Whether or not you are resistant to Star Wars The Old Republic, we will have to integrate this universe into the Star Wars galaxy. The game gets good reviews, and the various manufacturers of derivative products are launching headlong into the marketing of ships or figurines out of this MMORPG which in my opinion will become more and more important in the coming months.

This universe already has a fairly high content density with trailers that put the different characters in situation, comics that narrate many events, etc ... After all, The Old Republic could take the place of The Clone Wars at the end. from the animated series on our TV screens ....

Green Pea Toys, which produces many customs on various and varied themes and especially known for his achievements in the LOTR universe, offers new minifigs from SWTOR including three key characters: Ven Zallow, Kao Cen Darach and Shae Vizla.

Ven Zallow is a Jedi who confronted Darth Malgus and his army of Sith warriors in the Jedi Temple attack on Coruscant. He will die in this brutal attack. The astromech droid T7-O1 was his companion and we will find him in the set 9497 Republic Striker Starfighter alongside Satele Shan and Jace Malcom. Ven Zallow integrates the canonical Star Wars universe in the trailer Disappointed.

Kao Cen Darach is a Jedi master of the Zabrak race (Darth Maul, Savage Opress) seen in the trailer Return and whose Padawan is Satele Shan. He dies in a clash with Darth Malgus, allowing Satele Shan to escape and warn the Republic of the return of the Sith.

Shae Vizla is a female Bounty Hunter, often in the service of the Sith faction and who participated among others in the Battle of Aldeeran during which she will allow Darth Malgus, wounded by Satele Shan, to escape. Another female character, who will appeal to geeks generally fond of women in armor capable of competing with the best male fighters ... Shae Vizla appears in the trailers Disappointed et Hope.

To come back to the customs of Green Pea Toys, I just ordered some custom Star Wars minifigs (Malgus, Zallow, Shan, Malak, Darach & Malcom). Shae Vizla was not yet online this morning. I would come back to their quality and finish upon receipt. In view of the visuals, I do not expect a finish of the level of the minifigs offered by Christo, but I do not think I will be disappointed either because the prices are not the same ....

It is starting from the publication by Steine ​​Imperium, German forum which deserves to be known (with Google translation in my case, I do not speak German), from the list of the best 2011 MOCs of the forum that I came across this impressive achievement of Noppi: A base of the CIS (Confederacy of Independent Systems) which is full of details.

For the record, the MOCeur launched this long-term project in 2010 following the purchase of the set 8095 General Grievous' Starfighter for which he had decided to build a hangar. One thing leading to another, this hangar has become a real base.

The result is impressive: We never tire of discovering this MOC which features Grievous himself, Nute Gunray and many droids from all angles. Do you have five minutes? Take a quick look at Noppi's work thanks to the many close-up views that are presented in the dedicated gallery at Imperium der Steine.
Ah yes, there are even some great flick-fire missile ramps ....

Stout Files did the irreparable: He designed a UCS version of the now famous Flick-fire missiles. He introduces its MOC on Eurobricks and beyond the obvious second degree of this achievement, I take this opportunity to ask this existential question: Why LEGO persists in wanting to offer these missiles on almost all of its machines or buildings?

LEGO has always defended the playability of its products with great reinforcements of hatches that open, things that spin, gadgets that close and missiles that can be fired at the touch of a button. These missiles have become ubiquitous: They are found in many sets and not always wisely ... A ship with these missiles, still passes, a land vehicle, come on we want to believe it ... But a tree or a roof of a building, one should not exaggerate either ....

Even the 9516 Jabba's Palace will be equipped with missile ramps as evidenced by the description of the set:
... Can she get past the roof-mounted missiles, defense guns and surveillance equipment to reach them? ...

Especially since if you have tried, you already know that it is almost impossible to aim correctly while trying to send one of these missiles towards its target. I did the test with my 7 year old son. And his answer is final, these missiles are null. They do not go very far, are not very powerful, and over time, they only drop when you manipulate the device carrying them. 

But why is LEGO insisting with these rockets? To justify an additional functionality? To attract the youngest who like everything that pulls, launches, pushes ...?

Personally, I have nothing against these missiles, except in the case where they disfigure a machine when they have nothing to do there ... And you, what do you think?

The story begins with a meeting with LEGOmaniac and his son, miniLM that we already know for his achievements at the micro scale on the Star Wars theme. At the turn of a discussion, the challenge is launched: What if he reproduced our favorite super heroes using the same technique as for the characters in the Star Wars universe ...

The talented young MOCeur kindly accepted to take up this challenge and today he offers us a slew of superheroes intelligently staged in a context that facilitates their identification. The result is up to my expectations and I thank miniLM for having accepted this challenge and for taking the time to offer something new and convincing.

So here is a comic format board below that should delight superhero fans, with a special mention for the Batman box which I find absolutely brilliant: 

We could fear the worst when the first ultra-preliminary visuals of the box had been disclosed. This green, white, black, red, finally multicolored Starfighter did not thrill me more than that. The box Also featured minifigs of Saesee Tiin, Even Piell as well as the R3-D5 droid in drafts.

The models presented at the New York Toy Fair have undergone many modifications and I must admit that they already inspire me more. The red has been removed, and that changes everything. The Starfighter has a beautiful line, a successful cockpit, a silkscreen print on the fuselage which contributes to the dynamics of the ship, in short, I like it a lot.

Minifigs have also evolved significantly from the first visuals. We find the impressions in The Clone Wars sauce, we get used to it, and let's be honest, Even Piell and Saesee Tiin are very successful. Some will regret the slightly oversized appendages, but difficult to do otherwise. I note that on Saesee Tiin's minifig the head is printed all the way to the top of the piece, and we thus have guaranteed continuity of the screen printing with the appendix. Ditto for Even Piell.

Finally, the astromech droid R3-D5 is really nice. You never have too many droids in your collection and as soon as it's not yet another R2-D2, I'm always delighted ...

Once again, and while I am always inclined to publish preliminary visuals which rarely pay homage to the final rendering of the sets in question, I readily admit that you should never stay on a first impression and leave a chance. it is up to LEGO to finalize its products to offer us something successful. Which is the case here.