Huw Reviews a New Star Wars Minifig App

Brickset has nice little review of a new iPhone app that helps LEGO Star Wars fans keep track of their minifig collections on the go - SWMinis.

The review was nicely done and very informative. The screen shots from the SWMinis website also appear attractive and well designed. At a price point of $1.99 USD, this seems like a great addition to both your iPhone app and minifig collection.

You can read the full review by Huw on Brickset.

How to Create Very Tiny Glasses by Powerpig

So last week I posted Chris McVeigh's (Powerpig) scene titled 'These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For' - A very humorous depiction of a classic Star Wars scene. One of the more amazing aspects of the shot were the tiny 'Groucho glasses' that appeared on 3PO and R2.

Chris has pulled back the curtain once again, this time in video form, to show how the shot was achieved. I can't embed the video here but you can view the 'how-to' on Chris' Flickr stream. This just further reinforces my belief that a little technical know-how and ABS figures can result in some amazing photography!

These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For

Chris McVeigh (Powerpig) brings one of his original t-shirt designs to life in this hilarious scene. What's even more amazing is how detailed the 'Groucho glasses' are given such a small scale! I'm really hoping there will be a set-up shot for this down the line.

If you hurry, you can see and purchase the t-shirt that inspired this work on Qwertee. Hurry, however, as it only on sale for another 6 hours!

(Via Chris McVeigh's Flickr stream)

New Products at FireStar Toys

First off, my apologies for not posting much. I've been traveling alot this week. In fact I'm writing this post in an airport lounge waiting for the 'red eye' back home. But enough about me, let's talk about figs...

FireStar Toys has just released a new series of custom minifigures featuring chromed custom items from head to toe. Some items feature accessories from the Hazel Fantasy line while others are chromed Star Wars figs.

There's also a series of female Star Wars custom minifigures featuring the new Arealight printed sci-fi torsos and helmets!

Lots of wonderful custom items and minifigures to choose from. Head on over to FireStar Toys today!

LEGO Star Wars Minifigures: Savage Opress

Savage Opress is exclusive to LEGO Star Wars set 7957, Dathomir Speeder.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
Opress is made up of 5 parts - head piece, head, body gear, torso, and leg assembly.

The head piece is a new part designed to fit on a standard minifigure head, but give the look and impression of the Zabrak horns.

The head is black with yellow print to resemble the facial tattoos of the Dathomirian Zabraks known as the 'Nightbrothers'.

The torso and arms are black with yellow hands. A black version of part 47577 covers the torso. The print on the body gear resembles pauldrons and body armor. Aside from this figure, this body gear will appear on the Series 4 Hockey Player. It is not known if there is print on the front or back of the torso itself.

The legs and hips are black with no visible print.

The accessories for this figure are a double-bladed lightsaber with trans-red blades and a spear/axe blade combo.

Savage Opress was a Dathomirian Zabrak and the brother of Darth Maul. Transformed by the magic of the Nightsisters, Opress was picked by Asajj Ventress to assassinate Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku. The minifigure resembles the Clone Wars character quite well. There could have been print added to the legs to resemble the waist sash or print on the arms, but otherwise a good representation.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for this figure is low. Although a new figure for the LEGO Star Wars universe, there's nothing of note that would make this figure sought after in multiples. 

Big Draw
A marquee character in this season of The Clone Wars, Savage Opress may be sought after to ensure a complete LEGO Star Wars minifig collection. Although it has met with mixed reviews to date, the head piece is unique and could have custom applications. The body gear could also be a desirable piece.

(Pictures via Gizmodo and Wookiepedia)

(Back to LEGO Star Wars Minifigure Guide)

LEGO Star Wars Minifigures: Quinlan Vos

Quinlan Vos is exclusive to LEGO Star Wars set 7964, Republic Frigate.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
Quinlan is made up of 4 parts - hairpiece, head, torso, and leg assembly.

The hair piece is a black version of part x220. Quinlan's braid appears to be incorporated into the design of the torso print.

The head appears to be dark tan and features dark eyebrows, a down turned mouth, and a yellow stripe running across the bridge of the 'nose'.

The torso is dark brown with dark tan arms and black hands. The print on the torso appears to have a pauldron and belt, along with the hair braid as mentioned above.

The legs and hips are black with no visible print.

The accessories for this figure are a lightsaber with trans-green blade.

Quinlan Vos is a dark and tormented Jedi who was once mentor to Aayla Secura. He's had many appearances in the comics, a brief cameo in The Phantom Menace, and recently appeared on The Clone Wars television series. This figure seems to be based primarily on The Clone Wars depiction. The decision to treat the braid as part of the torso print is a bit disappointing, but likely done to keep costs in check.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for this figure is low. Although a new figure for the LEGO Star Wars universe, there's nothing of note that would make this figure sought after in multiples. 

Big Draw
Quinlan Vos may be sought after to ensure a complete LEGO Star Wars minifig collection, but not much else.

(Pictures via Gizmodo and Cartoon Network)

(Back to LEGO Star Wars Minifigure Guide)

LEGO Star Wars Minifigures: Eeth Koth

Eeth Koth is exclusive to LEGO Star Wars set 7964, Republic Frigate.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
Eeth Koth is made up of 4 parts - hair piece, head, torso, and leg assembly.

The hair piece is a new mold showing off the Zabrak vestigial horns.

The head appears to be dark orange and features the Zabrak facial tattoos.

The torso is dark tan with tan arms and black hands. The torso print features Jedi robes on the front. It is not known if Eeth has print on the back of the torso.

The legs and hips are dark tan with no visible print.

The accessories for this figure are a lightsaber with trans-green blade.

As with Quinlan Vos, this character is modeled after his incarnation on the Clone Wars TV series. The facial print is quite good, but the hair piece is a bit 'odd'. I'd be curious to know why they decided to mold Eeth's horns but not Sugi, who was also a Zabrak.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for this figure is low. Although a new figure for the LEGO Star Wars universe, there's nothing of note that would make this figure sought after in multiples. 

Big Draw
Eeth Koth was another member of the Jedi council featured in the live action films. I could see collectors wanting to possess all those featured for this fact alone.

(Pictures via Gizmodo and StarWars.com)

(Back to LEGO Star Wars Minifigure Guide)

LEGO Star Wars Minifigures: Commander Wolffe and Wolfpack Trooper

Commander Wolffe and the Wolfpack Trooper are exclusive to LEGO Star Wars set 7964, Republic Frigate.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
Each figure is primarily made up of four parts, but vary in their accessories - helmet, head, torso, and legs.

The helmets are standard clone trooper fare in white with unique prints to distinguish Commander Wolffe from the rest of the pack (the commander is pictured on the right above).

The heads are also likely to be the standard clone trooper design in light flesh.

The torsos are white with sand blue arms and black hands. There are no differences in the torso designs that can be seen. There is likely to be print on the front and back.

The legs are sand blue with black hips. There is also white print continuing the pattern on the front of the legs.

Aside from the helmets, the accessories for these figure are what set them apart. The Wolfpack trooper carries a short blaster and what may be a backpack (although it is difficult to discern from these pictures. Commander Wolffe is fighting akimbo with two black DC-17 blasters. As is customary with clone commanders, Wolffe also has a black rangefinder and leg kama.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for Commander Wolffe is low, but the Wolfpack Trooper is high. Clone troopers embody the definition of 'army building' and the print on these guys is likely to set them apart.

Big Draw
What's not to like about a new clone commander and the Wolfpack troops will bring a welcome addition to the growing number of clone squads in your Republic armies.

(Pictures via Gizmodo)

(Back to LEGO Star Wars Minifigure Guide)

LEGO Star Wars Make Your Own Story Campaign

Came across this story via a Google Alert today. It seems that Brazilian advertising school Escola Cuca has designed several print ads around the theme of 'Make Your Own Story' for LEGO Star Wars.

Despite being all over the web, I'm having a hard time finding if this is an official tie-in with TLG or just a riff on the brand. A couple of these seem to be awfully close to material from other LEGO photographers like Mike Stimpson (the 'Vader Sucks' one seems especially familiar to me). Hmmm...

You can see all of the pics via The Laughing Squid.

Trust Me I'm a Doctor...

A fantastic shot by Mark (Smokebelch) depicting Luke taking a time out in the bacta tanks while the medical droid looks on. A considerable improvement on the droid by eliminating that bulky arm, and a great use of lighting.

You can check out all of Mark's toy photography on his Flickr stream.

I Told You to Go Before We Left!

If I had seen this photo without the accompanying story, I would have imagined Bossk stepping out of Slave I after catching sight of a bounty from the air. I will have to say that Avanaut's story is much better than mine...

Another fantastic shot from a true master. The atmosphere in this photo is rich, and the Slave I model really feels like it has significant 'weight' to it.

You can see more on Avanaut's Flickr stream. While you're there check out his recent art book he's compiled from his Hoth series. Due to copyright concerns, he will only be producing a few as gifts. It's a shame that LEGO can't find a way to partner with such amazing toy photographers.

Gizmodo Delivers the Hi-Res Goods for 2011 LEGO

Gizmodo ran an article last night that featured tons of big, hi-res images of all the 2011 LEGO playthemes announced to date. This includes Star Wars, Ninjago, Alien Conquest, City, Kingdoms, Pirates of the Caribbean...the list goes on an on. LEGO Harry Potter seems to be the one missing piece.

Becuase the hi-res images are so big, you get great shots of all the minifigures. You can find the article at the Gizmodo website.

A big thanks to the folks at The Brick Blog who pointed me in the right direction.

LEGO Star Wars Technology at Its Finest

There may be a new trend afoot...showing pictures of LEGO Star Wars technology gone wrong. Chris McVeigh (Powerpig) kicked it off with his depiction of what can happen to a lightsaber in the cold climate of Hoth.

Then Pedro Vezini showed what could have happened to Han if the carbonite freezing process had taken a turn for the worse.

Only time will tell if we see other gadgets from a galaxy far, far away falling on their collective faces.

You can see more on Powerpig and Pedro's Flickr streams. Chris included his set up for the lightsaber shot on his set-up page.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again

It feel like Thursday all over again with these great new creations by PetraFloDem and Family Bricks.

Petra is up first with this great shot of Qui Gon Jinn fighting Darth Maul a la Phantom Menace. A great use of action, digital enhancement, and composition.

Next we have Josh's (Family Bricks) latest in this Post Apoc Babe. The details on the torso and legs are so good, I thought they were decals...but they're actually painted! Josh promises lots more ladies, which is a very good thing!

You can see more of PetraFloDem and Josh's work on Flickr.

Arealight Printed Helmets and Torsos Now on Sale

Just a quick reminder that Arealight now has their range of printed Sci-Fi Helmets and Female Mando Torsos up for sale today. A wide variety to choose from and the colors work wonderfully with official TLG items (as you can see above).

Head on over to the Arealight store today!

FBTB FTW

If there was an award for event coverage in the LEGO community, it should go to FBTB.net. The crew continues to add detailed pics of the sets and minifigures up on Flickr.

I'm currently perusing the LEGO Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean pics and adding them to my favorites (which can be viewed directly on Flickr or here). Nicely detailed shots of the front and back of each fig.

Needlessly to say fans of minifigures have a lot to look forward to this year...

Your Lack of Valentines is Disturbing

A big thanks to Victor for pointing me in the direction of Kevin Poulton (AKA Sad Old Biker). His Valentine's Day creation plays off of the classic Vader line to humorous effect. It's amazing how emotive those LEGO Stormtroopers can really be.

You can see more of Kevin's great photography on Flickr, and you can purchase prints or cards featuring his work on RedBubble.

So far this is turning out to be quite the Star Wars/Valentine's themed day!

Two Big Announcements from Arealight

Wow. I had suspected that Arealight was preparing printed offerings of clone and Mando troopers when they released their sci-fi helmet collection last year, but now that I see these pictures I am blown away. 

Not only will the printed Sci-Fi Helmets be available tomorrow, but so too will be the printed Mando helmets and torsos. The clone trooper and Mando pics show a mix of official TLG and Arealight parts.

This is an astounding accomplishment and firmly marks Arealight as one of the best custom houses out there. 

You can see more on the Arealight Flickr stream. You can see our review of the sci-fi helmet and Mando jet pack set here, or you can just cut to the chase and spend that Valentines Day money at the Arealight store ("I'm sorry dear, but we'll need to downgrade our romantic evening. How do you feel about Big Macs...") All of this will be available on February 15th.

It's Not Quite Toy Fair...But I'll Take It

In my impatient vigil for pictures from the American International Toy Fair in New York, I came across an announcement that Grogall has shared Hi-Res pics of the new Star Wars 2011 Summer sets. The pics are still relatively small, so clear, detailed images of the figs still elude us, but there are a few additional details that are revealed.

See all the images at Eurobricks.

White Boba Alert: Smyths UK

Huw at Brickset announced that the LEGO Star Wars White Boba Fett promo is now at Smyths stores in the UK. Is this the first time that the White Boba has appeared in the UK? Either way, I'd head on out to Smyths. If LEGO stayed true to their promise of only producing 10,000, there can't that many.

(Via Brickset)