lowlead

Wow! The version in white looks great! I really like the simplicity of your 'disappearing wing' solution as well. When in flight mode, the wings have a perfect taper with much less bulk - looks awesome. Same when retracted. Your mod tricks the eye into believing the top half of the wing is retracted down inside like a glove. Nicely done!

In the meantime, here's the sales receipts... Image is link:

Cyanide: To your question, I would have to say no after comparing the shelf stickers to the regularly priced sets. It's a subtle difference that I never noticed before it was brought to my attention. Now I'm regretting that I didn't snap a quick pic - maybe I could tomorrow if I'm in the area.

Whoa! How did I miss this?? The Venator is fantastic! The Invisible Hand not so much, but only because I don't care for the ship itself - your rendition looks spot-on, however. Either way, I would certainly pay for instructions for the Venator, or both if they come as a pair. Very nice work.

My local WM #2046: Kylo Ren's Command Shuttles $85.00 Imperial Star Destroyers $95.00 (sold out for now ) Normally I strike out at this store, but on occasion a good deal pops up. In early 2013, for example, this store had a bunch of 9492s for $35.00 - lasted for several weeks, too. Recently I had an opportunity to speak with the department manager who relayed some interesting tips. Managers are given a certain amount of discretion with regard to temporary pricing, and this guy elected to put 75104s and 75055s at the prices above. He also pointed out that since it's not a clearance price, the shelf tag will remain yellow and have a bold capital T below the price, adjacent to the barcode. Happy hunting!

^^Ya, I knew that LEGOs 10212 was based off that MOC, but I had no idea about your v3.0!! Everything extends and retracts - even the main gear doors!!! All fitting nicely inside the hull - it's re-donk-ulous!! Do you have any pics of all those internal PF mechanisms? Unbelievable.

Hei og velkommen! I think you'll find these forums to be the best and most active around. I, too, am looking forward to the Dr. Who set even though I'm not really a fan. Everyone could use a nice dark blue Tardis in their collection. I would have to say SW is my focus. Enjoy!

Staggeringly cool!! There's one detail on the AT-AT that I'm curious about, cuz it looks perfect: The small holes on the sides of the main body armor seem to have old light grey plates directly below them. Was this an intentional use of the old grey to mimic staining down the sides? Pfft...sir, you can dispense with the humble pleasantries - you have bragging rights! Projects of this scale are what most AFOLs daydream about creating some day (myself included). To see them realized in actual brick is nothing short of astonishing - I could browse that flickr page all day. Those Endor trees!! Thank you for posting the links and references here!

YES and YES. I don't want to hijack Kev's thread, but dang, I was thinking the same exact thing. We're now without a man that basically conjured the whole look of the SW universe, and this loss is bleeding through in some of these vehicle designs...in my opinion, of course.

Well now you're all just making too much sense! You're right of course - the FO clearly learned a bit from the Empire's earlier follies. But only a bit, cuz I would retrofit my X-wing with tow cables and go straight for the legs

I'm all for new vehicles and fresh faces, but the design team on TFA really phoned that one in - yikes! The face only a mother could love...which end is the face again?? Having said that, KevFett2011, you did a fantastic job at realizing this new walker in LEGO - nicely done! And that baseplate! It really adds a nice touch to any MOC. I've always appreciated custom display elements with form as well as function. Your skills have prompted me to check out all your other creations on flickr - I'm sure I'll be impressed. *update* Ah, you also created that amazing freeze chamber, TIE and SD wreckage...just realized this. Officially blown away now!

Great additions - subtle and effective. I like the tiled top, and the hidden technic beams in back. The added length is an obvious improvement, and I'm also liking the two horizontal rows of grille tiles on the sides. Even without the improvements, I enjoyed building this set far more than anticipated - and I can't say exactly why. Thanks for the pics!

Nope. But then again, So, one stop shopping for both a Tauntaun and a Wampa (which hasn't been around for nearly six years) Oh, and maybe we'll get a snow speeder! ...sorry. I'll croak if they waste parts on that. I'm holding out hope that we're not seeing the full monty, but by 2016 perhaps a glorified 8089/7749 combo is all our $250 will get us.

Circa 1976...I can remember breaking the actuating tabs off the loader bucket almost immediately - oops!

Welcome Lee! This is a great place to hang around and discuss everything LEGO - the most active forums you can find, IMHO. With regard to clutch power, I think it's a combination of two things: First, LEGO parts become more brittle with age. I have noticed that older parts, especially plates, will creak and protest when either pressed together or pried apart. And when firmly pressed together, they are quite tenacious and unwilling to separate again. And yes, it can often be a painful and/or bloody process! To test this try bending two different plates (like a 6x8 or similar) one brand new, and one from the 80s. I think you will find that the brand new plate has a lot more pliability, and feels like it will bend quite a ways without cracking. Whereas the older plate may feel like it will split or crack in half with a lot less bending. I believe this loss of elasticity is inversely proportional to clutch, although I don't have a measuring device to quantify it. Second, TLG may or may not have revisited their clutch power formula in the latter years. It can be a controversial topic, and I have no concrete evidence that the company has elected to decrease the grip of LEGO parts. Perhaps others on this board can address that in more detail. Whether it's aging alone, or aging plus a clutch power decrease by design is beyond me.

Oh ya, that'll hold it! The 'carry-through spar' method is pretty much what I had to do in order to solve this issue to my satisfaction. billyamy if you're experiencing this, there's the fix

I like the rooftop detail changes. Btw, is your v-wing mod experiencing any prying or separation over time? While modding mine I noticed that the weight of the wings will slowly spread the upper and lower fuselage halves apart unless you direct the stress another way. Similar to your version, I also left the bottom wing flaps attached and angled them outward - I like that way that looks.

Liking the cockpit design! Clearly the '10212' method using the white corner pieces works a lot better in this scale. I always thought using a stack of three resulted in way too much taper for the UCS version, but using only two rows yields a much better look with this mod. The second to last photo above really captures the smooth lines of this design - nicely done!

Fun with black! I elected to leave some DBG bits here and there just to break up the dark void. A little late to the party, but... Image is link:

Thanks for the YT link, good views of the shuttle. I'm thinking it's yet another dilemma similar to the original X-wing, snow speeder, etc... Is it white? Is it light gray? Or is it kinda dirty? The toy makers were certainly all over the map with this ship, but I'm leaning toward 'black from the factory, but dirty.'

Wow - they actually went ahead with it. 80s nostalgia on overload! Day 1 purchase without hesitation.

The next blue snaggletooth?? They'll all pop up on ebay in short order, I'm sure...

Oh man that looks evil - love it!

Jumped on this bandwagon and threw some trans red on the front... Image is link:

Agreed - looks fantastic! These photos might be better served by their own thread in the MOC section, no? Thinking they'll eventually be lost in the sea of pages in the 2015 topic. Either way, I'm glad to see more exposure of this intriguing ship. Great mod, darththeling, looking much better. Geez, all these ideas make me want to start a black UCS styled MOC of this thing...need...so many...black...parts