75098 - UCS: Assault on Hoth

[Darth_Raichu]

People just get bent out of shape because of the UCS moniker when LEGO itself does not put any importance on that moniker outside marketing gimmick

[Manse1001]

1 minute ago, Darth_Raichu said:

People just get bent out of shape because of the UCS moniker when LEGO itself does not put any importance on that moniker outside marketing gimmick

Yep I agree that's probably the main reason everyone's nose has been bent of of shape because they don't feel it falls into the same category as other UCS sets on the market, but that 'Tag' decision was probably be influenced by Disney as part of their licence to help increase sales so they get a bigger slice of the pie.

[Manse1001]

7 minutes ago, fossilrock said:

I have a few of the UCS SW sets like Red5 out on display, and my boy doesn't play with them (if he wants to, it lasts about 5 minutes) because they are too big, and hard for him to play with.  He'll sit and play for hours with the Death Star Final Duel, and Ewok Village.   I can see him playing with this for hours too, and we already have the AT-AT and other snowspeeder, so he's set.  The market on this one is definitely not for AFOL's, but kids.  I know that completely hoses the UCS title, but I think that's the reality on this one. 

The new UCS Snowspeeder is coming up though, and i'm sure it will be well designed and on par with some of the more recent UCS sets.  I've read the same hate for the latest Sandcrawler and I never really understood that, because I consider that such a brilliant set.  Still to this day, that was perhaps the most fun I had putting together a set. 

100% agree, I recently built 10225 and my son rarely gives it the time of day, however he can't get enough of the EV !! As for the Sandscrawler, I agree a fantastic build, I know it was 50/50 regards it being a playset or a display piece, and I think it has an element of both.  My son does enjoy playing with this set, it drives and has a detailed interior, however it still takes pride of place on the shelf.  As you say, hopefully the talked about UCS Snowspeeder will restore a bit of faith in the community. 

[Phil B]

UCS  = Ultimate Collector Series - that to me indicates this is meant for Collectors, i.e. the adult/late-teen audience. If it's a playset, it doesn't really fit with the UCS tag. So I can see how people might be upset about LEGO using this on AoH. I know it is all semantics anyways, and I tend to agree with those who think it was Disney who pushed for this designation.

[Darth_Raichu]

Just now, Phil B said:

UCS  = Ultimate Collector Series - that to me indicates this is meant for Collectors, i.e. the adult/late-teen audience. If it's a playset, it doesn't really fit with the UCS tag. So I can see how people might be upset about LEGO using this on AoH. I know it is all semantics anyways, and I tend to agree with those who think it was Disney who pushed for this designation.

It is an Ultimate Collector's Series because it ultimately collects series of smaller sets into 1 big set. 

 

[fantomas007]

1 hour ago, fossilrock said:

I have a few of the UCS SW sets like Red5 out on display, and my boy doesn't play with them (if he wants to, it lasts about 5 minutes) because they are too big, and hard for him to play with.  He'll sit and play for hours with the Death Star Final Duel, and Ewok Village.   I can see him playing with this for hours too, and we already have the AT-AT and other snowspeeder, so he's set.  The market on this one is definitely not for AFOL's, but kids.  I know that completely hoses the UCS title, but I think that's the reality on this one. 
 

I understand that children prefer play sets. But - we are talking about UCS, which are primarly for AFOLs. Plus, they are too expensive, so i dont expect (at least in my country) that there will be many birthday/ Xmas presents in such value. But the most important thing - since this is a investors forum, we are evaluating sets as future investments. My question is - who will buy such set in 2-3 years and more after EOL and for which price? OK, it is play set and we can discuss how many rich parents will buy AoH before next Xmas. But who will buy this set for 500 bucks ? Parents for children in ebay or bricklink? No way - they will go to next store and buy ACTUAL set in such price range. Who next? AFOLs? Why? With 500 bucks in pocket they can buy 2-3 AT-AT + 5-6 others standard sets + buy hundreds white bricks from BL and have much better diorama than this sh**t. I can expect that somebody pay 500 bucs for X-wing, Slave or Tie fighter (since they are irreplacable, or will wait another 20 years for re-edition), I can also imagine that somebody will pay this amount for Ewok village, even it is also a play set, but wonderful and hard to replace it buy several standard sets. But for this stupid, slapdash set ? You also cannot compare this set with other, underestimated, not hoarded sets such as SeaCow, since it is unique.

It may sence only if TLG heavily discounted AoH to EUR 120-150 - but i dont remember any exclusive set so discounted last years.

[weitzel78]

50 minutes ago, mesje said:

I understand that children prefer play sets. But - we are talking about UCS, which are primarly for AFOLs. Plus, they are too expensive, so i dont expect (at least in my country) that there will be many birthday/ Xmas presents in such value. But the most important thing - since this is a investors forum, we are evaluating sets as future investments. My question is - who will buy such set in 2-3 years and more after EOL and for which price? OK, it is play set and we can discuss how many rich parents will buy AoH before next Xmas. But who will buy this set for 500 bucks ? Parents for children in ebay or bricklink? No way - they will go to next store and buy ACTUAL set in such price range. Who next? AFOLs? Why? With 500 bucks in pocket they can buy 2-3 AT-AT + 5-6 others standard sets + buy hundreds white bricks from BL and have much better diorama than this sh**t. I can expect that somebody pay 500 bucs for X-wing, Slave or Tie fighter (since they are irreplacable, or will wait another 20 years for re-edition), I can also imagine that somebody will pay this amount for Ewok village, even it is also a play set, but wonderful and hard to replace it buy several standard sets. But for this stupid, slapdash set ? You also cannot compare this set with other, underestimated, not hoarded sets such as SeaCow, since it is unique.

It may sence only if TLG heavily discounted AoH to EUR 120-150 - but i dont remember any exclusive set so discounted last years.

I would pick one up on sale for less than $200. But I don't see much investment potential either. To me it's too many small individual elements, and I would have rather TLG give us fewer, higher quality elements with more detail. Perhaps the market segment they are targeting is AFOLs with kids.

[fossilrock]

2 hours ago, Phil B said:

UCS  = Ultimate Collector Series - that to me indicates this is meant for Collectors, i.e. the adult/late-teen audience. If it's a playset, it doesn't really fit with the UCS tag. So I can see how people might be upset about LEGO using this on AoH. I know it is all semantics anyways, and I tend to agree with those who think it was Disney who pushed for this designation.

I think the Ewok Village was worthy of that label, also the Death Star was definitely worthy.

[fossilrock]

1 hour ago, mesje said:

I understand that children prefer play sets. But - we are talking about UCS, which are primarly for AFOLs. Plus, they are too expensive, so i dont expect (at least in my country) that there will be many birthday/ Xmas presents in such value. But the most important thing - since this is a investors forum, we are evaluating sets as future investments. My question is - who will buy such set in 2-3 years and more after EOL and for which price? OK, it is play set and we can discuss how many rich parents will buy AoH before next Xmas. But who will buy this set for 500 bucks ? Parents for children in ebay or bricklink? No way - they will go to next store and buy ACTUAL set in such price range. Who next? AFOLs? Why? With 500 bucks in pocket they can buy 2-3 AT-AT + 5-6 others standard sets + buy hundreds white bricks from BL and have much better diorama than this sh**t. I can expect that somebody pay 500 bucs for X-wing, Slave or Tie fighter (since they are irreplacable, or will wait another 20 years for re-edition), I can also imagine that somebody will pay this amount for Ewok village, even it is also a play set, but wonderful and hard to replace it buy several standard sets. But for this stupid, slapdash set ? You also cannot compare this set with other, underestimated, not hoarded sets such as SeaCow, since it is unique.

It may sence only if TLG heavily discounted AoH to EUR 120-150 - but i dont remember any exclusive set so discounted last years.

I tend to agree with that assessment, and it's one of the reasons I didn't buy more than one multiple of the Death Star or Ewok Village.  I tend to think that is the way it will go.  But I still think it has more of a long term chance then say the UCS b-wing or any of the prequel ships.  When this goes EOL, it will see a minor uptick in price. 

14 minutes ago, weitzel78 said:

I would pick one up on sale for less than $200. But I don't see much investment potential either. To me it's too many small individual elements, and I would have rather TLG give us fewer, higher quality elements with more detail. Perhaps the market segment they are targeting is AFOLs with kids.

AFOL with kids is a large market, whouldntyasay?

[Ed Mack]

2 hours ago, mesje said:

I understand that children prefer play sets. But - we are talking about UCS, which are primarly for AFOLs. Plus, they are too expensive, so i dont expect (at least in my country) that there will be many birthday/ Xmas presents in such value. But the most important thing - since this is a investors forum, we are evaluating sets as future investments. My question is - who will buy such set in 2-3 years and more after EOL and for which price? OK, it is play set and we can discuss how many rich parents will buy AoH before next Xmas. But who will buy this set for 500 bucks ? Parents for children in ebay or bricklink? No way - they will go to next store and buy ACTUAL set in such price range. Who next? AFOLs? Why? With 500 bucks in pocket they can buy 2-3 AT-AT + 5-6 others standard sets + buy hundreds white bricks from BL and have much better diorama than this sh**t. I can expect that somebody pay 500 bucs for X-wing, Slave or Tie fighter (since they are irreplacable, or will wait another 20 years for re-edition), I can also imagine that somebody will pay this amount for Ewok village, even it is also a play set, but wonderful and hard to replace it buy several standard sets. But for this stupid, slapdash set ? You also cannot compare this set with other, underestimated, not hoarded sets such as SeaCow, since it is unique.

It may sence only if TLG heavily discounted AoH to EUR 120-150 - but i dont remember any exclusive set so discounted last years.

Nobody in their right mind...

[c_rpg]

4 hours ago, Phil B said:

UCS  = Ultimate Collector Series - that to me indicates this is meant for Collectors, i.e. the adult/late-teen audience. If it's a playset, it doesn't really fit with the UCS tag. So I can see how people might be upset about LEGO using this on AoH. I know it is all semantics anyways, and I tend to agree with those who think it was Disney who pushed for this designation.

I agree and in most cases the UCS sets are mainly display pieces, but if they can combine certain play features without taking away from the overall look too much I'm all for it. 

The thing is they tend to produce much more faithful representations of ships than buildings or areas. With the ships you get one single item that actually looks like the ship. When they are trying to make a UCS set that represents a building or a particular scene, you get more of a compromise and a lot of areas are left open. With Ewok Village this didn't look out of place, because a forest actually is open and there aren't really any buildings in that particular area. However, with Assault on Hoth there are buildings which are supposed to be closed, but they are left open.

My feeling is they would be much better of making something like the GBHQ were you get a closed building that can fold open to show the inside. They don't need to include all the speeders and things like that - you can get those from other sets. But like a lot of people have pointed out it would be impossible to make a set that represents the entire hanger of the Hoth rebel base. Unless they do it micro scale it would be too big.

[Pet-Brick-er]

In most cases the UCS sets WERE mainly display sets
So far the UCS label has been used for collectors only , now let's try to get some more money using it for both playsets and display sets. That seems the flow, we may only adapt ourselves to the flow if we want to carry on this game
If/When parents will buy this set, they'll spend some more money for the exclusive label on a playsets (how many people spend more money for overpriced jeans made in Turkey just because they're D&G or Cavalli?); and we? We'll buy the next UCS set (I must notice that brickset has deleted snowspeeder 75144 from its UCS list and put it just as "exclusive") if it will bring a plaque and will forget about this ASSault made by two snowtroopers

[fantomas007]

8 hours ago, Phil B said:

UCS  = Ultimate Collector Series - that to me indicates this is meant for Collectors, i.e. the adult/late-teen audience. If it's a playset, it doesn't really fit with the UCS tag. So I can see how people might be upset about LEGO using this on AoH. I know it is all semantics anyways, and I tend to agree with those who think it was Disney who pushed for this designation.

Exactly. People cannot argue here that children prefer pay sets, etc, thats true, but then TLG cannot put the UCS tag to such set, which is definitely not for collectors, but for children... If TLG produced a Hoth mega pack set, nobody has a problem with it here. But they cannot put UCS tag to every expensive set.

[biking_tiger]

Did Brickset pull the article? I tried to read it again this evening, and get a "Website is offline" message. 

Nevermind... working again. 

Edited April 26, 2016 by biking_tiger

[TheOrcKing]

[trekgate502]

Wasn't there a post in the last year from Lego talking about how they wanted their UCS sets and such to be what Lego was meant to be ? Play Sets

If you follow that choice worded post they made if I am remembering right then Ewok Village and Assault on Hoth hit a home run towards that goal = PLAY SET

Do not mistake what I am saying.  I love an SSD and big ships as UCS adult items as much as the next person.

But really I carry my SSD and take it out and play with it everywhere I go don't you ?

Could they be executing what they said they would be executing ? and like it or not we may have to get over it or go find something else to do.

It is no SSD, it is no DS, it is even no Sand Crawler, but I'll be in line buying one on day one for me myself and I.

Maybe it is time to accept the dynamic changes of what UCS sets can be and either adapt or move on

[meowsmeowsmeows]

12 minutes ago, trekgate502 said:

Wasn't there a post in the last year from Lego talking about how they wanted their UCS sets and such to be what Lego was meant to be ? Play Sets

If you follow that choice worded post they made if I am remembering right then Ewok Village and Assault on Hoth hit a home run towards that goal = PLAY SET

Do not mistake what I am saying.  I love an SSD and big ships as UCS adult items as much as the next person.

But really I carry my SSD and take it out and play with it everywhere I go don't you ?

Could they be executing what they said they would be executing ? and like it or not we may have to get over it or go find something else to do.

It is no SSD, it is no DS, it is even no Sand Crawler, but I'll be in line buying one on day one for me myself and I.

Maybe it is time to accept the dynamic changes of what UCS sets can be and either adapt or move on

No offense meant, Trek, as you know Star Wars well, but if you believe this, then Lego has lost their way and slapping a UCS label on any Star Wars set is now solely a money grab in collaboration with Disney.  This set will definitely appeal to children as a playset, but it is no $250 UCS set meant for UCS collectors. 

This set cannot hold the Ewok Village's non-UCS's jock strap and my Ewok Village is a great display piece on the top of one of my display cases.

 

 

[Bold-Arrow]

If TLG turns UCS sets to playlets across the board, then that label will no longer be appealing on the long run; hence it - the stamp- will no longer add any value to the product.  

[trekgate502]

Just now, meowsmeowsmeows said:

No offense meant, Trek, as you know Star Wars well, but if you believe this, then Lego has lost their way and slapping a UCS label on any Star Wars set is now solely a money grab in collaboration with Disney.  This set will definitely appeal to children as a playset, but it is no $250 UCS set meant for UCS collectors. 

This set cannot hold the Ewok Village's non-UCS's jock strap and my Ewok Village is a great display piece on the top of one of my display cases.

 

 

No offense taken

I am not saying it is what I want, it is not by a long shot.

But yes I am saying maybe the type of UCS sets that we would prefer are a thing of the past.  Probably wrong. But some people could say 10240 repeat meh, Sandcrawler repeat meh, Ewok play set meh, Assault Hoth play set meh.

See what I mean ? I'd love a new SSD or a new major ship.  Just has not been happening.

I like all Star Wars sets including all of these well because it is Lego, its Star Wars and it is me.  Would I prefer some new major desktop nonplayset ships ? you bet

That said I like Ewok's and Hoth but people who hate Ewok's might prefer this set more lol

[agp548]

Lego should call this set what it is...not a UCS but a UPS....Ultimate play set.  Because this is no UCS set by any means. Unless by UCS they mean ultimate collection of previous hoth sets then yes...minus the AT-AT

[Steve Brule]

I only want the minifigs.

[gregpj]

Wasn't there a post in the last year from Lego talking about how they wanted their UCS sets and such to be what Lego was meant to be ? Play Sets

If you follow that choice worded post they made if I am remembering right then Ewok Village and Assault on Hoth hit a home run towards that goal = PLAY SET

Do not mistake what I am saying.  I love an SSD and big ships as UCS adult items as much as the next person.

But really I carry my SSD and take it out and play with it everywhere I go don't you ?

Could they be executing what they said they would be executing ? and like it or not we may have to get over it or go find something else to do.

It is no SSD, it is no DS, it is even no Sand Crawler, but I'll be in line buying one on day one for me myself and I.

Maybe it is time to accept the dynamic changes of what UCS sets can be and either adapt or move on

Lego released a statement about what kind of sets would get the UCS label with the Sandcrawler... Unfort I'm mobile so having trouble finding it but it has been linked to multiple times in the forums.

I'm not sure they specifically said "play" or "collector" though... If someone wants to dig it up, please do.

[Manse1001]

1 hour ago, gregpj said:

Lego released a statement about what kind of sets would get the UCS label with the Sandcrawler... Unfort I'm mobile so having trouble finding it but it has been linked to multiple times in the forums.

I'm not sure they specifically said "play" or "collector" though... If someone wants to dig it up, please do.

Was it this statement?

Via Brickset:

"The decision has been made to change the packaging for future “LEGO® exclusive” Star Wars™ sets to include the UCS seal and de-link from the core Star Wars packaging. In addition to the packaging change an update has been made to the building instructions. The building instructions will have additional pages detailing the model’s connection to the movie and its development process. Much as the Creator Expert badge differentiates the larger models from the core assortment the goal of this change is to better communicate to builders that these sets represent our biggest building challenge in the LEGO® Star Wars™ theme. "

http://brickset.com/article/10443

Edited April 26, 2016 by Manse1001

[gregpj]

Was it this statement?

Via Brickset:

"The decision has been made to change the packaging for future “LEGO exclusive” Star Wars sets to include the UCS seal and de-link from the core Star Wars packaging. In addition to the packaging change an update has been made to the building instructions. The building instructions will have additional pages detailing the model’s connection to the movie and its development process. Much as the Creator Expert badge differentiates the larger models from the core assortment the goal of this change is to better communicate to builders that these sets represent our biggest building challenge in the LEGO Star Wars theme. "

http://brickset.com/article/10443

Yes thanks! It's the only statement I remember reading about the UCS badging.

So it represents a building challenge... Hmmm, nope I don't think so.

** edit .. Unless they mean a challenge to WANT to build it then yes, they succeeded!! **

[trekgate502]

2 hours ago, gregpj said:

 

 

Yes thanks! It's the only statement I remember reading about the UCS badging.

 

So it represents a building challenge... Hmmm, nope I don't think so.

** edit .. Unless they mean a challenge to WANT to build it then yes, they succeeded!! **

 

That is not what I was referring to

it could have been a Facebook response 

it talked about ALL Lego being play sets