Star Wars Lego New Releases Summer

Obi Wan toy

LEGO have had the Star Wars license for just over 10 years now and their new wave of sets hit store shelves in the US, Europe and Australia sometime during late 2009 and early 2010. Let's take a look at the latest sets.

Generally, emphasis is still on the Clone Wars side of things with a couple of original trilogy battle packs to cover old school fans. This is largely understandable as The Clone Wars TV series is still growing strong, with Season Two showing in most countries.

These sets fits with the new pricing of LEGO sets which is getting a little more expensive this year. Like most new sets, if you aren't fussed about the getting minifigs you can pick up the main ships by themselves on ebay for a lot less.

The smallest (and cheapest) sets in this wave are the a fore mentioned battlepacks. Sets 8083 and 8084 sit at about 80 pieces and feature 4 minifigs in each set for a RRP of $10.99 each. While 8083 features Rebel Troopers, snowtroopers are the big draw in set 8084 and you can expect to see these fly off the shelves as Hoth army builders increase their ranks.

Luke's Landspeeder is a re-release of Luke's trusty speeder from A Hew Hope. Designed to skim across the sands of Tatooine this set has 163 pieces and comes with Luke, Obi Wan and a Storm trooper. And yes these are the Droids you are looking for, both C3PO and R2-D2 come with the set which makes it a well rounded set for $24.95.

The Republic Swamp Speeder is a set from planet of Kashyyyk as featured in Episode 3. The speeder is nothing to write home about but the set does contain Barriss Offee, a Jedi Commander who has been never been featured in a set before. Also comes with two battle droids and an Episode 3 clone trooper.

Next biggest set at 177 pieces is a sleek Freeco Speeder featured in an episode of The Clone Wars based on the ice planet Orto Plutonia. The set features two exclusive minifigs, Anakin Skywalker in snow gear and the native Talz chieftain. This set also retails for $24.99.

The Droid Tri Fighter is another re-release and this is an improvement on the original release. It is larger, more detailed and a battle droid can actually fit inside the central control pod. Features 3 battle droids, 268 pieces and retails for $24.99.

The Tie Defender is the only extended Universe offering of this wave, originally featured in the videogame Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. At $49.95 it may seem overly expensive for only 304 pieces and two minifigs (Tie Fighter pilot and stormtrooper). It is a large model though and is highly swooshable opponent for various rebel scum.

The last and largest release in this wave is the ARC -170 Starfighter, another re-release of a popular model. This version was featured in the Clone Wars and comes with Kit Fisto, an astromech droid R4-P44 and two clone pilots (each with different helmet patterns). This set contains 396 pieces and comes in at $59.99 retail. Like most of this wave's sets the ARC-170 contains stickers that need applying.

Overall this first wave of Star Wars LEGO for 2010 is a little more expensive than last year's releases but contains a few exciting figures and new, small vehicles to collect. Hopefully we will get some larger sets in the coming year but with a more satisfying price-per-piece price tag.

Star Wars Clone Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi Toy Review