75159 - UCS: Death Star (2016)

[gregpj]

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

[inversion]

13 hours ago, labfreak7 said:

Well, it's a little more than a blip. It is the second reissue in as many years that Lego has put out in the market. I don't recall there being exact copies of previous sets out out like this. It is going to push some to sell, and certainly most of us will be a little more reluctant to take the plunge on sets.

There are many more reissues in City and Creator. We notice it among exclusives. However LEGO officially admitted that Toy Shop was a mistake. We won't see that kind of misery again.

Moreover, in my opinion calling 75159 a reissue is not correct. It is an update. 10188 never retired. They needed to clear stocks and avoid returns before going with it. If they really wanted only a face lift, this was the right way of doing it from a business perspective.

[Kneel_Before_Zod]

I have been busy helping with the flood and just saw this thread.  Wow so much bitterness.

I actually think the LEGO design is stupid and looks nothing like the Death Star on Star Wars.  But I can make extra money on them it does not matter what I think.  This is not hard to figure out.  

I sold all my 5 Death Stars for $600 each in July as soon as I heard about the remake rumor.  Sold 3 locally and 2 to somebody in UK who was so concerned about box condition.  I told him the box would not matter when these things hit $1000. HA!

Made some money and took my girlfriend to nice dinner.  At least she did not have to wash the dishes afterwards

I am waiting for the price to drop some more to reload, rinse, and repeat.  

Edited August 23, 2016 by Kneel_Before_Zod

[jaisonline]

2 minutes ago, Kneel_Before_Zod said:

I have been busy helping with the flood and just saw this thread.  Wow so much bitterness.

I actually think the LEGO design is stupid and looks nothing like the Death Star on Star Wars .  But I can make extra money on them it does not matter what I think.  This is not hard to figure out.  

I sold all my 5 Death Stars for $600 each in July as soon as I heard about the remake rumor.  Sold 3 locally and 2 to somebody in UK who was so concerned about box condition.  I told him the box would not matter when these things hit $1000. HA!

Made some money and took my girlfriend to nice dinner.  At least she did not have to wash the dishes afterwards

I am waiting for the price to drop some more to reload, rinse, and repeat.  

Personally, I'm worried about the owns I sold on eBay this month (returns policy saying ANAD) let alone ones sold to overseas buyers. Maybe the cost of postage might deter them.

[jaisonline]

I think @dcdfan accidentally liked the post above or he's throwing likes around to hit his daily limit

[Steve Brule]

There are many more reissues in City and Creator. We notice it among exclusives. However LEGO officially admitted that Toy Shop was a mistake. We won't see that kind of misery again.

Moreover, in my opinion calling 75159 a reissue is not correct. It is an update. 10188 never retired. They needed to clear stocks and avoid returns before going with it. If they really wanted only a face lift, this was the right way of doing it from a business perspective.

Where did they admit to the Toy Shop mistake? Surprising they would do so then turn around and rerelease the Death Star.

[Manse1001]

15 minutes ago, Kneel_Before_Zod said:

I am waiting for the price to drop some more to reload, rinse, and repeat.  

Is your strategy honestly to wait for the price to drop and then buy more in the hope 10188 goes through the roof again? I just don't see it now, well done for making some bucks on your last batch, I did the same, and I have a few more to offload so I'm a little disappointed these will never hit the heights I once hoped, but I just can't see people stumping up the cash anymore for 10188, they'll just go for the remake.  A new collector may join the scene in a few years and want one, but they'll will be few and far between in my opinion.

P.s. I'm not being obnoxious I'm just intrigued. ;o) 

Edited August 23, 2016 by Manse1001

[Kneel_Before_Zod]

8 minutes ago, jaisonline said:

Personally, I'm worried about the owns I sold on eBay this month (returns policy saying ANAD) let alone ones sold to overseas buyers. Maybe the cost of postage might deter them.

No return accepted.  They paid for those.  Those are their problems now.

[Loghamel]

2 minutes ago, Kneel_Before_Zod said:

No return accepted.  They paid for those.  Those are their problems now.

I'm so glad you showed up.  This horse has been beaten beyond death and it's always more fun in a two-horse race.

[jaisonline]

8 minutes ago, Loghamel said:

I'm so glad you showed up.  This horse has been beaten beyond death and it's always more fun in a two-horse race.

maybe... maybe not

12 minutes ago, Kneel_Before_Zod said:

No return accepted.  They paid for those.  Those are their problems now.

let us know how your buyers respond. i have a 15% restocking fee and buyer pays return postage in my ebay and bl listings but that goes only so far...

[gregpj]

2 minutes ago, Steve Brule said:

 

Where did they admit to the Toy Shop mistake? Surprising they would do so then turn around and rerelease the Death Star.

They erased it after the fact, but a week or so after the public reveal and in response to some of the negative reviews on S@H, a LEGO employee posted a reply on the S@H site. I wouldn't go so far as to say it admitted a mistake, rather it said (paraphrasing) that they did not realize the winter line provided so many happy building moments around the holidays for families.

I guess they got around it with the new train by making it significantly different but I expect a few people will still be upset that they can't get their fix around the holidays.

I am not specifically against remakes ... LEGO is in the business of making themselves money, not making me money. I was happy to pick up a Toy Shop for RRP for our collection, but it was super cheesy and lazy of LEGO to release a designer video that didn't mention at all it was a 99.9% remake. And that's where I stand with the Death Star. I'm sure the updated minifigures will be nice, but to seriously ADD A STUPID CHEESE SLOPE as part of the updated release? Do they take us for fools?

They should have update the minigures and left the rest as-is. People would still be mad but LEGO could make the argument that the minis were outdated and needed modern printing... and that such a change required a new set # and box design.

After the improvements that 75059 was to 10144 and 10240 was to 7191 (as two examples of remakes that were improvements rather than just reboxing) this rehash stinks. I'm curious to see how LEGO markets this one.

[biking_tiger]

3 minutes ago, gregpj said:

I'm sure the updated minifigures will be nice, but to seriously ADD A STUPID CHEESE SLOPE as part of the updated release? Do they take us for fools?

To be fair, they had to add the cheese slope to bring the DS up to code. We don't want any minifigs stubbing their... toes... on a bare stud. 

Edited August 23, 2016 by biking_tiger

[Bold-Arrow]

Should have invested in corn last week . Predicting a popcorn shortage in the next few days . 

[Darth_Raichu]

I can't wait to see the designer video.  I think it will be done by 2 people: The designer who is awkwardly trying to muster up every ounce of enthusiasm about his improvements.  And the overly enthusiastic graphic designer who points out every single minute new print on the minifigs and the new accessories. 

[fuzzy_bricks]

21 minutes ago, Steve Brule said:

Where did they admit to the Toy Shop mistake? Surprising they would do so then turn around and rerelease the Death Star.

The only thing I saw was this comment from a poster on FBTB.  It lines up with what gregpj was referring to.

http://www.fbtb.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=12040#p93230

 

[gregpj]

5 minutes ago, fuzzy_bricks said:

The only thing I saw was this comment from a poster on FBTB.  It lines up with what gregpj was referring to.

http://www.fbtb.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=12040#p93230

 

IIRC the response to the review was posted first and then that was posted a short time later.. Thanks for finding that.

I don't personally buy that they didn't know... I think the lackluster designs in a number high profile sets lately shows they've been strained for design-and-review-time resources. Small updates require a lot less time to review than an entirely new set.

[Phil B]

1 minute ago, gregpj said:

IIRC the response to the review was posted first and then that was posted a short time later.. Thanks for finding that.

I don't personally buy that they didn't know... I think the lackluster designs in a number high profile sets lately shows they've been strained for design-and-review-time resources. Small updates require a lot less time to review than an entirely new set.

That and the fact that they have a large company looking over their shoulder asking them to pump out stuff faster and faster ....

[Darth_Raichu]

2 minutes ago, gregpj said:

IIRC the response to the review was posted first and then that was posted a short time later.. Thanks for finding that.

I don't personally buy that they didn't know... I think the lackluster designs in a number high profile sets lately shows they've been strained for design-and-review-time resources. Small updates require a lot less time to review than an entirely new set.

Their design resources were probably too busy putting improvements on 10188 and 7965

[gregpj]

20 minutes ago, biking_tiger said:

To be fair, they had to add the cheese slope to bring the DS up to code. We don't want any minifigs stubbing their... toes... on a bare stud. 

I just don't get it... where does that cheese slope even come from? I must be missing my magic glasses to see what is at the bottom of that shaft.

(P.S. to LEGO - your new design on this part of the DS is still weak sauce... )

[Ed Mack]

19 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

I can't wait to see the designer video.  I think it will be done by 2 people: The designer who is awkwardly trying to muster up every ounce of enthusiasm about his improvements.  And the overly enthusiastic graphic designer who points out every single minute new print on the minifigs and the new accessories. 

Is the designer still alive?  It was like a decade ago they designed the set!

[Darth_Raichu]

2 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

Is the designer still alive?  It was like a decade ago they designed the set!

Not sure about original designer. I was referring to the designer who drew the short straw and had to put some time to improve 10188

[dcdfan]

17 minutes ago, Phil B said:

That and the fact that they have a large company looking over their shoulder asking them to pump out stuff faster and faster ....

[Darth_Raichu]

7 minutes ago, gregpj said:

I just don't get it... where does that cheese slope even come from? I must be missing my magic glasses to see what is at the bottom of that shaft.

(P.S. to LEGO - your new design on this part of the DS is still weak sauce... )

 

Psst, there was no watchtower on Hoth Echo Base either

[Ed Mack]

2 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Not sure about original designer. I was referring to the designer who drew the short straw and had to put some time to improve 10188

Easiest job on the planet.  Only took 5 minutes from the looks of it.

[Darth_Raichu]

7 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

Easiest job on the planet.  Only took 5 minutes from the looks of it.

I'd imagine easy is not a measure accomplishments in a room full of LEGO designers...

[dcdfan]

This is hysterical to me. My takeaway, in case you didn't know, there's a new one coming out and if you look into it, you can save yourself some grief by waiting.