Update: Images removed at the request of TLG. No matter. We’ll be able to get our hands on the sets soon enough on Force Friday.
Well, let’s see how long these are around before we get the request to un-ring a bell. We’ve seen bits and pieces show up for things. All of the Star Wars LEGO sets for Force Awakens (that we know of) are supposed to hit on Force Friday (September 4th). I’m going to be honest… there is a whole lot of awesome on these sets. I was already fairly excited to see the movie, but now I’m excited to see the movie and get the toys! See all of the images and some comments below the fold, because there are a couple of reveals in here.
Presumably one of the most inexpensive sets, 75099 Rey’s Speeder is hand’s down the one I’m most excited about. We get a new female character, who is obviously shaping up as a central character in the movie (as seen in the new poster).
I’m just a bit shocked that the First Order Snowspeeder isn’t just a rehash of the same old, same-old snowspeeder. Obviously, this isn’t a battle pack, but it’s the kind of set that you’re going to buy a lot of for army building. I love that the only visual distinction between the troops and the officer is the pauldron, which gives a lot of value. Also, Google Chrome, why don’t you think that “pauldron” is a word?
This has got to be the weirdest ship that I’ve ever seen… I’m not sure if that’s on LEGO or JJ or what, but why does it look less like a transport and more like a chibi carrier that is inexplicably floating in a jungle somewhere. Maybe they were just reusing some helicarrier shots or something. Hopefully, Phasma comes with a real minifig head under that helmet, because I need a brienne of Tarth minifigure. This also marks the first time (I think) in a Star Wars set where we get two female minifigs in the same set.
One odd thing that dawns on me looking at these is the fact that the empire is what makes up the majority of the minifigs. Those first order Stormtrooper minifigs have really grown on me though, and this will likely be the set to get them in until we get a battle pack next year. Because
Okay, I take it back. The set above is weird, but this could be the dud at first glance. I’ve certainly been wrong on things like that, but this just looks kind of goofy. It’s very Abrams though, like those little phaser spin things that he added to Star Trek, or everything that wasn’t the first season of Alias. Sometimes, he just gets fixated on a feature and it has to go in there. Of course, if you want the big bad, this is the set that he’s in.
The X-Wing set pictures have been around before, and it remains pretty awesome in my book. It’s grown on me quite a bit. Even though the engine thing is still doofy, it just looks like a solid build around the engines that might make up for it a bit. What throws me a bit on this one is that the front of the box makes the Resistance Fighter seem female, while the detail shot looks more like generic pilot dude. Really digging that alien maintenance guy though. (Edit: yeah, I know Icalled this a TIE fighter initially  the clipboard is your ally and your enemy when writing posts)
The TIE fighter is still visually distinctive in the Force Awakens, and we get a little spoiler that this is apparently the Special Forces variety. I’m really liking the idea that maybe the new Empire isn’t completely incompetent, and from that little bit we saw in the trailer, one of these guys is capable of unleashing a huge amount of destruction.
The last set, and presumably the most expensive and largest one, is The Falcon. With a new dish and some updates, but otherwise looks pretty similar to the previous version. We get Rey again, an old Han, and holy #$*^@$ LEGO made a real bowcaster part! Well played, LEGO, now shut up and take my money. Sadly, this is the only set with Finn in it, so while the ladies of Star Wars improved a bit, the person of color main character still gets the short stick. At least they seemingly put him in a pretty awesome set, at least at first glance. Those flick-fire launchers on the front are pretty ridiculous though.
Some curious omissions in this wave, in that we don’t get Luke or Leia at all, despite knowing that both of them are involved. Andy Serkis’ character, the supreme leader, is also absent (and has been very tightly protected from spoilertown). Like I mentioned above, this is also an incredibly First Order heavy wave. We only get three Resistance sets (and two of those are the Falcon and Rey’s speeder), and they only show up in one other set. The other four sets are all Empire, and most look to be very strong Army-builder type sets.
