Star Wars Constraction 2015 Discussion

[Logan McOwen]

EDIT: FBTB has official pics of Cody and Jango! http://www.fbtb.net/...-figure-images/

Is FBTB down? This link won't open...

[Leewan]

Is FBTB down? This link won't open...

Works for me. Anyways, all the pics are now in the first post.

[Logan McOwen]

Sorry to mislead, but I've just done a review of XSZ's General Grievous, which can be found here.

[Voxovan]

New pic of Obi-Wan duelling Grievous :v

Edited May 15, 2015 by Voxovan

[Kalhiki]

Hoo, geez. Grievous is massive. I knew he was big, but I didn't realize he was that big.

[Logan McOwen]

Good lord.

[Leewan]

Sweet pic.

Hoo, geez. Grievous is massive. I knew he was big, but I didn't realize he was that big.

He's almost as tall as Witch Doctor, but much more impressive with his four arms :

(I thought I had already posted this pic here, but in fact no )

[DraikNova]

Yeah, I hope LEGO makes more constraction titans. CCBS lends itself well to large builds.

[Dorek]

That's the kind of scale we need in BIONICLE. Onua is almost there, but not quite.

[Aanchir]

That's the kind of scale we need in BIONICLE. Onua is almost there, but not quite.

Onua might almost be there in width, but certainly not in height. He's actually one of the shortest of the new Toa, only slightly taller than a typical Toa Nuva set.

Generally it's rare to get a figure the size of Witch Doctor at any less than a $30 price point, and the only $30 BIONICLE set this year is Skull Grinder vs. Mask Maker (which has to split its contents between two figures). Skull Grinder himself is only around the same height as Tahu (27 modules). But I can definitely see there being room for a $30 or $35 titan in the future.

Even in BIONICLE G1, $30 single figure sets were rare, with most $30 or larger sets being a character and vehicle or character and steed. But the fact that General Grievous is a $35 single figure set similar in size to Witch Doctor or the 2008 Takanuva tells me LEGO still sees sales potential in figures this size, at least every now and then.

[Master_Data]

Sweet pic.

He's almost as tall as Witch Doctor, but much more impressive with his four arms :

(I thought I had already posted this pic here, but in fact no )

I did not realize he was that big! Thanks!

[Dorek]

Onua might almost be there in width, but certainly not in height. He's actually one of the shortest of the new Toa, only slightly taller than a typical Toa Nuva set.

Hence why I used "scale" and not specifically "height" =P.

Any reason the sets are coming out in September? I recall the Ultrabuilds releasing around the same time (or earlier) as Hero Factory sets. Is there some Star Wars scheduling thing I don't know about?

[Leewan]

But the fact that General Grievous is a $35 single figure set similar in size to Witch Doctor or the 2008 Takanuva tells me LEGO still sees sales potential in figures this size, at least every now and then.

Which makes me hope for a big 30/35 €/$ Makuta Master of Control. Man that would be so cool.

I did not realize he was that big! Thanks!

You're welcome.

And you know, the pic doesn't do it justice, it's much more impressive in the flesh (or should I say in the plastic haha). I think Grievous will be one of the best selling sets with Vader.

Any reason the sets are coming out in September? I recall the Ultrabuilds releasing around the same time (or earlier) as Hero Factory sets. Is there some Star Wars scheduling thing I don't know about?

Yeah, Superheroes and Chima Ultrabuilds were released before Hero Factory sets (IIRC May for the SH, May too for the first Chima wave and June for the second Chima wave), but these will be released in September to go with the TFA sets (according to Disney, all the TFA-based merchandising (so not only Lego) will go on sale on September 4^th). This year there are three waves of Star Wars sets : One in January, one in June, and one in September, for TFA. But we may wonder why they didn't chose to release them in June, along the second wave of system sets...

[DraikNova]

I'm hoping for a Kardas-sized $50 titan as Makuta's/the MoUP's final form, but the only way that'll ever happen is if LEGO really manages to push the promotion of BIONICLE before they start planning summer 2017 sometime next year.

Edited May 15, 2015 by DraikNova

[GK733]

I'm hoping for a Kardas-sized $50 titan as Makuta's/the MoUP's final form, but the only way that'll ever happen is if LEGO really manages to push the promotion of BIONICLE before they start planning summer 2017 sometime next year.

Eeeh... combiners? We will already have a flying skeleton Satan with skeleton wings. and even more huge @ss staff If the designers use the Scorpion's pieces that way. I at least hope so.. Kardas is a combiner set afterall so your 50 bucks Makuta is not that far fetched idea.

[Aanchir]

Eeeh... combiners? We will already have a flying skeleton Satan with skeleton wings. and even more huge @ss staff If the designers use the Scorpion's pieces that way. I at least hope so.. Kardas is a combiner set afterall so your 50 bucks Makuta is not that far fetched idea.

Kardas was a rather unusual set in general because even though it sold for $50, the sets used to make it sold for $70 all total. Seriously. The first titan bundle (Takutanuva) was priced equivalent to its component sets (the $30 Takanuva set and the $20 Makuta set), but then for whatever reason the price for the next three year's titan bundles stayed the same even as the net price of the component sets continued to increase. Don't ask me why.

However, maybe if you subtract the extra pieces not used in the model (there WERE a lot of them) and the Vezon figure you'd arrive at something closer to actually having a $50 value. G1 BIONICLE did have one $50 single figure set that wasn't a combi model: Toa Mata Nui from 2009. So that might give a better idea of the level of bulk you might expect from a $50 single-figure set. How different was that set in height and weight than Kardas, I wonder? I don't know that I've ever seen a comparison.

[DraikNova]

Toa Mata Nui was about the same weight as Kardas, but a lot smaller. I think the humongous, ridiculously armored legs Mata Nui had were the cause of that. Considering that Grievous appears to be about the same height as Toa Mata Nui was, I think a $50 pricepoint would allow LEGO to do some amazing designs.

[Shakar]

And, there's this pic too.

Looks like Darth Vader, while not a giant like GG, is pretty big too, Stormer XL height at least.

And speaking of Grievous, it seems we (or at least I) have been tricked like with Scorpio's legs. Grievous's skeleton torso shell is, like I originally thought, not black but titanium metallic instead. It's pretty obvious in the pic I posted: the shell looks shinier and brighter than the black parts (like the bones and the feet), in fact it looks closer to the Skull Spider legs used for his toes. Personally, like with Scorpio's legs, I actually find titanium metallic to be more useful for my projects.

Anyway, I agree with you guys above me. That's why I really like Grievous and Vader: the lack of constraction figures with a truly satisfying size AND build was something I really felt during 2013-2014. Each large set during that time failed to capture my interest for one reason or another. These two, however, are finally attempting to do something unique in terms of (humanoid) builds, and without an excessive use of Technic. I bought the past Ultrabuild sets mostly (90%) for the parts, but for once I am truly eager to buy a Ultrabuild to enjoy its building process and learn new MOCing techniques from the model.

I'm hoping BIONICLE 2016 brings us something like this, with figures like Makuta or other characters. Grinder looks pretty imposing, but he isn't taller than Tahu. With some modifications, both GG's and DV's frames (especially their torsos) could be reused for some very impressive BIONICLE titans (not necessarily saying the official sets should copy them, but I find them useful for MOCing at the very least). Still, the fact they're actualy giving us bigger and more complex builds is a good sign.

Yeah, Superheroes and Chima Ultrabuilds were released before Hero Factory sets (IIRC May for the SH, May too for the first Chima wave and June for the second Chima wave), but these will be released in September to go with the TFA sets (according to Disney, all the TFA-based merchandising (so not only Lego) will go on sale on September 4^th). This year there are three waves of Star Wars sets : One in January, one in June, and one in September, for TFA. But we may wonder why they didn't chose to release them in June, along the second wave of system sets...

Indeed I wish these came out in June, I liked getting the Chima sets around that time so at least I could have something to tinker with until August. I guess I can buy some pieces I need in the meanwhile.

[DraikNova]

I always thought Grievous torso shell was gunmetal. I'm not sure why you're surprised, really. Black is usually more useful, but I can see a lot more uses for a gunmetal version, if only because of the other pieces that exist in that color. I just wish we would get a non-humanoid (Skull Scorpio and LoSS, who is more of a technic model than a constraction one, are the only ones this year and neither is particularly appealing. Non-humanoids also have the best parts for MOCcing, in my experience), but a droid could serve that purpose quite well.

[Shakar]

Titanium metallic was my initial assumption, but then I thought it'd make more sense for it to be black to match his feet (speaking of which, titanium metallic Beast feet would rock). Looking at his movie appearance, though, his torso is closer to grey, and I believe his minifig uses dark bley.

As for non-humanoids, droidekas are all I can currently think of as far as SW goes (BIONICLE is obviously more flexible about that), and I would be mainly interested in their build (I don't need brown, really). Currently, however, I'm more interested in certain humanoids (like Boba, Yoda, the Magna Guards, Darth Maul, the TWA Sith).

[GK733]

Titanium metallic was my initial assumption, but then I thought it'd make more sense for it to be black to match his feet (speaking of which, titanium metallic Beast feet would rock). Looking at his movie appearance, though, his torso is closer to grey, and I believe his minifig uses dark bley.

As for non-humanoids, droidekas are all I can currently think of as far as SW goes (BIONICLE is obviously more flexible about that), and I would be mainly interested in their build (I don't need brown, really). Currently, however, I'm more interested in certain humanoids (like Boba, Yoda, the Magna Guards, Darth Maul, the TWA Sith).

Agree, I would like a droideka too, it was best of the original builds. Also quite like the super battle droid.

Is there anything revealed from the new film that could work as a titan yet?

[Kalta the Noble Mind]

i just watched a special on how they did the BB-8 droid using the same remote control ball technology in the Sphero toy. and i just saw jang Birck's review of the jurrassic world set that has the new ball vehicle that seems to be made of a sturdier plastic meant for more rigorous play.

and given what i have seen with Lego's releases of new license themes more often than not they are meant to be direct tie-ins with that license's latest release (POTC had On Stranger Tides sets more than the other 3 movies and LOTR only came about slightly before the Hobbit sets) could it be possible that we will have a functional BB-8 constraction figure utilizing that new ball piece?

i could see it being made into a static display piece by turning the ball piece on its side with the axels facing up where one can place the head and the base but i can also see them make it roll around with a small motor or simple weighted brick and have the head stay in place by a magnet like the actual animatronic droid.

[Logan McOwen]

And, there's this pic too.

I'm surprised so few people are excited about this one. Here he is, in the plastic. That head mold looks lush.

[Shakar]

Yeah, dunno how I was the only one to notice it. He looks gigantic and glorious. So does dat Vader in the background. I can't believe we're finally getting something so juicy (the Toa and the Skulls are awesome, but they're still mid size sets).

[Logan McOwen]

This Summer is a great one for CCBS.