Brick Update

Today I am taking a look at Star Wars LEGO set #9489 Endor Rebel Trooper & Imperial Trooper Battle Pack. I was a big fan of the endor rebels in the larger Endor set, and was a bit surprised to see LEGO include them here. It seems a big part of the draw for the $100+ Endor set was the unique minifigs. Those figures now went from trading for $7+ on the aftermarket, down to about $3. But… this does mean that more kids will get their hands on these, which is nice.

I’ve already noticed that the Clone Battle pack is selling out quickly everywhere, but this set is moving pretty slowly. I suppose that is just the factor of the Clone Wars cartoon vs a movie that is nearly 30 years old. Unlike the Clone battle pack, this one includes what I would consider four proper minifigs.

The contents of the box:

I love these colors and pieces, lots of uses for them in a variety of theme:

The endor rebels. The minifig on the left has a new face, but the body remains the same. These are a hot commodity because MOCers used them for army themed displays. The minifig on the right has a new torso. Both look really nice:

Back printing. Hoodies are in:

Scout trooper and the new Stormtrooper torso:

Both have the new faces. Again, does ANYONE in the Empire shave?

A comparison of three versions of Stormtroopers. The older helmet on the left, the newer helmet but now old torso in the middle, and the new Stormtrooper on the right. The change to the torso doesn’t seem very significant to me, I’m wondering why they bothered. I was a bit surprised to not see leg printing, since they are rolling that out on more and more minfigs, especially in the Star Wars lineup:

The built set:

The tree hideout, spying on the Empire troopers in the distance:

The little gun. Kind of a lame part of the set, but again, I love these colors, so I won’t complain:

The front of the flick-fire missile:

All in all, a nice set. I like how they are including opposing sides in the same pack, meaning kids get a lot more playability for $13.

Here is another of the many cool 2012 LEGO Star Wars sets, particularly notable because of the minifigs. This is a $19.99 set, #9490 Droid Escape.

Here is what you get in the box:

Nothing too special in terms of parts. For many LEGO Star Wars sets, you end up with tons of gray bricks:

I am not a fan of large molded pieces like these:

The set, once built. I am not applying the stickers or adding the fabric pauldrons to the Sandtroopers. I’m not really a fan of either.

Here is the new C-3PO with printing on his eyes, and new torso printing. I’ve always been a bit apprehensive of colors that show marbling like you see in his legs here – something about it doesn’t say “LEGO” to me. It just doesn’t seem as solid or finished:

The back of C-3PO. (I’m not bother to review R2D2, which is the same version we have received in MANY sets)

Comparing him to an earlier version. I never liked the molded heads that didn’t have printing, they looked “dead.” The new version brings him to life (as much as you CAN bring a droid to life), and the torso printing adds a nice level of detail:

The new sandtroopers offer a wonderful level of detail. Their torso’s have the newer stormtrooper chest design. LEGO brought back leg printing here, and obviously added icing on the cake by adding the sand and dirt to the head, torso and legs. Really spectacular minifig, and a bonus that you get two of them:

The back of the sandtrooper:

With backpack on:

The printed face that we are also seeing on stormtroopers and other minifigs. I’m wondering if the Empire has a rule about shaving -the entire army of stormtroopers has stubble:

Here is the escape pod from the front, making use of several large parts:

The back was a nice build, with the many elements that made up the thrusters. More enjoyable to build than I would have expected:

The interior. For a simple build, they did a lot to ensure it was sturdy:

A tight fit for R2D2 and C-3PO:

In all, a nice set. At $7 more than a battle pack, I always question how the justify the price. 30% more pieces, plus some very large amounts of plastic on several of them is what does it I suppose. Looking forward to building an army of sandtroopers!

Stopped by the LEGO Store today, and found a few small surprises. First up, set #3300001 Brickley the dragon was on the shelf. I had previously heard that these were only available at flagship stores, such as Mall of America or Rockefeller Center:

They had a few sale sets, which looked to be about 30% off. CAd Bane’s Speeder 8128:

7213 Off-Road Fire Truck & Fireboat:

A lot of sets currently being discussed in the forums. Fire Brigade is still in stock, as we await Town Hall’s arrival. Medieval Market Village is in stock as well, which people are starting to feel will sell out soon. VW Camper is back in stock after being sold out for months:

Still some Harry Potter stuff in stock, as is Maersk Train:

Lots of Alien Conquest still in stock:

Death Star still in stock, plus newer Star Wars sets:

Super Heroes – some sets in stock:

Series 6 minifigs and Valentines polybags:

A nice little package arrived today with 8 more of the older style Episode 2 clones:

As I mentioned earlier, reports from around the US vary as to what LEGO sets are on sale at Walmart. It seems that each store treats sales differently. I visited a different Walmart today, found quite a few sets that have been discounted at other Walmarts to 50% off for weeks… BUT… they were full retail price at this Walmart. Go figure.

This set was on sale though, and clearly marked. LEGO Police Chase set 3648. Even though it is a “special edition” and 50% off, I still wasn’t excited about it. I left them all on the shelves:

They still can’t seem to get rid of these, Star Wars advent calendars at $19.90:

A look at the City, Dino, and Cars selection:

More City. They also had an endcap display with the newer forest themed City sets:

Duplo and other LEGO products, such as watches:

This Walmart actually started bringing out some of the 2012 Star Wars sets. They also had plenty from 2011. They had a Turbo Tank among others. All retail price.

Droid Escape and Endor Battle Pack were on display.

A full selection of Pirates of the Caribbean sets:

Creator sets, including Log Cabin and Light House:

The only decent sale item I found was this, which was hidden behind other sets. A Snowtrooper Battle Pack with a huge hole in the top. I checked, all the contents were there. $5.90, plus they gave me 10% off because of the damaged box:

A nice package arrived in the mail today, a package from Barnes & Noble with some new LEGO Star Wars sets, and a package from Amazon. In total I received:

• 9492 Tie Fighter (two of these)
• 9490 Droid Escape
• 9489 Endor Rebel Trooper & Imperial Trooper Battle Pack
• 9488 Elite Clone Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Pack

I’ll be posting reviews soon. Here’s a photo of the loot:

 

Here is a look at the LEGO set #6857, Super Heroes The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape. At $39.99 retail, this set delivers a lot of value, especially for a licensed set. You get five minifigs, all of main characters in the DC Batman universe. $39.99 is also a nice price point for kids – a big set, but not breaking the $50 barrier.

Here is what you get: the set, minifigs, accessories, manual and sticker sheet:

A look at the setup:

I don’t plan on keeping this set displayed, so I didn’t bother applying the stickers, though they are pretty cool:

Starting with the minifigs, we have Batman and Robin. As usual, nicely done. I am not a huge fan of cloth capes on minifigs, so I haven’t opened those up yet:

Back printing adds a nice level of detail:

Then we have the “bad guys.” The Riddler, Harley Quinn, and The Joker. Each looks great, and most of the figs have double-sided faces:

The joker’s hair is rather squared off. Some back printing as well:

The funhouse. Without the stickers it looks much less impressive:

The little car that rides on the tracks – really well done:

On the rails:

The Batcycle:

A side view, showing how far out the rails extend:

The main structure has a lot of gimmicks – the hammer that swings down, the floor that moves, a trap door and other features:

It’s not especially deep, but it definitely gets the job done. I am glad they kept it functional and basic in order to keep it under $40:

Not much to see here:

All in all, a great value for the money!

Today we are looking at a set I was highly anticipating: LEGO Star Wars 9488 Elite Clone Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Pack. It’s funny how a single minifig can create such a stir around a set. At $12.99, battle packs are often a great deal for the money, and a nice way to army build. This year, LEGO took a different route with battle packs, mixing good guys and bad guys in the same set. To me, this increases playability for kids who can only afford one set. Nice move LEGO.

The box cover:

The contents:

Here is the main highlight of the set, the Elite Clone Trooper. The amount of detail is really astounding, with a new helmet, tons of custom printing all the way down to the feet, plus other accessories. Really, one of the nicest minifigs LEGO has produced:

The backpack:

The new printing on the ARF trooper is very nice as well. I love this design, so I am glad LEGO is continuing to do new printings of it:

From the back:

Typically, battle droids aren’t considered as “valuable” as regular minifigs. These are new molds, the Commando Droids. They look fine – with some nice detailed printing on the head. I suppose LEGO put all of their effort into the Elite Clone Trooper, which is why they didn’t include 4 proper minifigs:

Dark red pieces, including 4 visors:

The inclusion of the extra visors allow you to turn regular clones into a battalion for the elite trooper to command:

The rest of the parts, nothing very special here:

The cannon:

Doesn’t seem like a fair fight, does it?

The cannon is a nice design, about what you would expect for a set of this size. Very usable in lots of scenarios.

Overall, I really like this set, and will be buying multiples to build up a liitle Elite Clone Trooper army!

I was excited to get my hands on one of the more impressive looking sets to come out of LEGO’s first wave of 2012 Super Heroes sets: #6862 Superman Vs Power Armor Lex. While the set is one of the smallest of the series, with 207 pieces, 3 minifigs and a retail price of $19.99 – it really does everything incredibly well.

Every element of this set has loads of playability, and you can instantly see this set being used across other Super Hero sets as well.

Here are the pieces sorted out. The manual is small and formatted as a comic book. Some dark purple bricks, lots of green, some neat clear elements, and then loads of gray and black:

The minifigs are a real standout. First up is Wonder Woman. From head to toe – she is all custom for this character, and they capture everything better than I expected for such a blocky minifig. The leg printing really sells this – the stars came out perfect:

Finally, a LEGO Superman. They did a great job here. The curl is a nice touch:

Lex Luthor is fine. I always wonder if they experimented with creating a “bald” headpiece that would round the top of a minifigs head. He doesn’t read as a specific character – this figure could easily be used in any City themed set:

I assume the parts that came in this pack are the Chinese made elements:

Not surprising to see Wonder Woman’s legs, lasso, and hair in here. Superman’s hair was a surprise though.

Here are all the joints that give the armored suit it’s mobility. I’m not used to many of these pieces, I assume they are standard fare in the Hero Factory lineup:

These pieces have that cool metallic finish to them, like gunmetal:

Lots of clear pieces, including the bright green elements, and that greenish clear tube:

“Do you hear something?!”

Don’t…. turn… around…

I tried to warn you…

In the clutches of Lex Luthor:

This battle could go on all night…

The armored suit is really well done, with lots of unusual ways of using the bricks. It’s very posable, and has lots of nice touches such as the moveable fingers, the gun, and the overall look.

For $19.99, I think this set has tons of play value, and a chance to get three main characters in the Super Heroes lineup. Highly recommended!

I found some pleasant surprises at Target today. First up was a stash of the LEGO holiday gift card packs. These were in a wagon that an employee was using to restock shelves. They were super hard to come by during the holidays, and I was surprised to see them:

It was nice to finally see the 2012 Star Wars sets on the shelves. Unlike at Toys R Us, Target is kind enough to charge MSRP. Here we have the new Elite Clone Trooper battle packs, Endor battle pack, Droid Escape, Geonosian Cannon, and Anakin’s Jedi Interceptor

TIE Fighters and planet sets.:

The new X-Wing Starfighter:

They also had a couple Super Heroes sets in stock:

Still some old Harry Potter sets:

More Harry Potter LEGO:

This is the only discounted price I saw, $15 for the Imperial V-Wing Starfighter, which normally retails for $20:

I ended up with these sets. I had a $10 gift card from ebates, so I grabbed Superman vs Power Armor Lex, as well as two of the Elite Clone Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Packs. The latter has been hard to come by, and on eBay they are selling at $20 and up: