Fatteh

Hopefully it's just part of the process then. I'd given up hope of seeing this set, but if this is happening to lots of early buyers then maybe all is still well.

Same here and I got my order in minutes after it went live. I sincerely hope they're not going to cancel all orders to far off lands like Aus and NZ in favour of those in Europe and the US, but that backordered status doesn't bode well.

Dang. That was fast. Has anyone here who ordered the 41999 received one of the out of stock/order cancelled emails mentioned in the 41999 threads? I've only had the order confirmation email so far, but my order status on the site is "customer service". Hopefully that changes to "shipped" and not "cancelled". Edit: Just saw that my 41999 order status was changed to "backordered" on the Lego site. Bugger.

Technic prices in NZ seem to have been trending down towards parity with the US prices over the last couple of years. The high dollar may have something to do with that though.

Never thought I'd care about the packaging of a Lego set, but goddamn that is one nice box. No sign of it selling out in NZ* after a couple of hours. I dare say they've got more than enough copies to cover the few of us who were aware of it and waiting. Be interesting to see how long it takes to go. Edit: *Durr, it's not stocked locally.

It's up in NZ. And $50 cheaper than 9398!

No they don't. That would be silly.

I know, right? Terrible. I won a kid's movie pass the other day in a colouring competition and they totally wouldn't let me use it at the theatre. I am NOT a criminal! Seriously.

Fantastic work rm8! Your reviews, photography, tests and especially the 41999 itself are superb. Will be interesting to see if it appears in the Lego NZ shop. The Google translation is fine. In some cases it's brilliant: "In 9398 we may see a few panels of different colors and types. The model of this, in my opinion, does not win." "As you can see, obesity can be useful if it is properly distributed."

Huzzah! These games just started appearing at retailers in NZ. Anyone else having much joy finding them?

10188 Death Star is going for $760 at Mighty Ape until the end of the month. Hmmmmm. Could probably still get a better deal offshore. Anyone had any experience importing one of these? Edit: Also, cheap promo items at Toyplanet: http://www.toyplanet.co.nz/browse.php?src=adv&keyword=promotional&category=&brand=65&price_range=&age=&gender=

Kingdoms Joust 10223 is at Warehouse online for $139.

Was just 20% off all Lego at my local TW - no super deals sadly.

Cheers for the tip. Hard to say no to the F1 car when it's going for equal to the US RRP but in NZ$. The difference in pricing between NZ and the US for Technic in particular seems to have been shrinking recently. The "NZ RRP = 2 x US RRP" rule doesn't apply much anymore. Edit: More Lego on the WH online deals today. 7498 City Police Station for $115. Here's hoping it's continuing trend...

That got me excited for a bit. Until I read the $200 minimum fine print. Which is a shame, because their prices on most of the power functions parts are surprisingly low. Except for the 8878 LiPo battery and transformer. One of these arrived in the post today from a BL order. I would've been miffed to pay $200 for that and the charger. It's tiny. Those are mean deals on the UCS sets harmacy. Was the Y-wing from TM? Quite keen on that set. One day...

For the vouchers, yep.

Latest Toyworld catalogue has sale coupons on the back for 17-20 May. The usual 20%, 25%, 30% and 50% (under $30 only) off, but I couldn't see any "excludes LEGO" on there.

Toyco and iQToys both have 20% off at the moment. Most of the large sets are excluded from the sale at Toyco as per usual, but the iQToys sale includes sets like the trains, modular buildings and the B-wing ($360 - still not a patch on the BL prices, especially after the US May 4th discount).

Looks like there's plenty of room to put a linear clutch (using friction pins with stop-bushes and a pin joiner) in that driveline. No idea if it would work though.

Like this you mean? http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=82087 Only requires one v2 receiver (with L-motors) or one older receiver if you're using M-motors.

There hasn't been any recent press about the GST import exemption. Any changes will take a year or two to come into effect, hopefully. Looks safe in the interim. Who is paying these insane prices for Mr Gold? When the highly limited and very sought after comic convention figs are fetching a few hundred at most, I can't imagine it's dedicated lego collectors. Who is it?

Welcome. I'm fairly certain that the personal possessions of immigrants are not subject to any duties. Here you go (from http://www.customs.govt.nz/features/charges/dutyfree/Pages/default.aspx): When entering New Zealand either as a returning citizen or resident, or if settling for the first time, your household or other related effects will be admitted free of Customs duty and goods and services tax (GST) for a reasonable time after you arrive, provided you can meet the following requirements: You have arrived in New Zealand and, on the date the effects are imported, hold a document authorising residence in New Zealand. For the whole of the period of 21 months preceding your arrival, you have lived outside New Zealand (brief holiday or exploratory visits do not exclude a person from qualifying for this concession). You have owned and used the goods before the date of your arrival in New Zealand. The goods are for your own personal use and are not intended for any other person or persons, or for gift, sale, or exchange. Exceptions The following goods will not qualify for duty-free entry, unless you can establish that they were for your own personal use prior to their arrival in New Zealand: Any goods shipped directly after purchase to avoid local taxes in the country of export. Replacement electrical equipment operating to New Zealand standards. Goods of a commercial nature (such as factory plant and office equipment). In these cases you may need to pay Customs duty and any other applicable charges.

Hey Steve. There's an interesting thread on using RC tires with lego rims including those on 9398 here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=70865&st=0 If you haven't waded through it yet, the original 9398 thread also has a lot of information regarding mods to this set: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=65692&st=0

The 50% off clearance deals are never advertised. You can find them by watching when clearance items are halved in price on their website, or by scanning items in store: the display will read something like "further 50% off". Local stores can't possibly keep up with all the price changes that are set nationally. The only way to be sure how much a set costs is from the website, or by scanning it.

50% off clearance at the WH today. Will be hit and miss depending what old stock is at your local, but I found the Hoth game for $22.50 and the Hobbit game for $15. Other lego games are heavily discounted too. Monster Fighter 9466 Crazy Scientist was down to $25 odd, but the Zombies or Ghost Train sets were full price. All the SW I could find was still full price.