Lazy

I love the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) sets, but there just aren't enough of them for my liking. LEGO have been pumping them out at a rate of just 1-2 per year since they secured the Star Wars licence in 1999. Arguments rage among LEGO Star Wars collectors about the exact definition of a UCS set, but according to Brickset there have been a total of 17 of them to date. They are the daddy of LEGO Star Wars as far as I'm concerned, and every new UCS set is a cause for minor celebration. Well, for me at least.

Problem is, what's the LEGO Star Wars enthusiast to do to get his UCS fix when he's already got all the UCS sets ? Well, some talented builders indulge in a spot of D.I.Y., designing and building their own UCS models. There are some absolutely stunning efforts out there from the likes of Cavegod, Anio and others (click pics below to enlarge).

Cavegod's stunning UCS AT-AT

I stumbled across some of Anio's creations while browsing Eurobricks a while back. What was especially cool was that he had not only designed some excellent models but he also collaborated with fellow enthusiast Oxycrest who produced a set of building instructions, an inventory of parts, and even a UCS sticker design, for some of the models.

As someone who was crying out for more UCS models to build, this seemed like an interesting challenge. I therefore downloaded the building instructions and part inventories for a couple of models and eventually managed to source all the parts I needed to build two of Anio's superb unofficial UCS models - Anakin's Podracer and the TIE Fighter.

First Anakin's Podracer. This MOC consists of 532 parts, some of which it must be said were a total pain to source and cost a fortune (actually mostly fairly common parts but in unusual colours, and hence the cost).

Anio's UCS Podracer

Podracer Engine

Anakin at the Controls

UCS-inspired 'sticker' designed by Oxycrest

I have to say I love this model - horribly fragile, but beautiful. It's about a million times better than 'official' Set 7131 Anakin's Podracer released in 1999, and I suspect that the new 'official' Podracer set due this Summer will also struggle to get close.

And so to the TIE Fighter. This model consists of more than 600 parts, which were generally cheaper to source compared with the Podracer, with only the cockpit window making a significant dent in my bank account.

Anio's UCS TIE Fighter

The cockpit window hinges forward to reveal a detailed cockpit including a flight yoke, seat and instrument panels. The hatch on top of the craft also opens.

The model is nicely finished off by another of Oxycrest's UCS-inspired 'stickers' which attaches to some 1x8 black tiles and sits neatly on the display stand.

I wrote an article on Eurobricks describing the process of sourcing the parts for the TIE Fighter and building it, so if you want to read more then click here.

So there you have it - if you're too lazy, time-challenged or just lacking in skill to design your own UCS Star Wars models, there is still a way to expand your collection.... Of course, sourcing the parts is itself a pretty time-consuming business requiring more than a modicum of organisation and planning to carry it off. What then, if you're even too lazy or just plain hopeless to manage that ? Well, there is another solution....

Parts for the Mystery MOC......

Above is a large box of pieces that I recent bought from eBay. But these are not just any pieces - there are more than 2,500 of them, and when you put them together as directed by the building instructions (also supplied) you end up with a spectacular unofficial Star Wars UCS model. The seller basically did all the hard work for me - he sourced all the necessary parts from Bricklink, burned the building instructions onto a memory stick, supplied a sticker for the obligatory UCS plaque, and packaged the whole lot up into a large box with a picture of the finished model stuck on the front. All I had to do was cough up the cash and wait for the postman. Really the height of laziness, I guess, but your scorn may turn into grudging admiration when you actually see the finished model.... Not sure when I'll have a chance to build it, however, but when it's done I'll post pics on here and everything will be revealed. Until then you'll just have to wait....!

Would anyone care to hazard a guess at what the finished model will be ?

                                                                                    And the Mystery MOC is..... -->