BrickPrick

Okay, i will try to put this thing into perspective one last time and then i will shut up about it for good. Releasing a set with a 50% (US) price increase just a year after obviously feels offensive to consumers. To make matters worse, offering less while charging more, is always gonna be perceived as a bad deal for people... rightfully so. And i don't blame anyone who hates and criticizes the current pricing policy. BUT... 33% of the 50% increased price is Lego course correcting. Believe it or not, last year's 75372, was Lego selling you two full Battle Packs in one for 75% the price. As far as Lego Star Wars 2020s standards go, this was one of the rare cheaper sets. It probably sold like hot cakes, too. So, of course, they would evaluate and adjust the pricing the first chance they get. As soon as i saw what value the 75372 provides for it's tempting price point, twice a Battle Pack, i knew they would catch up to the price of, well, two Battle Packs for the next one. I know this doesn't make things any better for us. Just saying this price increase, while way too much at once, doesn't exactly appear out of thin air. And that the old Battle Pack price increase from 15 to 20 is the source of this... not the new one on it's own. I might be more on the relaxed side of things, because i already made up my mind about this last year... saw it coming miles away. And because i don't get sets for full price, yet never have to worry thanks to comfortable and constantly available discounts, anyways. I say, you put the two B1s back in and sell it for 40 bucks. Then it's nothing out of the ordinary and just as expensive as everything else.

Of course, it will always be about supply and demand. If enough people still want and support specific sets, Lego keeps making flawed premium products and still selling them for premium prices. Many unaware kids won't care about some minor inaccuracies. Heck, even i don't know about some of these shortcomings or just don't mind them as much as some purists or hardcore fans out there. On the other hand, as far as cutting corners is concerned, i find it fascinating in a sense that there still seem to be some limits for Lego. Take Lama Su as the most recent example. They could have just reused Taun We's head mould and called it a day. Kids wouldn't care, because they may want to have that cool Mando looking character the most. This would have saved Lego a fortune and the profit margins could have been even higher for this set. But they didn't. Maybe how much effort is put into it heavily depends on who the designer (plus their budget constraints/deadlines) for any given set is. Like i said, sometimes the gap between great brand new characters and same old cookie cutter figures is just insane to me. I agree. The value might have been almost non-existent, so it's not a terrible loss or anything. But why keep on removing stuff and still increase the price, anyways? In principle, getting less for more always just sucks megablocks for the consumers. This makes a ton of sense to me. What i didn't know until yesterday... Untypically for UCS sets, the AT-ST is actually supposed to be widely available. So even if it will obviously vary by region, it should get greater discounts than what Lego will offer. @ArrowBricks So you are saying... With the tiny bit of terrain being included, this COULD have been, like, a ~$50 Battle Pack? If so, that's wild... And dare i say absolutely absurd, even for current Lego Star Wars standards.

Despite also being downsized and overpriced, the MTT build feels a little less compromised and more accomplished than the CTT. And thus, making it the better deal of the two. Based on the lifestyle pictures of the Republic Juggernaut, it's good to see Lego come to the realization again... yes, you can indeed remove backpacks from figures and then seat them in the actual set. It doesn't actually get in the way of playing. Now they only need to realize this for cloth waist capes. Even though removing them in order for figures to have a seat ain't even required in the first place. Also amusing that they put Bly's binoculars upside down. It's almost as if the kids advertised to building the sets... are actually building these sets. So many of these errors happening nowadays.

Not saying this is justified at all, but the old price for the prior Super Battle Pack was never gonna last long. At least in Europe, now it's like getting two BP's in one for their standard price. But still, ditching some pieces, let alone cutting two B1s, which are probably the cheapest figures for Lego to produce, is super scummy. So yeah, this will take an unusual long time for me to get.

Yeah, it reminds me of the theory that Lego insiders were spreading controlled fake leaks in order to identify the real leakers out there or something like that. Okay, the Clone Turbo Tank will actually retail for only 150€ in Germany... Holy clone cannoli, this just changes everything for me! No, not really. But i might no longer insist on a 50% discount. Anything in the 40s will do the trick then.

The TCW Maul came in one of the 2022 magazines, i got him this way, too. I think it feels so close because we haven't had exactly any shortage on Maul figures the last decade or so. He also came in two books. Off the top of my head i count eight or nine Maul figures in total since 2015. What's crazy to me is the discrepancy between creating whole new characters with unique molds and executing the printing for many troopers and other known minifigures. Like modern Lego group excels at big new elements, but fails and stumbles upon the finer details. I'm not into those and still think that it sucks. Well yeah, if it wasn't for the UCS Slave 1, they probably would have given Jango his arm printing just like many other main characters nowadays for the play sets. Lego might have made up their mind (again) as far as dealing with retaining UCS exclusivity goes. Or they will just throw him out the door as a keychain (like Luke) or in another Microfighter (like Rex) in the foreseeable future. You never know with these guys. Oh man, not only is Lego Star Wars always late to the party in terms of officially reveals, now they decided to drip-feed this wave as well. Speaking of which... The very first death star plans (already got beaten) have arrived. The imperial rank Insignia doesn't fit Yularen, so that's gotta be Krennic's torso.

The wrinkles on his face appear to be darker than the last figure. The leg printing also seems to be ever so slightly different. But yeah, overall very similar. Because Lego inaccurately uses the TCW branding for every Skywalker Saga set that included some clones. Already beaten, but apparently it's 50€.

Yeah, in most cases the ships that got downsized were - at least in my eyes - too big and just bulky to begin with. So when i see the smaller model, it sorta looks like the appropriate scale to me. As long as a vehicle still ends up in the tier it belongs, i'm fine with it. Case in point, also on account of the downsizing already happening with the 2016 model, i'm not fine with the new CTT. It's supposed to be huge and now it's... i'm tempted to say almost midi-scale? Maybe something in between that and system scale? So strange... Kinda funny to see Lego going through with their "every Skywalker Saga set that includes clones gets the TCW branding on the box" rule. I fully expected it for the MTT and CTT, but they even did it for Jango's Slave 1! Sure, Boba's a clone too, but this ain't your average trooper. Package would look miles better with the blue stripe, though. Lama Su looks super slick. I'm impressed with the new head/neck/collar piece they made specifically for him. The fin looks really sharp, too. No complaints here. Like for many Lego Star Wars minifgures, i expect the back of the skirt to be printed as well.

I'm sorry everyone. But now that you can take a good look at this thing, i'm inclined to bring back my miserable meme monster one last time. Just skip this one. Nothing to see here. Dellow felegates. What? How can you do this? This is outrageous, it's unfair. How can you be a driving factor of your multi-billion economic environment and not be treated like a master costumer? That's... why i'm here. As you and the consumer share a symbiont circle, what happens to one of you, affects the other, you must understand this. Though you were right about one thing, beloved Billund billionaire bubble, the negotiations were short. Not just for the men. But the woman and children, too! They are like cash cows to you... and you exploited them like cash cows! Because these adult collector federation types are cowards and Republic credits are no good out here. You were the chosen company! It was said that you would destroy bad business design decisions, not join them. You were to bring balance to big flagship sets, not leave them in plastic pieces. You were my brother from another mother, Lego. I loved you. But i don't know you anymore! You are breaking my heart. You are going down a path i can't follow. Because of what you've done. What you plan to do. Sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship to me. Well, if it works... Miserable meme monster over. I gotta say, design-wise, it looks better than the initial blurry picture. Will probably be sturdy as hell, too. Being this tiny it kinda has to, right? But ultimately, my mind hasn't changed on this one... Deep, deep discount it is. The downsizing that i typically don't mind at all - on the contrary - even appreciate, has been taken too far on this one. Especially at this price point.

This is the same as the Falcon to me, i'd like a play scale set again. Even though the last UCS model happened much longer ago than the last system scale one. Unless Lego scrapped the waves for March/May, this set list looks far too comprehensive to be just for January. Very curious about the $10 set... what could it possibly be? The return to super small sets would be a pipe dream. The sets for 15 and 20 bucks will probably be the Microfighter and Battle Pack, respectively. The $30 set piqued my interest as well. I think the 4+ set will be based on Mando again. Having only two out of ten sets (excluding the Polybag) to be 18+ based, is an somewhat encouraging sign for better balancing things out. Although the 10+ set will definitely be yet another buildable droid. And yes... 75448 could be another Mech instead. The new Duros (Solitus) minifigure for the RBTG Force Burner Snowspeeder got leaked... looks kinda sick. The torso and legs will prove useful for other themes. As well as the new Aayla Secura for the upcoming MTT... looks a little better to me than the old one.

Okay, that's actually a huge price gap. And i agree that no matter how you slice it, like how much more detailed the design is or how sturdy the build is... both won‘t cut it. Same goes for the included minifigure. While it might as well be the best AT-ST driver we've ever gotten, i am going out on a limb here and say it won‘t be worth the extra price of admission. Not a UCS person up until this point, so it doesn’t affect me on a personal level. However, i am telling this time and time again. These formatted price points make no sense for some sets. Like having an X-Wing for 240 bucks is fine, but asking the same for a Landspeeder is just ridiculous. There absolutely should be 150_ UCS sets for smaller vehicles, even if many play scale sets exceed this price point. In the case of the AT-ST, i don't feel like charging 200 bucks is too tall of an order by default, but you probably have to deliver more than what they seem to have in store for you.

Yes, i just hope for a solid system scale set again. Another UCS one would be no good to me. Unsurprisingly, rumor has it the new UCS AT-ST measurements are all supposed to be smaller (especially in depth) compared to the the last model. As a result, it will probably be a much more sturdy and better looking build, though. And as many of us already assumed, the new August sets should be officially revealed very soon.

Ah, i should have looked this one up, too. That's even worse, then. And yes... very accessible! For the love of the maker... please don't. I want to see the day when i can get a regular sized OT themed Falcon. First, there was the Solo version. Then the TROS one, which was on shelves for like forever. Now it is the RBTG Dark Falcon and the midi-scale one, because of course. There was a Microfighter that released in between, which is the only one i got. Personally, just feels like a unlucky timeline to get a standard Falcon. The Gingerbread Vader leaked. I like the coloring on this one. Printing looks good, if a bit basic and bland. Could have used some arm printing for sure.

I gotta give it to you, that's a great idea. Almost too good to be true. We can be so hyper-fixated on all these different anniversaries to such an extent, we better not forget the simplicity of it all. So yeah, rather than just focus on a few ANH sets, why wouldn't you celebrate the 50th Star Wars anniversary in a way everyone can have something to enjoy? I mean, you even covered Lego's 18+ obsession, while still retaining a healthy selection of system scale sets. Your idea with the concept art figures is just the very fitting cherry on top for the occasion. Well done.

Well, wishlisting is a personal thing, yeah. Of course, it can be perceived as "unreasonable" by people who don't want it or necessarily care for it. Nothing special about it. For you, it's nitpicking. For me, it's an unnecessary restriction on Lego's part. For you, it's enough. For me, it's not. Simple as that. It might serve you if you were slightly more open minded about such things. Instead of using the extraordinary "Eurobricks reputation" as an excuse. I know, this isn't exactly the place for some excessive wishlisting, so this will be my last Lando posting for now and leave it at that.

So, you overthink stuff and then tell me i shouldn't overthink the stuff you were just overthinking? Okay, so by your definition i am still new to Lego Star Wars. So my chances of getting a new Lando is obviously more limited compared to someone who is collecting longer than me. Don't forget... we are all biased in some regards. My initial point was his inaccessible status. And the price points definitely contributed to that. So I'd say this is part of the discussion at hand. And yes, the 20th anniversary Lando was still on shelves in 2020... but a mere replica of the original figure. Like i said, there was never any modern Bespin based Lando released in a system scale set... and this just feels out of place to me. In terms of it's availability, it might be fair to differenciate a bit between Cloud City Lando and his other versions, though.

Yeah, while i'm not too found of this year's droid theme, i find it interesting if this is leading up to a constant line of themed calendars. What an odd take to call it an odd take. Never tell me the odd takes. Wow... This gotta be the most miserable metric i've seen for a long time. If i ever wanna disagree with someone just for the sake of it, rest assured, i'm gonna use this one. There is also one more minifigure based on TROS for you to disregard. Quick, get that into your calculations. Now it's actually one minifigure every 2+ minutes of screen time. Given the possible many extra seconds that are unaccounted for, i don't wanna be more specific than this. But can we make it to three minutes? You can tell me exactly what is enough character coverage and what's not. I wonder what Greedo's minifigure per seconds of screen time ratio would be... I reckon, it's like ten seconds. It reminds me of this terrible money per hour measurement for certain entertainment media. Seeing it again on a Lego forum wasn't on my personal bingo card. Yeah, that's my point. He has been incredibly inaccessible as of late. Oh, i'm excited about the CTT and MTT as well... but surely not 160€ excited. And what timeframe would you consider someone as being "new to the hobby"? If you are not @BrickBob Studpants, chances are you are not collecting this theme since 1999. Plus pretty much everyone has their dark ages sooner or later. New generations getting into Lego as well. That's why a steady supply of certain characters (just like sets) can work wonders. And this is clearly not the case in here. No, but since you were basically asking for this, we will get into an extented Lego Lando history lesson: The first Bespin Lando was released in a $100 set in 2003. At the time, this was pretty expensive. And we certainly don't need to talk about after market prices. Then just a short 15 years later, we got the one and only modern rendition of the Cloud City Lando, arguably his most iconic look. In a $350 set... also expensive in 2018. It already retired at the end of the following year and that's that. The 2019 anniversary figure is obviously a callback to the classic minifigure. So, the point still stands, as of today, the most desirable version of Lando was never made available in an affordable play scale set. That's the definition of inaccessible. It's an unnecessary rarity. The rest fares addmittably better than this... though still not great. The two Skiff Guard Landos came out in 2006 and 2012, respectively... which is alright. However the third one took until last year. Not much consistency going on there. General Lando released in 2009 and 2017. Nothing since then. Wouldn't describe that as recent. But at least those figures came in regular sets. Even if i abondon my one by one approach for individual versions and throw all those figs together, his ongoing presence on store shelves is still rather limited.

I'd like to see themed calendars as well. Yet i don't think having one or two goofy holiday minifigures would rule those out. Just think the ugly christmas sweater thing is a little played out at this point. Though given the choice, the best course of action would be to have some exclusive characters (or rarer versions of existing ones) we typically wouldn't get in regular sets.

Given both the price point and piece count, i doubt it's gonna exceed midi-scale. I wish Lego would go back to these more eccentric looking holiday figures for the Advent Calendars.

Oh, i agree. I would see the general (Lego) Star Wars anniversary as the main events. For everything else, a nod here and there would be sufficient. You don't need to celebrate every property in a big way in order to acknowledge it's anniversary. Like you said, if something special is supposed to happen all the time, it loses it's meaning rather quickly. Of course, as i said multiple times by now, it would help if Lego releases sets for sub-themes in between those anniversaries. That way you don't have to bet on single years and it might help keeping people's expectations for these occasions in check. The summer wave set reviews, whether they have been officially revealed until then or not, are bound to arrive next week. Still keen on seeing the extent of damage dealt to the upcoming Clone Turbo Tank.

Oh yeah... figures. I first asked myself what business the Boonta Eve Podracers had with Cloud City. That's true. I don't think there are many characters left to do for Episode V. You do notice how TESB got no dedicated Glup Shitto scene like ANH has with the Cantina and ROTJ with Jabba's Palace. Yes, it's insane Bespin Lando is that inaccessible. I only have him in oldschool style because of the 20th anniversary. Still want his modern version.

What racers are you talking about? Yeah, Lego did ten Lando minifigures in 26 years, which definitely isn't a whole lot to say the least. Looking at the newly revealed Lego Ideas Flying Moon Car, it only increases my desire of a Bounty Hunter Pursuit remake. That thing looks like a more basic Coruscant Speeder to me.

Episode V being the best covered movie is kinda ironic when you consider how little Lego seems to do anything based on Cloud City. A character such as Lando Calrissian should be more accessable, i think. A UCS Falcon based on TESB could finally include a Lando wearing Han's cloths, though. Yep, and the strategy of re-releasing iconic sets meant for newcomers and those who missed it, while including those exclusive figures to also appeal to long time fans who already got it, is to Lego's liking anyways.

More unique cantina aliens, please. Give me Hem Dazon at long last, you cowards. Won't say no to a modern Y-Wing, even though i am content with my Rogue One model. Vader's TIE Advanced is a definite yes from me. Reminds me i still gotta get the Interceptor for the TIE family. So is an OT Millenium Falcon. Though since it would probably be another UCS one, i gotta be patient for a system scale set. Last, but certainly least, lock away any Landspeeder plans and throw away the key! Well, they basically sold you two Battle Packs in one set for the old price point. It was nothing short of a steal by today's Lego standards and pretty obvious the price won't last long. The writing was truly on the wall with this one. However, the really scummy part is that they increased the BP's prices in the US even further, while also decreasing the value by taking out two B1s. Charging more and delivering less is, of course, never a good look.

Yes, i agree. And that's the unfortunate part... it would have taken so little consideration and effort to make a fairly big difference regarding some people's perception for this Lego Star Wars year. On another note, it's been known for a while that the next Lego Star Wars Magazine for Germany, Austria and Switzerland will include an Ahsoka (T-6 Shuttle) minifigure. The more interesting part to me is that it includes a sticker sheet which features many main characters that either have been relatively recently released or are still currently available... and Count Dooku. Not saying this has to mean anything, but i feel like he will return soon. Fingers crossed for 2026.