Locutis

A very nice modular building. I like it a lot. I'm glad I could help with a suggestion, and the final result looks better than I could have imagined. Good job! Locutis

I have the 7722 Train Set. I was just thinking I could power the Loco using the 88002 PF Motor. I would build a new red battery car out of bricks, and house the AAA battery box inside to power the PF motor. Any thoughts on this? My original train motor stopped working decades ago. Locutis

I have checked this, and they are setup correctly. When the battery is completely charged, it runs fine. However, once the battery drains a bit, the motor chug-chug-chugs in a lurching motion, and if I run it too slowly, it tends to want to stop. Also, if I run it slow in reverse, it stops on a corner. There's resistance because of all of the moving parts, and I'd like to smooth it out like how the other trains run. It's nice having a mechanical train, but quite honestly it's unnecessary. My son's Red Cargo Train lasts a lot longer on a charge than mine, which is indicative that the gears cause friction, reducing the efficiency of the motor and battery. I'd like to strip all gears out of the inside of the Loco and have all of the wheels free moving. Locutis

... which is exactly why people buying them to resell them makes a lot of sense. If all of the sets sold went only to people who collect/build them, then there would be zero available to the person who is just getting back into Lego. Some people would prefer not to pay more than MSRP, but if someone really wants it, they will pay as much as they are willing to. This is what sets the price. I don't see what all the fuss is about with regards to sets at higher than MSRP after they are sold-out. Quite honestly, I bought some sets at 2-3x MSRP just to get them. I have no real problem with that. What really makes me mad, is when I buy something, and only a few weeks later, it's put on sale at 1/3 or 1/2 what I just paid for it. That makes me more mad than buying something at double MSRP. Locutis

Sort of like Wayne Gretzky rookie hockey cards. Worth $1000's because people ruined it and hoarded them. My 8 year old son loves hockey and he should be given the opportunity to buy a card at the issue price (a few cents). This capitalistic market sucks! Let me explain it this way: I discovered last year that I could make a bit of money and serve the people within my city by stocking sets that would/did become sold out at Lego S@H. Last Christmas I sold a huge number of sets to people at a mark-up to account for my costs and to make a bit of money, and people were GLAD to pay it and get these sold-out items because they had to have them for Christmas for their children. If I hadn't purchased the sets to make money (and I bought them online, not locally, so don't go there), there wouldn't have been any available to these people in my city. I made Christmas happen for some of these people. After Christmas I sold some more, because some kids got money for Christmas, and wanted some Lego sets. It's a lot easier for a kid with cash to haul his/her parent across town to my house and buy Lego than it is to find and order online from who-knows-what kind of seller that may not even ship the product. Obviously there's my time involved with ordering, paying in advance for, and dealing with people. I shouldn't be forced to sell for MSRP solely because some kid should be paying MSRP. I agree with you, this philosophy stinks. Locutis

Lego S@H now shows the Emerald Night as available to order, with delivery approximately 30 days. Get it while you can!!! Locutis

Wow! That is truly amazing. Locutis

Did you check Amazon? Last I checked they had hundreds in stock (more than 1,000 to be exact). Locutis

Just over 500 of the Emerald Night left on Amazon. Wow, are these selling fast!!! Locutis

Congratulations!

I'm hoping for an 'inside corner' building. Similar to this: Flickr Images here Locutis

So it seems Lego's latest sale has caused a number of products to become sold out: 10194 Emerald Night 5893 Offroad Power 6745 Propeller Power 21004 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum® 10210 Imperial Flagship 7207 Fire Boat 3834 Good Neighbours at Bikini Bottom 10211 Grand Emporium (changed Nov 28 back to "Out of Stock - Expected Ship date Dec 17" from "SOLD OUT") 7066 Earth Defence HQ Pharaoh's Quest: 7305 Scarab Attack 7307 Flying Mummy Attack 7327 Scorpion Pyramid Star Wars 8089 Hoth Wampa Cave 8129 AT-AT Walker 10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker Locutis

Be very careful of this user (samejeff), I believe they are either underage or trying to scam people. Locutis

This was the email I received back from this person: This item is still for sale. SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY, NOT SCAMS PLEASE!!! Locutis

Last year I ended up buying two of the Star Wars Millennium Falcon #7190 on eBay. I only wanted and needed one (for my son). It is complete with instructions, but no box. It seems the market on these sets is now pretty limited. I paid (which is besides the point) almost $170 for this set back then, in the heat of the moment (bidding on two auctions simultaneously). If you have an interest in this set, please PM me. The least expensive on Bricklink right now seems to be about $125, and I'd like to sell for a bit less than that just so I can move it. I would prefer not using PayPal, but if that is all you have or can offer, I would consider it. Buyer to pay for shipping charges, unless local in Winnipeg (where I am). Locutis

The Death Star as an awful lot of playability. I was very surprised when my 7 year-old son saved up and built one (he built it all himself). There are at least 5-10 individual play areas in this set. It is like having at least 5 or more Star Wars sets. The price does reflect this, however, it is an awesome set. Locutis

That's very interesting! I used my invite and I got 10% off. I was wondering if everyone got the same or not, but I guess you answered my question. Did everyone get a VIP online invite, or am I part of a select few? Of course I took advantage of it... Locutis

I've covered many tips in regards to getting the actual or alternate pieces for these rare sets here. Locutis

As reported first here: Reported I went and investigated, and sure enough, the 10197 Fire Brigade is not showing up in the Canada or USA online S@H store. If you change your country to UK or Australia, and load the item, it shows up, and then you can change the country to Canada or USA and it will say "Not available in your country (can not be found)": Fire Brigade at S@H I know this set is now 2 years old, but this is a strange way to show low stock or sold out. Usually these sets say "Call for product availability" or "SOLD OUT" when not available. Does anyone have any insight? Locutis

Thanks for the review 'SilentMode'. I ended up ordering some more so I could receive a couple of these. I decided to open one and build it, however, in the end it was smaller than I perceived in the pictures (even though you can clearly count the studs). I can't wait until I can order the second half. I'm actually working on a secret MOC that will use little vignettes similar to these in a series of scenes. Watch for my post closer to Christmas. I think Lego did a nice job of designing this set, but overall as a set it seems small. I guess I'm not appreciating the fact that it was "free", however, I did order $200+ more Lego than I had planned on just so I could get 2 of these. To me it feels like each one cost $100 as I filed away the other stuff I bought. Locutis

No one knows for sure when Lego will discontinue a set. There is no set date, and they don't indicate that "on this date we will stop selling it". All the indications point to the current stock running out soon. Whether that means they will make more, and continue selling, or whether they will let the current supply be exhausted and sell out, that remains to be seen. Oh, and welcome to Eurobricks. You should post a 'hello' here. Locutis

Lego's S@H (Shop-At-Home) now has sweetened the deal during October. I wish I had known some of these details before placing a large order just last week! Free shipping is now being extended to orders over $100, plus double VIP points, plus a free Christmas Tree Scene V46: S@H Link This scene looks very nice. If I had known they were going to do this, I would have split my initial order (which is a whole bunch of Christmas presents) into 4 orders! Locutis Update: Someone has posted another similar topic here. It seems the discussion should continue there.

I agree with your assessment that 6-wide won't be enough. I think at least 8 would be the proper ratio, possibly even more depending on how the Cafe Corner turns out. Locutis

I think what 'joopsta' means is a building that from the front is the same size as a modular building, so it's 32 studs wide. However, 'joopsta' mentions building it only 4 studs deep, so it would be a facad only. I think this is a neat idea, and I'd love to see it! Locutis

A Lego review.... the final frontier. This is the review of Cars Movie 'Ultimate Build Mater - Special Edition' Set, Lego # 8677. I saw this set at Wal-Mart on an aisle end-cap, and was intrigued. Instantly I was drawn to how detailed it was. My resistance to purchase and build it was... futile! Now on to the review... Ultimate Build Mater Set 8677 # of pieces: 288 Retail Price: GBP 25.53 / USD $29.99 / CAD $ 39.99 Links: Brickset , Peeron I'm not usually one to buy these licensed products, or larger-than-minifig models, but something drew me into this and made me fall in love with it. I've decided to get into a new genre of Lego (larger scale models) and this was what brought me there. I don't quite know what it is about this model, but I think it appeals to both kids and adults. The box The front of the box The back of the box The side of the box, showing countries of origin. China is one of the countries listed, and I'm unsure which parts would have been sourced from there. The Contents Yes, just two bags. Parts list page 1 Parts list page 2 First, the contents of bag 1: Yes, there are some stickers, sadly. However, there is a surprise in regards to this. More on that, later... mater! This is what bag #1 builds. Some of the building TECHNIC(q)ues required. Here are some of the steps required for the first part of the build: The contents of bag #2. Let's finish this thing! I don't endorse applying stickers. Feel free to skip these steps. I know I did. Thank goodness these aren't stickers! Nicely printed pieces featuring the classic "Cars Movie" style eyes and mouths. I will never look at another car the same again. And... We're done! A minifig provided for scale. Never aim at face! Bonus surprise!!! This set is actually a 2-in-1! You can also make Classic Mater from the first Cars Movie!!! The left-over bits. Now, this review wouldn't be complete, unless I also showed you the model with the stickers applied. I know, but here you are, for those that prefer it with the stickers: FINAL While I normally don't buy sets that aren't minifig scale, or that don't fit into my Lego City, I have made a few notable exceptions. This set is one of those exceptions. The impressive model design, colours, instant recognizability among children and adults alike, and it's relatively low cost for its size, make it an exceptional value. For some reason, my 8-year-old son had a hard time building this model. We had to disassemble and reassemble it from half-way through. I think some of the technic sections confused him, which is strange considering he built the 10188 Death Star all by himself. I had no problems with the model, however, and did not find any errors. Design: 9.5 / 10 I think Lego did an awesome job at capturing the style, look, and colour of Mater from the Cars Movie. Build: 8.5 / 10 While I enjoy technic parts and seeing them strengthen a set, I'm sure some of the children in the age group recommended (7-12) would disagree. It is not mentioned anywhere that you will be using technic pieces to build Mater, and if I were someone who disliked that type of build, I wouldn't have found out until after I had opened the box. Good thing I like a good challenge. Other than that, the only trouble was trying to tie a knot in the black string with my sausage fingers. Parts: 9 / 10 Lego used a number of generic pieces in this set to create the look they desired. There are some custom pieces, but I think you couldn't get a way with not using them (like the windscreen). The printing on the windscreen and mouth on the front is a nice touch in lieu of stickers. Playability: 7 / 10 While this set is intended for 7-12 year old children, in my opinion it's more of a display model than a play toy. The missile on Maters' rear is mainly for show. While it can be removed it doesn't fire. I think TLG could have added $5 to the cost of the set, and designed some sort of mechanism to really fire the missile. Or, maybe made the missile out of real rocket fuel to actually launch. Now that would have made this set get a 10 / 10 !!! Price: 8 / 10 The price-per-piece is a little steep on this set compared to other Lego sets, however, considering it's licensed, not too bad. I knocked the price value down by 2 for the stickers it includes. I would rather have those pieces printed. Overall: 8 / 10 There you are. How did I do on my first every Lego review? For those of you who want bigger size photos, here is the entire photostream on Flickr (including some bonus shots not included above): Flickr What are you waiting for? Go buy it! Locutis