Flieger

I think that is because Lego had to work with preliminaries or even just with concept arts and such. That PJ is known to make quite some last-minute changes does not help. I agree that the actual battle should have been three sets (Dale, Erebor, Ravenhill). Especially Ravenhill could have been so great, like Weathertop but with the signal mast. If there is something I dislike about the actual Lego sets, it is that you have to buy the most expensive sets to sit Thorin in regal attire on his throne. Also the full battle armour of all the dwarves - including helmets - would have been so nice. (PJ's decision that the dwarves strip down for battle, doing away with the plate armour, makes no sense anyway).

I admit that the lack of Bolg is not nice, but not a big deal either imo. The top hierarchy of evil in the Hobbit movies is well represented, not perfectly good, but good enough. At least, and I think you will give me that, it is better represented than the evil commanders in the LotR-series. Perhaps my opinion is also a bit biased because I dislike the film character of Bolg. Looks like they needed yet another big Orc to be a credible threat, more dangerous than the regular Orcs. So they cloned Azog. (And yes I know, this has some basis in the written works, being the son of Azog).

Perhaps. But at least they got the main figures covered this time. No missing Witch King. The minifigs are probably the greatest thing about the Hobbit sets. The builds don't appeal to me as much as the minifigs and seem rather uninspired if not downright bad. If feel they could have done a lot better with Dol Guldur for example, especially considering you can combine three sets. But the combination just looks bad. For me as someone who buys Lego for the builds, the Hobbit sets were mostly a disappointment in the later waves. But the minifigs are almost flawless. And to be fair, The Hobbit is more about a company on adventure than about great armies clashing like LotR. Still I also miss my legion of Dwarves, fully armed and filthy... It is the same in my country. Curious. You'd think that the Smaug-set would be a big draw and a perfect Christmas present.

Last year the winter wave was available in December 2013, just before Christmas. I was in the Lego Store today, but no sign of them. I will try again just before Christmas like last year as I really want that AT-DP. However they had the Slave 1 UCS on display - and it looked very impressive; perhaps a bit smaller than I had expected (but that may be just me).

Same album: http://www.imperiumdersteine.de/index.php?/gallery/image/94632-75085-in-multi/

Fantastic idea and execution! I like all the details you put into the table and the chairs. The older one with armour so shiny you can see the camera-men in HD. What I remember about the armour in this film is that it actually protected the wearer. In most films people cut effortlessly through even the best armour...

I almost begin to think Lego did that because the figs themselves are popular, but sets with them would be either really big (Death Star) or rather boring (cannon for the gunners... which is what they eventually did). Perhaps the Palpatine vs Yoda could have included the Guards, but other than that I have trouble imaging mid-range sets. Army builders are a small group compared to those who only buy one or two BPs to complement their sets, or because they cannot afford bigger sets (yet). That is why even specialists BPs are worth it from Lego's point of view. Also when I was a kid in the late 80ies&early 90ies, the BP of the Pirate and Castle lines were quite top heavy and not terribly well suited for army building.

I assume the Kashyyyk BP sells well, so Lego may think camouflaged clones are what people want. (Also, they could be valuable for moccers, I guess, since the bodies can be used for modern soldiers). Of course, I would have preferred troopers who were actually on screen.

Same here... but it might be that I just had low expectations knowing how bad the early TCW was. However, the AT-DP and Kallus were on my list long before I saw the show. Although the first episode did not really explore the full potential of this character, the very idea of a tough ISB-agent is very appealing to me. Also, his helmet (inspired by Imperial Gallic helmets I guess) is very appealing to me. I agree with everything you said. But to be fair, Lego's choices are not always easy to understand - at least for me. The AT-AP did very little in the movie, never even had a focused close-up; and Commander Gree's only notable moment was getting his head cut off when he tried to murder a fan-favourite from behind and in cold blood. Yet Lego chose that set and it seems to do well. I also think RotS was rather well represented in 2014. We got some really amazing new minifigs for RotS e.g. Of course, I would have loved to see more, but realistically there are far greater holes in the Lego line-up. I wonder why you make such unnecessarily snide remarks, but anyway... as other have explained already, animating robes is a challenging task and requires considerable resources (manpower and time). These don't come free. The question is rather why they felt to need to animate them at all; I never saw the Red Guard move even just a tiny bit in TCW.

Lego Store, Berlin, near Wittenbergplatz. Clone Wars, not PT. They were introduced because the producers did not (yet) have the money to do the fully robed guys, so they created the Senate Commandos and used them extensively as security force for the Senators and Palpatine. Later they were supplemented by a partially robed Senate Guard variant. At the very end, they finally presented the Red Guard, which OT fans know as Royal Guard. On the topic of the new Senate Commandos, I noticed that not only the legs and torsos were updated but the helmet print of the Captain too. I must say it is a change for the worse, I liked the old print better. The set is a good army builder but an odd choice by Lego. Unless they make Rebels' appearence, which is technically possible since the Senate still exists, the Commandos are a rather obscure bunch now that TCW is no more.

I can only speak for the Lego store in my city, but they had the last winter SW wave in early December (perhaps even before that; I don't visit the store every day...). So there was ample time for Christmas shopping. Maybe the capital's privilege I hope this wave also comes before Christmas. I may be an AFOL, but I also have presents to make. Although we only had one episode yet, the trailers suggest we will see a lot more of them. Probably they are the standard walker, at least in the first season. I fully expect some larger walkers to come, but only later. So the AT-DP is most likely the very opposite of obscure, imho. ...and it makes for a very good Lego set. Despite some of the flak it gets here, this wave presented some excellent minifig selection, at least for the Rebels. The AT-DP gets both its drivers! Most bigger walkers lack some of its personell. Then there is one of the two main villains and a stormtrooper on top of it. I love it. (Hate me, but I also love the Rebel's Stormies!)

Queer?!?! You're supposed to act like an adult on here. Maybe you could have just said you liked the hair instead of saying the part with that hurtful slur. Apologies; I did not intend to be hurtful, nor make references to the LGBT community. Would quaint be a better word? I think you could relax a bit when you are talking to someone whose mother tongue is obviously not English.

Lego's rendition of a bo-rifle, which the character took from a defeated foe using that weapon. Also the kind of weapon Zeb uses. Agent Kallus, ISB officer, and his uniform should not be black. The helmet is extremely good, though. I would present Sabine with hair rather than with helmet anyway. Due to the unified Lego-bodies ignoring her female build, Sabine with helmet would just look like a Mando with a queer taste. And her hair is very nice.

Thanks a lot, Just2good!!! Senate Commandos with updated legs - good! Not as good as robed Senate Guards, but nice anyway. Sabine looks really good to me, but I think some people will dislike her. The AT-DP itself looks nice, but the colours of the Drivers and Kallus are off. That is a shame considering Lego had improved on its colours massively in the recent sets (AT-AT driver finally has the right colours e.g.). Still a must buy.

What about the AT-AT, while we are at it...? The only named figure is General Veers, and he can go as generic imperial army officer; alternatively you can just change his head. The driver, the snowtroopers and the snowtrooper commander are obviously well suited for army building, albeit a bit top heavy in the ranks. The gunners fit every imperial battery, so I don't see a problem there. And you need six guards for the Emperor's arrival, furthermore you can use them for a number of other scenes as they have appeared in three movies and TCW. It is not an army builder set of grunts to buy dozens, but every army needs specialized personnel. As for the lack of the stormtrooper army builder, it seems the winter wave will solve that problem.

The included officer could also be very nice, especially since he seems to have the officer's cap, which so far only comes with the Star Destroyer.

I see, thanks. However... considering the TIE does not have the Rebels logo on the bottom while clearly being a Rebels set, I don't know how much weight I'd put on it. On the other hand it may be that the box art is just not as advanced as the other's box art.

IIRC, all sets except the micro-fighters have it.

I would like to see a new V-19 as well. Was released during my dark ages and never re-released. As much as I'd like to have it: the Outrider is another proof that the "canon"-status alone does not guarantee a set will be done... It is in the movie, but Shadows of the Empire itself is simply too old to be attractive by now. It would be AFOL only, and not even all of them. Shadows of the Empire is so old not even all of the AFOLs read or played it and unlike the movies it is not a timeless set. Too bad.

Yeah, it's Agent Kallus, we've known he'd be in that set for awhile now. Which is good, as Kallus has taken the weapon from another Purple Wookie he defeated in combat. I still think the weapon looks really bad in Lego form. Other than that, the AT-DP is my most favoured set: good walker and good minifigs. I like the AT-DP driver's design and I like Kallus' design. The mystery trooper cannot be so bad as to make me dislike the set. Could it be some kind of ISB Stormtrooper, considering Kallus is an ISB officer? The differences to an actual Stormtrooper would be minor, if there are any at all. The pricing suggests a 200 piece set... these are small. No. Sorry.

When can we expect the final pictures of the new sets to show up? ...albeit with a totally different appearance than the EU comics and books suggested. Whatever one personally considers to be Star Wars, there are strict canon rules. The big deal however is that this does not matter at all. Lego will do whatever sells, including figures they make up. This wave has four sets, which could turn out to be non-canon (Geonosis Troopers, Shadow Troopers, Senate Commandos, Anakin's JSF), depending on the final product and what Rebels will bring.

I hope so! Hulk_Smash said so. Again, I hope this is wrong, because the Senate Guard is my favourite Star Wars unit.

All of them would be very nice. Perhaps the set even includes a small Fanblade fighter. After all, 50 EUR means it is a mid-size set and the JSF can be build relatively small without looking bad.

I just realized this is a very non-canon heavy wave: Geonosis Troopers (at least the ones we see), Senate Commandos (at least the ones we see), Shadow Troopers, and Anakin's JSF. It is not unprecedented for Lego doing non-canon stuff, but four entire sets in a single wave? Even if the Senate set is cancelled, it is still a high number. Isn't it more likely that some of the prelims are not how the sets will turn out in the end or that they make a Rebels appearance?

Yeah, I have almost forgotten that show, although it had some pretty good story telling. Except the Mace Windu Dragonball scenes...