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I did notice that although it's a little hard to make out his expression. He's either smiling or grinning maniacally. I would also say that he is wearing a balaclava under his flight helmet. Edit: Loving the new droid head too. I hope that gets released as a red and white version for the ANH droid whose motivator blows at the Lars/Skywalker residence.

This is the first time I've seen this set in any detail so thanks for that:thumbup:. Although not the the Hoth base that people really wanted, it does contain one or two recognisable features like the bacta tank and the walkway over the X-Wing nose. Of course it leaves a lot to be desired, but with the cost of Lego today, i think TLC has it's hands tied sometimes. If there were more pieces to make something more authentic, the price would go right up and how many would buy it? I certainly have been buying less and less as the recession bites. But this review does make me want the set. I would like another Tauntaun and the new Luke and Leia. Han's new parker is much better than the last and a red protocol droid is a bonus. I think it's nice when these minor characters get noticed by Lego and produced. I'm sure TLC know that great figures can sell a mediocre set. I'm hoping plenty of older figures get a rerelease with a fancy paint job. But with that said, just how many more mediocre sets will be released in the future? I think I'll probably get this set eventually and add it to my other Hoth sets. Together with those, it will seem more complete, and it's another chance to get more Snowtroopers since they are my favourite of the Imperials.

That Tie is certainly a big departure from any previous models. I really was expecting the old Tie with a new colour scheme and the same wobbly wings. I wonder if this version fixes that issue, and will the other Tie variants be released along the same design cues as this one? It's design almost seems to be a bit too chunky to be carried over to an Interceptor, although it could work for the advanced prototype. As for the minifigures; Well they are always interesting to see and I am quite impressed with the new helmet for the DS Trooper. The previous one was wrong, being a AT-ST pilot helmet in black. And finally a new Amidala. And this time as the queen, something we've all been waiting for for a very long time. With all the costumes the queen had in the movies, a whole boxset could be released. Another Padme is long overdue and will be a most welcome addition to my collection if released next year. Theed Palace playset, anyone?

I don't think this has been asked yet, so... I'm looking at the minifig poster and the R2 unit (probably Artoo) to the left of the red protocol droid appears to have a realistic metallic dome. Am I seeing things correctly or could it be some trick of the light? But it could be possible, seeing as the droid from the Imperial V-Wing is metallic and the original Artoo minifig had metallic printing on the dome in the past. Could the Hoth base contain a new Artoo with a shiny head? edit: I'd also like to see full body printing on the Artoo body cylinder as well. Yeah, I know; Dream on!

I got the latest Slave 1 for Xmas and it's sticker sheet was damaged and unusable so I sent off for a replacement sheet. That arrived attached to cardboard so was undamaged. Attaching the sticker sheets to cardboard was something that I did suggest to Lego, like so many others, when I ordered the replacement. It's nice to know that Lego are listening and hopefully this practice will continue. Sealing delicate pieces in their own bags is a good idea, and I'm glad that's being done more and more.

Thanks. It's a shame, as I like the sand colours. They were authentic, or at least gave the models an authentic look. Almost anything that was released using sand colours benefited from their inclusion. The 2002 line up of Star Wars sets being my point of reference. A good Year for Star Wars Lego. And I was a little saddened to see last years Land Speeder released in Tan. Although it looks nice, it isn't as colour authentic as the model released in 2004. Two steps forward, one step back. I'm not sure. I've had a quick look through some the recent models and can't see it being used this year, even if it still is on the palette. And last year, the Droid Tri Fighter was release without using the colour, even though the previous model was covered in it. But saying that, the unreleased 8804-14 Werewolf minifigure seems to have sand blue trousers, but it could also be the lighting making a grey look bluer than usual.

The Geonosis set looks Clone Wars based, which I haven't yet followed. Thus the only battle of Geonosis I know of is the opening battle of the Clone Wars in Episode 2. But I have no idea if that was the only time the Clone Wars took place on Geonosis. Having droid factories on that planet, I could see a reason why more battles would be fought there in the coming years. So is this set based on another battle fought on Geonosis? The reason I ask, is that I just happen to think it's a bit of a shame and a missed opportunity for Lego and collectors that the battle droids are tan instead of sand red, and the super battle droids are dark silver instead of blue as per the original Geonosis droids. EDIT: Just had a quick look on Wookiepedia, and yes there is a second battle for the reasons I imagined. Unfortunately there is no real clue as to the colours of the droids.

That explains that, then. Thanks

The Gungans are probably still the high point for me. Also, I missed the last V wing, so now I have chance to get one if I still want to. Looking at the astro droid for that set, two things spring to mind. It seems a bit odd that the Mando battle pack isn't using that metallic grey/silver colour for their helmets. Even the old Jango Fett figure had a silver helmet and jet pack. Spread the metallic love, Lego. Do the Mando's look grey in the cartoon? Also, maybe, just maybe, we might see a new R2-D2 with an accurate silver dome instead of white or grey, as much as that improved the figure before. A topic for a 2012 picture and rumour thread next year, maybe?

As an option to house hold ingredients or the real thing, you can buy fake snow which is a polymer powder used for absorption purposes. When dry it looks like almost any other white powder, but when wet it expands into a peculiar gel. Apparently it's used in nappies and to keep soil moist for plants, amongst other things. making fake snow You can also buy it in small tubs, which go a really long way. A small 45g tub of it can fill a large container with plenty of fake snow. And it's reusable, as when it dries out it turns back into powder. EDIT: I don't think the resizing worked too well. Soz

Lando did lose the Falcon to Han, but how old were they at this time? If they were 18 at this time, it would make them about 36 come E4 and 5, which means Han is about twice as old as Leia. Greedo would have been about 10 in E1, making him about 20 by the time of E2 and about 40 by the time he dies in E4. I haven't seen the clone wars cartoon series. How old is he in that? A reason they might not play about with age for Lando and Han but would for Greedo, is that Greedo is alien and could be any age to our eyes. I said he's about 10 in E1, but could have been 5 or 27. How fast to Rodians mature? And playing around with Han and Lando's age would be difficult as they are human and we know what a certain age group looks like. Han and Lando don't look much over 30 - 35 in any film they are in. So I say they are younger than 18 at the end of the Clone wars.

Without having read any of the back story novels or comics, I would say that Han and Lando would only be 10 - 15 years old at the end of the Clone Wars, when Luke and Leia were born, therefore too young to even own/pilot a ship like the Falcon. Also, Han can't be too old by the time E4 happens or else he'd almost be a cradle snatcher for dating the young Princess. And the Falcon, although a YT 1300, could well be a very different ship to the one we all know. Dark blue highlights, you say? And the rest, I'd wager. It was probably nice and shiny once upon a time.

I did actually mention that this is all you need to do in my post. Making a paste is not required.

I think this has been covered on the forum somewhere, but in case you missed it, you need to know about Retr0bright which is a home made product using hydrogen peroxide, oxygen based detergent, and sunlight or a U.V light source. The ingredients cause a chemical reaction to take place that reverses the yellowing of plastic that contains Bromide as a fire retarding agent. Apparently it is the Bromide that goes yellow/brown as it ages and oxidises, staining the plastic it's in. The Retr0bright is supposed to be the anti browning product and was originally developed by vintage computer collectors. Making Retr0bright (Note: You don't need to make it into a gel. A simple jar or tub of it in liquid form will do for submerging pieces into.) A good site HERE I would suggest trying this method on a printed piece you do not want first to make sure it won't harm printing. But apparently it works wonders for plain pieces. If it's not that complex a yellowing of the parts, I would simply suggest a luke warm soapy bath and gentle brush with a soft toothbrush.

Please be kidding.

Is that so? I've never known as I normally do not buy more than 1 set of any thing. And those that I have bought multiples of, I've never checked or made note. Maybe next time.

You're just picking. Yes, if you want 100% proportion, UCS is the only way when concerning minifigs. Even then, that cockpit was cramped and lacking much detail. But if you look at the 2000 Falcon, it's actually much more proportionate than the 2004 model with regards to that cockpit that dwarves the rest of the ship. If the mandibles were a tad longer on the 2000 model, the proportions would have been slightly better, even if it wasn't a fully accurate model. Not that the 2004 model was that accurate. More like a Pizza gone wrong. Lego were right to attempt a redesign, but got the wrong design. If the new Falcon could have a cockpit similar to the 2000 model, or based on plates and hinges, rather than bricks (a scaled down UCS design, like the Endor AT-ST), I think they could make it work without making the rest of the craft much bigger than what it is now on the 2000/4 models. Make it all a few studs wider, a few studs longer - it could make all the difference, and give more room for internal details like some kind of corridor that people seem to really want.

You both say UCS because that model did indeed fit 4 figures in the cockpit. But I've been looking at the cockpit construction on both of the minifig scale models and it would seem that the 2000 model would have space for more than two figures if it was designed with a more conservative use of bricks. The trouble with that design is that it's all boxed in, even though it's twelve studs long at it's longest point. 12 studs should be enough room for two front, two back if the surrounding bricks weren't so space hogging. The 2004 model only has a 6x2 plate for the figs to sit on, and even then they are half off. And all for the sake of a cockpit canopy that is out of scale with the rest of the ship. Since the 2000 cockpit was more in scale and had more theoretical floor space, I think it should be quite possible for Lego to design a minifig scale Falcon that can contain a proper cockpit without being much bigger than the last minifig/system scale models.

That was certainly the bone of contention with the last model. It's surprising just how small the Falcon's cockpit actually is up against that mandible. EDIT: And if the cockpit is done properly (room for four figures*), the rest of the ship would have to be bigger than the last two sets, so could well be in excess of 1000 parts, and maybe more than £100. *wishful thinking

I have a feeling this has been asked before, but does the piece count of a set include the spare parts or just what the model utilizes?

£100 sounds about right and keeps the price in line with the last two minifig scale models. It's piece count I'm concerned about. The 2004 model was very well priced at near 1000 pieces. Hopefully a new version will better that. If it has a lot of very small pieces, it probably could go over the 1000 piece mark, but with the current over pricing trend we could have another repeat of the 2000 set which had less than 700 parts. Whatever the outcome, I hope something is done about the proportions. I don't mind paying a little over the odds as long as the set is actually worth it in other areas.

Apart from cropping to remove excessive empty space or background when necessary, I don't alter my photos post production. I'm very 'un-George Lucas' in that respect. I don't actually know how to use these photo shop type programs like Paint.net, even though I have it on my pc. If I can get it right in camera I'm happy and that's normally the way the photo will be shown.

Could either one or both of you tell me what version of Artoo is included with the release of the X-Wing? Since 2006 it has been the old model with a white dome and thin printed strip at the top. I'm wondering if that Artoo has been replaced with the new, grey domed, fully printed version yet.

Muchas gracias. This AT-ST is definitely the best one so far in minifig scale. The back ground is just a piece of black velvet material that sucks up the light. The light on the model is a normal halogen spot - about 20 watts. And although two came with a table top photo studio, the lamps are not specialized. They are typical of any bulb found in any supermarket so burn in the cooler end of the spectrum, i.e. yellow to red. Hence they bring out the warmer colours in the picture and neutralize the natural blue tinge of the grey Lego. I wasn't actually thinking about colour correction or D65 when I took the shot. Mostly I concentrate on the correct focus and on the exposure time so the photo isn't too dark or too washed out, or too full of digital noise which can happen when going to extremes of lighting and exposure time. And as I look at the AT ST now, under normal room lighting (yellow to red burning halogen spots - soon to be replaced with LED), all the blue colours have gone and the model looks like it was built using the older greys. Maybe next time I use the spots for photography, I'll look into manual colour correction on the camera. As far as I know, I tend to use the pre loaded settings for lighting/white balance (sunlight, fluorescent, tungsten, etc) and just click away.