drdavewatford

Studs Not On Top - it's a building technique which ensures that, well, the studs aren't on top ! Certain Lego pieces have studs on the sides which mean that you can attach other 'normal' bricks to these, and the normal bricks therefore run at right angles to the original build and there are therefore no studs showing on the upper surface. You can use this technique to do a whole bunch of stuff that wouldn't otherwise be possible, or would be ridiculously expensive (e.g. 'tiliing' large areas). I'm sure someone else can probably explain better than me, but hopefully you get the point ! Cheers, Dr. D.

Sorry if I missed it, but do we know when this will be available ? Dr. D.

But these MOCs are unique - nobody does them like he does. It calls for a 'special achievement' award ! Dr. D.

Stunning, stunning, stunning. Just stunning. Again. Legostein, you are a legend ! On top of all the other projects I've set myself, I really must follow your instructions and build my own fleet. Honestly, your designs are at least as good as the 'official' mini versions of the models, and in many cases better. Kim, surely there's some sort of honour you can bestow upon Legostein in recognition of his amazing creations ? Dr. D.

Nice vignette of an iconic scene from the prequels ! Now all we need is for someone to review the Ultimate Lightsabre Duel set (7257) so we can give this Mustaphar vignette some company.....! If 7257 still hasn't been reviewed by the time I've finished building the UCS Millenium Falcon (which is taking me forever due to lack of time), I'll get on to it. Cheers, Dr. D.

Nice set, nice review ! The thing about the colours is interesting....on at least one of the close-up photos it looks as if you've mixed old light grey with newer light blue-grey pieces. Any chance that could have accidentally happened at some point ? Otherwise you've had some serious colour change with some of your pieces. Lovely set, though - there's something about the simplicity of the older sets which I just love compared to newer sets with all the custom pieces. Dr. D.

Thanks - great review ! I bought one of these 10 years ago and still haven't built it...... One day I will, however. Cheers, Dr. D.

Fully agree with Kim T - I'm sure this set will be available again when TLG have had a chance to restock. It's been a stellar Christmas for TLG in terms is of sales as I understand it, with many stores and even shop@home sold out of many sets. Battle of Endor is a fairly new set, and has been a particularly huge success (just look at what people are asking on eBay for evidence of this), so it'll be back. Dr. D.

Depends on what state it's in. If the pieces look reasonably clean I don't bother. If however they're obviously dirty or grubby I tip them (except any with stickers on) into a large bowl of hot water and washing up liquid, swish everything around for a couple of minutes, scrub any bigger bits which are particularly nasty, rinse a few times and drain in a colander. Then I spread the pieces out on towels and air dry. If the pieces are discoloured, that's a whole different story...... Dr. D.

Lots of nice moving parts - doors, lifts etc. - in the Death Star. Dr. D.

I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences of buying Lego from Play.com. I bought the Coroporate Alliance Tank Droid from them a month or so back and it arrived badly crushed in a Jiffy bag. I called them to complain and urged them to send out their Lego in boxes so as to avoid a ton of returns, and on returning my damaged set I received a new one packaged in a rigid cardboard wrapper similar to the ones that Amazon uses. I'm therefore hoping they've learned their lesson and that all sets will now be sent out in cardboard boxes. Has anybody got more recent experience of using them ? Dr. D.

I agree with Anio - these models are superb ! Well done ! Dr. D.

OK, OK Prof1515 - you don't need to respond (sometimes just a little too aggressively) to every single point made.... We get it already - you think we need another MF, despite the fact that there are already 2 different current versions on sale, and 3 further retired versions readily available on eBay or Bricklink in either new or used condition. The current versions are apparently "too expensive" or "worthless" because according to you they're the wrong size, and used retired sets also don't seem to be acceptable because they might have a piece missing. Get over it. Lego has more than paid due homage to the MF (which I also love, incidentally). Even aside from the 3 retired sets and the midi set, the UCS MF is absolutely magnificent, as befits an iconic Star Wars ship, and should surely satisfy any MF fan. You're entitled to your opinions (which I've read with interest) but so is everyone else, and just because others don't agree with you that we need yet another MF doesn't make them wrong. Dr. D.

Nice - like it ! I'm surprised that it's to scale with 10030, however - it looks smaller than I would have expected. Cheers, Dr. D.

I've bought both 4504 and 7190 from Ebay within the last 2 months, so I speak from personal experience. 7190 cost me about £80, and 4504 around £105. These prices aren't much different from the original MSRPs. Both were complete, and the boxes and instructions were in pretty good condition (7-8 out of 10), although not MISB. Maybe you need to shop about a bit more ? I wonder whether perhaps you're quoting Bricklink prices, whch are routinely much higher than you actually need to pay to get these sets ? Certainly if Lego were to remake 4504 I'd estimate a price of approx. £100 if the recent Tantive IV set is anything to go by. So the second-hand prices I paid are in fact very consistent with this, and so there's no reason for MF-lovers not to hit eBay and get bidding if they're that desperate ! I'd personally much rather TLG give us something new, or remake something which hasn't already been remade before..... Dr. D.

Luckily I have one of my Boba Fett minifigs to hand, so your wish is my command : I can definitely see why some might not like these, but I love the way that the 'pure' original angular minifigs are brought to life by bending the arms and the legs slightly as would be the case in 'real life'. Dr. D.

So, Christmas is coming, and you're on the lookout for presents. It's a difficult question - just what do you buy the Lego Star Wars fanatic who already has all the Lego Star Wars sets ? Answer : a Gentle Giant maquette of a Lego Star Wars minifig ! I suspect many of you will already have seen these limited edition figures, made of metal and modelled on iconic Lego Star Wars figures. There are reviews of almost all of them in the Eurobricks Star Wars review section, but someone is missing..... Boba Fett. But have no fear - the Boba Fett maquette was under my tree on Christmas day, so I thought I'd share my good fortune with you ! Name: Boba Fett Maquette Made By : Gentle Giant, Burbank, California Theme: Star Wars Number: 764 (out of 1500) Year: 2007 I believe Pieces: 3 Minifigs: n/a Price: No idea - it was a gift. Prices on Bricklink range from $159 to $949 (!) Here's the box from the front : And here it is from the back - you can zoom in for more information : Gentle Giant apparently only made 1500 of these which is I guess why they're pricey. Mine is number 764 : On opening the box you'll find 2 halves of a polystyrene shell, and stuck onto the side of the shell is your "certificate of authenticity" : Here's a close up of the certificate : On opening the polystyrene shell you can see Boba nicely protected in 3 parts : Here's the parts out of their bags and on display : If you tip the figure over you can once again find your limited edition number : And here he is - assembled and ready to catch Han Solo..... The head attaches with a magnet, so it can be swivelled around if you wish : If you've got a bounty on your head, this isn't a sight you'd like to see : And nor is this...... Note the blaster is beautifully modelled on a 'real' Lego blaster. Wonderful ! Here's the plaque, which also attaches with magnets : And here he is from behind : Conclusion : Awesome ! I just love these maquettes, and since Boba is perhaps my all-time favourite Star Wars character, this was a truly fantastic Christmas present ! He's solidly built, wonderfully posed, and worth whatever my wife paid for him ! I also have the Luke Skywalker maquette, so the two of them are going to have to learn to get along as they'll be displayed together..... I hope you like the review, and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Cheers, Dr. D.

Why would Lego waste a release slot with yet another MF ?! There's already a midi version AND a I think still a UCS version available now at retail, not to mention the retired sets 7190 and set 4504 with minifigs AND a mini set. That's 5 in 10 years..... IF Lego did release another 4504-sized MF, it would cost at least £100 at retail, and you can buy either 7190 or 4504 boxed on eBay for £75-125 now anyway, so your wish for a MF is surely answered ? So if you're that desperate for a MF then visit the Lego shop today where you'll be able to get the midi one and possibly even the UCS one, or buy one of the retired sets from eBay. Easy. Dr. D.

Actually it'll be 5 snowspeeders (4500, 7130, 7666, 10129, and the 2010 Wampa set) in the Summer, not including minis !! I'm less concerned when ships appear as part of bigger sets, however, as is the case for the Hoth Rebel Base and Wampa sets. It's when it's just the ship over and over again that it gets crazy. I fully agree that there are some ships and locations crying out for a remake, and a few others that are begging to be made for the first time. Dr. D.

Stickers are acceptable EXCEPT when they cover two or more pieces.....that drives me mad ! Unless it's my imagination however TLC seems to be doing this less recently, so well done for that. I also don't like the way TLC keeps re-releasing the same sets over and over, sometimes with minimal changes from set to set. I mean, do we REALLY need yet another Slave 1 in 2010 ?! I already have 3 different versions (more if you include minis). And the previous ARC-170 was only retired a couple of years ago - is it really already time for another one ? Bravo to Lego for the MIDI scale MF, however - OK, so it's still another MF, but at least it's sufficiently different to the previous 4 I've already got (4504, 7190, mini, UCS) to be interesting (i.e. different scale). All minor complaints overall, however - I'm just delighted we keep getting more and more Lego SW sets year after year - keep 'em coming !! Dr. D.

Thanks, Cam and others. I do love the idea that Eurobricks could eventually have fairly detailed reviews of every single Star Wars Lego set ever, so it's nice to be able to help out. I was pleased to discover that I actually have asll the sets set that haven't been reviewed yet, so theoretically I could fill all the gaps..... Of course, because of time that isn't going to happen. There's also the problem that some of the sets, such as my UCS X-Wing and the Darth Maul bust, are still MISB so I would need to open them..... One day I may, but it takes me some courage to do it ! I just remembered that I do have quite a few photographs of 10030 UCS Imperial Star Destroyer from when I built the set a year ago. Some of the pics aren't great - too many background distractions - but I may be able to use photoshop to 'sanitise' the backgrounds and make them better. I'll have to take a look. If it's possible to do it then that would be another (big) set off the list. If we work together we can do it ! Cheers, Dr. D.

I thought the programme was excellent. It was clear how much affection James May has for Lego, and the house and Lego furniture were amazing. And yes, I'm sure if he was making the programme just for AFOLs he could have done a better job. Problem is that the other 99% of viewers would have found it incredibly dull - remember that not everyone shares our hobby....! Given that he had to appeal to the general public, I think he did a great job, and it was an excellent advertisement for Lego. The Scalextric episode was also great, as was the Airfix one. For me, the major shame is that they just smashed the Lego house up afterwards. With sledgehammers. An art expert valued the house at 0.5 million pounds and said it belonged in the Tate Modern. So they destroyed it. Stupid. Dr. D.

More superb minis ! My favourite is the Republic Fighter Tank, but they're all great. Nice job, Legostein. Dr. D.

JCC1004 that's impressive - nothing gets past you guys ! There are actually two pieces which are the wrong colour - the clip at the front (part number 6019) which should be DkStone but which is actually OldDkGray, and tile 1 x 2 with handle (2432) just behind the driver which should be MdStone but which is actually OldGray. The perils of buying second-hand sets from eBay, I'm afraid ! There were a number of missing pieces and other substitutions as well which I picked up when I first examined the set and rectified, but these 2 sneaked through and will be part of my next Bricklink order..... Honestly, I could start a whole new thread about my experience of buying Lego on eBay and how people try to get away with substituting pieces because they think the buyer won't notice. Dr. D.

Thanks for all the nice comments, and glad you liked the review ! Clone O'Patra - great spot ! I need to switch around the black discs under the 'eyes' and the grey discs at the back - I put them on the wrong way round. This does however remind me of a comment I intended to make in my review - it's really difficult to differentiate between the different colours in the instructions. I've had a few problems with other sets, but this one is perhaps the worst ! Cheers, Dr. D. PS. Can someone tell me how to add a poll to this ? Thanks !