TeufelHund

It actually could be useful for anyone planning a "The Thing" MOC - otherwise pretty forgetable. If I get one it will be heading straight to E-Bay methnks.

Until fairly recently you could usually spot a limited edition set as they had distinct printing on the side but that seems to have disappeared recently? Any ideas why? I'm wondering if certain sets are only considered "limited" in some markets. For example last year Anakin's Jedi Interceptor and Pre-Visula's Shuttle were both limited to single retailers here in Australia but when I went to Germany to visit my in-laws they seemed to be at every store I visited.

I wasn't feeling much regarding this theme but I have to admit the largest two of the second wave look kind of interesting.

Yep - I saw it today at the Belconnen ToysRUs - $69.99 so I guess most stores will have it in stock soon.

I kind of like the non-Lone Ranger/Tonto minifigs in Colby City Showdown the best but I have to admit that the Mine set definitely seems to have the best selection of pieces for MOCing.

The throne is great but I'm none too fond of that awful wolf head shield - it just looks ugly next to the Kingdoms Lion Shield. Also - where is Joffery?

That armour print on the Centurion is beautiful - although he is going to take a bit of careful bag groping to find as he doesn't have any really distinct large parts. He's my only must-have from this series. I might get the Amazon, Medusa and Revolutionary soldier but otherwise this series isn't doing anything for me.

I've been to the Lego store in Frankfurt and it is indeed a magical place - all the exclusives in one location and a ton of models fully built and on display. We arrived a bit before opening time and my son left drool on the front window while we waited! It's one of the few things I enjoy about visiting my in-laws - In fact, my sister-in-law was so impressed she even started collecting Lego after we visited.

I wonder how Lego feel about this - with no new content coming out are they going to be releasing stuff next year purely based on the movies?

I'm going Balin - somehow Lego managed to catch a hint of wisdom, nobility and whimsy in his minifig which corresponds pretty closely with the version we saw in the movie. Bofur is quite awesome too. Thorin is disappointing IMO but nowhere near as bad as Nori who seems to bear an relationship at all to the filmed character.

I guess I can't blame Lucasarts too much for making it a little too obvious Barris was the traitor (it is a kid's show afterall) but surely they could have found someone a little more sinister to take the fall. It was kind of dumb that she suggested the red lightsabers suited her (implying she was turning to the dark side) then when confessing instead saying she did it because the jedi have lost their way (implying it was a protest). Thank god Ashoka walked away from the Jedi though. It was interesting that Anakin revealled he had been considering the same thing. I also got the impression that Mace was suggesting she should be promoted to Jedi Knight if she returned. In short, the vast majority of the Jedi council end up looking like idiots or simple yes men that do whatever Mace says. So much for Yoda's 800 years of accumulated wisdom, I guess.

Umm..I don't even want one. Maybe I'm a movie purist but a blood-red trooper does nothing for me. The good news is if I get one I can flog it on Ebay for a goodly price.

Isn't the Hobbit extended enough? I'll admit I personally didn't mind the many diversions taken in the film from the book but to think they're going to pad it out even more is a bit frightening.

I'm a bit underwhelmed by this series in comparison to the stellar series 9 where I ended up with over half the figures. At first glance only the Roman Commander and maybe the Medusa, Revolutionary Soldier and Warrior Woman are of interest to me. I guess if you're big into town MOCing then this series is probably of more interest and I do find the Librarian's cup amusing.

Baris would seem to be the obvious candidate for setting up Ashoka but what is her motivation - on all her previous appearances she's come across as nothing more than a sweet little jedi ghurlfriend for Ashoka. Surely if she wanted to set up someone for the bombing wouldn't it make more sense for it to be someone she actually didn't get on with? Also - Ventress going from bounty hunter to new best friend to Ashoka seemed a bit rushed - why give away a guarenteed bounty for a promise from someone on the run to get her name cleared "if things worked out"?

Alfred Molina is a bit of a surprise winner at the moment but there's plenty of time for the Johnny Depps and Orlando Blooms of the world to catch up (might be a bit later for Christopher Lee, Ian MacKellen and Harrison Ford though!).

It is the only place that you can get all the limited edition/hard to find sets in one place though and they do seem to be offering free shipping (particularly on orders greater than $100) more frequently nowdays. Also they always seem to be giving away polypags with sizeable orders so if you don't care for what's in the polybag you can flog it online for a "discount". For example last year I got $110 worth of Lego on their May 4 sale with free shipping and a TC-14 Polybag. I ended up getting $45 for the polybag on E-bay which means I effectively got a discount of >40%! Oh - and I redemmed some VIP points for an extra discount as well. Basically I agree that you can usually find better offers out there but Shop@Home isn't entirely worthless if you strike at the right time.

Yep - another very good episode moving the season further away from some of the atrocious Jedi-kids/droid frolics episodes we had to put up with to get to this point. I liked the way that the animators managed to make Anakin look so close to losing it at one stage. A nice mystery and it will be interesting to see if the resolution matches the build-up.

Given that figs like Poggle, Dooku, Jango, Mace, Armidala with ripped shirt etc which would be naturals for an arena set are coming up soon across a variety of AoTC sets I would say the chances of us seeing an arena specific set are basically nil. A pity really as I would probably buy such thing if it existed.

Thank god they included R2 - I've been trying to get my hands on him for ages! Seriously though this really does nothing for me - I always prefered the Imperial hardware and frankly like stuff that works in Minifig scale best. Also what is the logic of bringing this out when they already have a minifig scale model on the shelves?

Hmmm...after taking a closer look I'll probably only pick up Colby City Showdown. I like the variety of torsos in that set the best (the sheriff's is awesome) and I only want a few generic cowboys to be honest - not a ton of identical but distinctive Lone Rangers and Tontos. Maybe a Cavalry set as well. I doubt I'll get to see the film until long after the sets have left the shelves so it's unlikely I'll be picking up anything on the basis of a deep and abiding love for a particular movie sequence.

Well technically 2014 is Lego Pirate's 25th Anniversary so even if there are no new PoTC sets you might hope Lego throws us some kind of bone next year.

Only the two smaller sets seem like must-buys to me (and I might even skip the smaller set if the rumoured Orthanac D2C set turns into a reality and offers Saruman as I have enough Gandalfs already). The build on the Black Gate looks a bit disappointing and only the Eagle and the Mouth of Sauron interest me out of the figure selection. I like the Ghosts and the Shields from the Corsair Ship but really would have preferred some more corsairs to repeats of Fellowship figs + more orcs plus it's hardly a model that most LOTOR fans have been screaming out for.

I'm going for the Gatehouse Attack and Dragon Mountain sets. That way I get at least one of all the new torsos save the king's plus the Dragon Knight armour and barding (I can't stand the Lion Armour print but as that's in three sets anyway it's kind of unavoidable). Also the dragon, wizard and princess. I don't particularly like either build but at least they both contain some decent castle MOCing parts and I prefer them to the castle. I already have 2 variations of the Crownie king so even though the new King's print looks OK I don't think I'll miss him. If I feel the need for a few more troops an Ambush Attack should fit the bill nicely.

Damn but some of these sets aren't making me want to review my OT-only stance. I actually thought the last 30 minutes of Episode 2 was the best thing about the PT and there are so many sets in this wave that would go towards creating a great Battle of Geonesis lay-out. If only they'd produced the arena I might have been persuaded... I'll definitely be getting the Sail Barge and maybe a couple of the others (although I fear getting other sets might open the floodgates for more!).