75144 - UCS: Snowspeeder

[Val-E]

In Europe, Red 5, EV and Tie have all been discounted at SAH. I don´t recall S1 having been so far and I don´t remember if Sandcrawler was either.

Many shops have marked Tie down but S1 only seems to be included when there are across-the-board lego promos.

[jonnyhanukkah]

really crossing my fingers that this gets another special release with it like the Space Slug set on May the 4th last year.  If so, selling a special release like that will subsidize most of the $200 cost.  

[Darth_Raichu]

3 minutes ago, jonnyhanukkah said:

really crossing my fingers that this gets another special release with it like the Space Slug set on May the 4th last year.  If so, selling a special release like that will subsidize most of the $200 cost.  

Unless you fall in love with the bonus set and decide to keep it

[micbelt]

3 minutes ago, jonnyhanukkah said:

really crossing my fingers that this gets another special release with it like the Space Slug set on May the 4th last year.  If so, selling a special release like that will subsidize most of the $200 cost.  

Flipping the space slug right away was pretty great. I was able to get 2, flipped 1 for $300 and kept the other. Totally paid for everything I bought on May the 4th.

[Rodeogeorge]

 Screen accurate OT ship worthy of the grandest of credenzas. My requirements have been satisfied.  

 

EDIT: Off-topic but since it has been discussed a bit here- As far as stickers go, I use the wedge of a brick separator to hold "just the tip" of a sticker and that allows for both good control and a good view of the placement area. FWIW. 

Edited February 15, 2017 by Rodeogeorge

[exciter1]

3 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Unless you fall in love with the bonus set and decide to keep it

Bricklink'd mine, painless

[Rodeogeorge]

4 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

Bricklink'd mine, painless

yeppers.  and dagobah.  Those boxes, though.  Now I want the darn box.  It never ends I tell ya!

[Ed Mack]

Deja Vu all over again...I see Red 5 type results and effects with this set.  Decent remake, smaller but more accurate.  Will have a similar effect on the 10129 as the Red Five did on the 7191.  Once again LEGO goes for the low hanging fruit and remakes another set that didn't need an upgrade.  With all the other potential models that could have been made, this set will find its fans, but won't be anything special.  One only has to look at the Red 5 and UCS TIE Fighter to realize that the UCS sets are overproduced and not as great of sellers as they once were.  While STAR WARS is still a force to be reckoned with, there are so many collectibles that the market is getting watered down and less profitable.

This Snowspeeder model makes me think that any future remake of the UCS Millennium Falcon will be similar in nature...smaller, yet more accurate, with better building techniques.  I certainly don't foresee a huge 5000+ piece, $600+ UCS Falcon in the future.  It's just my opinion, but trends would point to that direction.  

[Alpinemaps]

And "Rumor" is gone from the title!

[oneknightr]

10129 definitely didn't need a remake since it's a nice set even by today's standards. Since I don't own 10129 and this is one of my favorite Star Wars ships of all time, I am definitely pleased and will be buying this. I know a few of you said it looks smaller but to me, it looks to be around the same size. Maybe I'm miscounting the studs. 

[gregpj]

It may not have "needed" a remake, but it was a set that was released 14 years ago. You can bet LEGO has done the math to compare how many UCS sets sold in 2003 vs how many they sell today and deemed it both worthwhile in terms of $$ and pleasing their fan base.

I'm glad they didn't try to make it "bigger" than the last one. The snowspeeder is not a large ship .. Updated build techniques and more accuracy (Sandcrawler anyone?) would be all that's needed and it would definitely differentiate it from the rush jobs of re-releasing the Death Star and the Winter Toy Shop with new set #s and their wild and fanciful claims that they were different.

I look forward to seeing more photos... one early photo provides a glimpse but not enough to judge the price point just yet.

*edit .. for the record.. the old one looks cool and the shape was pretty good, but the canopy was way too wide and stocky. it looks like a big improvement in the new picture*

[junkrigger]

Incomplete pics for sure but the box looks absolutely fabulous, similar to S1, rather than R5. Looks to be every bit as good as 10129 but not a copy and even more screen accurate.  Built should be awesome taking advantage of some interesting techniques do to all the angles.  Over a decade between EoL and the next remake is quite reasonable and healthy for both Lego corp. and reseller profits as soon as the thieving criminal counterfeiters are eliminated.

[pete411]

As a Lego SW fan and collector, I'm looking forward to the new version and it will proudly be displayed next to my other UCS sets. I doubt many of us bought Lego back in 2003 so having the opportunity to add this to the collection is welcome indeed.  As a reseller, there's no use in speculating about its performance and honestly, I don't care. Who knows what the market will be like in 5 years and even if it is a stinker, there'll be hundreds of other sets to invest in. Stockpiling large exclusive sets is for chumps anyways.

Now where is my Tantive IV...

[lego rules]

1 minute ago, pete411 said:

Stockpiling large exclusive sets is for chumps anyways.

Really?

[Crustybeaver]

10227 got off to a very slow start in the UK so I sold it to a fellow Skoda driver on BP at cost. Since the mid-sized B-Wing also did well, I could be tempted with a remake, but I have to be strong and hold out for the big discounts as I have a feeling that a googolplex of these will be made and hoarded.

Skodas rock!

[Brenner]

I like the looks of this model, it has certainly appeal to me....big time. This ship is iconic from my perspective. Look forward to have it in my collection.

[eliminator]

I will buy this for my collection.

Hopefully there's a May 4th double VIP points and bonus SW minifig or set.

[inversion]

7 hours ago, Ed Mack said:

One only has to look at the Red 5 and UCS TIE Fighter to realize that the UCS sets are overproduced and not as great of sellers as they once were.  

Just to nitpick Ed, I don't think that UCS sets were ever great sellers, maybe with a very exceptions like Slave I. But I am not sure even in that. They cater to a niche market, and have seen a lot of discounts before the short spell of discount bans in the early 2010's. 

However, EOL performance probably is not indicative of retail sales of the remakes. People who pay four digits for any of these are so die hard that it is very likely that they already have the original. However, most copies are likely going to retail buyers, who might not even have heard that there was a previous one and are not hunting for LEGO on ebay. Therefore, this tendency mostly affects the investors here, not LEGO. For them, I think it is business as usual.

[ravenb99]

At least I know what I will be building mid april this year...

[Ed Mack]

Just to nitpick Ed, I don't think that UCS sets were ever great sellers, maybe with a very exceptions like Slave I. But I am not sure even in that. They cater to a niche market, and have seen a lot of discounts before the short spell of discount bans in the early 2010's. 
However, EOL performance probably is not indicative of retail sales of the remakes. People who pay four digits for any of these are so die hard that it is very likely that they already have the original. However, most copies are likely going to retail buyers, who might not even have heard that there was a previous one and are not hunting for LEGO on ebay. Therefore, this tendency mostly affects the investors here, not LEGO. For them, I think it is business as usual.

That might be true. The 10179 sat around for months after being sold out at LEGO. What the UCS sets did was attract older buyers and helped increase the perceived value of LEGO sets. The rest is history.

[tjj1984]

I think it looks great, but I don't think it looks like a $200 set.

[OrangeChiliPeP]

I guess we have to wait till we see more pictures about the set probably at weekend. I´m very excited about the accuracy of the set.

For me a day one purchase like the SC & Slave I once.

 

[HandyHand]

4 hours ago, OrangeChiliPeP said:

I guess we have to wait till we see more pictures about the set probably at weekend. I´m very excited about the accuracy of the set.

For me a day one purchase like the SC & Slave I once.

If you compare the box-image with this 3D render based on accurate movie images, then it's quite obvious that the new 75144 looks significantly better than the old version!

 

Edited February 16, 2017 by Haay

[Val-E]

I disagree. The older one shows more studs but seems to have a wider footprint more in line with the original.

In any case, it is what it is - another remake that will delight those who missed out first time around and peeve resellers who kept the first one.

[Bold-Arrow]

6 minutes ago, Val-E said:

I disagree. The older one shows more studs but seems to have a wider footprint more in line with the original.

In any case, it is what it is - another remake that will delight those who missed out first time around and peeve resellers who kept the first one.

Which brings up an interesting point , how long is too long to hold on on a set .. anyone getting peeved over this is boarderline hoarding