Jango's Helmet

Builder Lego Admiral is back with another addition to his growing collection of wearable Star Wars helmets. This time around it's Jango Fett, feared bounty hunter, general badass and Boba Fett's "dad". I really expected Jango to play a larger role in the prequels, given the popularity of Boba. Alas, he ended falling short of expectations, and shorter than he was at the beginning of Episode II.

BB-9E

The anticipation for The Last Jedi is growing, and with Force Friday things just intensified. A lot of hype is surrounding this little guy, a BB unit clearly aligned with the First Order, with some classic Imperial styling. And what better way to celebrate his arrival than a Brick Sketch, done to perfection by the inventor of the art form himself, Chris McVeigh.

I See You've Constructed A New Lightsaber

Yes, I know that's a quote from Vader, and that he's referring to Luke's saber in Return of the Jedi. Try to imagine me doing a terrible Darth Vader impersonation (well, it's not that bad) and I'm actually speaking to builder Koen, now it makes sense. This version of Vader's lightsaber is the best I've ever seen in brick, clean and surprisingly acurate.

Battle In the Streets of Theed

With the excitement of Battlefront II growing, fans like Jamesbrick take to their plastic bricks to express their longing for the game to come sooner. With the game footage we have seen, we know that you will be able to play in Theed, the capital city of Naboo, as your favorite heroes and villains of the films (including the clone troopers, voided by the awesome Dee Bradley Baker once again)! This little fight scene created by James brings together recognizable sights from Theed, such as the tan architecture, green roof lines, and layered streets/balconies. With this being such a small scene, I'm quite impressed with how well it came together. There's just the right amount of texturing here! Not too much, not too little. Who would win in a fight, Rey or Maul?

Start Saving Your Pennies Kids!

After much anticipation, after much debate, after endless arguing among the fans, it can finally be revealed that the rumors are true...there's a new UCS Millennium Falcon on the way, and it's glorious. Not only is it way more accurate and detailed than the original, it's got two configuration, as it appeared in Empire Strikes Back and The Force Awakens (and The Last Jedi). There's also some limited interior details you can access through removable panels.

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At 7541 pieces it's also the largest LEGO set ever produced. So large in fact they've developed special packaging to allow you to actually wheel it out of the LEGO Store like carryon luggage. But you'll have to wait just a bit for it, it's not out until October 1st. And I was serious about the saving the pennies part, it costs a whopping $799US. But hey, the biggest set ever should have the biggest price tag ever right?

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Here's some features...

• Includes 4 classic crew minifigures: Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and C-3PO.
• Also includes 3 Episode VII/VIII crew minifigures: Older Han Solo, Rey and Finn.
• Figures include a BB-8 droid, 2 buildable Porgs and a buildable Mynock.
• Exterior features include intricately detailed and removable hull panels, a lowering boarding ramp, concealed blaster cannon, 4-minifigure cockpit with detachable canopy, interchangeable round/rectangular sensor dishes, upper and lower quad laser cannons, and 7 landing legs.
• Main hold features a seating area, Dejarik holographic game, combat remote training helmet, engineering station with turning minifigure seat and a doorway build with passageway decoration.
• Rear compartment features the engine room with hyperdrive and console, 2 doorways, hidden floor compartment, 2 escape pod hatches, engineering console and an access ladder to the gunnery station.
• Gunnery station features a minifigure gunner’s seat and detachable hull panel with fully rotating quad laser cannon. An additional quad laser cannon is also mounted on the underside.
• Also includes an informational fact plaque.
• Features a new cockpit canopy element.
• Classic crew weapons include Han’s blaster pistol and Chewbacca’s stud-firing bowcaster.
• Episode VII/VIII crew weapons include Han’s blaster, Rey’s small silver blaster and Finn’s medium blaster rifle.
• Change out the features and crew characters to switch between classic and Episode VII/VIII versions of the Millennium Falcon!
• Open individual hull panels to access the detailed interior while retaining the overall exterior appearance.
• Slide the panel to reveal the concealed blaster cannon.
• Turn classic Leia’s and Han’s head to reveal their breathing mask decoration.
• Makes the perfect intergalactic toy or flagship display model.
• Measures over 8” (21cm) high, 33” (84cm) long and 22” (56cm) wide.

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IG-88 Assassin Droid - Watch Out Meatbags!

IG-88 is arguably the deadliest Robot Bounty Hunter in the Star Wars universe. Eric Druon has updated his IG-88 robot MOC previously made in 2007. This super accurate build measures 40cm/16" tall and has plenty of articulation and great detailing. I love the bandolier, and am pleased to see the droids distinctive silhouette has been so faithfully reconstructed.

Younger readers may not remember IG-88 from the movies as he only has a very brief cameo in the Empire Strikes Back. He does also appear in an episode of the Disney Forces of Destiny episode "Bounty of Trouble".

I wonder if Holowan Laboratories are hiring if so Eric is a shoe in for their next vacancy!

Wearable Empire

If Star Wars taught me one thing, it's that helmets are popular in space. And what good is a helmet that you can't wear? Well, Lego Admiral seems to think the same thing, and has crafted these excellent Vader and Stormtrooper helmets in bricks, and you can actually wear them. I don't know how much protection they would offer, then again Stormtroopers can be taken out by a teddy bear with a rock, so the real ones don't offer much either.

Motorized BB-8

BB-8 is pretty much universally adored, and since the release of The Force Awakens we've seen thousands of iterations of this little guy. He's on everything from sports bottles to hats. Being nothing but round makes him naturally difficult to build in bricks, but our love for him means that builders keep doing it. Check out this version by Takamichi Irie, not only does it look great, the motorized functions really bring him to life.

Chibi AT-ACT

Drawing inspiration from MacLane's now classic chibi AT-AT, builder zachmoe decided to build an AT-ACT for a little adorable Scarif stomp stomp action. It's really hard to run away or draw your weapon when you're having a total squee moment and going "awww". The First Order should consider this as part of their design plan, it just might work.

Technique Tuesday - Bowcasters

One of the best things about the LEGO community is that we can learn from one another.  Here at BrickNerd, we like to share techniques that we see from builders all around the world. . .

I haven't seen any many techniques come across my feeds this week, so I decided to do one other feature of my own techniques. Any Star Wars fan is familiar with Chewbacca's famous bowcaster, but do you remember what LEGO provides as an accessory? That's right, just a silver LEGO crossbow piece, the same used in castle sets. Or, now they have the crossbow stud shooter. Sometimes you just need something else, a weapon of your own design. Did you know that most Wookies craft their own bowcasters? Using simple parts, I created a series of different bowcaster designs. Each is scaled for minifigures, maybe just a bit long in some cases (but not too terrible). I think my favorite design is third from the right. Do you have a favorite design? Obviously the combos can we mixed and matched, which allows a bit of "customization" for your minifigures. You can take a closer look over on my Flickr page, NS LEGO Designs. Thanks for taking a look!

The Epic Star Destroyer Crash

There are no words I can type to express how truly incredible this creation is to me. Simon Liu created something I did not expect to see recreated in LEGO this well, or recreated in general. Why? Well, I'm not quite sure. Apparently, Simon is simply powerful with the Force. A masterful shot featured in the latest Star Wars film, under the direction of Gareth Edwards, was two Imperial Star Destroyers smashing into each other at this interesting angle. Under the command of Admiral Raddus, a Hammerhead corvette pushed a disabled Destroyer into another, which lead to the destruction of the shield over Scarif. This is no doubt a complex scene to have done in LEGO, yet Simon indeed achieved the angles, destruction, and overall appearance so well! This has got to be my favorite model from Simon to date. Incredible!

Imperial Platform On Endor

I remember the moment a saw the AT-AT walking in the forest of Endor when I saw Return of the Jedi the first time. It was a bit jarring at first, since it's only use we had ever seen was on Hoth, but then it occurred to me that the first "AT" stands for "all terrain", which put me strangely in awe. The endless possibilities of where these had been used that we had never and would never see in the Star Wars universe seemed so expansive. Speaking of awe, look at this absolutely stunning landing platform from builder dmaclego. You can practically hear the soundtrack and smell the damp forest air.

Ambush In Tythoni Square

Rogue One had some seriously cool and fun action sequences, and this was one of them. We knew when we saw the trailer some serious crap was going to go down here, and we were right. This excellent diorama by builder Boba-1980 depicts the calm before the storm, just before the rebels attacked the transport. It's also an expanded vision of an earlier smaller scale MOC previously featured here on BrickNerd, nice to see it fully realized.

Theed Spaceport

While I'm no fan of the prequels, that doesn't diminish my appreciation for this MOC by The Steads. Besides, I love a good micro build, especially a Star Wars micro build. And seeing this many N-1 Starfighters in one scene is pretty stunning. Now if we can just keep that little brat from stealing one...

The "AT" Stands For All Terrain

Whether it's the classic AT-AT or the newer AT-ACT, or the other Imperial walking vehicles, the AT stands for All Terrain, and they mean in. We've seen these things walk through everything from snow to forest to tropical paradise, and keep those pesky rebels on their toes. These positively adorable micro scale walkers from builder Grantmasters show just how versatile these machines really are.

Jumpspeeder

LEGO itself has released many of their own Imperial speeder bikes, but that does not stop the flow of custom designs throughout the LEGO community, all of which seem get better as they come. The latest addition is this sleek design by Graeme.Straughn, who has been producing many incredible Star Wars creations over the past few months. Mixing simple elements creatively, and in excellent positions, he has truly created a master bike design. Some many not appreciate the "illegal" connection points, but I for one do appreciate them, especially on such a small, but intricate vehicle design. May the swooshing be with you!

Wookie Bowcaster

To quote Han Solo, "I like this". It's one of the more unusual weapons of the Star Wars universe, the wookie bowcaster. And while it's very unconventional (is it a crossbow? what does the cable fire?) it's always been a favorite of mine, if only because it's what Chewbacca carries, and Chewbacca is awesome. A stellar prop recreation by builder Lego Admiral.

Table Scrap Tiny Fighters

Labelled as table scraps by the builder (which is quite ironic, considering that there are several kitchen utensils used here), David Zambito used some brand new collectible minifigure accessories to good use. David used the new dark blue food trays as the panels for the iconic TIE fighter vehicle. With perhaps a recoloring of these pieces in black in the future, and maybe some custom sticker work, these would work incredibly well for microscale TIE fighter building. The other use, which is my favorite, is the at the very end of the Y-wing. Those are the new wisk accessories, which work so very well to cap off a little rebel starfighter. Simplicity is not always a bad thing, as demonstrated here. All you need is your creativity.