Flieger

Indeed; the ISD for example is 129,99 in German Lego Stores. With the discount it is roughly on Amazon.de-level, currently a bit below. While you may not save a lot of money for non-exclusive sets, or even make no saving at all, you still get the points and an exclusive minifig. I would not call it a huge must buy deal, and if you don't care for the minifig you can pass it easily. If you do care however, I don't see anything bad about it other than that it could have been a greater discount. (What has it been in the past?). ... and, of course, I for one am disappointed for the lack of discount on the TCW sets!

Thanks for the info! I hope the TCW sets are discounted too, because they are likely to be the last for a long time. The cannon in particular would be a good choice (plus a battle pack to get to the 55 Euro - I want that Yularen). PS: could the Yularen DS minifig foreshadow a new DS set?

Yep, pure nit picking. But cannot say I didn't warn you. Vader is someone I agree on. He is definetly not good for any season 1 set, especially since he barely showed up in season 2. Ahsoka... well, it was a surprise for casual viewers, but those who read Star Wars fanboards figured it out early on. (Even without screw-ups like the French voice actor of Ahsoka listing her work on Rebels in her portfolio). However I can agree that she may not have been ideal. Tarkin is a different story. I don't think it would have spoilered much, since we knew Tarkin was around at the time and we knew he was an important Imperial ever since the end of RotS. In contrast we did not know about Ahsoka and her rebel contacts. So he would have been a fair figure. After all, not many people google for Star Wars spoilers in Lego sets who would not get these spoilers from the usual fansites anyway. Not to mentioned it would have sparked discussion about possible roles Tarkin could have. And even if secrecy is an issue, we have seen that Lego can keep things under wrap if they want. In the end, I do not think the Gozanti is a horrible set. The problem is that it is the only set we get. No Tarkin in Sentinel Class shuttle with his guard stormtroopers, no Maketh Tua [you know about the spoilers regarding Lothal under Siege...], no Trayvis, no Vizago. And the selling point of the Gozanti is stuff we should have had before: Sabine's helmet and Kallus's hairpiece. The set alone is just not good enough to replace all possible late season 1 sets and bridge to the season 2 sets we hopefully see in 2016. I really think that it would be much better with the company of a Sentinal class shuttle including Tarkin, Tua, and 2x Guard Stormtroopers. Let us take Season 2 into account for a moment: We have seen the trailer and some have seen the opening story arc. Already we know there is a boat load of new possible sets and characters to become minifigs: [i will only refer to trailer stuff here] Vader in a TIE Advanced, the Phoenix Squad with A-Wings, two new inquisitors, new Hera with B-Wing and Quarrie, new Sabine, new Rex/Wolffe/third clone (likely Gregor) with custom AT-TE, new AT-AT (prototype?) and pilots, Rebel soldier with Rebel corvette, Ahsoka... and that is just on top of my head. All these possibilities in a time when TFA just has been released and people will asking for TFA sets. I fear that Rebels won't get the attention it deserves and could have gotten in a summer wave.

I can see that. You are right that both Tarkin and Ahsoka would make no sense on that cruiser - which is precisely why I lament that we are stuck with it, rather than having late season sets like the Sentinel Class shuttle Tarkin arrived in. Btw, I am only nitpicking now by pointing out that it was a Sentinel, not a Lambda. If it makes you happy you can pretend it is a late season set all the way, it does not change that vital characters and vessels from the later season are missing and we only get the Gozanti.

That would be amazing! But I was under the impression those were TFA sets... The Gozanti has also been prominently featured in the early season, especially with Kallus on board (Droids in Distress e.g.). Has Kallus been seen near a Gozanti in the final episode? Nope. Is any late season figure included (Tarkin, his Stormtroopers, Ahsoka etc.)? Nope. So why would we assume it is supposed to be a late season set?

Great! Salt in the wound though. ... we only get an early Season 1 Gozanti, while all the nice sets and characters shown in late Season 1 and now Season 2 will have to wait until next year. If they ever come.

The trailer looked nice, but I can't say I am a fan of the designs. Especially the Stormtroopers and the TIE-pilot look like they were designed by Apple. But anyway... I am hyped!!!

While the arm printing is nice and definitely adds to the figure in a meaningful way (the Imperial badge), I am more excited about the helmet. It is hard to miss but movie TIE-pilots did customize their helmets a bit, and the one in this set is the most attractive imo. http://www.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TI_TIE_Pilot_Helmet-detail

Does this refer to the TFA sets only? I am asking because I am not interested in them. ...Yet.

On average they are lower than that of most German shops, including the Lego Store. German prices, and European prices in general, are just a lot higher than US prices.

Same here. I cannot bring myself to buy it, although I love TIE Fighters and TIE Pilots. But sets which are too large for minifigs are not my cup of tea, the model does not look terribly convincing, and 200 Euro is quite a bit of money. I am afraid the minifig will be expensive on Ebay and the likes... (so expensive that it is almost worth to get the TIE just for the parts).

Is this TIE-Pilot exclusive? I hope not, because I would not want to spend 200 Euros just for the minifig. But the minifig looks great. It has arm printing and wonderful helmet printing representing this ANH pilot: ... and the Rebels' TIE pilots do not even get leg printing.

It could be focussed on ANH. By not having to put in the RotJ Final Duel, they can devote more space to the ANH scenes and make them more detailed. Imo, the Death Star is not just outdated when it comes to minifigs, some of the builds to recreate scenes seems outdated compared to modern builds. Also, Yularen is in ANH Death Star attire... perhaps he can soon join the rest of the DS I command.

Ok. Thanks!

A question: are the TIE pilots of the new Gozanti-cruiser set new? Different printing for the helmets, e.g., or are they the same we had with the TIE Advanced?

About bloody time! The old was really getting old. PS: in my country, it is April 2nd already, so this better not be a belated april foolbrickmario loves DisneyTM!. The first Thrawn-Triology was some of the best EU-stuff ever, and quite enjoyable even for casual fans. And it made me like the EU, in the beginning. The later books never had this magic, and most of the EU was plain stupid imho. I do not want to start a flame war and I know many like the EU, so I try to leave on a common ground: Thrawn, in the first triology, was really great and he got the EU going in the first place. Edit: ........... okaaaaaaay... this board still has "something" going on for April 1st. Not funny guys, not on April 2nd.

I can easily see why Thrawn is popular. I would say he is the most popular EU figure. He is the only one I am interested in, which means something because I am generally a TV&Movie purist. (And being a purist has nothing to do with what DisneyTM). Lego's choices regarding promo minifigs puzzle me quite often. How is it decided what promo minifig they do? Wouldn't it make sense to have poll or something like that?

The 501st is not just a TCW thing. It is a bit unfair that we had a 212th battle pack but no 501st. Perhaps it is because their role in the movie was not exactly kid-friendly...? (And it is strange that they missed the opportunity of a new Phase II Cody, indeed!) Speaking of battle packs, I would like to see this one: Death Star Troopers (II) - 2x Imperial Navy Troopers (aka Death Star Troopers; the one with the huge helmets) - 2x Imperial Officers in Black Uniforms (Legends' so-called Stormtrooper officers; with the new caps) Imperial Navy Troopers - 2x Imperial Crewmen (like the recent ISD ones) - 2x Imperial Junior Officers (like the Imperial Officer of the recent ISD, just with Lt. rank pins) Imperial Space Troopers - 4x Space Troopers (the canon ones seen when the Falcon lands on the Death Star in ANH)

You are right, I think. The black trousers are easily done, and even a Grand Admiral is not much of a problem. Just remember how messed up rank insignia in the Star Wars universe are. I for one am glad that they did a canon minifig, rather than a Legends minifig even if Thrawn&Pellaeon are cool.

Yep, the AT-RT is massively oversized. I forget the smilies. About the rest I was serious. The speeder bikes are objectively oversized, like the AT-AP is objectively undersized. In fact most sets I listed are, still objectively speaking, notably under-/oversized. I would be hardpressed to come up with a set that is true minifig scale (i.e. based on the minifig being 1.8m tall). But the feeling is about right, at least for me. This is a very subjective impression of course, and I am not surprised about differing opinions.

Yes, true minifig scale is rare. But there are some sets which feel better scaled than others. From what I have: 75002 AT-RT -----> probably one of the best sets for true minifig scale, assuming the minifig is 1.8m. 75004 Z-95 Clone Headhunter 75038 Jedi Interceptor 75039 V-Wing 75042 Vulture Droid 75043 AT-AP 75046 Police Gunship 75082 TIE Advanced Prototype 75083 AT-DP 75090 Speeder Bikes

I would have preferred Yularen in TCW outfit, since we do not have any Republican Admirals. And Republican non-Clone personnel is scarce anyway. The ANH outfit is nice too. I think this one will stay exclusive, because there are very few sets in which he'd make sense. And I do not see any Death Star Briefing set coming.

Outstanding review! I like photo reviews better than video reviews, so I am very glad you did this. Thanks a lot!

ZCerberus, thanks a lot for this read! It was enjoyable, informative, and thought provocing. So it was everything I like. The fantastic pictures are a highlight, too. Let me just disagree on a single point: the scepticism about a UCS set holding minifigs and being on minifig scale. As long as the chosen ship or vehicle is big enough, this is actually a plus in my opinion. I would give my firstborn for a UCS AT-AT at true minifig scale, but that would be enormously large even for a UCS set. (Assuming a minifig represents an average male at 1,80m, or at least someone between 1,60m and 2,00m). The Slave One is just big enough to look good on minifig scale, without being overly big for a Lego set. If anything, I'd complain that the current Slave One is too small to be minifig scale, closer to Lego System scale (which is always scaled down).

Using the Lego Store Gift Card my friend gave me for birthday (that was really cute of her!), I got the TIE Advanced Prototype. Here in Germany this one is overpriced I feel (50 Euros), so I was glad about the gift card. The set itself is certainly nice, though. Excellent build, good minifigs. The TIE pilot's print could have been better, but that is the only complaint I have beside the price. (And I know some people complained about the red spring loaded shooters, because the TIE uses green laser bolts. Yes, it does, but it also has red emitters on the cannons. So when the shooters are loaded it looks accurate!). True! I actually prefer walkers to spacecraft due to their often better display value. And you may think of the AT-DP as the brother of the AT-AP. One is tall and lanky, the other short and stubby; one is fast, the other powerful; one for defense, one for attack. They make a nice display together, even if they are from different eras.