Lawngnome

Don't have a camera or an LDD model of it currently, but a very simple interior fix to 75257 was to cram the kitchen to its proper place next to the bunks (I also replaced the stove with a white mailbox to make it a proper oven :P ) and flip the couch next to the dejarik table 90 degrees. While the latter move effectively blocks access to the lounge from one side, it looks good in practice as it doubles as a divider without needing to add any walls in the very limited space available. An extra two layers of plating to the mandibles to make them more robust, and just random pieces here and there to plug in some of the gaps also worked wonders, even though I opted to forgo accuracy of colors and placement of greebling this time around in favor of just adding them where I felt like it. Oh, and I hollowed out the cockpit passageway, but I may yet revert that change as it compromised structural stability quite a bit, the ceiling is only 3 bricks high, and it's more or less impossible to see into it anyway... I'm also working on a 150% upscaled MOC in LDD at the moment, which has just enough room to fit (almost) a full, easily accessible interior, and it's coming along quite nicely after the first week. Hopefully the physical model will actually hold together when (and if) I get to building it, but that's for another time.

Made an impulse buy of 75147 Star Scavenger when I saw it 75% off in a local toy store. The build is whatever, but I like the figures so with the discount I more or less only paid for the figs and got a set's worth of spare parts for free. :P

The differently toned heads were mentioned at least in one video review, maybe Jang or Brickshow. It'll be interesting once I get my copy to see if it's done deliberately, even if no official attention is called to it.

So now that there's this photo out featuring Captain Phasma without her helmet (potential spoilers!), I think it's finally time to give her Lego form a proper face too (unless and until we get an official one, at any rate).

There are probably in-depth explanations somewhere on the forums, but put simply, a set nowadays can have its pieces made all over the world, and the raw materials used may vary between factories. Subtle chemical or structural differences are also possible even within the same batch of parts, but as long as those fall within certain tolerances they're not considered flawed. Finally, during storage, handling, and shipping, parts may have been exposed to any number of external factors, such as temperature, that TLG could not have had any control over. A combination of any and all of those things, and you can and should expect something to be off every now and then. While Lego pieces generally are more durable than most toys, they're still just plastic, which by its very definition changes easily.

Happened across 75158 Combat Frigate with 50% off at the local TRU, so it was a no-brainer, especially since I was just about to order one at full price before they get retired. The ship has a nice design, a bit tough to handle perhaps (even with the handle) but I quite like the look of this bulky, no-nonsense warship, and the build was interesting enough and didn't get repetitive. (Though I really wish I'd thought of properly aligning the spinning engine thingy at the appropriate step! OCD got the better of me when the engine axis was slightly rotated in its default position, so I had to tear half the ship apart to fix it...) The minifigs are a mixed bag; Ahsoka is the main reason I got the set in the first place, and Sato is okay, but the rest were duplicates for me (not that there's anything wrong with another Kallus, except for the lack of a hair piece). That said, when a second-hand Ahsoka alone can cost 2/3 of the price I paid for the whole thing, I really can't complain.

My favorites from the collection in no particular order... I'm not going to spend hours trying to decide on that Boba Fett (Desert Skiff): the most accurate version, up until the UCS one that I don't (yet) have Oola (Jabba's Palace): put bluntly, this fig is sexier than the real thing Darth Vader (Death Star Final Duel): love the new helmet, period Darth Revan (polybag): KOTOR being one of the best games ever made, this is one fig I had no regrets paying 30€ for Kylo Ren (Command Shuttle/Takodana): the different heads are both a must have for one of the most complex Star Wars villains in ages

75102 X-Wing today, completing the main cast with Poe. I was on the fence about getting this set for a long time, and had there not been a 20% off all SW Lego at the local toy store this weekend, I probably still wouldn't have gotten it. It's not that the set or the aesthetics of the ship itself are bad... it just doesn't quite look like an X-wing to me. But with that said, it's still better than no X-Wing at all (I really need to get me a 9493 at some point...) and the figs I do like. Yet with that said, since there is a more traditional-looking variant coming up later on, this one may well have the dubious honor of becoming the first Star Wars set (not counting a couple spare Imperial Troop Transports) I'll end up disassembling for parts. There are never too many black parts. Also got 75139 Takodana. Way too expensive for what you get, but again, it was on sale and I did want Maz and unmasked Kylo. Also, Stormtroopers. There are never too many Stormtroopers. Might need to customize the castle itself at some point, but for now it'll serve its purpose. And just because they were on sale too, I couldn't resist picking up 75117 and 75111, or Kylo and Vader constractions, respectively. They really look great standing side by side, both aesthetically and thematically. (Having Grievous hanging around in the background makes it a villain assembly representing all three movie eras, so that's nice too.)

That's... surprisingly accurate with "only" spare sets used, considering how limited the official set is. Nice work!

The LXF is mine, while most of the actual photos (especially depicting the modded paneling) are from entirely different people. I do recommend using the various photos of the physical mods for reference to get rid of the gaps, as LDD has limitations with what it lets you do and the arrangement I used for the wedges in the LXF is not necessarily accurate even to my own version of the physical build. But I'm glad you liked the greebling nonetheless.

75138 Hoth Attack... this set got some bad rap because of it being yet another generic-ish Hoth battle, but judging solely on its own merits it's quite nice with plenty of play features to boot. Not that I care about those, and I did primarily get the set because I didn't have any previous Hoth stuff aside from the latest snowspeeder... and because the sets I'd have preferred more to qualify for the TFA 3PO polybag were currently out of stock. As an added surprise bonus, Lego Shop threw in an Admiral Yularen as well, which is always nice even if he's now just sitting in his bag along with 3 other spares of him.

A 6x6 dish with a pair of 1x2 jumper plates at the back fits the 75105 assembly without any other modifications needed. Optionally, you can use a "webbed" 6x6 dish and/or a stud or a cylinder brick on the main dish for added detail. Also, just a heads-up on filling in the gaps with modded plating, the fit on the physical model can be very tight, so be aware that it may take some further modification to avoid some pieces being under constant stress (or if someone got their mods to fit without issues, I'd appreciate an LDD file on the structure!). Personally, I left the edges next to the boarding tubes unmodified and instead filled in the gaps by widening the regular build underneath. Now I just need to get my hands on a proper camera again to get some clear pictures.

75101 Special Forces TIE at 25% off and some additional discount, so the total cost wasn't too bad. It was a low priority, but the offer was good enough and I did want the pilots, so... yeah. It is a nice build though, and I especially like how similar the wings are to 9492, giving the design aesthetic a nice continuity there. The cockpit has good symmetry thanks to the new(ish) windshield-canopy-thingy pieces; I should actually get a couple of TIE Advanced Prototype windshields and retrofit those on the 9492 and its custom Interceptor mod too. (And then see if I can find yet another 9492 or two and build a TIE Bomber to complete the OT TIE family). As for the FO fighter again, it's surprisingly hefty, and I do appreciate the rock solid wing connection despite my initial reluctance of using clips there. (Really, sometimes I forget that even if something were to break, it's not like a couple of Lego pieces is hard to replace...) Also, I didn't expect to get a spare pair of roller skates in a Star Wars set!

Sure it's possible, but I somewhat doubt TLG would miss an opportunity to make more sales (to those who already have the old set) by doing just a re-release with minor updates when the old one is barely retired yet. They might as well just keep churning out the old DS with a few swapped out parts in the same package if that's what they were going for, seeing how it's obviously still selling just fine.

Thanks for the advice and photos, Dameronian, that saves a lot of trouble fiddling with the parts (and a few L-plates). Ooooh, can't wait to get the rest of the wedges I need, hopefully still before the holidays.