LEGO STAR WARS 75144 User manual

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LEGO.com/starwars

2
About the LEGO® Star Wars™ Design Team
LEGO® Star Wars™ started in 1999, and we have made new models for the product line every year since then. The LEGO Star Wars design team
consists of eight model designers, and four graphic designers. The team is a mix of brand new designers with fresh ideas, and experienced
LEGO
Star Wars designers with many models under their belts.
This is an ideal team for creating new, innovative LEGO
Star Wars models, as well as revising and improving previous LEGO
versions of classic and iconic
Star Wars ships. The focus of our main LEGO Star Wars product line is to make cool,
fun, and inspiring LEGO
Star Wars models for children.
For LEGO Direct we have the opportunity to make even bigger, more challenging, models with
special attention to accuracy and details. These models are fun and exciting to develop, but
also a huge challenge! We always do our very best, and hope you will enjoy building this one.
Happy building!
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen
Design Director LEGO Star Wars

3
About the Snowspeeder
The Incom Corporation is best known for its production of the
T-65 X-wing Starfighter, but it also produced an airspeeder that
would become one of the main vehicles used by the Alliance during
the Galactic Civil War to Restore the Republic in 3 ABY. T-47
airspeeders, more commonly known as snowspeeders, were used
extensively in the Rebel Alliance stronghold on Hoth, known as
Echo Base. Technicians at Echo Base modified the snowspeeder to
change the airspeeder, used mainly for industrial cargo transport,
into a light and fast vehicle for both patrol and combat. The glacial
weather on Hoth also forced the Rebel Alliance to adapt the
snowspeeder to function in frigid temperatures for extended lengths
of time. Heaters were added near the drive units, de-icing nozzles
were added to prevent ice forming on control surfaces, and Rebel
technicians also used scavenged Y-wing parts, armour plates, and
refitted cockpit modules to further improve the design and defence
capabilities.
Due to its small size, the snowspeeder had a crew of just two: a pilot
who could handle the speed and manoeuvrability of the airspeeder,
and a gunner to fire the AP/11 dual laser cannons and harpoon gun.
Because the ship lacked shields, armour plating was added to the
hull, and repulsorlift engines were installed to dramatically increase
the speed, enabling the snowspeeder to be fast enough to dodge
weapons fire.
© & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd.

4
Snowspeeder Facts
Manufacturer Incom Corporation
Model T-47 airspeeder
Class Airspeeder/Repulsorcraft
Technical Specifications – Modified T-47 airspeeder
Length 5.3 metres
Maximum speed 1,100 km/h
Maximum altitude 175 metres
Armament 2 CEC AP/11 double laser cannons
Ubrikkian Mo/Dk energy harpoon and tow cable
Light repeating blaster cannon
Engine Unit Karydee KD49 repulsorlift engines
Crew 1 pilot and 1 gunner
Cargo capacity 10 kilograms
Despite the snowspeeder’s humble creation and patchwork
modifications, snowspeeder pilots were inventive enough to use
the vehicle to its full potential. When they realised laser fire was
ineective against more advanced Galactic Empire vehicles,
snowspeeder crews used the harpoon gun and tow cables to tie up
the massive legs of the Galactic Empire AT-AT walkers and disable
or bring them down entirely.
T-47 airspeeders also proved useful to the Rebel Alliance forces in
more than just the frigid climate of Hoth. Rebel Alliance technicians
modified the multi-faceted cargo transport ship into multiple
incarnations besides the snowspeeder. The swampspeeder, for
example, was rebuilt with flotation gear and water-tight seals. Other
variants included the sandspeeder, which was customised with
advanced air filters to keep out the sand and engine cooling units
to combat the scorching desert sun; and skyspeeders, which had
pressurised cockpits and more powerful repulsorlift engines for
higher altitudes.
© & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd.
© & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd.
Facts/Specifications

5
Meet the Model Designer
Q: How many LEGO® Star Wars™ models have you designed?
A: The UCS snowspeeder will be the fifth LEGO
Star Wars model
that I have worked on which has been released.
Q: What kind of reference material did you use to begin designing
the snowspeeder?
A: Firstly, I looked at the previous UCS snowspeeder that was
designed back in 2003 to see what inspiration I could take from
that. Secondly, I had various images and film stills from our
Star
Wars
books and Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back movie.
Q: How was designing the snowspeeder dierent from your work
on other LEGO
Star Wars models?
A: I think the main dierence is the level of detail that you can put
into the UCS models. These larger models allow for more complex
building techniques and levels of detail which I personally love
building into the models I work on. My favourite detail in the UCS
snowspeeder was the use of LEGO minifigure ski blades on the
underside to resemble part of the cooling fins. These UCS models
are also meant to look as accurate as possible to the real vehicles.
This means dicult angles or features can become quite tricky to
recreate; the back window of the cockpit was particularly dicult
to build as it slopes in three dierent directions, but also has to
support the hinge connection for the cockpit.
Jordan David Scott
Q: The front of the snowspeeder has an easily recognisable,
angled bow. Was this a challenge to recreate using LEGO bricks?
A: The angles were very tricky to achieve and this was something
I wanted to do dierently from the previous UCS snowspeeder.
Back in 2003 we did not have as many elements that could achieve
this look, and so it was built using angled bricks. Now, thanks to
the miniature ball joints, I was able to achieve a more sleek and
accurate front.
Jordan David Scott

6
Q: How did you plan the design for the snowspeeder? Did you use
artist sketches or film stills to inspire your design of the model?
A: Most of my inspiration came from film stills and cross section
illustrations in
Star Wars™ encyclopedias that we have in work, and
use a lot for reference.
Q: There are smaller versions of the snowspeeder in the LEGO®
Star Wars Battle of Hoth set; how is this larger model similar to
those smaller snowspeeders?
A: I think one thing that is similar even though the sizes are so
dierent is the functionality; the UCS model has several functions
that are similar to the smaller version, for example, the rotating
rear gun and moveable air brakes. These functions make it a more
interesting model and building experience.
Q: As a vehicle used for reconnaissance and defence,
snowspeeders are equipped with both weapons and speed.
How do these elements feature in the final design?
A: The high-speed nature of the snowspeeder is apparent in its
compact design, using sharp angles to make it more streamlined;
this was something I was very conscious about whilst designing the
model, by making the underside less bulky and brick heavy. Another
part I wanted to build as accurately as possible were the turbo
lasers, which are designed to slant inwards so that they will focus
fire at a certain point. This was a lot harder to build than I thought
and at first glance it might not seem apparent, but they are in fact
built on a very slight angle of about 10-15 degrees.
Q: Is there a specific feature of the model that you enjoyed
designing the most?
A: I had a lot of fun designing the interior of the cockpit, like the
back-to-back seats and all the small controls surrounding them,
which were challenging to fit inside such a small space but just
added so much detail.
Q: With a rotating rear gun, an opening cockpit, and moveable air
breaks, there are many moving parts to this model. How did you
create the design to ensure stability?
A: All of the moving parts on the model are fairly small builds, which
meant it was easier to stabilise them. I did have some challenges
with the cockpit as the two new window elements that I used to
create it were very large and heavy and we wanted to ensure you
could display it with the cockpit open or closed.

7
Meet the Graphic Designer
Q: Are these the first LEGO® Star Wars™ minifigures you’ve
designed?
A: No, my first minifigure design was the last Naboo Pilot from 2015.
The minifigures for this set are actually mostly existing designs. We
decided to keep them since they are really iconic, whilst improving
them with decorated arms. It was, however, my first time designing
minifigure arms.
Q: What do you use to begin designing the decorations for LEGO
Star Wars minifigures?
A: My very first step is to gather all the visual references I have for
the character and try to build the big picture of their looks. Then, I
choose which LEGO colours I will use for the torso, arms, legs and
hands. The next step is to sketch the general shapes of the design,
to translate the look of the character into LEGO style. To finalise the
design, I go back and forth from the references to the minifigure
sketch until I am satisfied, or until I am out of time!
Q: Minifigures are very small, what are some of the challenges in
creating designs that are both detailed and easy to understand?
A: To ensure that the design is full of cool details but still readable, I
start with extra simple and big shapes. Having the right composition
at any time of the design is essential and it is easier to achieve
when you have few elements. From there I will ‘cut down’ these big
shapes to more detailed ones, as you would do while sculpting. The
hard part is to choose the right details in order to really capture
the character’s look or personality!
Marie Sertillanges
Q: What do you use as reference material for designing the
minifigure decos? Film stills? Licensed art?
A: For the old
Star Wars movies we use mainly film stills or photos
from production, directly from LucasFilm. At that time in the film
industry, behind the scenes documentation was not as complete
as nowadays, which makes it a bit harder for us to collect all the
accurate references.
Marie Sertillanges

8
Q: The flight suits worn by the characters in the Star Wars™
films are incredibly detailed. How do you choose which details to
focus on when designing the art for the minifigures?
A: The design of these pilots was made way before I became a
LEGO®Graphic Designer, but I can speak about my general way of
approaching a minifigure. When I design a character, I choose what
makes him/her really special, what defines him/her. The layering
and materials are important on the Rebel Uniforms, and wrinkles,
for example, can be used to show material qualities as well make a
character less orderly or more dynamic. I always bear in mind that
you cannot and don’t need to draw everything like in real life. Think
of looking at reality through a LEGO filter.
Q: How do these minifigures compare to others you’ve designed?
A: Most of the minifigures we design are only decorated on torso,
head and legs. Decorating on the arms is only reserved for special
minifigures. I designed both main heroes and secondary characters
like Zev Senesca. Compared to the main heroes, these generic
characters are more challenging to design because you have to look
closer to find what dierentiates them from the crowd. To be honest,
I prefer working on side characters as they seem plain at first sight
but hold unique stories when I dig deeper.
© & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd.
© & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd.

9
9
Meet the Art Director
Q: Have you worked on package design for LEGO® Star Wars™
before?
A: I started working on LEGO
Star Wars in 2009 and oddly enough,
my first packaging was a set of battle packs with minifigures from
the planet Hoth. Now, six years later, I’m back on Hoth with the
snowspeeder.
Q: What kind of reference material do you use to begin designing
the package art?
A: One of the great things about
Star Wars is the amount of fan-
based material that is out on the web. I like to scan the internet for
a while to immerse myself in the world of
Star Wars . Usually the
model has an iconic scene from the movies that I always try to refer
to. Then, while making the packaging, never underestimate the use of
making sound eects while creating the packaging fronts.
Q: The snowspeeder is a
Star Wars vehicle that features
predominantly in the Battle of Hoth, which takes place in a very
snowy environment. How did you ensure that the white vehicle
stood out from the white environment?
A: Colour, lasers, explosions and smoke! Explosions have made my life
much easier on a number of occasions.
Q: What are the first steps you take when you begin the package
design for a new LEGO
Star Wars set?
A: I always start with the brief to see what the LEGO
Star Wars
product team wants to show. Then I ‘play study’ the model to get a
feel for its potential.
Michael Sion
Michael Sion
Q: Are there specific techniques you use to depict the features and
functions of a particular set on the box art?
A: I invariably struggle with function shots. Luckily, we get the models
in a 3D program so we can rotate them instead of having to go right
to photography. It’s predominantly trying to get across the idea of
cause and eect, for example; showing a set feature that involves
pushing or pulling a section of the model and the resulting action. I
also try to use depth of field to de-emphasise the parts of the model
which are only there for context.

10
10
Q: What kind of challenges do you face when designing art that
will be specifically used for packaging design? How is package art
dierent from other forms of design work?
A: Sometimes challenges can be unexpected, for example, there are
times when a model changes during the design so it is important
for us to be flexible with our whole team. Additionally, because we
have LEGO®sets all around the world, once in a while we need to put
dierent translations of words or messages on the packaging which
also alters the design slightly. Our team works well together however,
so any challenges we come across we usually solve quickly, so we are
able to produce something amazing to share with LEGO
Star Wars™
fans everywhere.
Q: When you create packaging art, is your goal to recreate iconic
scenes from the
Star Wars film franchise, or are you more
focused on displaying the unique qualities of the set?
A: First and foremost is the LEGO model, but I try to stay as
authentic to the movies as possible.
© & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd.
Q: Is there a part of the design process that you enjoy most?
A: Beginning any new project is very exciting, and I enjoy the first
phases of design the most. Before anything is actually started, all you
have is the potential to make something, and that to me is the part of
the project that is the most fun. Turning over in your head what the
scene can be and how to get it on paper is a creative process that I
can have a lot of fun with, and watching something be created from
the beginning all the way to the end is a fascinating transformation.