Tag Archives: Star Wars

LEGO Star Wars is one of the most popular LEGO themes of all time. Far beyond X-wings and TIE fighters, there’s a whole expanded universe of inspiration, and an army of LEGO fans ready to build whatever comes out of George Lucas’s head next.

Lego Star Wars 75018 JEK-14’s Stealth Starfighter [Review]

75018 JEK-14’s Stealth Starfighter is one of the sets from the 2013 summer release of Lego Star Wars sets. It contains 550 pieces and retails for $69.99, which you can buy from the Amazon.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below.

Pros:

Wing-folding mechanism with simulated hydraulics
4 unique minifigs

Cons:

High price per piece ratio
Average overall selection of parts

This is a decently-designed Star Wars ship that suits well for display or swooshing. The wing folding mechanism is a highlight, but the rest of the play features are typical of a starfighter. I do not recommend this set for its parts due to the high price per piece ratio. Amazon currently has the set for 20% off, which is how much I would like to see this set priced at to begin with.

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V is for V-Wing, Among Other Things

Since 1977, there has been no shortage of Star Fighters being built inspired by various letters of the alphabet. While I don’t find the resemblance to the letter V particularly striking in this ship, I think that may be a good thing. A little subtlety in approaching the lettering system is part of what makes this ship by halfbeak () good. The use of a Christmas tree ornament for a cockpit is very well executed, and blends well with the other organic elements of the build.

I’m in a Star Wars sorta mood

As a child my life revolved around Star Wars, however, for the last 10 or 15 years I have somewhat lost interest in the genre. I pick up the occasional Star Wars set from time to time, but mainly for parts. However, my oldest son recently received several Star Wars sets for his birthday and it somewhat rekindled my interest in the style. Now seeing all the brilliant starfighters being created for the Alphabet Fighter Contest being held over at FBTB has made me want to explore the style even more with some of my own builds.

One of my favourites that I have stumbled upon is this Incom I-Fighter by Lego Junkie. It just has that right look to it. I would not be surprised to see this swooshing along side an X-Wing or being used to bulls-eye womp rats. This makes me really want to play Rogue Squadron on the ol’ N64.

LEGO Star Wars Sets for 2014 Unveiled [News]

Looking remarkably like previous years’ offerings, the 2014 sets have been revealed for your perusal. With only one exception, this wave is all from the prequel films, and I believe all of the vehicles in this wave have already appeared in previous versions. So if you’ve missed out on your favorite one before, you’ll get another chance as soon as these hit stores.

75045 Republic AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannon

See the rest of the 2014 Star Wars sets after the jump!
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Lego Star Wars 75024: HH-87 Starhopper [Review]

75024 HH-87 Starhopper is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 362 pieces and retails for $39.99, which you can buy from the LEGO Shop.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below.

Pros:

Unusual color for a Star Wars ship
3 unique minifigs

Cons:

Average play features
Hardly any new elements
Messy design on the wing pattern and the nose

This is an average Star Wars ship at an unremarkable price. I was originally drawn to its unusual color scheme. Unfortunately, the dark tan parts are not uncommon and the lime green tiles are very cheap to obtain. I do not recommend this set for its parts. Even for a display set, the design is messy at places such as in the pattern on the wings and the nose. For kids, it’s a sturdy model and will stand up to lots of play, and they will likely not be as picky as an adult builder when it comes to parts selection and design. Thus, this set is best suited for the young ones, as it is meant to be.

Star Wars LEGO Darth Vadar Mosaic uses over 4000 pieces

Jim Jo is a new-comer to the Adult LEGO Fan community but that doesn’t mean he lacks building skills. His first project is a mammoth mosaic of Darth Vader. The mosaic measures 45 inches square and was done entirely without the help of actual mosaic-making software other than Excel for layout. All of the shading (or dithering) was done by eye, which makes this piece all the more impressive. Jim agreed to answer some questions about himself, the mosaic and the building process. Let him know what you think in the comments!

TBB – Why did you decide to do a LEGO mosaic?
JJ – By training, I am a molecular biologist, specializing in disease and metabolism, and I teach advanced biology and chemistry. I work in a school that has both an advanced art program and a well-equipped woodshop. Art is strictly a hobby for me (one I sadly have little time for), but thankfully I have several friends at my workplace who are skilled artists and craftspeople by trade or training. My mind is extremely analytical (part of the reason I have loved Lego since I was a child), and I think that is reflected in my art. In many ways then, there was a confluence of factors that made even the consideration of Lego mosaic a viable possibility.

I conceived of this project as a Lego mosaic back in the summer of 2012, which is long enough ago that I cannot honestly remember its genesis as an idea. At some point, I had a photograph of Darth Vader, and I thought, given the fairly limited number of common Lego colours, that I could at the very least plan to build it as a Lego mosaic. I had seen a couple of Lego mosaics before, in Nathan Sawaya’s online gallery, who, at the time, was the only Lego artist I was familiar with, so I knew it was possible. So I sat down at the computer and started making the digital picture without really having a realistic plan of how to transform digital into physical. In fact, more than a year passed between the time that I finished the actual picture/plan and when I started building.

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Lego Star Wars 75021: Republic Gunship [Review]

75021 Republic Gunship is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 1175 pieces and retails for $119.99, which you can buy from Amazon.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below. The video also compares the set to its previous 2008 version.

Pros:

Very sturdy design, can be lifted by just the wings
Include 5 unique minifigs
Improved aesthetics over the previous version

Cons:

No major flaws, but this is a third version of a Star Wars ship.

This version of the Republic Gunship has the best design in terms of looks and sturdiness. It makes for a good display item and can be handled more roughly without sustaining serious damage. Despite these qualities, the set doesn’t feel very new to me because it has been made twice already in the past. Even the minifigs are just new versions of previously existing ones. If you haven’t been jaded by Lego’s recreations of popular Star Wars ships, then this is a great set to have.

“He’s no good to me dead”

Well, I’ve had the place to myself this weekend and it’s been fun spinning the tunes for your weekend pleasure. Diamond Dave Shaddix is late to the party but he’s arrived just in time with a case of beer, a bag of barbeque potato chips and this colorful mosaic of Boba Fett. I can think of no better way to end my shift. I recall getting into fisticuffs with a fellow 6th grader over a Boba Fett doll back in the day…some things are worth fighting for. Have a great week.

Lego Star Wars 75017: Duel on Geonosis [Review]

75017 Duel on Geonosis is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 390 pieces and retails for $39.99, which you can buy from Amazon.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below.

Pros:

Includes unique minifigs such as a new Yoda, Count Dooku, and Poggle the Lesser
Hard to find parts include dark brown cheese slopes and brown 2×2 round bricks with grille
Decent play features

Cons:

Limited display value

This is a well rounded set that has good parts, minifigs, play features, and an acceptable price per part ratio. It probably won’t look good sitting on a shelf and is more meant to be played with or parted into your collection. Luckily Amazon has a small discount on the set at the moment.

Swooshing through Endor

Régis Gamba (Anio) is a French builder whose UCS Star Wars models were first known to me through Brickshelf. His latest is a UCS speeder bike, which you can see more photos on his Flickr set.

Thanks for the tip TheBrickAvenger!

“They’ll soon be back, and in greater numbers”

Angus MacLane had me chuckling when I saw his entry for the ongoing Star Warsify The Mini Camper-Van Contest on FBTB. Not only is the build masterfully created, but to travel the 61.35 parsecs to take the picture on Tatooine…now that shows some dedication!

“...and keep my shameful LEGO secret hidden like a trunk full of German magazines.”

King of cars and all around hellraiser Lino Martins is no stranger to TBB; in fact it is a rarity when one of his models doesn’t make the big blog. Although I’ve thrown in an obligatory model, in this case the somehow overlooked Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starliner, the real purpose of this post is to direct you towards a recent interview with Lino conducted by the boys over at Beyond the Brick. Forget your typical interview boilerplate like “I love Legos, they bring me back to a happier time in my childhood when nobody yelled at me and everything I did was special.”, Lino brings some much needed wit and braggadocio to the process that is sure to delight the hot-weather crowd.

If nothing else, you should check out the interview to see Matthew Kay’s new serial killer haircut…I can’t call him a cherub anymore, but the new look has somehow made him much more talkative. On the downside, the audio isn’t the greatest for this installment, but to me it somehow adds charm to their Wayne’s-World style approach. This is one of the greatest segments of the long-running series and probably my favorite.