Gryphon Ink

Well, okay, but fix the cigarette lighter.

Pretty sure TLG's ideal is that yellow minifig skin represents all races, as we've had two Native Americans, Japanese Geisha, Mexican Mariachi Player and Inuit Fisherman all in yellow. The Disco Dude and Rapper are also probably black. So just go with yellow for everyone, and your Marines are totally TLG-approved. Really nice work on these pieces. Just the right amount of detail.

I think this is one of the most creative movie adaptations I've seen, Leo. You did an incredible job on the turrets, and all the crazy angles of the castle, and great attention to detail. I'm actually not a huge fan of the movie, because I think it's one of Miyazaki's weakest adaptations and the book it's adapted from is utterly awesome. (It's by Diana Wynne Jones, if anyone wants to check it out). Still, a "bad" Miyazaki movie is better than most filmmakers' "good" movies, and the castle really is amazing in the movie. Great job capturing the magic, Leo! Do you have any plans to do other Miyazaki models?

I really like the little dragon, although it's definitely strange that it bears no resemblance whatsoever to the other dragon released in the Ninjago theme. For me this was a cool little set. It is available in the US, by the way. I got one at Target. There might be some weirdness in its distribution, come to think of it, because when it was scanned at the register it didn't come up with a price. The Ninjago theme in general really doesn't move me, but the ninjas themselves are iconic, so I got this and the Training Outpost set. That's probably going to be it for me in the Ninjago line.

This is an amazing tribute to one of the greatest SF shows ever and a really difficult ship! You did a great job. I love all the little details like the weight bench, and of course the stunning engine. The minifigs look great, too. Amazingly, it all looks like somethin TLG could have actually done, except of course Serenity would have had a thousand or so fewer pieces. Looking at the minfigs especially, I feel like this could have been an actual set. So now I not only have to feel depressed that Firefly got cancelled, but also that we missed a potentially awesome LEGO theme especially for AFOLs. I need to go drown my sorrows and watch me some Firefly.

Nice review, Rumble Strike. I like this set much more than the Dragons' Prison set, which gives you a little facade structure that can't possibly stand on its own and doesn't blend well with the main Dragon fortress. This one has a good-looking tower and a really nice siege engine. It also contains a good number of the parts you really need for castle building, such as angled wall pieces and arches. If it came with a horse or a second Dragon soldier, I would have considered this an almost perfect set for this price point.

Got Mill Village Raid. It's beautiful! TRU are having this weird "buy 2, get 1 90% sale", so zee kid got an Alien Defender and I picked up a 5929 Castle Bricks and More set for the arches and doors.

I like how 99% of the posts say "this set sucks tremendously, but I'll buy it for the Ewoks." TLG know exactly what they're doing here, methinks. Not that I'm immune to it - I'd buy it for the Ewoks, too, if there weren't so many other sets I want in this year's lineup. Might buy it on clearance anyway. Those damn teddy bears ruined ROTJ, but they make great minifigs!

Nice review for a not-so-great (but CLASSIC! ) set. I can say that the all gray color scheme wouldn't have struck me as anything odd in 1988. Monochromatic design was HUGE in the Eighties, and was accordingly seen as the Way of the Future. About this: It's just a freaking chair! Seriously now, what purpose could this little vehicle actually serve? If I was an explorer or scientist working on a deserted moon-like planet, why the hell would I need a rocket chair? It seems like the only purpose would be for a bit of recreation; "oh, I'm bored, I'll go play around in the XT-5 for a bit until I get too dizzy" My first thought would be that it's a lifter chair for work in high gravity, the sort of gravity that laughs at Terran notions of gravity, that will kill you if you try to move around in it with your puny Earth-adapted muscles. Our man Blue has joined the research crew on this planet, which holds resources of "significant monetary value" inside its lethal gravity well. Again, it's 1988, so "the future" means men in power suits doing the exploitation exploration, instead of robots or drones, because of course robots always end up revolting and enslaving humanity. I'll grant you that the design still sucks, and you need at least a pair of claws to make the "lifter chair" concept work, but hey - it's 1988! EDIT TO ADD: or maybe it's just a futuristic wheelchair.

This is exactly what I suspected. It didn't make sense that TLG would go so spectacularly wrong in the rendition of a fairly simply set. I had been looking online for concept art that would have shown this, but couldn't find any, so thanks for providing the evidence! I agree with what David Thomsen is saying, too. Inaccurate the Lego set may be, but it looks a lot better as a fountain and works better with other themes as well. I'm not sure I want to buy this, but it's a nice little set. Except for the shower curtain, anyway.

What miscellaneous costs? Disney films are distributed by Buena Vista, so there's no cost of paying a distributor. The prints cost maybe 10 million. Are you saying that advertising ate up 220 million dollars of revenue? Disney are now making an animated series called Tron Uprising to air on Disney XD. Pretty strange behavior for a company that didn't make enough from Legacy.

Some people have commented that this set looks "off" somehow. I agree, and I think I've figured out what it is: the bus looks too smooth. Nothing else in the Potterverse looks so flat and boxy. It's all rounded corners, rough textures, natural stone. Everything is ramshackle, weathered and worn. Even the shiny things are crafted with decorations and style. It's all very Victorian. Most of the later sets have done a great job capturing this feeling. Look at the Burrows or Hagrid's Hut - they are amazingly "rough" looking for piles of shiny plastic bricks. Then you get to this bright purple, shiny, box-like thing, that has no texture at all. It looks really plasticky. Even the actual Knight Bus in the movie didn't look so new and sharp-edged. It was an ancient, creaking monstrosity. They built it from a couple of AEC Regent RTs, buses that were originally produced in 1938 and had a really old-fashioned design. You could feel the thing straining every time it pulled off one of those crazy moves. In the world of magical, gadget-laden vehicles, there are Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs and there are Q Branch Lotus Esprits. Lego turned the Knight Bus into a Lotus, where they should have been shooting for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I don't know how they could have fixed it, to be honest. I think it would take the skills of a serious MOCer to really do a worthy representation of the KB. But I know this one doesn't do it for me.

This is actually a very nice set, but I completely fail to understand why it's priced that high. Extremely disappointing that the only unique minifig here is the King. It does have some nice pieces, but for the most part you can find them in other, more exciting sets. I'm waiting for the sales to get this one.

This would be one of those I DID NOT NO THAT moments, preferably with a picture of a silly cat. I thought the US-Europe difference was the same for all themes. Now you REALLY have my sympathy.

I've never seen Kingdoms in Wal-Mart. The one exception was during last year's clearance sale, they quite bizarrely had a couple of Jesters on clearance. I don't think they carried Pirates during the 2009 run, either. Target almost always have Kingdoms.

First of all, I want to say that I think Lego prices in every country that's not the US are rather unfair. You have my sympathy for that. However, if the question is "have TLG raised the prices because of the 'Depp Tax'"? the answer is actually no. Everyone seems to think that Lego prices have increased rapidly in the last couple of years. A look at the cost of sets over the years shows that this is really not true. In 1991, Lagoon Lockup, 191 pieces, cost $29 - 15 cents per piece. In 1997, Pirates Ambush, 156 pieces, cost $22 - 14 c/p. In 2009, Loot Island, 142 pieces, cost $20 - 14 c/p. In 2011, Isla de Muerta, 152 pieces, cost $20 - 13 c/p. There are some differences between the sets, such as Loot Island containing a molded baseplate and a crocodile, while the POTC set contains 3 totally new minifigs with back printing and a few new accessories, but overall these are pretty comparable sets. They are all 3-minifig sets with one rowboat. And the prices have gone (ever so slightly) down, not up. Granted, 150 pieces in 1991 is not the same as 150 pieces in 2011. The average piece in the older sets was bigger, so that your final model ended up being bigger. But they were also far less detailed and a heck of a lot blockier. The POTC sets have more natural colors, more nuanced building, and vastly superior detailing on the minifigs. I really think it's an even trade. For comparison, the average US price of a movie ticket in 1991 was $4.21. In 2010 it was $7.89. In 1991, a mass market paperback book cost $4.99. In 2010, it was $7.99. The cost of gas went from $1.14 in 1991 to $4.15 at the pump yesterday. If TLG had increased their prices according to the cost of gas, Isla de Muerta would cost $72!

Very nice review, Masked Builder. I really like this set. And my Elizabeth's two parts don't line up, either. I was mildly perturbed by this, since she's otherwise a really brilliant figure. In the first movie, when Barbossa is still cursed, he says that the first thing he's going to do when the curse is lifted is eat a nice juicy apple. Then, of course, he dies. At the end of DMC, when he is brought back to life, he enters the scene munching on a green apple.

Lego needs to find a new "corporate sponsor" for the Legoverse. It seems like Octan sponsor everything in the world from farm vehicles to auto racing, and now two of the boat sets for this year feature Octan uniforms. Octan is starting to seem like Weyland-Yutani. The boat itself is a nice sleek design, but the truck design is a little too bland and boxy. I'd rather get the Fishing Boat and mod that hull into a racing boat.

I'm not sure what's worse, the models or the puns. Five groanworthy puns in four lines for that boat-thing! That seems excessive even for the Sun. But the models are pretty bad, too.

Replying to this a little late, I know, but Tron Legacy cost $170M and has made $400M. I'd love to lose money like that.

Got Escape from Dragon Prison at TRU yesterday. Not very exicting, but I wanted the knight and some parts to expand the Prison Tower. Also found a Series 3 CMF Alien. He'll go nicely with the Alien Conquest guys later on. TRU have all the POTC sets and the new Kingdoms in store, but only a couple of AC sets. I drooled over the MVR for a few minutes.

Seriously? What part of her? Her breasts, lips and nose, at least, haven't been altered since I first saw her in *Open Your Eyes*. In fact, she's been appearing nude since she was 17, so it ought to be really easy to find out when she had anything changed, but there has never been any noticeable sudden change in her appearance. People who actually make a living spotting cosmetic surgery for fashion mags and websites have said that she might have had subtle and tasteful lip injections, and a couple of them have decided that her nose has a shape that could possibly be a product of cosmetic surgery - or it could be just, you know, the shape of her nose. None of them are sure about any of it, and generally she is pointed out as one of the actresses who really doesn't need to go under the knife.

Anyone who introduces themselves with lines from Alice and the Princess Bride is bound to be Good People in my book. And another writer, as well! Welcome to Eurobricks!

Technically it's hemispherical. A spherical windscreen would pose some difficulties!

I've been seeing hairline cracks in various pieces since I first started buying Lego last year. Until I read this thread, I had assumed it was normal for this to happen occasionally. In fact, I sort of assumed that was one of the reasons TLG always gives you extra cheese slopes. It's not only white cheese slopes, but slopes of several different colors - looking at my displays I can find cracked red, yellow and white slopes. There are also cracks in several of the tan 1x1 bricks used to build the kayak in the Creator Log Cabin. I couldn't swear that this is a QC problem as my nine-year-old also works on the builds with me, and has rebuilt the Log Cabin several times. But before everyone says "WELL, there you go!" I will point out that she is a very careful builder and not that inclined to force bricks in ways they weren't meant to go. But of course it is possible. These are all fairly new sets, and they are not displayed in the sun, cleaned with any kind of solvents or exposed to any kind of extreme temperatures.