Praiter Yed

My fears that this would be a monstrosity similar to 7879 Hoth Echo Base have been allayed. It's a really cool looking set that I would like to build and keep, rather than one I would only buy for the figs and throw the pieces in a box. Although I find the flick-fire missile in the roof mildly amusing. The one drawback is of-course, the price. With so few pieces, even with new moulds, more detailed print, etc. blah, blah, blah, at £120 it seems ridiculously expensive (are TLG unaware of the 'Euro-zone' crisis and that the UK is officially back in recession?). A beautiful looking play-set and some fantastic figures make this a must have for me but I'll wait for the inevitable 30% reduction before I buy.

Maybe someone with more experience than me will say I'm wrong but I've never needed any softener or solvent. To apply the decal I coat the Lego with a thin layer of Pledge Klear this helps adhere the decal. If I need to soften the decal (which is not always necessary) I use vinegar (white wine or malt vinegar, whatever's in the cupboard) - you can soak the vinegar onto a cotton-bud and just press onto the decal or even immerse the decal in vinegar instead of water. EDIT: BTW I don't actually immerse my decals in water anymore, I simply soak a piece of kitchen towel and press the decal (face-up) onto it for approx 10 seconds. Seems to do the trick and reduces the risk of your ink running.

And I thought they only smoked death sticks in SW? But Hang on... short, bald, wears a monocle, there's something strangely familiar about that character...

Imho some of these figures lack a certain Star Wars aesthetic. For example I find it odd that your main character has a cigar (I don't recall ever seeing a cigar smoker in SW?) and the one with pink hair looks more cyberpunk to me. However, ignoring the Star Wars reference, I think these are a very nice bunch of customs; the stance of Yinn Al'Lal is 'showman' like, and the other characters are positioned well. I imagine her being more like the madame of an intergalactic harem as she introduces her girls... "let me present to you my angels"... Your photo is very good too

Sorry, now I feel like a terrible pedant. It's the type of thing I always notice right after I've spent ages shooting my own stuff and then think I'm not taking all those pics again! .

These look good KDM - I haven't seen the film yet so nice to have some handy reference pics too. On Nick Fury when you say 'custom hand prints' what do you mean? Did you do a decal or paint it or have you used an actual printing technique? Agent Coulson looks brilliant - excellent choice of face - possibly my favourite here! Also another good face selection for Black Widow (and I know how much the official version bothered you ), but I'm curious why the Padme face looks so pale (is it just down to the contrast in colour between decal and plastic or is the lighting of the pic)? Imo Jack Sparrow's head (as used in ED-209's "Tony Stark's Briefcase" topic) works better than the official design . The official TS head seems to make his chin too big (again imo). I also thought (and a bit off topic here) that Superman's head might make a good Matt Smith Doctor Who. Apart from my dislike of Tony Stark's face I think you've made excellent choices of parts/faces for all of them and ED-209's decals are spot on

Cool display Wokajablocka. I too felt it had a retro feel about it (and I love SW retro) EDIT: Weren't you afraid anybody would try to steal some of your figs?

I wasn't sure what to expect from the title 'Coruscant Ads' - I like it, the ads look good - nice and colourful . I've struggled to find any pictures of the actual scene, but I have a vague memory of it. Only one thing bothers me about this vignette; my eye is constantly drawn to tile at the front that's sticking up slightly

Thanks for the review so far Brickmamba These figures look great! The Boush disguise has got to be the highlight for me and I don't mind the oversized helmet. I was previously unsure of the redesigned Bib Fortuna but imo it is an improvement on the older version (which I still think is a good figure). I must admit that although in general I am a fan of the more detailed figures of late, I think the Gamorean Guard is a step too far and is losing some of its Lego charm. I'm looking forward to part 2 of this review... I'm not sure they gave us 'lazy designs' - I feel it's more a case of improvements in technology allow TLG to give us more detailed print, more complex moulds and the ability to print on those moulds all at a more reasonable cost than would have been previously possible.

Thanks Mr Man - I've just looked it up and that is the one I mean . Googling 'Fat Rocket' didn't get me anywhere

At first glance I thought you'd 'snotted' some scenery - I've never seen that baseplate before - it doesn't appear to have anything to differentiate it as Lego. As far as the minis go I'm leaning towards Mr Man's way of thinking - they all look good! BUT, and please forgive my ignorance if I get the names wrong, I think I'm leaning towards the Hailfire Droid, Spider Droid, Core Ship and the one that looks a bit like a Fat Rocket as my favourites.

Admittedly I didn't consider the price when posting my comment and I can totally appreciate that, although being a pretty good playset, it may not be worth the asking price. I've had the impression from the outset that Palpatines Arrest is going to be a TRU (or whoever) exclusive and if that's the case there will be the usual TRU tax on top of the Lucas tax . BUT in my experience, if you are willing to wait, it's never necessary to pay full price for Lego.

This is good news for me as I live between Manchester and Liverpool so now I'll have a choice of which store to visit. That said, it seems odd to open one so close to the Discovery Centre - if the Trafford Centre Store was half decent maybe there would be no need to open a Lego shop in Manchester City Centre and they could provide a much needed service to people like escortmad79 who seems quite upset by this.

The more I see Jabba's Palace the more I like it As for Palpatines Arrest, although it's not one for me, I also can't understand why its' garnering so much dislike. Imo it looks like a good play-set - it has some unusual angles for Lego and some smart little features, the window is nice too and the vehicle is an unexpected bonus. If I had any interest in the PT I might be tempted to by this set (and the figs would most likely seal the deal).

Nice review with good pics I'd agree that TLG have done a good job of the escape pod with so few parts, although it does rely heavily on the dss for some much needed detailing. But surely you can't be suggesting that the Sandtroopers and lovely new C-3PO are just expensive fluff?

I'm not sure if you don't know how to deep-link pics or you used a link deliberately but either way it added a small amount of theatrics and your MOC brought a smile to my face.

Just watched Prometheus in 2D, I'm not going to say too much about it - it is good and it looks beautiful. There's a general sense of foreboding throughout the movie and some pretty tense and uneasy moments but I had hoped for more scares.

Thanks Hobbestimus, I don't know about being a great minifig theme but I'm certainly having fun making them. Personally I think your pop-culture salad is a great minifig theme Thanks Masked. Looks like us Brits are getting this movie before you guys for a change - I'm going watching it tomorrow

I don't own any Christo customs but I have admired them from afar. Given what you say about the quality of them I would guess that they are pad printed. I still stand by what I said earlier in this thread, that digital flat-bed printers are the most accessible to customisers (although still prohibitive on cost), but if you aim to get a similar quality to Christo I don't think a digital flat-bed printer is going to achieve that - I suppose you'd need to get a trial print from the suppliers prior to committing to buy. With regards to design, if you intend to do the design work yourself that's ideal, but I suppose if you see anything you like by other customisers it could be worth making a freelance/one-off production deal with them. I reckon most customisers would be up for seeing their designs machine printed and earning a bit of cash on the side.

Thanks K-Nut. I can't wait to see Prometheus - maybe there will be an 'Alien' at the end?

If I had more spare cash I'd buy another myself, it's almost worth paying that price for the minifigs alone.

Hmm, this is a little bit like art imitating life. With new CGI technology GL was able to 'improve' on the original by adding a ridiculous song and dance routine With new brick availability and part usage you have managed to 'improve' on your original versions. The difference being that your improvements actually work (although I do like your originals too).