Bobsy

Alright, I'll give this a go.

One thing I'd always advise with LDD is to turn on the option to outline individual pieces. It helps to give the model better definition and stops it looking so flat.

I very nearly added a tan snake, but thought better of it. I don't know how well you could make an ysalamir at minifig scale without an expensive new mould, but it'd be a nice bonus.

I'm just saying, is all. === (Star Destroyer design based on Anio's Star Destroyer mini-model, tunic decal by ImperialShadows)

UK folks, hark! Tesco Direct has added them to the website, so in-store appearances are probably not far behind. Hell, they're probably in YOUR store right now. I know they're not in MINE because I live in the sticks. But you, you've probably got them in your hands right now. Stop having fun! Stop it! I'll add that using the Tesco Direct website right now is a terrible idea, as it's going utterly bonkers lobes-out mental at the moment. I'm able to look at pretty much everyone else's basket but mine. There's a certain voyeuristic charm to seeing what everyone else is buying, but I'm not trusting the site to sort out an order today, I think.

Someone help me find my jaw... I think it's fallen on the floor somewhere. This is just... well... incredible. Well done that man. Er. Have a peach. On the house.

Doh. Well, the AT-RT had better be something proper special then.

Unless this is ACTUALLY Endor, instead of Endor's forest moon. Which would be equally odd because I'm pretty sure Endor never got a single frame of screentime.

There's re-use potential for the Chagrian head. A Sideous vs Palpatine Senate set could have that Chagrian fella as a backup fig. I just think the companions would be a more popular choice than the cutscene characters. Lord Scourge, for instance, would be an extremely popular fig to have for the head's re-use value.

Interesting. That 30 euro BARC speeder set, is that 2 or 3 speeders? I see BARC and Flitknot, but my german's non-existant, so... Surprising to see the AT-RT at battle pack price but with only three minifigs. I guess the build got slightly too big to be a normal battle pack.

Well. For starters, pretty much every character in those videos is barely a character (with the exception of Satele), but rather a game class concept that's got a little out of hand. Malgus was Sith Warrior concept art (Eleena Daru is Vette with a few minor changes), Jace Malcom was a Republic Trooper concept, etc etc. Incidentally, Lego backed out of having the Republic Trooper in the Striker set "be" Malcom, as the resemblence is... well, non-existant. He's white, for instance. A better idea (and probably one that would sell better) would be the companion characters for all the classes. Although a couple would be difficult as they'd require new moulds (Khem Val being the worst offender), the majority would be easily doable with current pieces. More importantly, it would require the heads, hats and torsos required for people to make their own characters. So far, you can switch Malgus's head to make a Sith Warrior, but that's about it.

I disagree - the normal red you're using is more appropriate for the Defender, and you sre far more likely to get pieces in red that than dark red if you decide to make it for real.

I see what you mean, and it's a good solution, however the opposite to what I said would remain a problem - when in flight, the landing gear wouldn't stay up, but would dangle underneath. There's probably a way of clipping or tucking it in though.

Hmm. By the look of things there's no friction on those joints - the whole thing would instantly flop down. In fact, even if you could use friction joints there, the weight of the ship would still be too much for them to handle. I think ratchet joints would have to be the way to go.

Unlikely, as Lego doesn't sell to anything like a wide enough audience to sustain a profit on such a niche item. They have a hard enough time pushing EU sets.

Here's the thing about cannons on swivvle bases. When you fire a cannon, the recoil is huge. The gun is pushed back with tremendous force, and there was no way to fix it to the deck in a way that won't tear the deck apart the moment it goes off. This is why cannons were placed on those little tracks, so that they had the space to trundle backwards and disappate the energy they had from firing. Essentially what I'm saying is that when you go into battle the captain's going to be demolishing the roof of his own cabin. Sorry about that.

Well according the Lego, he's Bavarian. So I guess he's Bavarian.

You've misunderstood a bit there. The AT-AT was never 'supposed' to have anything in particular. The wheeled design for the vehicle was just one concept design out of several, and in fact one that Lucas quite liked. So much so, in fact, that 25 years later the design was re-examined and re-adapted for use in the Kashyyyk sequence of Revenge of the Sith. Today we know it as the Clone Turbo Tank. The concept design stage of production in movies, TV and video games is utterly fascinating and often produces some absolutely beautiful artwork. Star Wars in general has had some of the best, most inventive and most creative concept work in modern media history and it's well worth investigating. Ralph McQuarrie, lead concept designer on the original trilogy, is hailed as a master of his craft. As well as vehicles, aliens and the like, concept artists will help define intangible things like the colour palette used in sequences. This is why Hoth in The Old Republic and Ord Plutonia in The Clone Wars both tend towards the blue end of the spectrum in their depictions - they're both riffing off the original 1979 McQuarrie concept paintings for the battle of Hoth.

Now that's a good idea. Not sure I agree with all the minifig parts you used though. Elaine is most frequently seen in a bandana - did you try Jack Sparrow's bandana, or did that not look right? The hat just makes her too similar to Angelica. And my first choice for Guybrush's blue jacket would be Norrington's torso, but again, perhaps you tried that and it wasn't so good. LeChuck though? Excellent. Shame there aren't any zombie heads in green, though.

Know your meme, son.

I get the feeling Lego are still not quite sure what direction they should take the planets series - whether it should concentrate on named characters (Sebulba, Lobot) or generic troops like the battle packs. Personally I think one of these ideas has legs, the other is doomed to vanish quietly. But first let's look at all the planets featured in the films, and see what's missing. (in order of initial appearence) Naboo - N-1 Starfighter, any of Padme's ships, Droid Dropship, Hovertank, Droid carrier, Republic Frigate, Droid Fighter Tatooine - Podracer, Sandcrawler, Millenium Falcon, Luke's Landspeeder, T-16 Skyhopper Coruscant - Acclamator, Venator, Jedi Starfighter, Jedi Interceptor, Invisible Hand, practically anything else ever Kamino - Acclamator, Venator, Jedi Starfighter, Slave 1, clone dropship Geonosis* - any of the larger battle droids, clone dropship, Acclamator, Slave 1, Jedi Starfighter, Geonosian Starfighter Kashyyyk - Wookiee Catamaran, clone dropship, droid wheel-tank Utapau - Grievous's wheelie-deelie, Jedi Interceptor, clone dropship, Venator Mustafar - Jedi Interceptor, Padme's ship, Palpatine's shuttle Death Star - Star Destroyer, TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, TIE Bomber, Millenium Falcon Alderaan - Tantive IV Yavin IV - X-Wing, Y-Wing, Millenium Falcon, TIE Fighter, TIE Advanced Hoth - Snowspeeder, AT-AT Dagobah - X-Wing, Yoda's tiny shuttle thing Asteroid field - TIE Bomber, TIE Fighter, Millenium Falcon, Star Destroyer Bespin - Twin-pod Cloudcar Endor Moon - AT-ST, Millenium Falcon, Ewok Glider Death Star II** - TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, Millenium Falcon, Star Destroyer, Super Star Destroyer, Home One, B-Wing, A-Wing, Y-Wing *While Geonosis has tons of vehicles associated with it, bear in mind the planet has rings, which could possibly be difficult to do on the planet mould itself. **Somewhat unlikely due to the complexity of the mould, which can be speculated as part of the reason the TIE Interceptor was included with the first Death Star And I didn't even include the Order 66 Planets (they would have more relevance to The Clone Wars series anyway). There's at least two more waves of movie planets that can still be done. After that... Well, the closest odds are of course on The Clone Wars taking over. It's an obvious move, and I hope it won't happen. Honestly, I don't think it needs to happen. The Clone Wars is a big enough deal to sell large sets like the Dropship or The Malevolence. It has the stranglehold on Battle Packs. Does it need to take over the planets series as well? No. Will it? Quite possibly. What I'd like to see happening is the planets series being used as a way to get out minifigs and vehicles that would not otherwise be done as full sets. Lobot is a prime example of this. He's excellent booster pack material, as he's made an optional extra, not a compulsory addition to a large set. This idea, including named but lesser-known characters would make the planets series the perfect way to address the Expanded Universe. It's pretty much a given that EU large sets don't always sell so well. Hell, I wasn't even into Lego at the time but even I knew of the shelf warmer status of the TIE Defender and Rogue Shadow. But as mini-scale sets that can fit into a pokeball-sized shell? There's a thought. Not only that, but it's a way to get certain EU characters who don't have an obvious large ship to go with out on the shelves. So taking the popular Thrawn Trilogy of books as an example: Wayland with Star Destroyer and Grand Admiral Thrawn Myrkr with The Wild Karrde and Mara Jade Corellia with Katana Dreadnaught and Garm Bel Iblis Jomark with Imperial Shuttle and Joruus C'baoth Alternatively it would be a good way to explore The Old Republic at minimal cost or risk, possibly with the companion characters: Korriban with Sith Fury and Vette Tython with Jedi Defender and Kira Carsen Hutta with Bounty Hunter D5 Mantis and Mako Ord Mantell with BT-7 Thunderclap and Aric Jorgen Dromuund Kaas with X-70B Phantom and Kaliyo Djannis Balmorra with XS Freighter and Corso Riggs Taris with Harrower Dreadnaught and Dr Lokin Nar Shaddaa with Mandalorian Cruiser and Blizz Belsavis with ISF Interceptor and Talos Drellik Corellia with Thranta Corvette and Doc Quesh with Republic Valor Cruiserand Nadia Grell Voss with Republic Striker Fighter and Lord Scourge Likely? Well, I wouldn't put money on it either way, to be honest. I would dearly LOVE to see the Planets series given over to the Expanded Universe, but I think the lure of doing TCW planets might be too strong.

No Clone Wars in the wave? You're going to be seriously disappointed. TCW is on the telly right now, and like it or not it's the hottest property in the Star Wars franchise. They will continue to promote TCW ahead of the films while it's still relavent. And when it's gone, the live-action TV series will take over.

Depends really on whether it has an iconic vehicle or small location. The Force Unleashed had the Rogue Shadow, The Old Republic has its six different ships. Some sort of speeder that the character uses in 1313 would be okay, I guess. The game's not out until winter next year, so it'll be a while before we get wind of any sets.

Of course we do. Cheap, easy designs all the way up to 2018. Anakin's hybrid Jedi Starfighter Obi-Wan's hybrid Jedi Starfighter Asohka's hybrid Jedi Starfighter Mace Windu's hybrid Jedi Starfighter Plo Koon's hybrid Jedi Starfighter Saesee Tiin's hybrid Jedi Starfighter THEN they can start on the Interceptors for real.

I don't change any settings - they're still on the default. I render at screen resolution (1440x900) and just hit go. Seems to work. I did once try rendering double resolution with anti-aliasing turned off. It made no noticeable difference so I just went back to normal.