TheLegoDr

Thank you for this review. Incredibly informative and helpful. I love seeing the final product, but it is nice to see how it gets to be that way also. With that said, like many others, I probably will pass only because of display space and money already being promised to other sets this year. I considered the B-wing for May 4th, but I think in all honesty the new X-Wing deserves people's money more. Granted, I don't know much about SW other than what I've learned through LEGO. And further with that said, I also love 2012's version of the X-Wing and TIE-Fighter. I think LEGO knocked it out of the park with sets last year (for the most part), so since I have those system scale MF, X-Wing, and TIE, I probably won't be getting any UCS sets for a while and won't be kicking myself for missing out on them. Thanks for sharing. Great pictures!

I agree that $75 is a bit steep for Jor-El, but at the same time I know I will hit that threshold anyway with my planned purchases. I just assumed it would be at the $50 mark for some reason. It did show Castle to be available in June, but nothing about LOTR. I assume it is coming in June as well...

Thank you for responding. I was partially interested in the new level, but at the same time I didn't think I'd learn too much. Either way, good to know.

So we NEED an Ewok Village set, yet they should discontinue Star Wars... TLG should only focus on their own IP, yet discontinue Galaxy Squad (which is their own IP)... I don't even know how to elaborate on those two points. As far as the rest goes, the Licensed themesare what keeps TLG in business to create their other lines. The CEO even said so in an interview. Toys today are focused on licensed material. Licensed good sells toys. Period. For LEGO to abandon free advertising and recognizable characters/sets to focus only on their own material, they would lose a lot of money on promotional material alone. I loved LEGO long before they did licenses, but I basically only buy Licensed LEGO currently, so, if they abandoned all of it, they would lose out on a fan. As far as Super Heroes going away, I think they are more popular than ever now. Especially over the next few years with Avengers and potential Justice League creations. If anything, they are just getting started (said in an Al Pacino voice).. LOTR/Hobbit are doing decent right now because of the new movies, but who knows what will happen when they are no longer available. Same goes for Lone Ranger. It will be like Pirates of the Caribbean and only pop up with new movies on the market. That is how licenses would work. Free advertising. But LEGO hit it out of the park with Monster Fighters and a lot of people seem to really like the CITY line and the new Galaxy Squad line. CITY sells towards the top every year I think, so their own IP isn't going away. A rehash of the Statue of Liberty or Carousel would not be feasible. They will continue to create new things for more buyers. Plus, how popular was the Statue originally?

Has anyone on here done the MBA? I'm sure it would be a useful tool, but by some of the models I can't see how much I'd learn, so I haven't taken the leap to buying the levels. I can usually figure out most things, but maybe this would speed up the process. With that said, this level 4 looks neat, but don't you have to buy the three levels before it to get access to level 4?

The Wal-mart page doesn't say anything about a pre-order bonus. I recall GameStop saying the Elrond was the bonus and I assume it is saying Spiderman keychain is one. But WM isn't stating anything about it...

I can understand that question. But you can attach that same question to any hobby. It all boils down to, you just like it. None of my friends growing up had any LEGO, only I did. Why did I like it, when no one else around me did? That is a bigger question. To me, it is innate. You can come into the hobby as an adult and still enjoy the building, but if you liked it as a child, you are more likely to continue to like it as an adult. I don't think I'm explaining it very well. I like LEGO. I was born that way. I don't choose to like LEGO, I just do. I can understand that it is a toy, but when it comes down to it, it isn't "just" a toy. Even though I think I just referred to it as just a toy in another post not too long ago. But it is a creative medium that allows you to build/destroy whatever you may like. Plus it allows "play" time with the children (if you have any halflings in your life).

There are a lot of upset people. I think the most important thing to remember is: It's just a toy... Although I'm sure I will get bashed because I live in the US and we do get some exclusives. With that said, I don't see any reason why this figure wouldn't also be available elsewhere. Now for the people that don't have consoles, I can understand the frustration. Not everyone plays the LEGO video games (or video games in general), but still want to collect the LEGO figures. I do have a console and I will pre-order this because of the figure. Without the figure I would wait months until it bottoms out in price. I'm glad it isn't a GameStop pre-order actually because I didn't like their customer service with the LOTR game. But I'm glad we are getting this figure. After that teaser of Iron Man 3 poster with all the suit variants, I was hoping for getting one. And it doesn't disappoint.

As great and detailed as the church is, I actually prefer the stone walkway and the fence the most. I'd like to utilize those concepts in a future build, if you don't mind. But I love the side structuring on the church and the windows. The color works really well too. Keep up the good work.

Great build. I love the little details. The stonework looks really good on the house and I love the uniformity of the windows. That is a neat build technique I'd like to see more of. The only thing I'd want to see changed is the landscaping. Not necessarily grassier, but just more texture of some kind to help "flesh" it out. Otherwise, great build. Keep up the great work.

Well it is no different than a lot of their official images will show errors in pieces stuck together wrong. You'd think they would know how to build the set properly. In one of the new City pictures I saw the head wasn't pushed all the way down. In my King's Castle box art, one of the lattice windows is angled open instead of flush with the frame. Just odd that it happens, so not really surprised that this happened also.

That picture of them all waving reminds me of the Beverly Hillbillies...for some reason. And I agree, I don't picture Hugo Weaving ever smiling really...especially as Elrond.

Those prices look like clearance prices I've seen recently at a Wal-Mart near here. Since I already had all of the sets I wanted from that theme, I didn't bite. Although those are great prices indeed. If I had the spare change, I would rebuy them all for my daughter since she is really into monsters right now. But maybe I'll just give her mine. Recently I bought some series 5 CMF since I found them at a store nearby. I figured I should finish the series since I had most anyway. And since 10 is coming out, probably won't see 5 again for a long time. I picked up: Snowboarder, Zookeeper, Cave woman, clown, fitness instructor, extra mobster, lumberjack. I'm still missing the fisherman. They had zero in their collection.

People can spend the money on what they want, I don't see the big deal in that. There isn't a reason to name call if someone wants to spend their money differently than you. That's how the world works. Not everyone has the same clothes/cars/etc. preference. I bought the Jean Gray SDCC figure earlier this year, spending more than I've ever spent on just one figure. But I found it for a good deal, so I went for it. In every other facet of life, I am a responsible person when it comes to spending money, so I wouldn't say it was foolish. Although, the only "foolish" thing ever would be buying figures when you don't have the money to do so, as in when you have more important things to consider. But I still wouldn't name call. As far as Mr. Gold, I'm sure he will go for a pretty penny only because of the gold plating. I think the scarcity and hype is what is driving everything up right now. The price will go down in time. The CC figures are elevated because of the rarity, but you can find a decent deal sometimes. Luckily Jean Gray didn't seem to be as popular as a lot of the other figures for some reason.

I will concur Fire Brigade is the good one to start with. That was my first Modular, and therefore the first one I built and I really enjoyed it. I was not wanting Pet Shop at all, but I decided to buy it because I want them all and I was pleasantly surprised with the build techniques. I love the little details and the idea of 2 smaller builds. I don't own the other two yet, but will get them before they are retired. I love the dark orange in the Town hall, but the sheer size of it seems overwhelming. I almost want to MOD it to something smaller. So Fire Brigade, Pet Shop, then your pick between the other two. Have fun building!

Nice MOD. While I do like the step inwards to create a more unique shape of the building, it does remove the ability to see the Palace signage from both sides of the street. If there was a way to modify that, I think it would be superb. As it stands, no one driving by would know what movies are playing, unlike a lot of theaters that I grew up around always had the marquee listing in plain sight. Either way, it still looks really neat. The interior is fitting too. I like the double stairway especially. And the corner/angle of the roofing at those intersections. Very well done!

While I agree not every roof needs to be the same exact height, I do think more height to this building would be better. I know you ran out of pieces, but if you look at the other Modulars, most aren't one color throughout, so maybe you could incorporate another color (at the base perhaps) that frees up some bricks for the upper level? Just a thought. Otherwise, good idea MOCing out of a designated amount of pieces. Helps keep your build techniques count more. Also helps you think of new ways to construct things. That's why I never order pieces for MOCs I'm doing. If I don't have it, I need to find a better way to show the same idea. It has worked for me so far. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the reviews. I picked up the last series for my daughter, so more than likely I will find these also. The smaller dark red leaves will go well with the Mirkwood set from Hobbit. I may want to pick some of them up for myself, or just "borrow" them from my daughter...right. I don't love the price tag for one little build and a single animal, but Friends seems to get away with it compared to other LEGO themes.

I'd love more X-men stuff, although since I already buy all of the early Super Hero stuff and then have to move onto other themes like LOTR/Hobbit, I almost wouldn't want them to release more Super Hero sets later in the year and the beginning...eats up too much budget to squeeze in SW also, and then this year with Lone Ranger.

Thanks for the new pictures! Arwen is my favorite figure of 2013 I think. The light blue and purple go well together, plus the new elven hairstyle. Although Elrond's new attire is pretty good too. Already knew about the characters and features that came into that set, but it is looking awesome the more I see it. I don't love another Gimli or Frodo, but at the same time I'll take extras of them because their torsos can be used for other themes (at least for me) compared to some other figures from LOTR.

TheBrickDaddy - that's odd since the Mine is the one set I didn't pick up. It didn't look that good on the outside, and you only get 2 new figures (the rest are dirty versions of figures). As far as parts pack, I would agree. It probably does have some great pieces in it, but at the same time I don't want to spend $70 for those pieces. As much as I want the other Native and the skull, I don't want to spend $70 on them. But I'm glad you like it so much. Maybe if I ever see it on a good sale, I may pick it up.

That is odd that I'm one of the few noticing so many cracked cheese slopes. I can honestly say the majority of my cheese slopes are cracked. From my experience they actually crack on the back lower section the most, then second most is front lower area. Basically anytime they are connected to another stud, they will crack. I suppose I may have terrible luck with LEGO since so many of my pieces are damaged, but it is also possible that other people aren't paying as close of attention as I am. I definitely have lots of those older space helmets with a broken chin strap and then 1x1 vertical clip plates that are broken. A good chunk of my original clips are broken, but none of my bricks/plates had cracks from what I've seen, yet a lot of my newer bricks/plates are cracked. It's really weird. Obviously with my complaining, I am still buying new sets all the time, so as long as TLG is making money, they probably won't address the problem as quickly. It isn't hurting their bottom line.

My one trip a year to the local KC LEGO store happened a few weeks ago. We aren't near any and we don't travel enough to make it there. The selection wasn't ideal, especially since the manager ordered pieces a few weeks prior and said they would be there that week (pieces I actually wanted), but they weren't available yet, so I had to make do with what they had since we don't get there too often. My cup is as follows: 19 1x2 yellow jumper tiles 17 light bley joystick/antennae 9 2x4 light bley brick 3 2x6 light bley brick 8 1x2 tan slope 9 2x6 tan plate 10 2x2 tan brick 2 2x4 red-brown brick 8 1x8 blue tile 21 2x2 red tile 17 2x2 yellow tile 9 1x2 white modified panel brick 15 1x4 red-brown tile 10 red jewel 6 black rubber wheel 130 1x1 trans red tile 9 1x2 light bley plate with 2 fingers 11 1x2 light bley plate with 1 finger 6 1x1 orange brick 33 1x1 dark bley brick 14 1x2 trans clear brick 10 1x2 trans black brick 32 1x4 light bley brick 46 1x1 trans red round brick 58 1x1 trans green round brick 100 1x2 trans clear plate 149 1x1 trans clear plate 34 1x1 three leaf plant 531 1x1 trans clear round plate Total piece count : 1,326 Average price per piece: $0.0113 Overall, price is spot-on. A lot of these wouldn't be as cheap on bricklink, so it works out. I stacked and packed as much as I could, but a lot of it was thrown in to fill gaps. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't have purchased a lot of these pieces, but I figured maybe I could use some of them in something. Then the trans clear pieces aren't too plentiful in my collection, so I'm glad I picked them up. Whenever I'm in a city with a PAB, my plan is to stop by and do a cup since we rarely make it to a store.

I'm not a HUGE SW fan, but casual enough to understand the appeal of the UCS sets. Personally, I don't own any nor do I own the Death Star. Just a few iconic ships. If I were to pick up a UCS set right now, I would easily go for R2D2 because that seems more recognizable for pop culture in general. But clearly, you need to go for what you think is the best looking set since you'll be spending the money. Since I don't own any, I can't attest to the builds, but I think Artoo looks the best. Have fun building whichever one you buy!

Thanks for that. I am unable to watch the video since I'm at work and all video players are blocked by the firewall. I may have to watch it later even though I've seen enough pictures to make up my mind.