The polybag of the May 4th promotion (May the fourth ...) is already on sale on Bricklink ...

For a little over 13 € (not counting the shipping costs), you can get this Han Solo minifigure before everyone else in an original outfit.

You can also wait a few weeks, order from the LEGO Shop on May 4th a LEGO Star Wars set, the 10240 Red Five X-Wing Starfighter  for example, and get this sachet for free. Up to you...

I specify that seller, located in the Czech Republic, is serious and reliable: I have had the opportunity to order from him on several occasions and have never been disappointed.

The soap opera continues, with this press release issued today by LEGO in reaction to the publication by various media of the scheduled withdrawal for 2014 of the set. 9516 Jabba's Palace.

LEGO therefore specifies that the product will not be withdrawn in reaction to the criticisms that have been leveled by the Turkish community in Austria: "... A few media have reported that the product is being discontinued due to the mentioned criticism. This is, however, not correct ..."

LEGO specifies that the marketing of the set concerned was from the start planned to last two years, ie until the end of 2013: "... As a normal process products in the LEGO Star WarsTM assortment usually have a life-cycle of one to three years after which they leave the assortment and may be renewed after some years. The LEGO Star Wars product Jabba's Palace 9516 was planned from the beginning to be in the assortment only until the end of 2013 as new exiting models from the Star Wars universe will follow ..."

If there was a discussion between the two parties, there was obviously a slight misunderstanding on certain points ... The representative of the Turkish community in Austria, Birol Killic, did not hesitate to communicate to the media the result of his interview with the leaders of the LEGO group and, either he interpreted the result of this meeting in his own way by claiming a theoretical victory over the manufacturer, or LEGO holds a double discourse in order to minimize the media impact of this history.

The LEGO press release: The LEGO Group's reaction to criticism of LEGO Star Wars product: “Jabba´s Palace”.

And it's not April Fool's Day.

Following the complaint of the Turkish cultural community in Austria led by its president Birol Killic regarding the set 9516 Jabba's Palace released in 2012 (see these two articles: LEGO sued for incitement to hatred et 9516 Jabba's Palace and Istanbul Mosque: LEGO officially reacts), LEGO first reacted officially to accusations of equating Jabba Palace with a reproduction of a mosque by relying on Star Wars mythology and its fictional character.

But this was apparently an official response meant to appease the spirits while allowing LEGO not to follow through on the Turkish Cultural Association's fanciful requests.

In the background, it seems that the representatives of LEGO somehow gave in under the pressure during a meeting with the representatives of the Turkish community in Munich after which Birol Killic declared himself satisfied that LEGO had agreed to stop the production of the set 9516 Jabba's Palace 2014 soon.

LEGO would have in any case stopped the production of this set by 2014, that is to say after two years of marketing, and this "agreement" which seems to satisfy the complainant does not require LEGO to really call into question its commercial policy.

That being said, the set 9516 Jabba's Palace won't make old bones in the manufacturer's catalog and if you want to get it at a reasonable price, don't wait until next year ...

This set, whose retail price is € 144.99, is currently sold for less than € 100 on amazon.de for example. You will find all the offers offered by the various European Amazon sites on pricevortex.com.

source: The racist threat? Muslims declare victory in fight over 'anti-Islamic' Lego (The Independent)

BaronSat had fun recreating the Kenner Imperial Attack Base playset released in the 80s. He did it brilliantly.

So far all is well, except that this Star Wars licensed toy reproducing the Battle of Hoth seen in theEpisode V The Empire Strikes Back is a funny interpretation of the events concerned.

Are the Rebels attacking an Imperial base? On Hoth? The designers of this box had probably not yet seen the film and they only had partial information (scripts, storyboards) allowing them to come to the conclusion that Darth Vader would defend his base against an attack led by Luke , Han Solo and Chewbacca ...

BaronSat methodically reproduced the playable functions of this playset that you can discover on his flickr gallery. As a bonus, I will give you the TV advertisement extolling the merits of this set. It feels like the fourth dimension ...

http://youtu.be/vBdxKDdPoM4

Seen on flickr (photo posted by Legocollecter123), the entire US Store Calendar for May 2013 (without the back for the moment).

We therefore find the two usual operations of the month of May with this year Han Solo (Hoth) in polybag offered on May 4 and 5, which succeeds the Chrome TC-14 of 2012, the polybag 30167 Iron Man vs. Fighting Drone offered from May 16 to 31, theHolocron Droid and its silkscreened dish which finally comes in addition to the Monthly Mini Build, the broadcast in the USA of the first episode of The Yoda Chronicles on Cartoon Network on May 29 and a mention that the set 10240 Red Five X-Wing Starfighter will be available for sale starting May 4.