Dameronian

Screw it. I can't be politically correct any longer. I'm posting a huge spoiler. In yo' face!

This is actually one of the most movie accurate sets, also in scale, Lego has given us, in a long time...

Having seen TFA, my spoiler free thoughts are that it's totally understandable why Lego chose to go with the Poe Dameron Black Leader X wing over the blue/white ones, that I really look forward to getting the Reststance Troop Transport, and that the various wing mods on Kylo's shuttle are quite accurate, perhaps they should be set at a slightly narrower angle than what I've seen on the forum

This is the biggest movie and merchandise tie-in in history. And it's also just before Christmas. We will moan. We will complain. And then we will go buy all the stuff anyway. Lego knows this.

You make an excellent point billyamy. At some point, I tried to add every tiny correct detail to my old 7965. And guess what. All the greebling sat on top of the hull like a burger with double helpings of pickles, onions, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise... Adding lots of movie accurate details to a MF this scale doesn't work IMO. The details turn out garish and heavy handed, and distort those characteristic lines of the MF. So on my 75105 I decided to stay with out of the box greebling on top, thicken the mandibles, do the 2x4 wedge mod for the gaps, and some smoothing of the underside and a few mayor details. Less is more...

Man, this thread has seriously gone off the rails....

By the way, trying to make the underside of the 75105/7965 look good is an exercise in futility IMO....that's what discouraged me from going for more intricate/accurate retractable landing gear than a simple swiveling 5 strut setup... EDITED TO ADD: Final clean up of the underside, no real attempt to add details, just to smooth it out:

For the wedges yes. To fill in the space between the wedges on top, you need some 1x4, 1x8, 2x4 plates and a support plate structure underneath with 2x6, 2x3 and 1x4 plates, there is some freedom on the underside to use whatever you have obviously. Finally, you now have 3 segments that are 8 studs wide at their base and 6 that are 7 studs wide, and you need to lengthen the tile at the base a bit.

Now that i've done the 2x4 wedge mod Lawngnome, I think the little "edge" you have with the 2x2 L plates in the segments that rest against the escape pods, will be somewhat problematic (a limitation in LDD). Three 2x4 wedges work nicely.

Did exactly what you discribed with 36 2x4 wedges (18L, 18R) and the result is extremely pleasing (I also substituted the dark gray plates and thickened the mandibles). As you stated, it almost seemed to have been designed this way! Thanks khatmorg.

Totally awesome billyamy! I never imagined it would actually turn out this nice!

I agree fully. LEGO used a similar solution on the Z95. Version 3: even more gradual taper towards the rear, tail lengthened and also lowered. This is as far as I can get with mostly stock parts.

Immediately followed by V2 with a much slimmer rear fuselage, after looking at pics of the UCS 10026 model more closely...

To restore the shape of this elegant WWII Spitfire and Mosquito inspired craft, the play features had to go first....Apologies to R2 also for the gruesome decapitation... Other mods include: -some more accurate cockpit furnishings; -use of a clear cockpit, in keeping with the source material, plus my Z95 now finally has a nice smoked canopy... -modded engine mounts to accentuate that thin and sleek wing look, it's still relatively swooshable; -complete removal of the bottom layer of inverted slopes, which made the fuselage way too thick, with just a tiny recess reserved for the nice docking platform included with the set, and a small torpedo launch tube sticker at the front (yes a sticker, aargh).

Wow, didn't expect an ARC 170 remake at all!!! Both the A Wing and even more so the ARC 170, have quite some more pieces than the older sets. In case of the A Wing it could be an extra ladder, fuel pump and ammo cart (as with the new Naboo Starfighter), but with the old 8088 ARC at just 438 pieces, the new set seems like a totally different design!

Sadly no...but here are all the pics I took at the time, hope that helps, keep in mind those 2x3 plates should be the slopes on the sides of the engines:

Hmmmm, no B-wing like flight mode transformation for the Resistance Troop Transporter.....somewhat disappointed...

Love it! Cant wait for the result!

Beautiful proportions and some very inventive techniques!!!

Aaaaannnnd....drumroll... We now have official 75139 and 75140 box pics...

I made a few screenshots from the latest tv trailer, showing Black Leader moving foils to attack position, those wings aren't exactly thin...

Just ordered 36 (18l/18r) 2x4 wedges! One more less gappy MF coming up, thanks for all the helpful hints in this thread!

I moved the engines to the very tip of the wings and everything remains surprisingly solid and swooshable. These are the wing and engine proportions I was looking for: Edited to add for comparison: The original set's engine positions are horrible:

Love to see your ideas on the double folding rears! I've managed a 5 strut folding set up, but I'm still scratching my head on the double rears...

...or rather, the heavily stickered Rebels Wookiee Gunship, one out the "here's a SW set you don't see on EB everyday" -category.. Some of the mods: -engines moved up and out to the tips of the (slightly widened) wings where they belong; -smaller better proportioned canons; -inverted slopes above rear cargo hatch (and some better sloped fuselage transitions here and there); -underside made smooth (there is a huge gaping hole in the original set between the rear skids); -movie accurate retractable front skid, just switch the locked axle for two pins; -rear skids changed to something more resembling the fixed repulsorlift modules that they are. All in an effort to restore and correct the look, stance and proportions of the Wookiee designed and operated, space flight capable, MIL MI-24 Hind helicopter gunship of sorts, it was intended to be...(and I happen to have a particular life long affection for this Russian helicopter...)