Brix

Don't worry about your address. It looks like they sent this exact same email out to everyone in Australia who ordered the 8043 (also discussed on Whirlpool). I too have received my refund already. I know of at least one guy who emailed them back saying that he didn't want a refund and they claim that they're shipping it out to him. FWIW they're still offering it for about AUD$225 shipped which is cheaper than anywhere else except perhaps Bricklink.

That's unfortunate. My order did go through and was despatched last week.

I was starting to think that I was the only one who thought of Akira when I first saw that pic on TechnicBricks. Everyone else was talking about scooters. :)

Amazing work. I love this model. I recently bought the Lego Hoth Wampa cave just for the speeder. If I'd seen this earlier, I might have been buying bricks off Bricklink instead!

I hope this isn't inappropriate, but over on Whirlpool, user Jad308 just posted the following: I picked up the Excavator at this nice price.

Thanks for a fantastic review and pictures. I've already purchased this set and am waiting for it to arrive. I'm really looking forward to building it once it gets here.

I too would really like to modify it so those doors slide open. I agree. The carrying handle is a fantastic idea - fits in quite well with the model, and is extremely strong for picking it up. I really enjoyed building this model. I wouldn't have wanted to pay RRP, but at 50% off was really happy with my purchase. Whilst I would have preferred more of a UCS style than all of the 'playability' features, I guess that TLG has to appeal to everyone.

What a great read! I came here to consider posting my own story, but it's so similar to yours it seems silly to do so. Whilst I live in Brisbane, I also grew up loving Lego. The only other toys that vied for my attention were my Transformers and Mask toys. I was also fortunate enough to have a great Technic car set, but for me it was the 8860-1: Car Chassis. Like you, my first post-dark ages Lego set was the 8455 Technic Back Hoe. I loved it, even if it seemed very different to the Technic studded beams of my youth. I also had a break for a time for work and study commitments, but am now back into Lego full-steam, having acquired a bunch of decent big sets, with Technic and Star Wars being my favourite themes. Thank goodness for ebay/bricklink to let guys like us catch up on some of the great sets that we missed out on. Thanks for sharing your story, it's great to know us AFOLs aren't alone. :) Oh and that Crumpler bag looks fantastic - well done!

I'm quite looking forward to this set. It doesn't look like it's going to be a complicated high-end set, but looks like a fun simple set to both build and play with, especially for younger kids. Just this last week I've been thinking of building a Batman Tumbler MOC in Technic* but didn't really have many black pieces. I think this will be the perfect set to form the foundation of that build. *Yes it's been done before, and really well, but since when has that ever stopped us? :)

I can also confirm that they ship Brickmaster for free - just ordered the SW book to ship to Australia. TheHut.com are UK based, and they offer free shipping on Lego too. I picked up the motorbike #8051 and it came to AUD$39.43, which is half the RRP in Australia. Unfortunately they don't have a large range, and may not be as price competitive on other sets.

Nice price! None of my local stores - Target, K-mart - carry larger Technic sets anymore. In fact, that Big W (Garden City) was the only store I've seen for some time that does.

Big W is now selling the 8070 Supercar. S@H lists it at AUD$199 but Big W had it listed at $178 (not on special), which I gladly paid.

I thought I'd have to order one from overseas, but was in Big W last week and they had it on the shelf for $178. Needless to say I bought it on the spot. I haven't built it yet, but have opened the box and looked through the 3 instruction books, and I'm very excited about it. This is also my first big car since the 8860 Car Chassis about 20 years ago. Oh and I wholeheartedly agree about the horrendous price discrepancies. I used a freight forwarding company twice in the last fortnight in order to buy Lego in the USA while the Aussie dollar is so good.