How does LEGO depict conflict in Star Wars sets?
Posted by Huw,
To celebrate Star Wars day we'll be publishing two articles on the subject by guest authors. The first has been written by Ainulindale, aka Joshua C. Fjelstul, Ph.D., a data scientist with an interest in data visualisations and LEGO:
LEGO themes often depict conflict between factions. Some sets only include good guys, some only include bad guys, and some include both — directly depicting conflict. How LEGO distributes protagonists and antagonists across sets influences the play experience for children, especially when a child only has the opportunity to get one or two sets from a theme. If a child's sets only include protagonists or antagonists, their play experience will likely be different than if they include both.
LEGO strategically designs sets to optimise some combination of sales revenue and the play experience for consumers. A critical aspect of set design is which minifigs to include. So what's LEGO's strategy? How often do LEGO sets directly depict conflict by including protagonists and antagonists in the same set, as opposed to including only protagonists or only antagonists, and how has LEGO's minifig-inclusion strategy changed over time?
It's Star Wars Day, so let's take a look at the Star Wars theme — an enduringly popular theme with clear factions and hundreds of sets spanning over two decades. We'll use data from Brickset and data visualisation to answer these questions. First, we'll select a sample of Star Wars sets to analyse. Second, we'll take a look at the minifigs that appear in these sets. And third, we'll use data visualisation to explore how LEGO depicts conflict in these sets based on their minifig-inclusion strategy.
Star Wars sets
The first thing we need to do is select a sample of sets to analyse. Brickset's database currently includes over 890 Star Wars sets, but we'll restrict our sample to what we might call standard play sets — sets that include at least one minifig and a minifig-scale build — released from 1999 through 2022.
We'll also restrict our sample to sets that are based on a Star Wars movie or TV show. For movies, we'll include Episodes I through IX, Rogue One, and Solo. For animated shows, we'll include The Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance, and The Bad Batch. For live-action shows, we'll include The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor. We'll use Brickset's subtheme tags to extract sets based on these movies and shows (443 sets). We'll then drop any sets that don't include any minifigs or that don't include minifig-scale builds (81 sets).
By applying these criteria, we'll exclude some entire sub-themes, including Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) sets, Technic sets, mini-scale sets, MicroFighters, and buildable figures, among others. We'll also exclude promotional sets, gifts, and product collections.
There are 362 sets that meet our criteria. Figure 1 shows all of these sets by year of release, broken down by Star Wars era. Each set is a point, and the size of each point indicates the number of pieces in the set. At this year's Star Wars Celebration — a few weeks ago in London — Disney unveiled a new Star Wars timeline with nine eras. The movies and shows we're looking at come from five of these eras: Fall of the Jedi (Episodes I through III, The Clone Wars), Reign of the Empire (Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Bad Batch, Andor), Age of Rebellion (Episodes IV through VI, Rogue One, Rebels), The New Republic (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett), and Rise of the First Order (Episodes VII through IX, Resistance).
The number of minifig-scale sets has decreased over the last several years. This is part of a new strategy by LEGO to allocate more of its Star Wars portfolio to adult-focused sets like the helmet and diorama collections. Another consequence of this strategy is a notable increase in set size since 2018.
Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the timeline has expanded and the distribution of LEGO sets reflects this. LEGO has released substantially fewer sets based on the Fall of the Jedi and Age of Rebellion eras to make room in its product portfolio for sets based on The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, and Andor.
Star Wars minifigs
Next, we'll take a look at the minifigs that appear in our sample of sets. Based on Brickset's definition of a minifig, our sample includes 921 unique minifigs. We'll use Brickset's tags to identify which Star Wars character each minifig depicts. These 921 minifigs capture 380 unique Star Wars characters. Many of these characters are named characters (Luke Skywalker), but some are generic characters (Clone Trooper) that could have many variants.
For our analysis, we'll need to code whether each character is portrayed as a protagonist, as an antagonist, or as a neutral character. We'll do this by first coding any factions that a character is affiliated with. This can be tricky because a character's faction can change over time. Boba Fett is a good example. He's an antagonist in Episodes V and VI but a protagonist in The Book of Boba Fett. We'll handle this by coding each character's factions by era. For example, Luke's faction during the Age of Rebellion era would be the Rebel Alliance, and his faction during the Rise of the First Order era would be the Resistance.
Not all characters are clear-cut, though. We'll code a character's overall portrayal in each era. For example, we'll code Lando Calrissian as a protagonist in the Age of Rebellion era despite scenes in The Empire Strikes Back where he's depicted as an antagonist for betraying Han Solo. There's some room for disagreement in coding this variable. You can check out the data if you want to see the coding for specific characters.
We can visualise the relationship between sets and characters using a network. Networks consist of nodes and edges, which connect nodes together. Figure 2 shows a network with two different types of nodes — the squares are sets and the circles are characters. There's an edge between each character and every set that character appears in. Characters aren't connected directly to each other by edges, but they are connected indirectly through the sets they appear in together. The size of each circle indicates how many unique minifigs the character has. The colour of the circle indicates whether the character is portrayed as a protagonist, as an antagonist, as a mix of both (depending on the era), or as a neutral character.
This network has two major clusters — one for the Age of Rebellion era and one for the Fall of the Jedi era. There's a smaller cluster at the bottom right for the Rise of the First Order era and a loose cluster at the top left for the Reign of the Empire and The New Republic eras, both of which are closely tied to the Age of Rebellion era.
There's a lot going on here, so let's also visualise the characters in this network separately. Figure 3 shows all characters in our sample of sets by era and faction. The colours indicate whether each character is affiliated with the main protagonist faction in the era (the Galactic Republic, the Rebel Alliance, or the Resistance), the main antagonist faction in the era (the Confederation of Independent Systems, the Galactic Empire, or the First Order), or some other faction. The size of each circle indicates how many unique minifigs the character has.
Let's also take a closer look at the most common minifigs. Figure 4 takes the 30 most common characters in our sample of sets and shows how many sets each character appears in each year. The most common characters appear in at least one set nearly every year. The majority are protagonists.
Of the 380 unique characters in our sample, 187 are human, 106 are aliens, and 77 are droids. For 10 characters, it’s unclear whether the character is human or alien. There are 66 unique named species of aliens (the names of some species, like Yoda’s, are unknown). The most common species are Zabraks (6), Ewoks (5), Weequay (5), Geonosians (4), Mon Calamari (4), Twi'leks (4), and Wookiees (4).
How LEGO depicts conflict
How does LEGO depict conflict in Star Wars sets? Using our data on sets and minifigs, and some more data visualisation, we can explore LEGO's minifig-inclusion strategy — how often LEGO includes both protagonists and antagonists in the same sets.
We'll start by taking the most common characters in our sample of sets and looking at how often protagonists and antagonists appear together in at least one set. Figure 5 shows a network that uses a visualisation technique called hierarchical edge bundling. In this network, there's one node for each character, and these nodes are arranged in a circle. The size of the node indicates how many sets the character appears in. The network includes all characters that appear in at least five sets.
The characters are grouped (that's the "hierarchical" part) based on their overall portrayal in the source material. There's an edge connecting every pair of characters that appear in at least one set together. Edges that connect nodes from different groups — lines connecting a protagonist and antagonist, for example — are bundled together (the "edge bundling" part).
We're looking to see how many connections there are between protagonists and antagonists — how large that bundle of edges is. In this network, there are more edges between the protagonist and antagonist groups (113) than within the protagonist group (92) or the antagonist group (52). This indicates that LEGO's dominant strategy is to include both protagonists and antagonists in Star Wars sets.
Next, we'll look at the data by era. Figure 6 shows a network of characters from the Age of Rebellion era. Each node in the network is a character and each edge indicates that a pair of characters appears together in at least one set. The size of each node indicates the number of sets that the character appears in.
This network has a clear structure. There are three clusters. The main cluster contains characters that appear in Episodes IV through VI. A second cluster at the top includes characters from Rebels. A third cluster on the right includes characters from Rogue One and Andor. The main cluster is connected to the other two primarily through antagonists. Luke, Jyn, Cassian, and Ezra are all fighting against the Empire.
In the main cluster, there's a sub-cluster of protagonists at the centre and a looser but still clearly visible sub-cluster of antagonists above and to the right. This is what we're most interested in. The tightness of these clusters — and of the cluster of protagonists, in particular — indicates that there are sets that only include protagonists or only include antagonists. But the fact that these two clusters are so closely connected to each other also indicates a high proportion of sets that include both protagonists and antagonists.
Figure 7 shows a similar network for the Fall of the Jedi era. The structure of this network is less well-defined. The sets from this area are based more on The Clone Wars than on Episodes I through III, so there's only one cluster. The protagonists and antagonists are also less clearly clustered. This indicates that, relative to sets from the Age of Rebellion era, sets from the Fall of the Jedi era are more likely to include both protagonists and antagonists.
Finally, we'll look at the proportion of sets that include both protagonists and antagonists, as opposed to only protagonists or only antagonists, and how that proportion changes over time. This will allow us to identify any shifts in LEGO's minifig-inclusion strategy.
Figure 8 shows a stream plot that visualises the over-time changes in these proportions. The width of the stream indicates the total number of sets released in each year. Between 1999 and 2018, there was a steady increase in the total number of sets in our sample. Consistent with Figure 1, there has been a steep decrease since 2018 as LEGO has released more adult-focused sets.
Between 2007 and 2013, there was a substantial increase in the proportion of sets that directly depict conflict by including both protagonists and antagonists. In 2013, 81 percent of sets included both protagonists and antagonists, up from 15 percent in 2007. In 2022, it was 64 percent. This signals a clear shift in LEGO's minifig-inclusion strategy towards including both protagonists and antagonists in sets. We don't have set-specific sales data, but one plausible explanation for this change is that sets with minifigs from opposing factions tend to sell better.
A shift in strategy
LEGO’s minifig-inclusion strategy has changed significantly over time. There has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of sets that directly depict conflict by including protagonists and antagonists in the same set.
LEGO’s change in strategy affects the play experience for children. If you're working with a limited budget, it's now easier to get minifigs from opposing factions — on average, you don't have to buy as many sets. This may be good for children who want to have both protagonists and antagonists to play with, but it also encourages a play experience that is more explicitly centred around the conflicts depicted in the source material.
The data used for the visualisations can be downloaded from GitHub.
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56 comments on this article
Thanks for sharing this, fascinating stuff. I love this side of The LEGO hobby.
Interesting that the number of sets peaked in 2015 and is now going down, despite the rising number of themes
> Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the timeline has expanded
are you sure about that?
That's interesting stuff. I wonder if Lego explicitly do this sort of research behind the scenes. I also wonder if this strategic shift plays out across other themes with conflict involved (e.g. City police, Ninjago).
Is there a link or something so that we can look in to those graphs ourselves?
Quite interested in who each of those circles represent outside the ones labeled.
i like numbers....
let me clarify that.
i like number i can understand....
this? it may as well be in German to me.
tham graphs are not understandable.
@bnic99 said:
"Is there a link or something so that we can look in to those graphs ourselves?
Quite interested in who each of those circles represent outside the ones labeled."
There's a link to the data at the bottom.
@DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"That's interesting stuff. I wonder if Lego explicitly do this sort of research behind the scenes. I also wonder if this strategic shift plays out across other themes with conflict involved (e.g. City police, Ninjago). "
Yeah, it’d be interesting to know if LEGO has an in-house data science team and what kind of product research they do. City and Ninjago would definitely be other good themes to look at (long-running, clear factions). It wouldn’t surprise me if this trend has also played out in those themes, but there could also be differences between licensed and original themes
@bnic99 said:
"Is there a link or something so that we can look in to those graphs ourselves?
Quite interested in who each of those circles represent outside the ones labeled."
I don’t have interactive versions of the graphs that would let you look up specific points, unfortunately, although that would be cool to do. But you can check out the underlying data on my GitHub
Amazing(gather all the datas!), I really like the variety of articles Brickset provides. Keep up with the good and interesting work!
We need more sets like 75310, and that set fits this perfectly. Affordable, has amazing and popular characters (exclusive) from both sides and is not that big. In my opinion, 75310 is one of the greatest modern Lego Star Wars sets of all time!
So it's not a dart board method?
@ozbrickcreator said:
"We need more sets like 75310, and that set fits this perfectly. Affordable, has amazing and popular characters (exclusive) from both sides and is not that big. In my opinion, 75310 is one of the greatest modern Lego Star Wars sets of all time!"
Absolutely. 75310 is a perfect template. Good minifig selection, clear play value, nice-looking model, affordable
It may have been a longer article, but it was really clear. Those saying otherwise probably didn't read the text. It's fairly basic data analysis stuff, and the graphs are not meant to be read as single strings, but as overall patterns.
I'm still not convinced that some of the network plots reveal anything relevant beyond character popularity and relevance (imagine a kid that has 25 sets and still no Luke or Vader, the inverse Emet effect from Lego Movie).
He had no choice!
Great analysis. This was quite an interesting read.
I barely followed through but that bit about LEGO having less play sets is interesting.
I won’t pretend I can wrap my head around even half of this, but it’s quite impressive!
474 / 5.000
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I got hooked on lego star wars thanks to the Old Republic... then Disney arrived and well, there are good sets but the continuous rise in prices has made purchases decrease a lot, I've been 4 years and if something is not reduced by 30% at I don't buy 50%, because life is already expensive and this hobby seems more and more focused on the rich.
When I was little, a set was worth 500 pesetas in Spain (3€) today the minimum is 9€... it's outrageous for a company that has always made a net profit.
Terrific. So much work ... and for what? ;-)
So... including good guys and bad guys led to an increased amount of conflict presented?
So you could have skipped all the network stuff and just gone for the graph at the bottom showing the trend over time.
It’s all a bit reverse engineered from the last graph that shows there’s a point at which Lego started releasing more sets with both antagonists and protagonists, which is pretty evident across all Lego themes regardless of whether your data is the Brickset database or a toy store inventory.
There’s a lot of visualising and slicing and dicing of data within the Star Wars universe and creating groups from that, but that strikes me as more of a aesthetic exercise- if there were conclusions to be drawn from the in-universe action then seeing similar charts per Star Wars epoch to see if there are any that are outliers on the final conflict timeline graph.
I liked this article quite a bit although I don’t think the granular analysis was necessary to reach the conclusion. Having two similar graphs (1 & 4) with different coordinates on the axis always throws me off (dates should have been on the X Axis on graph 4).
That said, I enjoyed it.
I don't think I learnt anything from that analysis and I don't believe the conclusions either, mainly because there is bias in the way the data set was selected.
How can you exclude play sets like the microfighters, then conclude that the number of minifig-scale sets has decreased over the last several years and that this is part of a new strategy by LEGO to allocate more of its Star Wars portfolio to adult-focused sets like the helmet and diorama collections. Microfighters are playsets aimed firmly at children and so excluding them from the analysis will naturally mean a drop in other small to mid range sets at minifigure scale. Increasing the amount of adult-focused sets doesn't mean the number of kid-focused content goes down. Yet that is the implication here.
Then there is this line: "If you're working with a limited budget, it's now easier to get minifigs from opposing factions — on average, you don't have to buy as many sets." What does easier mean here, and what does limited budget mean? If two opposing factions appear in one set at £50, or previously you could buy faction A in a set at £20 and faction B in a set at £20, then this analysis would conclude it is now easier to get minifigures from opposing factions because they are in one set. Is it really harder to buy two smaller sets than one bigger set?
@CCC said:
"Then there is this line: "If you're working with a limited budget, it's now easier to get minifigs from opposing factions — on average, you don't have to buy as many sets." What does easier mean here, and what does limited budget mean? If two opposing factions appear in one set at £50, or previously you could buy faction A in a set at £20 and faction B in a set at £20, then this analysis would conclude it is now easier to get minifigures from opposing factions because they are in one set. Is it really harder to buy two smaller sets than one bigger set? "
It means that on average, set size with opposing factions has gotten smaller. This therefore implies that those low-budget families with only 1-2 sets of a theme have a higher chance to have minifigures of two or more factions.
A lot of work went into gathering and plotting the data. More time is needed in the presentation of the data.
Now there's someone who loves combining their hobbies!
I like to think of myself as a data head, but now I realise that's only in comparison to the people I work with :)
Team: "We've got a feeling inspection failures are becoming more common than passes..."
Me: "Perhaps we should count them."
Team: "The boy's a genius!!!"
In all honesty (and I hope this isn't too critical), I couldn't really understand what I was looking at in most of the graphics, and only the last one was very clear to me. I've read and re-read the text accompanying each figure, but still I'd be stumped if I was asked to explain what the graphics showed or why they were that particular shape and layout.
I've never been able to do those Magic Eye pictures either, not once, ever.
I think there needs to be greater consideration given to the type of conflict depicted in sets, rather than an assumption that conflict is depicted only by including two factions in a single set. I would suggest the following categories-
Hero battles- two main characters depicted per a key scene in the media, eg Death Star duel
Hero encounters- same as above but without conflict, eg Yoda’s hut
Faction battle pack- not directly depicting conflict (but heavily implied, Stormtroopers with blasters are unlikely to end up in Heartlake City)
Direct factional battle- Two factions in direct conflict, eg Ewok ambush
The occurrence of those classifications may give a more detailed overview of how conflict is depicted, rather than defining conflict as two direct factions occurring in the same set.
A comparative study would be classic space and castle, where factions were mostly implied, relying more on imagination, and usually at most a single antagonist was supplied (later in the 80s).
@Phoenixio said:
" @CCC said:
"Then there is this line: "If you're working with a limited budget, it's now easier to get minifigs from opposing factions — on average, you don't have to buy as many sets." What does easier mean here, and what does limited budget mean? If two opposing factions appear in one set at £50, or previously you could buy faction A in a set at £20 and faction B in a set at £20, then this analysis would conclude it is now easier to get minifigures from opposing factions because they are in one set. Is it really harder to buy two smaller sets than one bigger set? "
It means that on average, set size with opposing factions has gotten smaller. This therefore implies that those low-budget families with only 1-2 sets of a theme have a higher chance to have minifigures of two or more factions."
Can you actually get that from this data? That is, that two opposing factions come in smaller sets than they used to OR smaller than two combined sets of the past.
Frequently throughout the past decade and more you could buy two battle packs for £10 / £12 each and have opposing factions fight each other. These are conflict packs (the clue is in the name), but this analysis would not call them that despite all the weapons shown on the boxes as they are single faction only. Does putting two of each faction plus a larger build into a single more expensive set mean LEGO are shifting towards more conflict based play or making it easier (especially for those on a budget) to obtain two factions? To me, the answer is no in both cases.
@dawid said:
"Interesting that the number of sets peaked in 2015 and is now going down, despite the rising number of themes "
Keep in mind that this doesn't include adult oriented sets without minifigs such as helmets or the trench run diorama.
By far the most interesting graph for me was the first one showing number/size of sets by Disney's new Star Wars timeline. I thought that was fun to think about what movies or shows were newly released in a given year, and to see what Lego was focusing on.
The rest of the analysis reached a fairly obvious conclusion that felt pre-ordained. Lego has been presenting conflict in their sets for decades. It's a key ingredient in all of what they used to call "Play Themes" (Rock Raiders, Atlantis, Ninjago, Power Miners, Chima and so forth). Clearly drawn factions, often with ships or vehicles from both the "good guys" and the "bad guys" in a given set. You need only look at the vast number of sets with the word "Battle" (199), "Attack" (104), "Defense" (19) and the like to get a sense of Lego's marketing strategy.
Thanks for sharing! Those are beautiful graphs, even if I didn't always understand what they were portraying.
How are there only 4 twileks? There are three twileks, Bib Fortuna, Aayla Secura, and Oola. Bib Fortuna and Aayla Secura have 2 versions each. That's 5. What am I missing?
@KruzioBaal48 said:
"474 / 5.000
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I got hooked on lego star wars thanks to the Old Republic... then Disney arrived and well, there are good sets but the continuous rise in prices has made purchases decrease a lot, I've been 4 years and if something is not reduced by 30% at I don't buy 50%, because life is already expensive and this hobby seems more and more focused on the rich.
When I was little, a set was worth 500 pesetas in Spain (3€) today the minimum is 9€... it's outrageous for a company that has always made a net profit."
I'm not sure that this is down to Disney. A lot happened at around the time Disney bought Lucasfilm. There are of course the new movies and TV media. But there has also been a massive increase in the number of people buying LEGO from about The Lego Movie onwards, which means far less goes to retail clearance. There are also many more adults buying LEGO, meaning more adult focused display sets in addition to the kid sets. Plus the growth of LEGO as an investment too. It used to be easy to get most regular retail SW sets at 33% off here, and reasonably frequent you could get 50% off if you didn't mind risking it going to clearance. Those sorts of discounts are rare now, not because of Disney but because of the popularity of LEGO as both a hobby and an investment.
Great article. I wonder how the model would handle Castle themes over the years. Are the Black Falcons protagonists or antagonists? And how on earth could you categorise Dark Forest? Discuss.
@PhantomBricks said:
"How are there only 4 twileks? There are three twileks, Bib Fortuna, Aayla Secura, and Oola. Bib Fortuna and Aayla Secura have 2 versions each. That's 5. What am I missing?"
The 4th Twi’lek is Hera Syndulla! These stats are by character rather than by unique minifig
@Ainulindale said:
" @PhantomBricks said:
"How are there only 4 twileks? There are three twileks, Bib Fortuna, Aayla Secura, and Oola. Bib Fortuna and Aayla Secura have 2 versions each. That's 5. What am I missing?"
The 4th Twi’lek is Hera Syndulla! These stats are by character rather than by unique minifig "
Ah, thank you! I was about to edit my comment since I just remembered her. Are the 6 Zabraks then Maul, Savage, Eeth Koth, Agen Kolar, Sugi, and the old republic Jedi?
@Kynareth said:
"Hero battles- two main characters depicted per a key scene in the media, eg Death Star duel
Hero encounters- same as above but without conflict, eg Yoda’s hut
Faction battle pack- not directly depicting conflict (but heavily implied, Stormtroopers with blasters are unlikely to end up in Heartlake City)
Direct factional battle- Two factions in direct conflict, eg Ewok ambush
The occurrence of those classifications may give a more detailed overview of how conflict is depicted, rather than defining conflict as two direct factions occurring in the same set.
A comparative study would be classic space and castle, where factions were mostly implied, relying more on imagination, and usually at most a single antagonist was supplied (later in the 80s)."
Yeah, there are definitely other interesting dimensions of how LEGO depicts conflict than just whether a set includes protagonists and antagonists. Those are all good ideas for a more detailed classification!
The classic space and castle themes provide a good contrast.
Thank you, great research!
@PhantomBricks said:
" @Ainulindale said:
" @PhantomBricks said:
"How are there only 4 twileks? There are three twileks, Bib Fortuna, Aayla Secura, and Oola. Bib Fortuna and Aayla Secura have 2 versions each. That's 5. What am I missing?"
The 4th Twi’lek is Hera Syndulla! These stats are by character rather than by unique minifig "
Ah, thank you! I was about to edit my comment since I just remembered her. Are the 6 Zabraks then Maul, Savage, Eeth Koth, Agen Kolar, Sugi, and the old republic Jedi?"
The 6th one is Asajj Ventress. The sample only includes sets based on movies and shows, so Old Republic characters aren’t included
@Skut said:
"Great article. I wonder how the model would handle Castle themes over the years. Are the Black Falcons protagonists or antagonists? And how on earth could you categorise Dark Forest? Discuss. "
Interesting questions! Those factions would be trickier to classify. Having source material like movies/shows to look at makes it a lot easier. With original themes there’s a lot more room for interpretation. I’m curious what people think about Black Falcons in particular
@CCC said:
" @Phoenixio said:
" @CCC said:
"Then there is this line: "If you're working with a limited budget, it's now easier to get minifigs from opposing factions — on average, you don't have to buy as many sets." What does easier mean here, and what does limited budget mean? If two opposing factions appear in one set at £50, or previously you could buy faction A in a set at £20 and faction B in a set at £20, then this analysis would conclude it is now easier to get minifigures from opposing factions because they are in one set. Is it really harder to buy two smaller sets than one bigger set? "
It means that on average, set size with opposing factions has gotten smaller. This therefore implies that those low-budget families with only 1-2 sets of a theme have a higher chance to have minifigures of two or more factions."
Can you actually get that from this data? That is, that two opposing factions come in smaller sets than they used to OR smaller than two combined sets of the past.
"
This is something we could ask the author directly! Although it becomes complex as well as you need to get the price per piece, account for inflation, average revenues, and a bunch of economics that are probably outside the range of his study.
That being said, what you're implying with battle packs isn't wrong either, but you can still get the conclusion that if you were to buy a single set, the price to get conflicting factions has gotten lower on average.
@Ainulindale said:
" @ozbrickcreator said:
"We need more sets like 75310, and that set fits this perfectly. Affordable, has amazing and popular characters (exclusive) from both sides and is not that big. In my opinion, 75310 is one of the greatest modern Lego Star Wars sets of all time!"
Absolutely. 75310 is a perfect template. Good minifig selection, clear play value, nice-looking model, affordable "
I'd prefer a style similar to 75236 , it being a good display piece as well. 75310 feels kinda rushed in certain areas, but I like the ideas here.
On the question of how to define antagonists and protagonists within the Castle theme:
I noticed that the upcoming Monkie Kid 80049 has a skeleton in a prison cell and remembered that this seems fairly common in Lego sets. I think if there's a skeleton in your prison cell, you're the Bad Guys! Because your treatment of prisoners seems to be atrocious.
This would apply to any theme, not just Castle.
This is so wonderfully nerdy, I love it!
I do not appreciate the unreflected depiction of the Galactic Empire as Antagonists. Hastag PapaPalps.
i feel like excluding Microfighters is a bit rough- the first few series consisted of pairs of sets in specific conflict!
Hey @Ainulindale, would you like to mention how/which program/language/technology/... did you use to create all these graphs? I would be really interested how you actually created these, just because it would be cool simply know how to create such things.
@Crasha said:
"Hey @Ainulindale, would you like to mention how/which program/language/technology/... did you use to create all these graphs? I would be really interested how you actually created these, just because it would be cool simply know how to create such things."
I used a programing language called R to clean the data and make the visualizations. I used the dplyr package for cleaning the data and the ggplot2 package for making the visualizations. These are both part of a collection of packages called the tidyverse. These packages have become industry standard tools in data science and there's tons of great, free resources online for learning them. For the network graphs, I also used the ggraph package, which is an extension of ggplot2.
Oh yeah, data visualizations + LEGO = the good stuff
@Ainulindale who are the ten characters of indeterminate species?
Thank you so much. Most interesting brickset article in ages.
@SearchlightRG said:
" @Ainulindale who are the ten characters of indeterminate species?"
Joshua told us:
"I consulted Wookieepedia when it wasn’t clear what a character’s species was (human vs alien) to see if there were any cannon sources, and there were 10 characters where it wasn’t clear: six of the Knights of Ren, B’Omarr Monk, Guavian Security Soldier, Unkar’s Brute, and Unkar's Thug. "
@Ainulindale said:
" @Crasha said:
"Hey @Ainulindale, would you like to mention how/which program/language/technology/... did you use to create all these graphs? I would be really interested how you actually created these, just because it would be cool simply know how to create such things."
I used a programing language called R to clean the data and make the visualizations. I used the dplyr package for cleaning the data and the ggplot2 package for making the visualizations. These are both part of a collection of packages called the tidyverse. These packages have become industry standard tools in data science and there's tons of great, free resources online for learning them. For the network graphs, I also used the ggraph package, which is an extension of ggplot2. "
Thank you for this explanation! I'll look up this stuff :-)
Great article full of interesting aspects of the SW Lego hobby. Well done!
Interesting article.
Still figuring out the charts and graphs...ok, order of operations, carry the one,...hmmm, let me dust off the ole' slide rule.