Vectormatic

For me personally Hoth is a much bigger part of empire then Cloud City, and in lego's defense, it is much easier to sell a whole bunch of vehicles/battlepacks on the hoth theme then CC (CC would be what, a slave I/landing pad, a cloud car and some scenery play sets?), think about all those AT-ATs

Thanks for the comparison, ill stick with 75038 as a template, i like that one the best so far as well (from just looking at pictures), ill be picking up the new set, but if it compares poorly to the current version ill mod it, thats the great thing about lego

You seem to know your interceptors, which do you consider the best version so far? (excluding colors/pilots, just talking craft design) I didnt realize there was a difference between the 2012 and 2014 versions, so i ordered parts for a MOC based on the 2014 design, should i take a look at the 2012 version for improvements?

Sure! Just put in an order with Lego for a bunch of PF stuff (double points, best deal i could find on these parts), i did go for the V1 receiver now, which should suffice for smaller MOC/MODs, but ill keep my eye on a v2 on bricklink for when i want to go bigger

Personally my theory is that it is at least partially to avoid licensing issues, The 24 hour race car for instance, if they brought out the preliminary design (with the back fin etc..), and named it "LMP1 24 hours of Le-Mans car", they probably would have had the FIA/ACO knocking on the door because the thing would beyond a shadow of a doubt be an attempt to monetize their formula, even if it didnt say "audi" on the front. The same goes for color schemes, 42036, IMHO is very close to some ducati bikes (Desmosedici-RR, google it, even has the same sort of V4 engine), and it looks brilliant with a color swap, but if they put it out looking 99% like a ducati, ducati might object, so they change the color scheme around (but not to much to actually really look like Gulf livery, because....) to avoid any unwanted discussions about licensing fees.

Double points just hit europe, so i splashed and bought the F40, a full set of power functions stuff (remote, receiver, battery box, L motor and servo) for RC-ing some of my technic sets, and a boba fett keychain to push my total VIP points after this purchase over 400, which will be a nice discount on the Dr. Who set for the GF at christmas. Normally i dont really see the point of VIP points, because with some shopping around and patience, i can find most common sets at better deals then 5-10% off, but this is all stuff that is S@H exclusive, and the PF stuff is pretty expensive on bricklink as well Pretty stoked about it, but my wallet slightly less so :)

Indeed, the wings stick out one stud less in front, and there does appear to be a black bit between the grey main part of the engine and the exhaust-glow dish. On further inspection, the wings seem to be thinner as well, the front section looks to be 2 plates, rather then the 3 in 75038, partially possible to the newer model using a sticker for the grey trapezoid outtake on the inner edges then having it brickbuilt in 75038, the different inward-angled pieces (the 3x3 angled rather then the yellow 4-2 trapezoid) also looks like it means less supportive plating underneath. The surface below the S-foils also looks to be a bigger plate with a sticker rather then brick-built detailing. I think the newer model will end up with significantly less parts, and a much bigger sticker sheet, and while it may end up looking sleeker, im not sure whether i like those changes, stickers fade and peel off, and detract from the modability. Personally i'd hope this all translates to a lower price (as i think the €30 MSRP for 223 parts in 75038 is already rather high), but who am i kidding right? Ive got parts on the way for a black version of 75038 (to be paired with a spare vader and black astromech), and if the new set ends up being inferior, i might just mod it back to the old model, dark red is pretty common after all

True! I bought the tracked loader as a "parts pack" a few months back, and even though it got taken apart relatively quickly, i did enjoy the build a lot, and it was a very nice little vehicle with interesting (if a bit basic) functionality. Sure, its not a project like a big le-mans/F1 car, but they often have interesting parts, and the builds themselves can be surprising despite their size. Besides, the pull-back racers tend to absolutely brilliant for getting lots of panels in interesting colors

I think the solution is to apply the reverse, First copious amount of Pub, then the spider droid and snow speeders wont seem so bad

From what i've spotted myself, the bumps next to the cockpit, and the angle of the inward bit at the front of the wings In both cases, the older model looks better, and is more accurate to the movie version

Ah right, i took "Summer 2015" to mean august, so the Sith infiltrator, Shuttle etc.. wave (or i havent been paying attention), either way, ill have to pick up a bunch of those 75078s again, we dont know when we have another shot at cheap and plentiful stormies like this, thankfully i already have the Tie and AT-DP. Yeah, i like the color scheme and the fact that we're getting Obi rather then Ani, but the model is worse, the "hips" around the cockpit and the front of the wings both looks worse then on 75038. Thankfully at least the wedges from old set are available in dark-red, so it should be fixable with some bricklinking. It is odd though that Lego even went with a different model considering these two interceptors literally fly side by side in the movie, recreating the scene would only serve to highlight the differences.

Do you guys think we have a shot at some new smaller UCS sets somewhere soon? Im kinda of contemplating getting a big/complex set soon, and UCS is a good direction, but the current new offerings dont really appeal to me right now (i do like Slave I, but i already have 6209 set up on display, which i feel is close enough for now, and will probably mod that before getting 75060), so im looking over the older sets on bricklink. I like the scale/size of the AT-ST and Jedi-starfighter (though not so much the models themselves), id love the bigger stuff, but bricklinking a MF, Star destroyer or SSD is waaay out of budget. Id love a 1000-1500 piece A-wing or Eta-2, but it seems like the last sub $180 UCS set was five years ago

Does that include the Rebels stuff? If so im gonna need to pick up some extra stormie-BPs stat, and that is putting me on the spot for that gozanti

Do you happen to have pics of your 42000 mod? I am currently working on my 42039 mod, but id love some on-point changes to 42000, especially based off of a ferrari

exhausts yes, but the block itself i dont think so, the contrast between the block and the exhaust suggest normal grey to me. Shame, the blue panels at the back + silver cilinder wouldve made me buy 8 of em or something, enough to recolor the wheel covers on the le-mans cars, and enough silver engine parts to redo most of my bigger models

I only have the very first AT-ST, so any newer version would be an upgrade

Just bricklinked parts for a Darth Vader Eta-2 Sith Interceptor, the pics of next year's Obi's Interceptor, and hemming and hawing over 75038 made me realize i need an Eta-2 in the collection. Now i dont like anakin (i could tolerate him in the green mustafar Eta-2, since that technically is darth vader), and im currently reading Tarkin, so i figured id just MOC/MOC my own. Loaded the parts list for 75038 on BL, switched all colours to black/grey, removed the republic signs and the pilot/droid, since i have a black astromech and spare vader. Ill probably end up modding the model down the line, but i figure a grey/black version of the standard kit is a good start as any, considering there isnt any official canon imagery of the specific craft.

A FO destroyer and an AT-ST? yes please!

Looks like there is some scarring on the torso as well Honestly, i dont mind it much, but id just buy a bunch of the Rebels packs for stormies, dont care about the frown :)

I was just comparing the jedi interceptor with the yellow one (and movie pics), and looks like they angled the front wingtips inward a stud more, not an improvement imho, same goes for the stickered grey bits on the inner edges, and the different slopes around the cockpit Its still a good looking fighter, but in terms of accuracy and style i think the yellow one is better Decisions decisions, do i buy the yellow one and mod that, the red one and mod that, or just buy both?

The leaked 42039 pics had stickers, and that set changed a LOT after the leaks

These arent even all leaked 2016 sets (in terms of name anyway), we're still missing the Rebels microfighters, im really hoping we also get a few new bigger Rebels sets, id love more inquisitors, id throw my wallet at lego if they do an Arquitens cruiser the size of the assualt carrier star destroyer, but im not holding my breath on that one The TFA stuff is probably kept under closer guard, im sure there will be TFA sets in jan 2016

It prevents body roll in corners, in real life the will be rubber bushings, or in the case of an anti-rollbar, a bar which can be torqued a bit to not link both sides 100%

That is an awesome looking axle, im impressed with the ARB design, and the pneumatic shock absorber My only concern (from my own vantage point) is that the design is rather high, one problem i ran into on modding 42039 is that in race cars especially, you need axles to be low and thin to get them into a decent bodywork shape, so im very curious what kind of car this thing is going into

Agreed, it looks like a decent expansion to people working on Hoth dioramas or the like, but otherwise.. Lego's obsession with Hoth themed landscape/base sets has always puzzled me