Fallenangel

Actually, they're dirty white. But The LEGO Group makes them shiny LEGO white because it would otherwise be an amorphous blob of boring.

Interesting observation... looks like Hasbro's been screwing us over again! I'll have to take the "correct" way as feet sticking out, sloppy as it may look, until further notice... The Eta-2 in 9494 doesn't look too great (the 7661 version remains superior), but is that a pair of platforms I see in the lower left corner or just one?

My point exactly. That's the life-size Eta-2 studio model as shown at Star Wars: The Exhibition (presumably used in the Providence hangar and Padme apartment scenes in Revenge of the Sith). Clearly the wings are far too thin to actually house a full astromech droid - it's hilarious how they expect us to believe that all of Artoo can fit inside. The Revell and ERTL kits don't have full sockets either. As you said, it's all CG.

Hey, new pictures! I was waiting for that. There is a lot to be said for the preliminary picture, but on the other hand, it is preliminary, so I will reserve judgement on the X-wing until we get better pictures. Shame that FBTB no longer Respects the Brick... Looking at this picture, I honestly don't think that a LEGO Eta-2 with a decent-looking full socket for a LEGO astromech droid would be possible. The wing simply isn't thick enough.

I understand the point that you're trying to make, but that's simply not the case with the Tantive IV. Up close, they are curved surfaces mixed with angular shapes. It's funny you should mention "curves made with angles", because in the case of the X-wing, you've got angles made with curves. 3D modellers must have beat their brains in frustration when the technology had advanced enough for them to discover that none of the lines of the X-wing's fuselage were truly straight (the curvature is quite subtle, but it's there).

Bit of an oversimplification, isn't it? Obviously one must take into account the futuristic, pristine look that curvature can offer on a starship... after all, there's nothing organic about a flying saucer. This is why I favor Corellian designs above Incom - they successfully blend the kitbashed angular look of most Star Wars ships with the curvature indicative of technological prowess:

The ship on top is the Leonov from 2010, the ship on bottom the Discovery from 2001. Both are beautifully designed.

Being a Star Wars fan, I do prefer the angular Incom and Kuat craft as opposed to the more organic Trade Federation or Naboo designs but at the same time feel that the best-looking ships are those which combine both in a way that is innovative or aesthetically pleasing, such as the Tantive IV, Falcon, or B-wing, as well as non-Star Wars craft, like the Klingon Bird of Prey. I think I may be biased due to the fact that angular craft generally translate better into LEGO, though. That and the fact that as Brickdoctor mentioned, angular craft with kitbashed detailing feel more realistic. Here's a parting shot that I think gets the point across (my apologies to Staff):

Seeing as 7256 is already ridiculously out of scale, it seems more likely that this new release will include lots of extras like 7868. By the way, 9490 was already confirmed at $20.

I hope an MC80 Liberty type Star Cruiser looks underwater enough. My avatar was originally going to be changed to a dianoga, but I decided I liked this better. Great aquatic variation of the 74-Z, Brickdoctor!* *Should have done one of these.

Say, KimT, has there been any progress in judging the Character Rides Contest entries?

Seems like Brickdoctor's doing a little of everything these days.

Quoted for emphasis. It's ridiculous how many times this has come up. Hopefully if and when the Mods make a properly organized Future Star Wars Sets thread (complete with poll) we can lessen the likelihood of people stuffing ludicrous numbers of minifigures into a set they want for $30.

Welcome to Eurobricks, darththeling! It's nice when members join and grace us with their MOCs - all the ones you've mentioned sound interesting. Personally I don't see a problem with digging up old MOC threads so long as feedback is substantial and critical, except in the case when it wouldn't amount to anything (e. g. the original poster is long gone, the MOC dismantled and never revisited). Use your own good judgement and keep in mind that the boards must be orderly.

Again, Mirandir's seen them, so we know they've been leaked - they just haven't reached us yet.

A curious observation. I wonder just how different this X-wing will look...

My mistake - 10227. Check the first page. As far as we know, the answer is no.

We've been over this before - 10227 B-wing has a five-digit set number and therefore will be an exclusive set. I highly doubt it will be a minifigure-scaled set. It's impossible to determine how big it will be from that one silhouette.

How the heck is that 'all star wars'?

You can't possibly be serious!

If you want it that badly, Anio did base his model off of Reto's AT-TE, for which instructions do exist. They are by no means the same model (I think I remember him mentioning that he made quite a few interior changes) but in my opinion Reto's is just as impressive, and maybe more since it is the first of its kind to my knowledge.

I think it may be due to the construction of the wing pylons. On the x1 studio model, the pylons form an 'm' where they meet with the cockpit ball to retain the spherical shape (something also in Gareth's x1 and 10175); on the other hand, Brickdoctor is more or less forced at this scale to use 2x4 wing plates and 1x2 tiles for that area, which, when used in conjunction with a cockpit relaint on stacked plates to create the illusion of a sphere, results in the end product looking more square than it would were a different approach taken at a larger scale. This is further amplified by the fact that the cockpit ball on this MOC is smaller than it should be.

This is so cute, I love it! I was also reminded of this...

They will appear when someone finds them. There is no 'official release date' for preliminary pictures - they are leaked. On that note, I remember Mirandir mentioning that he did in fact acquire his information from leaked pictures, so we at least know that they are out there. It's only a matter of time... By the way, does anyone have a picture of the 10131 teaser that's being referred to in this thread? It sounds interesting...