ZO6

I can confirm that all of these sets were also at the TRU at the Sherway mall. They had the new Pharaoh's Quest sets in ridiculous quantities. P.S. sok117, I feel about 75% sure that I saw you at the Pharaoh's Quest display in the TRU. Were you there around 2pm in the afternoon yesterday (Thursday the 18th)?

Thanks for the review Hinckley! I picked up this set yesterday and built it, but I'm finding that I have pretty mixed feelings towards it. Everything in the set looks a lot better than anticipated - the half-track looks awesome, the scorpion has good poseability and the printed parts are beautiful, and finally the pyramid looks pretty sharp and the colour scheme is surprisingly nice. The half-track, while nicely detailed and well designed upon first glance has a glaring flaw when you go to push it around. There is no clearance between the top of the tracks and the doors of the cockpit piece so the treads gets caught when you try to push the vehicle. The mechanism to simulate the exploding wall is simple and effective, but when I was building it I couldn't help but think back to the Wild West theme where the sticks of dynamite and shock absorbers were used to create explosions. I think it would have been simple enough to employ such a method in this set, and would have made the play feature more interactive and rewarding. While building the front stairs of the pyramid, I was expecting an exact remake of the collapsing mechanism from the IJ Temple of the Crystal Skull. While I'm glad such a trap was not repeated, the hidden chamber is almost unusable due to the base of the stairs being made on a 4x6 plate and therefore taking up most of the chamber. The brick dropping trap door inside the temple is unfortunately also nearly useless. If you place a minifigure under the trap and pull the pin to release it, the door swings down slightly and then smacks the fig in the head - the rocks are not even dumped from the trap. The only way the trap works is if no minifigure is present . While there isn't a huge amount of room inside the pyramid, there is still enough space that I would have liked to have seen more details - some torches would have even sufficed. An obvious set to compare the Scorpion Pyramid against would be the Adventurers Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins. Despite having less piece, the Adventurers temple has more minifigures (7 + 3 skeletons vs. 7), significantly more accessories of all kinds, and more traps (they are also more elaborate and function better than the ones in the Scorpion Pyramid). The Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins also has all those lovely printed parts which have been replaced by stickers in this modern age. I'm sure at this point it sounds like I really dislike the Scorpion Pyramid. I think the set is fantastic, it looks incredible and despite the lackluster traps it still offers a ton of playability. As others have said, it is also a wonderful parts pack. The minifigures are easily the best to come along in a long time.

I managed to pop into both the TRU at the Dufferin Mall, and the TRU Express at the Woodbine Mall this afternoon but they didn't have anything new yet. Though all the sets in the Pharaoh's Quest line aren't quite what I'd hoped they would be, I still plan on picking them all up anyways. I don't think I've been this excited for a theme since we first saw the new Pirates stuff at the end of 2008.

While I don't see Alonso winning the race (Vettel has got it so long as the car doesn't give up on him), I do see him finishing in the top three and taking the drivers championship. I'm sure Hamilton will give one heck of a fight, but I can't help but feel that he'll push too hard and end up crashing out somehow. I don't see Webber getting on the podium, I think he is out of luck for the season. However, one of the biggest thrills in watching F1 is the unpredictability of it all. I hope Alonso takes the drivers championship, but really anything can happen. It will surely be one heck of a race!

Holy smokes, what a masterpiece! I'm basically at a loss of words here, that looks incredible! The amount of of detail in your creation is mind blowing. Thanks for sharing!

Japan and Korea were intense! I expected Korea to be pretty unpredictable with it being a new track and all, but that sure was a wild race. I really hope Alonso can finish the next two races on the podium and take the drivers championship. It looks as though Red Bull will manage to take the constructors trophy so long as they're able to get Vettel and Webber across the line. I'm really looking forward to Brazil. I love the track, and with the points being this close still anything can happen. On a somewhat related note... I don't game much anymore, but I picked up a copy of the F1 2010 video game and have been having a blast with it. Great sense of speed and as expected the cars are a hoot to drive.

I've seen it in a number of Zellers.

Thanks everyone! I have Friday's off, so today was pretty relaxing. I'd treated myself to the Tower Bridge last weekend as an early birthday present, and today I picked up the last Star Wars set that I wanted this year (Slave 1). Overall I had a great day.

Wonderful review, Whitefang! Glad you've enjoyed the set! If I did not own the very first Hogwarts Express I'd be quite tempted to get this version. I think that the minifigure selection, inclusion of the Ford, and the accessories (owls, I'm looking at you) really make this a nice set and greatly enhance playability. While the train itself does not really bring anything new to the table, it is at least a bit more refined than previous versions. We also need to remember that it have been a number of years since the previous incarnation, and that TLC would want to capitalize on those who don't yet own a version of the train. Thanks again for the review!

Incredibly epic reviews, are per usual, Rufus! All these years I've looked at this plane, the Sopwith Camel and the Wright Flyer and I could never decide which one I liked best. After seeing two of these planes up close and in full detail I think I'm leaning towards the Red Baron taking the cake. You can't go wrong either way, but the Red Baron just seems a cut above in terms of overall package - it really is an amazing sight. Again, thanks for these brilliant reviews.

I've seen the excavator in a a couple different TRU stores (Newmarket, Dufferin mall). I have yet to find any series 2 minifigures though. I've been checking the TRUs and Walmarts in Newmarket and at the Dufferin Mall a couple of times a week for the past month or so.

I entered a contest for the LEGO magazine a lot of years ago in which one of the prizes was a martian minifigure from the 'Life on Mars' theme which had been aboard the ISS (international space station). I don't remember exactly whether it was the top 10 or 100 entries which would win a minifig, but in any case I ended up winning one. It came framed in a nice plaque stating the dates that it was on board the space station. I'll see if I can get my plaque shipped to where I'm currently living so that I can take a picture of it.

Wow, is tomorrow going to be a great race or what!? Nice to see some of the teams more competitive than before the break, hopefully what we saw during qualifying is an indication that the race might be a bit closer for the first time in a while. It's great to see Kubica take P3, he is long overdue for a good qualifying result. Mostly everyone had a decent qualifying, though it's a shame that Alonso could not translate his strong practice sessions into better than 10th - maybe he'll be able to keep the car on the track better during the race and post some better laps.

Aren't Lego blocks such a wonderful thing? One can essentially recreate just about any other set using parts in their own collection! This looks superb, Svelte! Though the corner wall panels were a dead giveaway that this wasn't the official set, you've done a marvelous job recreating the castle. I agree a number of the changes that you've made (often without a choice) do look better than the real set, but I am still very much looking forward to the legit copy as I haven't been this satisfied with how a set looks in a while. It's great to see such a wonderful brick built structure, the exterior looks very nice and the interior is massively detailed. Thanks for sharing your creation! *drool*

I'm sure that I'll be repeating a fair amount that's already been said, but here are my thoughts anyways: -While Lego can make life awesome, it's definitely ok to put it aside for a while if you're short on time or cash. Take care of you priorities first - you'll have plenty of opportunities to get back on track with your favorite hobby. Having said that, when I started college a humber of years back I tried to put Lego on hold for a while. I've put myself into film & television production, and it isn't cheap. One of the cheapest essentials is a 100 foot reel of film - this costs $45 bucks and allows for around 3 minutes of footage! My Lego funds was instantly eaten up by having to buy film every week. I eventually broke down when my brithday rolled around and I went out and bought myself the 4956 creator house. I brought it back into residence and build it in my room. Everyone who passed by and saw me building it thought it was great. So, while you may not be able to collect on a regular basis for a certain period of time, if you get the chance you should treat yourself to a set that you want. -Regarded women and Lego, don't let it trouble you too much. If you're truly close to a girl, I doubt she'll change her mind about you just by seeing your Lego collection. If you really feel uncomfortable about a girl seeing your hobby, then I suppose you could hide it away for the time being and slowly reveal that you're into Lego - it may be less of a shock that way. Personally, I would never change an aspect of my life because of someone else. If a girl can't accept me for who I am and what I like, then things probably won't work out and I'd be wise to look elsewhere. The way I've avoided any tricky situations is by always being so open about my hobby that anyone who I get to know is aware of my Lego collection already. I have yet to encounter anyone who is turned off by my hobby. On the contrary - those who are in the loop think that it's really neat to be interested in Lego. I suppose I've been fortunate, but all the ladies that I know always like to see the latest additions to my collection. My college is running a program this year that allows us to meet those who are in our programs before classes even start - this is done online of course. I've gone ahead and introduced myself and included that my hobby is collecting Lego. I've already had a couple classmates suggest that we should build a giant Lego tower to put on display in residence. To wrap up: Algernon + those who might be in the same boat - decide what your priorities are and keep up a positive attitude at all times. You'd be surprised how often things work out for the better. Hope everything works out to your satisfaction. Edit, additional commentary: Just a few last words for those who are worried about what others may think of your hobbies. I've been completely addicted to asian cinema for 5+ years. The first time I attended college a lot of years back, I went nuts with my room in residence - covering the walls with posters for movies, I put up around a dozen or so drawings that I had done, I had around 50 movies on a shelf, and I'd frequently listen to some Japanese blues. Anyone who walked by my room would have no doubt that I loved Korean and Japanese films. There were of course those who couldn't wrap their head around the concept of asian cinema being made up of more than just anime and kung-fu movies. While I did scare off some people, there were many who shared the same love for these films as I did. I ultimately ended up becoming great friends with these people. What I'm getting at is the old quality over quantity motto. I'm sure this can be shared elsewhere with life, so at this point I'd like to bring the focus back to Lego. While sharing with everyone that Lego is your hobby may turn some off, those that accept it will be the superior people that you want to know and be friends with. You'll be happier in the long run.

Happy birthday Def + all!

Any luck with series 2 minifigs anyone? I've been hearing they won't be available in Canada until the first of September, but I keep checking my local TRU anyways. Stopped in earlier today, they've restocked their selection of city sets somewhat since the sale. Despite the technic motorized excavator being recalled lots of places, they also had a number of copies of it in stock, along with the mobile crane and other technic sets. There was an employee who was opening up a fresh shipment of Lego and I asked about series 2 of the minifigures, but they had no idea when they'd be getting them in. Wish I had something more exciting to report, but I'm afraid that's it for this week. I'll be moving into Toronto next weekend, so the TRU at the Dufferin mall will likely be my main Lego source for the next several months.

My vote undoubtably goes to Adventurers and all of its subthemes. I remember seeing an ad for the desert subtheme on tv back in 1998, then seemingly seconds later my issue of The Lego Magazine arrived at my door with Johnny Thunder on the cover. I instantly fell in love with the theme. It really was a very well executed theme - all the characters had names and stories behind them, the story behind each subtheme was simple enough but still provided enough depth to allow plenty of fun to be had, and most importantly of all... the sets themselves were very well designed! While each subtheme only lasted about a year, we still got four waves. Many of the characters were carried over from one setting to the next, but there was always some sort of new supporting story behind their actions. Being someone who likes lots of playability in a set, these certainly delivered. From the smallest set, to the biggest temple, they were all packed with play functions. To add to this playability, there was usually a huge amount of accessories included with each set. For those more interested in parts for mocing, the Adventurers line had loads of very detailed printed pieces. These parts were often very lovely and completely exclusive to the line. They really enhanced the looks of the sets. I could go on, but just writing this makes me want to go an get out my Adventurers collection. Special mention to Aquazone and most of the subthemes over the years.

Epic review WhiteFang! Thanks for doing all this work again to bring us such a wonderfully detailed look at series 2. I too prefer series 2 over 1, this second wave seems much more exciting. While my favorite figure is easily the mexican, the other figs are fantastic as well. It's a shame that while the prints are very sharp and detailed, there is still that nasty gap on the legs. In any case, I'm very pleased with this line of minifigures. Thanks again, WhiteFang!

That would be the one in Aurora? Fantastic! I'd love to get a hold of that excavator without resorting to S@H. Can anyone confirm if there is a Mastermind store near Kipling subway station? There doesn't seem to be one at that location listed on their official website, but when I checked google maps I spotted one. Or is google maps just confused?

I've got a few comments: 1. I've heard lots of complaints about the colour quality for Army Men on Patrol, but I'm happy to report that the greens in my copy that I got a couple of weeks ago are flawless. No variation is the green across the different types of parts. 2. I picked up a 7938 Passenger train a week and a half ago and noticed that the red 1x1 bricks looked horrible. There were about three shades of red ranging from nearly translucent, to kind of sickly pinkish red. The other red parts in the set looked fantastic though. 3. I can't believe that I'm complaining about clutching power being too strong (especially in this day of age), but here I go. I got my Pig Farm and Tractor today, and I'm very happy with the quality of most of the parts, but I found that the trans-clear cheese slopes had ridiculously strong clutching power. After attaching the slopes to the appropriate pieces, I attempted to align them better but they would not budge. Usually cheese slopes stick a little bit when you first attach them, but once you rotate them a bit then can easily be adjusted or removed. These trans-clear ones however could not be rotated or removed by hand. I eventually had to use a pair of pliers to separate the cheese slopes.

Fantastic review, Zorbas! I finally got around to picking up a copy of this set today and am extremely pleased with it. While the pigs look cute in pictures, they are that much better when you have them in hand. I really like their size and feel, and am very happy that they are of high quality plastic. The enclosure is my favorite part of the set and I'd have been happy to see it sold by itself. I can't say that I really needed a third tractor on my farm, but its design is undeniably very good and I can accept its inclusion as a means for extra playability. This set is easily one of my favorites of all the city ones this year. I hope to see more farm based sets in the future.

Thanks for this review! I was reading this earlier today and decided that I'd waited long enough to pick up this set, so I went out and bought it. In my opinion, this is one of the best impulse sets yet. The pig is the obvious draw and practically worth the price of admission, so the minifigure, dog, and feeding area are a bonus! Compared to another impulse such as the Manta Warrior, the 7566 Farmer seems like great value.

I'd get around 90% of my sets again. Though I've become closely attached to most of the stuff I own, there are still a number of sets that I either received as gifts, or else bought on impulse that don't appeal to me as much. I can think of quite a lot of times when I bought something, got home and built it, and then immediately thought "Shoot, I really should have bought X instead". It's those type of sets that I'd likely not be too keen about re-acquiring and would instead go for something that I want without a doubt. Also, though storage is definitely getting to be a problem, I would never want that to dictate too much what I buy. I'd rather buy the set and cram it away until I can bring it out then not buy something because of lack of room and regret it down the road. Where there is a will, there is a way to find room for Lego!

*Drool Drool* These Paradisa sets are so appealing! Having only seen this set in those small catalogues for the past 15 years, I thought it looked great. However, your review has made me appreciate this set ever more! There is so much to like about this set: the minifigure selection, the dolphin, the baseplate, all the accessories such as the printed radio and plates, and of course the finished building is very unique. There haven't exactly been a lot of Lego lighthouses made over the years. I'd love to see sets like these again in the future that were more civilian based instead of part of a life guard subtheme. Thanks for the review!