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Ace | August 25th, 2010 | LEGO Star Wars, News

Kotaku Previews LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Nahdar Vebb - LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Earlier today, Kotaku published a preview of the upcoming video game, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. It seems that with every LEGO game that Traveler’s Tales develops, they improve some aspect of the game engine and this game is no exception. An excerpt:

To deliver the experience of having multiple story lines in the game, Traveller’s Tales created levels that have you hot-swapping between storylines. While you’re playing one storyline, controlling a set of characters, you can see the other storyline preparing to unfold in a bubble-shaped window in the top right corner of your screen.

Shell said that during these moments, the game’s AI will take over for the windowed gameplay, making sure not to die, but also not completing the task at hand. This allows players to go through both story lines simultaneously, Shell said.

Ace | August 24th, 2010 | LEGO Star Wars, News

LULS Darth Vader Returns

Sort of.

Vader display at Target

Spotted at his local Target, Jared Burks (Fine Clonier) of Fineclonier.com fame spotted this Light Up Lightsaber Maxifigure of Darth Vader. Not only does it light up, it moves! Apparently, there was no sound as is customary with LEGO display cases, and if there was it wasn’t very loud, at least with this unit. Jared also adds, “Helmet looked a bit cheap like a blow mold instead of solid plastic, but who cares”. Who cares indeed.

Ace | August 16th, 2010 | LEGO Star Wars, News

Star Wars Celebration Video

Star Wars Celebration wrapped up this weekend and I received a link to a video of LEGO’s presence at the event. The video has a time-lapse segment revealing the mystery mural that was hyped just before the event:

Source

BrickBuildr from our forums attended the event with his lug, GFLUG, and posted some pictures to his stream.

Ace | August 12th, 2010 | News

Gary Kurtz Interview In L.A. Times

“I could see where things were headed,” Kurtz said. “The toy business began to drive the [Lucasfilm] empire. It’s a shame. They make three times as much on toys as they do on films. It’s natural to make decisions that protect the toy business, but that’s not the best thing for making quality films.”

That’s Gary Kurtz, producer and second-unit director of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, describing the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Star Wars film franchise way back in 1980. The L.A. Times article is a pretty lengthy read, but is worth the time as it gives the reader an insight to the way the Star Wars universe we know and love took shape back in the day.

The article may not be directly relevant to the site, and a few things aren’t exactly earth-shattering breaking news (Lucasfilm Licensing is all about making money off it’s toys? REALLY?), but I found it quite a good read as I found out some things that I didn’t know before, such as the original vision of how ROTJ ends; so, with that, I thought I’d share.

Thanks to chief for the link.

Ace | August 10th, 2010 | LEGO Star Wars, News

The Minifigures You’ll Never Get: George Lucas, R2-KT

George Lucas Minifig

The minifigures above and below made an appearance at the Fan Display at Star Wars Weekend this past weekend, but they are cool enough to deserve their own post. If you remember from the LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary book, there was a picture of a George Lucas minifigure somewhere in the back. At least that’s what I was told since a) I can’t remember and b) I can’t find my copy of the book. There was also a picture of every Star Wars minifigure ever made, including prototypes. The George Lucas minifigure you see above is the real deal, not a custom job. The pink R2 unit below, dubbed R2-KT due to its resemblance to the real life R2-KT droid, is a prototype figure used to test the printing pattern for the Clone Wars era R2-D2 minifigure. Only 50 of the pink R2 minifigure are known to exist. Ol’ George? His production number is unknown, making it truly a one of a kind.

These minifigures are not mine, though I wish they were, just shown to me to make me faint with wanton desire. Now, if only a kind soul in Billund would gift me some of these….

R2-D2 and R2-KT
Ace | August 6th, 2010 | LEGO, News

10214 Tan Cheese Service Pack I Mean Tower Bridge Announced

Received some assets today for the new large-scale sculptural model 10214 Tower Bridge. Priced at US $239.99, CA $314.99, UK £204.99, and DE €219.99, you can order the set directly from Shop@Home. Images below the press release, video after that:

Build London’s famous Tower Bridge!

Stretching over the River Thames since 1894, the famous Tower Bridge of London,
England is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Now you can add
this timeless classic to your LEGO world buildings collection! Designed with
advanced building techniques and rare colors and elements, the Tower Bridge is
complete with its iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens. Fun
to build and display, it locks together solidly but can be taken apart in
sections for easy transport. Includes 4 miniature vehicles; a black London taxi,
a traditional red double-decker bus, a yellow truck and a green automobile.
Completed model measures 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm)
wide.

  • Includes 4 miniature vehicles: a black London taxi, a yellow truck,
    green automobile and even a traditional red double-decker bus!
  • Features the iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens
    and closes!
  • Includes unique printed shield!
  • Features hundreds of 1×1 slopes in tan!
  • Many useful arches, angular bricks in tan!
  • Includes 4 blue base plates and over 80 windows!
  • Tower Bridge is ideal for building and display – it can be taken apart
    in sections for easy transport!
  • Add this amazing landmark to your LEGO world buildings collection!
  • Completed model measures an impressive 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm)
    high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
10214 Tower Bridge - Back 2
10214 Tower Bridge - Box 10214 Tower Bridge - Box2 10214 Tower Bridge - Scala 10214 Tower Bridge - Back 2 10214 Tower Bridge - Front 10214 Tower Bridge - Back 5 10214 Tower Bridge - Back 1 10214 Tower Bridge - Side Panel 10214 Tower Bridge - Back Alternative 10214 Tower Bridge - 1 to 1 10214 Tower Bridge - Back 4

Designer video:

Ryan | July 30th, 2010 | LEGO, LEGO Star Wars, News

Celebration V Exclusive CubeDude Set Image Hi Res

A small blurry shot earlier this week teased us all with the news of Celebration V’s CubeDude set: the Empire Strikes Back bounty hunters! Today we get a much more revealing look at the assortment via StarWars.com


Click for hi-res!

I really liked the ComicCon exclusive figures, but these are just awesome.

Thanks to UOldPirate on the forums for pointing out the new article!

Ryan | July 27th, 2010 | LEGO Star Wars, News

Coming Soon: LLCA Star Wars Days 2010!

Update: as Commander Keller on the forums (and probably others who didn’t score as low as me in reading comprehension) noted, Legoland’s page says that participants in the Trivia game have a chance to win the elusive White Boba Fett minifig!

Legoland California’s annual weekend tribute to Star Wars is fast approaching: mark your calendars and make your plans for Saturday August 7th and Sunday August 8th!

Activities include the traditional 501st Droid Hunt game, costume contests, and fan displays. One highlight of the fan display will be Brickplumber’s Endor landing platform dio.

Also fleshing out the weekend are building challenges, trivia games, and more! See Legoland California’s event page for the full agenda.

Hit the break for more shots of last year’s fun! (more…)

Ace | July 22nd, 2010 | Events, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, News

WTFOMG?!? LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean?

IMG_4113

IMG_4118

Saw this at Comic Con today. The next license?

Ace | July 21st, 2010 | LEGO Star Wars, News

Ultimate Collector Series 10215 Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter

Official press release from LEGO:

Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter

Ages 14+. 676 pieces.
US $99.99
CA $129.99
UK £94.99
DE €99.99

Blast off into The Clone Wars with Obi-Wan’s collector-series Jedi starfighter!

Now, you can build the ultimate LEGO version of Jedi general Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Delta-7 Aethersprite-class Jedi starfighter! Larger and more detailed than any previous Jedi starfighter model, this limited-edition collector vehicle is equipped with twin laser cannons, a full cockpit interior and a wing-mounted R4-P17 astromech droid dome that rotates. With a buildable display stand and plaque, it’s just the thing to pursue bounty hunter Jango Fett across the galaxy or battle swarms of Separatist fighters in space! Measures 9 in (23 cm) high on stand, 18″ (47 cm) long and 9″ (22 cm) wide when built.

  • Ultimate Collector’s Series Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter!
  • Equipped with twin laser cannons!
  • Features fully detailed cockpit interior!
  • The dome of Obi-Wan’s wing mounted R4-P17 astromech droid rotates!
  • Includes display stand, plaque and label sheet!
  • Model can be detached from display stand!
  • Measures 9 in (23 cm) high on stand, 18″ (47 cm) long and 9″ (22 cm) wide when built!

My initial impressions?

(more…)