That’s the word from our pal Jeremy Beckett over the way at Rebel Scum who follows the back and forth of rumour, information and speculation across various forums that point to the Star Wars LEGO Constraction line reaching the end of the road.
With the concept/design/approval/production/distribution cycle employed by LEGO taking about 12 to 18 months for licensed products these two buildable figures were almost at the point of commitment by the time the Toy Fair season started, and LEGO needed orders to be able to roll them out. Word is, however, that they didn’t get enough interest and both have been cancelled.
The rumour started on March 3rd when Eurobricks member Falconfan1414 posited “So I got some news apparently according to Lego world club none of the constraction figures got ordered by retailers so the battle droid and 501st Legion clone trooper were canceled [sic].“
Despite the rumours, Jeremy believes it’s unlikely that the entire Constraction line will be ditched.
Not withstanding the news that 75538 Super Battle Droid and 75539 501st Legion Clone Trooper & AT-RT buildable figures have been axed, Brick Fanaticshas also picked up a thread that the entire LEGO Star Wars buildable figure line will be cancelled next year.
Whether the entire character and creature building system (CCBS) is being ditched is unknown, but as this method is a core construction technique to several proprietary themes – such as Bionicles and Hero Factory – it is unlikely.
And in case you’re not familiar with the Constraction timeline, here’s how we got to where we are today:
Constraction is a contraction of constructable action figures which evolved from the TECHNIC toy line.
It was first incorporated into the Slizers theme in 1999.
It replaced the traditional TECHNIC elements in the existing Bionicle theme in 2001.
Other lines that have utilised this build style include RoboRiders (199-2001), Galidor (2002) and Knights’ Kingdom II (2004-2006).
They were redesignated Ultrabuild for the Super Heroes subtheme in 2012.
And again – as Buildable Figures – in 2015 for the Star Wars subtheme.
Twenty-six LEGO Star Wars buildable figures have been released to date.
There was no lost Ultrabuild series of LEGO Star Wars characters – it was a CUUSOO project in 2012 – and any existing ones are bootlegs.
With a number of prominent LEGO websites across this story, it’s a topic that’s sure to develop.
