Best Ever Year for Lego Star Wars Releases?

[twentythree]

After reviewing Brickset it would seem to me that 2006 is the best year so far. Here are my reasons...

- 9 out of the 10 sets released were from the Original Trilogy.
- While only Jabba's Sail Barge was new, it arrived unexpected and well crafted.
- The 4 system set redesigns were all huge improvements in accuracy, scale, and design features.
- Converting 2 previous UCS sets (Imperial Star Destroyer and TIE Interceptor) into system versions was genius.
- 2 UCS sets (AT-ST and Vader's TIE) in one year is rare.
- Various new minifigs (Dengar, Bespin guard, IG-88, Ten Numb, Lando Skiff guard, Grand Moff Tarkin, etc.)
- 9 out of 10 sets were sold at less than 10 cents-per-piece:

V-Wing Fighter, 118 pieces, $10, 1 minifig
TIE Interceptor, 212 pieces, $20, 1 minifig
A-Wing Fighter, 194 pieces, $16, 2 minifigs
B-Wing Fighter, 435 pieces, $35, 2 minifigs
Slave 1, 537 pieces, $50, 4 minifigs
Jabba's Sail Barge, 781 pieces, $75 8 minifigs
Imperial Star Destroyer playset, 1367 pieces, $100, 9 minifigs
UCS Imperial AT-ST, 1068 pieces, $80
UCS Vader's TIE Advanced, 1212 pieces, $100

- The only set to exceed the 10 cents-per-piece-ratio was actually 2 ships in 1(red 2/red 5) and included 6 minifigs:

X-Wing Fighter, 437 pieces, $50

The bottom line for me is that we got 9 great representations of our beloved ships in better colors with a trove of new minifigs for a reasonable price and it hasn't happened again since.

[Alm]

I can't fully support or deny 2006 the honor of "Best Year Ever" for Lego Star Wars since I only got *1* set from that entire line-up (BIONICLE really dominated my collection that year), and though the V-Wing is a really good set, I can't base the whole year off it. I do recall being very impressed with the designs of the B-Wing and Slave 1, but I could never afford them after BIONICLE and my parents' spending freeze imposition. That, and it was the year before I graduated high school. But I digress.

Many of you are blinded by nostalgia in declaring 1999 to be the best year, methinks. Within 3 years, the design and style of the 1999 sets looked ridiculously blocky and ill-colored. This is coming from a guy that owns the original X-Wing and Mos Espa Podrace. I loved those sets back in the day, but I look at them now and realize Lego can do so much better.

If couldn't guess from the hints dropped with "within 3 years" and "realize Lego can do so much better", I am referring to 2002. I whole-heartedly agree with that year being the best year ever. I got 11 sets that year, including all four small "storyteller" kits from Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace and a good selection of Attack of the Clones sets that are now legends in their own right, including Jango Fett's Slave I. Everything was impressive about Star Wars Lego that year. The box designs were cool; new, sloping elements entered the piece counts of many sets; and the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer (which I sadly did not get) set a new bar for UCS sets. Designs for sets like the aforementioned Slave I and Republic Gunship set trends seen in sets up the modern day. As a final legacy of awesomeness, sets made in 2002 still look cool and relevant next to sets produced in 2008 or later. Obviously, this is in part due to the Clone Wars resurgence, but notice you can't really say the same thing for a set like 2003's AT-TE. And you can't say that at all about sets produced in 1999.

In summary, 2002 set the style for Star Wars sets for years to come while still standing out on its own merits. What more could you ask for?

Honorable mentions should go to 2008 and 2009. I'm liking 2010, too, even though I have quite a bit more collecting to catch up on. Already, sets like the TIE Defender, Clone Turbo Tank, UCS Imperial Shuttle have dominated my wishlists, and that's only a small sampling!

[paltouras]

Just because of the 4504 Millennium Falcon I would easily say 2004 !!!
The set of the sets and the best impressions ever !

[Joedward]

...TIE Defender (REALLY??)...

I take it you never played the old TIE Fighter games. I reckon you'd appreciate it a whole lot more if you had.

I'm also going to show my support for 1999 and 2006. Both brilliant years, but overall, the yeah that started it all takes the cake. In 1999 my favourite movies were turned to LEGO, and it was awesome.

[that guy]

...TIE Defender (REALLY??)...

I take it you never played the old TIE Fighter games. I reckon you'd appreciate it a whole lot more if you had.

I'm also going to show my support for 1999 and 2006. Both brilliant years, but overall, the yeah that started it all takes the cake. In 1999 my favourite movies were turned to LEGO, and it was awesome.

Please don't make assumptions...and for the record, whether I played it in the games or not, or whether I appreciate it (which on the merits of the ship itself in the SW world I do) doesn't make it any less of a pig in the Lego world when it sells for $50 with two relatively standard minifigs. We're talking about total value here and it's just not there for a $50 set (nearly .18 cents per piece which is almost double the magic number). $25-30 TIE Defender and then we're talking a different story.

[xwingyoda]

Well we all know SW sets are ridiculously overpriced especially for us Europeans but the Tie Defender is such an amazing set: its so well constructed and its one of the best Tie designs with the Interceptor. And for once its all grey so I didn't have to mod my Ties like I had to with all the previous models.

[Robzula]

i dunno if starting off your reasoning with the v-wing was such a great idea.

While it may not be the best from '06, I personally love the V-Wing (and am greatly looking forward to next year's revision). It's one of my favorite PT ships (up there with the N1 and Vulture droid) and it was only what, ten-fifteen bucks?

[Joedward]

Please don't make assumptions...and for the record, whether I played it in the games or not, or whether I appreciate it (which on the merits of the ship itself in the SW world I do) doesn't make it any less of a pig in the Lego world when it sells for $50 with two relatively standard minifigs. We're talking about total value here and it's just not there for a $50 set (nearly .18 cents per piece which is almost double the magic number). $25-30 TIE Defender and then we're talking a different story.

My bad. Shan't again. But we over here had to pay $60, and considering the ever increasing price of Star Wars sets, are you really surprised they would charge so much for it? I know a fair few sets recently have quite a bit to be desired, but I stand by it not only being a great set, but being a great representation of an awesome, if not slightly obscure, ship.
And, I know it doesn't make for a great argument, but one of the figs came with a brand new mold. So nyah.

[that guy]

Please don't make assumptions...and for the record, whether I played it in the games or not, or whether I appreciate it (which on the merits of the ship itself in the SW world I do) doesn't make it any less of a pig in the Lego world when it sells for $50 with two relatively standard minifigs. We're talking about total value here and it's just not there for a $50 set (nearly .18 cents per piece which is almost double the magic number). $25-30 TIE Defender and then we're talking a different story.

My bad. Shan't again. But we over here had to pay $60, and considering the ever increasing price of Star Wars sets, are you really surprised they would charge so much for it? I know a fair few sets recently have quite a bit to be desired, but I stand by it not only being a great set, but being a great representation of an awesome, if not slightly obscure, ship.
And, I know it doesn't make for a great argument, but one of the figs came with a brand new mold. So nyah.

No worries, it's all good. I love the ship, don't get me wrong. And I totally agree the construction is rock solid. It was just such a shocker to see it priced where it was for the piece count. That's all. Clearly they needed a ship in that price point and it happened to fill it. I guess it just felt weird since that whole line that came out in May was so odd both in design and price points for how little you were getting. By comparison, the August releases at least 'felt' like they belonged in their respective price points (even though they were again overpriced a bit). And yes, the new TIE pilot is cool (although I still like the original more streamlined look, just like the new vs. old AT-AT pilot).

[pastormacman]

I gotta go with 2008. It is certainly the year I spent the most on Lego.

It goes without saying, but we got the Death Star play set with all those great minifigs.
The revised AT-TE
The revised Republic Gunship
The Republic Fighter Tank (which I didn't get but wish I had)
The AT-AP
The Magnaguard Fighter (one of the best "swooshers" ever)
UCS General Grievous
The Twighlight (but only because I got it for half price at the Anaheim store)
The V-19 Torrent (a great build and an amazing feet of engineering)
And last but not least (I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet) STORMTROOPER BATTLEPACKS!!!!

[errbt]

Hands down a tie between 1983 and 1984...

Actually, for me, I'm being serious, as that's when I first started making SW LEGO customs (well, I made an R2-D2 in 1979, but it wasn't until I started acquiring a fair amount of Legoland Space sets that I was able to attempt a decent X-wing, Y-wing, Shuttle, A-wing, and the first version of my Falcon.

I guess once LEGO finally caught on and figured out that Star Wars and LEGO was a no brainer, I'd say 1999 just because of that initial rush! A chance to get lots of grey pieces, some great specialized SW elements to augment my customs with, and of course, the minifigs!

I'm also torn between 2001 for the UCS Blockade Runner (still one of the most beautiful LEGO sets ever), and 2002 for the UCS Star Destroyer (still IMO the most impressive SW LEGO set - even more so than the UCS Falcon since several customizers have made great Falcons), first Republic Gunship, rerelease of the X-wing and Y/TIE sets for those who missed out on the first run, and of course, Final Duel sets (especially #1, the first chance to build an imperial army, especially when they were on 99 cent clearance)!

[Flynn]

Many of you are blinded by nostalgia in declaring 1999 to be the best year, methinks.

Don't give us reasons for our own opinions, it makes you look foolish.

I personally would also go with 1999- yes, the sets were rather blocky, colorful, and overall inaccurate, but that didn't (And doesn't) matter. The reason I've almost always preferred the first three years of the line to about everything after it has always been that the early sets were about making it a good, fun set to play with, whereas now we're starting to see a number of sets that really only have accuracy going for them (And sometimes, not even that). Really, the 1999 sets were just plain fun to play with- that's enough to rank it above the other years in my mind.

Also, perhaps it's just me, but the 1999 sets all seemed to have a certain feel about them- some sort of special aura of something that stood them out against the rest of the years. I'd say it was nostalgia, but I was pretty dang young during 2001-2004, which also have a ton of nostalgic value to me, but none of those years have the same type of feel to them...I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy.

Anyways, as far as worst year goes, I'd have to say 2010, for so many reasons, primarily the blinding lack of nearly anything new- I think every OT set is a remake or at least has significant elements of a remake, with the rest of the line not so great either. The over-emphasis on the minifigures is also terrible, and the prices (Which look even more shameful after the Harry Potter line was released) are ridiculous. There's really only a few sets that caught my eye, and I'm honestly doubting I'm going to pick them up.

[MisterFubar]

There is a reason all my 1999 sets are still assembled and displayed.

[mrfootball]

About a year ago or so, I 'rediscovered' Lego when my 6 year-old started getting into them. Since that time, we've been buying bricks like crazy, working our way back, trying to get the sets we missed in year's past. From this perspective, the 1999 sets just don't have the emotional appeal of nostalgia and aren't high up on my wish list. They seem somewhat primitive compared to the rest.

For me, the 2006 through 2008 sets were the best run in the line, with some truly outstanding OT releases that pushed the envelope and the best Clone Wars releases (AT-TE and Gunship). 2007 has three of my personal favorites, the UCS Falcon, Motorized At-At and Hoth Base (I'm a big Hoth fan). 2008 was loaded with great releases.

I think overall, the Star Wars lego line has pushed Lego to come out with much more interesting releases across the board. Hope to see them continue producing great OT sets along with the Clone Wars sets. 2011 has me somewhat worried as there are very few OT sets and I don't see anything truly iconic or sets that push the envelope.

[Iesous]

I'd have to agree with the 2006-2008 years. I stopped collecting LEGO sets of any kind back during the days of Exploriens. In 2005 I started collecting again, and got most of the sets in 2006 and 07. I don't really care for many of the CW exclusive ships (nor do I care for the CW faces). If it's a ship that appears in the OT or PT, then I'll think about getting it, but now I also have better things to spend my money on.

[Tohst]

1999

Is it nostalgia? No.

The snowspeeder is one of the best Lego sets ever. You heard me right. Ever!

The original X-wing was great. It looked like Lego. It looked like Star Wars. It swooshed. The new one has too much junk in the trunk due to the wing opening mechanism.

Landspeeder was small and iconic. Just what we still need.

We got STAPS and speeder bikes.

Even sets that weren't that great like the Sith Infiltrator and the Gungan sub were good parts packs.

Did we have every minifigure we needed. No, but it was the beginning of the line so there was bound to be gaps. Would I have liked a TIE fighter and Stormtrooper set instead of Darth's TIE and Y-wing? Yeah, but again, there was bound to be gaps.

2006 gave us good updates of lots of cool ships
2008 gave us a lot of great Clone Wars ships (and the dud that was the Rogue Shadow...uuugly)

But 1999 gave us a great balance across the line and a lot of great sets.

Worst year....
2009 and 2010 have been very uneven. They seem to have thrown a lot of sets at us and they've been all over the map in terms of how good they are.

But 2001 only had a handful of uninspired sets (and a TIE fighter...oh how I longed for you my beloved TIE fighter) so that's the worst.

All you johnny come latelys with your Clone Wars and your hippity hoppity music and your swatches, you just don't understand quality. What's that nurse? Time for my pills? Well okay then. STAY OFF MY LAWN!

-Tohst

[ThatGuyWithTheBricks]

I don't like the first Snowspeeder at all.
*puts up ultra-mega flame shield*

[Mandalorian Candidat]

I don't like the first Snowspeeder at all.
*puts up ultra-mega flame shield*

"Oh yeah, well I have a dog that eats ultra-mega flame shields."



I've read a lot of valid and compelling arguments and I've thought about three years in particular: 1999, 2006, and 2008. Each of the three are touchstones in terms of novelty, quality, and overall value.

1999 - Besides being the first year of production, Lego gave us many of the iconic ships from the OT. For a first year they did a bang up job. X-Wing, DV's TIE, Snowspeeder, Landspeeder, Speeder Bikes. Even the lowly Y-Wing. The figures accompanying the sets were also great outside of waiting for Han, Leia, Chewie, and C-3PO until 2000. The one faulty thing from the whole year is the number of Episode One sets that came out instead of OT but I understand why they were released from a marketing standpoint. Even the EP1 sets were great and you could get all of the big characters in the cheaper sets (Qui-Gon/DM in Lightsaber Duel, Jar Jar in Swamp, Anakin and Padme in Anakin's Podracer) except for OB1 (Gungan Sub). If you also look at the cost per piece (cpp) ratio they were OK, just slightly over 10 cents with the more intricate Gungan Sub at $0.13/part. What was so great about 1999 is that these were alternates to Hasbro toys; some of which were tough to find at times. The Gungan Sub wasn't literally the one from the movie, but a version that had the Lego spin making it interesting. I never saw a manta ray in EP1, but one came with the set. I never saw a battle droid Zamboni, but one came with the Naboo Starfighter. Plus I have one word...Snowspeeder, to this day my favorite of all the sets.

2006 - It's nice to get a large collection of Lego to choose from in any given year but 2006 had quality rather than quantity. There were only seven new sets, eight with the X-Wing rerelease (not counting UCS sets). Other than a movie year (1999, 2002, 2005) this is the last year where there was a smaller amount of sets, if MINI sets are not included into the tally. Since 2006 Lego has inundated the shelves with lots of new sets, making it harder for completists to keep up as there is less room per sets on the shelves. All the sets are of good quality with excellent cpp ratios (0.10 or less). One negative about the small number of 2006 sets is the relatively large number of rehashes to new sets (the TIE/I is a neat set but it's not too dissimilar to the other TIE sets). But the A-Wing and B-Wings are good examples of how to do a remake right (e.g., new figures, sleeker designs, not a ton of new styled pieces to drive the price up). The Jabba Barge is a great piece of work as well. Including the prisoner skiff was a nice touch. I have the Star Destroyer but never ended up putting it together so I can't give my testimony on it, but look at how many characters came with both of these sets. What keeps me from making 2006 my favorite year is this was the year that stickers really made their foothold and the introduction of STAMPS. That really gave an otherwise perfect set (Jabba Barge) a big black eye.

2008 - I'll be upfront and say that I abhorred the Clone Wars sets for their prices. The actual cpp ratios aren't too bad except for the Separatist Spider Droid. The crappy TRU trend of pricey exclusives started in 2005 with the Imperial Inspection set (14 cents) but the 7681 has a ccp of 17, really a nice way of getting people to buy a Commander Fox minifig. I still have price issues with the MagnaGuard and V-19 Torrent, but since I've bought them on clearance I've mellowed a bit. I do admit that the wing opening function of the V-19 is a great feat of Lego engineering. Props. The stormtrooper and rebel trooper army builder sets are great (still at the $9.99 price point before the leap to $10.99) and so are the Republic Fighter Tank (my favorite exclusive set--thank heaven Target got this one), Ani's Starfighter, the CW Gunship, and the holy grail of Lego sets, the Death Star (mine should be here by tomorrow!). I dislike so many different sets in one year, and 2008 really got the ball rolling for sheer numbers of sets, but there were a good number of interesting things that were released. Overall, there isn't one set from this year other than 7681 with a high cpp--even the Death Star is at 11 cents. The amount of stickers wasn't huge either, but there are a good number in the Gunship, though I'm hoping the DS has very little.

It's a tough choice, but I'll through my hat in the ring with the other alter kakers and give my vote to 1999.

[Tohst]

I don't like the first Snowspeeder at all.
*puts up ultra-mega flame shield*

Can you let us know what you didn't like about it?

Was it just too awesome?

Do you consider swooshibility a bad thing?

I know, you really wanted it to only come with one pilot and no Hoth trooper!

I kid I kid.

It had room for two pilots in a very small amount of space. It had a good shape. It was solid. Parts selection was great. Wing flaps (which they still use in today's sisified wouldn't crash through the head of an imperial walker if it was on fire version). They even threw in extra play value with a completely unnecessary cargo box. It had 1 x 1 tan tiles before they were everywhere. And printed nosecone -and- AT-AT on the viewscreen pieces thus giving us false hope that an AT-AT would hit in 2000.

What really makes it for me is how un-superior the current version is despite all this so-called improvement in pieces and designs.

-Tohst

[that guy]

I've already put in my two cents earlier on my personal years for SW but after reading more and more I think there's really two arguments at stake here. There are those who were out of the dark ages prior to 99', in which case they truly favor 99' as the best year because they've had the advantage of collecting SW through that time period and beyond, and while others weigh in on alternate years I'd say it wins hands down for those people. That being said, the vast majority of people who came out of the dark ages sometime between 2000-2010 are all over the board and I think that just stems from when you came out. My feelings on this now (and I have no doubt that I will catch grief over this) is that to truly judge the best year(s) for SW you need to take someone who has come out of the dark ages TODAY and have them go back through and pick those sets they'd actually spend top dollar on Ebay/Bricklink for. If you use that criteria and look at the NIB sets commanding the highest dollar percentage per set increase you will find that 1999 ranks very low (especially consider those sets are now 11 years old and should be getting a mint). In fact only the Gungan Sub and Pod Racer sets get a substantially high percentage increase over what they sold for originally compared to most years. Compare that to the increase of say the 2003, 2004, 2006, or 2007 years and it's no comparison (and I'm not counting UCS ships which are a whole nother' ball game). While there are other years that may come into their own (like 2008 for the RGS or AT-TE) eventually, I feel that based on this criteria you will see that the middle years of Lego SW are hands down the most popular (and maybe therefore the best)??? Do I disagree that the first X-Wing was awesome (Nope), do I think the first snowspeeder rocked (Yep), but maybe there's more than one way to look at this argument???