searrius

Very pleased to see you're still working on the site :) Got a couple more corrections for you. First is on the page for year 2006. You say: "The Tow Truck [...] [had] 10 tires, the most of any single Technic vehicle ever." ...which has gone up to 12 as of last year (can't blame you for missing this since you just recently added last year's page). The other is on the page for year 1999 where you say: "Finally, an extension was introduced for the driving ring transmission system. This is discussed further with 8448." ...but you don't actually discuss that part on the page for 8448. I believe if I'm not mistaken that part allows for reverse gear (I got that set in high school - and loved it - but it's been pretty long since I had it built). Edit: On the new page for 8458, you say: "It was the first model with more than 1400 parts" ...but 8448, released the previous year, also had just over 1400 parts - 1408, to be exact. I have the box to prove it :)

I read through all the new year articles. Fascinating to see how things developed over time. I've clicked through the set line-up on Brickset before, seeing how the number of sets ballooned and then declined before stabilizing, so it was nice to read about what was going on behind the scenes during that period (confirming my own guesses). I definitely agree that it was the right choice to do these year pages first - thank you for all your work on this update :) Only a couple minor things. One, you still mention 8421 as being "by far the most complex" crane on that particular category page, but on the 2013 page you acknowledge that it has been surpassed by 42009. Two, the new axle connector introduced in 2012 is now also available in black as of this year. And I don't know if it was a deliberate choice, but you don't mention the tires used on 42000 when they were introduced (albeit in a Racers set) in 2007. Lastly, as for what to do next, my suggestion would be to start with the sets linked to from new part descriptions (i.e. "this is discussed further with XXXX"). I think mainly these are 8479 and 8448 - can't remember if there are others. PS: Would it be worth creating a new "Snow Vehicles" category once you add the 2015 line-up? This would include the new Arctic Truck, the Snow Groomer, and the two snowmobiles.

Since Technicopedia isn't running on a content management system I'm not sure it would be technically feasible to have multiple contributors. They'd all have to know how to edit HTML (or use a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver) and presumably need to have FTP access, which would likely be a security nightmare. Besides, Blakbird is an engineer in real life and has collected every Technic set... how many people are as qualified as him to do this project? (It seems weird to be talking about him in the third person when he's a regular on this forum, but oh well.)

I don't want to pester you, but do you still consider Technicopedia an active project? I recently discovered it and have found it incredibly interesting to read about the Technic sets of bygone years, particularly being a bit of an old school builder myself (as well as a history nut). It even allowed me to read about the inner workings of set 8460 when I was considering buying it from Bricklink (it's built and sitting on my dresser now). Although I've never done more than lightly dabble with LDRAW (I can only imagine how much time you've spent making all those illustrations), as a full time web developer I can certainly appreciate the amount of work that goes into producing a working website, so I just want to thank you for starting such an ambitious project in the first place!

I want to note that, like I said in the review, I did get this set on sale from Bricklink and actually only had to pay ~$67 plus shipping. Obviously that's a long way from double the price, which was good for me since I'm anything but rich. In fact, given how much Star Wars sets are marked up nowadays I bet you could expect to pay almost that much for this set (if it were being sold now) from a store like Toys 'R' Us... especially if you had to pay sales tax. Just sayin' - and I don't mean to imply that everyone will be able to get the deal I got, because unfortunately that's probably not too likely. Anywho, thank you for the nice feedback everyone!

Set Number: 4502 Name: X-wing Fighter Theme: Star Wars, Episodes IV-VI Released: 2004 Pieces: 554 Minifigs: 3 MSRP: $50 USD Brickset | BrickLink This is another discontinued set I picked up from Bricklink in used/like-new condition - although this time there was no box, the instructions are falling apart and a couple pieces were missing or in wrong colors. It was on sale though, and I was able to replace the necessary parts from my existing collection so I could finish building it and review it for all you nice folks here Instructions The manual I received has obviously seen better days (the outer pages, at least). It has the same picture that was used for this set in S@H catalogs, as well as on the box I didn't get. Random page, showing construction of Yoda's humble abode. Strangely the part colors were rather inconsistent from one page to the next, which served to keep things exciting, though not in a particularly helpful way The last page has a nifty scene from the Hoth hangar. Trivia - all three of those sets were released in 2004, but only this one still used the old gray/brown colors. Minifigs From left to right: Yoda, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 This is one of three sets the sage, old, non-Clone-Wars-style Jedi master came in. Luke in his Dagobah outfit (which looks Rambo-esque to me, in a good way) was unique to this set. R2-D2, on the other hand, has been in a number of different sets. Yoda's torso has printing on the back and Luke wears an interesting brick-built backpack. Since the set comes with two lightsabers, it's not too much of a stretch to start imagining an epic duel between Luke and Yoda. Thanks to this set I'm now the proud owner of eight Lukes and four Artoo-Detoos. This picture makes me think of those scenes aboard the Baseships in Battlestar Galactica with all the duplicate Cylon models. Completed Set Here it is, in all its glory Lego thoughtfully provides extra seaweed pieces so that you can give your finished X-wing that authentic just-got-pulled-out-of-a-swamp-using-the-force look that's all the rage these days (swamp slug not included). Luke's X-wing "That's right, space cadets: statistics show there are at least 47 TIE fighters out there just waiting for you to blow them to smithereens. Join the ranks of the Rebel Alliance's X-wing pilots today!!" Yoda lends a hand showing off some of the X-wing's highlights. Here we see the sweet retractable front landing gear. Now that I think about it, I can't remember ever seeing an X-wing's rear undercarriage in the movies, so I guess maybe I can't blame Lego too much for not putting as much effort into the rear "landing gear" on this model. A handy (and, I believe, canon) storage compartment can be found underneath the cockpit. Turning this gear on the back switches the wings from flight mode to attack mode. The mechanism uses an internal worm gear to make it stay where you set it, and a couple pairs of rubber bands hold the wings tight against the knobs sandwiched between them. Here you can kinda make out the knobs that push the wings up and down into the attack position. Also, on either side of the front landing gear you can see the inverted slope pieces that support the back of the model. Yoda's House "Slimy? Mudhole? My home this is!" I like how they made it circular like it's supposed to be (except for the back side). And the entrance is nicely Yoda-sized The roof is a brown inverted dish piece with an awesome gnarly tree roots design (no stickers here!). The walls fold out to provide access to the interior, which includes a number of details from the movies, such as a makeshift oven and Luke's cup of creepy stew from ESB, and Yoda's bed from ROTJ. Underneath the bed is a form-fitting compartment for a lightsaber hilt... and lightsaber blade Bonus Pics Closing Thoughts I bought the first Lego X-wing (#7140) way back in 1999 (I think it might have been my first Star Wars set, in fact). I personally feel this one (along with #6212, which is very similar) does a better job of recreating the look of the model used in the films. I also prefer this one's fancy mechanism for switching to/from attack mode to #7140's simple use of click hinges (I do realize that might be a personal opinion kind of thing). And of course only #4502 has Yoda's house Build: 8/10 - Not boring or too repetitive; the contrast between the X-wing and Yoda's house provides some nice variety. Unfortunately it's somewhat hindered by the color printing issues in the instructions. Design: 8/10 - Although the Yoda's house is more open-aired than I'd prefer, the X-wing has a strong resemblance to the models used in the films. Construction: 9/10 - The X-wing is very solid and stands up well to swooshing-related duress. The folding walls and hinged roof on the house are a nice touch as far as playability. Parts: 8/10 - I may not use all the parts from this set again, but there are plenty of good ones here in a number of colors. Price: 10/10 - The original U.S. MSRP had a lower than $0.10 price-per-piece, which isn't too shabby for a licensed Star Wars set. Total: 8.6/10 - All in all, a pretty good set. Edit: Image hosting changed to Brickshelf.

Set Number: 4483 Name: AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) Theme: Star Wars, Episodes IV-VI Released: 2003 Pieces: 1068 Minifigs: 4 MSRP: $100 USD Brickset | BrickLink This set was released around the time I started college, which regretably was also when I went into my dark ages as a Lego fan. It is one of the sets released around that time which ultimately represented the last hurrah of the old gray colors before they were phased out. Since being discontinued many people have added it to their wanted lists on various sites - a year ago it was the most wanted Star Wars set on BrickLink (as reported by The Brothers Brick at that time), and it's still on the list of most wanted sets at Brickset. I was fortunate enough recently to acquire one through BrickLink which was in like-new condition and included both the instructions and the original box at a fairly reasonable price (taking into account the supply and demand, at least...) Box Reverse When buying a used set like this the box is generally considered unnecessary and tends to increase shipping charges, but in my opinion it can hold some sentimental value, especially if the box is in as nice condition as this one is. Interestingly, by this time Lego apparently had already stopped including pictures of alternate models for sets in the Star Wars line. At least there are some nice comparison shots with stills from Empire Strikes Back. Instructions First pages, including the obligatory explanation of how to assemble a minifig Random page, showing construction of the very fragile cockpit/head (more on this later) And, on the last page, an exciting action scene which makes it seem as though this set should have come with more than two Snowtroopers (the AT-AT includes seating for four of them, after all) Pieces Suffice it to say, for anyone like me who still stubbornly insists on using the old gray colors (my excuse is that, until I came out of my dark age earlier this year, I literally didn't have any parts in the newer colors), this set is a gold mine - a veritable cornucopia of useful parts ranging from fairly commonplace to quite rare. Of course there are also the usual assortment of parts in seemingly out-of-place colors, but to be honest if those weren't present I'd almost have to wonder if this was really an official Lego set Minifigs From left to right: AT-AT pilot, 2 Snowtroopers and Luke Skywalker The pilot and troopers are the original versions with old gray detailing and were both unique to this set. The AT-AT pilot has printing on the back of the torso, much like the standard Stormtroopers, and the Snowtroopers have neat-looking backpacks which are molded onto their helmets and are open on the bottom I don't know about the rest of you peeps, but all these Luke minifigs have gotten kinda boring for me, particularly the ones with him in his pilot getup. Oh well - I know the idea was to let you could recreate the scene where Luke single-handedly destroys one of the walkers in the movie after his snowspeeder crashes. Exterior The legs, while stiff and arguably a touch shorter than in the movie, are fully poseable; I positioned them to look like it's in mid-stride. Overall I feel it's a pretty well done recreation, complete with all the fun angles found on the actual thing. Front and rear views The top two joints on each leg are comprised of these pieces, and the bottom one uses a standard Technic friction pin with an arch piece and an inner strut to help keep it stable. You can see how they cheated slightly by not including the inner "toe" for each foot, perhaps because they were worried about the feet on each side getting stuck together. Side view, betraying the AT-AT's elephantine inspiration Close-up of the head, bristling with armament Close-up of the neck joint, comprised of a single precarious Technic connector Bonus fact: The entire head and neck assembly is designed to pop out, presumably to recreate the scene where the head explodes after Luke tosses a detonator into the body. I find this kind of ironic though, since due to how it's constructed it's more likely that the head will just come off on its own if the above joint isn't tightened as much as possible. Interior Cockpit While it might have been a pretty tight fit, it would have been nice to have two pilots as featured in the movie (since this is supposed to be the walker sabotaged by Luke, it makes sense that General Veers is absent). Unfortunately the sides of the cockpit don't stay in place very well, since they're only attached by a single non-locking hinge on either side, so I decided to use the "string with end studs" included in the set (intended for suspending Luke under the main body just like in the movie) as an additional brace to help the sides stay properly angled. Normally there'd be a tan 2x4 plate behind that small grill at the front, but I replaced it with two dark gray 2x2 corner plates to provide room for the end studs of the string (which you can barely make out in this picture). Without this modification the sides kinda flop out and don't look right. Main cabin (mirrored on the other side) The two Snowtroopers are comfortably seated amidst posh sand-blue upholstery with a touch of yellow trim, but they're left wondering how on earth they're supposed to safely deploy to the ground (zip line not included). The platform they sit on slides out, probably just for easier finger-access to the troopers inside (all two of them ). Rear compartment / speeder bike stowage Speaking of which... The Bonus Snow Speeder Bike I don't think the first round of speeder bikes had a very authentic appearance to them, this one being no exception. It does have some potentially useful parts, though. It's weird that by design there's one of those megaphone pieces for the little gray clip on the opposite side, but not for both sides. And yes, this was back in that nostalgic megaphone-as-laser-gun era. Closing Thoughts In spite of a couple structural flaws, I am quite happy with this set overall. I believe it's safe to say that this one looks a lot more authentic than the newer, motorized AT-AT. I wish I'd gotten it when it was still being produced, but I nevertheless don't regret paying a bit of a premium for what is clearly a very collectible discontinued set that would look good on any shelf tall enough to fit it. Build: 8/10 - Not boring or too repetitive, but it was a bit tricky sometimes attaching newly-built sections to it without causing things to fall apart. Design: 9/10 - Shows a very strong resemblance to the original models used in the films. Construction: 6.5/10 - While all the crazy angles and the moveable legs doubtless made it pretty tricky from the set designer's perspective, there are a couple places which seem unacceptably poorly built for an official Lego set. I can move it without it coming apart, though Parts: 9/10 - Despite some parts in funky colors, an excellent selection which will be a nice boon to my existing collection. Price: 10/10 - Going by the original U.S. MSRP, I don't think there was really anything to complain about here. Total: 8.5/10 - Whether it's still worth getting at current BrickLink asking prices is an exercise I leave to the reader. It's hard for me to judge playability at this point in my life, but I imagine a kid could potentially have had a lot of fun with this set... as long as the head didn't fall off without the kid intending it to Edit: Image hosting changed to Brickshelf.

I've already started putting together my review of set 4483, so I hope you won't be put off if I go with this latter option. Of course I'll be open to any constructive criticism you might have once I've posted it.

I think I can pick up most of the ropes just from looking at other reviews, but I guess it couldn't hurt to make sure I don't miss anything important. Is this Reviewers Academy the sort of thing I could just look at for reference if granted access? I do know my way around the technical side of things pretty well.

Hey, I just registered today because I'm considering doing reviews for a couple discontinued Star Wars sets which I recently acquired through BrickLink and aren't on the index here yet. Since I discovered this site a few weeks ago I've already read several reviews for various other sets which I've found helpful, so I'm interested in giving back. I have two questions: 1) Is it considered acceptable for a new user like me to post set reviews right off the bat? 2) How much traffic does this site get on average? I'm asking because I'm wondering whether it would be safe for me to deep-link to review images stored on my own hosting. It's quality shared hosting with no specified monthly bandwidth limit, and which I'm not currently making heavy use of. This would be less trouble for me than using something like Photobucket, but I can go with one of the big free image hosting sites if you think that's a better idea.