Brainbox

Thanks for the review. This is quite a neat set, even given the presence of another policeman. However, the other figs are all nice, and the accesories are okay. It does have a sort of multi-impulse feel to it, like someone's taken a couple of impulse sets and thrown them all into the same box. I'll probably pick one up sometime. I mean, it's hardly a must-have, but I'll get one eventually. Surely, strictly speaking, this is a battle pack? Just without the battle. And the price was always bound to be "a little expensive" as minifig orientated sets usually are.

Funny how everyone's reaction has been exactly the same: amusement mixed with bemusement. The week after, when we did Day 2, we got about £330, so we're in profit already, and we haven't even started collecting ticket money yet. Well... you only live once. Why thank you. He/she/it is currently sat on my desk as a permanent reminder. I know... isn't it scary? That proves my point. You see, given the chance, any man will do a bit of cross-dressing on the flimsiest of excuses. Yeah... not an awful lot I can do about that.

Oh yeah, I'm getting this. Thanks for the review. First off, it's a piece of proper machinery (albeit one with an open cockpit area and a crotch-burning furnace). I love proper machinery! Second, it looks a bit like The Mole from Thunderbirds. Once again, I love Thunderbirds. The counter-rotationg mechanism shoud be great, the rock monsters are awesome and I do quite like the wheels. The top half of the combo model is kind of neat as well. But I promise you, the crotch-burning furnace will be the first thing to go.

I might look into getting one of the fold-out sets. I mean, it folds out... it's halfway to being a Transformer. This is by no means my preferred of the fold-out sets, but still... thanks for the review. But by heck, the set looks bare without all the stickers on.

I'm liking this set more now than I did when we first saw pictures. The squat stance isn't quite as... odd now we're getting proper pictures. I guess lime green is a neat colour, but the main attraction of this set has to be the rock monster. They are so cute, in a sort of weird way. But it's a cheap set, and I guess it's kind of fun. In a slightly bizarre sort of way.

Great work! Oh, but stay away from the puns oaky? We all know that's my department... no point in rocking the boat, eh? I'm sorry, I really am.

The improved Batboat looks great. I keep looking at mine thinking "those Bat-fins need to go" but I can't quite bring myself to get rid of them. But great work, like I said. Two-Face's truck is far better for being right now. I mean, I'm probably still going to keep mine as is, but it's nice to see it the proper way round. I definitely prefer this version of the copter to your last one. Don't get me wrong, that was great, but this one feels just that little bit more like the original. Scarecrow's carriage is simply wonderful, and the Batpod marks another stellar addition to the plethora out there. Thing is mate... the Internet still prefers mine. And even if it is a bit late, Scarecrow's Halloween vig is a nice little scene too. I like it, it really improves on the official design-- oh, right. As much as I do? Oh dear... I think this may well have become my favouritest thing ever. Seriously, I laughed that much. How long did it take you to write? Because you can't seriously tell me that all those puns "just came to you". The other plus here is that I can make him. That means he may well emerge sometime soon...

No... This is terrible news. When we first heard that Lego would be making Batman sets, I was over the moon. I mean, Lego and comics, two of my biggest passions, combined into one. If we assume the death of the line was because no-one was buying the sets, then perhaps that could have been rectified by actually making the sets available somewhere other that S@H. At least, that was the case over here. But, at least we can be pleased with what we did get. We got all the top villains, a wonderful Batman figure, and some genuine geek-based fun. How often can we say that? Plus we got one of the best computer games I've ever played. Trouble is... we didn't even get Gordon.

I voted Agents for both. Although Indy was obviously great just because it's Indy, and that Indy fig is simply wonderful, Agents made me want to rush out and buy all of the sets, so it takes the biscuit here. All the sets were great, with such a great level of fun ingrained in the designs. All the figs are fantastic, both the Agents and Team Inferno. Plus dark blue is always a great colour. It's been a great year for Lego though. If 2009 is at least as good (and it certainly looks like it will be), then we're in for a good time.

Right, first off, I'm back, with yet another apology. I know it's been two weeks, but I really have been swamped. And on top of that I've been feeling a bit off recently. I mean, I've got a lot on at the moment, college all day, exams in January, applying to Uni... I guess it's all caught up with me a bit, and I've just lost all motivation. That said, however, it's my last day tomorrow then I finish for Christmas. Today was a crystal ball for the witch. The dwarf was good, as expected, and I rather liked the archery target (with bow and arrow!). I'll be honest, some days have been better than others... *Cough*two tools, a crate and a frog*cough* Well, exactly. After a quick check on the DC website, it appears they're up to Vol.6. I'll definitely look into getting them sometime. Another great line cropped up the other day, in Detective Comics #50, where the City is plagued by three jewel theives dressed in devil costumes: Bruce: Those three devils seem to be giving the police a very devil of a time! A bad pun, Dick, but quite true nevertheless! Touche Bruce... But then there's an exchange in the earlier Batman #4, where Bruce displays a distinct lack of knowledge regarding the secret identity: Phone: You've got to help me! I know you are the Batman! I'm in danger! They want to kill me! Bruce: Yes- this is Bruce Wayne. Who? Um... Ah, that would spoil the story... It was supposed to be out this Christmas but it's been pushed back to next summer. So, May/June. I was talking to someone about it the other day (yes, really) and she said she'd done exactly what I'd done and gone into college and said "Batman's gonna die. Except he isn't." She'd then proceeded to explain why they wouldn't kill Batman, and how he isn't dead. I think it might be worth checking out 682 and 683 though, with a look back at the whole of Batman's life. I do love stories like that. Must be the continuity geek in me. That's the way to do it. I surprised everyone at out prom as well, by dancing. But, you know, it's what you're supposed to do. You've finished for good? Forgive me for asking a potentially stupid question, but why are you six months out of whack with us? I went Christmas shopping last week, when I had a day off, and accidentally spent a reidiculous amount of money on me. Bought a few individual comics, TF: Spotlights Vol.3, JLA/Avengers, Heroes comics Vol.2 and Dark Victory. Finally! I've not had time to read any of them yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Apologies for the short post tonight. I've just realised I need to have a shower before Heroes comes on.

That's as may be, but it's not very sporting is it? Riddler put his all into that plan, working out the best way of defeating the Batman (and Gordon to boot), and what does Batman do? Cheats, thereby ruining weeks worth of planning in about five minutes. Tsk, some people. "[...] Always wanted to be a hero." "You are a hero, Jim." Plus there was the simple image at the beginning, of Batman slumped wearily in the Cave. Such a stark image, and one that seems somehow disturbing. Aside from Supes, Bats is the superhero least likely to just "give up". The mission will continue forever, Batman will continue forever, and the freaks will continue forever. Yet every now and then he starts to doubt himself... then comes the inevitable renewal. I have to say, that's probably the only thing I'm missing, a little bit of chocolate every day. But the Lego fix is just as good. Three. I've read 1 and 2 already. I might go back and read them again, it was a while ago. Heck, I might just buy them. I'll say one thing for the stories though, they don't half take a while to read. There are barely any pages, but all the over-descriptive captions are so wordy it takes ages. Good ages, but ages nonetheless. Plus they've got unintentional laughs from the forcing of morals, and the 1940s stereotypes. Another wonderful exchange comes from Detective Comics #47: Midas: Wha? Who are you? Batman: The Batman- at your service... and giving you some sound advice. Do not give in to the blackmailers' demands! Midas: Batman, eh? Well Mr. Batman, I'll do as I see fit. Please mind your own business and get out of my house. Points: 1. As if he couldn't guess who Batman was. You know, from the costume and all... 2. Batman would never be that polite now. And Midas must be a pretty brave man if he can talk to Bats like that. 3. Um... "Mr. Batman"? Then we move onto Batman #4 and some pirate-themed swashbuckling: Caption: Blackbeard's sword darts in like the tongue of a snake, but the Batman twists aside... [...] Caption: Snapping erect like a coiled spring, the Batman parries a terrible counter-stroke. [...] Caption: ... then, the Batman's hand streaks forward in a deadly thrust... it is a master-stroke for Blackbeard's sword flies from his hand... Umm... out of context that all sound pretty bad. Don't you just love the 40s? Indeed... it's also worrying how much I enjoyed it. I'm not a performer, that's why I'm cast. It's just not in my personality to prance around being silly, but I really enjoyed this. As our director/group leader (same age as me, we've known each other for years) said: "I never thought I'd see the day." One of our cast was so lost for words all she could manage was "Oh Sam." I'll agree with you on the MOC though, thanks. I'm by no means the biggest Trekkie/Trekker either, but I do love TOS. I've not really seen much of any of the subsequent Treks, but from what I have seen, they're not a patch on the original. Kirk, Spock, Bones et al, just such great characters. Sure, it was done on a shoestring budget, and sure the transporter broke every other week, but that's part of the fun. Everything was made of polystyrene, and all the redshirts are going to die (except Scotty and Uhura obviously). Speaking of, Empire magazine got to watch four scenes from the film recently. They say that Pegg as Scotty is ver good. And no, shocking as it is for a British geek to say this, I've seen neither Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz. Or Spaced. Hang on... "even more feminine Spock"? Since when has Spock been feminine? Yeah... sorry about that. I'm trying, I really am. Right, it's on the to-buy list. Thanks. Darwyn Cooke is great though, I agree, both as a writer and as an artist. The New Frontier, for example. I eman, his art looks so simple, but it take an awful lot of skill to draw in such a clean-cut style. I think I've mentioned it somewhere before, but I have a specially-shaded reprint of Two of A Kind as part of a 'behind-the-scenes retrospective history of Batman' book. It's a good story, and I must say the shading looks great, far better than the stark B&W story, which doesn't look bad by any means. Yes, I've read it. I mean, it was by no means the best thing I've ever read, but it was still pretty good. That's because he's not dead... he'll be back within a year. Not too sure actually. I think I'm around about the 70 or 80% mark somewhere. That's the trouble with having to use the family computer... Nothing beats my dress!

Managed to find Toa Mahri Hahli for £3.00 and Blade Titan for £5.00 today. Although it's not quite as good as your Black Friday hauls apparantly...

That's the worrying thing that's come out of this. My mates mum said I had a better figure than most girls... I'll be honest, I cheated a bit. I used tiny amounts of blu-tack... just enough to hold the flowers on but not be visible.

Liking the line-up so far. It's so much more fun doing it properly, it preserves the excitemtent. Plus you get a little bit of new Lego every day, for nearly a month. What more could you want? Th Crownie wasn't really anything special, but I guess it's always good to have another soldier. The archway isn't as bad as everyone (DJ excepted) seems to think. It's a little bit of detail, and the thing about these Advent Calendars is that the sets are never supposed to be absolutely, fantastically amazing... just neat. Then today we got the armour, which is also quite nice. Roll on tomorrow...

Mould one? A villain who's second-rate at best. It is. There's nothing to say a snowmobile has to have tracks. Besides, it's Batman's... he'll have devised some clever way for it to run without tracks.

Nice work there RighteousSquid. I rather like Nora's cryogenic chamber, and the boat is simply brilliant, especially the freeze-ray on the front (gotta love a freeze-ray). One question though: how does it manage to travel on the water if it freezes it? You're right though, the trike is pretty big, but it's not much of an issue given that the Batcycles are oversized as well. Good work! And how apt that we've got snow! Proper snow! Hmm, I wonder who you're referring to there...

Wonderful, absolutely beautiful. But enough about me, onto the MOC. I love the front shot here, with the armoured, wide look. It makes it look tough and strong, as does the armoured roof. I like how the hatch on the roof is mostly hidden amongst the rest of the detailing. There looks to be a decent amount of space inside, which is aways important in a trasport. I think the sides between the wheels perhaps need bringing out to the same level as the side of the truck, but that's a minor niggle. This is still a great MOC though, and I now realise I need to go back and watch Heart of Ice to take a look at the reference material.

Yeah... I figured I had to pose or it wasn't worth the effort.

Watched What Is Reality? and I Am The Night over the weekend. I quite liked WIR. I mean, it's a Riddler story, it should be good. Even if Batman did cheat at the end... As for IATN, I loved it. The bits with the weary, grieving Batman were brilliant, and the part where Bats visits Gordon in hospital (the first time) was really quite moving. You see, Batman is capable of emotional attachments, even if he doesn't want to acknowledge it. Opened the first door today, and got another Crownie. I'm doing this one properly. I liked Day of Disaster as well. The rocket transporter is a lovely piece of machinery, and those old-fashioned dock cranes are quite cool as well. I do love how very British the bit where Penelope creates a distraction by blowing up the nearby building. Because nothing short of an explosion could draw British crowds away from a bridge collapse! And you just know that when the Bridge Controller says that they don't need International Rescue he's five minutes away from failing in his rescue attempt and seceeding to IR. ... Damn. Hows this for an exchange: Hoodlum: All oif us got a vial of these pills. They're supposed to make us immune to the professor's stuff if we swallow one! Batman: In that case, I'll take a few pills with me. They might come in handy at the right moment! Um, Bats... they could be anything. You're accepting some random pills from some random hoodlum, to counteract some random 'stuff'! Just... no! Speaking of the Ventriloquist, I was in maths the other day, and we're in a music room because college has run of of usable classrooms. Anyway, I noticed a poster on the wall for a play called 'Roots'... and it was written by someone called Arnold Wesker! Seriously, you couldn't write this stuff. Take a gander in the Community Forum for a couple of pics. Or check the link in my sig. I've done that before. Not for anywhere near that long sadly, as my friends were waiting and we had other shops to get to, but we had a good chat. We talked about Kingdom Come (which I was buying at the time), Alex Ross, an exhibition of Alex Ross artwork he'd been to somewhere, and a couple of other things. Much to the chagrin of my friends, who'd been waiting outside the shop, and unbeknownst to myself had been narrating the conversation, putting their own dialogue in! Have you seen the new Star Trek trailer? I have to say, it looks pretty good. It's nice to see a return to Kirk, Spock and the gang, who are by far the best Trek characters, and TOS is definitely the best series of the lot. Doesn't Zack Quinto look the part as Spock? And I notice they've used the old soundbite for the ship alarm. I've not read Ego, but I've been meaning to look into getting it, it looks pretty good. Let me know what you think when you've read it. For some reason, my CE has printed all the Detective Comics stories (I think) up to Heart of Hush, which starts next issue. except for Triage. No idea why, but hey ho. I like that, for the most part, they're self-contained stories. That means you can read one quickly without having to set aside huge amounts of time. Nice. She's 16 next March. So, come the end of Batman RIP, Bats is missing presumed dead. Comics come out on Thursdays over here, and I was sat reading the paper in college on Friday, and The Times (a proper, respected, national paper) had a little story about the apparant death of Batman. Then I got home, and it was on the BBC News! See the impact that Batman has, and how much his "death" has affected both the DCU and the real world. How great is that?

I could have posted this in the user picture thread, but felt it deserved a thread of it's own, especially as it comes with an accompanying MOC. I'm a member of the production staff for an amateur youth theatre group, and we specialise in performing pantomimes. We write them all from scratch, and I've been in since the beginning, a good three years now. With the latest show, I've finally found a cast I'm comfortable around, and that means I'm much more open to being silly for once. In order to raise some money for the group as this latest production is costing us a fortune, we asked a local supermarket if we could pack bags. I (foolishly?) suggested we did it in costume. As crew, I haven't really got a costume, so someone came up with the wonderful idea of me going as a Panto Dame. I actually really enjoyed it, and the rest of the cast all found it hilariously funny. I think part of what they found funny was that it was so out of character for me to be prancing around being silly. One of my mates turned up for a nosy, and laughed for about 5 minutes. Anyway, pictures: Yep... it was that funny. I did get lots more pictures, but they all have other cast members on them, and I'm not sure whether they'll want their photos broadcasting. Here's a regular shot of me to compare: That was the best photo of me I could find... Minifig And now for something completely different. Well alright, not really, but to celebrate the occasion I made a quick MOC of me as the dame. A good time was had by all, and we managed to raise £450. Roll on next week, when it happens all over again.

I'm grade 5 Eb (Tenor) Horn, and I've also got my grade 5 theory as well. I've not played in a good while, but I mean to get back to it sometime. Perhaps when I go to Uni...

Yes indeed. Happy birthday DW. I look forward to seeing the figs though Hewkii. Been wanting to do something like this for a while now, but it looks like you beat me to it.

Didn't we already know it was called Thunder Drill? Sounds like a translation error to me.

Ventriloquist was in the comics, BTAS and The Batman. Clayface first appeared in 1940, and has been in the comics since, as well as BTAS and The Batman. Man-Bat was also in both series and the comics. As for Mad Hatter, he's been in the comics, been impersonated in the comics, been in BTAS and had a rather wonderful portrayal in the 60s series. Not important?

Sure, why not. Count me in please.