75159 - UCS: Death Star (2016)

[gregpj]

This one is for you LEGO, inspired by @BrickLegacy and brought to you by Brickpickers everywhere.

[kris_1973]

It's really baffling how drastically out of touch TLG seems to be with their adult fans. There was a huge backlash over AOH, and they double down with this. It's not just the resellers that are upset--you can go to any of the major AFOL-centric sites and see that the vast majority of the comments about this set are negative. Everyone can see that this is just a money grab, and they are offended by it. And it's not just about the money--they see this as a waste of a UCS "slot" (one of the two designated SW UCS sets that gets released each year). It's perceived as lazy, and as you've said, cocky. I don't know what the R&D costs were to put out this set, but TLG probably should have spent a little more than they did on researching fan reaction to this decision.

Agreed. I think the blame is mostly on Disney and their licensing agreement with Lego - but TLG still holds some blame.

[MathBuilder]

30 minutes ago, jaisonline said:

 i need stop typing about this set as this remake makes me no sense to anyone but TLG

 

Don't forget Disney.

 

[ravenb99]

5 minutes ago, fossilrock said:

Did you just use the word "Trustworthy" when describing the Lego Company?  

Wow I just had a bonding moment with fossilrock...

1 minute ago, Phil B said:

Yes i did. Despite phoning it in on a few sets in its 750-sets-per-year line-up, there is tons of creative goodness to be had.

it goes a lot deeper than phoning it in on sets.

[fossilrock]

2 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Yes i did. Despite phoning it in on a few sets in its 750-sets-per-year line-up, there is tons of creative goodness to be had.

It's getting less and less as the years go on. And no, this proved lego has lost it's way, and dare I say it - trust with afol's.  The brand has just been tainted.  There's been a few incidents of late, but this was a big blow towards having consumer confidence in the brand.  

[tjj1984]

2 minutes ago, kris_1973 said:

Agreed. I think the blame is mostly on Disney and their licensing agreement with Lego - but TLG still holds some blame.

Did they agree to give up control over their brand?

[kris_1973]

Did they agree to give up control over their brand?

On purpose, I would doubt it of course - but I would guess that TLG is more and more tied to licensing to move product.

[Ciglione]

I remember.... when I was a little Ciglione playing with Lego. I spend days and days to build a city. Tweaked and adjusted the streets and buildings until perfection. 

Then... after a couple of weeks I became bored and destroyed it entirely. 

Maybe the Lego Group just got bored being the number one toy manufacturer of the world and now is doing the exact same thing to their brand as I did to my city.

[Ed Mack]

Don't buy a Lepin set to get even, buy a new LEGO set like a Disney Castle or the Technic Porsche or Excavator to show LEGO that it pays to produce quality and fresh products. There are literally thousands of MOCs out there that would make great sets. There is nothing wrong with tapping the creative LEGO fans of the world for their ideas. Put their damn names on the box and people would sign over rights to any MOC set...for free. The 75159 is a joke. Hell, I could have designed that set and I suck.

[diablo2112]

The new Bucket Wheel Excavator 42055 is a build of unbelievably epic stature.  Just awesome, in every way.  Please, support that model!  More of this, please!

 

Edited August 19, 2016 by diablo2112

[dcdfan]

It reminds me of the movies nowadays not to jump off topic, but look at the new ghostbusters movie, or of course Star Wars. No original ideas, no actual thought or creativity. Anyone not bothered by this DS development either does not have one, or is too new/young to understand how badly Lego dropped the ball on this one, and even more disturbing is that they are trending towards remakes rather than doing something new.

Look out. There are tens of thousands of members on this site and two that will disagree strongly with you about Ghostbusters 2016. They both enjoyed it immensely.

[Ciglione]

4 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

Don't buy a Lepin set to get even, buy a new LEGO set like a Disney Castle or the Technic Porsche or Excavator to show LEGO that it pays to produce quality and fresh products. There are literally thousands of MOCs out there that would make great sets. There is nothing wrong with tapping the creative LEGO fans of the world for their ideas. Put their damn names on the box and people would sign over rights to any MOC set...for free. The 75159 is a joke. Hell, I could have designed that set and I suck.

Well Ed... 10188 also was a quality and fresh product in 2008. Lego sold alot of them.

You see where I am going? 

[MathBuilder]

 

5 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

The 75159 is a joke. Hell, I could have designed that set and I suck.

A 4th year old could design the 75159 just give them a 10188 and a cheese slope!

[wolfenn]

18 minutes ago, tjj1984 said:

It's really baffling how drastically out of touch TLG seems to be with their adult fans. There was a huge backlash over AOH, and they double down with this. It's not just the resellers that are upset--you can go to any of the major AFOL-centric sites and see that the vast majority of the comments about this set are negative. Everyone can see that this is just a money grab, and they are offended by it. And it's not just about the money--they see this as a waste of a UCS "slot" (one of the two designated SW UCS sets that gets released each year). It's perceived as lazy, and as you've said, cocky. I don't know what the R&D costs were to put out this set, but TLG probably should have spent a little more than they did on researching fan reaction to this decision.

lets hope atleast the snowspeeder  will be a good ucs. A much improved one.

[MathBuilder]

9 minutes ago, diablo2112 said:

The new Bucket Wheel Excavator 42055 is a build of unbelievably epic stature.  Just awesome, in every way.  Please, support that model!  More of this, please!

 

Wow that monster is huge and cool. Thank you for the recommendation.

I like this idea. AFOLs vote with your wallets, if you must have your fix pick something creative and worthy of your money. Don't just be a "completist".

 

 

[exciter1]

12 minutes ago, diablo2112 said:

The new Bucket Wheel Excavator 42055 is a build of unbelievably epic stature.  Just awesome, in every way.  Please, support that model!  More of this, please!

 
 

It reminds me of a big cat using the bathroom.

[jaisonline]

5 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

It reminds me of a big cat using the bathroom.

i'm just happy you didn't post this photo.

 

 

[Migration]

As fun as its been watching this thread lose its collective s***, I do believe we are all missing the point. This set will make an obscene amount of $$$. We are not the target market, we never have been.

[Ed Mack]

Well Ed... 10188 also was a quality and fresh product in 2008. Lego sold alot of them.

You see where I am going? 

No. Not really.

[dcdfan]

It reminds me of a big cat using the bathroom.

i'm just happy you didn't post this photo.

I ran outta likes again so one for each of you.

[Ed Mack]

As fun as its been watching this thread lose its collective s***, I do believe we are all missing the point. This set will make an obscene amount of $$$. We are not the target market, we never have been.

It may take a year or two, but it is my opinion that you will be proven wrong. $500 LEGO sets are not designed for most children I know and I am affluent. The resellers propped this set up for years. What LEGO fan with a 10188 will buy this? I thought I would for the Hell of it until I saw it was the same damn set. Many other places to invest my money.

[exciter1]

6 minutes ago, dcdfan said:

I ran outta likes again so one for each of you.

We understand, it's been a big day.

[gregpj]

4 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

It may take a year or two, but it is my opinion that you will be proven wrong. $500 LEGO sets are not designed for most children I know and I am affluent. The resellers propped this set up for years. What LEGO fan with a 10188 will buy this? I thought I would for the Hell of it until I saw it was the same damn set. Many other places to invest my money.

^ This .. we can afford it, but I'll be damned if I buy one. I always see the grown men eyeing up and buying the big Star Wars sets. I am tempted by Ass on Hoth because we have zero Hoth sets in our house and it would allow us to get the last 5 years worth of sets in one shot, but there is zero temptation to buy two of the same set (exception: Mini Cooper since I MOC'ed one into a diff color).

The collector in me buys these sets to open them and build them... why would I want to build and display two death stars?

I know a lot of folks bought the new Force Awakens MF, but I already have 7965. We are honestly not going to buy the new one.... These aren't like Tie's or X-Wings where you can have a fleet. There is only one Death Star (per movie)... and unless Rogue One reveals there are two identical Death Stars in parallel universes or something, why would anyone want two?

[Migration]

It may take a year or two, but it is my opinion that you will be proven wrong. $500 LEGO sets are not designed for most children I know and I am affluent. The resellers propped this set up for years. What LEGO fan with a 10188 will buy this? I thought I would for the Hell of it until I saw it was the same damn set. Many other places to invest my money.

This set is made for all the people over the next decade that don't own a 10188. Parents don't buy Lego because they think it will hold/go up in value, they buy it for their kids. I know several kids that go to school with mine who are not affluent but do have a 10188. We are not as influential or important as we think we are. All the parents that aren't members here have no clue 10188 ever existed, all they know is that their kid wants a Lego Death Star and, oh look, here's a 75159.

[dcdfan]

We understand, it's been a big day.

I tried to like this but well, still broken. So one and one ☹️.

[weitzel78]

It would be interesting to see the breakdown of sales of various sets segmented by customer type; parents buying for kids vs AFOL.... but TLG will never make this info public.

Anecdotally, when I go down the Lego aisle at a big box store, TRU, or the Lego store- I always seem to see parents with kids saying that they can spend up to x on a set (usually $10-50). The kid picks up a bunch of bigger sets, the mom says no that's too much, and finally Timmy gets a battle pack or a small super hero set or whatever. Meanwhile I'm buying either several large exclusives or a stack of clearance or TRUTH deals. When I see the big sets purchased it's usually AFOLs.