sharky

I think someone needs to do something with Patrick from the Glove World Spongebob set.

Neat. Definitely recognizable as Echo Base even without the AT-ATs. Nice job.

Wow, if I realized they'd be so hard to find I would have bought the 3 instead of just the 1.

From my understanding they were selling this for a couple of years. One possible reason they would stop selling it is that at the time it was priced Lego has to lock in certain costs like material, labor, etc in order to come up with a price to sell it at. Those values are dynamic and change from year to year. Typically cost go up with respect to materials and labor, so I would think that at some point the cost to make it goes up and they would have to raise the price of the set in order to maintain the same level of profitability that they require. Marketing-wise that is not a good thing to do, so they probably have a time-frame and sell rate in mind that triggers when to stop making and selling them. If they were to release the same set today, I wonder what the price would be as I'm sure it would not be the original 2007 price per piece ratio.

Ugh, reading all the love for the Black Pearl puts me back on the fence. I think I'll decide with price and just get the BP if it goes on sale.

Definitely agree. I was still on the fence, but leaning towards QAR. Seeing that modified one seals the deal for me. Not really a Pirates collector, but I have always wanted a Lego pirate ship.

Lego is one of those types of toylines where the older more vintage stuff still stays in demand even if a newer more superior one comes out. That is something I never understood personally. But, then again, I'm not really one to collect for rarity or to be a completest. This does happen in other toy lines, but there is usually a much bigger time difference between the old and new. Typically a very old vintage toy that is a first release of a toy will still command a high price. However, there are times that I can appreciate an older Lego set. I really am fond of the older sets that have printed bricks and no stickers. This is something that is becoming more and more rare these days. I guess everyone has there reasons for liking the old stuff even if the newer one is aesthetically better.

I like where this is going. I see the updated front section is a nice improvement over the last.

Here are the listings on TRU.com Ninja Princess Knight Forestman Astronaut

Just noticed this today. Typical TRU mark-up with a "sale" price to bring it back to RRP. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11517688 This may be my first Lego ship I buy.

That is not just any regular recipe. It's the secret recipe for Krabby Patties. A recipe the evil Plankton is always trying to steal in the show in order to compete with the Krusty Krab restaurant since his own restaurant the "Chum Bucket" is lousy and gets no business. That's a major story arc that re-occurs throughout various episodes.

What I find puzzling is how it received a "Best Toy Award" when it's technically not an actual toy but a storage case for the toys.

That getaway car is pretty neat. There is an opening trunk in which to store the gold. I just picked it up today at Walmart for $20. Still a little overpriced for a City set IMO, but the models are good. I'm just a sucker for mini-copters I guess. I used to make various futuristic mini copters as a kid trying to mimic some I saw on anime shows.

I noticed them for sale on their website. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11998788

Totally agree. I can imagine if I were a kid I would want all the sets. It doesn't hurt that they run it 4 episodes in 2 hour blocks on Nickelodeon every day. Kids have a way of looking past all the flaws we see in sets as adults.

There's also good fodder in the Harry Potter and PotC sets as well. Also, the Collectible minifigures keep coming out with new stuff like the recent dwarf and the upcoming Highlander type guy. That long sword is sweet. There's seems to be some good stuff in the upcoming Ninjago sets as well. I like the upcoming Ninjago ship and imagine parts could be used to make a mercenary corsair ship similar to the third movie.

I don't think the tail fin is supposed to droop down. That reference pic is of a desk clock that suffers from a soft material that is used for the fins. I'm pretty sure it's relatively straight in the movie and most other models although there may be a slight angle to it which could be more due to the taper.

I saw these today at Walmart. That Visual Dictionary is really slim. There were quite a few on the shelf I might add.

For some reason one Walmart near me had a midi scale Star Destroyer on the shelf. It scanned at $19.99 so I bought it. I remember they were put on clearance shortly after Christmas. Must have been something they found in the back stockroom or perhaps a stashed item was discovered and put back in it's proper place. Never hurts to have 2 of those.

Look up the monthly models from the Lego store. There may be some more ideas you can use. You may have to modify them based on what pieces you have, and some you may not be able to do at all. However, they mostly are small builds with minimal parts. http://www.brickset.com/browse/themes/?theme=Monthly%20Mini%20Model%20Build However, I like the link Zeon provided. Looks like it's right up your alley.

This picture from my work area explains everything you need to know about how open I am about it. It's F1 racing season right now, and the Star Wars Blu-ray was recently released so I put these up for the time being. I typically change it out for various seasons and holidays.

As far as what you can still get right now in stores, I would go with Plo Kloon's Jedi Starfighter. It's a reasonable price and size. It's swooshable and frankly looks very handsome in the blue and white color scheme. As far as recommended out of everything to date I can't really say for certain. There are so many sets to compare. I think any of the Jedi Starfighters are good and can be incorporated into other space themes. I just feel the OT crafts are too iconic and harder to incorporate without it screaming Star Wars. The exception I would make is the A-wing.

Looks like something that one might buy a KFOL for a Christmas gift. I can't imagine an AFOL getting this when the dictionary is not complete and no minifigure. The publisher looks to be really milking this.

I really like the concept and execution. They look really nice and they make great display pieces for a shelf or desk. However, I can't buy everything I want, so I will have to pass on them. I would rather put the money I would spend on these towards an actual modular.

I wish Walmart wouldn't put the price sticker on the front like that. I hope it comes off clean for you. I like that you are still able to get the Visual Dictionary and the Character Encyclopedia at the same time. It makes for an even nicer gift to get both Yavin Ceremony Luke and Han.