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Hey everyone, With all the buzz around the Legends of Chima theme at the moment, I though it'd be interesting to see who you're most aligned to in the battle for Chi dominance... and why! Which Legends of Chima faction are you aligned to? Personally, I've gone for the Eagle faction. With some of the coolest characters in town including the stalwart Equila and enchanting Eris - and a selection of sleek super-vehicles that'd make James Bond green with envy - they can count on my steel! *As I can't seem to list choices for other factions in the poll at the moment, I've just represented this as other faction for now.

Having bought and built this today (really wanted to have some Wolf faction contingent) I'm happy to say that my original skepticism has given way... very cool model, cool features and of course, mega minifigs! I've got 4 Chima sets now and I've also got to say there is a certain complexity of build for these that makes them really interesting and fun to assemble, even on the smaller sets (thinking Lennox's Lion Attack there).

I was thinking of those similarities between He-Man and Thundercats when I began reading this thread! He-Man did the anthropomorphic characters and animalistic vehicles years before Thundercats, but both were awesome in their own right and unique given their character composition, theme and setting. Chima treads it's own ground too. Similarities can be drawn between some of the characters but some of the connections above are pretty tenuous at best. Maybe there's a cross over in where the designers have found there inspiration - there's a lot of amazingly cool shit in the world we're all similarly exposed to - and maybe even some of that was the original Thundercats, but Thundercats certainly didn't come first in the realms of anthropomorphism and what LEGO has created with Chima now has a diversity that makes it feel very different. I for one am lovin' the new theme and can't wait to see what comes next. Thundercats and He-Man will still rock in my book, but in different ways.

Yeah that seems an oddity to me too. Don't get me wrong - I actually think Series 4 is really strong. But consistency with the artwork and minifig choice would make the line so much better. Like Lobot?! More of that type of thought would be ace. Daft again that Dak wasn't named though - it's clearly him. As mentioned, this clearly isn't an army building sub theme, so any chance to expand upon the repertoire of named characters seems to good to miss, though I'm not averse to updated versions of unnamed characters like the new pilots, etc. though the devil really is in the details (back to the B-wing pilot's helmet choice again?).

Just leafing through the S@H catalogue and thought I'd take a look at the new planets - was really interested to see the artistic treatment for each, most of all Coruscant... and from the picture it looks absolutely dreadful. It look's like a really, really poor pen drawing, with wobbly lines and terribly drawn circles. And a stylistic departure from the other planets which I felt had a more globe-esque (though simplified feel). Anyone else disappointed by this?

They do mark-up their prices a lot however they also have 'buy one get one half price offers' which can alleviate this somewhat, taking the prices back down to reasonable levels. Try going to a larger WH to make the most of it.

Er, yeah... I'd advise against posting topics like this. If you really need to see someone else's take on Goblin Town in LEGO try using a search engine? Might yield quicker results than asking someone to built it first. Incidentally, there is the official LEGO set too...

Great review ISC, thanks! Not really sure this whole Speedorz thing is for me... it just seems a bit derivative. I play a lot of different styles of board and card game too and the system they've created here feels forced and lacking of depth. A shame given that the artwork used on the cards is actually really good. This set may appeal to kids whi want to play the game but as an AFOL and seasoned player of games, not to me. I'd think about picking one up on sale for figure and parts but not at the current RRP.

Thanks for the review. This is a decent enough set, mostly for the minifigs and olive green parts but the vehicles is actually pretty cool too, looks crocodile-esque and has a great ripping action when the vehicle is in motion. Leonidas is a great wee character despite looking a bit stoned. ;) ...until NOW!

Solid review, thanks for sharing! Such a nice little set, I almost picked this up in John Lewis the other day (£7.95), but stuck with Eris's Interceptor and Crawley's Ripper. Reckon I'll head back at the next opportunity and rectify that! ;) The Raven Faction minifigs are awesome and I'll really impressed by how cool this glider is for a wee set. As WF mentions above, this'll be the perfect foil for the Eagle Interceptor!

Another great and insightful Chima review, thanks ISC. I'm less impressed by this model than I am with Eris's Interceptor, I'm not sure if it's the lack of volume under the chassis and around the wheels or just the overall look of the vehicle, but I'm just not sold on this in the same way... but again the minifigs are something special! I really like that each minifig has 3 faces/heads that can be used - these have a ton of mileage in MOCs. Is the general consensus on these that stylistically the 'helmet' is the head with extra use provided by the base head prints, or that it's simply a helmet? Curious about folks' thoughts on that one....

Thanks for such a comprehensive review WF, really provides a great insight into the set and the new Chima line. The stars of the show for me are definitely the minifigs: they are deadly! LEGO's first full foray into the realm of the anthropomorphic which so many artists fail to capture gracefully, but presented here look fantastic! Each and every minifig has so much character, the overall shapes are unique and interesting and the printing is superb. I can really see these getting a lot of use mixed with other themes and MOCs. I'm not such a huge fan of the vehicles/models for the Chima line as a whole, I think it's mainly the wheeled vehicles I have issue with, but this seems to be the poster-child of the theme and I've got to admit, when I saw how sleek yet poseable it is, I was impressed. All in all, I think this one's a must have for me... that first set to dip my toe into the Chima theme. Oh, and Eris ROCKS. ;)

Heh... The TIE/IN's targeting sensors are located on the front middle edge of each of it's solar panels, between the 2 prongs. They were present on the original LEGO model but just do a search online for it's blueprints and you'll find them. The Rebels won't stand a chance once you're rocking' those again... ;)

Those modifications definitely make it better - but why did you lose the targeting sensors?

This set really doesn't showcase anything overwhelmingly new - asides from the Rieekan minifig of course - and feel like a little bit of a missed opportunity to improve on those seminal Hoth features such as the Atgar cannon, snow speeder, trench system, etc. It does feel a lot more Hoth-esque than 7879... which feels like TLC are revisiting the Exploriens theme... But it looks like if you've missed any of the previous snow speeders or any other Hoth sets, then this set will be one to get which captures the essence of all those sets combined. And despite my reservations if I can find this cheap enough (RRP should NEVER be more than £40 for this one... but I won't be surprised) then I will pick it up. Thanks very much for the review.

Isn't this set going to retail at most £59.99? Regardless, this set has really grown on me ever since I watched the Battle of Umbara. The MHC features heavily and is a formidable foe! The model looks big, solid and fun to build and I really love the Umbaran minifigs, I'd be tempted to buy more on Bricklink over and above buying the set. Despite Ahsoka not actually being present at this battle, this new minifig is nice new take on her, with a shedload more attitude than before! Only issue is the 212th trooper: I like him, but why couldn't he have been orange like Commander Cody (part of the 212th also) to keep it consistent? Unless there's a new version of Cody in the post? And really, why can't we start seeing some variations in clone troopers instead of that same, wooden expression and eternal glass-eyed stare? We've seen it already with Rex and Wolffe... surely some further variations wouldn't hurt? All in all though, this is in my top 2 from this wave. Really looking forward to getting my hands on it. Thanks very much for the pics and review Moexy! ;)

Loving this so far. Inspired building techniques BD. I'll jump in at the end with what the highlights have been for me. Looking forward to seeing the rest... keep it up.

+1 to buying it. Play-sets are on the rarer side and this one is a keeper. Nice diorama with a great selection of new, non-CW figures and parts. The ship is okay but forms the basis for a better MOC. I bought mine full price and haven't regretted it. Go buy it... now!

Congratulations everyone - well deserved winners!

Wow, very exciting contest and an awesome prize pool. "...keep in mind that size is not as important as quality." It's worth remembering that some of the best LEGO creations are really wee, so don't be daunted by going head to head with some of the large scale builders if like me you have a limited selection of parts and most importantly, space! Can't wait to see what entries start rolling in. Maybe the Star Wars 7 creative team will find inspiration on these very pages! :D

Three words: RANCOR, RANCOR, RANCOR! ...that alone is a must have! I have fond memories of sticking figures into my old Kenner Rancor's mouth and I'm really happy you can do it with this one too! Nice to see how this set combines with the Palace. Thanks for the pictures!

Nice enough version of the A-Wing... but I own every A-wing released (and multiples too) and it's not quite a revolution from it's predecessor (like the addition of stickers on the canopy though). The new pilot is ace though - I'll hunt him down on Bricklink.

Thanks for the pictures BrickieB, you're a lucky man to get these so early (jealous of course!). This is a massive improvement over 7250 and despite being out of scale somewhat the shape and details are really nice. Rather like that sniper droid too. The new 501st trooper is great and although I like the commando droids I really wish LEGO would find a better solution to droid legs so we could display them in more dynamic poses. I'll pick this set up for sure though. Maybe two.... ;)

1 by Ninja Nin - 1 point 4 by Oky - 1 point 21 by Runamuck - 1 point Great effort everyone. Good luck!

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