Kodan Black

Wow, great work. You have a ton of little details like the side nav lights and Mjolnir as radar or something on the side with the missiles. I like how the feet seem so agile. I kinda wish you had used a pink 1x1 on the nose. I like the fangs and inset ear color. Only suggestion would be to maybe make the tail 1-2 segments longer. I doubt you want to make it 100% cat accurate, but it looks like a stubby Manx/Lynx tail right now. Given that it is you, I actually was expecting a rocket engine placed in an anatomically accurate place. NPU and SNoT-work abounds!

Really nice greebling and detailing. Especially love the engine nacelles!

Wow, just gorgeous. I've been following all the speculation and this surpassed what I expected. Just amazing. So if I get that company bonus in November ...

Interesting reaction, right where you drew the line is the difference between the original idea and the entryway I added in when it felt too simplistic. Should have stuck with my original idea I guess. Often I'm motivated by a shape or general notion of something and build from there. In this case that back area was my thought and then I tried to make a kind of elaborate entryway, almost like a crypt portico. I added some hanging lanterns and went with the religious structure notion. I had thought about the elevation, but I tried to stick to a large flat landscape to try and convey a bigger sense of scale without having to build bigger. I used up most of my tiles in tan, and LBG/DBG. i think the tree was maybe my 2nd or 3rd attempt to brick build flora. Thank you everyone for the comments and advice!

Great review and photos and a really nice looking set. There are parts I like of the set and parts I liked more on the original. The golden fish on the original in place of the rooster for instance. Overall it seems a really good concept -> production translation as that can often go way awry.

I like the design, you did a good job going with the vibe of the inspiration. A few more pictures would be good, just to get a better overall sense. One thing to note is the ladder pieces you used as the floor grate aren't laying flat. Instead of the 1x1 rounds on the left doorway I might have used 1x1 plates just to better match the look of the right doorway (but that is personal preference). Clearly security needs to be stepped up if we are letting Rebels get to our reactors...

Sleek and robust design! I think the one with the orange underbelly storage is my favorite with all the smaller craft slots on top. I like how they all share many features but each also looks very different.

I like it! The bus looks great and I love how the little details like the opening at the ticket counter are thought of. The espresso machine is perfect. Here I am in August thinking about Christmastime!

Thanks, luckily my freebuild is able to be adapted to fit into the next one that will lead into the challenge.

Finally posted #3: Now to begin on the challenge and the pre-challenge freebuild.

One of the benefits to being of a higher rank is that when I put in for time off, it generally gets rubber stamped. Things had been hectic lately and I wanted a few days to just clear my head and break from routine. For many, perhaps most, in the Empire that would mean either some resort planet or finding a bar. I understood the bar route, sometimes you just needed a break and drinks provided that. However, once the drinks are gone your problems and the things you were trying to forget are still there and you just have a lighter wallet to show for it. I preferred to find secluded spots where there wasn't a lot of noise and crowds. When I listed where I was going the clerk seemed surprised. "There is nothing out that way." he offered. "Exactly." I smiled as I replied. He nodded and clearly understood -- at least as much as he could. Being part of such a large organization as the Empire you rarely are alone. Even time off felt like you were being watched as you had to keep your location known in case they needed to find you for some reason. I'd become accustomed to it by now, but there was a certain allure to being far enough away that they wouldn't easily pull you back. And if they did, it likely meant something large I'd rather be involved with early on instead of trying to do clean up later. Nar Eurbrikka had a spot I had found that wasn't too far from a major city, so I wouldn't spend days getting to it. I took a shuttle down to the surface and then used a high speed transport stop to get me even closer to the Sha'emenor Well of Souls. It wasn't a hot tourist spot since it lacked the flash people are so used to. There were no holovids or interactive games. The walk from the transport stop was about a mile and I found that the noise level dropped off as I got closer. I'd brought a data pad just in case and had some light supplies. Always be prepared. The Well of Souls was supposedly where the souls of the Sha'ek religion practitioners went after they passed away. It was a sort of temple that was considered a very sacred place and had the guardian statue out front of Amenkanor -- Protector of Souls. Supposedly he guided your soul to the temple where it was given eternal peace. The sacred tree at the back of the temple was supposed to date back hundreds of years. The grounds were immaculately maintained by the monks who lived nearby and were selected to have the honor of maintaining the temple. Generally the monks kept to themselves, though they weren't forbidden from speaking. Given that I was here for the quiet I certainly didn't feel any need to strike up a conversation. The building itself was good sized and very sturdy. It was all laid by human hand, no droids as they were forbidden as part of the religion. The lack of a soul in a humanoid shape was seen as evil. I spent time just appreciating the simplicity and thinking about my past and future. I wasn't one of those who thought the Empire could do no wrong and I'd recently interacted with enough Rebels to know they weren't the "bad guys". I knew plenty of good people in the Empire, guys who wanted order and structure. They liked that under the Empire there was water and power reliably available and hopefully an end to fighting. It wasn't an easy question of whether the peace and stability was worth giving up some rights and freedoms -- and for now I knew it was my job to enforce the laws. This place was being left alone on a planet that didn't see much fighting. I doubt they would elect to remove the Empire presence and invite in the unknown and potential for chaos. Our operation with the Rebels proved we could unite to fight a foe like Xizor. There was a lot of distrust on both sides and we all knew it was a temporary accord. But maybe it could happen again and both sides could see the human instead of the Rebellion or the Empire. My upcoming promotion to the Imperial Department of Military Research would be interesting. Perhaps I could slowly move the needle to a less combative approach to Rebels. More likely though I'd find myself under suspicion by my comrades for my lack of zeal in the Empire group-think that seems to have gripped our highest commanders. Tree: Statue: All the pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47762136@N04/shares/6a3ka7 Please Judge and all comments and critiques are welcome!

I've honestly never laid out 100 studs in length to see what scale it even is. I'll have to see if I even have the parts to make a SHIP. That is a LOT of pieces.

Why no, this Centennial Hawk is totally my own creation... Nah, I have a good cover story for my build. It is a fighter, nothing crazy like stealth or the whole ship is made out of the stuff black boxes are made of.

OK, so with this contest officially announced does that reset our freebuild count to zero? Because I have one more to post that is built but not photographed (I'm lazy and have been working on a fighter for this) But if I post that freebuild I don't want to cap out and not be able to post a "How I got to Endor" freebuild. My build is very un-Empire in design but if I can story my way into how I ended up with it is that ok? IMO making yet another TIE is awfully boring. I'd be more inclined to build a Rebel ship and say I stole it.

Wow, this is massive! Even in their most basic forms I instantly recognized the locations from the movie. Nicely done.

Valid point about the second scene. I'm one of those people that gets an idea in their head and then builds it. And THEN worries about taking pics. Only rarely do I think through the implications of my build on how it will photograph. Certainly something to work on in my process. I was actually trying to make the bottom cluttered and busy and then keep the top clean and sparse to focus more on the 2 overseeing officers. A bit of a separation between the worker bees and their machines and the managers type viewpoint. Always good to get feedback!

I feel this is a little bit of chicken and egg though. For instance I don't want to build anything until I know more about the rules because I'm not sure if I am continuing my story or making a new character. A lot hinges on how the game is set up. I guess I could just build random AG builds that won't tie into a bigger AG2 storyline, but I don't know that I have much desire to as it seems like total throw away and pointless.

I know we have OT for Original Trilogy and PT for Prequel Trilogy, what is the new acronym for the current trilogy? ST for Sequel Trilogy? I guess I would expect SoNE to file into the Kylo Ren era, but who knows.

Any updates on judging the freebuilds that have been posted since the last challenge? I know Cody had 1 and I have 2 (soon to be 3 once I take photos of my latest build). Will start planning out a ship too.

If you do list it somewhere, make sure to let places like TBB and other Lego news sites know so that you get more exposure. Helps you and also increases the chances someone who dreams of owning one might hear of it and get a chance to make an offer.

Very nice, you did get a ton of shots out of a small space. But the more you look into the shots you did you can see all the details. You packed a lot into a small space without making it feel cramped or overwhelming. Great work.

Awesome review as always, loved all the pictures and commentary. N-Pop Girl is definitely the one I most want and will try to grab multiples of. I'm a bit sad that they are evenly distributed as I think some of them will be left sitting on shelves, especially those that are similar to ones that come in sets.

Based on the $30 price point for Yoda's hut I'm guessing it will be a pretty small set. Either way, I'm excited to get it!

You've got a person straddling a bomb waving a hat ... I'd say it was there subconsciously. One thing I just noticed, maybe change the name to Pacific Pearl from Pacific pearl. Just seems more correct. Aside from the One Ring pieces (unless they actually do come in that color) is this something that you could mostly build really or did you have to color correct a lot?

Love the Dr. Strangelove nod. The ship is really fantastic and well thought out. The launch platform is very reminiscent of modern aircraft carriers. The color choices reminds me of the Gulf livery. Really nice photography too!