It was late 2018 when news of the updated minifigure first broke after Kevin Layne, the actor who played Finch Dallow in The Last Jedi, posted about the new minifig on his Instagram page. News travels fast, and it wasn’t long before most of the LEGO Star Wars community was talking about the character.
That was over two years ago now and the minifigure is still receiving attention, but before we get to that let’s quickly look back at how Finch came into LEGO existence.
The 2017 wave of The Last Jedi sets featured six System scale builds, one Sculpture, four Buildable Figures, one BrickHeadz pack, and one polybag. One of the System builds was set 75188 Resistance Bomber which featured five minifigures – Poe Dameron, Vice Admiral Holdo, Resistance Bombardier (Nix Jerd), Resistance Gunner (Paige Tico), and an unnamed Resistance Bomber Pilot.
Since LEGO sets are designed months in advance, the team is usually using concept material provided to them when the source is a new movie or show. Most likely what they were provided with did not show Finch Dallow. However after the movie had been released and Finch was seen in the cockpit of the Resistance Bomber, it was clear that he had been left out. There are only a handful of instances where the contents of a set were changed mid-production, but towards the end of 2018 LEGO updated the set to include Finch Dallow.
When asked about the reason for the change LEGO replied:
When we develop LEGO sets based on movies, we aspire to make minifigures and models that reflect the iconic characters and scenes in the film. For this reason our products are most often developed by LEGO designers using reference material from specific movies – still images, sketches, as well as the actual movies as inspiration. We developed the LEGO Star Wars Resistance Bomber set (75188), based on “The Last Jedi” movie and discovered after the film was released that one of the LEGO minifigures in the set doesn’t reflect the movie scene properly. As a result we decided to adjust the set accordingly, true to our motto: “Only the best is good enough”. We hope Star Wars fans across the world appreciate this attention to details
Piers Jon via LEGO Star Wars Collectors Facebook page
While the body remained the same as the prior pilot, Finch got a unique head and helmet print. As the word traveled through the community, many fans took to LEGO Customer Service to ask about the change. Although LEGO’s support is great, it was still a surprise that they offered to send the new parts over for free. Some fans abused the generosity to get the figure for free even when they hadn’t bought 75188 and the supply ran out. Those that missed out had to turn to the secondary market to try and complete their collections, and that’s where we are now.
Last year was a year unlike any other in a variety of ways but especially when it came to hobbies. While many people were forced to stay home, interest in hobbies soared and LEGO was no exception. The prices bubbled to new highs and demand for both new and old products outpaced the supply. This is where the Finch Dallow story picks back up. He has quickly become one of the most expensive minifigures of the LEGO Star Wars line going for over £300 in the UK and topping $500 in the US. There are only 6 available for sale on Bricklink at the time of this article.
How did we get to this point? Obviously supply and demand plays a role, but buyers also set the price right? The old adage says “it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay.” This has been a trend over the last few months both inside and outside of LEGO. Perhaps it was the GameStop stock frenzy, or Dogecoin’s “to the moon” that sparked it all. Don’t get me wrong, investors in LEGO have been around for far longer but fear of missing out has gripped fans of LEGO Star Wars.
Just as with any investment there is inherent risk with buying LEGO. Finch could be released in a future set which would burst the entire bubble. Also since it is a buyer’s game, once the peak has been reached it will be the buyers who determine what the true going rate will end up being. So what do you think? How high can the price go? Is there a limit for these figures, or will the price continue to climb?
February 2019 
July 2021
Founder and owner of The Holo-Brick Archives, Kevin Downard maintains and curates the Database Catalog as a collecting resource for all fans and covers new product releases.
Getting in at the ground floor when the LEGO Star Wars theme first launched, Kevin has been collecting ever since. He is a self-proclaimed minifigure guru and has a passion for tracking down and cataloging every minifig variation – no matter how obscure. He has assisted Rebrickable and Bricklink in maintaining their set inventories, helped overhaul the rebelscum.com LEGO forum, and created the LSW Collector mobile app.
Be the first to comment