Pandora

Eurobricks Exclusive Review! We have exclusive access to the New LEGO Architecture set 21017 Imperial Hotel, and Reviewer's Academy Teacher Masked Builder shares with us a wonderfully clear and comprehensive Review of this brand new set! Be one of the first to see this new set in the Special Themes Forum and special thanks to The LEGO Group for allowing us early access to this set!

I think this might be better discussed in the Action Themes Forum rather than Town, so I'll move it.

I've added you all to the Reviewers Academy. Please be sure to view the pinned topics and familiarise yourself with the forum. Welcome. Hello jm731lego, we like to know a little bit about members before we add them to the Reviewers Academy. You're still very new, so why not introduce yourself to the community in the "Hello My Name Is" subforum? Link is here.

Diamond, Chaos Beast D back row (book).

It's FABULAND season, so what better time to crack open a MISB set and have a look at it? None, that's what. Carefully stored away, awaiting release and review, is this little gem, one of the earliest FABULAND sets ever released. So, what could one find inside these green boxes of delight? Read on to find out... Number – 329 Name – Bernard Bear and his Delivery Lorry (Bernard Bear and Pickup Truck) Theme – FABULAND Year – 1979 Minifigs – 1 Pieces – 26 (although Brickset claims 109) Price – The purchase price for this set is lost in the mists of time, as is the original price this set would have been sold for by retailers. There are but three lots on Bricklink at the time of writing: two used from £4.99/ $7.56/ €5.78 and one MISB at £21.63/ $32.78/ €25.06. Links: Brickset, Bricklink, Peeron. The Box It is an old box, unsurprisingly really, given that this set is from 1979, and it is a little faded, especially on the front. It has survived the years in remarkably good condition, however, with only a few scuffs around the edges. The pictures on the front of FABULAND sets are always charmingly posed, and here it looks as though Bernard Bear is ready to be your new friend and play with you. You can see the whole truck, so you know exactly what you're getting. There are more charming pictures on the back. Bernard in his 'character' pose, waving to a friend just out of shot, and clearly wondering where to start with all these pieces in order to build his lorry. The main picture is of an alternative build, something very common in FABULAND sets, and we'll see more of these very soon. Both sides of the box are identical, except obviously one side is where you're supposed to open the set. Bernard can be seen loading items onto his lorry for delivery, and like all FABULAND pictures, it is charmingly posed. The bottom of the box shows Bernard again in a 'catalogue' pose, as if modelling a jumper, and next to him is yet another alternative build suggestion. There's a suggestion that this is for ages 3 to 7, but nowhere is there a dire warning about not trying to inhale the parts nor any pleas not to stick Bernard up your nostril. There are merely beautifully posed pictures of the LEGO with the verdant FABULAND background. For further confirmation of this, the top of the box merely has a small declaration that the set was made in Denmark, slightly hidden under the flap that the box would hang from in the shop. The whole box is simplistic, yet covered with delightful pictures of what we're actually interested in. The Box Contents The Instructions There are two little leaflets of the same size inside the box. One is the instructions and the other is a little pamphlet about other FABULAND sets. The front of the instruction leaflet has a lovely hand-drawn picture of Bernard driving his lorry through the hills and vales of FABULAND, and just reminds us of the set number. When you fold it out, the rest of that side of the leaflet is actually the building instructions, also hand drawn, and shown as an adorable series of cartoons. To have Bernard build his own lorry is just lovely, but this was the norm with FABULAND; the characters built the LEGO with you, and then used it in their everyday lives. On the back, one panel introduces us to Bernard. Through the power of Google, I will attempt to translate (and I've taken the best mix from all three translations, so it may not be a literal translation of one particular language): "This is Bernard, the bear, with his lorry. He runs the FABULAND removals company." Nice to meet you, Bernard. Next to Bernard's introduction we have another drawn picture of FABULAND, and it's a really bright and vibrant scene, but then FABULAND is meant to be colourful. Having a drawing rather than a posed picture brings even more life to the characters, and you can see how FABULAND shapes up as a whole at this stage of its release. Bernard Bear can be spotted in the bottom right, driving his lorry, and bottom left you can also make out a cheeky-looking Ricky Raccoon zooming about on his scooter. The front of the second pamphlet focuses more on displaying the FABULAND sets photographically. Here you can see that Hinckley wasn't the first Fabulander to hide in a dustbin, as Clara Cow demonstrates here, seemingly to Charlie Crow's annoyance. Inside the pamphlet there is a large photograph of many of the early FABULAND sets. The characters are all out and about, living their lives, being pushed around in wheelbarrows and hiding in bins. A gentle reminder of the set numbers is displayed discreetly to the side. As a little bonus there is a hand drawn comic with Charlie Crow, who has evidently managed to extricate Clara from the bin, and requires the bin lid to keep the rain off him. He could of course have just hidden in the bin himself. The rest of the pamphlet shows photographs of more FABULAND sets and their set numbers, but charmingly has a little boy and a little girl playing with FABULAND together. That picture in itself speaks volumes. The Parts So given that there are only 26 parts, here's all of them in one shot. The colour palette is limited to red, yellow and black, and most of the pieces are ordinary LEGO SYSTEM pieces. The specific FABULAND pieces are only the vehicle chassis, the windscreen and the car doors (and technically these are all SYSTEM too as they are compatible). These are all vehicle pieces, and FABULAND produced so many vehicles that none of these parts are particularly rare, really. Minifigure So this is how Bernard bear came out of his MISB box. The box was entirely untampered with; I had to perform careful surgery just to open it without damaging it, and I emptied the contents onto my white board ready for photographing, and there was no loose arm. I very much doubt that LEGO customer services, no matter how nice they may be, will be able to help me out here after 34 years. It's almost too much to... bear. (sorry) "Hmmm, the review can't continue with you in this state Bernard, we need you to demonstrate how to build the lorry. Take him away Rufus!" "Yaaays! I have a whole new (but subtly different) left arm!" "You may thank the wonders of modern science. And the passing walrus who so kindly donated to your arm transplant." Right, now that we're back on course, you can see that all the printing was saved for the Fabulanders' faces, and the torso and legs are fairly plain. I thought now would be a nice time to demonstrate how much TLG loved the bear mould. Not only did they get a couple of different bear colours out if it (and associated changes in their clothing) but also a few raccoons and a couple of pandas from the same mould (but obviously with different printing). And while it's undeniable that all Fabulanders are adorable, somewhere near the very top of the adorable scale has to be the bear mould and its extended family. Or maybe I'm horribly biased. No, I'm not, they're really adorable. The Build There was a walrus who gave his left arm to see Bernard build his own lorry, so we best not disappoint him. Step one; the placement of a few bricks at the front of the chassis allows the bonnet to take shape. The arm is working nicely and displaying no homicidal tendencies, it's all good. Time to build up the back of the lorry, and don't comment on how the bricks could be pushed down better; it's being built by a BEAR! A bear with a sore arm, no less. He's doing the best he can. Well now we have the palette on the back, we can add the doors, so that Bernard doesn't fall out while driving. That done, we add a bit more to the back, and position the windscreen just so. And Tah Daaah! with the addition of a roof and the loading of the furniture on the back, we have a completed removals lorry! The cab at the front is in a nice bright red, and at the back you can see somebody's table and chair that need to be moved somewhere. It's simplistic, but quite clearly a lorry. There's no steering wheel, but then none of the FABULAND vehicles were bogged down with needless ephemera such as steering wheels. The nice thing is that you can remove the table and chair and use them as furniture elsewhere in your FABULAND layout, whilst loading anything else you like into Bernard's lorry to deliver around town. Obviously this is made much easier by having an open back to the lorry, rather than having it built up as an enclosed lorry. Keeping it open improves the playability of the set. Bernard fits nicely in his cab, and has a good view out of his windscreen. The bonnet has remained simple, as has pretty much all of his lorry, but still very recognisable and functional. So there he is, ready to zoom around FABULAND picking up and dropping off furniture according to the whims of its residents. His lorry is sleek and very much of the FABULAND style, thanks to the chassis and wheels with running board, the bold colours, and simplistic build style. If you'd like to build something in the same style, but without the aid of instructions, than you could attempt one of the alternative builds as I have here. I always believe the charm of including pictures of alternative builds serves to demonstrate the endless possibilities with LEGO. Here Bernard's lorry has been changed into a hot-rod style car, still very FABULAND though. The colouring at the back is a little off, but it's been built with only parts from this set. The other alternative build is more of a racing car, judging by the overhang of the red 1x4 bricks at the front and the back. I'm not sure what the black and yellow affair is at the back, but maybe it's some sort of super-duper exhaust? Anyway, working out how to build this and the other alternative build from single faded pictures is considerably more challenging than the original build was. And quite a bit of fun too. Conclusion Design: 8/10 It's really very simple and basic, but to build a convincing lorry out of mostly just bricks and plates is to be admired. Having the back open does make it look slightly less like a lorry and more like a trailer, but having the back open improves the interaction. Parts: 7/10 These are mostly just basic bricks, with a few FABULAND vehicle parts added. At the time though, vehicle parts wouldn't have been anywhere near as common as they are in retrospect now, so at the time this may have been a much more appealing set. Minifigs: 9/10 This is the only set where you can find Bernard, and he's really quite adorable. You can find one other brown bear in only two other sets. He's got the cute eyes of a first generation figure, and the plain torsos that are particular to these early Fabufigures. It's a small set, so it'd be unusual to have more than one figure (although it has happened), and a mark is lost here for losing an arm (so careless). Build: 8/10 As seen, the build can be completed in a few easy steps (even by a bear with a sore arm) but it's still fun, especially if Bernard helps out. You don't have to add the wheels and their tyres separately, but with the chassis and other pieces you can build any vehicle you wish, as seen by the alternative builds. There's a lot of building joy here. Playability: 8/10 With full zoomability, thanks to the wheels, there's a lot of play to be had here. The open back allows loading and unloading as Bernard goes about his business, and gives him good reason to interact with other Fabulanders. Even if he is alone in FABULAND, he can still have fun driving over the hills and through the delightful countryside. Price: 6/10 The cost of this set MISB is really quite high, and probably the most valuable piece in it is Bernard, as one of the earliest Fabufigures. The other parts are not particularly sought after or rare. Rather than buy this set MISB, a purchaser might be better off buying Bernard as a single lot from Bricklink; indeed as can be seen here, you can't guarantee what condition a figure will be in when it falls out of a MISB box. Overall 77% This is one of the earliest FABULAND sets released, and Bernard is a charming introduction to this world. He's a cute and adorable bear, with a functional and fun lorry. He is, however, Schrödinger's bear, as he might well have existed with a full compliment of arms up to the point that I opened his box. I would say it is a nice set to have, but buying it MISB is probably unnecessary unless you're a collector, and there are easier ways of picking up the Fabufig, if Bernard's all you're after. Thank you for reading, comments are always very welcome. High-Res pictures can be found on my flickr account.

Nyx sighs, shaking her head. "I didn't actually call you a fool Haldor, I was referring to Arthur, but never mind. You take umbrage if you want, I'm going to focus on getting through this floor."

And was that god also draining health and ether every round, necessitating the need to finish this battle quickly rather than drawing it out waiting for various specials to kick in? Nyx wonders to herself how many times she'd have to beat the smug-faced Arthur with her healing staff until either it broke or he did. "Mind your tongue! It isn't a case of being arsed, the point is more that I am one of the best damage dealers here and my time is far better spent attacking the floor than satisfying the whimsy of a fool." Nyx repeats her action.

"This is pure insanity. We just need to get on with hitting this thing, which we're going to have to do anyway, no matter what strategy we use. I'm not giving up a turn of causing damage to the floor by giving my healing staff out to someone who doesn't even need it. And Hoke, don't waste a turn changing your equipment. Similarly, Alexis, if you make Hoke lucky and he gets a Spellspin, he'll be knocked out. Cronk, I know this is wearisome, but you need to step up and lead right now. We're looking to you, and if you don't make a damn decision then we're just going to be arguing over a bloody floor until next Grogmas!"

I was under the impression that Counterstriking by an enemy was the equivalent of its normal attack (ie the same as any normal hero taking Damage). Thus its normal attack would be equivalent to its level (25) and so would its counterstrike, which would then be halved as I'd be attacking from the back row. So, if I land a successful hit, I get struck once (25/2), but if I roll a Damage then it hits me (25/2), I hit it, and it hits me again (25/2), presumably, thus a total of 25 (or thereabouts, depending on rounding down, etc). And this seems to me to be the maximum damage I can take in one round.

I pretty much always attack from the back row, so that would be the case for SHIELD and Counter rolls, so I wouldn't be taking double damage. Max damage to me from any permutation is 25 (two halves of 25, and I believe the rounding down that most QMs do will probably make it 24 in total).

"It should cause me 25 damage at the most leaving me with a little left over, as I'll be attacking from the back row (that would account for a counterstrike and me taking damage, and there is a 1/3 chance of that happening) so it's not that bad, and would be improved if I'm lucky. I'll never say no to wine, and Mr Hoke I should enjoy dancing with you, and it's true I dance better after a drink but I should feel bad about drinking Haldor's reserve. I shall leave the decision up to you Cronk. I stand ready to attack as before should you wish me to."

Hey! That's your fellow heroes you're talking about there! And I very much doubt you'd refer to most of them as 'weirdoes' to their face.

As this is purely for speculation, I've changed the title to reflect this, so as not confuse people.

"Encourage me, make me lucky and heal me when needed and then let me destroy this damn floor. I have the blessing from the shrine to counteract the health loss, and if brave Sir Poletad gets lucky he can restore some Ether. Even if I get counterstruck from my magical attack, I can still withstand the damage from the back row and attack with full strength with magic from the back row. Anyone else who can do the same, should do the same. Anyone who can heal, should be tasked with healing with conditions that they don't heal if it isn't necessary. Having Poletad higher in the list of healers means he might replenish ether, followed by Cronk in case his angel shows up, followed by other healers in case both of those things happen and healing is still needed. Just make me lucky before I hit the floor (so to speak) so I don't end up defeated by a damn floor."

Nyx decides to leave the offering of the gold piece where it is; she figures that stealing from gods probably isn't worth it. She trundles through Heroica Hall with the other and resists the temptation to ask Scheherezade for a drink. She stands witness to the oddest conversation she's heard for a while as a group of strong heroes work out how to tackle an inanimate object. "Ah this floor, many times have I regained consciousness on it, and it is quite hard, yes. If you fall on it, it most certainly does hit you back. But it's still a frickin' floor! Surely the quickest thing is for us to hit it and hit it hard? Those of use who can deal high damage from the back row need to just bloody well attack and anyone else left with healing capabilities needs to patch up those who are being hit. Is it not that simple? And surely (surely!) counterstriking doesn't affect being hit by magic? I would suggest that McColt encourages me and/or Skrall, or Emperor Phil feeds me one of his Meads and we just get to destroying this thing. Additionally, if someone wants to make me lucky, it wouldn't take me too long to destroy it. If you can't do enough damage to pierce it's shield, then don't bother and you won't get counterstruck." Nyx grabs her trusty Ruby and prepares to set fire to the insolently silent Floor from the back row.

I've had a few Fabu Avatars, so I'll record them here: From my role in Hinckley's Fabuland Mafia. Hiding panda, from my review of 3675 General Store. (Taken from this larger picture, which is why it looks blurry in comparison to the others.) On my lovely white Fabuscooter, taken from Rick's birthday FabuMOC 2011. Just saying 'Hi!' My current avatar, originally Friendsified for Summer of Friends last year, but just too cute to not continue using. Look into my eeeeeyeessss...

Nyx gratefully accepts the gem and the staff from Cronk, shivering slightly to their cold touch. She can just about hold them with her thin leather gloves over her hands. A new sensation she would have to get used to. She shrugs and stows them away, knowing they will surely be useful in time. With all the distracting enemies dead, she looks around the shrine in case there's anything interesting or useful (or indeed valuable), and taking care not to further desecrate a place that would be deemed important to two of her friends. She wonders if it's worth a prayer of thanks to, presumably, Ennoc, for the lack of dying or loss of limb.

"Does everyone have to share their body these days? Two insane beings inside one skelly-faced weirdo, I'm surprised she didn't explode all on her own." Nyx kicks a little at the ashes. "I would like her Standard, please, yes. I'm always looking for new and amusing ways to kill people, and this necromancy stuff has somewhat drawn my attention, too. I wouldn't say no to the opal either, but I doubt that'd be very fair."

Nah, it's all good. Nyx feels the fire flow from within; such a good feeling, almost addictive. She spins her Ruby in her hand as she focuses the fire on Zee once more from the back row.

It was also decided a while back that my Counter (roll of 4) would also heal, much to Zeph's annoyance.

This is a great solution, thank you Sandy!

It hasn't been changed. I would really, really like it to, despite it being a constant source of stress to both Sandy and Zepher. I really do agree with JimB's points, but I don't remember KOing anyone while trying to heal them. I don't think Jeb was BM long enough to, and maybe I've just forgotten or I've blanked it from my memory. Specifically this point:

OoC: Uhm, I hate to be a pest, but my magic counter is actually: (WP + Lvl) soo.. [(14+24)x2]x2 = 152 (spell and encouraged), so Expert B is most decidedly dead. Sowwy. The last enemy with a soul grins in his insane devotion, and cuts at Nyx. She really doesn't see this as very polite, though, so she fires right back with the Light spell she had charged, the slashes having tempered it a little. As he falls she ignores the superficial would and turns her eyes to Zee. She had been so patient, waiting, and now the time had finally come for her to finish her dealings with Zee. A sinister smile appears as she picks her trusty Ruby, and focuses her force on Zee from the back row, still clutching her book.

The Friends Review Index As the Friends line grows, so does our review index. The waves of sets have been separated into their own posts for easy reference and the links for each are provided below. 2012 Spring Wave 2012 Summer Wave 2012 Seasonal / Promotional / Other 2012/13 Winter Wave 2013 Summer Wave 2013 Collectibles 2013 Seasonal / Promotional / Other 2013/14 Winter Wave 2014 Summer Wave 2014 Collectibles 2014 Seasonal / Promotional / Other

Zeph, this is a great quest, and I really would not want to have the ending feel rushed, especially as I'm expecting it to be epic! I'm sure JimB's quest will be fantastic too, I remember his hosting from Dastan last time and it was top-notch, but I wouldn't want to rush this great quest just for the chance at another one. There are loads of seasoned QMs out there now, producing great quests, so I don't doubt that there'll always be something exciting just around the corner.