Joebot

I feel your pain in regards to the 9V. My 9V trains still work great, and I have not been even remotely (no pun intended) tempted to change to any of the newer systems, especially since the systems seem to change every other year. As for the price ... it's curious, because I distinctly remember a Lego rep discussing the death of 9V, and he said that one of the main reasons for the decision was to be able to offer lower-priced, entry-level train sets. That actually sounded like a good idea. Too bad it hasn't panned out. Instead of offering cheaper entry points into the hobby, Lego just makes even BIGGER, more expensive sets. Now, granted, TLC is packing more stuff into the train sets than they used to, but the price keeps going up. This particular set could have easily been broken up into about four different sets, each with a much more appealing price point. Anyway, I don't mean to turn this thread into a price rant. Thanks for the great review!

Dang, it took almost two months for this one. Sorry about that. I actually got all the pictures taken a while ago. It's just taken me forever to find the time to do all the "post-production" stuff. This one has lots of special effects since it's pretty much wall-to-wall fighting. As always, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!! -Joebot

Thanks for the great feedback, Zepher! Good luck with those old Unlikely Society stories. I cringe whenever I look at them. The photography, page layouts ... well, let's just say I've learned a lot over the years. And thanks for not mentioning the fact that it's been TWO FREAKIN' MONTHS since the last update. Yeah, I know. I've been working on it a lot this week though. Last night I finished all the page layouts for the next chapter. I just have to add the dialogue. I think I'll have it done this weekend!!

Wow, nice find!! We've been waiting for this picture for ages! Bummer on no track for the tram. Serious, serious bummer. Overall, the set seems like a hodge-podge of a bunch of smaller sets that they grouped together into a big box. It needs a single larger building to pull it all together and give it some cohesion. The designs of the individual vehicles look very nice, but as a whole, it feels a bit haphazard. Anyway, I guess I'm just nitpicking. I really do like that tram. That's a fun new vehicle that Lego has never made before. But ... no track?? Really??? Sigh ...

I think the issue is more the length than the girth ("That's what she said!"). There's no way this truck would be able to turn a corner on a Lego roadplate.

It's a great-looking model ... but it's just too damn big. It's almost a Model Team set. There's no way it'll fit on the Town road plates.

Xilefsson posted preliminary pictures here of Series 2 a while back. Again, these are only preliminaries, and not the final mini-figs.

I appreciate what you're trying to say here, WhiteFang, but I think it's a hopeless cause. The scalpers and hoarders are going to scoop these things up like crazy. And really, can you blame them? Are they doing something morally or ethically wrong?? It's just capitalism. If there's a second-hand market for these things, then there are going to be scalpers willing and able to provide them with the product. You're never going to stop it, unless people simply stop buying off the second-hand market, in which case the demand dries up, and the scalpers move onto something else. The only real argument against scalping is "won't someone PLEASE think of the children!" and that's just not going to carry much weight, unfortunately. The better solution is for TLC not to sell these things blind-packaged. That would solve a lot of the problems if people could simply buy the ones they want. If there are three figs that I want, I'd love to be able to walk into the store and buy those three figs. Instead, I have to guess. Or buy ten figs in the hope that I get the three that I want. Or ... cruise over to ebay and buy them from a scalper.

I would suggest we agree on a color scheme, and then let individual builders create the restaurants however they want (modular, classic, whatever). That way, more people can participate. After all, not every McDonald's restaurant looks exactly the same as every other McDonald's restaurant, but they do share certain features (logo, signage, color scheme, terrible food, etc.).

Nah, you didn't miss anything! The stories are still there, waiting for you to read them! And ... maybe one of these days, I'll get off my lazy megablocks and finish the next chapter...

Plasq's Comic Life gets a big recommendation from me too. I use it for all the word bubbles in my comics. It's a really great program. As for the actual page layout (panels, etc.), you can probably use Comic Life for that too, but it's pretty confining in that regard. You're much better off with Photoshop Elements (the consumer version of Photoshop). Yeah, it's pretty overwhelming and there's definitely a learning curve, but you can do ANYTHING with it. Good luck with your comic!!

I really wonder how the success of the movie factors into TLC's decisions when it comes to planning the product line. For example, the "Speed Racer" movie bombed, and TLC only made one wave of sets. Was that decision to keep the line limited to only a single wave based on the failure of the movie? If the "Speed Racer" movie had been wildly successful, would they have released more sets?? Given the long lead time to design and manufacture a Lego set (two years by some accounts), are TLC executives really analyzing the opening weekend movie grosses on Monday morning, then making a go / no go decision on the second wave? That seems kinda unlikely.

Really fun review! I enjoyed the nostalgia, as well as the comparison between modern and classic designs. Man, I wish Lego still included road plates in their town sets. Other than the 7993 Service Station in '07, what other town sets in recent years have included road plates?? I can't think of any off the top of the my head.

The Spiderman license was with Sony Pictures (the studio that made the Spiderman movies), not with Marvel. Thus, TLC was limited to sets / mini-figs solely from the movie, and not from the comics. An open-ended license with Marvel, with access to their entire roster of characters, would be freakin' amazing.

Yeah, I kinda miss the dynamic between Hue Man and Monchromancer too. Those two guys were always my favorite characters to write. For whatever it's worth, I haven't looked at your comics yet (although I plan too!), and I wrote these Commander Awesome chapters about a year ago. I guess it's one of those situations like Newton and Leibniz independently inventing calculus at the same time. Just a couple of geniuses on the same wavelength! Never fear, Hue Man will never be evil. I don't have any big plans for him yet. I just like knowing that he's back!

Hey everyone, The next chapter in the Unlikely Society is finished and posted. This chapter brings back a couple of old friends, including my favorite "classic" Unlikely Society character ever. You'll just have to read it to find out who ... As always, thanks to everyone for reading!! -Joebot

Well, I know of one possible use for this dude -- superhero. I LOVE that masked head, and that is definitely going to find it's way into a new character for my Lego superhero comic, the Unlikely Society. I am digging all these early mini-fig reviews!! I don't how you guys are getting a hold of these things, but keep 'em comin'!!

That sort of thing can get you in a lot of trouble!! Thanks for the review, CopMike. I'm really excited for these mini-figs. It's such a great idea, and TLC is really going all out with the innovative new characters and designs.

I don't think it'll be the old monorail. I remember Lego reps in the past saying that there probably won't ever be new monorail sets because: a) they lost the track molds in a fire, and b) the company that made the motors went out of business. Now, that's not to say that TLC couldn't decide to recreate the molds and to find another vendor to supply the motors. However, the impression I got was that that was pretty unlikely. My pet theory is that it'll be an elevated train using the 4-wide track that was introduced in the Temple of Doom set.

I agree -- the bizarre proportions of a mini-fig make any application of a persistent, meaningful scale almost impossible. In the absence of a useful building scale, I guess I look for what Ralph S and Space6901 were talking about: internal consistency. Vehicles should be bigger than people, and buildings should be bigger than vehicles. Your vehicles should fit on a road plate or runway. When you're talking about a MOC town, then sure, it's up to the builder's discretion to achieve that. It's certainly something I strive for in my town, which is about 95% MOCs. However, amongst TLC's own offerings, I would argue that they've messed up their internal consistency. Sets just don't mesh together well. There's an awesome review up on EB right now of the Launch 'n' Load Seaport. This is a GREAT set with an excellent, internally consistent scale. And there were a handful of other harbor sets (Intercoastal Seaport, Harbor Police, a Coast Guard set that I can't remember the name of, the Sail 'n' Fly Marina) all around the same time, and they all had the same scale -- the ships, buildings, and cars all fit together wonderfully. That's sadly not the case these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm generally pretty happy with TLC's City sets these days. I just wish there was more coherence across the entire theme. I'm sorry, I know this has strayed a bit from the original topic of the thread. Umm ... 4-wide!! Woo!!

Wow, great review! This is right up there with the Airport Shuttle in the pantheon of Best Town Sets Ever. I have just about every other harbor set from this era ... but for whatever reason, I never got this one. That is probably my biggest Lego regret. What a terrific set. The recent Lego Harbor set was nothing but a pale imitation of this bad boy.

Amen, brother. It's 4-wide for me, all the way. I know most people rave about the added realism of Lego's increasingly larger vehicles these days, but for me, "realism" has never been the point of building with Lego. If I wanted realism, I'd collect model trains instead, which are at a consistent scale. I much prefer the simplicity and charm of classic-style Town sets, with 4-wide vehicles and buildings with no stairs and no backs. The problem that TLC is running into is that their buildings and roads aren't keeping up with the increasingly ginormous vehicles. The new airport looks ridiculous next to the airplane. And you'll note that they no longer include any road plates to use as runways. That's because the planes are too damn big to fit on the runways! The recent Garage set was mostly an open-air plaza because, again, an enclosed building would have to be huge (and therefore likely push the set over the desired price target) to accomodate the vehicles. I say stop the madness! The enbiggening of Lego vehicles has to stop!!

HA! That's funny. I'm not really sure why. I guess I just like writing characters that are dicks. What does that say about me???? I think the real answer is probably that I've been too heavily influenced by Alan Moore's "Watchmen." Moore's vision of superheroes is extremely cynical. His take seems to be that anyone who dresses up in a costume for the purpose of beating up criminals is either psychotic or deranged. Or, as you put it ... a dick.

Hey everyone, I just finished up the latest chapter of my ongoing, never-ending, sporadically updated Lego superhero comic, the Unlikely Society. This chapter kicks off a new three-party story arc called "A New Hero in Town." And just who is this new hero?? As always, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think! Also, just out of curiosity, would there be an interest from you guys if I started a blog, where I could keep you updated on the status of upcoming chapters? I don't know much about RSS feeds and so forth, so I'd have to do a little research. Just wondering if there was any interest in that sort of thing. Thanks! -Joebot

Of course I can neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of your guess. However, I will tell you that I would never think to go against either of those two unbreakable rules. There's a very good reason that they're "unbreakable." I'm honestly not sure when I'm going to reveal the Benefactor's identity. it's a fine line to walk -- I want to keep people interested and engaged, but I don't want to drag it out for TOO long, you know? That gets boring. I dunno, I'm kinda making this all up as a I go along!