LEGO just threw its own UCS minifigure rules out of the window again

Just when we thought we’d cracked the LEGO Star Wars team’s unusual approach to UCS minifigure exclusivity, a new set comes along to break its unwritten rules.

A subset of LEGO Star Wars collectors were up in arms earlier this year when the LEGO Group plucked the exclusive Captain Rex minifigure from 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser and popped him in a £13 Microfighter. But while that seemed like a puzzling move from a theme that has recently leaned heavily into exclusive minifigures in Ultimate Collector Series sets, there was method to the madness… or so it seemed.

Ever since the LEGO Star Wars team drew flak for its relatively uninspired minifigure selection in the fan-voted 75309 Republic Gunship, UCS sets have generally always included one exclusive minifigure, with the exception being those models designed to minifigure scale (such as 75331 The Razor Crest, which includes three exclusive characters).

75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser arrived in October last year with two brand new and exclusive minifigures in Captain Rex and Admiral Yularen, so it wasn’t especially surprising to see this summer that Yularen is the true exclusive in that set, and Captain Rex – surely the most iconic and popular of the two characters – is now more widely accessible.

Besides, it didn’t break the unwritten rule that LEGO Star Wars UCS sets include at least one exclusive minifigure. 75341 Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder has C-3PO with a dual-moulded leg; 75355 X-wing Starfighter includes Luke Skywalker in his pilot fatigues with dual-moulded legs and printed arms; and 75382 TIE Interceptor comes with a unique TIE Pilot minifigure.

But even unwritten rules are apparently meant to be broken, because the newly-revealed 75398 C-3PO features the return of the best C-3PO minifigure to date, pulled straight from the soon-to-retire 75341 Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder. The result is that 2022’s May the 4th UCS set no longer has any exclusive minifigures to its name.

It’s a surprising move from the LEGO Star Wars team, and while it’s bad news for that small number of collectors whose investment portfolio consists of things like exclusive LEGO minifigures, it’s great news for anyone wanting more ways to get their hands on peak Threepio. And it suggests that no LEGO Star Wars minifigures are safe from one day finding their way into multiple sets – so maybe we’ll see Admiral Yularen in a future Clone Wars model after all.

For his part, the super-detailed Pilot Luke in 75355 X-wing Starfighter has already appeared as a keychain (of all things), though that’s not a one-way ticket to a regular minifigure given he’s got a metal pole sticking through his head and torso. It’s also worth noting that 75398 C-3PO is still an 18+ collectors’ set with a display stand and info plaque, so this still isn’t quite the same as Threepio popping up in a regular playset.

But that’s happened for Captain Rex already, complete with his printed arms and fabric pauldron, so you never know. This could eventually just be the standard LEGO C-3PO minifigure. And wouldn’t that be nice?

75398 C-3PO launches August 1, and should be available to pre-order at LEGO.com from July 1, based on early images from Singaporean retailer The Brick Shop.

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