Interview with Maddy O'Neil, graphic designer for 75419 Death Star
Posted by CapnRex101,
75419 Death Star contains 38 minifigures, more than any other LEGO set! The graphic designer for the set, Maddy O'Neil, therefore had much to do and I had a chance to ask him some questions about the minifigures selection recently.
These include questions about C-3PO lacking a dual-moulded leg and some of the unexpected new minifigures, so read on for more...
Brickset: How did you choose which characters to include in this set?
Maddy: Of course, there are certain characters that were essential and quite a few of them in a set like this. We also wanted to include as many characters as possible from the previous two Death Star sets and then build on those, adding some new ones we have not had a chance to produce before.
There were a few different iterations of the character line-up, but I am really happy with the selection we landed on, which feels like a good amount to populate the space and represent all the iconic scenes aboard the Death Star.
Is it at all challenging to make the minifigure selection exciting for a set like this, where most of the included characters will inevitably have appeared many times before?
Revisiting a location or vehicle we have produced before comes with its own set of challenges, as we are bound to be revisiting characters in those sets. On the other hand, this provides an opportunity to refresh some iconic heroes and villains who have not appeared for a while and there were several new characters we could include; ones that could only appear in the Death Star, like Galen Erso and the Imperial Dignitary.
I am really glad to see those figures included, especially Galen Erso, but one character conspicuous by his absence is Moff Jerjerrod. Why is he not included?
In his case, we already have three Imperial officers wearing dark grey uniforms, one in a black uniform and Yularen, so adding another with a very similar uniform felt a bit repetitive. Also, we have included lots of minifigures to populate the hangar for the Emperor's arrival and where Imperial officers are concerned, we skewed towards characters from the conference room scene.
While on the subject of Yularen, he appeared in the first season of Andor wearing black trousers, but I know his uniform is sometimes depicted as all white. Why did you choose the all-white version?
There have been several incarnations of this character and we wished to maintain consistency with his prior minifigure appearance in 5002947 Admiral Yularen, so we went for the white legs.
Also, the Imperial Officers do not include dual-moulded legs to represent boots, as they sometimes have in the past. Why is that, especially in such an expensive set?
The situation with any set we make, not just this one, is that we receive a certain allotment of frames to do different things with the elements, which can include new moulds, colour changes and new decorations. We try to prioritise creating new characters over features like dual-moulded legs because making a new head, for instance, counts for more or less the same as changing the colour of legs.
We have to look at the whole set and decide on our priorities, so something like giving Galen Erso the printed symbol on his arm, as an example, was ultimately considered more important and the moulded boots did not make it in.
I assume the same applies to C-3PO, but one of the problems I struggle with is that you already manufacture the minifigure with a dual-moulded leg, so why not drop the simpler version and just make that one? This happened with Darth Vader receiving arm printing a few years ago, which then became standard.
There are different factors with every set, but the same actually happened with C-3PO and R2-D2 after 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama. We added printed arms to C-3PO and decoration on Artoo's back for the diorama, which became the norm going forward and still is today.
Dual-moulding is a bit different though. Adding that cost to a figure that might need to appear in a much smaller and cheaper set, like C-3PO, is not necessarily an option, so in his case, we could not commit to the dual-moulded leg becoming the standard design.
Having said that, we are aware it is something fans are passionate about and we try to include that minifigure whenever we can, but we have to prioritise.
Another thing I notice is that Princess Leia does not include her printed dress element.
No; we decided on the legs because it would allow her to lie down in the cell and look more natural when swinging across the chasm. The dress piece is great, but not necessarily for a character who needs to participate in lots of action. It could also create problems in the trash compactor, where floor space is quite limited.
For the Imperial Dignitary, action scenes were evidently not a concern because he really just stands there!
Speaking of characters just standing there, have you ever considered using the dress piece for the Royal Guards?
Actually, no, we have never really thrown around that idea. I suppose it would work, but having the legs just makes them a little more fun to play with and the cape conveys their flowing robes pretty well.
I also wonder, did you think about using a printed minifigure head or anything like that for the Interrogation Droid?
We did consider a version featuring a printed dome at one point, but a purely brick-built figure works for that droid, especially with the all-important syringe.
Returning to the minifigure selection as a whole, an interesting feature of the Death Star is that it can and does have a lot of figures, but many characters have appeared before, so does that make the minifigure development harder than a set like 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina, which has so many new characters?
It is a different challenge, but an interesting one and it gave us a chance to update several of the classic characters, like Luke, Han and Obi-Wan. It feels like they appear very frequently, but they were not in production when approaching this set, so there was a chance for fresh designs.
I suppose that is a strange disadvantage of including these iconic characters, as I did not realise they had been updated for the Death Star and others might think the same.
True; there are a lot more new elements than are perhaps immediately apparent. Just running through all the new minifigures fans may not expect: Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Grand Moff Tarkin, General Tagge, Admiral Motti, Colonel Yularen and the female Imperial Navy Officer all have multiple new elements, in addition to the RA-7 droid, the Imperial Dignitary and others fans will immediately recognise as new.
Then the Imperial Royal Guards, the Imperial Shuttle Pilot and Princess Leia feature new torso pieces. We also created several new heads for Stormtroopers and all the other generic Imperial personnel, to add to the selection we already use.
The mention of Obi-Wan Kenobi reminds me that he is now the only Star Wars minifigure to use that classic male hair piece. Do you feel any pressure at all to update it, or do you prefer keeping the older element in production?
I think we want to keep it for now because of our history using that piece for Ben Kenobi since 1999, but it could make sense at some point for another theme to make a new hairstyle similar to that, with modern texture.
It is probably not something we would produce ourselves because we generally prioritise new helmets and that kind of thing instead, but I could imagine a hair element suitable for Obi-Wan appearing in another theme.
Finally, I think this set includes all the characters from the previous two Death Star play sets, or very similar ones, other than the white Imperial Assassin Droid. Was that figure considered for a return?
I do not think we discussed including the assassin droid, to be honest. He can remain happily in the earlier sets!
Thank you for speaking with us!
You can read our interview with César Soares, the model designer for 75419 Death Star, here.
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71 comments on this article
"It is probably not something we would produce ourselves because we generally prioritise new helmets and that kind of thing instead, but I could imagine a hair element suitable for Obi-Wan appearing in another theme."
Like the Incredibles, for example.
The dual-molded legs with boots for Imperial Officers are sold for 1,51€/$1.19 on Pick-a-Brick… and they couldn’t include that in a $1000 set?
I fail to understand how making a new head costs the same as using dual-moulded legs already in production, especially when you have THREE figures that could use the same ones in this set.
And the reasoning about dual-moulded 3PO leg becoming "standard" when talking about a $1000 set... just no.
Too many excuses for cutting corners on a $1000 set
Throwing the designers to the Star Wars wolves, I see. Not sure how many interviews it'll take to convince people to buy ...
Reads like a bunch of cop outs rather then genuine reasons....
@jhoya said:
"Too many excuses for cutting corners on a $1000 set"
From the designer perspective, not excuses. Good to hear how hard they work individually to give us the best they can. From Daddy LEGOs perspective though? Complete nonsense. Their hands shouldn't be tied this tight.
Poor Lego has to spend the extra 1 cent to produce pieces and details they already have made. 1 week after boasting about record profits... give me a break
There seems to be ever such a lot of concessions and shortcuts in Lego's marquee and first $1000 set.
The explanation for Yularen's pants makes no sense at all.
IMO the non dual molded legs are perfectly fine - AS LONG AS THEY ARE ALL SITTING DOWN AROUND THE TABLE. If Moff Jerjerrod had been included, the only real scene he's in would be standing in the hangar, so there would have been more pressure for accurate legs. Also - if you think that the mini Tie Fighter GWP is bad - they could have botched up a mini Millenium Falcon, which would have been 10 times worse!
Glad to know that recolouring Deedra Meero’s hat/hair combo for a female imperial officer who wasn’t even in the movie is considered more important than giving C-3PO a dual moulded leg. Who cares if the rest of the figures turn out sub-par, at least we have *diversity!*
If this isn't the last piece of proof apologists and fanboys need that LEGO is one of the greediest companies on the planet these days, I don't know what is.
I'm so sorry for this person that he has to bear the brunt of the wrath of the mistreated fans.
Not to condone the practice, but as long as clone-brands can sell minifigs with dual- and even triple-molded pieces and top quality prints all around (!) for about two Euro each (including shipping) and still presumably make a profit, not including only the very best versions of what they have in terms of minifigs in their most expensive set ever is just wrong.
I'm excited for this initiative of 1 article per $100 portion of the set. :o)
No matter how much publicity, PR and damage control Lego releases before for this set is release. It will be interesting to see how this set does in sales numbers. Given the current global environment of inflation, supply chain issue, shrinkflation, price gauging and tariffs...the average person just can't justify the price tag.
Curious to see if this set will quickly drop to by 30% like the Hulkbuster and Foosball table if sales are really poor after initial release/launch.
First off, I really respect the hard work that Lego set designers and graphic designers put in. Most of the problems with LSW are arguably due to the bean-counters and execs, not the set designers and graphic designers. A big thank you to Maddy O'Neil and Cesar Soares for giving these interviews, and to Brickset and other RLFM for participating in them. That said, here are my two cents:
@MaddyONeil said:
"In (Moff Jerjerrod's) case, we already have three Imperial officers wearing dark grey uniforms, one in a black uniform and Yularen, so adding another with a very similar uniform felt a bit repetitive."
If authenticity is a prime concern of sets like these, shouldn't it be more important to include a very prominent named character with screen time, lines, and an important in-universe role than to include another nameless trooper, a background astromech droid, or even a Hot Tub Stormtrooper?
@MaddyONeil said:
"We try to prioritise creating new characters over features like dual-moulded legs because making a new head, for instance, counts for more or less the same as changing the colour of legs."
As other commenters have said, the cost of dual-molded Imperial officer legs could have been shared across multiple minifigures.
@MaddyONeil said:
"We added printed arms to C-3PO and decoration on Artoo's back for the diorama, which became the norm going forward and still is today. Dual-moulding is a bit different though. Adding that cost to a figure that might need to appear in a much smaller and cheaper set, like C-3PO, is not necessarily an option, so in his case, we could not commit to the dual-moulded leg becoming the standard design."
So what you're saying is, the poors don't get to have nice things like dual-molded legs for C-3PO, and the whales will buy the set anyway. Where else is it said that smaller and cheaper sets don't get dual-molded legs? Is that a quiet part that wasn't meant to be said out loud?
@MaddyONeil said:
"No; we decided on the legs because it would allow her to lie down in the cell and look more natural when swinging across the chasm. The dress piece is great, but not necessarily for a character who needs to participate in lots of action. It could also create problems in the trash compactor, where floor space is quite limited."
In a $1000 set with less than 10,000 pieces, couldn't you have included one extra printed dress piece for Leia? If that was somehow out of the budget, couldn't you have included some sort of build with baby-bow curved slopes, like the brick-built robes for Gandalf and dresses for Belle in recent D2Cs?
@MaddyONeil said:
"We also created several new heads for Stormtroopers and all the other generic Imperial personnel, to add to the selection we already use."
So it was more important to make new heads for Stormtroopers, whose heads are always covered by their helmets, than to make dual-molded legs for Imperial officers, whose legs and boots are always in full view. Got it. That makes perfect sense.
Ok - that's all my comments on this interview!
I really don’t want to hear a single word about minifig costs on the first $1000 LEGO set, especially when dual molded imperial leg could be easily used in the future and the C-3P0 legs already exist. If it eats into the margins a bit, too bad? It’s your most expensive set ever.
@iwybs said:
"So what you're saying is, the poors don't get to have nice things like dual-molded legs for C-3PO, and the whales will buy the set anyway. Where else is it said that smaller and cheaper sets don't get dual-molded legs? Is that a quiet part that wasn't meant to be said out loud?"
The poors can buy the keychain that uses dual-moulded legs :) But we can't have it become the "standard", amirite?
Coming soon:- Interview with Joe Bloggs, office cleaner for 75419 Death Star.
Reading the comments has changed my mind a bit about how I feel about this set. You are right saying there should be no excuses and no corners cut when releasing THE set with the most everything. There is really zero excuse for stickers, lack of dual molding or, in general, lowering the margin on such product. I really hate this corporate ultra precise managing that the company is driven by right now.
"Only the best is good enough" is long gone
Sorry (not sorry), but the “limited number of frames” constraint needs to be relaxed or eliminated at or above certain price thresholds.
The expectations of a $20 or $50 hobby purchase are FAR different than a $200, $500 or $1,000 purchase.
LEGO has outgrown their playbook here and they are doing real damage to their reputation and harming their most loyal customers.
@watermelon123 said:
"The dual-molded legs with boots for Imperial Officers are sold for 1,51€/$1.19 on Pick-a-Brick… and they couldn’t include that in a $1000 set?"
I know, it's crazy. It's not even like the set was 10 cents per piece! They really couldn't flesh out 3 or 4 extra dollars to do this for the fans?
@Brikkyy13 said:
"Glad to know that recolouring Deedra Meero’s hat/hair combo for a female imperial officer who wasn’t even in the movie is considered more important than giving C-3PO a dual moulded leg. Who cares if the rest of the figures turn out sub-par, at least we have *diversity!*"
Just realized that after I saw your comment. That is totally ridiculous. You don't see a single female officer in the movies. The fact of the matter is too, they said they will put non dual molded c-3po in normal sets. How can they justify this as a normal sets?
All I read is 'yada-yada-yada, we had to make compromises because it would cost a cent more and play value was more important than accurate depiction of the source characters', even though we are talking about a 1000€ display set for rich, adult collectors. *Eye roll*
The fact this article exists is pretty telling for how this set is being received.
"We have to look at the whole set and decide on our priorities, so something like giving Galen Erso the printed symbol on his arm, as an example, was ultimately considered more important and the moulded boots did not make it in".
I love your designs Maddy and I have nothing against you personally but this is Julia Goldin-style marketing speak and nobody is buying it.
Your colleagues had no issues with replacing nearly ALL the legs on the upcoming BDP series 6 Outlaw Forest Den with dual molded versions so I guess for LEGO Star Wars "only the best is good enough" simply doesn't apply these days... even in a set with this enormous price tag.
Nothing against the designers at all, but it's absolutely pathetic that Lego is marching them out to justify cost cutting from a multi-billion dollar company in their most expensive flagship product to date. This set is 1000 USD, it should not be full of excuses.
It is pretty much inexcusable a set with this price does contain that many stickers and no prints.
Nice of the high-level corporate cash-guzzlers at TLG to trot out the designers in front of the firing squad to bite the bullets actually meant for the greedy bean-counters at the top. Pathetic, although I feel for the designers, they have probably done the best they could.
The model looks so empty without the minifigures! No wonder there are so many.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"The model looks so empty without the minifigures! No wonder there are so many."
Quantity over quality has been referenced folks.
Who is the green suit guy next to Krennic?
I wish they included fuzzy slippers on Tarkin's feet.
@username said:
"Who is the green suit guy next to Krennic?"
Galen Erso from Rogue One.
@CC said:
" @username said:
"Who is the green suit guy next to Krennic?"
Galen Erso from Rogue One."
If they’re so worried about cost, they could have cut Galen Erso or Deedra Meero completely (since we never saw either of them on the Death Star) and given the dual molded legs to 3PO and the officers. Nobody would have complained they were missing and there’d just be more complaints here about stickers. (I DO understand the reasoning for that…but the excuses to save money for things already in production in other sets make no sense to me.)
Before reading this interview, I'd thought that Lego graphic designers only concerned themselves with printing and stickers. I hadn't realized that whether or not to dual-mold came under their purview, too.
@username said:
"I wish they included fuzzy slippers on Tarkin's feet."
Just use Peter B. Parker's legs.
Q: Why did you decide to cut all these corners, and not do the bare minimum to make sure that this $1,000 Lego set is worth its price at every level.
A: Our ROI wouldn't be as big, so...kick rocks ig
@watermelon123 said:
"The dual-molded legs with boots for Imperial Officers are sold for 1,51€/$1.19 on Pick-a-Brick… and they couldn’t include that in a $1000 set?"
Is it crazy they didn't? Yes.
Will that really change someone's mind about buying this? Of course not.
@shaase said:
"No matter how much publicity, PR and damage control Lego releases before for this set is release. It will be interesting to see how this set does in sales numbers. Given the current global environment of inflation, supply chain issue, shrinkflation, price gauging and tariffs...the average person just can't justify the price tag.
Curious to see if this set will quickly drop to by 30% like the Hulkbuster and Foosball table if sales are really poor after initial release/launch."
A $1000 Lego set is not being marketed to the average person
@PDelahanty said:
" @CC said:
" @username said:
"Who is the green suit guy next to Krennic?"
Galen Erso from Rogue One."
If they’re so worried about cost, they could have cut Galen Erso or Deedra Meero completely (since we never saw either of them on the Death Star) and given the dual molded legs to 3PO and the officers. Nobody would have complained they were missing and there’d just be more complaints here about stickers. (I DO understand the reasoning for that…but the excuses to save money for things already in production in other sets make no sense to me.)
"
It's not Dedra - it's just some random generic female officer despite there not being any in the films.
Galen's hair should have been longer, it doesn't really look like Mads Mikkelsen to me.
I'm also so tired of that old Ben hair. Retire it. It's so dated.
The Death Waffle/Pancake looks great, just not for me.
@fourstud said:
" @PDelahanty said:
" @CC said:
" @username said:
"Who is the green suit guy next to Krennic?"
Galen Erso from Rogue One."
If they’re so worried about cost, they could have cut Galen Erso or Deedra Meero completely (since we never saw either of them on the Death Star) and given the dual molded legs to 3PO and the officers. Nobody would have complained they were missing and there’d just be more complaints here about stickers. (I DO understand the reasoning for that…but the excuses to save money for things already in production in other sets make no sense to me.)
"
It's not Dedra - it's just some random generic female officer despite there not being any in the films.
Galen's hair should have been longer, it doesn't really look like Mads Mikkelsen to me.
I'm also so tired of that old Ben hair. Retire it. It's so dated."
Oh, I kind of like it hanging around. The mold deserves to stay. There's no excuse for it being used on modern Ben Kenobi minifigures, though.
Looking forward to this death star stuff to blow over now. It's not a great set imo, and has taken up too much spotlight in the last 2 months
For $1000 the fact that they aren't putting the highest quality minifigures they possibly can is inexcusable. His answers to questions about dual molded legs are ridiculous. Sure, it costs more to produce those. But you're charging consumers $1000 for this thing. If there's any set that should have the highest quality available, it's LEGO's first $1000 set. LEGO needs to do better, and I seriously hope this set flops.
I don't see the rush to retire the classic male hairpiece - it's a classic and has a very long legacy, including within Lego Star Wars. Yeah, there probably *could* be a better hairpiece for Alec Guinness's likeness, but it feels like people are too eager to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to legacy molds.
Still, the excuses for the lack of appropriate legs on most of the figures are worthless. ABS is not that expensive, manufacturing them at scale is not that expensive, and you're already making those particular parts to begin with. Lego bean counters can screw off, you can put those parts in the $1000 deep-dish death pizza.
These excuses would be annoying for any expensive UCS set, but when it's the first $1,000 set they sound more ridiculous than ever. Arm-printed Darth Vader appeared in cheap sets, why can't dual-molded C-3PO come in one too? That being the reasoning for not including better prints in a $1,000 set is insane.
The interior spaces look really good, but the Death Slice concept isn't acceptable at that high of a price point. The cutaway design would work better if so many parts of the set didn't jut out awkwardly. You can't even put this flush against a wall since the throne room window sticks out, and the superlaser not being centered in the side of the slice is just weird.
> "The situation with any set we make, not just this one, is that we receive a certain allotment of frames to do different things with the elements, which can include new moulds, colour changes and new decorations. We try to prioritise creating new characters over features like dual-moulded legs because making a new head, for instance, counts for more or less the same as changing the colour of legs."
THOSE LEGS HAVE EXISTED SINCE 2016 BRO
Kudos to the designer for towing the company line. And the interviewer did a great job not shying away from asking these tough questions.
However, as everyone has already said, this is a $1,000 model of plastic bricks and nobody is buying these excuses. This feels more like a vanity project from LEGO just to be able to say they did it. Very few people will buy this set so it wasn’t a priority to make the mini figures excellent.
Cap'n, thanks for asking the right questions and recording the b.s. answers.
Booooooooooooo!
Fire them all!!
Someone at that feckless company needs to stand up and insist on the bare minimums before they entirely ruin their reputation. The ghost of Ole needs to come down and kick some ass to get them to put the final coat of varnish on these expensive turds!!
I spent the money allotted for this monstrosity on the Armani website instead. RIP ol' friend.
The classy dudes are a dying breed.
Lego pulling excuses out of their arses for this set I see. Talking about dual molded C-3PO "needing to appear in a much smaller and cheaper set" when they have already done just that with 75398 released last year, as well as the keyring. And the dual molded DBG/black legs for Imperial officers are currently being sold on Pick a Brick for $0.79NZD, cheaper than the single molded DBG legs at $0.82.
They spent the money needed to make good minifigs on special 'Lego Star Wars Design Team' polos for the company-line-groveling interviews.
Pathetic!!
@StyleCounselor said:
[Cap'n, thanks for asking the right questions and recording the b.s. answers]
And hopefully Lego giving the Brickset team this set for their LAN review won't influence their review. We all know what the negative points are for this set, and they massively outweigh the positives. So they need to be clear with the pros and cons! Can't let lego buy good reviews, not even for $1000.
@KyloBen1012 said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
[Cap'n, thanks for asking the right questions and recording the b.s. answers]
And hopefully Lego giving the Brickset team this set for their LAN review won't influence their review. We all know what the negative points are for this set, and they massively outweigh the positives. So they need to be clear with the pros and cons! Can't let lego buy good reviews, not even for $1000.
"
Y’know, people are allowed to genuinely like it. Even if they do write reviews for Brickset or any other Lego fansite.
I understand why TLG makes a lot of the choices they do. I back Lego most of the time for the lack of Dual-molding and other things, even though I personally would like to see them. Having or not having dual-molded legs will not determine if people buy it. Maybe it does to a very, very small number of people, but nothing anywhere near substantial for Lego to care. Many people that buy this set don’t even know what that means. And I think that is precisely the point. Having said all that, this is by no means any standard or ordinary set. Cesar Soares said in an interview that this set was to be treated the same in almost all aspects. Why? This will be one of the most controversial sets in the history of Lego SW. Not to mention the fact that it now holds three huge milestones.
I’m not trying at all to blast @Maddy O’Neil. I know that Lego designers work hard at their job, and they often times cannot control what exactly they put into the set.
@MaddyONeil said:
"We added printed arms to C-3PO and decoration on Artoo's back for the diorama, which became the norm going forward and still is today. Dual-moulding is a bit different though. Adding that cost to a figure that might need to appear in a much smaller and cheaper set, like C-3PO, is not necessarily an option, so in his case, we could not commit to the dual-moulded leg becoming the standard design."
Ok then, the Keychain makes no sense at all. This is by NO means a small and cheap set. It literally defies that by its principal. It’s the biggest, and most expensive set that C-3P0 could even come in! I fully understand the reasoning behind it “well, the Threepio won’t sell the set, and he’ll be overlooked in the figure lineup anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.” Well, that’s great, but it’s just the logic behind it when you will include it in the bare minimum (a keychain) and then to exclude it from the most expensive set ever produced. “Constant consistency, Potter.” I just don’t understand the answers.
Moving on. If the Leia doesn’t need her skirt, why is it included in an X-wing for only $50? Why does that treatment not apply? It’s the same reasoning behind Threepio, which is fine. What isn’t fine, is TLG’s answers. Can we have some truth people?
Also, why does our little pilot have leg printing (and a common one at that, but that’s not the issue), but our imperial officer in the same color doesn’t get those same legs? Why? That makes no sense either. It’s not something expensive, it’s not something that’s never been done, and you already did it once in the set!? Why not again?
One but of credit I’ll give is this. I am glad we are getting new face prints! We have far too little new ones in Star Wars. Now, it matters nothing if these are all exclusive, but I know Luke and Obi-Wan will not be. I will give credit where it is due.
I have defended Lego for countless times, but this is not a standard and normal set in the slightest.
Rant over… for now.
@Wallace_Brick_Designs said:"If the Leia doesn’t need her skirt, why is it included in an X-wing for only $50?"
Because the Leia in that set doesn't need to sit or lie down. Honestly, while I agree with most commenters about the Imperial Officers' and C-3P0's legs, this one doesn't bother me.
It seems that no one's remembered that the officers on the DS1 wore shoes, with grey trousers down to the ankle, and that dual moulding would probably be less accurate for some figures.
That being said, the lack of dual moulding on C3PO is inexcusable for this price.
@Hiratha said:
" @KyloBen1012 said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
[Cap'n, thanks for asking the right questions and recording the b.s. answers]
And hopefully Lego giving the Brickset team this set for their LAN review won't influence their review. We all know what the negative points are for this set, and they massively outweigh the positives. So they need to be clear with the pros and cons! Can't let lego buy good reviews, not even for $1000.
"
Y’know, people are allowed to genuinely like it. Even if they do write reviews for Brickset or any other Lego fansite."
I agree with the anti-LAN comments.
However, in the good Cap'n, I trust. I wouldn't bother to be here otherwise.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Wallace_Brick_Designs said:"If the Leia doesn’t need her skirt, why is it included in an X-wing for only $50?"
Because the Leia in that set doesn't need to sit or lie down. Honestly, while I agree with most commenters about the Imperial Officers' and C-3P0's legs, this one doesn't bother me."
No, no, I’m saying it should include both of them, just like the X+Wing did.
Edit:
Well, I stand corrected, that X-Wing did not include legs. But, the point doesn’t change, it should still include both.
@Stuartn said:
"It seems that no one's remembered that the officers on the DS1 wore shoes, with grey trousers down to the ankle, and that dual moulding would probably be less accurate for some figures.
That being said, the lack of dual moulding on C3PO is inexcusable for this price."
Not Tarkin or Jerjerrod. The others seem to be wearing boots as well.
I don't know what would be worse: a $1K set with subpar minifigures and stickers or a set with dual-molded legs and printed elements that costs $1,200
@Maxbricks14 said:
"The model looks so empty without the minifigures! No wonder there are so many."
Right, it doesn't look good as a stand alone. Basically it's a shelf. A nice curio type table top round cabinet you'd see at an antique shop or back in the day department store that had jewelry in it.
Those cabinets had glass doors, glass shelves, and lighting within.
This set is impressive looking with the figs, but if you have no lighting on this in a room, it's gonna look dull even with the figs. Needs lighting on almost every little diorama.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Hiratha said:
" @KyloBen1012 said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
[Cap'n, thanks for asking the right questions and recording the b.s. answers]
And hopefully Lego giving the Brickset team this set for their LAN review won't influence their review. We all know what the negative points are for this set, and they massively outweigh the positives. So they need to be clear with the pros and cons! Can't let lego buy good reviews, not even for $1000.
"
Y’know, people are allowed to genuinely like it. Even if they do write reviews for Brickset or any other Lego fansite."
I agree with the anti-LAN comments.
However, in the good Cap'n, I trust. I wouldn't bother to be here otherwise. "
I am fully confident that there is a huge range of opinions on every kit, which is why it annoys me when someone says with great conviction that someone could only possibly disagree with them for dishonest reasons. No, sometimes people are stupid and wrong and completely sincere (or smart and equally correct as you because subjective is subjective and completely sincere).
I feel for the designer here being obliged to trot out the standard company line.
My view is not that these minifigures are bad, they're perfectly acceptable for a low cost set - they're just not what you expect if you're paying *$1,000* for the latest flagship product.
I think a contrast should be drawn here with how Lego launched the CNY range of sets - each one was pretty much no-expenses-spared blow-the-budget on new designs. This is definitely one instance where I feel Star Wars fans are justified in feeling like they're being taken for granted.
(And I repeat my comment from the other thread, I kind of like the set, it just a) isn't what I personally wanted in a new Death Star (which is fine - there are other customers than me), and more importantly b) it just doesn't feel like a $1,000 product.)
@Brick_Master said:
"I think a contrast should be drawn here with how Lego launched the CNY range of sets - each one was pretty much no-expenses-spared blow-the-budget on new designs. This is definitely one instance where I feel Star Wars fans are justified in feeling like they're being taken for granted."
Lego typically launches new themes with no-expense-spared blowouts, then cuts the budget after two or three years. After over 25 years, LSW is long past the point where it gets that kind of budget.
It's more of an interrogation than an interview, but we can only blame Lego for that. I hope none of the "fans" will harass the poor designers, and that a certain YouTuber won't encourage them to do so. Obviously, in addition to the cost of the license, there is a profit expectation, and they have to comply. I am quite sure that if it were up to the designers, all the figures would have new prints, handprints, and dual-molded legs. Lego should have given in here, because the €3 Miles Morales magazine gift can afford dual-molded legs, so a figure in this price range should be able to as well.
@iwybs said:
" @Brick_Master said:
"I think a contrast should be drawn here with how Lego launched the CNY range of sets - each one was pretty much no-expenses-spared blow-the-budget on new designs. This is definitely one instance where I feel Star Wars fans are justified in feeling like they're being taken for granted."
Lego typically launches new themes with no-expense-spared blowouts, then cuts the budget after two or three years. After over 25 years, LSW is long past the point where it gets that kind of budget."
Right and I don't think that's how it *should* work for a flagship product...
Also, the CNY range were still pretty good even after a few years, 80111 had plenty of unique designs and parts at a very reasonable price, and that was 5,6 years in?
None of us have any idea about set profitability so this is all speculation, but in my opinion your biggest set shouldn't be held to the same profitability standard as a random star wars playset.
Thanks for this interview! It’s always interesting to hear the design process of a set from the designers themselves, and I’d like to see more designer interviews like this on Brickset.
It’s also a nice reminder for people that real human beings have worked on these projects.
@Wallace_Brick_Designs said:
"Ok then, the Keychain makes no sense at all. This is by NO means a small and cheap set. It literally defies that by its principal. It’s the biggest, and most expensive set that C-3P0 could even come in! I fully understand the reasoning behind it “well, the Threepio won’t sell the set, and he’ll be overlooked in the figure lineup anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.” Well, that’s great, but it’s just the logic behind it when you will include it in the bare minimum (a keychain) and then to exclude it from the most expensive set ever produced. “Constant consistency, Potter.” I just don’t understand the answers.
"
Aren't the keychain components produced and assembled in a separate factory to normal minifigure parts and so their components treated separate from minifigure parts and not used in sets. Then I think the point is, the dual molded C-3PO leg is not current. It was in the UCS speeder and large C-3PO sets but those are now done. The leg is too expensive to produce for small sets and so there is no source of those legs any more. Of course fans might say that LEGO should produce the leg for the $1000 set, but this set is not and never was going to be a huge seller or mass produced like the $200 consumer sets. And without volume, they don't do expensive to create parts.
Between this and the previous interview, it's clear that LEGO have gone from "only the best is good enough" to "only the most cost-optimised is good enough"...
Too many excuses for cutting corners on a $1.000 set...
For $1.000 there should be printed arms and dual-molded legs on every minifigure. And also no stickers at all - all prints.... for fracking $1.000 there should be at least 10 more stormtroopers, maybe more.