Random set of the day: Chewbacca and 2 Biker Scouts Minifig Pack - Star Wars #3
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 3342 Chewbacca and 2 Biker Scouts Minifig Pack - Star Wars #3, released in 2000. It's one of 19 Star Wars sets produced that year. It contains 22 pieces and 3 minifigs, and its retail price was US$5.
It's owned by 1104 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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13 comments on this article
Wow. These minifig packs *were* random.
So I recently acquired this (3.5 years ago) and the Sith pack from my pastor because his much older son wasn't going to do anything with his LEGO collection (FYI I was 21 at the time lol) and the completist in me is itching to get the droid one and the Luke, Han and Boba one. I could easil get the droid one whenever I want because droids, they're worth next to nothing, but that one with Luke, Han, and Boba? No minifigs are worth the money I would need to fork out. So the moral of the story is to be nice to people and they will give you free LEGO, and don't be a completist.
Didn't these packs cause other toy companies to throw a hissyfit because they viewed them as competitors to their action figures? I recall some kind of anecdote like that mentioned as an explanation why sw battlepacks come with a small throwaway build instead of just the figures.
This set is actually really awesome. the card and stand thing reminds me of those polybags they've started doing.
I had all of these minifigure packs they were cool but iv lost afew mini figures over time tho :(
@thunbear Yeah, I think it was Hasbro. They own the right to make Star Wars figures and the courts ruled that,somehow, a minifigure Is legally equivalent to an action figure. Therefore they must now have a small build alongside the minifigures as they can't sell them by themselves. Put simply: you're right.
I've got one of these for sale in the forum for anyone that's interested.
https://forum.brickset.com/discussion/comment/582677Comment_582677
Box is open, contents are still sealed.
Apologies if this pimping is verboten, please feel free to delete this comment if it is!
I would love to see these kind of sets come back. Why don't they make these minifigure packs and add something like a weapon rack similar to those in the Star Wars advent calendars? I think that would get around the 'action figure'-argument.
In perspective 5.00 USD would be about 7.30 USD in today's money. I think 8 or 9 USD sounds fair for 3 minifigures, considering the prices on Bricklink or other secondary markets, let alone buying full sets only for the minifigs.
I see why LEGO had to do these for licenses (from the above comments) but why'd the stop for regular themes? I know Rock Raiders had a few of these. Maybe non-Star Wars figs just didn't sell well.
I wonder if the Hasbro action figure claim is still in effect, and if so if that's why we don't have a Star Wars CMF?
I ended up getting all of these Star Wars packs. The Sith one was great especially because it allowed you to get Vader, The Emperor, and Darth Maul without having to buy sets that they came in. The magnet sets accomplished a similar thing when the figures could actually be removed from the magnets.
@MataNui2009, I think you're right in that non licensed figures wouldn't sell as well. With non licensed sets, it seems to me that the actual set and build is what people buy, not the mini figures. But with licensed sets, the mini figures are often a huge draw, hence people wanting them individually. I would guess Hasbro still has some sort of claim on the individual figure.
@thunbear For some reason Hasbro don't view Buildable Figures as action figures even though they obviously are...
I rather suspect they killed the line at least partly because it would mean no one would have to get a large set to buy a cool minifig any more.
I remember getting this just for my first Chewie. Already had the Speeder Bikes set with the 2 Scout Troopers and original Endor Luke. Always thought was a strange mix of figures. Loved those original troopers with the printed sunglasses, still got my original brown Chewie ....