The Middleman

Click to read about the horror.

NOTE ON STICKERS: The sticker sheets for all of these sets are bigger than any piece in the set. Placing them is painstaking and aggravating, and would tilt my review so much that I didn't even bother factoring them in. There are so many in each set that they have to devote 2-3 pages showing where to place them, complete with corresponding numbering on the sticker sheet. It's bad. Still, don't let that completely dissuade you; stickers can always be left off. Don't read these reviews expecting them to be pretty. I have a standing bias against Exo-Force. I'm not going to go easy on these sets. That said, let's start with the one you've already seen. I applied all stickers to all sets, so even this should be a little new. GATE ASSAULT The Figs Side View Back View The droid is good for parts fodder. The arms, mostly - perfect fingers for mechs, or joints, or whatever. They're fantastic. the rest is awful - the head is inseparable from the body, and the legs have 1x2 bases... very inconvenient. The arms will definitely be put to use, though. Opposite Faces Let me be very clear, I loathe these things. From their spiky little heads to their oversized eyes. I love good anime, but this is just sickening. The hair is made from something rubbery, and doesn't stay on very well. The hair doesn't cover up the face on the back, either. The torsos aren't so bad, I can see them being put to use elsewhere. The Ram Back View This is the worst of the vehicles. The head trick is nifty, but it doesn't make up for the crap/i] that makes up the rest of the thing. The BIONICLE torso armor on the sides isn't lodged in, just rests there. The 'gun' on top is useful for parts fodder, with the four black barrels. Other than that, this is bad. The White Mech Back View This isn't so bad. All the pieces are pretty useful, and the structure isn't that bad for the size. The back is awful, though - this is consistent with the other small mech. The hand is great, too - FOUR silver arms! The Red Mech Back View[/img] Pretty much the same as the other, except the shoulder pieces on this one are a bit more ridiculous. Still, every piece of dark red is precious, eh? Two more of those nice barrel pieces, and some of those missile ends that are showing up in Exo-Force. The Gate The build of this thing is retarded. I hate those huge wedge pieces. It's also flimsy. Right Gun I love this gun. The binocular-holding build is reeeeeeally cool. More of those nice missile bases on the gun. The missle mech is nifty, but doesn't work well; the idea is that the ram busts open the door and the door pushes into the ball joint hooked up to the gun, which then fires (hopefully into the ram). Doesn't usually work out. These are nifty as well. This view really shows how horrible this gate is. FINAL VERDICT: 6.3/10 Figs: 6/10 Pieces: 6/10 Set: 6/10 Playability: 9/10 This set is not worth $30. I can use some of the stuff, so I don't particularly regret buying it, but the more selective LEGO buyer will likely be disappointed, as I was. Buy at your own risk. More to come.

NOTE ON STICKERS: The sticker sheets for all of these sets are bigger than any piece in the set. Placing them is painstaking and aggravating, and would tilt my review so much that I didn't even bother factoring them in. There are so many in each set that they have to devote 2-3 pages showing where to place them, complete with corresponding numbering on the sticker sheet. It's bad. Still, don't let that completely dissuade you; stickers can always be left off. These two I enjoyed much more, so they'll be more upbeat reviews. Enjoy. THUNDER FURY The Fig Same as the other silver one, just trans-red on the torso. Still love those arms. The Thunder Fury The Foot Fairly standard. The Legs I like them, although they are a bit thin - that's consistent with all the mechs so far. The... Stomach? Sorry for the blurry pic. Another nifty little binocular construction, albeit less neat than the other. I like it. This is pretty cool. The Gun Less cool than I thought it would be, but still pretty awesome. Note that the tube is SOLID, without a hollowed interior, and trans-clear. I love these things! The Sword One big <insert that tiresome argument> hunk of crap. The Back The bar on the back, when pulled, lights up the tube. Additionally, the cone on top next to the tube, if pushed down, knocks the light brick out of the mech. Try and tell me that's not cool. FINAL VERDICT: 7.4/10 Fig: 6/10 Pieces: 8/10 Set: 8/10 Playability: 8/10 I like it! Worth the $20, except maybe only one fig. A little hard to pose, but useful pieces, very playable... not the greatest, but definitely not the worst.

Please fasten your seatbelts and put all trays in the upright and locked position. Passenger Plane is without a doubt a very, very odd set. On one hand, some pieces are immensely <insert that tiresome argument>. On the other hand, it offers a selection of new and old pieces that look extremely promising. 7893 weights in at 401 pieces and $40, barely breaking the price-per-piece standard. Now on to the review. PASSENGER PLANE The Figs The Pilot I really like this new fig. It keeps in the stylized feel of the new CITY workers. Passenger One I love the Jonah torso, and I'm glad to see them reuse it. The Flagger Under the orange vest is the torso from Airplane Mechanic. I also think that's a new head. Another great figure. Passenger Two The only medicore figure of the lot; I think I have a bias against that head though, so don't mind me. Great fig. The Stairs This thing is so NIFTY it deserves its own category. Maniacally simple! The Plane Let's get right to the meat - the door. I have quite a few thoughts on the door. As you can see from the photo, the mechanism used to hold it in place is very, very clever. However, the door - from what I've seen so far - has some issues closing. Not that it won't, it's just a bit of a hassle. It detracts just a little from my opinion of the set. However, it DOES offer amazing potential; let me be the first to say this will be used as armor plating on a mecha very fast. Not to mention, this plane could add another dimension to moonbase (can you say 'airlocks?'). The Engines Now, I have something very, very sad to tell all of you, and it's best to get it over with now. The wings are one piece. No, I do not mean that each one is a single piece. I mean that the main sections of BOTH wings are formed by ONE piece that crosses over the middle as well. I can see it being used in large space MOCs - but don't expect to be getting a million little wing pieces with this set. The Cockpit As you can see, it's made up of two pieces... not entirely unusable, but coming fairly close to it. The Controls I'm fairly certain that's a new computer slope, and I love it. First Class With deluxe swivelly chairs (one side only). Doorway First class gets a nice TV! I also like the doorway between first class and the cockpit; sure, a fig can't fit through it, but honestly, who was going to try anyway? It's like the trains. Second Class Pretty standard. Red chair stockpile! The Rear My favorite part. Note the two suitcases, as well as the refreshment cart, which pulls out (it has, rather than wheels, the upper parts of two 1x2 hinges underneath). Also note the clear glasses, and most importantly; the RETURN OF THE OLD FAUCET. Hooray for LEGO! Oh, and if you haven't noticed, there's a second exit door in the back. The Tailfin I know someone'll find a creative use for this. Since I somehow didn't manage to get a good photo of the back of the plane, I'll fill you in - it's all one piece. Pretty boring. There are two large white wings on the sides. That's about it for that. Aerial View Underbelly FINAL VERDICT: n/a Figs: 9/10 (could have used another) Pieces: 7/10 (for juniorization) Set: 8/10 (fun build! Impressive model) Playability: 9/10 While it scores fairly well in all the categories, I refuse to give this set a final rating. It's a hit-or-miss set; I don't regret buying it, I think it's a lot of fun, and perfectly usable and inventive. However, I know that a lot of people out there will dislike this set, and they'd probably have valid reasons, whether or not I agree with them. So I'll leave this one up to you all; but if you see it lying around and feel like a breath of fresh air, I'd say, what the heck - go for it. Until next time, Bloody Jay

Alright, we're well overdue for this. Time to cough up those personal pictures (nothing inappropriate. ;)). Of course, pictures of family, friends, and girlfriends (or boyfriends, if applicable) are also good to go here! I'll start us off. ... I was having a bad hair day. Hence the helmet. And my girlfriend. Well, bring 'em on!

Anyone into it? Warning: Spoilers for anyone seeing it air in the UK may be contained in this thread! The next episode, '... and Found', it going to be a Jin flashback episode... hopefully, this will give us some insight into the Hanso Foundation, since they were the ones that funded the Dharma Initiative (if you didn't catch that, they mentioned him in the Swan Station orientation video). I can't wait! :-D Thoughts/theories/ideas here.

Hey all! I figure with our community reaching almost 400 members, and deals going on in the forums for some time now, we could probably use a straightshooters list. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a list of everyone that completes a successful deal, whether it be a sale or trade, on our forums. It's good to build some trust for sellers and buyers so that people don't feel anxious about making deals. It also helps resolve the who-ships-first issue really easily. So, all you have to do is post here saying whom you completed a deal with and for what, and we'll add them to the list. No nominating yourself! :P Nominate away! STRAIGHT-SHOOTERS LIST: 007 (1) 3D Brickthing (1) 5150 Lego (1) ADHO15 (3) Akkhraziel (2) Alice (1) Apache (6) ApophisV (2) Aredhel (2) Asuka (3) Bad Dad (2) Badsneaker (1) banthabricks (1) Baron (1) Big Cam (5) Bloody Jay (9) BlueDragonZ (2) Bobskink (7) Boonetrooper (1) Brickminer (1) Bricktrain (1) Bryan H (1) Cabby (1) Captaintau (2) Captain Kirk (1) Captain Zuloo (1) Carbohydrates (1) Cagri (1) CF WeaZZel (1) Chewie (1) chris_austin (4) Christian (2) Clonecommando007 (1) CloneMe (1) Commander Andrew of 501 st (1) Commander blitz (2) copmike (32) csimian (1) Dadster (7) Daniel Williams (5) dannylonglegs (1) Darth Legois (1) DarthSkinyus (1) Darth Yoda (3) def (2) Dennimator (10) diabloiij (3) DJ Force (2) Drock (3) DoubleT (4) Dr. Steve (1) Dr. X (2) Dragonator (4) dunamis (9) ed dotcom (16) Eilif (5) ellerb (1) emilec (4) Enigma that is Badger (1) Erdbeereis (1) Etzel (7) Evil Willy (1) ExoBuilder (18) General Armendariz (1) Gogglev (5) Grrr (1) gylman (4) harmacy (1) Hewman (3) Hinckley (15) Hobbes (2) Holodoc (4) I Scream Clone (9) ImperialJohn (2) jamie75 (2) JCC1004 (9) Jedi Master Fangorn (1) jipay (4) JimButcher (3) jindroush (1) JoeH (1) jonfett (7) jyves (1) kaka1987 (1) Kill Will (5) KinGanon (4) KimT (15) juniormak (2) L-space (3) languages (2) Lamanda2 (2) lego12 (11) legofan (1) LEGOFREAK (4) Legoking (1) legoman (6) LEGOscum (3) Lost Viking (1) LtDeMartinet (1) Mak (1) Mariann Asanuma (1) MarcusV3 (3) MattZitron (16) Medievalego (2) meschepers (3) MicroM (1) mikey (1) Millacol88 (2) Morten (4) mr. lego_bildur (2) Mshiels (1) mutley777 (3) Nannan (1) natelite (3) Natman8000 (17) Norrington (1) Patriot720 (2) pedro (1) Palms (1) Perterz (3) Polish Guy (1) posades (20) pr0visorak (1) PrincessAriana (1) Quarryman (5) Ras (16) Ricecracker (2) Ryan_T (1) Sarg_Kulo (3) Shadows (11) Seijitai (2) Siegfried (4) Sir Dillon (2) Sir Nadroj (1) SlyOwl (2) snefroe (8) Soc399 (2) Squeaker (1) stan (1) Starwars4J (1) Stash2sixx (6) strider406 (3) Striker (4) SupaaSayajin (2) superpabz (2) SuvieD (12) Svelte (4) takuto (2) Tanotrooper (1) The Alchemyst (1) TheDarkness (3) TheShnomon (7) The Who (8) Trexxen (3) UsernameMDM (7) Vader (1) VBBN (5) V()()D()() (1) Voltio (1) Whitefang (8) Xwingyoda (5) YG-49 (1) Zorro (2) Edit Bonaparte: Special thanks to our member JCC1004 for updating this list (24 November 2009) Edit by WhiteFang: Thanks to our Eurobricks member, JCC1004 for helping to update this list on 10th February 2010. Edit by SlyOwl: Thanks to our Eurobricks member, JCC1004 for helping to update this list on 24th February 2010. And again 10th March 2010. Edit by Zorro: Thanks to our Eurobricks member, JCC1004, for helping to update this list on April 3rd 2010.

UPDATE: I WILL BE MERGING REVIEWS AS THEY GO IDLE, THIS IS NOW THE DINO ATTACK REVIEW THREAD "What, Jay's not doing Viking reviews!?" Nope, I think Christopher110 took care of those just fine. Instead, I have brought you what is most possibly the HIGHEST-ANTICIPATED set of the year (;) :D) - the T1 Typhoon. And I gotta say - Dinos apart, it's actually really cool. The Dinos Let's get the worst over with. Yes. Those are ALL the parts in that 'dino'.

It's here!!!!!!!!!! Alright, things are going to go a little differently this time. I saved a bit of time by not resizing the photos, so they're a bit large. I'm not going to post every single one right here, but rather use deeplinks to Brickshelf most of the way, highlighting the big ones. Let's get started! Let me preface the photos by saying that the set is NOT modular, so you have to dump alllllllllllllllll the pieces (except the treads - DO NOT dump the tread bags, whatever you do) out onto your surface. It's a REALLY FREAKIN' IMPRESSIVE sight. The pieces are absolutely amazing. If you EVER feel like building a brown building of any kind, this is your set. Also, it has an abundance of burnt orange bricks, which I find cool. First real brick parts-monkey set for a long time. The Sandcrawler in full regalia. Not a great angle, and the light's not great, but it's the only shot where you see all the amenities as well. Minifigs: Jawa- http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0043.jpg You'll notice that the Jawa has what appears to be a BROWN cape. Not red-brown! (at least as far as I can tell) The head is fantastic. Uncle Owen- http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0044.jpg Great torso. Anyone notice a sudden switch to 'simplistic' robe torsos with thick, curving lines as opposed to the thin, detailed lines in past robe torsos? The droids, with the exception of the R2 units and C-3PO, and the gray/tan droid that sucked. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0045.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0046.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0047.jpg The Set: A top/angle shot of it. Note the front top area, with the cockpit. That's a REALLY cool build up there. Front shot. I'm not TOO fond of the ramp, as it doesn't line up that well with the angled side pieces... http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...100_0049_r1.jpg Side shot. The mottled colors look a lot better in person, trust me! http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0050.jpg Back view. I like it a lot. The half-cylinders are very nice. The gear in the back, of course, does control the back treads. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0051.jpg The treads angled. This is a good time to talk about the treads. THEY ARE HELL. Period. You get three little baggies packed full of the suckers. I must've spent a good 15-20 minutes making them. KEEP THE TREADS SEPARATE FROM THE REST OF THE BRICKS. You'll die trying to find them otherwise. I also recommend making 16 sets of 17 each rather than 8 of 34 all at once. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0052.jpg The ramp lowered. You'll notice that the crane slides nicely into there. Probably also a good time to talk about stickers - there are five (3 for windows, two for inside the control room). Very easy to apply, not a hassle at all. Still wish there were real windows, though. The crane. This little guy fits both at the top of the crawler and into the front of the crawler. It can hook onto two things: a removable panel on the top next to where it locks in (to lift droids out?) and what I'll call the Droid Hat, which is a 2x2 round plate with a 2x2 round crane hook on top. Hooks onto R2 units. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0054.jpg Top view. The two removable panels are the one with the lances on it (can be replaced with the crane) and the panel to the left of it on the photo with the crane hook on it. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0055.jpg The midsection removed. Takes a chunk out of the thing, doesn't it? It's very sturdy while in there, by the way - no wobbling - and easy to remove as well. I actually enjoy this feature. This is an opportunity to examine the back of the interior. It houses the turning mechanism, which is so clever it deserves TWO photos! STRAIGHT: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0057.jpg TURNED: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0058.jpg The top panel removed from the midsection. That's where the crane goes. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0059.jpg The interior of the midsection. You can see the two stickers I mentioned earlier. I love those little wheels! The black one is nice. It's hard to see, but there's a full black tool set stuck in all the little niches around the place. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0060.jpg The two panels removed from the top. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0061.jpg The crane placed on the top. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0062.jpg Looks like R2's absolutely 'hooked' on the droid hat! :P Hey, I'm allowed one bad joke! ;) http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0063.jpg The cockpit - ironically, while the Sandcrawler doesn't have windows, it does have two trans-yellow pieces to make the poor Jawa THINK it has windows. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0064.jpg The top with the cockpit open. I like the little tile design. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0065.jpg FINAL VERDICT: 8.4/10. Let's face it; the model isn't fantastic. It's not revolutionary. But I'll be damned if it's not sturdy, functional, and chock full of hundreds upon hundreds of delicious bricks, not to mention three Jawas and Uncle Owen! The model is a very fun (if long) build, and it matches the Sandcrawler pretty well. All in all, I think it is a great set - not to mention the second-largest SYSTEM set of all time... Another one bites the dust! ~ Bloody Jay

Inbetween my bursts of mansion-building, I've been working on a series of interlocking vignettes based on the skits from Monty Python's Flying Circus. There will be a total of EIGHT vignettes, although one or two of the road sections may not have much on them. Progress so far: Left vignette: Mr. Teabag walking to the Ministry of Silly Walks. Right vignette: A vicious gang of keep-left signs that are surpassed in cruelty only by Hell's Grannies. Top vignette: A rather confused Hungarian attempts to use his Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook to buy a pack of cigarettes. Upcoming: - A member of the Hell's Grannies burning rubber. - A disgruntled customer returning a Dead Parrot. - A visit to the Argument Clinic. - Something very unexpected. Brickshelf gallery, when moderated: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=132804

Straight to it, then. Rescue From The Merpeople The Figures Dive Harry, dive! Another cool uniform, and his double-sided head... Gillyweed is taking effect, it seems! Krum with shark's head. And without. No, it does not fit over his hair. The hair is included, though! The merperson. Very cool. Simple, yet elegant, and I'm loving the hair. The back. A new face for Hermione. ... or two. Ron's looking groggy... And groggier. The Set A nifty boat. Oars! Yes... that is trans-green seaweed. And a red scorpion! Push that to... I dunno... push the scorpion out? It sucks, anyway. Octopus! And more. A step pulls out, and a couple daggers are buried... The back of the right side. The main section. Press that seaweed to shoot Ron and Hermione out of the structure. My favorite part. Yes, that is a chef's hat. The Final Verdict: 8.1/10 Figures: 10/10 Playability: 6/10 Build: 8/10 Pieces: 9/10 That completes my Harry Potter review series for now. Questions are welcome. Requests as well (although, I'm busy, so they might not be filled immediately). Hope you enjoyed this series, and I hope you'll consider buying these sets - they rock my socks, and LEGO deserves your money for producing them. Until next time, Bloody Jay

7779 The Batman Dragster: Catwoman Pursuit The Figs Good figures. Standard grey Batman and a nice Catwoman. The Motorcycle I loathe this in purple. I loathe this with 'ears.' I loathe this period. My immense loathing for this motorcycle can only be expressed with the word asdklfjaiosfghwioehriowerjiosfgjasklajerio, which is not a word at all. The Dragster The dragster looks like a good concept that got ripped to shreds by the need to have a low price range set. One wing, one giant wedge, and then a few smaller pieces to bring them together. The front wheel. I do actually really like this part; it's pretty clever. Again, only ONE tiny wheel, so getting any use out of this set would really require two copies. The back. Their INGENIOUS firing mechanism totally slays me. It's also difficult to get Batman into the cockpit with his cape. FINAL VERDICT: 6.2/10 Figs: 8/10 Pieces: 4/10 Set: 5/10 Playability: 7/10 I should really hate this set a lot more, but it's a cheap way to get two cool figs (albeit with no accessories save for the whip). Buy this if you want to round out your Batman collection or could use the few pieces. Pretty cheap set, so not a huge loss if you don't like it. Still, the rest are better. Until next time, Bloody Jay

He's selling a classic conservative agenda with an anti-war 'twist' to wheel in some Democrats and separate him from pro-war Republicans, even though even most Reps are too smart to attach themselves to it by this point. Just going to his website, he essentially compares immigrants to terrorists. Also, the anti-abortion stance is a dead giveaway for a 'moral' Christian conservative platform, indicating an anti-gay marriage stance and more support for church tax breaks, especially added to his classic Republican tax cut vote-winner stance. In my opinion, he's only popular because all the Christian Republicans need someone to attach to now that Dubya is dried up and mostly everybody realizes it was a bad idea to elect him. So, no thanks. I'm crossing my fingers for Biden.

Anything good on the LEGO end of things near Brussels?

I'll be buying this.

RESCUE HELICOPTER Rescue Helicopter - despite its small size for its price - soundly breaks the price-to-piece ratio with 245 pieces at an edgy price point of $20. The Figs I, too, am at a loss as to why a construction worker is out at sea. They even show him in the water on the back of the box. Why? This is, perhaps, one of the greater mysteries of our time. The face! It buuuurns. It buuuurns! In all seriousness, great fig. I love the jumpsuit. Always good to have a glasses face. The Copter I should point out that instead of the two 1x16 white bricks promised in every other part of the instructions/box/etc., I received two in old light gray. I intend to complain, but for now, realize that the main section of the tail should be white rather than gray. The other side looks much better in person (as does the whole set). The rotors are the best I've seen. Cockpit closed. ... and open. I like that joystick technique they've been using on the planes/helis in this line. Right side opened. Left side opened. While we're looking at the hook, I couldn't really get it to work well with the stretcher. Just a note. Of course, I'm sure someone will figure it out. Just plain nifty tailfins. The awesome back hatch. The stretcher slides in smoothly. FINAL VERDICT: 8.6/10 Figs: 8/10 Pieces: 8/10 Set: 9/10 Playability: 9/10 This is an awesome set. The build was HIGHLY enjoyable, the final product is truly very cool in person, the figs are plentiful and well-done, and it has a bunch of good features and immense play value. I highly recommend it. Let all thoughts of juniorization escape you. It's definitely not. Until next time, Bloody Jay

Hey all, First post in a while (been pretty busy with life).

Hey all! I was fiddling around with the loose parts of Graveyard Duel today, and I realized that the black Doc Ock claws have a very cool little hidden ability... Now they just have to make a brown one for a PROPER peg-leg. ;) Post comments/criticism here, and feel free to use this in your own MOCs. Enjoy! :)

It's a parody of all those really bad snake movies. Absolutely hilarious.

Everyone thought Spongebob would be crap, but it turned out to be good. I'm reserving judgment on the Aqua Raiders, but looking forward to seeing them.

Thanks guys, it was a great one. :)

The French action movie District B-13. Excellent. Best action movie of the year.

A lot of people had doubts about the casting in Batman Begins, but it turned out to be fantastic. I'm not going to judge the movie until it's released.

I like it. I also like that they've started making large NON Star Wars sculptures of vehicles. Maybe in the future, this will lead to more interesting things. And I agree... lighten up, people.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't think this is going to happen. Batman is a good line for LEGO because there are lots of gagets and vehicles LEGO can make sets out of but Superman has super powers unlike Batman so he doesn't need technology, thus kind of boring to playwith, just one minifig to fight evil. Furthermore, there couldn't be many sets that were recognizably Superman sets that LEGO could make. Anything's possible.