Month: February 2011

You can’t actually call this an army yet, closer to a platoon, but I added 4 more Phase 2 Clones to my LEGO army this week. I have a dozen now, plus the pilots which aren’t pictured:

I missed picking one of these up before they were discontinued last year, so I’m excited to add it to my collection – the LEGO Star Wars Republic Attack Gunship 7676.

Will try to get a chance to build and review it over the weekend.

I am finally finding some time to construct some sets I’ve recently purchased, so I wanted to share my thoughts on set #8096 Emperor Palpatine’s Shuttle.

First, let’s check out the accuracy of the design from Lucas’ intention to the LEGO version. Here is the completed shuttle:

Here is Palpatine’s Shuttle from one of those Star Wars books:

And some concept sketches:

Overall, I have to say the LEGO design isn’t bad. I don’t like how one side of the top fin shows the bottom of the LEGO plates, I wish they could have double-sided it. But it’s a good likeness. What I really love about the final version is that it’s a good size ship, and very playable. They designed the top fin as a handle – VERY sturdy, so you can just grab it and fly it around without any fear of the top fin breaking off, and the rest of the ship crashing into hundreds of pieces.

Here is the view from the LEGO box. I always find this box shape to feel odd, very long, but very thin. Regardless, it serves its function:

These have to be the scariest 3 minifigure heads to ever be included in a LEGO set:

Love this helmet though. LEGO has been doing some really good things with helmet printing:

I like the retro feel of this display console, I can imagine Luke heading into the Death Star trenches with this display:

I know LEGO said they are addressing this in 2011, but there are big issues with identifying which color gray they refer to in the manuals:

I was surprised to find a damaged brick, see the front edge of this slope. Not a huge deal:

LEGO has given us some very detailed sets and pieces in the past decade, but I am never a fan of large molded pieces:

Two manuals for a set of this side seemed a bit much. Some of the steps are simply taking a brick and doing nothing to it:

There are inconsistencies as to how the manual approaches the process. At one point, they stop telling you which pieces and how many of them are needed for a particular step. So you have to really study the photo to ensure you aren’t missing anything. Again, not a huge deal, but inconsistent:

I thought it was funny to see some rubber pieces. I wonder how well these will age:

Overall, I bought this set for the minifigs, but find the ship to be a nice little set. The scene it depicts is my least favorite of episode 3, but the ship itself is very playable, and a pretty good design.

I took another trip to the LEGO Store this week, and wanted to share a few things that jumped out at me. First of all, these stores are ALWAYS full of people. What recession?!

They had a big display for Ninjago up front

Set #10216 Winter Village Bakery was on sale for $38.48. I picked one of these up, they had quite a few available, and I know the sale had already been going on for a number of days. For as much as adult fans of lego feel that they drive huge sales, again and again, I see the sets that are more for collectors collect dust, even when on sale. The LEGO Star Wars Home One playset was a prime example of this. I’m not saying this is every case, but just something I’ve been thinking about.

I walked by a couple who were in their 30s with a baby in a stroller who were eyeing the Maersk Cargo Ship, set 10155. The husband asked “I wonder how much it is.” I told him the price, and their eyebrows went up. I mentioned the exclusive blue color of the Maersk bricks, but they had no interest in a set at that price. I think they were buying this for a kid. Another example of the divide between regular LEGO buyers and adult collectors. That said, this set is VERY overpriced for what it is, especially considering it has been released in other versions before.

My first sighting of the LEGO Fairytale and Historic Minifigure Set #9349.

I thought these went out of stock during the holidays. Good to see it back. LEGO Star Wars Imperial Shuttle #10212

They had some Atlantis sets at 75% tucked away. Very few people noticed these, but I saw one guy purchase the set:

Over on the brick wall, they are running low on flames:

I was happy to see these in stock:

These as well:

For purely sentimental reasons (my love of the original Star Wars movie), these LEGO minifigs are something of an obsession, the Rebel Scout Troopers:

An order just arrived in the mail, adding a few more Stormtroopers and Episode 3 Clone Troopers to my armies:

Here is an incredible sneak-peak at LEGO Collectible Minifigs Series 4 and 5, including packaging and the minifigs themselves. Also includes is a look at the Alien Conquest minifigs. Some great new pieces!

And here is a detailed look at some Alien Conquest sets:

I stopped by my local Borders today to take advantage of their coupons for members. While the prices of their LEGO sets are typically 20-30% higher than MSRP, when you buy them with 40% and 33% coupons (plus an additional 10% as a Plus member), the prices become very reasonable. I picked up the LEGO Star Wars set 7930 Bounty Hunter Assault Ship for about $38, and a Clone Trooper Battle Pack 7914 for about $9. Here are some photos of their LEGO selection, they got in a ton of new sets recently: