K-Nut Posted May 16, 2012 My TRU had all of the Monster Fighters sets, so I got the Swamp Creature and the Mummy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
305Bats Posted May 16, 2012 My TRU had all of the Monster Fighters sets, so I got the Swamp Creature and the Mummy. I assume no Zombies? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K-Nut Posted May 16, 2012 I assume no Zombies? They did! That surprised me the most. Though I don't think they had the Werewolf or Monster Lab. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graysmith Posted May 16, 2012 Here's Brick Queen's review of the castle! Looks even better than I imagined! All those rooms, a bed for the bride.. So, so awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Endgame Posted May 16, 2012 Ghost Train will be coming tommorow. I am excite, to say the least! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Algernon Posted May 16, 2012 Here's Brick Queen's review of the castle! Looks even better than I imagined! All those rooms, a bed for the bride.. So, so awesome. :oh: After watching that, the Vampire Castle has shot to the top of my must-buy list! So much juicy detail and such a wonderfully well-realized aesthetic. I love Castlevania and Halloween in general, so seeing it brought to life with such detail is really a treat. I cannot WAIT to get my hands on that beauty! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaxGoof Posted May 17, 2012 Here's an in-depth review of the Monster Hunters The Swamp Creature set with a bunch of photos. For 8 bucks, it's a pretty killer set! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLegoDr Posted May 17, 2012 I never would have noticed the eyes being misaligned. I saw that Shaak-Ti figure and I never thought that was misaligned either. Maybe my eyes aren't as sensitive as others, or my brain overlooks things as faults I guess. I have noticed some smudged printing before and have had them replaced, but some of these I don't find to be errors. There is only so much Lego can do. I probably won't get these right away, but I do want them sooner than later, so we will see if they decide to change the printing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ETAV8R Posted May 17, 2012 This year really sucks! Too many awesome sets and themes. I saw the Monster Fighters in TRU today and they look great aside from the TRU markup. The same TRU also had all the LOTR sets in too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CM4Sci Posted May 17, 2012 They arrived at my local TRU here in MN! Planning on getting the Castle, Train, and Swamp set. -Sci Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Endgame Posted May 17, 2012 Ghost train arrived! Something to note is that the box is the perfect size - no wasted space at all! I haven't even started to build it yet (Gonna save it for tonight) BUT I do have some great things to report: Brick seperator AND cardboard backed instructions. Bent intructions begone! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sid Sidious Posted May 17, 2012 Ghost train arrived! Something to note is that the box is the perfect size - no wasted space at all! I haven't even started to build it yet (Gonna save it for tonight) BUT I do have some great things to report: Brick seperator AND cardboard backed instructions. Bent intructions begone! Awesome! I was hoping for a brick separator in one of the MF sets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graysmith Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) Seems like LEGO are starting to put brick separators in all the bigger sets now, which I think is excellent (even if you'll eventually have a ton of them). I'm guessing for this theme it'll be included in the Ghost Train and Vampyre Castle sets, maybe the Crazy Scientist set too. Edited May 17, 2012 by Graysmith Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Endgame Posted May 17, 2012 Seems like LEGO are starting to put brick separators in all the bigger sets now, which is I think is excellent (even if you'll eventually have a ton of them). I'm guessing for this theme it'll be included in the Ghost Train and Vampyre Castle sets, maybe the Crazy Scientist set too. What was more pleasantly surprising was the cardboard backed instructions. i always thought they were for 100 dollar+ sets! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graysmith Posted May 18, 2012 Found a higher resolution image of the Monster Realm map. Click the image for full size! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amset-Rah Posted May 18, 2012 Well I caved in and bought the Swamp Creature set online at TRU. I can't wait! As for the others, as I've said, I'm waiting for them to hit Walmart before I get them so I can avoid the huge mark-up online. (Have you seen eBay's prices for them? $175 for the Vampire Castle?) As for the brick separator thing, I haven't gotten one yet, but then again, I haven't gotten a huge set recently, so I'm bound to get a couple with this line. Also I recall some of the smaller PotC sets having the cardboard backing on the instructions (My Isla set had them). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clone OPatra Posted May 18, 2012 As for the brick separator thing, I haven't gotten one yet, but then again, I haven't gotten a huge set recently, so I'm bound to get a couple with this line. Also I recall some of the smaller PotC sets having the cardboard backing on the instructions (My Isla set had them). The PotC line was a special case because of the included posters and cards, which I think LEGO wanted to keep nice. All of the sets had the cardboard, besides for a few batches that didn't. I think after that line everyone assumed it would become standard, but we've seen that's not the case. Maybe it was more money than it was worth, so LEGO only does it now for big sets or in certain cases. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amset-Rah Posted May 18, 2012 The PotC line was a special case because of the included posters and cards, which I think LEGO wanted to keep nice. All of the sets had the cardboard, besides for a few batches that didn't. I think after that line everyone assumed it would become standard, but we've seen that's not the case. Maybe it was more money than it was worth, so LEGO only does it now for big sets or in certain cases. Ah, okay. Like I said I never did get a recent huge set but the PotC set surprised me because of the fact it was only a $20 set and it had the deluxe treatment (Including shiny gold parts rather than pearl gold), but it makes sense for them to save it for the bigger sets like the brick separators. I just wonder why the Superhero sets didn't do that because of the comics that came with them (Catwoman and Capt. America excluded) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Faefrost Posted May 18, 2012 Ah, okay. Like I said I never did get a recent huge set but the PotC set surprised me because of the fact it was only a $20 set and it had the deluxe treatment (Including shiny gold parts rather than pearl gold), but it makes sense for them to save it for the bigger sets like the brick separators. I just wonder why the Superhero sets didn't do that because of the comics that came with them (Catwoman and Capt. America excluded) I suspect that at least part of the costs for the extra packaging in the PotC sets was probably borne by TT games marketing budget. Most of the extra materials that the cardboard and plastic was there to protect we're marketing mats for the Lego PotC video game. The poster and the cards etc. that sort of thing skews the visable costs to we the end users as it probably involves a case of an internal budget transfer. Short answer TT games, the makers of the Lego video games, probably paid for the cardboard stuff since it holds stuff that makes the kiddies want their game. Even in the lower cost sets where TLG normally wouldn't spring for the extra packaging. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
captainsamus Posted May 18, 2012 Well one of the weird things about the Ghost Train is that there aren't any stickers in the set either, so the cardboard backing is there specifically to protect the instruction booklets. Very unexpected for a standard LEGO set. In addition to the brick seperator, you also get two extra train wheels. I wasn't sure why at first, but looking at the parts list in the back of the instructions it seems to be because LEGO considers three wheels as one part (two of the wheels you use, one you don't - one each side) so don't be alarmed if you have two extra wheels while building the set. I was also pleasantly surprised at how many glow in the dark parts there are. In addition to the ghosts, there are several 1x1 cones, a few rods, the printed dish on the front, and the middle of the green flame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amset-Rah Posted May 18, 2012 Well one of the weird things about the Ghost Train is that there aren't any stickers in the set either, so the cardboard backing is there specifically to protect the instruction booklets. Very unexpected for a standard LEGO set. In addition to the brick seperator, you also get two extra train wheels. I wasn't sure why at first, but looking at the parts list in the back of the instructions it seems to be because LEGO considers three wheels as one part (two of the wheels you use, one you don't - one each side) so don't be alarmed if you have two extra wheels while building the set. I was also pleasantly surprised at how many glow in the dark parts there are. In addition to the ghosts, there are several 1x1 cones, a few rods, the printed dish on the front, and the middle of the green flame. Even though I'm going to get every set in this theme at some point, the Ghost Train has gone to the bottom of my list. It's not a bad set, it's just the ghosts are going to have their own polybag coming up (They popped up earlier in this thread) and I can stock up either with them or on Brick Link, and the two monster hunters appear in the two cheapest sets in the series. I will have to give the train props for no stickers anywhere and injecting some glow in the dark stuff on the flame. If anything, The Zombies is the highest on the priority list because I assume it won't be as readily available outside of Lego and some other stores. That and I'm a huge zombie nut and this set satisfies me in every possible way (Again, no stickers, plenty of play features, a substantial build for the truck and the grave yard, generous amounts of zombies, etc) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Holmes Posted May 18, 2012 Ghost train arrived! Something to note is that the box is the perfect size - no wasted space at all! I haven't even started to build it yet (Gonna save it for tonight) BUT I do have some great things to report: Brick seperator AND cardboard backed instructions. Bent intructions begone! What colour is the brick separator? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vynsane Posted May 18, 2012 In addition to the brick seperator, you also get two extra train wheels. I wasn't sure why at first, but looking at the parts list in the back of the instructions it seems to be because LEGO considers three wheels as one part (two of the wheels you use, one you don't - one each side) so don't be alarmed if you have two extra wheels while building the set. This was the same for the Toy Story train, IIRC. I was also pleasantly surprised at how many glow in the dark parts there are. [...] and the middle of the green flame. REALLY? Wow, that is definitely an unexpected, but really cool, touch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Faefrost Posted May 18, 2012 Even though I'm going to get every set in this theme at some point, the Ghost Train has gone to the bottom of my list. It's not a bad set, it's just the ghosts are going to have their own polybag coming up (They popped up earlier in this thread) and I can stock up either with them or on Brick Link, and the two monster hunters appear in the two cheapest sets in the series. I will have to give the train props for no stickers anywhere and injecting some glow in the dark stuff on the flame. If anything, The Zombies is the highest on the priority list because I assume it won't be as readily available outside of Lego and some other stores. That and I'm a huge zombie nut and this set satisfies me in every possible way (Again, no stickers, plenty of play features, a substantial build for the truck and the grave yard, generous amounts of zombies, etc) The ghost train is sort of breaking my heart. I love the ghosts, but as you say a poly bag eliminates the need for the set. And I love that little retro plane, which would go well with some of my other ones like the PQ biplane. The train itself is kind of meh to me. It's too big and too weird to really display with anything else, it's not something I would simply use as a parts source, and I really don't have shelf or storage space for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
