legolandia

That is a very sweet deal indeed. The star destroyer alone goes for at least that. I've just purchased the new X-wing.

Just finished building this set and I have to say that it was the most pleasant and flowing build I've done so far. The set feels solid and very elegant to hold. Maybe because of its sleekness it also felt smaller then previous models to me. At £50 it's slightly over priced. Instead of Luke and R2 Lego should have included two new minifigures and that would have made the price perfect.

I too share your sentiments regarding the prices. I am hoping with all my heart that either the prices have been massively inflated by that Aussie shop or that the pictures we have seen so far are really preliminary and the final versions of the sets will be a lot different. I know the fans have been talking a lot about wanting a Jabba's palace but I think what people meant was a decent UCS style one. The one we have seen looks like Lego read the boards and put something together quickly to make some fast cash. The reason why this set has got so many minifigures is probably because Lego knows that the palace is horrendous and they're trying to sweeten the fans up. By the way Lego, if you're reading this, the criticism comes from a guy who has always taken a positive view on your past SW creations. My main LSW collecting interest is minifigures and as far as those are concerned I can't complain at all but the state of the summer sets is that bad (and prices that ridiculously high ) that I couldn't stay quiet.

Got Geonosian Cannon and Droid Escape sets today. Loving them minifigures.

The two new battle packs of 2012.

I just picked this and the other battle pack today from Argos. The battle packs main aim has always been what it says on the tin: to get minifigures for creating armies. As such I have never been bothered about the vehicles/trees they come with. My main disappointment is that in the UK the price of the battlepacks seems to have increased by 20%. It's safe to say that that is greedy on Lego's part. But at least the fact that I added 7 new minifigures (from both sets) to my collection makes me feel a bit better.

Finally got Tantive 4 thanks to S@H sale today.

Lego is under no obligation to release anything by a certain date. They will release their products when they think it's appropriate. Waiting another month isn't going to kill anyone. Lego doesn't suck at all. As far as prices go it is expected that Lego would raise them (inflation, etc). As long as they don't go beyond the 10% mark then they will do fine. By the way, since we are on the subject of pricing, does anyone know what the UK prices will be please?

Droid Escape and the two Battle packs are already available in the UK at Littlewoods?! Does this mean that we are definitely looking at a January release rather than the rumoured Feb?

It is never going to happen. It doesn't make sense either. The only target audience be collector with $200 + in their pockets to buy it. Lego's primary audience are the kids and as such it would make a lot more sense to release a set with 10 minifigures in it instead. But then again you have the issues with Hasbro, so keep on dreaming I'm afraid.

The way I saw this matter is that anything with exagerated facial expressions was CW and the simple facial expressions were "normal". Has Lego released an actual definition of the terms or is it a matter of debate between LSW fans?

Anakin in 9494 is as CW eyed, mouthed and wrinkled as it gets.

I think the angry Yoda is very much appropriate and it portrays perfectly the period coming towards Order 66. It is nearly the end of the Jedi order, too many Jedi have been killed, the remaining Jedi find themselves confused about their role in the galaxy, Yoda himself is confused. Not to mention that in the end he finds out that basically the Jedi have been fighting for and been under the command of the Sith. How humiliating is that? Surely even a 900 year old grand master like Yoda would have some anger raising up. His picture portrays perfectly how most of the Jedi must have just before and during Order 66.

There's no point having more pictures at this stage really. We have an idea what the sets are going to be. The only thing that we're going to get if pictures of the sets in current state are shown is more people moaning how bad the sets are and how they will stop buying LSW for ever and ever. The next wave of pictures I want to see is when Lego has made all the changes to the sets and they are in their final stages. Then we'll be able to judge better the state of sets to come.

I do generally agree with your opinion, however I think that the sets are not yet finished and by the time they come out they will be nicely refined. I can't speak about the rest but I know that when it comes to Malevolence Lego has no reason to bring out a rubbish model since the previous model of the same ship was a pretty solid build and very much to scale.

It's not going to be a Hammerhead is it? Ithorian I mean. Maybe it's wishful thinking but one can hope.

I was bouncing up and down when I saw the pictures of the summer wave, worse than a 3 year old kid who has discovered a secret stash of chocolate in mum's cupboard. I am over the moon that we are getting Malevolence and the rest of the summer sets look out of this world.

I think you are misunderstanding my post. I didnt say there not enough characters, I said that there are not as many characters (and character variations) when compared to SW. You have mentioned around 60 characters there and if we add another 40 from the Hobbit and another 50 variations of soldiers that gives you 150. Star Wars line so far has released 350+ (I know because I own them all) and that's with Lego being picky which characters to release. Lego releases 2 waves of SW sets per year which include on average between 40-50 new characters every year. SW also gets new releases all the time which provide plenty of new characters etc. LotR has only got the 5 films and nothing eise (as it has been mentioned before here by several members). There is enough material to sustain the Lego line for a few years but there's no way that LotR could become as big as SW.

I think you are underestimating the importance of SW theme to Lego. The reason that the SW sets' release date has been pushed to Feb is quite probably to give the other themes a chance. As far as LotR goes I think it is getting a lot of hype at the moment but it will soon die down when people get sick of buying castle after castle after castle. Oh did I mention castle? Oh ok we'll add a cave in there somewhere...

Not many characters when compared to SW.Not only that but the characters in LotR stay in the same outfit throughout the movies so Lego can't make variations of the same character either (unlike in SW). The term "awful lot" that you use is quite excessive as well unless you are counting all the caves, forests and village houses. It does have a fair amount of buildings but then again how many buildings/castles can one buy/collect? I bet you that the iconic buildings that you mention will probably be released as exclusive (UCS) sets which means that they will cost quite a bit of money.

I doubt that very much at least on terms of longevity. Star wars has the 6 films + the 100 Clone Wars animated series + various games and an expanded universe. All of these have given Lego a myriad of characters, buildings and VEHICLES to base their sets on. LotR has only got the 5 films and in all honesty not that many characters and 0 vehicles in comparison to SW.

When I started to collect Lego Star Wars I searched the internet for a forum that would be able to provide plenty of information on the subject, answer my questions and where I would be able to contribute in the future as my knowledge grew. I found Eurobricks amongst others and after checking the membership numbers, and the information it contained I decided it would be the best place to meet my requirements. And I must say that thus far it has never disappointed me. A great thank you goes to the superb no-nonsense approach of the moderators. I am here to stay for a long time.

Just got a Republic Frigate 7964 and a Republic Cruiser 7665 on ebay for a lot less than shop price. I really love the 7665 because it's the only one of the big ships that Lego has made with nice colour.

They are actually chocolate brown. To be more precise dark Ecuadorian 80% pure ground beans.

Well if Lego released it as the famous sacking of the temple scene and included Anakin, a few stormies, a new Jedi and 2 or 3 younglings I bet you it would sell like hotcakes I hope that doesn't happen even though it wouldn't matter that much really. Whatever happens the collectors would still buy them.