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When Star Wars Rebels premiered, we were introduced to a brand new smuggler's freighter that had an odd shape. LEGO released the Ghost in 2014. It retired on January 1. In order to keep the demand fulfilled, they've created a microfighter featuring the pilot/owner Hera Syndulla in Micro form. In my review, I'm going to take a look at set 75127 The Ghost. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75127 Name: The Ghost Microfighter Theme: Star Wars Parts: 104 Price: $9.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 9.99 the price per piece works out to almost $.10 each. This is on the lower middle side of pricing for a licensed set. There is 1 minifigure. (This is standard for Microfighters.) The minifigure is Hera Syndulla. She is exactly the same as the one previously released with the larger The Ghost. BOX CONTENTS Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 2 unnumbered baggies and an instruction book. BUILD AND EXECUTION Hera's a real Type A personality and couldn't wait for me to begin building, so she started without me. The build was interesting. I didn't really see it unfolding like it did. Hera's having fun putting it together. To be perfectly candid, the build of the mmicrofighter was more interesting than the actual System set. We're shaping the hull to the odd angles incorporated into the Ghost. The clips are probably for the "wings" I'm pretty sure that the small thrusters are for sublight speed. They'll snap onto the red bracket. According to the system version, these pods are escape pods. I don't know that they aren't airlocks. Time to build more angles into the Ghost. Another red bracket goes onto the front. (note: I missed adding 2 1x2 light bluish grey plates here. I wound up adding them later.) There's a clear dome for the front of the ghost. Time to add the rear "wings" and the larger engines. Hera is very good at all of this. The front wings are next. I'm not sure that the "windshield" is facing the correct way. I'm not super happy about the stud shooter here. I guess it's something to deal with until they come up with a new way to fling pieces across a room. Voila, Hera has finished her work and it's ready to fly. REACTION I actually really do like the look of this ship. The simplified design and cuter proportions make this look like a go-kart or one of those coin operated rides in front of the grocery stores. It was funner to build than the larger system version. I'll probably try to keep it out of the hands of my little girls so it doesn't get smashed. On the other hand, it might save my 75053 from their destructive hands. Hera is the same as the one in the 75053 The Ghost. She's got a 2 sided head. FINAL THOUGHTS As long as Rebels is on the TV, the Ghost will be featured. The System version was expensive for younger kids. It's also retired now. I think that parents of kids who like Star Wars Rebels will be looking for the cheaper alternative. Even if this set triples in value, it still has an important character and will continue to be cheaper than the now retired 75053. I see this one increasing in value and being in demand, moreso than any of the rest of this wave. EXTRA PIECES There are 7 pieces extra. 3 of them are the extra studs for the stud shooter.

I haven't reviewed a microfighter before. I like Star Wars. I like Star Wars vehicles. I think these are cute. I have avoided doing the reviews because they didn't fit with my collection. The Resistance X-Wing Fighter had something different about it. LEGO Microfighters are small, and don't take long to build. Hopefully my self indulgence with the pictures amuses you. If not, I apologize. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75125 Name: Resistance X-Wing Fighter Theme: Star Wars Parts: 87 Price: $9.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 9.99 the price per piece works out to almost $.115 each. This is on the high/middle side of pricing for a licensed set. There is 1 minifigure. (This is standard for Microfighters.) The minifigure is unique. On the packaging he is listed as Resistance X-Wing Pilot. It's Pretty obvious that this figure represents Snap Wexley portrayed by Greg Grunberg. As such, I'm going to refer to him as Snap Wexley or maybe just Snap. (I wonder if he's got brothers named Crackle and Pop.) BOX CONTENTS Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 2 unnumbered baggies and an instruction book. Speaking of the box, this is the only microfighter that I know of that has a tape sealed box instead of a punch tab. BUILD AND EXECUTION There are no numbered bags, s let's just dump this and get started. I asked Snap to help me put his ship together. I think he's giving me a thumb's up. I don't know where he's going but we've barely gotten started. Snap said that he needs a rest. I have no idea where he even got that chair, none of those parts are included. Wait a moment, Snap. You said a rest, nothing in your contract about a mandatory lunch break. Ugh, I've gotten derailed. Just ignore Snap and his loafing. As you can see, I've built the back portion of the X-Wing. Now, we've added a couple more attachment points for wings and some decoration on the back. As Snap finishes his snack, the front of the X-Wing goes in place. Notice the U-Clips on top and bottom to prevent the wings from opening too far. Snap's finally ready to help out after putting his stuff away, The ship is almost done. We just need to add the cockpit canopy and the wings. The instructions have you build the wings in pairs. Maybe Snap's ready to help out now. Oh, sure. He's posing like he did something. REACTION I can enjoy the chibi aesthetic. The cutesy look of the squat ship is fun. It just doesn't really fit in with my collection and display. Especially since my kids have destroyed all of the other ones that I built. If they hadn't lost some of the pieces, I'd likely be trying to get all of them. The minifigure looks good. We might not ever see him released in a larger set, so it's a good time to pick him up. The print on his helmet is great. FINAL THOUGHTS The microfighters are an interesting conundrum. Most of the sets are just troop builder stuff. a few have been unique minifigures. The first question that we have to ask ourselves is, is this character going to be remade? With JJ Abrams stepping away from Star Wars, will Greg Grunberg return for future installments? In many ways, this character reminds me of Porkins. A minor X-Wing pilot with a few memorable scenes, but no lasting impact on the series. Plus, there's the beard. To be serious, there are a lot of X-Wing pilots. There are a lot of unique helmets and heads that they can make before they need to revisit a background character. Look how long it has taken LEGO to revisit Biggs and Wedge. The main draw that I see in this set is the minifigure, and he's not important enough to make this set escalate in value. The second thing that we need to think of is whether this ship is iconic enough to draw in the fans later. Yes, it is an X-Wing. X-Wings are iconic. But, it's not a hero ship. It will be a nice to have, not a need to have. Kids who have relatives that want to get them one of the important ships in LEGO form will scoop this up, because it will always be cheaper than every other X-Wing released. Even if the individual price on this kit goes up, it will always be hampered by the value of a real X-Wing set. Even polybags could torpedo the value. The third and final thing to look at for this set is where it fits in the series. The third series of microfighters will be stumbling block for this line. LEGO has heavily loaded this series with sinkers. I feel that serious collectors will take a pass on almost everything in this series. What does that mean for the future? Well, if collectors ignore this on the shelves, they won't get a lot of refreshes. If the Microfighters line continues, there may be those who circle back around later to sweep the entire series. I would pin any future movement on how limited the number of refreshes are this year. But, if they don't sell at all, regardless of rarity they won't be worth anything in future. I wouldn't expect this set to sell as well post EOL as the Series 1 X-Wing. EXTRA PIECES There are 2 extra pieces.

The Proposal Looking at one and done themes, both in terms of one wave and an availability of one year (and change), can an investor learn anything? Short answer: maybe. Long answer: maaaaaaybe. I'd like to spend a little time talking about the Castle theme. Availability from brickset.com lists May 28th, 2013 to December 22nd, 2014. Yes, I know this might be stretching the aforementioned 'one and change' but actual production was likely much closer to one year with the later EOL date the result of stock being depleted after the final production run. Let's get started... The Forums The Castle 2013 thread was essentially a discussion of why the 2013 was inferior to Kingdoms and other earlier iterations. Little talk of investment potential or future projections, and not too much chatter even as EOL approached. Many liked the dragon in Dragon Mountain. Some didn't. The 70404 King's Castle thread was similar. It started with a bang – a divisive set from the get go with some forum 'bantering' about the overall 'kiddiness' or 'juniorization' of the set as well as 'discussion' in the form of wild speculation (even before the set was released!). I was pleased to see I posted in that thread! Go me! It wasn't my best post, but certainly not my worst. I give it a B- grade. (See it on page 1 of 3 in the 70404 thread). The best information that can be gleaned from the paltry three pages came courtesy of J-Mack, who (I'm paraphrasing) thought King's Castle would hit $200 tops. Amazon has it at $199 as of mid-February 2016 so it turns out the guy might have a pretty good understanding of the Lego secondary market. One factor that might prove him wrong – well, not wrong, per se, but perhaps too conservative, is the lack of a similar replacement on the horizon. Nexo Knights doesn't seem like much of a direct competitor, so perhaps Christmas 2016 will see prices somewhere between $220-240? The CAGR (US) Data taken Feb. 2016 Set # Set Name CAGR% (BP Data Feb 2016) MSRP (US) 70400 Forest Ambush -0.06 $11.99 70401 Gold Getaway 2.98 $19.99 70402 Gatehouse Raid 8.95 $29.99 70403 Dragon Mountain 10.7 $49.99 70404 King's Castle 25.57 $99.99 I think the Gatehouse Raid got a little boost from the fact that it can be used to expand 70404, and was a little surprised that Dragon Mountain wasn't a bit stronger. King's Castle hit the sweet spot. While 70404 was probably harder for most folks to get on clearance, I think it is reasonable to assume that many got it with a solid discount and have had the opportunity to double their initial investment. As for the smaller sets, I think I take away from this that money could only be easily made with deep clearance sales. I recently passed on some of the smallest set from the Pirates theme at nearly 50% off, but did end up biting at 75% off. Of course, smart investors can always bundle some of the smaller sets with 70404 but my personal experience selling King's Castle over the holidays was 9 solo sets to 2 bundles. What Did We Learn? The forums didn't really provide a lot of useful information. In fact, the forums might have dissuaded folks from buying these to their own detriment. I think we also learned that the largest set in the theme provided the best total profit as well as the best CAGR%. It tells me I should probably get out there and get the last of the Brick Bounty sets still in the wild, for one, and that I can probably pass on the other sets in the Pirates line (no good comparison to Dragon Mountain or even Gatehouse Raid). It also helps me look at other themes more critically to try and maximize profit. Veegs