Legostein

The Empire doesn't consider a small one-man fighter to be any thre

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Hello everbody!

How wrong the Empire was with its assumption (see topic title) is well known among us, as many of the Empire's superweapons (e.g. Death Stars) or flagships (e.g. Executor) were defeated by exactly these small one-man fighters. :wink:

I'm glad to be back, and I am sorry I couldn't make it earlier but the real life job kept me busy, even on the week-end this time. Today I'd like to present half a dozen of Rebel starfighters to you. One has been unpublished yet (X-Wing), so this gives me the chance for a quick introduction. :classic:

rebel-fighters.jpg

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I'd like to start with the X-Wing Starfighter which has just been uploaded to my collection homepage. At a first glance this may look similar to the official LEGO® mini set, however it is very different, which I will try to explain. Usually I try to avoid overlappings with the official line, except for when I see the possibility of improvement. The official model looked too "studdy" in my eyes, although I often like using studs as details. But not in this case. Especially the long tip of the nose with the stud looked kind of disturbing. The wing construction is indeed similar to the official mini but that's about all. The new version has the following improvements: short and smooth nose tip, smooth top nose (1x4 tile), trans-black tooth plate as cockpit instead of ordinary 1x2 plate, glowing engines and detailed laser cannons. :classic:

x-wing-1.jpg

Let me quickly highlight a special construction trick. The cockpit is not connected to the rest of the ship in a conventional manner. It's what I call the "sliding connection". As the construction uses many half stud steps which are neccessary for a smooth layout, the cockpit can only be attached that way. But it's fixed tightly between the engines. The increase from 1 to 2 studs in width towards the back of the ship here is realized by the 3x2 plate with hole on which the cockpit slides. :classic:

x-wing-6.jpg

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Let's stay in "A New Hope" for a moment and look at the second type of Rebel starfighter we get to see there, the Y-Wing Starfighter. I quite like the official version, so I had to come up with something completely different. It's more a design study, as it uses totally unconventional pieces. It consists of two blocky clicky hinge pieces. When I first saw these pieces, immediately an idea popped up in my mind, namely 'Hey they look like an Y-Wing!'. hence I tend to call it h(Y)nge-Wing. :classic:

y-wing-1.jpg

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Now to continue with "Return of the Jedi", two new rebel ships are introduced here. We can see the B-Wing Starfighter in action. It's a very old model of mine, but I still like it and saw no reason or possibility to rebuild it. I agree it's pretty tiny, but quite recognizable for its size. The smaller you build, the harder it gets to realize the correct shape. It can also fold up the wings to its landing position as you can see when you click the image to see the entire gallery. :classic:

b-wing-01.jpg

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Being even faster than the TIE-Interceptor, the A-Wing Starfighter is difficult to pilot. It's difficult to build too. The two-coloured narrowing of the front was really tricky, and I was glad to have good old glat hinge plates in stock. The second tricky party about the A-Wing is the back part. The fins are unfortunately not completly vertical. They're slightly angled. A bricked solution can be realized by 1x2 plates with side bar sticked into 1x1 plates with clip. A nice touch are the engines, which are actually Belville flowers. But these pieces are often the only possibility to have engines at the end of a bar. :classic:

a-wing-1.jpg

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With that we're done with the official movies, but there's still the Expanded Universe (EU) which hold several more Rebel/new republic Starfighters for us, out of which I'd like to present two to you. Appearing in the "Dark Empire" comic series, a real treasure for new vehicles and vessels, we first see the new E-Wing Starfighter, a fast, maneuverable and well-armed starfighter which serves the New Republic well, as you can read in several other EU novels like the "Black Fleet Trilogy" for example. It has three laser cannons, proton, torpedos and double angled wings. :classic:

e-wing-1.jpg

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The last ship for today is the T-Wing Starfighter, originally intended to be the successor of the A-Wing Starfighter. Fortunately for the capable A-Wing Starfighter, the T-Wing was a rather poor design, and didn't make it to high production numbers. It only appeared in three computer games. The fighter itself always reminded to the Colonial Viper of the Battlestar Galactica franchise, and indeed inspired me to also build Battlestar Galactica mini models. :classic:

t-wing-1.jpg

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With that I am done for today. I thank you for your time and interest and which you a great week! :classic:

See you around,

~ Christopher

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I haven't commented on your excellent MINIs before, but I had to stop in this time. That X-wing is fantastic! The sleekness, the guns and engines... all great. I also like the use of dark red over red. The only thing I would've changed is to have Artoo be a blue stud instead of a bley one. It would stand out more that way, I think.

And great job on the Y-wing, as well! Simple, yet effective. Great parts usage too, I never would've though of that.

And finally, even though I can't relate to those last two, I like how you introduce EU vehicles with your MINIs. They always add something to look for at the end of each of your groups.

Do you have a Flickr?

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Hello already again!

You're quick, both of you, and thank you for the nice comments. :classic: I am glad you like the X-Wing and I will have a try with a blue astromech droid (@Jim) at the week-end (currently I am at work with all bricks unaccessable). If you'd like a copy of it (@BigCam), I will gladly provide you with a parts list if you wish. :classic:

Thank you also for your appreciation of the Expanded Universe. :classic: I just try to let people who are not yet very familiar with it to participate a bit in the huge Expanded Universe. :classic:

And yes, I also have two Flickr accounts. They are "Legostein" and "Mini_Wizardy", although I have not uploaded the Star Wars models yet. :classic:

See you soon,

~ Christopher

Edited by Legostein

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Beautiful minis as always, Legostein!

I agree with Big Cam, the x-wing is to die for.

I have a small challenge for you. Can you build the Jade Shadow?

It's always been my favorite EU starship, and I'd love to see it in your mini style.

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My two favorite ships would be the X-Wing and the A-Wing. Close followed by the B-Wing.

I do like the use of bricks for the (H)Y-Wing. So simple but ingenius really.

It is a pleasure to see your minis as always Legostein!

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Another Fantastic bunch of Mini's Legostein :wub:

that X-wing is pure gold! :wub: :wub: Very well done with it!

I like the the rest of them alot! Especially the A-wing, the E-wing and the T-wing. :wub:

Great job with all of them!

CommanderFox

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These are awesome minis Legostein! My favourite has to be the x wing because of the technique you used for the cockpit its really clever. I like how you have used that funny tooth piece for the cockpit its a great replacement.

Great work as usual!

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Cheers everyone!

Thank you for the nice comments! :classic: I guess the X-Wing really wins the race here. :classic:

Regarding the building request, I usually have several unpublished models on hold which still have to be properly photographed. So you might be lucky. :wink: However, I cannot force myself to build something on command. This works only in few cases. Building ideas pop up more spontaneously. Shape is difficult at that size, so it takes a while until suddenly you have a solution for the problem. :classic:

Cheers,

~ Christopher

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