LEGO explains why Captain Rex doesn’t have a fabric kama in the UCS Venator
The LEGO Group has explained why the brand new Captain Rex minifigure doesn’t have a fabric kama in 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser.
Arriving on shelves next month, the latest Ultimate Collector Series set brings the good captain back to the LEGO Star Wars line-up for the first time since 2013. And while Rex now boasts fresh arm printing, the LEGO Group has ditched his fabric kama – the skirt-like piece around his waist – and instead simply printed the essence of a waist cape on to his legs.
It’s the same approach we’ve seen to characters such as the 187th Legion Clone Trooper Commander from 75342 Republic Fighter Tank, 501st Legion Clone Trooper Officer from 75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack and Commander Fox from the newly-released 75354 Coruscant Guard Gunship. But those minifigures are all in sets designed for kids, while Rex appears in a model targeted almost exclusively at adults (the Venator is £559.99, after all).
Fabric kamas hamper the flexibility of LEGO limbs, and make it difficult for minifigures to sit down, which can cause issues in sets geared around play. But if all you’re doing is popping a character on a display stand, as is the case with 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, why couldn’t that minifigure have a cloth kama instead? That’s the logic large pockets of the LEGO Star Wars community are applying to Captain Rex.
It’s also partly why the new minifigure has come under fire from certain corners, but the LEGO Group has now offered an explanation. Speaking to Brick Fanatics and other LEGO Fan Media, Graphic Designer Madison O’Neil reiterated the wider issues with fabric kamas – and revealed why Captain Rex still doesn’t get one in 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser.
“There was a decision internally that we wanted a consistent approach to all the Clone Trooper characters that have the kama,” Madison explains. “We know that kids find them tricky to put on, and we know that it limits the movement of the minifigure in that they can’t sit down. So for consistency’s sake, we made a decision that we would just do a printed approach on those for now, between small price points [and] large price points.”
Essentially: if you’re amassing an army of all named Clone Trooper characters, your new Captain Rex will fit in with your Commander Fox, 501st officer and 187th commander minifigures just fine. That reasoning follows the path the LEGO Group has taken for all its Clone Troopers since switching to the current helmet mould and style in 2020, aiming for uniformity among its Republic army.
If you do want to give your Captain Rex minifigure a fabric kama, you could always pilfer one from a previous set (from a time when cloth waist capes were still a thing in LEGO Star Wars sets), or seek out a third-party accessory (there are plenty out there). But don’t expect physical kamas to return in official sets any time soon…
75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser launches October 1 for LEGO Insiders for £559.99 / $649.99 / €649.99. Check out our review of the latest LEGO Star Wars UCS set here.
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Lego’s statements sind doch einfach nur Banane…
if printed capes are the route lego is going from here on out, at least make it look complete with dual molded legs or 360 printing.
“Kids find fabric capes hard to put on” but i guess a dozen or more stickers are easy with them to deal with? So they don’t include a kama in a $650 18+ set, but do put fabric skirts in a child’s Dreamzzzz set. Come on, you can’t be siding with LEGO on this and from the article it sure sounds like you are.
So kids only have issues putting them on LEGO Star Wars minifigs. No problems putting kamas on Marvel or Dreamzzz minifigs. Include it in the box and let the consumer decide whether or not it’s difficult or whether that minifig should be seated.
Meanwhile, in Lego Dreamzzz …