Five reasons the rumoured LEGO Star Wars mechs could actually be interesting

It’s easy to brush off the rumoured upcoming LEGO Star Wars mech sets as undesirable shelf-filler for kids, but there’s actually a lot more to be excited for than you might think.

Recently, when the rumour that the LEGO Marvel mech armour sets would be crossing over into Star Wars started circulating, a lot of LEGO fans were upset. Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and Stormtroopers never wear mech armour – in fact, pretty much no one in Star Wars does. It’s understandably frustrating that something with no actual basis in the source material could be ‘taking the spot’ of more accurate sets, but these mechs aren’t all doom and gloom.

While the LEGO Marvel mech armour sets aren’t exactly fan-favourites among adult collectors, the line is still very popular and successful among children and has now been a staple of the theme for over three years. The decision to do mechs for Star Wars as well isn’t baseless, and the past few years have taught us that there are, in fact, some things for adult fans to look forward to in these sets. We’ve made it easy on you and compiled some of those things into a list, so without further ado…

5 – Exclusive printed elements

Stickers are everywhere in LEGO sets these days, and it’s not a controversial opinion to say that they aren’t very well-liked. Every LEGO Marvel mech armor set, on the other hand, has included no stickers and at least one printed element, usually a 2×2 tile or a modified 2×3 tile. It’s fair to assume the Star Wars mechs will be the same, and will likely be even more useful in Star Wars custom builds than the printed tiles in the Marvel sets.

4 – Brick-built blasters and lightsabers

It’s not often that LEGO designers have an excuse to make guns. They’ve even been known to omit guns where they’re supposed to be, such as in the Avatar AMP Suit set. But, when it comes to Star Wars, the blasters are too iconic to not include for characters like Boba Fett or a Stormtrooper. In the 2015-2018 line of Star Wars buildable figures, the highlight of a set was often the built-up blaster – it’s exciting to think of what an E-11 or EE-3 will look like at this new scale.

Lightsabers will surely be seen quite often if the rumoured Star Wars mechs continue beyond this first wave. There aren’t too many ways to build an appealing lightsaber blade with LEGO pieces, so it’s possible a new element will be introduced or that the old piece from the buildable figures will be brought back. It would be fun if each figure had a uniquely-built hilt for their weapon as well.

3 – Other unique pieces

What would Darth Vader be without his flowing black cape? Or Boba Fett without his? It’s hard to imagine these characters represented without these iconic garments. These sets could end up being a cheap way to get ahold of some nice large fabric pieces if capes for the mechs are included.

Marvel mechs, along with NINJAGO, have also introduced a plethora of brand-new pieces for the mech sub-system over the past few years. Expanding into Star Wars suggests that these mechs are here to stay and even more new pieces could be introduced over time.

2 – Funny gimmicks

Some people really under-estimate the value of a truly funny LEGO set. It’s not often that you see them – LEGO models are usually meant to be accurate depictions of something from real life or some sort of source material. But every now and then, there’s a set on the shelves that can bring a smile to your face just by looking at it. Some of the sillier BrickHeadz (Gollum, Slimer, etc.) and the recent Green Goblin Lighthouse come to mind.

Star Wars has plenty of characters who could have mechs with silly features. Yoda could have a short little mech with stubby legs. General Grievous could have a four-armed mech. R2-D2 could sit in an oddly-shaped mech. There could even be a mech for Jar Jar Binks. Sure, they might make some die-hard fans a bit upset, but they would also be fun to point at on the store shelves and have a little laugh.

1 – Cheap ways to get rare minifigures

Finally, the most obvious upside of mech armor sets joining the Star Wars theme: minifigures. Microfighters have already proven to be a great way to get desirable minifigures like The Mandalorian or Kylo Ren for cheap, and it’s safe to assume that the mechs will be no different. 

The first wave reportedly doesn’t feature any characters that are too hard to come by these days, but it will be the cheapest way to currently get Darth Vader. It’s not far-fetched to assume that future waves could feature fan-favourite characters that are on the rarer side, like Jango Fett or Kit Fisto.

Are you excited for the upcoming Star Wars mech armour sets, or are you still sceptical? Remember that these sets aren’t confirmed by LEGO in any way, so there’s still a chance they won’t even happen at all.

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