The STAR WARS Master Builder Series: What you want to see.

JMaster

Hello there, I'm new to the forums here at least, it's nice to be here! There's a lot to talk about with LEGO Star Wars, but I've been particularly intrigued by their new classification: The Master Builder Series. It only has the one set, Betrayal at Cloud City, which I am... lukewarm on. However, rather than vent about my issues with it, I'll try to do something a bit more constructive. I think there's promise with the line, especially if it focuses on locations over vehicles. LEGO makes a ton of vehicles for Star Wars, but I'd like to see more of the locales- from playsets to display models- and I think that we can get that with the Master Builder Series. So, here are some of my ideas for a line of Master Builder Series Star Wars sets. I'm trying to have 2 for each of the first 6 saga films, so here we go.

1) Mos Eisley-

Mos Eisley's gotten some fair attention with LEGO sets, but I'd love a proper large settlement with fully-enclosed buildings. It's such a landmark moment in the saga, seeing a plethora of strange alien lifeforms just chilling out at a seedy bar. 

2) The Great Temple of Yavin IV-

Can you believe it? We haven't gotten a single set for Yavin IV- well, unless you count the background of those new 4+ sets... but never has it been a focus, which is bizarre. There's even that cool prototype model that looks perfect for the series, including 2-3 small vehicles, like an X-Wing, Y-Wing, and maybe a U-Wing since Yavin was featured prominently in Rogue One!
*We already have the Cloud City set for one Empire locale, here's another...* 

3) Echo Base-

A proper Echo Base would be a sight to behold. None of this nonsense that splices previously seen sets together like one of those weird multipacks of sets you see in some supermarkets, no sir! An actual hangar door with the teeth and everything, and some small vehicles. They've made the same Snowspeeder design for a while, and I'm sick of it. The canopy is still wrong, I hope a smaller version could have a more accurate silhouette. 

4) Jabba's Palace-

We got some sets for it before, but I think a Master makeover would do wonders for the Palace. Give it similar details to the other sets (Jabba's main room and the Rancor pit) along with the prisons, droid "workshop", and palace garage, maybe even a Sarlacc and we're set! This is possibly the set I'd want to see most of the bunch, here's hoping!

5) Endor Bunker-

I think it's accurate to say that the Endor Bunker is one of the most beloved (or envied, in my case) Star Wars sets for many of us, it's such a solid model which looks great and that has fun and sensical play-features, and I bet a UCS update would be amazing.   

6) Theed Palace-

Naboo's actually one of my favorite locations in Star Wars, I love how diverse the locale is! And a sprawling Theed build would be fabulous, especially if it includes some of the city in front of it! It'd also be cool to have some microscale vehicles to place around it, like AATs, MTTs, and maybe some tiny Naboo Royal Starfighters with Chrome pieces... ooo.

7) Jedi Temple-

The Jedi Temple on Coruscant would be a great model. Give it an opening interior for show the statues, council chamber, and holocron library would be a sight for sure. I picture it'd be akin to the giant Hogwarts Castle, not minifig scale but packed with details and famous scenes. Plus, here's an idea... it could come with all of the Jedi Council (obviously excluding Anakin...) with some seats for them!    

8) Cloning Facility-

Attack of the Clones doesn't get that much recognition in LEGO form. I mean, I can see why (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/star-wars-episode-ii---attack-of-the-clones )... but it has very interesting new locales that I'd love to see. The first of which is, of course, Kamino. I always loved the atmosphere, it always reminded me of that one THX commercial of the storm bubble made by them, probably no coincidence. I bet one featuring a microscale model of the Cloning Facility, plus some extra mini-vehicles like Venators, would be a fine model.     

9) Petranaki Arena- This is a shoe-in, and I'm amazed it hasn't been made before. Just look at it...

 It's perfect playset material and I think it could look great with a ton of Burnt Orange elements. Seeing the organic-looking architecture of Geonosis would look stunning in ABS form. I've also been dying to see some good brick-built versions of the Ranu, Nexu, and Acklay!    

10) Kashyyyk Kachiro Beach - Originally I was going to put Utapau, as I think it's a pretty underrated locale, and I love the idea of a massive sinkhole world, especially since they have some bizarre architecture utilizing massive bones. But ultimately, I think this would be a better choice. Imagine getting this as a possible set...

I'm a sucker for giant tree builds, and I don't see this happening for a number of reasons, but a massive set-up for this with a ton of tiny vehicles would be pretty cool to me.

11) Mustafar-

It's been way too long since we got a (good) set based on the Obi-Wan and Anakin duel. I know we've got the Vader Castle (which I have and love), but since the Castle's already black and grey they didn't give Mustafar the right terrain color. What I'd like especially is to see one or more light-bricks in the set to light up some lava-flows underneath.

So those are some of my ideas, what about you? Would you like some more location-based sets, what would you like to see, and what do you think of allocating the Master Builder Series to this? Thanks and have a good one!

Baby_Yoda

A very comprehensive analysis. Not sure I have anything to add! Although I feel like some of the more obscure locations could get a large, but not necessarily Master Builder, playset. The cloning facility, for instance, doesn't get as much screen time as the other places listed, and I think would look cool as just a section of a minifigure-scale playset, since it's a pretty repetitive building. Maybe the landing pad with a walkway into an interior with a meeting room and clone training room, and those so inclined can buy multiple copies and connect them together for a more faithful rendition.

Astrobricks

Very nice proposal :)
The most likely, I would think, are Jabba's Palace, the Jedi Temple, and the Endor bunker. 

I wouldn't mind if they'd do large versions of the research facility and landing pad, or the Scarif base from Rogue One. Both are rather vertical however, which makes them less likely to get released.

The_Rancor

Good ideas! Time for my own TLDR turn. I worry that an Endor Bunker MBS would be one of the most likely, but might also fall for the trap of Assault on Hoth and just have bits of builds we’ve had before. Yavin would be good but when you think about it, nothing actually happens on Yavin IV’s surface besides meetings & ceremonies so TLG would probably rather ensure there’s an element of action in play, hence the 4+ background.

Mos Eisley and Jabba’s Palace probably have the best ingredients to make good MBS sets. Unlike the Endor Bunker or Yavin IV, people generally have good memories of a variety of scenes in both places. Jabba’s Palace could have an appealing exterior with a womp rat or two, plus an imposing toothed door with droid eye. Then there’s a plethora of areas to choose from - of course the main saloon and trophy rooms would be the focus, but you could have the main entrance corridors with Gamorreans with steps into the lounge, plus hidden throne sliding and curtain reveal functions! Then you could have a lower level with me in my pit, plus some rudimentary prisoner areas and the droid workshops. Like you said, there could even be a midi-scale Sail Barge in a garage fhat ‘just’ fits Jabba into it. I do hope TLG haven’t been put off by those nutters that thought Jabba’s Palace was offensive a few years ago.

In a dream universe TLG would make some prequel MBS or UCS models but they barely ever seem to do this despite the fact I’d bite their arm off to get one if they did. An minifig scale MBS set of the Jedi temple is somewhat believable but the main council chamber atop the spire will be hard to realise. A new larger format Invisible Hand would certainly be nice and it plays a very important role in Episode III - it could even have a splitting function with a lever for when its ‘time to abandon ship [cough]’.

Naboo Theed Palace is probably most likely out of a very unlikely bunch for an MBS set from the Prequels because there are enough iconic scenes in different rooms to make it work. I feel TLG won’t touch Ep II and most of Ep III gets very morbid when Order 66 gets executed (hence just one inoffensive Saleucami set and billions of Kashyyyk ones). A Coruscant set built in a similar way to a modular or Ninjago City with just some key scenes would be good though - and it can spread across all the prequels.

Astrobricks

^ A TLDR post traditionally ends with a summarizing paragraph prefixed with TL;DR :)

The_Rancor

Why not save time by telling people ahead of reading ;)

Astrobricks

I didn’t make the “rules” :)

560Heliport

Internet? Rules? :)

dougts

This is a great list and well thought out.  I almost think you could divide builds for Star Wars Locations into two distinct categories with different treatments, and divide your list (and potentially others) into the two buckets:

Death Star/Cloud City Style- minifigure scale with all the major settings from the movies in place to for show/playability.
OR
Disney Castle/Hogwarts Style: The location may be better suited for a smaller scale build which accentuates the scene and architecture and scope of the location, but maybe doesn't have as many "scenes" to portray or the scenes cannot be coherently cobbled together into a single structure like DS or CC

Taking your list, I would bucket them like this:

DS/CC Style Minifig Scale:

• Mos Eisley
• Echo Base
• Jabba's Palace
• Endor Bunker
• Kashyyk (It's like a bigger/better version of Ewok Village)

Hogwarts Style Disply piece:

• Yavin 4
• Theed
• Jedi Temple
• Kamino/Cloning Facility

As for Petranaki Arena, I don't really think it's a great candidate for either.  It's mostly seating and open floor.  Mustafar might be another one that doesn't really work either.  It's a lot of landscape with little in the way of architecture or scenes to reenact.

Of course it goes without saying that there would have to be sufficient market for any of these, which is a big unknown.