voltio

The design looks accurate, the colors are fine, but the lack of steering is completely unacceptable, in my opinion. Yes, I know it could be modded in, and this is a collector's set not meant for playability. However, for the money, this Volkswagen should have every bell and whistle available. The Model Team 5541 Blue Fury hot rod cost $40 and included steering, so why doesn't this far larger model?

Renaming the Star Wars forum makes sense, what with the end of the TIE Army thread. Incorporating Ferrari discussion into the Licensed forum makes a lot of sense as well. After all, Ferrari sets have included flesh minifigures (Schumie, Barrichello, etc.) for years.

VHTF= Very Hard to Find. To answer some earlier replies... No, there are no stickers in this set. While some Adventurers sets of the era had stickers (the 5956 Zeppelin had tons), all of the interesting mesoamerican designs from this set are printed. Also, simonwillems was correct; my mechanic is missing his hat, which should be a black kepi. They're extremely expensive on BL, though (proving once again that this set has some awesome parts), so I ordered a replacement from Lego. It's in the mail and should come soon.

Care to elaborate more? I hadn't heard of any TLG statement, official or otherwise, of the Hoth Base's return. Of course, it would be great news if true...

+1 I'm not a big fan of ultra-bloody MOCs, so I really like your tasteful torture chamber (Is that an oxymoron?). The torturer's head, helmet, and torso are perfect, very sinister yet classic at the same time. The mixing of red-brown and brown was also done well.

Hi gang! As you all know, Indiana Jones IV has just debuted, and TLG has released a set depicting the Incan temple (7627) from the film's climax. But Lego beat Harrison Ford, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and company to the punch by nine whole years with Johnny Thunder's adventures in the Amazon Ancient Ruins. The Vitals: Year of release: 1999 Parts Count: 453 MSRP: $80.00 The set included eight figures: (from left) Two skeletons, Dr. Lightning, Gail Storm, Gabarros, Achu, Johnny Thunder, and Señor Palomar. On the far right is my new sigfig, el Conde Voltio Villar. Construction begins with Dr. Lightning and his jeep. It's a sturdy Adventurers-style vehicle, with fatter tires at the rear for better traction. Next is Gabarros and his unusual boat. The hull is from Belleville/Paradisa sets, where it is usually pink or white. TLG ought to have put it in the Pirate theme, as it is a nice, intermediate size. In this set, it is a small steamship. The temple is built on modular 8x8 green bricks which fit into square holes in the baseplate. This is the "treasure room." This square has a nasty double-spear trap. Careful... This is the top section of the temple, crowned by Achu the (mummified?) Incan. More modular sections (these are from the front of the temple site, across the river from the main building). El Conde: "You are too beautiful a woman to be wandering alone in the jungle, Miss Storm. Please, allow me to accompany you." Gail Storm: "I'm with Johnny, and I have a cutlass." El Conde: "I'll be on my way." Here's the finished temple, with all parts in place. Now for the traps... "Hmm, a giant ruby to bring home to the king." "¡Uf!" "That was embarassing. Miss Storm saw me fall..." "And now I've fallen again!" "I had better rest here before something worse happens." "¡Chispas!" "That's it, I'm leaving this place!" "Why me? Why?" The Verdict: This is a fine set, a set whose bare parts/price ratio does not accurately reflect the intricacy of its design nor the rarity of its parts. I had to buy replacements for some of them, and let me tell you, they are PRICEY! That green baseplate? $14. The little dark gray saucepan near the fire? Not available on Bricklink at any price. The brown boat hull? VHTF. With this set, parts quality trumps parts quantity. And the minifigures are wonderful! There's not a dud in the bunch with the possible exception of the very common Dr. Lightning, and even he is not bad. When you factor in the coherence of the color scheme and the brilliant traps, it is obvious that 5986 is a classic. 10/10

I think we're finally seeing the results of the weakness of the dollar. In the mid-2000s, we were getting some pretty spectacular parts/price ratios (6208 B-Wing Fighter for $35, 435 elements; 10176 King's Castle for $100, 871 elements (including 11 figs and the huge baseplate); Slave I 6209 for $50, 537 elements (including 3 new figs). These days, however, I think we will go back to the 1990s norm, with ratios at $0.10 a piece or more. TLG can't afford to sell sets here at a discount (compared with mainland Europe or Great Britain, where sets cost quite a bit more in dollar terms). The best comparison I can find is with the 7018 Viking Ship Challenges the Midgard Serpent. $50 for 585 elements, six figures, and a beautifully articulated sea monster. It even had a canvas sail. Now, I'm not saying that the Troll Warship is a bad set, but its price is out of line with what we've paid in the past. Unfortunately, we may have to get used to paying more.

Thanks for the incredible and hilarious review! Your sets are in beautiful condition...I purchased my Galactic Mediator used, so the canopies are opaque from scratching. Yours look brand new, which is [envy] great [/envy]. Keep up the good work!

I'd like your input on the 6399 Airport Shuttle Monorail I bought today for $127. This classic set was released in 1991, and is the hardest to find of Lego's three monorails. Most on BL go for over $300, but this one is..."special"...in the way that a two-legged hamster is special. Monorail Bargain? I've budgeted $70 for all the parts it needs. Will that be enough? Thanks for your replies.

Wow! Your train has a great Fabuland look and feel, well done. I was wondering, though, if the electric train motor has difficulty moving so many bricks; I have had difficulties in the past with attaching too many railcars to one unit.

I voted for choice two, since it was really the most original of the three. . . . . . . . . Not! In all seriousness, choice 3 was my favorite. A Mon Calamari head mold? Sign me up!

For the USA... Train Connection Wire for 9v Trains Item #10078 is on sale for $3.99 at Lego.com, regular price $8.99. Now if only the speed regulator and straight tracks would be liquidated as well.

Thanks to Whitefang's excellent Ninja review some days ago, I was inspired to review another Ninja set, the Emperor's Stronghold. Like him, I had to pay a premium price; however, I think you will agree that this set is definitely worth the $85 I spent. The box is standard Ninja fare--excellent! Here you see the interior flap. This is the product description. Why in Spanish? No estoy seguro... So, we start out building the minifigures. Included are the fairly uncommon young samurai and the Ninja Princess. She is quite expensive on BL, and you can see why. L@@k that horse barding! Very finely printed. Next are the accessories, which include a stretcher-like treasure-carrier and an odd flying apparatus. I like the trans-neon wings...very '90s. Then we start building the stronghold. Of note is the rare brown baseplate, which I have not seen before. A little later, the stone panels go on. These, like all parts in the set, are printed. No stickers. As you can see, there is not much of an interior for the Emperor to defend. One could MOD in some details, though. This is my one complaint: no shooting cannon for America! The instructions show a shooting cannon, but those were taboo in the USA due to regulations, I believe. The finished product is excellent, no? I especially like this old-school trapdoor. Look out... Too late. In conclusion, I highly recommend this set to all fans of older Lego and to those who merely seek something different. The minifigures and weapons are getting quite rare these days, and nothing quite like them is available anymore. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments. Playability: 7/10. Has fun grappling hooks and a zip line, plus ample ninjas to fight each other, but the lack of shooting cannon is unfortunate. Minifigs: 10/10. The Ninja Princess is pure win, as is the samurai. The red ninjas are nice as well. Value: 9/10 (based on original MSRP of $40): 328 parts is respectable, especially given that so many are "special," such as katanas, gold coins, and log bricks.

My collection is probably the saddest here: Bounty Boat (x1) Buried Treasure (x1) I also have several random Pirate accessories. :'-(

(OOC: Plot-wise, I see no logical way for us to know about the Carida situation...yet.) To Goggleson: "Negative, soldier, these mercenaries will fall quickly." To Inertia: "We will need help; signal to the other TIE pilots to disembark and move to our location. Meanwhile, we need to terminate these mercenaries. [points at nearby hovertruck] This craft should hold enough of our explosives to destroy the mercenary party ahead. [unclips five Class-E thermal detonators from his belt]." To Goggleson: "Here's the remote trigger; I'll pilot the truck towards the mercenaries, then jump out. Four seconds later, blow the explosives. They have a blast radius of 6m, so I should be clear by then."

I would love a Rancor, but to do it with proper size would require either 200-300 bricks or some new molds. Perhaps TLG could give us a big, Creator-style "Star Wars Creatures" box, something like 4894 Mythical Creatures. That way, we could have nice, brick-built Rancors, Fambaas, Tauntauns, etc.

To Inertia: "Negative on those Tartans, but the General's bombers will arrive shortly. If we don't have these X-wings eliminated by then..." [Voltio gets behind an X-wing and perforates its cockpit, destroying it. The battle continues...] Voltio: "This is too easy; Rebellion X-wings are more dangerous than this!" Inertia [destroys final X-Wing] "I concur; these must be from some outlaw group. Either way, they're gone."

Shop at Home USA has a couple new sale items... 8146 Nitro Muscle @ 24.99 (regular price $50) Scuderia Ferrari Truck 8654 @ 59.99 (Regular price $80, but when it came out in 2005, its MSRP was $60 (TLG raised their price some time ago, and now is dropping it back!) The Ferrari Truck is a nice piece. Also, Double Stamp Week starts in a few days at Lego stores. *sweet* Wallet implosion ON.

I know many dislike Ebay, but all--and I mean all--the Batman sets are available there for MSRP or less, even including shipping. I bought a Batwing there for $35 shipped recently. So really, even though retailers are no longer carrying the 07 Bat-sets, you can still buy them cheap in the USA.

I actually sold a "compromised" set over BL recently, a 6209 Slave I. I purchased it on clearance at Kmart, and thought it was fine...but then my customer informed me that someone had removed the minifigures and some of the rare parts! Needless to say, I gave them a full refund. What baffled me, though, was that the seals were nearly perfect; there was no way to see the problem short of weighing or opening the box. :'-(

I scored a Deep Freeze Defender and extra 1990s sets for $25 shipped. Of course, the DFD might need some Bricklink parts order rehabilitation 8-| . I could use your help, however, identifying the little white rover in the upper right photo. Looks like Futuron, maybe? http://tinyurl.com/2sfl58

To Genl. CW: "Sir, it seems that the Gelgelar Free Port contains no more Rebellion elements; our patrol has not turned up any more troopers outside of the medical outpost, and Inertia has removed all relevant intelligence from it before razing it to the ground. I would also like to bring to your attention, General, that Inertia has performed admirably on this mission, and his commitment to the Empire is impressive. We have loaded all valuable medical supplies into our civilian transport, and, with your permission, request to return to the ISD." To VBBN: "This planet is clean, and the objective has been neutralized."

Mine printed out with a blurry UPC as well, even though I used the "normal" setting instead of "draft" on my HP Deskjet 932C. So, when I went to Target last night to buy the new 4996 Creator Beach House, the UPC could not be scanned. It didn't matter, though, since the cashier just entered in the number under the UPC and gave me the discount with no problems.

An Ultimate Collector Series Super Star Destroyer, 6000 pieces as a minimum, all in dark bley. *wub* Failing that, a Cafe-Corner style realistic castle with 3000 pieces.

to Inertia: "Nice shot, commando! (surveys area, a dark alleyway) This rebel trooper can't have been working alone--unless he was on hospital guard duty. That also explains the helmet Goggleson found." to VBBN: "If this rebel soldier was any indication, their defenses here seem weak and disorganized. We can split up again to cover more ground if we remain vigilant."