I recently got my hands on some of BrickForge’s new releases, the vast majority of which areStar Wars inspired. The shock trooper armor and helmet probably isn’t, but I’m going to lump it in here since it’s still pretty darn cool.
One quick note on Star Wars, I used to watch the original films constantly. I played Star Wars video games, had a bunch of the toys, and even read a few of the novels. I’m pretty familiar with the original trilogy. The prequels, however, are a completely different story. I watched all of them once, and have caught bits and pieces of them on TV here and there, but I never liked them. Therefore, I don’t know the weapons from the new films nearly as well. So if I flub something, that’s why.
Also, I featured images of every item posed with a minifigure, to give you a better idea of how well they’ll look in action. Thanks for the suggestion there, Bo.
Shock Trooper Armor
The Shock Trooper armor packs a surprising amount of detail in. It looks appropriate for sci-fi and post-apocalyptic builds. Coupled with the helmet, this give figures a menacing appearance. Like a lot of third party body-armors, this also features a hallow stud on the back.
One thing to note about this peice is that, due to the shoulder armor, you can only raise minifig arms so far before they hit it. Below is a shot demonstrating the maximum height of arms while wearing the armor.
Shock Trooper Helmet
The helmet that compliments the armor looks like a cross between modern motocross gear, and futuristic police/military equipment. To me, it immediately suggests some sort of fascist police state. The gold painted visor is a nice touch. The paint is evenly applied and looks great.
Here’s a shot of the whole enchilada:
Clone Rifle
This thing appears to be the Kentucky Long Rifle of theStar Wars universe. This thing is seriously huge, but it’s got some really interesting construction. It reminds me a lot of German machine guns from the First and Second World War, and, considering George Lucas’ obsession with WWII, that’s probably exactly what inspired it.
Here’s a shot featuring some posing; I suspect this would look better as part of an emplacement, or using a bi-pod.
Commando Carbine
I don’t know a lot about this item. It’s got a nice, short, boxy design, which lends itself to general Sci-fi beyond just Star Wars MOCs. I really like how the barrel extends a bit form the body of the gun.
Clone Blaster
The Clone Blaster is a pretty cool item, partially because you can really get a sense of the evolution between this, and the Imperial Blaster (below).
Advanced Recon Striker
I’m not quite sure what the Advanced Recon Striker is, beyond big and nasty. But bit and nasty are pretty damn cool, so I’m not going to complain. I really like the industrial look this item has, as well as what appears to be a drum magazine mounted parallel to the body of the weapon. Very cool.
Headhunter Quick Shot
And now we get to old school Star Wars, and what better way to start than with everyone’s favorite bounty hunter gun? The design looks like it was ripped right out of The Empire Strikes Back. I really like the look of the stock on this one, but the way the weapon is built prevents you from doing much beyond shooting from the hip. Of course, Boba Fett probably doesn’t need to aim down the scope.
Smuggler Special
Next up is the Smuggler’s Special, which Han Solo used to kill Greedo in cold blood (and not as a retaliatory shot, dammit!). The styling here matches the films quite well. This is great, since this has always been one of my favorite weapons from the movies. It’s based on the broom-handled Mauser, which is another really cool pistol.
Scout Pistol
The Scout Pistol is a tiny little weapon, appropriate for scouting missions and the like. Probably why they went with that name. It’s small and deadly looking, with a guard that goes around the hand to give it a little extra styling.
Enforcer Gun
I can’t say I recognize the Enforcer Gun, but that’s okay by me. It’s a nasty looking piece of weaponry, perfect for bounty hunters, pirates, and ne’er-do-wells of all stripes. My favorite detail on this piece is the little bit that hangs underneath the muzzle. I’m not really sure what it’s supposed to be, but it looks cool.
Ionizer
This is probably my favorite item in this group of releases. The Ionizer showed up only briefly in the films, when the Jawas captured R2D2. It’s not a terribly practical gun, but the fact that it looks like an old timey pirate blunderbuss really appeals to me. This one would look really cool in brass with a brown stock.
Imperial Blaster
For whatever reason – and I’ve only purchased a small handful of Star Wars sets – it’s always kind of bugged my that LEGO® never bothered with a decent looking version of the Stormtrooper blaster. The generic laser rifle just never felt right to me. That’s probably why I like the BrickForge version so much; it’s just a perfect fit. Fans of the films will probably want a few of these to outfit their Imperial Troops.
These items are all currently available from BrickForge’s online shop.
Nice review Dave, your pictures are very good. I’m not an expert but I believe the helmet and armor are rather inspired from the Halo franchise than Star Wars.
I should have guessed Halo. That’s such a huge franchise it seems like all the third parties cater to it.
I think that between SW:TCW and Halo, they’re almost single-handedly keeping the custom cottage makers in business.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
It’s generally kind of disappointing to me. I played Halo once, years ago, and wasn’t impressed. So I just don’t get what’s cool about a lot of these items.
Stuff like the shock trooper armor makes sense to me, because it’s just generic, evil looking armor. But some of these weird guns with the crazy colors and spikes just look bizarre to my eyes.
the wierd guns with spikes are pretty good for sci-fi pirates or the like.
Yeah, I could see that.
The “Enforcer Gun” appeared prominently in the skiff scenes in Return of the Jedi.
Thanks for attempting to pose the weapons. It just reinforces that I am done buying minifig long guns for a while. About 99% of them just do not pose well enough to make them anything but furniture and set dressing. At least the sidearms and one-handed carbines pose, mostly, kind of.
My last order from Brick Forge I was torn between the Shock Trooper and Powered Assault Armor. I went with the latter; but the former looks good in your pics. I was actually trying to choose the least over the top of the two. I’ll admit, that’s a hard call. I think either in gray would make for some good Alliance troopers, from Firefly fame.
Oh, yeah, I can totally see the Alliance troopers… and now I want to watch Firefly again. Ah well, I don’t mind.
Yeah, long guns and LEGO minifigs don’t mix terribly well. I always like the look of them, but using them for anything but carrying around or background decoration in the comic is pretty well impossible.
And Firefly and Serenity had zombies, too. The more I think about it, the more I think it was the perfect show: Libertarian cowboys in space, with zombies.
And Fox flushed it after half a season. Oh, the humanity of it all.
The one that disappointed me the most was BrickArms’s M21. Rifle stocks just do not work in minifig hands. I so wanted to love that little rifle; and I guess I still do. But the AR10-pattern rifle points so much better.
I’m not going to argue with you notion of Firefly being perfect. Space cowboys fighting zombies. With Nathan Fillion. That’s just awesome.
cool im convinced to order it
Sweet
Holy crap. I only read Star Wars and clicked in for this. The guns really are to what I expected to be. They have the right size(comparison made to Mini Fig) and more or less fit what the specification said. The clone rifle or DC-15A rifle was never intended as with a bi pod, but would surely look awesome in another scenario. Interestingly enough it had 50 rounds in the magazine and was fed much like an FG-42, which I believe was by what was originated.
The Commando Carbine was a shorter barrel but same function as the DC-15A rifle. Think about it as a Colt XM177 for the regular M16. The Advanced Recon Striker is pretty much an 8 shot shotgun. For those who have seen any of the comics it is what most Rebel engineers use as a primary.
The Scout pistol was the secondary weapon of the Empire and was issued only to the Scout Troopers and those in small spaces, such as the pilots and Death Star operators. Officers also held this weapon even though in the movies they never appeared with one of them. The only part you can see this in a movie is when Han Solo is trying to ambush the two Scout Troopers in their Speeder Bikes and a twig breaks and they draw these bad boys.
The Enforcer Gun was actually never in the movies only in a single comic book and the small hinge in the front was supposed to be a laser for quick aim. It was the standard weapon in the Rebel Alliance.
I really hope you learned a thing or two about my Star Wars Nerdiness.
Han Solo used that “Enforcer Pistol” to shoot the Sarlac tentacle that was wrapped around Lando Calrissian. Before that, Luke points on at Jabba the Hutt before he becomes a briefly becomes a prisoner.
I looked it up on the Star Wars Wiki. The Star Wars geeks call it a “DL-18” (I say “geeks” because it has no such designation in the three movies that matter).
I have been properly schooled in the ways of Star Wars.
Really? I did not remember that bit of Luke, but I believe you are right. I always thought that blaster was a shorter barrel weapon. At least it was portrayed that way in the comics. Thing I do remember is the part of Han Solo hovering over the Pit of Sarlac.
http://themoviereport.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/jedi.jpg?w=593
http://www.yourprops.com/movieprops/original/4b76289e2a70e/Screen-used-Jabba-s-Palace-Blaster.jpg
A couple of stills. This blaster would complement either fig.
Not that it would do me a bit of good. I don’t build SW.
so have i, i love star wars
So when will we see these in the comic?
Sadly, I can’t see using any of these in the comic.
use them as like toys for lego zombie kids still in their hands sweet
i really cant trust ol’ Skirmshaw with an advnaced battle rifle.