I found one of these on Black Friday and couldn’t believe my luck. Better yet, there was a sale at Target (buy one Star Wars anything, get another 50% off) so I was able to pick up Ahsoka and Luke Skywalker without breaking the bank.
First off, I can’t gush about the overall look of this figure enough – it’s gorgeous. The new Togruta head sculpt, a first to Hasbro’s Black Series, is spot on. The skin tone and paint apps along the head tails look great. My only complaint about the head sculpt is that with two head tails in the front and one in the back, it makes it difficult to turn and pose her head. But that’s more a flaw in Togruta anatomy than it is anyone’s fault at Hasbro.
Like the new Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka includes hooks at her hips that allow her lightsabers (with the blades removed) to dangle realistically from her sides. Ahsoka is articulated nicely throughout her arms and under the chest armor. Her three-sectioned belt tied to the ring in the front reminded me of Revan’s iconic robes. Maybe the Rebels art department did that as a nod to another Force user who walked a grey path? I’d like to think that’s canon but that’s just me. Anyway, my only problem with the build of the figure aside from the neck rotation is that Ahsoka also seems to have poorly-articulated ankles. Her long boots run over the sides of her feet, which disables any ankle rotation (if there is any to begin with.) And one minor than minor detail about her lightsabers bothered me at first. The hilts are detailed but not painted, but I probably won’t even remember that after this lovely figure has been on the shelf for a while.
Rogue One is coming! Next I will be reviewing the exclusive three-pack of figures from Target’s Rogue One pack. We’re only fourteen days away!
I’m finally catching up after some Black Friday purchases and a few birthday presents to myself (I had to – I can’t pass up a deal) Hopefully everyone had a good weekend and or holiday and is ready for some new toys! Here’s my review of the newest (and my first) Black Series Luke Skywalker.
I know quite a bit about Star Wars but not everything, so let me see if I can get this straight. So this blond kid from the middle of nowhere goes off looking for a space wizard one day. He learns to use the Force like his father, but doesn’t stray down the same dark path as his father did during the Clone Wars. Something bad happened there probably. Taking up his father’s lightsaber, he travels across space and becomes the apparent savior of the galaxy (in one timeline, at least)
Okay, time to stop playing dumb. Of course I know Luke Skywalker, and this is a great figure of him. First and foremost, the face is pretty spot on (minus a bit of a messy paint application to the eyes.) The hair is a perfect sandy blond color and the cloth shirt is a great touch to what could have otherwise been a pretty bland figure in terms of overall look and color. At first I thought the shirt was way too big on him. . .but then I remembered it’s actually kind of big on him in the movie, too. Points for accuracy there.
Luke of course includes his lightsaber as well as his macrobinoculars. A new addition to this wave of figures is a small hook on his belt, which allows the lightsaber (with the blade removed, of course) to hang from the belt. It’s a great detail, and the fact that it isn’t a slotted or otherwise tight connection allows the hilt to sway naturally during play or display. I also like the flap on the underside of the macrobinoculars, which double as a place for Luke to hold them as well as clip them to the back of his belt between the pouches.
Although I like this figure a lot, I do have a few minor gripes with it. Collecting sites and comment sections have noted that the Black Series is dropping in quality, something I personally haven’t really noticed insomuch that it’s affecting my enjoyment of new figures in any way. I’m probably biased – I just love getting new toys. I wonder if these details might be what people are talking about (honestly, when I see people start to complain, I skip those comments most of the time even if they are valid.) As I mentioned above, Luke’s eyes look a little weird. The application of his left eyebrow is slightly lower than the right, making some of the blue appear to run a touch above his eyebrow. It isn’t glaringly noticeable but it’s there. Also, this figure has great articulation until it gets down to the ankles, which lack the swivel motions of previous figures. This wouldn’t bug me so much if footwork wasn’t so integral to swordfighting poses. Last and certainly least, I wish the sleeves of his shirt maybe cinched ever so slightly at the end. Luke does get a little lost in his big shirt depending how he’s posed.
So what are your thoughts on the new farmboy Luke figure? Did you get a hold of one in the Black Friday madness like I did? Stay tuned this week for more reviews. And hopefully I can get through Rogue One: Catalyst in time for the movie – I just started last night!
The official set pictures and box art are out, so it’s time to talk about them! For the sake of brevity, I’m just going to post the images of the sets themselves and not the boxes. In no particular order, here they are!
The Phantom (75170)
First and foremost, we’re finally getting a Grand Admiral Thrawn minifigure! I’m going to ignore the fact that in this picture, his eyes don’t appear to be red – it has to be something with the lighting or angle of this shot, because I seriously doubt Lego would mess up the most crucial detail of his face aside from it being blue. The uniform looks great and the actual blue hair, not black, is a great touch. We also get Kanan in his season 3 appearance with the visor/mask he wears after being blinded by Maul. Chopper is here as well, but it doesn’t appear that there is an astromech slot on this ship (much like the original Phantom.) That doesn’t bother me terribly but I believe there is one on the show, though I could be wrong. The colors of this ship look great, and the fact that it’s a Neimoidian (think Trade Federation) design shows how rough and tumble the Rebels are. They don’t have the advantages of the Empire and can’t make all their ships uniform. Looks like the set also includes some thermal detonators and a small storage crate, which probably uses a sticker for that tiny Imperial insignia on the lid.
Dual of the Fates (75169)
I don’t have very many Episode I sets, so I’m happy to see this set instead of another Naboo starfighter right now. It’s a location, which Lego is trying to pepper in between the usual ships and vehicles, which does a decent job of recreating the fight scene from the movie. Do I love it? Not really. The figures look good and I will probably part this one out honestly. However, the figures this time around look better with the updated printing and ditching the capes. The laser barrier looks a little off but I don’t hate this set. It just won’t be the first one I buy.
Yoda’s Jedi Starfighter (75168)
I loved the arc of the Clone Wars (part of the Lost Missions) where Yoda goes on a journey on his own, delving into the mysteries of the Force and his own Dark Side. I would have appreciated the set maybe coming with one of those spirit guides of the Force, or maybe a Darth Bane specter-ghost-thing, but this set still looks good to me. In canon, I don’t understand why Yoda needs this chubby, weird little starfighter just because he’s shorter than everyone. But as a collector, especially one who likes Jedi starfighters? I like this a lot. It’s chubby and weird and oddly cute. You get the excellent recently-revised Yoda figure (accurate to the movies, not the cartoony Clone Wars style) and R2-D2.
Battle on Scarif (75171)
Now this is a good location set. It looks to me like a bunker entrance or small landing pad on the tropical planet Scarif, which is a totally new planet from Rogue One. In addition to what looks like a blast door, there’s some details such as palm trees, sandy walkways, some kind of antenna or generator, and a drawer-like section that reveals storage for weapons and accessories. Figures included are Cassian Andor in his normal brown jacket (not the bulky blue parka he wears on Eadu,) Jyn Erso disguised in Imperial ground crew attire, and two new Scarif stormtroopers/shoretroopers. It’s worth noting that they do not have the blue rank printing like the one included with the TIE striker, meaning these guy are army-building grunts. It looks like you get plenty of gear, too – another orange (Kyber crystal storage?) crate, blasters, thermal detonators, and the Death Star plans to name a few. I’m definitely going to build this one and maybe even find a spot for it in the Star Wars corner of my apartment.
Y-Wing Starfighter (75172)
Here’s one where my wallet and I will have words. I already have the last Y-Wing from a couple years back, but this one comes with so much more! It includes a pilot, a blue-complected Mon Calamari named Admiral Raddus, a Y-Wing pilot in navy blue, a stormtrooper, a rebel astromech droid, and the Gigoran mercenary Moroff. I want that Moroff figure bad. As I’ve said before, I love weird mercenary characters, and a towering white Wookiee looking guy with a backpack full of blasters is as weird as they get! There’s also a grounds crew vehicle included to truck around all the extra ammo for the Y-Wing. I don’t know where I’m going to put it, but I’ll be buying this one too.
Another good-looking battle pack I will probably buy five of. Here we get two regular stormtroopers and a pair of Death Troopers. These Death Troopers differ from the specialist variant included with Krennic’s Imperial Shuttle – they have different printing and lack the black pauldrons. Actually a nice touch to differentiate the two, since it is rumored there are only about five or six Death Troopers in the movie – probably an elite squad with a handful of unique troopers. As usual, I can kind of take or leave the actual build in this pack. It’s a weird little walker, like a small open-cockpit AT-ST with big guns and stud launchers.
This is another great rebel battle pack. I thought the Battlefront one was good (and it is) but this is also great. Like the Battlefront pack, you get a good variety of troops. No aliens, but there appear to be four different face prints here – black beard, brown beard, no beard, and no beard with a dark skin tone. The bodies are also totally different and you get two unique helmets. The build itself isn’t bad either. A speeder bike and a nice little piece of scenery with the gun emplacement? Sold!
Buildable Figures
Scarif Shoretrooper
Chirut Imwe
Baze Malbus
The big figs. I kinda want the shoretrooper, but I could take or leave a lot of the buildable figure line. Like everyone says, the helmeted characters look pretty good, especially as shelf pieces. But the actual human faces look a little weird.
And the Microfighters
The microfighters are cute but I don’t buy a lot of them, usually just for the good figures. The most exciting ones here are the rebel pilots in their new blue flight suits, which is a striking visual change from the usual bright orange. Also, the Y-Wing is getting an official release! A similar kit was released as part of a book but it is now officially part of the microfighter line.
So is everyone ready to be broke in 2017? Let me know what you think of these kits in the comments! And as always, thanks for reading!
It’s the holiday season and that can only mean two things; overtime at work and stress shopping when the Toys R Us coupons come. Surely it doesn’t mean only those two things, but this does happen every year. So I bought a double of the new Imperial Hovertank and added a custom weapon to it!
Here’s a less gratuitous shot without the whole rest of my Lego armored division. As you can see there is a beefed-up turret as well as the simple (read: literally one piece) comm antenna. This particular tank, at least as far as I can tell without having seen Rogue One yet, isn’t meant to be a first assault unit. It’s more for ferrying troops and equipment around while more versatile weapons platforms such as AT-STs and AT-ATs fight the real fight. With that in mind, this is a special command-type unit with the added heavy beam cannon and enhanced comms system.
Here’s the beam turret on its own. I was going for something like Battlefront II players might recognize. The Republic and Imperial tanks in that game have open turrets at the top that offer a lot of firepower but little protection for the gunner. The ‘wing’ pieces used as shielding hopefully remedy some of that problem, though a gunner in this position would still be sniper fodder. The main body of the gun is the same piece that makes up Baze Malbus’s gun, with a handle (which mounts it to the hinged tube piece) and studs on each side. The shielding is attached to the T-shaped pipe-looking pieces and set into a stud with a hole in the top for stability. Up top we have a telescope piece attached to a 1×1 stud with a clip to make a scope. And to beef up the gun a bit further, I added a grey cheese wedge to each side and built a stubby, fat gun barrel.
I didn’t go crazy on this mod but I’m happy with how the heavy turret came out. When this set came out I told my fiance I was going to buy a bunch for the tank troopers and other Imperial MOCS. We’re up to two already! I might add some color to this one to give it a little more flair as a higher-ranking vehicle. Any suggestions? Let me know in the comments below!
With 39 days to go, Rogue One is almost here, and that means the spoiler-ific TV spots are coming! Okay, so this one didn’t say anything we didn’t already know, but if the TV spots are anywhere close in number to the ones from The Force Awakens, you’ll pretty much be able to piece the movie together before it comes out. However, this isn’t a main saga movie and Rogue One is comprised of 98% new characters (barring Darth Vader, Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and the likely Grand Moff Tarkin cameo) which means maybe we won’t know the whole movie before it comes out.
Will this movie break box ofice records like The Force Awaken did? Maybe not. Are the toys and merch awesome? Most definitely. This movie exists in a strange in between part of Star Wars never explored on the big screen before. It stands a serious chance of being my new personal favorite because I love the Dark Times era after Episode III. I think this is going to be a great movie and a strong step into new territory for what these movies can do. We’ll all find out on December 16th. Together.
Questionably canon, definitely an article. The leaks strike back and early! Check out possible summer 2017 Lego Star Wars set names!
Hoth Bricks has posted a rumor list for Summer 2017, and although a bit vague, it’s very interesting. Special thanks to them for digging this up! I’ve posted a translation below and converted the approximate prices from Euros to USD based on what is usually seen at retail stores. Of course if you dislike toy spoilers and would rather be surprised when the news is released officially, I’d understand if you clicked away now.
The list so far:
75166 Battle Pack (Episodes IV-VII) – € 15 (Battle Packs go from $10-$15, depending on store and sales)
75167 Battle Pack (Episodes IV-VII) – € 15
75178 Quadjumper (Star Wars The Force Awakens) – € 60 ($65-$70)
75179 Rebel Hangar (Price Unknown)
75180 The [Guavian] Death Gang (Star Wars The Force Awakens) – € 80 ($85 – $90)
75183 Darth Vader Transformation (Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) – 30 € (Around $29.99)
75184 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2017 to 30 € (?) ($29.99 to $39.99)
75185 Freemaker The Adventures – € 70 ($70 – $80)
75186 Freemaker The Adventures – € 90 ($90 – $100)
So with what we now know (or can start to assume – this is still a rumor after all) it’s time to speculate!
The battle packs are specifically noted a Episode IV – VII. This variable is, in a word, huge. That gap of time can mean almost anything, barring prequels of course. But does it bar Rebels and Rogue one? Both are still prequels but they are direct prequels in the Original Trilogy timeline or concurrent with the original films. If they go for the earlier parts of that timeline, that could easily mean rereleases of battle packs that haven’t been done in a while, most likely the classic Rebel troopers from Episode IV or maybe Snowtroopers from Episode V. Personaly, I’d like to see the Mandalorians turn up in a battle pack again. Perhaps the new ones from Rebels who are loyal to the Empire? More Mandos would make a welcome addition to the Death Watch and Shadow Collective minifigures Lego has already released.
Image credit: Lego
Image Credit: Lego
Image Credit: Lego
Image Credit: Lego
But who knows? Battle packs sometimes have oddballs like the Senate Commandos pack (Clone Wars) and even pull from the Expanded Universe with the Shadow Troopers pack, one of my personal favorites. You can’t count out the odd chance of getting something like a Tusken Raider battle pack (because we know a new Landspeeder set is coming) or maybe a bunch of Ewoks from Episode VI. And I didn’t even touch on Episode VII yet! But more on that in a bit.
Next on the list is the Quadjumper from Episode VII. I think this is a great choice for a set. If you don’t recognize the name, it’s probably because the name is never spoken in the film. This is the ship that Rey insists is better than the Millenium Falcon (aka garbage), and seconds later it is promptly destroyed by TIE fighters in pursuit.The gigantic engines and unique cockpit would make this a fun build. I would suspect four to five minifigures to be included: Rey, Finn, and BB-8 of course, probably followed by a stormtrooper or two, maybe one of Unkar Plutt’s thugs in place of one trooper. This might be a stretch, but what about Constable Zuvio, who was cut from the final film? I’d love to see the set include some scenery too, like the iconic archway of Nima Outpost or the pool of water that thirsty Finn shares with the Happabore. Can we have a Happabore and the arch? I actually much like the sound of both!
Image Credit: Lucasfilm
Perhaps one of the most interesting set names is the Rebel hangar. ok, the name isn’t interesting but I’d wager the contents are pretty cool I see this going one of two ways.
1.) Rebel Hangar (On Yavin) – Similar to how Lego sold Super Heros sets with all the Suicide Squad characters without actually putting ‘Suicide Squad’ on the box, this kit could be a tie-in across between Rogue One and the Original Trilogy regardless of whether or not Rogue One appears on the box. A good Yavin base would have the temple hangar and high-rising scout towers/defensive turrets and some lush green scenery. I suspect Mon Mothma may make an appearance in this base. She isn’t in Episode IV, but she is in Rogue One and a high-ranking rebel leader, so including her still makes sense. Besides that, the base may include a relatively small ship like an A-Wing as well as maintenance crews with tools and small vehicles, probably some crates and the like as well. So for figures, I’d suspect Mon Mothma, some classic Episode IV Rebel troopers, a couple stormtroopers, and possibly Luke Skywalker in his orange pilot suit. I’m having trouble coming up with a main villain for this one, so I’d say an Imperial Officer isn’t unlikely either.
2. ) Rebel Hangar (Home One) – I missed out on this set as a kid and adult me still wants one. Home One is the Mon Calamari cruiser from the huge space battle at the end of Episode VI. The original set included Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, and Lando Calrissian in his general’s getup. I see a strong possibility that if this set was rereleased, not much would change. The control room of the cruiser sits adjacent to a hangar with an A-Wing and includes a trans-orange globe representing the hologram of the attack plan on the second Death Star. General Crix Madine, a Mon Calamari Officer, and an A-Wing pilot were also included in the set. While maybe not the prettiest set (the control bridge is great, but the hangar is pretty bare in my opinion) I’d love to see an update for this one.
You’d be forgiven if you didn’t remember who the Guavian Death Gang was in Episode VII, but I bet if I told you they were the red guys with “Tell that to Kanjklub guy” Bala Tik you’d remember the scene. This is an interesting, somewhat unexpected rumor for me. I do hope it’s true though. The first Episode VII Black Series figure I purchased was one of these guys, and I have a love for bounty hunters and all-around weird mercenary characters. These red-armored, heavily-armed mercs look great in the Lego Force Awakens game and would look great in any Star Wars MOC. Speculation is that the set is actually the Eravana, Han Solo’s freighter from Episode VII. Unless it is somehow magically to scale and can fit a Millenium Falcon inside it, I’m not terribly excited. Okay, so of course I’m kidding – it will probably include a smaller Falcon to recreate that shot. Most likely the set will also include a Rathtar to reenact the comical monster chase that happens after Han Solo tries to simultaneously negotiate with the Kanjiklub and Guavian Death Gang. It will most likely also include Rey, Finn, and/or BB-8 since that’s all the characters in that scene. Bala Tik may appear as well as Tasu Leech, though that is somewhat unlikely since he is so minor and already in the newest Falcon set. And back to battle packs for a moment – what if one of them is the gang members from both Kanjiklub and the Guavians? Space scum and villainy might make a good battle pack!
I’m going to skip ahead here to this article doesn’t end on something I know nothing about. I don’t watch the Freemaker Adventures (I just haven’t checked it out) so I’m not going to speculate on what those two sets are. I’ve heard mixed reviews of the shows, but have heard that there are plenty of enjoyable side characters that people would enjoy seeing in future sets.
Anyway, back to the hype train. Up next is the Imperial Hovertank. We’ve already received a set with this same name for Rogue One, so I’m wondering if the name is a stand in. I’m going to throw it out there that if this rumored name is genuine, it’s an Imperial version of this set, similar to how the V-Wing Starfighter had Republic and Imperial variations.
Three figures is about standard for a set at this price point (albeit the Republic Hovertank only had two.) Just venturing a guess, it would come with two to three stormtroopers, one of which possibly being a driver similar to the Rogue One hovertank driver (though I doubt this will be another Rogue One set.) I missed out on this one the first time around, but since my collection is largely Original Trilogy-centric, I’d love to have an Imperial version of this classic tank.
Darth Vader transformation is another surprise to me. I didn’t think it would appear again outside of the Epiode III wave from back in 2005. Another $30 set, this would be a wonderfully cheap way to obtain an updated Darth Vader with his two -piece helmet, new cape, and updated leg and torso printing. Most likely it would also come with the Emperor and a gravely-injured Anakin Skywalker. The Emperor will probably not get an updated appearance in such a small set (looking at you, post-UCS Boba Fett sets) but it will be great to get the medical droids and the Frankenstein-esque lab table. First impressions of this set have been comparing it to the scale of the Carbon Freezing Chamber, and I’d say that’s a fair comparison to make. It’s nice to see Lego throwing some scenery into these kits for a change, too.
Last but not least, the advent calendar. We’ve seen exclusive holiday variations on Darth Maul, Yoda, Jango Fett, R2-D2 and C-3P0, Darth Vader, a clone trooper, and Chewbacca. (I went from memory there, let me know if I missed any) Who will be in the holiday special this year? We can count on the usual variation of troops that happen to feature snow gear, usually one Imperial snowtrooper and one rebel trooper, but I’m always more excited for the other oddballs that make it in, sometimes as exclusives from other sets or background characters with elaborate backstories. For the holiday figure, I would suspect Emperor Palpatine (because he’d go nicely with Vader), but it could be anything from Boba Fett to an Ewok to fat old Captain Rex in a Santa suit. Only time will tell, and as always, you have to pick these up in the summer when they come out to make sure you get yours. Is it just me, or do they always seem limited?
That’s it for my speculation on this list! All in all I think we have a lot to look forward to, judging by this and other leaks I’ve come across. On a side note, I will comply with Lego if they request this to be taken down. They’ve requested to have leaked info taken down before and they have every right to do that. I didn’t find this information myself so I’m just the messenger here.
That being said, I hope you enjoyed the article, and thank you for reading this far! If you liked the article, let me know in the comments, and join the speculation with me if you want!
It’s here! Watch it over and over again because it’s even better than the first trailer. Jyn’s dad gets dialog. Saw Guerarra gets new dialog. And the whole thing has a great atmosphere about it. Less than seventy or so days to go. I’m ready!
TheEmpiresElite.com 