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.

Dark Side? Light Side? Take a walk on the Wild Side of Star Wars [Minifig Monday]

Star Wars canon is packed with bizarre aliens and over-the-top villains, but sometimes the franchise plays it a little too safe. For today’s Minifig Monday we’re highlighting original Star Wars characters that take risks, push boundaries, or even get a bit silly. Which in a universe with characters like Elan Sleazebagano and Therm Scissorpunch is saying something!

Our first set of characters comes from Tylar, whose Islamic astronomy tower wowed us last year. Tylar re-imagines the Geonosians from Attack of the Clones as masters of pre-historic Earth, armed with bronze age weaponry and even taming dinosaur mounts. Killmonger‘s mask from Black Panther fits perfectly with the aesthetic of this remixed faction. Minifigs aside, Tylar poses his characters on some truly epic brick-built sand dunes.

Sticking to the prequel era, here we see Padme and General Grievous in fine fantasy form courtesy of Expansion Bricks. I’m getting strong Ray Harryhausen vibes here with the living skeleton and Padme’s swashbuckling accessories. Grievous’ large golden sword is an impressive little sub-build on its own.

Read on for more weird and wonderful sustom Star Wars minifigs

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Darker, you want it? Killed the flame, we did.

At first glance, this may look like an average Dagobah scene- but what’s average about Dagobah, really? Upon closer inspection, though, LEGO builder extraordinaire Louis of Nutwood presents a darker side of Dagobah. The first clue that something is amiss is the sunken TIE-Fighter panel implying that Luke may have arrived in the Imperial craft, instead of an X-Wing. Luke’s red lightsaber is another clue as well as his black outfit, which he technically doesn’t don until the third movie. So instead of going into the tree of trippy hallucinations and seeing his own face after lobbing off Darth Vader’s head, what abomination does he see in this Dark Side Dagobah? Maybe it’s an eternally yammering Jar-Jar Binks. Or perhaps C-3PO, except with a thick New Jersey accent begging the question, “do you even lift, bro?”

I’m well aware that the overlap of the Venn diagram of Star Wars fans who get my Leonard Cohen reference in the title is quite narrow, but for the three of you — you’re my kind of people.

A face only a Sullustan could love

Some Star Wars creature designs are admittedly cool. Others, like the Aqualish, leaves us asking- is that a butt for a mouth? When I first saw Nien Nunb in Return of the Jedi, I told anyone who would listen- That looks like a [redacted by editing staff] on a [redacted by editing staff]! I was in junior high so I’m pretty sure that utterance got me suspended from school. LEGO phenom Oscar Cederwall is clearly a fan; in fact, he tells us this odd Sullustan was one of only a few Star Wars action figures he had as a kid. I have to give props for the neat build techniques at play here. Everything from his mouse-y eyes to his -uh- fleshy jowel flaps are spot on. He also piloted the Millenium Falcon alongside Lando so he garners some cool points there. But, Oscar, if you haven’t already, check out the episode of the Venture Bros. when The Order of the Triad conjure up Nien Nunb and calls him an abomination. It’s quality entertainment!

Return of the Return of the Jedi movie poster- in LEGO

They don’t make movie posters the way they used to. Star Wars and cinema fans of a certain age may have fond memories for Drew Struzan’s hand-painted works of art depicting our favorite characters in breathtaking action sequences. LEGO Jedi Master Builders Les Foutch team up to bring the nostalgic feels to life with their rendition of the original Return of the Jedi poster. The side-by-side composition highlights their talent for the brick. Leia, Wicket the Ewok, Lando, Han, and Luke are all brick-built and nicely replicated within the composition. Darth Vader, flanked by TIE Fighters and X-Wings looms large and blended into the dark background; behind him resides the Death Star under construction. My favorite detail is the large four or five piece Jabba figure familiar to those of us who may own the Jabba’s Palace set. It gives us a feel for how large the poster actually is.

Pirate the galaxy in style with the Typhoon and Tarantula starships

Official Star Wars media runs the gamut from abysmal to sublime, but the best Star Wars stories will always be the ones that exist in our heads. Perhaps no other fictional universe has spawned as many fan works where foundational canon serves as a launchpad for creativity. In the LEGO community, RPGs like Star Wars: Factions are collaborative playgrounds for stories told with visual accompaniment in the form of original builds. Sentinel_Brix is one of the more prolific members of that community, leaning heavily into the “opera” side of space opera with a complex serial story with a sprawling cast. One of the builder’s latest arcs features pirates and includes original designs for a galleon and starfighter.

Per the builder’s lore, the DY-76 “Typhoon” is a starfighter from the Clone Wars era built by Koensayr Manufacturing. If the vessel’s cockpit looks familiar, it’s because it comes from the same company the made the Y-Wing. I especially like the biplane wing design and the color details in sand red and light blue.

Read on to learn more about Sentinel_Brix’s Star Wars pirate faction

Check out this superb sculpture of Star Wars’ modern-day superstar

Ahsoka seems to be in everything these days. She first appeared in the Clone Wars, and has since popped up in Rebels, the Mandalorian, the Book of Boba Fett, her eponymous live-action series… And now, thanks to Daniel Jackson, she’s in our LEGO feeds! It’s certainly a welcome appearance, as this bust is wonderfully sculpted. There’s great use of texture (the studs of her cloak contrasting with the smooth texture of her skin), and some choice part use (the dark blue cones are the perfect part for the tip of the montrals). But the star of the show is surely the patterns on the Togruta’s face. It’s deceptively simple, being achieved mostly thanks to layers of wedge plates. But man, it looks so good!

“No... Your father, I am”

Now, my memory is not what it used to be. Heck, only last week I found a LEGO set I forgot that I stashed in the bathroom (don’t ask). And although I recall Yoda, Dagobah, and “I am your father” from The Empire Strikes Back, I’m not sure Grogu was there… But ABrickDreamer (whom you may recognize from our This Week in Bricks features) has recreated this scene from the movie, and there Grogu is, so I must be misremembering. How did no-one pick up on that at the time? He’s even called Baby Yoda! Come to think of it, wasn’t there a Mandalorian in that movie, too…?

Boba Fett, electric horse man

The first time the world saw Boba Fett, he wasn’t in a starship but sitting in the saddle of an alien creature. With a dad named Jango and a TV series infused with Western tropes, of course the bounty hunter is at home on the range. Builder Red Impala captures Fett at his Old West best in this LEGO tribute to “Hunter’s Heart” from the Star Wars: Age of Rebellion comic. Fett’s droid horse almost looks like a creature from the world of Horizon: Forbidden West with its’s head limited to a single glowing eye. I like the use of battle droid arms and blasters in the mount’s legs, which give it an extra Star Wars touch.

This model is one of a trio of “Desert Hunters” from from Red Impala. Dino-riding Khalid is also quite impressive!

Jump in the cockpit of this fun LEGO model of the Z-95 headhunter

Most Star Wars fans know about the iconic X-Wing fighter made famous by Luke Skywalker’s trench run during the attack on the Death Star, but did you know about the sleek predecessor, the Z-95 Headhunter? swbuilds, who specializes in amazing LEGO Star Wars vehicles that are quite detailed, has turned their impressive skills to build this lesser-known starfighter in LEGO. The techniques used to craft the wings and fuselage with almost seamless connections is, to quote Darth Vader, “Impressive, most impressive.”

Wes Talbott’s Phthalo Phantom is a menace in Teal

It’s a well-known fact that two of the best things in the universe are Star Wars ships and LEGO teal. What do you get when you blend the two? Teal Squadron, the long-running collaboration between some of the top builders in the community that imagines a brighter look for the Rebellion. Last week, Teal Squadron saw its biggest display ever at the Bricktastic convention. Joining the lineup was a new fighter from LEGO set designer Wes Talbott: the Phthalo Phantom. There’s no letter in the alphabet to match these striking and unconventional wings (4xV-wing, maybe?). Wes based the design off the StarViper from the X-Wing tabletop game.

To match the collaborative display’s aquatic setting, Wes poses the ship over an aquamarine patch of sea with lovely spray kicked up in its wake. The rear view also offers a better look at those impressive engines, which cleverly employ LEGO shovels to focus the thrusters.

We’ve previously featured Theo Bonner and Tim Goddard‘s contributions to this year’s Teal Squadron collaboration. Beyond the Brick captured the amazing display in motion.

Star Wars by way of IKEA makes for cozy living

Season 2 of Andor is fast approaching and I couldn’t be more excited. For the thrills of a rebellion blazing into action, yes, but also for more scenes of Syril Karn’s home life with mom. TBB alum Mansur Soeleman is also a fan of Syril’s dining nook and used it as an inspiration for a cozy apartment vignette for his Star Wars Factions character Jani Pryce. Mansur describes the aesthetic as “Space IKEA,” and I’m here for it.

Mansur built the three room apartment for the Star Wars Faction role-playing game, where participants were challenged to create a scene of civilian life. (I just love the idea of getting XP from building beds instead of blasters!) Mansur went above and beyond, presenting both Jani’s ~~Scandinavian~~ New Republic modern abode as well as a towering slice of the exterior, complete with a motorized elevator. With its clean lines and minimal greebling, Mansur’s apartment perfectly cpatures the look of an Inner Rim world sheltered from scum and villainy.

Cozy up for a closer look at Mansur’s Star Wars apartment

The latest in a long line of tri-wing fighters launches for the rebellion

While the concept of the tri-wing fighter is nothing new to Star Wars, many people may not know about any other than the droid fighters of the Separatists from the prequel trilogy. In Star Wars Rebels and in Legends novels, the Empire also developed a tri-wing tie fighter spearheaded by Grand Admiral Thrawn. Here, Joshua Harrison imagines what a tri-wing would look like in LEGO from the same company that developed the X-wing and the snow speeder. While the triangular-shaped front end looks more like the Y-wing inspired it, the long wing arms and the gun clusters clearly have the iconic X-wing in their DNA. The only question I have is, how the heck does it land?