Lego Star Wars - the Coolest Star Wars Stuff to Collect

LEGO is no longer just for kids! Star Wars fans were delighted when in 1999, the first Star Wars themed LEGO set was released to coincide with The Phantom Menance movie and became one of the coolest things for fans to own.

Very soon after, the LEGO sets for the newer movies (Episodes I to III) started to emerge following each movie. You could build many scenes from each movie or just play with the models of the ships or LEGO men characters.

Recently LEGO extended it's licence with Lucas film Ltd to continue releasing sets until 2011.

Not only are the sets themselves popular, but they also spawned a series of video game releases based on the Star Wars LEGO sets.

The Millennium Falcon and X-Wing spacecraft are still to this day the most popular sets to own. Specific LEGO pieces were created to achieve the accurate look of each spacecraft.

Over time many of the sets, including the Millenium Falcon, have been redesigned to improve the accuracy of each model.

The mini figures have also undergone many transformations over time. Obi-Wan's torso and face have changed color, the Storm Troopers have had three different helmet and head shapes, not to mention many different torso colors to help improve their look.

There is no doubt that the vehicles were the most popular sets, and therefore LEGO went on to create the Ultimate Collector's Series which included more detail and were generally larger in size. They were more expensive that the original LEGO sets (due to more pieces and a higher skill level to build) but still proved popular with fans and collectors alike.

Expanded Universe sets are in plans for the future based on the fictional background of the Star Wars universe.

Most of the Expanded Universe information comes from Star Wars related books, comics, video games and other media which can take place anywhere from 25, 000 years before The Phantom Menace to 137 years after Return of the Jedi, so LEGO designers have a lot of background to choose from.

Whether you collect them for fun or as a serious hobby, the LEGO Star Wars sets have become popular with both adults and children and will probably go on to provide lots of enjoyment for many years to come.