This year saw the release of yet another masterpiece in the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series. The UCS Republic Gunship (75309) is a beauty indeed, with splendid details, poseable features and two minifigures included. Its completed form would look right at home inserted in battle scenes from “Episode II – Attack of the Clones.” “Star Wars” fans voted for the vehicle to become the next LEGO UCS. The same designer that created the UCS Millennium Falcon (75192) helped conceptualize this set. Only this time he appears to be in hot water with “Star Wars” purists due to 75309’s design video.
As told by Brick Fanatics, the designer video for LEGO Star Wars UCS Republic Gunship (75309) has received fan backlash. Posted this past weekend, a month after the set’s release, it featured LEGO designer Hans Burkhard Schlomer. Schlomer designed both the UCS Republic Gunship and the Millennium Falcon (75192). But his choice of words while discussing how 75309 came about led to immense criticism from “Star Wars” fans. They took offense when Schlomer described the gunship as coming from the “Original Trilogy” instead of the “Prequel Trilogy.” The pointed comments at this, and other statements by Schlomer, led to LEGO ultimately removing the designer video.
The incident comes across as a sobering lesson. While LEGO and “Star Wars” have successful partnership for many years, there’s still some friction between two fan bases. And the more purist elements of “Star Wars” fans still get upset at what they perceive as erroneous references to the franchise. It’s too bad, given how the LEGO Star Wars UCS set at the heart of this issue is gorgeous. Nobody knows if LEGO will bother to put up a new version of the designer video. If not, then that’s the end.
Set Update
By this writing, the UCS Republic Gunship (75309) is temporarily out of stock at LEGO Shop@Home US. It’s got 3,292 pieces and priced at $349.99.