[COLLAB] Desert Wars 2021 (10m long layout)

[Veynom]

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!

Edited October 31, 2021 by Veynom
Typo

[karmajay]

Very cool thanks for sharing!

[Brikkyy13]

You must all be very proud. I need more time to fully appreciate it there’s so much in there. Love the skate ramp pieces in the hanger, stormtroopers on a dinosaur, and of course unikitty facing the firing squad. Great work.

[Feuer Zug]

Wicked display. I love the 12v rail system, especially where it runs through the skeletal rib cage. The T-Rex mounted unit is neat too.

[MaceWindu]

Great display! It was worth it! 
It’s funny how all you on the photo are in a sand-colored t-shirts, or is it just a coincidence? 
Jabba’s palace reminded me of one level in the cw videogame, there also was the hangar with the old barge…

[Veynom]

3 minutes ago, MaceWindu said:

Great display! It was worth it! 
It’s funny how all you on the photo are in a sand-colored t-shirts, or is it just a coincidence? 
Jabba’s palace reminded me of one level in the cw videogame, there also was the hangar with the old barge…

Thanks.

And the T-Shirts are no coincidence. These were provided by our friends from the Star Wars Côte d'Opale club. They were printed on the back, custom patches on the sleeves, and right-sized for each participant.

[Sucram]

Always love a good Tatooine diorama, the scale of this one is definitely something to be impressed by.