TeufelHund

Well at first glance looking at these images I'll have plenty left to spend on LOTOR, Star Wars and New Castle next year. I quite liked the kitschy 50s homage of Alien Conquest but on the evidence of these two sets I can't really see anything that says buy me. I guess the space ship in the larger set bears a slight resemblance to some of the classic space sets of my youth but overall I'm unimpressed by the minifigs and the vehicles (opinion subject to change once more images become available).

Well given the last two castle's have been "King's Castle" and "King's Castle Siege" I wouldn't be surprised for us to get another one similarly named. Gatehouse Raid sounds very much like a typical mid-priced tower/fortification castle set. I must admit Dragon Mountain does sound somewhat intriguing although as there's likely to be a Smaug set coming out next year for the Hobbit sequel I doubt it will actually feature a Dragon. There don't seem to be many peasant/non-knight type sets although it's possible the smaller sets feature merchants being robbed.

That's probably one of the nicest polybags I've seen - a nice, generic figure and other useful pieces. I probably won't bother getting one as we rarely see these here in Aussieland but would certainly pick one up should it become available.

TOYs R US 25% off storewide is on again from Thursday although they also have a catalog listing Lego as 20% off so I'm not sure which discount will apply (knowing them - the smaller one): http://view.ed4.net/v/FK62DME/ZBP5J/A44XKAO/JNQG8/??utm_source=eDM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=[Wk43_2011_PROMO I have seen a few Death Stars floating around at the local stores here in Canberra + the usual Toys R US exclusives might be attractive at 20-25% off. There were also plenty of Town Halls and Pet Shops (+ one solitary Grand Emporium) at David Jones in Civic so if there is a sale you might try your luck there.

It seems, according to a post in this thread off Brickset (http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/7665/continuation-of-castle-themes) that it may be that the LOTOR theme has not been as popular as Lego envisaged resulting in an earlier than expected return to the classic castle theme (although perhaps the Hobbit film/sets will give the LOTOR sets a boost). According to the post the new theme will include two castles - one a modular one that can be added to previous modular efforts and another which is a remake of a classic set. As always, until we have confirmation all of the above is rumour.

Of the sets I've built this year the highlight was probably the Kingdoms Joust. Honourable mentions to Helm's Deep, The Orc Forge, Jabba's Palace, Desert Skiff and the Crazy Scientist's Lab.

I hope they're not just re-releasing classic sets - I have some of them and generally they just don't compare to the new sets in terms of innovative build design and piece selection. Maybe if they were re-designing using modern techniques that might be slightly more interesting.

I just got this yesterday and I have to say it's quite good for what it is. It packs a fair bit in for only 32 pages and with virtually no explanatory text it's all about observing and copying. I didn't see too many new technqies with regards to constructing buildings and castles but it is jam-packed with interesting little mini-builds for everyday medieval items, animals etc I would have liked to see some Medieval warfare stuff like some siege engine builds or maybe a torture chamber but as this is clearly aimed at kids most of the stuff is more about everyday medieval life, farming, the fair, jousting, feasting etc. There are some step-by-step instructions but they are a bit on the small side which would be my main criticism of the book - it's just hard to make out sometimes what pieces/techniques are used for some models. All up though, and given I only paid $10 for this, it's a good buy for any castle fan.

I say bring it on...new knights, weapons, barding, torsos, helmets etc will always be welcome. Also I believe that the LOTOR license does not preclude Lego from producing Medieval-style themes simultaneously. Saying that I would probably prefer a new Pirates theme myself at this point in time (or Romans - even better!).

This could really go either way - either we'll be swamped by poor quality sequels backed up by overzealous marketing or they'll produce something half-decent that does enhance the brand to some degree (I think the chance of them recapturing the magic of the original trilogy is remote enough to be virtually nil but on the other hand a lot of OT fans burnt by the PT will be more cautious at embracing the hype this time around). In any case, it will be nice to have some films that I can take my sons with me to the cinema to enjoy Even if they're the only ones who enjoy it! One thing is sure though - Lucas himself has been in charge of the franchise for far too long - someone else having a crack at it is definitely a good thing. I'll be interested to see what (or if) anything is done with the Inday franchise too.

If true, I'll defintiely be getting a Caesar, Knight and Maid Marion figure. Possibly the Battle Mech, Alien, Judge and Fortune Teller too, depending on the final look.

A decent little demo. I'm still not sure how I feel about the Lego characters having voices but I guess it's here to stay so I'll just have to deal with it, even if it seems a bit strange trying to get the blood fired up with a Lego Theoden grimacing "Now for Wrath. Now for Ruin. And the Red Dawn!"

A Geonesian Arena set would be very nice in the Summer wave as that's never been produced before and perhaps an Episode 2 Version of Slave I but other than that I can't think of much from Episode 2 that I would look forward to. Maybe one of those clone vehicles that fire the blue rays (you know - the ones that Yoda directs to "concentrate all firepower on the nearest starship")?

Helm's Deep is a great castle parts pack - much better than the Kingdom's Castle which has a lot of large plate pieces. Also we found it a great modular build as you can build elements of it independantly of each other which meant my wife, 4 year old son and myself could all sit around the table each with our own instruction manual building a seperate bit each. I prefer the Kingdoms Joust set myself from an aesthetic viewpoint and the mini-fig selection is definitely more kid-friendly than that in Helm's Deep - but the build techniques are probably too complicated for a 4 year old to manage without a lot of help. It's also a great-castle building parts pack!

Ninjas at least are cool. Legends of Chima are not cool. I'm not sure what the excitement is about as I am seeing chunky vehicles and chunky figures that don't look very Legolike to me. Dare I say it it looks like something Megabloks could come up with. Also where are the castles and fortresses mentioned in the blurb - at least they might have some nice MOCing parts in them?

Lego Shop has double VIP points for October too FYI - trying very hard not to purchase the Haunted House!

A sweet little MOC - well done!

It looks like my wallet won't be in much pain next year. I'll buy the Rancor set and maybe a couple of the others for my oldest son but that's it. I hope there's some more OT sets coming in mid-year or a decent UCS because there's not much to recommend about this wave IMO.

Very nice work - The Kingdoms Joust is one of my all-time favourite sets and it is nice to see it integrated here into a larger MOC. I like the modifications you've made to expand it (like the larger tents). Great work and looking forward to seeing the expanded castle.

I got this recently as I decided not to buy the Haunted House but wanted at least one ghost/additional zombie. Be warned that while the box lists components from a variety of locations it seems the figures are of the cheap Chinese plastic variety. The legs on my zombie are particularly disappointing as they are very loose.

25% off everything at Toys R Us for the next 3 days (although not off items on sale, so sadly no Palpatine's Arrest at 25% off for you...) http://view.ed4.net/v/VLYSTNG/ZB8AH/ONNPU9D/6WASJ/??utm_source=eDM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=[Wk37_1110_PROMO]

I'm mainly interested in the Castle stuff - is the medieval stuff mainly focused on a village or does it include towers, battlements, keeps etc?

Because Tonto is from a minority, and he considers that only white people count with regards to whether he is alone or not? Seriously though, I'm glad they will be fleshies as Indians will no doubt look a bit better with a realistic skin tone ala the Cannibals from PotC vs the classic yellow-skinned Islanders.

Although the Toys R US catalog says the 20% discount excludes minifigures, when I went today they had a 3 for $12 offer (which by my math works out to 20% off). They had a ton of series 8 plus some series 7 at my local.

I don't know - there doesn't seem to be too much "texture" to some of the building other than a few brick bricks inserted here and there (although the interiors look great) and the build does look a bit on the tedious side in places. I'm still on the fence between this and the vampire castle - I like the figure selection here better but the vampire castle seems to be a more interesting build with a greater number of unique elements than this.