Tag Archives: Empire Strikes Back

The only UCS AT-AT I can afford

The UCS AT-AT set is impressive: full of detail, has an accurate interior, and is a marvel of LEGO engineering when it comes to stability and articulation. But at £750, it is way out of my budget, not to mention that it wouldn’t fit anywhere in my apartment (U.K. rooms be small.) Luckily, Will (BrickGuild) Built a smaller version of the AT-AT.

Microscale AT-AT MOC

This microscale Imperial Walker is instantly recognisable, and sports one of the cleanest exteriors I’ve seen on such scale. The surfaces are clean and smooth, with studs remaining only on the wedge plates. I particularly like the use of “sandwich tiles” to give the hull some paneling. Using minifig hands as the “toes” of the walker is genius. And it can be posed reasonably, tho Will had to sacrifice knee articulation. Understandably so, that would have been impossible for a model this small without making the legs too clunky.

Imperial by birth, Rebel by choice

Did you know that the Rebel Alliance’s Medical Frigate began its life in the service of the Empire? LEGO builder Remco Rohaan shares his latest masterpiece, the Imperial Nebulon-B Frigate.

Lego Star Wars Imperial Nebulon MOC

It’s an established fact in the Star Wars lore that the Nebulon-B Frigate, first seen at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, was a ship built by the Empire but stolen by the Rebellion. Yet we’ve never seen the Nebulon-B during its time as an Imperial warship. Thanks to fan art creators like EC Henry and Fractal Sponge, we’ve been able to get a glimpse of what the Nebulon-B must have looked like before it fell into the hands of “Rebel scum.” Now, we have the privilege of seeing the ship in LEGO form.

Clearly, this looks like an Imperial warship. The armor plating, command bridge, and TIE fighter-style wings give off really strong Empire vibes. Speaking of armor plating, I just love how much there is. The Rebel version of the Nebulon-B has a considerable amount of armor removed, which is typical of Rebel spacecraft.

Builder Remco Rohaan also included digital instructions of his Imperial Nebulon-B on his Flickr page but also check out this quick video of it being assembled

Here’s an image of his Imperial Nebulon-B to scale with the Rebel version, an Imperial Gozanti freighter, and an Imperial shuttle.

Lego Star Wars Imperial Fleet

This may smell bad, kid...but it’ll keep you warm...

The tenacious smuggler turned burgeoning rebel general, Han Solo, really saved the galaxy by cutting open that poor Tauntaun. Thankfully, his quick thinking made good use of the dead creature’s lingering heat. Before you start wondering if that residual heat would really keep Luke alive through a night on Hoth, just remember that Han says he’s putting up a shelter. The real tragedy is that Han knew he’d be sacrificing that, er, magnificent creature when he left Echo base. He was warned! Still, I’m sure Luke was grateful, both for being saved and for being unconscious during his nap in a Tauntaun carcass. Mostly. Anyway, this playful Miniland-scale Star Wars model by Ochre Jelly hits me right in the nostalgia.

The Miniland building style allows for playful details in brick-built figures. Ochre Jelly is fond of this style and has built some iconic scenes and memes in the past. Here he’s done a wonderful job with the Hoth versions of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker from the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back. Their respective outfits translate well to bricks and plates with proper color blocking. Han’s fuzzy hood achieved with exposed studs is pretty neat and his stance captures his mood perfectly.

The scale of the figures definitely allowed for more detail and curves in the Tauntaun. Big, thick legs and distinctive claws, along with a saddle and amazing horns, match well with the source material. Those Minifigure arms used as guts are a real clincher, though. A mess of blue clips and plates seem like blood pooling under the multi-colored assortment of Minifigure body parts with hotdogs thrown in for good measure. Delusional Luke probably appreciates that warm goo a little bit, right?

I’m just glad that the LEGO Group hasn’t made scented bricks because we do not need to know the actual difference between the outside and inside smells of a Tauntaun.

A gas mining colony with a view [Instructions]

For the last several years, I can’t imagine the evening of May 4th without rewatching The Empire Strikes Back. Nor the story, neither the sceneries get old. And speaking of the alluring Cloud City, this hilariously tiny rendition of the location by Luis Peña is surely a micro masterpiece. It is built with just 31 pieces, and there are even instructions available for the model.

Cloud City (LEGO Model with instructions)

I adore the use of LEGO cloud elements. So, in case you haven’t got the latest UCS-style 75308 R2-D2 yet, I see no reason not to build a tiny copy of the Cloud City to put on an office desk.

Cloud City (LEGO Model with instructions)

LEGO Star Wars 75294 Bespin Duel now available [News]

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of its release, and LEGO is honoring the occasion with 75294 Bespin Duel available exclusively from the LEGO Shop and Target ($39.99 USD | $49.99 CAD from the LEGO Shop and $39.99 USD from Target). The set includes 295 pieces, with minifigures of Luke Skywalker and his dear dad Darth Vader, and will be available on August 27th, 2020.

Two years ago, LEGO’s first “Master Builder” set 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City included a scaled-down version of this same scene, but this version is more detailed and includes a stand with a commemorative plaque.

Unfortunately, this LEGO Star Wars set will only be available in the US and Canada. The set was originally designed as the exclusive set for Star Wars Celebration, originally scheduled for August 27th-30th. With the cancellation of nearly all in-person events in North America due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this set is being made available online, but only in the United States and Canada.

First look at the LEGO 75288 AT-AT from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back [News]

Revealed by retailer Amazon Japan, we get a first look at The LEGO 75288 AT-AT  that comes with the label of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back. It’s been a while since an AT-AT was released at this scale with LEGO 75054 AT-AT back in 2014. It comes with 1,267 pieces, six minifigures and is scheduled to be released on Sept. 1st 2020 for US $159.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £139.99.

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