Flieger

Yeah, that must be a difficult job, especially as both Lego and Star Wars are culturally important (at least here in my country). Regarding the afol influence... I believe it has increased, even if children are still the main target audience. It will be interesting to see how Lego handles Star Wars without main movies coming up. I mean the Mandalorian, Fallen Order and even the later seasons of TCW are more mature anyway. The reception of the 501st pack will probably be important for Lego's future decisions. If successful we might see not only more afol stuff but also more PT/TCW. Perhaps that is no coincedence since many children from the 2000s, who grew up with PT/TCW, are adults now and possibly return to Lego in the coming years.

Nobody said scheming must be the reason, so let's not fall into extremes which do more harm than good to any discussion. I for one merely reject the idea that everything Lego/Disney/Lucasfilm is doing must be the right business choice by default, and that anyone critizing that choice must be wrong (or worse...) as a consequence. I do believe there is the possibility of something going on in the background - not the certainty, mind you. Of course, it is possible that everybody was just surprised by the success of Fallen Order and the Mandalorian. In that case we are essentially back at Lego/Disney/Lucasfilm making mistakes. There is nothing inherently wrong with pointing that out, as long as it is done respectfully. On the contrary customer feedback is essential. And as the recent 501st interview has proven, Lego does value afol input to a certain extent. -

It is simplistic, because the statement you made is correct but too simple to use as an analytical category. Of course a company wants to make money. That does not mean every decision a company makes is best designed to achieve that goal, otherwise we would never see a business fail. And what's more: people want the money, not an abstract company - people. And people are well capable of putting their own good, or that of their faction, above that of another group, explicitly including the company they work for. Considering the level of power and wealth coming with a Disney executive position, it would be rather naive to assume those people would flawlessly and virtuously do what's best for all the company (and their employees, and their business partners, and their pets), disregarding their own interests and advancements within the company. There is the possibility that factions within Disney/Lucasfilm have an interest in seeing the merchandise associated with the products a rivalling faction within Disney/Lucas making less money than their own, because that strengthens their positions and weakens that of rival faction. And again, even disregarding the rumours about the Lucasfilm rivalries, this is not uncommon in big corporations if people think they can get away with it. This may not be sabotage but simple favouritism, like incentivising Lego to do a set based on a theme park thereby cutting other media short. This kind of favouritism fits right within power plays inside a company, and offers a little more nuanced explanations than "they did it, so it must be the best business choice". Companies can do wrong, people can do wrong, and they can do it for many reasons. So the people who think Disney and Lego can do no wrong and always make the best business decisions, including the choice of sets, are not the fanboys here?

Power plays, politics and plotting are nothing out of the ordinary in big corporations. And if only half the rumours about the situation inside Lucasfilm atm is true, sabotaging each others' merchandising opportunities is about the least I expect. Of course that does not mean that's what happened, but one should be very careful when dismissing one or the other explanation. "Lego/Disney does x, so x must be the very best for business" is a rather simplistic approach anyway.

Actually, rather few Battle Packs are true army builders. Some are supplemental in nature. The Imperial Patrol BP from the Solo Line works best combined with the two speeders to recreate the chase scene. It is not like you need hundreds of Patrol Troopers or Emigration Officers... And how many Praetorian Guards or Imperial Red Guards do you need? Sure, a few more to complete (supplement) the scene, but not dozens or hundreds of them. Some BPs are character driven like the Bounty Hunter set that was mentioned or the Inferno Squad or even the Mandalorians. Some BPs are true army builders, of course. Army building however is largely an afol thing (as a kid I just imagined having 100s of them...), so it makes sense that Lego listens to the afols in that regard. I for one like all of those types and hope all of them are continued. Still, even though I am not an army builder myself I think it is strange that Lego does not go for the simple 4x (movie) Stormtrooper BP. That would sell like crazy. But who am I telling this?

I sure hope you are right. There are some interesting opportunities for new sets... I mean, even if I do not like the movie or series itself, the sets could be nice. And I am probably not alone in wanting Dryden Vos/ Paul Bettany or Galen Erso/ Mads Mikkelsen in Lego. (Although that might be an afol-only thing).

Here is a very interesting interview with the designers of the 501st Battle Pack: https://brickset.com/article/52341/interview-with-star-wars-designers-75280-501st-legion-clone-troopers In short, the set is a response to the online campaign (so for much for 'Lego does not listen to afols'), they don't mind the campaign (wether that's true or not is up to debate), and they had early access to TCW when designing the set. Also, BPs are not necessarily always for army building, and we will might see some non-army builders in the future, too.

The whole post-Lucas Disney Star Wars merchandise (ST, Rebels, Resistance, Anthology, Forces of Destiny etc.) seems to be on a downward trend, though some vehemently disagree. However, I would argue Mimban and related troopers might be an exception. Even people who dislike Solo often like the Mimban scenes, and getting a Mudtrooper or a Mimban Stormtrooper on Bricklink is rather costly. But I know it is a bit of a shaky argument. And it is quite certain that Lego will not return to the Solo Movie any time soon. The ship has sailed. Even the much better received Rogue one did not get much attention after its two waves. The era itself could be explored though.

...which is a shame. Even though Solo was a flop, many of the sets and especially minifigures were actually good. And judging by the after-market prices of the Mimban Mudtrooper and Stormtrooper, I am comvinced a Mimban AT-DT could work. Walkers and big guns are always popular, plus attractive minifigures... it could work. It could be typical mid-range set like the AT-AP: AT-DT: 700 pieces, 1x Han Solo Mudtrooper, 1x generic Mudtrooper, 1x Mimban Stormtrooper, 1x Mimban Specialist (many of those in the movie's background, like technicians with headsets, medics etc.), 1x Pilot I know it is almost definitely not going to happen, but the Mimban scenes were almost universally liked, and I think it would be a fine set. It surely is a missed opportunity.

I really like the build. It offer a lot better play features than the 2014 AT AT. But I miss the Snowtrooper commander; I would have liked one more trooper anyway, and I could have lived without Luke though I understand why he is here.

Great, a Clone Battlepack! And one featuring an important clone unit! Strange attitudes here, though. I thought AFOLs and influencers did not matter to Lego (or us) in the least... Tbh, I too was unaware of any campaign as I rarely watch MandR; there are much better Lego channels to watch imo. It is just weird seeing people switching from one extreme to another, from 'he's irrelevant' to 'they listened to him, now he will...' - and somehow be mad about both. I don't care either way, I just will enjoy the set and army build a clone legion, the most prominent one. That is about the only thing I dislike about the new figures. I am prepared that, if we ever got new 501st troopers, that they would look different. I don't mind the white arms. But the hips...

Thanks for the review. The greatest flaw imo are the minifigs. Finn should not be there, and the pilot is uninspired and likely wrong considering the Sith military uniforms and armours feature the colour red to varying degrees. Also, of course, there should be four minifigs. I do not know why Lego thinks three is ok when previous, similar sets like Solo's Tie Fighter 75211. The ship design itself is ok, but I think the concept was much better done by EC Henry (here and comparison here). However it should be easy enough to change. If the set is discounted massively I might do that.

Perhaps a mild spoiler from IX so: ...whatever their canon name is. I think they had a new helmet based on McQuarrie concepts, and I love this kind of figures. Also, of course, Werner Herzog.

I was undecided about the Tie Dagger. It is reasonably fresh (and yes, I know about EC Henry, who imo did a better version...), and even though the minifigs are underwhelming I seriously considered it. But once again, I did not like the film enough to justify buying it. The fact that it was a background vehicle did not help. And the KoR... no spoilers, just saying it was not enough for me. But I do understand the appeal, and I hope Lego completes the line-up for the KoR-fans out there.

Sorry to return to this thread... but: The Mandalorian happened. Well, I am not a fan of Mandalorians and I had no interest in the character before I saw the show. Then I saw the show, and now I want sets from the show. Many sets. I won't spoil anything but even in the first two chapters I saw many possibilities for sets I would buy.

I would buy a battle pack of Arvala-Jawas immediately. Anyway, I hope Lego releases some more Mandalorian sets sooner than later.

...as long as it is a civil discussion, i.e. without terms like 'SJW' or 'toxic'. One has to respect other people's personal preferences. The commercial success and future of toy sales, which is the topic of this discussion, has very little to do with those preferences. I for one liked Solo a lot; I would love to see more Lego sets from that movie. That does not mean I have the right to accuse anyone of 'negativity' (aka being 'toxic') simply for pointing out that the movie was an outright flop and that more toys, especially Lego sets, are rather unlikely at that point, given the climate of decling SW toy sales. It is generally better to focus on the issue itself rather than the attitude of the person bringing it up - whatever you think about that attitude. Like movie preferences, 'attitude' is a very subjective and delicate affair. I don't think summary judgment about people you don't know is the way to a fruitful discussion.

I doubt the designers are a problem at all. I am sure they would love to operate without restrictions but they have to work within the limits set by the higher-ups (number of piece, size of pieces, new moulds, prints, stickers etc.). I am also quite sure they would love to do something different rather than Snowspeeder set number 8. I am not a collector and I have different needs, thus I do not agree with the OP, but he is speaking from a customer's perspective. There is nothing wrong about a customer being selfish, just like there is nothing wrong with TLG wanting our money. After all, when disagreeing with him I too have my own interests in mind. And frankly, I doubt you buy Lego to better mankind or something. I for one do it because I personally enjoy building Lego and gifting it to loved ones. Therefore, I would love to see more sets because that increases the chances for sets I want to own. That's quite selfish, yes. And while TLG may not be Sith lord evil, it is still not a non-profit operation or charity. It is a business. Buying Lego is a business transaction guided by hard economic interests on both sides. No need for any moralising.

Agreed on all points. I was just referring to the new helmets because the concept is sound. The execution is ... not. For me it is not so much the size, I dislike that the helmet sits too 'high' on the head; the visor and skullcap should come down more. Anyway, the pros and cons of that new helmet have been discussed in detail elsewhere. Who knows, maybe they will improve the helmet. Thing is, female face prints are enough for me. As was mentioned, flight suits are baggy (unless you are an instagram model...), and military gear in general tends to deemphasize female curves. Many, many years ago I served in the air force and the women in full gear were hard to distinguish from their male comrades unless you looked at their faces (and height, obviously). I mean, as sad as it is that the female pilots in the OT are rarely recognized as such, this is an indicator that we do not need female-specific torsos. Btw., I was also very happy that Lego did not make any special torso printing for Zuzanu Latt. Her face print was all I needed.

I think a unisex torso is enough, but we definitely need female faces. On the other hand, if the new X-Wing pilot helmets become more common, we could solve this problem on our own. Of course, I too would like to see Lego releasing female OT X-Wing pilots; they are unfortunately often overlooked.

Actually, only The Telegraph is known to be a conservative newspaper, supporting the Torys. The majority of the sites and newspapers linked have various degrees of liberal leaning; The Guardian endorsed Labour in 2017 e.g. And if you had bothered to read the articles, you would have known. But that is where we are now: people preferring to judge and condemn ('right wing'), rather than to learn and understand.

Well, that's what happens when people feel the need to use terms like 'SJW' or 'diverse cast' while discussing toys.

Ok, good for you. However, most people are not as oblivious as you are, regardless of their political views. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/19/last-jedi-left-wing-jeremy-corbyn-star-wars-champion-grassroots https://www.filminquiry.com/last-jedi-failure-masculinity/ https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/star-wars-last-jedi-laura-dern-admiral-holdo-listen-to-women https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/liberal-identity-politics-has-ruined-star-wars-fanboys/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rotten-tomatoes-last-jedi-ratings-bots_n_5a38cb78e4b0860bf4aab5b1 https://www.publicmedievalist.com/last-jedi-fox/

At least the second part of your post was correct. There are other factors than the cast that made it political.

Not long ago I started a topic exploring if (dis-)liking a movie influences your decision purchase a set. I found it somewhat surprising how many people said they do not care as long as the set was good. The Solo sets were well done for the most part, and some of the minifigs were downright amazing, even if the movie was not. (I personally liked Solo quite a bit, and I am angry about the wasted potential). The effort Lego put into the Solo sets was not small, considering the number of new moulds e.g. (more than for TlJ). Yet I am not sure how well the Solo sets sold. You have to keep in mind Star Wars has become political. I do not want to blame anyone for that, but I do not want those politics to enter a discussion on toys either. Although I do have strong opinions on the matter I do not think any good would come out of such a discussion in a Lego forum.