ZO6

I don't know how this review flew under my radar for so many days, Rufus! As always, this was a great read with lots of nice pictures. I'm generally not as interested in the smaller Creator sets, but I'm surprised at how well the models in this one turned out. I'm honestly quite impressed with both the jet and the helicopter - both their shapes are good, plus they are sufficiently detailed. The boat isn't as good, but at least it's not a complete throw away or anything. If some rarer colours were used, this set would be a must buy. As such, I'll likely wait for it to go on sale (not that it's a bad price at the moment) before picking it up. I always love your Creator reviews, as you always take the time to build and show off all the models. This review is no exception! Thanks for sharing!

I read through this review when it was still in the RA yesterday, but I had to come back for seconds. It was delicious! Superb as per usual, Pandora! I was looking at (aka drooling over) some high res. pics of the Seaside House a couple of weeks ago, and I realized that I still hadn't gotten around to picking up the Hillside House from last year. Needless to say, I rushed out to fix that error. So, now I've got all the Creator houses released thus far, and I eagerly await the addition of the Seaside House to my collection. I have no doubt that this newest house will look fantastic along side the rest of them, but I'm particularly excited to see how it looks beside (or in between) the Beach House and the Lighthouse. I was initially skeptical that this would be too similar to the Beach House, but everything from the colour, to the design, to the details are different enough that it seems completely fresh. Anyways, fab review. I have to thank you again for building the alternate models too - they all look pretty nifty. P.S. Congrats on going gold!

Happy Birthday, BC! All the best!

This MF theme has got me rewatching all those old Universal and Hammer horror films. I watched an old favorite movie of mine this morning - Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It's always great seeing Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman all in the same film. While I'm bound to have lots of fun messing around with the new sets for what they are, I'm very tempted to recreate some of the classic scenes from those old movies! Perhaps I'll do some stop motion videos at some point... I know its already been discussed somewhat whether we'll see another wave of MF sets or not. It'll be interesting to see how well the theme sells, as I'd love for there to be enough support needed for a continuation. Sure a majority of the iconic monsters have already been incorporated into this line, but I don't see why some couldn't carry over while adding a few new characters (witch, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, invisible man - potentially hard to do, but with at least a clear head you could get away with using normal body parts for the rest of him). The Mummy used to be a very popular character, and his current set is arguably the most lack-luster. I don't think it's too far fetched to see Dracula and the Mummy continuing on into a second wave, and with any luck the Mummy would get a more substantial set. We definitely need haunted ship too, everyone loves those. I can't wait until we see more of the big Haunted House set. I wonder if will just be a detailed house like something from the modular line, or if it'll be a proper play set with lots of traps and whatnot. Exclusives always end up on S@H, though sometimes there is a bit of a delay.

Another wonderful review, Pandora! I felt intensely calm just reading through this and looking at the pictures - everything in this set is just so peaceful and happy. Though the cafe itself is rather small, and the rest of the set is comprised of small things here and there, there is still a nice cohesiveness to everything. I suppose it's the baseplate that really makes this set something special. As opposed to just having the cafe on a plate the size of the structure itself, and some of the other odds and ends left sitting out on their own, the inclusion of the baseplate grounds everything in a tangible environment. I recently picked up the 2011 Marina, and while it's a lovely set, it's just begging to go on a larger baseplate. Oh well, times change, and financial and environmental needs change with them (aka gone are the days of extravagant packaging and an abundance of large baseplates). While TLG is certainly in a good spot these days with its set designs, it's still mesmerizing to look back upon sets from the past. I really loved checking out your recreations of the alternated builds, much appreciation for taking the time to do those! Thanks for sharing!

You make some good points. I completely understand the appeal of minifigures, I guess I just let my emotions get the best of me there for a moment (I'd just come from the SW section, where minifigs are one of the biggest draws these days and seem to be a wonderful way for TLG to raise prices, and then here in the MF thread there had just been a number of posts about wanting figs and not caring too much about the sets). I don't want to turn this thread into a discussion about the pros and cons of minifigures, so I'll just leave it at that. I do not wish to attack anyones preferences when it comes to collecting Lego/figs I must say that I'm extremely pleased with the way that the vampire castle has turned out. I was initially worried that the set would mainly be a facade with nothing interesting for an interior. While I do wish there was one more wall, I really love the way that the space has been used - what with all the neat furniture details and traps. Any scoop on how the lab set connects with the castle, or has that feature been dropped?

And the minifig craze continues... I don't mean this to be an attack on anyone, but I never cease to be amazed at how large a role minifigures play in the desire for Lego sets these days. I buy Lego for the sets themselves, and the figs are a bonus. Sure there are a lot of awesome figs out there, and the Monster Fighter theme has its fair share of them, but the sets provide the backbone to our hobby. I personally find the MF theme to have some of the most fun looking sets that I've seen in a while. The monsters all look great, but I could be content with most of the sets even without the little guys. If as you said -if a set has flaws in design or a price that is unreasonable, then that is fair justification for not wanting to pick it up. But unless you are a diehard minifig collector, I find it silly to base the worthiness of a set on whether you can find a particular fig in a polybag or for a good price on Bricklink. Again, I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm just really surprised at the amount of comments regarding minifigs in these forums.

I'm intrigued. I'd love for it to be like Ice Planet, even like Arctic would be ok. I can only imagine it'll be an action theme - everything is these days. I'm personally a fan of structure based sets packed with lots of functions, but vehicles are easy sells for young boys - so I suspect there will be lots of vehicular mayhem in the theme. Bring on the news (and pics!) for this Polar Xxpress theme! Thanks for the scoop, legomilk!

The eject function on that hearse seems to work pretty well! I've very excited about the coffin in the set, I wasn't aware that the design on it was a print. The print alone just about sells the set, too bad I don't feel the same way about the huge glow in the dark sticker. Still, the sticker is pretty cool, I'll have to debate whether to apply it or not.

Thanks as always for the newest pics, Grogall! Fives - thanks for sharing the link to Yoda's review. That set looks fantastic. I really love the overall design, and the numerous play functions are a huge treat. Some minor modding methinks, mainly for the axles between the two outer graves - at the moment they look a bit conspicuous and I therefore want to blend them in with the architecture.

That is sad news that AC was shelved for this year. In my mind it presents a glimmer of hope that the theme may resurface next year, but perhaps that's just wishful thinking. In my opinion it was one of the best (if not THE best) space theme from the past 15 years. I really loved the throw back to classic space with the ADU vehicles, and I thought the builds for all of them were good old fashioned brick stacking (which is what I love). The alien faction presented some interesting designs, even though I wasn't quite as keen on the colour scheme or some of the parts used. Thanks Alien Conquest, it was fun while it lasted! Hopefully TLG's in house themes don't get pushed to the side too much more by liscenced ones...

Whoops, completely forgot about those wings, thanks. I just rewached the videos from the NY toy show and the wings seem to be the only things that move when the train is pushed. As such I do want to do more modding to make other things move and spin when the train is pushed. Afterall, it's a relatively expensive set with lots of pieces, so I'd like to spruce it up as much as possible.

Holy review, Batman! Nice one, Rufus! What a fantastic looking model. It certainly is a nice change of pace from all the ships in the UCS line. I've more than filled every square inch of space in my Lego room, but I'm sure a model like this I could display somewhere else in my house relatively guilt free. The other day I decided to sit down and really examine pictures of this R2 set, and it hit me that the body was too narrow (as you, too noticed). At that time I was also disappointed that more effort had not been put into making the body round. I've since gotten over those gripes somewhat, as it wouldn't be fair to focus too much on those negatives when the model does so many things incredibly well. What I'm really most pleased about is all the functionality packed into Lego R2, the designers went above and beyond what I expected for such a set!

Great topic, Cloney! For me, I'm in the camp of buying sets for what they are, not for the theme they belong to. If the set has all the elements that appeal to me - design, play functions, neat pieces, and to a lesser extent reasonable price and cool figs, then I'll pick it up. There are some exceptions though. For example, when the Indiana Jones sets first came out, for whatever reason they didn't really appeal to me. Eventually I decided that if I didn't pick up at least one of them, I'd really regret it one day (I'm a huge fan of the Indy movies). I fell in love with the set that I picked up, and later went on to get the rest in the line and loved the rest of them too. Overall though, theme loyalty and minifigs don't have much influence on me. I buy Lego as a fan of Lego, not as a fan of the licenses (for the most part at least).

As with many of the rest of you, the more I see of these sets the more I love them. Save for the Mummy carriage (which isn't terrible per say, just very uninspired), all the rest of the sets look fantastic. I will however be modding a lot of these sets to give them more functionality. At the moment, the boat in the swamp creature set looks like it is sitting on smooth inverted tiles. I want to swap those out for a wheel that can be rigged up to drive the rear propeller. With the small flying chair in the Mummy set, I want to incorporate a little gearbox to drive the propeller. As for the ghost train, I'm going to use many cues taken from the old Time Twisters train and make it so that the wheels on the cars drive various functions. If TLG was able to pack loads of play features into those Time Twister sets, I don't see why that shouldn't happen with the Monster Fighter sets too.

Delightful review, Harmacy! Thank you for taking the time to do this! Ordering old MISB sets has become a guilty pleasure of mine over the past few years. There is just something so incredible about opening up a brand new set that has been in storage for years upon years. I absolutely adore Town sets from the 80's to mid 90's, and the International Jetport is no exception. While my personal favorite airport is the Century Skyway, this one still has loads of charm and a really neat design. As others have mentioned, it integrates so well with other sets from the same time period. I'm a huge sucker for baseplates, so it's nice to see other AFOLs pointing out their appreciation for them too.

I thought a couple years ago there was a short article/teaser saying that TLC was working on the Sydney Opera House and that it'd set a new highest piece count (greater than the Taj Mahal)? I can't recall where that was posted (somewhere here on EB). Anyways, I too am disappointed that this set not only didn't turn out to be another Sculpture but that this Architecture version seems incapable of doing the building justice. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Outstanding review, Hink! I really enjoyed all the laughs! I was actually very surprised that there had been controversy over this line. Aren't there enough things for people to worry about out there that they don't need to criticize a new well deserved line of Lego toys aimed at girls? (Apparently not) I don't want to start rambling about any of those politics, instead I'd rather focus on what the Friends line is - a bunch of awesome Lego sets! The cafe is my favorite set from the line, perhaps because it has a retro inspired design and a whole lot of charm. There is significantly more floor space in that thing than I imagined, and for the most part it went to really good use. The plethora of accessories and details are also a huge selling point for me - they're something I have sorely been missing in System sets for a long long time.

Unfortunately, I haven't been out to a Lego Store in a couple weeks so I'm afraid I'm no help. With it being past January 1st though, the Batcave in theory should be in stores. On a side note, I ordered the Batcave from S@H and it arrived last week. I was extremely pleased to find that the instructions and sticker sheet were both in the protective cardboard packaging. This marks the first time that I've gotten a sub-1000 piece set with the protective cardboard. Hopefully this trend continues, particularly with sets with sticker sheets.

Inky, I don't know why it took me so long to comment on this review! Fantastic work, and really nice pictures to look at! I know there are a lot of people who don't look very kindly upon these final classic pirates sets that were released. For me, I've always thought that this set in particular looked like a lot of fun. I remember looking through those little catalogues that used to come with sets and eyeing the Perilous Pitfall, trying to figure out how the various traps might be constructed (and thus it's nice to see in detail how this set is put together). I've always been a huge sucker for big sets on baseplates with lots of play functions, and this certainly fits the bill. I love all of the little nooks and crannies and details spread about. The set seems to be a mash-up of so many movies scenes with the intention of providing the owner loads of potential for play. The set isn't trying to take itself seriously, and that's something that I really like about it - it's just good old wholesome Lego-y fun! I wish the set were a bit cheaper to pick up MISB as it's one that I've always wanted. Perhaps one day I'll finally shell out for it...

Ah, that explains it then. Every once in a while I get a new set that has really nice solid whites and yellows like from 5+ years ago or whatever. Those high quality parts really jump out at me, and likewise the nasty semi-translucent and off coloured parts are still a slap in the face. What really bugs me is when I receive minifig legs or a hinge piece where one leg or half of the hinge is fine but the other half is a different shade.

Yes, seems to be a gradual process. I think they're currently aiming to bring box sizes down by 10-20%, seemingly by reducing the depth of a lot of the boxes at the moment. Ironically though, instruction booklets are 3x are long as ever plus we're getting that cardboard insert as protection in more and more sets.

Wonderful review, SilentMode! Great pictures too. For the most part I'm quite pleased with how the Friends line turned out. It's a shame the sets couldn't be slightly less in your face colourful and fluffy, but unfortunately society has an amazing capability of influencing what different groups of people are suppose to like. My biggest beef with the line are the new figs, but at least they're not as out of scale as those from Belville. As you said, this is a lovely little model and would incorporate pretty well with other system sets. The new colours are lovely, and some of the new parts are cute too. I'm quite impressed with the range of little accessories and details spread throughout the set - very nice touches! I look forward to seeing more of your reviews. Top notch!

I'm not generally one to price rant, but with the prices of the first wave of 2012 sets all known, I feel inclined to talk money. In the order that the themes are presented in the most recent S@H catalogue (I skipped some stuff): 1. NinjaGo -Though this wave of sets is not really my cup of tea, the prices are for the most part as expected. Destiny's Bounty is an interesting looking ship and worthy of purchase in my eyes - the $100 price tag is fair. A number of the sets such as the Mech ($30), Jet ($30), Copter ($40), and Cycle ($18) are also pretty good prices. The rest in the line seems pricy-ish. 2. City -Pretty much all the sets are reasonably priced. The Fire ATV is 2x too expensive, and the Recycling Truck is getting up there at $40. I like how a large number of the sets are $25 bucks, and everything will be that much sweeter to pick up during one of TRU's many 20-25% off sales. 3. Dino -Holy expensive, Batman! The Pteranodon Tower at $25 doesn't seem too bad, but the rest seem awfully expensive. I don't remember the dinosaurs in the old Adventurers theme ever driving prices up this much. The helicopter ($90), plane ($45), triceratops trapper ($65), and base ($130) are the worst price offenders. I'm pretty disappointed by the lack of creative play features, so combined with the high prices I don't see myself getting many if any sets from this line. 4. Superheroes -These are all just about the most reasonably prices sets coming from TLG so far for 2012, especially considering that they're licensed sets! I've got all of the sets (save for the maxi-figs) ordered. 5. Kingdoms Joust -Beautiful set, good price 6. Friends -I was expecting these to be pretty pricy, but I'm happy to see that for the most part they are pretty reasonable in terms of cost. 7. Technic -On par with what I expected and the general trend. I wish all technic sets were 10-20% cheaper, but I guess that's where sales come in. 8. Star Wars -These are really hit and miss. The new X-Wing is a better design and has more pieces than the previous one and is 5 bucks cheaper! The New Y-Wing at $65 is reasonable (the similar piece count Sith Infiltrator from this year was $90!) The planet sets at $13 each are actually cheaper than expected ($15), though if they were 10 bucks that'd be golden. The new Tie and especially the Jedi Interceptor (luckily I have no desire for that set) are very overpriced in my opinion. I'm not a huge minifigure collector, so having to pay ridiculous prices for sets because of the little guys really ticks me off. I hope all you minifig collectors out there are happy (for a long time Lego minifigs were all nice generic smiley faces and the sets sold fine...grumble grumble)! I shall not go into a minifig rant though. So, as per usual, there are some good deals to be had, and there are some expensive items too. I guess it was mostly just the Dino sets and a couple of the Star Wars ones seeming particularly expensive that got me fired up. As I said though, one can find examples from pretty much any year where sets seem painfully pricey. Rant over.

1. Earth Defence HQ (AC collection now complete) 2. City of Atlantis (50% off from TRU) 3. King's Carriage Ambush (50% off from TRU - Kingdoms collection now complete save for Joust) 4. Cursed Cobra Statue (50% off from TRU - PQ collection now complete) 5. UCS Imperial Shuttle (Saved ~$165 thanks to VIP points) 6. The Batcave (Ordered from S@H, should be here on Friday) I'm scared to think how much I spent on Lego even in just December! 2011 was yet another expensive year in what I'm sure is an annual ever-increasing expenditure of money towards the plastic-y goodness. Oh well, it happens. Bring on the 2012 sets. Nice haul. Oh how I love sales and VIP points!