Rumours about Star Wars UCS models

mressin

The B-Wing isn't out yet, but we're all wondering what the 2013 Star Wars UCS model(s) are going to be. I haven't found a thread about it, so here I go:

Now, this is just a rumour which I find hard to believe myself. But I recently had a chat with somebody working for Lego. Based on production plans for next year, that somebody assumes that the next Star Wars UCS model will be another X-Wing.

Unfortunately he wouldn't tell me any more details, and to be honest, I won't believe it myself until I see it. But I still find it an interesting thought. Is TLG on record that no UCS models will ever be revisited?

hantot

could cause a drop in prices for the originals, and what odds a new UCS Falcon at some point

hantot

Slave-1 or AT-AT high on my wish list (and I can wish for a Tie Defender too)

PlasticDots

They should definitely release another UCS falcon so that those who don't have one don't have to sell a kidney to afford current prices today

CCC

^ But that would be saying that the U in UCS is meaningless - if they bring out a more ultimate one than the last one.

GIR3691

Yeah... not for at least another decade. It would also defeat the purpose of the C for "collector's"

These aren't rumors, just speculation.

Ypres

I wouldn't mind seeing a second UCS X-Wing. The last one is way too out there on the collector's market in price so I'm probably never going to own the original. I honestly don't see a new UCS X-wing hurting the value of the old one. I haven't noticed the prices of other older sets going down in relation to the other remakes Lego does. Of course, I wouldn't exactly call a new UCS X-Wing a cloned-remake. I think the building style lego uses is a lot different than what they used during the 90s-early2000s.

Who knows, if they didn't want to offend anyone they could make it unique by making it like the one X-wing which came with Yoda's hutt. So possibly covered in seaweed with a few other unique designs. Well, in my opinion I still don't think Lego needs to bother releasing another UCS X-wing... not that I wouldn't buy it if they did.

cheshirecat

I think they should, just for the giggles. The shit storm would be hilarious.

CCC

^ Along with the re-issue of the Corner Cafe. :-)

doriansdad

It will be a sad day when TLG starts rehashing UCS sets, especially when there are so many more sets that still need to be made. A big part of the appeal of Lego for me is knowing there is only a limited time to purchase various sets. If they are going to redo all of their sets all of the time then why collect at all? It is this reason alone I will not be purchasing the new X-Wing system set or another Falcon system set as we all know in 3 years they will be rehashed. I hope UCS does not meet the same fate.

CCC

^ I agree if they keep redesigning sets, reissuing them. The other way to do it would be to sell all UCS sets concurrently, not retiring them. Maybe adding to the range one per year. Obviously this will cut out sales to resellers, since why would anyone buy to resell if lego never stopped selling them. Good for collectors who come in late, bad for resellers, probably bad for lego due to multiple lines and costs associated with keeping so many sets in production / advertising, etc.

cheshirecat

^^ Agree except that I think its entirely right that lego keep bringing re-releasing sets like the non-UCS X-Wing and MF. Its absolutely right that children of every age coming into Lego can get iconic sets like that. I can see UCS sets are different, but normal lego is primarily for children and not collectors so re-releases are fine.

LegoFanTexas

It would not be good for collectors, it would kill the market. Many things that used to be collectables died due to over production. Think Hot Wheels and Beanie Babies.

I know many of you want a rerelease of this or that, but you'd actually regret it if they did it.

The_Mack

It makes total sense for them to release a "new version" of the UCS X-wing. It's one of the most iconic/popular ships in the Star Wars universe next to the Millennium Falcon. It was one of the first UCS models and it's been a long time since the last one 12+ years, and LEGO revisits a style/theme after so many years. With the 10+ year license renewal. If I was in LEGO marketing/sales I would be pushing for it. LEGO does not care about your resell value/worth. They are a toy company, not a collectors company. In the toy collecting business always be aware of anything marked collectible.

graphite

LegoFanTexas said:

I know many of you want a rerelease of this or that, but you'd actually regret it if they did it.

For those of us that just want one, and aren't looking for the next MF, GG etc to resell, how would we regret it if we could get one for $500 instead of $2000+? I know I'd love to go back in time and buy a bunch of them so I could have one for myself and have some to resell. I am also happy when good sets come out that will have good resale value later. But I know I wouldn't regret being able to get a UCS MF for RRP.

People that have some stored away for future value, and those that paid big bucks for one would regret it. I can't see how anyone else would.

y2josh

^^Forget resellers for a moment. If they re-did a UCS X-Wing, they'd be letting down just as many people as they were exciting.

As someone who already owns a UCS X-Wing, I'd be extremely disappointed if they announced that next year's UCS ship was going to be a rehash when there are AT LEAST eight other ships that haven't been made yet, and that doesn't even include ships people might like to see from the PT.

Re-hashing a UCS set would go over a lot less smoothly than re-hashing a System set... and you already see a ton of people complaining about the 'umpteenth version' of the X-Wing and the Falcon.

y2josh

^^Because currently, a lot of regular consumers are motivated by the limited shelf life of LEGO models. It may not impact sales straight away, but you're going to turn off potential buyers who don't want to miss a set because they've now become buyers that will catch it next time around.

If TLG re-hashes just one or two of their 'big' sets, great. If they start doing it all-around, their profitability will suffer.

Legoboy

^ I believe this is what @LFT was getting at. I agree completely. I could well be that they rehash a UCS, the brand will suffer as a whole, long term.

ringleheim

I would love a new UCS X-Wing and think it could happen, depending on Lego's internal thinking on this subject.

I doubt they are nearly as concerned with protecting the "collectability" of these sets as people think. I can guarantee protecting the high secondary market costs of EOL UCS sets is not on their radar at all.

Lego shouldn't be about some bizaree ownership fetish. "I have this and you don't" or "I have this and almost no one does" etc.

It should be about creativity, and the FUN of exploring new sets.

A new UCS X-Wing would blow the original out of the water most likely, especially if they did it in a much more realistic light gray color and not white.

Enough time has passed since the original to make this a possibility, if Lego wants to go that route. God knows they like to make 4 and 5 or 10 versions of just about everything else in their catalog. How many fire trucks and police stations have we seen over the years?

How many "normal" x-wings and MFs have we seen? TIE Fighters?

Either Lego views the UCS line as "something different" which they will not repeat, or they don't.

Anyone have anything solid to go on with regard to resolving that dilemma?

CCC

The_Mack said:

LEGO does not care about your resell value/worth. They are a toy company, not a collectors company. In the toy collecting business always be aware of anything marked collectible.

The UCS models aren't toys in the common sense (aimed at children) though, are they? They market them as Ultimate Collectors' models. If they redesign one, then the one before was not the ultimate version. That damages the rest of the series, and hence the sales of the rest of the series.

Bandit

They can start rehashing sets all they want, but they better not do it before they've released versions of the iconic sets they haven't done yet. That means AT-AT, a-wing, slave I, to name 3.

cheshirecat

I suspect the UCS line isn't a particularly significant one to TLGs bottom line. They will or wont release a rehash of a UCS in terms of its likely impact to lego sales as a whole. Would a nice big shiny x wing encourage more or less sales of its normal SW (and other) lines.

LegoFanTexas

flump said:

^ I believe this is what @LFT was getting at. I agree completely. I could well be that they rehash a UCS, the brand will suffer as a whole, long term.

Yep... this...

You can all say "but Lego is a toy company", or "they don't care about collectors or resellers", all you like. In fact, you can all not care yourself.

But you should, because Lego is what it is today partly because of those two markets.

y2josh

ringleheim said:

A new UCS X-Wing would blow the original out of the water most likely, especially if they did it in a much more realistic light gray color and not white.

X-Wings actually ARE white, though... they just seem darker because of the weathering and blaster bolt scoring.

SirKevbags

Only one way to end this. Lets see Lego do it. Never happened with a UCS set. I'm not saying an exact copy. Updated and lets see how it goes. Did someone say it was 12 years back when the last one was released? I think that's more than a reasonable length of time.

LegoFanTexas

y2josh said:

^^Forget resellers for a moment. If they re-did a UCS X-Wing, they'd be letting down just as many people as they were exciting.

As someone who already owns a UCS X-Wing, I'd be extremely disappointed if they announced that next year's UCS ship was going to be a rehash when there are AT LEAST eight other ships that haven't been made yet, and that doesn't even include ships people might like to see from the PT.

Ditto for me as well. I'm not just a reseller, I'm a collector, and it would remove the "special" aspect of Lego...

cheshirecat

The special aspect of UCS sets surely, everything else is already rehashed at various frequencies.

drdavewatford

It wouldn't surprise me at all if LEGO produced a new UCS version of the X-wing; it's more than 10 years since they released the last one, after all, and given how few people have the original one and how iconic the ship is it would be a popular choice with the majority I suspect.

My preference would be for a vehicle they haven't previously given the UCS treatment to - AT-AT, Slave 1, A-wing, even sandcrawler, but if they're going to remake any of them it'd surely be the X-wing, and I'd certainly buy it...

The_Mack

CCC said:

The_Mack said:

LEGO does not care about your resell value/worth. They are a toy company, not a collectors company. In the toy collecting business always be aware of anything marked collectible.

The UCS models aren't toys in the common sense (aimed at children) though, are they? They market them as Ultimate Collectors' models. If they redesign one, then the one before was not the ultimate version. That damages the rest of the series, and hence the sales of the rest of the series.

Ultimate can be interpreted many ways.. Ultimate as in the most advance, top of the line model. Ultimate as in the greatest/hardest build experience. It doesn't always mean the last or greatest one. Sure it was ultimate 12+ years ago, but what about now? It could certainly be ultimate again in a new way. The X-wing is just a very iconic ship and LEGO has a newer set of kids/adults/collectors to sell to.

It's all rumor anyways, but I'd like to see it happen, just to see a bit of chaos.

graphite

The_Mack said:

but I'd like to see it happen, just to see a bit of chaos.

Light the fire just to watch the city burn. I'm with you.

LegoFanTexas

graphite said:

The_Mack said:

but I'd like to see it happen, just to see a bit of chaos.

Light the fire just to watch the city burn. I'm with you.

Be careful what you wish for... :)

richo

The Millenium Falcon is easily the most iconic vehicle in the saga, so I hope they re-make that....hehe

SirKevbags

I think Docs point is very relevant. I think the number of new people wanting one will far out weigh the number who are ticked off at a re release. There must be plenty of people who bought one back in the day who are no longer involved at all so they are unlikely to be bothered.

There was a Legends range that failed miserably? I think this would be completely different. Just an opinion of course.

Just something to consider. I think we often get lost in our AFOL bubble here. How many UCS sets are actually sold to us? Are the majority still bought for older children/teenagers or Dad's as a one off purchase knowing it's to hard for the kids but it's the only way to get it through the door. I doubt either group cares about collrctability. They just like the product.

samiam391

I heard something about an UCS A-Wing coming out next for the SW UCS line?

LegoFanTexas

How many toys go up in value after they retire? How many toys are worth more used, a few years after they are sold, than they cost new?

What is the value to the Lego brand to have it be one of those toys? What happens if used Lego becomes worth less over time rather than more?

Should I rush out to buy the newest Beanie Babies, so I don't miss out, before they become expensive? How many times on this forum does someone post, "when will xyz set retire, do I have until xyz date to buy it, or should I get it now?"

What happens if that no longer gets asked? Does that change what Lego is, the perceived value of the product?

cheshirecat

@graphite i'll bring the popcorn.

LegoFanTexas

cheshirecat said:

@graphite i'll bring the popcorn.

Throw it on the fire, it'll pop nicely! :)

The_Mack

LegoFanTexas said:

cheshirecat said:

@graphite i'll bring the popcorn.

Throw it on the fire, it'll pop nicely! :)

Now where did I put those matches?... :)

The_Mack

LegoFanTexas said:

How many toys go up in value after they retire? How many toys are worth more used, a few years after they are sold, than they cost new?

What is the value to the Lego brand to have it be one of those toys? What happens if used Lego becomes worth less over time rather than more?

Should I rush out to buy the newest Beanie Babies, so I don't miss out, before they become expensive? How many times on this forum does someone post, "when will xyz set retire, do I have until xyz date to buy it, or should I get it now?"

What happens if that no longer gets asked? Does that change what Lego is, the perceived value of the product?

Well it's happen before with a few sets i.e. Metroliner 4558 / 10001 and that was a re-release. Sure it may of hurt some collector value, but did it hurt the LEGO brand? I would have to say no. The general LEGO customer is not concerned with those things. They see the set on the shelf, and say ooh that's cool. Let's get that one!

Sure you might get upset that the value of your set isn't what it was. But LEGO is not concerned about that. LEGO wants to know what they can sell you next, and what your willing to buy. Not what you already own. LEGO is the Honey Badger when it comes to re-sellers and perceive values of it's aftermarket product.

LegoFanTexas

No, a single rerelease is not going to kill the golden goose.

But people and companies tend to not now when to stop, when they cross that line. When it becomes a series of rehash after rehash and the public picks up on it.

Would it be the end of Lego if they redid UCS X-Wing? No... But the thought process that allows that to happen allows them all to be redone.

Why buy the UCS B-Wing now, when a better version will come along, that sort of thinking.

Lego did it with the sopwith camel, a risk to be sure, but that one set won't kill Lego. Making it a habit will.

SirKevbags

I see lots of references to previous products going tits up. Especially baseball cards and beanie babies. Over issued etc. Out of curiosity who was the major buyer with those products? Adult re sellers or kids? We are often told with Lego adult sales for whatever reason are very much in the minority compared to sales for children.

LegoFanTexas

The_Mack said:

LEGO wants to know what they can sell you next, and what your willing to buy. Not what you already own.

What if the answer is...

Nothing...

?

Bumblepants

I would guess we will get a Jango Fett System Slave 1 in '13 or '14 at the latest with the new armor minifig to coincide with the Ep II 3D release and then a couple years after that one we will finally get the UCS Slave 1 in Boba colors

GothamConstructionCo

Where could LEGO go with the UCS line once they have produced one of each iconic SW vehicle if rehashes are out of the question?

LegoFanTexas

kevbags said:

I see lots of references to previous products going tits up. Especially baseball cards and beanie babies. Over issued etc. Out of curiosity who was the major buyer with those products? Adult re sellers or kids? We are often told with Lego adult sales for whatever reason are very much in the minority compared to sales for children.

At one point, kids... When it became the adults, the companies wanted a piece of that action, so they started endless "special editions" and "limited editions" that really were not limited at all.

Most Lego is sold for kids consumption, but adults actually do the buying. This would not stop if the collector market was destroyed tomorrow, but adults would have a different take on the product.

Beanie babies are still produced today by Ty, Inc. Baseball cards are still made today by Topps, it neither are what they once were, Fleer and Upper Deck went bankrupt.

I will agree that Lego is different than those markets, but do you really think it would be a good thing if Lego sets cost less than retail in the aftermarket? If they did, why buy new releases, why not just wait. That thinking can kill a company.

CCC

They don't need to stick to ships / vehicles.

Or SW.

GothamConstructionCo

I suppose it would be good to see a UCS Batwing or Batmobile but which incarnation would you choose from? Film or comic book.

dragonhawk

Next UCS set WILL NOT be x-wing. If I were LGS, I would release 2nd UCS X-Wing in 2015 to mark 15th anniversary of the original UCS and to coincide with Star Wars 3D (New Hope 3D for the younger crowds)

Mark my words

GothamConstructionCo

Marked ;-)

y2josh

GothamConstructionCo said:

Where could LEGO go with the UCS line once they have produced one of each iconic SW vehicle if rehashes are out of the question?

We can answer that question when we get there... but at one ship a year... that's way past the end of the current license extension.

The_Mack

LegoFanTexas said:

The_Mack said:

LEGO wants to know what they can sell you next, and what your willing to buy. Not what you already own.

What if the answer is...

Nothing...

?

Then I guess your not one of their customers.

LegoFanTexas said:

No, a single rerelease is not going to kill the golden goose.

But people and companies tend to not now when to stop, when they cross that line. When it becomes a series of rehash after rehash and the public picks up on it.

Would it be the end of Lego if they redid UCS X-Wing? No... But the thought process that allows that to happen allows them all to be redone.

Why buy the UCS B-Wing now, when a better version will come along, that sort of thinking.

Lego did it with the sopwith camel, a risk to be sure, but that one set won't kill Lego. Making it a habit will.

I don't think releasing a new X-Wing UCS set 13-15 years later would be consider a rehash.

Why buy a B-Wing now? Well, do you really want to wait a decade or longer for a newer improved one, if that would even happen? I don't see certain UCS sets being remade. But the X-Wing? Yeah, it really does need to be done again. So it can be sold to a new set of customers. Yeah that opens the door for remakes of the Star Destroyer and the MF. LEGO has the License why not remake them again.

We could talk about the rehash of Fire & Police stations, but it seems that LEGO sells those on a pretty good constant base. The general public doesn't care, collectors notice it. Does LEGO care that you think there are too many versions, and it decreases the collectibility/value of them? Nope, if the general public keep buying them, they will continue to sell them. Fire & Police stations sell, as do X-wings. <-- Lots of LEGO rehashes of those. "Sometimes" the more valuable collector item is not always the most popular.