LEGO Star Wars 2016 Pictures and Rumors

[Brickdoctor]

Well my point is you need enemies to fight in a diorama like this and having one or even two stormies is a little lackluster. Now four would be a good number. I know there's the BP coming out next year that supposedly has OT stormtroopers but I feel on principle you shouldn't have to feel obligated to buy another set after spending $500 (or more in other countries). Besides if TLG can afford to put two stormtroopers in a cheap battle pack set having four in one of the most expensive sets doesn't seem like a big deal. I know this sounds slightly entitled, but we have gone through several years of proper stormtroopers being dispersed into expensive sets in ones.

Sure, that's reasonable; I don't disagree. It's when people (not specifically you) complain about it as if it's a big make-or-break issue that I think it gets a bit silly.

First off, calling out designers is way off topic so this post shouldn't really be tolerated for that alone.

Uh, no, it's not. This is a set about upcoming sets. Designers design said upcoming sets. I don't necessarily agree with his opinion, but posting about the designers of rumored 2016 sets as ISDAvenger has done is entirely on topic.

[Mymaker123]

Ok, I'll retract that initial comment. Although I stand by the rest of what I said.

[Nokturn]

In that case, I suppose defending the Designers would be okay as well. I don't think it's fair to straight up insult the design team at TLG. They pump out amazing sets every year regardless of theme, and this year is no exception. I think most of us can agree that the Rogue One sets all look fantastic, and a lot of the other sets we've received this year are great as well. As I said before, of course it's disappointing when a new set doesn't live up to expectations, especially when it's a large UCS, but that doesn't give anyone the right to bombard them with negativity. They're doing a great job overall, and we honestly have no idea how much freedom they're even allowed in specific cases like this or the Winter Toy Shop. Besides, the images haven't even been released yet. Our opinions could change based solely on that. Even if not, it's okay. The world's not going to end because a couple of sets have been disappointing to a very small subset of the fanbase. People do have the right to be disappointed, but I personally don't think they have the right to hold a grudge against the designers. The inner workings of TLG are still ultimately mysterious.

[analogkid81]

I think DS and Assault on Hoth are not the fault of the designers. They are given what to build by products teams at Lego and I'm sure their designs go through tons of scrutiny by other departments at Lego to make sure it fits the business model. I think they are doing the best they can with that they are told to do.

The 10188 is arguably the most successful set in the SW line given how long it was sold for. Probably the longest of any Lego set. I don't blame Lego for wanting to keep something similar on the shelves if it sells.

I think another factor is the demand being put on Lego with all of the new movies and properties being cranked out by Disney. They could just be strapped for personnel so they see easy sales by doing Hoth and DS which are essentially remakes. I am sure there is a lot at play here that TLG never discloses.

[ISDAvenger]

Stop getting your knickers in a bunch over an observation. While some rehashed sets tend to be more popular, Lego (corporate and staff) need to be careful on what sets are picked to be rehashed. After all how many X-Wings and Deserts Skiffs do we need...over other sets...Cloud Cit, Yoda's Hutt, Prequel Sets. Personally I think rotating designers frequently would keep sets from being poorly designed, to include both new or rehashed. Lego has come close to going under in the past, they need not make the same mistake twice.

Like I said I will wait until a see the new DS, but its not looking promising. I will be sorely disappointed since I have a considerable amount of VIP points saved up. I am looking forward to Thrawn mini-figure and kudos to Lego for that.

[HawkLord]

Based on the reports it sounds like Lego needs to start cleaning house on the LSW design team. Sounds like their current team is complacent and lazy. This seems to be a reoccurring trend which will only continue. Disgusting.

That's naive and indicates you don't understand how these things work. The designers get their marching orders from Lego higher-ups and Lego gets their marching orders from Disney. I would trust that they all know what they're doing. To assume that designers just randomly create sets that get through without any accountability is hilarious.

[x105Black]

Regarding new minifigs of minor characters that only appear in Death Star scenes: do you really want minifigs to be exclusive to a $500 set?

Not at all. Not even major characters.

Not him. This fella

That looks like it should have been pearl dark grey rather than black.

There is actually an RA-7 protocol droid seen on the Death Star during ANH - sorry on phone so can't embed

https://goo.gl/images/Nwa04l

Note his colouring.

Ah, now that droid is black.

Overall, underwhelmed. But I've yet to see any images, so I'll wait for final judgement.

Edited August 16, 2016 by x105Black

[ISDAvenger]

That's naive and indicates you don't understand how these things work. The designers get their marching orders from Lego higher-ups and Lego gets their marching orders from Disney. I would trust that they all know what they're doing. To assume that designers just randomly create sets that get through without any accountability is hilarious.

And you are in the know/understand because you work for Lego and on a design team, right? I can't see the Lego/Disney corporate being a dictatorial cooperation where they decide to produce a set with no designer feedback. Current me if I am wrong, but I am quite certain a Lego design team plays a key role in the design of a set. This is course with the guidance and final approve from corporate. If that is the case what is a design team even there for? I also never mentioned in any of my posts of designers making random/rouge sets with or without accountablity. Come on guy.

I am not one to complain about a sets design. It is like clockwork, as each new LSW set lists/pictures are released it is like an onslaught of members who post on this page moaning and griping about the upcoming LSW set wave whether it is about design, price, or both. It happens each time, I read them all. So who is to blame? Pretty sure those that are mentioned above....I rest my case.

Edited August 16, 2016 by ISDAvenger

[HawkLord]

And you are in the know/understand because you work for Lego and on a design team, right? I can't see the Lego/Disney corporate being a dictatorial cooperation where they decide to produce a set with no designer feedback. Current me if I am wrong, but I am quite certain a Lego design team plays a key role in the design of a set. This is course with the guidance and final approve from corporate. If that is the case what is a design team even there for? I also never mentioned in any of my posts of designers making random/rouge sets with or without accountablity. Come on guy.

It's the same all over the toy business. Actiony figures, collectibles, etc. Higher ups make the calls on what to make and designers design. In some instances, designers come up with their own stuff, but with something this big, it was not a designer team driven assignment.

[BrickJagger]

I really don't understand the negativity in here regarding the design of the new DS. From the jump I expected the Death Star to be a rehash of the old one with updated figs and a few changes. It was pretty much perfect the first time, so why change it? The only improvement they should have made is adding a removable exterior shell, but that's a minor thing.

What isn't minor is the price. 200 extra pieces warrants a raise of $100? Ridiculous. Between this and the Rogue One sets I've decided to refrain from buying Star Wars sets next year besides the battlepacks, and although Star Wars used to take up a pretty big chunk of my budget I've decided that this new sets aren't worth buying at their current prices, and also because most of them are simply awful.

What exactly happened between this year and last that caused this fall off of epic proportions? I suspect it was Episode 7, to be honest. Hopefully it gets better by next year.

[TeufelHund]

I'll be a bit disappointed if the design remains more or less identical with just a few updates and modifications, as I won't be able to justify buying it given I own the 2008 version! I would have preferred they got rid of some of the more useless stuff from the first version like the Tie Advanced "microfighter" that doesn't scale well with the rest of the set and tried something new.

I do like the sound of the minifig lineup though. I'm anticipating that the doubles will be stormtroopers, Emperor's guards and one of the Gunners or Death Star troopers. While some are disappointed with only two stormtroopers you can always stick a helmet on Han and/or Luke in disguise or buy some Battlepacks to make up the difference.

Edited August 16, 2016 by TeufelHund

[Mymaker123]

Right, I may just completely stop posting here now. About 70% of this page is just grown men and women getting extremely infuriated about a toy brand.

A. Toy. Brand.

It's an awesome Toy Brand, and I'm glad so many people can gather to like it; that's why I'm so disappointed and generally just disinterested when the majority of people just seem to outright hate the brand, calling it lazy, complacent, and lacking (y'know, despite the fact that it's the biggest toy brand in the world). The hypocrisy here is unbelievable, and it's hard to stomach (good set one wave, loves the brand, bad UCS set, suddenly thinks it's a poor product that needs to pull its act together).

Right, I'll just stick about to look at any news, and just completely blindsight anyone's actual opinion. I'll post a bit about any things I actually have a genuine opinion on, which is a scarce concept in general nowadays...I'm sure I won't be missed.

....I think this new DS sounds pretty solid in my opinion, the updated figures alone sound awesome and bricklink-worthy, and I don't mind a repeat of the previous version since, well, that has retired now, so there's a hole in the market.

[Ringsvulsion]

95% certain much of the belly aching over this new Death Star is from those who bought a few of the recently discontinued Death Star to flip, and now they are upset that their speculation is going to cost them.

Edit: Sorry posted too soon.

Nothing wrong with speculation, buying from those who speculated on the Lego Movie sets has allowed my kid to get fresh boxes of builds he was too young to make when they were on the shelves, but not all assets appericate and it looks like the 50% mark-up on the old Death Star play set is about to come to an end.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Ringsvulsion

[Amazing Bricks]

95% certain much of the belly aching over this new Death Star is from those who bought a few of the recently discontinued Death Star to flip, and now they are upset that their speculation is going to cost them.

Yeah

I'm not mad about this remake. I didn't get the last one, but I'm not paying more than $400 for this set. There are no plans for me getting this set. I can see why people are mad about this, especially those who got the last DS.

[atlas]

I don't speculate, I think it's pretty scummy. And I'm disappointed with this set only because it shows that Lego is getting comfortable with the enormous profits they're raking in and advancement in the actual content of what they're selling has ground to a halt. It's even worse because this seems only to be a problem with the star wars line. Comments made about the other themes and minifgure details etc. are very valid. I don't understand why c-3po in a cheap polybag has the most body printing of any Star Wars minifig ever and the same character in a later set doesn't for example.

[harrismiles]

If it really is a remake I think things could have worked out better if they didn't retire the first one but rather just announce the update

and keep it the same model. It doesn't really sounds like a new model so far. Not even a remake really.. ...should have just updated it like the T1 Van and let it roll.

I'll wait to see some pic's though.. ..you never know

[DarthHank]

I'm a big fan of the old death star, but I got it six years or so ago, when it was semi-current. My only problem with the build was the high number of exposed studs on the outside - although it is a good approximation of a sphere, it could easily be just a tiny bit more sleek with the addition of a few slopes on the skeleton while still preserving the lego feel. Assuming the reports are accurate and the new one is near the same, I'll just bricklink a few pieces to make the few topical changes the update has. The minifigure lineup isn't particularly appealing to me - I have decent versions of all the main characters already, and I already plan to do some imperial army-building with the battlepacks. If there were new named imperials, like Tagge or Motti, the update would be more exciting, but I assume the minifigure updates will be uninteresting (except maybe for Tarkin). I guess I'm sort of relieved - now I can focus my efforts on Rogue One and stormtrooper army-building instead.

[Ultron]

Were people who already own the last death star really going to shell out $500 to own another one though? Honestly most of the people who are disappointed seem a bit biased. Even if the design isn't super updated, it could still be good. My main concern is the price per piece ratio.

[strangely]

And I'm disappointed with this set only because it shows that Lego is getting comfortable with the enormous profits they're raking in and advancement in the actual content of what they're selling has ground to a halt. It's even worse because this seems only to be a problem with the star wars line.

But really, isn't that a problem with pretty much all Star Wars merchandise across the board? Whether it's action figures, video games or DVD's they're pretty much always recycling the exact same things. Much of the time the action figures have the same mold they had a decade ago. Articulation in Star Wars action figures seems to get worse yearly. I don't really feel like I can blame Lego for using the same strategy that every other Star Wars merchandiser is using. Sure, it would be wonderful if they could rise above the system and create truly new and amazing products, but why should they abandon the practices that have made them one of the largest toy brands in the business? If sales are bad they'll change, but if they're good than they'll stay the course.

Sure, this new Death Star is going to be pretty much the same as the last, but the reality is that there's a whole new generation of children who weren't around for the last one (And when you get down to it the main audience for Lego is children). Ultimately that's why Star Wars products recycle so much, there's always new customers. If it sold well for the last generation than all they need to do is run a new coat of polish over it and it's ready for sale. As the old adage goes "if it isn't broke, don't fix it".

Too, I'll say it like this; 10188 had pretty much every single thing you could want in a Death Star, does it really need to be reinvented? Maybe I'm alone, but a re-release with new minifigures is pretty much all I wanted.

Edited August 16, 2016 by strangely

[Artanis I]

I think I read some time ago that Lucasfilm would tell TLG what SW sets to make. I am only guessing that Disney is the same. I don't know how much other input they have in what to include or not. I think that other licences are not so strict on what to produce. Of course, the designers have much more creative input for non-licenced stuff.

[ISDAvenger]

But really, isn't that a problem with pretty much all Star Wars merchandise across the board? Whether it's action figures, video games or DVD's they're pretty much always recycling the exact same things. Much of the time the action figures have the same mold they had a decade ago. Articulation in Star Wars action figures seems to get worse yearly. I don't really feel like I can blame Lego for using the same strategy that every other Star Wars merchandiser is using. Sure, it would be wonderful if they could rise above the system and create truly new and amazing products, but why should they abandon the practices that have made them one of the largest toy brands in the business? If sales are bad they'll change, but if they're good than they'll stay the course.

Sure, this new Death Star is going to be pretty much the same as the last, but the reality is that there's a whole new generation of children who weren't around for the last one (And when you get down to it the main audience for Lego is children). Ultimately that's why Star Wars products recycle so much, there's always new customers. If it sold well for the last generation than all they need to do is run a new coat of polish over it and it's ready for sale. As the old adage goes "if it isn't broke, don't fix it".

Too, I'll say it like this; 10188 had pretty much every single thing you could want in a Death Star, does it really need to be reinvented? Maybe I'm alone, but a re-release with new minifigures is pretty much all I wanted.

That is a good observation/point. My question is if there was very little changes to the new Death Star, why even retire the old one? This isn't like a typical rehash as in most of the previous LSW sets had years in between them. The Death Star was only a matter of months. I agree that Lego seems to be valuing money over "Only the Best is Good Enough". Even this is a child's toy, more thought should have gone into it. Unless CM4Sci is purposley jerking our chains.

Edited August 16, 2016 by ISDAvenger

[Ceroknight]

I really don't understand the big deal. There's nothing wrong with releasing an updated model, I'm with the people who are saying 'what were you expecting?'

Car companies release updated model every year, nothing wrong with that.

The analogy can even stay with Lego Star Wars, how many updated X-Wings, Snowspeeders, AT-ATs, etc have we gotten?

A lot of improvements have been made in 8 years, and this Death Star I'm sure is meant for the new generation of Lego Star Wars fans.

And selling something like this will be much more appealing than a boring grey orb.

I honestly feel people are bitter because of how bad Assault on Hoth was.

[Bricky Dee Williams]

I didn't get the 2008 Death Star myself. However, I'm disappointed about his one not only because of the price-to-part ratio, but also because it, like the Insult on Hoth, took up a UCS spot where we could've had something new. I mean, we're also getting another UCS Snowspeeder next year? Lego should focus on the mounds of untouched and new material they have for these UCS sets, like the fantastic Landspeeder and Rey's Speeder over on Lego Ideas. Especially the latter, given the drive of popularity with the recent film. I can see why Disney would vouch for rereleases given their potential pull to a new generation of fans, but in this they're potentially neglecting the older fans who have "been with the program" for years.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Aegis2000

[DarthTwoShedsJackson]

Practically a re-release of the old Death Star? I wonder when the first scalpers will jump out of the window. Now, let's bring on a UCS Millenium Falcon re-release, and Lego will propably have to provide a suicide hotline for such people.

No, seriously, I didn't particularly care for the old DS, so I'm not particularly excited for the new one - it's a matter of personal taste, nothing more. I'm happy for everyone who desperately wanted the old one and missed out.

[TenorPenny]

Don't forget that some people were too young to be aware of or be able to afford the first one. TLG target their products at new audiences as well as the established one.