A number of LEGO Star Wars books have been published over the years, notably including the often-updated Visual Dictionaries, developed by DK. These are sometimes interesting, but none examine the popular theme in the depth many fans, myself included, would like.
5008878 LEGO Star Wars: The Force of Creativity is therefore an intriguing prospect. Created for the 25th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, this book encompasses all aspects of the range, from its inception in the late 1990s to the design of modern sets and minifigures, as well as video games, animated series and fan creations.
However, this is an expensive book, costing £129.99, $149.99 or €149.99. While not unusual for coffee table books of its kind, no previous LEGO book has cost so much, so The Force of Creativity will need to impress!
Summary
5008878 LEGO Star Wars: The Force of Creativity
£129.99 / $149.99 / €149.99
Buy at LEGO.com »
LEGO Star Wars: The Force of Creativity offers incredible insight into LEGO Star Wars
- Fresh insights into early LEGO Star Wars history and set design
- Packed with interesting information
- Behind-the-scenes images
- Wonderful presentation
- Some omissions
- Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Format
The presentation of the book is absolutely stunning. Packed in an embossed case, the book is fully protected and the design inside the case matches the packaging for 25th anniversary sets released thus far, which shows nice consistency. The case also houses a small box underneath the book, dubbed the Time Capsule and containing pieces of LEGO Star Wars memorabilia.
I will discuss the Time Capsule later, but begin with the actual book. The work is divided into nine chapters, preceded by a lengthy discussion between Doug Chiang and Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, Lucasfilm Executive Vice President and Design Director and LEGO Design Director, respectively. This explores the relationship that exists between LEGO and Lucasfilm today, before chapter one examines how the partnership came about.
From there, separate chapters cover the following topics:
- The beginning of LEGO Star Wars
- Model design process
- Minifigure design process
- LEGO Star Wars video games
- The Ultimate Collector Series
- LEGO Star Wars animated series
- Other set types, such as Buildable Figures, Microfighters and the Helmet Collection
- Exhibition and shop displays
- Fan creations
I find the order of chapters odd in places, as chapters about physical products should logically be grouped together, but the balance between topics is superb. For example, I am much more interested in sets and minifigures than animated series, but everything is covered and properly illustrated, with plenty of behind-the-scenes photos.
Contents
Much of the book includes commentary from LEGO and Lucasfilm employees, which provides an opportunity for plenty of fun anecdotes and information about product development. For instance, I was curious to learn that when Jens Kronvold Frederiksen joined the LEGO Star Wars team in 1998, preliminary models of an AT-AT and an Imperial Shuttle had already been designed. That is not entirely surprising, but has not been revealed before.
Similar anecdotes and memories are found throughout the book, especially in chapters about the actual sets. Highlights include that a Naboo Royal Starship model was created in the early 2000s, but the idea abandoned with the discontinuation of chrome elements and that a George Lucas minifigure was considered as one of the pilots in 7665 Republic Cruiser, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars in 2007.
There are many more besides, which I will leave for readers to discover. However, there are fewer images of sketch models than some people might envisage, based on the promotional images of the book. These already feature the graphical treatment for a Zam Wesell minifigure and shots of two cancelled Buildable Figures, but there are only a few others included.
On the subject of those Buildable Figures, here they are: 75538 Super Battle Droid and 75539 501st Legion Clone Trooper & AT-RT. No real explanation is given for their cancellation, but it is fantastic to see them properly, at last.
Commentary is inevitably focused on the positive aspects of LEGO Star Wars, so you are not going to find discussion of problems with the release of 75309 Republic Gunship, for instance, fascinating though that could be. Nevertheless, the designers are very honest, acknowledging design challenges with certain sets or subthemes, such as the Planets series, which apparently struggled because children found it difficult to engage with items of totally different scales.
Otherwise, this is probably the most in-depth discussion I have read about how new sets and minifigures are developed. The whole process is covered and there are various sketches and images of maquettes for new parts present. Furthermore, I was fascinated to read that graphic designers have a bank of characters they would like to release in future, already portrayed as minifigures and ready to go! Zam Wesell and Willrow Hood are identified specifically.
As mentioned, sections about the animated series and video games are not as interesting to me, nor do they feel as unique as the set-focused chapters. Even so, there are, again, lots of interviews and photos showing digital assets in development. I particularly enjoyed information about the original LEGO Star Wars video game and Lucasfilm's initial scepticism.
The final chapter examines fan creations, including contributions from many notable builders in the community, such as Solid Brix Studios and TheBrickWiz. I am pleased to see fans included in the book, although I think there should have been sections about other aspects of the LEGO Star Wars fan community, such as collectors and minifigure customisers.
This is the only potential omission I noted, although I would love to see certain sets discussed more extensively. Also, I did spot a couple of factual mistakes, but the contrast between one or two errors in this 310-page tome and the new LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, which includes literally hundreds of mistakes in its 160 pages, is stark!
Time Capsule
As well as the book, 5008878 LEGO Star Wars: The Force of Creativity offers a Time Capsule, containing various new items and reproductions of LEGO Star Wars memorabilia. This is a fun addition and its contents are neatly stored in their own box, with information about each item on the inside cover.
The most eye-catching item is the development art for an unproduced Zam Wesell minifigure. As discussed in the book, this was produced as a concept, rather than for a planned set, but I hope it will become a reality soon! Another card shows sketches of hologram microfigures from 2009, only two of which have since become physical figures.
There is also a sketch for an early LEGO Star Wars advertisem*nt, an unreleased poster for 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer and the draft script for an unproduced animated series named LEGO Star Wars Tonight. These are interesting, but not something that particularly appeals to me, as someone primarily focused on the sets.
Speaking of which, instructions for 5007872 Lucas Yoda Fountain and a mini version of the Ghost are provided. The former was given to Lucasfilm employees last year and its official instructions have not been available before, while the latter was designed as a make-and-take for Star Wars Celebration in 2015, but was cancelled prior to the event.
Moreover, the supplied postcard shows an early concept for the original LEGO Star Wars logo, created in 1998. A facsimile of a Toy Fair booklet from 2010 is included too, displaying the sets and minifigures released that year on glossy pages.
Lastly, we have a reproduction of the very first LEGO Star Wars item distributed. This box was presented to press and toy industry representatives as an invitation to the LEGO booth at New York Toy Fair in 1999, where the LEGO Star Wars range was announced. The original invitation box included a sound chip and two minifigures, depicting Luke and Darth Vader in battle.
The reproduction lacks these features, unfortunately, but is the same size as the original box and seems to use equivalent card stock, although not identical. The only visible change, other than the cardboard figures inside, is the addition of '25th anniversary edition' above the text on the flap.
These items are lovely, but I cannot help thinking a minifigure polybag would have finished the pack perfectly. I think either Rebel Friend, George Lucas or perhaps a recreation of the original grey-shirted Luke Skywalker minifigure from the Toy Fair invitation box would have been superb.
Overall
Of the many LEGO books I have read, 5008878 LEGO Star Wars: The Force of Creativity is probably my favourite. That is hardly surprising, as I am clearly a particular fan of LEGO Star Wars, but that also increased my expectations for the book, which were thankfully fulfilled. No other LEGO Star Wars book offers as much behind-the-scenes information and imagery, nor such broad coverage of the theme, even with occasional omissions.
The price is obviously a point of contention, however. It is rather difficult to assess the value of something like this, as £129.99, $149.99 or €149.99 is expensive, but the content is absolutely unique and it would be worth that price to me. On that basis, all I can say is that if you think you might enjoy a book like this, I am confident you will love it.
117 likes
55 comments on this article
By lost_scotsman in United Kingdom,
.... That buildable B2 battle droid...
By StarWarzFan7777 in Netherlands,
We were robbed of those buildable figures. These are two great ones that would've probably sold well, in contrast to the strange other releases that they did where the characters simply weren't iconic enough or were unapealing due to being helmetless.
By GoldenNinja3000 in United States,
$150 is obviously a lot of money for a book, but some of the complaints I’ve seen are ridiculous. I’ve seen people saying this should cost $30! I do enjoy getting high-end coffee table books on occasion so I’m definitely going to pick this up, but I don’t think it’ll appeal to everyone and that’s perfectly fine.
By sebastianpc in Chile,
That Super Battle Droid and 501st Legion Clone Trooper & AT-RT now it has the final product what would been seen before!
By Atuin in Germany,
@StarWarzFan7777 said:
"We were robbed of those buildable figures. These are two great ones that would've probably sold well, in contrast to the strange other releases that they did where the characters simply weren't iconic enough or were unapealing due to being helmetless."
Droids were really a bad omission in that whole constraction series. That Battledroid looks cool, although I don't want to see how his back looks xD
By MegaBlocks in United Kingdom,
I will wait until this book has a sizeable discount on Amazon.
By BJNemeth in United States,
This is clearly not a mass market product, both due to the depth of the subject and especially the price.
But it'll be a Day 1 purchase for me. I can't wait to read it!
By ALEXDTI in Italy,
I wanted that cancelled buildable figures so badly, and now seeing them how they look it's break my heart even more
By EtudeTheBadger in United Kingdom,
I remember when the Star Wars theme used to be truly creative, with the comics and multiple alternate builds at the back of each set manual.
By eiffel006 in Canada,
@MegaBlocks said:
"I will wait until this book has a sizeable discount on Amazon."
Well, if it’s like 5007418 LEGO Ferrari Daytona SP3 The Sense of Perfection, that ain’t happening. That coffee table book was $80 at retail, sold out immediately and can now be found on Ebay for $250.
Now, they made only 5,000 copies of 5007418.
Do we know how many will be made of this SW book?
By jkb in Germany,
150€. Okay, I had a chuckle at least.
By Graysmith in Sweden,
"Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure"
Disagree completely and utterly. LEGO should not be putting in an exclusive minifigure with a book that costs $150, period. Don't make LEGO fans shell out ludicrous amounts of money for a book they might not even really want just to be able to get a special minifigure, or force them to buy it off of Bricklink for $100 or more.
"Does not include an exclusive minifigure" should be in the plus column.
By Muftak1 in Ireland,
I think its absolutely appalling that spending €150 on this book won't get you the GWPs for the MT4th weekend.
Its still Lego Star Wars and should count towards the GWPs for the May The Fourth promotion.
Disgusted with Lego.
But not surprised.
By CapnRex101 in United Kingdom,
@Graysmith said:
""Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure"
Disagree completely and utterly. LEGO should not be putting in an exclusive minifigure with a book that costs $150, period. Don't make LEGO fans shell out ludicrous amounts of money for a book they might not even really want just to be able to get a special minifigure, or force them to buy it off of Bricklink for $100 or more.
"Does not include an exclusive minifigure" should be in the plus column."
I think it depends on the minifigure. Extremely desirable characters should not be limited to exclusive or very expensive products, but for a minifigure that would likely not be produced otherwise, such as Rebel Friend or George Lucas, why not add them to a book like this?
There would doubtless be people wanting the minifigure and not the book, but you could say the same for a minifigure in any set. Ultimately, experience shows that minifigures produced for books would not normally be available in a standard set, so either the minifigure appears in a book, or not at all. Personally, I would rather the unique minifigure was produced, even if its availability is relatively limited.
As mentioned though, it needs to be the right minifigure.
By Belboz in United Kingdom,
Very nice. Day 1 purchase for me. As I've said before, any D&D fan will know the high cost of books so the price is no surprise for what it is.
Have to agree that TLG is taking the p*ss by excluding this from GWP qualifying purchases on 4/5 (that's 5/4 for you septics)
By ecleme11 in United Kingdom,
Bit of a cheeky question, but will the instructions for the fountain and micro Ghost be available online?
By HOBBES in Canada,
@CapnRex
The article mention that the book comes with instructions for the Lucas Yoda Fountain as well as a mini version of the ghost. When I looked into set 5007872, the instructions were not there. As for the ghost, I only found TRUGHOST and there were no instructions as well. When should we expect them to be available? Thanks.
By Graw in Czechia,
WTF the cancelled figures look amazing, if they made more of stuff like this or General Grievous sets instead of uncanny valley humans like Jyn Erso then the buildable figures line wouldn't be such a flop.
By Maxbricks14 in New Zealand,
Awesome book. But I ain't spending that much on it. So I'll wait for M&R's review!
By ZeeEssBS in United States,
Hey @CapnRex101 could you possibly get pics of the Micro Ghost instructions? I think it is just a double sided pamphlet so should be fairly easy.
I absolutely loved the Buildable Figures line included the less appealing choices and I personally really liked the helmetless characters, what Lego should have done was focus more on the original/prequel movies and The Clone Wars for character inspiration rather than the sequel trilogy, the line might have not failed than.
Really sad the Super Battle Droid and 501st Clone Trooper and AT-RT Walker were canceled.
By PicnicBasketSam in United States,
The Technic AT-RT looks like it has no articulation at all besides maybe rotating at the "waist," with the presence of other Clone Troopers in the buildable figures series, I think it kind of makes sense to cancel that one. The speeder makes sense as a static display model for a constraction figure to ride but a walker made out of technic that can't move is real "what's even the point of this" hours
By Binnekamp in Netherlands,
Those are some interesting tidbits of info :D
By Thieraboss in Canada,
That Stormtrooper helmet made of minifigs is kind of creepy. It almost feels like it's made of insects to me for some reason ¯\_O_/¯
By sklamb in United States,
@eiffel006 said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
"I will wait until this book has a sizeable discount on Amazon."
Well, if it’s like 5007418 LEGO Ferrari Daytona SP3 The Sense of Perfection, that ain’t happening. That coffee table book was $80 at retail, sold out immediately and can now be found on Ebay for $250.
Now, they made only 5,000 copies of 5007418.
Do we know how many will be made of this SW book?"
The Ferrari book was later re-released in a less expensive format, without any of the extras included in the limited edition. I was surprised (and very pleased) to be able to get the information about the Ferrari design process despite not being willing to buy the limited-edition version. I hope this book will also have a more reasonably-priced version, since I'm not really interested in much of what's in the Time Capsule but would enjoy the book itself.
By iwybs in United States,
"Highlights include that a Naboo Royal Starship model was created in the early 2000s, but the idea abandoned with the discontinuation of chrome elements."
If they can do an Infinity Gauntlet in 2021 in mostly dark tan with some drum-lacquered gold on top, they ought to be able to do a Naboo Royal Starship in 2025 in mostly light gray with some drum-lacquered silver on top, hmm?
By LuvsLEGO_Cool_J in United States,
That is an excellent review, thank you! It sounds like an exceptional book. It almost justifies the price and I can understand that, but still is expensive.
By Dia13lo in South Africa,
First of all thank you for the look at the book. This will not be sold in my country (South Africa) so I couldn't even buy it if I wanted to.
Just wanted to ask if there are any more pictures of 75538 Super Battle Droid and 75539 501st Legion Clone Trooper & AT-RT? Would love to see more of them.
I think I was one of the very few people who collected the series from day one and loved them for what they were. It's a real shame we didn't get these two.
By SolidState in United States,
They scrapped what would have been the best set in the series. That walker would have been a fan favourite and sold well. Money left on the table.
By hardwax in United Kingdom,
So, no word on this being a limited edition ? I guess the fact its not numbered is a clue.
By StyleCounselor in United States,
"Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure."
How many sets can we say that about, now?
Just as I thought, there's too much fluff, self-congratulatory back patting, and filler with stuff Lego fans don't care about.
I have the money and inclination. I own many expensive many Star Wars books sourced from their museum exhibitions. But, I can't see buying this.
Poorly put together. What is there, mostly sounds like interviews of a sportsball player after a crappy win: "well, we played our game, it was a tough win, that's a good team over there...." ;P
By StyleCounselor in United States,
I do find it hilarious and imminently understandable that the current head lead of Lego SW wasn't selected or allowed on the original team for some time. He probably wasn't qualified with enough knowledge of the media, fan base, or the toys.
It shows!
By eiffel006 in Canada,
@sklamb said:
" @eiffel006 said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
"I will wait until this book has a sizeable discount on Amazon."
Well, if it’s like 5007418 LEGO Ferrari Daytona SP3 The Sense of Perfection, that ain’t happening. That coffee table book was $80 at retail, sold out immediately and can now be found on Ebay for $250.
Now, they made only 5,000 copies of 5007418.
Do we know how many will be made of this SW book?"
The Ferrari book was later re-released in a less expensive format, without any of the extras included in the limited edition. I was surprised (and very pleased) to be able to get the information about the Ferrari design process despite not being willing to buy the limited-edition version. I hope this book will also have a more reasonably-priced version, since I'm not really interested in much of what's in the Time Capsule but would enjoy the book itself."
Same here. I wish they release the book by itself eventually.
By PixelTheDragon in United States,
I think it’s nice they include some details on the animated series! Where else are we going to get some behind the scenes details about those?
The price is a bit much though. I’ll see if I can find a digital version somewhere, but it does look like they tried packing a lot into this book.
By Ephseb in Austria,
that Zam Wessell figure will never happen bc they got rid of kamas… I hope it eventually comes out anyway - there's nothing really that needs to be changed (unless they want to dual-mold the head 50/50 vertically with different colours).
By daniellesa in United Kingdom,
If I was still a mad fan of star wars, I would consider this, I am a bookworm and well aware of the price of coffee table books, though this is a bit much.
Mind you, if a certain classic author first edition was offered for this price, I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat.
My list is expensive already with the rumours of sets coming, and sets I haven't got yet, I don't think I'll add this to it.
By darthsutius in Australia,
@Graysmith said:
""Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure"
Disagree completely and utterly. LEGO should not be putting in an exclusive minifigure with a book that costs $150, period. Don't make LEGO fans shell out ludicrous amounts of money for a book they might not even really want just to be able to get a special minifigure, or force them to buy it off of Bricklink for $100 or more.
"Does not include an exclusive minifigure" should be in the plus column."
Chill my dude - it'd just end up on a microfighter 12 months later
By Kynareth in Australia,
@StarWarzFan7777 said:
"We were robbed of those buildable figures. These are two great ones that would've probably sold well, in contrast to the strange other releases that they did where the characters simply weren't iconic enough or were unapealing due to being helmetless."
It didn’t take long to find. SW fan complaining about how hard done by they are!
By andygott in United States,
@Graysmith said:
""Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure"
Disagree completely and utterly. LEGO should not be putting in an exclusive minifigure with a book that costs $150, period. Don't make LEGO fans shell out ludicrous amounts of money for a book they might not even really want just to be able to get a special minifigure, or force them to buy it off of Bricklink for $100 or more.
"Does not include an exclusive minifigure" should be in the plus column."
I agree. The ‘omg we need another minifigure to obsess and go crazy over!’ is too much. I’m done. The ‘we need another!’ noise is second only in volume to the ‘I know I asked for one incessantly, but now let me scream and whine about how the one you gave us isn’t EXACTLY how I saw it in my head!’ noise. No thank you.
By ghostmind in Canada,
Any explanation on why this isn’t listed on Shop at Home in Canada?
By Rabrickzel in Finland,
I miss CCBS parts. They worked well with lego system too especially smallest bone pieces. But I think those molds are destroyed by now and we'll never get CCBS back.
By Brick_t_ in France,
I wish I could have it, really. But 150 euros for a book ? If some of us were not convinced yet, it is Lego + it is SW, SO it is far too expensive. The more things go, the less I can find any good reason ,the more I feel disgusted.
By BlyKilledAayla in United Kingdom,
@MegaBlocks said:
"I will wait until this book has a sizeable discount on Amazon."
This book will unlikely be available there.
It is a limited release book which you can only buy from LEGO directly I think.
By BlyKilledAayla in United Kingdom,
@StyleCounselor said:
"I do find it hilarious and imminently understandable that the current head lead of Lego SW wasn't selected or allowed on the original team for some time. He probably wasn't qualified with enough knowledge of the media, fan base, or the toys.
It shows!"
I suppose you have better knowledge of the design process and the trickiness of building certain sets as well as the 'KnOwLeDgE oF tHe FaN bAsE' so many people claim to have.
By BlyKilledAayla in United Kingdom,
@StyleCounselor said:
""Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure."
How many sets can we say that about, now?
Just as I thought, there's too much fluff, self-congratulatory back patting, and filler with stuff Lego fans don't care about.
I have the money and inclination. I own many expensive many Star Wars books sourced from their museum exhibitions. But, I can't see buying this.
Poorly put together. What is there, mostly sounds like interviews of a sportsball player after a crappy win: "well, we played our game, it was a tough win, that's a good team over there...." ;P
"
If you are not interested, simply do not buy it, no need to vent your frustration on forums where no one gives too hoots about your priviledge position while simultaneously dumping on a company you shove hundreds of dollars a month to. Bit hypocritical.
By StyleCounselor in United States,
@BlyKilledAayla said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
""Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure."
How many sets can we say that about, now?
Just as I thought, there's too much fluff, self-congratulatory back patting, and filler with stuff Lego fans don't care about.
I have the money and inclination. I own many expensive many Star Wars books sourced from their museum exhibitions. But, I can't see buying this.
Poorly put together. What is there, mostly sounds like interviews of a sportsball player after a crappy win: "well, we played our game, it was a tough win, that's a good team over there...." ;P
"
If you are not interested, simply do not buy it, no need to vent your frustration on forums where no one gives too hoots about your priviledge position while simultaneously dumping on a company you shove hundreds of dollars a month to. Bit hypocritical."
Honey, you're new here, so don't poke the bear. You've no idea.
Hopefully, you have an actual stake in the company that's larger than mine (looking to divest).
Clearly, you are a Lego stooge. You certainly edit as well as they do.
As far as positions of privilege, show me how many women and people of color are involved in Lego SW. The head of Lego SW likes to joke that you have to have a long, white-man, scraggly beard to work for Lego SW.
By StyleCounselor in United States,
@BlyKilledAayla said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
""Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure."
How many sets can we say that about, now?
Just as I thought, there's too much fluff, self-congratulatory back patting, and filler with stuff Lego fans don't care about.
I have the money and inclination. I own many expensive many Star Wars books sourced from their museum exhibitions. But, I can't see buying this.
Poorly put together. What is there, mostly sounds like interviews of a sportsball player after a crappy win: "well, we played our game, it was a tough win, that's a good team over there...." ;P
"
If you are not interested, simply do not buy it, no need to vent your frustration on forums where no one gives too hoots about your priviledge position while simultaneously dumping on a company you shove hundreds of dollars a month to. Bit hypocritical."
I know one thing... a lack of passion.
This book, and most of Lego SW in general, could use a good dose of passion. The Lego SW team from top to bottom has no serious passion about Star Wars- especially not from the top down.
If someone has documented evidence that I'm wrong... please elucidate!
EDIT: I'm ready with plenty of examples. E.g. If you're the head of SW Lego, you should know the difference between Darth Vader and the Emperor in your own damn toy!!
In fact, just watch any video of the head of SW Lego and ask yourself if he really cares about anything more than his paycheck? He does love WWII model airplanes, though.
He never answers the question of when he first saw a Star Wars movie. We know it wasn't while he was a child. Check his bio. Likely, he didn't see one until after being hired at Lego.
On the other hand, he's also quite clear that his own background, education, and industry (Star Wars) knowledge would be insufficient to meet Lego's current recruiting standards. Hopefully, that means better things for the future.... eventually!
Unless, they keep hiring marketing guys from Colgate toothpaste/Cornell! :P
By Captainrex2000 in United Kingdom,
I think a Unique Minifigure poly bag should have been included with this book considering the price
By StyleCounselor in United States,
@BlyKilledAayla said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"I do find it hilarious and imminently understandable that the current head lead of Lego SW wasn't selected or allowed on the original team for some time. He probably wasn't qualified with enough knowledge of the media, fan base, or the toys.
It shows!"
I suppose you have better knowledge of the design process and the trickiness of building certain sets as well as the 'KnOwLeDgE oF tHe FaN bAsE' so many people claim to have."
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen: "Regarding Star Wars, that’s another story. As a kid, I actually didn’t see the movies ..."
I can DEFINITELY do better than that!
By R0Sch in Germany,
Wait half a year and the same book without the useless Time Capsule will be out on retail for half the price. The more copies the publisher prints the cheaper it is. No one needs a box for a book and a bunch of instructions you can find online. IT'S A TRAP!
P.S. The only thing limited on the Daytona book was the slipcase being individually numbered. For that gimmick you had to pay 25% more. The content and the book is the same for the 60€ version.
By Doctor_Hugh in United Kingdom,
@Graysmith said:
""Opportunity missed for a unique minifigure"
Disagree completely and utterly. LEGO should not be putting in an exclusive minifigure with a book that costs $150, period. Don't make LEGO fans shell out ludicrous amounts of money for a book they might not even really want just to be able to get a special minifigure, or force them to buy it off of Bricklink for $100 or more.
"Does not include an exclusive minifigure" should be in the plus column."
Although I agree the lack of a minifigure should not be considered a negative in the review, it is for completely different reasons. This is a book, to be read, not a set to be played with. A minifigure has no place in this product. I have never, and shall never, understand the obsession so many have with minifigures. However, if LEGO do consider exclusive minifigures to be what collectors want then I thoroughly approve of them being sold in the highest priced sets. Surely those willing to pay £700 for a set should receive something exclusive. I would prefer a unique set (like the lightsabres) but if the majority prefer minifigures then that is what should be included.
By lordskylark in United States,
Should sets 75538 & 75539 be added to the brickset database, at least for some sort of archival value, since there are quite a bit of unreleased sets in the database already?
By SummerSanta in United States,
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen: "Regarding Star Wars, that’s another story. As a kid, I actually didn’t see the movies ..."
This does help explain why the Star Wars line has become so strange.
By lordofdragonss in Poland,
Its seems like a great boom but its WAY overpriced. This seems like a 50$ Book max.
By axeleng in Norway,
CapnRex101 said:
"Extremely desirable characters should not be limited to exclusive or very expensive products, but for a minifigure that would likely not be produced otherwise, such as Rebel Friend or George Lucas, why not add them to a book like this?"
First, I think the should limit it to fairly limited-appeal "novelty" variants of otherwise widely-available figures, that way it's less people who feels they have to buy a book they don't want just for the figure, but it's still a nice bonus for those who primarily wants the book.
Second, have Lego came up with a remotely decent way to pack figures in books? I haven't seen the regular ones in person (they don't appear to be sold here), but I have the impression 1/3 of the thickness are the actual printed pages, while 2/3 is just a dumb box with a small cutout for the figure. If you remove the figure (to put on display or use in MOCs), then 2/3 of the book is unremovable garbage. They really should pack the figure (like in a tear-off blister pack on the side) so it can be removed without compromising the book.
By StyleCounselor in United States,
@SummerSanta said:
[[Jens Kronvold Frederiksen: "Regarding Star Wars, that’s another story. As a kid, I actually didn’t see the movies ..."
This does help explain why the Star Wars line has become so strange. ]]
Agreed. That's a very fair way to put it.
It's impossible to recapture the magic of movies and toys you loved as a kid if you never had those experiences in the first place. He should move to another division of Lego where he's better suited.
C'mon Lego, think how much money you could make by giving fans (and their young children) exciting products!
