helicaon

I received no email about any "2nd wave" or how to sign up for anything, and when I phoned leicester square, was basically told to go online and add it to my wish list....

Bear in mind that even plain glass blocks UVB and UVC, so you basically won't get any benefit indoors anyway, however even in the UK, outside on a cloudy day you can get enough UV to stimulate production. Plain glass doesn't block UVA however, so printed material/paper may fade, and white lego bricks may go yellow, so the advice about UV film is still sensible. Some modern window glass does block almost all UV, but unless you're certain what kind you have, it's probably as well to err on the cautious side and use film where you display your cherished creations...

Hmm - I ordered on the 4th and 5th last year and only got one promo fig, and I'm certain the 3rd hadn't been included, so it seemed to me that only the 4th was part of the promotion last year (in the UK at any rate) - perhaps I was just unlucky...

it was released in 2007, discontinued in 2009, finally sold out in 2010 - hardly "forever" - compare it to 10188 Death Star, released in 2008, still around today - I couldn't afford 10179 then, obviously can't afford resale prices, so yes, I'll continue to "whine" until it's re-released, thanks :-)

sigh - ordered the BARC speeder, mandalorian speeder and AT-RT yesterday from S@H after dithering for ages about whether to get a big set or just some little ones to qualify for the Clone lieutenant.... confirmed the order, then it occurred to me I hadn't noticed him being added... I was all set to complain until I noticed that the offer ended on the 17th...

well, 10,000 votes for the CUUSOO of Marshall Banana's incredible UCS version (which I think was even motorised and lit, but I might be confusing two different ones) suggests there is a strong demand for one, and as this has had only one incarnation, unlike the 3 AT-ATs, that would be something else in its favour... and, as you say, it would also be an excuse to get some more minifigs which haven't already been done to death.

Is this a real rumour, or just speculating what the rumour might be about? I realise you've been right in the past, which is why I'm asking...

Not sure where you are, but S@H UK still has the UCS B-wing in stock, as I just ordered one, so I would assume it's still available elsewhere as well...

re: possible Ewok village and force "Ghosts" - it's been mentioned about the technical difficulties of making translucent minifigs, and all the explanations seem very reasonable - however, it doesn't seem to have deterred Character Creations... The "invisible man" from Monsters Vs Zombies...

just as a matter of interest - http://penny-arcade.com/report/the-cut-article/george-lucase-pledges-4-billion-lucasfilm-selling-price-to-philanthropy - so it's perhaps not as straightforward as squeezing every last drop out of Star wars/Indy etc...

I love the way this captures the feel of the ship, has playability AND fits in with existing Lego models - I don't often support things on CUUSOO ( too lazy) but I had to make an exception for this...

there DO appear to be studs on top of the Rancor - on the shoulders...

very impressive - love the little details round the frame.....

nice idea - I've basically run out of space, so combining my three Slave Ones into a single Greatest Hits compilation might be an idea to save some room

well, it's his opinion, more than a statement, so it can hardly be "wrong"... I oscillate between getting excited by new, more detailed figs, and a hankering back to the early days of my collecting the SW Lego, when a yellow smiley face and a fair hairpiece was enough to denote Luke - it doesn't LOOK much like errr Luke, but given a little imagination, everyone's happy... As well as the "moving towards action figures" worry, there's also the fact that, apart from a few, specialised figs, the basic figure is more or less the same, so that given an exquisitely detailed and painted head for a GG, one instinctively expects everything else, including the proportions to be equally as close to the original, which up till now perhaps, hadn't been so uppermost in our minds - after all, if you look at solscudd's recent pics in the photography thread, with the celebration figs all together - Chewie should really tower above everyone else, but is the same size because of the minifig limitations, and no-one has been too unhappy about that... Anyway, just my tuppence worth, as with every new wave of sets, there are many I want avidly, and a few I fell a bit "meh" about, but sadly for my bank balance (and space in a tiny flat to put them all) I'll probably end up getting most of them, otherwise risking falling even further behind in my failing attempt to get all, or at least most of the SW minifigs...

Thanks very much for that

really? it's a common piece of french "borrowed" by english - and it's generally translated as beast, so it would be Black Beast - which fits this MOC to a T .....

weird - I bought the republic frigate through there a couple of weeks ago.....

nothing snide about it, and there IS a germ of truth in there, as the chances are it's someone getting a quick look at a catalogue, perhaps with only a phone camera, which won't be great at close up pics, or has taken a distant view of the entire page, then cropped and zoomed the individual bits....

because the miniature spy-cameras used to take the pics while hanging upside down from the ceiling in TLC's offices don't take great pics, and this is exacerbated by the trembling of the agents, worried they might be captured and beaten about the person with lego clubs....

Sigh... Comparing any mass produced set to the Mona Lisa or any other artwork is just not logical captain, and is not really the same thing at all. And again - another version of this set, which would NOT be the same as the previous one, would not change the exclusivity or desirability of the previous version for anybody except "investors" (and probably not even a great deal for them) collectors would still have the set they bought, it would still be limited edition and it would still be there in all its massive gorgeousness, it would still be difficult to get for all those lazy people who didn't have the money to buy it when it was available (like me) - after all, I have the The Jango Fett minifig, and his wee boy with the printed limbs - but I wouldn't suddenly deem them worthless, or not worth an effort to obtain if a new Jango or printed Boba was released. I'm not saying I think there will be a re-issue of the UCS MF, nor that I think there SHOULD be a re-issue, but I just cannot agree that any such re-issue would cause waves of resentment and revolt among the massed ranks of AFOLs.

Thanks for this review - I remember when I finally got my (unbagged) one from ebay - the seller had sold a few of them, so when it arrived and saw the un-chromed "armpits" I was paranoid it was a fake - took a couple of days of trawling online before my fears were allayed a bit....

well... the fact that this thread even exists suggests there are a lot of people who weren't able to get this (and presumably other) set while it was on release, but are still keen enough to go via the expensive and time-consuming route of the Johnny Cash One-piece-at-a-time route, they are presumably AFOLs, and unless also confirmed masochists, would presumably be grateful for the chance to take an easier route, a few dealers charging over the odds for the harder to find pieces might be annoyed, but I doubt it would bring BL crashing down... .... even if the thing was re-issued as the same set, it would almost certainly have a different box, a proportion of different parts, wouldn't have the same limited edition numbers etc etc, so it wouldn't directly affect the exclusivity of the lucky few who have the original.... I thought (part of) the point of UCS sets was to be as accurate as possible, without having to worry about financial constraints as much as the mass-market sets (I'll conveniently ignore the "what IS a UCS set" for the moment ) Yes, it was Limited Edition, but any other release wouldn't BE that edition - I really can't see that a significant proportion of AFOLs would get in such a snit with TLC that they'd cut off their nose to spite their face and refuse to buy any more... However, as that is just my opinion, and as I seem to be in the minority here, and this is veering away from the topic a bit, I'll shut up now....

While I don't think there's the remotest chance of it being re-issued, I don't follow the logic - why would TLC care about the people who already have it - i.e. the people least likely to buy a re-issue, and similarly, why would they worry about the secondary market, from which they get nothing anyway.... the original sets would still be sought after - probably not for the ludicrous amounts they go for now, but I imagine still a fair bit over the original rrp.... As a matter of interest, HAS any UCS set ever been re-released? I believe the ISD came out again with slightly different colours, but I got the impression that was while it was still available, and not a re-issue as such...

Impressive review, and as someone who's still to catch up on the CW, I found the background information very informative... I've got most of the latest wave of sets, but had put off getting this one, as I already have the RC and Tantive IV, and wasn't sure about yet another version, but your review has just tipped the balance - now all I have to do is find the money, and - more importantly - the space to display it Thanks again