BrickPrick

Yes, i agree. Especially the former is unanimously praised to be an all-time great set. Whereas i think the UCS Death Star could have been on the same level, but just falls short in areas where it absolutely shouldn't. The things is, if your minifigures are lacking in a classic $240 UCS set, it ain't that big of a problem, because everyone i. Their right mind would ~99% buy it because of the big build. So it's easier to see past those flaws. But when you have a UCS set that is basically a MBS offering in everything but name, so the play factor is a bigger priority, it's shortcomings becomes much more glaring, because the figs are much more of a main draw. On another off-topic note, i recently received a Coca Cola and to my surprise... Queen Amidala from The Phantom Menace was on it. Turns out you can find various characters from the saga on their cans and bottles since a couple of weeks. Which i find kinda interesting, as there is no Star Wars related project to promote right now. But it still reminds me of the marketing campaign they had with Pepsi when TPM was advertised literally everywhere.

Well, if i were to humor the idea the Diorama Collection format, fittingly the Emperor's Throne Room set, is not clearly overpriced to begin with, then... yeah, maybe? But i don't, so i don't. I also don't think ripping away the total minifigures from a premium priced set, splitting them up and applying those to a variety of smaller system scale stuff works very well in favor of justifying or defending the value for the former. Even if it ultimately ends up being the same price, the amount of minifigures would never match properly, because it ain't a proportional process of adding them from regular releases to huge premium products. I mean, taking the 38 minifigs from the UCS Death Star would leave you with less than two figs on average for your suggested amount of sets. Since every set would retail for 50 bucks, does this sound realistic to you? No, it would be more like at least 60 figures in total. Unless we are talking only talking Dioramas with three figs per $100 like the aforementioned Throne Room. What a waste. I liked my initial idea much better. This joke aside, you can definitely do much better than this. I don't know what's the point of this, either.

This is the Lego Star Wars theme in a nutshell to me. I like a lot of the actual sets, but i rarely like the pricing. Which is admittedly still better than the other way around, because quality should be the top priority. But yeah, i always thought releasing the first ever $1000 set and making it look worthwhile to people, would be a near impossible task for Lego. As the moment you do something unprecedented is usually met with shocked reactions regardless. I don't even know what aspect would make the UCS Death Star worth a thousand bucks. The build is huge and well designed for the most part... if you can tolerate the design decision to make it a Death Disc. The minifigure selection is very solid, but the execution is not up on the level it's supposed to be. So giving fans the minifigures as accurate and detailed as they deserve, might have helped tremendously. You don't wanna count the compromises being made in a set of this scale after paying them a fortune... No, you want to forget the price as soon as you open the box and having an awesome time putting this thing together. Like in a "yeah this was a huge amount of money, but i am satisfied with what i got" kinda way.

Looks like the UCS Death Star will officially be revealed at a live event on September 4th. I want to inspect this thing from every angle only to reiterate that it's kinda cool, but definitely not 1000€ cool.

Got the 75433 Jango Fett's Slave 1 for a very reasonable price. It's interesting that despite being well aware of what this set will and won't deliver, it doesn't get in the way of personal excitement whatsoever. Accepting something for what it is, judging it for what it sets out to do, rather than keep on mourning for what it could or even should have been, might help a lot. After all, the biggest battles are fought in the mind.

It's time for the grand 41st salad. I absolutely agree. According to my gut feeling, a new Count Dooku minifigure will finally happen next year. Considering how Lego operates nowadays, this makes the most sense, yeah. Winner winner, chicken dinner... i hope. I wanna say that a potential TIE Avenger will probably be sold for no less than 70 bucks. How some people can think it could be around 50 bucks in this ongoing Lego landscape is beyond me. Well, i don't know about everybody else's dreams, but in my case this would be both terrific and terrifying. Might need to apply some functioning filters to make it all work out. But i actually said for the longest time that i would like to be able to record my dreams for private use and research purposes.

Well yeah, this aspect could prove problematic in the grand scheme of things. The only flaw in an otherwise perfectly thought out plan, i suppose. Now that i got a better look at it, i must say, as much as the Death Star minifigure line-up leaves to be desired, the Hot Tub Stormtrooper is a thing of beauty. Obviously not nearly enough to justify the set's value proposition (what single minifigure could?), but it's at least one of the very few bright spots the set actually does provide as far as new figures go. Even though i fully understand and even appreciate the principle of exclusivity, it's unfortunate that i won't be able to get my hand on this precious piece of plastic... unless Lego some day decides to just hook it up to a keychain or something. Think a figure such as this would have been a splendid addition to one of those visual dictionaries.

D23 will start with Lego Star Wars representation. "Good things come to those who wait", a spokesperson says. They will unveil the curtain on the upcoming TIE Avenger, which just casually chills there on a table. The first official Mando & Grogu trailer follows immediately after, which also features the Avenger. The show concludes with a heartfelt public apology to @CloneCommando99 for any caused inconvenience. They will also grant him early access free of charge. In addition, they announce to honor his journey by heavily showcasing his dreams and memes in the set's manual. "Thanks for your time everyone. I know this show has been somewhat on the shorter side, but everything was said. Bye bye."

I used to like the blue milk, but now the 332nd cocktail just makes me drunk beyond belief. Yeah, i could do with a juicy, tasty 41st salad any day now. Didn't had any for quite a long time. Other than that, maybe concentrate your efforts on a variety of phase 1 food instead of constantly delivering slightly different variations of phase 2 buffet.

Deliver me a delicious dish. Something both fresh and healthy. Rather than shoving the same fast food in the microwave over and over again. Then we are talking.

It's a good thing i ain't got no megaphone, because it might not be interesting to everybody. And not like i haven't been telling this a couple of times already, but... I am sick. And i am tired. About modern Lego Star Wars Clone Troopers. Given that i came back to this hobby in the late 2010s, i was obviously very excited when Lego brought them back in a big way this decade. Lego actually spacing sets out helped a ton in keeping the excitement going through the years. But nowadays... that's impossible! No need to search my feelings, i know it to be extra cloni cannoli. I look at something like the 327th Battle Pack, even at a much more reasonable price point and think to myself... "can i get it now? Sure. Am i in any rush to do so? No." You start to feel incredibly indifferent about these things. So sooner or later just makes no difference to me anymore. Still wanna see some missing legions to see the Lego light of day, but yeah... I kinda became world-weary of those white dudes with their colored stripes. It's time to stop! It's time to stop, okay? No more! Think of the children... oh wait. -_-'

Haha, now that's the crossover i didn't knew i wanted. @CloneCommando99, @Mandalorianknight and @BrickPrick together at last. Not gonna lie, i feel honored for this welcome cameo surprise. Lovely seeing that dazzling Duros on there. Good thing i didn't change my profile picture just yet. Anyways, thank you. Here's to many more memes... just not too many.

Yeah, i know when and where he showed up before, hence my above average rating. In hindsight, saying it "would probably be nothing to write home about" for anyone collecting Lego Star Wars longer than ~2017, was addmittably an exaggeration on my part. I might have been too much in @BrickBob Studpants mode then and there. But, of course, there can be a middle ground and thus, many people don't have a Tarkin minifigure, regardless of when they started to collect this theme. Thanks for pointing out my short burst of ignorance. Okay, so by your definition, Tarkin being merely an average addition checks out. Since he is that rare of a fig to get, i would still give him the edge as above average. But even if not, the chances of a new minor character showing up in the TIE Advanced is in the realm of possibility. I mean, we had Sloane in the TIE Bomber before. Could see something similar happening for the Advanced. So yeah, it will land between average or above average.

I would already consider someone like Tarkin as above average and this is the figure i had in mind as well. Of course, for everyone collecting the theme any longer than me, this would probably be nothing to write home about. Just think these sets offer some room outside the ordinary.

Yep, this dedication is quite the effort. Always enjoy reading through his postings, even though i don't get all the references. And i think he absolutely is prepared for the long run. Seems to be holding his own very well so far. I could imagine staying away from this forum for a couple of months and the first thing to come across again would probably be "day 200+ of TIE Avenger requesting" like business as usual. This man is on a mission and I'm here see him succeed. I hope the TIE Advanced will at least come with some above average interesting minifigures. Something we don't get every day.

How dare you thinking i could forgot about any of those characters just because i haven't mentioned them in my simplified list? The way i see it, we would be lucky if Lego was to turn even half of these characters into minifigures in such a set! Your dedication for the illusive TIE Avenger is kinda crazy, by the way.

Yes, that would be a great choice from Lego... also a very convenient thing for them to do. As they already have like half of the minifigure line-up figured out from the 2023 play scale set. Just need to add a few named characters like Mon Mothma, some more rebel pilots, Glup Shitto's like the honor guards and they are good to go.

You may now place your bets whether the TIE Pilot will be the already existing UCS version or the dumped down play scale one. As much as i would go with the latter, especially considering the highly questionable quality standard of the $1000 Death Star minifigures, given Lego's tendency to give away superior figs in GWP's, the former wouldn't surprise me at all.

Interesting thought. Addmittably, a Slave 1 Microfighter replacing Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter, as great as it is, would have been a wise choice. The latter could have paired perfectly as a play scale set with the ARC-170 instead. Although three years in the making, you can make the same argument with the Slave 1 complimenting Obi-Wan's Delta 7, just not as fitting due to different scales. But yeah, a Microfighter would have still quenched my thirst for a Jango Fett minifigure, while also making space for something a bit more meaningful. Even though, as things stand, it still is a very relevant release to me. And i stand by my point... If you were to cut down the overblown 18+ and buildable slop by at least half, i doubt anyone would even care enough to question the existence of this Slave 1. Most of the discussions would probably just revolve around the form factor.

I like to see this set as a much needed 2002 remake first and a no-brainer 2021 recolor second. In my own biased ways, I'm glad about the play scale set releasing in the same year as the UCS one. Could only have so many blue Mando minifigures that weren't called Jango Fett. Also a sucker for these more obscure inclusions like Lama Su to complete the core collection of the Skywalker Saga. So yeah, personally find it really exciting. The constant concern about the limited amount of available set slots is understandable, but before i think about cutting the Slave 1, i would name like ten other 2025 releases for the chopping block.

Oh shoot, i didn't even think about adjusting for inflation. Well, that's even better then. The Slave 1, albeit too small for what it should have been, is definitely among the more reasonable priced sets of the summer wave, alongside the V-19. Like you don't have to wait ages in order to get a good deal for those.

I've been in a bit of a drought as of late. In Germany, we say Sommerloch. So Lego kinda takes a backseat, while other interests shine through and demand more of my attention again. But seems like i didn't miss all that much in terms of official Lego Star Wars news. Which, as i could tell, had a certain effect in a lot of these forums postings. Not really. It only made me get but a fraction of the newest releases in the same year, which always causes playing some catch-up for the sets of the last year. Other than that, i only got recently retired stuff when i returned from my near endless dark ages. So i catched up on quite a few sets from ~2015/2016 in like 2018. Since then, i only get the occasional minifigure. Yeah, i can definitely relate to this as well. Like 99% of my collection is based on the 75000 product line, so everything from 2013 going forwards. Which matches rather well minifigure-wise. In terms of sets, though... it ain't as easy due to obvious size differences. Like displaying the Rogue One TIE Striker from 2016 to every other modern TIE variant from the 2020s does look super silly next to each other. I would say more like five to ten bucks. Besides the additional minifigure, Lama Su being reasonably worth five bucks, the new Slave 1 also comes with a good 100 more pieces than the 2021 one. Which isn't exactly apparent when directly comparing both very similar looking main models, but you definitely see the difference in the side builds. The Kamino cart build is much more substantial and thus a more sturdy stand than whatever the last one was. I say, that at least counts for another five bucks. While applying the so-called holy grail of ten cents per piece, it would be ten bucks. Ultimately leaving the price gap at only five bucks.

Well yeah, i take that TPM Padme off your hands, Lego. Pretty please? Alright, thanks in advance and have a nice life.

Some compromises need to be made in the context of them having a pretty tight budget. The designers all visited PR school as well and say what they are supposed to say. Of course, they won't straight up tell you "we would if we could", blame their bosses and express their true feelings towards this. They are seemingly and simply not allowed to go above and beyond for many sets. I doubt that anyone would question Lego's huge profit margins and that they happen due to some unreasonable cost cutting. As a consumer, yes, i'd say either stop with the blatant penny pinching or at least stop with the constant price hikes. But that's mere wishful thinking that doesn't come to fruition as long as people keep buying even the bad stuff.

I think the people who actually design the sets really can't afford such things. At least not without compromising other aspects. While the higher ups who get to decide the overall budget constraints probably can, but don't. I remember one of the designers was interviewed about the lack of dual moulded legs for the new young Boba Fett in the UCS Slave 1. And he said that they prioritized some design aspects of the actual ship over that.