marshall

Yeah, I feel like it's difficult to evaluate the set based on the pictures, because you can barely see what most of the rooms even look like. I'm really looking forward to a full review with detailed pictures from each angle, or perhaps from looking carefully at the instructions. When can we expect a full review and/or instructions to be available?

I think this is a fantastic set, but overall I have some mixed feelings. I've been waiting a really long time for this set, and I previously took a stab at my own version to hold me over until this came out (https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/94595-cloud-city-play-set-moc/). For the size of this set (that footprint is huge!), I do think a two-level approach would have yielded much better results. I think the vehicles are fantastic. There is a ton to love about the set, but I guess ultimately I expected it to be better. The Death Star is my all-time favorite set, and to me everything about it is perfect... and the organization of this set doesn't quite hold up to that standard. I always expected I'd be buying this when it came out, but now having seen it, I think I'll just steal some of the design elements (especially the carbon freezing platform) and incorporate into my previous MOC (which I've been meaning to update/polish for a couple years). If I hadn't already built my own version (which I think I'm biased in favor of), I'd definitely buy this set ASAP.

Does anyone know approximately when this started happening with figures? The frustrating thing is that my figures from 20-30 years ago, all of which have been heavily played with (both by me and now my children) rarely if ever have any cracks, while the new legos I buy for my kids are almost all cracked, even the most recently purchased ones. Clearly this is something Lego can prevent, since it didn't used to be a problem.

I just built the set 6081 using spare parts, and I can't figure out what the Technic pin at the bottom left side is for. Is there another set that is supposed to attach/add on to this set?

Hey, thanks for linking to my (now expired) project! I was actually very pleased with the 300+ votes it got. I think with a few changes (adding a mini cloud car, millennium falcon, and Slave 1; adding an unrealistic number of minifigs) and some better marketing and the project could have done much better. Maybe I'll re-submit the project and see if I can do any better. More generally, what's stopping the AFOLs in this community from putting our heads together and designing a "UCS" Cloud City since Lego isn't doing it? That was the idea behind my attempt, but I know there are much more talented builders around here than I am. I think that would make for a fantastic community build project. I would certainly welcome anyone who wants to revise and improve my model.

Peeron lists it as "support 2 x 2 x 8 Girder (30646)". It came with a couple of the Jack stone police sets back in 2001/2002.

Thanks for the kind words! I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted this (brings back fond memories of building it). I was actually very pleased and flattered by the positive response on Lego Ideas, even if it falls well short of 1000 supporters, let alone 10,000. I think for it to have had a realistic shot, I would have needed better photography skills, included more minifigs and a vehicle, and done much better at marketing the set. I primarily built this to hold me over until the inevitable UCS cloud city set (which I expected to have come out by now), and my kids have had a great time playing with the set. There are still several things that I'd like to improve on the set, but if anyone else would like to take a shot at it, I'd love to see what you can come up with!

I LOVE this! Although it's just a minor detail, I especially appreciate that you used classic faces. What is the trans-blue cylindar going up the length of the building? Is that an elevator?

I don't think there is any doubt that the poster depicts the duel in the freezing chamber. The rest of the poster includes star destroyers, B-wings, and Tattooine Luke, all of which are from sets already announced. Have there been similar posters like this in the past that included only sets from a current lego line?

Thanks so much for the kind words! I've really enjoyed your previous Cloud City MOCs. Overall I'm very happy with how mine turned out (and my 7 and 3 year olds love it), but there are several aspects that I know could be improved but I've pretty much capped out with my skills (mostly in terms of mixing color and integrating more inventive building techniques). There seem to be a number of Cloud City enthusiasts around, and some phenomonally talented builders, and I think it would be awesome if there were some sort of organized collaborative effort to create the ultimate Cloud City playset.

Thanks for the comments everyone, and especially for the constructive feedback! This was my first attempt at a project like this (my previous MOC experience is mostly what I come up with while playing with my kids), and my first attempt photographing and posting a project on Eurobricks. I tried a lot of different ways of tackling the freezing chamber (I spent forever trying to come up with a Technic mechanism to raise/lower the platform with a crank, but I was never satisfied with it, so I went with a much more simple solution). The difficulty is that I am really constrained by the height of the ceiling, so the freezing chamber itself has to be quite low (and actually built into the floor, in this case). If you (or anyone else) has any ideas for how to include a swap mechanism, I'd be very interested. I agree the rest of the freezing room is a bit bare, but every attempt I made to add more stuff made the room feel too cluttered. It's hard to see in the pictures, but there are some crates and barrels, as well as a double-wide pipe next to the stairs that is only attached with a single stud on the wall for easy removability, ready to be force thrown at Luke. I love all of your 10188-style ships (10188 is my all-time favorite set)! I'd love to see you do something similar with a cloud car and a Slave 1--along with the Millenium Falcon those would make perfect additions to my Cloud City. I'm going to have to order a couple pieces so I can make your MF. As I mentioned in my post, this project started with me trying to re-create the official version with my own pieces (e.g., without the huge gray plates). However, as I began to put the set together I became dissatisfied with the layout, and felt it left out too much, so I decided to build my own model. I guess that's the beauty of Lego. I could probably try to do a small, round roof of sorts just to go over the middle section (e.g., similar in design to the disc on top of Jabba's palace--do those pieces come in white?). If you'd like to take a stab at it, you're welcome to the LDD file as long as you share with me whatever you come up with! What additional rooms would you suggest? I suppose there is space across from the dining room (next to the elevator to add another room, but I'm not sure what would go there. This really means a lot coming from you, as your diorama from a couple years ago is one of the best Cloud City builds I've seen. At one point I was thinking of splitting it out into two sets as you suggest, and it really wouldn't be hard to do, but the inclusion of the elevator made me decide against doing it that way (I've also now included a string/winch above the freezing chamber, which would also be a bit tricky under that configuration.

I've been waiting for Lego to release a new Cloud City play set, but since it has not been forthcoming I decided to make my own. There have been a couple great MOCs over the last few years, notably some fine work by StoutFiles, darththeling, and Lobot. My objective was to make something that would believably pass for a model that Lego would produce, as opposed to a diorama like most of the MOC attempts I've seen. As such, the emphasis is on play features and accessability, with an aesthetic that captures the overall feel of Cloud City without necessarily being totally movie accurate (e.g., the front facade is basically taken directly from the original Lego Cloud City, since I actually started this process trying to recreate that set). I was aiming for something roughly half as large as the 10188 Death Star set, with the idea that the set would come in at roughly half the price. According to LDD this set has about 1500 pieces. That is fewer pieces than, for example, the Ewok Village set, although weight-wise this Cloud City is a bit heavier (roughly 5 pounds compared to 4.75). Here it is: The set has three main pieces: a landing platform, the body of the set, and a catwalk/dueling platform. These pieces separate: The top level of the main body includes a hallway, a waiting room, and the dining room. The challenge with the hallway was to capture the feel of the movie scenes while also allowing enough space for hands to move figs around (i.e., it was not possible to put a roof on the set). In addition, there is an elevator that connects the top floor to the bottom. If you take the stairs instead of the elevator you'll find the trash/ugnaught room. This room has a working conveyor belt, controlled with a knob on the other side of the wall: Below the trash room, on the bottom floor, is a prison cell, with a door that slides open: After going down the elevator, a doorway leads into the carbonite chamber/dueling room: This room features a platform within the carbonite chamber that goes up and down, a string/winch that drops though the cone above the chamber (controlled with a knob on the side), and a light brick behind the chamber. Opposite the chamber is the large window that blows out to lead to the catwalk/dueling platform. The window sits on a spring/shock absorber that is sprung by a lever on the side: On the opposite side is the landing platform. This is much smaller than the one in the official Lego set, but I think it does the job. I'm still waiting for Lego to put out a new Cloud City, but this should hold me over for the time being. I'd love any feedback or tips on how I might improve the model.

This looks great, and it really goes well with the Guarded Inn. I love seeing these retro MOCs that look like they could have been actual sets from the '80s, like the ones The_Cook linked to above. Is there a thread on these boards, or some other source, that keeps track of this genre of MOCs? Classic-castle.com has some very impressive MOCs, but they don't capture the nostalgic like this stable, or The_Cook's creations do.

I was recently given the baseplate from 6081/6086, but it has a 3-ince crack along the inside of the ramp (the crease between the ramp and the side of the mountain). the crack is very clean, so that when you hold it together you can't even see it. Has anyone had success repairing something like this, without it being too noticeable? I was thinking of using some combination of glue and a flexible backing material on the underside of the baseplate. Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks for the help everybody! I'm hoping to get some work on this done this weekend--I'll post progress pictures then.