Tag Archives: Midi-scale

The Star Wars StarFortress is loaded and ready

The sequel Star Wars movies brought us the MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 Bomber. Nevermind trying to figure out how bombs can drop in the vacuum of zero-gravity space. Forget that they seemed to be dangerous fiery tinderboxes that would engulf its crew and anyone else within farting distance. They were neat and rather imposing visually, and when it comes to selling movie tickets and merchandise, that’s all that matters, really. Thomas Jenkins gives the Resistance bomber the LEGO midi-scale treatment and the result is quite good. LEGO sold us a minifig scale 75188 Resistance Bomber back in 2017 with, I would imagine, some moderate success. But this model, though smaller, seems to portray its shaping and proportions better. It just goes to show that you don’t need a massive payload of bricks to drop an accurate looking bomber like this one.

You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought

Thomas Jenkins is the latest in a long line of LEGO builders trying their hand at one of -if not THE– most famous ships of all time. While others go for shocking size with accurate interiors, others like Thomas have opted to go pint-sized and adorable.

We’ve seen Han Solo’s pride and joy in this scale before in 2009’s 7778 Midi-scale Millenium Falcon. But in the 11 years since that release building techniques in the world of LEGO aficionados have evolved.

The way Thomas built the forward mandibles, for example, is a departure from every official rendition of the Falcon we’ve seen to date, and in fact many fan creations. The closest I can recall is Gol’s sleek version from late last year which also used slopes to achieve the acute angles. He’s also smartly used a smaller version of the wedge plate flap techniques of it’s larger siblings, and I also genuinely appreciate the effective choice to simply alternate between two different molds of the jumper plates to achieve The Force Awakens-era rectenna.

This isn’t even the first Falcon we’ve featured in a month or even in a week, but you can trust that as long as savvy builders keep coming up with fun and interesting ways to reinterpret the YT-1300 Light Freighter, we’ll share it with you.

Fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy in 1/72 scale

The Millennium Falcon is one of the most iconic ships in Star Wars, and perhaps all science fiction. It’s so familiar that it’s been made into quite a few official LEGO sets as well as countless fan creations. Interestingly, despite the numerous recreations, there’s still room for new design ideas, such as Tim Goddard’s latest 1/72 scale version.

1/72 Millennium Falcon

Built at this scale to fit in with some of his other Star Wars ships, this model is full of interesting design features. A very noticeable aspect of the build is the sheer variety of pieces used. This is evident in the shaping of the overall shape of the ship, as well as in the details, like the cockpit. And that’s not even mentioning the greebles that emphasize the pieced togetherness of the fastest hunk-a-junk in the galaxy. The smartest design choice though, has to be the colours. Not content with the same old mixture of gray with splashed of dark red and various earth tones, this version of the Falcon features a mix of old and new light gray, further hammering home the point that the ship really is scrapped together.

1/72 Millennium Falcon

In space, no one can hear you scream, unless you are in a TIE fighter

Nyeeeeyaw! C’mon, you know what I mean. Any Star Wars fan will have to admit to swooshing their TIE Fighter toy through the living room making that signature screaming sound of the Empire’s mass-produced cheap and disposable one-man flying coffin. This midi-scale replica by Pascal Hetzel has a ton of great parts usage packed into a compact design.

TIE Fighter Midi-scale

Pascal uses some of the newer curved wedges to sculpt the cockpit, and the two solar panels manage to capture the look of its on-screen inspiration without being too bulky for its scale. I have to admit that I would love to see the entire line-up of TIE Fighters in this same scale…

TIE Fighter Midi-scale