The Rancor

Yes, thanks for doing that!

I purchased it at the end of last week, but I'm now the proud owner of a Mos Eisley Cantina (2014 not 2004) and I was actually surprised at how good the value for money was, which I'm not used to with Lego SW (well, it's good value in terms of SW anyway). I'm in the process of creating a review.

Looks like there might be a new Boba minifigure beyond my grasp, a bit like the exclusive Dengar or some of the Death Star minifigs. Well, there's always other means to get them, but a Slave I as long as the ISD? That's properly massive, but picturing it in my head it would roughly be minifig scale. I wonder how much green there's going to be?

Now that's long overdue for an overhaul, new Cloud Cars and a couple of interior details would be great. I can imagine TLG making a good playset out of the carbonite freezing chamber for example

Hello as well, I can't remember ever coming across this thread before but SW is my central theme and I meet posts and membership time, would I be able to have this tag too please?

The 'swashbuckler' looks more like one of the 3 Musketeers than a Pirate, isn't the name referring to sword fighting and not specifically Pirates?

Considering all the rest of the sets of this wave are set distinctly after Episode III, I'm still slightly surprised that an Episode I set has come into the mix. If the MTT is retailer specific in the UK, there's a chance it belongs to Argos, because I've been to both TRU and Smyths over the last couple of days and they had pretty much every set except the MTT. The ISD might be TRU exclusive because it wasn't in Smyths but otherwise it seems like everything's creeping out there.

I have some second cousins around 10 years old and someone once tried to give them some Mega stuff, and they immediately realised that it was not Lego then treated it as a separate toy to the the rest of the Lego. It was Barbie branded which could be a draw - people arguably recognise that brand as a girls' toy more than 'Friends' despite the fact that from what I've seen of Friends the builds couldn't be beaten. Because some of these brands actually overtake the maker's brand in terms of graphic design on the box, (some) people see Halo or Barbie or even Call of Duty and just think great, a Call of Duty playset my son will love that! Clearly people often notice when non-licensed property is not Lego because some brands such as Mega have barely any of their own themes at all. It's certainly clear in the Argos catalogue.

I only just discovered this thread and it's a great idea. I'm in Poole, Dorset, UK. Closest person to me is Rainclouddustbin in Bristol

A good note to be reminded of, especially as we can't quite see the closed rack door and whether there's any extra interior space. But still the rack is a large concern. And to Chosen One, yes, go for the Star Destroyer if you can - the Malevolence just isn't a particularly interesting set and it's firmly rooted in the Clone Wars. The Star Destroyer in comparison is an iconic ship with very good movie accuracy as well as characters.

I was frankly repulsed when I walked into TRU the other day and found that the massive Lego Movie display had turned into a display of Kreo or something, I didn't really take note of what it was as soon as I realised the whole display had no Lego sets at all. Fortunately my parents or other relatives never mistook anything else for Lego and any concerns about cost just meant smaller sets were bought. Despite what I just opened with, I don't think clone brands are much of a problem in the UK as they might be in other countries. The fact that Lego is pretty expensive here would indicate a lack of competition to need to lower the price. I think a particular problem comes when clone brands sell sets which are deliberately trying to look like Lego boxes or claim compatibility, because compatibility would suggest all bricks are Lego to the less initiated

I love the varying degrees of SNOT all over the model, certainly in those pods on the sides. I'm with Nom thinking it's quite an obscure vehicle, from that image it's very accurate but it's hard to tell whether the front is curved like that or whether it's more angular. It would look even better with some greebles but I don't know how easy that is in LDD. Generally though, an intriguing great build!

I think some people (including myself) that have been buying into SW since 1999 have reached a point where we can't help but compare all new set remakes to their best previous iteration, and this is a case in point. I think Aanchir indicated just how much more movie-accurate this new MTT is than the one from 2007 and I agree because 2007 was just too tall and long, plus some other detailing. However, the huge space for droids and usable cockpit were in my opinion the best features. Having space for only 3-4 droids and inappropriate characters is certainly not ideal and it's hard to let accuracy outweigh those things.

I hold up most spaceships to view them from different angles and sometimes to see a flight mode/wings in different positions, but unfortunately I don't actually swoosh very often, if at all. It's pretty difficult with some of those bulky models too. The Republic Dropship with ATOT being carried takes the biscuit!

I agree, it's one of a small range of models that has only ever been made once, and with a huge range of other Episode II sets. Actually what I'd really like is a range of sets based on the inside of the Death Star. Sorry, but £275 is more than I can afford. However, I can easily imagine Lego creating small playsets based on iconic scenes, such as the trash compactor or cell block, or Obi Wan's final duel. The weak link would be no vehicles, and almost every SW set has them, but it's nice to imagine it.

The uneven icy landforms look perfect, great with the random ground panels as well! I also love the inclusion of the original X Wing back when it was the correct colour, complete with those boarding ladders. There's a great sense that it's busy too, as you would be if the AT ATs we're closing in!

Thanks for the review, and perhaps even more importantly the confirmation that SW summer sets are appearing outside of brand stores in retail. The joints for the neck look interesting, if perhaps slightly long in my opinion. Otherwise though, it's looking like there's a decent 'hangar' space even if the cockpit is slightly squashed. I'm glad they finally made the AT AT pilot in grey/blue because I was always certain they weren't white. Snowtroopers are ok, but I don't think TLG could really improve on the original mould.

No I didn't get that memo so now I know but I don't think I'd ever do the second on that list!

I love the way that the ostrich just shuffles into view and takes a look at the camera, JJ's glance at it made me giggle. It must be so fun for the promotion team of Star Wars to keep teasers going for another year and a half. The market is very Mos Eisley-ish and I'm also impressed by the detail that's gone into the props. I imagine that even some of the people in the background could be potential extras here. On the subject of Battlefront, I believe DICE, who work on the Battlefield games are working on the new instalment. Should be an ideal match, exchanging an armoured jeep for an ATST or a fighter jet for a TIE Bomber. I always preferred playing in the first person on Battlefront too so maybe it'll stay that way.

Talk of a possible new Pirates theme, but certainly a new ship has got me quite excited, if behind the curve slightly. I don't really mind that the new ship would be called The Brick Bounty, perhaps the wording ties in with something in the new Pirates area update in Legoland(s). I hope the ship itself takes the form of something like the Armada Flagship, or a fluyt shape. I have a feeling it would be of a similar size to Brickbeard's Bounty, but hopefully TLG would introduce something like a very simplified 2 tier deck, with room down below and up top. I'd hope that if there was a new range, a new skull-shaped hideout or other land-based sets bolster the variety, but I have a slight feeling it could be like the most recent Castle range - fairly 'suited to the main target audience'.

Though I've been away for a while I've been keeping tabs on the new Star Wars sets, and I'm glad to see an Episode IV/V renaissance in the Summer wave. Unfortunately my nearest UK Lego store is around 100 miles away, so I'll have to wait for retail, but the Cantina and AT-AT particularly caught my eye. Looking at some of the teasing reviews and mocs with the Cantina and its fan-pleasing minifigures I can't wait. I've also never had any iteration of an AT AT, despite getting every iteration of Echo Base and Snowspeeder, so that will be essential to any proper battle dioramas and the detailing does seem to me particularly movie-accurate. As for the rumours surrounding the (likely) exclusive Naboo set to match the minifigure instruction page, I would be very inclined to believe it's a TF AAT, possibly without even an extra Flash Speeder depending on scale, though an update to both sets would be welcome.

I'm back on, and it seems an appropriate topic to post back onto, seeing as I've had a couple of years teetering on the edge of a dark age (or at least dark years as alois correctly refers to them). I will graduate from university in September and I couldn't really explain why, but when undertaking my course, Lego just seemed to drift away as I became very involved with new work, new people etc. Fortunately there was enough interest for me to wonder what I was doing and Lego Star Wars has been a very strong influence in keeping that interest going, especially as TLG has produced an actual Rancor since I last posted! I'd agree with the general impression so far of a dark age as being a time where you don't make the time for Lego in general. I've moved to almost only making time for Star Wars so hopefully no dark age any time soon, but who knows, whispers of a new Pirates theme might pique my interest for original themes again...

I decided that as Castle month was so fun I would open a thread to discussion about other themed months. These could be of any theme you wanted, but it may only be specualtion however. Post your wishes for themed months here... I would a Star Wars month!!!

Hello everyone! Now that my work had wound down a bit for the Summer, I have more time for reviews of sets when I get them. I know there's been a lot of anticipation for this set, so I hope my skills are up to scratch for everyone outside the academy, as well as in it. Set Number: 5973 Set Name: Hyperspeed Pursuit Theme: Space Pieces: 456 Price: £39.15 / €52.50 / $49.99 US / $79.99 AUS Time of Release: Summer 2009 Minifigs: 3 Shop @ Home Link The Box Primarily, the box shows us what looks like the outskirts of a moon colony with the Earth merely in the distance (as with all the Space Police sets). The Police ship gives chase as usual, but the twins didn't seem to notice that their gold is falling out of the back of their ship They are also firing a missile into nowhere On the back of the we are shown various functions of the set which I'll go into detail with later, such a prison pod, the pod release system and stowage for the gold aboard the skull twin ship. From this angle it is easy to realise how massive the booster engines are on the police ship. On the box side there is also an advertisement of the Lego Space game for DS but I believe it has already been posted in other reviews. The Instructions, Stickers and Minifigs Here is a random instruction book page (out of book 1). (The 2 instruction books themsleves have exactly the same image as the front of the box). The sticker sheet (below) or the DSS as rather a lot of people like to call them has quite a lot of stickers on it. There are (laser) bullet holes for the hull of the skull ship as well as some extra blacktron graffiti. For some reason there is a number '3' for the skull ship. This is odd because the set is not the 3rd smallest and there are two skull twins, not three. There is also a sticker saying 'Zumbi' on the right which confuses me. The minifigs in this set are great. We get two skull twins and what could be a Space Police Sheriff. The head used for the Police officer/sheriff is the double sided Castle-screaming head which we've already seen before. Although the helmet is also open so there might be an air problem, the printing on the police minifig is amazingly detailed, including on his back as well as legs, in an armour pattern. The unmasking of the skull twins reveals... They aren't actually twins! (However, each twin has the same head piece but it is double sided so you can do what you wish with each head to determine similarities or differences). I can see this monstrous evil head coming into use at some point for me The detailing is also very intricate on the skull twin torsos with jet black overalls and red and silver cuts across - nice! Also, there are references to Octan petrol on the torso although it might not easily be visible (just for you, City lovers ) Obviously Octan is the top Space propulsion fuel as well! For anyone who is wondering, the skull twin helmet is sorta rubbery, like Plo Koon in the RGS. The Police Starship Various stages of the build are below, from start to finish (sorry for 'in-construction' blur ) The build of the Police ship is actually quite interesting except for one thing, which I'll come on to in a minute. I like the use of a white minifig head and skelton leg to extend the control stick in the cockpit, because it makes it look that little bit extra futuristic (and also the control wouldn't reach the driver otherwise ) From the front, the Police ship looks very imposing although from this angle the engine boosters look quite small and the front of the cockpit seems flat. The Spaceship is quite heavily armed as you can see, with 6 laser guns around the ship to fend off the alien scum! From the side, the ships small length is clear in comparison with its width (at least from looking at it and not measuring). The ship is very sleek and streamlined as in evidence here. Large wing technic pieces are used for the front 'wings' which I expect aren't new because they might have been in Bionicle. These pieces aren't easy to find other uses for though. I also like the fact that the jet pieces on the back wings balance the craft but also act as two extra lasers (I don't know how laser can fire from a propulsion device, but there you go ) From the back, the most striking part is the massive booster rockets on the back of the ship. They might be a bit out of scale but I think it makes the ship seem even faster and over the top! These boosters are made using a large fulcrum (cone shape) piece with another piece that used to be used a lot on flagpoles for pirate sets. 1x1 cone pieces are put on and bent back to make the engine seem even more powerful with more exhaust ports However, this part of the build requires a lot of repeat instruction One other thing people may have noticed is that there is a prison pod with a 'shooter' panel sticking out of the back. The mechanism for opening the prison pod is simple - when a technic shooter hits the panel, a small technic piece pushes half the pod up so it effective 'pops' off. In practice though, the pod does break open but it barely moves (below) but at least it actually works. The pieces making up the pod I think are new because they have square areas inside so minifigs can actually be stood at the bottom instead of rattling around like crazy The Review Continues... Skull Ship Cruiser The stages in the build of the cruiser are below. The construction is far less repetitive than the Police ship but it does have a lot more stickers so sticker haters won't like this! A lot of SNOT is used on the ship all round the sides for bumpers, exhaust ducts etc. to good effect, making the ship look very detailed. There are barely any studs left on the model to put extra pieces on. Once built, the Skull Ship is actually a bit heavier than the Police ship but looks even meaner Dents, scratches, laser bullet holes and graffitit are all over the ship and a small red line is cleverly implemented into the model. It's probably because red catches your eye better. In the cockpit though (below) there is only enough room for one skull twin. We are to assume that if one is rescued, the other travels in the boot/trunk with zero atmosphere It is quite easy to take the top off though, unlike the windscreen of the Police ship. (slight blur is due to the focus down the model) From the front, the Skull ship doesn't actually look as imposing as the Police ship, and in fact, it almost doesn't look like a space ship. It looks as if there should be wheels on it to become a Blacktron Hotrod, which would be pretty awesome The bumpers on this ship are constructed using railing pieces and SNOT to make the ship look far stronger and customised than the Police ship. There's not much to say about the side view of the Skull ship, other than the fact that is looks far less streamlined than the Police ship. The fins on the side from Bionicle were TLGs attempt to solve that, and I think it works when not looking from the side On the rear end of the ship we finally see what that Zumbi sticker is for. I assume it's some sort of number plate for space, but it hasn't got any numbers so it could be illegal The boosters for this ship are far smaller - 2x2x1 cylinder piece inside an engine block with a big flame. The boosters don't look too oversized, but I think the long flames look far more authentic on the model. The length of the flame also makes the booster seem incredibly strong. A useful black 3x2 piece folds over to keep the gold in the boot/trunk of the ship (hopefully ) I would say the best part of the design of the Skull ship is how well the technic blunt shooters fit onto the side of the model and blend in. It is as if the shape of the shooter was meant for this ship. There is no special launching mechnism, so you have to pull back the launch tabs to shoot. One thing I'm pretty sure of is that the springs on these shooters are amazing. I can shoot probably 5 metres, although I haven't measured The safe to hold the gold is very simply built (about 7 pieces in fact) all in yellow with some random vent stickers on top. The gold safe can hold about 4 2x1 gold tiles, but you are supplied with 3 in the set... (Don't ask me why, perhaps it's to do with the 3 all over the Skull ship - 3 gold bars could be their lucky number! ) Spare Pieces (A lot of cheese slopes and technic pins) BOTH SHIPS TOGETHER A simple bird's eye (and underneath) comparison confirms that indeed... 1. The Police Ship is much bigger than the Skull ship (although lighter) 2. The Skull ship is much more square shaped and decorated with stickers 3. The Skull ship would be much better on stealth missions (Two of the smooth disks on the bottom of the Space Rod were are added by me as spare parts) Here is another image (my favourite) of both ships together from a normal view. The Police ship design is so much better than it's freeze ray frenzy and gold heist counterparts and I love the Skull Space Rod! AND... The twins forgot to strap the gold down in the ship well enough (a la on on the box) "Excuse me sir... erm madam. You dropped this gold bar back there. I should take better care of it if I were you." "Oh thank you officer I've been looking everywhere for that bar - it's a present for my twin brother. Thanks so much for returning it!" In Conclusion... Build: 7/10 : Both models were quite easy to build, but the high amount of stickers and Police booster engines bring it down a bit. Playability: 9/10 : The missiles are great and when used on the prison are reasonably effective (plus the gold safe, weapons etc.) Minifigures: 9/10 : The Skull Twin heads torsos and helmets are amazing but the officer has an air problem and inappropriate face. Useful Pieces: 7/10 : The new big flames are good, plus many cheese slopes, new windscreens, gold bars and hot rod fins. Price: 9/10 : It seems £39.15 is a fair price for this set, considering the contents and playability. I also think that some kids might choose this set over a video game as well, if the situation arose. TOTAL: A great 41/50 ! (I would usually believe anything above 40 and at a good price merits buying in other reviews) AVERAGE SCORE: 8.2/10 for any aspect I welcome all feedback The Rancor

I agree, somewhere in the region of about £1.50-£2.00. I won't buy very many if they are any more than £3.50.