ZO6

Eurobricks Knights
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Everything posted by ZO6

  1. ZO6

    2010 Train Sets

    Though a rechargeable battery box would be a wonderful inclusion in these sets, I just don't see it becoming a reality. I fear it would be left out as to not drive up costs any further. I honestly see these coming with a battery box for a handful of AA batteries. I don't mind too much either way, sure a rechargeable battery box would be more convenient, but I've got literally dozens of rechargeable AA and AAA batteries anyways. Shouldn't be terribly long until we find out these details for the sets.
  2. ZO6

    City 2010

    I know our LEGO towns are stuffed with vehicles of different sizes, but I still can't help but be excited for this set. Transport trucks exist everywhere in the real world, and I would love to add a lovely one like this to my LEGO city. I think this will also complement the new cargo train nicely.
  3. ZO6

    Lego discovery in the digital age

    Some of my thoughts... -Years ago, a great many of the boxes featured opening flaps. Opening these flaps revealed parts in plastic display trays, alternate views of the set, and often little stories related to the set or theme. The only way these elaborate boxes could be experienced was with them in your hands. Seeing a picture of a current box online is not the same at all. -It is not uncommon for us to find leaked images of sets 6 or so months in advance of their actual release date. For me, by the time I've pored over these images for months on end as they become larger and of higher quality, I've lost much of the excitement towards these products. When the set becomes available, it's already old news and I'm already looking at whatever else might be on the horizon. Before all these resources became available for us online, the only way we could find out about new sets was to walk into a store to see what was stocked, or by buying one of the latest sets and browsing the mini catalogs that were included. I admit I used to buy many sets that weren't particularly high on my priority list just because they were new and I desperately wanted the newest catalog. -Another one of my biggest regrets (and guiltiest pleasures) is seeing all the functions, details, and contents of a set in advanced.. Over the course of time in which pictures are leaked, for each batch it becomes easier and easier to spot and learn everything there is to know about a set. By the time you can buy the set, you know everything about it and there are not longer any surprises. I'm a sucker for play features, and there was nothing I enjoyed more than building a set and discovering all of it's functions as I progressed. Sure the boxes often showed off some of these features, but many were still left to be discovered by the builder. Same goes for finding a new piece that you had never seen before in the set that you just opened, and knowing what new parts were going to be in sets months prior to their availability. I love the internet, Eurobricks, and other sites that allow me to catch up on the latest and greatest in the LEGO world, but this hobby will never be the same for me with these resources.
  4. ZO6

    Any Formula 1 racing fans out there?

    Ugh, up at 3am to watch the race (the only replay was at 5am for some reason, so I figured I'd watch it live), but it was one heck of a battle - against both nature and machine! Wow, what a lot of pit stops! Considering the starting gird, I did not expect things to finish the way they did. Despite a bit of questionable driving here and there, I'm happy with a 2nd place finish for Hamilton and a 4th place finish for Alonso. Good to see Renault have quite a solid race as well. Overall a great race
  5. ZO6

    REVIEW: 8148 EZ-Roadster

    Thanks for the review Prateek! IMO, your review serves the old saying "you can't judge a book by it's cover" quite well. I would have overlooked this set due to the images on the packaging, but when it is built it looks considerably better. I also think it looks more attractive with the stickers left off, as you have it.
  6. Excellent vignette you've created - it looks so legit as a poster for the movie... but in LEGO form I particularly love all the underwater details, it looks fantastic. I'm also getting those strong Jaws vibes from this, though if I remember correctly, Spielberg's work on Jaws was greatly influenced by Creature from the Black Lagoon.
  7. Using the positioning of the zip-line shown in the instructions (attached to the red table up on one of the higher levels of the compound), the crate will get stuck on one of the roof tops if you try releasing it from the highest point. You have to release the crate from about 2/3rds of the way down the zip-line for it to have clearance to make it to the bottom. There is a bit of friction as the crate goes down the line, but not enough to prevent it from reaching the bottom. You can however attach the zip-line to wherever you want, meaning there are ways to make it work better than the stock set up.
  8. ZO6

    Which set should I buy?

    If you think you'd be able to pick up both sets before the summer wave of Star Wars sets hits, then I'd say go with The Battle of Alamut now. Battle of Endor has only been available for around 8 months, so it shouldn't disappear quite yet - though it may become harder to find when the new stuff comes out this summer. But really, would you prefer to enjoy a shiny new PoP set now and have those extra parts for the building contest, but risk availability of 8038? Or would you prefer to pick up the Star Wars set now, know you're not going to miss out on it, but have to let some of the newness wear off of the PoP stuff? What is the priority here?
  9. ZO6

    Any Formula 1 racing fans out there?

    Not too surprising to see Red Bull step up during qualifying. I'm glad to see Alonso and Kubica start 3rd and 8th respectively. Guess we'll see what the weather does during the race, but it should be great anyways.
  10. Thanks Brickster! With the Atlantis theme being available everywhere now, I thought it would be nice to revisit some of the sets that started all the underwater LEGO adventures. These first Aquazone themes were very well executed, and hopefully a bit more attention can be stirred up for them.
  11. ZO6

    REVIEW: 6394 Metro Park & Service Tower

    I know you've put a lot of work into this review, and it shows. This is a fantastic review for an incredible set! This set is so full of joy. There are so many details to take in and things to play around with. This is truly one of those definitive all-time classic Town sets.
  12. ZO6

    Review: 8097 Slave 1

    Thanks for the review. There are definitely some aspects that I prefer in the 2006 incarnation and others that I prefer in this newest one. Ah, but the joy of customization in LEGO to make things how you want them. I do look forward to picking this set up when it becomes available.
  13. Thanks for the comments and feedback everyone. I appreciate it a lot. I've always been greatly surprised by the lack of Aquazone content and discussion here on EB. Many of my favorite sets come from these themes, and it's disappointing to see so few reviews. I plan on covering many more sets in hopes of getting these subthemes some more attention. When I first got these sets I was pretty hard on them - thankfully since they were new the parts were less prone to breaking. For the past decade I've been very careful with my LEGO and was fortunate not to significantly worsen the condition of any of the pieces. Unfortunately when I was taking this set apart for washing before the review, the break on that one finger hinge arm piece occurred. I've read about many of these defects (thanks greatly to CP5670 for documenting LEGO quality issues) but I've been lucky to have very few broken or defective parts after all these years.
  14. ZO6

    Review - the minifigs from 8097 Slave 1

    Those minifigs are far too deliciously sexy This is definitely one of those times when you have to look past the price of the set and go "What the heck, I collect LEGO and those minifigs are sexy as hell and I want that set to be part of my collection!" Note: please forgive the excessive use of the word "sexy" in this post - but honestly, those are some fantastic looking figs.
  15. The hunt is on! Will Johnny Thunder be able to track down the Pterodactyl using his trusted Dino Explorer? Or will he fall victim to distraction due to his trusted partner, Dr. Charles Lightning, and his delicious cooking!? Set # - 5934 Name - Dino Explorer Theme/Subtheme - Adventurers/Dino Island Year - 2000 Piece Count - 90 Minifigures - 2 Brickset, Peeron, Bricklink, Brickshelf My box is safely stored away, however the pictures on the instructions are the same. On the front is an entertaining scene in which Dr. Charles Lightning appears to be using his force powers to make several objects levitate: The back features a couple alternate models. Further insight into how to build the boat is even provided near the end of the manual: The last two pages of the instructions show some interesting pictures of the dinosaurs, as well as what sets they can be found in. Here is a sample: Though it doesn't have any piece call-outs, the instructions are still straight forward and easy to follow. Again, being an older manual, this features perfect colour differentiation - no problems telling light gray, dark gray, and black apart! All the pieces laid out. The set has a nice variety of useful parts: The usual suspects as far as Adventurers sets go. We are given Johnny Thunder and Dr. Charles Lightning - both featuring nice torso printing and exciting hats! Not much to see at the rear as back printing wasn't really around yet: We now meet our little red dinosaur friend. The instruction manual refers to it as a "Pteranodon". The mold, while not as hyper-detailed any many things today, is still quite nice. It's entire construction is hard solid plastic, and it features studs and clips to attach other pieces - giving it an authentic LEGO feel. The bottom of our friend. As you can see, it's quite compatible with other pieces: Here are the accessories in the set, as well as a couple other parts of interest. The instrument panel and windshield are the only printed pieces in the set: Construction can now begin on the vehicle. We start off with a very sturdy base for it all: The top side is built up. The cockpit receives the control panel and a steering wheel - handy! The vehicle is topped off, treads are added, and supplies are thrown in . It is now complete: Front view. It is indeed a powerful looking beast and has a nice wide stance: The back end is pretty simple - a bit more detail would have been nice: The supply box sits on a pair of red 1x2 grill tiles allowing it to be easily removed: We now move onto the camp. The rock formation takes up the bulk of this build: The rock formation is built up more and some accessories are added to the camp. The modified 1x2 brick with handle will later be used to add some vegetation to: The camp is now complete. The faucet on the top of the barrel is a nice touch: The whole set. As mentioned earlier, the dinosaur can be attached to other parts - in this picture it's sitting on the black 1x2 slope: Final Thoughts: Pricing and value: Dino Explorer is a nice little set. At $15 US when it was new, this 90 piece set didn't offer a great price per piece ratio. However the size of finished product is on par with anything else in price range, so it still feels like you're getting your money's worth. Design/build: The vehicle features nice sturdy construction and is a breeze to assemble. Thanks greatly to the treads, the vehicle has a strong presence for it's size, but details (especially at the rear) are a bit lacking. The camp has lots of nice little details and even the rock formation doesn't look too bad. Pieces: There are not a lot of really interesting pieces in this set, but they are all useful never-the-less. The minifigures are definitely not unique, but their inclusion is to be expected. The accessories are appreciated as always, and the Pterodactyl and treads are a fun addition. Playability: The highlight of the set is how much fun it can be to play with. The treads make driving the vehicle around a unique and satisfying experience - they even produce a nice rumble when pushed around. The inclusion of the dinosaur gives the set purpose - capture that Pterodactyl! The camp gives the set a more complete feel and adds even more playability. Verdict: Overall 5934 Dino Explorer is a wonderful set and in my opinion one of the stronger entries in the Dino Island subtheme. As always, comments and questions are more than welcome. Cheers! Look Ma, I can fly!
  16. ZO6

    MOC: A Tribute to the Toa

    These are fantastic, thank you for sharing them! The first six Toa have always been my favorite, so it's neat to see these enhanced versions.
  17. Thanks for this great little review! Though the inclusion of yet another Johnny Thunder minifigure in a set was a bit of an overkill, I do appreciate that TLC did make the character available at so many different price points The supply crate and accessories are always handy to have, but the green plate is definitely a bizarre thing to have thrown in - I always tried to write it off as him having found a small oasis.
  18. Thank you for the replies everyone! I'm taking a short break from Adventurers sets to cover most of the original Aquazone line The Aquasharks definitely deserved more. When they were first released, they caught my eye immediately and have since remained one of my favorite aquatic factions. They always appealed to me greatly, and I would have loved to have seen a larger base for them. 6190 Shark's Crystal Cave is a fantastic set, but it doesn't feel like it should be the biggest set in the subtheme.
  19. ZO6

    Review: 6958 - Android Base

    Thanks for doing another great Exploriens review! This base has always seemed quite underwhelming to me. I do appreciate the play features, but for the most part everything seems only half done. Even if this were placed on a raised baseplate (I know many are against these, but personally I've never minded them in the Space theme) it would seem like a more substantial structure. For me, the Explorien Starship was the highlight of the theme and so I could forgive smaller bases as they seemed to compliment it fairly well as support facilities. In any case, the parts from the Android Base were welcome additions to the old collection.
  20. Thanks for all the indexing of my reviews recently, though the link to the Deep Sea Predator review seems to be broken.
  21. ZO6

    Any Formula 1 racing fans out there?

    Yes, pretty clean race with relatively little drama (I always feel really bad for anyone caught in a collision). I'm pretty satisfied with the results, though too bad what happened to Alonso at the end of the race. Many of the driver points are quite close now, it should be interesting to see how things progress throughout the season. Very much looking forward to Shanghai as well.
  22. ZO6

    Any Formula 1 racing fans out there?

    Unsurprisingly, the rain sure made for some interesting qualifying sessions. Nice to see the starting grid mixed up, should make for a great race. Hopefully the rain doesn't prevent a full race like last year.
  23. ZO6

    REVIEW: 7642 Garage

    Thank you very much for doing this fantastic in-depth review! This set seems to be disliked by many and generally overlooked. I admit that I find this set quite appealing and have been extremely temped to pick it up on multiple occasions. Being someone that likes to both display their LEGO and play with it (yes, playability is a big selling point for me), this set suits my needs quite well. I find it bright and attractive looking - despite it's openness - which of course makes it easier to access everything inside the garage and play around with stuff. The large orange tow-truck is detailed enough that I can overlook the shortcoming of the other vehicles and instead just accept them as fillers for more play possibilities. Thanks again for this review, and for reminding me that I'd still like to acquire this set
  24. ZO6

    Review: 3050 Shanghai Surprise

    Thanks for this review! I admit that I never really paid much attention to this set - the overall look seemed kind of thrown together and underwhelming. Your review pointed out many details that I was not aware of and helped me gain appreciation for this ship. Your final picture reminds me of a scene from a famous Japanese film - Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island