Cardinal Brick
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Posts posted by Cardinal Brick
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It hardly a surprise, what is a surprise is that they had to hold a servey to find out that Lego was the most popular toy ever!
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Excellent news, I may live near Bluewater but I'm damn well going to the opening even if I have to work 3 weekends as punishment to get the day off. On a boarder point with luck the store will be a sucess and we'll get a few more in the UK soon.
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Thanks for all the comments, it's the best part of the review hearing what everyone else thinks of these sets. I do hope anyone else who has some Paradisa sets will get them out and review them now.
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And now for something completely different, I will return to my Unitron reviews, as we're only half way along in that but a brief diversion if I may. One thing about getting a new job with a higher wage is your Lego budget increases, as a result here we have a review of the Paradisa set 6414: Dolphin Point
Set Name: Dolphin Point
Set Number: 6414
Number of Pieces: 207
Figures: 4
Released: 1995
List Price: $33 according to Brickshelf £N/A If anyone know let me know!
I remember seeing this set as I child and I wanted it. It would be perfect I though for Governor Broadside, on one side Fort Sabre and on the other side of the port this armed with a few cannons, it'd be beautiful. But it wasn't to be I remember my Grandma telling me that it had pink in it and therefore it was for girls! Now however it's mine so lets take a look at this set.
Lets start with the box, despite being a small box by modern Lego standards back in the day it was considered large enough to have a flap on it.
Front
The back has a good selection of alternative models something which is so often lacking from our more modern sets.
Back
Inside the flap
Having salivated over the box arts lets break open the box and have a look at what we've got for our money.
All together in a very pink box
Next lets take a look at the island baseplate, I really like this one, it's better than the pirate one in my opinion. It's a shame we don't get to see these very often now.
The island before any developer got there
Instructions
The generic instructions picture, I'm starting to wonder why I take these to be honest
The Minifigs
You get 4 in this set, I do fee the guy with the black torso and yellow arms is overused in these types of sets but otherwise I happy with what we've got.
Two men & two women amazing gender balance!
I felt the dolphin should appear in this section as well as it is Dolphin point isn't it.
Pink it's my new obsession (a bonus point to whoever names the artist first)
Now I told you my Grandmother dismissed this set when I was a child due to the pink in it, but before I started building I felt I should show you all just how little pink there is in this set. Not much is the answer!
There's hardly any pink! I think there was more light grey than pink
The boat
A quick small build to start with a little sail boat not much to say a fairly standard model, I do dislike the lack of a rudder attached to the tiller but you can't have it all.
The boat
Sadly you can't easily hold the tiller and see where you're going.
The lighthouse.
The lighthouse has a number of interesting details, though it is one of those board builds that I don't like to much to start with as I nearly always get the first few bricks in the wrong place but after that's overcome things went smoothly enough.
The Ice cream fridge
Sadly the previous owner seems to have decided to cut this sticker apart, though it doesn't look to bad when put back together.
Apart
Together
Fine dining.
After the fridge the next interesting detail is the plates for the dining table, now I hadn't seen these before but I now want to get my hands on some more.
How did I not know these existed.
After this the first floor was just about finished
Not looking to shabby?
The second floor was fairly standard there's a coffee machine which we'll see later but lets march right on to the lighthouse lamp. I though the constructions was well throughout and it fitted in nicely.
Open to see construction method.
Ready for installation
All finished
With all the parts in place lets take a look at the lighthouse
Fully built but a bit lifeless must be low season
Before we move onto the final round up lets take a look at some details
The ice cream fridge
The first floor coffee machine.
The roof telescope
All parts together
It really comes alive once you've got minifig in it
The Rating System
Figures: 9/10 (OK they're a little standard and the guy in the black shirt is overused but there are as many men as women, how rare is that!)
Parts 6/10 (I'd prefer the stairs in white and there isn't that much apart from the plates that wowed me)
Fun Fun Fun 9/10 (Plenty to do with just this set and you can have great fun with just a few more, did anyone say pirate raid?)
Design 9/10 (I fine design I must).
Price ?/10 (Lugnet doesn't like me at the moment and I don't have any other UK prices to that's be TBC'ed .)
Grand Total 33/40 (A high rating but a fine set deserves nothing less)
Conclusion
Was it worth the 15 year wait, well I can't say it was and I'd wait that long for it again. But it is a set I like there are a lot of things you can do with it and I'm sure things will start happening soon. Fortifications to deal with those pesky pirates, drunken student parities broken up by the police or maybe just a relaxing sailing trip it's all to be had with this simple set.
I think Paradisa gets overlooked but a lot of Lego fans, it's a bit to pink and conspicuous for town fans, and I doubt it has a huge number of fans of it's own. That's a shame as I think this set proves that Paradisa was well designed and had a lot of possibilities for play and modding. Will this cause me to buy some more sets? Well I might just do that but I can tell you right now I'm getting some more of those plates I love them. And to finish with...
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I'm pleased to see conformed price information at last, and for once I think the UK price is fair, which seems more unusual this year as alot of the prices seems a tad over inflated.
I can't wait to get this set and I'm starting to wonder if I should pick up another winter toy shop aswell as I'm not sure I can wait years to expand my village!
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I do like it more now I see it but I'm still disapointed y the scale of it, had you been able to drive a normal City scale car or truck under the bridge I'd have been much more impressed and more likely to buy it. At the moment I don't think it'll be going on my Must Have list, at least my bank manager will be happy even if I'm not with this set!
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Thanks for the review and it's an nice set and I would pick it up but having seen the price point for the UK, which I found out in store by asking one of the staff and nearly shouted HOW MUCH! Like paul I must agree it's just far to high
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I was surprised that when Bristol opened their new huge shopping quater a Lego store did not follow, but maybe when the economy gets a bit better it'll improve. I live close to Bluewater so I'm quite happy myself but I would like to see more and I could see them comming.
Whittleberry, Brighton was boraderline does that mean sales have improved or is it still at risk? And do you know anything about the other stores, I'd expect Bluewater would be safe I think I spend enough myself to keep it safe!
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I guess I have to be the note of discored here and say I'm a little unimpressed here, while I do like the set I don't think it's as amazing as I'd hopped with so many bricks, I was expecting something while not minifig scale that would at least not be to small to use minifigs with.
I will reserve my final judgment till I gewt to see larger pics and possibly a review or two.
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It looks excellent should be a great complemetory set to the Toy Shop, I hope this sells well and that as a result we'll get another one next year.
I do like the skating ponds, though I'm not so sure about the wagon maybe a model t style truck instead?
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I like to think of myself as a Castle and Pirate fan but that's been slipping for a few years now, I will still pick up new sets when I see them just to keep it as close to complete as I can but I've been tempted by other thingds along the way. I keep finding intresting space sets and buying them, mostly ones I looked at as a kid and never got. I'll tend to pick up Star Wars original trillogy sets if I like them (mostly the Empires sets) but I'm not intrested in the rests. As for actions themes I've still got to finish Adventurers as there are one or two small ones I'm missing and a few diving serts. I also picked up all the agent sets as I just though they were a blast.
Oh and the modual buildings though I missied out on cafe corner sadly.
So basically I'm confused, I'm glad you brought this topic up, I do envy people who have a set theme and nothing else!
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Thanks for the review, I do love this set but the price in Euros seems very high to me, I hope when we get a UK price its a bit more reasonable than I fear it will be.
All the same it does look great in that scene you've produced.
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Excellent! As I've just about changed job and don't have to work every weekend any more I think I should be able to make it, looking forward to it as it's been years since I last went to one
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To me minifigs are really important, I think without them Lego would just be a construction toy to me and not something more, though I can't really describe what it is with minifigs.
I would (and do) dock points for poor minifig selection from a model in my review, a Lego set isn't just about the ship or car it's an overall balance between all of the different elements. But I also happily dock points from a great model if it wasn't good as a toy unless it was designed as a model, for example I wouldn't penalise the Eiffel Tower but I would the Carousel if it was as good a working model as it is.
I also don't think this is some thing new if you look back at a lot of the small sets, as Space Police 1916 (it's on my desk at the moment (review coming soon shameless plug!)) The set is clearly not about the model it's about the minifig and a cheap way to get a Space Police II officer.
In licenced sets minifigsd are more important still, they have to fit the film well and provide the figs we all want and remember in order to recreate the different scenes.
Well that's what I think anyway.
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Excellent review Rufus, I really like this set and I think that the price is fair and like you I might get one or two of these to help fill out my own Lego city.
Can I ask where you got it from as I've yet to see it about yet?
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Excellent, sadly I'm at work but I can see what my lunch time will be spent doing next weekend!
Though on reflection I do think that Buzz's ship looks inferior to the LGM one.
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I hope it comes in at the lower end of your estimate though I'm not holding my breath as sets seems to be more expensive in the UK this year than normal.
The size and the number of parts does make me think that if this isn't totally amazing I will be very shocked and disappointed!
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I'm surprised that SPIII has been doing so badly in this thread, while I don't think it's perfect I've been impressed with it I really like this years wave and while I'm not really a space fan I have bought most of the set and will probably complete the line (that's the problem with being a completest!) I personally think it's return was better than the return of pirate (had pirates not got the flagship).
As to my own thoughts I'd like to discount Galidor and pretend it doesn't exsist! I think I agree with CP5670 Life on Mars was a really weak theme, I did like the main ship but apart from that it wasn't that impressive. Hell I've even got quite a few of the smaller sets sitting in boxes becuase I was given them and was never impressed enough to open them and add them to the colection.
There were a few other themes I think were weak notably Roboforce (though I only have one set).
I feel the need to defend Insectoid, I've been buying a few really cheap sets of late from this theme and I'm quite impressed the ideas are novel and well done, now someone is always going to complain about juniorisation but I think that's a pointless argument unless you plan to build me monorail track from 1x1x1 plate. It have a sensible range of unique peices and the figs are solid.
Thats my take anyway.
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Thanks for posting that, I love the 'Lego System Town Harbour'spot I remeber it being in one of the Lego Club mags back when it was first out. It nice to be able to see it again.
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That's excellent, when I first saw the PoP sets I had exactly the same thought. I'd been waiting for someone to make a brickfilm like the trailer but I might have to do it myself.
I love the diorama to be honest I can't see a way to improve it, hope to see some more in the future.
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I'm a bit like WhiteFang I've not really gone past CivII (they need to return the amaing high council videos!) but I will take a look at it when it comes out and see if it looks worth the investment in not just cash but time.
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I think its failed because I've seen like NO Space police sets in the UK in any shops.
I thought Space Police was a shop@home and brand store only line which was just going to start being rolled out to other stores this summer, I could be wrong in which case maybe there will be another wave as I can't see the point in trying to get them in stores now if you're not going to add anything new.
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I think there are two issues here one is the question in the title as to if TLG is pursuing the wrong strategy, I don't think they are they've been making more money in recent year and seems to have manged to perferct the marketing mix so I don't think they're pursuing the wrong strategy.
It would be nice to have more smaller sets but I'm not sure if it'd be economically viable for TLG, certainly we know that individual train cars aren't so I asume with alot of other sets you can say the same thing. I could go back and find some old catalogues and show bits that from bigger sets that would have been great small sets so I don't think this is anything new to be honest.
Product Review: BrickForge Centaurs
in Minifig Customisation Workshop
Posted
I do like the look of these, I would like to see one in black aswell as the other colours, otherwise I think it's pretty much perfect.