Nokturn

With all of the info we have at the moment, this is reminding me a lot of what happened with 76252 Batcave Shadow Box. I was so excited for that set... until we actually started learning what it was. Really baffling design decisions from TLG all around. I honestly don't know what they're thinking by making this anything other than a full sphere. This makes no sense.

Ugh, I'm actually annoyed at how much I love Arkham. I was thinking I could skip it. The minifigs aren't phenomenal but the building itself makes this a must-have for me. There goes my budget for the rest of the year!

Man, that playscale Slave I is... disappointing, to say the least. It's basically a straight recolor of 75312, a set that came out 4 years ago. I would've expected at least some improvement in that time. In some ways, it's actually a downgrade. The shaping on the lower hull seems even blockier. And other than the seismic charges, it lacks play features like hidden weapons once again. They didn't even slap stud shooters on it this time. Obviously it was never going to be as good as 75243, but I was honestly expecting something closer to that level even if was smaller. This is pretty much the worst possible outcome for this set. The only truly good thing about it is the new Lama Su minifig. I swear, the original Jango Fett's Slave I from 2002 will simply never be topped. And yes, that includes the UCS one. The modern sets just simply fail to capture what makes the ship so cool in-universe, IMO.

Hate to go against the grain here but I'm personally not very impressed with the Slave I. Something about it just seems... off. Colors, proportions, lack of play features, etc. For the sake of brevity I won't list everything but one thing that really bothers me is the windscreen. It should be transparent black, not clear. The dark green sections should be black as well, and Jango's arms & legs should've used medium lavender instead of sand blue. The amount of stickers is very unfortunate as well; I expected at least a few prints, especially on the seismic charge. I'm a huge Jango fanboy and the Slave I is by far my favorite ship in all of sci-fi, so I really expected to love this. But unfortunately, I don't. I've been mulling it over since the initial leaks from a few weeks ago but these new pics solidify my opinion. I think they could've done a better job after 23 years and I still genuinely prefer the original set from 2002. I also think it's kind of a downgrade from the original 2015 UCS Slave I in some ways as well. Sorry to be so negative, just wanted to share my thoughts. I'm obviously way more picky about this particular ship than anything else. On a more positive note, I think they nailed the interior & I do love the little references to Bounty Hunter. That game is still my favorite SW game by far, so it's nice that they thought to include some references to it.

Agreed. I was really hoping they'd take this opportunity to give Jango a more accurate color; they have so many shades of purple to choose from now. I think lavender or medium lavender would've worked well. The sand blue just isn't accurate. It's crazy that the only figure to get this correct is the original Jango fig from 2002.

Congrats to all the winners! Very enjoyable contest; hope to see more like it in the future.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

A final last-minute entry from me. 75385 Ahsoka Tano's Duel on Peridea alternate build (Medium category)

Hello all! For this alternate build contest entry, I wanted to turn an admittedly kind of boring set into something more interesting. I've had this idea for awhile and finally got around to it. If Grand Admiral Thrawn is to take over the galaxy and restore the Empire, he'll certainly need a vast array of vehicles and weapons. So, I built a mech for him! It actually turned out to be fairly posable, with a total of thirteen points of articulation. It features a superweapon mounted on the right arm, which I've dubbed 'The Arc-Laser Planetary Annihilator'. The New Republic stands no chance against Thrawn now! (Category: Medium, RRP: $54.99) I really enjoyed building this one; there was a lot of problem-solving to turn this set into a posable mech. Thanks for taking a look at my contest entry!

Happy to hear that, thank you!

71459 Stable of Dream Creatures alternate build (Medium category) Tried to build something that would feel right at home in the world of Dreamzzz.

Greetings all! For my entry into the alternate build contest, I've decided to use set 71459 to build something completely different - a jetbird! This is something that I imagine Izzie and Zoey could've conjured up within the dream realm. This would, in theory, assist them in escaping bad guys like the Neverwitch and her Nightmare Raven. The build features the main control area where Izzie sits, a passenger area where Zoey can stand, and 2 side pods where the Dreamling Mushrooms can ride in. Also present is a small hut with a table and bed, for sleeping during long journeys. I've also built a small outpost/watchtower for Cooper, and even a jetpack for Mrs. Castillo! (Category: Medium, RRP: $79.99) I really enjoyed building this; I haven't created my own alternate build for a very long time. Thanks for checking out my contest entry!

Got my Snack Shack yesterday, unfortunately it was missing the entire sticker sheet. Very disappointed. Thankfully TLG was able to send out a replacement but I'm overall very annoyed that it was even necessary. One of the only reasons to even order these sets is because they have exclusive stickers. If they didn't, I'd just buy the parts separately at a later date. Their quality control seems to be slipping more and more recently and now I have to wait even longer to have a complete set. Has anyone else experienced this with the Snack Shack or any of the other sets?

Man, no Enoch is really disappointing. The single night trooper doesn't make much sense and doesn't even look good. Well, at least I'm no longer craving a Night Trooper battle pack if THAT'S the best they could come up with. Come on, LEGO.

Thrawn looks absolutely perfect; exactly what I was hoping for. Battle Of Peridea is by far my most anticipated SW set in a very very long time. Can't wait to see how the rest of it turns out!

I just want a Night Trooper battle pack, way more than anything else they could do right now. IMO, they're the most interesting trooper designs we've ever had from Disney SW. It'd be a shame if we never got some to go along with the Peridea set. They're already going through the effort of creating a Captain Enoch; he needs some troopers to command. As others have said, 2 Night Troopers, 1 grey faceplate Night Trooper, and a Death Trooper would be absolutely perfect. The build could be a very scaled down LAAT/le patrol gunship, similar to the Imperial Dropship battle pack from 2008. I really hope it happens as soon as possible, like January.

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to have tied for 2nd place! Thank you to everyone who voted for my entry, I really appreciate it. You guys are great. A lot of fantastic entries in this contest. Congrats to the rest of the winners as well!

Thank you! I'm glad I could be of some inspiration; happy to help. Good luck to you too! Thanks everyone! Glad you guys enjoyed it. I enjoyed making it!

Thank you! I'm glad I was able to capture the feel of an official design/theme. Thank you both!

Thank you!

Cryptid Hunters

For my entry into the Eurobricks Create a Theme Contest , I've decided to create a new theme centered around cryptozoology, entitled Cryptid Hunters. This theme features a team of super-secret agents, scientists, and researchers sent out on missions to find, document, and analyze various legendary cryptids! The team has to avoid the dangers of the cryptozoology world while documenting the sightings and interviewing witnesses. This theme would function as a spiritual successor to Monster Fighters and Hidden Side; two beloved spooky themes from TLG. I've outlined two sets from the theme below, both built digitally using Bricklink's Studio: Flatwoods Monster: Encounter in the Forest [78 pieces, 3 minifigures, $10 USD] The legendary Flatwoods Monster has been spotted in the forest! Enter the forest, investigate the crashed meteor, and attempt to document the elusive monster. Includes tree, crashed meteor with a crystal inside, and a light brick! Includes three minifigures: Secret Agent, Scientist, and the Flatwoods Monster! Mothman: Encounter at the Old Lighthouse [913 pieces, 4 minifigures, $100 USD] Mothman has been drawn to the light at the old lighthouse! Hurry to the lighthouse using the stealthy speedboat, draw Mothman away using the searchlight, and save the lighthouse keeper! Includes speedboat, old dinghy, and lighthouse with detailed interior and working light! Includes 4 minifigures: 2 secret agents, lighthouse keeper, and Mothman! [Author's note: the lighthouse would work similarly to the one seen in set 5770, even using the same mirrored sticker] In theory, this theme would also feature 3 other sets: a small set with the Loveland Frog in a swamp, a medium set with Bigfoot and a log cabin, and a medium-large set with the Loch Ness Monster. I would absolutely love to see a theme like this from TLG one day; I feel like it would work well and be in line with their previous spooky themes. Thank you for checking out my contest entry, I hope you all enjoy it!

Sorry that happened to you too, man. Glad to know I'm not totally alone with this experience, though. I also wrote them an email explaining the situation but I doubt I'll ever hear anything back. Seems to me like the IDEAS moderators are inconsistent at best when it comes to enforcing submission guidelines, unfortunately.

I am so unbelievably disillusioned with IDEAS right now. Somehow the Gamestop project gets approved despite being quite clearly low-effort, and it almost immediately gets 10,000 supporters from a cult-like subreddit. And, as if that wasn't enough, I now have a personal issue with the IDEAS moderation team. I just submitted a project I've been working on for months and it was almost immediately rejected (twice) because they think it "requests the re-release of a discontinued LEGO product or theme." My project does nothing of the sort, and yet there are many many examples of projects on IDEAS that are direct remakes of official sets. Why do the rules only apply to some people? Gosh, this is so frustrating.

What... what did they do to these sets? They're ruined! The preliminary images are a million times better! Come on, TLG... I was really looking forward to 60294 but it's been completely changed. Where's the rest of the trailer? Where's the stickers on the ramp? Why change the figures and the bike? It was perfect before! Pretty much the only set that made it out unscathed is 60295. ...I don't even wanna know what happened to 60293. A delay until October and now this? What a huge disappointment.