Star Wars Advent Calendar - Day 14
Posted by CapnRex101,
Yesterday's vehicle was bigger than most of the models in this Advent Calendar, but still seemed unfinished, so I wonder whether today will bring something to attach, or perhaps a driver.
Follow the link to find out...
Day fourteen brings a basic crane, constructed around a Technic beam. I think the Technic piece looks suitably industrial, but this really is about as plain as a LEGO crane can be. Also, the use of low friction Technic pins to attach the crane to its base and the clamp to the other end is strange, making it much more difficult to position the crane securely.
However, I think the crane looks reasonable once connected to yesterday's vehicle. Its silhouette resembles a fire engine with a ladder on the back, though this also explains the 2x3 brick on the back of the transport, which seemed out of place with nothing on top yesterday.
Overall - Today's crane greatly improves the vehicle from yesterday, but the low friction Technic pins bother me, making it harder to pose the arm.
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Peter: Oh, hey Lois. I guess you must be happy.
Lois: Yeah, it's every girl's dream to have her husband hoisted out of a food truck in a horse harness.
Prediction: everyone here will hate this.
Disney: 3.5/5p
Friends: 3/5p
Minecraft: I like the mosaic look of the bookshelf. 3.5/5p
Harry Potter: Cute ant. 4/5p
Star Wars: Ugh... gallows? 1.5/5p
I don’t think it’s great, but it reminds me of the vehicle produced for 75198 Tattooine Battle Pack from a few years ago and on that front I appreciate the reference!
What's DUM-E doing in this calendar?
I used to think this Advent calendar was pretty good; even if the individual days were not that great, the sum of its parts was a welcome change as the whole calendar has a theme and there are many minifigure-scaled builds which are more useful than mini models. However, the day-by-day Brickset posts have given me the opposite opinion and made me realise how absolutely terrible some of the individual days are; worse than they have ever been.
Ah, time for a little Jawa Christmas shopping, just driving around in public and yoinking the occasional droid that's minding its own business.
Oh, the crane goes on the vehicle. I did not connect those dots at all.
Finally... a mini version of the already small 75198.
Day 14: Many sets are pretty close, no truly bad stuff today and I had some difficulty ranking everything
0 points (+ 32 from yesterday = 32): Fr - Would be very puzzling without Churro in mind
1 (+ 22 = 23): Dy - Mail to deliver, Hedwig! Oh, wrong AC...
2 (+ 43 = 45): SW - without the shopcrawler from yesterday, it's not that much, though it still has some function.
3 (+37 = 40): Ct - SPACESHIP! Nice minibuild. Buy for Christmas before EOL!
4 (+21 = 25): MC - Two middle-sized (in minifig-relation, that is) objects that can fill a room. I like!
5 (+40 = 45): HP - Who's afraid of spiders? Look how cuuuute it is!
I’ve been building these advent calendars since 2012. If this is was the first one I bought it would have also been the last. I miss the recognizable ships and vehicles. I miss the fun of putting a small handful of pieces together and marveling at how they captured the spirit of an A-Wing in so few parts. So much of this one has been a table or a chair or a box. I think the pit droid, buzz droid and B2EMO are the only interesting builds so far.
I'm reminded of the crappy Technic crane arm from Assault on Echo Base.
What flavour of candy cane is grey?
Spiderduck has evolved into Scorpiduck. I'm okay with this.
But… wouldn’t a friction pin lower the play value of the crane? A frictionless pin may hinder static positioning, but if you want to play picking something up etc, wouldn’t you want an easily maneuverable cranearm?
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Prediction: everyone here will hate this."
WRONG!!!
Ehhhh.
I really hope they save the driver for Day 24. This A/C needs to end on a high note, and I cannot think of anything other than said driver that will do that for me.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Peter: Oh, hey Lois. I guess you must be happy.
Lois: Yeah, it's every girl's dream to have her husband hoisted out of a food truck in a horse harness."
...Can we perhaps cease the barely-relevant Family Guy quotes? @CapnRex101, Does Brickset have a policy about off-topic posts?
@DragonLord56 said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Peter: Oh, hey Lois. I guess you must be happy.
Lois: Yeah, it's every girl's dream to have her husband hoisted out of a food truck in a horse harness."
...Can we perhaps cease the barely-relevant Family Guy quotes? @CapnRex101, Does Brickset have a policy about off-topic posts?"
Y'know, I'm just throwing in some levity on some pretty weak builds, but *fine.*
@DragonLord56 said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Peter: Oh, hey Lois. I guess you must be happy.
Lois: Yeah, it's every girl's dream to have her husband hoisted out of a food truck in a horse harness."
...Can we perhaps cease the barely-relevant Family Guy quotes? @CapnRex101, Does Brickset have a policy about off-topic posts?"
As long as it stays family-friendly, and non-abusive, they seem to take a hands-off approach. But you could always block him (which would be ironic, as he’s the one who pushed for that function to be added).
A shower? Will nearly-naked droid santa come next?
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
" @DragonLord56 said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Peter: Oh, hey Lois. I guess you must be happy.
Lois: Yeah, it's every girl's dream to have her husband hoisted out of a food truck in a horse harness."
...Can we perhaps cease the barely-relevant Family Guy quotes? @CapnRex101 , Does Brickset have a policy about off-topic posts?"
Y'know, I'm just throwing in some levity on some pretty weak builds, but *fine.*"
I loathe Family Guy. All the same, you keep doing you, my dude. Whatshisface isn't the boss of you.
Are we expecting other things that could be mounted on the back of the vehicle? Having an interchangeable array would actually be pretty neat
Without yesterday's for context, I would gone with "Space Coffee Maker".
@Brickalili said:
"Are we expecting other things that could be mounted on the back of the vehicle? Having an interchangeable array would actually be pretty neat"
Without actually checking, I’d guess no. There are only ten more days, and at least one of them is a proper minifig. The linked workshop sections have an unconnected hinge, so there has to be at least one more of those. The last one or two days usually feature something highly festive. Right there almost half of the remainder is accounted for, and considering this AC is focused on droids, there aren’t a ton of droids right now.
I am in the minority but when I put all 14 days together I am liking what I see. So far I have 8 minifigs/brick built figures which is so much fun. My different SW LEGO set ups will all benefit from these droid characters. The chair/bench/tool rack/storage box days (the days that really got the love) are drab in singularity. But I don’t understand the hate. These are not the isolated weapons racks from Christmas’ Past. Instead it’s fleshing out a scene for you to assist in play with your new droids. I am not finding the bad . My one criticism is too many days without a true build. They should make rule that is not allowed. I get their mini-mini-figs but I want a build every day please! So is it my favourite SW advent ever (seperate discussion)? Nope. Is it a travesty? Nope. It’s a SW droid workshop. You either like it or you don’t. Either is your opinion. Totally good. Mine is like! Merry Christmas to all!
@Darth_Savren said:
"I am in the minority but when I put all 14 days together I am liking what I see. So far I have 8 minifigs/brick built figures which is so much fun. My different SW LEGO set ups will all benefit from these droid characters. The chair/bench/tool rack/storage box days (the days that really got the love) are drab in singularity. But I don’t understand the hate. These are not the isolated weapons racks from Christmas’ Past. Instead it’s fleshing out a scene for you to assist in play with your new droids. I am not finding the bad . My one criticism is too many days without a true build. They should make rule that is not allowed. I get their mini-mini-figs but I want a build every day please! So is it my favourite SW advent ever (seperate discussion)? Nope. Is it a travesty? Nope. It’s a SW droid workshop. You either like it or you don’t. Either is your opinion. Totally good. Mine is like! Merry Christmas to all!"
Agreed. Some of the days in isolation have been underwhelming (like today), but the gifts as a whole are looking pretty solid together. I'm enjoying this different approach to a SW AC for a change.
Not sure if anyone pointed this out but the droids each represent a movie or tv show. 1 Each with Episode 8 not having anything unless the Gonk counts there.
Wow and here I thought the previous day was trash. Is this a Star Wars calendar? What niche scene is this from?
Splitting what should be one build over multiple days of a calendar has always been a cardinal sin.
Someone alluded to this above but if this was my first entry into a Lego advent calendar, it would be my last. Quality has slipped so far over the years, we’re well into laughable territory.
@BabuBrick said:
" @Darth_Savren said:
"I am in the minority but when I put all 14 days together I am liking what I see. So far I have 8 minifigs/brick built figures which is so much fun. My different SW LEGO set ups will all benefit from these droid characters. The chair/bench/tool rack/storage box days (the days that really got the love) are drab in singularity. But I don’t understand the hate. These are not the isolated weapons racks from Christmas’ Past. Instead it’s fleshing out a scene for you to assist in play with your new droids. I am not finding the bad . My one criticism is too many days without a true build. They should make rule that is not allowed. I get their mini-mini-figs but I want a build every day please! So is it my favourite SW advent ever (seperate discussion)? Nope. Is it a travesty? Nope. It’s a SW droid workshop. You either like it or you don’t. Either is your opinion. Totally good. Mine is like! Merry Christmas to all!"
Agreed. Some of the days in isolation have been underwhelming (like today), but the gifts as a whole are looking pretty solid together. I'm enjoying this different approach to a SW AC for a change."
I think that if this had been a $25 vignette I'd like the whole product. I *do* like the whole product, except for the very weak vehicle. But I very much get the daily complaints.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
" @BabuBrick said:
" @Darth_Savren said:
"I am in the minority but when I put all 14 days together I am liking what I see. So far I have 8 minifigs/brick built figures which is so much fun. My different SW LEGO set ups will all benefit from these droid characters. The chair/bench/tool rack/storage box days (the days that really got the love) are drab in singularity. But I don’t understand the hate. These are not the isolated weapons racks from Christmas’ Past. Instead it’s fleshing out a scene for you to assist in play with your new droids. I am not finding the bad . My one criticism is too many days without a true build. They should make rule that is not allowed. I get their mini-mini-figs but I want a build every day please! So is it my favourite SW advent ever (seperate discussion)? Nope. Is it a travesty? Nope. It’s a SW droid workshop. You either like it or you don’t. Either is your opinion. Totally good. Mine is like! Merry Christmas to all!"
Agreed. Some of the days in isolation have been underwhelming (like today), but the gifts as a whole are looking pretty solid together. I'm enjoying this different approach to a SW AC for a change."
I think that if this had been a $25 vignette I'd like the whole product. I *do* like the whole product, except for the very weak vehicle. But I very much get the daily complaints."
Yep. I'm the same way. I like the set, and I've been enjoying it, but a cheap playset would've been a better format for this.
@Euca said:
"But… wouldn’t a friction pin lower the play value of the crane? A frictionless pin may hinder static positioning, but if you want to play picking something up etc, wouldn’t you want an easily maneuverable cranearm?"
I think the attachment to the base should have friction to make it more stable, but the bit that picks up droids makes sense to be frictionless
Always wanted to pick up an astromech by the top of its dome and then speed off. But the tatooine battle pack was too big. Nice.
Joking aside, I kind of like the end result. It looks fun
@Brickes_ficko said:"arry Potter: Cute ant. 4/5p"
Ant-ragog!
@Crux said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
" @DragonLord56 said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Peter: Oh, hey Lois. I guess you must be happy.
Lois: Yeah, it's every girl's dream to have her husband hoisted out of a food truck in a horse harness."
...Can we perhaps cease the barely-relevant Family Guy quotes? @CapnRex101 , Does Brickset have a policy about off-topic posts?"
Y'know, I'm just throwing in some levity on some pretty weak builds, but *fine.*"
I loathe Family Guy. All the same, you keep doing you, my dude. Whatshisface isn't the boss of you."
I can't help but be reminded of a quote (falsely) attributed to Voltaire. "I disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death to defend your right to say it."
@StardustOasis said:
" @Euca said:
"But… wouldn’t a friction pin lower the play value of the crane? A frictionless pin may hinder static positioning, but if you want to play picking something up etc, wouldn’t you want an easily maneuverable cranearm?"
I think the attachment to the base should have friction to make it more stable, but the bit that picks up droids makes sense to be frictionless"
The black piece at the base does have a friction pin, so it can potentially hold a droid off the ground. The “magnet” at the top does need a frictionless pin, so the droid will hang vertical without HOG assistance. The pivot point on the 2x2 tile only comes in frictionless, but either option would be fine.
I mean, I can use thos build in a factory but, just an enhancement for the vehicle. This is similar to that Jawa vs Tusken Raider Battle Pack.
@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Prediction: everyone here will hate this."
WRONG!!!"
Yeah, I'm softening on this whole calendar. Of course, they were really cheap to include redundant droids when they could have given us rare, unique, or holiday versions.
Yet, I definitely enjoy having builds, characters, and accessories that fit with Lego's only trade-proctected asset- the minifigure!!
@PurpleDave said:
"The pivot point on the 2x2 tile only comes in frictionless, but either option would be fine."
I really wish they'd make a version of that piece with friction, so I could modify 6432431 to keep its sails in place.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"The pivot point on the 2x2 tile only comes in frictionless, but either option would be fine."
I really wish they'd make a version of that piece with friction, so I could modify 6432431 to keep its sails in place."
There are a couple options there. One is to wrap a strip of the cellophane bags around the pin before attaching the connector. The other is, if the pin will accept it, to jam a bit of flex tube or a bar down the center after you’ve attached the connector. You might need assistance for either of these solutions, but plugging some sort of bar into the pin is the one I’d think you’re more likely to be able to do on your own. Getting a strip of plastic bag to stay put while you insert a pin into a pin hole is challenging even for me, with full use of both hands.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Brickes_ficko said:"arry Potter: Cute ant. 4/5p"
Ant-ragog!
@Crux said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
" @DragonLord56 said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Peter: Oh, hey Lois. I guess you must be happy.
Lois: Yeah, it's every girl's dream to have her husband hoisted out of a food truck in a horse harness."
...Can we perhaps cease the barely-relevant Family Guy quotes? @CapnRex101 , Does Brickset have a policy about off-topic posts?"
Y'know, I'm just throwing in some levity on some pretty weak builds, but *fine.*"
I loathe Family Guy. All the same, you keep doing you, my dude. Whatshisface isn't the boss of you."
I can't help but be reminded of a quote (falsely) attributed to Voltaire. "I disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death to defend your right to say it.""
@Voltaire may or may not have said:
"Thou dost thee, mine Guido."