Brett Halper Thanks for the feedback.  RE: the engines, we tried many different configurations-- lights inside the blue tubes, lights behind the tubes, etc.  We tried our cool white light strips as well, but in the end we needed two different channels of lighting in the engine section (one revs up initially when the engines start, and the other activates when the engines move to full power), and once we did that, we tried a light strip solution that provided evenly-distributed lighting across the full engine width.  So in the end it came down to flexibility, even coverage, and cost (it was actually less expensive to provide the longer strips vs. individual light strips with connectors and cables).

Plus, who doesn't want to see 66 LEDs in their engine bay!?  😍

Christian Nanini Nice job!

Floriano Paes Hi, and thank you for your post.  If you purchase the Core Light and Sound Kit, you can use either 2x of our USB Power Cables or 2x of our Power Functions Power Sources.  If you decide to add the internal lights later, you can purchase that kit and easily connect it directly to the lights already installed-- no additional power supplies needed.  I hope this helps.  Thanks again for your question!

Floriano Paes Thanks for your question.  You are correct in that you will be charged now and we will ship everything together when the kit is ready.

Philipp Moser Hi Philipp!  Thank you for posting on the forum.  I'm glad you like what we're planning with the light and sound kits for the Falcon.  To answer your questions, the Power Functions power option allows "portable" operation of the kit using two LEGO Power Functions batteries, which can be mounted inside the Falcon.  The USB cables are used to power the kit externally-- they allow connection to any iPhone/iPad type USB charger, so if you have two chargers with EU plugs, you can use them to power the USB cables and the kit.  Note that two PF batteries are needed if you go with the PF option, and two plug-in USB mains adapters are needed if you go with the USB option (this is because of the large amount of power consumed by the lights and sound amplifiers onboard).

I hope this helps clarify-- please let us know if you have any additional questions.  Thank you again!

Shannon Peel Hi Shannon, thank you for your question.  The kits do not include batteries, so you would need to buy two battery boxes from LEGO.  Either the AAA version or the rechargeable version will work (the AA version is too large to fit inside the Falcon).  The rechargeable batteries will last longer, but they are much more expensive and you would also need to buy the LEGO charger for the battery, so the AAA version is likely the best choice.  We plan to post more details soon about estimated run-times with different types of battery boxes.

David Newell Hopefully there will be steady flow of new kits into the retail channel now, so fans can get their hands on one!

David Wilde Hi David, thank you for your question.  We're still working on the installation instructions for the kit, but you can build your entire Falcon before installing the lighting.  Because of the large amount of free space inside the ship, it is very easy to install the lighting and sound after the kit has been built.  So, build away!

Wayne Goguen Hi Wayne, thank you for your post!  To answer your questions:

1. We plan to make "rolling" batches of pre-orders.  We're on our April batch now, and once that fills up, we will move to a May batch and so forth.  We don't plan to stop making the batches anytime soon, so you won't miss out.
2. We hope to be able to add the kits to regular stock sometime in the summer, but if pre-orders continue as strong as they have been, we may stick with the pre-order model (each kit takes quite a bit of time to hand make).
3. The kit is finalized at this time-- we're already into production of our first batch and expect to begin shipping orders from the first (February) batch very soon.
4. You are correct-- we offer two options with the full-featured kits: one that uses USB cables and the other that uses LEGO Power Functions power supplies.  We recently added a FAQ link on the main product website that explains what is needed with each option.  You can read that FAQ here.

I hope this helps answer your questions-- please let us know if you have any additional questions.  Thank you for your interest in our kits!

Wayne Goguen That is correct (mostly)-- with the USB option, you could also use external USB power banks to power everything, so if you have a table, you could put the batteries under the table for easy access for charging.

Let us see what your table looks like!