Blasphemy

At the risk of alienating half the people reading this, it's time for me to make a confession : I think I'm starting to fall out of love with the LEGO Star Wars theme. Rabid Star Wars and LEGO fan I might be, but there's only so long that you can lie to yourself that all is well.

Set 7965 Millennium Falcon - Deja Vu ?

It's not the first time that I've had blasphemous thoughts like this. Some of you may have read a piece I wrote last year complaining about LEGO Star Wars remakes, and picked up on the odd grumble about a lack of creativity and imagination in the Star Wars line up. These feelings were intensified when I first caught sight of the LEGO Star Wars line up for the first half of 2011 and was, to be frank, massively underwhelmed, although the quality of some of the Summer 2011 sets calmed me down a bit. Even so, just look at the number of rehashes and remakes occupying the Summer 2011 line-up - Set 7965 Millennium Falcon is the third System scale Falcon we've had, Set 7961 Sith Infiltrator is the third System scale Sith Infiltrator we've had, Set 7877 Naboo Starfighter is the third System Scale Naboo Starfighter we've had, etc. etc. - see a pattern emerging here ? The new Naboo Starfighter has particularly irked me - minifigures apart, it's virtually identical to the previous version, an accusation I've previously levelled at the Set 8097 Slave 1. Pretty much all that's different bar the minifigures is the price, in fact - a 37% increase from the previous (2007) version.

Oh no - not another Naboo Starfighter...

Let's face it - it's increasingly all about the minifigures, isn't it ? It's sometimes hard to escape the conclusion that the actual LEGO models themselves are becoming a side show for the minifigure main event. For instance, pretty much the only reason that many people bought Set 7754 Home One or Set 7879 Hoth Echo Base was because LEGO were clever and included exclusive minifigures in these sets; certainly I've struggled to find many positive impressions of the models themselves. This focus on the minifigures might be wonderful for the minifig collectors, but it's pretty lame for those of us for whom it's the building experience and the finished model that gets the pulse racing rather than the minifigures, which in the main I can take or leave.

Set 7879 Hoth Echo Base - just about the minifigs ?

OK, so it's not all bad. LEGO haven't started to remake the UCS sets yet; in truth, they could keep pumping out a couple of UCS Star Wars sets every year for years to come and not exhaust all the possibilities, and that would suit me just fine. Similarly, I've been rather taken with the Midi-Scale ships that LEGO have released over the past couple of years, such as the Imperial Star Destroyer; it's just a pity that I seem to have been one of the few people to have liked these, and that we don't seem to be in line for any more of them....

Thing is, it's all very well for me to moan about all the remakes and repetition, but I suspect that the problem is actually with me rather than with the sets themselves. More specifically, I fear I'm outgrowing the theme. Even a cursory glance on the various discussion boards shows that this year's sets are, by and large, being extremely well received, and by the younger demographic in particular. And even I have to acknowledge that the newer renditions of some of the ships aren't at all bad. The Sith Infiltrator set is, for instance, better than previous versions IMHO. Similarly, while you could argue whether the new Millennium Falcon set is better than Set 4504 Millennium Falcon from 2004, it's still not a bad version of the ship at all.

The reality is that a whole new generation of Star Wars fans is starting to emerge. Whether this is down to the first generation of Star Wars fans indoctrinating their kids (and I have to hold my hands up on that score), the popularity of the Clone Wars TV series, the appearance of ever more versions of the movies on DVD and Blu-Ray, or a combination of all of the above, I don't know. But some of these kids weren't even around when the first or second iterations of the Falcon and other iconic ships were released by LEGO. Furthermore, many of the older sets are now rare and/or prohibitively expensive to get hold of, so for the youngsters the new versions are their first chance to own LEGO versions of the Falcon and other great Star Wars ships and vehicles. I therefore have to concede that it makes perfect sense for LEGO to release new versions of these sets, and that I'm so not the target market for these sets any more....

Set 10212 Imperial Shuttle - more like this please, LEGO...

So, given all this, will I keep religiously buying all the Star Wars sets ? Well, the urge to do so in order to keep my collection complete is a strong one, but I sense that there'll come a time when common sense will finally prevail and I'll stop buying them all; God knows my wallet will certainly thank me for it. When that point comes, I'll continue to pick up the new UCS sets, plus any remakes which are an advance on their predecessors, and any interesting original stuff, and that's it. Will that time come in 2012 ? I guess it just depends on what LEGO have in store for us....

That's more like it !

After having been somewhat underwhelmed by the first wave of 2011 LEGO offerings, I've now been able to take a closer look at what's coming later this year, and things are definitely looking up. New York Toy Fair 2011 has come and gone, and finally we have high quality pictures of the Summer 2011 wave of sets. As a result, I'm pleased to report that my levels of enthusiasm have gone from "Meh" to "Get in there !" almost overnight.....

Reasons to be cheerful ? Well, a solid City and Creator line up for starters. Then there's a couple of licensed properties - Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean - which I freely admit to not initially thinking I'd be interested in but have had to revise my opinion of after seeing pictures of the sets. Plus there's a brand new theme - Alien Conquest (pics below - thanks FBTB !) - which looks very promising, harking back to some of the LEGO Space sets from past eras but with some interesting new twists.

Alien Mothership from the Alien Conquest theme

Earth Defense (sic) HQ from the Alien Conquest theme

But first things first - what of the Summer 2011 LEGO Star Wars sets ? Well, I have to admit that the first wave of 2011 Star Wars sets left me a bit cold. When it comes to Star Wars I'm a traditional kinda guy, worshipping the Original Trilogy, liking Episodes I-III more than most, but with only a passing interest in the Clone Wars and next to no interest in the Expanded Universe. Consequently, I didn't recognise the ships making up the bigger sets so far this year - the Bounty Hunter Assault Gunship and the T-6 Jedi Shuttle - and therefore found it hard to get too excited about them. The Summer 2011 Star Wars sets are largely back to basics, however. Most of them are remakes of older sets from Star Wars Episodes I to VI, which is great for newer collectors but perhaps not so good for me who already has multiple versions of some of the sets. We're getting a new System Scale Millennium Falcon, for instance. This will be the third System Scale Millennium Falcon that LEGO have produced, following in the footsteps of Set 7190 (from 2000) and Set 4504 (from 2004), and the sixth LEGO Millenium Falcon that I own when you include Mini, Midi and Ultimate Collector Series versions. In fact, when you add the Millennium Falcon Bag Charm to the list that's seven overall....!

Set 7965 Millennium Falcon : come in Number Seven - your time is near....

I've moaned a bit in the past about all the remakes in the LEGO Star Wars range, but I have to say that LEGO can't really win. Since 1999 they've produced LEGO versions of pretty much all the recognisable vehicles from the Star Wars films, which means that either they have to remake sets they've produced before, in which case long-time collectors like me complain, or else produce sets based on obscure stuff or ships from the expanded universe, in which case traditionalists like me complain.....! So like I said, they can't win, although the millions upon millions of dollars that LEGO earn from this most lucrative of licenses probably softens the blow. To be fair, one of the Summer 2011 Star Wars sets significantly improves upon what's come before - Set 7962 Anakin's and Sebulba's Podracers looks great, and far better IMHO than any previous podracer set. Hands down the highlight of the Star Wars Summer 2011 releases for me. I also think that the new Sith Infiltrator set (Set 7961) somewhat improves upon what's come before (particularly the ghastly 1999 version), even if it is the third System Scale version, and 4th version overall, of a ship which only appeared briefly in the movies.....

Set 7962 Anakin's and Sebulba's Podracers

Set 7961 Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator

So what of the pleasant surprises awaiting us later this year ? Well, I'd largely written off the Cars theme as kid's stuff, but now I've seen some decent pics I'm not so sure. OK, so they certainly are aimed squarely at the younger market, but I can't help finding them quite neat... On the basis of first impressions, my favourites so far are probably Set 8487 Flo's V8 Cafe and Set 8677 Ultimate Build Mater (pics below, with thanks as ever to the wonderful Brickset), although there are really quite a few cool sets. I can certainly see myself buying a few of them, although not perhaps all 14 sets which are apparently on their way.... Merchandising tie-ins - don't you just love 'em ?

Set 8487 Flo's V8 Cafe

Set 8677 Ultimate Build Mater

Set 8486 Mack's Team Truck

And then there's Pirates of the Caribbean, another theme which I didn't think I'd be that fussed about. Except that some of the minifigures, such as the multiple versions of Captain Jack Sparrow, look superb, and a few of the sets such as 4195 Queen Anne's Revenge (pic below) look decidedly interesting....

Set 4195 Queen Anne's Revenge

So, an expensive 2011 awaits, I fear - in addition to the sets above there are some other potential gems on the horizon such as Set 5770 Lighthouse Island and a LEGO Star Wars advent calendar, not to mention new Harry Potter stuff and the new set I'm waiting for with the most excitement of all - Set 10219 Maersk Train which will be with us on 1st April 2011!

Set 10219 Maersk Train - now officially announced and on it's way....