10188 - UCS: Death Star

[GhostDad]

Lego has never, ever remade an exclusive set in such a short time window.  Never, ever, ever.  A super huge cloud city or battle of hoth would be much better bets.  Even remakes of the regular ol' AT-AT are spaced out much more than that.  This is just silly talk.

[minicoopers11]

Lego has never, ever remade an exclusive set in such a short time window.  Never, ever, ever.  A super huge cloud city or battle of hoth would be much better bets.  Even remakes of the regular ol' AT-AT are spaced out much more than that.  This is just silly talk.

I'm taking all this with a grain of salt, of course. But how many "Lego has never, ever" points could be made about 10188 compared to other sets?!

[TheOrcKing]

Found it thanks to the brickfan

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=98085&st=5150#entry2182180

I don't know about the rest of you guys but for me it says just2good made that post on Eurobricks at 12:46 AM which is right at the start of April 2nd yet if I try to quote it and place here, it reads as April 1st 7:46 PM.

 

new bigger better death star coming in 2016, will replace old one

this is not a Disney party!!!

Two hours later he followed up with a second response.

 

im still in april first but you gotta trust me!

Now I am not being difficult on him. I am only stating more than likely he was merely having a laugh in case the Disney Minifigures series didn't ruffle enough feathers. Haha. Sure the Death Star model is old, already shown its age, and simply needs to leave for good but the matter is do we really need another and for what reason? I would sooner believe a rumor for a UCS A-Wing before a redesign of the Death Star even though it really could use one.

[Frank Brickowski]

I don't know about the rest of you guys but for me it says just2good made that post on Eurobricks at 12:46 AM which is right at the start of April 2nd yet if I try to quote it and place here, it reads as April 1st 7:46 PM.

 

Two hours later he followed up with a second response.

 

Now I am not being difficult on him. I am only stating more than likely he was merely having a laugh in case the Disney Minifigures series didn't ruffle enough feathers. Haha. Sure the Death Star model is old, already shown its age, and simply needs to leave for good but the matter is do we really need another and for what reason? I would sooner believe a rumor for a UCS A-Wing before a redesign of the Death Star even though it really could use one.

 

In real life, how much would you trust someone who says "you gotta trust me!" except maybe Sledge Hammer? I mean, in the end if just2good was not joking, maybe his source was. Very high April 1st factor here.

[pete411]

I believe that TLG will want a flagship set (Death Star) available for purchase at all times. 10188 can't last much longer so it will have to be replaced by another offering. I mean come on. They've certainly had enough time to design a new one. No other playset in the SW universe can match the power of the death star. Bespin? Hoth? Laugh.

 

Someone had mentioned that they would be pissing off resellers if they did this. Do you think they care? Every reseller will be F5ing whatever exclusive they decide to retire next irregardless of whether or not they get stuck with a stash of outdated 10188s. Lego is on fire right now and can afford to make such a bold move. I've also heard as much from a very talkative lego employee but let's save that for another thread.

Edited April 4, 2015 by pete411

[Vinetu]

That was exactly what I said on Eurobricks. But he kept insisting, so either his source was pulling his leg or TLG is really stupid enough to think that nothing but a DS can be a flagship product for SW line.

 

Put out a 400$ MF for Chris'sake and see how market responds. Or AT-AT. Cloud city would be better parted-out like Jabba line, it's a given, but any of the previous two would generate 2x more sales then DS in 1-3 years span, given demand. After that re-release the DS by all means, but now it makes zero sense. ESPECIALLY considering that MF makes a re-appearence in TFA (and I seriously hope Disney wouldn't be silly enough to re-introduce a third DS in the new movie...)

 

My 0.02$.

 

Edit: pete411, I was typing a reply while you posted, interesting that you made a same flagship point

Edited April 4, 2015 by Vinetu

[Frank Brickowski]

I believe that TLG will want a flagship set (Death Star) available for purchase at all times. 10188 can't last much longer so it will have to be replaced by another offering. I mean come on. They've certainly  had enough time to design a new set. Someone had mentioned that they would be pissing off resellers if they did this. Do you think they care? Every reseller will be F5ing whatever exclusive they decide to retire next irregardless of whether or not they get stuck with a stash of outdated 10188s. Lego is on fire right now and can afford to make such bold moves.

 

Releasing UCS Hoth Echo Base should be enough of a move, no boldness needed. It hopefully will replace the Death Star - shutting down this neverending topic.

[Val-E]

I am not putting into question whether the current model will retire or whether there will be a remake (it will and there will be). What I question, like Biniou, is the timing and the reliability of the source,

 

Ideally, you leave a gap between models like with MF and Xwing to cr

[inversion]

I believe LEGO is thinking about DS as the police HQ of City. The police theme differs year to year (swamp, forest, etc.), but there is always a HQ.

 

It doesn't sound too far fetched that LEGO wants a huge DS constantly on offer. It's practically became the very symbol of LEGO Star Wars since its release. It is well known outside of the LEGO community. Not offering it might be perceived as a bigger risk to prestige than releasing a new one straight after retirement. I wouldn't call it retirement if this happens anyway. Just a refresh, if LEGO truly intends to always have a DS in its offering.

 

Also I can't repeat enough times that LEGO cares about Average Customers. The DS has a unique place among exclusives with a widespread appeal, they can sell this much because people who aren't collectors and enthusiasts also buy it. I would say those are the majority. They buy this for Christmas when their son gets 8 years old, for graduation etc. None of the other exclusives have this much presence.

 

Therefore it is reasonable to assume that LEGO doesn't care about the loud minority on forums who want other sets because they already have a DS. They are not the target customers. They can have the other UCS-s and modulars. DS is for the masses. Explains the 8 year production run and the business policy of refresh also makes sense in this case. If there is a constantly high demand, why retire it instead of a refresh? Milk the cow until it runs dry.

Edited April 4, 2015 by inversion

[pete411]

BTW, I also heard that Disney is dying to get their logo on the next DS set and that's a big reason why they would force push TLG into releasing an update sooner than later. When I heard that, I thought it was quite practical.

Edited April 4, 2015 by pete411

[Val-E]

They could just Photoshop the box, couldn

[Vinetu]

BTW, I also heard that Disney is dying to get their logo on the next DS set and that's a big reason why they would force push TLG into releasing an update sooner than later. When I heard that, I thought it was quite practical.

 

This. This makes perfect sense. I haven't though of it, but this might be THE reason for this unusual move. 4 billion guys, we are going to milk it now...

[inversion]

They could just Photoshop the box, couldn

[pete411]

They could just Photoshop the box, couldn

[dcdfan]

Has Lego ever updated the packaging of a set without any kind of change to the set itself? I'm a noob so I can't answer that.

Yes

[bricketycricket]

It's really difficult to envision them putting out a new DS immediately after retiring 10188, if for no other reason than it's a big middle finger to the customer who pays the steep price to buy one of the last ones off the shelf only to find it obsolete shortly thereafter.

[inversion]

It's really difficult to envision them putting out a new DS immediately after retiring 10188, if for no other reason than it's a big middle finger to the customer who pays the steep price to buy one of the last ones off the shelf only to find it obsolete shortly thereafter.

iPhone, cars, clothing, televisions. The whole durable goods industry is then a middle finger. Are you always upset? It doesn't work like that.

[Vinetu]

It's a little more complicated than that (production chain, there was a quite excellent post about it), but I don't believe that Disney is concerned about their logo on older releases. The SW brand is what sells those not the Disney one as in the Princess line. As long as profits are the same (logo not generating more sales) they shouldn't be concerned. And if modifying boxes costs money even so.

 

Oh inversion, I believe you are hugely mistaken about that. If what you're saying was true, they really wouldn't want to stick that Disney logo on the FRONT of EVERY SINGLE  Lego StarWars release of 2015 knowing that for many and more fans of the saga it would be a poke in the eye. No, they pretty much want to assert "StarWars, it's us now guys, deal with it"....

[Sprocket77]

Oh inversion, I believe you are hugely mistaken about that. If what you're saying was true, they really wouldn't want to stick that Disney logo on the FRONT of EVERY SINGLE  Lego StarWars release of 2015 knowing that for many and more fans of the saga it would be a poke in the eye. No, they pretty much want to assert "StarWars, it's us now guys, deal with it"....

 

If it's that important to them, then why isn't the logo all over the Marvel Super Heroes line?

[bricketycricket]

iPhone, cars, clothing, televisions. The whole durable goods industry is then a middle finger. Are you always upset? It doesn't work like that.

I think people have different expectations when it comes to toys/collectibles than they do with phones, TVs, etc. 

[inversion]

Oh inversion, I believe you are hugely mistaken about that. If what you're saying was true, they really wouldn't want to stick that Disney logo on the FRONT of EVERY SINGLE  Lego StarWars release of 2015 knowing that for many and more fans of the saga it would be a poke in the eye. No, they pretty much want to assert "StarWars, it's us now guys, deal with it"....

There is a difference between new releases and modifying old designs. Also corporate world doesn't work like you say. They slap the logo on it because it's theirs and it's free with new boxes. They won't force it with extra costs if they don't see extra profits from doing it.

 

Also fans are stupid in a sense. I was also surprised when Disney bought SW but actually it is in better hands now than it was with Lucas. There is unmistakably some stupid Disney stuff in the new movie (childish droid, teenage cast), but at least they are trying to be faithful to the core of the Star Wars universe, the beginnings. We are also seeing new stuff instead of the big fat nothing of Lucas. 

 

I think people have different expectations when it comes to toys/collectibles than they do with phones, TVs, etc. 

Collectibles, yes. But I also explained above why DS shouldn't be considered as a collectible. It is not made for collectors.

Edited April 4, 2015 by inversion

[pete411]

If it's that important to them, then why isn't the logo all over the Marvel Super Heroes line?

The Marvel deal is a lot more complicated and fractured than the deal they got from Lucas. Lucas handed over the keys - merchandising, film rights, publishing. With Marvel, Sony still owned Spider-man, Fox has Xmen and FF. I don't know the specifics but yeah, it's complicated.

[stephen_rockefeller]

The dude over at EB that posted this nonsense is laughing at all of you right now.....just so you guys know.

[Val-E]

You mean George Lucas? I hear every time he laughs a lot, he cries golden tears

[inversion]

The dude over at EB that posted this nonsense is laughing at all of you right now.....just so you guys know.

Whatever that dude said I still believe that a DS refresh is in the works some way down the road and had this belief waaaay before that post. Read my long post above why this makes sense from a business point of view and also add a cost cutting incentive to it (trimming down size and figs maybe).