icm

^ I agree with @Lyichir on this one. I don't see anything remarkable about those minifigures whatsoever.

I was wondering when someone would do this! Are you able to post pics of the complete real life build yet?

@Jerac This would make a pretty good convention exhibit, but there aren't any Lego conventions in my state this year that I know of. The closest one is about seven hundred miles away and shortly after the beginning of fall term, so I won't be going. @everybody who's replied, thanks for your comments! One of the reasons I like X-wings so much is precisely because they're sort of a standard subject that reflects the development of new parts and techniques exceptionally well. When you see so many builders tackling precisely the same subject (Luke Skywalker's Red 5 X-wing from Episode IV) at very similar scales over more than twenty years, you can really see the diversity of building techniques and the versatility of Lego as a system. You don't get quite that same sense of ongoing development in less, shall we say, repetitive lines of sets or of fan builds. And inasmuch as Star Wars has been a huge part of the online Lego community since the early days of the internet, it is (as TeddytheSpoon says) almost a history of the Lego online community and its main characters. This is probably about as much custom building this year as my wallet can handle, since I buy MOC parts separately from sets instead of breaking down my sets for their parts. You'll notice that I have several X-wings from 2001-2004 and several from 2016 on, but only one in between; the gap pretty neatly covers my Gray Ages. So if I were to build another dozen or more X-wings, I'd make sure to include several from my Gray Ages. I wanted to include a list below of all the other X-wings on Flickr, Brickshelf, and Rebrickable that I might consider building in the future, but I'm having trouble entering long lists so it's probably for the best that I don't. I should be doing something besides writing a Eurobricks forum post right now!

When I was a kid wasting time browsing Brickshelf, I always liked X-wings most. I had a mental list of custom X-wings I liked best and I wanted an X-wing just like them. But I wasn't willing to break up my sets to make a custom X-wing like the amazing ones on Brickshelf, so I never got one. As an adult wasting time browsing Flickr, I always like X-wings most. I have a mental list of custom X-wings I like best and I want an X-wing just like them. But I'm not willing to break up my sets to make a custom X-wing like the amazing ones on Flickr, so I'm never going to get one. Oh, what the heck. It's been 20 years now that I've wanted a super awesome custom X-wing so I should just go ahead and get one. I'm an adult now. I don't need to ask anybody's permission, I should just do it. Show that I can get something done in my life, even if it's as unimportant in the grand scheme of things as a silly little Lego build. But there are so many good ones! How can I pick just one! Obviously I should make my own custom design that takes all the best parts of the best models and corrects the worst parts. But that would take a LOT of hard work and trial and error ... a friend of mine built his very own custom X-wing design in 2018 and it consumed him for months. So, like a fool, I spent money instead of time (though time is money) and just, um, built them all. (Though I'd note that there are at least a dozen more great X-wings on the internet that I'd also like to build .... ) Full Flickr album here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149520828@N02/albums/72177720298365006. I apologize for the bad photography, I don't have a light box or a nice place to take pictures outside. My very own little T-65 X-wing, based on a childhood makeshift (1998ish, 2021) This one is an idealization of the makeshift X-wing I built as a little kid without a lot of parts, either before or shortly after the first set came out. I remember using the 4x9 wedge plate in red to form the nose, and using that shape of windscreen in trans-light blue with that top hatch, and that I used 2x6 plates for the wings. This takes the concept of that old childhood build and makes it like an actual retail set. It's about the same size as the 4+ X-wing sets, though not quite as simple. My very own design for a T-65 X-wing retail set circa 1983 This one is all mine! It bears no debt whatsoever to any other X-wing ever made. It's my impression of what an X-wing set would have looked like if it had been released in 1983 to tie in with Return of the Jedi, instead of in 1999 to tie in with The Phantom Menace. Some molds come from as late as 1987, but it seems fair to me to imagine those molds being made in 1983 for this set, since the 1999 set used an awful lot of new molds. The canopy uses sticker strips cut from unused sticker sheets. I really like the brick-built R2-D2. The contemporary finger hinges are too weak to hold the wings up or down on their own, so pneumatic tees are connected to modified plates and sandwiched between 4x1 hinge plate assemblies. They swing in and prop the wings apart when they're open, and rails near the top and bottom of the aft fuselage prevent the wings from opening too far. A 2x2 plate at the base of each lower wing provides enough clutch power to keep the wings together and level when they're closed, but not so much that the wings are hard to open. Like any 1983 set, this uses the Classic Space landing legs, and the contemporary Classic Space canopy works really well for the X-wing - so well that Dan Nelson used it independently in 1997 and Mike Psiaki used it again in 2011. This is much smaller than most custom X-wings, but it's still a very substantial size for swooshing and play, and it feels like a good size relative to the minifig. It's got a spacious cockpit and it's easy to get the pilot and droid in and out. It's also very close to the size of contemporary Lego spaceships in 1983, 1985, and 1987, so it's not too large to imagine as a 1983 set. So yeah - there are many custom X-wings out there, and this is my humble contribution to the field! Dan Nelson T-65, 1997 This is actually 98% My Own Creation, but I'm crediting Dan Nelson because it's heavily inspired by Dan Nelson's childhood makeshift X-wing circa 1997. This is my imagination for what an X-wing set would look like circa 1997 if it had been released to tie in with the Special Edition movies rather than with The Phantom Menace. I've swapped out some old molds that are now very expensive on Bricklink for their modern counterparts - which mostly means swapping finger hinges for modern 3.18mm clip hinges. I really like the brick-built R2-D2. There's room for storage accessed from a hatch on the rear fuselage step, like in Dan Nelson's version - a rare feature in custom X-wings. The canopy framing is white strips cut from unused sticker sheets. Mark Chan T-65, 2001 Back in the old days of Brickshelf, when the world was young, this was an X-wing I really admired. I still think it's pretty neat, nice and sturdy and detailed, but its proportions are a bit off. As with all the other X-wings, I've swapped some old molds for new ones in this build. Mark Chan posted an all-new fully modern X-wing to Flickr in 2018, but I actually don't particularly like that one, so I made no effort to copy it. Niko T-65, 2003 This one is a very lightweight and simple X-wing, mainly notable for not having upside-down lower wings. The proportions are bad and it can't fit a complete droid, but it's lightweight and sturdy, so it's good for swooshing. It's notable that Mark Chan, Niko, and Bruce Lowell all posted their X-wings with simple nose taper before Lego released the set 4502 with simple nose taper, just as fan-built X-wings used 4w cylinders for the engines long before Lego finally used them in set 75218 in 2018. Bruce Lowell T-65, 2003 Back when Brickshelf was the leading place on the internet to post your Lego creations, before Bricklink was as useful and well known as it is today, Bruce Lowell's X-wing was the best! It was copied as widely in its day as Mike Psiaki, Tom Loftus (Inthert), or Jerac's X-wings have been, in no small part because like them, Bruce Lowell posted step-by-step instructions for how to build it. For instance, David Low's excellent "Minifig Collector Scale" X-wing from 2006 is, upon close inspection, a lightly modified Bruce Lowell, so I chose not to build that one. This one is bigger than Mark Chan and Niko's X-wings, but not quite as big as Brian Tobin's, and smaller than any modern X-wing. The build is very sturdy and has excellent proportions and detail. The hexagonal profile and detailed greebling of the aft fuselage was unsurpassed for eight years, until Mike Psiaki posted his famous X-wing in 2011. As with other old X-wings in this collection, I've swapped some old molds for new ones. The problem with this X-wing is the wing opening geometry - opposite wings don't line up very well, so it's not a very convincing X. Brian Tobin T-65v3, 2004 Brian Tobin continuously upgraded his childhood makeshift X-wing from 1983 until 2001, but never managed to get the wings to actually open! His is the most prominent old "big" X-wing I can find pictures for on the internet. The last Brian Tobin X-wing was this one, which was heavily inspired by set 4502. As with other X-wings in this album, I've swapped out some old molds for new ones. I've also included a very large cargo space behind the seat for Luke's Dagobah camping gear, which is a rare feature for custom X-wings. The problem with this model is that the wing geometry is altered from the 4502 set such that it no longer works! The wing jacks get caught on the engine cylinder pieces and are unable to open the wings. You have to open the wings manually and rotate the wing jacks between them. Also, the rubber bands aren't strong enough to hold the wings open and closed with this geometry, so the wings flop about a lot. I copied the geometry faithfully though, so I guess Brian Tobin's build must have had the same problem. Despite its flaws, Brian Tobin's X-wing was one of the best on the internet between 2004 and 2011. This is the largest of the pre-2016 X-wings, but still smaller than any modern X-wing. Mike Psiaki T-65v3, 2011 When this X-wing appeared in 2011, it made an earthquake in the AFOL community. It wasn't the first X-wing with true center-pivot wings, but it was the first one to have true center-pivot wings and complex nose taper, and its use of the old Classic Space canopy was ingenious. Thanks to Mike Psiaki's generous posting of full instructions on Brickshelf, this was the most widely copied X-wing from 2011 to 2016. Various adaptations used the windscreen from set 7140 or the windscreen from set 75102, or turned it into a T-70. It's a little smaller than modern X-wings of the latest generation. The canopy uses strips of white sticker material cut from unused sticker sheets. Unfortunately, the nose is a little fragile. The geometry isn't exact, so it takes a little persuasion to stay there. I don't think anybody is building Psiaki X-wings anymore: the key parts for the build, the hinge plates that form the side of the nose, cost me $6 each on Bricklink. Ouch! Jerac T-65v1, 2018 Jerac's original T-65 has set the standard for the last four years, with good reason. Although it's fragile during construction, it knits together very well and is surprisingly sturdy afterwards - except for the lower aft fuselage step and the 4w engine cylinders. Unfortunately, the lower aft fuselage step is so fragile that it's hard to grip the model near the center of gravity, and the 4w engine cylinders have such a fragile connection that you can't open the wings to their full range of motion without having one or more engine cylinders pop off. (I can't anyway.). The greebling on top of the aft fuselage leaves something to be desired too. It's so shallow that I don't find it very convincing. The retractable landing gear works well, but the hinges are inadequately supported and prone to detaching unless treated very gingerly, and it's a bit tricky to reattach them. Koen Zwanenburg T-65, 2019 Koen Zwanenburg posted the Studio file for this on Eurobricks for a few days, but he removed it after Brick Vault complained that he was affecting their sales of the instructions for Jerac's 2018 version. In fact, the build is completely different. The brick built Red 5 stripes on the wings are excellent. The 4w engine cylinder mounts are much improved, so the wings can be opened to their full extent, which is wider than on the Jerac model, without losing anything. The aft fuselage profile is a much nicer hexagon. The lower aft fuselage and aft fuselage step are much stronger than on the Jerac model, but at the cost of losing the nice SNOT tiled underside. The landing gear doors are simpler and theoretically stronger, but I still end up having to take them off any time I want to get the landing gear out, so it doesn't actually end up much better than the Jerac model in that respect. The nose construction is much simplified, with no attempt at achieving the subtle bank of the sides; instead, they're straight vertical. The nose cone isn't attached to the nose side panels with Mixel joints as in the Jerac model, but is mounted on a rigid pole extended from the cockpit. This theoretically should make the structure simpler and stronger, but in practice it makes it much harder to assemble and much more fragile when assembled, because the parts remain under high stress rather than having flexible joints that accomodate the stress. The big cylindrical bases of the wing guns are modified from Marshal Banana's modified Jerac X-wing. Chris Ehnot T-65v3, 2020 After Tom Loftus's (Inthert's) revolutionary T-65v2 in 2016, Chris Ehnot was the first to post a fully modern X-wing with the windscreen from 75102, paneled/tiled nose sides, and 4w engine cylinders. He revised his build over three years - this is copied from his version 3, posted in 2020. Like Koen Zwanenburg's model, this one has wings that open wider than Jerac's without popping off the engine cylinders. Though it looks similar externally, the build is completely different than in Jerac v1, Jerac v2, or Koen Zwanenburg. It's distinguished by several subtleties of shape compared to those. Baby bows are used on the bottom of the fuselage to suggest the subtle angles on the bottom, where the filming model is in fact not flat. The wedges beside the engine cylinders are more smoothly integrated into the wing and have a subtle edge above the plane of the wing as on the filming model. Behind the engines, there are the little jigsaw-tabs that are almost always omitted on custom X-wings. The upper aft fuselage has a nice depth of greebling, and has the small, limited 45-degree sloped edge that characterizes the original ANH filming models, but which is lacking from the full-size model used in the ESB Dagobah crash scene and from the Special Edition CGI models. Because Chris Ehnot's model has no rear landing gear, it can have four complete engine cylinders for a better look underneath. The modeling that connects and smooths the junction of the aft fuselage and nose is very detailed and subtle. Unfortunately, this is also the most fragile X-wing model in the collection, such that it can hardly be touched in order to take photographs. Jerac T-65v2, 2022 Jerac's T-65v2 is the best X-wing of the lot. It's amazingly sturdy, unlike all the other fully modern X-wings with the post-2015 canopy part and 4w engine cylinders, and easy to build too. The nose knits together very well, and the line of panels on the side is completely level and unstepped, unlike on the Jerac T-65v1, the Koen Zwanenburg, and the Chris Ehnot models. The worm gear box is amazing. It holds the wings steady as a rock when open and when closed. The back engine extensions are held on very steady. The Ninjago sais and candles work very well to simulate the flashback suppressors at the tips of the laser cannons and the varying diameter of the gun barrels. It's easier to get the pilot in and out than on the previous model, and the droid. The bottom of the forward fuselage is covered better than on the old model. Most importantly, the aft fuselage step, which was previously very fragile, is now much simplified and completely solid, and the 4w engine cylinders, which previously popped off tremendously easy, no longer do, even though the wings open wider with the new mechanism than they did with the old version. The greebling on the top of the aft fuselage is also much improved, and there's even greebling on the sides of the fuselage between the wing jacks! Also, there's added greebling inside the wings on the engine "shadows", and representation of the "greeble panels" at two stations along the wingspan. The rear landing gear is now fully supported, so the hinges won't pop off if you press down on them too hard. While some subtleties of shape are lost on the lower aft fuselage compared to the previous version, the tailcone has the proper subtle 7-sided shape for the first time. The visible gaps on the sides of the nose cone leave something to be desired though. Jerac T-70, 2022 This is nearly unmodified from the Brick Vault instructions, with just a couple small color swaps on the nose. It's a surprisingly easy build and very sturdy. The nose knits together extremely well. The worm gear mechanism for the wings is amazing. They hold their position steady as a rock either open or closed. The visible gaps on the sides of the nose cone leave something to be desired though. All of them together! I don't have enough room to take a really well-staged fleet shot, so this will have to do. By the door: Chris Ehnot 2016-2020. On stands: Jerac T-65v2 2022, Jerac T-70 2022. Left column, front to back: my 1983 set concept, Dan Nelson 1997, Niko 2003, Brian Tobin 2004, Jerac T-65v1 2018. Right column, front to back: my little X-wing 2021, Mark Chan 2001, Bruce Lowell 2003, Mike Psiaki 2011, Koen Zwanenburg 2019.

The Republic Gunship was speculation because seemed a logical guess for something to go with the AT-TE. The Gunship speculation was before that set was said to be the Justifier.

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/designer-sets-for-adult-fans-of-lego/215719/Space-Troopers! The canopies are definitely trans-black, not trans-yellow. I think the minifigs are blank, but they're stickered at best. They're definitely not printed, and they don't use the new Classic Space helmet mold from TLM2. This set isn't my style when it comes to neo-Classic Space, but it does have a good price to part ratio, $200 for 2670 parts.

@StephenBoe: Very nice! Could I trouble you for the Studio file? @Jerac: (Don't worry about me asking him for the Studio file, I've already bought the instructions for your T-70 and built the blue and gray version.)

Interesting read about the Lightyear movie here, but lots of spoilers. https://www.polygon.com/23034598/lightyear-pixar-director-interview-early-press-day Another interesting read, much less spoilery. https://gizmodo.com/lightyear-disney-pixar-interview-trailer-chris-evans-1848799721

I built the T-65v2 and T-70 over the weekend. They’re both amazing builds. They went together much easier than the T-65v1 and are much sturdier too. I didn’t have any trouble with the wing box on the T-70 but I had the same trouble with asymmetric opening of the T-65v2 wing box that’s been repeated earlier in the thread. The problem resolved itself after I cycled the wings a few times.

That's a lot of sets, very neatly organized and stored in their boxes. Have you built them all?

He appears for a moment when Harry is waiting for the train at the start of movie 5, but not in the book. The scene is deliberately ambiguous about whether he’s really there or whether Harry is imagining it.

Wow, gatekeeping much? I've been reading AFOL forums since the year 2002, and I've generally found them very welcoming and positive places - even the ones focused on specific themes, like BZPower (Bionicle) or the old FBTB (Star Wars). Those specialized forums sustained my interest in Lego through the mid-2000s.

These are the sets I favor most by building and rebuilding them when I have time, so I guess they must be my favorite sets. They're not listed in a strict order with 1 being the very most favorite of all. 7134 A-wing Fighter (2000, 134 pcs, $15) - A very simple, swooshable little starfighter, the closest match to the Classic Space 918 in the first Star Wars sets. A perfect adaptation of the source material in the set building style and parts palette of the time, and except for the windscreen and engines it could almost pass for a set made in the Classic Space era itself. 7140 X-wing Fighter (1999, 263 pcs, $30) - I'm a big fan of every minifig-scale X-wing set ever released, but this is the one I come back to most frequently. It's a pretty good adaptation of the source material using the set standards and parts of the time, and it makes excellent use of the parts introduced for the first Star Wars waves. Most importantly, I can absentmindedly build and rebuild it without instructions again and again, which I can't say for any subsequent X-wing. 7141 Naboo Fighter (1999, 174 pcs, $20) - It's the dumpy ugly duckling of the minifig-scale Naboo fighters, but it's still a reasonably good adaptation of the source material using the set standards and parts of the time, and it's easy to absentmindedly build and rebuild without instructions. Also, it's a better source of alt builds than 7134 or 7140 - I came up with at least four alt builds of this when I was a kid, including one that I think could pass for an A model. 918 One Man Space Ship (1979, 86 pcs, $??) - The acme of a simple, swooshable little spaceship with clean lines and snazzy colors and prints, it's also one I frequently pull out of the closet when I just want to put something together without instructions of any kind. 928 Galaxy Explorer / Space Cruiser and Moonbase (1979, 338 pcs, $32) - It's not just that this is the Galaxy Explorer of Classic Space fame, it's that it is, like the other sets above, a very simple, relaxing, quick build that I can do after a frustrating day at work, when I no longer want to think hard about anything because I do too much of that at work. I bought it for $160 on eBay, which is about $40 above its inflation-adjusted price ... that's a really terrible price to parts ratio, but considering the play value of the entire set it compares very favorably to the prices of similar play scenarios in modern sets - and more to the point, I've built and rebuilt and swooshed it and displayed it many more times than most other sets I've bought in that price range, which makes it a much better buy and a set I'm much happier about owning. 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 (2015, 2793 pcs, $230) - I'm not much of a Technic head, so I don't feel the need to keep up with all the latest and greatest Technic releases. This one is good enough for me - and it has aged well, many Technic fans on this and other forums still hold it as the epitome of what Technic should be. It looks great, but more importantly it's "got more functions than you can shake a Bohrok at," someone memorably commented on the Brickset review (I think). Most importantly, it's loads of fun to play with this with my nephews and nieces, using the crane arm to load the truck bed and then dumping out the cargo. 10213 Shuttle Adventure (2010, 1204 pcs, $100) - As a kid I really just wanted a space shuttle with the external tank and the solid rocket boosters, but with the end of the space shuttle program I didn't expect Lego would ever make another one. This was a dream come true, and the most expensive set I'd ever bought at the time. It's more fragile than it should be, but it's a great playset and it looks good on display. Lego has made quite a few space shuttles since then, but except for the 10231 Shuttle Expedition (2011, 1230 pcs, $100), which was just a revision of this set for extra strength, the only other minifig-scale full shuttle stack has been the vastly simplified and dramatically overpriced one from City, 60080 Spaceport (2015, 586 pcs, $120). After that there's a lot of different sets that I like for a lot of different reasons, but none that stand out so strongly as to clearly make the top ten. So I guess I'll stop here, with seven. Some of these are childhood sets and some are sets acquired in adulthood, but I still have them all.

Every one of those sets looks just as good as the 2018-2020 sets. A welcome return to form.

Agreed.

You can’t send private messages until you have ten posts.

It looks very good, but the fact that the body doesn't split in two loses a key play feature of the original. Did you try to include that feature and it just wasn't working?

Good comparisons here: https://www.brothers-brick.com/2020/12/03/lego-star-wars-75301-luke-skywalkers-x-wing-fighter-75300-imperial-tie-fighter-review/

Also, the TROS Falcon is on sale for $130 from Walmart right now, so that's probably the cheapest price you'll see for it for a while. (Plus the cost of the extra figures for the ANH crew.)

Oh, I agree with you on that.

I thought they fixed that. Definitely complain to customer service so that they can try again and actually solve the root cause of the problem this time!

https://www.brothers-brick.com/lego-glossary/#:~:text=BURP,See also%3A LURP

Hear, hear. Well, not quite. I was introduced to Classic Space in the early 2000s, and it still stood out to me as being better than what Lego had been producing for Space just before the introduction of Star Wars, and better than most of what Lego was producing at the time. But then, in the early 2000s most product lines weren't that good, there's a reason it was a troubled time for the company. Speaking of Classic Star Wars, I made a few concepts for that ... and after building my "Classic Star Wars" Z-95 Headhunter and X-wing in the brick I think it would have worked just great. (I haven't posted pictures of my completed CSW builds in the brick, yet.) https://flic.kr/s/aHsmEwrCJJ Ron Dayes also built some Classic Star Wars that looks really good (looks a lot better than mine) but also takes a lot more liberties in using anachronistic parts inside where you can't see them. https://flickr.com/photos/rondayes

Read what I posted after the post you quoted.

Just imagine it's a space shuttle in Moonfall doing ridiculous Roland Emmerich things, or a space shuttle in Armageddon doing ridiculous Michael Bay things, or a space shuttle in Moonraker doing ridiculous James Bond things. Or even a space shuttle in For All Mankind doing ridiculous Ronald Moore things that the space shuttle couldn't actually do. There's plenty of precedent in the movies for a NASA space shuttle to do ridiculous sci-fi things. Just imagine, right?