Pandora

Nyx marvels at the glass ceiling, and the beautiful light that still pours in through it. She then slowly looks around the room, in pure excitement, picking where to dive in, but also looking for anything out of place. She looks at her colleagues, wondering if they'd ever been to a party before, but gets distracted by the drinks server. With glee, she glides off, grabbing a drink and heading for the Wereraven, thinking to herself that this is much more of a party for her than the Foundation Day ball was. Waiting for an appropriate lull in the conversation, she curtseys low, as is her custom, and smiles at the Wereraven. "Hello, I am Nyx; it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. If you do not mind me saying so, I have never met a Wereraven before and I find you quite enchanting. Are you enjoying yourself at the party?"

Fair enough. Maybe Nyx is undecided. Maybe she'd stand beside him only to kill him when nobody's looking? She'd support him at the moment, though, and enjoy the ride to power nonetheless.

*coughs*

Thank you all for your comments and compliments. It is indeed, they aren't all that new, though, as we've seen them in trans-clear for some time, but aside from this set they've only been seen in white in 7288 Mobile Poilice Unit. The bright light yellow (cool yellow, thanks Aanchir!) is a really lovely colour in reality, and I also hoped for more standard sized bricks. Firstly, thank you so much for your lovely comments. I agree with this statement (^) to a point, but the hair mould itself was only available in black in 3315 Olivia's House, and is now appearing as a new colour, so I'd like to see more variations of that hair as well as new moulds. I completely agree; any notice of any sort is probably better off being placed somewhere other than the restroom! Placing the panels isn't all that interesting, no, but building all of the other intricate details and furnishings is an interesting build, and as I've highlighted I do think there are interesting parts, especially as some are available in new colours. The panels are such a small part of the overall build that it really doesn't matter to me, it's the rest of the building experience that's enjoyable. Thanks for your kind words and comments Aanchir, and I appreciate the information you provide when you reply to reviews, thank you. Here you've pointed out all the other sets where panels have been used (and I also vaguely remember addressing this in my 3315 Olivia's House review). The use of panels isn't new, and as you say doesn't make the rest of the build dumbed down, but rather increases the potential for including other elements. I'm hopeful that the start of using (ahem ) Cool Yellow here will mean it becomes a more widespread colour, and that it might start appearing in more sets or even on PaB walls. Thanks again to everyone for all your comments.

Nyx grins widely as Guffington shakes her hand. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you sir" she turns to the Selkreeth and curtseys deeply, still smiling "Lady Felix, it is an honour to meet you." She straightens again, and turns to Guffington. "If you don't mind me asking sir, but who was the gentleman with the white hair and glasses to whom you were talking as we arrived?"

Nyx can only assume the man referred to as "Gerald" is indeed the Great Guffington. She looks around the courtyard, taking in the opulence and looking for anything that might seem out of place, but she remains quiet and composed, waiting to be approached by their host and employer. While she looks and waits, she smoothes down her robes and shakes her hair, fixing her appearance.

And I think you now understand better your own title.

I think it was in reference to you co-hosting or coaching in mafia and the possible costs to your mental health.

Guess again. And a backlog from me too (hits head trying to remember): Victim of the Title Thief - [I wasn't, but Hinckley thought I had been.] The Bunny Was Here - [Hinck's delusion warped into there being a title stealing bunny. There isn't. As far as I know, anyway.] Encourager of Sanity Degradation -[I may have commented that I'd enjoy watching (with amusement) a scenario where Hinckley would lose his mind.] I may have forgotten one?

Ah yes, but next year will be Billund, and if Morten comes the competition will be difficult again! And has Holodoc truly retired?? Great pictures everyone! We had such an amazing time meeting you all (again, or for the first time), and I'll echo Ru's thanks to CopMike, Holodoc, Bonaparte and GRogall for all their organisation and effort into making this a hugely fun Event! Now really looking forward to Billund next year!

Nyx nods along to the discussion, thinking back to the early days of Heroica, those she could remember, and those that she'd only heard about. "We had an Acerpusculum with us when we faced Wren and Zoot. Triad her name was, and she was a fierce fighter, brave and strong. She died valiantly despite an almost suicidal effort from Atramor to save her." a wistful expression passes over her face, which soon brightens again "My impression was that the Acerpusculum are not to be trifled with. Mr U'Or, have you ever visited Dastan? It is a glorious land and I met many of your kinsmen there. I also met many of the Rito, who impressed me just as much. I was of the opinion that the U'kin and Rito now lived in peace and unity in Dastan, yet you speak warily of them? I'm excited about meeting these new people, they sound fascinating. Only Mme Ladybug have I met before, or at least I saw her at the Foundation Day ball. Oh, I do so love a good party, even if there might be a little danger!" and she grins widely. "Possibly even more so if there's a little danger" she thinks to herself.

OoC: 2pid Timezones Nyx looks directly at Andrew, eyebrows raised at the outburst. "No, Andrew, I was not. I had other matters to attend to at Grogmas, and I was not at the Hinckwell store." her voice remains even, but she can feel her annoyance rising "Some detective you are." she mutters under her breath. Nyx cannot let this pass, the continued antagonism further fuelling the fires of ire. Her face is fierce as she wheels round back to Andrew. "Andrew, I have served the Watch many times, and I even recently received the title "Hero who is actually worth something" from your Captain Patricia, a woman I have met many times in my services to the Watch and to this city. Do you really wish to keep being so rude to me, or shall I take your name and rank and report you to your Captain for wasting time here when you should be protecting the citizens of Eubric? Just exactly how far do you want to push this?"

Nyx falls into stride with the others as they start walking, moving next to the U'Kin for a short while. "Mr U'Ordiussum? I guess you already know I am Nyx by a process of elimination, but it's a pleasure to meet you. What do you do for the Great Guffington? I saw him at the Foundation day ball, but I didn't get chance to speak with him, but he sounds intriguing, which is partly why I'm here." Nyx takes the items from Guts, nodding and muttering "Thanks" at the raider, before stowing the scroll, and downing the Mead, Nostrum and Smelling Salts in one go each. "I might indeed."

Number – 41005 Name – Heartlake High Theme – Friends Year – 2013 Minidolls – 3 Pieces – 475 Price – $49.99/ €49.99 UK price not yet known Links: Brickset, Bricklink, Peeron (not yet listed). LEGO shop@home [Germany] The Summer 2013 wave of Friends sets will soon be available in stores, in fact some are already available for shoppers in Germany, and we've already been treated to a few High-Res pictures of these sets, but with the opportunity to get my hands on one of these beauties a little ahead of time was certainly not one to be missed. The most striking thing about this set is the colour scheme, and I really wanted to see this bright light yellow up close. TLG helped make it possible, so many thanks to them as I take you through the details of this exciting new Friends set! So if all that's whetted your appetite, let's get on and have a look at it! The Box The outer cardboard box this set arrived in was almost mangled beyond recognition. I feared the worst; I was prepared to cry, but remarkably, somehow, magically almost, the set box inside was absolutely pristine. And a very nice box it is too. It has the usual lavender and pink Friends livery, and the updated picture of the five girls, and is also shows the set as a whole. well, we'll see enough of that, but you can also have a sneak peak at the interior with the inset, and learn the names of Matthew, the new boy for this set, and Ms Stevens, the new grown-up included too. There's so much to see on the back; you get great views of all the many details in the interior, plus close up views of some of the most interesting pieces. There's the usual "how to" for putting together the minidolls (in this case Stephanie), plus a few illustrations to show the build is modular and can be put together in several different configurations. The box top and bottom are pretty standard for a Friends set, with the usual wash of lavender. The 1:1 scale picture is of Stephanie, and next to that is a little scene with the other characters, where Ms Stevens seems delighted with her owl. The sides have the familiar detailing with a little picture of the set and an advert for the Friends section of the LEGO Club. It seems that because Ms Stevens has a title ("Ms") that this is required to be translated, so we have "Ms.", "Frau", "Mme", "Sra." and "Ms" Stevens written down the side of the box. The Box Contents Your LEGO comes in four numbered polybags for the modular building. You can see the bright light yellow and dark blue splattered across all four bags, but that's hardly surprising if you just look at the model. There are a lot of stickers here, and they go in a lot of places. Some will perhaps be more self-explanatory than others, like the basketball one, but the cat one in the top left has me a trifle baffled. Clearly it's one of those notices where people pull off a telephone number to call up for something. I've seen them for people renting rooms or wanting to join clubs, but this seems to be some sort of cat hotline. For Ella. Call Ella's crazy cats? Who knows, but anyway it's lavender and it's got cats on, so kids will probably like it. In addition to the ploybags full of LEGO, there are also these 16x16 and 8x16 tan plates. It's pretty clear that these will be the floors for the various sections of the school, and some of you may currently be thanking the heavens that they appear in a neutral colour rather than pink or lavender. I actually must admit that I am. The Instructions Shipping from Denmark was not kind to the instruction booklets. They are distinctly wavy, but also reassuringly think, and seemingly identical aside from the numbers in the bottom left corner. They both show the lovely artwork from the front of the box with the school set in green and luscious surroundings. There is no escape from the "Gagne" child, but I've said before that the little girl version of this abomination is faaaaaaar preferable to the obnoxious boy-child on regular City sets. The back of the second instruction booklet has some nice artwork to show what happens at school with Stephanie and Matthew (looks like she flirts while he stares at stuff under the microscope) and there are some cute insets with posed LEGO scenes which just make you want to build faster so you can play with the set. Who doesn't want to see a full list of all the goodies in this set? Ok, maybe some of you, but if you would like to see this in more detail than please click on the picture for a high res image. The Parts So you got all excited about the new bright light yellow, and open up the first bag to find... just two pieces. At least they're 1x6x5 panels, so they're quite large pieces, and they really do look good next to the dark blue. There's lots of other goodies here, but I'm going to pick out the azure bicycle and new mould bag as other standout parts here, although there's also a nice selection of medium lavender. As I've just said, the bag is a new mould for this summer wave of Friends, and an azure version can also be found in 41013 Emma's Sports Car. Notice also the various Technic bits and bobs, which aren't exactly uncommon, but hint at an interesting build ahead. Loads more bright light yellow! Yumm! There's a good amount of medium lavender plates, and a few nice aqua bricks, along with some of those lovely dark blue tiles and bricks too. The printed cash register gets around a bit, especially in Friends sets, but your eye might be drawn to those 4x4 light bluish grey plates with the cutouts. These are relatively new (2011) and not available in that many sets. There's also a reprieve of the printed 1x1 milk and orange cartons that first appeared in Friends sets last year and remain pretty much Friends exclusive, although the milk carton was available on the online shop@home PAB last year. Bag three has another good mix of colours, and yet more of the bright light yellow and dark blue combo. There's more azure and more medium lavender (and lime green) so if you looked at these parts you could guess they were from a Friends set. So let's point out the special bits. The trans-clear/ green flask may be recognisable from the Series 4 CMF Crazy Scientist, and it has popped up in a few sets, but it was an exciting part for me, all of that notwithstanding. The 1x1 round tiles have only been around since last year, and there are a couple of trans-dark blue ones here. Your best bet for finding more, though, would be the 60004 Fire Station, which has 16! The reddish brown owl has only appeared in 7 sets so far, one of which was an exclusive store opening set, and the others are all fairly large sets, so it's not that easy to get hold of, and I really wasn't expecting an owl in a school that's not Hogwarts, to be honest. More bright light yellow, dark blue, medium lavender, azure and more of the nice flower shaped 1x1 plates, plus an apple and a plate. The lime green cupboard has only been in six sets, however it is lime green. We get two paintbrushes, just like the Series 4 CMF Painter (and only available with him so far), plus the printed music sheet which has appeared only once in 3939 Mia's Bedroom. The best piece, for me, is the light aqua printed guitar which has also been released simultaneously in 41004 Rehearsal Stage. Interesting Parts I've included the books here partly so you can see the stickers on the front, and partly so you can see that you're supposed to put pieces inside the books. I've also included the laptop because it is interesting, just maybe not quite so much next to an azure bicycle, which is only available in two other sets. The other parts I've already mentioned, and this is really for those of you who just look at the pictures, rather than read what I actually say, who won't even read this, so I can say whatever I like. The Minidolls Stephanie is Stephanie, we've seen her enough times to know what she looks like, but she's got a smart new outfit for school. Her crisp white jacket is tied in a bow with nice detailed printing, including lapels and buttons, and she has a pretty purple skirt to compliment her dark pink top. Ms Stevens has a lovely lavender blouse and jacket combo, again with detailed printing, and being a demure adult (like Olivia's mum) she wears a longer skirt than the kids. It's nice to have a new leg/skirt piece in a different style, as a change from always having short skirts. Ms Stevens is obviously grown up and serious as she wears glasses, and it's well known that grown up, serious teachers all wear glasses. She has a nice face, though, and with a different outfit she could possibly even transform into another "Friend". Her hair is the same as Olivia's mum's hair, except in dark brown rather than black, and it's great to get this style in a new colour, as it's a style that works well on regular minifigs. Matthew has a similar shaped torso as Olivia's dad, which is probably a good thing really (no moobs), but it's not exactly the same. See Oky's review of 41015 Dolphin Cruiser for a further comparison. Matthew wears a simple shirt with button printing, and has a nice face with a cheeky grin, but he comes with the requisite boyband hairstyle that can be easily found on many a minifig. It would have been nice if Matthew the new boy had been given new boy hair too, but perhaps the excitement of even having a new boy is enough, and new boy hair would have just tipped us into a frenzy. Not much to see at the back except the two-tone printing of Stephanie's sandals and Ms Steven's sling backs. Again like Olivia's dad, Matthew has moulded pockets on his bum, in the same way that Ms Stevens has a moulded pleat in her skirt. Here's just a further comparison between Ms Stevens and Olivia's mum, because they share the same hair type and outfit type too. They're the 'older' females of the series, although I doubt they're all that old, they just aren't teenagers. As I've already said, it's great to have this hair in a new colour, as it's a really nice style, and it's also good to have another pleated skirt print, and the two outfits are almost interchangeable with the heads and hair. The Build Bag One It's good to know the first priority is the plumbing. Good sanitation is the fundamental cornerstone of education, so Heartlake High comes fully equipped with one unisex bathroom (restroom). We'll see inside shortly, but in the meantime we can have a look at the very nice picnic table. A simple, but eye-pleasing, build in natural tones but with a bit of Friends detailing afforded by the very nice 1x8 medium lavender tiles. With it comes a laptop, a nice modern accessory that is appropriate for a high school setting. The basketball hoop is the same hoop that appeared in 41008 Heartlake City Pool, and it's huge. It must be incredibly easy for them to score hoops considering the opening is about twice the width of a minidoll. So the tearaway phone numbers for the crazy cats hotline is stuck up in ... the WC? What kind of phoneline is this? I'm not sure this is suitable for young eyes! Plus it besmirches the back of a perfectly lovely bright light yellow panel. Then again it does provide detail, and school is all about education, after all. Anyway, you can see the wash hand basin on the near wall of the WC which also uses some of that very nice dark blue. The back board of the basketball hoop is decorated with another sticker, which really makes sense of the little build. So the back of the basketball hoop shows (as if you hadn't already worked out from the front) that it's a SNOT build incorporating Technic axles and joints. Not your regular brick-on-brick LEGO build then. Just want to point that out in case there are still people whining about how simple the builds are compared to other sets. The toilet and the sink are part of a nice matching set with the white, light bley and dark blue. They make this bit of the build more than just a closet and delineate its function. Bag Two So this is the first time in the build that you get to see a decent amount of the lovely new bright light yellow, and it really is a lovely colour. There's not a huge amount of the dark blue here, but the little you can see really does contrast nicely. The "Friendsness" is provided by the aqua and lavender foundations and also the lavender accent in the school sign. They aren't huge amounts of these "Friends" colours really, but they add energy to the model and still mark it out as a Friends build. The main entrance has two large full-length windows on either side of the doors, adding light to the hallway and also a nice architectural feature. The school hallway is plastered with stickers. Behind the bench there's a noticeboard, which even has a flyer for a magic show; possibly Mia's magic show? Next to the noticeboard is a small stack of lockers with more carefully applied stickersTM, and the stickers include the vents that make the lockers look like... lockers. On the opposite side, the hallway has also become a cafeteria of sorts. This is much more interesting than another wall of lockers and noticeboards, and also more interesting than say a trophy cabinet, which they could have had, but it's still a bit of a strange thing to have in a school entrance hall. The cafeteria is a play feature; it's there for kids to play shop with the model, and it has to go somewhere, and that's why it's been stuck here. That said, it's a nice cafeteria, with a couple of sandwiches safely protected from grubby little fingers by a glass or perspex screen. There's the railed bit where you slide your tray and in addition to the sandwich you may purchase milk or orange juice. There's even an advert for milk on the back wall, and a cash register represented by a single printed brick. Here’s another view of the front, and you can see how the floor length windows work so well, allowing a good view of the inside, along with the windowed doors. You can also see the Technic pins that allow the modules to be joined together in any desired arrangement. The sign, like so many (but not all) things is a sticker, and the designers just couldn’t resist putting a heart on it. Bag Three Lots of windows with interesting stuff behind them. We'll get to the interesting stuff, but first let's revel in the gloriousness of the bright light yellow and dark blue colour combo - it's a bit easier to see at this stage because of the dark blue slopes, but there’s a smaller proportion of that lovely bright light yellow, and a bigger chunk of medium azure. Not that I mind, I quite like the medium azure. The window boxes with flowers are pretty, but they are a bit uniform. The model is built exactly according to the instructions, but it wouldn’t take much to go absolutely crazy and mix up the order of the vegetation here. Craaaaazy. This really is one of my favourite areas of the school. There’s so much stuff in here! We’ll start with the obvious; cute little builds of desks and chairs, carefully positioned at the open end of the model for easy access, with space for Ms Stevens to stand at the front next to her owl. I can only assume that’s supposed to be a taxidermied owl, as this ain’t Hogwarts, and surely it would be very messy if it were alive? Along the back, on a very nicely built set of counters, are a couple of smaller builds. On the far left there is a very lavender microscope, which is such a cute and simple, yet instantly recognisable, little build. The “specimen” is a 1x1 trans-dark blue round tile. Next to this is a bottle of poison, or toxic waste, or severely corrosive acid, without which no classroom is complete, and then there are a couple of books. Both the books have stickers on the front, and parts hidden away inside. The bookends made by the bright pink panels add a little girly accent, in fact one of not very many girly accents. Next to the books is my favourite little build of the set: a telescope. It’s not very big, it’s not particularly complicated, and I’m not even sure what they’re hoping to see indoors, but it’s still great. Again, it’s instantly recognisable thanks to the great design, and it can be moved slightly to different poses, to an extent. From this view you can see the “world map pull down chart” sticker on the back wall of the classroom, and see one of the stickers on the front of one of the books. It’s also easier to see the design of the microscope, and that it has a lovely curved back thanks to the curved medium lavender brick. Here you can see the images on the blackboard, and evidently the owl is stuffed (unless they plan to dissect it later ) as there are diagrams indicating wingspan and .. where its entirely non-anatomical heart is. Serious science. Bag Four The outside of this classroom looks astonishingly like the outside of the other classroom, and the reason for that is because they are, in fact, identical, even down to the order of the plants in the window boxes. Spooky, eh? Different things, however, can be espied through these windows. So after the serious science room, this is the arty room, and it’s quite fun. There’s a decent amount of stuff in it, but also enough space to fit the minidolls in too. We'll work our way around the room, checking out the details. The left side of the room is the music section, complete with a new printed light aqua guitar , attached to the wall so high that the minidolls need the pink-topped stools just to reach it to play it. If they succeed then there’s a nicely angled music stand with a printed music tile for them to use while they practice strumming. Next to the music stand is a chest of drawers, for storing spare paintbrushes, which also provides a convenient surface on which to keep the necessary paint. In the opposite corner is an artist’s easel, again nicely angled (although that does make putting a minidoll in front of it a little trickier). Clearly the painting (provided by a sticker on a 4x4 modified white tile with studs on edge) is of a still life, and if you look to the right…. There’s the still life that’s the subject of the painting, although the painting is a little lacking in green… But it’s ok, because the foremost pot of paint is green and there’s clearly green paint on the end of both of the paintbrushes. Phew! Disaster averted! I actually really like all the logic in this, and I’ve even managed to subvert the logic by having the apple stand up when in the painting it’s clearly lying down. As a final note (no pun intended) on the near wall you can see the black 1x1 round plates that sit on top of the 1x1 modified black plate with horizontal clip that’s used to attach the guitar to the wall. It's a shame they used round plates, as it makes the outside of the wall look odd, and I can't see any particular reason to choose round over square. The final build is the single roof piece that can be attached to any module (except the bathroom, obviously). This is the best example of how lovely bright light yellow and dark blue look together, but there are also the compulsory Friends colours too, by way of a medium lavender line of plates and two 1x1 round azure bricks. Having this just completes the build and gives an illusion of a roof, just like all the other dark blue slopes on the individual modules. The back demonstrates that this roof section is just a frontispiece, so fingers can still get inside the models of the rooms to play, but the building itself is topped-off. Surprisingly, there's a lot of bits and pieces left over. Yes, you really do have 1x1 round tiles in pearl gold and trans dark blue left over in addition to the usual (but higher number than normal) 1x1 round plates. So here's the full main build all together from the back, where all the interesting stuff happens. It's really easy to get into all parts of the school, especially because the ground floor hallway juts out a bit at the back. The way the cafeteria area is built to also face this way (with the orange juice and milk facing out) make you feel you're looking at only part of a much larger school, but that these are the bits you can get to. The Technic pins still present at the side of the art and music room mean that you can place the science classroom next to it if you want to, but this is the configuration from the instruction book. The WC looks a little odd just stuck on the side. I guess there's an argument for teaching kids hygiene, but there are so many other sets without sanitation that its presence would be odd, if this weren't a Friends set where it's commonplace to have bathrooms. There's plenty of space in the hallway to make up scenarios, and the other rooms look packed and playful. From the front you can see all that wonderful bright light yellow and dark blue together, and it really does look so good. The Friends colours in this set are really just accents, and their presence allows cohesion with the other buildings in the Friends line, but certainly don't overpower the whole building, so this might be more palatable for those who aren't Friends fans. It all makes an attractive building, and the additional features with the bicycle, picnic table and basketball hoop just add more life to the overall build and playability to the set. Conclusion Design: 9/10 I just love the bright light yellow and dark blue colour scheme, and it's possible I may have mentioned it a few times. I also love how the rooms can be moved around, just like in 3315 Olivia's House, so you can arrange the school any way you want. It lives up to the Friends theme with all the furnishing, and boy there's a lot of furnishing here, and it all makes sense in the school. It's just a fabulous looking set and it loses only one mark because the WC looks a little awkward, which is such a minor point really, and I'd much rather have it than not. Parts: 9/10 As with so many of the Friends sets there's a bountiful and colourful mix of parts, especially interesting bits and pieces. The azure bicycle particularly, but also the orange juice and milk cartons, and indeed the items from CMFs like the paintbrush and flask. Oh, don't forget the owl! And so many other things too, like all the new bright light yellow, and the dark blue. Did I mention that? Minidolls: 10/10 Yay! A new male figure! He'd do well to have new boy-Friends hair, but I'm just so glad to have him, and the new teacher Ms Stevens is great, as is the new outfit for Stephanie. This is an appropriate number and mix of minidolls for the set, and they're all great. Especially the new boy! The Friends line is safe from extinction (in the future, I might add!) with the presence of some males for repopulating. Build: 9/10 I like having things split into modular builds as it appeals to my OCD, but there's nothing at all stopping you from tipping the whole damn lot out and not building bag by bag. The build is interesting and fun, and a lot like other City sets (how many times do I have to say this with Friends sets?), plus, unlike City sets, there's almost always a little bit of Technic in the bigger builds, just as there is here, along with SNOT work and other unusual techniques. Playability: 10/10 There's just so much for the minidolls to do here! The playability is huge. They can play shop, play with the microscope or telescope, or paint or play guitar or shoot hoops or ... go to the toilet. The huge amount of inside furnishing mean that the fun after building is fantastic, which just adds to the value of the set. That and playing around with the configuration of the school, too. Price: 9/10 It is a little on the expensive side, being a Friends set, but you get so much in this set, and so much bright light yellow too. There are loads of cool pieces, a great build, two new minidolls (including a boy) and a new outfit for Stephanie, so overall, I really think it's worth it. Overall 93% I love this set. It's done for me what 3315 Olivia's House did and just makes me crave the Friends line more. There are a few minor oddities here and there (like the WC, and the 1x1 round plates in the wall), but the designers really have ticked all the boxes with this set in terms of parts and playability and minidolls. The build is great fun and the overall set just looks fantastic. This is yet another shining example of the Friends line going from strength to strength, and I can see these flying off the shelves when they go on sale. Remember that the modules can be rearranged! Thank you for reading, comments are always very welcome. High-Res pictures can be found on my flickr account.A big thank you to KimT and TLG for providing the sets for review. Please also check out Hinckley's Review of 41006 Downtown Bakery, and Oky's Review of41015 Dolphin Cruiser!

Hinckley, thank you so much for another wonderful review. It was great to read your thoughts on the Downtown Bakery after you'd done such a great job with the City Park Café. I couldn't help myself in Günzburg (at the EB Event) and bought the model to build, and it was such fun to build with so many great features that you've pointed out. I absolutely adore the brick built confections, and the new-coloured bread, and I must admit I spent some time spinning the large red and white cake around. I liked the set so much I bought a second one the next day, and I noticed a few other EBers buying it too. I completely agree with you, a hugely enjoyable build, a really nice looking model and tons of details too. Plus, the bright light yellow 16x16 plate! You probably already know this, but the bright pink drawers have been featured in a ton of Friends sets, and are exclusive (so far) to the Friends range. Thanks again for the great review Hinck!

Nyx grins "Thank you Hybros, this looks to be a strong team to be part of. It seems you are to be our leader and I'm confident from talking to you that you will lead us well. You have my fire." she bows, half jokingly and half seriously. She meant the sentiment, but was being deliberately over-the-top formal about it. "I think I'd best go and make sure I have everything in order before we set off. I'll meet you all at the allotted location. Toodles." she waves her hand, smiling happily as she scampers off, high heels clicking on the floor, to do whatever it was she needed to do to prepare.

Sandy, this is such a great idea, thank you so much for doing this, and spending the time to fulfil people's requests. I second this! I was about to ask for this myself. Could I also request a picture of Boomingham and Nyx - back to back but slightly turned towards the camera (looking into the camera)? Maybe at the top of the stairs? I know there have been several of the two together, but I think this would look cool. Please may I also request Nyx and Atramor drinking together? Thank you again for doing this!

I'm back too, but exhausted. I'll need to update my inventory from after the last quest, and I might even do a smattering of shopping in the Marketplace (maybe), but after that I'll be ready to go.

Nyx nods along as Hybros talks; he seemed to have considered the world and the people in it. She wasn't sure if she agreed or not, the answer most likely was "probably", but it was certainly an interesting conversation. Nyx looks thoughtful for a while, frowning, before answering. "Do you know, I'm really not sure.. The life I had before, the abilities I have and my desires for the world all sort of led me here. I just want to make sure that anyone can get help from the strong, just by asking. It makes me feel... respectable, I guess. I admit I like the occasional rewards, but I'm not here for the money, no matter how much I like having some coin to spend, but pretty much all I have I spend to make myself ready for the next quest, the next opportunity to do something ... worthwhile. I suppose that all I want to accomplish is having done something to be proud of." Nyx abruptly breaks into a beaming smile. "Thothy! You know these gentlemen? I would guess you do by the way you greet them, and it gladdens me to see you greet them so positively." she turns her wide and warm smile on Hoptet too "And your beau! Hoptet, it's lovely to meet you, I've heard so much about you! You must miss old Thothy while he's away, but don't worry, we all look out for each other. Well, most of us do, but that's another matter. Oh, now where are my manners?" and with that Nyx runs off to the bar to collect a tray full of Flaming Gumballs to share with the table. "Thothy are you still trying to recruit people to the anti-witch movement of yours? You know I support you, but I can't include Atramor in the group of people you want to oust, no matter how much he might make me want to punch him sometimes. Oh, and while I remember, Larry said I should speak to you about some bombs?"

Nyx also watches Guts walk away, but listens to Hybros intently. "Is he always so serious?" she comments, jerking a thumb to Guts' retreating back. "Anyway, The Great Guffington, as you have called him, sounds like a fascinating man, one I should very much like to meet at some point. It seems to me that he knows both very little and an awful lot at the same time, but maybe I'm misinterpreting things from what you've said. I think life does give us meaning, yes. Not necessarily specifically just being alive, but the things that happen to us and the people we meet - they change who we are and what we intend to do." She looks around the room and gestures vaguely at the rest of the Hall "Just look at all these heroes. Something somewhere happened to each and every one of us to make us want to become heroes. The reasons I have heard so far are so very different, yet here we all are, and some with very different motives and plans for the future than others. It is perhaps the events we have all experienced that drew us here and keep us here, rather than going out into the world as brigands and mercenaries. We find our own meaning every day." she screws up her face and shrugs "Well, that's how I see it, anyway." Her expression brightens a little, and perhaps slightly inappropriately "I'd forgotten about the murder bit in all the excitement of the party. He's not the type of person who'd try to murder us is he? Or does he think someone's out to get him? Clearly he knows something to be asking for Heroica's help, but the more I hear about the man, the more intrigued I become, really."

I would very strongly advise you to be in Billund for the EB Event next year. Very. Meanwhile, trying to wrestle this vaguely back on topic, I'm sure Scuba, Pep and I will soon make it evident whether or not we have Wi-Fi (and whether or not we're drunk, too ) which may aid the planning of your quest's start (I make no presumptions, but Scuba is a guaranteed questie from what I understand).

Yes you did, and Nyx would have said thank you if she hadn't been so scatterbrained at the end. It was a cool thing to do, and for all the right reasons. In other news, I shall also be away at the EB Event in Germany from tomorrow, where I shall interrogate Scuba about when we can expect the next quest to Strivvi. My posting will depend on access to Wi-Fi and my level of sobriety... Yes, but do they have high heels? Is Guts a short man?

Nyx raises her eyebrows, and surprises herself in feeling mildly amused. "Oh, you're one of those." she says with a little smile "Someone who doesn't like people flinging spells around, but thinks it's fine and dandy for themself to try to trap the same elemental power in their weapons." she nods slowly, still smiling "Well, I really try not to judge a whole group of people by the few I've met; I've never had a problem with Rogues, for instance, but that doesn't mean they're all ok." her smile grows ever so slightly "Anyway, if it makes you feel more comfortable you can view me as a weapon. A weapon with fabulous hair and killer shoes, but a weapon nonetheless." a little wink before turning back to Hybros. "Thanks, I do think I can help, but I appreciate you three seem to be some sort of group already. Have you had dealings with Guffington before? I heard his name around the taverns, but I must admit I don't know a whole lot about him, I'm just excited about maybe going to a party where the host might not kick me out for setting fire to things. This time. So can you tell me more about him? If you don't mind, of course."

Hello korpen4444, we really love it when people post their MOCs to the forum, but it's really not great when people just post to advertise their CUUSOO projects. We would much prefer it it if you posted a MOC topic for your build, and you may find you get some useful, or possibly just uplifting, feedback from members here about your MOC and thus your project. A link to your project at the end of a post about your MOC is acceptable. If in doubt, please check the site guidelines, a link to which is in my signature. For now, I'm going to close this. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to reopen it as a topic about your actual MOC. EDIT: Reopened for korpen4444 to post his MOC.