[Alt-Build Contest] 75338 Ambush on Ferrix - Luthen Rael's Racer and Garage

[Mandalorianknight]

With this, I tried to make more of a Speed Champions/city styled set rather than a star wars one. But I of course still want it to fit into canon!

So here's the storyline here: Luthen Rael, as one of his facades to launder money to the rebellion, owns a Neskar racing team- similar to podracing or riot racing, Neskar racing is based on an ancient, pre-repulsorlift motorsport. However, something's gone wrong. The Imperials, Crimson Dawn, and the Hutts are all attempting their own intrigues into the newest Neskar racing season, and as such Luthen Rael has inserted his man, Cassian Andor, into the race under the guise of being his new driver. Cassian must uncover and foil the myraid plots at work, and if he's lucky, win the race to net some extra money to funnel to the rebels. Will he be able to pull it off?

Here's an overview of the set. The main build is the racer, built like a Speed Champions car, with a garage facade and small crew transport also included. Let's take a closer look at that racer:

This is the Neskar racing vehicle Luthen sponsers- while it uses the archiac concept of wheels as part of the tradition, it includes some innovations such as retractable blasters to distract or knock back other racers. This sort of vehicle also includes a rear-focused deflector shield to block hits from racers behind it.

It rolls very well for something built from a set without wheels (and barely containing axles- these aren't even all attached the same way!), though I confess even without the blasters it still has a very sci-fi feel.

Here's a quick look at the internal controls and seat, as well as the blasters in their retracted position and the spoiler lowered.

Alright, here's the left side of the garage. On the left, we have the crew transport in it's fueling dock (attached via a technic pin). The vehicle itself is somewhat basic, but it fits a crewman and driver. In the middle we have the fueling cell, with a line for the fueling pump (shown above with a crewman pumping fuel into the racer). We also have a (non-sliding) door through which Luthen is entering to meet with Andor.

Here is the central section. On the upper left, we have the support crane, currently lowering a spare fuel canister to the ground floor. The bulk of the central section is simply an archway through which the racer can be driven. (It can fit through in either mode although it's recommended to lower the spoiler to increase clearance. Note that on the right wing of the garage there is a hinged step to allow for someone to step from the wing to the central segment's roof. The hinge allows the step to fold up if a kid wants to hinge the wings and central section into a straight line.

Here's the right wing all folded up. For now we'll just focus on the center, which has a set of dials and readouts to monitor, a removable plate with some chemical barrels, a crate, and fire suppressant, and above it a tool rack (Containing a click wrench, welding tool, crescent wrench, and breaker bar). 

Alright- on the left side we can now see that the panel can be opened to reveal a hidden stash of weapons (A blaster pistol, riot shield, and two halves of an electrostaff), and on the right, we've extended the retractable stairs to allow access to the upper level.

And finally, here are our figures. On the left we have Vern Lojek, the maintenance chief for Luthen's crew. He isn't part of the rebellion, but a personal friend of Luthen's who knows enough to not ask questions about his new pilot. Next we have Cassian Andor in a Neskar driver's outfit (which bears some similarities to a brightened Corpo uniform). And on the right is Luthen Rael, the sponsor of the racer and a leader in the nascent rebellion.

[Sentinel_Brix]

Neskar racer? This is hilarious  10/10 for the creativity turning the original parts into this. It's a great alternative build that has indeed the speed champions vibe! 

[TeddytheSpoon]

This is super creative! Goes to show just how many parts this set actually has, too. I felt like it was never really obvious from the main build.

[Yperio_Bricks]

That's a fun build! Love it!

I am surprised how substantial your build is. The compact look of the speeder and ship from 75338 let one forget that there are almost 700 parts in this set. And you put those parts to good use. Great job

[Mandalorianknight]

15 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

That's a fun build! Love it!

I am surprised how substantial your build is. The compact look of the speeder and ship from 75338 let one forget that there are almost 700 parts in this set. And you put those parts to good use. Great job

Thank you!
I was inspired by the old channel "Brickbros UK", the guys who ended up making the Tron set and then disappearing :(. They used to be really good at making alternate builds that increased the footprint of a set.

16 hours ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

This is super creative! Goes to show just how many parts this set actually has, too. I felt like it was never really obvious from the main build.

Thank you! I agree, the dropship is very compact.

On 12/22/2024 at 6:10 PM, Sentinel_Brix said:

Neskar racer? This is hilarious  10/10 for the creativity turning the original parts into this. It's a great alternative build that has indeed the speed champions vibe! 

Thank you! I thought it would be fun to give it a canon backstory, but with a wheeled vehicle in star wars, I added a bit of comical flair- here it's spoofing some old spy tropes.

[Max_Lego]

Looks good! Rebuilding the airspeeder into a car war indeed a nice idea

[Agent Kallus]

This is great. I really like how different it is from the A model.