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LEGO Star Wars UCS Snowspeeder coming!

by on March 23, 2017
in LEGO Star Wars

Yesterday afternoon LEGO revealed the #75144 LEGO Star Wars UCS Snowspeeder, which is the latest in the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series collection. Below are all the details, pictures, and the introductory video from the set designers. 🙂

Here is the official description: Build the ultimate LEGO Star Wars Snowspeeder! Collect a true Star Wars classic: the T-47 Snowspeeder. This LEGO interpretation of the iconic airspeeder that fans will remember from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back has all the details you’d expect, including opening airbrakes, rotating rear gun, and an opening cockpit with space for the included Rebel Snowspeeder Pilot and Rebel Snowspeeder Gunner minifigures. This model also comes with a display stand and fact plaque, so it can take pride of place in any LEGO Star Wars collection.

  • Includes 2 minifigures: a Rebel Snowspeeder Pilot and a Rebel Snowspeeder Gunner.
  • Features intricate, authentic detailing, opening airbrakes, rotating rear gun and an opening cockpit with space for the 2 included minifigures.
  • Attach the Snowspeeder to the stand with fact plaque to display it.
  • Includes 2 blaster pistols.
  • Accessory elements include electrobinoculars, a Snowspeeder Pilot helmet and a Snowspeeder Gunner helmet.
  • Snowspeeder on display stand measures over 8” (21cm) high, 15” (39cm) long and 11” (29cm) wide, and over 4” (11cm) high without stand.
  • 1,703 pieces.
  • Recommended for ages 14+.

The #75144 LEGO Star Wars UCS Snowspeeder will be available for sale directly through LEGO on May 4th. LEGO VIP members will get early access to the set starting on April 29th. Prices are as follows: US $199.99 – CA $229.99 – DE 199.99€ – UK £169.99 – DK 1799.00 DKK (Euro pricing varies by country). It will be listed under the LEGO Star Wars section of the Online LEGO Shop.

The LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series includes sets that are primarily meant to be movie-accurate display-models for adult LEGO fans and collectors. Some of the most notable sets from the series are the #10179 LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon with 5,197 pieces from 2007, the very popular #10188 LEGO Star Wars Death Star from 2008 (a slightly updated version is the #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star from 2016), the #10212 LEGO Star Wars Imperial Shuttle from 2010, the #10221 LEGO Star Wars Super Star Destroyer with 3,152 pieces from 2011, the large #10225 LEGO Star Wars R2-D2 sculpture from 2012, the #10240 LEGO Star Wars Red Five X-wing Starfighter from 2013, the #75059 LEGO Star Wars Sandcrawler with 3,296 pieces from 2014, the #75060 LEGO Star Wars Slave I from 2015, and the #75095 LEGO Star Wars TIE Fighter from 2015.

While most of the sets in the series are large display models of a single vehicle, LEGO also experimented with adding location-based sets with more play-features. The #10236 LEGO Star Wars Ewok Village from 2013 was generally well received, however the #75098 LEGO Star Wars Assault on Hoth released last year, got a lot of criticism for not being cohesive enough for a true UCS set. With the #75144 LEGO Star Wars Snowspeeder, LEGO is going back to the more traditional large and detailed vehicle models the Ultimate Collector Series is known for. It is also interesting to note that this is the second snowspeeder released in the LEGO Star Wars UCS line. The first one was the #10129 LEGO Star Wars Rebel Snowspeeder from 2003, with 1,455 pieces for a price of $130 (see below).

What do you think? How do you like the new LEGO Star Wars UCS Snowspeeder? Do you think it is a worthy addition to the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series? How do you think it compares to the previous version? Are you planning to add it to your collection? Feel free to share your thought and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Great Ball Contraptions: starting small

by on March 22, 2017
in Building Techniques

A LEGO Great Ball Contraption (GBC for short) is a machine that passes LEGO soccer balls or basketballs through a series of complex modules – sort of like a Rube Goldberg machine. They require a good deal of planning and engineering skills, and are an interesting challenge for LEGO fans who would like to experiment with something more complex. 🙂

There are many excellent examples of Great Ball Contraptions on YouTube, however you will soon discover that most of them are very large, and require an immense number of parts. This may discourage LEGO fans to even try building a GBC. However if you examine them closely, you will see that all GBCs are made up of smaller modules. Each module handles the balls in their own unique way, then passes them on to the next module. So it is quite possible to build Great Ball Contraptions module by module, as your skill, experience, and LEGO collection grows (all images by Josh DaVid).

In fact, you can build single-module GBCs, that feed the balls back to themselves, and thus creating a closed loop within a small space. Because these small GBCs don’t require so many parts, but are still fully functional, they are a great way to experiment with GBC building ideas. You don’t even need LEGO Power Functions elements to operate a small GBC, instead, you can make them manual. Once you build a couple of modules that you are satisfied with, you can open up and connect the loops to create a larger GBC, and even add Power Functions.

To help you start out with small, sell-containing GBC modules, LEGO fan Josh DaVid created a series of examples and tutorials that you might use for inspiration. Josh also demonstrates how each module can be operated by hand, or attached to a LEGO Power Functions motor. I also like the tasteful designs and color-schemes.

The basic idea of Great Ball Contraptions is to keep the balls moving, and as you can see in the videos above, there are many ways to roll, lift, throw, and guide balls through a path, and you can use LEGO elements in pretty much unlimited ways to create the action. As long as the piece can roll, push, flip, or drop the balls, they can be incorporated in your layout. While here our focus is on smaller modules, Josh also has a series of tutorials on larger units with more detailed instructions on his YouTube channel.

If you plan eventually to connect smaller GBC modules, it is a good idea to build them in a compatible way, so you can easily open the loops and pass the balls from one module to another. While you can certainly establish your own system for connecting modules, you might also want to familiarize yourself with the Great Ball Contraption Standard, established by LEGO fans to be able to connect smaller units from different builders at LEGO shows and conventions. This way your modules are ready to play well with those built by others from the start.

Great Ball Contraptions are an excellent way to take the LEGO hobby to a more challenging level, while still having lots of fun. And as demonstrated here, you can start small, and build up your modules, as your skill level and experience grows. What do you think? Have you considered building your own GBC modules? Or did you make one already? Feel free to share your own experiences and tips in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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