Lego Star Wars: Death Star Planet Series

So this weekend the new Lego Star Wars sets showed up at my local store. Lego has released some large Death Star sets in the past but those are out of my budget so I got the new Star Wars Planet Series Death Star. Above is the front of the package.

The back of the package shows the contents a little better and also the two other sets from this first release. Neither of those sets interest me as a OT guy but a tiny Death Star is perfect. The set has the Deathstar Orb, Tie Fighter Pilot Minifigure, and Mini Tie Interceptor model. Of course that is a strange combination since this is clearly the completed first Death Star and the Tie Interceptor did not appear until the construction of the second Death Star in the movies.

When you open the box you find the directions and the plastic sphere for the Deathstar with some texturing on the surface.

The parts are all hidden on the inside the Orb.

Here is the front of the Tie Interceptor. Pretty simple model but I like the inclusion of the printed cockpit front. I have a Mini Tie Fighter that I got in a polybag last year that just had a clear piece without the printing for the cockpit. 

Wings are simple and continue with the Binoculars as weapons on small scale sets.

The set comes with a little display stand with a swivel mount for the fighter and printed plate detailing what is in the set.

Here is the Tie Fighter Pilot. Pretty Standard minifigure except for one thing:

He has a face. My other Tie Pilot from Tie Defender Set has a solid black piece for a head but this guy has a face. I wonder if the Pilot in the new Minifigure Scale Tie Fighter has a face.


Here are the whole contents together. This set runs 10 dollars which is not to bad as the polybag Star Wars sets like the fighter are like 4 now and minifigures run like 3 so the big globe is running like the remaining 3. You can watch for a sale but honestly since the set is only 10 dollars that will only save like a dollar or two which makes it not worth the time to go get just this as part of a sale. Ofcourse if you just happen into on sale that would be great.

I wanted to get some more of the new sets since they are mostly OT sets but with the prices I will be looking for sales with 55 for the new Tie Fighter, 60 for the X-Wing. My daughter has an X-wing so this is one I might pass on since the new one is pretty similar. Maybe a little nicer but 60 dollars might be saved for the Summer sets with rumors of Return of the Jedi Jabba Sets.

Blood Bowl: Skitter Stab Stab

I recently picked up this mini along with a few others on ebay. Due to GWs lack of support for Blood Bowl in the 2000's compared to 1990's, this mini is far harder to find than many 20 year old minis even though it is from like 2004. For some reason GW decided to stop making it while they still produce a fair range of Blood Bowl minis some sculpted like 24 years ago.



The detail on the back is sort of fussy which makes me think this model is not an original. Also the blade looks to shiny. I am annoyed that it is not original but I also got it with a best offer price quite a bit lower than they go for in ebay auctions.

Got to Love GW FAQ

So I was checking out some of GW new FAQs. Just because I have not played in a while does not mean I have no interest. I do have a sizable unpainted Marine force and a hlaf built nid force waiting to see what 6th ed has in store.

I noticed these two items in the Current BRB FAQ:

Q: Can models embarked upon a vehicle use its fire
points to draw line of sight to a unit to use special
rules or wargear (other than shooting)? (p66)
A: No.

Q: Can a model use a psychic power that is not a
Psychic Shooting Attack if it is embarked in a transport
vehicle? (p50)
A: Yes. If the power requires line of sight, this is still
worked out from the vehicle’s fire points (this will
count as one model shooting through that fire point if
the power is used in the Shooting phase).
If the psychic power does not require line of sight and
has a range or an area of effect that is normally
measured from the model using it, these are measured
from the vehicle’s hull, as explained in the Embarking
section on page 66.

Huh, This seems like they are pretty much self contradictor. You can use fire points for non shooting psychic powers that require line of sight but not for wargear or special rules that require line of sight. Seems pretty weak.

Lego Minifigures: Series 6

We are fans of the Lego Collectable Minifigures line. Series 6 has just been released and I found a relatively new display in Target. There were already two other people there sorting through the figures so we worked as a team to try to get every one the one they wanted. We picked up 10 different ones.



Here are the first 5 that we opened. The dancer is my daughter and the rest are mine. The remaining 5 are all for her that we use as rewards for good behavior.



Here is the close up of the Dancer. Pretty easy to pick out with the large slanted skirt and fan.



The Minotaur is also pretty easy to identify since the giant head is larger than an other piece in the minifigure line.



Here is the Roman. I have a feeling that this one will be picked out of the retail bins pretty fast since if there are any in the series where more is better this is the one. What good is a single Roman should when you can have a Legion?



Here is the Celtic. Looks like a Braveheart style Scottish Warrior. Another one that people might want more than one of.

Lego Star Wars Slave 1

This is the other Lego Star Wars set that I got for Christmas, Slave 1. Set comes with the ship, Boba Fett, Bossk, Han Solo plus carbonite. This set came out in 2010 and is nearing the end of its production cycle. Lego has dropped it from its online store but it is still available on Amazon where mine came from after a failed order with Toys R Us.

Here is the Boba Fett minifigure. Add a bit to the standard blaster to make it Boba Fett's. Lots of details on the helmet and breast plate. Pretty solid job on this figure.

Here is the Han Solo in Carbonite. Really nice looking. The underside has two bars for the minifigure Han Solo to hold onto.

The ship has stowage for placing the frozen Solo.

The ship has a nice big clear window on the cockpit.


It also has a collection of hidden flick fire missiles. The red ones right beyond the cockpit are actuated with a button on the back. They really do not fly much beyond out of the cockpit.

When the ship is flying, the wings rotate down and Boba in the cockpit also rotates to the top facing out. You can just make him out in the picture.  It is a neat little feature and explains why he seems to be facing backward in the two previous photos.

The underside has more detailing than the Millennium Falcon with some well defined engines.

Overall this is a good kit. The ship looks great and is pretty substantial but the list cost is 80 dollars which is pretty high. Deals are going to be hard to come by now that it is disappearing from retail. Ofcourse this is the third Boba Fett Slave 1 and one Jango Fett Slave 1 so just wait a year or two and they will have another new one out that will be more expensive than the last one.

Blood Bowl: Last 2 Chaos Dwarves

Here we go with the last 2 of the 2nd edition Chaos Dwarves. Look mom, no stupid hats. Interesting the first mini has goat legs.


This one is supposed to be very rare. I think the set I picked up had 3 of them which makes me wonder about their authenticity. I have noticed what seems like more possible fraudlent Blood Bowl minis showing up on Ebay. 20+ year old lead minis that are shiny and new looking. People are also priming the minis first to hide the color and cast errors.

Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon

One of my Christmas gifts this year is the current edition of the Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon. This is my first Falcon as I do not have any of the previous versions either from Lego or Action figure scale. Above is the image of the front top of the completed set. Looks pretty reasonable and is instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the series.



Here is the other side. I forgot to get a picture of the back but this side picture does show one of the problems with the set. The front mandibles just do not look quite right. They are about the right length but they are too narrow and steep in slope. This is caused by having the cockpit area up to far toward the front of the ship. I understand why the designers did this as the cockpit is barely big enough for two minifigs but is oversized compared to the rest of the model. Moving the cockpit from the current 1:30 o'clock position to a more proper 2:00 o'clock position would mess up the top design and make the cockpit look even bigger. Overall not a bad representation for a play level set but not perfect.


Here is the ship with the top open. It opens out with several small flaps. This is similar in design to the last play scale Falcon but these are fairly snug so the ship can be flipped over without them all opening totally up. You can see that the cockpit cover pops off to open it up. To get 2 minifigs inside you have to stagger their seating arrangement. There is a Ultimate Collectors Series Falcon that was made a few years ago that has seating for 4 in the cockpit and is a better scale but it is out of production and at the current pricing for Lego Star Wars Sets it would probably run like 600+ dollars(four times more than this kit) which is a bargain compared to ebay prices for it currently.


Here we have a little closer shot of the front interior. Computer system and game table make up the detailing. The inside is more spacious than the last play version but is sort of under modeled with accent bits. I will probably work on upgrading the inside later.


Here is a play feature where they have placed a smuggling compartment where a minifigure can hide below the deck level.


Here is the back interior. I am not sure what the long benches are. Maybe they are the sleeping area. The round parts in the back are the engine. Again this detailing level is disappointingly low.


Here we see Luke coming up the boarding ramp which is on the opposite side from the smuggling compartments. You can also see the training drone waiting for light saber practice in this photo.

The ship also has an area to place the gunners for the two quad laser cannons. Attach the minifigure to the base and then slide it along the rail into the center of the ship.

Ofcourse, with the cannons mounted you cannot see the figures inside but at least a little extra detail that aids the imagination.

A major let down with the ship is the underside. Essentially all you have for detailing is the cannons and some flick fire concussion missiles which do not have any hiding place. The landing gear can be removed but do not retract. The are also way to small making the ship so low that the minifigs even ducking do not look like they can get under. The bottom has none of the proper sloping from the top.


Here are the six minifigs with the set. New Hope Characters who ride in the Falcon during that movie plus Vader. Luke has a normal face and hair plus the blast helmet with shield down face. One of the changes to the figures is that they now have whites in their eyes. Leia's hair is also darker than our other versions. The ship does not have the Droids though but a new set with the Tantive IV escape pod this year has them in a 20 dollar set. I already have like 3 R2-D2 and a C-3PO so that is not really a problem for character play with my daughter. This is our first Obiwan, we had been using Plo Koon before.

Overall, I give the set a B. As a play set it is pretty good but the bottom and low level of interior detailing lowers the score. No Star Wars collection is complete without a falcon and this set compares well with images of the 2004 play scale set so it is still a buy if you lack one in your Rebel Fleet. Due to the limited range of ships from the movies they all get redone every few years but the price always goes up. It is more expensive but is better in many areas than that set.