Sneak Peek part 2 : Star Wars Miniland

OK, so when we last met I was waxing lyrical about the new hotel at LEGOLAND Windsor, which I visited while attending a preview of the Star Wars Miniland Experience. If you missed my account then you can read all about it here.

Anyway, after exploring the hotel and filling our faces with refreshments courtesy of LEGOLAND, it was time for the main event - our tour of the Star Wars exhibit. It was a pleasant 10-15 minute walk from the back entrance of the hotel to the old LEGOLAND Creation Center which now hosts the Star Wars Miniland Experience. The outside of the building has been suitably revamped as you can see below; please note that you can enlarge all the pictures by clicking on them.

If you pause before entering the Star Wars exhibit and look to your left you can see the LEGOLAND hotel peeking out from down below.

While the models on display in the Star Wars exhibit are the same as those at LEGOLAND California and elsewhere, one aspect of the UK experience is unique - it's indoors. Cynics might argue that this decision was likely driven by our miserable UK weather as much as anything, although ironically enough it was pleasant and sunny on preview day.

I don't mind admitting that I was quite excited as I waited to go in, and after a few minutes of loitering around the entrance we were ushered inside... The first thing that struck me was the noise. A loud female voice blares out over the speakers informing visitors about security breaches, there are alarms going off, the sound of blasters and explosions can be heard, and of course the dramatic strains of the Star Wars soundtrack provide a suitable backdrop. When coupled with the low lighting, punctuated by bright flashes, the overall effect is certainly dramatic and atmospheric, albeit also a bit disorienting.

The exhibit is basically split into seven distinct zones linked by walkways; it's very linear, with no way of doubling back to revisit previous areas via a different path - you need to go back the way you came if you want to do that, against the flow of people moving through the exhibit. While it's clearly the most efficient way of getting people through quickly and efficiently, you might end up feeling like you've been whisked through and missed half of it.

Surprisingly, the first zone you arrive at is Christophsis, where the Clone Army of the Republic is battling against Separatist forces. It's surprising because it's out of sequence - the battle apparently takes place sometime between Star Wars Episodes 2 and 3. It's by some margin the smallest part of the display, however, so perhaps it was just a matter of using the available space most efficiently. The Christophsis display (below) consists of three Republic gun emplacements seemingly about to be overrun by a droid army backed up by blue and grey AATs.

Further along is the next zone, an Episode I diorama based around the Battle of Naboo. This contains a sizeable starfighter hangar, Theed Palace, and an impressive battle scene which runs for perhaps 6 or 7 metres alongside the walkway. The hanger features internal lighting and a starfighter which rises, rotates and moves towards the hanger entrance prior to returning to its starting position. The huge and impressive Theed Palace model is lit from inside. The battle scene is suitably chaotic, with a couple of huge MTT's, some tan AATs and lots of Battle Droids and Droidekas facing off against a sizeable Gungan Army including a couple of Fambaas carrying deflector shield generators. Excellent, although hard to photograph well....

The next zone represents Episode II and Geonosis, consisting of two separate scenes - the execution arena and a larger battle scene. The arena scene features an impressively detailed section of wall at the back, Padme, Obi-Wan and Anakin figures, and three beasts including a suitably fearsome acklay and a nexu which scurries backwards and forwards on the arena floor. 

The Geonosis battle scene features a variety of machines as well as clone troopers and a sprinkling of Jedi fighting hand to hand against battle droids and super battle droids. On the Republic side there are a couple of AT-TE's, an AT-OT and a couple of gunships, while the Separatists are supported by OM-9 homing spider droids and hailfire droids.

After Geonosis it's on to the next zone -  Kashyyyk and Mustafar - for a couple of Episode III scenes. According to the LEGOLAND description, "The Battle of Kashyyyk depicts the Droid Army's amphibious assault on the home planet of Chewbacca and the Wookiees". The centrepiece is an enormous and spectacular Clone Turbo Tank made of over 10,000 bricks. There are also a couple of AT-AP's and other craft such as droid gunships, with spider droids and Wookiees fighting at ground level.

The Mustafar scene predictably chronicles the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin amid the lava. Amidala's Nubian Royal Starship sits on a landing pad overlooking the battle; I have to confess I was disappointed that LEGOLAND didn't push the boat out and get the pieces for this ship chromed as it looks distinctly ordinary in plain old light bley....

In the next zone is the first of the scenes from the original trilogy - a Tatooine diorama mostly based around Mos Eisley Spaceport. This scene is dominated by an absolutely humungous model of the Millennium Falcon - if you thought that the retail Ultimate Collector Series version of this ship was big then you ain't seen nothing yet... Despite its prodigious bulk, the Falcon still manages to take off from Docking Bay 94 and then land again every few minutes - some feat of engineering, that, as it must weigh a ton.

Apart from the Falcon there's a lot of other really neat stuff to see in this scene; I love the Cantina Bar, complete with band and assorted clientelle. There are also some Sandpeople and their bantha, a couple of dewbacks, landspeeders, and various Tatooine-styled buildings. Another cool feature is the perspex viewing bubble in the middle of the display, which enables kids to get a close-up view of the scene.

After Tatooine we move on to Episode V and perhaps my favourite scene of the whole Star Wars Miniland Experience - a recreation of the Battle of Hoth, where the Rebel base and main power generator are under attack from an Imperial Attack Force. The Rebel base features a hangar complete with an X-Wing Fighter and tauntauns, a control room and a medical centre.

In addition to the Rebel structures there are also a number of beautifully-realised vehicles including AT-ATs, Snowspeeders and AT-STs. The models are arranged against a painted backdrop to confer a feeling of depth, and the whole thing looks fantastic. There's even a Wampa cave....

The final zone is Endor, the centerpiece of which is a skillfully lit forest landing platform upon which sits a huge Imperial Shuttle - I just love the lighting in this scene.

Other elements of the Endor display include the huge shield generator dish and supporting structure, and the bunker which provides the 'back door' into the complex. It's at the entrance ot the bunker that Miniland-scale figures of Leia, Han Solo, Artoo and Threepio battle alongside Ewoks against Imperial troops.

There's an Ewok village up in the trees, and a battle rages on the ground below; if you look closely you'll see that Chewbacca has captured an AT-ST, while elsewhere the Ewoks attack the Imperials with their primitive weapons. The scene is animated - a couple of speeder bikes zoom around a large tree trunk, while logs swing down to try and crush an unsuspecting AT-ST...

A nice and unexpected touch was the presence of people dressed up as characters from the Star Wars films - a particularly imposing and quite convincing Darth Vader figure menaced visitors with his lightsaber, and Stormtroopers and Obi-Wan Kenobi amongst others also made an appearance. I'm not sure if this was just for the benefit of those attending the preview, or whether they'll also be in attendance when the exhibit opens to the public - hopefully the latter.

Just to put the icing on the cake, on exiting Star Wars miniland you walk into a well-stocked shop containing a large range of LEGO Star Wars sets and gear, not to mention a brick-built Vader and Threepio.

In summary, the new Star Wars Miniland Experience is a serious treat for any Star Wars fan, and obviously even better if you love LEGO as well. There are some superb models on display, with the Clone Turbo Tank, the collossal Millennium Falcon, and the AT-AT just three of my favourtes. In addition, it's worth mentioning that some serious effort has been expended in trying to make it a true experience rather than just a collection of models, with carefully thought out displays full of interesting and/or amusing touches, and complemented by sound and lighting effects, not to mention a stirring soundtrack.

Any room for improvement ? Well, I can fully understand the reasons for implementing a strictly linear route through the exhibit, but it's a bit restricting from my perspective - I'd prefer multiple paths round the various scenes so that they can be viewed from different angles and maybe even in a different order. I thought the sound effects were probably too loud, although they say that if it's too loud then you're too old, so make of that what you will.... I also thought that some of the scenes were too dimly lit - much of the detail gets completely lost in the gloom, which is a real shame due to the wealth of detail on show. A few iconic locations such the the Death Star, Jabba's Palace and Cloud City were sadly missing, as were a few key characters such as Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett, although I guess they had to draw the line somewhere. But no Death Star, though ? No Boba Fett ? For shame ! Finally, I was dismayed and surprised to see a thick layer of dust on the models at such an early stage; I wouldn't fancy dusting that lot, but someone's going to have to bite the bullet and clean the models regularly otherwise they'll look very shabby before long.

Overall, I think the exhibit is superb and well worth a visit. Encouragingly, I've been told by folks who have been back again since the official opening that some of the lighting issues have already been fixed - great that LEGOLAND have been paying attention to feedback provided by preview attendees. I'll certainly be back there at some point in the future for another look.

If you're hungry for more pictures and opinions on the Star Wars Miniland Experience you can find them over at Brickset and FBTB amongst others. Also, Brickset member flump6523 has posted some pretty respectable HD video of each of the zones which you can find here - thanks, James ! Anyway, that's more than enough from me for another week, so bye bye for now.

<-- Sneak Peek part 1 - LEGOLAND Hotel

Sneak Peek

As revealed back in January, LEGOLAND Windsor in the UK is launching a brand new Star Wars Miniland Experience this month, and they held a 'sneak peek' event last weekend to further publicise the launch. Thanks to Huw at Brickset I was able to secure a ticket to the event, and I was eager to get along, not only to check out the new Star Wars exhibit, but also to take a look at the brand new LEGOLAND hotel which opens for business this month; click on the pictures below to enlarge.

Attendees were invited to arrive at the hotel at around 3.30 on Saturday afternoon. I had earlier met up with a number of Brickset regulars and Brickish Association members for lunch and drinks at a local pub, and we arrived en masse just after 3pm to be met by the unfortunate fellow below. I say unfortunate as the hotel lobby was pretty warm, and it must have been distinctly toasty inside that foam and PVC suit. Not to mention the challenge that a visit to the bathroom must have posed....

The plan was to congregate in the hotel bar for refreshments, after which we'd be taken on a guided tour of the new Star Wars Miniland Experience, but we couldn't resist spending some time milling around the hotel lobby first and having a poke around.

A lot of effort has clearly been expended in making a visit to the hotel a true LEGO experience, from the huge brick-built dragon standing guard at the hotel entrance, to the LEGO-inspired carpets and the multitude of LEGO models and children's play areas in the lobby and elsewhere. You can see a selection of the highlights below; the lobby is dominated by a huge central column, above which a variety of LEGO creations such as a galleon and a dragon slowly rotate, not unlike horses revolving around a carousel. At the base of the column are a number of large-scale brick-built renditions of minifigures which appear to be literally rising out of a sea of multicoloured loose bricks.

One of the neatest features of the hotel lobby is the huge minifigure wall behind the reception desks. Literally thousands of minifigures - around 5,000 apparently - are lined up in 24 rows stretching from one side of the reception area to the other; a Brick-built LEGO soldier holding a large magnifying glass slowly moves from one side of the wall to the other, giving the viewer a closer look at a selection of the figures. Excellent !

Something else which caught my eye was the brick-encrusted pillar below; this also appears to emerge from a sea of loose bricks, and a few of us delighted in spending a few minutes helping to complete the brick cladding.... I also loved the large arrangement of brick-built flowers sat atop the reception desk.

And just when you thought that a hotel lobby couldn't get any cooler, your eyes alight on a small LEGO store next to reception, selling a mixture of official sets and LEGOLAND souvenirs. Honestly, any AFOL pitching up at the hotel after a long, wearying journey would think they'd died and gone to heaven. Although you can only wonder at what non-AFOLs might make of it.....

Having explored the lobby area, our next destination was the restaurant and bar area on the second floor, and once again it was LEGOized (OK, so I made that word up) from top to bottom. The atrium between the restaurant and bar is dominated by a two storey Kingdoms-themed structure for the kids to play in and around; a fearsome troll watches over the visitors, while a variety of brick-built models including a minstrel and various animals are dotted around it.

The hotel had laid on food and drinks for attendees, and we spent maybe half an hour chatting, filling our faces and wandering around the restaurant and bar inspecting the various LEGO models and exhibits. The bar area seemed to be very minifigure focused - the back wall featured all six series of Collectable Minifigures to date, specially framed and on display, while at the bar entrance a number of enlarged versions of series one Collectable Minifigures greeted visitors.

It wasn't just the Collectable Minifigures that made an appearance either. On the wall next to the bar was a display of all the 2012 Superheroes minifigures to date, and underneath was a selection of Harry Potter minifigures.

To get us in the mood for our guided tour of the Star Wars miniland experience, we were even provided with Star Wars-themed cup-cakes.....

I can report that they were delicious, although I couldn't bring myself to eat the Darth Vader-adorned icing disc on top of mine, so I ended up smuggling it out of the premises wrapped in a paper napkin, where it will likely remain forever uneaten as a souvenir of the day.

At around 4pm we were rounded up for the 10 minute walk to Star Wars Miniland, and I'll post my account of that next week....

Just to wrap up my thoughts regarding the hotel, if there had been time I would have asked to see a couple of the bedrooms; all the rooms are themed - Pirates, Adventure or Kingdoms - and they're extensively decorated to reflect the specific theme. Overall, I think my little boy would be in seventh heaven if we went to stay there, and his dad wouldn't be too disappointed either ! Not so sure about mum, though... It's worth noting that the prices aren't exactly for the faint-hearted, however - a two-night weekend break in August (room, breakfast & entry to LEGOLAND) for 2 adults and one child is coming up at over £550 ($880) for the cheapest room, rising to almost £700 ($1120) for a premium room with view. You can learn more about the hotel, and even take a virtual tour, here.

Ta ta for now.

                                                                    Sneak Peek part 2 : Star Wars Miniland -->

"The damage doesn't look as bad from out here"

Continuing on the recent (and unintentional) Star Wars focus, I've been building another 2012 Star Wars set this week.

Given the wealth of sets old and new which I could have built, it's strange how the selection process works. Despite Set 9490 Droid Escape not exactly setting me alight with excitement, I found myself really wanting to crack open this set because I wanted to take a closer look at a couple of the minifigures within. But more of them later....

Aside from the obligatory 2012 Darth Maul branding and the picture of the minifigures (which becomes ever larger and more prominent every year, for obvious reasons....), there's a simple but nicely staged picture showing the escape pod and minifigures on Tatooine's desert wastes. The back of the box below (for all pictures, click to enlarge) shows a few action shots and highlights the 'play feature' of this set, namely the ability to pop open the escape pod and release the droids within.

The box has thumb tabs for easy opening, but fellow obsessives will no doubt leave these intact and instead stick with a sharp knife to carefully release the contents.... Open the box and you'll find the 38 page instruction booklet, two sealed bags of parts, a sticker sheet and two loose large half-cone parts which will form the body of the escape pod.

Loose sticker sheets floating around inside boxes make me nervous as they often get damaged, but mine (below) thankfully survived intact....

The cover of the instruction booklet (below) is similar to the box art, although the graphic representations of the minifigures are absent, presumably to avoid things getting too cramped.

The building steps were easy to follow, and I'm delighted to report that colour discrimination issues didn't rear their ugly head here at all - black looked like black, and there wasn't any of the confusion regarding black, dark and light bley that I've experienced in the past. LEGO seem to have finally made a concerted effort to nail this colour discrimination issue, as evidenced by the fact that back pieces now have a thin white border around them in the building instructions (below) - bravo LEGO for finally sorting this, and let's hope all instruction booklets going forward get this treatment.

In addition to the 31 pages of building instructions, the booklet also contains an inventory of parts, some advertising for other 2012 Star Wars sets (including the neat minifig gallery I mentioned last week) and even the brief comic strip below....

You can see a selection of parts below (click to enlarge). None of the parts are unique to this set, but the light bley semi-circular bricks have only appeared in 3 sets including this one and the light bley half-cones in five sets. Oh, and for reasons unknown I'm a big fan of the round corner 4 x 4 bricks (big macaronis) which is why they're in the picture...

And so on to what for many will be the highlight of this set - the minifigures. There are four of them, of which three are new. Let's start with the Sandtroopers, which I was particularly looking forward to taking a closer look at. You'll have seen many Stormtroopers spread across multiple sets over the years, and admittedly the Sandtroopers are just a variation on a theme, but what really struck me is the level of detail on these guys.....

I love their sand-staining, which almost looks hand-painted, and the worn, gritty look that it gives them. As you can see above, the figures also feature back printing, printed legs and a pauldron. Even the pauldron has a pattern on it. And under the helmet the minifigure heads are painted. Outstanding.

Next up is C-3PO. I must have scores of C-3PO figures already, but this new version (below) really ups the ante, with painted eyes, wiring visible on torso and more detailed back-printing.

You can see new Threepio below on the left, with an older version on the right for comparison. Evolution rather than revolution, but I think LEGO have done an excellent job improving this figure - thumbs up again.

The final figure is R2-D2; this is the only figure which isn't new, having appeared in a total of 8 sets stretching back to 2008. Compared with the other more detailed figures in this set, Artoo is starting to look a little plain, and has no back printing on his "torso", but he still does the job OK. Quality issues rear their ugly head with the little chap below, however - the head printing isn't level and looks untidy.

Once the minifigures have been assembled it's time to get to work on the Sandtrooper speeder bike; this is a quick and simple build, and you can see the finished product below. I don't recall ever having seen a Sandtrooper sat on a speeder bike during the Star Wars films and therefore don't know what the bikes are supposed to look like; if however they're supposed to look like the speeder bikes made famous by the Endor Speeder Chase scene in Return of the Jedi then this one looks a little insubstantial...

Finally the escape pod. This is a simple but interesting build, featuring a control panel and ample space to accomodate the droids. There are unfortunately a number of stickers to apply, including large panels which need to be carefully applied to the half-cones making up the body of the escape pod. I can see an awful lot of people building this set and winding up with a messy end result on account of stickers not being applied carefully enough. Most probably won't care. I, unfortunately, do care and thus didnt enjoy lining the blasted stickers up and trying to get them perfectly straight. Still, at least there aren't any STAMPs I suppose.

Stickers notwithstanding, I think the designers have done a decent enough job on the escape pod, with key features such as the engines nicely captured, both in number and configuration, although the source material (below) doesn't seem to have a markedly tapered body like the LEGO version.

Image from Wookieepedia

You can see all of the different elements of the set below (click to enlarge); apologies for the lack of a Tatooine-style tan backdrop, but hopefully you get the point.

As you may be aware, there is a previous version of this set; Set 7106 Droid Escape was released in 2001 and is more modest in size, weighing in at only 45 pieces versus 137 pieces for the newer version.

The 2001 version of the escape pod has a nice printed body rather than stickers but is otherwise less detailed than the newer version, which I think is superior overall. Set 7106 cost a mere $6 at the time of its release, as against $19.99 / £19.99 for the current version, but a higher piece count and double the number of minifigures do at least in part help to justify the price hike for the newer set.

Overall I like this set; the minifigures are the clear highlight, with the new Sandtroopers being a personal favourite of mine, and the compact speeder bike and new, improved escape pod add some decent play value. Some folks in the UK were lucky to recently get this set at £8.50 from Asda, a surprising 57% discount from RRP, but given that this deal is I think now gone you can at least pick it up for 25% off RRP here. Folks in the US can buy the set here. No discount for you, although since your RRP is cheaper than the discounted UK price anyway I have no sympathy....

Image from www.retrostarwars.com