Review: 75396 Desert Skiff & Sarlacc Pit
Posted by CapnRex101,
Five minifigure-scale models of the Desert Skiff have been produced, becoming more complex and detailed over time. The monstrous Sarlacc has also received multiple updates and superb renditions of both appear in 75396 Desert Skiff & Sarlacc Pit.
The Sarlacc in particular is bigger and probably better than ever, while detail on the skiff has improved. Additionally, the minifigure selection is excellent, providing the essential characters from this scene, plus the exclusive Nien Nunb. However, as is often the case, the price is a point of concern.
Summary
75396 Desert Skiff & Sarlacc Pit, 558 pieces.
£69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99 | 12.5p/14.3c/14.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The skiff and Sarlacc have never looked better, but this set is incredibly overpriced
- Excellent display value
- Clever functions for play
- Satisfying minifigure selection
- Nien Nunb, at last!
- Sarlacc is unfinished at the back
- Inaccurate Boba Fett minifigure
- Extremely expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Six minifigures are included and this selection is broadly similar to other Desert Skiff sets. Even so, Luke Skywalker was absent from 75174 Desert Skiff Escape from 2017, so over a decade has passed since his grey and black garb last appeared in minifigure form. This version is thus much more detailed than previous designs, featuring printed legs and an accurate hair element introduced in 75352 Emperor's Throne Room Diorama.
Han Solo did appear with the 2017 model of the Desert Skiff, but changes have been made to his latest minifigure, nevertheless. Some time has passed since his removal from the carbonite, so the wrinkles in Han's shirt are starting to dissipate and his eyesight is gradually returning. On that basis, the double-sided head looks fantastic, displaying closed and squinting eyes!
These expressions are perfect for the scene and Han's hairstyle looks fantastic, as usual. The accessories are good too, as Han wears handcuffs and Luke carries his lightsaber, although a spare pair of handcuffs is also supplied for Luke's journey to the Great Pit of Carkoon.
A new Chewbacca minifigure arrived in 2014 and the celebrated Wookiee has remained the same since. However, there is no need for major updates because the colour combination of dark brown and dark tan looks marvellous and the fur texture is effective too, with silver details highlighting Chewbacca's bandoleer.
Similar to Luke, Lando Calrissian missed the 2017 Desert Skiff, so he has not appeared in his guard disguise since 9496 Desert Skiff arrived in 2012. The earlier minifigure's breastplate was arguably more detailed, although both are impressive and printed legs are a welcome addition. Also, I love the decorated helmet, improving on previous designs, but using the same mould.
The double-sided head features neutral and happy expressions, as well as Lando's trademark moustache, but no hair element is included, unfortunately. The minifigure is armed with a pearl silver vibro-axe though, while Chewbacca comes with another pair of handcuffs.
Boba Fett minifigures are often brilliantly detailed and this design, returning from 75369 Boba Fett Mech, is no exception. Metallic silver scratches cover the armour and the decorated arms look fantastic, including the Mythosaur emblem on Fett's left shoulder and a rocket launcher on his wrist, with a flamethrower mounted on his right gauntlet.
However, there are a number of differences between Boba Fett's appearance in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which should be reflected here. Instead, we receive the standard minifigure inspired by Episode V. This is very disappointing, especially since 75174 Desert Skiff Escape introduced an accurate Boba Fett minifigure, so not doing the same here was presumably a cost-cutting measure.
That compromise might have been acceptable in a smaller and less expensive set, but not in one costing £69.99, $79.99 or €79.99. Furthermore, the minifigure lacks his usual fabric cape, which was another feature present on the 2017 figure. At least Boba Fett's head looks suitably grizzled and the bounty hunter comes equipped with his EE-3 carbine rifle, as always.
LEGO Star Wars is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and multiple sets contain unique minifigures to mark the occasion. Nien Nunb is the chosen character here and incorporates a new Sullustan head element, which recreates the species' facial shape more faithfully than Ten Numb minifigures have managed before.
Nien Nunb's red and black clothing looks excellent too, corresponding with his appearance in Return of the Jedi, when he joins Lando Calrissian to co-pilot the Millennium Falcon. Although fans have long asked for a Nien Nunb minifigure, I think these slots should have been reserved for characters unlikely to appear in standard sets, which is maybe not the case for this hero of Endor.
The Completed Model
Like the other anniversary minifigures, Nien Nunb stands on a printed display base. I like the anniversary branding and the stylistic consistency between these minifigure bases and those released for the 20th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars in 2019, although the smaller NINJAGO anniversary bases are actually my favourite overall.
This model of the Sarlacc Pit is substantially larger than its predecessors, primarily to create a more natural mound of sand around the monster. Previous renditions were certainly inferior for display and I like the combination of dark tan and tan elements for the sand, although I wish the sides sloped down more smoothly, as the current steep banks are not very realistic.
While the sides could perhaps be improved, the Sarlacc itself looks fantastic. I love the uneven spikes around the edge and the medium nougat pieces inside are effective, adding texture and creating an impression of depth. Moreover, the Sarlacc's beak is neatly designed, consisting of the same rounded cockpit elements as the previous Sarlacc produced in 2017.
The back of the Sarlacc Pit is clearly not intended for display, including a pair of Technic levers to control the tentacles. I appreciate the function, but the levers are not disguised at all, which I find strange because they definitely could have been. Instead, several black and grey bricks are left completely exposed when the Sarlacc is viewed from behind, for no obvious reason.
Despite this issue, the model looks good from most angles and the tentacles are easy to pose. The beak is also articulated, with enough room for Boba Fett inside, as long as his rangefinder is folded down. As expected, this is my favourite rendition of the Sarlacc yet produced, although I was hoping for even greater improvements over older designs, given the higher piece count.
While changes to the Sarlacc are obvious, this rendition of the Desert Skiff seems fairly similar to 75174 Desert Skiff Escape. The vehicle is slightly smaller on this occasion, but its size feels appropriate beside minifigures and there is still plenty of room on board. Moreover, the level of detail has risen, especially towards the back.
This skiff carries nine characters in the film and there is definitely space for a couple of guards alongside the heroes, although only Lando is actually included, sadly. Still, I am happy with the generous deck space and the curvature of the skiff's nose mirrors the source material, featuring the same 3x8x2 shell components as the last model, with a plastic hose for the railing on top.
Previous versions of the Desert Skiff have included a working gangplank and this model is the same. This example is better integrated than others though, deployed by pressing the dark tan 1x1 round tile on the other side. The walkway is fairly short and low friction means it sometimes slides out accidentally, but I am not sure how these problems could be avoided.
Another function is cleverly hidden behind the gangplank, as the railing swings out to recreate its partial collapse in the film. The hinge is discrete, although this is another function that could benefit from more friction, or maybe a clip to keep the railing closed. Otherwise, I like the shape of the bodywork around the rear of the skiff, as well as the adjustable steering vanes on either side.
The engine is partially exposed on the back, represented by some pearl dark grey ingots and 1x1 round plates. Similar mechanical detail is visible onscreen and I am delighted to have the feature included, even though its visibility is exaggerated. The steering column is very detailed too, although it still allows room for the driver to stand behind the controls.
Overall
Whenever a subject is revisited in LEGO Star Wars, improving on previous designs tends to be my main consideration. 75396 Desert Skiff & Sarlacc Pit succeeds in that regard, as these are definitely the best versions of the Desert Skiff and the Sarlacc produced to date. The detail on the skiff is particularly laudable and its functions are beautifully integrated.
Similarly, the Sarlacc looks better than ever and the minifigure selection is great on the whole, despite the inaccurate Boba Fett figure. However, the differences between this set and 75174 Desert Skiff Escape are nowhere near enough to explain the cost of £69.99, $79.99 or €79.99, which is more than double the 2017 set. The models may be generally impressive, but the price is absurd, sadly.
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70 comments on this article
I see that the only reason to buy this is Nien Nunb.
Does Disney have any influence over the set price? I assume not, but given the continuous failures coming out of Disney (Hotels, merch, films, tv shows etc...), Lego is probably one of their only money makers at the moment.
I am very happy with my 9496 Desert Skiff I got for about € 25,- back in the day - so this is an easy pass.
Nothing here that would compel me to spend the amount LEGO wants for this.
Either a fantastic gift with purchase option or a 20% off discount (both inevitable) will make the price easier to handle.
Just some quick things I wanna say:
-I don't care about including TESB Boba, because the differences between that and the ROTJ version are so superfluous. Maybe for this set they could've changed it up, but any kids buying this literally will not care, because, hey, it's Boba Fett!
-Throw Chewbacca out of this set and replace him with a skiff guard, so that there's more conflict than just one bounty hunter.
-Make the Sarlacc rounder instead of rectangular, so that it actually looks good from all angles.
-Add the second skiff and more minifigures. I don't care if it bumps the price up by another $20. If this is supposed to be a companion to the rumored UCS Sail Barge, we should have the option to build up the entire scene.
-It absolutely sucks that the builds are so amazing but the price is so egregious. At this rate, battle packs will probably be $30! At what point are we just gonna accept 15 cents as the new Price-Per-Piece ratio?
-If I ever got my hands on a second Nein Nunb minifigure (which I probably won't, because he'll probably be worth at least $20 on the aftermarket), his torso would be PERFECT for the Rebel Friend.
This is definitely one of the biggest instances I've seen of a price killing a set. It looks like a fantastic grade S Star Wars set, but definitely won't consider it without a discount.
I want an accurately minifig-scaled UCS Sarlacc.
I've already started the anniversary minifig collection, so Lego leaves me no choice but to buy this overpriced set.
Cruel but genius.
@kingalbino said:
"Does Disney have any influence over the set price? I assume not, but given the continuous failures coming out of Disney (Hotels, merch, films, tv shows etc...), Lego is probably one of their only money makers at the moment."
I don't disagree that this set is appallingly overpriced. However, Disney is doing just fine regardless of a few bumps in the road or whatever corporate media BS is being spun about them at the moment.
@BrickCollection said:
"I see that the only reason to buy this is Nien Nunb."
And helps Lego in justifying the $100 CAD price tag....the set is providing a highly sought after Star Wars character
@kingalbino said:
"Does Disney have any influence over the set price? I assume not, but given the continuous failures coming out of Disney (Hotels, merch, films, tv shows etc...), Lego is probably one of their only money makers at the moment."
I was going to make a snotty comment about how small Lego revenue is compared to all of the other segments mentioned, but because licensing revenue is practically free money, there is a kernel of truth to this comment. Licensing is one of the smallest segments by revenue, but is overweight in operating profit since costs are so negligible.
https://www.statista.com/chart/30950/revenue-and-operating-income-of-disneys-consumer-products-business/
In any event, I wouldn't call a few high-profile missteps and general pressures in the media industry "continuous failures." They have the biggest movie of the year with Inside Out 2 and they'll have another smash hit next week.
But it's a good bit, I appreciate the snark.
Okay, but I cannot stress enough just how tragic it is that this may be the best Sarlacc and skiff builds we have ever gotten. But it absolutely blows that not even the stellar builds- or the Anniversary figure - make this set worth the insane $80 price tag. These LEGO Star Wars prices are slowly drifting from rather annoying into completely unreasonable.
Honestly the inaccurate Boba Fett figure really rubs me the wrong way. Like, you have the gall to charge 4/5ths of a hundred bucks for a set that should be 60 at most, and yet there's a cost-cutting measure for a figure we've gotten several times. I've been waiting for a ROTJ Boba Fett in the current styling with arm printing for years, and given the perfect opportunity to make it instead they recycle the fig from the $16 mech. Really disappointing given the great selection otherwise.
@xurotaryrocket said:
" @kingalbino said:
"Does Disney have any influence over the set price? I assume not, but given the continuous failures coming out of Disney (Hotels, merch, films, tv shows etc...), Lego is probably one of their only money makers at the moment."
I don't disagree that this set is appallingly overpriced. However, Disney is doing just fine regardless of a few bumps in the road or whatever corporate media BS is being spun about them at the moment. "
Don't underestimate how well the industry of angry Disney/Star Wars social media influencers is doing as well, portraying constant doom and gloom for the franchise (I saw a "Kathleen Kennedy Literally EVIL" thumbnail on my YouTube feed which is the perfect example of absurd hyperbole right now). Hating Disney is an industry in of itself.
Yes there have been some serious issues at Disney (and for a good video that does talk about real problems, Jenny Nicholson's deep dive on the Galactic Starcruiser is an even handed discussion on the issues). Box office returns, streaming costs, etc. are all real problems affecting Disney too. The company also still makes money hand over fist in ways many people don't fully understand and Disney can afford a lot of losses before it really bites them in the rear.
It is hard to find even handed perspectives on it though when vocal Disney-hate influencers keep acting like Bob Iger personally killed their dog. The real amount of man-children who think every minor Disney failure is a personal insult often has me concerned that "geek culture" may never recover from this vile juvenile and often absurd place it has landed in (and Google, Meta and "X" all get to cash in the clicks the influencer hate train produces). A lot of people really need to touch grass.
For $80, I need two ships and 7 or 8 minifigures. Otherwise, this set looks to be about $30-$35 worth of LEGO.
with these prices I gotta ask:
did the executives run out of cocaine or
Sorry but I have to disagree on the pro argument "Excellent display value" when you can't even place the Skiff above the Sarlacc as seen in the movies.
@JMaster said:
"Honestly the inaccurate Boba Fett figure really rubs me the wrong way. Like, you have the gall to charge 4/5ths of a hundred bucks for a set that should be 60 at most, and yet there's a cost-cutting measure for a figure we've gotten several times. I've been waiting for a ROTJ Boba Fett in the current styling with arm printing for years, and given the perfect opportunity to make it instead they recycle the fig from the $16 mech. Really disappointing given the great selection otherwise."
The part I don't get is how they gave the Mech dark red gauntlets, so clearly it was based on the ROTJ version of the character, but then made the figure with dark green gauntlets again like they were in the UCS Slave One.
With all those print "updates" that just slightly change creases and thickness of detail outlines they could do some more fundamental variations for the different color interpretations that exist for Boba.
Isn't this why Aayla Securas and Thrawns skintones changed between their figures releases? Or why Hoth Rebels keep switching their colors between white and tan, or the A-Wing pilot between green and dark green?
Print opacity on Lando's legs and Nien's torso is better than what I was expecting. The red on Nien's torso is darker than his arms and legs, but the difference does not seem to be nearly as drastic as I've experienced in the past.
@kingalbino said:
"Does Disney have any influence over the set price? I assume not, but given the continuous failures coming out of Disney (Hotels, merch, films, tv shows etc...), Lego is probably one of their only money makers at the moment."
I see your comment and raise you an "Inside Out 2" Well over $1bn takings and going gangbusters. Parks and Cruses are dong very nicely too. Mickey won't be moving out of his penthouse to a trashcan in Orlando any time soon.
I do not often complain about the price, but now... Come on. No way this is worth 80 euros! Even for a very desirable and long expect minifig. I feel sad to see that greedy trend going on...
Since they dropped the wrong Luke minifig in an 850€ AT-AT set (having published the correct minifig only a couple of years earlier!) and there was literally no one pointing this out, not even M&R or Jang, I'm not surprised or shocked by the blatant no-cape-Ep.V-Boba inclusion here. And I'm a huge LSW fan since 1999 but their strategy started working on me here as well: they lowered the bar onto such a low level, that I don't expect them to care anymore. In a 2002 world with mighty competitors around, I would acknowledge such a move. Being the number one and having a look where Hasbro, Mattel and Playmobil are these days, I can't help but feel frustrated.
Thank you, Cap, for pointing this out. It can't be stated loud and often enough. That's the only chance to make them change.
A smaller skiff and an okay Sarlacc just cannot justify the price. I could see $45 or $50 for the amount of stuff, but $80? Jeebus. I know it's a common complaint, but the prices are really getting out of hand.
For the largest Sarlacc pit that they've made, and one that is supposed to go with the UCS Sail Barge, I find it quite ugly. Why does the mouth/pit look rectangular from above? And the beak could've been deeper in the pit.
For once a Desert Skiff with all main heroes and villains and not some random pirates. The price sucks, though.
I just read the Brickset reviews of the 2017 and 2012 sets (75174 and 9496), too. It’s a nice travel in time to read this one and the old reviews from Huw / CapnRex101 :-)
The minifigs are great, And so are the builds, but the skiff seems too chunky.
I won’t be getting this unless there is a MASSIVE discount or something.
I like the use of Master Wu’s hat on the steering vanes. Reminds me of a set I own: 9446, which also used that piece on it’s engines!
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"Just some quick things I wanna say:
-I don't care about including TESB Boba, because the differences between that and the ROTJ version are so superfluous. Maybe for this set they could've changed it up, but any kids buying this literally will not care, because, hey, it's Boba Fett!
-Throw Chewbacca out of this set and replace him with a skiff guard, so that there's more conflict than just one bounty hunter.
-Make the Sarlacc rounder instead of rectangular, so that it actually looks good from all angles.
-Add the second skiff and more minifigures. I don't care if it bumps the price up by another $20. If this is supposed to be a companion to the rumored UCS Sail Barge, we should have the option to build up the entire scene.
-It absolutely sucks that the builds are so amazing but the price is so egregious. At this rate, battle packs will probably be $30! At what point are we just gonna accept 15 cents as the new Price-Per-Piece ratio?
-If I ever got my hands on a second Nein Nunb minifigure (which I probably won't, because he'll probably be worth at least $20 on the aftermarket), his torso would be PERFECT for the Rebel Friend. "
I agree with all of these points! Also, no matter what anybody says, the newer Luke hair is perfection.
35$ set with an astronomically overinflated price. This is not even worth buying at 40% off.
I remember when the Sarlacc pit had no beak!( in the original movie! )
This set is alright, would be nice if there was a new Jabba’s Barge to go with it as well… it would make a nice combo set.
Ninjago vibes.
@greenhorn said:
"I just read the Brickset reviews of the 2017 and 2012 sets (75174 and 9496), too. It’s a nice travel in time to read this one and the old reviews from Huw / CapnRex101 :-)"
Interesting to look back at my 2012 review of 9496: https://brickset.com/article/3448/9496-desert-skiff
Somewhat brief but the photos are pretty good!
I think the lack of guards should also be a negative for this set. Especially for this price.
While I’d love the Nien Nunb minifigure, I already have 9496, so $80 for a minifigure is just crazy. Maybe I’ll luck out and he’ll be affordable on Bricklink or will get released somewhere else in the future.
Ugh, this is just disgusting. I've heard Lego determines their prices in advance and then has the designers build up to that price point. But looking at this I can't help thinking the only reason they made the sarlacc pit area so big is to jack up the price.
@capnRex how easy is it to build the set without beak. Can you just dismantle it, and do you think it’ll still look good enough? I hate beak pit, but i love OG pit.
And another question, can you get the skiff positioned above the sarlacc pit? Like attached to the pit? With the walkway above the opening of the pit? Now the walkway is just as high as the border of the pit and just looks dumb. I don’t think it is possible, unless you will mod it
Nien Numb is king of course, but we all should be mad at lego for denying nien numb for so long and now use him to sell a flawed set for an outrageous price
Thought this was a nice £35-40 set (perhaps a bit of a stretch for 5 figs, but I didn't count them at first glance).
But £70? Come on now, £55 with the Disney Tax would have been pushing it...
This is an expensive Sarlacc pit, with a skiff side-build!
@BrickCollection said:
"I see that the only reason to buy this is Nien Nunb."
Going to very quickly be a £50 minifig on Bricklink I think
Just comparing what you get here to 6210 Jabba's sail barge, which was £10 cheaper.
It's wild how just pricing can turn the best Skiff & Sarlacc set we've ever had into a huge stinker. Really hope it doesn't take long for this set to be discounted steeply.
@dellyot said:
"This is an expensive Sarlacc pit, with a skiff side-build! "
This is a very expensive Nien Nunb, with a Sarlacc side-build.
If you don't like the price, buy it in New Zealand, it's a real bargain at $149.99.
I feel like, if Nien Nunb was ever going to appear as part of a standard minifig selection, he already would have. The only setting that makes sense for him is the Falcon, and that’s Han’s ship. If they release a new version, some form of the Ep4/Ep5 crew is going to be expected, rather than the crew from the back half of Ep6. Better to get him this way than find another decade has passed, and we’re still wondering when they’ll put him in a set.
@PurpleDave said:
"I feel like, if Nien Nunb was ever going to appear as part of a standard minifig selection, he already would have. The only setting that makes sense for him is the Falcon, and that’s Han’s ship. If they release a new version, some form of the Ep4/Ep5 crew is going to be expected, rather than the crew from the back half of Ep6. Better to get him this way than find another decade has passed, and we’re still wondering when they’ll put him in a set."
A home one set does also make sense to add him. And a home one playset would go fine with a home one midi scale set (which is rumored to be for sale next year)
@Robot99 said:
"This is definitely one of the biggest instances I've seen of a price killing a set. It looks like a fantastic grade S Star Wars set, but definitely won't consider it without a discount."
Wow, really?? I still think that crown goes to The Justifier (based partially on the irony of the set name!)
@Bagelwolf said:
"Wow, really?? I still think that crown goes to The Justifier (based partially on the irony of the set name!)"
*Looks it up*
Okay that's pretty bad lol, although that one is already a decent size set to begin with; the Desert Skiff looks like it's in a cheaper price range but it's nearly three digits. I appreciate the irony with your example though!
I'm a big Star Wars lover and I'd struggle to be hung up on the differences between the correct printing on an ESB or RotJ Boba Fett Minifigure.
And what do we mean by the one in 75174 being 'more accurate' when it doesn't even have gloved hands?
@kingalbino:
Typically, the licensor would get approval on any merch, but the business side of things would be left to the licensee sort out. In some cases, the licensor may even get a flat fee, regardless of how well or poorly the product line sells (but probably not in this case).
Regarding their bottom line, Disney has taken a bit of a bath on films of late (between production budget and marketing, some high profile films probably didn’t see a profit until they went to home video). As with pretty much everyone else, they haven’t started turning a profit on streaming, due to the massive amount of money sunk into luring customers to their platform. They screwed Pixar over by dumping three films to basic tier streaming, where they generated zero profit. But their theme parks are still experiencing overcrowding. They still own several TV networks. Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar are not the only ancillary studios they own. They may not be using $100 bills to light their nightly cigars, but the company as a whole is still solvent.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer:
Ep5 Fett is overwhelmingly green. Ep6 Fett has a splash of color that really livens up the costume. I like having the Ep5 version for the sake of completion, but strongly prefer the Ep6 look.
@AcademyofDrX:
I still wonder how much their treatment of the Pandemic Three negatively impacted the box office performance of Lightyear and Elemental, and suspect that even Inside Out 2 wouldn’t be doing so well if it wasn’t riding the eventual sleeper success of Elemental.
@xboxtravis7992:
Funny thing is, Iger stepped down before things blew up on Disney. Most of the complaints stem from his short-term successor’s reign. Now that he’s back, you’d think it would quell some of the complaints.
@Brickodillo:
The problem I have with putting NN in Home One (besides how infrequently they’re likely to make a Home One set) is that there are so many other characters in that scene that it’d suck to waste a slot on a character who fits better somewhere else.
@PurpleDave certainly Chapek was the lesser liked of the two Bobs. :P
Laudable skiff, laughable price...
They should've thrown in some more figures at that price, like a Slave Leia and a weequay.
Nine hoorays for Nien Numb!
*Best impression of Nien Numb Battlefront laugh emote*
@MegaBlocks said:
"They should've thrown in some more figures at that price, like a Slave Leia and a weequay."
Gotta save Leia for the rumored UCS set I guess.
@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
"They should've thrown in some more figures at that price, like a Slave Leia and a weequay."
Gotta save Leia for the rumored UCS set I guess."
My understanding is that Disney's put the kibosh on any more Slave Leia merch, but yeah, the Sail Barge would be the natural place to include her.
@Rare_White_Ape said:
"And what do we mean by the one in 75174 being 'more accurate' when it doesn't even have gloved hands?"
The hands on that Fett are tan. The only human minifig I can think of that has ever had tan skin is the Emperor. The gloves on that costume were a mix of tan and brown with nearly black circle patches on the back of the hands:
https://bobafettbuilders.com/media/boba-fett-gloves-archives-jpg.2577/
Tan or reddish-brown are both reasonable choices from an accuracy standpoint. There's more tan than brown, but there might be more brown and black combined than tan. Tan does create the problem that people (as you've demonstrated) will visually read it as skin-colored.
@MegaBlocks:
Leia never set foot on one of those skiffs until after the sail barge was destroyed, and all of Jabba's henchmen were dead. We see her standing on the skiff for all of two seconds, and it's in such extreme closeup that it's not a particularly memorable image.
@TheOtherMike my guess is we're about to see Disney relax their ideas on Leia's metal bikini a bit. Let's be honest before Disney purchased Lucasfilm they leaned into the Slave Leia thing in the theme parks, Star Wars Weekends almost always had Slave Leia dancers, and the photo souvenirs at the end of Star Tours had the option of guests being photoshopped onto Leia's bikini clad picture with the park guest's head over her own face. My gut feeling is the gradual slowing down of Slave Leia merchandise was an initial reaction to the MeToo movement and something Disney would not have done had it not been responding to the moment seeing their own prior use of the costume, and now that is a bit slower (and that Slave Leia is arguably replaced by the less well known but arguably more empowering Huttslayer Leia name in some circles, although I bet Disney will just ask for the figures to be referred to as simply "Leia" rather than "Slave Leia") it does feel like Disney is ready to dip their toes into the merchandise for the character in that particular outfit again. They did already include a modernized variation of the "Hutt dancer" outfit in the club scenes in Book of Boba Fett (both a traditional female and a new male version) on a pair of Twi'lek attendees there (who also seemed to be gainfully employed and not enslaved like Leia was) so it seems already within Star Wars production they aren't shying away from the concept when it fits the story in modern media.
But, I expect it to not be a standalone thing anymore (i.e. no Leia pin-ups on centerfolds in Star Wars Insider anymore); but tied into big products depicting scenes specific to Return of the Jedi. It would be absurd of LEGO to not include Leia in the sail barge, and since the very blocky nature of LEGO means that it is arguably the least sexualized version of the character in that outfit you can get it seems poised for the perfect place to include the figure regardless of prior controversy.
Then again, Hasbro didn't release a Leia figure to accompany their sail barge (I guess they weren't going to push that yet although to be fair it seems Hasbro's action figures are struggling in general to move products so there might not BE much demand for a new figure now anyways), and likewise it is possible all these rumors are nonsense and LEGO fans are sharing tales of a sail barge that doesn't exist. I still feel like the days though of Gentle Giant releasing collectible Leia statues and Leia's bikini on an action figure in every toy aisle are long gone, and that Leia's bikini will be trapped to the occasional high end collector set bundled in with other "scene accurate" figures to complement recreating one RoTJ scene.
Edit as an aside we also have to remember Denmark has a much more relaxed culture on sexuality than an American audience would (a children's show there called 'John Dillermand' is about a man with unique erm.... physical assets) and LEGO is the company that in 2005 gave us set 8761-1 aka "that time Bionicle introduced a dominatrix whose spider minions turned the heroes into furries, and then seduced the hero of the year into being her submissive servant" so there is a very real chance that LEGO and Danish culture in general just maybe doesn't have the same hang-ups about Leia in a metal bikini that say the US based Hasbro might and that as long as Disney isn't blocking them in a blanket "no Slave Leia" order, LEGO might jump at including her as a minifigure with much less cultural hang ups than other licensees of Star Wars might.
@xboxtravis7992:
They announced that there would no longer be toys of “Slave Leia”, and separately announced something similar regarding Slave I. Since then, Slave I has simply been rebranded as “Boba Fett’s Starship”, and any set released that could have featured the metal bikini had the Boushh disguise instead. The tricky part is, the only sail barges released since that announcement have been in advent calendars. There’s really no option for a UCS sail barge besides including that costume, or skipping Leia entirely.
@Rimefang said:
"Either a fantastic gift with purchase option or a 20% off discount (both inevitable) will make the price easier to handle."
20% off just gets it closer to what it should cost. I think 30% off is what I want to see on it if I'm going to buy it
@PurpleDave said:
" @xboxtravis7992:
They announced that there would no longer be toys of “Slave Leia”, and separately announced something similar regarding Slave I. Since then, Slave I has simply been rebranded as “Boba Fett’s Starship”, and any set released that could have featured the metal bikini had the Boushh disguise instead. The tricky part is, the only sail barges released since that announcement have been in advent calendars. There’s really no option for a UCS sail barge besides including that costume, or skipping Leia entirely."
So we're going to get a "Boba Fett's Starship Leia" in the UCS Sail Barge?
@MegaBlocks "Starship Leia" sounds like a great 1970's rock band name!
@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @MegaBlocks "Starship Leia" sounds like a great 1970's rock band name!"
Until the breakup, and they rename it Airplane Leia.
@PurpleDave said:
" @xboxtravis7992 said:
" @MegaBlocks "Starship Leia" sounds like a great 1970's rock band name!"
Until the breakup, and they rename it Airplane Leia."
Nah, Airplane Leia was the band's name in the 60's. After the breakup in the '80s, it would just be called 'Leia'.
One day they'll get us an updated Boba with all the trimmings from RoTJ. Until then, nice Nien Nunb.
I am a little shocked the article does not point out how much of the piece count and price increase is related to the more detailed Sarlacc.
@JVM said:
"I am a little shocked the article does not point out how much of the piece count and price increase is related to the more detailed Sarlacc. "
Shhh! People don’t like it when you point out the price increase is legitimate!
@JVM said:
"I am a little shocked the article does not point out how much of the piece count and price increase is related to the more detailed Sarlacc. "
I think people are intelligent enough to realise that adding more pieces is going to increase the price, so I do not need to point it out. However, I also think any comparison with the old set is valid, as the Sarlacc may be larger and more detailed, but that does not explain such a dramatic price increase.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @JVM said:
"I am a little shocked the article does not point out how much of the piece count and price increase is related to the more detailed Sarlacc. "
I think people are intelligent enough to realise that adding more pieces is going to increase the price, so I do not need to point it out. However, I also think any comparison with the old set is valid, as the Sarlacc may be larger and more detailed, but that does not explain such a dramatic price increase."
In my observation, when someone likes the design of a set, they are willing to accept that more pieces equals more price. When they don't like the design, that's when people start trotting out the "price per stuff" rhetoric to claim that the set is grossly overpriced. In those cases, complaints relentlessly hammer at how the model, in their opinion, doesn't look nearly big enough to use that many pieces, like you're going to end up finishing the model and still have several unopened bags left untouched. They also suggest that this is done strictly to pad the piece count so the price can be raised, as if all these extra pieces are somehow free to produce.
This set is unbuyable for me. I refuse to feel guilty paying so much for such a bad deal. LEGO's strategy of making a set 70% good, 30% lazy and overpriced just isn't for me. C'mon, not even a fabric piece for Boba? Find a new customer, I'm not falling for that rubbish.