TeddytheSpoon

Ahsoka has trans-clear lighstabers by the look of it! Good choice. The T-6 is a bit smaller than I expected and probably would have liked, but of the two it's the one I'm more likely to buy. The E-wing looks like it could have been an excellent set in its own right, I like the play features on it (retractable landing gear, weapons stowage below the seat). Shin's Starfighter is fine, not sure about the design but that's not down to TLG. I do appreciate how colourful this set is though. Chewie is... Yeah.

Thank you both! I do agree - the head probably saw the most iterations of anything on this, and it's certainly far from perfect. I settled on this design partly because I wanted to be able to incorporate LEDs into the eyes, which required trans-red pieces and somewhere for the wires to go; and partly because I wanted to try something a bit different. The best solution I've seen that doesn't use stickers is to use red wedge plates, but even then it looks a bit too angular relative to the egg-shaped head on the 'real' thing, IMO.

Now I know it's not barely been a month since the last Vulture Droid MOC was posted here - but this isn't so much a MOC as a tale of inspiration from some fellow LEGO builders! The idea for this started a few months ago when my new favourite builder Tino Poutiainen posted a red interpretation of the Vulture Droid, which as well as being cool, used 3x11 Technic panels for wings. I thought this was a great idea, so I set about building one in Separatist colours. I'd got a concept nailed down for the wings but I couldn't figure out a good mechanism for the transformation to walking mode, and progress stalled for a couple of months... ... Until @Mandalorianknight posted his own aforementioned (and most excellent) Vulture Droid MOC! His elegant solution for the legs(/wings?) was adapted to work here, with a bit of fiddling. Thanks for the inspiration! (and if you were worried about stability - it's rock-solid, very much swooshable. I've spent a lot of time doing just that...) Personally I think the panels do give a better impression of how sleek the Vulture Droid should be, at least more so than a combination of curved slopes and plates. The downside is that it's pretty difficult to add detail on the inner wings and at the tips without ruining that sleekness. It also means that a Trade Federation colour scheme has to be mostly tan instead of dark tan, as that's the closest colour that the Technic panels come in (it is possible though). I guess it comes down to personal preference in the end.

I like the Ghost! Not sure I'll pick it up day one, but will probably get it down the line. The anti-stud greebling is a nice touch.

Using the keychain R2-D2 is a brilliant idea - still technically purist and a great scale match to boot!

I may well do! The wing construction is quite different but it would certainly be a good starting point. I also just realised the click hinges remind me of the 1999 Vulture Droid, which was my first set, so bonus points for nostalgia!

The way the Fang fighter cockpit meshes with the rest of the ship is so satisfying.

Very nice! I've been working on one of these myself but the walking/flight mode mechanism has me completely stumped, yours is quite elegant.

I'll echo that. That cockpit is incredible!

I think reviews don't normally go out until a week or two before general release. Some people will review them if they find them on shelves early, but it'll be a month at least before we see these reviewed.

This is the crux of it for me. IMO the long legs just make it look like Chewie has platform boots on. Besides, minifigure proportions are so out of whack that a small difference in the height doesn't make much difference to me; they're caricatures at the end of the day, so the extra height the headpiece gives him is enough. Maybe sticking a plate or two on his feet could account for that better.

This is fun, and very nicely done! The world needs more Technic Star Wars MOCs IMO.

Vane is another good one - to be fair I think the other unnamed fig in that set is also excellent, even just as a generic SW fig.

I agree with YourLocalB2 - Bo-Katan is the best fig so far this year. I'm not normally one for hyper-detailed figs, but the arm printing works really well with the Mandalorian armour, and the update is a marked improvement on the (already decent, IMO) one that came in the Gauntlet set.

Personally I don't mind the brick-built droids - they can be parted out quite easily if not required, and I do like the Christmas pit droid in this year's calendar even if it is just a recolour. That said, I could do with a more variety beyond the GNK droids. It might be recency bias but I feel like we've had an awful lot of gonks in advent calendars...

This is adorable! Is this just from one copy of 75333? That's amazing if so.

That advent calendar is a banger. Great figs, some great mini builds (including some we haven't seen before). No weapons rack too!

Unlikely. But if we get another High Republic set, I might try and Bricklink the minifigures from Tenoo, however much they end up being.

For such a subtle change, the nose angle mod improves the look of the set greatly. Hopefully it holds up IRL!

MBS sets aren't really my thing, but if they made a big Theed set I would buy it in a heartbeat. It has some of the most visually interesting architecture in Star Wars with its renaissance flairs, and it plays such a pivotal role in TPM you could have virtually all of the main characters in it without them being out of place. I'd probably make it in a similar style to the Lion Knights' castle or the big Hogwarts set, where it can be folded out to have other scenes from the movie represented, but still looks good when closed up on display. Palace of Theed ($400): exterior could have the palace itself, a section of river with bridge and possibly the hangar door. Maybe throw in some swampy bits round the back for the Gungans. On the inside, main features would be the hangar, the Duel of the Fates rooms with a laser gate or two, the throne room, and a hallway where the windows can be knocked out to grapple up to the top of the palace. Figures would basically be what ARC2149Nova suggested. I'd probably swap out one or both of the royal guards in for Jar-Jar though - it would feel odd for him to be the only main character left out. Boss Nass could be thrown in as well, but he might fit better in a separate Naboo set. I'd also add that little walking droid coffee table with a microfigure hologram of Palpatine for Nute to follow around.

I really like the midi Y-wing, but I agree that the Speed Champions cockpit piece is an odd choice. Not blown away by any of these. The mechs are fine, the Starfighter is a very uninteresting choice. I can sort of see why they went with Yoda; of the characters to fly these Eta-2 style ships, Anakin's just had one, Obi-Wan already has a Delta on shelves, and the only other main characters to fly one are Yoda and Ahsoka. Yoda is probably more familiar to kids than Ahsoka, but I would still rather have seen hers. I do like the design of the swamp speeder with those rounded quarter-dome pieces, so I might BL myself a dark red one. I'm all 501st-ed out so no interest in getting the set though. Will wait and see what other pictures of Yavin reveal, but I don't think it'll sway me either way. Design-wise the tree is the only thing that puts me off, otherwise I think they did a decent job. On the plus side, this does make it easier to save money for some of this year's other propositions.

I like the landspeeder too, it's very clean! That said I do wonder if brick-built engines might look better than the booster pieces? Certainly it would allow for a bit more detail on the one slightly beat-up engine, even if it increases the part count slightly.

I normally prefer to use canopy pieces that can fit minifigs in my ships, but your cockpit here is superb!

I like the structure, even if the brick-built GWPs are fairly ho-hum this year. As someone who tends to buy LEGO in 2-3 big goes every year, being able to line it up to get multiple GWPs suits me perfectly (this extends beyond Star Wars as well).

Bought my first of the 'droid sculpture' sets in BD-1. Nearly bought the Andor set as I needed to spend about that amount to get to the current GWP threshold, but figured I'd get more enjoyment out of Beedee. Hopefully the Ferrix set pops up on discount somewhere soon. Also added Cody's helmet to the collection at SWCE.