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After upgrading my cliff section in 2023, I felt the need to update as well the entrance of my Imperial base on Desert Wars. Over time, I realise we need to constantly evolve to propose a better experience to the public during exhibitions. So far we change/update/upgrade/add more or less 15-20% of our layout every year. Unfortunately, we face more and more a particular limitation: transport. We already rent vans, but we are considering trucks now... but I digress and let's go back to the topic. So, before we start, what is that base entrance looking like? In the beginning, back in 2019, it was just the desert ending in the base. The base was rather an outpost to be honest. Desert Wars 2019 - Imperial Outpost by Veynom, on Flickr In 2021, a real entrance was built: Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr I had recycled 2 watchtowers built for previous uses, added a kind of electric fence and that was it. It did the job. When our train was taking videos (with the embedded GoPro), it looked rather immersive. When we later expanded the layout depth from 4 baseplates to 5 baseplates, the update was rather easy. I recycled an old AT-ST turret on top of a basic tower. Desert Wars 2022 by Veynom, on Flickr Over time, I figured out that the parts used for the fence were far from ideal. They often looked sloppy, and the fence was fragile. The end result looked more and more like a rebel-scum hideout than a disciplined Imperial base to me. As I did not want to end up on Kessel, I had to do something to kill that "cheap" design from 2021, particularly as I had also increased the grey footprint of the base during 2023 while also adding some lights. Here, an picture showing the increased grey area with more and more zones being connected by the road. Desert Wars at night 2023 by Veynom, on Flickr So, what to do? Some ideas came to me while watching Rebels and the episodes with the TIE-Defender secret base. From there, I "only had to". Except there was an additional challenge: the lights. I wanted lights all along the wall and highlights some details but providing power when using the MILS system is not so easy, particularly as I don't want to spend additional setup time in connecting wires. But enough blabla, and let's see the new stuff. Here, you can see both the old and the upgrade, side by side. Upgraded Base Entrance by Veynom, on Flickr Upgraded Base Entrance by Veynom, on Flickr So, I start with a ion canon, thick reinforced walls with red LEDs and a new design for the watchtower. For these towers, I even replaced the rocky metaparts by some speederbike hangars, and a few lights. Speeder bike tiny hangar by Veynom, on Flickr The tower close to the public side is open on 2 sides, allowing to view and enjoy a small maintenance hangar. Note the speeder bikes are those from 1999 ... they also do the job. Imperial field maintenance bay by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial field maintenance bay by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial field maintenance bay by Veynom, on Flickr Both towers were completed and kept the same size at the bottom (16x16) and the same height (to fit in the transport crate). But otherwise, they are more detailed, fit better with the base and the Imperial style. Gone is the WW2 look and feel. Welcome the Empire. As a side story, during the BrickMania Antwerp event in 2023, a reseller offered us some freebies because he likes our layout. We received a handful of custom Gatling-like machine guns. To thank them, I made a mini kind of brickfilm. Hope you will like it. (It also contains another teaser ...). Just click on the black square. New Weapon for Desert Wars by Veynom, on Flickr And I got it ready for last weekend ... more pictures will come. But here is already a video of Desert Wars 2024. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4kgTMBLwoh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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Here is the 2021 update of our Star Wars collaborative layout titled "Desert Wars". It was displayed during the Walug exhibition that took place on the racing circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium during the weekend of October 23/24. This year, it reach the impressive length of 10 meters, which, so far, it is our longest layout, better than the 8.50m version presented in Antwerp in 2019. A smaller version of over 6m will be displayed in Antwerp on November 20 and 21. To fully capture the size and organisation of the layout, I suggest you start watching the video. Because taking good pictures of a 10m-long layout is quite complicated and frustrating. Desert Wars 2021 - Full video by Veynom, on Flickr If you say "collaborative" then you must think "team" therefore I will start by presenting the team members before detailing the layout sub-sections. Desert Wars 2021 - The Team by Veynom, on Flickr Xavier, one of the Belgian finalist of the French LegoMaster edition (S1). He was already participating to the Desert Wars 2019 layout. Julian, A young 17-old Belgian mocer who participated to a few Desert Wars edition already. A French team from the Star Wars Côte d'Opale organisation coming from the Northern part of France Gwen, Mathieu and their kids Julien et David Gregory and his son, Corentin Ulrich Hugo (see his Flickr gallery) and myself (far right on the picture), coordinator of the Desert Wars layout since they exist Let's start with a few global views: 10 meters of layout by Veynom, on Flickr The train layout under construction, with the train being ready to run. It took us 6h to assemble all MILS baseplates to ensure a smooth run of the train The train in action by Veynom, on Flickr 10 meters of layout by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr Jabba's Palace Masterpiece build by Xavier (and still not totally completed, like there is no roof YET), this is a huge, heavy, ultra-detailed MOC. It is packed with details, hidden rooms, motorised features (opening door, moving barge, moving Rancor, moving traps...), and mny, many lights. Jabba's Palace by Veynom, on Flickr Shot of the inside, still under construction. Jabba's Palace by Veynom, on Flickr You can figure out how large this is when you know the set. Jabba's Palace by Veynom, on Flickr Huge, this is. And yes, size matters! Jabba's Palace by Veynom, on Flickr There is a forge in the basement (next to the droid torture room). Jabba's Palace by Veynom, on Flickr The City - Mos Opal It measures almost 2 meters, with literally hundreds of details. Built by Xavier, Julian, Gwen, Mathieu, Greg and Corentin. It starts next to the palace's cliff with a commercial districs, followed by a slave market, then a large junkyard. A city on Tatooine by Veynom, on Flickr A city on Tatooine by Veynom, on Flickr A city on Tatooine by Veynom, on Flickr A city on Tatooine by Veynom, on Flickr A city on Tatooine by Veynom, on Flickr A city on Tatooine by Veynom, on Flickr The Desert Participants: Julien, Seb, David, Ulrich, Hugo and I. We start with the Krayt Dragon made by Julien and Seb. It is under attack by quite a few Tusken. Tusken Raiders by Veynom, on Flickr Tusken Raiders by Veynom, on Flickr Then we have Obi-Wan's hut (from Ulrich) and more desert. The Krayt and the desert by Veynom, on Flickr Obi-Wan's hutt by Veynom, on Flickr The mounted dinosaur (from Hugo), newest equipment of the Empire. Imperial cavalry by Veynom, on Flickr And a bit more desert landscaping. The skeleton tunnel is also from Hugo, while the half hidden skeleton is from me. Obi's hut and the desert by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial Outpost And this is the 2021 edition of my Imperial outpost. Some of you may recognize some of my older MOC being included in it. Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr Miradors, AT-AT (the one from Raskelnikov), Missile-launcher tank, FLAK tank, troop transport, walkers, you get a bit of everything. Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr For now, the Empire is still taking prisoners but there is a good probability that it will not last. After all, a good rebel is a dead rebel. Or dying at the very least. Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr Imperial base by Veynom, on Flickr And a small hangar bay with various TIE prototypes to end the layout. Imperial hangar by Veynom, on Flickr After 6 months of online collaboration, 6 hours of assembling, and 2 days of intense satisfaction, we are really happy with the result. We already aim for longer, deeper, higher, nice (heavier) for 2022. Comments welcome!
