Lawngnome

Don't have a camera or an LDD model of it currently, but a very simple interior fix to 75257 was to cram the kitchen to its proper place next to the bunks (I also replaced the stove with a white mailbox to make it a proper oven :P ) and flip the couch next to the dejarik table 90 degrees. While the latter move effectively blocks access to the lounge from one side, it looks good in practice as it doubles as a divider without needing to add any walls in the very limited space available. An extra two layers of plating to the mandibles to make them more robust, and just random pieces here and there to plug in some of the gaps also worked wonders, even though I opted to forgo accuracy of colors and placement of greebling this time around in favor of just adding them where I felt like it. Oh, and I hollowed out the cockpit passageway, but I may yet revert that change as it compromised structural stability quite a bit, the ceiling is only 3 bricks high, and it's more or less impossible to see into it anyway... I'm also working on a 150% upscaled MOC in LDD at the moment, which has just enough room to fit (almost) a full, easily accessible interior, and it's coming along quite nicely after the first week. Hopefully the physical model will actually hold together when (and if) I get to building it, but that's for another time.

Made an impulse buy of 75147 Star Scavenger when I saw it 75% off in a local toy store. The build is whatever, but I like the figures so with the discount I more or less only paid for the figs and got a set's worth of spare parts for free. :P

The differently toned heads were mentioned at least in one video review, maybe Jang or Brickshow. It'll be interesting once I get my copy to see if it's done deliberately, even if no official attention is called to it.

So now that there's this photo out featuring Captain Phasma without her helmet (potential spoilers!), I think it's finally time to give her Lego form a proper face too (unless and until we get an official one, at any rate).

There are probably in-depth explanations somewhere on the forums, but put simply, a set nowadays can have its pieces made all over the world, and the raw materials used may vary between factories. Subtle chemical or structural differences are also possible even within the same batch of parts, but as long as those fall within certain tolerances they're not considered flawed. Finally, during storage, handling, and shipping, parts may have been exposed to any number of external factors, such as temperature, that TLG could not have had any control over. A combination of any and all of those things, and you can and should expect something to be off every now and then. While Lego pieces generally are more durable than most toys, they're still just plastic, which by its very definition changes easily.

Happened across 75158 Combat Frigate with 50% off at the local TRU, so it was a no-brainer, especially since I was just about to order one at full price before they get retired. The ship has a nice design, a bit tough to handle perhaps (even with the handle) but I quite like the look of this bulky, no-nonsense warship, and the build was interesting enough and didn't get repetitive. (Though I really wish I'd thought of properly aligning the spinning engine thingy at the appropriate step! OCD got the better of me when the engine axis was slightly rotated in its default position, so I had to tear half the ship apart to fix it...) The minifigs are a mixed bag; Ahsoka is the main reason I got the set in the first place, and Sato is okay, but the rest were duplicates for me (not that there's anything wrong with another Kallus, except for the lack of a hair piece). That said, when a second-hand Ahsoka alone can cost 2/3 of the price I paid for the whole thing, I really can't complain.

My favorites from the collection in no particular order... I'm not going to spend hours trying to decide on that Boba Fett (Desert Skiff): the most accurate version, up until the UCS one that I don't (yet) have Oola (Jabba's Palace): put bluntly, this fig is sexier than the real thing Darth Vader (Death Star Final Duel): love the new helmet, period Darth Revan (polybag): KOTOR being one of the best games ever made, this is one fig I had no regrets paying 30€ for Kylo Ren (Command Shuttle/Takodana): the different heads are both a must have for one of the most complex Star Wars villains in ages

75102 X-Wing today, completing the main cast with Poe. I was on the fence about getting this set for a long time, and had there not been a 20% off all SW Lego at the local toy store this weekend, I probably still wouldn't have gotten it. It's not that the set or the aesthetics of the ship itself are bad... it just doesn't quite look like an X-wing to me. But with that said, it's still better than no X-Wing at all (I really need to get me a 9493 at some point...) and the figs I do like. Yet with that said, since there is a more traditional-looking variant coming up later on, this one may well have the dubious honor of becoming the first Star Wars set (not counting a couple spare Imperial Troop Transports) I'll end up disassembling for parts. There are never too many black parts. Also got 75139 Takodana. Way too expensive for what you get, but again, it was on sale and I did want Maz and unmasked Kylo. Also, Stormtroopers. There are never too many Stormtroopers. Might need to customize the castle itself at some point, but for now it'll serve its purpose. And just because they were on sale too, I couldn't resist picking up 75117 and 75111, or Kylo and Vader constractions, respectively. They really look great standing side by side, both aesthetically and thematically. (Having Grievous hanging around in the background makes it a villain assembly representing all three movie eras, so that's nice too.)

That's... surprisingly accurate with "only" spare sets used, considering how limited the official set is. Nice work!

The LXF is mine, while most of the actual photos (especially depicting the modded paneling) are from entirely different people. I do recommend using the various photos of the physical mods for reference to get rid of the gaps, as LDD has limitations with what it lets you do and the arrangement I used for the wedges in the LXF is not necessarily accurate even to my own version of the physical build. But I'm glad you liked the greebling nonetheless.

75138 Hoth Attack... this set got some bad rap because of it being yet another generic-ish Hoth battle, but judging solely on its own merits it's quite nice with plenty of play features to boot. Not that I care about those, and I did primarily get the set because I didn't have any previous Hoth stuff aside from the latest snowspeeder... and because the sets I'd have preferred more to qualify for the TFA 3PO polybag were currently out of stock. As an added surprise bonus, Lego Shop threw in an Admiral Yularen as well, which is always nice even if he's now just sitting in his bag along with 3 other spares of him.

A 6x6 dish with a pair of 1x2 jumper plates at the back fits the 75105 assembly without any other modifications needed. Optionally, you can use a "webbed" 6x6 dish and/or a stud or a cylinder brick on the main dish for added detail. Also, just a heads-up on filling in the gaps with modded plating, the fit on the physical model can be very tight, so be aware that it may take some further modification to avoid some pieces being under constant stress (or if someone got their mods to fit without issues, I'd appreciate an LDD file on the structure!). Personally, I left the edges next to the boarding tubes unmodified and instead filled in the gaps by widening the regular build underneath. Now I just need to get my hands on a proper camera again to get some clear pictures.

75101 Special Forces TIE at 25% off and some additional discount, so the total cost wasn't too bad. It was a low priority, but the offer was good enough and I did want the pilots, so... yeah. It is a nice build though, and I especially like how similar the wings are to 9492, giving the design aesthetic a nice continuity there. The cockpit has good symmetry thanks to the new(ish) windshield-canopy-thingy pieces; I should actually get a couple of TIE Advanced Prototype windshields and retrofit those on the 9492 and its custom Interceptor mod too. (And then see if I can find yet another 9492 or two and build a TIE Bomber to complete the OT TIE family). As for the FO fighter again, it's surprisingly hefty, and I do appreciate the rock solid wing connection despite my initial reluctance of using clips there. (Really, sometimes I forget that even if something were to break, it's not like a couple of Lego pieces is hard to replace...) Also, I didn't expect to get a spare pair of roller skates in a Star Wars set!

Sure it's possible, but I somewhat doubt TLG would miss an opportunity to make more sales (to those who already have the old set) by doing just a re-release with minor updates when the old one is barely retired yet. They might as well just keep churning out the old DS with a few swapped out parts in the same package if that's what they were going for, seeing how it's obviously still selling just fine.

Thanks for the advice and photos, Dameronian, that saves a lot of trouble fiddling with the parts (and a few L-plates). Ooooh, can't wait to get the rest of the wedges I need, hopefully still before the holidays.

I wonder if

Haven't had any problems with Lego store packaging, although the boxes are rather loosely packed and the airbags seem to be mostly for show rather than actual protection... still, the shipping boxes have been quite sturdy, so like I said, no problems as of yet. As for purchases, I ordered 75104 for -30% (yay!). Also bought 2 copies of 75078 for spare parts and more Stormies (I hope I still have enough extra guns for them...) as well as a lone 75033 at a discount for another Imp Crewman and (again) spare parts. I suppose a bunch of loose parts for my Falcon mods also kinda counts as a Star Wars purchase. Ah, payday! The 29 days after that I can then regret spending way too much on this hobby.

European countries have a value added tax included in the prices while U.S. prices are listed without sales tax as there's no federal taxation on it (and the sales tax in individual states is generally much lower than European VATs regardless). This doesn't explain all the difference, but still evens out the difference in prices before taxes quite a bit. For example, US Lego store has the 75105 Falcon listed at $149.99 and the Finnish store has it at 179.95€ including 21% VAT. Meaning, before tax and using current conversion rate, the US version actually only costs one dollar less despite the huge difference in the end price (in some cases the untaxed euro price is even cheaper than its US counterpart). So it's really not TLG, it's the government...

The landing gear pushing up against the plates on top is definitely an issue especially since there's only one layer of plates there, and possible warping or pushing parts loose is something I worried about myself. The weight/pressure is divided across multiple points though, so it was actually better in hand than I thought it would be (so far I haven't noticed any plates pushing up), but I fully agree with BC that it's not a solution TLG would use due to its inherent risk of causing damage. As for kids lacking patience, eh, who cares about the kids (okay, TLG does...), this is for my own enjoyment! That said, there's still free pinholes in each landing gear to lock the liftarms in place, so I'm certainly not stopping anyone from reinforcing the structure back to its original state. For a compromise between more stability and faster change between modes (do note that it's not like I'm ever displaying the ship hanging in air, so the entire landing gear folding is only there for the sake of being there!) you could slip in, say, 3m axels or axel pins to better support the liftarms while on the ground.

Heh, thank you for the interest! And please do (or anyone else for that matter) point out any glaring errors or room for improvement you might find, especially if it's something that can save in the parts count... Again thanks to khatmorg and Smitty500 for the tips on closing the gaps on the saucer. That wasn't even on my initial agenda, but it sure made it to the top of my to-do list.

Alrighty, then. Here's a new batch of LDD modifications, and the actual file (at the end of post) for anyone interested. Sharing is caring! The major changes include a completely... well, not completely, but very heavily re-worked gun turret (and central column) to install see-through windows (...that are barely visible in the shots below): The windows were the easy part. I sacrificed the hinge to open the top, but the 10x10 octagonal plate with a cutout as a new base for the top/gun assembly should allow easy removal without pieces falling off, as it's only attached by 2 studs on either side and otherwise rests on flat tiles. The bottom is slightly different due to less space available, and is not meant to come off anyway. After finishing with the initial change, the major pain started. I had left the window at the exact center thinking it would save me a whole lot of trouble with everything underneath (which it did) but as much as I tried to ignore it, having the window sit even further back compared to the actual Falcon just didn't work. Thankfully, moving just the window proved much easier than I feared, and as an added bonus that made room for the 4x4 donut plate to give the window the illusion of being larger than it is. However, offsetting the window from the center of the turret meant a minifig (then still seated in the original position, just swapped to the other side) would only have one side of its face showing through the window. Had it been the top or bottom half, it would've been a non-issue, but as it happened, I had to turn the seating 90 degrees to fix it. Unfortunately, I didn't consider that there's only room for the fig on one of the two axis until after I'd finished. At which point I gave up and reverted to the centered window... for all of 2 minutes, after which I re-re-modded the front and back walls to make the room, though it's certainly not as pretty as I'd have liked. Regardless, the turn also freed up one side of the "sled" to add controls directly on it, rather than having them hang from the ceiling and... floor? Anyway, the next step will be to rebuild the entire central column (and engineering stations) from scratch for a tidier solution, but that's for another day. On a related note, here's a cutaway view of the current interior: Depending on how much alterations there will be for the central column, I may yet try to go for a more rounded look with the walls, but for now this will do. Lastly, just a few more shots of the exterior from different angles... ...and the lxf as promised: http://www.brickshel...wngnome_mod.lxf

Because it seems to be a mostly isolated incident, the gap could conceivably result from loosely placed parts, or parts with minor tolerance issues throwing the geometry off. Have you tried rebuilding the set to see if the problem persists, Anio? You know, just to eliminate yourself from the list of suspects.

Ah! Those aren't mine, they're from Smitty500's mod.

I don't know which interior mod specifically you're referring to, but with very limited space in either 7965 or 75105, if you're building it with minifigs in mind, there is no way to be accurate with the whole thing. I'd suggest making one or two areas really stand out and have the rest just be close enough to look recognizable at a glance. Scaling down the rooms and passageways might allow for a more accurate overall layout, but needless to say everything else would then be even more out of proportion (especially the cockpit). That said, there's a ton of reference material on the net to flesh out the interior to your liking, both in Lego form and in various cutaways of the "real" thing. The two I most often refer to myself are these: https://i.imgur.com/BFW8ZQO.jpg http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/3/3f/MillenniumFalconCrossSection-SWICS.jpg

I'd be happy to share the LDD file, I'm just not sure where to upload it. The extra 2x4 wedge plates (if those are what you meant?) at the base of the mandibles are only there to add a little bit of transition from the flat mandibles to the sloping saucer section, which is probably why the two random grill slopes are there in the original set as well... although I may have also put the wedge plates on top to support the stuff added to the enlarged mandibles at some point... can't quite remember the thought process because I don't really plan ahead. I mostly just try out random stuff and see if it works (structurally and aesthetically), so there are occasionally artefacts left behind from earlier iterations. Speaking of which, if you were actually referring to the sideways grill slopes between the main body and the mandibles, those are from the very first round of modifications, which was far more limited in scope and only meant as a quick and cheap solution to fill out at least a couple of gaps. It wasn't the worst offender, just easiest to fix, and I ended up liking it well enough to leave it there.