LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary

[Blacknight]

The cover hasn't been finalized yet.

Due to necessity I have to out myself - I am one of the writers working on this, as well as the photographer. Some of you might have probably guessed this already.

Very cool, good luck with the project! And please if the cover image stays the same, tell someone to correct the "chewbacca" to wookiee warrior.

[LEGOscum]

That was reported the day the cover went up on Amazon.com and it has been corrected now. But because the book is in the approvals stage the final version hasn't been ratified, so the WIP image that Amazon is showing will remain until the book is sent to the printers.

[HothTrooper]

Medal Luke is OK I guess, but it would be nice if they created a totally new figure with a new head mold - something that would be unlikely to ever need to turn up in another set. Garinden maybe? Or a cool new alien jedi? Ordered the book anyway.

Maybe I missed it, but where has the final figure even been revealed? Everything I've seen so far has just been that preliminary image.

m19

im still in question now are we gonna get a special figure in the U.S? so there are two types of book one with no figure and one with figure?

The two editions of the book are the retail edition that comes with the exclusive minfigure and the library edition that does not. Neither are exclusive to any particular country. Just buy the book at a bookstore or don't buy the one labeled as "library edition" on Amazon and you'll get the exclusive minifigure (unless someone has stolen it like Bulls_Eye mentioned). I'm worried these minifigures will be a big target for scalpers and thieves trying to make a quick buck online. Hopefully LEGO has come up with a good way of packaging the minifigure to deter theft.

[Blacknight]

That was reported the day the cover went up on Amazon.com and it has been corrected now. But because the book is in the approvals stage the final version hasn't been ratified, so the WIP image that Amazon is showing will remain until the book is sent to the printers.

Very nice, thanks. I know from first hand experience that writing an article or book takes a heck of a lot of work and even then the chances of catching every typo are approximately 3,720 to 1.

[Skafte]

My order from Amazon.co.uk has been cancelled:

"We are no longer able to offer this item for sale. Our supplier has informed us that this item has been discontinued and is no longer available." (from e-mail).

I ordered it from the States instead. I love shipping costs...

[bigospedros]

I had a similar mail from Amazon yesterday ... but I think it's more like the entry in their database that we pre-ordered has been discontinued, because they had 2 other live entries (the other 1 was for the library edition minus figure) and I successfully pre-ordered the non-library edition

[SIMAFOL]

Is it just me or does Vader look more angry?
And Yippie, Medallion Luke!

[HothTrooper]

I'm glad the final cover has the current standard Darth Vader instead of the battle damaged one from The Force Unleashed. It makes the cover more recognizable at a quick glance, in my opinion. It's nice to finally see the exclusive minifig even though. Even though we essentially new what was coming, it still strikes me as an odd choice since a medal ceremony version of Luke doesn't really fit in with any released set which means he doesn't fit in with any of my displays. Still, I would buy the book anyway without an exclusive, so it's just a nice but non-essential to me.

[Blacknight]

The fact that the medal Luke doesn't fit with any other set makes it all the more logical to include with the book IMO, and since Luke is attending a celebration he seems like a good choice to accompany a book celebrating 10 years of SW Lego. I can't stand him with the long hair piece though, you'd think he'd get it cut for his graduation.

[Draykov]

an embedded image of the new figure :

Called that one from a mile off (though I didn't think I was gonna be right).

[HothTrooper]

StarWars.com has a new article up on this book. New info includes a picture of two interior pages featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi and the announcement that the exclusive minifig will be officially unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, July 23, 1:30-2:30pm in Room 8.

I'm a little disappointed by the lack of "out of universe" information in the sample pages. Most of the book seems to be "in universe" information that's readily available in other sources. For this book however, most of it has been simplified for a younger audience (the book, like many LEGO sets, is labeled 7+). I realize the younger crowd is LEGO's target audience with this book, but I was hoping there would be more of interest to older collectors than the exclusive minifigure, especially considering a well known AFOL (Jeremy) worked on the book.

[bigospedros]

perhaps your expectations of the book are just wrong ... looking at the sample page, this looks like exactly the kind of thing I was expecting and it'll be nice to get all this info in one place.

what exactly were you expecting to get as extra info ?

[LEGOscum]

I realize the younger crowd is LEGO's target audience with this book, but I was hoping there would be more of interest to older collectors than the exclusive minifigure, especially considering a well known AFOL (Jeremy) worked on the book.

Judge this book by one sample page do you, hmmm? You are right, it is aimed at younger viewers and the material contained within is designed to supplement their collection and knowledge.

But don't be disheartened because it is a nice book and there is sure to be some info in it that you weren't aware of. Don't write it off yet.

what exactly were you expecting to get as extra info ?

I'd be very interested to know as well for future reference.

[Tanobelus]

So far, the sample page seems nice - very clean and not too cramped. I hope the pages are well protected, because if the rest is of the same caliber, I might drool over it Can't wait for the pre-orders to ship...

[HothTrooper]

what exactly were you expecting to get as extra info ?

I'd be very interested to know as well for future reference.

For a LEGO Visual Dictionary, I was expecting more about the actual LEGO than some piece counts and set numbers and whether or not a minifig had a hood on in the set. Nearly everything on the sample pages is written in an "in universe" tone and none of it is anything that hasn't been published before in some form (including for younger audiences in DK's Star Wars Visual Dictionaries). A little basic info about how the sets were designed, a comment here and there about why a particular piece was used and what it does, notes of any kind of LEGO company firsts or records for the set (largest set, first set with particular color or minifig, etc.), or an occasional image set showing the evolution from prototype to finished product would have been great. Nothing overly technical, just a touch more here and there about the actual LEGO sets and minifigs themselves.

All that being said, the book still looks like a great one for it's target audience. I'm sure it will be a big hit.

[RocketClone]

This may be a stupid question but...How on earth did a star wars insider person (legoscum) end up on FBTB??

-Madfighter

[Joedward]

"May be"???

Perhaps he's a fan of Star Wars LEGO and was eager to join an online community as awesome as ours.... who knows?
Maybe he's a spy and sends LEGO secret information fom the forums.

[Mister Ed]

what exactly were you expecting to get as extra info ?

I'd be very interested to know as well for future reference.

For a LEGO Visual Dictionary, I was expecting more about the actual LEGO than some piece counts and set numbers and whether or not a minifig had a hood on in the set. Nearly everything on the sample pages is written in an "in universe" tone and none of it is anything that hasn't been published before in some form (including for younger audiences in DK's Star Wars Visual Dictionaries). A little basic info about how the sets were designed, a comment here and there about why a particular piece was used and what it does, notes of any kind of LEGO company firsts or records for the set (largest set, first set with particular color or minifig, etc.), or an occasional image set showing the evolution from prototype to finished product would have been great. Nothing overly technical, just a touch more here and there about the actual LEGO sets and minifigs themselves.

All that being said, the book still looks like a great one for it's target audience. I'm sure it will be a big hit.

I actually kind of agree with this. It looks nicely designed, but (at least from this one page) there seems to be very little here to distinguish this from a regular Star Wars Visual Dictionary, other than the fact that the pictures happen to be of LEGO sets. It is mostly the same kind of info you would get with movie production photos, with a bare minimum of set info (piece counts, year, etc.)

[LEGOscum]

To address your concerns: you've only seen one page and there are nearly 100 more for you to read. Perhaps this page just didn't have what you are looking for!

I've been a forum member since before I started writing for the Insider and DK, so the question you should be asking is how an FBTBer got to do what I'm doing. Just don't ask it in this thread because it's already been answered - page 2 I think.

[bigospedros]

Jeremy, are you involved in this book too ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lego-Book-DK-Pu ... 756656230/