Bobsy

Always check what's currently being rendered. Complex translucent elements slow the rendering down a LOT, and if there's several of them in front of each other, this will multiply exponentially. I gave up on a render when I got bored waiting for a 2x2 round brick in trans-clear to finish. I needed my computer for other things, and lost interest. For instance this render went at a pretty even pace; despite the complex geommetry, there was only one translucent element (the fountain), which is relatively simple (no studs or holes) and pretty much flat-on with the position of the camera. Throne of Babylon by bobsy26, on Flickr While the windscreen in this one took forever, as it's got a very complex shape, reflecting and refracting light at all angles with the curved windscreen, and worse, the stud-holders at the base. Still, it did eventually finish. The Old Republic - Manta Speeder by bobsy26, on Flickr

Ahem. You're right, I hadn't. Okay, it's a load of old tripe. I'm done!

Something in my water tells me we'll be seeing at least one more Avengers set in the next year or so. Why? Well, the Hulk's brand new mould has only been in one set so far, and Lego like to use new piece moulds at least twice to help offset the massive cost of production. Worth a thought, at least.

They do seem to be moving a lot slower than their own community - very cautiously 'trying out' everything on the small scale. And they're not hugely communicative. The blog hides away at the bottom of the site, rarely updated, as is the Facebook page. I don't click 'like' buttons very often, and utterly ignored that one. Had I known they actually put content on their Facebook page, I might have been more interested.

Oh, I gave up on that idea pretty early on. The engines were the parts that made the design come together (that moment when it finally starts to really work) and with them it could only have the more sporty look.

There's a good chance this has gone through translations, misinterpretations and general confusion, but may still be based on an actual photo, albeit with preliminary/prototype figs instead of the real deal. It has a great sense of chinese whispers about it.* It is, for instance, very possible that the person looking at the photo saw the same headgear Mr Freeze has used and assumed it was him. "Archery gun" sounds like crossbow or harpoon from someone who doesn't have the vocabulary to use either of those words. Weirdest one to me is the Elf with a Royal Guard hat... but bear in mind that that hat has only been used once, and Lego try to use every piece they mould at least twice. Same goes for the clockwork robot head - I think it's extremely likely we'll see that again in series 9. *or 'telephone', if you're american/less racist

Take Cad Bane's Speeder for example. It's really good looking, has storage space, good minifigs... but the cost! We could almost buy our own ship for that! The key thing for speeders is for them to be smaller, more affordable than all the spaceships. It also helps define the progression of Star Wars minifig-scale vehicles using size, from speeder bike through regular speeder, fighter, shuttle, frieghter to small capital ship. They could have happily reduced Cad Bane's speeder in size by about 20% and made a really decent affordable set. </grump>

This is born out of three goals. First, my neverending quest to put two seats in a 6-wide setting (failed again, this is 8-wide, and wider still with the engine blocks). Second, I honestly think Lego is missing a trick by not making enough speeders - they're smaller than ships, but just as swooshable (failed again, this is about as big as an A-Wing). Third, petty jealousy with the amount of quality designs Bob de Quatre is coming out with (failed in general. You don't want to know how awful the previous day's design was). Anyway. It's a speeder. I actually began wanting to make it the Star Wars equivalent of a pick-up truck, with room for cargo at the back, but in the end it looked a lot sleeker and faster than I was anticipating. I call it Telosian because of the orange and white colourscheme sort of matching the Telos station in KOTOR 2. Except I think that was built by Ithorians. Well anyway. Speeder. Bam. Telosian Speeder by bobsy26, on Flickr Telosian Speeder by bobsy26, on Flickr Telosian Speeder by bobsy26, on Flickr

I've been wondering about the ethics of Lego promoting certain projects they themselves already like, perhaps something like 3 picks per day on the front page*. The problems are obvious: suddenly people are clamouring for he moderators' attention as well as each others, as being featured would get instant support. Plenty of users wold get fustrated: "Why did they pick THAT guy's idea? Mine is clearly better!" and lead to gneral grumpiness and negtivit. Would it be worth it for letting a few more worthy projects rise above an ocean of identical batpods, ridiculous requests for Star Wars collectable minifigs and the like. *the Discover page's three cabtepries are beyond useless

Only one per quarter? Have they said that? Doesn't ring any bells for me. Yes. *nudges self*

The storage space became an obvious addition, otherwise the back would have been boring, solid brick. Of course, it makes little sense to have it at the back, because that whole bit is supposed to be the engine. Strictly speaking, the bonnet should open up, but this wasn't physically possible. Speaking of the engine, there are no actual exhaust nozzles, which is a pretty big ommision. It will be possible to add them, but I've not worked out a way of making them in the right size. Using wheel hubs would be too big, and stop the boot opening. There are other things I'd like to alter. There isn't strictly room for those cylinders to be there at the front of the cockpit, and that's putting a bit of strain on the cockpit piece, hence the gap between the grey cheese slope and the flat panel. Also, the bottom of the speeder's pretty flat at the moment. It should have more mass underneath, but that would require another Bricklink order. There's always more to do...

We've been through this, and consensus wad that the Republic Assault Striker probably meant the Star Destroyer from AOTC or the ARC-170 figuter, and yes, the clones in h the SWTOR battle pack are clearly jt an error made by someone not familiar with the game and asuming.

I actually got the second lot of pieces the other day, but I'm exceptionally lazy when it comes to photography, so I've only just uploaded the pictures of the finished speeder. And here it is: The Old Republic Manta Speeder by bobsy26, on Flickr Neither minifig is really cut out for this. Setele had to tie her hair back, as her usual long ponytail doesn't fit in the cockpit. The trooper is all grumpy because he had to leave his beloved cannon behind. It doesn't fit in the boot. In the boot? Yes indeed, something I'd not mentioned before is that the back section opens up to fit lightsabers, blasters and the like. Just not Sasha. The Old Republic Manta Speeder by bobsy26, on Flickr The Old Republic Manta Speeder by bobsy26, on Flickr

What strikes me about Pre Vizsla's fighter is the similarities it has to the Jedi Shuttle from an earlier wave which should still be available. Both have the rotating wings, both seat multiple minifigs, but I prefer the shuttle, mostly for not being yet another fighter.

Looks absolutely fantastic. Your work is getting better and better. This is an instantly recognisable Star Wars ship, and one that would fit into any collection. Not sure I'd class it as a heavy fighter though. It looks to have roughly the same mass as a TIE fighter, which is anything but. I can see it more as a dogfighter than a heavy weapons platform.

I think the 'ineffecient' use of parts usually stems from being easier to produce certain parts in bulk. For instance, if Set X needs a 1x4 plate in dark tan, but Set Y is already being mass-produced with gazillions of dark tan 1x2 plates, they'll go for the latter because it's more economical to produce.

I would say the best reason to buy either is if you play The Old Republic (hint: play The Old Republic. It's grand). If you don't, there's absolutely no need to buy them. They're expensive. Don't cave in and empty your wallet just because it's new and you've not bought anything recently. Buy your Lego because you WANT to own it.

Nope. It's a single-pilot starfighter - the ancient equivalent of the X-Wing. It fits one minifig, while the others get out and walk. Incidentally, none of the minifigs included ARE pilots. You get a Jedi master (who as far as I'm aware never flies one), a trooper (who should really be in this ship) and an astromech (who doesn't fit the seat).

Clone Wars (2003) is generally thought of by us bitter grown-ups as the better of the two, because it focusses on action over dialogue. The first season in particular was made up of short micro-episodes only a couple of minutes long, with barely a word shared between the characters. There were story arcs between the episodes, the primary one being the Battle of Muunilinst being led by Anakin and Obi-Wan. The second season stretched the episode length to something like 15 minutes each, which meant there was more time for story-telling and dialogue. I personally felt that this weakened the premise, as the writing and acting weren't all that great. The final episodes of the second season lead straight into Episode 3, with the attack on Coruscant and the kidnapping of Palpatine. I should mention that Clone Wars was made by Genndy Tartovsky, who had recently finished making Samurai Jack. This is shorthand parlance for "the action is the absolute finest you'll ever see in 2D animation". The Clone Wars (2008) began by taking the longer episodes of Clone Wars S2 and elongating them to a full half-hour slot, thus meaning there was even more time for dialogue and storytelling. And of course the animation's in 3D. For better or worse, the focus is much more on story than action. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. The new kid-accessible character Asohka was initially very unpopular with older fans because of her irritating nicknaming habits and the fact that she didn't exist before or after the series (leading many to postulate that she's destined to go to the dark side and/or die before episode 3). However she's become a lot more tolerable as the series has gone on. But yeah, more storytelling means you get whole episodes dedicated to Jar-Jar bumbling about. One odd decision made in producing The Clone Wars is that other than mini-arcs of 2 or three episodes together, the episodes do not follow a strict chronological order. For instance, the very first episode of the first season has Yoda convince the Toydarian king to ally with the Republic, and an arc in season 2 shows the liberation of Ryloth from Seperatist occupation. In season 3 there is an episode (a Jar-Jar episode, sadly) which shows the beginning of the Ryloth occupation and has Bail Antilles visit the Toydarian king in the days BEFORE Yoda's visit. It sounds compicated, but in practice it means the episodes are written to work as standalones - you don't need to have seen any preceding episodes to understand what is happening. Is it worth watching? It's worth having a look, certainly. There are some bad episodes (and bad characters), but plenty of good episodes as well. The quality had been steadily increasing throughout the seasons (although as neither season 4 or 5 seem to ever be coming to the UK, I can't say this definitively). (er, I guess this is all somewhat off-topic in this thread. I guess if a mod wants to move it, fine. I'm kinda talked out on the subject anyway)

Oh don't be sour, it's just a fun little exclusive. You don't NEED that set - it's a regular Boba Fett with regular pieces you could get on Bricklink if you wanted. It's purpose is as a sweet little memento for attending the convention, not as a vital set that belongs in everyone's collection.

I got the feeling that this started out as a battle pack that had too high a piece count to be sold at that price point. Four minifigs, a small(ish) build... it just has that feel about it. And at RRP it just strikes me as way too expensive for what you get. It's functionally very similar to the 9488 Elite Clone Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Pack, which is easier on the wallet. I would never have paid £20 for it, but as Tesco Direct are selling for just over a tenner I picked it up. Nice enough set, but not particularly exciting. Buy on discount, or leave on the shelf.

I was umming and ah-ing over the drab colour scheme and the similarities to the CW Jedi Starfighters, but then I saw the tiny cabin and fell in love. It's such a great little detail that adds tons of charm to the set. A couple of things I'd change - more colour variation, especially in that grey top layer. Mixing up light bley with dark bley and black adds texture and depth which can help out a lot. The vents on the wings would be good contenders for that. I'd probably switch out the space chair for a regular one - space chairs are best used when the sitter has oxygen tanks or if you need to attach something to the back. And I'd put a regular 1x2 plate with studs at the foot of the bed so he can lie down properly and not fall out if the ship gets swooshed around.

The deadline for the autumn fall review is the 3rd of September, and the results of the summer review are supposedly to come out in a matter of weeks. How many weeks? Apparently that's too much of a commitment I guess. Ah well. I think the results of the summer review are going to play a large part in shaping how Cuusoo works in the future. With 3/4 being new licenses and the fourth being absolutely frickin' huge and needing substantial redesign, none of these are exactly a shoe-in for being accepted, and every rejection will cause tremors in the ideas being submitted to Cuusoo. Of the licenses, I think the most likely to be accepted by a long way is the Eve Rifter. The company and community behind Eve Online is immensely supportive of one another, and very keen to promote the game however they can. There's already been a tacit approval by CCP in a video they posted (which also helped boost the supporters a long way) and I think they will easily agree to having Lego make the set. CCP are similar to Mojang in this respect. As for the set, it's a good size - big, but not impossibly big, fitting in reasonably well with Star Wars and other Space sets. The least likely to be approved is probably the Zelda project. A new license, and one from a very different company to CCP. Nintendo have toy licences all over the place, making this project a legal minefield. In addition, the requirement for newly-moulded pieces make it expensive to produce. The one thing it's got going for it is that it WILL sell - no question. Will it sell enough though? Bear in mind Cuusoo sets don't appear in mainstream toy shops, so casual purchases will be minimal. An even tougher call is the Back to the Future set. I really don't think I can say which way this one will go. As the movie is old, the licence is a lot more flexible. It really comes down to Universal's decision. They do still produce collectable toys based on the movie, so they may be open to having it done in Lego... or perhaps they would prefer a better offer from Megablocks or Kre-O. We'll see. The Modular Western Town will make the cut on idea, easily. It's not a licensed property, it's not a theme Lego have touched in years... there's nothing to stop it. Except of course it's about 6 times the size of a regular lego set. Hell, the stagecoach alone would make for a mid-price set. I think everyone reasonable fully expects this to to be hugely reduced, and the best case scenario we can hope for would be the Western equivalent of the Pet Shop/House modular building set, with two narrow buildings that can be placed together. It's the most likely to have a set made of it, but the least likely to be released in its current state.

Most children over the age of about 5 know that claiming something is theirs when it isn't is a lie, and therefore wrong. The kids doing this are almost certainly even older, and well aware that they are doing a bad thing. Their view is more likely one that so long as they don't get caught, it's okay. In that case, the most valuable lesson they can get is that they WILL be caught and there ARE consequences for their wrongdoing. Besides, if you've been the victim of a 'crime', it doesn't matter if the perpetrator is 9 or 90, you still need to protect yourself and your creations.

Fantastic pictures. I especially like seeing the wand shop up close - its bay windows are really well designed. However, I'm not sure I'd call this a review. A review tells the reader what's good about it, what's not so good, any aspects that were a plesant surprise and anything that was a letdown. And in the case of a set like this, a review needs to weigh up whether or not it's worth such a hefty price tag. It's all about someone who has got the set helping people who don't have the set decide if they want to buy it or not. But yeah. Very nice photography.