Update (7/6 | 2:30pm EST):
Harkening back to June, when LEGO Star Wars™ Creative Team Lead Jens Kronvold Frederikson spoke with LEGO Fan Media Sites, he assured fans that we'd hear more come mid-summer. We're now firmly in mid-summer and we still haven't heard anything regarding the forthcoming LEGO Star Wars™ UCS Republic Gunship, which we're still tentatively calling set 75309.
"Mid-summer, you will hear more. The only thing we can say now is that the model is absolutely awesome." -Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, LEGO Creative Team Lead
It was expected that with the first ever LEGO Con, and their teasers that hinted at some new LEGO Star Wars™ revelations would come to light, fell flat when several sets that were already anticipated were announced instead of the UCS sets that have been rumored for 2021. Other LEGO News Fan Media Sites are still reporting the same initial details as we did back in June, and that's that the ship will retail for $349.99 USD and will contain about 3,500-4,000 parts. It has also been confirmed by Jedi News that we won't be seeing an updated return of Jedi Bob in this particular UCS, and as of right now the Minifigure lineup has been purely speculative, with Mace Windu and a lineup of several new Clone Troopers and Pilots also being included.
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Original Post (6/4 | 1:30pm EST):
At a recent LEGO Fan Media Days event, several media outlets inquired with the LEGO Star Wars™ Design team regarding any update to the highly-anticipated LEGO Star Wars™ Ultimate Collector's Series (UCS) Republic Gunship—which, up until this point, the only details we have regarding the set is that it is rumored to cost around $349.99 USD and is expected late 2021. While Creative Team Lead Jens Kronvold Frederiksen and Design Team Director Michael Lee Stockwell weren't exactly forthcoming about any pertinent details, they did make a statement on the status of the next UCS set.
"The update regarding that is that there will be more information coming soon. Mid-summer, you will hear more. The only thing we can say now is that the model is absolutely awesome. Isn’t that annoying?" -Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, LEGO Creative Team Lead
Amid the release of catalog images of the rest of the LEGO Star Wars™ Summer Wave Sets, hopefully that is a precursor to what we can expect mid-summer as Frederiksen hints at in his statement.
It's certainly worth noting that a mid-summer announcement could spell an early fall release, which means we could be seeing a pre-order option coming very soon in the near future!
In a recent roundtable discussion with LEGO Star Wars™ designers and Fan Media outlets today, some new details have emerged surrounding the LEGO Star Wars™ Ultimate Collector Series Republic Gunship (75309)—which will be released later this year.
The first details regard the LEGO Designer, Hans Burkhard Schlömer, who also created the LEGO Star Wars™ UCS Millennium Falcon (75192) and UCS A-wing Starfighter (75275), among various other sets. The design team also displayed new cockpit elements, which in the upcoming UCS model will comprise of two 10x4x3 cockpit elements which are placed end-to-end and printed, featuring a dark red stripe over the gunner and additional printing around the edge of the element.
Based on the information that was presented by the design team, it is estimated that the total length of the UCS Republic Gunship will be about 20-22in. The LEGO designers also suggest that a small coffee table would be needed when displaying the model, due to the substantial wingspan which will roughly equal the length of the ship.
Some fans will be disappointed to hear that according to the design team, Jedi Bob will not be included. No other information about the Minifigures, piece-count, cost, or release date was revealed at this time. However, it has been reported previously that the cost will be in the realm of $350 and is expected to release in Summer/Fall 2021.
