M'Kyuun

The pic is a bit small, but overall it's a nice design, good color blocking, and looks quite viable if built with real bricks. The click joints are pretty strong, certainly adequate for a mech of this size. Additionally, the feet appear to cover enough area to ensure good stability provided the arms remain in this position or move forward a bit to distribute the weight more evenly. Overall, nice job! I love the new flat 1x1 round tiles, and they're used to great effect here. The arms remind me of FAST Packs (Macross) for some reason.

For its time, this was an amazing set. I still like the look of this one's nose, blocky though it may be, over the new UCS X-Wing. That said, I think I'll be getting the new X-Wing for May 4. I might have to break my original out to do a side by side comparison. Fun!

My wife and I saw Oblivion on Saturday. Overall, it's a pretty decent movie. The visuals are gorgeous, and I won't be surprised if Daniel Simon's lovely Bubble Ship becomes a classic. Unlike typical American sci-fi movies, this one focuses less on non-stop action and shooting, building the story around the protagonist's life as he goes about doing his duty for the last of mankind. That's extremely generalized, but I don't want to spoil. Personally, I like the pensive nature of this movie, although I found the ending a bit cliché and anticlimactic. Folks with the patience to watch 2001: Space Odyssey will enjoy it, I think.

I agree.

Interesting, if nostalgic, read. Thanks for posting.

I'll second Algernon; the Galactic Titan looks amazing every time I see it. Looking forward to getting all of these.

That's cool. Your designs always make me smile.

You did great job capturing the look of all three vehicles. That tumbler looks amazing, esp at that size. Excellent job.

I always enjoy watching Mr. Knudstorp's interviews. despite being the CEO of the, now, most lucrative toy company in the world, he is always understated. Given that the LEGO Group was facing the possibility of going public (shareholders, i.e.) due to too much branching, he has much to be proud of. Moreover, as a lifelong LEGO fan and consumer, the quality of the sets has certainly been apparent during his tenure. One need only look at some of the City sets from the early 2000 time frame to see a major, positive difference over the years. As Lightningtiger said, LEGO's quality sets it above the competition, even when the competition holds popular licenses.

Received and built the Battle of Hoth (75014) yesterday. Good set, if slightly pricey. The snowspeeder has a slightly different build than previous versions, utilizing brackets, and a better looking harpoon cannon. I love LEGO snowspeeders, so that alone made me happy.

Nice! This fits really well within the Alien Conquest theme.

Very cool. Great shaping on those engines. Lots of detail, functions, and playability. Two thumbs up.

Everything is built well here. Moreover, it makes the viewer ask, "what is that mech doing in the cornfield?"

I like the spray stream hitting the unfortunate fellow behind the barricade. The Segway is pretty sweet, too. Overall nice diorama. Brick-built streets really catch the eye, and yours creates a nice contrast with the grassy/sandy areas.

Thanks, Kbcakir. Originally, I had an Agents fig piloting, but the new galaxy patrol fig just seemed right for this. Yeah, my pics could use some work. A habitual photographer, I'm not. Perhaps I'll reattempt at some point. Having looked at hundreds of other folks' MOCs, I'm aware of how much little things can improve the quality of a picture.

Exceptional. While all are great, that mantis really stands out for me. Great job on both the arthropods and their realistic presentation.

Thanks for the kind words! The blasters in the arms aren't actually flick-fire; the arm is hollow behind them to permit the hand to fold in there for transformation. I designed this both in the real and in LDD; however, I did the majority with real brick, so it would take a lot of time to design it fully in LDD. I'm currently working on another Macross inspired transformable mech, so please accept my apologies.

This is the redesign I did on my stylized transformable VF-4. I took the original to BrickCon back in October, but as I had rushed to build the upper body in just a week and still make it transform, the original result was sub-par. So this is my (mostly) finalized version. Since I'm a battroid guy first and foremost, it was essential to pack as much articulation into this thing as possible. Contrary to Shoji Kawamori-san's original design, the shoulders on this model rotate and swing out to allow for increased poseability. I used ball joints for both knees and hips, and they are really the weakest aspects of the design. Overall, however, it's pretty solid and can achieve a number of free-standing poses. Top-heaviness, combined with the weak knees, limit what I can do at this point. I keep hoping LEGO will produce a ratcheting ball and socket joint. 'Til then, I'll be inserting pieces of folded paper in there to give the necessary stiffness. For Macross/Robotech fans, the three mode conversion from Fighter to GERWALK to Battroid is standard fare, and possible with this model without removing any parts (perfect transformation). Hope you like. http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=523248

As always, your imagination and building skills impress. Great job, and moreso for being new to LDD, which certainly has its quirks. I've always wished that LEGO would make Sci-Fi based City sets, with everyday stuff reimagined to fit a more future tech world. I can imagine this thing skittering up to the curb to the cries of, "Taxi! Hey, Taxi!"

Likewise. After seeing the less-than-stellar Chima pilot, I had hoped that they'd produce a Gorilla Mech. Having seen the Toyfair pics, I'm going to pass on it. Alas, more money for the, IMHO, superior second wave of Galaxy Squad sets. Currently, I have all but the mantis set, which I may grab if it goes on sale at some point. Great theme overall, and a nice return to Space. Still, I keep wishing for a return, or a reboot, of Classic Space based sets, with blues, whites, and greys.

Transformers would have been great. While speaking to a LEGO rep last year, I asked about LEGO doing a transforming theme. He told me that Hasbro approached LEGO to do TF sets. After attempting to make sets, TLG rejected the offer. I believe he said they felt they couldn't do it feasibly within financial restraints. And so, we have Kre-o. I'd love a Macross(the basis of Robotech in the US) theme, although the subject matter, licensing, and feasibility of producing a variety of transforming jet fighters are all strikes against it. I'd be happy with an original transforming theme, so long as the transformations and alt modes were nice looking and believable. A robot that transforms into something completely unrecognizable is pointless.

I concur with Faefrost's observations. The dialog was subpar, the story was choppy and felt rushed. Most of the characters seem stupid by virtue of voice, actions or both. I found Cruller to be the best character. I think the story would have been better served had they shown Laval and Cragger growing up together. Their friendship was forced, if only to try and make the betrayal more poignant. However, there's really no feeling of friendship there to begin with. Alas, Ninjago this is not. As Faefrost mentioned, Chi is presented almost as a power-inducing narcotic given as an incentive for coming of age. It just feels a bit wrong, esp for something from LEGO. I'm disappointed with the pilot, but I hope the writers will find their way. There's certainly fertile ground here for them to work with, given the large cast, and the possibility for back stories and side ventures. Moreover,I hope they vary the characteristics of the various tribes beyond what was presented. I want to like this show, as I see the potential. Too, I'd like to see a gorilla mech on the shelves at some point, but I digress. However, as pointed out, Clone Wars had a poor opening pilot, IMO, and it has certainly come along way, so there's hope.

I wish LEGO good luck with Chima, as there are a lot of possibilities for both show and sets. However, my wife and I very much enjoyed the new take on Thundercats, and have been anxiously awaiting second season. Sadly, doesn't look like it's coming. I don't believe the toyline did well, so that may be a big factor. It's sad to see one element of a property hold so much sway over another. I wasn't interested in the toys, either, but I thought the show was great. Symbiotic Titan was another show that my wife and I really liked; however, it was canxed due to no associated toyline. There's a bit of irony as to how these aspects of program and merchandise work today, as opposed to 20+ years ago. In the late 70's, early 80's, it was verboten to create a cartoon show as an advertising medium. Today, it's essential. It's a shame that a show, given adequate sponsorship, can't stand merely on its own merit. TCats had high ratings, but still got the ax. It's a shame.

I got my first two Chima sets today: Eris' Eagle and Laval's Royal Fighter. I built Eris' set already, simply because it's the best set in this theme, IMO, and a great example of what I wish the rest of the theme had been, or will be in future waves. I'll build Laval's tank tomorrow; however, as someone mentioned, it's a technic frame with a Lion face. To be honest, I got it for the figs. So far, I'm really impressed with the detail, accessories, and printing on these guys. Generally, i'm more interested in the sets than figs; the opposite holds true in this theme, Eris's Eagle Interceptor notwithstanding- it's very cool. I missed that Gorilla mech when watching the video earlier today. Since Mark Stafford has already built a rather cool gorilla mech as a MOC, I had hopes we'd see something like it in this theme, and hopefully realized as a set. As far as any comparisons to Thundercats go, I very much like the new show and the direction they were taking it. I'm saddened that it wasn't renewed, and if LEGO and the WB were in talks , I can understand how the folks behind the T-Cats show would be a bit miffed with TLG's Chima theme. I thought of Lion-O myself after first seeing Laval. Perhaps the Chima lions were created in anticipation of doing Thundercats. I doubt we'll ever know given the sensitivity surrounding licenses, not to mention respect for the folks involved. Either way, it wouldn't profit LEGO to back a failing show; having read some of the backstory, they've crafted a storyline that's different from that in T-Cats, although the look of the show does ring with familiarity. I hope it does well, and is at least as good as Ninjago. Actually, this appears to be darker in tone, which I find appealing. Also, with its success will come more sets, and to me, that's what it's all about.

This was my favorite SW set of 2012, and one of the most fun builds I've had in quite awhile. I don't quibble much over scale in the LEGO universe, esp in SW. The look of the ship, the functions and features, and those amazing figs sold this set for me.