Embarrassingly useless LEGO Star Wars trivia!
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO Star Wars was launched in 1999 and nearly 900 sets have been produced, naturally resulting in occasional peculiar facts and trivia.
Whenever possible, I like to include some trivia in reviews and other articles, although certain details are not easily integrated. Fortunately, May the Fourth provides an ideal opportunity to share some LEGO Star Wars trivia, finally finding a use for genuinely useless information!
Clumsy or random
Obi-Wan Kenobi memorably describes lightsabers as "less clumsy or random than a blaster" and considers blasters "uncivilised". It is therefore ironic that Obi-Wan has actually appeared twice without his lightsaber and instead including a blaster, which is extremely unusual for Jedi minifigures.
The first instance was 75024 HH-87 Starhopper in 2013, where Obi-Wan appeared in disguise as the bounty hunter, Rako Hardeen. A few months later, 75040 Grievous' Wheel Bike was released and also supplies a blaster for Obi-Wan, ready to deal the killing blow to General Grievous. His lightsaber was lost earlier in the pursuit, so does not appear in the set.
Plaque mistake rate
Of the 29 plaques produced for Ultimate Collector Series sets, 21 include mistakes, yielding an accuracy rate of 28%. These started with 7181 TIE Interceptor in 2000 and continue today, with the plaque beneath 75355 X-wing Starfighter.
Admittedly, the severity of these errors varies greatly, from minor formatting issues to multiple factual mistakes appearing on the same plaque. However, their accuracy is broadly improving.
Comic-Con concepts
LEGO Star Wars has produced many items for San Diego Comic-Con and similar conventions, some of which bear a striking similarity to later products for wider release. The trend began in 2012, with COMCON019 Sith Infiltrator, COMCON024 Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder and CELEBVI Mini Slave I. These and subsequent convention-exclusive sets were launched shortly before the ongoing Microfighters range, which are identical in style.
One instance could be incidental, but I think 75227 Darth Vader Bust and 77901 Sith Trooper Bust likely influenced the Helmet Collection, perhaps gauging the likely response to such sets. 77904 Nebulon-B Frigate is another clear example, as its popularity seemingly gave LEGO the signal to return to Midi-scale, in 75356 Executor Super Star Destroyer.
Minifigure population
500 unique LEGO Star Wars minifigures were released between 1999 and 2013, with the 500th appearing in 75025 Jedi Defender-class Cruiser. It took only six more years to reach the 1000th minifigure, which appeared in 75226 Inferno Squad Battle Pack during 2019.
If the current rate of new Star Wars minifigures remains consistent, we can expect to receive the 1500th minifigure in 2025.
Ultimate Collector Series repeat appearances
75355 X-wing Starfighter represents the third Ultimate Collector Series iteration of the classic T-65 X-wing at the same scale; the only vehicle to receive this treatment. However, four others have actually beaten the X-wing to appearing three times in the Ultimate Collector Series, taking different scales into consideration.
The first to achieve this feat was Darth Vader's TIE Advanced x1, appearing in 10175 Vader's TIE Advanced, 10188 Death Star and 75159 Death Star, within a decade. The Snowspeeder followed in 2017, featuring in 10129 Rebel Snowspeeder, 75098 Assault on Hoth and 75144 Snowspeeder.
Next came the Imperial Star Destroyer and the CR90 Corvette, with the Imperial vessel appearing in 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer, 10221 Super Star Destroyer and 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer, while the Rebel craft was introduced in 10019 Rebel Blockade Runner, before accompanying the two Imperial Star Destroyers for scale.
No vehicle has appeared four times, although 75244 Tantive IV could be considered adjacent to the Ultimate Collector Series.
What are some of your favourite LEGO Star Wars facts? No matter how useless they might be, let us know in the comments!
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59 comments on this article
Would love to read an analysis for the prices of Lego Star Wars sets over the years. Pre vs post Disney acquisition. Piece count vs number of minifigs. Etc
Does Luke not count for the Jedi/Blaster thing, or only versions which predate Ep6?
Is there a bricklist explaining the Plaque mistakes?
@IgelCampus said:
"Is there a bricklist explaining the Plaque mistakes?"
I'd love to see a whole article about this, actually!
A little off-topic, but do you have info on the accuracy rate of similar plaques appearing in non-Star Wars sets, such as 10302 or 76832?
@PurpleDave: Does Luke really count as a Jedi before Ep. VI, though? That's the only movie where he refers to himself as a Jedi, and it's the one where (in a deleted scene, admittedly) he builds his lightsaber which is a very important step in becoming a Jedi.
@Yrraabb said:
"Would love to read an analysis for the prices of Lego Star Wars sets over the years. Pre vs post Disney acquisition. Piece count vs number of minifigs. Etc "
This would be really interesting! If @Huw and @CapnRex101 are interested, I’d volunteer to compare average inflation-adjusted prices (dollars/pounds/euros) with piece counts and minifig counts over time, pre/post the Disney acquisition. You could also compare retail prices to current resale prices (used/new)
In what world is 8/29 = 38%? It's 28% (rounded) on my calculator. Or was this deliberate, since we are dealing with errors on plaques here?
@rslotb said:
"In what world is 8/29 = 38%? It's 28% (rounded) on my calculator. Or was this deliberate, since we are dealing with errors on plaques here?"
Ironically, that was a mistake on my part, which has now been corrected, so thank you. I will claim it was intentional ;o)
I wonder how many colors were used in star wars, and how many of them have been discontinued now. that'd be interesting.
@R1_Drift said:
"I wonder how many colors were used in star wars, and how many of them have been discontinued now. that'd be interesting."
Like Lt Grey, Grey, Dark Grey, Dark Dark Grey and Black :) But seriously it would be nice to know and not for the pieces that you never see inside the body of the set, just the exterior.
@DragonLord56 said:
" @IgelCampus said:
"Is there a bricklist explaining the Plaque mistakes?"
I'd love to see a whole article about this, actually!"
Yes can you list the 21 @CapnRex101 . I have 7181 for a start so curious what's wrong. For the non Star Wars expert what are you using as facts for made up vehicles? Out of interest?
If Obi-Wan was in disguise in 75024 then surely it makes perfect sense for him to have a blaster and not a lightsaber. It is not really ironic that he thought they were clumsy but appeared with one. In fact, it would be rather clumsy to identify himself by carrying his lightsaber when he was in disguise.
As for useless trivia, despite being in the first ever LEGO Star Wars set (released at a toy fair prior to the retail sets) Luke and Darth Vader were not the first SW minifigures catalogued at bricklink. Darth Vader was beaten by "sibling rival" Darth Maul to get into the bricklink (and hence brickset) catalogue. And Luke was beaten by many OT characters including Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Han Solo and even other rebel pilots Biggs Darklighter and Dak Ralter.
Never be embarrassed to geek out!
Hmm, on second thought. Look left, look right and left again before feeling out! ;-)
@Yrraabb said:
"Would love to read an analysis for the prices of Lego Star Wars sets over the years. Pre vs post Disney acquisition. Piece count vs number of minifigs. Etc "
Oof no. Something tells me that a 'did Disney make Star Wars Lego more expensive' article would be a lightning rod for all the worst people who visit this site, regardless of what it concludes.
@MisterBrickster said:
" @Yrraabb said:
"Would love to read an analysis for the prices of Lego Star Wars sets over the years. Pre vs post Disney acquisition. Piece count vs number of minifigs. Etc "
But it would get site traffic way up as well I guess ??
Oof no. Something tells me that a 'did Disney make Star Wars Lego more expensive' article would be a lightning rod for all the worst people who visit this site, regardless of what it concludes."
Is that a photo of your minifig collection, @CapnRex101?
It's impressive, whoever owns it.
@MisterBrickster said:
" @Yrraabb said:
"Would love to read an analysis for the prices of Lego Star Wars sets over the years. Pre vs post Disney acquisition. Piece count vs number of minifigs. Etc "
Oof no. Something tells me that a 'did Disney make Star Wars Lego more expensive' article would be a lightning rod for all the worst people who visit this site, regardless of what it concludes."
"Let the hate flow."
Hey @CapnRex101 if it amuses us, it's not "genuinely useless information"! :)
@Lego34s
There's official sources, such as Star Wars Cross-Sections, that list the specifications
I think this was in a quiz previously, but I find it cool that Anakin, Padme and Luke, i.e. father, mother and son have all appeared in a set together: 75258
@TheOtherMike:
He’s referred to as a Jedi Knight at Jabba’s palace, where he Force-grabs a blaster from one of Jabba’s goons. Technically, he should probably be considered a Jedi Padawan after Yoda agrees to train him in Ep5.
@R1_Drift:
Light-grey, dark-grey, brown, sand-purple, trans-neon-green, trans-neon-orange, smoke, metallic-sand-blue, and whatever color the podrace bucket was have all been discontinued for sure. I think sand-red has, as well. By LEGO reckoning, old-dark-red (which they hold distinct from new-dark-red, even though Bricklink doesn’t) is another one.
An interesting corollary might be how many colors are exclusively used in SW sets. That metallic-sand-blue and the podrace bucket are two that I know of.
@PurpleDave
"
@R1_Drift :
Light-grey, dark-grey.... that I know of."
Let's stop pretending anything other than greyscale is used in Star Wars sets.
I've got one: in the controversial "TIE Fighters are Blue" "TIE Fighters are Grey" argument, it seems Lego was pretty solidly in the Blue camp--up until 2009 when they abruptly switched to Grey. While there were a few Greys from before that era, most had Blue trim. The last blue TIE Fighter was tiny 8028, from 2008. After that, all TIE Fighters were Grey, unless you count the obscure TIE-like 75185. I'm pretty sure that one's not a TIE despite it strongly evoking the Interceptor, but perhaps it was still designed by Sienar Fleet Systems.
May the Force be with all of you!
Nice article. Since we're talking about Jedi without lightsabers, how about troopers without helmets? The only one I can recall is 9497.
Mandalorians without helmets is also a thing. Sabine Wren appeared 3 times without one until it finally came in 75106, and now the helmet by itself goes for more than $75 on Bricklink.
That would be an interesting investigation. What is the most expensive Lego part from a Star Wars set?
Ah, I remember seeing a complete collection of all Star Wars figures once. That was in 2005.~I recall it was 3-4 very large frames with rows and rows of them. I'd hate to see the sheer scale of the display frame solution needed to display all of them now!
Fun article!
I thought for a second that @CapnRex101 had seen the light.... but then the article title carried on for one extra word :-)
@oukexergon said:
" @PurpleDave
"
@R1_Drift :
Light-grey, dark-grey.... that I know of."
Let's stop pretending anything other than greyscale is used in Star Wars sets."
Don’t forget the occasional full white or full black ship once in a while
Also the full list that I know of
Trans Neon Green
Trans Neon Orange
Dark Grey
Light Grey
Sand Red
Sand Purple
Old Brown
Metallic Copper (2007 Droideka)
Chrome Silver
Chrome Gold
Pearl Blue
Dark Violet
Also probably some different versions of pearl silver or pearl gold.
That Minifigure display is gorgeous but that battle droid pilot is scuffed
@StyleCounselor said:
"Mandalorians without helmets is also a thing. Sabine Wren appeared 3 times without one until it finally came in 75106, and now the helmet by itself goes for more than $75 on Bricklink.
"
Annoying rather than embarrassing trivia ... Those helmets cost about 80 pence on the old online replacement parts service, and were available for months.
@CCC said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Mandalorians without helmets is also a thing. Sabine Wren appeared 3 times without one until it finally came in 75106, and now the helmet by itself goes for more than $75 on Bricklink.
"
Annoying rather than embarrassing trivia ... Those helmets cost about 80 pence on the old online replacement parts service, and were available for months."
Well nuts.
@ra226 said:
"I've got one: in the controversial "TIE Fighters are Blue" "TIE Fighters are Grey" argument, it seems Lego was pretty solidly in the Blue camp--up until 2009 when they abruptly switched to Grey. While there were a few Greys from before that era, most had Blue trim. The last blue TIE Fighter was tiny 8028, from 2008. After that, all TIE Fighters were Grey, unless you count the obscure TIE-like 75185. I'm pretty sure that one's not a TIE despite it strongly evoking the Interceptor, but perhaps it was still designed by Sienar Fleet Systems."
I think in part the blue it was a result of the design language of early Star Wars sets. A number of sets in the early years had some extra colours, like a lot of dark grey, tan, and even some green on 7184, or the blue touches on 7151. It seemed to take a while until Lego really committed to more accurate (and thus sometimes more drab) colour schemes. Perhaps it helped that shapes were also becoming more accurate.
TIEs got blue, perhaps because there's a slightly blue tone to them in some appearances, perhaps because of the available options it just fits best, and they stuck with it because there's a remarkable consistency to the early TIE sets. From the first TIE Fighter to the Interceptor in 2006 (and exlcuding the Bomber), they all use basically the same cockpit ball, and while some aspects were refined, they generally fit together very well. There was also a three-year gap in minifig-scale TIEs between (blue) 6202 and (grey) 8017, so the transition was softened a little bit.
As for 75185, it is totally an off-brand TIE Phantom.
@StyleCounselor:
This one gets a little wonky. Jek-14 with hair is shown in the art for 75018, but the inventory has him wearing a helmet. And Jek-14 with helmet is shown in the art for COMCON032, but the inventory shows him with hair. And I’m going to assume you meant to exclude Rebel troopers and the like, since that’s a whole different can of worms.
As for most expensive part, I used to know that before the UCS MF2 brought back light-bley ship rigging that used to sell for $100+ a pop. Now I’d lean towards Smooth Hair Leia’s smooth hair, which is difficult to quantify since Bricklink refuses to catalog it as a separate part, instead restricting it to minifig entries. Alternately, Chrome C-3PO’s hands, since there are monofig collectors who would need a loose pair to complete a chrome gold monofig. And there are probably at least a couple who have done so.
@R1_Drift:
I wasn’t sure about sand-red. I was less sure about the violet color used for the original Jango Fett minifig and the Technic Jango Fett. Forgot about metallic copper, and I think the metallic-sand-blue I mentioned is your pearl-blue. I did remember two more, though. Remember dark-nougat, the color they used for Anakin’s hair in 7133 and 7113? And what about earth-orange, used for the Kaadu in 7115?
@Rob42:
Probably the same way Hogwarts Castle was originally and is now back to tan and sand-green, even though it’s clearly not accurate to the film. The thing is, other depictions always seem to show the TIE Interceptor and TIE Bomber in a kinda sand-blue color, while the TIE Fighter and Vader’s TIE will always be depicted in a neutral grey. I’ve seen this across multiple licensing partners, and TLG is the only one I know of that has bucked that trend.
To all the people saying everything in Star Wars is grayscale: even if you're sticking to the OT, Luke's landspeeder was tan, and the Twin-Pod Cloud Car (we need another stand-alone minifig-scale one. Lego, It's been twenty-one years!) was red, among others.
My favorite useless trivia fact is that Jar Jar Binks appeared in 3 sets in 1999, a year before Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and C-3po
@TheOtherMike The Twin Pod Cloud Car appeared in 75222 in 2018.
So who has the most star wars minifigs overhere at brickset? I don’t, but who does?
@DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Is that a photo of your minifig collection, @CapnRex101 ?
It's impressive, whoever owns it. "
Sadly not; that is a promotional photo from the LEGO Star Wars 20th anniversary exhibition at the LEGO House in 2019, where they displayed a complete collection of Star Wars minifigures. I believe LEGO actually had to borrow them from a collector in Denmark.
I am close to complete though. Unfortunately, I am missing a couple of the more expensive minifigures, like Boba Fett from 10123 Cloud City and the chrome C-3PO, along with a few from more affordable sets that I have not got around to purchasing yet. The bizarre Aldar Beedo from 7159 Podracing Bucket is one, for example.
@BillingsBrix: I know it did, that's why I said "stand-alone," as in its own set.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Is that a photo of your minifig collection, @CapnRex101 ?
It's impressive, whoever owns it. "
Sadly not; that is a promotional photo from the LEGO Star Wars 20th anniversary exhibition at the LEGO House in 2019, where they displayed a complete collection of Star Wars minifigures. I believe LEGO actually had to borrow them from a collector in Denmark.
I am close to complete though. Unfortunately, I am missing a couple of the more expensive minifigures, like Boba Fett from 10123 Cloud City and the chrome C-3PO, along with a few from more affordable sets that I have not got around to purchasing yet. The bizarre Aldar Beedo from 7159 Podracing Bucket is one, for example."
I had not seen that Aldar Beedo before, and I'm not sure if I should try charging for damages now that I have.
Interesting trivia.
I appreciate the effort on the designers' part to make UCS sets look nice, but I really think they should try to give more accurate information on the plaques. Hopefully they don't get anything wrong for the UCS Venator...
@Rob42 said "I think in part the blue it was a result of the design language of early Star Wars sets. A number of sets in the early years had some extra colours, like a lot of dark grey, tan, and even some green... "
That's a fair point--I remember the Y-Wing in 7150 had these awful red highlights in it for no good reason. I never considered they were doing it on purpose, favoring the bright primary color Lego aesthetic over accuracy.
@Miyakan said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Is that a photo of your minifig collection, @CapnRex101 ?
It's impressive, whoever owns it. "
Sadly not; that is a promotional photo from the LEGO Star Wars 20th anniversary exhibition at the LEGO House in 2019, where they displayed a complete collection of Star Wars minifigures. I believe LEGO actually had to borrow them from a collector in Denmark.
I am close to complete though. Unfortunately, I am missing a couple of the more expensive minifigures, like Boba Fett from 10123 Cloud City and the chrome C-3PO, along with a few from more affordable sets that I have not got around to purchasing yet. The bizarre Aldar Beedo from 7159 Podracing Bucket is one, for example."
I had not seen that Aldar Beedo before, and I'm not sure if I should try charging for damages now that I have."
It does look like a piece of melted plastic. It has charm from a sculptural perspective.
EDIT: Oops! I thought we were talking about the Beedo from 7186. The brick-built Beedo from 7159 is funny, nightmarish, crap!
@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor:
This one gets a little wonky. Jek-14 with hair is shown in the art for 75018, but the inventory has him wearing a helmet. And Jek-14 with helmet is shown in the art for COMCON032, but the inventory shows him with hair. And I’m going to assume you meant to exclude Rebel troopers and the like, since that’s a whole different can of worms.
As for most expensive part, I used to know that before the UCS MF2 brought back light-bley ship rigging that used to sell for $100+ a pop. Now I’d lean towards Smooth Hair Leia’s smooth hair, which is difficult to quantify since Bricklink refuses to catalog it as a separate part, instead restricting it to minifig entries. Alternately, Chrome C-3PO’s hands, since there are monofig collectors who would need a loose pair to complete a chrome gold monofig. And there are probably at least a couple who have done so."
Yeah, I know the radar dish from the ol' UCS Falcon was very pricey as well.
I was trying to stick to mass-released sets. So, chrome hands wouldn't count.
I bet the old torso or legs from Cloud City Boba are the most expensive SW Lego parts. They currently sell for $800 and $900 respectively. After all, even CapnRex101 is in need of them!
@MisterBrickster said:
" @CCC said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Mandalorians without helmets is also a thing. Sabine Wren appeared 3 times without one until it finally came in 75106, and now the helmet by itself goes for more than $75 on Bricklink.
"
Annoying rather than embarrassing trivia ... Those helmets cost about 80 pence on the old online replacement parts service, and were available for months."
Well nuts."
I thought licensed parts were always excluded from purchase?
@StyleCounselor said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
" @CCC said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Mandalorians without helmets is also a thing. Sabine Wren appeared 3 times without one until it finally came in 75106, and now the helmet by itself goes for more than $75 on Bricklink.
"
Annoying rather than embarrassing trivia ... Those helmets cost about 80 pence on the old online replacement parts service, and were available for months."
Well nuts."
I thought licensed parts were always excluded from purchase?"
They generally were excluded, but her helmet was a strange exception if I recall correctly. I don't remember seeing heads or torsos when I looked up the sets at the time.
@StyleCounselor:
They've done a better job of weeding things out of late, but I have a bag full of Green Lantern parts that says they weren't always so diligent.
I’ve read in the designer interviews that when pink elements make it into a released set the designer buys the team a cake, so-
How many cakes have Lego SW designers bought?
@CCC said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Mandalorians without helmets is also a thing. Sabine Wren appeared 3 times without one until it finally came in 75106 , and now the helmet by itself goes for more than $75 on Bricklink.
"
Annoying rather than embarrassing trivia ... Those helmets cost about 80 pence on the old online replacement parts service, and were available for months."
What?! Oh, man... I had been looking back when that set was out but could never find it listed.
Hopefully she'll be re-released (WITH HELMET) when Ahsoka sets hit the market.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
" @CCC said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Mandalorians without helmets is also a thing. Sabine Wren appeared 3 times without one until it finally came in 75106, and now the helmet by itself goes for more than $75 on Bricklink.
"
Annoying rather than embarrassing trivia ... Those helmets cost about 80 pence on the old online replacement parts service, and were available for months."
Well nuts."
I thought licensed parts were always excluded from purchase?"
Not really. They used to make loads of mistakes with licensed parts. Getting all the parts of a licensed figure was rare but occasionally happened. But individual parts were common.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Is that a photo of your minifig collection, @CapnRex101 ?
It's impressive, whoever owns it. "
.... Boba Fett from 10123 Cloud City ..."
Another Star Wars trivia: they must be among the most expensive on the secondary market. Cloud City sold for around $ 5000 new. As the first UCS Millenium Falcon, that sold for around $ 16000 on ebay once.
Quick note: 75024 was released in 2013, not 2014
@Wrecknbuild said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Is that a photo of your minifig collection, @CapnRex101 ?
It's impressive, whoever owns it. "
.... Boba Fett from 10123 Cloud City ..."
Another Star Wars trivia: they must be among the most expensive on the secondary market. Cloud City sold for around $ 5000 new. As the first UCS Millenium Falcon, that sold for around $ 16000 on ebay once.
"
Sad to say, I personally paid almost $2000 for the first UCS Falcon. What can I say, I was much less intelligent and patient then.
Also, there was a NIB Cloud City that went for $7,200 at auction in the last month. Thank goodness I got mine back when they were around $300 (without Boba Fett). :(
The representations of Aldar Beedo are interesting - 1 part and 9 parts, so 9x difference. I wonder if there are any other character minifigures (as defined by bricklink) that represent the same character but have an even bigger disparity in the number of parts used.
There are plenty of one part minifigures (BL's definition) including game parts, Han in carbonite, etc but typically the build figures contain only 4-5-6 parts. I know there is a Venom with 3 and another with 12.
@Kynareth:
The way I heard it from one of the Friends designers is that the pink brick/cake thing is specific to the Star Wars design team, and set designers try to slip pink bricks in so someone else (possibly the lead designer?) buys the entire team cake. And the lead designer makes a point of vetoing any use of pink bricks, unless the set needs one (if a character has pink hair, you kinda have to allow that).
@StyleCounselor:
I paid $400 for 10179. That was the discounted price for those of us who preordered it (and got 1st Edition boxes).
@CCC:
There’s a one-piece Sebulba, and a 3-piece version.
@CCC said:
"The representations of Aldar Beedo are interesting - 1 part and 9 parts, so 9x difference. I wonder if there are any other character minifigures (as defined by bricklink) that represent the same character but have an even bigger disparity in the number of parts used.
There are plenty of one part minifigures (BL's definition) including game parts, Han in carbonite, etc but typically the build figures contain only 4-5-6 parts. I know there is a Venom with 3 and another with 12. "
Not Star Wars, and not a minifig, but how about the 3-headed dog Fluffy from Harry Potter?
There’s a moulded animal, similar to dinosaurs or Taun-Tauns …. And a brick built one in the same scale, with like 40 parts!
@lemish34:
Speaking of which, both the Taun-Taun and Dewback have appeared as molded animals and Microfighters.
@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor :
I paid $400 for 10179 . That was the discounted price for those of us who preordered it (and got 1st Edition boxes).
@CCC :
There’s a one-piece Sebulba, and a 3-piece version."
Ouch! Unfortunately, that was a few years before my Dark Ages ended.
@StyleCounselor:
It might not have mattered. It was a very different time, back then. I jumped at the opportunity to save 20% by preordering. Not one other member of my LUG got one at the time (though I think at least a few current members had done so before the joined). People who had bought the $300 ISD or Death Star looked at it and still said it was too expensive. I’ve heard quite a few of them remark later on that they should have bought a copy, usually when they saw how much they were selling for after 10179 was retired and the new version had not yet been announced.
useless LEGO Star Wars trivia! lol title