Tag Archives: Rogue One

And the forecast for Jedha city this week is...gray...light bluish gray to be exact.

The scene from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in which an Imperial Star Destroyer menacingly hovers over Jedha City certainly makes for a striking LEGO diorama, and it seems to entice some of the best Star Wars builders. Although we’ve seen Jedha City with a Star Destroyer expertly recreated once before by Hannes Tscharner, this time 0necase has made a much larger version of the scene, and the result is breathtaking.

The Empire over Jedha City

The Star Destroyer is superb, and the shaping on the front and back of the bridge is particularly well done. However, the real star of the show is the mountainous base and city itself. I love the amount of colors and different greebles the builder has incorporated into the city, which serve to make it pop against the beautiful layering accomplished with various brown and earth orange wedge plates. Even the Imperial cargo shuttles transporting kyber crystals to the Star Destroyer are present, represented by minifigure roller skates — a particularly inventive parts usage.

The Empire over Jedha City

This LEGO AT-ACT from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story strides through the palm trees

Builder Ben Cossy intended to make a small scene set on the planet Scarif from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but ended up with an imperial sized project, creating this stunning AT-ACT Walker.  The bulkier sister to the standard AT-AT, this walker has a heavier animalistic design, consistent with its construction site deployment.  Ben taps right into this aesthetic, imbuing his model with a weighty sense of gravitas, doubling the hinged knee joint on its longer legs, as well as triple plating the armoured body.  Yet, it’s that first decision to situate the composition on the planet surface, where the AT-ACT can tower over the tiny palm trees, that truly captures its ominous sense of scale.

 

Top 10 LEGO Star Wars sets released in 2017 [Reviews]

2017 has been a fantastic year to be a LEGO Star Wars builder and collector. As we celebrate the release of The Last Jedi in theaters today, we’re asking ourselves what the best LEGO Star Wars sets released this year have been. Since several of the sets in our best LEGO sets of 2017 list were Star Wars sets, a couple of these won’t be a surprise. LEGO released dozens of Star Wars sets this year, and although we’ve only reviewed about 10 sets so far, we have built many of the rest. For sets we haven’t reviewed here on TBB yet, we’ll include a brief mini-review. Let’s dig in!

#10: 75160 U-wing Microfighter

The excellent minifig-scale 75155 Rebel U-wing Fighter set included a pilot minifig who wore a standard Rebel pilot helmet. However, the U-wing pilots in Rogue One actually wore unique helmets reminiscent of helicopter pilot helmets. So, for a paltry $9.99, you can buy 75160 U-wing in Microfighters form and pick up the one accessory that should’ve been in 75155. Still, this is a wonderful little set on its own merits, with a fantastic minifig (I believe I’ve already mentioned his headgear…) and a nicely miniaturized U-wing built from a mere 109 pieces.

LEGO Star Wars 2017

#9: 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack

LEGO is notoriously stingy about doling out unique characters in large sets, while the Battle Packs have mostly been army builders with multiples of tertiary characters (like generic clone troopers or stormtroopers). However, 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack includes a fully redesigned Bossk, brand new 4-LOM, and a new printed piece for IG-88. Oh, and Dengar, for some reason. Despite my criticism of the inclusion of old Mr. Head Wound, stud-shooters for weapons, and the basic design of the non-canon vehicle, this set really is a fantastic way to get several iconic minifigs plus a handful of azure parts (125 pieces overall) for just $14.99.

75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike

See the rest of our top 10 best LEGO Star Wars sets of 2017

Rogue One incoming!

There have been a lot of Scarif scenes from Rogue One making the rounds at LEGO conventions and online, but this microscale scene by aido k is one of my favorites. I mean, have you ever seen a more adorable Armored Cargo Transport? Also, the angled details of the tower are spot-on!

Scarif

Market District – Ring of Kafrene from Star Wars Rogue One

I have always loved the look and feel of the lower levels on Star Wars planets like Coruscant, and while this scene by {eeza} isn’t exactly that — it’s based on the Ring of Kafrene mining outpost featured in Rogue One — it still has that underworld, black market slums feel I so adore. The lighting is very well done, giving off an appropriate colored glow from each of the shady shops.

Ring of Kafrene - Market District

My favorite part of the scene has to be the droid parts booth, complete with the assorted droid parts for sale. However, don’t miss the leftmost green stall next to Cassian Andor, which appears to be selling Gorgs to snack on.

Any epic battle looks better on a beach, including Star Wars

The final battle on the beach of Scarif as seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a delightful mix of soft sand, blue ocean waves and giant walking AT-ATs stamping palm trees and rebels. German builder speedyhead recreates a small fragment of the scene, however, with a little twist: the diorama was displayed for kids, so the builder included a number of small easter eggs for young audience members to spy.

Scarif - "Deploy the Garrison!"

Click here to discover some of the eastern eggs!

Prepare for impact! Full power!

Talented Canadian builder Simon Liu confesses his love for the majestic Star Destroyers of the Star Wars universe by recreating an episode of the final battle from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story where two of them, well, are being destroyed. With numerous debris torn off the ship’s surface, this unusual diorama is much more complicated than just two starships colliding. The way each piece is connected creates a strong illusion that every part of this scene is actually floating in open space above Scarif.

Star Wars: Rogue One - Star Destroyer Crash

And, of course, here is the hero of the battle — a small Hammerhead corvette pushing one of the Destroyers towards its certain doom. And it’s impossible to ignore Simon’s keen eye to details with an edge of the Destroyer’s body being actually crushed by the Hammerhead.

Star Wars: Rogue One - Star Destroyer Crash

LEGO Star Wars 75172 Y-wing Starfighter from Rogue One [Review]

With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story available for purchase beginning today, we’re circling back to some of the 2017 LEGO Star Wars sets we haven’t reviewed yet, starting with 75172 Y-wing Starfighter. This is the fifth minifig-scale Y-wing that LEGO has released since 1999 and the largest at 691 pieces.

75162 Y-wing

75172 Y-wing Starfighter depicts a Blue Squadron Y-wing featured during the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One, with five minifigures. The set retails for $59.99.

Read the full review of this Rogue One set after the jump

Winter 2017 LEGO Star Wars sets finally available in the US [News]

As if to punish its largest market, LEGO held back the American release of the first wave of 2017 LEGO Star Wars sets in January, even though they were available nearly everywhere else in the world on January 1st. Fans of LEGO Star Wars in the United States can now pick up the latest sets, including great new sets from Rogue One and Rebels.

75172 Y-Wing Starfighter features a Blue Squadron Y-Wing Pilot, Admiral Raddus, the bounty hunter Moroff, an astromech droid, and a stormtrooper. The set includes 691 pieces and retails for $59.99. The set is already backordered from the LEGO Shop online, but is available now from Amazon.

LEGO Star Wars 75172 Y-Wing Starfighter set

75171 Battle on Scarif includes Jyn Erso disguised as an Imperial ground crew member, Cassian Andor, and two shore troopers. The set includes 419 pieces and retails for $49.99.

LEGO Star Wars 75171 Battle on Scarif set

See more new LEGO Star Wars sets available now

UCS LEGO Star Wars U-wing gunship from Rogue One

With a pivotal role in Rogue One supported by an official 75155 Rebel U-wing Fighter LEGO set, it’s not surprising that LEGO builders have embraced the newest addition to the Star Wars fleet with custom LEGO U-wings like the one from Joshua Brooks. Taking things to the next level with his very first LEGO model posted on Flickr, Mirko Soppelsa has built a huge UCS-scale U-wing with smooth lines, great detail, and lots of functionality.

SB00101_02

See more photos of this custom UCS U-wing

LEGO Star Wars 75154 TIE Striker from Rogue One [Spoiler Review]

One of the new vehicles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and released as a LEGO Star Wars set is 75154 TIE Striker, which includes 543 pieces with 4 minifigs for $69.99.

75154 TIE Striker

With Rogue One in theaters for more than two weeks now, our review will reference spoilers. If you haven’t seen it yet, do so — the movie is excellent — and then come back and read our full review of the LEGO set.

See the full review. WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

LEGO Star Wars 75155 Rebel U-wing Fighter from Rogue One [Spoiler Review]

Following our reviews of 75152 Imperial Assault Hovertank (SPOILER: NOT A HOVERTANK!) and 75153 AT-ST Walker, we’re continuing our reviews of the Rogue One LEGO sets released in October, now that the movie is out two months after the LEGO sets hit stores. 75155 Rebel U-wing Fighter includes 659 pieces with 5 minifigs, and retails for $79.99.

75155 Rebel U-Wing

Now that the movie has been out for a couple of weeks, our reviews will reference character details and plot points, so come back again after you’ve seen the movie if you don’t want any spoilers.

See the full review. WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!