Captain Blockbeard

I just use a tub of soapy water to perform a basic cleaning of dusty/dirty bricks, especially those I get from the Lego Store's pick-a-brick wall since they always tend to have a grimmy feel to them. After reading that thread linked above, I may have to try some hydrogen peroxide on my old, yellowing white bricks to improve their condition a little.

Besides the non-fleshie Luke Skywalker head, I would also suggest the non-fleshie Lucius Malfoy head from the older Freeing Dobbie set.

Dare I ask what part of Pennsylvania did you find them in? I only have access to Toys r Us stores in the southeastern and south-central regions of Pennsylvania.

This is a great set, especially for that price. With the Impulse sets for various themes now costing anywhere from $3.99 to $4.49 and providing so much less than this set, I consider this to be an incredible steal for the $4.99 price. I've already purchased this along with the Golden Staff.

Similarly, I've only seen the second commercial until now. That first one is hilarious! I wish they made a Creator set of that van.

As far as I know, when blood stains dry, they turn brown... So, it's up to everyone to have their own personal interpretation for the figure when they buy and play with this set.

I love the minifigures and am completely shocked to see Lego not skimp on the shields. I was expecting this set to only include a single scarab shield between the two mummies. The color scheme and reasonable price only add further to my determination to buy this set first from the Pharaoh's Quest theme.

I received this poster as well with an order I placed towards the end of October.

All of the new Atlantis sets look great, and I'll surely attempt to collect as many of the new sea creature minifigures as possible. I agree with statements about the yellow transparent canopies and will likely switch them for the traditional green from the 2010 Atlantis sets. However, those yellow canopies will be great parts for future Blacktron I MOCs.

The overall MOC is great, and I have to say that your particular method of creating cacti is my favorite and stood out immediately in those images.

I agree that 6276 Eldorado is the best of the official Lego forts, though I only own half of those shown above and always wondered how well 6277 compared to 6276 Eldorado. To me, an ideal official Lego fort set would have been the fusion of those two sets, primarily to accommodate Eldorado's lack of sufficient docks. For me, an ideal fort would include: jail armory docks appropriate for both dinghies and the full Imperial ships such as Caribbean Clipper battlements for cannons beyond Lego's typical inclusion of a random swivel turreted cannon or two signal post (I know of a particular fort that used the equivalent of a ship's mast as a makeshift "flag pole" for signaling approaching vessels.) greater variety of cannon types (default Lego cannons are like this one: http://www.owlfish.com/weblog/2004/09/halifax-citadel-cannon.jpg ) (I want to see the inclusion of something more like this: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GOB2aIiDUdE/Si6yXbIOTEI/AAAAAAAAAiM/HUZOycyL5DY/s1600-h/Halifax7.jpg complete with rail and platform assembly for rotating the cannon) food/supply storage governor's office (with reasonably detailed furnished interior) It's a long list, but I hope it gives you some ideas.

You're not alone in losing VIP points. My family recently placed an order towards the end of October, and we were shorted 4 points. (I too am not counting sales tax, shipping [was free anyway], or rounding up since each item ends with $0.99.) Also, Lego never reimbursed us or provided a credit to the account for an order that included an Impulse/polybag set that was paid for but never received since it went out of stock (but not advertised as such when the order was placed).

After having just watched that film on television yesterday, I can say that upon seeing your first image, I thought, "That is identical to the stage/scene in the original Dracula movie!" You mention that the film was an inspiration for this MOC, and I can tell that you've captured it perfectly.

Thanks for the notification of a new survey. I just completed it as well.

I generally voted for the originals with the only exception being the newest rendition of Hogwarts castle.

I know I'll be in the minority for saying this but: Wow, this is a tremendously disappointing set. It may have a high parts count, but that's mostly because of the high number of small parts used on Borgan & Burke's as well as Ollivander's. The sizes of these buildings are a bit sad for US $150, especially when all the detail is on the outside. Ollivander's is the only shop with a decent interior. The others are just amazing edifices with minimal effort put into the interiors. If this were the same price as the castle, I'd say it's reasonable, but for $20 more... The figure choice is also a bit odd. Is this set supposed to be based on multiple books/movies simultaneously? The Weasley twins are finally available as minifigures, but their store is absent. Hagrid's there, but he was only seen in Diagon Alley in scenes from the earlier books/movies. The same situation is true for Ollivander: based on most of the other figures, this set fits in more with Half Blood Prince, but Ollivander's shop was already destroyed by then and its owner missing. No offense, but if I had the money, I would likely pick almost any other Lego exclusive for $150 than this.

When this set came out, I begged my parents for it. Sadly, I didn't get it, and upon seeing this review, I really wish I had. Excellent review, though! And I agree: if Lego ever decides to make a Spitfire, I won't hesitate to buy one.

Love it! I'll have to buy this one, if not for just the incredible figures alone! My only possible complaint about the set is the decision to still use the larger wands instead of brown recolors of the new shorter piece from the Collectible Minifigure Magician.

My favorite will always be 6274 Caribbean Clipper. Over the years, I've gone through phases of making slight modifications to it and then removing the mods to return it to its original glory. By now, I'm found a good compromise in design. Overall, I like the evolution of Lego ship designs and wish I had the two currently available (BB and Imperial Flagship), but nothing tops the original Caribbean Clipper. If there's ever another continuation of Pirates sets and Bluecoats return, I'll immediately want to snatch up ships that match the Caribbean Clipper.

After seeing the pictures, I'm not as interested in the overall Pharaoh's Quest sets. The minifigures and vehicles impress, but each set taken as a whole underwhelms. At the very least, they all use a number of pieces that may give value to the sets as parts packs for me. Meanwhile, the pictures of new Atlantis sets have me reconsidering my earlier views of not buying any more from the Atlantis theme.

This is probably the point I was attempting to make. Until I see a better image of the figure, it appears to merely use a recolored peg leg piece. That could either be equated to Cyborg appendages or simply to peg leg. In the latter case, this figure could simply be Lego taking the idea of Blacktron as space rogues and stretching it to Blacktron as "Space Pirates". I'm not arguing either way until I hear Lego's official name for it, but for now, I'm just commenting on people's instant assumption it's a cyborg.

Hawaii Girl: This is among my must-haves. Decent design except for the use of brown maracas. Will go great with the Series 2 Surfer. Native American Chief: A requisite remake of a minifigure of themes past. I already have the originals and considering they already did the Tribal Hunter in Series 1, I'm not thrilled Lego are reducing themselves to making another Indian so soon in Series 3. Samurai: With the maroon color scheme, he will go great in large numbers as an opposition samurai clan to the originals (blue scheme). Pilot: I have so many adventurers already and with the coming Pharaoh's Quest, is there a need for this one? Fisher: Love this addition to the civilian populace. Cyborg: Why does everyone call it a cyborg? Has Lego released the official names yet? I see so many complaints about how this one isn't "Cyborg-ish" enough. Upon closer look, I'm assuming its just an updated Blacktron minifigure. If so, then I'll want multiple of him. My only fix would be to change the yellow visor to the neon yellow color to better match the Blacktron II color palette. Female Snowboarder: Requisite Series 3 equivalent to Skateboarder and Surfer. I have mixed feelings about this one. Great to see it's a female snowboarder for a change. Ferrari Driver: Not impressed. Even some of the current World Racers minifigures have designs that interest me more. Rapper: I just don't see the appeal of this figure. He's hideous but at least he's got a decent boombox accessory. Elf: Love this one as much as the next person. He'd make for a decent elf or even an exceptional update to the Forestmen. Sumo: I hope the final version is nothing like the early image. He's just too plain. It's an excellent concept but poorly executed. The only way I see a Sumo figure working is to use an entirely different mold that provides the appropriate proportions instead of a default minifigure with printed pattern. Alien: Difficult to comment on this one since it seems the most obvious non-finalized figure out of the group. Mummy: One of the best figures in the group thanks to an excellent printed pattern. Though do I want many of these if I can already get mummies in the various 2011 Pharaoh's Quest sets? Female Tennis Player: Like the design of the new tennis racket accessory, and the figure itself is well done. Baseball Player: Impressive in all of the same ways as the Tennis Player. Gorilla: I was expecting better from Lego. Hopefully, this is a preliminary plan because as it stands, the head bothers me. It's almost too cartoonish. Fine if it's supposed to be a man in a gorilla costume but terrible if it's meant to be a real Lego gorilla.

I was unaware of this issue with the Kingdoms torsos until reading this thread. After checking my minifigures from a pair of Knights Showdown sets, I see that I too have the pink knights syndrome. However, for me, it's hardly noticeable unless I intentionally look for the pink, and overall, I don't feel overly bothered by it. (Though I will admit that it will become more of a nuisance when I collect the remaining Kingdoms sets and end up with non-pink knights causing mismatches.) If anyone doesn't want their pink knight torsos, send them my way instead of throwing them in the trash!

As of next April, I'll have neither the shelf space nor the money for the Pharaoh's Quest sets, and yet, I already know I'll be making quite a few purchases.

After searching for half an hour for the second one, it's location finally dawned on me. I feel incredibly foolish that I hadn't realized the location sooner.