Legos, anyone?

[danth]

8 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I've messed with those triangle tiles before (really useful parts), and they can be tricky to  stand on their base like a pyramid to form the Blacktron logo. Here's a simple way I found to do it: 

Well hot damn, that's perfect! I didn't even experiment with studs-on-top solutions but that 2x2 jumper plate is genius. I'll definitely be stea --, er borrowing that idea at some point!

8 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

In all your LEGO endeavors, I wish you every success. Keep building, and build what makes you happy; that's the important part. I appreciate the kind words, and your valuation of my input. I'm honored, man, and happy to help if I can.  Leg godt, bro!

Same to you! And in all seriousness: the Betrayer would not exist had I not seen your amazing creations.

Peace!

[sh9000]

 

[M'Kyuun]

Got mine ordered- can't wait!

Not sure where I'm going to put this behemoth, but there was no way I was passing this up; this was number one on my LEGO Star Wars wish-list, and I'm so incredibly pleased with how it turned out.  I don't think I've ever been more excited for a Star Wars set, although the initial Death Star playset , which resides on my desk to this day, would be a close second.

[ErikElvis]

I want that AT-AT pretty bad but alas my budget won’t allow it unless I sell off some stuff. 

[Scyla]

3 hours ago, ErikElvis said:

I want that AT-AT pretty bad but alas my budget won’t allow it unless I sell off some stuff. 

I will wait ordering mine. Maybe I can get a discount on it next year.

[sh9000]

 

[danth]

New joints in the new Monkie Kid macaque mech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-8IY2kE0Zo

Or did we already know about these?

Not sure if they will solve any of your problems, @M'Kyuun. But it looks like they might be useful for medium sized mechs.

[danth]

Apparently Classic Space is back but it's also City Space?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9leevvE_k/

[M'Kyuun]

On 12/1/2021 at 5:02 PM, danth said:

New joints in the new Monkie Kid macaque mech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-8IY2kE0Zo

Or did we already know about these?

Not sure if they will solve any of your problems, @M'Kyuun. But it looks like they might be useful for medium sized mechs.

FINALLY!  It's not exactly what I had in mind, but good enough. This solves many a problem with their use of the AT-AT leg joints, where the long joint sticks out of both ends and looks awkward at the waist. Now we'll be albe to make clean shoulders and hips.

So I wonder why they didn't employ this on the new AT-ST so we'd finally have one with fully moveable legs? Ah, well- it's mod-able.

Thank you, @danth for pointing this out. I hadn't seen it prior, so I'm gonna be on cloud 9 all day today thinking about the possibilities.

 

Loving what they're doing with those City Lunar sets, too. Def some CS nostalgia there, while taking a more grounded approach, figuratively speaking, to the design cues. 2022 is already shaping up to be a monumentally fantastic year after LEGO caps 2021 with the UCS AT-AT.   Never a better time to be a LEGO fan. Well, the late 70s into the early 90s were pretty awesome, too.

One very good thing of note about next year's space sets is that LEGO have finally eschewed the one-piece helmet and backpack element for a separate helmet and brick-built backpack which utilizes a clip to hold utensils. I was never really a big fan of that old piece, and now the astrofigs will be able to turn their heads. Too, the clip on the side is really handy, as well as reminding me of the old 80s Playmobil astronaut figs, which I loved as a kid.

Here are two of the three upcoming 2022 City Space sets, and they are looking amazing. Love the new quarter dome pieces. There's a great balance of current tech and futuristic projection in the Research Base that speaks to 50s and 60s era ideations of space colonies with their domes and snaking tubes going from one section to another. A couple copies of this set interconnected could create a nice sprawling hab. I love the lab perched over the garage idea- great visually and for playability, not to mention practicality. Too, it's nice to see the old CS symbol interspersed throughout the set. Barring neo-CS sets or original sci-fi Space sets, I'll gladly take this as a compromise of sorts. Still, the possibilities of a large sci-fi command ship using one of those quarter domes for a windshield would be glorious. Moving on to the Rocket Launch Center, both sets from 2019 (60228, 60229) were brilliant, but this is a lovely addition, and I'm digging the little observatory looking building, as that's a first in a LEGO Space set. And again, it incorporates a usable space over a garage, which I like immensely. One other cool thing of note is the Octan fuel cell in the rocket- I never tire of LEGO's iconic home-branded petrol/energy company's red, white, and green containers in a set.❤️ Lots of good to look forward to, and they haven't released pics of their Lunar Rover yet, although you can see a faded partial image in one of the small panels on the back of the Lunar Research Base's box. It looks to take a lot of inspiration from NASA's current rover concept.  TBH, I'm not really crazy about this thing🤮, but I hope LEGO's interpretation will make it cooler.

Space!

This new Ninjago mech is pretty intriguing; outside of the Ideas Voltron set, I can't think of another instance of an official combiner mech. I hope they continue to do stuff like this. Eventually, I hope they'll make a really good transforming model. Note the use of the glorious new joints at the hips and shoulders.🤤😍 Gawd, I can't wait to get my mitts on those things!

Speaking of new joints, I'm tentatively excited for the new socket bricks that are showing up on several of the 2022 sets. I count at least six of them on this Iron Man model, and at least four on that excellent tiger Creator set. I'm hoping they have greater friction than the normal socket bricks, thus negating the need for the friction extender element. Both of these sets look good to me (I'm an Iron Man fan from way back), and I much prefer a System-built figure over the Constraction figs made from Technic bits.

Referring back to 2022 City, LEGO's releasing a new hospital set that I find very appealing in its structure, more so than the previous hospital release. That nigh-cantilever section over the roadway reminds me of Falling Water, the famous Frank LLoyd Wright house in PA. Looks great.😍

Taking a break from the traditional red and white color scheme for emergency vehicles, they went with greenish-yellow and turquoise across the theme, and while I personally like the red and white better, it's a nice change that reflects colors used in other parts of the world, especially Europe.

This heli from the same theme strikes me not so much for the color scheme, but for the addition of the painted bar separating the canopy. Practically, it doesn't make sense, as LEGO only places a single pilot in the center of their helicopter models' cockpits, but if they make this bit in black, there's definite Airwolf potential there.  

2022 is looking like another good year for LEGO. They've certainly made my millennia by introducing new joints, which I've been longing and begging for for years. But I see some interesting advancements in other places, be it the combining factor in a mech, bold color choices apart from tradition, exciting new parts, interesting architectural choices, etc.  It shows growth and expansion within the design team, and that's cool. Looking forward to the new year and all the brick goodness that's to come.

Edited December 3, 2021 by M'Kyuun

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I would love to have this one buzzing around my xmas tree 😆:

[Chronocidal]

On 12/2/2021 at 2:40 PM, M'Kyuun said:

 

I am so unbelivably happy about the fact that this set exists, solely for the fact that it includes the perfect parts to complete the boosters for the Kingsknight shuttle stack.  I've been waiting.. probably literally thirty years for LEGO to release a larger cone element at the same slope as the small 2x2 nosecones, and this is a double whammy win, since it also includes white barrel tubs for the nozzles.

I'll need at least two of these.  The quest for more orange elements for the tank continues, but this is a huge step toward completing the stack in that scale.

[mark-1s]

Another bike is coming out for us motorcycle lovers again:

BMW M 1000RR

https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/bmw-m-1000-rr-42130

As much as I want this one, 3x the cost of the previous Ducati seems a little excessive..... 

 

 

 

[anime52k8]

the current 1000rr is generic and boring anyways; the older models have infinitely more character.

Edited December 9, 2021 by anime52k8

[wm cheng]

The Ducati is 646pcs vs. BMW is 1920pcs - hence the price difference...

[Bolt]

Finally my life long obsession is justified 😛

 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/10/investing-in-lego-more-lucrative-than-gold-study-suggests

[mark-1s]

1 hour ago, wm cheng said:

The Ducati is 646pcs vs. BMW is 1920pcs - hence the price difference...

Whoa! I didn't notice the difference in piece count. Still too steep for my cheap blood.   

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, Bolt said:

Finally my life long obsession is justified 😛

 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/10/investing-in-lego-more-lucrative-than-gold-study-suggests

I think the majority of us who are well invested in the hobby as a hobby, and in the pursuit of obtaining older or out-of-production sets, have seen the investment potential over the years. Daniel Jezek, may he rest in much deserved peace, saw the potential not just for sets, but for the parts market, and to my everlasting gratitude, created Bricklink.  So, it's not a new observation that LEGO is an investment, but it's very cool that more and more esteemed organizations who follow investment trends are making their observations known. It's a nice tip of the cap to LEGO as well, who very nearly bought the farm, so to speak, back in the early 2000s due to over -diversification and movement away from their core- the brick and well-done sets. Theirs is a rags-to-riches-to rags-to-extreme-riches story, and I'm forever grateful to Kjeld Kristiansen for swallowing his pride, stepping down as CEO, and promoting Jorgen Vig Knudstorp as CEO, the first non-Kristiansen in the position since its founding, after he was hired to give guidance on their direction to try and save the company before selling it or going public. Knudstorp had them focus on making good sets, cutting the parts palette, and other cost saving measures, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

 

And now, I'm off to finish the final bags to complete my UCS AT-AT. What a glorious beast it is!  😍

[Sanity is Optional]

3 hours ago, wm cheng said:

The Ducati is 646pcs vs. BMW is 1920pcs - hence the price difference...

It may have more parts, it may be bigger, but honestly the Ducati definitely looks better.

[M'Kyuun]

All done, and it's simply gorgeous, well worth the 22 year wait.

A potential UCS AT-AT has been my Holy Grail set since LEGO acquired the Star Wars license in '99 and started producing UCS sets in 2000. LEGO has released six minifig scale AT-ATs since 2003, including the UCS, and this by far outshines all previous sets both in scale and detail, as it should; all previous sets have anywhere between 700 and a thousand parts, give or take, and retail for around $100-150. This behemoth retails for a whopping $800 and contains 6785 pieces. It's a tough price to swallow, not quite the ill-considered golden ratio of ten cents-per-part which many hold as the standard, and the result is a rather large top-heavy model, about the size of a larger medium sized dog, weighing in at about 13 lbs. 

Given the heft, making the legs movable was a challenge for the designers, but they employed a brilliant solution of using large Technic turntables for the hips and knees which are rotated using a worm gear. The worm gear they used, which has been in sets since 2017, was new to me, only about half the length of the old worm gears.

 Its thin profile lent it to perfect use in the small area within the legs, and I'm extremely happy that the legs are indeed capable of being positioned in different poses, albeit conservatively (they give examples of how to and how not to pose the legs in the instructions). Given previous larger models, like the Hulkbuster and Voltron, which were statues from the waist down, I feared that the legs would be static on this model, too, which would have greatly eroded the joy of having this thing realized at this scale and complexity. Fortunately, those fears are assailed.

As a fan of the old Star Wars cutaway drawings books, the realization of the interior spaces of this AT-AT just warms my heart with nostalgia and a cool factor of 11. This is what I hoped for, but I never dared elevate my expectations to actually getting it. 

I'm so beyond pleased that they gave this model the requisite two floors, equipped with forty chairs, each with a spot on the armrests between to stow weapons. Sadly, none of the Snowtroopers included came with their backpacks, which I've always considered an essential part of the Snowtrooper's kit.  For the asking price, the addition of cloth waist skirts and another eight parts to build the packs would have been nice. Alas, they didn't, and the brick-built packs would have to be removed in order to seat them anyway.  

Sidenote: apparently 2016 was the last year LEGO included the brick-built backpacks and the cloth waist skirts with their Snowtrooper minifigs. I loved both of those features, although, admittedly, the starchy skirts made it difficult to seat them properly without crumpling the skirt, and the backpacks didn't fit in a regular minifig chair. Looking at my 2020 AT-AT Snowtroopers as well as the ones with the UCS, the waist skirt and backpack are now printed on the figs, although it would have been nice had they done side leg printing to show the continuation of the skirt around the legs. They didn't even do that with the UCS figs.  

Here's the entirety of the interior. It's pretty obvious that the cut-away illustration informed the build, even down to the color of the seats and the speeder bike storage at the rear. There's some really sweet detail within those power units in the upper right corner, including Octan red, green, and white colored cylinders, a nice wink and nod to LEGO's homegrown fictional energy company. Unfortunately, the Technic structure of the AT-AT's upper rump sits flush against the tops of those units, which have hinged doors on top. I wish they'd made that whole section open up like the trunk of a car so you could access those. Alas, I'm sure it was for stability, and honestly, there's only a 1x2 Technic liftarm connecting each of the angled structures to the vertical structure at the back end, so it's a fairly simple mod.

As to the speeder bike storage, the set comes with two, but there's enough room for four total. Bring on that Hoth Battle Pack on 1 Jan.

Removing the large panel sections is relatively simple and painless. They definitely had display in mind and catered to that end with the ease of removing the various panels. The entire side panel is one piece, comprised of three panels connected by bar and clip joints. The whole thing is suspended on those grey axles with the yellow bushings- the axle length is only half a brick in length, but that whole large side section sits on them firmly without issue and comes off just as easily by lifting and pulling outward. All the other panels follow a similar methodology- gravity and non-friction axle connections keep all the panels in place, and allow for easy removal and replacement, which is so much better than fighting with stubborn Technic pins.

The center sections of the side panels feature an opening door for Troop access. They could have just used a tried and true plate-built assembly on clicky hinges as they do in most of the regular retail AT-ATs, but they chose to go a step or two beyond. As you can see in the pic I posted with the Trooper standing in the open doorway, the hatch is built with bricks using an interesting SNOT technique where the top and bottom halves of the door are placed together female to female without any connection. There are bricks with studs on the sides on the sides of the door, and additional bits that attach to either side hold the whole construct together, along with a huge black plate that attaches on the inside of the door to various SNOT bricks within the door's structure to offer further strength. It's a surprising build, but it works. It gets better: the hatch in question doesn't just simply swing upward; it actually recesses into the side when closed, and the whole thing must slide out one stud's width before it can swing upwards. 

With the hatch closed, you can see a bit of the brown axles upon which the whole thing slides in and out.

And here, you can see how the hinges moved to allow the door to slide outwards to clear the structure. The hatch itself hinges on a couple 1x5 Technic plates

using the friction of a simple sandwich connection. Note the studs facing opposite directions on those Technic plates- lots of SNOT in this particular part of the model. 😍

The head and neck are of particular interest, as the former is rather large, heavy, and highly detailed to match the scene where Gen Veers gives Vader the OK to start his landing. I was a little sad that the periscope function wasn't included, but Veers has plenty of space behind his little raised command area, and the drivers actually get proper chairs to sit in. The viewscreen, provided by a sticker, sits very close to the drivers' faces, and I find myself wishing they'd found a way to actually make the viewport practical. Perhaps I ask too much.

As spacious as Veers' area is, the driver area is pretty cramped, and the right driver has to sit a little more forward than the left driver due to a brick-built detail on Veers' command podium, which brings his, or her, head even closer to the viewscreen.  Unfortunately, due to the way it was built, there's no easy way to mod that area to shift the viewscreen a little bit forward so the drivers' heads aren't practically resting on it. It's a minor nitpick I have with the head design.  Access to the interior of the head is excellent; not only do the side panels remove easily, but the entire top and front hinges up, enabling easy access to all parts of the head's interior. The only downside is that there's no friction in the hinges, and no propping mechanism, which means that whole top section must be held manually while using your free hand to make adjustments within. It's a minor nitpick.

The neck structure is a brilliant bit of LEGO engineering, as, like the moving leg mechanism, a lot was riding on their ability to suspend this big heavy noggin with something that looks accurate, while retaining the requisite strength to do the job without fear of falling apart. To accomplish it, the designers used four of these 1x16 links 

threaded between the spokes of these rims and attached to brick and Technic structures on either end.  There's a bit of stiff tubing threaded between the centers of the rims, which gives them a little bit of additional tension. Altogether, the neck can swing side to side in a very shallow arc, but it's better than nothing at all, and honestly, it's all you need. There's no up or down movement to the head, but again, that's asking a lot, and I'm just pleased that they were able to make the neck look as close to the original as they did while imbuing it with enough flexibility to turn the head at all. There's a small control lever in the upper forward section of the body that allows you to turn the head, but I think it's easier just to move it by hand. Still, the option is nice.

 

As you can see, the side guns can rotate a full 360 degrees- those entire dishes rotate, and there's enough friction that they'll stay where you position them. Of course, the chin guns can move in and out; they're linked together to recreate the reciprocating motion from the film.

And finally, here's a pic for an idea of scale. And one final note for accuracy's sake; the legs are suspended above the feet as per the original movie model. There are two Technic quarter arc elements tied together to form the full half-arc which form the ankles. It's one of the more subtle bits of brilliant engineering on the model, but extremely important to both the look and functionality of the feet. They could have fudged that connection, much as they do with the smaller System sets, but it just wouldn't have looked right, and I'm so glad they went the extra mile to make those arc bits to 'float' the legs properly. Building the feet, and the legs for that matter, was an exercise in tedium, as you're repeating the same build for all four, but the payoff is huge once you attach them to the frame and articulate them for the first time. Pure LEGO joy.😍

In summation, while it has a nitpick or two, I'm far more overwhelmed by just how good this model is.  I'm glad the designers waited until the parts they needed were available or the option to create a part or two was available to them, to recreate the AT-AT as closely as possible to both the film model and the cut-away illustration. It represents the best of both external and internal details, giving us the most complete and accurate AT-AT LEGO has ever made. I love it unabashedly, and highly recommend it to both LEGO fans and Star Wars fans, as it has a great appeal to both.

Edited December 11, 2021 by M'Kyuun

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Nice! Did you hurt your thumb building that beast?

[Bolt]

That beauty is EPIC !! Wow 😮 

Great pictures and explanations mate🤙🏼

 

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Nice! Did you hurt your thumb building that beast?

Man, that'd be a great story, but no.  I'm a chronic hand washer, and as such, a couple of my finger pads were dry and cracked.  I wrapped a little tape around them to protect them and enable me to apply pressure with them while I was building it. Also, I can't abide fingerprints on my LEGO, any of my toys, really, so I always wash my hands before handling them. I find the tape is more effective than Band Aids- tougher and doesn't move around when applying pressure. It dulls a little of the dexterity, but not by much. 

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

That beauty is EPIC !! Wow 😮 

Great pictures and explanations mate🤙🏼

 

Thanks! I figure there are plenty of in-depth video reviews on YT by now, so I simply wanted to point out the things that stood out to me personally that I thought others might find informative or interesting as well.

For me, this set is a dream come true, and other than the few nitpicks I mentioned, I really don't know how they could have made it better. It's a fun, if often repetitive, build, but I think the real joy is just seeing all the engineering solutions to serious weight and stress challenges they solved so very elegantly and with an astonishing degree of accuracy to available sources. As I stated in my opening, it was worth the 22 year wait for the parts and techniques to become available to achieve the accuracy they did, and I'm extremely grateful that I was able to get this in my lifetime after pining for it for so long. She's a thing of beauty, but a big one, so now I have to figure out where I'm going to put it. Right now, it's taking up my kitchen counter, and my wife won't stand for that for long.  

[Scyla]

I’m super tempted by the AT-AT as my Lego SW collection are manly Minifig scaled vehicles. This, a Tie Interceptor,  a Tie Bomber and an Imperial Shuttle are the glaring holes in my collection.

[technoblue]

Truly. Thanks for the brilliant build report, @M'Kyuun. 

I'm also super tempted by the UCS AT-AT, especially since the designer included all that cool interior detail. But I'm going to have to resign myself to adding it to my wish list for now. If my space situation changes down the road, I would love to spend VIP points myself and pick it up. I do have the instructions for a minfig-scale AT-AT MOC. I have a long break scheduled over the holidays this year and I was hoping to get some builds done. 

Hopefully, it all comes together.

[M'Kyuun]

5 hours ago, Scyla said:

I’m super tempted by the AT-AT as my Lego SW collection are manly Minifig scaled vehicles. This, a Tie Interceptor,  a Tie Bomber and an Imperial Shuttle are the glaring holes in my collection.

I also want them to do a new and improved Imperial Shuttle. Next to the AT-AT, it's number two on my wishlist. I passed on the first UCS IS b/c there were things about it I just didn't care for- the wonky wing mechanism, separate landing gear piece, and the inaccurate shaping of the nose section. Now they have all these subtle curved elements and a larger palette of Technic elements to really improve the engineering and shaping of the ship to more accurately capture it. Too, I'd love to see a new version have a usable space in the back, as the original UCS model was full of the wing mechanism. I think they can do better. I've seen better MOCs.  After what they accomplished with this AT-AT, they've raised their own bar. Guess we'll see.

3 hours ago, technoblue said:

Truly. Thanks for the brilliant build report, @M'Kyuun. 

I'm also super tempted by the UCS AT-AT, especially since the designer included all that cool interior detail. But I'm going to have to resign myself to adding it to my wish list for now. If my space situation changes down the road, I would love to spend VIP points myself and pick it up. I do have the instructions for a minfig-scale AT-AT MOC. I have a long break scheduled over the holidays this year and I was hoping to get some builds done. 

Hopefully, it all comes together.

I appreciate the kind words, @technoblue. I generally don't do reviews b/c I suck at it, but I'm very passionate about LEGO in general, and super enthusiastic about this model in particular, and I really wanted to share my excitement about it- show it off a little, if you will.  I can't say enough what a brilliant set this is, and I vehemently hope you find the space and the time to get yourself a copy. This is truly one of those rare sets, like the awesome Ninjago City sets, that stands apart and really beggars to be a showcase within the collection. Anyway, play well, man, and all the best with your builds!

[Sanity is Optional]

Finally got my new display case in, so I have somewhere to put my Lego coaster!

Spoiler

 

[Dobber]

Nice case, may I ask where you got it?

Chris

[Sanity is Optional]

5 hours ago, Dobber said:

Nice case, may I ask where you got it?

Chris

Had a local plastics place cut sheets for me to size, and bought some corner clamps, hinges, and magnets off Amazon to assemble it with.

Then glued some aluminum L-bracket under the shelves to stiffen them up.

Looking around, was really hard to find something the right size for the Roller Coaster and Hogwarts Castle, so just ended up designing it myself.

[M'Kyuun]

Pics of the two additional 2022 City Space sets have just hit the interwebs courtesy of German site Stone Wars, so I thought I'd share them. Click the link for pics of other upcoming sets.

So, this thing is neither the prettiest nor the most innovative rover I've seen, but it's what we're getting in this wave, and I'll get it regardless. It definitely takes its cues, perhaps not for the best, from NASA's rover concept:

Perhaps we've been spoiled by decades of really cool and amazing artists' concepts in all forms of media to have become a bit snobbish towards a less than aesthetically appealing looking vehicle like this. It may be practical, but in my eyes, it's fugly as sin.  Even the old 1979 Classic Space ATV has this new set beat leaps and bounds aesthetically.

Still a thing of beauty in this old LEGO fan's eyes.😍

I do have to say, I appreciate the closeup of the astrofigs, as we can now see the new neck-mounted backpack piece, which looks to have four studs on the backplate to build upon, and indeed, I love the new brick-built backpacks and separate helmets in lieu of the uni-helmet pack that LEGO's been using since 2010. Now the little dudes can properly turn their heads while exploring, just like the CS figs could. We've come full circle.  

That crappy thing was ready for retirement, IMHO. This is a far better way to go.

Love this. I wish we had more angles, but since this is in the wild now, I'm sure it won't be long before LEGO releases official pics with more and better views. Kinda curious if that middle section has something inside it, as it's six studs wide, enough to cram a minifig in there with a tiny lab, or maybe a storage compartment of sorts. That little capsule is sweet looking, and appears to be comprised of two new molds. Too, this looks to come with five minifigs, which is about two more than I would normally expect in a set this size. Not complaining. Finally, it's a little bittersweet to see the CS logo emblazoned on everything when this is clearly not CS. But, at least they're keeping the logo alive, and it's always welcome. 

Looks like asteroid capture and examination are at the core of the play pattern, which is fine, as that's pretty much what NASA has planned for future missions. Overall, between the stations we've seen already and these sets, I'm pretty excited for some LEGO Moon missions in 2022! 

[Lexomatic]

The awkward helmet-plus-cuirass (with four Technic pin connections, two lateral and two downward) was introduced for divers in the "Atlantis" theme in 2011, and I agree this is an improvement for Space contexts: it's akin to the two-stud trans-clear neck-bracket used in "Chima" to affix wings to the Eagle-tribe figs. Hasbro's KRE-O had something similar (neck-bracket with four studs) for the Transformers minifigs, several years ago. They're both more versatile than the MMU-style backpack-with-handgrips from CS in the late 1980s. I don't care for the medium-azure color, though; I'd prefer a neutral white or light-bley.

For the windscreens, the trans-light-blue hue isn't very exciting.

Set 60349 is clearly inspired by the NASA "Lunar Gateway" station and corresponding Orion spacecraft, whose service module has four solar panels in a cruciform arrangement. Hmm. We've had plenty of STS, but have any of the recent City spaceport sets inspired by the misbegotten SLS launcher? I try to avoid thinking about its particular configuration and distinctive features.

On the station, the far-left end is the 4x4 curved-corner plate introduced for the Super Mario sets. The EVA'ing astronaut is wielding a power drill, which is funny considering the "oops, there's a hole in this newly-launched Roscosmos module of the ISS, so let's blame a U.S. astronaut" scandal over the past year. A power driver would be a more likely tool, but that element is found in a bagged tool-cluster, and who needs a 4-way lug wrench on a space station?

Edited December 15, 2021 by Lexomatic

[M'Kyuun]

22 hours ago, Lexomatic said:

The awkward helmet-plus-cuirass (with four Technic pin connections, two lateral and two downward) was introduced for divers in the "Atlantis" theme in 2011, and I agree this is an improvement for Space contexts: it's akin to the two-stud trans-clear neck-bracket used in "Chima" to affix wings to the Eagle-tribe figs. Hasbro's KRE-O had something similar (neck-bracket with four studs) for the Transformers minifigs, several years ago. They're both more versatile than the MMU-style backpack-with-handgrips from CS in the late 1980s. I don't care for the medium-azure color, though; I'd prefer a neutral white or light-bley.

Yeah, it was time for a replacement, and I'm glad they went with this new neck bracket, which will, in true LEGO fashion, likely start showing up in other themes and in different colors.

22 hours ago, Lexomatic said:

For the windscreens, the trans-light-blue hue isn't very exciting.

I don't mind it; it lets you see what's going on inside clearly, which works well from a toy perspective. Granted, you'll never see that amount of clear glass on a pressure vessel at the current limits of technology. Imagine how hot it would get in there if something went wrong and they were stuck facing sunward for any period of time. Yikes! 

22 hours ago, Lexomatic said:

Set 60349 is clearly inspired by the NASA "Lunar Gateway" station and corresponding Orion spacecraft, whose service module has four solar panels in a cruciform arrangement. Hmm. We've had plenty of STS, but have any of the recent City spaceport sets inspired by the misbegotten SLS launcher? I try to avoid thinking about its particular configuration and distinctive features.

These and the 2019 CIty Space sets are all inspired by actual and conceptual machines planned for NASA's intended lunar and Mars missions over the next decade(s), albeit with varying degrees of license on LEGO's part. I wish they'd exercised much more license with that rover, i.e., more this 😍

and much less this: 🤮

I was attempting to see what was so questionable about the 'misbegotten' SLS launcher you mentioned, but all I found were pics of the rocket they've been using, which looks like a typical rocket with two typical rocket boosters.  Besides the basic phallic nature of rockets in general, nothing questionable. What were you referring to?  Share the humor, man.

22 hours ago, Lexomatic said:

On the station, the far-left end is the 4x4 curved-corner plate introduced for the Super Mario sets. The EVA'ing astronaut is wielding a power drill, which is funny considering the "oops, there's a hole in this newly-launched Roscosmos module of the ISS, so let's blame a U.S. astronaut" scandal over the past year. A power driver would be a more likely tool, but that element is found in a bagged tool-cluster, and who needs a 4-way lug wrench on a space station?

Yep, the Mario bit has the CS logo on it. A studless verion of that was used on the UCS AT-AT to represent the second floor external hatch.  There was a drilled hole found in one of the Soyuz capsules, as well. I didn't follow the story any further, so I'm not sure who they blamed. Given NASA's safety record compared to that of Roscosmos, they have some gall to throw any shade our way.  Anyway, NASA astronauts have taken drills and drill-like tools into space for decades [the Hubble repair mission (STS 125) stands out], so it didn't seem odd or out of place at all when I saw the pic. In fact, I like the idea of putting tools into the sets, as repairs will always be a requirement in any human endeavor requiring machines and equipment, and it also harkens back to the old classic wrench/screwdriver from Classic Space. 

The recurring element I see in these new sets, as well as the 2019, is the new portal bit  whose use was somewhat superfluous in some of the 2019 sets. it would have been nice if they'd made the effort for it to be a perfectly usable form of transit from model to model, but in some, like the Lunar Space Station and its mini-shuttle, it was more a point of simple docking without the ability to move a fig from one vessel to another. It was a serious missed opportunity for some cool realistic playability. Too, the fact that all those portals opened directly to 'space', without any sort of airlock to adjust for pressure was a bit disappointing. But I guess they don't expect kids at the lower end of the age recommendation to recognize certain physics realities. Not sure if I would have recognized them at 6 either, so  

The new Moon Station continues the trend, as I doubt it'll have an airlock either, and that rover certainly doesn't. God forbid that hatch springs any kind of leak, as the driver's only in shirtsleeves. We'll need a space mortuary set for all the dead astrofigs in the next wave.  Sometimes, it sucks being an adult anchored more to practicality than imagination.  Life was certainly more fun as a kid guided by imagination over science.

[M'Kyuun]

It's hard to believe nearly four years have passed since LEGO released a couple waves of sets based on Overwatch, and then no more. Despite having never played the game, I was a fan of many of those sets, which were mecha-heavy, and lamented their absence in the successive years. Well, it appears that they haven't abandoned the license, and with a second game potentially releasing, amidst a number of high-profile departures at Blizzard including Overwatch designer and director Jeff Kaplan, LEGO has at least one tie-in set, based on the large mech in the trailer.  There's an article and more pics over on The Brick Fan.

While this looks a little anemic in comparison to the bulkier animation model, it's certainly recognizable, and on its own is a pretty cool anime-ish looking mech, which rightly floats my boat. I'm especially pleased to see the new 2022 Technic/ Exo-Force hybrid joints showing up here (I count at least four) used to create streamlined hips and shoulders. I can't say enough how excited I am that LEGO at long, long last have finally made these, and I can't wait to get them in my greedy paws to build something with them.🤤

Too, I love this bolder direction towards mecha models; these sets are ever increasingly looking more like MOCs than official mecha sets of the past, and I welcome the change. Add to this a no-kidding combiner mech coming out later next year in the Ninjago theme, and it's getting pretty exciting what LEGO is doing. I'm hoping a good-quality transforming mech will appear in the very near future; that would be a dream come true.

For now, though, I'm just happy that they're doing stuff like the Overwatch Titan here, and Zane's excellent Titan Mech.

LEGO have come a long way from  and 

Now if they would just put knees on most of these. (Zane's Titan Mech does in fact have knees, BTW, but their appearance in mecha sets is still, frustratingly, an exception rather than the rule).

[M'Kyuun]

Looking forward to picking this set up. The combined mech is a little unrefined compared to any number of Bandai Super Robot offerings and combining Transformers over the years, but as LEGO's second combiner (Ideas Voltron was their first), and their first homegrown design, it's exciting for the promise of more to come, and hopefully a bit of engineering /parts evolution. I can only hope.😍 

Note the new streamlined hip joint pieces, which I've been begging for for years, as well as the new socket joint, which appears to have more surface area in the cup, and hopefully, too, more friction than the piece it's replacing. I keep hoping they'll start making this piece again  to accompany their Mixel joint system---so, so useful.

I wish the new Lunar sets were releasing on the first as well, but I believe they're slated to release as part of the summer wave.  Alas, Christmas provided me a few new 2021 sets to build, so I've still got plenty of bricks to click before 2022's bounty of new goodness arrives.

There's a rumor that LEGO is going to be making Horizon: Zero Dawn sets, with an alleged listing for a 90 Euro Tallneck set having been spotted in a European retailers' catalog. Man, I hope so. LEGO is already set to resurrect their Overwatch license next year, which pleases me greatly, but I've been hoping for official H:ZD sets since having owned the game. There are some incredible MOCs of the various machine creatures from Zero Dawn that demonstrate how well LEGO lends itself to replicating the look of those designs, and it seemed a remarkable lost opportunity for LEGO to not pursue a license. However, with a second game set to launch very soon, I guess they felt it was successful enough to gamble on, or at least I hope so.  Should the rumor prove true, I'll be getting most if not all the sets.

Dreaming a little, but now that there's an agreement in place, LEGO's acquisition of the Macross license would be glorious in the extreme. I think it's extremely unlikely due to its relative anonymity outside of Asia, not to mention the challenging engineering involved, but like I said, it's merely a dream. hell, I'd be happy if they just resurrected the Exo-Force theme with better built bots.

 

 

[Dobber]

Been working on these. Titanic is a little further along than these pictures…a little over halfway now. Took a break and did a quick build last night of the Bird of Paradise. Hopefully, I’ll have Titanic done by the end of this week.

Chris

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Dobber