Laser Tag Arena

Fifteen years ago, Lego started releasing Star Wars-themed sets.  Over the past few years, I've purchased several of these sets (and received a few others for Christmas), but I was always left with the question as to how do I integrate them into my Lego city?  Sure, I put the droids to work in the Research Lab, but where do the Stormtroopers go?

Action is going down at the Laser Tag Arena

How about a laser tag arena?  Sure, Stormtroopers can't hit the broad side of a barn in the presence of a Jedi, but there are no Jedi's in town.

Service counter and orientation room at the Laser Tag Arena

Design was a challenge, as the arena is a two-story building.  Not only did I need to put a floor together, but  a couple of entry rooms as well.  One to handle the customers (reservations and monetary transactions).  The other is a holding room for the next round of laser tag combatants to go over the rules of competition and await for the current battle to finish up.

The arena itself has a number of obstacles in place.  You can't have a laser tag arena without a few walls and other objects to hide behind, run around, cilmb on, or snipe opponents from.  I've got a few in place right now, but I still need some pieces to complete others.

All the Stormtroopers, plus a few others, who are playing laser tag

Stormtroopers and other Star Wars characters work great for laser tag, as their uniforms help distinguish the groups of friends who will team up in the arena.  They also came with a good number of blasters in all sizes.  A contestant can go with a smaller unit that's easier to carry, or a bulky rifle with increased accuracy over other models.  

The open back wall in the Laser Tag Arena, so you can reach in and place the minifigures

One of my favorite features is the wall that opens up so I can access the first floor without having to remove the second floor.  I could have left the wall completely open, but it would have been more difficult to place the second floor in place.  As I write this, I'm now thinking of rebuilding the top layer of plates on the first floor walls by placing flat tiles and 2x2 plates with a single stud every so often, so the second floor could be easily removed.

I have all the staircases to connect the two floors, but I haven't found the best way to ensure they remain connected.  Sigh...  I'll get this finished up some day.  But I got other fish to fry.