Walter Kovacs

I am bound and determined to collect all of the Star Wars sets, so I find it necessary to prioritize them. My priorities go as follows: 1. Any set containing Clones. 2. Any set containing Jedi I don't have yet. 3. Sets containing battle droids and CIS units. 4. Sets with Imperial troops 5. Sets with Rebels in them 6. MINI themed sets (includes the micro-fighters, despite the minifigs that apply to a category above; I think the sets are ugly ) 7. UCS scaled sets (very cool looking, but too expensive to put higher on the list) 8. Technic sets (I only need three: the Stormtrooper, Droid Developer and Dark Side Developer) 9. Miscellaneous OT (Landspeeders, Jabba, etc.) 10. Miscellaneous PT (Jango's Slave I, etc.) As for displaying the sets, the only ones I keep together are Clone wars era vehicles and UCS sets. All others I build once I get them, then take them apart a few months later to conserve space. The interesting thing is that I am a die-hard OT fan. I despise Episode II like the plague. But the Clone Wars era vehicles are very appealing, and I've always liked the Jedi.

Way back in 1997, I was just coming out of a dark age. Having been a fan of the early ’80s Classic Space line, the Exploriens theme caught my eye. I had always lusted after the Explorien Starship, but the price tag was just too high. That is, until Target put it on clearance. Stats: Name: Explorien Starship Number: 6982 Theme: Exploriens Year: 1996 Parts: 652 Minifigs: 4 Original MSRP: $80 USD Links: Bricklink, Peeron, Brickset Instructions Front The front of the instruction manual shows the Starship flying around, while the rover and on e of the humans hunt for fossils. The wings are shown locked into place. Back The back of the instructions show some alternate builds. I've tried to build that spaceship, but it always falls apart. Random Page This page shows part of the construction of the neck that connects the crew compartment to the wing section. You can see some of the thrusters used to launch the mighty beast from a planet's surface. As you can see, there are no part callouts, so some extra care needs to be taken when moving from step to step. LEGO sometimes likes to sneak in small parts when you're not looking. Bits and Pieces The Big Pile This was a big set back in 1996. LEGO wasn't in the habit of producing many 1000+ sets. Still, the set feels like more than 650 pieces when you look at it. Printed Parts The printed parts are a mixed bag. The computer slopes are very nice, and useful in any spaceship. The tiles with the buttons is one of my favorite control panels. The tile with the red stripes could be useful if you need a warning sign. I've never used them outside of this set. The arrow tiles are one of my pet peeves. I just don't see why we need a reminder on how the set functions work once it's built. Stickered Parts The fossil tiles that are ever present in the Exploriens line are fun. The images change when you look view them through a trans red or trans blue part. The hologram on the 4 x 4 tile is great, too bad it doesn't photograph well. If you look closely, the reflective sticker on those deltoid clips are coming off. In all of my sets that have stickers, it's only the ones on those deltoid clips that have ever given me trouble. Not sure why that is. Interesting Parts Her are some of the more interesting parts from this set. You might notice a black tile in thee inside of the cockpit piece. I have always had trouble removing that tile. The stanchion is the only one I own in my collection. The slope with studs on the sloped edge is useful for some SNOT. In fact, it is the only SNOT on the entire model (used on the back section to cover the canon). While interesting, the large panel piece is a waste of plastic, in my opinion. It is so large that it is difficult to use in MOCs without a lot of gyrations to get the right spacing. And once you do, your construction ends up gappy. A terrible part, if I don't say so myself. Minifigs Minifigs I will always compare space themed minifigs against the classic space era spaceman. The Exploriens minifigs are good, but not as good as those classic figs. The android (someone informed me that her name was Ann Droid ) is probably the best of the lot, with her printed legs. You do get all three Exploriens minifigs in this set. The problem is that the set could have used one more. Without Helmets In this photo you can see the printing on the faces. Apparently in the future, all humans are redheads. The microphone details are nice, though. Minifig Backs This picture shows those classic space air tanks in wonderful black. None of the minifigs have any back printing. The Mini-Rover While the Mini-rover is tiny compared to the immense size of the Starship, it does add quite a bit of playability. As such, it deserves it's own section in this review. In-Build The Mini-rover build is very straight-forward. This photo is taken just after the first of the robotic arms is attached. Three-Quarter View And here we have the completed Mini-rover. It has two robotic arms, one with a magnet for collecting those all important fossil tiles, and one that uses these pantograph parts as a claw, presumably for moving rocks or debris. Front View The front view shows the arms in the down position. In fact, the arms are too heavy for the hinges that allow the up and down movement, so the LEGO designers used a 1 x 8 plate for the arms to rest on so they wouldn't drag on the ground. Not the best solution, but at least they gave us something. Back View In this view, you can see the pin that holds the Mini-rover to the back of the Explorien Starship. The wing piece keeps the rover from rolling over when it is attached to the Starship. Top View There is plenty of room in the rover for a minifig, but there are no controls I guess Ann is supposed to plug herself directly into the rover and control it that way. The Build Like the Mini-rover, the Starship build is very straight-forward. Despite the fact that both wings are identical, LEGO repeated all of the steps in the instructions. I find this a waste of paper, and it makes the build a tad repetitive. This photo shows the starship just three steps in. We are currently constructing the center of the work area. If you own this set, you better get to know this step well. You'll be repairing this area time and time again. Several steps late, and the central work area has really taken shape. You can see the hologram prominently displayed. The black plates that extend out to the webbed dishes and printed slopes will eventually be the secondary cockpits. At this point, the set changes gears and construction of the main cockpit begins. The main cockpit is almost airtight, unlike the rest of the work area. I say almost, because that 2 x 2 area directly behind where a pilot would sit remains open, even in the finished set. It could be a bone of contention for those that dislike gappy cockpits, but at least all three humans have air tanks, so no one is going to suffocate in the vacuum of space. The cockpit is nearly complete in this photo. I want you to pay special attention to those two hinges at the top rear of the cockpit. Those black 1 x 2 pieces are the connection point to the rest of the ship. The ONLY connection points. If you think that a mere four studs is too little to hold the cockpit, especially when it can hang down, you'd be right. The cockpit has now been attached to the work area. The technic parts are a locking mechanism to keep the cockpit upright when you don't want it to hang down, complete with an arrow tile to tell us how it works. The "roof" of the work area is nearly complete now. The roof consists of a pair of 4 x 8 wings, which rotate to the sides when the roof needs to open, and a large space wing, which rotates up towards the front. The antenna array will eventually sit on this space wing portion. The work area is complete, except for the antenna array. The smaller windscreens on the sides allow access to those workstations I pointed out earlier. The windscreen on the back end opens, but is intended to be decorative. You can see the two arms, one of which has trans red/blue dishes for revealing fossil tiles, and the other which has a magnet. The arms are really well constructed, with the hinges being arranged so that they stay level even when raised. Unfortunately, they aren't long enough to be terribly useful. The rest of the build adds on to the back end. At this point the starship is only missing its wings and cannon. Those gray technic bricks that you can see are for the wings to lock in place. This system works much better than the cockpit lock, despite the wings being much longer and heavier than the cockpit. This is one complete wing. The tires are there for when the wings are down. If you land the Starship when the wings are in the down position, the tires will roll along the ground, raising the wings up. It works very well, although you will have to lift the wings a little bit to lock them into place. This is the complete assembly with both wings in place. This entire assembly is dropped onto the back of the starship. The only thing missing are the main thrusters, which are added next to last. The Finished Product With so much going on, and so many parts locking into place, it is difficult to show all of the play features with just a few photos. So instead I will show the finished product laying flat on a table, and then show a series of pictures with the model on some effective (though hastily built) stands, so you can a good feel for how the wings and cockpit work. Three-Quarter View At long last, you get to see the finished product. The ship is absolutely massive. The large box at the back end houses the cannon. The walls of the box fold to the sides so that the cannon can be brought out. Side View This side view shows the full length of the Explorien Starship. You can see the Mini-rover attached to the back of the ship. For the sheer size of the starship, you would think that they would have included more thrusters. As it is, there are only two, on the end of each wing. There are three thrusters for liftoff, if that tells you anything. The neck that connects the work area to the wings in back is a natural place to pick this set up and swoosh this set. The weight is well distributed here, as well. The center of gravity for the finished ship is around here. Front View The front view gives you a sense of just how big this set is. How many times have you seen a set where the front is in focus, but the back end is out of focus. This set is just plain big. Back View This picture shows the Mini-rover, just hanging out back there. Just above the rover you can see the cannon peeking out from its sheath. You can also see the rather inadequate looking thruster out on the wing tips. Top View Not only is the set long, it also has quite the impressive wingspan. Three-Quarter View on Stand And finally we get to see the wings and cockpit unlocked. Those stands had to be 12 bricks tall in order to allow the wings to hang down without touching a surface. As you can see, the sheath protecting the cannon in back are connected to the wings, and not to the main hull. So when the wings hang down, the cannon is exposed, for good or ill. Side View on Stand Another view of the wings in the down position. Notice the angle of the cockpit in relation to the rest of the starship. Front View on Stand At least the massive wingspan is reduced when the wings are down. The ship is actually pretty easy to move, regardless of the wing position. The wings and cockpit are hanging by gravity only, so if you bank with the wings down, the one lowest will swing as you make your turn. There is nothing locking them downward. Back View on Stand From this view, you should get a sense of how much those wheels will help when the ship comes in for a landing. They keep the wings from catching on the ground. Uh-Oh This photo was taken while I was moving the model for these photos. And it illustrates the major problem of this set: it is inherently unstable. The floor of the work area can and will simply fall off of the model while swooshing. It has nothing to do with whether you build on a table or not. The stresses are just too great on the set, so the studs where the neck meets the work area lose their grip. Now, the set can be beefed up in this area to help it hold together a bit better. But I can just imagine how many 8 year olds were disappointed that their beautiful $80 starship fell to pieces the first time they tried to swoosh it. A Weak Point This is the other weak point in the model. It is where the left side of the cockpit connects to the work area. Even if you manage to get the floor to stay in place, this section will come apart, whether the cockpit is locked into place or not. Get used to repairing this area, too. The Antenna Array I mentioned earlier in the review how the roof of the work area opened. Here it is, in action. Sort of. The array is wonderfully detailed. If only those darn stickers would stay put. The Cannon One would think that the largest set in a theme would have the most impressive details of that theme. Not so in the Exploriens line. While the cannon looks very nice, there have been more elaborate cannons on some of the less expensive sets. The Wing Mechanism Here is a close-up of the wing locking mechanism. The technic axle does the actual locking. It slides back and forth, and the hinge brick and tile with handle to the left keep the axle from moving when the wings are locked. As simple as it seems, the method works well. I have never had the wings unlock when I didn't want them to. The Search for Fossils What would an Exploriens set be without some form of trans red and blue elements for viewing the fossil tiles. On the Starship, this feature is tucked in between the main hull and the wing. The assembly is hinged, so it can rotate from the wing in toward the hull. This isn't terribly useful, as the assembly looks better tucked up against the wing. Also, the assembly has two sets of hinges controlling the up and down motion. This keeps the assembly level, even when raised. Overall this assembly is in a bad location. It is tucked in so close to the hull that it is hard to use them effectively. Fossil Retrieval System Like the dishes, nearly every Exploriens set has a magnet arm for picking up the fossil tiles. And like the dishes on this set, the magnet arm works in much the same way. It is tucked into a tight space on the right side of the ship, which makes using it a little difficult. Storage The explorers needed a place to store all of those fossils that they find. This compartment serves that purpose nicely, as long as you find no more than two. The compartment behind it holds one of the instruments for the explorers. Neither of these compartments is airtight, so they feel a little tacked on. But they do add a little bit to the set. Main Area Interior The main work area is nice and open. And the hologramed tile looks fantastic. Unfortunately, if you put the minifigs in the cockpit and at the workstations, this area is left empty (Ann is usually left in the Mini-rover, especially during flight). One more minifig would have done nicely. Cockpit Interior For as small as the space is, the cockpit has some really nice details. There are plenty of controls for our pilot to keep this Starship flying straight. Workstation Interior The other humans get to man the workstations during flight. Hopefully you get a sense of just how large the gaps are in this area. I would hate for any of our explorers to fall out during take-off. Scores Build: 8/10 The wing build is a bit repetitive, but the rest is straight-forward. The instructions are easy to follow. Playability: 10/10 Everywhere you look, there is plenty to do with this set. Minifigures: 8.5/10 The minifigs are solid, and you get all four of the Exploriens figs in one set. It still could have used one more minifig, especially for the price. Pieces: 9/10 A very nice collection of parts that any MOCer can get use out of. As long as you need black and white. Price: 5.5/10 The price to parts ratio is just plain bad, especially when you consider that almost all of the parts are standard. And you only get four minifigs for that hefty price tag. Design: 5/10 This was a tough score to give. On one hand, the set is absolutely gorgeous. But it has that one glaring flaw: it WILL fall apart if you try to swoosh it. For me, that is far too much of a flaw to allow to skate on by. Total- 46/60 If it didn't fall apart, this would easily have been the best of the Exploriens sets. Silly me, expecting my sets to stay together when played with. Still, it is a very good set, and with a bit of reinforcement becomes a fantastic set. Full gallery for more pictures.

I use the windscreen from the UCS TIE Advanced - 10175 in all of the models (or it's older cousin, the windscreen from the UCS TIE Interceptor). They are going for a small fortune right now on BL. Fortunately I bought one years ago when the price was much more reasonable (plus I can borrow one off of my 10175 ).

9526 - Palpatine's Arrest - Star Wars, 2012 Palpatine's Arrest.mpd Errors: Stickers are missing Torso prints on Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Chancellor Palpatine, Agen Kolar, Kit Fisto and Saesee Tiin Head prints on Palpatine, Anakin, Mace and Saesee. Hair/headpiece on Anakin, Saesee and Agen. 75019 - AT-TE - Star Wars, 2013 AT-TE.mpd Errors: Stickers missing Mace Windu and Clone Head print Torso print on Clone, Mace and Coleman Trebor Head on Coleman Trebor Helmet on Clone 75022 - Mandalorian Speeder - Star Wars, 2013 Mandalorian Speeder.mpd Errors: Stickers missing Helmet prints on Mandalorian helmets Incorrect backpacks on Mandalorians Torso Prints on Mandalorians and Darth Maul

I haven't seen any difference between the two, although I am hardly an expert user; I am a dabbler at best. I would think RC 6 was far enough along to have most of the bugs worked out.

I believe 3.7 RC 6 was the last Beta version. I went ahead and downloaded 3.7.0, and the way +UA works has decidedly changed. It even mentions it in the help file. So in summary, those using 3.7.0 will need to modify the Background line to get a transparent background. Those using 3.7 RC 6 or earlier don't have to worry about it.

I didn't see this in any previous post (though I might have overlooked it), but version 3.7 of POV-Ray changed the way it handles transparent backgrounds. In previous versions, all you needed to do was type +UA in the little window next to the picture size. In version 3.7, you also need to modify your Background line to something like this: background { color rgbft <LDXBgR,LDXBgG,LDXBgB,0,1> } The first three components are the RGB colors for the background. The 0 after the colors is the Filter component. I haven't tried messing with it to see what it does. The final number in the vector is the Transmit component, and setting it to 1 allows all light to transmit through the background, hence making it transparent.

I won't be satisfied until TLG gives us a UCS scale TIE Fighter. Then they can call it quits. But I agree with Cmdr Colt, I am very interested in seeing what LEGO can do with the Rebels series. Should be fertile ground for the next few years. On the other hand, if they stopped making new sets, I might have a chance at finishing my collection...

9516 - Jabba's Palace - Star Wars, 2012 Jabba's Palace.mpd Errors: Jabba is brickbuilt Boussh (Leia) has wrong head, torso and helmet Han has wrong torso and head Bib Fortuna has wrong head, headpiece and torso Oola has wrong head, headpiece and torso Salacious B Crumb has been replaced with a minifig monkey Gamorrean Guard has wrong head Printed pieces are missing Han in Carbonite piece is missing 75005 - Rancor Pit - Star Wars, 2013 Rancor Pit.mpd Errors: Rancor is Brick and Technic built Luke has wrong head and torso Gamorrean Guard has wrong Head Malikili has wrong head and torso 75012 - BARC Speeder with Sidecar - Star Wars, 2013 BARC with Sidecar.mpd Errors: Rex has wrong helmet, torso and head, and is missing his pauldron Obi-Wan has wrong Torso and head Commando Droids have the wrong head Stickers are missing The Wedge 4 x 2 x 1 1/3 with 1 x 4 Base is replaced with two 4 x 1 Curved slopes and one 1 x 4 Plate

10236 - Ewok Village - Star Wars, 2013 Ewok Village.mpd Errors: No stickers All Ewoks have the wrong head Scout Troopers do not have arm or leg printing Luke, Han, and the Rebel Commandos have the wrong torsos and heads. Leia is missing completely (how egregious ) Rebel Commando's helmets are incorrect. The Olive Green 2 x 1 Curved Slopes have been replaced with 3 x 1 Curved Slopes (the color is correct) This bag is using the incorrect part. No printed parts are shown, outside of torsos and minifig heads The Death Star Trooper Helmet has been replaced with a Castle helmet The LSynthed flexible hose elements aren't the right size, but at least they are curved appropriately. EDIT: I re-rendered this set, with Leia included this time, but the image came out very washed out. I know the angle isn't the same, but it just looks terrible. You can see it here, but I still like the first image better. I'll see if I can get a good re-render.Leia was included (or at least, a stand-in) is already in the .mpd above, so I have not updated that.

9499 - Gungan Sub - Star Wars, 2012 Gungan Sub.mpd Errors: Stickers are missing Nothing about the Padme Amidala minifig is correct. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan have the wrong Torso prints and head prints Jar-Jar is missing his printed head and has the wrong torso print The cockpit windscreens are the wrong piece. I used a 6 x 4 windscreen instead of the 8 x 6 piece that should be there.

7956 - Ewok Attack - Star Wars, 2011 Ewok Attack.mpd Errors: Ewoks using older molds. Scout Trooper uses Light Gray torso printing. 7962 - Anakin & Sebulbas' Podracers - Star Wars, 2011 Anakin & Sebulbas' Podracers.mpd Errors: All stickers are missing Wrong torsos for Anakin, Wald and Qui-Gon Wrong heads for Anakin, Qui-Gon, Wald and Watto Wrong minifig for Sebulba 7965 - Millenium Falcon - Star Wars, 2011 Millenium Falcon.mpd Errors: No Stickers Wrong Torso for Han, Luke, Obi-Wan, Leia and Darth Vader Wrong Head for Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, Leia and Darth Vader No printing on Cockpit Cone piece or Cockpit Dish piece

9754 - Dark Side Development Kit - Star Wars, Mindstorms, 2000 L-8GO Navigator MPD Link Micro Walker MPD Link Droid Starfighter MPD Link Destroyer Droid MPD Link The Stepper MPD Link X-Walker MPD Link AT-AT MPD Link Errors: None LSynth actually came out very well on all of these models.

I found all of them online. All but the TIE Torpedo Bomber and TIE Lambda can be found in Wookiepedia. The other two can be found at Galactic Voyage. There are a few other TIE variants, but they are all fan created, and tend to have descriptions like ".... is faster than a TIE Defender, but has heavier shields and more weapons...." I didn't really feel like building models based on some teenager stroking his ego. Wookiepedia does list some additional variants, but none of them have any pictures to go off of, so I skipped those as well. You mean this one? I am waiting on three more BL orders, and then I shall start on the TIE Defender. I'll be sure to post real brick photos when it's finished.

I made a decision very early when I started doing the TIEs that I wouldn't remake anything TLG had already made. Despite that, I do have an Interceptor, albeit in a red color scheme. MAybe I'll take a stab at the TIE Advanced in the future. I use MLCad for the design and POV-Ray for the rendering. Real brick versions are coming. I promise. They're just coming... slowly.

I love my wife. She understands and accepts my obsession with little plastic bricks. Aside from that, she is very good at bargain hunting. She checks LEGO.com daily, looking for clearance sales. Which is where she found this set, 10144 - Sandcrawler. Stats: Name: Sandcrawler Number: 10144 Theme: Star Wars Year: 2005 Parts: 1669 Minifigs: 11 Original MSRP: $140 USD Links: Bricklink, Peeron, Brickset The Box The box was rather large, and was about 3/4s full. Front The front of the box has that wonderful Original Trilogy border around it. I miss those days. Back The back of the box is devoted entirely to showing the play features of this set. You can see the removal of the workshop, the opening of the front ramp, the cockpit and even lowering R2-D2 into the top hatch. Box Side 1 The side of the box shows the 11 minifigs. Don't they look pretty? Box Side 2 The opposite side of the box shows two Jawas tormenting lifting the Gonk droid with the crane. It also shows that turning the gear in back turns the treads. Instructions Front The front shows the same image as the front of the box, minus the number of parts. Back The back page of the instructions shows the final step, illustrating how to use the crane and showing all of the minifigs. There is no part callout in the instructions. Random Page The beginning of one of the wall sections. Aside from the base of the crawler, the walls are almost entirely modular. Bits and Pieces This is a large set. It would be difficult for any reviewer to pile all of the parts onto his studio and have them all fit. So instead I’ll show a series of pictures of the parts in the bags, just as I found them. There were 22 bags in all, plus one large black brick (which forms the base of the workshop) and two additional bags of smaller parts inside two of the bags. Bags, Part 1 This first set of bags is used almost entirely in making the treads of the Sandcrawler. In fact, there are three full bags of the tread pieces. Bags, Part 2 And the cavalcade of brown pieces begins. You can see the sprue with the hand tools in the upper left, and one of the bag within a bag in the lower right. Bags, Part 3 More brown. You can make out two R2 legs in the bag on the right, as well as a box that held either the Jawa capes or the thread for the crane. Bags, Part 4 The last of the bag pictures. The gray technic bricks are used for building the tread assemblies. The Dreaded Sticker Sheet Yes, this set came with a DSS, although it is a small one. Three stickers for the windscreen, and two to add some detail to the workshop. There are no printed parts included in this set, aside from the minifig torsos. For the price of this set, you think LEGO could have added a printed part or two. I apologize for the fact that the picture is a little blurry. But the stickers have been applied already, so this is the only picture I have. Leftover Pieces You’ll find a lot of parts that you’d expect as extras in this set. Except for that brown 1 x 8 plate. I went through the instructions three times looking for a step where I missed a 1 x 8 plate. Finally I checked Bricklink, which confirmed that the plate is an extra. Minifigs The minifigs are one of the highlights of this set (some will say THE highlight). There are 11 of them, including four that are exclusive to this set. (Three of the droids are technically exclusive as well, but they can easily be brick built from parts that aren’t exclusive to this set.) Minifigs Here are all the minifigs, along with a hastily built wall to get all of them in the same shot . The Main Characters From left to right, you can see R5-D4 (who really could have used a printed dome), R2-D2, C-3PO and Owen Lars. Apparently the C-3PO came with two different colored hands: either Light Pearl Gold or Dark Pearl Gold. I was happy to find that mine was the dark version, which matches 3PO’s body. Owen Lars is one of those exclusive minifigs I mentioned. Despite only getting about five minutes of screen time in A New Hope, Owen Lars rated enough to get his own torso printing and a unique minifig face. The torso looks like any Tattoine outfit, with the brown undershirt, and the tan robe over the top. Owen's face has gray eyebrows and a hint of gray stubble. For a minor character, LEGO captured his likeness well. The Main Characters‘ Backs Alas, only C-3PO has back printing. The Jawas Until 2005, there was a void in a lot of Original Trilogy minifig collections. The Jawas filled that void, and rather nicely, I might add. Equipped with an ion blaster, they also come with cloth capes and a minifig hood. The torsos show the crossed bandoliers many of us are familiar with. The Jawas‘ Backs The Jawas have no printing on their backs. I suppose LEGO assumed the capes would always cover their backs. The Droids The rest of the minifigs are droids which help round out the menagerie of the Sandcrawler. After all, what would the Jawas be without droids to scavenge and sell. From left to right we see a Gonk Droid, R1-G4, a Treadwell Droid (my favorite of the droids in this set) and an ASP Droid. The Gonk Droid is semi-unique, appearing for the first time in dark bluish gray. The Droids‘ Backs There’s nothing really exciting about the backs of these droids. Seeing how they’re brick built, there wasn’t much hope that they would have any back printing. The Build For a set with almost 1700 parts, the build is very straight-forward. There is very little SNOT used and most steps involved placing bricks on top of bricks. This set could really have used a numbered bag system. I tried to minimize the number of pieces out at any given time, but by step 7, all of the 22 bags except 4 were open. Three of those bags were the tread pieces. The sand crawler starts out very simple. A layer of plates, with a few 2 x 10 plates to hold them all together. Then a few layers of brick around the edges. The most interesting part of this picture is the steering mechanism for the rear treads. It is a simple rack and pinion steering mechanism. You can see the white 2 x 16 plate that forms the rack. Here is the Sandcrawler after the four side walls and back wall have been added. The construction of the walls is very easy, with a lot of texture and small splashes of color thrown in (mostly dark gray, tan and dark orange). The arches and technic bricks keep the walls very sturdy, despite having been made as separate modules. You can clearly see the area that has been left open for the workshop. The doors at the front are open. It almost seems that the bricks with handles were there to hold doors onto the model, but were taken off before production (there are corresponding bricks on the opening on the sides of the workshop). A view of the bottom of the Sandcrawler. All four tread assemblies have been attached. You can see how each assembly has two sets of treads on it. The bricks at the corners of the base, while simple, really add a lot to the finished model. You can see the black beveled gear on the back that controls the steering mechanism. The front of the crawler is nearly complete. The roof of the back section is also done, but I’ll show the greebling of that part later in the finished pics. The light gray bricks at the top form the cockpit for the sand crawler. Despite the size of the vehicle, there is only room for one pilot in the cockpit. Even with the angles needed to capture the look of the Sandcrawler’s front end, the build is still a very simple stack of bricks, attached by a few locking hinge bricks. The Crane The crane is one of the play features for this set. It is used to pick up droids on the outside and drop them through a hatch that sits behind the cockpit. There aren’t a lot of details on the crane. There is a simple control system (consisting of a single lever) and the crane itself. The crane sits atop a 2 x 2 turntable so the crane can access both sides of the Sandcrawler. The locking hinge bricks allow the crane to extend out over the sides, then retract to the hatch on the top. The Workshop The removable workshop is one of the big play features of the set. It’s removal allows access to the interior of the Sand crawler (not that LEGO put any detail into all of that empty space). Three-Quarter View The workshop is very open. The details are very non-specific, yet technical looking. There is a full set of minifig tools spread throughout the workshop. The center of the roof is removable, allowing the crane to be placed on top of the workshop to raise and lower droids into the belly of the beast. Front View The front of the workshop shows the three rather non-descript workstations. There is no apparent use for any of these stations, except to look like they belong. I think they serve that purpose well. Back View From the back, you can see that the center console looks like a forge. That would make sense for a droid workshop. Top From the top you can see the opening where the removable roof goes. It also gives a good look at the forge. The Finished Product The finished product does show a few flaws. I consider them minor. In A New Hope, the Sandcrawler looked tall, relatively thin, with a sharp angle in front. This version looks more squat, wide and the front angle is set at 45 degrees. Still, I think a little creative license is allowed, and the shape, while not perfect, is still pretty accurate. Three-Quarter View Here is the finished Sandcrawler. The LEGO designers did a good job of mottling the model by mixing in dark orange, tan, dark gray and even black in with the brown. It looks far better than a solid brown model would look, but at times I think they overdid it a bit. The designers also did an excellent job in changing the texture of the model. Using the back side of 1 x 4 x 3 panels, 1 x 1 round bricks, 1 x 1 headlight bricks and even turning around those headlight bricks so that the back side is visible (you can see a row of them to the right of the door, about four bricks up). This helps to break up the side of the Sandcrawler, and makes a much better model than a flat wall of brown would have been. Size Matters Just to give you an idea of how massive this set is, here's good ol' Owen standing next to it. His head barely reaches the top of the treads. Front View You can clearly see three of the five stickers used in this set., to give the illusion of a window. The shape of the nose of the Sandcrawler is fairly complex, but LEGO did a good job of bringing it out without using difficult techniques. One thing that should be very clear from this photo is that the final model has some significant gaps in it. There is about a ¼” gap (or more) all the way around the ramp at the front of the model. On a model that is so angular, I never expect a perfect fit, so I don’t see this as a major flaw. Here's another view of the Sandcrawler's front end, this time with the ramp down. It's pretty dark in there, but you can get a sense of just how empty the model interior really is. To illustrate this point further: A photo looking through the space where the workshop sits toward the front end. There's a full 12 studs by 18 studs just standing empty. Of course, when the crane sits in there it takes some of the space, but a cutout can easily be added to accommodate it. This picture is looking through the workshop cutout toward the back end. You can see the steering mechanism hasn't changed during the build, it's just more shadowed. There's quite a bit of space back here, too. About 10 studs by 18 studs, if my eyes don't deceive me. Enterprising MODers can easily use that space without disturbing the exterior at all. Side View The side view shows some of the SNOT used in the model. If you look at the tread assemblies, you can see some 2 x 2 dishes and some 1 x 1 round plates used as greebles. I told you there wasn’t much. You can also see another significant gap, this time where the main wall meets with the angled front. Again, not a big detraction, but some might complain. Back View I get the feeling that the designers really wanted to let their inner greeb out after doing mostly straight walls on the sides of the model. The back wall is so overly detailed, full of lots of texture and curves, and minimizing all colors except for brown and dark gray. The result is speaks for itself. I don’t recall if the back of the Sandcrawler is ever seen on screen, so the designers probably had a blank slate to work with. If you look closely at the roof over the cockpit, you can see another gap. The angles formed when the front section is formed don’t allow the studs to line up. So to form the roof, the designers had to use plates and tiles stacked on top of each other to cover this section. This leaves a few gaps. The Roof While not as detailed as the back of the model, the roof does have a lot of details with a minimum of parts. The very back uses dishes to good effect. The covers for the roof of the workshop and the forward hatch are not as detailed, but they do look good. My only beef with the roof is that the sides have almost no details. It looks a bit incongruous. Ramp Extended The ramp on the front section extends to allow access to the center of the machine. This front section holds the crane when it is not in use. The Mandoors These are presumably there as the main access to the vehicle when the main ramp is up. It's too bad LEGO didn't give us a ramp for the minifigs to actually use these nice doors. With no interior, you can see all the way through to the door on the other side. The Cockpit This is the best photo I could get of the cockpit. There is only room for one Jawa. The controls are sparse, with only two levers to control the entire Sandcrawler. A printed tile, or maybe a slope would have really helped. There are two trans yellow 1 x 2 bricks where the windscreen should be. I can only imagine the designers thought this would represent the actual windscreen. Unfortunately, these bricks are backed by a solid brown 1 x 6 brick, so the effect is lost. Steerage As I mentioned before, the steering system works well. Just don't expect to turn on a dime. Turning the black gear on the back (shown by the red arrow) causes the rear sets of treads to turn. There are stops inside the Sandcrawler that prevent you from over-steering. Opening the Hatch Besides lifting droids, the crane can be used to open the forward hatch on the Sandcrawler’s roof. One of the Jawas is preparing the hatch for its next victim. Bye Bye, Artoo R2-D2 should have been more careful. The Jawas have captured him, and are lowering him into the Sandcrawler to meet his fate. Or is it destiny? Scores Build: 8/10 There isn't a lot of repetition, the build is straight-forward and relatively easy, even with 1660 pieces. There's very little SNOT to make the build more interesting. Playability: 9/10 The Sandcrawler moves exactly how you expect it to move: slowly. The steering mechanism works, but the turning radius is terrible. The crane is fun to play around with, and the workshop adds that little extra bit. I wish there was more to the interior, though. I think a little (a lot??) of MODing is in order. Minifigures: 10/10 How could it be any less. Three Jawas and Owen Lars that are unique to the set, yet another R2-D2 and C-3PO, and five other droids. Anyone that complains about the Sandcrawler’s minifigs is crazy. Pieces: 8/10 A lot of reddish brown. And a smattering of dark orange, dark gray and black. Almost all of the pieces are bricks, so if you want plates, don’t come looking here. Price: 10/10 Having a parts to price ratio around $.10/part is great, especially for a licensed set. This set is under 8.4 cents per part. And if you need reddish brown bricks, this set will give you all you’ll ever need. Design: 9/10 The design is a bit gappy, especially in the front end. It’s a little too short, a bit too wide, and the front angle isn’t quite right. But I don’t think LEGO could have gotten it any more accurate. Total- 54/60 A very good set for any Star Wars fan. The play features work well, the minifig selection is excellent and the price was right (too bad you’ll have to pay collector’s prices nowadays.) If you like Original Trilogy sets, this is a must have for your collection. Full gallery for more pictures, when moderated.

I feel that the legs on the 8038 are too skinny, and the head on it is far too narrow. But they did get the shape of the head down much better in that version. Still, my favorite is 7657, despite some obvious flaws.

7931 - T-6 Jedi Shuttle - Star Wars T-6 Jedi Shuttle.mpd Errors: Stickers are missing I don't believe the Head print, Torso print or Headpiece/Hair is correct for any of the minifigs

Well, I certainly don't want to be eaten at random. Unfortunately, random is likely to rule the day, as we have next to nothing to go on for a lynch. Heck, only a handful of people even tried to do something constructive this morning. The Jester wanted to be lynched all morning. How does (s)he feel about it now?

I must have imagined it was there, then. I've only been to Wal-Mart once in the past year, and it was a quick trip through the Toy section.

The Benevolent Alien Overlords work in mysterious ways.

The only place I've seen the BARC Speeder here in the States is Wal-Mart. I didn't think it was an exclusive, but that's the only place I've found it. The MHC I've seen at both Target and Wal-mart. Not sure if this helps you. Just to reiterate, this Ewok Village is NOT the official version It is a MOC. But it gives us an idea of what the official set could look like. Anyone know an approximate part count on the MOC? It could give us an idea if the official version will be same-size, bigger, or smaller (I hope not the latter).

I'd like to amend my previous statement. If character names and roles have no real relation, then Blacked-Out-Dude is only prevented from being a killer, whether Scum or SK. He could be still be Scum. So much for logic. So he's quiet AND he could still be scum! J'accuse! Dammit! Blacked-Out-Dude isn't so quiet anymore. I guess he's not scum after all.

Well, the typical MO is for people to suspect the quiet ones. But we're all sort of quiet so far. But the Blacked-Out-Night-Action-Dude has been the quietest so far. And the Treestump, but that might just be excellent roleplaying. Anyway, Blacked-Out-Night-Action-Dude has been quietest, so he must be scum. But the Werewolf told us that character names are not related to roles, so he's the only player almost guaranteed to be Town. Hooray for logic!

14) Heart Medication sounds good. I guess.