Wellllll, they did retire SSD...

 

Sandcrawler in, SSD out... Slave 1 in, ??? out

OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!

Tumbler or Slave... I'm ruined

Absolutely beautiful. At only $200, purchasing one per month from release to eol shouldn't sting too bad. I'm going all in on this one.

Looks slightly smaller than I imagined, but I think it is jus the angles of the picture. i want to see pictures with the tumbler for size comparisons, and a tumbler/Slave 1 MOC battle would be sweet.

Finally!  Someone to hang out with my Lobot...

There was a Cloud City guard with the second last Slave 1. I put him in my old 7119 twin pod cloud car to keep the old style Lobot company 

Absolutely beautiful. At only $200, purchasing one per month from release to eol shouldn't sting too bad. I'm going all in on this one.

Ditto

I absolutely freakin love it!  

Sandcrawler in, SSD out... Slave 1 in, ??? out

 

Death Star Out, 10179 Millennium Falcon In.

Personally I'm not a fan.  I'm sure I'm in the minority there

 

Just can't see the appeal of the Slave I as a design in general.  I have plenty of SW UCS sets and people recognise them all the time when they visit, but I doubt most would know what ship this was.  It's not something I crave - recognition of displayed awesomeness from visitors, but just an analogy to try and convey my feelings of it not really being an iconic SW ship, to me.

 

I'm sure it will do pretty well in the long term as an investment though, so might pick it up for that, but it won't wrestle a display spot from other sets I have.

 

Love that Fett minifig though! Might have to just grab one separately.  I can see his price starting out very high.

so I recently picked up a very cheap used (no box) 8097 Slave.

 

Obviously Slave I is an OT set, and the theory is that OT sets will keep increasing in value with the new films coming out, but will this new UCS set kill off much further price rises in 8097, or will the release of the UCS set give more interest to 8097 from people that don't want to splash out $200 but still like the slave I in general (meaning still keep it for now)?

so I recently picked up a very cheap used (no box) 8097 Slave.

 

Obviously Slave I is an OT set, and the theory is that OT sets will keep increasing in value with the new films coming out, but will this new UCS set kill off much further price rises in 8097, or will the release of the UCS set give more interest to 8097 from people that don't want to splash out $200 but still like the slave I in general (meaning still keep it for now)?

I'm on the fence about this. The new UCS Slave I has minifigure and play features. That means it's a larger version of the 8097 IMO. That's how I see it. I don't see the 8097 increasing in value much after the release of the UCS version.

Personally I'm not a fan. I'm sure I'm in the minority there

Just can't see the appeal of the Slave I as a design in general. I have plenty of SW UCS sets and people recognise them all the time when they visit, but I doubt most would know what ship this was. It's not something I crave - recognition of displayed awesomeness from visitors, but just an analogy to try and convey my feelings of it not really being an iconic SW ship, to me.

I'm sure it will do pretty well in the long term as an investment though, so might pick it up for that, but it won't wrestle a display spot from other sets I have.

Love that Fett minifig though! Might have to just grab one separately. I can see his price starting out very high.

As a LEGO set, I like it a lot. As a ship, the Slave I is ugly as sin. LOL

As a LEGO set, I like it a lot. As a ship, the Slave I is ugly as sin. LOL

I think majority of the spacecrafts in Star Wars wouldn't win any beauty contests by most people's standard.

Looks like a pneumatic sander.

Looks like a pneumatic sander.

I will never be able to look at this set again without thinking about repairing fiberglass.

Looks like a pneumatic sander.

I laughed hard at this. So true.

Not all UCS seems to be created equal; sometimes Star Wars is in the eye of the beholder.  

 

But Boba flew away with Carbonite Han in this ship; my 11-yr old self gives me no options where best-of-breed Slave One is concerned.  

I think majority of the spacecrafts in Star Wars wouldn't win any beauty contests by most people's standard.

Is Sandcrawler a ship? Because it was ugly too...

Is Sandcrawler a ship? Because it was ugly too...

 

No, it's an epic mammoth of a machine.

No, it's an epic mammoth of a machine.

I am sure one can fit a hyperdrive there...

Is Sandcrawler a ship? Because it was ugly too...

From the instruction manual it is a Lumbering Mechanical Hulk.

I guess it's the way that Slave I flies. It is not sleek or pretty and flies weird. As for the Sandcrawler, it's a hulking mass of metal that moves very slow. It works for me.

I guess it's the way that Slave I flies. It is not sleek or pretty and flies weird. As for the Sandcrawler, it's a hulking mass of metal that moves very slow. It works for me.

The latter reminds me of my wife.

If I had one.

I guess it's the way that Slave I flies. It is not sleek or pretty and flies weird. As for the Sandcrawler, it's a hulking mass of metal that moves very slow. It works for me.

Ditto. I'll go riding in a Sandcrawler with "holiday road" playing anyday of the week.

Most Star Wars ships aren't going to win beauty contests, but that's what's great about them.  They are utilitarian, dirty, bulky.  I think that's why I like most OT ships better than PT ships, the PT ships are way too clean and sleek looking.  Look at the MF, Lucas said that he came up with the design at lunch where his olive was stuck in the side of a hamburger bun with a toothpick.  And that turned out to the be most iconic ship in Star Wars

 

Now that I've seen this I might sell off my used 8097 while the gettings good and put that money into the UCS version.