zrath

Lego Star Wars 10221 UCS Super Star Destroyer set

It's for real! The image comes from Lego.com!
OMGSQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

"We are currently experiencing technical difficulties: the Kzin has passed out.
Normal service will resume once he awakens."

So I went to a LUGOLA meeting today.
Over the past two days, I built a quicky spaceship just to have something to show.
The gang seemed to like it.
I'll take photos of it tomorrow and stick them on Flickr.
It's a submariny-squiddy spaceship in yellow and white and grey.
When one of the LUGOLAians first saw it, he said "we can all live in it!". :D
The main reason for going to the meeting was to buy a Lego set from one of my fellow members.
It's a set I've wanted since it was released in 2002. It's my favorite Star Wars ship.
It's been released in other sizes, but this is the BIG one.
I am now the proud owner of a new still-sealed Universal Collectors Series version of the Imperial Star Destroyer.
I'm so happy!!!
I have no idea when I will build it, it's a bit of a challenge.
It's over 3 feet long and it contains over 3000 parts.

In other news, Gabrielle Union is smoking hot.
She was on Monday's Craig Ferguson, which I've just watched, and she was smoking hot, witty, and adorable.

And now, I sleep.
And hopefully dream of Gabrielle Union. :D

OMG WANT!!! (new UCS Imperial Shuttle set!)

It's minifig-scale! It looks just like the original shooting model!
It's coming out in September!
Where the hell are my Euros?!?!?

TIE DEFENDER

Shipping January 1st 2010.
Just in time for NOT Christmas! :D

So San Diego ComiCon is on and Lego is there, because Lego's commitment to comics is well-known. (snicker)
Yeah, the event should really be renamed "San Diego MediaCon International, like for realz.
Anyhoo, Lego has some nifty stuff on display and the folks at From Bricks To Bothans were nice enough
to snap plenty of pictures of the exciting things and put them on their Flickr account for all to see.
Herewith, a bunch of links:

First up, Lego displayed a new Tantive IV (aka Rebel Blockade Runner) playset that looks fabulous.
I like how Lego has cut transparent windows into the conical parts that form the cockpit.
I can already think of other uses for that piece, like the cockpit of a hypersonic airliner.
Because of the speed at which such an aicraft would fly, there can't be any front-facing windows.
The Tantive IV is slated for a September release and will cost $150.

A while back, it was announced that Lego and Disney had signed a deal to release sets based on some of
the Big D's properties. One of said properties was rumored to be "Toy Story", and turns out it's true.
And here are the "Toy Story" photos.
What's interesting about these is that Woody and Jessie have longer legs than normal Lego minifigures.
Up until now, Lego had never changed the length of the articulated legs of the minifigures.
They created shorter legs for minifigs of Yoda, the Ewoks and Young Anakin, but those legs don't move.
And they made taller minifigures by giving them longer bodies that fit over the regular minifig torso.
See the Chewbacca and Hagrid for examples of this.
But yeah, this is a brave new world. Longer minifig legs? Inconceivable! :D
Personally, I think it's cool. It keeps the characters' height more authentic.
"Toy Story" Lego sets are slated for next year.

The other example of Lego Disney on display was "Prince Of Persia".
Disney is making a movie version of "Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time", so there's your toy movie tie-in.
This gives Lego an excuse to make lots of minifigs with interesting clothing patterns and turbans galore!
I'm already salivating at the mix and match prospects for making Egyptian and/or Indiana Jones minifigs.
Also, Lego camel and Lego ostrich! :D
This is also slated for a 2010 release.

You know, if Pixar ever releases their "Princess Of Mars" movie, we can look forward to some nifty sets! :D

And now for something completely more fun!

#2 videogame publisher in the world Electronic Arts is giving away the original "Red Alert" PC game
in the world-famous "Command & Conquer" series to celebrate the future release of "Red Alert 3".
(EA lost its title of #1 videogame publisher in the world to Activision/Blizzard/Vivendi this year)
If you go here, you can download "Red Alert" for free (Allied and Soviet discs in RAR formats with ISO).
You can also view the "Red Alert 3" trailer and play "Spot The Actor" and/or "Spot The Bimbo".
I came up bupkis in the latter because I ignore bimbos.
I got a score of 5 in the former (Tim Curry, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Stormare, J.K. Simmons, George Takei).
Yeah, some companies still believe in FMV cut-scenes. Ain't that quaint? :)


Meanwhile, someone on Brickshelf posted sneak preview photos of the 2009 Lego Star Wars sets.
The set numbers all start with "8", which is a little odd as "8XXX" sets are usually Technic sets.
Also, a couple of these sets might be considered mild *SPOILERS* for the "Clone Wars" TV series. Maybe.
Anyway, view at your own risk! Muahahahahahaha! :D

8014 - Clone Walker Battle Pack (a good and cheap way to build up one's army)

8015 - Assassin Droids Battle Pack (IG88 didn't come out of thin air, you know!)

8016 - Hyena Droid Bomber (pretty neat! And dig the space-hardened Battle Droids!)

8017 - Darth Vader's TIE Fighter (a new "accuratized" version, much closer to the original design.)
(Also, notice the "10-year Anniversary" medallion on the box. Lego Star Wars began in 1999.)

8018 - Separatist AAT (a revamped version of Trade Federation hovertank, different color too.)

8019 - Republic Attack Shuttle (like a mini Imperial Shuttle with guns and missiles.)

So, lots of smaller sets to build up armies and have big battles. Toy soldier fun ahoy! :D

So yes, another post about the love of my life: Legos.
And my favorite set of 2008, eventhough it's not out yet, the Republic Gunship.
Some actual photos of the new Star Wars "Clone Wars" Lego sets popped up on Brickshelf yesterday.
They were taken at the London Toy Fair and the resolution is pretty decent.
Here we see the new Republic Gunship in all its glory.
The Gunship's nose art turns out to be a Salacious Crumb-type critter dropping a missile with both hands.
(Salacious Crumb is Jabba's laughing little beaky monkey pet in "Return Of The Jedi")
The Gunship also has kill markings. The Gunship's a different model from the ones seen in "Episode II".
It doesn't have the side guns, and instead is full of compartments with opening access panels, and what looks like
some kind of drop-pod. I think this is a Special Operations commando variant of the Republic Gunship.
Here's a photo of the minifigures to be included with the set:
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon, Asajj Ventress (with custom lightsaber hilts), Commander Cody (with custom guns), clone trooper.
If you want to see the other pictures in the set, with the AT-TE, Magnaguard Fighter and V-19 Torrent, just go here.


I also stumbled across what could possibly be the absolute largest Lego construction I have ever seen.
I am not kidding, this thing is HUGE!! Like 93 FEET HUGE!! It's 93 FEET LONG!! 29 METERS!!
It's a minifigure-scaled model of the proposed Gibraltar Bridge and it looks like this.
The whole bridge is 93 feet (29 meters) long, the towers are 13 feet (4 meters) high, and it's made up of 200,000 parts.
There's no glue or ropes or metal bars or anything like that. It's all 100% Lego parts and sound engineering.
The builders of this ginormous Lego bridge were inspired by an episode of "Engineering The Impossible" on The Discovery
Channel which featured the Gibraltar Bridge Project. If the real thing was to be built, it would be the highest and
longest bridge in the world, with gigantic towers 3,334 feet (1 km) high, and a total length of 8.7 miles (14 kms).
The mind, she boggles...
Additional photos of the Lego Gibraltar Giant can be found in the following two folders:
1) this folder shows preliminary work and research, and the bridge under construction.
2) this folder shows the bridge on diplay at the LEGOWORLD event in Zwolle (Netherlands).
Those wacky Dutch AFOLs...
(Adult Fans Of Lego)

(Come on, I'm sure some of you have played "Missile Command"! :D )

Wil Wheaton is a nerd and a funny guy.
I've been reading his blog (yeah, I know, "Welcome to the party, pal! A little late ain'tcha!"), it's amusing and charming.
I want to meet him and shake his hand.
Maybe that's why I'm suddenly considering going to PAX '07, the Penny Arcade Expo up in Seattle in late August.
Wil is a keynote speaker there. They bribed him with a Wii. :)
And the expo is all about videogames and videogame stuff!
This would all be dependent upon how the Sibling royalties thing shakes out next month, of course.
I have oodles of paid-time-off saved up, I just need oodles of buck$ to make this happen.
With E3 dead and buried (turned into a tiny by-invitation-only event pretty much means dead and buried to us all), PAX might
be a good susbtitute, and the list of sponsors certainly seems to bear this out: lots of game companies normally at E3.


And speaking of gaming, there's one con I'm sure I won't make: Ziggurat Con
The first gaming con ever held in a war zone! Yes, military games take on a whole new form when you play in Iraq!
By the way, if any of youse got unloved roleplaying stuff laying around the house, send it all to the Ziggurat Con!
Several companies are already donating games, books, and comics, but every bit helps.
An interesting way to support our troops, for sure.


Next weekend (using my definition of "next" which is not this one but the one after) is Star Wars Celebration IV, the gigantic
SW con from hell, actually happening in Los Angeles! At the Convention Center even! Where E3 used to take place.
I'm planning to attend on Saturday (that would be the 26th) to see just what hive of scum and villainy awaits the unwary.
And I'm hoping to see amarafox! I ain't seen her in ages!!
This should be interesting...


Tomorrow Saturday is the anniversary meeting of the C/FO. Mitch Beiro will be in town and will come by the Kzinti Freehold.
The C/FO will celebrate 30 years of existence. That's three with a zero. Damn, that's a long time for an animation club!
I jumped onboard around 1984-1985 myself, I recall going to meetings on my kick-ass Honda Elite 250 scooter (the big one).
Back then, there were multiple chapters of the C/FO and I was member of the Santa Monica branch. The meetings were held
once a month at "A Change Of Hobbit" bookstore on Lincoln Blvd. Jean "Moebius" Giraud's son was a regular attendee.
I still have all the handouts and synopsiseseses from ALL the meetings! I don't know, they might come in handy some day.
So anyway, that's what I'm doing tomorrow: C/FO with BBQ and an anniversary cake, and hanging with Mitch.

I'll probably have the place to myself on Sunday because Pascal will be in the studio, working on his track.


And finally, I just wanted to mention, for those who have asked,
that absolutely nothing whatsoever happened today in sector 83x9x12.
I repeat: nothing happened. Please remain calm.

Lego and Lucasfilms signed a deal in 1999.

( Slave I: The Lego Sessions )

I hope to get the new Y-Wing next.