jonwil

I dont remember my first set but it was likely Duplo. My first post-dark-ages set was the 8448 Super Street Sensation (the wheels on that thing are GREAT for large-size MOCs of cars with alloy or fancy wheels)

If you want 2009 sets (or even what 2008 sets are left), try Toyworld before you try Shop @ Home. Toyworld almost never seems to discount stuff and different stores may have different stock. Plus (as one Toyworld employee said to me), they order everything LEGO Australia will sell to them and dont "pick and choose" in the way some of the big chains would do. Toyworld prices will vary from store to store but should be at the most the same as Shop @ home (I have never seen a Toyworld that charges above Shop @ Home) plus you don't have to pay shipping or wait for the stuff to get here. Shop @ Home is good if you absolutely HAVE to have 2010 sets NOW and cant wait though.

My guess is that prices have gone up across the board (mostly due to increases in the costs of plastics, transport etc) but then TLG decided to heavily subsidize the US (their most important market and the one where their customers are the least likely to be willing to spend money on luxuries like toys) by jacking up the prices for the rest of the world.

Once I was in a K-Mart and there were 2 copies of the 8455 Backhoe loader on the shelf. Both had clearly been opened and possibly tampered with. Took one up to the service counter and asked to look to see if it was complete. Saw that it wasnt. Went and grabbed the other one, wasnt complete either. Ended up taking some bags from one and some bags from the other to make one complete set (which was 100% complete)

LEGO bricks flying around the cabin when the plane hits turbulence would NOT be fun, nor would trying to find all the missing parts that have gone into various holes/cracks/crevices on the plane (imagine if one fell through a hole and landed in a cargo hold or somewhere else you cant get)

I think that the high prices are even more unjustifiable given the favorable exchange rate (i.e. when they convert AUD back to USD)

Does anyone know why they stopped doing Shop @ Home preorders for sets (e.g. the new imperial flagship was not available for preorder on Shop @ Home for Australia when I looked a while back)

Why is it that me buying something from K-Mart (Venice Canal Chase, Crawler Crane etc) seems to be a cue for it to go down in price below what I paid for it :(

I also concur that we need more heads and torsos. And also that some of the heads and torsos they DO have need to be used in more sets. Some other torsos that have been overused lately:

Where are you seeing the 2010 AU prices? Shop @ home? Catalog? Dealer catalog? Retail store?

I also saw lots of sports cars and tow trucks at the Coles I was in yesterday (Belmont Forum) so they are definatly out there. Spotted a Death Star at the K-Mart in Belmont too (no money left otherwise I would have bought it) Likely another "I put it on lay-by but I cant afford it anymore" situation.

LEGO is seen as a good option by parents that dont want their kids sitting in front of a screen all day. Plus, with LEGO, there are ways to get more that dont cost a fortune (even the cheapest video game is still going to cost a lot more than many small LEGO sets). Unlike video games or MP3 players, LEGO lasts. LEGO bought in the past and LEGO bought today is 100% compatible and the stuff bought next year or the year after will remain compatible. With a games console, it only lasts 3-5 years before another one appears. Even if you dont want to buy the kids the new one, good luck finding any decent games for the old one.

Thanks for the tip on the tow truck, if I happen to go past any Coles stores in my travels today, I will be sure to check them out and see if they have any in stock (dont need any sports cars, one is enough for me)

I was in the Target store in Whitfords today and they had almost empty shelves and everything they did have was at RRP. Only items on the shelves were: 2 City bulldozers A few farms A few City Corners The Technic tractor and 1 or 2 impulse sets like the cement mixer Defiantly a total lack of stock. Big W had a fair bit more though.

I got: Pizza Maker (its like a round thing with a base and lid and the pizza goes inside and cooks rather than an actual oven) 50$ voucher for my favorite DVD shop 30$ cash from various relatives (which I will also spend on my DVD collection when I go shopping tomorrow) Box of my favorite chocolates Large non-stick saucepan for cooking stuff in New desk chair (dont have this yet but I know I am getting it) I also got a 5620 street cleaner. Didn't ask for LEGO and dont normally expect to receive LEGO so this was totally out of left field (I already had the set but hey, its still great)

Nice review. Not sure about the set, my main criticism is that it doesn't have as many windows/doors as the Family Home, Model Town House or Beach House

The basketball ring is not new, its mostly been used as a life preserver (although it was also used in white as a toilet seat in some sets like the recent police station)

Nice review of a great set. I am glad that this year I was finally able to obtain the parts for this set (including the giant base plate) to go alongside my Deep Freeze Defender (which is the better of the 2 sets IMO) and other Ice Planet sets.

Yeah, the current cargo train is NZD349.99 so a 399.99 price for a set that includes more stuff isn't out of the question. I cant see it selling very well at that price though.

Considering the Emerald Night (a set aimed squarely at adults) costs NZD199.99 on Shop @ Home, I cant see a train set aimed at kids and parents being sold at NZD399.99

I have never seen a single k-mart anywhere in Australia that charges different prices for stuff than other k-marts, at least not on the things I look at and/or buy (LEGO, DVDs, kitchen stuff, etc)

Its clear from looking at the still that the red train is a high-speed electric (you can see the pantograph)

Here in Australia, all the major chains (including Toys R Us) all charge exactly the same for a given item no matter which of their stores you are in. The main place I have seen where chains charge differently depending on which store you are in is with supermarkets.

Its a VERY nice set and a great source of parts. My only criticism is that it doesn't have the ridge capping pieces (a common shortfall of sets containing a sloped roof these days unfortunatly)

I concur, the Emerald Night is the BEST train set ever IMO and I hope that by buying one I have helped ensure that its not the last AFOL train set LEGO produces.