Faefrost

What is the currently accepted price per minifigs? It seems like TLG made a set of more generic minifigs with a price point of $2 per USD for the purpose of putting them in classrooms. Not collectors hands. This set seems brilliant for that. What we perceive as flaws are intentional. These aren't characters. It is a character building kit for a large group of small children to make up their own stories with or without the teachers help. This is a good education product. Just not as good an AFOL collectors product. ( and $40 USD is dirt cheap for anything intended to be used in a classroom.) Things like all the heads being the same is not a flaw. It is an intentional design element. The set is specifically designed for group play in public. You make as many elements similar to minimize reducing its function when they get lost stolen or eaten. Plus all having the same face minimizes squabbles over pointless specifics. If you do want one of these grab it fast. They have been reduced for clearence at Lego.com and Lego stores.

Hmmm? Given how many variants recurs and extended versions there are of the Peter Jackson film's you have to wonder what exactly the lawyers consider to be "the movie"? Do scenes shot but not in the theatrical release count? Etc?

It's not entirely TLG. Lucas has final say over sets and subjects and has been known to focus licensee's onto if not specific subjects then at least general categories in order to drive product and marketing synergy. So things like x number of CW sets ( the current growth point) plus Y number from EU/game/non traditional sources to pair with new things like a game, plus Z number from RotJ (I think the anniversary is looming for that one?) would make sense. The B wing has me at a loss? Maybe they are looking to do a lower cost UCS kit than the $399 USD price point of the last few? I' sad though. I was hoping for a UCS Sandcrawler OT ATAT.

I keep looking at the Saesee Tin Jedi fighter and wondering what the design conversation was around TLG? "Wow, we just made a ship based around the ugliest little minifig we have ever produced. I mean just look at this thing! He's got a Butt on the back of his head!" "Oh don't worry. That's not the ugliest" "really? Whats Worse?" "This little Jedi Dwarf roadkill thing" "oh dear gods! It's like someone ran it over a few times! You mean that's what it's supposed to look like?" "It looks like Yoda had an industrial accident" "Wow! What are we gonna do with 2 minifigs that are this bad? And don't say we could pawn them off on the Monster Hunters group. I already tried. They said they were too disturbing for their intended age range." "So what should we do with em?" "Ah, just toss em both in the same box. Stick that droid with the really ugly paint job in there with them. This way nobody will notice"

Nice review. I kinda like the look and feel of the big chunky über trucks and vehicles in these sets. But is it just me or do these sets seem way pricey for their size? More so than you would expect for an in house non licensed set? Is it the cost of the Dino's that drives them up so high?

The bottom left set is the Sith Fury, a player ship from the new Star Wars the Old Republic game. The set above it is the Republic Striker a fighter from the same game. (the red and white ship)

Awesome! Just perfect on every level (and using the Wampa for the Wendigo is just so nerdy appropriate. It's fantastic).

Is the license just films? Or is it the entirety of the LoTR Middle Earth property? Just curious? I know Lego has done some unusual Star Wars "Expanded Universe" subjects, so was not sure how constrained they are with the Tolkien stuff?

By me it seemed to vary more depending on the specific sets. The Huge and expensive Earth Defense Force HQ seemed to just fly off the shelves. As did any of the blue earth sets, excepting the jet copter. The grey saucers just languish. The same sort of thing seems to happen with the Ninjago sets. The "hero" sets just fly off the shelves, while stacks of the Rattlecopter just languish.

I am so looking forward to those Old Republic sets. I love the way the Sith Troopers came out. Truly awesome figs. Now if only they would release a battle set with them. I think the best set of his release will be the Skiff. Fantastic figs. Fantastic price. Cool bricks. It's pure win. The Gungans sub is big and ugly and overpriced. Only redeeming feature is Amidala fig. The Pre Vizla fighter is in that same strange place as the T6 jedi Shuttle. It's cool, has some great figs, but that weird rotating wing makes it hard to handle or fit on the shelf. And the "top side vs underside" look of the wing is disconcerting. I'll probably still grab it. I'm a sucker for Mandolrian subjects. When are these supposed to hit store shelves?

My wish list? Well given the subject matter I sense that we will see a lot of scenes rather than buildings etc. But with that said, here is what I think would be some good options. 1. An Unexpected Party - Just a small scene from BagEnd. Bilbo, Galndalf, Thorin and a smattering of Dwarves around Bilbo's well laden table. 2. Bilbo and the Trolls - Once again a simple scene. Bilbo, three trolls some accesories such as a bonfire, loot and chests, The loot and weapons. 3. The Prancing Pony - my big wish. A full MMV type Medievel inn. Strider, the Hobbits, Nazgul etc. 4. The Road to Bree - The one scene that has appeared in every variation of movie, so much art, heck I think it was the poster for the Bakshi animated LotR. The Hobbits hiding in the hollow of the tree roots while the Nazgul ride past on the road above them. 5. Rivendell - A BIG set!!! Enough said. (actually much like Hogwarts this one has the potential for at least two variants over several years. The Hobbit version and the FotR version. 6. The Barrow Wight encounter - A little dungeon crawling scene. The Hobbits vs the undead thingies. And Maybe a Tom Bombadil fig? (The lack of this encounter in the movies works against this one) 7. The Death of Boromir - Boromir, Merry Pippin, lots of orcs. Some trees etc. A nice little battle set. 8. The Spiders of Mirkwood - Bilbo, the Dwarves, a couple of the nice new spiders, a nice set of web connected trees. 9. Smaug - BIG showpiece set. Smaug, Bilbo, the treasure room. The secret entrance. 10. Riders of Rohan and Men of Gondor Battle packs. Horsies!!! 11. An assortment of small to mid sized Orc siege weaponry sets. 12. Eowyn vs the Witch King of Angmar - An absolute must do set for Lego. Eowyn, Merry, Theoden, The witch King and his dragon mount. 13. Mount Doom - The lava cave corrupted Frodo, Gollum, Sam, maybe an eagle? 14. The Barrel Riders - The Elven dock where Bilbo stuffs the Dwarves into the barrels. 15. The Docks of Dale - heavy browns. wooden docks and piers. Dwarves arriving in barrels. Archers ready to fight off the dragon etc. Just so many cool possibilities.

Kind of a neat set. I know nor care anything for the whole ninjas story. But this nice classic blue fighter caught my eye. With only the slightest adjustments it makes a read good earth defense ship or even a clone or Mandolorian craft. Good stuff

This! The MMV just feels like the most complete set ever. Two full all sided buildings (which flip open to become 4 halves) Market stalls, great minifigs, animals etc. The joust is a gorgeous set but feels more like a playset than the MMV. (Fun detailed build though)

Wow! I love how that facade came out. so much subtle detail. Just beautiful. I believe the english term you are looking for is "Lamplighter". Nowhere near as interesting a name. (Are these what were considered "Candle Jacks" as well or were those more of an in house/indoor role?)

It's not a matter that CW is good or bad. It's not a matter of what defines a fan, or who is a true fan. I think the key point is the main thing we all have is tat we are all here fans of Star Wars Lego. Otherwise we would not be here. And that is where that exponentially increasing amount of episodic footage from TCW comes into play. The Pt and the OT are done (barring yet another Lucas redo). Which means the list of potential subjects from them is ultimately finite. We the loving fans probably will not drop $100 USD on a fourth version of the Sith Infiltrator anytime soon.. We know this. Lego knows this. With Each re-release they have to look on this with some trepidation . For this reason. Whereas, love it or hate it. TCW is the current and on going growth point that will feed that shiny new 10 year contract TLG just signed. It's where the new ships comes from now. It's where the new minifigs and characters come from. It' s where the new fans and hence the new customer base will come from. This is the basic math of this equation. The vast majority of anything new we will see in this hobby that we all love, will be coming from this source. Yes we will probably still get a steady stream of improved re-issues, and the big expensive AFOL oriented sets from the movies. But to cut yourself off from TCW will cut yourself off from anything truly new going forward. I am just not sure why we Lego SW fans would want to do that? But to each his own.

Well yes. But they are also the 800 pound Gorilla in the room full of toys. One remains that way by always having an answer to your competitions best line. Some combination of something that confuses brand identity with something equally desirable. So a Space Marine theme (something like Heinlein's Starship troopers would work well. armored space marines vs bugs, and it is either a cheap license or open source now. With Star Wars and LoTR up on top. And thinking on it even more, the Heinlein STarship Troopers (classic not the ugh! movies) could work really well without to much effort for TLG. They have clear characters, with stories and story arcs and figure distinctiveness that resembles their Clone Wars work and storylines. They have a faceless giant bug foe, which they have gotten very good at how to make in recent releases (see Shelob, HP Hagrid's house, all sorts of Ninjago sets, and the transforming Pyramids sets). The only downside is the sets might trend a bit older (say 11-13) than some others. Just my hopeful 2c

Looks amazing. So many greeblies grabbing the eye as you try and take it all in. All while you are mildly disconcerted by the strange stare that that local with the big ears seems to be giving you. BRILLIANT! I absolutely love it. My only suggestion / criticism is you may have done too good a job creating that smooth seamless grey base. It feels like it needs something very minor to just slightly increase the contrast between the speederbike and the ground. The grey color and detailing of the bike gets a little lost on the grey color of the base.

The sideways Astromech is a (no pun intended) side effect of the Astromech minifigs, not so much an issue with the fighter design. The oversized legs and feet of the traditional LEGO Astromechs are what causes the need to socket them sideways. Your just not going to be able to typically get screen accurate in that regard without reworking the minifigs. Which takes half the fun out of it.

To be fair, like many controversies on US tv, it is completely manufactured by two professional "indignant" types. And in this case even Fox News seemed to be looking at them like they were idiots. There is no huge wave of outrage against Lego for girls. (Actually it seems to be pretty steadily flying off the shelves.) I think you pegged it dead on. Yeah the friends sets are a bit "girly", but they are a gateway to getting girls playing with construction toys. Which in turn are pne of the best gateways to future artists, builders, engineers and scientists. How is this a bad thing just because it has pink in the color pallet?

Great looking fig. Does she actually fit in anything though? My concern is between this one and that hideous massive Hulk they are drifting more towards the figs as stand alone collectables and less as play features of the sets. Mind you I am still going to get one since its such a gorgeous minifigs. Didn't I see that there is a third Padme fig in the pipe? One in her truly awful CW "adventure chick" outfit? Maybe in the Malevolence set?

I always think that the Fantastic Four would be a great subject for Lego. Cool Villains. Distinctive heroes (that all use mostly similar printing) and some really cool vehicles. And who here wouldn't want minifigs of Dr. Doom... or Galactus?

It's a great set overall. The Plo Koon fig is great (even if the head is that rubber), and the color and markings on the ship are fantastic. The only real downsides to the set. While the colors are distinctive and new, it's a ship that we have essentially seen what 3 other times (soon to be 4 with Saese Tin's?). And unfortunately most of the other versions have a slightly more marketable coolness factor. Mace Windu's has the Stap's the droids and the speeder. Ashoka's has the Vulture fighter and Buzz Droids. This one is basically a well made fighter with some neat blue plate work, a brown droid and Plo Koon. The only real "feature" to the set is the ejection seat which mashes poor Plo's squishy head against the canopy until it pops off. (The canopy or the head, your mileage may vary). On the plus side, the guy who insists on putting Flick Missiles on everything Star Wars must have been out sick the day that they snuck this kit through design. It's a great kit. Particularly if you can get it at a reasonable price. But if you are looking at it at full price, I would consider grabbing the more feature rich Mace Windu variant. Especially if play value is part of the calculation.

I've found lot of we older fans opinions on CW and CW subjects is often reflected by how far into the series in question the fan made it. The intro movie was a bit formula and targeted a little young. With voice acting and dialogue on par with the PT (and I don't mean that in a good way). The first and second seasons while vastly better than the intro movie, were mainly ok or mid grade stuff. As it has been with a lot of our favorite SciFi shows, the series really found it's footing in the 3rd and 4th seasons and put out some really really good SW universe stories. Plus by then they started adding in more and more of the vehicles that we had always heard about either in books or reference materials, but had never seen on screen. (plsplsplsPLZ Mr Lego's peoples!!!! I'll take 3 each of a Hounds Tooth set and a "Luxury Yacht 3000 / Lady Luck" set and 4 Z-95 Headhunters!!!!) Like many of us, I agree that I think Lego did a much better job with the CW minifigs when they portrayed them in the video game. That is what they should have gone with for the sets. But it is a relatively minor nitpick compared to some otherwise truly amazing sets. (OK some of the early CW sets, particularly the Twilight were really lacking in something, but look at the newer ones). Heck if the heads bother you that much, either Bricklink the OT/PT equivalents, or simply put the figs helmet on.

Updated with some (hopefully) improvements.

It's a shame it doesn't come with a few more clones. But the Ayala secura fig more than makes up for that failing. :drool: