Some fans might have gravitated to the LEGO booth to pick up their exclusive Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Vader exclusive, while others were overjoyed to see the unveiling of new sets from the upcoming Andor and Summer waves. Those that stuck it out until the last day of Celebration were offered one more tasty morsel for LEGO Star Wars fans – a fan-led panel that focused on LEGO Star Wars collecting hosted by The Holo-Brick Archives’ own Jeremy Beckett, Graham Hancock from Blocks Magazine, and James Burns from Jedi News.
As this is the 20th anniversary of Attack of the Clones, the panel discussion began with a detailed retrospective on the Episode Two collection; it was surprising to learn that Attack of the Clones – with only having 34 total sets – has garnered the least amount of sets in the Prequel Trilogy, while The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith have over 50 sets each.
With over 710 sets available, it makes it difficult for LSW fans to complete the entire collection. Hence, the panel discussion suggested possible focus collections that would be possible to complete. For example, some collectors are going the polybag route; with only 87 bags available, it’s definitely a possibility to acquire all of them… but beware, some of these polybags are costing hundreds of dollars!
Other collectors concentrate on minifigures, and the panel revealed some interesting facts – including the surprising revelation that the LEGO Group did not have all of the minifigures on display in the three-sided minifigure display that welcomed Celebration attendees! In an effort to complete the collection some minifigures were purchased via eBay as well a few from LEGO staff members’ families.
So… if you are feeling upset that you don’t have all the LEGO Star Wars minifigures, don’t fret, LEGO was in the same boat!
There has been criticism as of late for the release of the UCS Landspeeder with many fans feeling like this ship has been overdone. Jeremy Beckett noted that this is only the seventh time the Landspeeder has been released while other ships, such as the Millenium Falcon and X-Wing have been released – without as much complaint – more often than the Landspeeder.
The panel ended their talk with focus on the Adults Welcome campaign, with a discussion on the mosaics, the helmets, and now diorama collections that have truly made the focus on build-and-display rather than build-and-play. It was amazing to learn that since 2015, this campaign has increased adult sales by roughly 400%!
As an added reward, attendees were not only treated to a Star Tots diecast token but also a free 30495 AT-ST polybag and a blue milk swag sticker!
All in all, LEGO Star Wars fans were treated very well throughout Sar Wars Celebration Anaheim with surprises, but organizers must have known that the collecting panel was the way to save the best for last.
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