While Star Wars fans around the world celebrated May the 4th - international Star Wars Day - with screenings and costumes, Los Angeles-based fanatic Dan Steininger did so with a very unique approach.The Lego Master Builder - one of only seven in the world - flew into Australia from the US to break the world record for the largest Darth Vader and Yoda figures ever created with the colourful building blocks. His Darth Vader figure stood at four metres high and Yoda at two metres - an impressive feat for the 58-year-old who gets 'paid to play'. Record breaker: The huge Darth Vader and Yoda figures were build by Lego Master Builder Dan Steininger (pictured in Sydney) 'Paid to play': Lego Master Builder Dan Steininger celebrating Star Wars Day - May the 4th - at Westfield Penrith, Sydney Made of Lego, it is: One of his creations was a two metre high Yoda figure made from Lego Steininger's story is a one kidault dreams are made of.First exposed to Lego when his son was seven-years-old, he became so passionate about the medium that he left a lucrative job in sales for a 'minimum wage' entry-level position at the Lego store.
'I had four kids at the time, a mortgage, and when I told my wife that I wanted to leave a job where I made twice as much to build Lego for a living she was like "You want to do what exactly?"' he told MailOnline. 'I wish I could explain it, but I think there's something in snapping those bricks together that’s so satisfying. On top of the world! Dan poses next to his giant Darth Vader Lego figure Use the force: The 58-year-old creating the world record breaking four metre tall Darth Vader Lego sculpture Death Star Darth: The famous villain was first brought to life in George Lucas 1977 film Star Wars IV: A New Hope 'In my mind, it's all that’s right with the world: you snap those two bricks together and it fits, it's a solid connection.Several years on, the risk has paid off for Steininger who is one of only seven Lego Master Builders in the world and is flown around the globe to create impressive models for children and parents alike. 'The simplest way to explain it is I get paid to play,' he said.'When my kids were young and in school I had rock star status.
'When you meet mum and dads they get so excited that someone gets paid to do what their child has a passion for. 'I came from a background in art and sculpting, but a lot these kids go on to work in architecture or engineering as they have that gift to see things in three dimensions.' Fan celebrations: Steininger using the dark side of the force at May the 4th celebrations in Australia Enduring popularity: The Star Wars saga has gone on to become a pop cultural icon Visiting Australia for May the 4th Star Wars celebrations was a dream come true for Steininger, who considers George Lucas' seminal space opera one of his other passions. 'There were lines around the block to see the movie, which was unheard of at the time,' he said, talking about the first 1977 release. 'I remember seeing Star Wars IV: A New Hope with friends and walking out of the cinema taking about how we needed to immediately go and see it again because there were no doubt things that we missed.'The good versus evil narrative, this little Yoda character stealing the hearts of young and old alike, it became a cultural icon.'
Boba Fett: Fans of the science fiction space opera came together for the international day of celebration Role call: The film's original stars (L - R) Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are returning for the new series of Star Wars movies With the original trilogy - the prequel films - and now a whole new set of three films to be directed by Star Trek and Lost filmmaker J.J. Abrams, Steininger said he's excited to see 'new life' brought to the saga. 'To have fresh eyes looking at it and Disney involved as they own the rights, there's definitely opportunity there,' he said. The cast of the new Star Wars saga includes original stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew, with newcomers John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver and Domhnall Gleeson added to the mix. Star Wars prequels: Also less popular among purists, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, Jake Lloyd and Ewan McGregor starred in the more recent trilogyI've built both the A-Wing and Darth Vader's TIE Fighter before.
Neither build had previously done a lot to excite me. I remember building 7150 TIE Fighter and Y-Wing back in 1999. That particular build colored my perception of Star Wars LEGO for the next decade and change. I also built 8017 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter which was miles better and 75003 A-Wing Starfighter. None of them really excited me enough to keep. I wish I had held onto them in order to compare and contrast, but that's the breaks. I didn't really need another Darth Vader or another Sabine Wren without her helmet. The original retail for 75003 was $24.99 and 8017 was $29.99. But their piece counts were 177 and 251 respectively. This set is more than 270 pieces more than both of those combined. Is it worth $35 more? REVIEW: SET DETAILSSet #: 75150Name: Vader's TIE Advanced vs. A-Wing StarfighterTheme: Star WarsParts: 702Price: $89.99 Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 7 numbered baggies (numbered 1-6 with duplicate bag 6) and a bag containing stickers and a pair of instruction books.
BAG 1: Instruction book 1 is all about building the A-Wing. When you begin construction of this fighter, it's different from previous versions of the ship, or most of your average Star Wars ships. You create a tile platform below a set of railing. It's pretty obvious that something slides here, but what and why? This segment appears to have be the part that slides. I'm not sure if it's the impeller or impelled. It appears to be the lever. The base of the fighter appears to be the platform that the upper section slides upon. You may notice that more of the body shape is being filled in, but it's quite a few steps before it looks like the end product. It's sort of hard to see here, but there are a pair of spring missile launchers underneath the front. The slide appears to be part of a completely hidden feature to launch the spring missiles. I like that it's unobtrusive. I actually couldn't picture what an A-Wing looks like at this point in the build. I had to pick up the box again to try to make it out.
Underneath of the chassis is a pair of rubber bands. This prevents the top from sliding on its own and launching the missiles by accident. I like that the slide feature isn't loose. And here's the end of bag one. It's not much yet, It's a lot more complex than the last A-Wing that I built though. Bag 1 also contained the 2 hero minifigures, Sabine Wren and an A-Wing pilot. BAG 2: I like that the details are green. I get a little tired of the white grey and red of most of the Star Wars universe. You expand the body and fill it in. It really begins to bulk up from here on out. You add slopes to continue shaping it, but to me, it still doesn't look like the ship I remember. Bag 3: I love these new wing pieces. I love the way these engine pods look. You guild them out separately. You snap the engine pods on. They pivot somewhat which is kind of offputting, but look great. Make a duplicate/mirror image engine pod. attach it in the same way with a hinge.
You make the gun pods separately. They seem a little large to me. The guns rotate, reminding me of the old Kenner A-Wing. It looks great to me. The action feature is nice in that it is hidden. There's no dial or lever or hole. For a smaller build, it had a lot of stickers. BAG 4: You begin the build of Vader's TIE Advanced. You also begin Instruction book 2. As you can see, there's 2 spring missile launchers fairly early in this build. Since you can't really do round, of course you use slopes. There's a lot of random colors that will be hidden in the final build. I don't really understand why there's tiles in here. Vader's got a comfy seat and a Battle Droid torso to steer with. You have to frame the TIE Fighter because the TIE Advanced has a lot of extra bulk. It looks like the tile is there to let you slide a sideways slope on. Youngish Tarkin and Vader inhabit bag 4. BAG 3: I'm going to call this section the Hyperdrive. Maybe it's the shield generators.
What kind of Star Wars geek am I that doesn't know what this section is for? Anyway, it's the part that sticks out from the back, making it obviously different than most TIEs. That's what makes it advanced. Maybe it's just the advanced stickers. Where 8017 used various pieces of kibble (or greeblies if that's your thing) this one has a couple stickers. Sort of disappointing from a build perspective. It's kind of hard to see here, there are 2 technic pieces that act as triggers for the spring missiles. You fill in the body shape and snap on a couple rounded hatch covers. I like the forward hatch a lot better than the old style cockpit piece. The upper one is larger and more detailed than before too. there's 2 different attachment points for the wings. There's an axle hole in the center to hold the axles sticking out of the main build. You also have a post attached to the wings that slot into the ship. Filling in the back of the wing was actually kind of fun. I liked the variety of pieces used to match the shape.
Grab the second bag because there's a X2 at the end of book 2. Snap the wings in place and put the spring missiles in. Vader's TIE is complete now. The individual builds are satisfying. I think that they look good and represent the vessels well enough. The size of Vader's TIE seems a little puny.It really seems that, for the cost, they could have made it a bit bigger. I honestly liked the puzzle aspect of putting the inside of the wings together. Remembering how flimsy the first TIE's wings were, this is a definite improvement. The A-Wing is satisfying in the build, but doesn't necessarily look to me like what I think of . The cannons are bulky, the body is stubby and not too sleek. But, when I look at pictures of the Rebels A-Wing, it's all accurate enough. When I thought that it would work well enough for an original trilogy display, it's going to be a bit off. Ok, so I'll talk about value for money. $90 is a lot for 2 smallish ships. The price per piece is high and there are no large pieces to offset the cost.
The number of minifigures is low for the price point. For $90 we're overpaying for a few unique minifigures and a couple of redone ships. $65 or $70 seems more in line with what you get. If it weren't for coupons and discounted gift cards, I'd feel really put out by the cost of this set. Vader's the same as the Death Star Final Duel with the white head and the 2 piece mask. I didn't review that set, so I'll say what I would have said then. The design of the helmet causes it to tilt up ever so slightly, so Vader appears to be looking up. The head in white seems a little goofy to me, but that's a personal thing. I understand it entirely, but neither of these are changes that excited me. Tarkin really reminds me of the 12th Doctor. Probably because of the hairpiece. The tan costume is a weird choice. I don't think that he's even depicted in that color in Rebels. Kind of a fail for me from top to bottom. The female A-Wing pilot looks good. She's functional as far as troop building, and since her body isn't decorated to be obviously feminine, you can head swap to fill out any number of aliens or others.