Lord Insanity

Does anyone else think that the Lighthouse alternate build marina makes the official marina set look even more lame? Even that dry dock boat mechanic shed alternate looks awesome. The lighthouse just may be the first Creator set I want to buy 3 copies just to build one of each model. This set really does make the harbor theme this year and its not even technically part of it. The only actual harbor set I want is the Cabin Cruiser II. (the fishing boat for you young ones)

Um... that picture is of consecutively numbered SD-40s. The only difference is the color scheme. The back engine looks smaller due an optical illusion. Your measurements and observations are otherwise spot on about the actual Lego renditions of a GP38 and SD40 though.

Well my BNSF has always pulled 2 hopper and 2 tank cars from the My Own Train series, I never got a TTX car. So obviously I won't have any problem running the Maersk loco as my container train. I also plan to make a second SD-40 in Norfolk Southern black to make a double header that way. Just like this real life one. Working out the decals for the Norfolk Southern engine will be the hard part.

Here is my entry. Cargo inspector is not a popular job in Gotham City.

Ok, I have the Enlighten Union Pacific locomotive. The design is not a copy of the Lego BNSF. The main body is 5 studs wide using jumper plates for starters. Yes some of the Enlighten sets are bootleg copies but some of them are original designs. The parts are actually ABS too, with the clutch power being equal to or better than Lego in most cases. Some 1x1 elements suffer from being slightly loose, but you get some extras anyway. The quality is almost (99%) the same as the new lower quality non-standard Lego products like the collectible mini-figures. (This is for the train sets only. Older sets like the Pirates line may differ, beware) The biggest advantage the Enlighten sets have is all of the decorated elements are printed, there are no stickers at all. In this one regard the sets blow Lego completely out of the water. The only major disadvantage of the Enlighten quality is some parts have a sharp injection point leftover in the middle of one of the studs. (your thumb gets sore after hitting a few of those if you are not watching for them.) If they could fix that one problem (and stop making some of their sets bootleg copies) they would be the best clone brand in existence.

The real train has Norfolk Southern on the side because that is the name of the real rail line that operates the engine painted in the Maersk color scheme. This Picture shows the 3329 Maersk color scheme engine double headed with the 3330 engine in the proper Norfolk Southern color scheme. I have already ordered the panel and window pieces in black to switch out one 10219 engine to the proper Norfolk Southern color scheme. A few custom stickers and I can recreate that double header.

Hmm... If the picture is to be believed, new individual straight track rail pieces with the "tabs" to line up/be compatible with existing Lego track pieces. In various lengths too. The only real question is do they contain metal for 9v or are they all plastic? (which can still easily have "metal hobby tape" added to make them 9v compatible anyway.) Depending how these are priced, they could be a runaway smash hit for ME Models.

Well I can't speak for the pirate ships but I did get one of the Enlighten Union Pacific train engines. The quality of the parts are far better than MegaBloks and only slightly below Lego. Basically it is similar to the "extended line" Lego items that have the "cheap Chinese plastic." The Enlighten clutch is stronger than Lego clutch in most cases. All of the parts are actually printed too, no cheap stickers here. It should also be noted that the set itself is not a bootleg. (some of the parts unfortunately are) While similar to Lego's BNSF engine the Union Pacific is definitely a different design as the Brickshelf gallery above illustrates. The only real bad thing against the engine (besides the fact that Lego didn't make it ) is that there are very sharp injection flashing marks on some of the studs.

Bio-hazard guy? I think I bio-hazard guy would be cool in a future series. There isn't one in series 4 though. This is a bio-hazard warning symbol: This is a radiation warning symbol: How the heck did this get three pages with no one catching this? While I love the musketeer and radiation clean up guy the sailor has to be my army navy builder of choice.

Is everyone missing the radiation logo on the hazmat suit? That is a Radiation clean up guy. Perfect for the nuclear power plant I have been toying with building for a while now. We finally get a Cavalier hat for Musketeers and random renaissance swordsman. I am glad he comes with a rapier foil (its the ball tip for safety ) rather than a musket. Adding a spare musket is easy, a period sword not as much. I am calling it now the sailor will be the insane army builder fig. Think about all those huge navy MOCs that need crews. Yeah, this is the first series that doesn't have a "pointless" fig. Though even the "pointless" figs are worth having one or two of to me.

I have to agree with this. I plan to try getting one of every set, but I would have been all over that battle pack if it had a jackalman/Anubis in it. As it is that battle pack is fairly useless to me. The snake head dress is nice but I really only need the one that I will be getting in the Wadjet (Cobra goddess) set anyway. I would rather buy multiples of the biplane and motor cycle set. Hopefully there will be an impulse with a jackalman or something. I will never understand why Lego tends to make certain logical army builder figs hard to get. Fortunately at least the main Pharaoh is not in the battle pack, unlike the Pirates one that had the Captain and Admiral in it.

Before the new Lego teaser site was taken down it made reference to professor Archibald Hale. So Jack Raines and Archibald Hale. Sounds like they could team up with Johnny Thunder to me. Despite the apparent anachronism* of an Anubis headed Sphinx, I am really looking forward to adding these to my Adventures sets. *An anachronism—from the Greek ανά (ana: up, against, back, re-) and χρόνος (chronos: time)—is an accidental or deliberate inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other. The item is often an object, but may be a verbal expression, a technology, a philosophical idea, a musical style, a material, a custom, or anything else so closely associated with a particular period in time that it would be incorrect to place it outside its proper domain. A representation of something as existing or occurring at other than its proper time in history.

You're kidding right? What would a statue or two of the Jackal God Anubis, guardian of the dead, be doing near a giant tomb? Also it should be noted that newer research suggests that the great Sphinx was likely a giant Anubis that was damaged and later re-carved with a the Pharaoh head we know today. So apparently Lego's new Sphinx set isn't as odd as we might think, albeit quite anachronistic.

I was able to pick up the Union Pacific loco for around $20 US. While very similar in appearance to Lego's BNSF it is a very different design. The main body uses jumper plates to make it 5 wide for starters. The clutch power of the bricks is generally equal to Lego. The plastic is a little below Lego. (basically its the "cheap" plastic Lego has been using for some things recently) The wheels have the same friction problem that a batch of Lego's did around the My Own Train release period. They can be largely fixed the same way as Lego's were, by sanding a little where the wheel rubs on the wheelbase. Some parts do have sharp points on the studs from the mold injection points, this is the biggest quality issue against them. You have to be careful as these sharp points can potentially cut you. For a young child this is unacceptable, for an adult who knows it is a minor annoyance to build around. The best thing is the printed parts are good quality printed parts not crappy stickers like Lego has been using on most things recently. I would say for an adult that knows to be careful with the potentially sharp points these are the best clones you can get quality wise. I don't regret buying the Union Pacific loco at all. Now I have a reason to buy the new Lego cargo train with that weird looking engine that looks nothing like any real engine I have ever seen.

Well if the hypothetical fireman finally has a red hat then... For the record I really like the series 2 police officer for having a tan shirt too. The best part is it seems most AFOLs don't really care for them and they are cheap.

Shooting the undead, especially Lego undead, makes them rest in pieces.

From Pantheon.org referring to the scarab god Khepri. "The scarab's habit of laying eggs in animal dung as well as the bodies of dead scarabs was noticed by the Egyptians. The subsequent hatching of the eggs from this seemingly unpromising material lead to the Egyptians associating the scarab with renewal, rebirth and resurrection." So giving undead mummies scarab shields is totally fitting with Egyptian mythology. The giant cobra is the goddess Renenutet. The giant scorpion is the goddess Serket. Look up both those names in the previous link and you will find Lego did their homework very well for this theme.

Wow this theme looks so awesome it prompted me to finally sign up at Eurobricks after lurking for many years. The mummies in the 7306 picture are most definitely not from the studios sets. They are all new color patterns and face prints. A giant goddess Renenutet (the big cobra) sweet. A giant goddess Serqet (the big scorpion) also sweet. Mini-fig goddess Horus and god Anubis, amazingly awesome. A giant sphinx statue of the lion goddess Sekhmet jackal god Anubis? That pyramid is the best Egyptian themed Lego structure ever. That is the best mini-fig bi-plane ever. The only thing I hope is either one of the smaller sets gets a mummy changed to an Anubis or there is an impluse of him. An army of jackal men led by Anubis or even being able to make a row of Anubis "statues" to go with the Horus "statues" would just make this theme perfect to me. I really hope Pharaoh's Quest combined with the new Atlantis temple (the only set worthy of the name "Atlantis" as far as I am concerned) is leading up to a mythological Greek/Roman theme in 2012 or 2013. That would make Pharaoh's Quest doubly awesome. P.S. Am I the only one thinking the Horus head-dress would make a good MOD starter piece for the sorceress from He-Man?