Markalus

So the official pictures of the sets from the movie about the theft of the plans to the Death Star are leaked/stolen yet the UCS Death Star 'plans' still remain secret. Ironic...don't you think?

Love the improvements anothergol. The photos look great too!

That Han hair piece looks great! Much more scruffy looking, like a Nerf herder should be.

Finally, a credible hint of its imminent release. Very exciting!

Yep. The quality of the DC and Marvel minifigs (& sets) of late is starting to make me feel like TLG are genuinely taking the piss out of Star Wars Lego fans.

It is more front balanced in these pics....a lot of trial and error. I don't have any minifigs in it which helps a little to reduce weight. Posing it is quite a challenge but I certainly learnt a lot from the build techniques you used and it's an awesome looking MOC!

Thanks for sharing your MOC anothergol. I finally got around to photographing mine, with a couple of minor substitutions. Cheers!

Jay's Brick Blog has high res pics up and some initial thoughts http://jaysbrickblog.com/2016/07/11/behold-the-magnificent-lego-71040-disney-castle/

I totally agree. Disappointment in SW Lego seems to be the norm this year rather than the exception.

Nice! The tires look a bit too fat to me and I wish they had used chrome instead of LBG for the bumpers, side moldings, etc but that's just wishful thinking. They've captured the curves extremely well and it makes the previous one look very "dated" in terms of technique. I like the surfboard and esky (cooler). It will look great next to the T1 Campervan, especially in those contrasting colours. Thumbs up for including Aussie license plates too!

Yes. No. I wouldn't expect them to hit retail shelves until after the mid-year toy sales. The Big W toy sale catalogue is out and there are no 'summer' SW sets in it. Expect the other retailers to follow suit.

Good luck finding one at that price! Who in their right mind would part out such an expensive set that only has one star minifig and then sell said minifig for $20 or less!

Congrats. Nice pick up! It's my favourite set.

This thing is biblical in proportion! Or for us mere SW Lego fan mortals the equivalent of scaling Everest. I appreciate the time and effort you guys are putting in to make it possible for us to build. Although I suspect Bricklink might need its own medical attention once the instructions become available!

Yes, the 1/4 cylinders in LBG can be bought for ~$0.60-0.80 AUD each in the quantity needed. In white they were ~$2-4 AUD each for sellers who had 52 or more. LGB is far more common than white.

Nice M-c! I decided to Bricklink it but substitute white for LBG and the red/dark red with blue to mimic Ahsoka's Corvette in Rebels. Parts have mostly arrived, I've just ordered the final pieces from Bricklink and Lego B&P's. Final cost was ~$550 AUD (including shipping) or approx 275 British pounds. I'll post pics once its done. They are crazy prices for them on Bricklink. I decided to substitute with these...

Awesome! I love it. You have ruined Return of the Jedi for me though. I will not be able to watch it without picturing Darth Vader hurling his lunch rather than his master down the shaft.

As much as I hate to comment on price I have to agree. Its not just Star Wars sets either. Some of the City sets defy logic and can't be explained by licensing costs...unless Octan is a real (& very greedy) oil company.

Firstly, nice review Bob. I'm not sure what you mean though when you ask "do AFOLs have some sort of responsibility"? Do you mean a responsibility to not voice too much negative sentiment based on own selfish ideas of what an Assault on Hoth should be? If that is the case, and this set was truly designed purely with children's play in mind, it begs the question "does a review even belong on a site that is openly exclusive for AFOLs/TFOLs and threatens banning if an individual is not eighteen(ish) or above"?

Strictly speaking it is blue in universe, just weathered and rusty. Personally I think the Lego model would have looked better if they mixed in some dark tan or dark fleshy orange elements to simulate the weathered look. I'm sure we will see some mods here.

What pittpenguin said; its regular blue with sand blue. The full parts list is available on bricklink http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=75149-1

I'm loving that A-wing pilot minifig. Is the visor part of the helmet mold? I hope so. It looks like it judging by the yellow bleed into the rim of the helmet.

Yeah I certainly wouldn't pay what the seller is asking but it would be quite easy to bricklink it.

Nice! One of the benefits of living in Europe is cheaper shipping from European BL stores. I'll be keen to see how it looks. There is a guy on Ebay selling LBG/DBG with bright blue/dark blue detail, like Ahsoka's CR90 Corvette from SW Rebels. It looks pretty awesome in that colour scheme.

Am I only one who thinks that Jyn Erso constraction figure looks like Rosita from The Walking Dead? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosita_Espinosa Not that it's a bad thing