BrickieB

First off: sorry about the double post, my internet explorer messed it up and now I can't edit it anymore :( So, the last few days I have been messing around with the angles of the wings. Starting from the front angle (the rest of the ship kind of follows that first angle) I have seen where I can get with the parts I have. The perfect part would be the 2x3 wedge plate (times many). However, the SSD kit comes with 3x12 and 3x6 mainly, and very few 2x3. If I use the 3x6 wedges I would maybe have just enough, but as it increases the wing surface dramatically I won't have enough plates to finish off the rest of the model. So that may become my V 2.0 :) I might be able to do it if I also shrink the model size by about 30-40%, but I don't want to do that. First and foremost I want to be able to create a bigger and better SSD with the 2 kits I have. It will not be 100% accurate, but it will look better than TLG one, and will also be a lot bigger (looking at 125-140cm atm). The wing structure has been slightly modified to be tougher and use less of the essentials pieces for other parts of the ship. I've also been looking into a cool and sturdy stand for the model. If I manage to complete my ideas and make it sturdy enough, it should become a single mount :) Just need the connection between the stand and the support structure to withstand the weight. More on that later, no doubt. There is a pic to illustrate my wing-study but I can't upload it right now, i will add it in a few days.

Well that shouldn't be an excuse :) You're absolutely right: it's a lot wider and flatter than the TLG one, but still not wide and flat enough. I will need to fix this. Thanks. I noticed my mistake only when it was too late to correct it myself.

Hello SSD-lovers :) My all time favourite SW model is the SSD. It was my first (AFOL) Lego kit, and this week I bought my second. Why? Because I wanted to make a decent MOC of both. The idea is to use mainly the parts from these 2 kits to create one (epic) SSD. It has become clear that this will not be 100% possible, but I intend to try anyway. So this post is to follow up on my progress on the one hand, but also ask feedback / advice from all you SW and Lego experts. It will probably be a slow build as I'm balancing other hobbies, family life, and work. So don't shoot me if an update takes weeks / months. My first pic is a basic overview of the hull as I have it in LDD now. It has no (sufficient) support structure yet, but I have built the 4 panels in the past and they're pretty sturdy. My question about this picture is mainly about the dimensions: is it all a bit realistic? I know it looks good - but does it look like the 'real' thing? Also, are there certain techniques I can use to improve it? For example, I'm not happy with the bottom arcs around the engine bays - any tips on improving these? I only picked up my second SSD last week, haven't even unpacked it yet. But that should give me enough parts to have about 90-95% of what I need (I assume). I should be able to make the hull, city, and support structure (using liftarms for this, not the SSD parts). The engine bay is till one big blurred area in the moc in my head :) I'm open for all tips: SSD, building, LDD, ...

Very nice! The amount of work that went into this... Awesome!

Very cool!

I last got a second 10221 (SSD) cheap for parts and the microfighter millennium falcon.

The problem is not finding the right colour (a typical basecoat-colour gray is fine) but the fact that the paint will not hold, it will peel off after a few weeks - it will even crackle if you don't touch the parts. There s a special primer available for plastic, to make the paint stick better to the material- but I haven't tested that yet.

This is really insane - and excellent!

I passed by the local toy store today, and they had a bunch of 2011 Advent Calendars. So I picked up a few of those :) (pic from the web)

I finally applied my stickers yesterday. I simply filled the sink with water and dumped the canopy in. Then, following the instructions from the manual, applied the front sticker first. The manual says to align the corners, where I opted to align the small line in the top. Seemed the more obvious choice. After that came the sides and the rear. I just stuck them on and, if I didn't like it, pulled them off and tried again. As long as you don't push them down too hard, they can still be removed. After I was satisfied with a sticker, I firmly pressed them down and squeezed all remaining water from underneath. Repeat for all stickers. Looking at the result, I really didn't like the 'fog' effect of the translucent parts, so they had to go. I took my scalpel and fitted a brand new blade. Then I carefully cut all the small edges, leaving the long, straight ones untouched. Finally, and with the help of a small metal ruler, I cut the long straight pieces too. Yes, you make a small cut into the plastic too, but as long as you do it properly and don't remove the stickers afterwards, you cannot see it. Then I removed the clear stickers to uncover a right mess of glue. That was removed with 'stain remover' (don't know the correct name in English) - Brand I used was 'eau écarlate', available in stores in Belgium and France, so probably also in other countries. Some pics:

No, I don't think so. I just prefer to be early and pick it up now, rather than hunting for one after they are discontinued.

10225 R2-D2. Figured I should pick it up before it's discontinued - and since I won't be getting the ridiculously overpriced new ewok UCS set I had some room in the budget :)

I've built mine yesterday and it's a great kit. I only modded one very small detail: I added an extra technic spacer (included in the kit as spare) between the wheel you turn to open the wings. This way, my brand new parts won't get sratched (circular) when I turn the knob. It also makes the knob a bit more accessible - but that's only a side effect. I might still mod the nose-cone as well, but we'll see. I do think it's a pity there's no landing gear, and the build is a bit too easy: 10 bags of +- 200 pieces each. It's like building 10 kits for 7-year olds and plugging them together. However, if you want to increase the build challenge, you can always mix all the parts - which I'm sure to do when I beuild it a second time.

Got my UCS X-wing today, can't wait to build it! Also included Han and the Yoda poster.

I second that. Get the shuttle now - or you never will (as prices will probably skyrocket again). And buy the X-wing in a year or so, it should still be around by then. If you still really want it by then, I'm sure you can get the money for it.

I came across the 3x3 plate in the promo baggie (headhunter) http://rebrickable.com/sets/30240-1/z-95-headhunter-star-wars-clone-wars-2013

Thank you very much for this extensive review! (ordered mine a few minutes ago, can't wait till it's here :) )

Very well done! I love the detail in Yoda's house, the trees, the x-wing sinking, the modularity, ... In short I love it all!

Thumbs up!!! Well done, I liked the outside a lot but wait - there's an interiour as well? Very nice!

I just looked it up and paid my dark red plate about €5 too... But you don't see that much of it that it would be a problem substituting it with a bley or even DBG plate, imo you barely look at the bottom, but I suppose that all depends on how you intend to display it.

I personally prefer the UCS sets as these are more of a challenge to build for adults, and I have no desire to play with them. However, I also have play sets and though these are interesting builds sometimes, I mainly bought them as future play toys for my kids. So UCS are daddy's toys :)

I think 'printing at home' with ink will in no way result in a cheaper alternative for a print shop - but please let us know what you ended up spending in ink, paper, binding, and possibly a new printer at the end of the line :) Also keep track of your time, I can imagine removing the background on 300 pages would be pretty time consuming.

I live in Belgium and looked at Prijsprinter.be . They should be able to do it for about €80 in A4, full colour, ring bound, incl. shipping. So I suppose it depends on the country you're in... By the way, it doesn't matter if you remove the background colour, price doesn't change if there is more or less ink required (Nice work though).

I got the 6 new planets at the local toy store. I built em - and thought this would make a nice group pic. So here it is!

F A N T A S T I C !