes, so I need you to be slightly more specific than that. You mean the one from 2014's UCS Sandcrawler? If not, please spill the beans. And thanks. The GONK Droids™ marches on relentlessly. *makes GONK noises*

For the longest, neither have I. This might be due to the original actually holding up quite nicely... for being a 24 years old set, that is. Well yeah, welcome to the prequel era, I guess. As a kid, I was actually kinda obsessed with anything that contained the number 7. So, I guess it's only natural to do something a little different for my 777th Eurobricks posting... Hunting GONK Droids™ is not a crime. All hail the almighty GONK Droids™. Forever shall they reign.

Oh, I see. That's like Order 66 surviving Jedi levels of rarity, if I do say so myself. Yeah, I noticed. Pretty much smooth sailing so far... connection people slowly and steadily became all the rage. At least since they got this internet thing on computers and stuff. Oh, definitely. I was already talking about this more in-depth in here. Like you said, even the default minifigure line-up will be solid. They may only positively surprise us there. While the ships will greatly benefit from from some sleek new pieces and accompanying building techniques. Given the rather small size of both Speeders, we won't have any downsizing debates either, which will also work in favor of the set's stability. If anything, I could see them a tad too big in order to try justifying a slightly higher price point... similarly to this year's Cobb Vanth's Speeder. But yeah, as long as this thing actually exists and comes out next year as a regular playscale product, I'm gonna be quite relaxed about it. If that actually happens, I will absolutely hold you, and only you, accountable for it all.

That's so true... all of it. I would even go as far as to say that it basically edges out everything from the modern Disney Star Wars era. As the lightsaber duels from the ST are nothing to write home about either! Oh wow... I just wondered why I suddenly couldn't find it anymore. I was following this project sporadically and just feared you couldn't reach 10k supporters in time. Now we're playing the guillotine game. What's the general ratio between eliminated and actually published Lego Ideas sets anyways, like 90:10? I'm gonna say one thing: the only con I do accept for the Bounty Hunter Pursuit Re-Release is the obligatory too expensive asking price. Everything else better be up to snuff, though.

Alright, that's fair. As far as I'm concerned, though, maybe I would be wise to actually watch the whole thing, that being, sorry not sorry, the a-TROS-ity that is Episode IX, before making such claims. But based on everything I know and have seen of it, there's no world where I can even remotely imagine this ain't being the worst thing ever happened to a galaxy, far far away... But yeah, it remains the only widely available movie that I couldn't actually bother to watch through. Yeah, no matter where you stand as Star Wars fan, there will always be subject matters that got the short end of the stick in the Lego Star Wars world. Some are clearly more affected than others, but there will always sub-themes remaining with untapped potential. Is your Emperor's New Groove project still alive and kicking? I'd still like to support it if it isn't too late... Oh, you know, I was asking about anything beyond the inevitable.

Ha, the way you describe Episode IX, is how I see the Acolyte. Deeply flawed, but there were some positive aspects that could have paid off at the end, but ultimately didn't. Old Palpy serves no purpose whatsoever other than being one gigantic member berry. It's just the wrong kind of fan service Disney is so susceptible to fall for. Babu Frik is a cute little fellow, though. Speaking of which, does anybody want to take him off my hands? TROS is honestly deserving of every little bit of flak it got. So too does the Acolyte, minus the few promising protagonists and antagonists. Anywho, following the aftermath of all these recent... updates, not upgrades mind you, I wanna make myself crystal clear: the 2027 summer wave better deliver some banger sets that we all want to be bangers... and better be beyond that. I want to witness an no-nonsense approach when it comes to the potentially sacred Bounty Hunter Pursuit modern makeover. The Ewok Village better be great as well, though given it's nature as a large playscale set, there's more room to screw things up, I think. But every risk can also serve as an opportunity to make the most of it. Other than those two sets, what's left that we didn't already know about and what will be released prior to that? There still gotta be quite a few question marks remaining and looming in the background, right? Or are we actually all set for the big Summer wave already?

It's interesting how people's perception and perspective may vary based on their own beliefs and opinions. I think it hits the nail in the head right away. Well, if we go down that rabbit hole, there's like no coming back from it anytime soon. What about Tales... of the Jedi, Empire, Underworld, Maul Shadow Lord, proper Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor sets... The moment we're done complaining about sub-themes getting completely neglected by Lego, we would be actually missing out on the TIE Avenger release... that's how long it would take. By all means, that's like the lowest bar you could possibly imagine. I don't wanna jump to early conclusions, but it probably doesn't get worse than TROS. I think an official Darth Plagueis minifigure is a viable option for the foreseeable future. However, I don't see it coming with a full force Acolyte themed set. No, I think it will be more like a Cal Cestis situation. And Plagueis too may come in the most expensive set of the anniversary line-up; 2029 would be the obvious timeframe for that.

Every cross-over set is one too many. Again, there are way too many experiments swapping in and out. At the expense of what used to be and still can be their bread and butter business. Nothing new? Okay. Necessary? Nope. And talking about leaks is always pretty much in the moment. No one needs to jump to needlessly early conclusions, no. But right now, the trend is not our friend. So people have a right to voice their concerns. Well, maybe people wouldn't be all over it if it wasn't exactly the 50th anniversary of Star Wars? Like I don't see any moving goal posts. I see different years that brought forth different problems. Multiple things can be true all at once and doesn't have to rule out each other. Oh, definitely... The figure selection is a dead giveaway. Yes, exactly. If I want the goofy stuff, I go chase after the RTG stuff... or the Christmas sub-theme. It ain't Star Wars canon, but it's still Lego Star Wars. This one feels like a generic employee gift. Without the shadow of a freaking doubt. A truly magical time to be a LSW fan, I have to imagine. Because of course there is. All these solid TV shows which got absolutely zero set coverage to this day. But now this cross-over comic changes everything. Seriously, how much is Disney impacting Lego's design decisions? It really seems like a contractual thing. We shall all place our bets now if this thing has 4+ level of bad price points, making this set as expensive as the current Imperial Remnant AT-AT... you know that would be kinda funny.

So, uh... I just got gifted last year's Advent Calendar completely out of nowhere. It's funny because it's from the very same person who got me the Christmas Jawa, my personal highlight from the set, via happy family trade a couple months ago... In that sense, heavily devaluing this whole thing in the process. Still glad, if a bit irritated at first, for this neat surprise, as I can never have enough GONK Droid™ versions and intend to sell the leftover figures for some good money as per usual. l will also return bespoken Jawa to her for a full circle moment. @Kaijumeister Considering your newest LSW additions, especially the middle one, I want to be you right now.

I'm not as involved in terms of other themes coverage as I used to be, never was too deep into Marvel anyways, so I would need to take a look over there first to know what you mean. The Battle Pack situation became atrocious and I stand by that. There obviously have been ups and downs in it's long storied history, but last decade was way more consistent with it's output than this one is. And we already entered the second half of it, so the tendency unquestionably went downhill. I don't wanna move along the mindset "2026 may have been bad, but look... year 20xx was bad as well." That sorta thinking doesn't improve upon things. It's a bad excuse. Puts things into perspective, yes. But it also needlessly distracts from the current problem at hand. And yes, Lego obviously delivered some highly sought after sets as of late and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Look, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend the Bounty Hunter Pursuit modern makeover ain't worth a damn. That couldn't be further from the truth. It's probably among the most requested sets that you could have hoped for and I'm super stoked for it. It's just that my frustrations with all these erigious experiments took over and got the better of me. When I am very... emotional in the moment, I can often come across more harshly than I meant it to be. Best not to read too much into my ramblings. Usually just need a single sleepover, like right now, and the Lego worlds looks that brick brighter to me again.

You are right about this one. Although the anniversary argument genuinely grows more thin by the day. As you could almost pull and play this card every year, when you can have any anniversary taking place. Is 2029 a better bet? Maybe... because TPM is very neglected by Lego these days. But it will be also LSW 30th anniversary. 2030 will be ESB 50th anniversary etc. As soon as the TIE Avenger sees the Lego light of day, it will almost definitely coexist with some movie's anniversary. Alright! Phew, kinda dodged a bullet there, Sir Studpants. Yes, exactly. It's a complete failure on so many levels. This what happens when a big company is doing too well for their own good. And with no signs of stopping anytime soon, they don't feel the need to keep listening to fan feedback and just stop giving a damn. They're completely out of touch with the people that ensured their ongoing success in the first place. Or even people that supported and saved them facing bankruptcy back then. Too many cooks (sub-themes) spoil the broth (balance). And it's been my personal conviction they could easily release four Battle Packs per year like the good old times and given the plethora of content available by now, probably wouldn't be running out of good ideas for quite some time. Heck, like I keep on saying, I would already be content with just two good and affordable Battle Packs every year.

Ach Alter... Yes, I'm still german, so you hopefully haven't felt the urge to translate these things for me, but just for everyone else. And oh well, sounds like quite... the experience you had there. When I was using the train since like forever a couple of years back, I immediately got caught right between a political debate between two... let's just say, vastly different generations. It was like the living Hell on Earth. Should have plugged earbuds in when I still had the chance. MF stands for maxifigure in that context, right? Or just minifigure? I don't know how tall he was... Woah, woah, woah there... Don't say that! Your sinking feelings sounds so painfully accurate and Lego-like that you might be absolutely right, but still... don't say that! No, in all honesty, I actually believe the real deal is gonna happen... eventually. I don't know about any regional EOL specifics, but let's just hope this second wave is one of those things that would have happened no matter how much the first one failed. If there's no downtime come fourth 2028, I shall be legitimately concerned about the so-called "biggest innovation since the invention of the minifigure". Well, it's not a particular interesting Vader variant to have. But interesting to see you guys coming through with selling entirely owned sets of yours. I could never manage to do that with Lego Star Wars... at least not as far as my precious plastic puppets are concerned. The RTG stuff ain't mine in terms of wanting to own them as well, but at least those things, like you said, have some... finesse and creative spark to it. They're fun for those who want it. And yeah... that Jedi Vader won't be forever able to escape my grasp... fantastic looking fig. Now I'm fully aware we can literally just cover the bases of the Star Wars X Marvel sets and it's genuinely foolish to prejudge something or someone, but yeah... I have a bad feeling about this by principle. It's the last and certainly least thing I could muster up some excitement right now.

I can't and won't criticize additional sub-themes just for the sake of it. Execution remains the key factor. If it's a well thought out set that comes with some attractive qualities and even delivers great value on top of all that, that's great in my eyes. Even if not, it's only a drop in the ocean compared to the biggest offenders out there. I can see why you feel this way. We get enough regular AT-ATs, so getting a special one doesn't take away anything from it. While the Duel on Bespin, at least for the time being, is based on something unreasonably rare, so it's mere existence is much harder to justify. It's first and foremost for the casual crowd which tends to Impulse buy stuff first and ask questions later. Because it sure as hell ain't about true Lego Star Wars fans who didn't ask about any of this whatsoever. It gets even worse when you consider the fact how much longer it has been since the last playscale OT themed Falcon released. Spoiler: it's been 84 years. Give or take ~70 years. This is what's tremendously bothering me as well. We, the fanbase, can be quite good at finding excuses for Lego's design decisions and business models. While it basically gets continually harder to strike a good balance in between the army of individually released properties is true, their persistence to keep throwing more and brand new sub-themes at us left or right is their crusade... not ours. Yes, they may have good reasons to even do so in the first place. There have to be enough people who purchases all this stuff in the first place. Otherwise they would have reversed ship a long time ago. And who knows how much the Mouse House factors into all these decisions. But still... The system scale slots getting butchered and cannibalized like there's no tomorrow is completely out of control at this point. One can only hope, I suppose. I need some positive leaks to lighten the mood yet again. I couldn't agree more with your message even if I tried... or even like to admit that I did. The incredibly irritating inflational speech is among the biggest annoyances in 21st century communication. Like you said, if you repeatedly have to say something that is meant to be serious (sorry/thanks) and should convey some actual weight, it loses all meaning rather quickly. It becomes like a stupid gag you can stick on the fridge or something. I think, I only used the term "slop" for the outstanding Smart Play™ sets and come on... If that can't be considered slop, what possibly can? Yeah, the Glup Shitto term should be reserved for absolute background characters (you may or may not know the name of) with very limited screen time. Someone you have to check Wookipedia for to get any grasp of the character's origin or something like that. Certain Cantina Aliens are Glup Shittos, yes. Sebulba, on the other hand, is not. As for main characters, I don't even... I don't actually travel a lot with the highly reliable Deutsche Bahn, but when I do, it more often than not becomes insufferable having to listen to all the stuff people have no inhibitions of telling out loud in hearing distance of total strangers. The principle of privacy has suffered a lot in this world. We will get our glorious TIE Avenger, it just gonna takes some time. If I had to take an uneducated guess, 2028 sounds about right. You heard it here first.

I kinda admire your restraint on this little rant of yours. My words wouldn't be this kind at this point... not at all, actually. If I had to apply a matching metaphor for this matter it would be about cockroaches. No matter how many times you flush them down the toilet, they always manage to creep back up on you. Halfway there. I've got two Santa Vader's (2014 & 2020), Beach Vader and the 20th anniversary Vintage Vader. Can only dream about any Chrome figures. Would love to add the Bacta Tank Vader to my collection someday, though. Oh, as things stand right now, I would rather volunteer for a colonoscopy than getting this set. And yeah, I remember writing about this very topic in here not too long ago. If I can manage to find it, I ought to be pretty proud to add this newest entry (in addition to the latest and greatest UCS Falcon) to the long list... not. A special playscale set is still infinitely more worthwhile than a regular 18+ set/buildable stuff. The latter is the root of the problem as far as the unbalanced set distribution goes. Not the former which is still just a single set... and a legitimately great one at that. Exactly. Unless it's part of a hypothetical third season, we already have RTG as our glorified Star Wars What If... sub-theme. Now they try ro shove cross-over sets down our throats... they're definitely taking it too far. And there seems to be no end in sight with all these experiments and distractions. @Meaf The mist unbelievable part is that it's not unbelievable anymore. I can't even get mad at it anymore... at least not from the outside. From the inside, however...