This news is already two weeks old, but since I just got back from a holiday, I only see it now: the trailer for the third season of Star Wars Rebels. We have been following the show attentively here on the blog, and are therefore very excited by what we get to see. I love seeing a lot of the new characters that were introduced in the second season again, so that now there will be less introductory episodes and more dynamic character development hopefully. On the other side, it looks like we’ll be getting more episodes that focus on the intricacies of the Force, which have the potential to be true gems. And then there are the new characters… Well, not that new, but don’t let my giddiness spoil anything for you. Be aware that the trailer contains some spoilers as to who we will be seeing (again) in the Star Wars universe… So please play nice and be careful when you visit the Rebels discussion topic!

The first creations I shared with the online AFOL community were mostly micro Star Wars ships. Right now it’s quite some time ago since I built anything in that genre, but my affection for it remains as huge as the models are tiny. So when Si-MOCs posts a wonderful micro Star Wars scene, I simply can’t skip it, even though I have a backlog of almost two months of creations to blog. He perfectly managed to capture a vehicle I never could: the o so iconic, spindly and intimidating AT-ST walker. Apart from the proportions and shapes being near perfect, the builder managed to give a very good impression of the details on the tank. There are a lot of technical-looking protrusions and ridges in the legs, and those loose plates in the head splendidly illustrate the paneled look of that area on the real thing. I also like how the connection of the cannon perfectly compliments the model by filling in the right areas and giving a little bit of extra detailing. It’s amazing how little pieces it takes to build a believable walker, but it’s equally unbelievable how no one (including myself for sure) thought of it before Si-MOCs did. It can only mean he’s a genius. His perfect recreation of the bunker and nice sketch of the landscape confirm that’s the case: it’s clean, it’s detailed, it’s evocative. I bow to someone who can create a better scene with tens of pieces than most of us with thousands. And I’m definitely taking a closer look to Si-MOCs photostream where you can find instructions on how to build these wondrous wee walkers. Maybe the Ewoks will spare them just because these are just so cute…

We all love the Lambda class Imperial shuttle. It’s elegant and composed yet intimidating. It has the grace and terror of a swan – not coincidentally a company working on the design is called Cygnus spaceworks. The same company created the Delta-Class escort shuttle Stephen Schumann recreated above. The design is… less gracious. Less like a swan and more like an ugly duckling. An ugly duckling thirsting for blood, that is.

The ship was featured as a crude 3D model in a couple of games about twenty years ago. This means the reference material isn’t very detailed. Stephen Schumann didn’t need more references to create a model in which shapes and details talk about the same unique identity of the ship. He perfectly beefed up the wings a bit and seemingly effortlessly angled them forwards for that rapturous look. The laser cannons look robust and aggressive with those sharp Nexo knight parts, and have been attached so well that you wouldn’t even notice that they’re on an angle with the wings. The cockpit is lovely with all of its extra angles that make it look like a real structure. The back of the beast is wonderfully beefy but looks just as dangerous as the front. I admire how the builder managed to put more life into the unrealistic 3D models by making certain areas thicker and better connected and putting in extra angles for better transitions between surfaces. He also played with colors, textures and greebles very well. It makes the model look like it’s being used but not falling apart just yet. And the lack of frivolities show that this ship was built only to do one thing… to please our eyes better! I especially adore the landing mode, in which I think I prefer this ship to it’s pure white cousin… maybe the tale of the ugly duckling is true after all! Go check out this beautiful beast on MOCpages to have a look at more pictures and the interior of this creation.

In this Olympic year, it looks like the stakes in Imperium der Steine‘s annual MOC Olympics are higher than ever judging by the quality of the entries for the first round. The discipline was something you won’t see on your television these days: microfighting. Sounds like an easy discipline, but the following entries show us what real professionals can achieve. Be sure to check out all of the amazing entries on IdS as well, because they adhere so well to the well-known Olympic motto: prettier, smaller, cuter!

This first creation is by -Wat-, and he immediately shows how sleek a microfighter can look, even when tricky angles are involved. The result is probably the best rendition of the Atmospheric Assault Lander I’ve ever seen regardless of scale. Just look at how effective the cockpit was put together with just a couple of pieces! The amount of detail is just perfect, with some nice overlapping pieces for more interest. It’s admirable how this creation has the LEGO vibe over it with those stud shooters, but that becomes even clearer when you learn this little build houses a hidden play feature! This creation truly features more than everything you’d expect. Especially with that wonderful base it’s a great example showing what potential the microfighter format holds. Still thinking about what the hidden play feature could be? Then I suggest you check out -Wat-‘s photostream!

Balbo’s Wookiee Catamaran embraces the LEGO vibe as well with it’s spring loaded shooter, but looks a bit too fragile to play with and definitely doesn’t house a hidden play feature. But who needs that when it can compromise such a wonderfully cute yet spindly build? The shaping of the two boats is spot on with exactly the right pieces. Using those spidery legs is a genius way to represent the intricacies of the woodwork, and the inverted pieces in the front are equally genius at achieving that goal. The engine setup strikes that perfect balance between nature and technology that makes Wookiee tech so hard to capture. The beautifully simple base is in perfect harmony with that. You see that this build has more features than just the fact it can house more than one minifig that make it unique. So grab your chance to be inspired by Balbo’s photostream!

The last one speeding by is Sebulba who looks surprisingly adorable in Cecilie’s excellent rendition of his podracer. That’s an incredible feat considering that such a slender and disjointed vehicle is rather hard to chibify and that the selection of orange pieces is still rather limited. To make it even better, there’s a surprising amount of fine detail on the model that gives it an unseen level of realism for a microfighter. The engines have the perfect shape with that sloped back and look complicated, beefy and cute all at the same time. Even the very back holds a nice surprise in the form of a pineapple piece and a wonderfully used rubber band. This model opens my eyes as to how realistic and convincing a microfighter can look, because now I refuse to believe there isn’t a toddler version of the Boonta Eve Classic as well where Sebulba once flew his very first race. Who knows what more a closer look will reveal to your eyes?

… because it is in fact a GR-75 medium Rebel Transport mortesv has build for us. It’s still great though. You can tell that right away by looking at the shape of the transport. The original has these very gradual curves that look impossible to recreate with bricks, which is probably why we haven’t seen much interpretations of this ship. But mortesv shows us that they can be recreated with style. He uses a good mixture of bows and wedge pieces to sculpt the ship, and the result is spot on. What’s even more incredible, is that he managed to convert the “bugs” these parts take with them to features. In the case of the bows, the “bug” is the fact that you get a ridge when you put two different types next to each other, which often gives the surface an unwelcome jagged look. On this creation though, the builder used those ridges for the o so characteristic texture of the ship, strengthening it by using various kinds of bow pieces where one could do. And the problem with the wedge pieces is that they have these pesky notches that usually stick out as annoying holes. In this creation though, those very notches are what gives the center line that beautiful jagged look in such a scale as to make the whole creation look a lot bigger and more refined. Another example can be seen in the engines. Stacking 1×1 round bricks gives that usually nasty edge, but in this creation that edge is exactly what makes those pipes blend in so well. mortesv chose his parts so well that they each fulfill multiple functions at the same time, a marvelous feat you rarely see pulled of outside of microscale. It is clear how much work was spent on selecting exactly the 850 right pieces for this creation.

So much awesomeness, and we’re still only looking at the outer hull! We haven’t yet marveled at the tiny details that can only after close investigation be discerned in the center line. We still have to scream of delight on discovering the genius structural use of that arched window in the back. We haven’t even begun praising how the dorsal fin flows into the rest of the body. We are only about to rejoice in seeing those delightful engines. And our heart is still beating. Because we haven’t yet witnessed the overwhelming spectacle of all the tiny containers at the bottom with a stunning variety of simple techniques, that you can piece for piece link to the original model… The marvels of this creations are even harder to count than the number of containers it transports! I hope you have nothing important to do for the rest of the day, because you will be spending it drooling over the pictures made by, documentation written by and digital file kindly provided by mortesv in his topic. Still worried about your heart that might stop if you see the pictures? Be not afraid, because mortesv’s medical frigate is closeby to assist you in keeping admiring his creations!

It is the week of MOC sequels. First we had mortesv’s awesome companion to his medical frigate. And now this beauty. Remember Raskolnikov’s unforgettable Star Destroyer from a couple of months ago? Well, this Imperial Interdictor Cruiser is a companion to it, perfectly on scale. That means it’s a lot smaller than his previous behemoth, but that doesn’t mean it’s less awesome! In fact, I’d say it’s more impressive because all of the same qualities apply, only this time there was less room for them. Another advantage is that the source material of the IIC is a bit sparse, so there was room for improvisation. You wouldn’t say a part of the creation wasn’t a feature of the original design though! The shape is gorgeous, with the striking trench and the nice addition of paneling around it. The gravity well projectors are more than boring spheres with those great ridges. And I especially like the shaping of the bridge, with those intricate slopes at the base and lovely stripe pattern on top and at the back. I also admire the small “wings” at the back, which give the ship that extra subtle edge that makes sure you see this as more than the Star Destroyer’s little brother. The greebles are on par (yes, I watched golf on the Olympics today) with Raskolnikov’s ISD as well. They look so marvelously functional this time, with those perfectly integrated small cannons and clever inclusion of disk shooters as some kind of hangar or vent. Especially the greebles in the middle line look nicely dense, although you would almost miss the clever Technic handle just like in TLG’s sets. It’s once again a perfectly shaped, detailed and textured ship exterior. And even though we know Raskolnikov’s ISD had an interior, it might surprise you that this IIC has one as well. For a creation of this scale, the interior is remarkably elaborate with a removable bridge section and all. This creation truly perfects every aspect a normal set tries to incorporate, even though I must say that there are no spring loaded shooters aboard. But then again, that is about the only thing that is to be improved on this creation! Already feel attracted by it? Then let yourself be sucked by its beautiful gravity well projectors into the topic to fall in love with it.

The Star Wars movies are full of great vehicles, which we often see replicated. They’re also full of amazing locations, which we see more and more depicted. And they’re full of stunning creatures. There has been an upwards trend in the last couple of years, but still there aren’t that many LEGO creations that do honor to those awesome designs. I can see why with the intricate anatomy and elaborate textures that are truly part of the creatures. With his depiction of Obi-Wan’s Varactyl Boga, ‘rolli shows that building a model that captures the personality of a creature perfectly is possible though. The key is that he uses elements that define the shape and give the texture at the same time. Just look at that head for example. The entire front section is made up of a number of ingeniously interconnected small parts. This allows for a very accurate recreation of the shape of the head, and gives a lot of detail, texture and personality to it, so that it doesn’t look like a dead facade of dull bricks. No, this creation has muscles and wrinkles, it has dirt on some places, it even has a look of impatience with the determined eyes, flying manes and energetic pose: it’s alive! Bigger parts can achieve this as well, surprisingly. Just look at those weird convex slopes on the body. Their shape is organic enough, but the edges give it something reptilian which is just right. The patterns on it give some extra depth and detail to it all. Those patterns aren’t custom stickers, by the way, but an actual print. It’s amazing how ‘rolli found these exact parts that only appeared once in an Aquaraiders II set but look like they were made to feature here. In fact, it’s impressive how all of the parts in this creation look like the perfect parts, when you take into consideration how few dark green parts there actually are. But even with those limitations, ‘rolli has managed to put together a creation that’s an inspiration for everyone who thinks building Star Wars creations is near impossible. Head over to ‘rolli’s photostream to observe those parts, just like Boga, in their natural environment.

In fact, Boga’s natural environment is a chase scene with general Grievous’ wheelbike. Luckily, Ashton6460 posted his amazing micro wheelbike at almost exactly the same time as ‘rolli’s Boga above. Maybe it’s a bit small for her, but it certainly has everything a wheelbike should feature. There are fearsome weapons, movable legs, nice controls, a fancy seat and of course rolling wheels. It’s already hard to fit all of that in a full size creation, but Ashton6460 proves that you only need a couple of parts, the most notable of which are Ninjago spinning weights, to build a perfect replica. Those parts and a rare dose of talent, that is.

INTERVIEW: Oky

Today we’re interviewing Oky, a talented builder, reviewer, funny maker, and fellow blogger.

EBSWF: Welcome Oky! How did your LEGO story begin? What are your favorite themes?
Well, it all started when I was born… (Don’t worry, I won’t go into my whole life story. ) I have always had a desire to express my creativity and have been building with Lego as long as I can remember. The earliest recorded instance of me playing with Duplo is a home movie from when I was 2 years old. At some point I transitioned over to playing with System and never stopped. I never really had a “Dark Age”, although there was a brief period during my early teenage years when I had limited funds for my hobby and couldn’t buy new sets even though I wanted to. Being a teenager sucks.
My favorite themes have always been licensed themes. It started with Star Wars, then Harry Potter, and now it’s Super Heroes. There’s just something about seeing my favorite franchises represented in the charming Lego style that I love. However, when it comes to buying sets and building new creations, I like to dabble in all themes to have some variety and take on new challenges.

EBSWF: You’ve been a member of Eurobricks for a long time already. How did you get involved here? What has changed over the years? What do you like most here?
I got introduced to Eurobricks the same way that most people get introduced to it: Google! I was looking for Lego news online and because I was living in Germany at the time, the first search results were sites like 1000steine.de and Imperium der Steine. From there, I followed a link to Eurobricks and immediately felt right at home. What I like so much is that the EB community is so friendly, helpful and massive, and it’s one of the places where Lego news hits first. I also love all the great creations, reviews, and contests. The contests are always fun to enter because it’s a nice challenge going up against so many other talented builders and it gives me the motivation to put my best effort into a build.
In a time where the internet is filled with hate and immaturity, it is comforting to know that there is still a place where you can have an intelligent conversation about your hobby with like-minded people all over the world. While the look of the forum has changed quite a bit over the years, the high quality of its content and members has remained the same. I did notice an increasing number of trolls and spam in recent years, but I think the moderators are doing a great job keeping the forums clean by dealing with these problems as soon as they arise.

EBSWF: You’re also a blogger for the Eurobricks Star Wars blog. How did that happen?
A long time ago, in a PM inbox far, far away… the creator of the blog, KimT, approached me along with Brickdoctor and Clone O’Patra when he couldn’t run the blog by himself anymore. I was very honored of course and accepted. At the time, I was writing reviews of Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes along with def and I carried that tradition over to the blog when def was unable to continue. This tradition still lives on today with our Star Wars Rebels Reviews.

EBSWF: What’s the best thing about blogging? Do you have a favorite moment or anecdote?
I’d say the best thing about the blog are our readers. I know that sounds super corny, but it’s true. Being able to share our opinions and finds from around the web with other Lego Star Wars fans is what the blog is all about and what motivates me for blogging. The best moment was when we reached 1 million views. It is humbling to know that so many people are interested in reading these silly little posts that we do.

EBSWF: Apart from long time active forum member and blogger, you’re a Reviewers Academy teacher as well. What drives you to share your thoughts on sets?
Like every Lego fan, I tend to have strong opinions about some sets and just feel the need to share that opinion with others to find out if anyone shares my opinion or not. Analyzing a set to see what makes it good or bad can be quite fun and allows me to let anyone who might be interested in the set know whether it’s worth buying or not. Also, as I have learned in the Reviewers Academy, writing a good review is an art form in and of itself and can be a fun challenge. Helping others master this art form by passing down my knowledge as a teacher is very rewarding.

EBSWF: What’s the favorite review you did? And what’s your favorite review by another reviewer? Any tips for beginning reviewers?
My favorite review that I have done is definitely that of 10246 Detective’s Office. Not only is it the largest set that I ever reviewed, but I also got the privilege to review the set before its release. The intro was a lot of fun to write and it allowed me to pay tribute to one of my favorite movie genres. It was a lot of work, but I am quite happy with the result.
It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite from other Eurobricks reviews. They are all so good, especially those from my fellow Academy teachers, and everyone has their own style, humor, and approach to their reviews, making each of them unique.
A tip for beginning reviewers? Join the Academy! It’s the best way to learn how to make quality reviews. And no, this is not a shameless plug at all!

EBSWF: The thing you’re most famous for are your hilarious, unparalleled single pane funnies. You are practically the reference in the genre. How did you begin making them? Where does the inspiration come from?
When Clone O’Patra started the Single-pane Star Wars Funnies thread, I liked the idea and just thought it would be something fun to do, so I made one… then another one… and I kind of just kept going. Honestly, I’m surprised myself that I have been able to keep it up for so long. Coming up with ideas for funnies has become an everyday game for me. Most of the time, they will randomly come to me when I’m commuting or in the shower or just lost in thought. Other times, whenever I watch a movie, I constantly think to myself: “How can I make fun of this?” The Actor With Most Minifig Representations thread is also a great reference for making fun of an actor appearing in multiple different movies/shows. After so many funnies, it’s getting hard to keep coming up with good jokes, but I still get a good idea every once in a while. I have taken a little break from making them lately, but I’m ready to get back into it!

EBSWF: We also see you MOCing quite a bit in a variety of genres, and notably Disney and Pixar oriented. You’re also very active in discussion threads about their movies. Even your avatar is largely inspired by them. How do they appeal to you?
If there is anything I love more than Star Wars, it’s Disney/Pixar movies. Their talent for storytelling and animation is outstanding and produces some of the best and most original movies out there. I grew up watching mostly Disney movies and shows and I love them to this day. Buzz Lightyear is my favorite animated character of all time which is why I modeled my avatar after him. It is my dream to work for Pixar someday, and since I am such a huge Disney fanboy, it is only natural that I like to build in that theme. Of course, I still like to build in Star Wars and other themes as well. My favorite thing to do is combining two themes I love, like my Star Wars minifigure mashups, or building one type of build in a variety of styles, like CubeDudes or my Superhero Racers.

EBSWF: Are you currently working on any projects, or do you have something of which you’ve always dreamed doing?
I recently moved into a new apartment and bought a coffee table that doubles as a display case, so I’m planning to make a large diorama to display inside of it. I am also planning to build some custom Brickheadz once they are released, and with the release of the Disney CMFs, I plan to make lots more Disney MOCs! Also, look out for some special reviews coming from me soon. One thing I have always dreamed of making is a feature-length brickfilm, but I don’t have nearly enough free time for such a large production. Maybe someday…

EBSWF: What do people who aren’t LEGO fans think of your hobby?
My family has always been very supportive of my hobby. They even let me use a closet in their house to store my collection and I still get at least one Lego set from them for my birthday and Christmas. My friends also think that what I do is pretty cool as they are impressed with the sets and MOCs that I have on display. I think the rise of mainstream geek culture and the success of The Lego Movie has helped making it “cool” to be an Adult Fan of Lego, even if the villain of the movie is an AFOL.

EBSWF: How has the LEGO hobby changed or impacted your life? Do you have any practical uses for LEGO?
I think Lego has had quite an influence on who I am today. I am a digital artist creating videos, animation, and other creative material for marketing. My desire to create videos for a living began when I started making stop motion films with the Lego Studios camera. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to go to art school as an animation major and even used Lego as a medium for some of my school projects. Even to this day I still use Lego as an inspiration for my work and to plan out some of my projects.

EBSWF: Other than LEGO, do you have any other hobbies or interests?
As you can tell, I am very passionate about animation. I love watching cartoons and going to comic/cartoon centered conventions. I like watching movies in general and go to the theater at least once a week. I also enjoy playing videogames every once in a while (mostly action-adventure, racing, and puzzle games) and eating junk food. You know, typical nerd stuff.

EBSWF: You’re many things: active member, blogger, reviewer, photographer, MOCcer… Where do you put yourself in the AFOL spectrum, and how do you see yourself evolving?
That’s an interesting question. I guess I am a little bit of everything. I just do whatever I feel like doing when I have the time for it. The important thing for me is to express myself, be it by sharing my opinion through a blog post, review, or forum discussion, or expressing my creativity through a photograph or MOC, and entertaining others while doing it. One way I could see myself evolving is by combining some of my talents in the future. Maybe someday I will combine my neck for video creation, Lego reviewing, and making jokes to start a YouTube channel for comedic Lego reviews. Meditate on this, I will.

When I read the words “Rebel base MOC”, images immediately pop up before my mind’s eye. I see big hangars, bustling with technicians and pilots, with lots of starfighters and immense walls with tons of pipes and vents. How else but with such a large number of pieces can you capture those iconic locations with their atmosphere of anticipation? With a lot less pieces and a great deal of talent, disco86 shows in his latest rendition of the Yavin IV base. You only need a 32×32 base to capture a base, with impossibly clean and logical markings embedded in it. Show a section of wall to get an interior feeling, and don’t go overboard with greebles, as there will already be technical details enough in your scene once you’re finished. Instead, go for the things that make this location unique, that truly set the scene. Go for the distinctive but subtle textures and incorporate natural elements, expertly keeping the artificial and the environmental in balance. While you’re at it, make sure you capture those natural elements with some incredibly nifty part choices. Now that you’ve set the scene, give life to it. Not with an abundance of ships you already see in plenty of other creations, but with small and unique elements that belong there. Place them in a functional layout. Make them look like they’re being used, clearly showing off their functions and have people interact with all of it so that you don’t have a mess of disjointed elements, but an environment were work is happening, life is happening. Another clever way of connecting things is by keeping things in mind like the provision of electricity of fuel. And of course you can have a vehicle, but make it beautiful, unique, and important to the scene. If you manage to think of all those steps and execute them perfectly by bringing all of it in balance with each other, you get a gorgeous scene. A scene like the one above. Thank you disco86 for teaching us such a valuable lesson by merely showing us your latest creation and making us see that there are always new and marvelous ways to tackle a familiar subject! You can count on me studying your pictures very closely!

So just two articles ago we were talking about bases and hangars. Still looking for an awesome ship to go with it? Well, unless your base is truly stellar, I suggest you pick some other model than dmaclego‘s X-wing. It’s just so perfect that no one will look at anything else. What do you want with those perfect lines? That perfect shaping of the nose in an innovative upside down construction. The seamless way the cockpit meshes with the fuselage. And that near perfect proportioning of the engines, which is notoriously hard to do. Furthermore you have to admire how all of the gaps were filled in, like with those Technic half beams. Yet there’s more that makes this rendition unique. Never before have I seen such perfect texture with those tiles that make up the fuselage and wings. And such details! Who doesn’t relish in those amazingly tightly packed greebles in the back with such extremely fine lines, that are just so accurate? Have you ever seen such details even on the insides of the wings and undersides of the exhausts? Is not every single piece in the lasers a marvel, even using visors? Words hardly describe how well it all comes together. It’s incomprehensible how with all that goodness there’s still room for an amazing set of lights, or phenomenal landing gear like in no other rendition, or such a smoothly executed underside, or such a nicely working wing mechanism, or such a realistic interior where even the spiraling cable of the targeting computer has been represented. This is truly an X-wing suited for every need. You can fly it around under every conceivable angle and still have it look incredible. You can dive in the pilot’s seat. You can have it landed, you can marvel at it by day and by night. It’s a splendid achievement by dmaclego that outshines even the best of hangars. It surely is a pity to risk loosing these guys in battle! Still, even though the crew is chilling with some music, it looks like it’s being made ready to depart. So hurry yourself to the topic right now!

Back in 2008 when a strange, black, TIE-like ship called Rogue Shadow appeared in my LEGO catalog, I knew nothing about it except for what the small text in the catalog told me. I was intrigued. Catalogs stopped providing those texts not much later. At the present day a vaguely familiar, grey and TIE-like ship appears on my computer screen. Indeed, it’s still called the Rogue Shadow, and to be honest I still don’t know much more about it than what that catalog told me about it. But markus1984‘s rendition intrigues me way more than the one from 2008.

I don’t need any information to marvel at how this creation succeeds in being both fast, bulky and menacing. I love how the cockpit seems to threateningly peek from the inside of the ship, calmly waiting for its prey. The bold colors in that interesting pattern remind me of warning colors on dangerous animals but with an intriguing geometric twist. It perfectly fits with the asymmetric features of the ship that make you uneasy because you don’t know what to expect. The asymmetry is everywhere from the obviously different wings, off-center engine, greeble sections and even something as subtle as the prongs that have different widths. At the same time, there’s a wonderful associative symmetry in the model. The feeling of the wings is similar with the rounded backs and pointed fronts, some details are repeated on both sides in a variation, and the shape of greebles corresponds on both sides. The result? That black blob at starboard looks very unsettling… It gives the whole ship something shadowy, something otherworldly… This isn’t your usual awesome and huge creation by markus1984. It’s a recreation of a ship that he studied and translated so carefully he captured not just the essence, but every single aspect of its character in a marvelous feat. So if you weren’t intrigued in 2008, I’m sure you are now, and long to see more pictures.

Sometimes a single part can inspire an entire awesome build, even if the part seems cumbersome and useless and the reference material is something rather mundane and clumsy. That seems to be the case for nobu_tary, a big drill piece and the DUM-series pit droid. The builder managed to see potential in a piece most of us will quickly discard, thinking that it can only be used as a drill and as an ice cream cone. He recognized the amazingly detailed underside of the piece as the perfect eye for a pit droid. He succeeded in connecting it to some other pieces, and built an entire head and body around it. I love how nobu_tary kept the way too long and thin limbs and neck pieces and the lumpy fingers that give the droid that clumsy look, yet at the same time gave it a pronounced chest and a pose which make it look ready to take up any task. It’s amazing how he surpassed the source material by making subtle changes you won’t notice at first but do succeed in making it look like a very useful and effective little droid. Just look at the gleaming eye, retracted neck, spread legs and clenched fists attached to determined and detailed arms. It doesn’t look like this guy will be sucked in easily by a pod engine! Just our luck, because it would be a shame to see this creatively conceived, beautifully built and professionally posed guy go. I would even miss his simple but somehow attractive tool. It truly is amazing how nobu_tary created such a character with character using just a drill piece and otherwise fairly common parts. It’s all he needs to build a droid I’d immediately hire if I were the owner of a podracer. Sadly I’m not. Are you? Well then, you can talk to its current owner in his photostream to see if you can make a deal.

Boing, boing, dzjeng! There is something mesmerizing about bobble heads, isn’t there? I really like those disproportionate and hyperactive statuettes even though (or maybe because?) I don’t own any. I can understand that there are people who can’t stand something constantly bouncing around in their peripheral vision though. Unless, of course… that restless head is made of bricks and represents a Star Wars character, like LegoJalex‘ marvels above. Surely, no one is able to resist those! Just look at them, little more than colorful boxes. Colorful boxes that are lovably plain and instantly recognizable with those hairdos and clothes, capturing the essence of every character with some simple bricks and nice surprises like the grooved ones. The more complicated helmets have been kept simple enough to perfectly fit in with all of the others. That doesn’t prevent them from being pretty clever though: the iconic visor of Fett’s helmet looks as stunning as ever and the angled “cheeks” of the stormtrooper give it a dynamic appearance. LegoJalex brilliantly designed every one of them to be unique despite their simplicity and despite their clearly belonging to the same set: true collector’s items! More genius is his design of the bobble function though. You’d think it’s something with custom springs or maybe a contraption with official rubber bands. Nope, his solution is way more creative, elegant and simple than that: it’s that big, thin antenna piece which I’m sure you have all been plucking on at some point to enjoy the dzjeng. I think LegoJalex is the first one awesome enough to realize this quirk can be used as a function, and judging by the videos the result looks amazing: just bobbly enough! The bonus is that you can position the head however you want. I’ll have that genius invention in my peripheral vision, please! If you’re not sharing my enthusiasm, that won’t take long. Just have a look at the video in LegoJalex’ topic and you’ll be nodding your head in approval.

With all of the high-stakes action in the movies, it’s often hard to understand what daily galactic life is like under Imperial regime. It’s a life in which you need to be constantly on the lookout, steering clear of where shifty things are happening. It’s a life that can be interrupted any moment by a question of a soldier. It’s a life in which you can easily see the consequences for those who answer those questions wrongly. And it’s a life in which it’s hardly extraordinary to see an intimidating, two-legged missile platform confidently walking and looking around, ready to bring death and destruction when necessary. Or when seemingly necessary.

At least, that’s what I can tell from ~Brick‘s incredible scene. The main attraction is the All Terrain Missile Platform that was reintroduced to canon in the mobile game Star Wars: Commander. It towers over everything else in the scene. At the same time it has to bend through its legs to support the heavy weight of all of the missiles it’s carrying. It looks ready to lighten its aggressively red burden at any moment too, its feet firmly planted in the ground. The walker isn’t about details but about robustness and strength. The shape, pose and accents tell you all you need to know about this AT-MP. Still the environment really adds to the creation, making it about more than a tank. It’s about the Empire using it in an ordinary, recognizable, lovely angled, appealingly layered, tastefully colored but especially universally familiar city. A city with ordinary people that react to what’s happening, or even more frighteningly, don’t react at all… The combination of the awesome but terrifying machine and the otherwise peaceful and recognizable scenery makes for a unique creation that grips you and makes you think. It transports you to that galaxy far far away, even though you don’t necessarily want to… But this creation is such a strong piece of work by an incredibly talented builder, you’ll want to check out his photostream regardless.

They say it’s pretty good, but I must confess I haven’t seen The Freemaker Adventures just yet. What I have seen are the sets of this summer’s wave that are based on LEGO’s own animated Star Wars-based production. In fact, the Star Scavenger and Eclipse Fighter with their interesting designs look like the most interesting sets of the summer to me. Designs I appreciate even more after seeing Cole Blaq‘s stunning pocket-sized replicas of them. He captures every aspect I love about these ships I barely know with just a couple of bricks. The unique fins and bulky head of the Scavenger and the intriguingly aggressive shape and striking paint job of the Eclipse. The cobbled together look of the first and the unsettling alien vibe of the second. The shape is very elaborate for creations of this size, thanks to the use of a variety of larger curved parts that give the ships a solid and pretty big, even a bit intimidating appearance. The apparent size is enlarged as well by giving the ships a lot of disjointed patches of color without interfering with the cohesion of them. It makes these small creations inferior to bigger models only in physical size. In fact, I think these small models may even break free from the source material and have more character than their bigger brothers. The cockpit of the Scavenger looks way more firm with that perfect marriage of unexpected pieces, and the color scheme of the Eclipse is more jagged and pointed thanks to that great use of those slope pieces. And no matter how you turn it, if the images on the boxes of the official sets would only look remotely like the professional presentation of these marvels, the already nice designs would become irresistible like these gems. Yes, irresistible is the word. So do yourself a favor and give in to the urge to take a closer look at these small wonders.

Being an AFOL comes with a host of happy moments. However, there are sad ones too, like when you realize one of your favorite builders hasn’t uploaded something in a long time. I had such a sad realization with Brickdoctor, who used to create awesomely accurate midi and minifig-scaled Star Wars vehicles and has been a constant inspiration to me, and whom I have learned to know by working on this blog and in the forum. Apart from the happy and sad moments, there are also ecstatic ones. I lived such a moment a week ago, when I saw the magnificent snowspeeder above and saw the name of its creator.

It was definitely worth the wait, because this version blows his previous one out of the molten snow! Actually, it’s better than any rendition of the snowspeeder I’ve seen, with those absolutely perfect wings. The angle of them is right in every direction, while there are no studs and the edges of the wings are perfectly smooth, a combination that has never been achieved before. The subtle angled lines on the surface of the wing make for an interesting texture as well. Another lovely area are the intakes with the smooth shape and perfect separation of colors, in which nothing gives away it’s made out of plastic bricks. I love how this model uses techniques that are far from straightforward and that must have required a lot of work to incorporate without any gaps just to give it that extra touch I love so much in Brickdoctor’s work. The way he details his model is incredible as well, exploring options no one has thought of before. The laser cannons look so good thanks to – who would have guessed? – train axles, and a look at the back of the model with the perfectly fitted old ribbed Technic bushes is enough to convince you that not a single area was finished before the optimal solution had been found. Not the detail on the lower airbrakes, not the tiny asymmetric features I’ve never noticed before, not the tiny inward angle of the cannons. This is what happens if you don’t create anything for years: your creations ripen. You take your time to finish a creation even though it’s rather small. You can combine the observations of years of watching other creations to come up with something new and sensational. Something that delights me with every new picture I encounter in the topic. Something that makes me ecstatic. If years is what it takes for such a glorious return with such a creation, I’ll gladly wait them out. Turns out that moment years ago wasn’t a sad one after all.

LEGO has come out with the official high-resolution images and press statement of the 75159 Death Star, this year’s second entry in the Ultimate Collector’s Series. With the press release came a statement that this is an update of the previous version that was so successful, instead of it being a completely new entity. The set indeed looks almost identical to the previous one, with the difference being an extra 200 pieces scattered across various scenes, a needed update of all the minifigs, the addition of three new ones and a heftier price tag. Now the set contains 4016 pieces, making it the second largest Star Wars set to date, after the UCS Millennium Falcon and before the previous incarnation of the Death Star. The 23 minifigs are a new record though, and they all look fabulous, with a wonderful new Tarkin, Han with a stellar hairpiece, the long awaited updated Leia and some droids and Imperial crew you’ve never seen before. The increase in price brings it to 499.99 USD / 499,99 EUR / 399.99 GBP. As for the build, it’s largely the same although new spring loaded shooters have been incorporated. In short, it’s a fix for all of those parts of the old version that were desperately out of date, but not a bit more than that. It’s certainly a set to be remembered though, with all of the debate that has been going on about it for weeks already. And who knows, maybe this is the first in line of older sets being rereleased with minor updates, even though LEGO has explicitly stated that “this is not an indication of any future re-release or set updates.” I’m sure there is a lot to be watched, read and discussed in the news thread!

Is LEGO Star Wars something you’re truly passionate about? Can you keep staring at its MOCs and keep talking about them? Do you delve right into Wookieepedia whenever an unknown creation captures you? Are you up to date with all of the latest news? Are you active in the community? And are you enthusiastic to show the world what kind of fan you truly are? I’d keep reading if I were you.

You see, the blog you are reading at this very moment is looking for people like you! We’d like to be able to bring more and faster content to you with a fresh perspective. That’s why we’re accepting applications right now. All you have to do is to write two articles that could appear here and send them to us, and maybe you’ll become our new contributor. Make sure to read all the details in the announcement topic in the forum.

Don’t hesitate if you have what it takes! You’ll get to share your passion with the world, receive a fine, exclusive Rebel Blogger tag, learn useful skills and get to chill work with the rest of us on this blog we hope you enjoy reading as much as we do writing for it! We look forward to meeting you.

Did it hurt when your jaw dropped to the floor? My guess is that you don’t remember because you were too busy enjoying the incredible Star Destroyer above. It’s over 2 meters/7 feet long, over 50 kgs/110 lbs, composed of 42,000 bricks, designed by BrickInside and built by OliveSeon, of whom we’ve come to expect only the best… Reading about this creation is enough to get you excited. Still, it can’t prepare you for the stunning pictures.

Of course there are the awesome greebles, that are different on every Star Destroyer MOC but always spot on and pretty to look at, especially with this creation. What’s special about them is that the greebles aren’t homogeneous all over the ship: clearly different areas have a distinct flavor. The trench at the side has a lot of technical tubes and vents going on, while the details on the raised parts resemble more windows and form more regular, isolated blocks. In the back everything is bigger and more robust. Often, you just skim over vast expanses of greebles, just getting the overall feel of chaos, complexity, texture and beauty. But here it goes farther: you don’t skim over them, but investigate them. I love how the greebles become more than just pretty details and make you want to understand the structure of the ship better. A structure that is true to the actual way the ship works as well! They make the ship much more real and therefore menacing. Not that it needed those greebles to intimidate. The shapes are clean, the lines sharp, giving it something terribly effective and inescapable. They make those small elevations on the body pop as well, making sure the vast expanse of grey never looks boring and always looks huge. That’s also thanks to the clever play of tiles, with the 4×4 variants and all and some gorgeous areas where there is a series of tiles with some nice gaps between them, redefining what you can do to detail a smooth and flat surface. This Star Destroyer is a stunning piece of work, so good that it makes you forget it’s made of bricks and so educational once you realise it is. And also so beguiling that I still don’t feel the pain in my jaw. If you already do, I think the best remedy will be to lose yourself in the pictures of the beast on Flickr.

The tense waiting is over with the results of the twelfth episode of SoNE just in. The Rebels had the upper hand in builds, including the one by Jannik above, which was the best in the contest. His sweetly shaped X-wing, crisp floor, variety of useful tools and slick presentation make his build the deserved winner. He also incorporated his seed element, a spoiler with bar, extremely clever as missile rack, giving the element both an aesthetic and a functional use. However, the difference wasn’t big enough to reassure the Rebellion of winning: approximating the secret model based on all of the publically known parts and parts hidden in enemy builds was the key to winning. The Rebels guessed it was an Imperial loader droid. The Imperials were convinced it was a StarViper class attack platform, producing an excellent build to prove it. In fact, the secret model was such a ship, to be more specific the Virago, prince Xizor’s personal ship. Below you can see how accurate the Imperial model on the left, conceived by LucasLaughing, was to the secret model on the right, realized by myself.

This means the Empire emerges victorious after all! The secret model being prince Xizor’s ship means something else as well… That the next episode is going to be exciting and explosive! Now is a great time to dive into SoNE to build and tell your own story in that galaxy far, far away. You can begin by signing up here, exploring the results and the various entries of this episode here or learning about the elusive secret model here. And then there’s struggling to decide which of all of your brilliant ideas you will bring to life…