Star War LEGO - The History
Legend says that the children of George Lucas, big LEGO fans, requested the Star Wars LEGO license. Legend also states that Lucas defers to his children's judgement on the suitability of these licensed sets, as well as their adherance to LucasArts standards.
The Star Wars LEGO license was launched in 1999 with the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. LEGO has released new sets with each subsequent prequel, as well as sets based on the Classic Trilogy. The first sets were generally well-received, but some fans complained about the poor design of some vehicles, as well as the absence of enough unique minifigs (and far too many Qui-Gon and Jar Jar minifigs).
10143: Death Star 2Whether in response to these criticisms or not, LEGO has since released several redesigned sets, including the improved X-wing Fighter and Boba Fett's Slave I. New sets also include a wider variety of minifigs. ( Jake McKee has stated that fan input was considered when designing the Sandcrawler (10144) set, which includes nine minifigs.)
6212: X-Wing Fighter
However, a highly controversial change occurred when LEGO changed the skin-tone of minifigs in licensed themes, including Star Wars (as well as Spider-Man and Harry Potter). While non-licensed sets continue to include minifigs with traditional yellow heads and hands, all licensed themes now include minifigs whose skin tones match those of the actors portraying them.
In other words, Han Solo and Anakin Skywalker now have pinkish heads and hands, while Mace Windu has a brown head and hands. The "flesh-tone controversy" occurred at the same time that LEGO also changed the hue of brown and gray bricks.
The Star Wars LEGO license has been renewed. The new date for it's expiration is 2011.
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