Inzane

Which particular window pieces are we talking about? Between MS & CC (this and other threads), I'm losing track.

* Edit * Nevermind, I figured out what i was doing wrong.

Thank you!! Walrus man is how my original Kenner action figure package read when I was a kid (back in ~80-82, whenever I got that particular figure). And then of course my buddies and I had our own non-family friendly nickname for him around the playground of course.

Really? Someone actually bothered to write a backstory for that.... "character"? I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I finally got a chance to see two films that were in my backlog for a couple years. The Thing (2011) - prequel to and inferior to the original '82 masterpiece, but still good and worth the watch. With the exception of the missing sequence of the Norwegians detonating the ice over the crater (as depicted via video footage in the original), they stayed pretty close to continunity and accuracy of the original film. They gel quite well. Dredd (2012) - way better than I expected. Can't be directly compared to the '95 film with Stallone, it was just so different of a film. This was the closest thing I've seen to a good 'ol fashion Paul Verhoeven sci-fi action flick in a while, with gratuitous violence galore. I didn't realize they still made films like this. This wasn't a GREAT film, but it was pretty damn entertaining. I'm starting to think I would watch Karl Urban in anything. And his rookie chick sidekick...HOT!

Just to give you my perspective, I'm an AFOL, not a TFOL, and I was a kid when the OT hit theaters. I'm probably not any different than the majority of my generation. I've seen the original unmolested version of SW Ep4 probably somewhere in the range of ~80-100 times (lost count). I've watched the special edition of Ep 4 a grand total of probably..... 2 times? (One in theater in '97 and once after buying it on DVD). I would argue that if someone "like me" has to reach for wookiepedia or other such resource to look up what the heck something is whenever one of those obscure references gets name dropped, chances are that item is probably not mainstream enough to warrant as much attention or priority with Lego to become a set. There have been exceptions and surprises... I'm still amazed they made a set of that imperial landing craft that only appeared in the background for a few seconds during in the (SE revised) dewback scene. My first thought at the time was.... why??

After Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium is the obvious choice. It is most likely the next one on the retirement chopping block. GE is also a corner building, and it's quite nice.

Does anyone happen to know why some modular sets have two 16x32 baseplates, while others have single 32x32 baseplates? For the same footprint, and given none of these buildings have a split (ok, pet shop is an exception) or opening function, why not just provide a one-piece base? It's not like box size is an issue with these gigantic sets.

You guys are driving me crazy with all your C-canon references that were added in the special editions. If were up to me I would have GL bound & gagged while he watched me burn the SE masters, and then I'd hand over the "original" masters to his restoration team to do their excellent work.

Interesting list. But a curious list you have there. UT-AT? I have no idea what that is. Was it on screen for more than a second or two in epiii, because I'm not picturing it. The Outrider... in EpIV? Was this a CGI addition slotted in to the "special edition"? I have no memory of that ship from the original (cough -- pre-molested) version of the film. Bantha -- now you're on to something. We have a dewback, a wampa, a rancor, and a taun-taun. A bantha shouldn't be out of the question and would make a nice addition to a tatooine scene. If I was to add something to the missing list, the first thing that comes to mind would be the Shield generator from Hoth. They've hit most of the other elements from Hoth, but that and maybe an ion cannon would complete the bases (no pun) for Hoth. *cough* shield generator *cough*

I bought one earlier this week off bricklink for $229 USD. That was the best I could do (checked amazon and ebay as well). I had missed another listing at $220 USD a few days earlier because I waited too long and it was gone. For me because I'm in Canada that price is a lot closer to our original MSRP, so from that perspective it doesn't seem so bad (MSRP $200 CDN vs. $150 USD). To minimize shipping cost I had it sent to a relative in the US, and I'll pick it up later, either next time I'm down or when another family member goes. Shipping directly to me in Canada was going to cost another $30 more!

In some respects I would breath a sigh of relief. As much as I love star wars, the "completist" in me finds the constant re-issuing of everything and expansion of the line very aggravating. When I first came out of the dark ages around 2003/04, I started snapping up sets left and right and I came very close to owning ALL the Star Wars sets. Then after a while I started to realize wait a minute why am I collecting all the PT sets when I don't even like those movies? 2006 was the last year that I collected to completion. In the 1999-2005 era, I had all sets but a mere few. 2007 and forward, I started being much more selective. The wave after wave of clone wars material made it very easy for me to just pass (on most of it), to which my wallet thanked me. But the OT re-dos started to appear. I would've loved at one point to stop, take a step back and say "There, I own the complete collection!". Everything star wars. But its become more and more clear this isn't possible. As much as wanting complete, I would like the final, definitive version of something. However the recent trend of rehash after rehash makes that aspect of collecting impossible as well. (That goes for minifigs as well as sets). Sooner or later I'm going to have to stop, but when?

^ This. I just pulled the trigger on FB myself, knowingly paying a bit more than retail. But I'm in Canada and don't have easy access to any hidden leftover stock. A shop in the UK or some online retailer in the US that doesn't ship to Canada (typical) weren't realistic options for me.

Yep, and that's exactly how I noticed it. The back two flat walls of the GE. I'm in Canada. I was going to make a sarcastic remark (lol) but noticed it doesn't display my country under my name for some reason. Anyway, yeah in Canada most $150 USD sets seem to retail for $200 CDN. They must be on some kind of good crack when they set Canadian prices. That or maybe you guys under-pay for your sets. (On a related note, I was delighted to see the pricing gap shrink on the new Parisian Restaurant set. $160 USD vs. $190 CDN. Especially given the higher piece count. It's not often we get to enjoy a ppp rate that low at CDN MSRP)

I also should mention I noticed considerable color variation on the light bley bricks when looking at the sides of the completed model. Another disappointment in a $200 set, but was Lego experiencing some quality control issues back when the GE set came out?

^. Good advice, thanks. Forgot to mention, there was one little inventory error in my GE set. I was short one 1x10 white brick, and instead had an extra 1x8 tan brick. Very odd and a bit disappointing for a $200 set. Surprisely I didn't have any spare 1x10's in white so I substituted a 1x4 and 1x6 instead.

By that do you mean some retail stores might have it in stock, selling for MSRP? (Like a Lego brand store or TRU or something?)

if you were in my shoes would you spend the extra ~$100 to get one that you'd otherwise missed?

Well, I think I'm screwed. I walked into my local Lego store yesterday and walked out with a Grand Emporium under my arm. I've already finished building it and I think I'm HOOKED. Uh oh. Now unfortunately a couple listsing for Fire Brigade have already sold while I was pondering it over the last few days. The original MSRP here in Canada for FB was $200 CDN, and I think I won't do much bettern than ~ $300-ish (w/shipping) if I pull the trigger now. That means already having to spend ~50% over MSRP. Ouch. Thinking maybe I should just let this one pass.... dunno. Ugh.

After all the hype, I was so disappointed with how mediocre that book actually was. But I might be a bit biased as I just don't like Steve Perry as an author much. IMO anything written by Timothy Zahn is leagues better, and I hope going forward the franchise doesn't do anything to ignore or stamp out the work he's done in the EU. To me a great premise for the Ep 7-9 movies would've been Timothy Zahn's trilogy (Heir to the Empire, etc.). But alas the original cast is far too old now.

Arggh, i'm really torn on this. If I buy one (FB) from a US seller now, I'd be in the range of 1.3x to 1.5x (CDN) MSRP, depending whether I have it shipped to a relative living in the US, vs. shipping directly to me here in Canada. (The downside of shipping to my relative south of the border is that if its not convenient to retreive it later, I may end up paying even more shipping cost later to get it up here anyway.) On the one hand, this might be the best opportunity short term to get one before the price really takes off. On the other hand that is still a lot of money and that hurts given I could've sworn the TRU site was still showing them in stock at MSRP over the Christmas holidays (not any more, obviously). Do I just let the FB go (given I don't have the first 3 in the series anyway) and start my modular collection with the GE? Or make a point of paying this premium. Decisions... dilemmas....

Wow, I can't imagine putting together a ~5,200 piece set like that piecemeal via bricklink was an easy task. Did it feel worthwhile to you?

If you retained your email history, you may find your order details there. Whenever I order from BL I get an invoice email that contains the details like part, qty and price.

^^ Lego Historian, thanks for posting. That is very cool.

I'd be "ok" with that. But I'd still prefer to see either Slave 1 (boba version) or regular TIE as a UCS first.