If you want to construct a giant Lego Star Destroyer, you might as well give your Star Wars minifigures a home they deserve. Imgur user Doomhandle built a Star Destroyer named ISD Tyrant so magnificent it houses three levels, including a hangar bay, a command bridge, a conference room, a captain's cabin and officers' quarters. There's even a Sith meditation chamber for calming down after your boss threatens to Force choke you for interrupting him during a meeting. The Lego ISD Tyrant measures 56 inches (1.4 meters) long and weighs approximately 70 pounds (32 kilograms). This model is about 20 inches longer -- and a lot heavier -- than the classic Lego UCS version of the Star Destroyer. The Star Wars fan who built this amazing creation understands an undeniable truth: sometimes you really want to play with a complete Lego build instead of just display it. From the whimsical nature of the 35 photos posted, you can see how much fun Doomhandle had posing his Lego minifigures. The minifigs of Imperial officers and Stormtroopers are gathered around a conference table, arguing on the bridge, meditating in the chamber, grabbing a drink in the officers' quarters, getting a check-up in the medical bay and having a meal with a cranky Sith Lord.
Doomhandle even created characters for the Lego ship, including its own resident Sith named Eno Rathis. "I don't like building things for actual movie characters because their stories already have been told," Doomhandle wrote. "So I make up my own characters instead." Many of the elaborate sections are removable as well. "It was a high priority for me to have everything come apart as elegantly as possible," Doomhandle wrote. "The roof sections retain the correct angle when they are removed. Simply lift the superstructure off the ship." "The only individual piece that you ever have to remove is a technic axle (8L) that secures the bridge," Doomhandle added. "The bridge stays in place without it, but I'm afraid that I'll bump the ship and send it flying if it's not secured." Here's hoping no one accidentally drops this Lego Star Destroyer while playing with it, like in this painful-to-watch, super-slow-motion destruction video from Wired's "Battle Damage" series. Say hi to Snapchat and Specs, your secret AR 'gateway drug'
Since the release of the prequels in 1999, LEGO has been at the forefront of each new Star Wars release, whether it be a movie or a TV show, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is no exception. There are eight new sets available with price points to suit all, ranging from $24.99 to $89.99. Each of the sets comes packaged in the new Rogue One-themed boxes featuring the ominous looking Death Trooper. Let’s see what’s out there for LEGO rebels! The popular Constraction or Buildable figures, first introduced by LEGO in the Star Wars theme last year, continues with three new characters from Rogue One — Sergeant Jyn Erso (set #75119; 104 pieces), K-2SO (set #75120; 169 pieces), and Imperial Death Trooper (set #75121; 106 pieces) — each are available for $24.99. These impressive posable figures are all in scale with each other, with Jyn standing 9” tall, and K-2SO at over 11” tall. While Jyn and the Death Trooper feature blaster rifles with spring loaded shooters, K-2SO features a single/double arm-swinging battle function.
There are five standard sets available, each featuring with new minifigures from Rogue One. The first set, the Imperial Assault Hovertank (set #75152; 385 pieces) is seen in the trailers and is available for $29.99. The gun turret features dual spring-loaded shooters, as well as elevating side guns and offers lots of play features enabling you to recreate favorite moments from the film. This impressive set features Chirrut Îmwe with his fabric cloak and two Imperial Hovertank Pilots. The ever-popular Imperial AT-ST Walker (set #75153; 449 pieces) makes a welcome return to Rogue One, with posable legs, an opening cockpit that houses its driver, and a wheel activated rotating top section. This $39.99 set also includes spring loaded shooters, and comes with three minifigures of AT-ST Driver, Baze Malbus (with his heavy blaster), and Rebel Trooper. The iconic looking TIE Striker (set #75154; 543 pieces) makes its debut with its large adjustable angular wings, available to purchase for $69.99.
The new TIE has rear storage as well as an opening cockpit, front and top, that accommodates the included TIE Pilot. Three additional minifigures are also included — Imperial Ground Crew, Imperial (Scarif) Shoretrooper, and a Rebel Trooper. An Imperial ship such as the TIE Striker demands a Rebel counterpart, and also making its Rogue One debut is the Rebel U-wing Fighter (set #75155; 659 pieces). Priced at $79.99, the U-wing is an impressive fighter featuring four large engines, an opening cockpit, opening side doors for transporting cargo and people, dual spring-loaded shooters, and huge wings that sweep back and forth depending on the fighter’s flight mode. The U-wing comes complete with five minifigures including Jyn Erso, the film’s main protagonist or antagonist (depending on which side you’re on), Cassian Andor, Bistan, U-wing Pilot, and Rebel Trooper. The final set is also the most imposing — Krennic’s Imperial Shuttle (set #75156; 863 pieces). Director Krennic’s Imperial Shuttle is also the most expensive in the range at $89.99, but features 863 pieces and six minifigures including Director Krennic, two Imperial Death Troopers, Pao, Bodhi Rook, and also the re-programmed Imperial droid K-2SO.
The intimidating ship features huge folding wings, much like other Imperial shuttles, although Krennic’s is black, rather than white. The front and side of the ship feature opening panels which adds to play value. There is also an opening cockpit, rear ramp with storage, retracting landing gear and more. All the new LEGO sets from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story feature incredible detail and are the perfect addition to any LEGO Star Wars collection, allowing you to recreate your favorite moments from the film, or tell your own story. Happy building — and rebelling! James Burns co-owns and runs Jedi News (with Mark Newbold) — the largest English-speaking Star Wars fan site in Europe — is the co-host of the UK-centric RADIO 1138 podcast, and is a regular contributor to Star Wars Insider and Build the Millennium Falcon magazines. blogger, about the latest goings at Rancho Obi-Wan.The month of September is one of the busiest for LEGO Space fans. In fact, they refer to the month as SHIPtember, dedicated to building spaceships.
But not just any kind of spaceship would qualify as a SHIPtember creations. They have to be big… bigger the better… but at least 100 studs long. According to this discussion at LUGnet from 2002, the S.H.I.P. acronym was first proposed by LEGO fan James Brown and stood for “Seriously Huge Interstellar Plastic”. This was changed by another LEGO fan, Jon Palmer, “to Seriously Huge Investment in Parts”, and the definition stuck. As I really like LEGO spaceships, I have been keeping an eye on projects that were created for SHIPtember 2016. These large ships are built by some of the well-known veterans of LEGO spaceship building, and there are also newcomers every year who surprise us with their amazing creations. Below I will show you some of my favorites. ➡ LEGO SPACESHIP HOATZIN INFILTRATOR BY ROOK: This stunning spaceship that looks like a bird of prey is 137 studs long and 155 studs wide. And yes, those orange bits are LEGO Brick Separators. Now you know what you can do when you have too many! Y
ou can see more pictures at ROOK’s flickr gallery. ➡ LEGO PROTOSS CARRIER BY TIM SCHWALFENBERG: The massive Protoss Carriers serve as both command centers and devastating weapons of war. Heavily armored and shielded, the Protoss Carrier mounts no weaponry, but instead, manufactures and launches flights of robotic interceptors at vital enemy targets. The computer-controlled interceptors are capable of quickly tearing apart even the largest of vessels with their relentless strafing runs. Don’t be fooled by the delicate lines of this spaceship. It is actually 100 studs long and quite sturdy. Tim shares that it took him six days to build, which is a feat in itself. You can see more pictures at Tim’s flickr gallery. ➡ LEGO SPACESHIP KULICIDAE BY LEGOHAULIC: This organic looking spaceship definitely looks like the creation of an alien civilization. The three round domes (two at the sides and one at the bottom) are motorized, and can rotate as the ship travels through deep space. C
heck out LEGOhaulic’s flickr gallery for a video demonstration of how it works. ➡ LEGO SPACESHIP TITAN BY I SCREAM CLONE: The Titan measures over 115 studs long, 40 studs wide and 50 studs high. The dark-blue and gray color-scheme with the purple glow is a fantastic combination. Also notice the small fighters and other crafts flying around the big mothership. You can see a lot of detailed pictures at I Scream Clone’s flickr gallery. ➡ LEGO SPACESHIP OASIS BY CESAR SOARES: The first OASIS class explorer ship was commissioned in the year 2077. Its primary objective is to seek out new planets suitable for colonization. Fitted with the latest warp technology available during that period, it is capable of reaching Alpha Centauri in a matter of days. It was named OASIS due to being equipped with a Hydroponics Bay – an artificial ecosystem that not only provided food and air but also R&R for the crews – offering a way to make long interstellar travel bearable. The OASIS class was capable of performing multiple non-combat roles. T
he science module can be replaced with a cargo module and refitted into a cargo transport. Minimal combat capability is ensured with only 7 anti-fighter turrets. Further defense is enhanced by drones. For planetary exploration the scientists can land using the surveyor, which is equipped with utilities for onsite experiments. This ship is 132 studs in length. See more at Cesar Soares’ flickr gallery. ➡ LEGO BATTLESTAR CHELONE BY EL BARTO: Following the discovery of the Galactica orbiting within the Sol system’s asteroid belt, designs for a new fleet of warships began. The result is the Battlestar Chelone – Greek for turtle. Significantly more armored that her Colonial counterpart, the Chelone-Class Battlestar is built to withstand multiple nuclear missile strikes. Visit El Barto’s flickr gallery for more. ➡ LEGO SPACESHIP ZEA’X DAUPHIZ BY CECILIE FRITZVOLD: An exploration vessel made by the Tuor’arc, on a peaceful mission to explore space and search for other species, hoping they are not alone in the universe. T
his is another beautiful alien looking ship. The color combination is so striking! See more at Cecilie’s flickr gallery. ➡ LEGO SPACESHIP ENIGMA BY SWESTAR: This cleanly designed carrier is SweStar’s first attempt to build a S.H.I.P. It is 115 studs long, and comes with a carefully chosen color combination. You can see more pictures at SweStar’s flickr gallery. ➡ LEGO SPACESHIP EFS ASIMOV BY SUNDER_59: The Asimov Ore Processor is not your ordinary spaceship. Do you see those claws and arms at the bottom? Now they are empty, but when Asimov sees some good asteroid full of iron nearby, she can crush and eat it. Swarms of mining drones and transport ships are delivering ore to Asimov’s hangars. The whole thing looks like giant steel hive. See those spinning things? They are ore mills, crushing pieces of rock into dust. Then ore is separated from waste, enriched, and prepared in other ways to become high-quality steel. You can see more pictures and read more about the ship at Sunder_59’s flickr gallery.
➡ LEGO SPACESHIP USS VIKING BY ANDREAS LENANDER: Designed and manufactured during the mining wars, the USS Viking was the largest ship in the EAA (Earth Alliance Armada). Its primary objective was to provide protection for the less heavily armored transport ships in the mining fleet. Produced over a period of 28 years, the JYL-class destroyers are by far the longest running ship type ever to be manufactured, and was crucial in securing resources for the EAAs continued dominance throughout the galaxy. This was also a first attempt at S.H.I.P. building by a very talented LEGO fan. Andreas says that despite its large size (130 studs long), the swooshability of this ship is excellent. I also like the bright of the red contrasted by the dark-gray greeblings. You can see more pictures at Andreas’ flickr gallery. As you can see, spaceships come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing they all have in common; they are very impressive. I also find it pretty remarkable that most of these ships were built in just a few days. W