SilentMode

In 201X a Secret Service was established, bringing with it a cavalcade of highly advanced technology. The source of the intelligence behind these innovations remained a highly guarded, heavily classified secret. A minor oversight gave this sentient life form the opportunity to escape... the vignette The vignette features the following elements: Black space pistols, used by the agents, from BrickArms; cheese slopes with a single stud, designed by me and 3D-printed by Shapeways. My original idea was to do something based on stealth, evasiveness and invisibility. Because minifigure parts generally aren't available in transparent colours, I went with something white against a white background, with a view to blend in as much as possible. The alien itself has the ability to traverse walls, run fast and jump long distances, as well as possessing psychic powers and high levels of intelligence. It is susceptible to electromagnetic pulses - such as those being fired at it right now. Front Side Back The figure is mostly genuine Lego, with the head being sculpted using Fimo and sheet styrene, painted over with Decorlack. The materials and parts would cost around £9-10 in total. A couple more pictures are in this Brickshelf folder. For the time being, enjoy.

Very nice work! You could try using Shapeways to 3D print your parts; it's pricey but it works.

Two things: absolute truth and absolute genius. The decal work is superb.

Welcome to the show, fellow Brit!

A handful of parts for my competition entry vignette from Bricklink. Four more grab bags, another gold Christmas bauble, three BAM figures and the Fortaan Heroica game from Westfield London (= my first promotional PAB box). Just placed an order on Brickforge for a handful of the new items.

For some people there are other factors; sometimes it's about prices, geography, how soon the store sends out orders, postage costs, added fees or even who you are. Probably the most important thing is how many items you have in stock that someone wants (which of course you have no way of knowing), and how many other useful bits someone can add to their order.

My concern right now is with the selection of parts in the PAB walls over here, which have generally gone downhill over the last couple of months. I'm not suggesting that they start catering to AFOLs and hoarders, but I really would like to see a greater variety of parts available on the wall, similarly to what they have in the States.

This one's still available in Lego stores, in the UK at least. But thank you.

On the way back from Bluewater, peeved off. If you're going there to claim the Brickley set, be advised they have an undisclosed "daily quota" - basically if you get there too late in the day they won't give you one. I guess it's karma for my Brickley review! On another note: the Christmas baubel decorations are in stock, and appear to be half price. There are also Christmassy polybags and a Father Christmas magnet set.

Welcome to the show!

+1 for both darkdragon and charlieboy, for some black market dealings.

Don King's sponsorship explains the very quick fight... other than that well done on the MOC!

It's a printed glass piece: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=2494px1

So I began writing this review, and then I realised there was a little problem... This set shouldn't be confused with the newer 3300001 set (simply called Brickley), currently being given away at the Bluewater Lego store, of a much larger and more detailed Brickley. I certainly noticed when I'd compared the number of parts in each set. By the way: feel free to add your own reviews of sets I've reviewed, because I'm sure to have missed something important along the way. I'm not some world-class authority on reviews or sets by any stretch. Brickley the Sea Serpent Set 40019 # of parts: 59 # of minifigs: 0 RRP: GBP 2.99 Links: Brickset This is Brickley: a beloved sea serpent and one of the last remaining specimens in the world of Lego. I don't normally buy polybag sets of any kind, but I was inspired to purchase this one after a brief chat session with a designer from Lego over on Bricklink. They mentioned they worked on Brickley, although I think they meant the newer one rather than this one. After seeing there doesn't appear to be a review of this set, I thought I'd add a quick one. The bag The back of the bag gives you a preview as to what parts lie within. From the outset we're expecting a lot of green. We're reminded that this bag poses a hazard to children and babies. I SAID THIS BAG POSES A HAZARD TO CHILDREN AND BABIES! The contents Just from the feel of the bag, and the amount of space inside it, we know there aren't going to be many parts inside. But let's have a look at what parts we do have... As is customary, here are all those valuable Green parts - including Dark Green cheese slopes at the bottom. I didn't think anyone still used those printed eye bricks. Stars of the show? These are the parts to look out for in my book... just a shame there's not that many Green cheese slopes. The build Very unusual about the instructions in this set is that there are no ads or promotions. This really must be a special set! The build itself isn't difficult at all - although with all those Green elements, and several pieces being added at once with each step, you might miss something. Shouldn't be too hard to get back on track, however. I got to here in the build, before realising I'd left out two of the slopes in the neck: Let's fix that. With the head completed, it's time for Brickley to show its moves. The rest of the body - three tail segments - are extremely simple builds. The best part about this, given that all the parts are separate, is that you can position Brickley any way you want. Leftovers Just a few pieces, as we would expect from a small polybag set. It's a shame there wasn't an extra Green cheese slope; those are just as likely to be lost. Fun with the set "Yee-haw! I done shot me a Brickley!" Viewer discretion is advised. The verdict Brickley is definitely a model for the kids, which is a little more advanced than some other polybag sets I've seen (such the ghost/bat one for Halloween), so I'd imagine they'd be fans of this set. I would also imagine, for some people, that Brickley has some sentimental value. It wouldn't hurt to have one of these in your collection, even as miscellaneous parts. Design: 8/10 For the relatively small number of parts, Brickley is very well designed. Build: 9/10 Brickley is also very easy to build; just be sure to follow the instructions carefully and try not to get distracted. Parts: 8/10 Just about every part has a purpose, even those printed eye bricks. There isn't anything here that knowingly jacks up the price. Playability: 6/10 Besides positioning the body parts on surfaces, there's not much you can do with Brickley - although there's room for creativity. Price: 8/10 Not quite the perfect price, but affordable and reasonable value (given that Green and Dark Green seem to come at a premium). Based on these scores I'd give this set an 8/10, and one of these: (my new and pretentious badge for sets and things that score 8 and above.) Thanks for reading another review. And no, we didn't actually kill Brickley. See? Um... Brickley?

Four grab bags and a Brickley.

It certainly looks like it, from the photos in the review of the Pet Shop. Thanks for your comments.

Luckily I stepped out today, because the Westfield London store has grab bags once again. There's just a few left so get there quick!

Excellent job!

Very nice moulding job, it kinda looks like a beaver.

That was a really good review, and I agree that competition would only be a good thing for Lego. I particularly like those life vests, and the boat parts don't look bad either. Very suspect that those S4 Sailors were carrying or given guns right at the end..!

According to Bricklink: 48 x 28.3 x 6 (cm).

Holiday Set 1 of 2 Set 3300020 # of parts: 98 # of minifigs: 1 RRP: GBP 7.49* Links: Brickset Bricklink * These sets were given away with Lego store purchases worth GBP 50/USD 99 or more, although a quick glance at a cash register showed these sets being added at a "discount" of GBP -7.49. This is more of an overview of the set, and is intended to give people a more accurate view of what the set is like (as not many people realise the pictures Lego put out are actually renders). I was going to wait until I got hold of the second set to do a double review, but I don't know if people will be able to get hold of these after October, without having to re-mortgage. There are just a few days left, so you can still get one if you spend spend spend at a Lego store or online. I have two copies of this set: the one you see here, and a mint-condition one received today that will go into my vault. The box The back of the box, which also shows the second half of this set. Lego really wants to ram the message home: "don't you go to sleep, there's another part to this set and you have to get it to obtain the full experience." The contents As you can see I already got started taking the bags apart, but here are the contents of the box. The instructions are folded in two to fit. One of the bags contains the smaller elements. The tiles and plates included in this set: lots of colour. Look at the sheer number of Dark Red bricks in this set. LOOK AT IT! It's not bad for a set this size, but again it may have contributed to the overall (assumed) price. Stars of the show These are the pieces that stood out for me. On the top of the list are the 2x2 jumper plates in Bright Green: these are currently found only in this set and two of the Heroica games. Bright Green elements maketh a day. There are also two 1x4 Dark Tan plates in the set, which are also exclusive to this set and two Heroica games. There's even a fifth cheese slope in Pearl Gold that I'd overlooked. Building the model First we have the carpet... ...then the walls... ...adding the window... ...and then finish with the tiles and the picture frame. I included this shot in case someone somewhere gets confused with where to put things. Personally I would have added these parts before adding the walls. The Pearl Gold cheese slopes serve as makeshift bows for the presents. The Christmas tree is a very simple build, but I had this particular gripe: why bother using a Bright Green jumper plate if it's going to be covered up? Was it necessary to use a jumper plate here at all? Then I realised: maybe it's simpler and more cost-effective to use a part used elsewhere in the set. Another section of the tree is rotated on top of the other jumper plate. Here's the finished model. All that's left is to add... ...Timmy, who looks suspiciously like the boy from 2010's City Advent Calendar. And here he is within the set. Leftovers And at the back of the instructions: More incentive (read: pressure) to collect all the Winter sets! I thought it was quite funny that they included the murder victim as a "figure" in the Winter Village Bakery lineup. The verdict If you're a fan of the Winter sets, or you want a small Lego Christmas display due to lack of space, this is worth getting hold of. But it's worth getting hold of with a large purchase from a Lego store; I'd hate to think how much these sets would go for on feeBay or elsewhere, especially if they're not made available by Lego after this month. As there's no definitive price for this set, I won't (yet?) give a score.

Wanted to add that thankfully I've never seen opened minfigure packs in a shop, but I have seen opened boxes of sets. Either is definitely going too far. Condemn!

I will feel the bags if I have time, and if I'm collecting a particular figure I will take whatever's available... first because I don't usually hit up several stores in one day, and secondly because (in some cases) I get it wrong anyway. It was embarrassing trying to get gorillas from stores and ending up with pilots, tennis players or racing drivers. But if there happens to be someone else looking for a specific figure, I'll help them out.

From yesterday's Sainsbury's haul: 6 x 4181 Isla de Muerta 3 x 4191 The Captain's Cabin 3 x 7050 Alien Defender 2 x 3177 Small Car 1 x 7286 Prisoner Transport 1 x 4641 Speed Boat 1 x 7913 Clone Trooper Battle Pack 1 x 7914 Mandalorian Battle Pack 1 x 8083 Rebel Trooper Battle Pack 1 x 3852 Sunblock 12 x S4 minifigures.