Lobot

In no particular order: Gungan Sub (7161) UCS Naboo Starfighter (10026) Droid Tri-Fighter (7252) Assasin Droids Battle Pack (8015) And (sorry Doc ) Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (7754)

Update: After a few nervous moments, I managed to attach the two part-built sections without any problems. It's suddenly got rather large! It feels a lot more solid, but I'm surprised that the link to the stand wasn't made stronger. The rest of the design is most impressive though! Side view: Attachment to the frame: Cheers, Robin

Update: A couple of hours later and it's starting to look more promising. It's an interesting design, but it's very delicate and slightly off-balance! More updates to follow shortly. Cheers, Robin

The 'trench' sections were a little tedious to build. The top six are identical, the other three have pin connectors which link to the main frame: But the result is well worth it: Actually, I'm quite surprised how 'flexible' the frame is I assume that when the panels are added it will be a lot stronger otherwise it will need extremely careful handling!

After an hour of frantic building, I've now completed the frame. I didn't realise quite how big this was going to be! Apologies for the rubbish photos; you'd never guess that we're in the middle of summer at the moment.... That's no moon.... The Stormtroopers look happy, although I'm not sure they're complying with H&S. More updates to follow shortly! Cheers, Robin

The last 18 parts have arrived today Updates to follow shortly!

Thanks Doc Small update: I was surprised to find that my small order from Lego had arrived today, as I'd only received the shipping email last night...perhaps Mr Man has powerful contacts I'm still waiting for my last 18 parts to be shipped though. I'm regretting not ordering them a couple of months ago! The good news is that I was able to build the middle cross-section, which is the most colourful part of the set: However, the Emperor finally arrives and is not impressed with what he finds: This is one of the new scenes that will be in a future re-mastered Limited (and Extra Special) Edition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Episode VI. It will include lots more scorched fur and show Stormtroopers playing the drums using a load of furry.....! Cheers, Robin

Thanks for the comments everyone, really appreciated You're welcome! I'm generally rubbish at photography....I just leave everything on auto and hope for the best!! Small update: Another small order arrived today. I also received an email confirming that one of the last two had been shipped (it's a relief that Lego hadn't run out of Lego after all ). However, the most critical one still hasn't been shipped. As Mutley would say (not 777) 'rasnfrasn, rasnfrasnnnnnn, rasnfrasssn' (non UK members might need to )Anyway, I now have twins (well almost!): I'm not going to admit that I spent an hour re-building the first section tonight after I (stupidly) picked it up from the top and it neatly spread itself across my hobby room floor. All I need now is 2 2x10 red plates & the 16 1x15 grey liftarms before I can build most of the rest...it's going to be a long week.

Hi, I have two spare (new & sealed!) TC-14s. I'd be interested in a trade for any/some of the following parts for a 10030 (with a cash adjustment either way if needed!!). I need them in Light-Bluish grey, preferably new, but I could live with very good condition: 2 X 'Light Gray Cylinder Hemisphere 4 x 4 Multifaceted' (30208) 2 x 'Light Gray Rock Arctic Globe, Bottom' (30342) 3 x 'Light Gray Wheel Hard Plastic Giant (71mm D. x 47mm)' (2573) Alternatively, if you have any of the parts & just want to sell them please PM me! Thanks, Robin

Well done, this is amazing!! The size, details & LEDs are all breathtaking, I just wish the current Lego version was somewhere near as good as this. You should be very proud of yourself; I don't think most adults fans could build anything as good as this (me included!). I think we may have a future cavegod, Anio, Brickplumber or Marshal Banana! Keep up the good work & welcome to Eurobricks

As requested by Mr Man: Cheers, Robin

Small update:The 2 x 2 flags have arrived so I've been able to complete my fist section. They finish it off really well and are worth the extra cost: I've also managed to build the laser yesterday. 9/10 for the design, but 2/10 for stregnth!! It's quite a challenge to build and is very delicate, although hopefully it will be a little more sturdy when it's attached to the main technic frame. One thing that really impressed me is that it really glows under any indirect light ; I'm surprised no-one has mentioned this before in other reviews of the set (apologies for the rubbish photo): Now if only the Empire had test-fired it at the Ewok village.... I can't do much more until the 16 x 1x15 technic liftarms arrive, they haven't been shipped yet

Update: I’m still waiting for the last orders to arrive, but I’ve been able to been the majority of one section. It’s missing the 15 x ‘Light Bluish Gray Flag 2 x 2 Square’ but I can add these later. I just love the ‘old school’ design; I could have built something similar in 1984! The Executor is very cute & surprisingly detailed considering the size: Darth still isn't very happy: “Perhaps I can encourage their progress in ways you have not considered,” Vader growled. He had ways, of course; this was known. Ways and ways again. Jerrod kept his tone even, though deep inside, the ghost of hurry began to scrabble at his throat. “That won’t be necessary, my Lord. I tell you, without question this station will be operational as planned.” “I’m afraid the Emperor does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation”. “I fear he asks the impossible,” the commander suggested. “Perhaps you could explain that to him when he arrives.” Vader’s face remained invisible behind the deathly black mask that protected him; but the malice was clear in the electronically modified voice. You might wonder why Chewbacca is amongst the assembled ranks. However, it’s actually a Bothan spy, disguised as Chewbacca, trying to infiltrate the Empire. Possibly not the best idea, in hindsight

This is sooooo cute Moodswim!! I didn't think that you would ever improve on your Yoda, but this is ever better!! Keep up the good work, have you thought of doing an AT-AT?

Thanks everyone, it's been quite a challenge! I've just put in the last order today Actually, I've resorted to cheating a bit, by 'borrowing' 56 parts from my UCS Falcon as I was getting frustrated trying to track down the last few (it wasn't impressed!). The other 139 parts took another 4 orders @ a net total cost of £38.79 (I had to add a couple of minifigures to reach the minimum order level on two orders so I've discounted them from the total!). If my maths is any good it's a total of £264.09. Interestingly, when I put in an order through Lego's 'Pick a Brick' today it kept bringing up a message at the checkout 'Item: 11998 Out of stock, will ship in 30 days' which appeared for any brick I tried....perhaps Lego has finally run out of Lego!! Anyway, I hope that it's just a glitch, otherwise the build might be delayed. I haven't got any modifications planned, although saying that, I'm really tempted to add some LEDs to the lasers at some point.

Prologue: When I was very young I bought a copy of the ROTJ novel. I hadn't seen the film at that point, but the first two paragraphs got me immediately hooked: ‘The very depth of space, There was the length, and width, and height, and then these dimensions curved over on themselves into a blending blackness measurable only by the glinting stars that tumbled through the chasm, receding to infinity. To the very depth. These stars marked the moments of the universe. There were aging orange embers, blue dwarfs, twin yellow giants. There were collapsing neutron stars, and angry supernovae that hissed into the icy emptiness. There were borning stars, breathing stars, pulsing stars, and dying stars. There was the Death Star. At the feathered edge of the galaxy, the Death Star floated in stationary orbit above the green moon Endor – a moon whose mother planet had long since died of unknown cataclysm and disappeared into unknown realms. The Death Star was the Empire’s armoured battle station, nearly twice as big as its predecessor, which Rebel forces had destroyed many years before – nearly twice as big, but more than twice as powerful. Yet it was only half complete. Half a steely dark orb, it hung above the green world of Endor, tentacles of unfinished superstructure curling away toward its living companion like the groping legs of a deadly spider’ I know that as a child I was supposed to side with the rebels, but I’ll admit that I had a quiet admiration for the Empire - the sheer size of their command ships & the efficiency of it all. Perhaps it was also due to my rabid hatred of ewoks......whilst I’m on the subject I’m still waiting for my sister to paint my version of ROTJ on one of the walls of my study; the Death Star in the blackness of space, the Shuttle landing on the illuminated platform, the patrolling AT-AT, the dish and a few Stormtroopers happily drumming on the heads of a dozen furry....... Current: Anyway, the UCS Deathstar II (10143) has been on my ‘wish list’ for several years. I'd always intended to buy it at some point, but other (UCS) priorities kept getting in the way! Unfortunately the Ebay price has gradually crept upwards and a new MISB version is now around £500, so I had almost resigned myself to never owning it. However, a couple of threads about ‘Bricklinking’ a UCS Falcon this year got me thinking, and I was intrigued about the possibility of building one from scratch. I only had 211 parts I needed from my small pile of spares, which wasn’t the most promising start. However, a limited amount of research on Bricklink suggested that the project was viable, and I estimated that I could source all of the parts for between £225 - £250. Could I build the Death Star on a budget? Only time would tell (and perhaps in doing so I would finally discover how it managed to travel across the galaxy despite having no obvious means of propulsion)... So during the last two months I’ve spent a lot of time trawling Bricklink for potential suppliers. I hadn’t used it much before, and certainly not for anything of this scale. I worked on the assumption that the postage would be a significant amount of the eventual cost, so I was determined to source most of the parts within the UK and to make the orders as large as possible. I wanted to buy only new parts (as I’m OCD about such things), but I quickly found that most individual stores didn’t have sufficient quantities of the necessary parts (e.g. the 231 x ‘Black Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Axle Hole’, 458 x ‘Dark Bluish Gray Brick 1 x 2’, 271 x ‘Dark Bluish Gray Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud (Jumper)’ and 259 x ‘Light Bluish Gray Plate 2 x 8’) so ended up grabbing whatever I could, and making up the numbers from more than one supplier. Before I forget I’d like to thank the following Bricklink stores, who unknowingly provided parts for it, via a plug: gizmocom, Kram, Byggeklodsen, Yellow Farm Bricks, AFOL Supply and Kamino Supply Post. They all provided an excellent service and are officially Lobot recommended! Special thanks also to cavegod for his help and encouragement!! Total price per part, to date, has ranged between £0.01 - £1.46. Some proved to be very reasonable, but others seemed ridiculous. The worst value was the 30 x ‘Light Bluish Gray Minifig, Neck Bracket with Back Stud’ @ £0.18 each (which doesn’t sound much but they’re tiny!! ) and the most expensive was the ‘Light Bluish Gray Dish 10 x 10 Inverted Radar’. So after a total spend of £225.30 I’ve ended up with 3,251 parts (94.34%) with 195 left. I’ve made 10 orders (7 from the UK, 1 from Ireland, 1 from Denmark & 1 from the Netherlands), summary below: Order Parts cost (inc P+P) Cost/part (£) 1 979 £59.90 0.061 2 311 £24.62 0.079 3 314 £22.40 0.071 4 296 £16.49 0.056 5 210 £14.85 0.071 6 66 £9.96 0.151 7 159 £16.95 0.107 8 473 £29.87 0.063 9 130 £19.13 0.147 10 102 £11.13 0.109 Total 3,251 £225.30 0.069 So what does this look like? Well, see for yourself: And what can I build with them so far: "We can dispense with the pleasantries, Commander”. Vader’s words echoed as from the bottom of a well. “The Emperor is concerned with your progress. I am here to put you back on schedule” Jerrod turned pale. This was news he’d not expected. “I assure you, Lord Vader, my men are working as fast as they can.......” Unfortunately, I’m currently missing some of the key parts, most of which I now have on order. As they arrive I’ll be posting updates. Do I regret taking this on? Well, it’s certainly been rather challenging and frustrating at times, but perhaps I’ve taken it a bit too seriously!! Cheers, Robin

I also live in the UK and would be happy to help anyone who wants some of these. I'm Paypal registered & would only charge the actual costs. Alternatively, I'd be interested in doing a direct trade for new SW minifigures and /or polybags. Cheers, Robin

Great work markus1984! Lots of really nice details, I especially like the smaller trees - you've made the branches look very realistic. If it was mine I would have included lots of 'scorched' ewoks.....but I digress!

So it looks like the competition is now for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th prizes

This is superb ACPin! It's one of your best yet; the scale of it is amazing and you must have spent hours on it. I especially like the custom built Geonosians, they really add to it (and look like wombles...!) Truly epic work from a Lego Master. Five star rating

What a great idea, please count me in! Thanks to everyone who have donated the prizes.

Thanks for the review Brickmamba! I really like this set, lots of nice figures & the Palace is an interesting design. However, in the UK it's £120 which isn't far off the UCS R2-D2....I really don't understand the pricing of this at all, it's totally nuts, no other way to describe it I'm going to get it at some point, but I'm determined to wait for a sale. By the way, the Orange bar is a brick seperator....I was given one a couple of years ago and never quite understood how to use it; perhaps someone could explain the technique required?

Thanks for the links Bane. I really like Jabba' Palace, but the price is crazy - I'm going to have to wait for a decent sale before I consider buying it. One plus is that it makes Palpatine's Arrest look like a total bargain, I'm actually looking forward to paying full price for it!!

Is anyone still having problems with Bricklink? I know they had a serious meltdown yesterday, but when I use the search option I keep getting a message along the lines of: Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server error '80040e09' The UPDATE permission was denied on the object 'Country', database 'bricklink', schema 'dbo'. /getIp.asp, line 38 I don't have a twitter account (and don't want one) so I can't see if this is a known problem!

Hi, please can I have a tag? - I've been a member for a year (and a few hours!) - 300+ posts - I can't find my percentage of SW posts, but it must be at least 75% Cheers, Robin