DarthTwoShedsJackson

We will never get tired of imperial walkers, do we? Great model. The proportions seem to be very accurate, and the detail is astounding, especially on the legs, which in my eyes are the hardest to get right with Lego. It's a pity that this model can't be build in grey only with unmodified Lego bricks.

A neat little representation of an iconic ship. Very well done.

I just did sign up. Thanks for the tip. I will rehost my pictures tomorrow.

Yeah, I'm on it. My GHOST MOC finally shot my free bandwith limit per month through the roof, it seems. The bandwidth limit will reset each month on the 22nd (the day I signed up on Photobucket). Since I've made some significant improvements on this MOC, I will have to shoot new photos anyway and post them here via link from a second free account I will sign up for, soon. The improvements include straight snotted edges on the sides and an angled straight snotted edge for the fin, some changes on the interior, less studs on the plating plus some modified colour patterns here and there to get it closer to the original, and a modified PHANTOM that now also fits a minifig in the back in addition to the pilot in the cockpit. I'm wondering if I should do photographic instructions like I did for my Speeder Bike and my AT-ST - honestly not sure about this, because this will take some time to do for this beast.

II have a question regarding the release of the 2015 winter wave: Can anybody tell me when these will be available in Germany? If I remember correctly, I was able to pick up some of the 2014 winter wave early at the lego store, but I could be wrong. Thanks in advance.

Yes. Exactly. The writers could be more creative with the clones than they could with the prequel trilogy Jedi, a lot. No wonder these episodes were far more popular. A shortcoming of The Clone Wars inherited from the awful prequel trilogy were 'villains' such as general Grievous. He was such a silly cartoon. Generally speaking, though, I rather enjoyed huge chunks of The Clone Wars. I just like the whole setup of Rebels more. The lack of Jedi and therefore inclusion of other characters and walk-of-lives among the protagonists is quite refreshing and also more interesting in my eyes.

I am so glad that we have a motherly pilot ace, a gunslinger Jedi, a brawny muscle, a streetsmart force-sensitive brat, a punk-ish demolitions and imperial procedures expert, and a grumpy bad-humored droid in Rebels. If this were Clone Wars, we'd had a motherly Jedi, a gunslinger Jedi, a brawny Jedi, a streetsmart force-sensitive Jedi brat, a punk-ish demolitions and imperial procedures Jedi, and a grumpy bad-humored Jedi. Clone Wars was so Jedi-centric for the most part it made the Jedi even more boring than the prequels. Clone Wars was best when it dealt with non-force-using characters specifically created for the show in my eyes.

Looks a bit stubby, but I love it. The modular build is well done, the play features are inventive and numerous, it looks pretty stable and on top of that packs a huge load of Clones ready to take a slide into battle. Great model!

Hi folks, I'm Alex from Germany. I've been around here for a while and already have some posts (and MOCs posted) in this forum under my belt. I thought that'd make a better introduction than a first post here. I'm just not that much of a 'by the protocol' guy... Anyway, here's my formal introduction. I'm from Germany, 39 years old and still in my childhood somehow, and back into Lego since late 2012. My dark ages took a quarter century. I'd like to call myself a creative person. In my spare time I'm involved with drawing, painting, photo-editing, creating 3d models, animations and environments for computer games as part of the modding community, collecting, converting, modelling and painting miniatures at competition-levels for a popular fantasy tabletop game, and since late 2012 Lego - almost exclusively Star Wars. You can find my MOCs there, but you'll have to find them yourself. I am a very opiniated person, but I'm more interested in arguments than in opinions. Criticism is very welcome, if it's constructive - because that kind of criticism is the only one that makes a difference in the end. Eurobricks is my favorite Lego-related forum (by far) because it is well structured, has a large community, and because it doesn't have any 'like' functions - if you want to comment on something, you will have to write something, and that's great! I really feel at home here. Thanks!

If you are a builder or a MOCer like me, then to hell with the boxes - it's the Legos that I'm in for. If you are a collector, keep the coolest boxes and instructions. If you are an aftermarket salesman, keep everything (and 'better' yet, don't open anything). That being said, utilizing Lego as an investment goes totally against what Lego is intented to be in my eyes, and as such is perverse.

Contrary to the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings-movies, The Hobbit-movies so far lack the flow an adventure movie should have. They are rather stoppy-starty, whereas the LotR movies had a nicer flow to them. An extented version of The Hobbit would be even worse. Each to their own, if you like, yes. Still, I can argue that an extended version of The Hobbit-movies would not be an improvement, but just more excess. I like the old PJ-movies most, because their low-budget nature made the excesses to which he went rather charming. In a high-budget production like The Hobbit his tendency to excess comes across more like a lack of the ability to edit yourself, which is a shortcoming for an artist. It's like a band creating 30 songs for their new album and then being unable to select the 12 best and ditch the rest. Editing yourself is a core element of any artistic endeavour. Make no mistake - this is criticism on a high level, because these movies are still very good, and I'm especially fond of how you can feel that the creators are in it because they love Tolkien and his creation, unlike so many other movies who are sloppily or cheaply made and then just marketed *cough* Transformers *cough*. I'm just pointing these things out, because the movies could be even better.

II'm actually looking forward to the two-hour-cut of all three movies combined, making the mess into a story worthy of the title 'The Hobbit'. Quite contrary to the Lord of the Rings-movies, where I couldn't wait for the extended cuts. The way these hobbit moves are they should be called: 'Epic stuff because the director likes epic stuff and excess, and somewhere in the middle of all this mess, there is a hobbit'. Isn't that an epic title?

No worries, Borador - this comment was not at all directed at you, and I am the last person to judge someone because of a single post or just a link said person posted, now that would be silly. And granted, some jokes were funny. It's just that even these jokes about the title are wrong in so many ways. I totally agree with what Mark Hamill said recently: People have unlearned what it is like to discover a movie, well, at the movies. If you really want to discover a movie and enjoy it and be drawn into it, just have the courage to steer clear from all those spoiler, leaks and details made public beforehand. The internet is a great tool to get information quickly, but it can also ruin a lot. In German, the title 'The Force Awakens' translates into 'Die Macht erwacht', which even rhymes and sounds a bit more silly because of that than it does in english. Could it be that the title 'The Force Awakens' alludes to something that has never happened before in the galaxy, far, far away?

YAWN. Cheap jokes. Actually, these knee-jerk-reactions made me think back about the hype before Phantom Menace was released. So much praise and anticipation before the facts. I wonder how many of those overly excited people felt like big idiots after the facts, when they realized how bad and utterly shitty the prequels were. It's not far-fetched at all that all those hysterics who can't help but over-criticize each and every minute detail that's released of the new production before the facts will feel no less idiotic after the facts. Or remain in denial. The most healthy way to go about this is: Be calm, don't be afraid. Wait until the movie comes out - you won't be able to change anything about it. When you've seen it, take a few days to let everything settle. Then write some meaningful critique, praise, review and or analysis. I'll write an analysis, I promise you that much. And I'll take my time. All this hysteria beforehand is pointless, and I can't stand those sloppy, overly emotional and pointless 'reviews' so many people like to puke into the internet the minute after they've watched a movie just to be the first to pollute the barren ground for real debate and discussion with their stupid, meaningless and helpless stammering. I'm just sick of this phenomenon. Just take a look at the internet or youtube - how many movies are labelled 'the worst ever' each week. How many 'plot holes' have been discovered, and once you ask the reviewer politely if he or she knows what a plot hole actually IS, the stammering starts or something utterly silly and ignorant is uttered. The number of 'overrated' movies is legion. As a matter of fact, if you are looking for meaningful reviews, I can give the following advice: If a review doesn't include the words 'worst', 'best', 'hate', 'plot hole' and 'overrated', chances are the review is a meaningful one. Good luck finding one!

And here I was hoping that we'd get Sabine's helmet in the calendar. Now that'd be great.

The pilot starts with a Star Destroyer arriving at Lothal. It then continues with a Lothal citizen complaining about how times have gotten worse since imperials arrived in their ships. This may be waaaay to subtle for modern audiences, but it sufficed for me. Subtle, but spot on. Early days of the Empire.

The constant whining about 'Disney de-canon-fied my favorite niche of the expanded universe' has become very tiresome and is a good representation of how disconnected 'fan'nerds are from reality and how little they know or can imagine of what it takes to continue something as big as Star Wars and be creative with it. Do you whiners really believe that a company producing new and fresh Star Wars content will actually willingly inherit all the expanded universe baggage that never ever was part of a real movie? What's more - all the stuff is still there. There's no sinister Disney agent invading your home and destroying your precious novels, comic books and stupid computer games. The only difference is that they're not canon anymore. Boohoo. Try writing a script that considers ALL former expanded universe stuff AND make it comprehensible to audience members who haven't read or played all your precious comic books, novels and stupid computer games. Good luck! Disney wants to continue the Original Trilogy (and precede it with Rebels), not create an incomprehensible clusterf**** that panders exclusively to the extreme 'fan'nerds. That's a reality check for you. That being said, Disney had on numerous times proven to be competent and creative with their IPs, quite contrary to what Lucas did with his.

I know the Disney discussion is off-topic here, but since it's an interesting topic I'd like to throw my two cents in here, too. Also, since this is an interesting topic, maybe a moderator/regulator could detach the relevant posts on that matter into a new thread, or merge them with an existing one, if there already is one. Back in the days when Lucas made Star Wars and the original two sequels, he was artistically challenged because of the imperfections or lack of technology. More importantly, he was surrounded by competent people like Gary Kurtz who actually told Lucas what he should do differently or not at all. It was a classic case of 'art from adversity', and the result was something that changed cinema forever and became a part of global culture. Fastforward to the late nineties: George Lucas had advanced the technology so that he now was able to put anything on the screen he wanted. Also, he got rid of the people that told him what he should change or not do at all. No one challenged his sloppy incoherent scripts. No one challenged his directorial approach, which almost exclusively consisted of sitting on a chair in front of several screens, drinking coffee, while his actors were left alone surrounded by green screens. No one told him that at the time, there was nothing special about special effects anymore. The result were three 'movies'... -with A) The worst character 'development' of a main protagonist ever put on screen in a high-budget movie. Since the movies' center was the development of Anakin, the lack of script focus is painfully apparent here. We never get to see the most important character-defining moments: His training or his adventures with Obi Wan. We are just told about them. We are also told that Anakin and Obi Wan are friends, but we are never shown, nor do we get to feel a connection. The 'love' story with Padmé is the most cringeworthy and sloppy love-story ever put on screen. There is no connection, no chemistry, nothing. These shortcomings become even more obvious if you compare them to the original Trilogy: We get to know Luke's plight, his hopes and dreams. We get to see how Luke and Han become friends and we get to feel the connection. We also get to see how Han and Leia fall in love, and a short little moment here does so much more than the most shallow love-story-scenes set in the most silly romantic places in the prequel 'movies'. -with B) Action scenes so hilariously overcranked that it severes the audiences suspension of disbelief. The conveyor belt scene, the hovercar-chase scene - these are prime examples where the characters are put in such over-the-top action that defies the laws of physics and common sense in such a dreastic way, that it is impossible to feel a sense of danger for the characters anymore. Too much, too fast is boring ultimately. -with C) the most boring and even sleep-inducing lightsaber fights. Ever! Cool choreography and a spectacular backdrop doesn't make a good lightsaber fight. What makes a lightsaber duel interesting and dramatic is what happens between the fighting characters, not the fight itself. The Maul-Obi Wan-Qui Gon duel ultimately was about nothing. They were just three dudes fighting in Theed Palace. In the fight between Obi Wan and Vader in A New Hope we get to know that Vader and Obi Wan knew each other from the past, and Obi Wan sacrificed himself so that Luke could escape. The dialogue between Obi Wan and Vader in that fight is more interesting and dramatic than the cool coreography and the music in the Maul-threesome. There's much more, but I save this for discussion in an appropriate thread. Coming back to Disney: I'm so glad that Disney owns the rights to Star Wars now instead of Lucas, because they know how to make competent movies with some creative elements, plus they also got the balls to try out something creative, which is rare in itself these days, even when they know it will piss off 'fan'nerds - Mandarin reveal anyone?

@ cavegod's AT-AT. First of all - re-reading my comment, it came across as harsh, but wasn't intented to. My apologies for that to cavegod if it sounded like trolling. To make myself clear: Cavegod's AT-AT is more than impressive as a build and as a model. What I was trying to say is that I simply have huge doubts that Lego would ever make anything this huge and with a piece-count that high into a set, because marketing it and pricing will be quite a challenge. As for the UCS-label: I'm just not a fan of such a label. The confusion about what makes a UCS-set and what doesn't is all out there. Lastly, these are just my stupid opinions, nothing more. Pax.

Great tutorial. As a picture editor myself, I'd suggest one additional, very simple effect to make the holograms look even more like in the movie: Use the rectangular mask tool to select an area roughly a third in height of the object layer. Then increase the brightness of the selected area a bit. This represents the flickering in brightness that moves up or down the holograph image as seen in the movies or animated series.

Interesting shape. Comparing the expanded universe artwork of this ship and your Lego version, you captured it perfectly. As for the tiles: This is a matter of taste, but the excessive tiling does interfere with the edges of the model a bit in my eyes, making the edges look blocky, especially if viewed from above. I'd like to know two things: How big is this beast? And did you include some form of interior? Keep up the good work - looking forward to more models, especially spacecraft, my favorite Star Wars vehicles.

I'd bet Lego will NEVER make a Star Wars-themed Ideas submission into an official set. Also, 6000+ parts on the AT AT? Good luck with marketing that beast. Also: Am I the only one who finds it, ermmm... lets say 'interesting', when someone labels his own creation a UCS model? Humble sounds differently. Apart from that, the AT AT that made 10.000 supporters makes a great convention display piece. The Invisible Hand with all its play features looks a lot more attractive to me as a Lego set.

Both look very good, great builds! Are you planning on doing other Star Wars capital ships in that scale? Because I'd love to see more. I'm wondering why bother with Lego Ideas with such a slim, almost non-existant chance of getting your builds out, and even a smaller chance of getting your exact builds out? I'd rather happily share building instructions, even just photographic ones, with others for free.

If you want the minifigs AND don't own an AT AT, yet, I'd say go for it. If you don't need the minifigs and have a good brick collection, then I'd say download the building instructions and build the former one, which I liked a bit better than this current version. As for accuracy, you'd need to make quite some modifications and improvement on either one. There are some cool MODs of the official AT ATs to be found in the MOC Index of Eurobricks and on the internet generally.

I have a question, but since it's related to pictures and rumors regarding 2015 sets, I'll ask it here: How definite is the information that Sabine comes withouth her helmet in the Rebels Ezra's Speeder set? We have pictures, yes, but how conclusive are these with regards to minifig accessoires? I'd hate to wait even longer for a complete Sabine minifig, as we already have all other crewmembers of the GHOSTin minifig form, except for her.