Kristof

^ The studded panels remind me of the first version I built. There is some old school classiness to that look, I still like it :D

Thank you very much again! I hope you can make it even better with some modifications you suggested. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

That video is exactly what I was talking about. This is VERY durable model. I am quite confident by far not everyone who provides instructions for their designs tests the models like this. In fact, it is very common for less accurate custom mocs to be far more fragile. That being said, I would like to disclaim the possible impression that I (and some others) are sparking some hate against whoever has issues with the build! For me, it is just surprising and confusing (and interesting, otherwise I would not be joining the discussion) how a pretty well documented procedure can offer such dramatically different results. I was just playing with few of these hinges in hand and some (I suppose used, though I cant really tell) are actually loose enough to get this kind of misalignment (bend, twist) without actually disjoining. That said, comparing @bevulfs experience with the exhausting destructive test in the video... I feel they are just mutually exclusive :D I can't see how the same model, built correctly, could have such dramatic difference in withstanding stress.

It looks almost strangely cool :D Really exciting!

You are right that the choice of words invoke more dramatic action than what it actually, was, I admit that :) 'toss around' should have been more like... put down, pick up, move around. But really I was trying to be reasonably rough to see if there are any issues which aren't immediately obvious. Correct. In fact, model like these are meant to be a challenge, I suppose. I have no problem understanding that it is more of a challenge for someone with possibly less experience and, in a way, that is a nice feedback to get (the build was challenging but in the end, all fits together nice...). I guess it's just the glue that gets me started. You said, there is absolutely no need for glue, and I don't think you'd have made such claims without being confident even when accounting for variable skills. Whenever I read a feedback like 'I had problems connecting this and that, but a few drops of glue helped!', I feel almost insulted. I know, I know it's rarely meant as an insult or bad review of the model - different people have different approach to gluing - but it upsets me nonetheless :D I am not sure whether a complete stranger to lego would be a good source of useful feedback on this kind of model. But then again, maybe they would have some more general insight and could see issues that we are no longer able to notice. Having a test bed for models would be great. With your volume of products, it almost seems viable :D

It seems to me like there will always be someone who grabs glue, no matter what :/ I had few people (>2%) reporting some subassemblies falling apart throughout the build even though I went through these steps dozens of times and deliberately shook the model and tossed it around without anything coming loose. It didn't even seem like these guys were particularly impatient, so I can only guess that despite it being hard to imagine for me, assembling lego is not 100% repeatable in terms of completely disregarding skill and manual dexterity. You know, maybe some way of handling the model during assembly, this subconscious awareness of where you can apply force, where you can grab things and what to be cautious about, these things come naturally to someone (especially the designer who spent good amount of time fiddling with the model) but maybe aren't universally obvious. Also part of the reason I suspect to be the wear on parts that are critical in providing the required clutch and strength. But then again, I have been told that new parts were used so there we go... I try not to be too bothered by that, though it really feels weird when you spend so much effort to deliver certain attribute (sturdy and repeatable construction) and someone seem not to be able to benefit from it.

I reckon it is no easy task to decide upon the color distribution to create this patchy worn out splotchy paint surface. I would love to hear your comments on how did you approach that. Really cool model, that's for sure. I like that it doesn't go crazy with some compound angular attachments and unorthodox mountings for each curved brick, but it still manages to blend together quite smoothly. Looks like a solid build!

The way you made the slopes and wedges match in angles throughout the entire side wings is mind bending. The 'inset' part beneath the radiator flaps which sits lower than the brick built wing surface is just wow. This alone sets the model far above from any rendition I have seen before in this scale!

I am not digging the design of the craft in... expanded universe I guess, but I really dig some bits of your building. The top wing in particular as it packs nice details while still looking very sound in structure. Not sure about the side wings as they line up so far - looks like a lot of 1 stud connections to get these grill slopes attached. The corners made of inverted rounds are interesting, but I think very inappropriate for this purpose. There is a difference between approximating the shape and making the shape look like it is a part of a solid hull surface. here I would absolutely prefer having something believable against some geometrical marvel :D It is very cool looking assembly though, I can imagine using it as a design feature on some more freelance builds.

Super neat. These triangular sign pieces are perfect and on the whole, proportions look spot on. Best Droideka I have seen in Lego.

I strongly disagree that this is 'just' another MF! It is impressive! :D Quite frankly, a playset scale MF with UCS style exterior was sort of my dream project for years but I never got to it. This looks just about as I was picturing the outcome to be. Once again, VERY impressive.

Solid! The model looks simple but sufficiently detailed at the same time. I like it very much and it stands proud within the growing competition of mid scaled ISD models we have had lately :D

Foreshadowing... of pretty awesome build! Frankly I don’t care so much about in universe designs of MC ships, especially the larger vessels where the overal blobby shape dominates over the interesting details. But as a lego builds they are extremely ineresting given how unconventioal models they are. I’m very interested in ongoing Matt’s build and I’m glad to see another solid take on similar subject!

Nice model! I'm personally biased towards Jango' Slave I models just because they come rarely, but this is really good looking one. And I wish such bizarre things were happening to me :D Usually it goes the other way.

^ Instances like this make me question whether I even like the collectability aspect of lego (minifigs in particular). I get that paying high price may be easier to swallow for some, especially if the desire is there, but still the very fact that it is just a figure of such unfortunate origin makes it feel crappy. You know, the fact that this stupid piece of plastic with some print that someone gets handed out for free and other people can't reasonably get their hands on almost steals the show compared to some really cool things that Lego is (or at least IMO should be) about. Mirko made a cool model and I feel like some damn fig shouldn't be allowed to make it any less or more cool :D But I absolutely get your point and the feel of completeness, it just kind of upsets me still. Just imagine that it becomes a thing and some people would feel less happy about having the awesome model on display but not having the figure. And granted I know this is nothing new to the existing concept of exclusivity, every time it somehow invades the more pure enjoyment from Lego as I like it, I just wish it wasn't a thing at all.

My man...! I hate to even think about that. What a crappy practice from TLG :(

That's right. Although I think that if the review is not among the ones released close to the set release dates, it would be nice if it had some added content, rather than just a quick overview of what, frankly, most readers already know. Justification that it is a review new to Eurobricks is perhaps valid, but I don't think it's self sufficient. Maybe I am wrong but I expect a typical Eurobricks member to follow other profound lego related sources. So again, it would make much more sense if your reviews, being somewhat late to the party, scored extra points with something else. I'm no photography expert but it looks to me that the ISO is way to high and/or the editing done in order to suppress the background was overdone. As someone suggested, other than white background would be better for such model. Apology accepted... :D I'm just kidding. But again, given that this is not a first minute rush review to be the first out there on the internet, I would automatically expect somewhat higher quality as far as the written part goes. As far as the content goes, it is cool to express your own opinions and insights, but (and granted that it is the harder part, often neglected by people) it has questionable value if the explanation or reasoning is missing. "I really like the model and it looks good in my collection" - OK, that's cool, but what does it really say? Not too much in fact. I really admire Jang from Jangbricks for this particular reason. He says his opinions but he almost ALWAYS backs them up with concrete examples and comments on what makes him think that way. It is much harder than it seems, but I think a good reviewer should be capable of including that. And it's really something that can turn a boring uninteresting stock review into an original one, very much worth reading. Thanks for the positive attitude! :)

I was considering whether to write this or not and I am still not sure if my post can make any positive impact but I guess without criticism the improvement is less likely. Although some comments are specific to this particular review, in general my criticism extends to many 'Reviewer Academy' reviews, at least those I noticed lately. It seems far to common for people to just automatically say 'thanks, cool review, nice set' and I wonder how much is that just a habit or result of general sympathies and loyalty. To avoid some lengthy rant, I will just pin a few points of criticism I have: Subject of the review is relatively old set and there has been many good reviews made previously. Compared to the existing reviews I struggle to find much original content, thoughts or really anything really worthwhile in this review. The photography is, frankly, not very good. It is even more apparent here than in other reviews, because of the primary color of the model. I understand there is probably a language barrier to some extent, but sometimes the text is confusing or even contradictory. I fully acknowledge that there is effort that goes into writing this and the intentions are all great. But really I don't see so much of a value but for the authors themselves, as they can enjoy making it and improving their skills. And I have no problem with that as long as it actually works like that and people provide some constructive feedback... which I don't think is happening. I don't know... maybe I am searching a problem where there isn't, I sure don't mean to insult or discourage.

That's a lot of feather pieces in green :D I like it quite a bit - very original for sure. Highlights for me is the part use - the sand green helmet for instance. Not sure about the officer caps in terms of how well they mimic roofs... for me it's hard not to see the cap in there :D And in my very subjective opinion the buildings could use a little more bulk. It looks a bit like that the vegetation is taking over :D But overall it's great.!The terrain is spectacular and I really like how you decided to break the edge of the frame on these two spots. Especially the forest leak I think prevents the whole front edge to look like very synthetic planting pot with all these small feather pieces planted in perfectly aligned brown hollow studs. I'd probably like to see it broken down even a bit more. Oh and IMO several sparse bits of darker green would make the vegetation even more realistic.

One would think one has seen plenty weird things to be prepared for this :D But boy was I wrong

Time to time it so happens that I click on the topic with non huge expectations and interest and I am completely surprised and amazed by the content :D And, right, this is one of those cases! Fantastic design, the best speeder bike I have seen in a loong time, if not the very best one!

I only dislike one thing about this - it reminded me how much better is the old Vader helmet over the new fancier mold. God how I wish they changed it soon! :D Cool MOC, gz on getting into the Brickvault selection.

Feedback on your builds is really boring... what else can it be that 'awwwe' :D :D Merry Xmas Kevin!

Is something wrong with me as I want to pet this thing? :D It's so cute. And seemingly a great build too! You have my full appreciation for this design! Except one thing - on the renders the large white arch slopes interfere with the tille in the wings. On your real build the whole cockpit assembly sits higher so it clears. Where is that coming from?

Wow, I wasn't expecting too much when clicking the links but that still doesn't justify my surprise and awe :D There is soo many of them and mostly great models! I really have to find more time to look more closely on the designs but that's some great work over there for sure :D