“Are the Palpatine and Darth Sidious LEGO minifigures different figures?” “How do the older and current Emperor versions differ?” “Has Chancellor-era Palpatine ever been made into a minifigure?”
If you collect these, you’ve probably run into questions like these. Here’s a single roundup that sorts it all out.
Hello there! Figrou, I am — your guide, hmm. Figbase, a reference site it is, where which sets the LEGO minifigures come in, and how to tell the variants apart, across the board mapped out they are. Wherever your curiosity leads, begin there you should.
This article organizes how to tell apart every major variant of the LEGO Palpatine (Darth Sidious) minifigure, along with the representative sets each one appears in, all in one reference table.
The short version: the Emperor form of Palpatine centers on three LEGO generations, “sw0041 (yellow face, old version) / sw0124 (Light Bluish Gray face, revised version) / sw0634 family (current print).” Add the Clone Wars-era Chancellor look plus the magnet and foil pack standalone releases, and you end up with more than ten variants in total.
- 1 Who Is Palpatine (Darth Sidious)?
- 2 Palpatine Spans Several Minifigure Generations: How to Tell Them Apart
- 3 Representative LEGO Star Wars Sets That Include Palpatine
- 4 First, Latest, Rarest, and Cheapest: If You’re Buying a Palpatine Minifigure
- 5 Related Minifigures to Collect Alongside Palpatine
- 6 FAQ: Palpatine (Darth Sidious) Minifigures
- 6.1 Q. Are the Palpatine and Darth Sidious minifigures different figures?
- 6.2 Q. How do the Emperor versions sw0041, sw0124, and sw0634 differ?
- 6.3 Q. Has the Clone Wars-era Chancellor Palpatine been made into a minifigure?
- 6.4 Q. What is the Spongy Cape (sw0634a)?
- 6.5 Q. What standalone Palpatine releases are there?
- 7 Sources and References
Who Is Palpatine (Darth Sidious)?
Sheev Palpatine is the single most important figure running through Star Wars: Episodes I-IX. A politician from Naboo, he rises to Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, manipulates the Clone Wars from the shadows, and ultimately establishes himself as the first Emperor of the Galactic Empire.
His hidden identity is the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. In Episode VI, just as he tries to kill Luke Skywalker, a redeemed Darth Vader throws him to his death, but he returns in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. Because the character holds multiple roles and forms across the films, his LEGO minifigure has been released across many generations and forms as well.
Palpatine Spans Several Minifigure Generations: How to Tell Them Apart
The LEGO Palpatine minifigure has built up its generations mainly around the “Emperor look” (black Sith robe plus Sith hood). The three axes for sorting the generations are face color, torso print, and cape material.
| Variant Name | Representative sw No. | How to Identify | Example Sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chancellor / Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Chancellor look) | Included in some Clone Wars-era sets | White-to-gray robe look. The mild-mannered politician appearance from the Clone Wars era, recreating scenes of him operating in the Republic Senate as a Sith in disguise | Clone Wars-era sets |
| Emperor Palpatine (yellow face, old version) | sw0041 | Yellow face and yellow hands (old minifigure spec). Wears the Sith-hooded robe. An old print with an aged face, the early Emperor minifigure sculpt | Older Episode VI sets |
| Emperor Palpatine (Light Bluish Gray face, revised version) | sw0124 | Face color changed to Light Bluish Gray, with deeper, more pronounced wrinkles and yellow eyes. Revised for a more Sith-like appearance | #10188 Death Star (2008) |
| Emperor Palpatine (current print) | sw0634, sw0634a (Spongy Cape) | Revised face print with higher-detail skin wrinkles and bloodshot eyes. Torso print updated as well. The Spongy Cape version (sw0634a) uses a soft fabric cape around the waist | #75093 Death Star Final Duel and others |
| Foil Pack / Paper Bag standalone release | 912169, 912402 | Standalone minifigure release format. The contents are the sw0634 / sw0634a family depending on the period | Collector-oriented standalone release |
How to Tell the Emperor Generations Apart
The three Emperor generations (sw0041 / sw0124 / sw0634 family) can be told apart at a glance by face and hand color. sw0041 uses the old-spec yellow (standard minifigure skin color), sw0124 switched to Light Bluish Gray for a stronger Sith feel, and the sw0634 family keeps the Light Bluish Gray while greatly raising the detail of the face print as the current version.
Representative LEGO Star Wars Sets That Include Palpatine
There are many LEGO Star Wars sets featuring Palpatine, spanning the entire run from Episode I through IX. Here are the representative sets by generation.
| Set No. | Set Name | Year | Variant Included | Appears In | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #10188 | Death Star | 2008 | sw0124 | Star Wars: Episode VI | UCS-class large set. Debut of the revised-face-print Palpatine |
| #75093 | Death Star Final Duel | 2015 | sw0634 | Star Wars: Episode VI | Set recreating the final duel on the Death Star |
| #75159 | Death Star (reissue) | 2016 | sw0634a family | Star Wars: Episode VI | Remake of #10188 |
| #75183 | Darth Vader Transformation | 2018 | Palpatine included | Star Wars: Episode III | Set recreating the Anakin-to-Vader transformation scene |
| #75266 | Sith Troopers Battle Pack | 2020 | Episode IX line | Star Wars: Episode IX | Tied to The Rise of Skywalker |
| #852844 | Star Wars Magnet Set | 2010 | Palpatine magnet included | Clone Wars line | A three-figure magnet set with Nute Gunray and Onaconda Farr |
| 912169 | Emperor Palpatine foil pack | – | sw0634 / sw0634a family | – | Foil pack standalone release |
| 912402 | Emperor Palpatine paper bag | – | Same as above | – | Paper bag standalone release |
“The three Emperor generations plus the Chancellor plus the magnet,” collect them, and through Palpatine alone, LEGO’s sculpting history trace you can. The face prints from each generation, side by side on Brickset line them up — really clear the changes become. Hmm.
First, Latest, Rarest, and Cheapest: If You’re Buying a Palpatine Minifigure
- First appearance: sw0041 (the yellow-faced old Emperor) from around 2000. Found in older Episode VI sets
- Latest: recent Star Wars sets continue to use the current sw0634-family print
- Rarest: #10188 Death Star (2008) is a retired large UCS set, and its sw0124 head print is limited. We won’t assign a strict ranking, but it sits in the scarce tier
- Cheapest: the standalone Foil Pack (912169) and Paper Bag (912402) sit in the lower price range. Launch reference prices vary widely by set scale
Gather “the three Emperor generations plus the Chancellor plus the magnet” and you can trace Palpatine’s entire LEGO sculpting history through a single character. The larger #10188 / #75159 Death Star sets also pack in plenty of other major characters, which makes them easy to treat as the core of a collection.
Related Minifigures to Collect Alongside Palpatine
The Emperor’s lieutenants and his opposing forces, line them up together — and the conflict between the Sith and the Republic/Empire, to life it really comes. Whichever fits your favorite scene, pick it you should.
- Darth Vader: Palpatine’s direct apprentice. A classic pairing included in many sets
- Nute Gunray / Onaconda Farr: major Clone Wars-era political characters packaged with Palpatine in the magnet set #852844
- Royal Guard / Imperial Royal Guard: Palpatine’s personal guard. Included in Death Star sets
- Sith Trooper: the honor guard from Palpatine’s return in Episode IX. Included in sets like #75266
- Major Jedi from the Star Wars series: characters on Palpatine’s nemesis side (Yoda, Mace Windu, and others)
FAQ: Palpatine (Darth Sidious) Minifigures
Q. Are the Palpatine and Darth Sidious minifigures different figures?
A. They’re two names for the same character. The Emperor-look minifigure is listed as “Emperor Palpatine” on BrickLink and Brickset, but it works just as well as “Darth Sidious.” The Sith robe plus Sith hood look is shared under both names.
Q. How do the Emperor versions sw0041, sw0124, and sw0634 differ?
A. The key is the face and hand color plus print detail. sw0041 has a yellow face (old spec), sw0124 switches to a Light Bluish Gray face with emphasized wrinkles, and the sw0634 family is the current print with higher-detail skin wrinkles and bloodshot eyes. Each generation raises how convincingly the Sith’s eeriness is rendered.
Q. Has the Clone Wars-era Chancellor Palpatine been made into a minifigure?
A. Yes, it has. A “Chancellor / Supreme Chancellor Palpatine” variant in a white-to-gray robe is included in Clone Wars-era sets. Its torso print and facial expression differ significantly from the dark Sith-robe Emperor version.
Q. What is the Spongy Cape (sw0634a)?
A. It’s a variant that uses a soft fabric cape draped around Emperor Palpatine’s waist. Instead of the standard hard plastic cape, the soft fabric version improves how well the waist movement and seated poses can be recreated.
Q. What standalone Palpatine releases are there?
A. The minifigure has been sold on its own in two formats, a foil pack (912169) and a paper bag (912402). Depending on the period, the contents are the current sw0634 / sw0634a-family print.
Sources and References
- BrickLink Star Wars category search: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?v=1&pg=1&q=palpatine&catLike=W&catType=M&catID=65
- BrickLink minifigure sw0041: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=sw0041
- BrickLink minifigure sw0124: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=sw0124
- BrickLink minifigure sw0634: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=sw0634
- BrickLink minifigure sw0634a (Spongy Cape): https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=sw0634a
- BrickLink set 912169 (Foil Pack): https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=912169-1
- Brickset Palpatine minifigure list: https://brickset.com/minifigs/name-Palpatine