Robianco

Can you post an image of the Poe figure? I'm interested to see how good the torso print is as well as the helmet moulding. Cheers.

I usually use electrical tape as you can stretch it to give a very clean mask. Don't press too hard with brasso as it can take a little bit of the shine off the area you've rubbed. This is more evident with the old Brasso tubs with the fabric impregnated with it but with the liquid you should be able to adjust how much you press down to get things to come off. Sorry to step in, Chupacabra... I just thought I'd pass on my experience with it.

That's pretty much what I do too. Hoping for E-3PO with the added hope that the Bespin Guard in the calendar, the Freezing Chamber and the Slave 1 are all related to more Cloud City sets.

There's Brasso, Electrical/Masking Tape, Craft Knife, Toothpicks and Cotton Buds.

That's the Ra's figure from Decal's Arrow wave. The faces were terrible but some of the other elements were actually quite good. Arrow had accurate arm printing for a start from the Beyond Gotham DLC. There's so many options for Ra's that they could use anything from a bare chest to the armour to the suit.

Before things completely derail and because discussion of Ahsoka might still be on topic due to the impending figure release... Wasn't she just created a bit annoying on purpose? There for Anakin (arguably the most annoying character in the SW universe until he became Vader at least in terms of how he was acted and portrayed) to train and hopefully, in turn, bring a different perspective to his often reckless ways? In that way as she grew as a character he changed in his persona... he developed the 'Snips' nickname and used it because it annoyed her... then we see how that relationship changes. In the end she was a very strong character far removed from how she was introduced. I must admit I'm at a crossroads with regards to UCS sets and what I display. I love the Slave 1 but I'm increasingly tempted to disassemble the Red Five X-Wing I have and rebuild my old 9493 with a couple of mods to keep things minifig scale. I'm thinking about BLing the Shuttle Tydirium to match the scale... I think I'd just like to have things that fit together for a little while. That said I'll probably pick up the UCS SNowspeeder as I've always loved it as a ship although I may be in a minority but I'd be quite excited by a system scale Speeder with a new mould for the cockpit even though I have several of the current models.

Some of the prices on there are ridiculous. £265 to buy Slave 1 UCS. erm... isn't that £80 more than Lego or any other shop you can walk in to?

Of course.

Hi Will, Pad printing is the best finish. I've seen people who offer UV printing say it's superior because it apparently last longer but I'd say it's probably the only thing it has over pad... and there's no reason pad won't last forever as long as it's looked after. Lego is pad printed so if you want that type of finish go for pad. NACM are based in France but things will be expensive whether they're in France or the UK. I started a conversation with a UK printing company who pad print and can print on Lego but I didn't go ahead with it. At least with NACM you're dealing with people who are used to Lego and will advise on any issues at the artwork stage.

...and now I think your title should be updated to FLAHLIGHT FAN instead of FLASHLIGHT.

I know what you mean regarding availability but the bootleggers caught up so quickly with what had been released that they reached a point where they then had to come up with new designs and that has never been their strongpoint. On the subject of the SW figures... I defy anyone to pick out the some of those figures and parts from genuine Lego in a line. Some of them are that good. Admittedly faces can be off and things such as Han / Chewie etc aren't that great but for Imperials they're incredible. I'm not sure how some SH figures can be so good that they're hard to differentiate from real Lego and yet some figures can be atrocious (I'm looking at you SY for the faces on the recent JLA wave).

Funnily enough I've just looked up how to do that and I'm quite hopeful for it. Buy a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide... it's readily available at a chemist or pharmacy... 6% strength I think it is on the bottles here in the UK. Pour it in a jam jar and put the yellowed pieces into the car and place the jar outside in sunlight for a couple of days. When you take them out if should have reduced the yellowing. I've seen it with white and grey pieces and they looked close to new... apparently it also leaves print untouched and has no effect on it. The person I saw doing it on Youtube has previously done it on old Kenner Stormtrooper figures and had some success with those too: Jangbricks has also done a video on this using the same solution:

The red and white Vaders would actually be quite nice as variants. Where do I have to post this to get DLP to notice?!

If you're going for purely investment then maybe pick up a couple of the Pet Shop Modular as that must be nearing the end of it's shelf life now. But as others have said the Modular gravy train must be close to ending thanks to people wanting the Green Grocer windfall over and over again. Look for unique parts. Helicarrier has most of the minifigs available elsewhere so they're not going to improve the value much... I also don't think it's that great looking but that's a personal thing. GBHQ seems like it would have a wider appeal as both a licensed GB set and as a large modular building... it also has unique prints and moulds on the figs so as long as they don't get released elsewhere should have their own inherent resale value.

If you want a Lando figure then you could always go for a custom. There's a very good pad printed custom which is in production at the moment. Leia isn't as expensive but I must admit those older designs seem lacking when you put them up against something like the recent UCA Boba Fett. Good luck with the collection!

The Technnics figure look horrible regardless of poseability. I must admit I don't see the reason to add to a thread that's been dead for nearly two and a half years just to pick holes in it.

I would say yes. It's PPP is very similar to the Parisian Restaurant for example and that's regarded very highly. The restaurant is a very different type of model but most of the modular sets are created with a certain type of architectural flair to make the build and the building interesting. That said the GBHQ is an accurate representation of that building so that needs to be taken into account. As value I'd say yes... but as with any build you have to take aesthetics into account. Would someone blindly buy a modular set if they didn't like the look of it just because it was a modular and they thought it had good resale value? If you like the look of a set then buy it... as long as you can afford it. It's value or worth is relative. There's a lot of threads popping up about which things to buy based on investment value... If you're genuinely interested in Lego then just buy something you like. Resale value is secondary.

Looking at the recent improvement in moulding even from people like Dargo and Doll on the SW wave would it be considered very bad of me to hope they make a red Vader helmet anytime soon... along with an orange C3PO head. Something about those prototypes I quite like. DLP's recent Batman helmets have been great quality even with the slightly rough texture matching up to the Lego version. Just for my own pleasure of adding regular bodies etc but without the need for the ridiculous price tags attached.

I'm hoping mine isn't the same. It's still boxed up so I'd hope for white parts all round. It's a bit concerning if this is happening to new parts as they should all be made with the same ABS (or whatever it is they're using these days) shouldn't they?

You very well might be right. Does the new Silver Centurion figure dual moulding? It might just be dual moulding on the arms. I thought Starfire and Harley did but on checking it's just print.

You're welcome!

SY figures can be fantastic quality. If you're talking about the Helicarrier Nick Fury then it may be worth picking up the parts from Bricks and Pieces from lego as the torso and legs are available there for around £1 for both. I found that a mixture of the SY and DLP Nick Fury actually had more accurate printing for lining up the zipper on the torso and legs. Bootleg on the right (with trench coat added): The Vision is well printed but the colours are off. The head and hands are a lighter pink and so are obviously different from the Lego version.

Not as excessive as the amount of time it would take to list them all. It would probably be easier just to check on B&P for a particular part as the list seems liable to change at any given moment as parts go in and out of stock.

Xinh were indeed good but those that got that Doll set for 80p are in for a real treat.

I actually quite liked her character. I wasn't a huge fan of the Clone Wars... it was certainly better than it's film counterparts but maybe that's why I felt a little disassociated with it. Ashoka on the other hand was a little more interesting due to her being 'Vader's' first apprentice which is certainly going to play out in Rebels. Her leaving the Jedi order of her own volition and her emergence in the rebel alliance is something I'm interested to see. I also think Asajj Ventress was/is an excellent character from the CW and Im glad to now have her as a non-CW figure.