BigEl

EDIT: Only now after I wrote all this I realize you only meant Reviews for January Sets so all for nothing Well whatever, maybe someone can find a use for this info I could tell you about two of the TFA Sets that I bought: 1. TFA Millenium Falcon - 75105 ( http://brickset.com/...llennium-Falcon ) Its the biggest set of the Force Awakens Line so far and well, even though it is clearly just an update compared to the last Millenium Falcon Lego released in 2011, it is a very decent set overall. Additionally it has relatively decent price per part ratio. Build: The build for me was only slighty above average. The most fun to build was the base structure as well as all of the internal structure includiing the cockpit. It has the least repitition and features some really satisfying sections, for example build the escape pod area and the archways that lead to the central double sided quad-cannon assembly. On the contrary the hull consists of a LOT of repitition. I mean you can clearly see it on pictures already, the side blocks that make the ship round are more or less all identical. Same goes for the "pizza-slice" parts on the top. The front mandibles are nothing too spectacular. Finished Model: If you like this thing or not completely depends on how annoyed you would be about a lot of gaps in the hull. Again it can clearly be seen on the pictures, between the single sections of the round hull assembly there are gaps everywhere, you can even look trough some of them a bit. That being said I dont think they are TOO bad, sure it could have been done a lot better without completely reconstructing and redesigning the hull(many Mods have proven this already), but it still works for me personally. It does not look unfinished to me. Other more negative points that I would mention is that the mandibles in the front are a bit off, they are too thin and there is no seamless transition to the main hull, making the mandibles look like they are not really a natural extension of the central body. Also the technic frames from the central ship construction are quite visible. The wrong colourization of the top hull plates should be mentioned as well (Dark Bluish Gray is off), although that is not too bad for me either. Its not accurate but gives the ship a nice scrap/ used-look. Now everything else about this model I actually like quite a lot. The Cockpit, even though its barebones on the inside and a bit too big in proportions, features an awesome printed canopy and just looks appropiate. Looks even better with two Minifigs inside, that are cleary visible trough the canopy. More sections that just look great are the top central quad-cannon, the central front cargo door plate, the horizontal build-up line of the hull and escape pods as well as the back side with the long blue engine exhaust. The overall angles and most of proportions are well done, this thing clearly looks like the Millenium Falcon! The landing gear can not be rectracted but is easy to remove in case you want to swoosh the ship around. The main interior isnt bad either. The hyperdrive section, sleeping quarters and the main room with the ships computer and benches/chestboard are all approriate and got a basic level of detail and greebling. Main thing that is missing is a clear structural seperation between the single sections. All in all its not on a display-level of looks, but features a lot of space and playability. It should be mentioned that there is a secret storage compartment (1 minifig fits in) as well as the main entrance door that slides open to the ground, but both are underwhelmingly simple and on top of that really hard to reach since they are positioned under the archways. They can easily be ignored but its a shame that their potential havent been used better. Minifigures: The selection of Minifigures is perfect in my opinion. You get the 5 main characters that are central and connected to the Millenium Falcon in the movie as well as two evil henchmen. Every single figure is excellent in detail and accuracy, even the two secondary bad guys. There is no figure that feels wrong or worse in quality than the rest and the amount of them and they surely add a ton of playability since you can replay most of the MF scenes with them. Conclusion: The best thing this set has going for it is the fact that it is the Millenium Falcon, its as simple as that. There are a numbers of flaws like the colour and the numerous gaps in the hull, but this thing just looks great because its an approriate representation of the legendary MF. Its really big (bigger than one might think by looking at the pictures), its really durable and certain sections of it look just great! The Minifigs are perfect, but the model is clearly too expensive too just buy it for the figures only. All in all I would recommend it in general, but I think it is absolutely necessary that you first look at pictures and decide for yourself if you can live the gaps of the hull or not. If not, then do NOT buy this set! Three Special Mentions: - This MF features a LOT of stickers both on the inside as well as on the outside. Aside from the printed canopy pieces everything that looks like a sticker IS a sticker. I would even go so far and say that the Details of the Millenium Falcon heavily depends on the Stickers. Without them would take away quite a bit of the general look and feel! So if you really hate Stickers you might want to reconsider to buy this set, if you see them neutrally I guess its ok since none of the stickers are TOO hard to place properly. - The Model is absolutely perfect if you want to MOD it to your own desire. Again there a quite a number of Mods (look for threads in this forum), and some of them make this thing look on par with the 2008 UCS Version and even better than that! All that really shows that the basic model of this Set is indeed spot on for the general design of the Millenium Falcon. - The main play feature, two springloaded shooters, are well hidden inside the front mandibles. Even if you hate those in general you wont really be annoyed by them since they can barely be seen. On the other hand they add more decent play value. 2. First Order Special Forces Tie Fighter - 75101 ( http://brickset.com/...ces-TIE-Fighter ) Besides the X-Wing and the Millenium Falcon this old classic is absolutely the most present ship in The Force Awakens. It is one of the most well known and iconic Star Wars crafts slightly updated for the new Trilogy both in design and colourization. This Lego model received a lot of critique regarding its price while at the same time got a lot of praise for its looks. Here is my take on the SF Tie Fighter: Build: When you look at pictures you would probably instantly assume that this SF Tie Fighter is a very boring and repetitive build. And indeed, the two wings/solar panels are build identical to one another, but I actually enjoyed the build very much! The easiest trick to spice the repitition up a bit is too build one wing before and one wing after the assembly of the main central body. The building process itself is just amazing, it features a number of ingenious techniques to get the looks right and to make the Tie Fighter REALLY durable. Building up the main central body in particular was a great experience, but the Wings come together exceptionally well too. Finished Model: Its just outstanding how the very good build transfers into a nearly perfect looking representation of the First Order SF Tie Fighter. I would say that it has easily the highest quality of display out of all the TFA sets, judging by pictures and side to side comparisons. There are just so many details and angles that they got spot on while really being handicapped and actually at a disadvantage when it comes to round/ball-like objects in Lego. But the central main body just looks right, its not really round but it creates a perfect silhouette by using sloped pieces all over the place. The design and angles of the wings/solar panels is just perfect from the outside, sadly the black bars that give the Panels their characteristic look are not featured on the inside, which really is the only major flaw of this model to me. The Antennae and the Deflector Shields at the Wings attachment make the TIE look really bulky, special and are just great and proper details. Underneath the main central body there can be found the only other flaw in design, which is a just minor one. The main dual-laser turret can not be turned at all and is too far in the front. What makes this set so special in looks is that they used 3 printed dish pieces on the front, top and back. Their print is perfect and all of them can be opened up to look and place Minifigures inside. The interior is very barebones but there isnt really a lot of space to do or add more than a control unit (nicely done with a droid body in grey), so I cant really blame them for that. A word to the colourization: Its perfect in my eyes. The Red Stripe going trough the central body looks good and the Light Bluish Gray for the solar panels was a good choice from Lego in my opinion, a pure white would have been too bright and would have made the TIE look more cartoony and less realistic for me. Minifigures: The set comes with 4 figures and I would say they are slightly above average. The TIE Pilots look good with their new and special Helmet Molds but sadly are not perfectly accurate, since they are just regular First Order TIE Pilots and this set would have actually required the Special Forces TIE Pilots with additional Red Stripes on their helmets. The other figures are one Officer and one Crew Member and they just feel off. Not only do they not fit the TIE but also are not that spectacular in their prints and molds, especially the Crew Members looks very bland. Lego should have gone for two specific named characters in addition to 2 SF TIE Pilots, that would have made the Minifigure selection absolutely perfect and unique. Conclusion: If you can live with the high price (maybe get the TIE on sale like I did) and like the TIE Fighter in general, this set is a must buy in my opinion! There are only two real flaws in my books when it comes to the design of the Ship (missing black bars on the inside of the wings and turret underneath) while everything else feels just right. Its size/scale is perfect for Lego and its very durable with the Wings being attached extremely secure. The colours and Special Forces details make it look unique and special. The 3 printed canopies are a sight to behold and if Lego would have went for a better/more unique and more accurate Minifigure selection, this thing would actually be worth 70 dollars to me. Nevertheless, if you consider getting this TIE, get it! Its really the only set in the TFA series that feels like a must buy to me and I am more than satisfied with it. Special Mention: - There are 2 spring loaded stud shooters that are integrated perfectly underneath the front and back canopy. Doesnt take anything away from the design and add a huge amount of play value to the set, as there really is no other specific play feature besides its great swooshability.

Or maybe he got invited to the see the movie in the cinema and simply someone else bought his ticket?

Agreed. If it comes in a polybag or is sold seperately somewhere, that might be the first time I actually buy a minifig just for the sake of the minifig. And while we are at it, a new Bespin Luke right now please! (Maybe in a new Cloud City Set?! ... even a new Dagobah Luke would be fine, please Lego? )

A word regarding the Special Forces Tie Fighter: Aside from the improper non Special Forces Tie Pilots and the turret on the underside that cant turn, I think the ship is spot on! The Red Stripe is well done and I really like the proportions as well as the angles. Also I think that the Light Bluish Gray for the wing panels was the better choice than white. At least the normal white would have probably been too bright for my taste. The LBG gives it more sublety. Also on the picture featured on wookiepedia, it looks more like LBG to me personally: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/sf_space_superiority_fighter All in all, I enjoyed the build quite a bit (even the Wings when you do one before and after the central body) and the Tie makes for a fantastic display model. Its even quite big and has the perfect Lego scale to me (everything bigger would just be overkill due to the very simplicity of the design, for example the UCS Tie Fighter).

A mistake? Well I wonder why such a mistake never occurs the other way around, with the prices being way lower than normal Also they probably dont be too eager too "fix" that mistake.... maybe its a new feature called New Years Sale, where you can spend even more money on your beloved lego franchises

Indeed, but Lego made a mistake, probably because of the same reason that Kylo Rens Shuttle has its flaws, lack of information. The Set we got is the Special Forces Version of the Tie with the Red Stripe, Antennae and the Deflector Shields, assumed to be the black gear-looking additions to the wings attachment. But the Minifigs we got with it are just regular Tie Pilots, not the proper Special Forces Ones with the Red Stripe on the Helmet, so that might confuse some people. On wookiepedia is a picture that features the "normal" First Order Tie Fighter: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/fo_space_superiority_fighter

I doubt anyone knows that as of right now except the designer at Lego who possibly works on the thing. It might be possible that they go down with it in scale as with the MTT, but I kinda doubt it. I mean the MTT stills works in the newest version, the design is very true to the original. I just dont see the same possibility for the Turbo Tank since its way more massive and supposed to be the big troop transporter/attack vehicle. Also the last one increased in part count over the first version. My guess would be maybe around 1500 parts. Might even become the biggest set of the wave (ucs excluded).

Holy Moly! Fantastic looking and outstanding job on the design! The wings are freaking huuuge, 96 cm tall when deployed?! I just take a wild guess and say that making this thing able to put the wings in flying position is impossible... i imagine these wings being really heavy and due to their length how much strength would you need on the central body to keep them stable and straight in their V-Wing position? Anything planned for that? Also could you maybe make a picture that faces the front from the ground? Due to the build and angle you cant really see how much space there is between the central body and the ground, it looks like its lying flat on the ground... And what about a shot from behind.... wanna see some engines

cavegod rekindled the rumor by mentioning that a new version has been seen alongside a new ucs snowspeeder. But if "being seen" actually means being seriously developed for selling remains to be seen Personally I have my doubts with that one however.

Hm how about the new Version of Movie Yoda that gets introduced with the upcoming Homing Spider Droid together with Luminara. Would make sense since we see those two in the battle. In addition maybe a new Wookie together with updated Crew personel for the tank. What will make or break the new Turbo Tank for me will be if they actually get the front section remotely accurate this time in contrast to the first two, that were quite off from a design perspective as well as a more bulky section between the wheels.

A new Clone Turbo Tank? Wow havent heard that rumor yet. Gets me all excited since the last one sadly was Clone Wars Version and the newer might be in style of the movie version again And here I thought I have heard that new Prequel Sets were pretty unlikely due to the higher focus on Force Awakens and Original Trilogy Sets. BTW, what about the UCS Sets? (Hoth, Deathstar, Snowspeeder)? Not likely to appear as part of the Summer Wave?

I like the mod. Making it longer and a bit more accurate in the proportions make it appear a lot less blocky. Its still a shame that Disney or whoever was responsible didnt think of something more interesting, if not in shape, than at least in color. I mean why is there no black and red mixed it like with tie fighters or even kylo rens command shuttle? I believe that more different colours would have given the thing a lot more character, as it stands I hardly doubt that the Transporter will be remembered much or even become iconic (Part of the problem is probably as well, like with the First Order Snowspeeder, that we barely saw the thing and never really in a clear, bright and centered view)

Thanks, much appreciated Since its the biggest change and probably the most interesting part of the MOD, some more pictures and angles on the Engine in the back:

Thank You! Yeah about that matter, would love to have a walking ability. Its unfortunate that the walker is just not designed to walk, it needs both legs in the fixed position to balance out the long front section. Being able to set a foot behind that balance point would lead to the AT-AP falling over. Interestingly enough though, because of the big brick built engine block I added to the back, the walker naturally leans back a bit now. Maybe even enough to hold on its own with the legs in a motion position. Will definitely look into that again to see if there is a possibility. @krisandkris12 That was my thinking when I bought it Just needed to Mod it or I would never be satisfied with it as display model. Exchanging the dark bluish gray trap door plates on the sides with light bluish gray normal plates alone already enhanced the look greatly. Besides being pretty hollow from the inside and back, the devil is in the detail with this one. If you plan to look at this thing from the front for the most part, the set is already worth it in my opinion, since minor changes can improve it a lot. The basic hull design and the angles Lego did here are already pretty accurate and good looking to me. @Junior Shark Thanks again for your praise I am actually thinking a little bit towards diorama now, setting an approriate scene for both Walkers might make them even more enjoyable to look at as display models. Other than that, my next project could very well be a ship for once

Bought the First Order Special Forces Tie Fighter too accompany my Episode7 Millenium Falcon Got it on Sale for 58 Euros without shipping cost, so it was 11 cents per piece, which is fine for me.

Whats your favourite aspect of the Star Wars prequels? To me it always were the memorable designs of the various ships and land vehicles. Especially Revenge of the Sith with the Venator Class Republic Cruiser as well the Clone Turbo Tank and the AT-AP Walker featured some of the best the trilogy has to offer in my opinion. The only sad thing here is that those designs got barely any screen time in the movie. The AT-AP in particular is actually never seen fully or is ever focused on, the model just walks trough the background in the Battle of Kashyyyk several times. A real shame since its design and functionality is great and really beats all the other smaller walkers in the Star Wars Universe to me. The second System-Scale Version of the AT-AP from Lego was released last year and its a very good set. Only when you look up source material of the Sniper Tank, you will notice some mistakes and flaws in the design. One of the bigger ones, besides the usual wrong colorization and the play features, is that the Engine of Walker is actually missing. Instead the official Lego AT-AP is hollow on the back side and features some sad big gaps all over the place. So the decision to tackle some of those flaws was a fairly easy. First some reference/source material I used for modding the Lego version: And now for my own modded Lego Version: Besides the usual color tweaks, cover ups and gap filling I really tried to seperate the light and dark bluish gray to recreate the sillhouette of those thick armor plates on the front and sides of the walker, while the legs and the engine are uncovered. The gun on top of the main artillery cannon has been changed as well. The springloaded shooter is gone and instead the control console is now where it belongs (Instead being on the ground). Also the cockpit interior got enhanced and stuffed out. The main technic frame is nearly completely covered, there are more controls and greebling, accessory holders and the inside actually connects with the engine to create a more bulky and authentic look. Some pictures of the official Lego model to compare the MOD to: And while we are at comparisons, together with the big one: What do you guys think? Got any feedback or suggestions? And what do you think about the model itself? Would like to hear your thoughts.

As a designer, you know you are doing it wrong when.... No but seriously, besides those ugly miniguns that replace the real things engines, it really is Disneys fault for making the design so boring/bland and on top of that not even really showing the speeder in the movie/giving it a cool scene completely for itself, like a chase or something. I mean if it has nearly no movie presence, why would children ever want to have the thing? It can barely be called Merchandise, since its barely part of the movie. And then they even created a 2nd version and made it part of the microfighters....

Agreed, looks like this is as good as it gets with a Lego-Version of the Millenium Falcon. Just mind-blowing how detailed and smoothed out it is, EVEN underneath Is there more info about the interior and the part count? Would be interesting to know what dimension we are talking about here. Only sad thing is that Lego might never release a Version that is this good.... EDIT: Okay, found the info

Oh wow, the Version in the white looks even better to me than the black one. Kind of a demonized evolution of the lambda class, with a more aggressive V-Shape Wing Style and blood-red viewport on the front

Thanks a lot buddy :)

LDD is Lego Digital Designer, a program that can be used to design and build Lego. Advantage is that you dont need real bricks, can experiment with it all you want and have some sort of blueprint for designs you can take apart, which more or less automatically include a parts list and instruction manual. Problem is that you need to rebuild the whole thing in the program... But hey, more detailed photos of the construction and connections are always useful and appreciated too

Actually a white version of the Shuttle combined with the red visor/view port on the front would probably look even more diabolic than with black Can someone please MOD/MOC that? Battlefront? Please lets stay with Lego, we have definitely enough unfinished products with them already

Im sorry, but I am afraid I will have to insist of you handing out an LDD file, parts list and building instructions for this thing. It just looks too good

Im with you on the matter. I recently got pretty fired up about the generic angry clone face that Boba Fett got in the Carbone Freeze Chamber Im just afraid there cant be done too much, aside from not buying Lego. As to Lego being better than Hasbro or other toy brands.... hm while Lego definitely earned a reputation for high quality materials and low quality tolerance, I always had (and still have) the feeling that they were one of the most greedy companies on the planet

Its stupid for the customer, not for the company that stand behind the license/ production. And that is because people are going to buy the merchandise anyway, even if it is as inaccurate as the Lego Kylo Rens Shuttle. That can have multiple reasons. Not only because it can be the case that they are simply no other, more accurate toys of the same thing out there (which in this case is definitely the case ), but also because a lot of parents or even their children dont even care about those inaccarute details. I mean the booming sales would absolutely solidify this argument. And if the companies realize that they dont even need to be accurate to create hot-selling merchandise, why waste time and lose potential sales due to a late release window, when the Hype already starts to calm down (In this case after the release of the movie)? Its just a perfectly fine and wise business decision from TLG/Disney. And I dont even have the feeling that a lot of hardcore collectors or AFOLs are overly critizing inaccurate details, since with Lego toys you can always mod it to look more proper or how you want it to look. Of course all this leads to a lot of unfinished products that have a lot of missed out potential, but again it doesnt matter for the overall business...