Aeroeza

You're da main Man Mr. Man!!

...but that's the point! Keep the light bley of course but much of the dark bley trim on the wings and engine housing could have done nicely with a light blue! It's part of the squadron colouring after all like the red trim on the X-Wing, Yellow on the Y-Wing and for the odd Snowspeeder a dash of Orange! Nahh! Nothn' looks more 'odd man out' than a pre 2004 10030!!! 'Dem's real light 'n dark grays in deem dare Star Destroyers!!! Dang! I was too busy looking for another spelling mistake!! That's awesome!!!

... Skayen welcome to the 'Executor Trainspotting Club' sir! Where doubts flood forth aplenty, debate fuels the fires of verbosity and images are cast across the eternity of digital space with the regularity of a high fibre diet! The best I can tell you about the validity of the source images I used for my renders are what Curtis Saxon has to say about Martyn Griffiths being a sci-fi modeller "undertaking a painstaking blueprinting project using all manner of photogrammetric and other techniques to determine the ship's proportions accurately". This was in 1999 and it's evident Jeff Russell has since used them for his Starship Dimensions site (they are a perfect match). Griffiths' images are missing the central section of the ship so I used Russell's profile to line the two halves up. The point here was to take advantage of front and side orthographic views to construct a basic 3D model in Maya. There are no other such images available online and as you can appreciate, the lack of any lens distortion in the drawings made them invaluable to a 3D project. I can vouch for the accuracy of my work and for the craftmanship of Griffiths drafting (his front and side images match stunningly) but I don't know how close his are to the studio model other than what my eyes tell me. Mortesv's suggestion of screen grabbing the ILM render of the film model from the ESB Blu-Ray is an excellent one. Although it will suffer from lens distortion it could still give us some vital clues in preferencing the Korbanth Kit over the images I've used. To be honest my gut tells me it can but if you're right and the studio model is longer than the draft then by how much? Is it as long as the Korbanth model?? I'm off to try and find my ESB Blue Ray (now if only I wasn't in the middle of moving house...) ...and allow me to reiterate just how excited I am by your model and that I'd also be happy to donate all of Mortesv's bricks to see it completed!!

There seems to be an assumption amongst commentries buzzing around Lego sites that given 10179 and 10212 were near as nuts to scale with minifigures then other UCS releases like 10227 are somehow lacking if they aren't! I find this thinking bizarre and rather unrealistic given the complexities and issues involved when designing scale models in Lego. It's more by luck than foresight that there exists the right Lego elements for a particular Star Wars ship to be correctly sized for figures. This is why system sets are all over the place for scale purposes and why they shouldn't cross streams (like 10221 did) when it comes to traditional vehicle releases for the Ultimate Collectors Series... Remember Minifig scale is around 1:44 whereas this B-Wing is something more akin to 1:26 (thanks GroudonMan on FBTB for that estimate) so there's no way you could get as spectacular a model as this one if you had to make it just right for the little Lego guys. It's a sizable trade off in accuracy and compelling detail, defeating the purpose of beautiful display pieces, if you insist TLG release sets only in a particular scale. Although I applaud the success of 10179 and 10212 to think you could apply the same principles to just any ship and call it a classic UCS is just plain brick building naivety! ...now whether or not 10227 should have had a little Ten Numb B-Wing pilot hanging out on its display stand is another issue. I couldn't care less but can see why others might love this added 'collectabiliy'.

Second impressions of the B-Wing are more than a little positive! I've had a chance to view the high res Lego images of 10227, compare them to my own shots of the studio model as well as the old dubious blue prints available online, a Snap Model Kit and the Kenner toy I have stashed in my attic and I have to say... Holy *#$@! This UCS is beautiful. If you are a UCS fan and you don't like this set then you need your head examined. End of story!! Well not quite. As usual I've a lot more to say... As for inaccuracies, (apart from, at first glance, the slightly jarring look of the cockpit), I'm thinking the slopped bricks which reach out from the far end of the main body of the ship and attempt to integrate the cockpit housing simply look too prominent. A little modding here might be called for. Oddly the few studs visible in this area make the fuselage under the cockpit look a little messy, especially when considering the fairly smooth finish to the remainder of the model. Certainly the odd plate can fix this if you aren't a fan of studs! Having closely studied an avalanche of available images and other MOCS in conjunction with my 'attic treasury' I can calmly say I have little issue with the use of the JSF cockpit piece. It works well for the chosen scale and has grown on me as I've considered the alternatives. 'Brick-built' might have worked better in some ways and from some angles but not from many others. More importantly the smooth look of the final cockpit matches the use of rounded bricks throughout the build and such consistency is important to the designer in me. It reflects the source material both in spirit and in look and is a choice of brick I can understand and respect. Short of a new brick element for the B-Wing then there is no easy solution here. But what I can unreservedly say with confidence about the JSF Cockpit element is it's great unique print. Let's face it, there hasn't been a printed cockpit piece for a UCS since 2006 (and then only for the TIEs)! As for other brick elements? Well Henrik has simply 'gone to town' by using a vast array of Lego bricks which our resident talented MOCers could only dream of having access to. Admittedly 'Brick purists' might be a bit appalled by the use of many exotic pieces but I'm pleased to say I don't fall into this category. At least you can say to them that no new element has been specially designed for 10227 and that it only took full advantage of the whole wealth of bricks TLG has manufactured over the last 50 years or so! Hmm, well regardless the end result is exciting to explore in the high res images and should prove a real treat to employ when building this monster... ...and it's big! At 66 cm wide, 38 cm in height and 43 cm on it's stand then this set will sit rather competitively next to the UCS shuttle and that's no mean feat. The two should look stunning together. Make no mistake that this is a sexy display model... But! I reckon there was a bit of a missed opportunity here for something a little different. We all know the typical Star Wars Lego ship is coloured light and dark grey! Well the unlit, ungraded and uncomposited studio model is closer to a grey/white with light blue trim as well as dark and light grey finishes to the detailing. Perhaps the B-Wing's blue trim could have been better served though using a different brick colour to dark bluish grey- I'd have certainly welcomed the change. Of course talk of colour schemes and printed pieces can't leave unsaid the elephant in the room i.e. our endless gripe about stickers. Let's face it they won't go away and no doubt many of you refuse to use them (like myself). What we'll miss out on here is a couple of big orange dots. I can live with that especially as they are meant to be 'republic red'! Perhaps this colour change is a deliberate aesthetic choice encouraged by an overall shift in hue and tone for the Lego ship when compared to the studio model? After all deep red looks a little stark when compared to the softer orange glow on the light blue grey Lego bricks... The build as demonstrated in the Lego video is modular and unashamedly takes full advantage of new building techniques which make far less a meal of issues we've all had to struggle with in the past. The result is a completely mirrored ship which if you were a bit of a party pooper could claim was a boring thing to do. My response to that would be to encourage you to share the fruits of your labor with the ones you love (just so long as you get to build the cockpit and all the funky, cool gun bits by yourself of course). What's nice about the model is that there is no side left begging for detail or looking unfinished. The only UCS I can think of which comes close to that in my mind is 10129 (that Snowspeeder really rocks)! The display stand is minimalist and rather elegant compared to some of the clunky ones from the past. Again, rounded elements are used in keeping with the 'look' of the ship but I'm really disappointed that it can't be displayed on the stand with its S-Foils in a closed position. Lego's promo blurp claiming 'realistic wing configurations for landing and flight' become a bit redundant if all the thing's gonna do is fly on its stand showing only one wing position! Mind you we have to expect a bit of hyperbole from the Lego marketing department. They obviously get scared when trying to release a Lego product which does... Nothing! Come on, a 'rotating, self-levelling cockpit'... so what! I'm glad it rotates (silly if it didn't) but the promo video suggests this vaunted gravity activated doobie-wack does only what it should do i.e. allow you to rotate it for display purposes. You sense a bit of defensiveness in good 'ol Henrik when having to justify that his model isn't minifig scaled or for that matter able to fire blinding bolts of super-heated plasma and charged ion particles from it's weaponry. Is it just possible that lots of kids and some noisy minifig and system set collectors just don't get what a classic UCS set is and so TLG feels compelled to explain itself? I say to you Henrik 'Halleluiah'! Be proud of breaking the chains of tyranny brought on by the elusive , misleading 'minifig scale' and the ever wicked, wicked ways of 'system' simplicity! Be proud that for the sake of accuracy and purity of build you have answered the dangerous, ever critical call of the perfectionist and constructed a scale lego model built for display not play! Be proud of the absence of Flick-fire missiles, Princess Leia's office desk and Jabba the Hutt's curling tongs! And above all be proud that you have created a classic UCS ship which will long be remembered as one of the bloody good ones, being built with excitement, appreciation and thanks by UCS fans everywhere !!! Amen (Whoops, got a bit religious there. The Church of UCS is calling...)

My initial impressions of the B-Wing are positive. As a stickler for accuracy (abstracted by the brick of course) and with a preference for 'modelling' rather than 'play features' and 'minifigs' then this set ticks all the boxes for me ( and I'd suggest most UCS buffs out there for which this set targets). Well done Lego!! I've a few observations regarding the set and also some of the posts to date... 1. A ton of detail and respect for the movie model is evident (I'd expect nothing less from this subset brand of Lego collectables) and it's dimensions are very close to the studio model. I think overall it's a strong UCS release! 2. I'm not sure I can detect any bending wing. Perhaps if you hold it by the engine block then some stress is placed on the wing but on the stand the wing acts as a support and would altogether remove any such stresses where it attaches to the engine block. 3. Why criticize the set for not being minifig scale? A UCS not being minifig scale can only be an observational comment rather than a criticism of a sets design. It's scale (like all UCS' aspiring to a bit of accuracy) is based on which bricks best capture the models dimensions not whether you can fit an anthropomorphically challenged Minifig into it! Perhaps a little B-Wing pilot waving from the display stand would entice some collectors but I'd be surprised if its absence would stop many from purchasing the set. After all it's a hard core collector's display model and shouldn't be criticized for what it isn't! 4. The fact that the cockpit isn't particularly attracted to the ground is again, for the purposes of a display model, an irrelevant criticism! I'm surprised some posts continue to reflect on this lack of 'gravity operated playability' as worth mentioning. This isn't a system set so again apply criticism where relevant i.e. to the successful application of Lego to a model's design and how it reflects the marketing intent of the set. 5. I'm not surprised people are beginning to recognize just how reasonable and O.K. a choice the cockpit piece is (rather than simply being a shoddy design shortcut)! It isn't perfect, looking a little awkward at first, but on balance it does capture qualities of the studio model i.e. sleek and rounded both along it's width and length), which a brick built solution couldn't. As to which might be better is down to individual aesthetic choice rather than any 'absolute maxim' of good taste. As an alternative, using the system Falcon's cockpit instead would fail to account for many of these curves and probably be too short. Besides, all UCS' make the occasional compromise and necessary abstraction in order to work and this one is a legitimate design choice given what brick resources are available verses the nature of the original source material. Short of a specialized cockpit piece like 7191's then I doubt a perfect solution is out there! So blame the limitations of the brick instead 'cause the B-Wing's cockpit was always gonna be a tough nut to crack in Lego!! 5. The price of Lego! Good lordie people! Why go on about it? Price vs. # of bricks has long been shown to be a misleading measure of a sets worth. Weight and other various costs of production obviously affect the value of these consumables. If you truly think Lego tends to be regularly and grossly overpriced then you may need to rethink your hobby! Let's face it, it ain't gonna get cheaper folks and our musings on price fluctuations of Lego over time are rarely 'informed' or for that matter amount to much 'illumination' on the subject. If you want the B-Wing and you think it's $50 too expansive now then consider the likelihood of it costing twice as much in five years time! You could of course risk waiting for a sale but either way just buy two sets and sell the second in five years so as your hobby costs you little to nothing in the medium term. Try making Lego work for you instead and please spare the forum of endless price complaints! 6. As for negativity on Eurobricks well there is plenty of it here and it's old news. Criticism should be a tool used responsibly and reasonably otherwise, well, you lend yourself to reasonable and responsible criticism! Don't bother being defensive about it just consider your posts from more angles in future. It's O.K. not to like something, even better if you can express why, but put it in context regarding your own bias or general perceptions of your hobby. After all it will make for a richer forum... Now I do have one criticism regarding the set (which is reasonable) and this is based on its functionality as a display model- It looks to me as though you cannot place the B-Wing on the stand with its S-Foils in a closed position! What a shame! It looks awesome with its wings in either position... Perhaps we'll need to come up with a second stand to account for the design oversight! Overall on first impressions I'd call this set a return to form for Lego and its UCS vehicles. (10221 was a very mixed up creature and didn't sit well in the stomach after digestion)!!

My friend, this is awesome work! Amongst the best of seen when it comes to attention to detail and treating Lego as a pure modeller's medium... I'm excited to see this level of research and passion put into a MOC and wouldn't hesitate to build your model from instructions (if ever I was given the chance ). I've put a bit of work into pre-vizing the Executor as a 3D model myself in order to help out with a mate's MOD of 10221. I based my efforts on an image I generated by combining Jeff Russell's work and Martyn Griffiths' superb drafting... The results are found here (with rounded off measurements). There is some guess work involved but the margin of error is small. If there's anything I can do to confirm a few angles for you then please don't hesitate to PM me. It would be interesting to compare notes... Again, fantastic work of the highest caliber!

Nice! You should throw in the fighter escort if you can!!

Oh boy! I will sure as hell signal my need for this!!! If TLG can't match the quality of CG's AT AT then I'd be grief stricken. An Imperial Walker has always seemed to me the next best candidate for the 10179 treatment...

I guess for me the two have always been merged with each other! I grew up across the river from Shepperton Studios at the time Star Wars was filmed (and where our local family hairdresser was responsible for a certain princess' hairdo)! The first thing I did after seeing the film at an Esher cinema was pull out lots of red Lego bricks and build a trash compacter for my little green army figures to contend with!!! Now if only I could MOC like I use to do!

... I'd say CG may also have signed a non-disclosure agreement to prevent too much more tease!!

You enjoy torturing mere AFOL mortals do you not!!!

As always Rufus you're bang on the money in terms of what a review should aspire to for any AFOL website. Thanks for the time, effort and thorough thought given to this enterprise. Humor, facts, analysis, imagery and balanced conclusions combine to make one of your finest presentations yet... ... now what the hell is Lego doing giving us a bizarre mix of off-white and white bricks? That's just darn right appalling and worth serious complaint. I'd honestly like an official explanation as to why any Lego aficionado should be risking second rate bricks especially in a set specifically aimed at adult collectors! It gives me pause in purchasing this set without first assessing the status of its bricks inside, and let's face it, that's a luxury one doesn't tend to have available to you when purchasing from online stores like Lego@home or sites like Bricklink! Not a nice surprise. What gives Lego???

Well it is the world's most remote Island!

Steam! STEAM! Give it steam! 'Cause it sure looks real punky!!!

Deceptively simple, cleverly executed and dammed elegant!

Thant's right! Just like 10026. Grey underneath and shiny on top. Anio's followed the same philosophy as if it were a real set i.e. optimize and find balance in all ways...

...have no fear! There are plenty of sculpture fans out there! R2 will sit nicely next to Maul, Yoda and Grevious

1500 bricks for the B-Wing! I'm impressed and am looking forward to seeing how this was achieved. I'd have thought a few hundred extra bricks may have been needed. As for comments concerning the B-Wings lack of iconography when compared to say an AT AT in the films I think people forget that even obscure ships were planted firmly in the minds of GenXers through the release of Kenner toys in the 80's and the X-Wing and Tie Fighter computer games in the 90's. I was dying to play the B-Wing expansion pack!!!

Nice one Anio! Your approach to this project has been perfectly executed. In particular I feel the 'Light Bley' underneath gives it Anio's famous 'air of minimalist authenticity' in that just maybe, if we were all lucky, TLG could be ambitious enough to find the means of production to release this beauty as an official and limited UCS. The addition of the scale N1, that splash of yellow, provide our eyes with a restful respite from so much glorious chrome... A Naboo Royal Cruiser carrying its escort fighters must follow!

Of course I am! I have more money than sense when it comes to Lego!!! ...but not necessarily in accurately representing it as a sculpture! There's only so much Lego can achieve in any given scale but the smaller a MOC is the more likely a build could suffer in terms of details and proportional accuracy. Of course given you are trying to also optimize the build in order to best reflect a possible commercial Lego release then your model may be a more realistic prediction of things to come than other MOCS out there... ... a build designed for a particular scale can be optimized for that particular scale. I'm not sure this makes a larger AT AT than yours 'pointless' by any margin nor any less efficient. Merely 'pointless' given your particular terms of reference (or possibly 'pointless' only as a commercial release). I think you've done wonders with the size you've chosen and I agree that 'big' does not necessarily equate to 'beautiful'. Your build may be 'optimized' but to me given what I find pleasing in UCS MOCs, (that is detail and proportional accuracy) then this efficiency at the scale you have chosen comes at a cost I'd rather not see in a possible commercial UCS AT AT. Again I have more money than sense when it comes to Lego... This is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Larger UCS' of AT-ATs exist which are proportionally more accurate. Of course whether-or-not I find these more pleasing to the eye is irrelevant given your stated goals and artistic license... And you've succeeded admirably!!! It's just that it looks more 'system' to me than reflecting the tradition of a 'grand' UCS such as 10030 or 10179. Well, if you made a mistake with this one then I guess you'd only have a 50% batting average! But in all seriousness I do appreciate what you've achieved in creating this model. You really have shown what is possible with a commercially realistic number of bricks and let's face it, the damn thing is still standing and it has an interior just to top it off! Kudos to you Anio!

Well done Anio! This is a very impressive 'monster' (and you've been quiet of late so it's great to see at last what you've been up to)! I assume it's O.K to say this so please understand my comments are more observational rather than critical. I am a pedant for detail and proportion when it comes to modelling material such as this (that's my burden ) and such an approach may not really apply to this most recent MOC of yours. You clearly set yourself tough goals and achieve them admirably, however, had you called your work the 'Ultimate System AT AT' then I'd have posted 'awesome stuff' and simply, unquestionably loved it! But as you want me to view your work as a UCS then I find it too far removed from ILM source material for my own personal preferences... It is undoubtedly fantastic work and I applaud you for pushing the medium to this level of detail with such a manageable piece count! It's just that (as you might say) the end result 'feels' more system to me than what I've come to appreciate of UCS builds over the years. Regardless of my observations, thank you for continuing to share your work and as always I look forward to your next project. Remember, I'd be a very happy man indeed if I had your talent and patience with Lego

Well I'm only fussy within reason otherwise you just can't get out of bed in the morning!

Ye gads! This is wonderful Doc! Honestly I've not seen a better version of the N1 executed with the brick (and I've looked). It's great to still be surprised by what can be achieved with Lego when people put their minds to it. Thanks dude!

Yeah! I was the one who noticed that but it's not the soundest of my propositions! I've established a way of confirming the actual length of Malevolence but need to do quite a bit of 3D animation first... ...of course no 'canon' man would care...