into the blue

Went a bit nuts at the Cardiff lego store yesterday and picked up the new Star Wars planet sets (9674, 9675 and 9676), the new Y-wing (9495), a creator car (5867) and DC superhero sets 6862 and 6864 (the Superman/Wonderwoman/Luthor set and the Batmobile/Two-Face chase). Really happy with all of them, but I have a quick question. Did anyone else have missing parts issues with the new planet sets? I had two missing parts from 9675 (Sebuba's Podracer) and I've had to get in touch with Lego to order replacements. Kinda worrying as there aren't that many pieces in the set to start with. Just wondering if I've been unlucky in picking up a duff set or if it's happened to anyone else.

Hoiking my unicycle up Mt. Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales. It was a lot easier riding down than walking up.

I'm a pretty decent mountain unicyclist. No, really.

Picked this up yesterday from the Lego store in Cardiff. I normally stick to Star Wars kits, but when I saw this I decided I really needed to have it on my shelf. It's a lovely model, and the attention to detail (especially the engine) is just superb. Sonic883, looks like you have one spare part too many. I didn't have that smooth white 1x6 plate left over when I finished.

Hi, I'd like to say a few words about Olivier Roy, or Brick QC based in Canada. About a month ago I ordered a Star Wars A-wing (6207) from him. My parcel turned up in the post, but unfortunately a mistake had been made and the 7134 version turned up. After emailing Olivier to explain the problem, he immediately apologised, told me to keep the set he'd sent me, and said he'd be sending me the correct version in the post the next day. My 6207 arrived in the post this morning. I'd say this goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to good service, and goes a long way to reassure me that there are still some decent people out there. Olivier, you are the man.

Another winner here.

Oops. Sorry. Interesting to see that an UCS Star Destroyer (complete with box) finished around the same time last night. I think the final bid was just under £600. Is that the norm for this set?

Pleased to pick up the 6211 Star Destroyer on eBay last night for £77. Thought that was pretty reasonable as it came complete with its box and all the minifigs. I've been after this set for a while but all the recent auctions I'd been following always seemed to nudge the £100 mark. Just hope it doesn't turn into another DDS deal.

When you get these sets, it's impossible not to compare. Now all I need to do is open the advent calendar version. Oh yeah, and to buy the UCS version too.

Picked my copy up from Tesco today. The blu-ray version comes with the minifig. The regular DVD does not.

Update on the dodgy death star deal. Finally got a full refund from Paypal today. Lost out on a fiver as they didn't refund the postage it cost to send the USB cable back to the thievin' git, but I'm glad to get the bulk of it back. Little bit older and a little bit wiser now. Many thanks to all of you who gave good advice. I celebrated by visiting the Lego shop in Cardiff and blowing £270 on a proper death star, which is what I should have done in the first place. I haven't opened the box yet. Part of me is scared in case it's just a bunch of rocks and a USB cable.

Won the B-wing (6208) on eBay a couple of days ago and it arrived yesterday. Mightily impressed with it, really nice kit. Had a mysterious extra part left over when I finished though. Can someone please tell me what it is/what it's for? Cheers.

Good news everyone! Firstly yes, I realise I sound like Professor Hubert J Farnsworth from Futurama with that opening line. Secondly, after a month of waiting for Paypal to deliberate on my case, there has been some movement. The actual movement was instigated by me, phoning up Paypal this morning to see what was happening. After explaining the circumstances I was told I had two options. I could either contact the police and give them all the details of what's happened and obtain a crime case number. Or I could send the USB cable back to the dirty rotten scoundrel in China. Now to be honest, the overworked police force have got better things to do with their time than investigate this, so I plumped for option B. Paypal gave me the seller's address (which was in Chinese, but thanks to Google translate this wasn't a problem) and now all I have to do is send it back within the next ten days. Here's part of the email Paypal sent me: After carefully reviewing your case, we've determined that you'll be eligible for a refund (including postage and packing) once you've returned the merchandise to the seller. Once you have returned the merchandise, you will be covered under PayPal Buyer Protection and eligible to receive a full refund. Lookin' good.

Wow, that's actually useful! They're at it again. Reported.

Funny you should mention this, I managed to complete my Hoth collection today. Over the last few weeks I picked up 7666, 7749, 8083, 8084, 8089, 8129. This morning I picked up 7879. Just ordered four 48x48 white baseplates from bricklink. I'm figuring four aren't going to be enough to fit all of that on.

Ah, it was only us lucky people who fell for the Dodgy Death Star deal that received a USB cable. Several friends of mine who go caught by the UCS Falcon deal only received a Chinese silk purse. Nowhere NEAR as nice as a USB cable. They're so jealous. What you don't understand is that you are lucky to have such a great community here who have seen this kind of thing before and are able to pass on information regarding these scams. Whenever they pop up on eBay, word spreads quickly, which is great if you're a member here. But a lot of Lego collectors aren't members here, they simply don't know about the scams and the rip-offs. Personally, I went about things the wrong way round, I bought one of the Death Stars, then immediately after, found this place. And that's when I discovered I'd been conned. So while it's all very well to say "Jeez, you must be dumber than a bag of spanners if you fell for this one!" please bear in mind that not everyone has the collected wisdom of the forum. I'm not having a pop at you personally. I'm just saying that it's easier than you think to fall for these deals. Still no news on my Paypal case btw.

You mean there's not a position of Official Lego Clock Setter? And I was just about to drop off my CV too.

The OCD in me loves the fact that whoever made the display bothered to get all the times correct. Good work!

I had two friends fall for the UCS Falcon rip-off that was around the same time as my DDS deal. They got in touch with me a few days ago to let me know that their Paypal disputes had been refunded. Still waiting to hear from Paypal regarding my case.

Ah, this is the final minikit set I needed to complete my collection. Many thanks for letting me know it's finally been released. I found one on eBay last night and it's already on its way.

I haven't had to send anything back at the moment as A) Paypal haven't asked me to and B) I don't have the seller's contact address, even though I asked eBay for it. And you're right, it's going to be a pretty dumb crook who admits his guilt like that. But quite frankly, I don't think he's too worried about the Paypal claim. He's got his money and he's laughing, he's not going to bother answering Paypal's questions. I'm guessing Paypal's insurance is going to cover the cost of reimbursement (hopefully).

Update on the DDS. I opened a Paypal dispute case yesterday and this morning had a response from the seller. He offered me a partial refund of £30. I told him to stick it where the sun don't shine, I want all of my money back, thank you very much. Paypal are continuing to investigate the case. More news as it happens.

I suspected I might have been able to tell the postman "No thanks!" when he knocked on the door. Unfortunately I wasn't in when he called and another member of the household signed for it. Sending it back isn't really a big deal, it doesn't weigh much. It's just going to take a lot longer to sort things out. I am tempted to place a fish head in the envelope though, just as a thank you. But I reckon eBay wouldn't see the funny side.

Yeah, lucky me, eh? And yes, I know the 'A' key on my laptop has worn away.

Imagine my excitement when the postman delivered a package today! I hurriedly rushed into the kitchen to open my parcel. Hmm, it's not as big as I thought it would be... Can anyone read Chinese?... Ok, let's review this sucker! The Rating System Figures: 0/10 - There seems to be a distinct lack of minifigs. I was expecting around twenty but there don't seem to be ANY. Parts 0/10 - Just the one part. Blue. Flexible. Looks pretty much like a USB cable. Swooshability 1/10 - Not much swooshability. Maybe I could use it as a whip and pretend to be Indiana Jones. Design 0/10 - As a USB cable it's great. As a piece of Lego, not so much. Price 0/10 - £130 for a cable is a little overpriced as far as I'm concerned. Grand Total 1/50 - Not particularly happy with this set if I'm going to be perfectly honest.. So yes, it was a scam. I'll be spending most of tomorrow morning contacting eBay to see what can be done. I would do it tonight but it's been a tough day at work and I'd rather have a few beers than type out a long email. I suspect I'll have to post the cable back and wait for a few weeks until things get resolved. IF things get resolved. I'll keep y'all up to date, whatever happens.