Attack of the Ewoks!

I have recently acquired Lego set 10236, the Ewok Village. This monstrous set is truly a necessary addition to any Endor layout, but it carries a hefty price tag of $250. It has 1990 pieces, though, so that's about twelve cents per piece-- much more reasonable than a lot of other sets. I found out about this set a month or two before its release, and began saving up for it immediately. You will soon see why.

The Ewok Village as it comes, without other sets thrown in.

Let's start with the minifigures. The set comes with 17 of them, making it the second largest number for a Star Wars set (the Death Star has 24). They include two Stormtroopers, two Rebel Commandos, two Scout Troopers (which have a new, vastly improved design), a new Luke, a new Leia (with a fabric skirt), a new R2-D2 (with a silver head instead of gray), the most recent versions of Han and Chewbacca, and five Ewoks: Wicket, Chief Chirpa, Teebo, Logray, and an unnamed one.

The five Ewoks: Wicket, unnamed, Chirpa, Teebo, and Logray

The new Scout Trooper has
more accurate armor.

The Building Experience

The building experience is very enjoyable. The trees and other structures are similar enough to be cohesive, but unique enough to keep you engaged the whole time. The set is built in several sections, which can be put together and separated easily, allowing multiple configurations. The lower parts of the trees and the sockets in the floor are color coded, so it is easy to tell which tree goes where. The trees and undergrowth are very fun to build, and the rope bridge is tedious, but also fun. The worst part are the railings, since it is difficult to get all of the droid arms evenly spaced. The set has some rare pieces, such as the mushroom tops, the Death Star Trooper helmet, and some 3X3 plates (when did they invent those?), but for the most part it is composed of familiar pieces and colors. It took me perhaps an hour or two to build, but for some it will take longer. If you hate applying stickers (as I do) then don't worry-- there are only three!

Functionality

This set has an abundance of play value in addition to its striking construction. There is a catapult which works very well, a hidden hollow in one of the trees, a pop-out spider web (which also has a new design), the swinging log trap (it was used on an AT-ST in the movie, but the trees are only tall enough to permit speeder bikes), C-3PO's floating chair, the roasting spit, an escape chute, and the net trap. The top part of the village also houses a campfire, a kitchen of sorts, a bedroom, and a room with design charts on the wall. The set also has two drum sets: one of regular drums, and the one with imperial helmets.

Han Solo hanging from a rope

The Finished Product

Because of its huge size and incredible detail, this set is perfect for AFoL (Adult Fan of Lego) display as well as KFoL (Kid Fan of Lego) play, though the only problem is it is a bit expensive for the target audience. All in all, this is an excellent set, perfect for bolstering your Endor collection. I have thrown in some of my other sets to make the scene bigger, such as 7657, 7956, 9489, and 9492. I think this set would look great next to the shield generator bunker (8038), but I don't have that one. I'll have to round one up just to complete the series. Anyway, I highly recommend this set to fans of any age. It really is a work of art.

Luke fights alongside two Rebel soldiers

My fleet of speeder bikes prepares to attack.

Chewie throws the driver out of the AT-ST

The complete battle, with TIE Fighter, just for fun. Happy building!

The Asteroid Raider: A Blacktron II MOC

The Asteroid Raider

As I sat in front of a pile of recently dismantled Blacktron II pieces, I wondered what to build. Then, thinking of a vehicle from Star Wars, I got to work. The ship that popped into my head was a B-Wing, an advanced fighter used by the Rebellion in Return of the Jedi. The B-Wing's cockpit is mounted on a complex system of gyroscopes, which keep the cockpit level no matter where the rest of the ship is. This allows for some very impressive maneuvers, if the pilot can withstand the strain. The idea of the gyroscopes is what got me started on my newest creation, the Asteroid Raider. This ship is built according to the Blacktron II color scheme, and it includes the signature globe cockpit of that theme. Rather than make the entire cockpit swivel, (which probably would have been much easier), I decided to make only the pilot move. That doesn't seem too hard, but it took a few hours' work to get the minifig pilot to spin without hitting anything.

Released this past year, set 10227 is the largest and most
detailed B-Wing Lego has ever produced. Note that the
cockpit is mounted on a turntable.

The Asteroid Raider employs all signatures of Blacktron II, incorporating the colors, shapes, and the famous cockpit. I even took care in naming it according to the Blackton/M-Tron title formula, a two-word name with the second ending in -er/-or. Unlike actual BT2 cockpits, which are detachable, the Asteroid Raider's cockpit is fixed, so that its main mechanism can operate uninhibited. The pilot's seat is mounted on an axle, which runs through the length of the ship. The axle is weighted at the aft end by a magnetic coupling. (I know that belongs in M-Tron, but it was the best available weight). The weight keeps the pilot's seat level at all times, rotating freely within the round cockpit. The main body of the ship is built around a 9V battery box, so I threw some blinking lights on it just for fun. The wings are mounted on hinges, so they can be bent down when the ship is upside-down to create an entirely different design. In an effort to make the bottom of the ship look interesting, I accidentally prevented it from sitting level on a landing pad. I'm currently working on some retractable landing gear to even out the front end, but until then, enjoy!

In this picture, the ship is at a diagonal to the pilot,
demonstrating the rotation capabilities.

The body of the ship can be flipped over and the wings
bent to create a different fighter. The pilot reliably follows
the movement.

I put a makeshift jack under the ship so it would stay level.