Lobot

Part 2: A couple of years later…. With winter approaching I'd been looking for another project to keep my grey cells occupied. I briefly considered building Anio’s amazing Executor, but after a little research I quickly found that some of the parts are prohibitively expensive, so that wasn't an option. So I settled on building another UCS Falcon, much to the total dismay of my long-suffering wife! To be honest, I was just interested to see if it was still possible for a reasonable cost. I’d initially planned to use the same alternatives as my first one, but partway through my ordering I managed to find some new 6558 technic pins in black (rather than the cheaper blue) and a replica dish (rather than a plain LBG). Unfortunately LEGO have discontinued the yellow 32555s, so I had to order black. Overall, I changed 187 parts (3.61%) which isn’t bad at all, and made the total not quite so painful as it could have been! In truth, if I’d opted for a plain dish, blue 6558s and a LBG 6x14 plate (rather than Dark Red) I would have saved £25+ so if you’re on a tight budget that might be a good option. I also ordered several of the newer part numbers (e.g. 6L Umbrella Stands, slotted Pin Connector Round 2L etc) but from previous experience they make negligible difference to the final model. Replacement colours: (actual colours shown in brackets) 36 Dark Bluish Gray Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger Vertical End (Light Bluish Grey) 14 Dark Bluish Gray Technic, Axle Connector (Ridged with x Hole x Orientation) (Light Bluish Grey) 1 Light Bluish Gray Dish 10 x 10 Inverted (Radar) with Radiating Spokes Pattern on Concave Side (Plain Light Bluish Grey - with sticker!) 58 Light Bluish Gray Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers Vertical End (Dark Bluish Grey) 16 Yellow Technic, Brick 5 x 5 Right Angle (1 x 4 - 1 x 4) (Black) 2 Light Bluish Gray Boat Mast Rigging Long 28 x 4 (Black) 60 Light Bluish Gray Lever Small Base with Light Bluish Gray Lever (Black lever) I made my final orders yesterday and, excluding minifigures, the total cost was approximately £624.89 (everything new, including P&P). I’ve excluded the 114 parts I originally had as the value of these was virtually nothing! Summary: Order Parts Cost Cost/part Location 0 114 0 £0.00 N/A 1 700 £39.03 £0.06 UK 2 967 £69.08 £0.07 UK 3 594 £48.29 £0.08 UK 4 462 £44.00 £0.10 UK 5 372 £29.79 £0.08 UK 6 559 £71.71 £0.13 UK 7 139 £16.27 £0.12 Italy 8 126 £17.45 £0.14 Netherlands 9 192 £26.29 £0.14 Portugal 10 32 £4.67 £0.15 UK 11 9 £2.74 £0.30 UK 12 18 £10.37 £0.58 Poland 13 42 £7.62 £0.18 France 14 558 £164.54 £0.29 N/A 15 279 £59.36 £0.21 N/A 16 10 £4.68 £0.47 Netherlands 17 1 £9.00 £9.00 Germany One of the things that surprised me the most is that there’s sometimes a considerable price differential between TLG’s ‘Pick a Brick’ and ‘Bricks & Pieces’… all I’ll say is that you would be wise to have a good look at both before you order anything! In hindsight, I could have saved a bit, but that’s inevitable considering how Bricklink works. In particular some of the postage costs from Europe were really expensive, so if you’re in the UK I’d try to source locally whenever possible. Also, I had to make several tiny orders to finish it for a couple of reasons: i) I’d planned to buy 3 lots from one seller (at a rather ridiculous price, if I’m being honest) but it was closed when I went to order them, so I ended up having to go to 4 other stores, doh! Actually, it wasn’t too bad as I ended up grabbing some cheap parts that I’d otherwise ordered from TLG . However, I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to the sellers for such feeble orders, the shame of it! Also ii) I found that 10 parts I'd planned to order from TLG's 'Bricks & Pieces’ site weren’t available anymore, so I had to search for them elsewhere… Anyway, I’ll post another update when all of the parts have arrived, but basically it’s still possible to do this if you’re debating it (and have sufficient time and motivation!). Cheers, Robin

I've just finished mine and I'm really quite impressed by it. It's a fun 5-6 hour build; it uses some interesting techniques and isn't too repetitive. There's also a massive variety of parts and colours; I can't see many people attempting to Bricklink this in a few years! It's bigger than I'd expected and looks really impressive mounted on the stand. I really like the new Bespin Guard, he's my favourite of the set. It's not perfect though, there's quite a few large gaps, and the side panels are only fixed at the top which is a bit of a shame. The instructions are set on a very dark (grey) background, which I found quite tiring to keep looking at. Also, the canopy has a couple of nasty scratches on it, so I'm hoping TLG will replace it. Despite the issues, it's one of the best UCS sets that I've built and totally worth the full RRP in my opinion

Mine has finally arrived, and it's been well worth the wait. The box is slightly smaller than I'd expected, but it feels hefty and well worth the RRP. The artwork is a thing of true beauty, I cannot fault it :wub:

Another top-notch MOC, ISC, and…

I ordered mine on the 5th Jan, and at that time the UK website was showing that the 'due back in stock' was 23rd, so they seem to be on schedule. Interestingly, when I spoke to a very helpful CS rep a couple of days ago they said that the estimated dates were based on the sales data for the previous 4 years, so it should be fairly reliable

Thanks Wonkyeye1, the Imperial Shuttle & Final Duel are both on my shopping list for this year

Mine has been finally shipped today, I can't wait to build it!

Good work, it's always good to see another Bricklinked Falcon. I'm making fairly good progress with mine, I'm up to 4034 parts but the total cost is rapidly heading towards £600. I was hoping for a bit less, but the cost of postage has really added up and some of the odd parts are getting very scarce

Amazing work, thire5 http://eurobricksstarwarsforum.com/2015/01/15/imperial-walkers-on-the-north-ridge-2/"]

Hi, I guess it depends if you're in any hurry for it. In the UK, it's been on sale anywhere been 20-50% off RRP during the last few months, and I doubt that it will be discontinued for a while, so you should hopefully be able to find it cheaper somewhere Personally I think it's a good set, if a little on the small side. I don't know if you've read my review? http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=96407

Thanks Lego-Freak, it's interesting to see the size difference Mine is still on back-order, and I'm getting very impatient about it... Ironically I received a email from TLG yesterday suggesting that I should buy one, quite an odd approach when it's currently showing as 'Out of stock, will ship within 30 days' on the website

As far as I understand it, the double VIP offer is limited to anyone who made a purchase during one of the 'Brick Friday' weekends, and it's only running today. I've had a couple of emails from TLG about it, perhaps it's limited to the UK?

I've just ordered my Slave 1, but it's back-ordered until the 23rd January I guess that was inevitable, but I couldn't resist the double VIP points. One thing to note is that when I submitted the order the extra points weren't showing; I called Customer Services and they've assured me that they will be honoured, but it may need a manual adjustment.

Hi Rabbidpanda48 and welcome to Eurobricks! I tried to Bricklink a 10030 from scratch a couple of years ago, but gave up after collecting about 50% of the parts as it was going to cost more than a used set! The magnets, holders, and large wheels were the most expensive then, but I'm amazing how much the 30342 are now (I think I paid £2 each for mine...). Have you considered painting them, the Dark Grey ones are very cheap and you could always replace them in the future. For future reference there's a general SW Q & A thread pinned to the top of the forum, I'll merge this with it in a bit

Hi, as the possibility of a new UCS Falcon is still a rumour I'll merge this with the 'Future Star Wars Sets' thread in a bit And, personally, I'm really hoping that we'll get an updated version in the next 18 months!

The double VIP points promotion is only available to members who purchased sets during the 'Brick Friday' weekend(s). I received an email which said: 'We'd like to express our thanks by offering you an exclusive DOUBLE VIP Points day on Monday, 5th January at your LEGO Store, or online at LEGO.com/shop! Your double points will be credited automatically when you make purchases on this day' I can't wait to get the UCS Slave 1, I just hope they're still in stock!

I'm quite happy with the original K-3PO from 7666, any more printing would ruin him! And, on a Hoth-related note, I received the new catalogue today and noticed that 10188 has a 'Limited Quantity' banner which is the only one I could see....perhaps its days are finally numbered? It will be interesting to see how the timing works between it and the new set.

Hi Bbafett, we already have a 'Show Your Army, Navy, and Collection Display' thread which includes lots of images! I'll merge your thread with it in a bit

Hi, I don't think this needs a dedicated thread so I'll merge it with the 2015 general rumours thread later on

How about a Ralph McQuarrie minifigure? He appears (very) briefly during one of the scenes in the hangar bay, and it would be good to recognise his vital contribution to SW. If TLG did a decent hanger with a couple of add-ons (medical bay, control centre etc) it could be quite a good set, but for me it would need to be large enough for a system-scale Falcon. Perhaps they could integrate some lighting, now that would make it a lot more interesting! But I totally agree that a UCS-type Cloud City would be in a completely different league. I've said this before several times but I really don't understand TLG's apparent reluctance for it, it's totally illogical

Didn't he 'die' in 1983? If I recall correctly he was quite well in 1980, after travelling to Cloud City and collecting a certain Han Solo...... Anyway, I can't wait to order this on the 5th Jan I have that week off so hopefully I should have time to build it straight away.

Good point Fuppylodders There was a comment on Bricklink about 6 months ago, which said that a new Falcon was in the pipeline, so I'm still optimistic about it. I tried to find it but failed; it would be interesting to read it again if anyone knows where it is! However, considering that we've got the Slave 1 & TIE Fighter this year, I'd guess that the earliest it will appear would be in early 2016, which would link nicely with the release of Episode VII.

So it looks like another year without a new Cloud City, unless TLG have a Limited Edition tucked away somewhere. I was quietly hoping that the new Bespin Guard was an indication that some other sets were on the horizon, but it's not to be I don't understand TLG's reluctance; surely they must realise that it would be a great seller...

For anyone looking for a replacement dish, I may have found the answer! I found a kit on Ebay a couple of months ago which included a new blank dish, plus 2 x stickers for about £9 + P&P and I was looking for something to do today, so I thought that I'd give it a bash. To be honest I was a bit skeptical about it, but the cost of original versions has got ridiculous so any alternative had got to be worth a try. Firstly, I should mention that I'm not that coordinated, and have quite large hands, which makes any sort of detailed work quite challenging! I'd expect that anyone with more patience, and dexterity, could do far better! Anyway, here's the result, and I'm really quite impressed by it. A couple of tips for anyone trying this: i) You need to cut on the outside edge of the square middle section (my first attempt was a bit too small so the sticker didn't fit properly) ii) Use a sharp knife for the inner section, I cut the rest of it out using professional sewing scissors iii) I left the back attached to the sticker until I'd removed the 'V' sections and then peeled each one back to create a 'petal' iv) Use tweezers for the final positioning of the sticker (I found it easiest holding the dish upside down and carefully pushing the sticker upwards onto it!) v) The printing is very high quality, and although the sticker is quite thin it's surprisingly strong (so you could probably cut closer to the printing than I did) Unfortunately, I've just checked Ebay and there aren't any currently for sale, but it might be worthwhile keeping an eye out for them as I've seen the kit for sale several times. The seller is based in Germany, if I recall correctly!

Thanks, I'm trying to use the same approach as I did with my last one, which had the following replacements: Actual colour used shown in brackets: 111 x Black Technic, Pin Long with Friction Ridges Lengthwise (Blue) 36 x Dark Bluish Gray Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger Vertical End (Light Bluish Grey) 32 x Dark Bluish Gray Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger On End (Light Bluish Grey) 14 x Dark Bluish Gray Technic, Axle Connector (Ridged with x Hole x Orientation) (Light Grey, doh!) 2 x Light Bluish Gray Boat Mast Rigging Long 28 x 4 (Black) 1 x Light Bluish Gray Dish 10 x 10 Inverted (Radar) with Radiating Spokes Pattern on Concave Side (No pattern) 58 x Light Bluish Gray Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers Vertical End (Dark Bluish Grey) 60 x Light Bluish Gray Lever Small Base with Light Bluish Gray Lever (Black & Light Bluish Grey) 8 x Tan Brick, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin and Axle Hole (Light Bluish Grey) The '8 x Tan Brick, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin and Axle Hole' are now readily available so I'll use them, but I might have to give the dark red 6 x 14 plate a miss as the cost has increased considerably. If you're interested here's a link to the thread I created for my first one: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=80053 I made my third order yesterday for another 594 parts, so I'm up to 2,264 (or 43.78%) for £156.11....unfortunately it will get a lot more expensive from now on!