Comparing Yoda and Luke's lightsabers
Posted by CapnRex101,
40483 Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber establishes the Lightsaber Collection, succeeding 6346098 Yoda's Lightsaber which was available last year alongside 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina.
Both lightsabers share considerable similarities, employing the same construction methods and colours. However, notable differences are also present, including some avoidable examples.
Luke Skywalker's lightsaber should be substantially larger than Yoda's, hence these weapons differ in length. The difference is less pronounced than their onscreen counterparts though, as Yoda's lightsaber is life-size while Luke's reaches 20cm in length, instead of an accurate 28cm. Nevertheless, I think the models look reasonable together.
Authentic proportions are more important than relative scale and the lightsabers undoubtedly succeed in that regard. Both models integrate various 4x4 round elements because few other building techniques would be appropriate, thereby constraining their diameter. Fortunately, the black grips fixed on 40483 Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber give the impression of slightly greater width.
Differences in scaling were perhaps unavoidable, but the variation between their presentation stands is surprising. These could have been completely consistent, especially since they each feature printed plaques. Evidently the designer decided to introduce changes instead, arguably improving the stand, but I think scattered dark bluish grey accents should have remained.
What next for the Lightsaber Collection?
There is certainly no shortage of unusual lightsabers for LEGO representation, although I think relatively memorable examples will be the exclusive focus. Luke Skywalker's second lightsaber retains iconic status, while Darth Maul or Count Dooku's weapons could also become appealing LEGO designs because they are immediately recognisable.
Even so, I believe Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber is the probable next addition to the collection. Beyond its fame and interesting appearance, which could differ dramatically from the existing lightsabers, the upcoming Kenobi series on Disney+ will presumably return this weapon to the limelight. In fact, this lightsaber seems like a plausible May the Fourth promotion, assuming the series is released around that date.
Which lightsaber do you think should next become a LEGO model? Let us know in the comments.
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33 comments on this article
I need Luke's saber, it's awesome!
It would kind of cool if they did wands from Harry Potter
Why is it called Luke’s lightsaber and not Anakin’s?
@MrKoshka said:
"Why is it called Luke’s lightsaber and not Anakin’s?"
More people know who Luke is, plus the original trilogy is more popular, I would guess
I would welcome more lightsaber sets but I’ll be fuming if they keep making them “freebies” with such a massive paywall ?? all they are really achieving here is lining the pockets of eBay scalpers
To me they look so dull in grey.
I'm going to try and make a saber blade like 75255-1 for both 6346098 and 40483 using the following parts:
green blade:
6290270 38708 transparent Dome X1
6296849 39223 brick 2x2 circle X24
6278602 13927 cross axel 32m X1
and blue blade:
6141588 18841 dome X1
6273153 39223 brick 2x2 circle X24
6278602 13927 cross axel 32m X1
I’m waiting for the Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver collection…
@magpie9 said:
"To me they look so dull in grey."
Welcome to Lego Star Wars... :D
Dull, only rivalling Batman’s Cowl and Venom bust in the awful stakes. Not bad as a freebie, but I’d only pay money for these as a completionist.
@bigospedros said:
"I would welcome more lightsaber sets but I’ll be fuming if they keep making them “freebies” with such a massive paywall ?? all they are really achieving here is lining the pockets of eBay scalpers"
I've tried buying quite a few GWP in order to sell for profit because I was interested in all these claims about scalpers. What I've learnt? It's not worth the hassle unless you expect supply shortage.
Reselling a set like the ATAT is hard, that is assuming you want to make a profit. And there are thinking to be many people that want the GWP, but not the set. This drops the set price on the secondary market by the market value of the GWP.
Your only real chance of a profit is
1) someone buying ignorant to market value
2) supply shortages
3) market manipulation; buying all the stock in the hope of creating a shortage and selling at artificial prices. The downside of this is it takes a large investment (money and space) and you never know how many GWP Lego has made, making it a risky endeavour.
As far as I can see, TLG's marketing strategy to only release very random GWP in extremely limited quantity, never announcing which, is also great against scalpers.
@MrKoshka said:
"Why is it called Luke’s lightsaber and not Anakin’s?"
It's being given out alongside the new AT-AT, where Luke is using it.
Luke: Mine is bigger than yours.
Yoda: Judge me by my size, do you?
Luke: Well, yeh.
Yoda: $|-|!+
They should make the GWP something that actually complements the main set - so in this case, a section of the rebel line with a few rebel troopers / cannons etc. Or a bunch of Snowtroopers to fill up the AT-AT.
This isn't as redundant as when they gave away a Batmobile with their Batmobile, but it's close.
In all of these cases, I wonder if the surge in initial sales is equal to what they could have made selling these things individually. Hell, a DCS boxset of Lightsabers/props similar to the Harry Potter Icons set would do quite well...
Let’s compare the Minifigure-scale ones!
@Terreneflame said:
" @MrKoshka said:
"Why is it called Luke’s lightsaber and not Anakin’s?"
More people know who Luke is, plus the original trilogy is more popular, I would guess"
I thought that Anakin’s lightsaber was passed to Luke by Obi-Wan, am I wrong? ;)
@linlsw said:
" @Terreneflame said:
" @MrKoshka said:
"Why is it called Luke’s lightsaber and not Anakin’s?"
More people know who Luke is, plus the original trilogy is more popular, I would guess"
I thought that Anakin’s lightsaber was passed to Luke by Obi-Wan, am I wrong? ;)"
No, not sure how that is relevant to my point though :)
@MrKoshka said:
"Why is it called Luke’s lightsaber and not Anakin’s?"
Beyond what @Terreneflame mentioned, there are differences between Anakin's lightsaber from Revenge of the Sith and that appearing in A New Hope. Another black grip was attached to the hilt, Anakin's Covertec clip was swapped with a D-ring and the golden activation matrix was updated.
@Terreneflame said:
" @linlsw said:
" @Terreneflame said:
" @MrKoshka said:
"Why is it called Luke’s lightsaber and not Anakin’s?"
More people know who Luke is, plus the original trilogy is more popular, I would guess"
I thought that Anakin’s lightsaber was passed to Luke by Obi-Wan, am I wrong? ;)"
No, not sure how that is relevant to my point though :)"
Guess I was trying to say that it probably should be named "Skywalker's lightsaber" instead. :)
So Yoda's tiny lightsaber comes free with a $350 CAD set, Luke's larger one then comes as a GWP of a $950 CAD set.
I shudder to think how much the set will cost that gets Darth Maul's saber as a promo at this rate...
Do they work?
I think Old Ben’s saber will be next. Seems plausible.
I built one to this affect years ago of Darth Maul. I do enjoy looking at it in my shelf.
@legoguy said:
"So Yoda's tiny lightsaber comes free with a $350 CAD set, Luke's larger one then comes as a GWP of a $950 CAD set.
I shudder to think how much the set will cost that gets Darth Maul's saber as a promo at this rate...
"
Maul won’t be nearly as bad Ahsoka or Asajj Ventress. I don’t even want to think about how much the General Grevous collection will cost.
None. They are just hilts with no interest whatsoever.
@PigeonBricks:
1. Too fragile to touch.
2. So little detail the only way you can tell them apart is by color and length.
3. Scaled up so much even Hagrid thinks they’re too big.
Pick one.
@MrKoshka:
It’s been Luke’s for 44 years. We didn’t even learn Anakin’s name for another six years, and didn’t see him actually use that lightsaber for 22 years after that.
@dutchbrickdad:
When I was standing in line to buy the 2nd UCS MF on launch day, there was someone a few spots ahead of me in line who bought two online (before they reduced the limit to one), plus picked up a third in-store, and he said he was going to flip some/all of them. So clearly there are people who are experienced in doing this for profit, and it seems that you are not one of them.
@darthsutius:
The GWP was used to destroy one of the sets it comes with. It’s far more appropriate than Yoda’s with the Cantina.
Thanks for the comparison. Ben’s is a good choice for the next one. I don’t think Vader’s has been mentioned yet so I’ll go with his for my prediction for the next.
@JRBricks:
Vader, Ben, and Jedi Luke are the only three missing from the OT, but by starting with Yoda, they really opened it up to all the PT Jedi, Sith, and Grievous. If they do one per year, I expect I’ll run out before they do.
Didn't anybody watch Spaceballs?!? Comparing your Schwartz only leads to sadness...
Growing up with the prequels led me to see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's Ep1/2 model of lightsabers as among the most iconic (helped somewhat that they were part of a cheapie line of toy sabers they sold through 2002-2006 or so), so it's a bit of a contrast of people looking at the OT sabers more (though as Luke's remains throughout the saga for Anakin and Rey, they're more understandable for me)
@graymattr:
Sez you. Lone Starr compared his Schwartz, and it led to him finding out he’s really a prince and marrying the princess.
Yeah, the handle of a lightsaber is what I always dreamed of as a kid.
What's next, Lego making the set "Harry Potters Invisible Cloak" and just making a stand and a plaque?
@magpie9 said:
"To me they look so dull in grey."
Agree. I would accept a UCS style offering with official LEGO chrome/metallic elements. With those, Obi-wan's lightsaber would look amazing with shiny gold, silver and brown elements.
These actually look pretty cool, but unfortunately they're locked behind a paywall. Fortunately, at least these aren't exclusive minifigures!