iangreig

I see. I thought SUV was a well-known word like sedan or wagon. So then, what are SUVs called in Europe? :oo 'Sedan' & 'wagon' aren't widely used either (at least not in the UK). As for SUV, like I said before, the "term, and class of vehicle, isn't widely know in Europe.". I know it because I watch too much imported TV & spend two much time in the US for work (over 2 months this year). Would a Range Rover be classed as a SUV in the US ? That we would probably call an "off-roader" or "4-by-4". Ian.

Wow, well remembered ! Guilty, as charged :-D Try ... http://www.busphotos.co.uk/ I also found ... http://www.sct61.org.uk/ ... which is about older buses from the Southend area, but has also got links to other bus & coach related websites. Gotta love Google (using the image search in this case) :-D Ian

"SUV" is pretty much a North American term; that term, and class of vehicle, isn't widely know in Europe. Ian.

Heh, so I'm wrong then, you shameless name-dropper ? Shame really, 'cause I do like your Inlander, but if I can be wrong about this, I can be wrong about that too, eh ? :P ;) Ian

Where to start ? I guess there are two issues here, the original EP3 design & Lego's interpretation of that design. I haven't seen the original, but I'm assuming that Lucas thinks it's a fair representation, otherwise it wouldn't have been approved. From an original design perspective, I think it's very poor, but I'll reserve final judgement until I've seen the 'real' thing (can anyone provide me with a link ?) - however, from a combat vehicle design point of view, it makes little or no sense. You have a clear sphere for the robotic pilot to sit in, but then you obscure any view it might have, by wrapping arms around it & placing the main weapon directly in its line of sight ? If he doesn't need a visual view of the environment ahead, then ditch the sphere and bury the pilot deep inside the fuselage where it is well protected. But whichever way you look at it, what is the point of the 'arms' ? From a Lego standpoint, it looks, to me, to be a very lazy design. There are some interesting pieces in there, and I'll go out and buy at least two of this set purely for parts, but it doesn't look like an interesting build. Neither does it have any realy visual "sparkle' (for want of a better world) - it doesn't seem interesting to look at. On initial inspection, I would rate this set lower than the original EP1 droid fighter. Sorry. Ian

Er, um, I'm not really sure what to say about that ... looks like some interesting pieces in there ... (where's the smiley for "horrified" when you need it ?) Ian.

If it really did come from Lucasfilm, then I'm sure it's a photo of a workshop dummy, a maquette, used for design/reference purposes - it'll be pretty crude compared to what we finally see on-screen. Ian

Collin, you were right the first time ... Unless F1 is all make-believe ... Ian.

My belief is that the concept art at the top is real, but the main figure is a mock-up done in Photoshop by the UK newspaper that published the images. Ian.

They have used skin-toned mini-figs in the Ferrari sets, but only representing specific real people http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?p=8389 Ian

Ignore the main figure, the artwork at the top was genuine. Ian.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4117711.stm Although it doesn't look like this worm was responsible for what happen at fbtb, it looks like the hacker used the same weakness in phpBB to gain access. If you know anyone using phpBB, getting them to upgrade to the latest version is highly recommended. [NOTE - classic-space uses phpBB too, but they are using a much more recent version (2.0.11 compared to fbtb's 2.0.6 IIRC) where the exploitation route has been closed] Ian.

There are other wizarding schools - ones in northern Europe (Durmstrang), southern Europe (Beauxbaton), the US & Brazil have been mentioned IIRC (either in the books or by Rowling in interviews). I'm sure a University has been mentioned (one of the Weasley boys went there ?). I can't remember exactly where it is, but it's somewhere in mainland Europe & has nothing directly to do with Hogwarts. In the UK we used to have playschool (upto 5), primary school (upto 8), middle school (upto 12), secondary school (upto 16), then optionally "6th Form" upto 18. That's what they were called when I went through the system a long time ago anyway. "6th form" is usually attached to a secondary school or might be a stand-alone "6th form college". Ian

Sorry, I've no idea what a "K-12" school is ... anywho, if you read the books (and I'm pretty sure it was in the original film too), kids are supposed to start Hogwarts in the Autumn/Fall immediately after their 11th birthday. They do their OWL exams at the end of their 5th year (equivalent to UK 'GCSE' exams, the old 'O-Level' exams), and their NEWT exams at the end of their 7th year (equivalent to UK 'A-Level' exams). They (usually) leave the school in the Spring just before or just after their 18th birthday. Each book/film covers one of the school years. Yeah, I know - I know way too much about this :$ Ian.

It's still called "National Treasure" in the UK ... haven't seen it yet though. Ian.

Easy there, tiger ! Remember the characters are aging too; in the 4th book the kids are supposed to be ~15 IIRC ... the three leads were really all 14 or 15 while they were filming most of the 4th one ... Dan Radcliffe - July 1989 Rupert Grint - August 1988 Emma Watson - April 1990 They couldn't keep up the 12 month schedule - it was ~18 months between film #2 and film #3 ... it will also 18 months between film #3 and film #4 (remember Azkaban was only released this summer just gone !). Film #5 (Order of the Phoenix) is tentatively scheduled for a summer 2007 release (again, 18 months after Goblet of Fire). If they keep up this schedule (and Rowling gets book 7 out on schedule), the last film should hit the big screen in the summer of 2010 - filming would mostly have been a year earlier, so the 'kids' would be 20/21/19 on film, playing 18 year olds. I don't think that will be too much of a stretch for them ! The producers have gone on record & said they want to stick with the original 3 leads for all 7 movies; they are worried that the 'kids' won't want to stick with it to the end ! Ian.

Based on the mini series that was shown last year, they've made a 13 part series, which is currently showing in the UK on SKY, our satelite TV network. It's due to start showing in the US in the new year IIRC - sorry, not sure which network. UK got it first as SKY co-funded the production. It's very good. Much more character-driven than the original. Ian.

Priceless ! edit by Jipay : ehhhh no comment :-D This one is ehhh... Unforgivable :P Ian

Ah, now that's something I am interested in :-D Ian.

Thanks Collin - any news is appreciated ... Ian.

Hey, I'm one of the biggest thread killers over there ! How do you think that makes me feel ? *satis* Just 'cause my middle name is "ThreadKissOfDeath" doesn't mean people should take it literally ! :$ One of the things that really winds me up, big time, are all the "me too" posts; it's not exclusive to fbtb, but it was a real problem for a while - less so now, thank goodness. Ian.

I'm a member of "The Brickish Association", and have been since it was launched a couple of years ago. Although it has its own on-line fora, the main attraction for me is the social aspect - getting together every month or so, sharing ideas, showing off MOCs, trading bricks, trading sets, bulk buying and sharing with others, etc. I would recommend it to any/all UK based AFOLs. You don't need to give up Eurobricks; you can be a member of both ! Ian.

If that was their justification (and, to be honest, I saw no indication that it was) then it's hardly a good excuse for such apalling, and frankly illegal, behaviour ! You're right that a fair few folk have had bad experiences on fbtb (I did in my early days there) - it does tend to be rather 'clique'-y, and there is often a "one rule for us, another rule for the rest of you" mentality, but many of the folk over there have got to know each other over many years - some noob coming in and rocking the boat is never going to be welcome. And lets be honest, I've seen the same happen here in the last little while ... in fbtb's defence, things have been a bit more relaxed recently, although the whole "leaks"/"respect the brick"-thing (which I agree with, for fbtb) still causes the most on-going problems. I think there's room enough for multiple brick fora, each with its own style & "feel"; people just need to find the one that suites them the best & respect others preferences. Ian

It looks like the disks are colour coded by book, & then numbered like the original CDs. It also looks like the case has two spindles in it, the the disks will just be stacked without any other protection ... Although it looks like good value, I'd be even wore impressed if they bought them out as MP3 CDs (or DVDs), like the BBC has done with the original Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series .... http://www.bbcshop.com/invt/0563494212 Ian.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...9695303-7823061 The above link is to the new HP CD box set - the first 5 books spread across 67 (yes, 67 !!!!) CDs. Not bad value at