Raskolnikov

At less than three dollars a pop, it's hard to argue with the Rebels stormies, even though the frowny face and cut-off leg printing bugs me. The newest version of OT troopers is like $9 per, which is a lot of money to spend just to correct the frown (while you get the same leg printing issues). And if you're collecting a previous version of OT troopers, you have to settle for (in my opinion) less vibrant helmet and armor printing and no leg printing at all (which is worse than cut-off leg printing). We may not get a perfect version of OT stormies for years, considering that the focus will shift to the new movies soon. So those of us who like armies have to just pick something and go with it, I guess.

Well, they certainly can choose what they want to spend time and money on when producing the show. They could potentially have cut costs somewhere else if they didn't choose to here. And I think there can be multiple considerations or factors underlying a corporate decision.

I'm pretty sure that a big reason why they hide generic Imperials' faces with the caps is because it's a cartoon aimed at kids. Almost every episode involves killing human beings, and I think the show creators are very conscious of that. They clearly try to avoid explicit killing so long as it doesn't hurt the story (i.e., lots of Imperials are disposed of by getting stunned or tied up, etc.). Plenty of Imperials die, though, including the guys in the screenshot above. That's necessary given what the story is about. When parents see their kids watching a show where faceless stormtroopers are getting killed by lasers, though, they're probably ok with that because it's so far removed from real life. Part of that is because masks or helmets that cover the face are dehumanizing. Police and militaries know that, which is one reason why most riot helmets for police have clear visors that reveal the officer's entire face (i.e., rioters are less likely to hurt an officer if they can see his face). Similarly, kids shows like this one tend to avoid killing people with faces, who you can empathize with, on screen. Parents might think their kids are being turned into desensitized little killers, etc., otherwise.

No idea. I'm just going to treat them as different kinds of Imperial officers in my own collection. Oh well. I've got enough of the normal officers that it doesn't bother me too much. So when are they going to come out with one of those new officers' caps in black? I'd pay a fortune.

I think that old dark gray was probably the closest that Lego has gotten to the dark olive color of Imperial officers' uniforms.

I agree that it looks cool. In fact, I did a "substitute" version of the green one with the slopes that are available. I basically took the Home One version and tried to make it look closer to the new A-wing. I'll post it if I get a chance (don't have any pics and am at work, right now). But that's the reason I knew the slopes didn't exist -- I tried to buy them to make a green A-wing. Edit: Here's a pic of my modified green A-wing. http://imgur.com/FEdEJKr

Unfortunately, I don't think the dark green A-wing is actually possible with existing bricks, since they didn't make that long slope in dark green.

Oh my god, you're right. Lego's pirate theme definitely was inspired by Polaksi's Pirates. I can't believe I never knew that.

Holy crap, what a beautiful ship. This is my absolute favorite building style, as well -- giant and detailed but still intended for minifigures. The interior looks as good as the exterior.

Looks like a great display. Wish you had a better camera, though, heh.

I gotta say, I love everything about the new Vader. The face print is amazing and a nice surprise. And the helmet is amazing and much improved. It's really going to be the highlight of this wave for me, couldn't be happier (except maybe if I didn't have to buy a $80 set for it).

Yeah, I wouldn't say it's difficult. There are a few SNOT pieces that allow you to connect the gray borders of the solar panels/wings so that they're flush with the black part. The 9492 directions show how, and I think they're available online somewhere. To the extent that you're concerned with stability, my 9492-style bomber and interceptor are a bit flimsier than Lego might make, since the angled parts of the gray borders of the solar panels are connected only on one side. It's not too bad, though.

Great work. I'm really considering doing my own version of this. I like the design of the prototype's cockpit much better than the last version of Vader's TIE Advanced. I will probably make the wings/solar panels slightly larger, though, and I'll try to do them in a way similar to the 9492 TIE Fighter. I've got a TIE collection that I'm working on that all is in a similar style, so it'd have to match that. If you're interesting in seeing them, the imgur album is here: http://imgur.com/a/s2kU0 It looks like we had some of the same ideas for approaching the interior side of the wings/solar panels.

I haven't been that impressed by previous Echo Base sets either, but I think with a UCS set they could do it right. What I'm really looking for is an Echo Base that looks good from the outside. I want a shield generator and a massive ion cannon -- some physical structures for the Imperials to actually attack. Add in a hangar that can hopefully fit a snowspeeder (your're high if you think it'll fit a Millennium Falcon) with a little control room and bacta tank. Then call it a day. I think that'd be a great set. Potentially, you could land the Falcon behind the base, etc., if the hangar had an open back. I could see it being set up that way. I really hope they don't use up the set's piece count with a snowspeeder or many Imperials, since they're so easily available in other sets.

I think it is unlikely that Echo Base would be in microfig scale. There are so many Hoth sets already out in system scale, and sets tend to go together. Lego wouldn't come out with something that's not compatible with the recently released Snowspeeder and AT-AT. It wouldn't make any business sense. So I think you're safe.

I'd also buy the instructions for this. Is there any sort of index or sticky that shows where to get/buy instructions for these kinds of models? I know that there are instructions that you can buy for an AT-AT, from Cavegod, and a Venator. But I don't really know what all is available, other than that.

I agree Fuppylodders. It is disappointing to get more Royal Guards when they are so easy to get already. I would have preferred a few more generic Imperials. If it wasn't for the new Vader and the fact that I somehow haven't gotten an Emperor minifig for more than a decade, the Final Duel would be an easy pass. As it is, I suppose I'll get it and maybe scrap it or change it, since I suspect the Vader is going to be really expensive on the secondary market.

If I remember correctly, the front crane with the hook does just slide in a technic structure. That way, when you open the ramp, it has some playability. You can slide the crane forward or backward The technic structure that it slides into, though, shouldn't let it "fall down." It should hold it parallel to the ground. I would go over the previous directions again to make sure you built that structure correctly.

Just being nerds, no biggy. This is Star Wars and Lego, so you had better believe it's serious. Suffice it to say, I interpret the topic as asking to discuss what are the "best versions of Star Wars minifigs so far." The 2014 "Navy Trooper" is the best (and only) version of the Imperial dudes with black jumpsuits and bowl-helmets. The 2012 "Death Star Trooper" is the best (and latest) version of the Imperial dudes with double-breasted black uniforms and bowl-helmets. I believe they're two entirely different minifigures -- not different versions of the same minifigure. That's all.

I don't mind the new Stormtroopers and Sandtrooper but yeah, the leg printing issue bugs me, too. The Droid Escape Sandtroopers have perfectly printed legs -- you get the whole kneecap armor. I think they also have the newish style torsos, which I like better than the older ones with shading on the breastplate. Overall, I guess I still prefer the newest OT Stormies over all other versions, since there is no Droid Escape-style Stormtrooper. I just wish the new ones had better leg printing.

Not trying to argue, but I don't mean the gray ones. Regardless of whatever Lego has labeled them, there are two kinds of black-uniformed imperials in the movies who have the big bowl-shaped helmet. The picture below shows both: It's not entirely clear what the uniform denotes. I'd guess the double-breasted uniform (close to us) is some kind of officer in this situation, although in many other situations you see the guys in double-breasted uniforms acting as guards or infantry. I mean, they both could be different types of "Navy Troopers," but I think that's beside the point. All I'm trying to say is that the ones that came with the Death Star and the TIE Fighter are intended to be the double-breasted style. The one that came with the Star Destroyer is intended to be single-breasted "flightsuit" style - the kind that is often seen in front of a control panel. I think that is the first time we've received a minifigure with that uniform. If it helps, another picture of the double-breasted style is below.

I don't think the 2014 one and the 2012 ones are supposed to be the same uniform, though. There's two kinds of dudes with gigantic black helmets. Some seem to be in black jumpsuits. Others have utility belts and double-breasted black coats with mandarin collars. The former type seem to be crewmen of some sort, while the latter type seem to be infantry/guards. You can see the "crewman" sort at control panels in scenes of Star Destroyer bridges, etc. You can see the guard sort at entryways, doors, in the detention area, etc. I think Lego mislabeled the new "crewman" style one in Star Destroyer 75055 as a "Navy Trooper."

I'm surprised the bandanna is so controversial. I'm psyched that we're getting a white one because it will be able to double as a do-rag. Thug life.

Well, you know, they were lying around from the TIE kit that I bought for spare parts, heh. Anyway, thanks for the kind words, everyone!

It is fragile, indeed, and looks were my top priority. But behind the engines are these 2 large half-circle pieces (like, 8 studs long) that are held to each other by technic pins. So it's not all quarter cylinders all the way back, and you've got two 8-wide, totally solid circles that are 2 studs from the back of the ship. They hold the cylinder shapes together. The big reason that it's fragile right now is mostly because I didn't plan it out ahead of time. I mean, I do think about what I want to build and order pieces I might end up using, but after that my process is to just start putting pieces together and see what happens. As a result, I didn't start with a technic structure inside it, meaning that everything (other than those semicircles and the pylons) is held together just by studs. If you shook it, the cylinders would just fall off. I think that can mostly be corrected, though, by adding some technic to the inside. I just have to get around to doing that.