Clone OPatra

I'm not sure what to make of that. I'm a big fan of the first two Battlefronts, so I really hope a third one will come out, but it seems very iffy right now. Therefore, I changed the topic title and sub-heading. I think the first two were received very well though, so I can't see why they wouldn't make a third. Lucas is always big into milking the money cow.

Ah yes, now that you mention it I think I do remember the ARC-160s appearing before. As to the Battle of Coruscant, the early version Y-Wings were not conceptualized by Lucas or whoever yet, so that's why you don't see them. Y-Wings are bombers anyway, so it doesn't make that much sense to send them into a big space skirmish. And the V-19s had already been invented for the old show, but the show ended with the Battle of Coruscant without V-19s, so I guess they stuck with that.

I like your data Walter, but of course I've noticed the same thing myself just by looking at my old catalogs. The truth is that, based on P2P, LEGO is not getting more expensive overall, it's just getting more expensive then the golden P2P years of 04-07. And that goes for all themes. If you look at the prices of some of the old Castle sets or Classic Space, you'll see that it's a lot of money for not many pieces since, and the models (space anyway) were not even spiffy like Star Wars is today. LEGO has always been a premium toy. It's just that around '04, when LEGO apparently started not doing so well financially (I'm not up on details, though), the P2P got really pleasant. The question now is, will Star Wars continue to rise and rise, and eventually become more expensive then it ever was before? I suppose it seems that that is the trend, but there are still some sets that with minifigures factored in are pretty reasonably priced (Battle Packs, Echo Base, Luke's Landspeeder, to name some).

That's a really appealing MOC you've created! You certainly didn't need reference pics, since you got the Naboo feel down very well. The sand red is a beautiful accent to the color scheme. I agree with others that the Rocket Battle Droids don't make much sense here. Perhaps if you used security battle droids with the red chests, or pilot droids with the blue chests, it would still be enough difference in color and still fit the setting. Of course it's your MOC, though, and you can do what you want. I could definitely see this as part of a level in a Battlefront game, if they ever release a third one that covers more of the Clone Wars.

The UCS Naboo SF was really different, though, since it was the size of a normal SW set, it just had chrome parts. I agree with you that the JSF doesn't look worth it. It's a great looking model, but not for $100. But I'm turning it into a price discussion, which is bad. I'll just leave it at, if you can afford it, the UCS Shuttle is a really awesome looking model that is worth it.

THX isn't only the old Star Wars movies, it's a Lucas sound company that still exists and is going strong. THX 1138 is really referencing Lucas' first film of that name. I found these episodes pretty good. It's really much more interesting when it's about the Clones, but they still managed to work in some Jedi action and a space battle, all in one. Of course, I'm not sure why there are phase 1.5 troopers at this point in the timeline, but oh well, they still looked cool. Interesting also to see the introduction of ARC-170s. It's kind of hard to figure out the overall timeline in terms of the war anyway, so it doesn't really matter that there are all these different ships mixed together.

What do you mean by Hogwarts 1st Edition $60? What does that "$60" mean? If you just mean trading the original Hogwarts, I would say it depends what you want. That first Hogwarts was pretty lame in my opinion, so I think trading for some of those sets listed could be fine. Did he offer you all three for the Castle, or just one of the three?

Make that two Twileks. Don't forget Bib Fortuna. I would like to see some EpII stuff as well, but I know that's unlikely to happen. Besides for the ships already made when EpII was released, I really can't think of many more set-worthy things from that movie. Besides for re-dos of the Coruscant Chase, Slave I (very unlikely to happen at this point), and Anakin on the speeder with some Tuskens, I'm not sure what LEGO could come out with. Sure, a "save Padme from bugs" or "droid factory" playset, but that's never the sort of thing TLG makes for Star Wars.

What? How is that an answer to JimButcher's question. What he is asking for is if anybody has a picture displaying all of the Hoth sets together in a large diorama, not a list of Hoth sets.

Yes, you are correct. I have a bunch of those big bags myself. Still, I think it would be hard for someone to mix up a competitor and LEGO in a LEGO store! And it's not as if competitors will start putting out competing bags. I find this a bit ridiculous.

Looking at some LEGO boxes, I just thought of something: LEGO doesn't even use a 3D rendering of a 2x4 on their own products! The only red square is on the LEGO logo, which obviously is a registered trademark that other companies cannot use legally. Where does LEGO use a 3D rendering of a brick at all? I do not see how other companies suddenly using this image on their art will heighten confusion about what is LEGO and what is not. Since LEGO themselves doesn't use it, I do not understand where their statement is coming from. Or am I missing some obvious usage of this rendered image?

Oh no, definitely far before that. The sets will mostly be at the Toy Fair in February, but I'm sure we'll get rumors before that. Perhaps mid-October or November.

Read carefully; that's Walter Kovacs' Opressor MOC. He may not be easily insulted, but you wouldn't want to go too far.

Those look really great, and are easily recognizable. I guess those collectible minifigures are proving quite versatile and useful.

Based on all of your criteria, MMV is certainly the set to get. It has plenty of food included, as well as other great little details like 'paintings' of minifigures, cool animals, and a ton of pieces for the price. The Hogwarts Castle also has lots of little bits and details, but that isn't out yet, and the color-scheme of Hogwarts is monotonous, so you have to consider if you want a lot of tan. Alamut is an extremely pretty set, but it does not have so many accessories other than weapons, and it is in a Persian style, which doesn't seem to fit with the medieval style that you are looking for. I would say that Alamut has the best figures of the bunch, with all of the figures having detailed and extraordinary prints. Still, I think MMV fits what you're looking for most.

Uh, guys, how about you stop and actually read Front's post just four back. He clearly explains that you are all misguided in what you are talking about, and he should know, since he actually works at LEGO.

No, I believe that would be the Lovegoods' house. And the scary white thing is the Dumbledore charm set up by Moody to scare off Snape at Grimauld Place.

That's not true. Both previous Hagrid's Huts didn't come with Harry, Lupin's Classroom didn't have any of the trio, the Durmstrang Ship didn't either, just to name a few. If the HP theme was to be expanded to last for a while, I think it would be nice to have some more sets without Harry, but I doubt it will happen. Harry is in almost every scene in the books, and so it makes sense for him to be in most sets. A set like Shell Cottage doesn't really need him though, so the focus could instead be on Bill, Fleur, Griphook, Luna, etc.

I don't think this one is expensive at all for what it is. After all, it has 1290 pieces, which is the perfect amount for $130. Even if this set wasn't licensed, it would be the same price for that amount of pieces. I'll agree that this is certainly the best Hogwarts Castle so far. The first one looked good from the outside, but the inside was extremely bare and cramped. The minifigure selection in this one is also superb. Finally a Hogwarts with a lot of adults! The only figure that I would've liked to see added to this set is Draco, since right now there is a Slytherin common room for nobody to inhabit. I don't mind not getting Ron since he comes with the Hut, but Draco should've been included. Still, this is a wonderful, exciting set that I look forward to buying soon.

These look very nice. I enjoy the cartoony style. Are these baked, or just made out of modeling clay stuck together?

I know this question can be answered in just a few weeks, but I've noticed that Aragog's sword legs have the octagonal hilt. Do you think LEGO is actually producing the octagonal hilt, or these will end up being square like the ones in PoP? After all, every single official image of PoP had octagonal hilts, but the hilts were square. I personally have enough octagonal black ones that I'd like some square ones, but I must admit that octagonal looks better when fit into the technic pieces.

Congratulations other-guy-with-creative-usage-of-Clone-in-name. I thought you must be joining the ranks one of these days. Good luck to ye.

Looking good Stash! It took me a little while to find my figure in there, since there are so many. But I got him in the end. Great job!

I think this is universal for Borders and not store-specific. My local store has the same prices. I remember when I kept eying Woody's Round Up at the correct $50, and then I came in a few days later and it had a new price sticker of $62 covering the old one. This makes me worried that even with a 40% off coupon it will not bring down the price of the HP sets too much, provided that Borders gets them in. I think it is likely for Borders to get the HP sets though, it seems like they would.

Well, the website says will ship by October 1st, so I guess that's open to a little interpretation.