Flieger

I would not be so sure about that. The wrong colours of the uniforms Kallus and the AT-DP drivers have seem to stem from a misunderstanding of the concept art. See Kallus' concept here: http://i.imgur.com/HYA75uc.jpg It is very dark and almost looks like black. I can understand the Lego designers choosing this colour. However seeing the actual episodes it is clear that it is actually a dark grey: http://i.imgur.com/TlPpoQt.jpg Compare his uniform to the black of the Inquisitor's armour and the Olive-Grey of Tarkin's uniform. Had Lego designers seen this image, their choice of colour would be different, no doubt. Same with the AT-DP drivers. Therefore I think Lego also worked with concepts when designing the Winter sets. And other than these two mismatched colourings of uniforms, I cannot complain about the results.

I for one found the Rebels sets that were released before the show rather less well designed, the Ghost being undersized (they really should have made that set 20 Euros more expensive but larger) and the Phantom an uninspired way to sell Ezra to the kids. But once you realize you have to buy these sets in order to get the heroes... well. The new Rebels sets on the other hand, I feel, are almost all executed nicely. Good size, good modelling, excellent minifig selection. The Tie and the AT-DP rank among my favourite sets ever. I think they can stand up much better without the show.

The V-Wing, having not appeared in TCW, is also a movie set (or an EU/Legends set, if the Imperial version is concerned). Regarding TCW-themed sets I recommend: - 75004 Z-95 Headhunter. The ship itself is nice, but the minifigs are really good with two exclusives (Pong Krell, alternate Phase II clone pilot - really cool!) and one almost exclusive (501st Phase II trooper, the only other set with him is the AT-RT) - 75002 AT-RT: besides expanding the 501st, it includes an exclusive Commando Droid Captain. - 75012 BARC Speeder: Cpt. Rex in Phase II armour is a must have if you want to create the 501st. - 75022 Mandalorian Speeder: Darth Maul with mechanical legs and two of his Mandalorian commandos with the Black Hand, extremely cool. The car is also nicer than I expected. - 75046 Coruscant Police Gunship: a great ship with some nice minifigs, most important the exclusive Shock Troopers. (And if you replace some of the colours with greys, you get a nice Imperial Patrol from a recent SWR episode)

I can imagine the Ghost and Phantom initially did not sell that well, as the show had not yet aired. It would be intresting to know if the show's run improved the sales and how the recently released Rebels sets do. Anyway, I am ok with an equal representation for most of the time. It is just when a show debuts I'd expect Lego to capitalize on it. I mean Lego did a fairly good job with the Rebels sets so far. The most important vehicles and characters are all there. Just the Gozanti is a weird choice for a summer set. It almost comes across as a leftover from the winter wave being from the early show, rather than a set based on the progressing story of the show, like a season 2 vehicle.

That just blows. It is like Lego is only covering the first few episodes of the show, and then let it go. So many vehicles, locations, and characters left undone until at least next year? I had hoped for the Imperial Gunship with Tarkin in battle armour, his Stormtrooper guards, and a pilot. (I think it would even sell well). Did the Clone Wars also have such a poor line-up when it was in its first seasons?

Thanks for the idea!

Sure, but like Malfoy's hair, it has the wrong colour. It needs to be sand yellow to match the sideburns of Kallus: http://www.hothbricks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/minifig-75106-2.jpg And unless I am missing something (I hope so!), this hair piece does not yet exist in sand yellow.

SW: Rebels has so many characters I want (in their Rebel's outfits):

Thanks for the answer. The Draco Malfoy hairpiece is too bright though. Unless I am missing something it is not yet available in sand yellow. Luke's hair would have the right colour, I'll see how that looks on Kallus' head. Thanks again!

Hello there, I have got some questions regarding Agent Kallus and his weapon: 1) is there a fitting hair piece (sand yellow it is, I think) that would fit, or do I have to buy the upcoming cruiser? 2) I switched his arms and legs for dark stone grey pieces, because I feel his screen uniform is closer to that than to black. Are there better possibilities to make his uniform more screen accurate? Or do you feel black is ok? 3) Is there any good way to make a Bo-rifle? I tried something like the electro-staff (in the Grievous Wheel Bike) but I was not really convinced. I appreciate any advice on the Kallus matter.

Thanks for the reviews! The set is near perfect. A great vehicle and an optimal minifig selection: both drivers, who are needed, a main villain, and a classic henchman on top of that. The set could not have been any better. ... well, maybe with one exception. It seems I am the only one, but... the colour of Kallus's uniform is wrong. It is grey. A darker grey than that of the army and navy, but still grey, and not black. http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140722083909/disney/images/9/9e/Star-Wars-Rebels-21.png Likewise the drivers are a little too bright; they should be more light grey than white.

Hm, I liked Palpatine's Arrest better, but I cannot really figure out why... perhaps it is because the elements don't seem well connected? The reactor shaft e.g. seems oddly placed to me. Still it has some really nice building elements. Would not work for me. What I would like is a new robe piece, but in the absence of such a piece the current version of the Guard looks nice imo. (And I want the Senate Guard, which could use the same robes).

The common rumour is that Hasbro owns the rights to produce action figures whereas Lego owns the rights to produce building toys. Therefore pure minifigure sets without builds are not permitted. I do not know if it is true though. I personally never missed army builders. I missed Gondorian architecture. But that is because Lego is a building toy for me, indeed.

I recently got The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Chronicles: Art & Design. Besides being a very nice book, it explains a lot of the design choices of Lego which struck me as being odd even after the movie. Balin's axe for example (which could not be seen well in the movie because of the lighting) is supposed to be of translucent jade/greenstone with a partially gilded handle. Of course Lego's representation of that is excellent. Likewise, Dain's axe was made of translucent red stone. And considering the book does not even mention a warhammer, it is very likely PJ changed it last minute. (Damn CGI-only character!).

Possible! I just hope the sets stay available at least in the Lego Stores. Once Lego discontinues the sets, their prices are going to be even higher - and I do have some gaps to fill, still. Funny, I only wanted set and the minifigs, but I did not care for Smaug... Perhaps I will sell him later (when the sets are discontinued ).

Nice list, QI97! I guess you are right, we will never see them... wasn't there some legal arrangement with Hasbro that Lego produces building toys only while Hasbro gets to do the figures? What I would like to add to your list: - Gloin in regal armour - Oin in regal armour - Dori in regal armour - Ori in regal armour - Nori in regal armour - Bombur in regal armour - Bofur in regal armour - Bifur in regal armour - and, of course, Bilbo in regal armour (Mithril shirt) Seriously the Erebor regal armour versions we already got (Thorin, Fili, Kili, Balin, Dwalin) are amazing and I want more, especially with the great helmets some of them were wearing.

Lego and its distributors most likely simply underestimated the popularity of the Hobbit-sets. In earlier December the stores in Berlin had them, but some already did not sell the larger BotFA sets. After Christmas, (after I had seen the movie and wanted more), the stores of the city looked like robbed of Hobbit-sets. And I looked around a lot, in many stores. Even the Lego store only had some Lake Towns left iirc. It seems Lego never produced and/or distributed many sets, which would explain the current situation. A shame Lego apparently had little confidence in this line.

My number 1 wish! It would fit very well to the BotFA in general and the armoured dwarves in particular. Of course a new mould is unrealistic for a book or DVD extra, so no Bolg. But even with prints some nice stuff would have been possible: - Bilbo with Mithril shirt - old Bilbo - Thranduil in battle armour - Thorin in mail (after having stripped down the regal armour, facing Azog) - Azog in armour (???)

I think that is a very important question! To me, Lego is a building toy. It is all about the builds, and the minifigs are accessories to the builds – indispensable, but nothing on their own. They are cute and amazingly accurate for their size and limitations, but if I wanted the characters only I would go for Hasbro or model companies. So imo the minifigs are primarily for decorating the sets. I have to admit some adorn my fridge and working desk, though. For the Hobbit, Lego obviously chose to represent the locations and the adventures of the main characters, rather than battles and armies, which I think is a sensible decision. It did not work out perfectly, but that is another topic. Oh well, generally you are absolutely right! Just a few minor details: Thorin does use a golden hilted sword with a gilded spine in the movie (like his grandfather did, btw.), so a multi-coloured piece would have been nicer, but I appreciate getting a golden sword. Ballistae could be seen in the early trailers, so I assume they have been cut from the theatrical release and I fully expect to see them in the extended cut. Likewise the Red Axe of Dain (book accurate, too) was changed for a war-hammer etc. So yeah, Lego definitely worked with preliminary info and the set is imo one of the weirdest ever. But whenever physical stuff is concerned which WETA really did for the movie, the regal armour of the dwarves e.g., Lego recreated it very well. It is mostly the last minute changes in CGI that Lego had no chance keeping up with. Again I agree, but I think we should appreciate that Lego did create all the named characters needed except of Bolg, albeit with some gaps when it comes to special appearances. I would have liked all 13 dwarves in regal armour, but having the most important five is ok. And when in doubt, I just create the rest myself (not optimal for the lack of helmet moulds, but ok). I know I keep stressing the aspect of character completeness a lot, but after what I had to see with LotR (and to a lesser extend even with Star Wars, which is much better funded it seems) this really is a positive thing to note. Furthermore we must remember Lego initially did not even want to create all 13 dwarves! The wealth of new moulds we got to achieve this goal is just mesmerizing! There are a lot of departures from the book when it comes to weapons, and I guess PJ just wanted to see another weapon on a dwarf than an axe, which we have seen enough already. But I am glad we got the red axe as I can build a war hammer easily.

I won't give up hope until the last sets clear off the shelves. ...which might be soon, as Lego apparently retires Tolkien sets quickly.

Quite right. But to be fair, they did so from the very start. In the first wave, you had to buy all the sets to complete the company. Ok, the company is big, but still... I think this modular approach is kind of acceptable as single sets would probably start getting too expensive and/or not profitable enough (for example, if Lake Town also had a Smaug). It is just that the actual battle of the BotFA movies should have been split in more sets, not just one.

You seem to put a great emphasis on army-building, and that is fine. It is just not what Lego intended with the Hobbit line (or the LotR-line, unfortunately). They put a greater emphasis on completing the characters, and except for Bolg there is no omission I would call significant – much unlike LotR. I am unhappy about the lack of real battle packs as the next, but judging the line by its army-building potential is like judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree. If you want to re-play the adventure of the company from the beginning to the end, you can do it by buying all the sets. There is much wrong with the Hobbit-line, however some of that can be attributed to the last-minute changes of PJ and the insufficient source material Lego was given.That is where you and I, the customers, come in. We are given enough minifigs and enough builds to fill in most holes (Ravenhill) ourselves – except army building, that is. PS: the example of the Laketown soldier is a bit weird even for army builders. In the movie they are relatively few and do not do much. Even in the big battle they are far and few in between, all without their characteristic helmets. While I agree it is better in person and while the minifigs are great, it is still a weird set. Most of the set's characters were not even in Dale to begin with.

The set, while overpriced, is imo very good. Obviously there is Smaug, but there is more to it: - minifigs: the arguably most important dwarves other than Thorin are included (Fili, Kili, Balin, Dwalin), all in their fantastic full regal armour which Lego captured quite well. Add in Thorin and you get a wonderful line-up. Bilbo is also a nice figure, even if I would have liked him better with the Mithril shirt. - build: naturally something like the Erebor is hard to do in Lego, at least at an affordable price. But they got the essence of it and added some nice if questionable play features. What I like best is the throne room - just brilliant, the colours, the build Generally the colours go well together, which surprised me a bit. At first I thought sand-green, grey, gold, and browns don't mix well, but they do. It is a nice display piece. Not as nice as Helm's Deep, but still nice, especially (again, sorry) the throne. There are two big downsides; one is the excessive price. I think I paid just as much for Helm's Deep which was a lot bigger and had more minifigs. Smaug is probably what makes this set so expensive. The other is the lack of Thorin. A throne needs his king. He also completes the line-up of the regal armour dwarves. Especially after having seen the movie in which the dwarves (irrationally) strip down for battle, the regal armoured Thorin belongs to the Erebor and nowhere. That meant I had to buy the second most expensive set from this Hobbit wave too, although I had zero intrest in the build. Overall I have to agree with many others: unless you really really want it, I recommend waiting for a discount. But I doubt you'd be disappointed if you don't.

Thanks! Indeed his face printing is really nice, they captured his looks and spirit well.

Thanks for the review! I have two questions: - What is the driver standing on, when the hatch is open and he is looking out? - Could you show the face of Kallus without helmet, please? My only complaint is that the colours of both, Kallus's and the drivers's uniforms are wrong. Kallus's uniform is way too dark and should be more dark olive than black, and the drivers's uniforms are too bright and should be more greyish compared to what we saw in the series.