Gryphon Ink

I'm waiting for someone to say the box is false advertising, because the seagulls don't really fly and catch fish. But seriously, WOW. What a great set and great value. I love how it works with this year's Marina subtheme for the City sets. The minifig is cute, definitely a step up for Creator minifigs. Working mechanisms - extra points. The alternate builds look pretty cool, too. Have you done the "boathouse" build yet? My only quibble here is that it's disappointing that they made a mechanism for turning the light and a separate button turns the light on. So there's no way you can make the light sweep the harbor. But the gear system is pretty cool in its own right. I'd like this for myself, but given the amount of money I'm already planning to spend on Kingdoms and POTC I think this will be an excellent set for my daughter.

I'm just amazed that Lego released a set called "Emma's Chill-Out Kitchen". I assume this is where good raver minifigs go to sit for a while when the music and the lightshow get to be too much for them. Quite daring of TLG, actually.

Nice review showing all the aspects of a pretty nicely designed trio of houses. Can anybody tell me if this means the Apple Tree House will be discontinued soon? I would hate to wait and then find out it's not on the shelves anymore and has doubled in price overnight (grrrr, Beach House @!!&+}%).

That's pretty much the whole story in eleven words. This is a major cash cow for Disney, Depp and everyone else involved. Depp has the advantage here of not really needing the money. It's great when a writer or an actor doesn't need the money, then they can be selective about projects and only put out good work. The Mouse House, however, is a corporation - and corporations are ALWAYS hungry. I'm sure he will eventually say no, or else eventually they'll put out a movie that's just really bad and people will loathe it so much it will become clear that the franchise needs to retire. At that point they'll put it to sleep and reboot it ten years later with a different actor playing a different hero who will be similar to Jack, but not identical. I predict that no one else will play Jack Sparrow in this generation, because JD defined the role, just like Schwarzenegger defined the Terminator and William Shatner defined Captain Kirk. In another 15-20 years, yes, someone else will be Jack Sparrow. There's always the chance that they'll use the Bond formula and switch off actors every few years for a really long-lived series, but I'd bet against it. Not many franchises have been able to duplicate the success of James Bond, and I really don't think POTC has Bond's legs anyway. It's a great series, but it's too specific to last as long as Bond.

It shouldn't exclude adults anyway, the Percy Jackson books have a huge adult following and it looks like this series will develop one too. They are pretty cool books. My daughter has been waiting for this one like we've been waiting for the Mill Village Raid set.

The saucer is nice, definitely looks better than the so-called mothership in my opinion. The abduction effect is great, especially in the dark. (It would have been SO MUCH BETTER if the saucer had a few glow-in-the-dark pieces, though...) And the minifigs are three of the coolest ones in this theme. But I think for this price you should get a little more than what we have here. I would have loved to see a small tractor for the farmer, or at the very least a motorcycle for the ADU guy. It's a nice set, and the price isn't terrible, but there are so many other good sets calling my name at the moment that this just won't be a high priority.

I think it looks beautiful, but of course I haven't been in on the slowly growing hype and expectation like so many people here who have been collecting them for the last several years. In fact, I probably won't buy this one either, because my wife would most likely toss me out on my ear if I spent that kind of money on a single Lego set, no matter how pretty it was. But still, I think it's gorgeous. Some thoughts: Is the fact that it's two separate buildings creating a sort of optical illusion that makes people think it's not as cool as it really is? I can sort of see that effect, because you look at the GE and think "wow, that's an impressive building", and then look at this and see two far less impressive buildings, which sort of makes you forget that as one set, you're getting roughly the same amount of bricks and probably the same number of interesting features. I actually think it's really nice to have two separate buildings. It would have been even cooler if they were sold separately so that some of us who have budget restrictions could buy them. And before anybody tells me that the modulars are actually great value for money, I do understand that - but the fact remains that they cost a big chunk of money. I'm a wee bit disappointed that there weren't a couple more animals here. People have mentioned owls, but I believe it's actually illegal to sell owls as pets in most countries. Even where it's not illegal, there aren't many people who want to keep great big birds of prey in their house, unless they live in the Potterverse. But I would have liked to see rabbits or hamsters. Okay, so I'm informed that TLG don't usually include new molds in Modular sets. So what about rats? Rats are pretty popular pets. I work in a vet's office, and I can say with complete certainty that rats are far more popular pets than frogs. We could have done with a couple of exotic critters, too, such as a snake or a spider. Ideas for modding, I suppose. Maybe they sell the exotics at the downtown branch! I am, however, enchanted by the runaway parrot perched on the roof! And a toilet! Awesome! Delivery entrance in the back? Superb!

I bought this today, and I have to say it's better in person than it looks in all the pictures I've seen. No, it's not anywhere near a complete Isla de Muerta scene - it doesn't even have Will in it, and he's in the frakking poster that's included with this set! But it is a nice little vignette, conveying the feeling of the scene rather nicely, and it doesn't feel like a cheat. I definitely feel like I got my money's worth here. It's a great starter set for this theme. The minifigs are beautiful, and now I have a rowboat! And coins! And did I mention the minifigs are beautiful? As a newcomer, my opinion on the chrome vs. pearl gold money is this: now all the pearl gold things that are supposed to be gold in every other set - goblets, plates, 1x1 round pieces and whatever else you've got - actually look like gold. The contrast between them and the occasional chrome gold piece was rather jarring. Overall, the chrome gold does look shinier, but I'd rather have the uniformity.

It's possible that they decided barding pieces would all have a gap in the printing in anticipation of later sets with saddlebags or harness attachments, since they just started making saddlebag-type containers on the POP camel and they've started to do more harness horse sets in this and in POTC. Admittedly, the camel wasn't wearing barding, and I would assume they've had horses in harness before. I dunno, it's the only reason that makes any sense to me.

Nice review with stunning pictures of what looks like one of the nicest sets this year. I liked this set from the first teaser pictures we had, but wasn't really sure it would be worth saving for until I saw your pictures. Now there's no doubt in my mind - even though I'm probably not going to buy any other Alien Conquest sets, this one is absolutely brilliant and I must have it. All of the minifigs are great, breaking a lot of boundaries. I love that the two ADU fighters are different from the norm - one older guy, and one woman! The woman looks to be the pilot of the "starfighter", BTW. I agree that you've mixed the torsos and legs. The torso you have on her bears some kind of harness with a parachute symbol on it, which would seem to match with the legs that have a chart stuffed into an elastic strap - fighter pilots have these or map pockets on their flight suits. This picture from Brickipedia supports this, although they also have a picture with her wearing the second uniform. I'm gonna go with this configuration because it makes more sense to have a young female pilot (better reflexes) and an older tank driver/commander (more experience). The fighter itself is wicked and 10 out of 10 for swooshability. The alien fighter also looks pretty neat. And the whole thing will look badass on display AND have major playability. I think it's going to be tough keeping my kids away from this set. The only problem I can see with it is it's going to end up costing me a ton of money, because if you've got a major wicked combat vehicle defending the city from aliens, you've got to have a city to defend, and that means CITY sets which I have thus far not really been interested in collecting! (Okay, if I had to find a REAL problem with the set, I might point out that this vehicle needs at least one more crew member - but you can get another ADU grunt in the $5 Alien Striker set, so no worries.

Got my first POTC set - 4181 Isla de Muerta - and, feeling the CMF bags on an impulse, found an Elf! Very pleased. (My TRU still doesn't have any Alien Conquest or new Kingdoms sets, but they have all the 2011 Atlantis and the full line of POTC. Also, it looks like they are consolidating to make room for the new themes.

This is one of the best $20 sets I've seen. The angler is beautiful, the barracuda warrior is one of the greatest minifigs ever, and the small bit of scenery is very well done. The kids love to play with the fish - oh, hell, I love to play with the fish - and there are a ton of useful parts in the set. Most sets this size might give you one or two unusual pieces, but this one is packed!

There's a sword for the Dragon in this set, too. I agree that the blacksmith set is overall much nicer, though.

Nice, clear review. I wasn't sure about this set, but now it looks pretty good for $5. The minifigs are cute, and that alien trooper will fit in quite nicely with the assorted villainous alien types I've got from SP3 and Atlantis. I love how this theme has a different flavor from SP3, but still works together with it.

Up until I read this review I hadn't realized that the knight couldn't ride through the gates. That kind of sucks. I guess it's a good thing I was planning to use this set to flesh out the Prison Tower anyway, since it makes sense for the back door to be a small escape hatch. But that's three, no, four strikes against this set: Facade Not the same width as Prison Tower No new torsos (Dragon breastplate doesn't count) Gate too small The Dragon Knight looks great, but the set really doesn't. This is my least favorite set of the new wave.

Yeah, that business is just silly. Collecting is "normal", but building is "weird". Doesn't make any sense to me. But I do sort of get why that is, and I think it comes right down to the difference between creative people and non-creative people, or as it sometimes seems, between geeks and non-geeks. Geeks want to learn. They want to create. They want to hack things and see how they work. And they like puzzles. Non-geeks don't get it. They want to watch things. Their idea of a hobby is collecting shot glasses or watching the game on TV. In knitting circles, many of us call the non-creatives Muggles, and there's a whole literature of Funny Things Muggles Say. Things like "why would you want to spend weeks knitting socks when you can buy ten pairs of socks at Wal-Mart for $5?" Or the perennial favorite, "I could never learn to knit - I don't have the time for it." Usually the Muggle who "doesn't have time to knit" can tell you the names and ages of every contestant on this season of American Idol. The knitter might also be an American Idol fan, but made a sweater and a pair of Lord of the Rings-themed socks while they were watching this season. But the Muggle is sure she's the superior "normal" person and the knitter is just a weirdo.

This is a great review! I love how you compare the Jacks and swap out the heads - and you're right, Qui-Gon is a better Will than Will is. The "real" Will just seems too old somehow. I think TLG slightly overdid the facial detailing on a lot of these minifigs. The Cannibal Escape Jack looks really bad IMO. This Jack looks okay, though not super, and Norrington looks great - and I really like Hadras, the refugee from the Atlantis sets. I wish this set was a little grander. It doesn't look bad, by any means, but it could have used a little more variation in the building. I think the two more expensive sets (London Escape and Whitecap Bay) offer a LOT more in terms of both playability and and useful parts. If I get any of the big POTC sets, I'll probably shoot for Whitecap Bay, and hope I can get this one at a discount later on in its shelf life.

You had me at FLOATABLE HULL! This looks like a decent size to MOC up a lobster boat or a dive platform for an Atlantis team. Er, there is clearly a sonar display in one of your pictures. It sounds like you're confusing sonar with radar. Sonar doesn't use a rotating dish, it uses transponders that are in the water, either suspended beneath/behind the boat or attached to the hull beneath the waterline.

A better question would be, what good the life preserver is going to do him when the boat is clearly one second away from running over him?

I admit that it looks hella cool, but I also remember that the trailer for "Rise of the Fallen" looked cool. Good music, quick editing, half a second at a time of the coolest action scenes, Optimus reels off a couple of bad-megablocks lines, somebody says something about how it's all over now, there's no hope left, and there you go - instant wicked trailer. Let's not forget that ROTF had some absolutely amazing action scenes, too, except that the amazing action scenes were spread out over the course of two hours of mostly incredibly dire dialogue, a completely nonsensical plot, and multiple recurring motifs of racism, sexism and jingoism. Not going to this one unless I hear some incredible word of mouth on it.

I agree with the gist of your post - the shipping rates killed the potential savings. But that part is untrue. I was loading up a shopping cart several times last week, trying to find a combination that I could afford and would actually save me some money, and they did in fact give discounts on two sets if you bought four. At one point I was looking at two $20 sets and two $10 sets, and one set from each price point was half off. But, as we all agreed, they nail you on the shipping, so in the end I didn't buy anything. If the sets I wanted had been in the stores at the time, it would have been a whole different ballgame. They had the timing of this sale planned with fiendish precision. Good for TRU, not so good for eager AFOLs.

According to the official blurb, she has "special psychic powers". The Universal Cynic's Translator says that means "the special ability to get kidnapped by bad-guys, and the ability to not actually be a ninja like all the boys." Just like the sole female in Atlantis owned one of the subs but was not actually an Atlantis team member.

Okay, guys, where are the reviews? I know these sets are out there! Those fleshies from POTC had reviews of every single set posted a day after the sets went on sale! I hope I can hit TRU tomorrow. Please let them be in stock!

Well, since I'm very far from having any problems like these, I'd be happy to take some of those useless 2x3 black slopes, and any other parts that are just getting in your way, off your hands. Just to help you out, ya know?

I'd just like to give my Musketeer a musket. Because he's a MUSKETEER, yanno? I have one of the old Pirates muskets, but it really doesn't look right for him. It's kind of silly that he didn't come with a firearm.