voltio

To General Casewindu: I received your orders, but was delayed by pirate activity near Myrkr and was unable to rendezvous with LOP before his departure. My transport is has passed Selonia, and I should be landing at Coronet shortly to carry out the mission with the others. My apologies, sir.

I see your point that more cargo capacity would have been better. Nevertheless, my personal preference is for smaller "classic" scale City sets. The mail van is nice and small, and should fit well with my road plates and 1990s cars from the 4561 train. On a side note, did anyone notice the message on the back of both sets' boxes, "designed for easy building and instant play"? It surprised me a little, since these sets seem no less complex than any other City set of late. They look like quick builds, sure, but not as though the designers went out of their way to simplify them.

The Empire is unfazed by this loss. His Lordship *vader* will be more than sufficient to parry any Jedi "threats," and his inspirational leadership [read: force-choke method of persuasion] will turn green recruits such as myself into hardened veterans more quickly than you expect. *skull*

While there was a yellow-marked battle droid officer in the 3343 minifigure pack released in 2000, the battle droid commander from 7670 is different. The new 7670 commander has a torso made of all yellow plastic, whereas the 2000 battle droid commander had a tan torso with yellow printings, and a tan head with yellow printings. So, while we have had a BD commander before, the 7670 commander is "new."

I've been keeping the box since I was six years old. I remember my father forbidding me to throw away the boxes to my Dragon Masters sets I got for Christmas; since then, I have kept nearly all my boxes (except those that were badly damaged from shelf wear or shipping). I think that many sets look better when displayed next to their boxes, so I have a "wall" of SW boxes behind my SW sets. They make a fine background.

The giant troll is an incredible minifigure (though he's not "mini" at all!), so he got my vote for the best of '07. I know I'm beating a dead horse, but I have to board the hate train against the MM aliens. :-X Considering how differentiated the 2001 Life on Mars aliens were, with vibrant colors and face printings, the 2007 MM things are unacceptable. They look like some kind of cheap candy. Tasty, sure, but not Lego quality. *n*

I think that the upcoming General Grievous set (most likely a statue or bust intended for display, not play) suggests that Lego thinks AFOLs will buy high-dollar PT collectibles. I would not be unsurprised if we got at least one more PT UCS set before the end of the license, though maybe not this year. My personal prediction, however, is that we get another character bust or statue. UCS Jar-Jar, anyone? :-P

Imperial Academy graduate Voltio reporting for duty. Long live the New Order!

I agree with those who say that Agents is probably an exciting, playable theme for kids, in the vein of Alpha Team or Mars Mission. After all, If I was eight years old, how could I *not* like a gigantic truck bristling with weaponry? It's like a mobile Sentai Fortress! And it's not as though AFOLs are hurting for choice right now, either. SW sets are debuting at a furious pace, City is strong, Castle is back, etc. Even though I probably won't buy any of it, I wish Agents the best. *y*

As a former owner of the old AT-TE, I can assure you that almost any new leg design would be an improvement. If one applies pressure to the top of the old 4482, the "system" legs separate from the body. Plus, they are hard to pose (not flexible, with stiff joints). The legs on the 4482 were so bad, Lego had to modify the design during the production run and issue service packs (I can post scans of the changes if anyone is interested). I'm sure that adding more TECHNIC to the legs will make them stronger and better articulated. For this reason, I see the new AT-TE as a great step forward. *wub*

There are now 85 (!) items in the S@H United States Sales & Deals section. Among the best: SW Magnet Minifig Packs reduced to $9.99 Castle Chess Set reduced to $39.99 9Volt Train oval layout 50% off, to $14.99 8289 Technic Fire Truck for $49.99 I bought a chess set, since it includes several rare figures (the Wizard and Princess, along with the creepy, evil Undead Queen 8-| ). Buy now, before the supplies are gone.

I'm insanely happy about these! *wub* The AT-TE and Gunship are probably my favorite land vehicles of the PT, so for Lego to release both in the same summer is incredible news. I was going to buy the AT-AP and (perhaps) Rogue Shadow, but now I think *saving* is a better idea. Must buy multiples of the RGS... 8-

I haven't gotten any free LEGO, but I have stumbled across a few great deals at school. One time, I made a (poor) movie for Latin class about the labors of Hercules, all in Lego bricks. One of my classmates mentioned that he had some old Lego Star Wars...long story short, I got a 7163 Republic Gunship, 4483 AT-AT, 4482 AT-TE, 7143 Jedi Starfighter, and Tusken Raider Encounter for $210.00 They were mint, as though he had put them together once, then popped them back in their boxes for posterity. He probably would have sold them for less had his parents not intervened. Last week, I overheard someone else mention that he would give away his 7181 TIE Interceptor UCS because his brother had "broken" it. :-P Come on, Lego hardly ever breaks! So I negotiated to buy it for $40. He also sold me his nearly new 10030 UCS Star Destroyer for $90, since he lost the magnets. To make up for that fact, he threw in a small bucket of Lego Star Wars figures, including ep. 2 clones, Vader, and Jedi Jimmy. *y*

If I were you, I would buy the 4508 off of Ebay...if you check out the completed listings, XPs sell for max. $25 used.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think that this set is quite good. It has the same colors and construction techniques as the 7261 CTT, so the AT-AP will look sharp displayed next to it in Clone Wars dioramas. The UK pricing is :-X , so I can see why the original reviewer is displeased, but the USA price of $40 seems fair. The only thing I can complain about are the shock troopers (we have enough from the battle packs) and the exposed gunner turret, which can be easily MOCed away by removing the seat and making it unmanned.

My parents used to get me LEGO every Christmas when I was younger, but as my tastes have gotten more particular and expensive, they have increasingly given me cash instead. I can't fault them at all, since they are paying for college tuition. *wub* Anyway, having cash means that I can wait for killer sales and get 1.5 to two times as much LEGO for the money.

A few years ago, amazon.com was liquidating the 4483 AT-AT for $50.00. I knew it was an amazing price, so I ordered two. The next day, when the 4483 was sold out, amazon emailed me back informing me that my credit card had been declined. >:-( Equally bad was my decision to pass on a $90 7163 Republic Gunship in 2004 because of high shipping costs from Canada. Yes, I messed up bigtime. :-P

In the USA, the 7663 Sith Infiltrator is showing up as "sold out" on SAH. It is also "not available" on Walmart.com, the only other retailer to carry it in America. If you have been sitting on the fence about buying this set, I would suggest buying one now. 8-

I ordered a 7036 from target.com last night, and as of this morning it seems to be in stock online. I do agree that brick-and-mortar Targets are sold out, though. http://www.target.com/Lego-LEGO-Castle-Dwa...20castle&page=1

In the USA, the Dwarves Mine 7036 is still available for $49.99 from target.com. Tax and shipping must be added, but you can usually find some small coupon code that will knock the price down a few bucks. Pretty good deal, considering that they're selling for $90 on ebay. *y*

For all Chicago, Illinois members... Cut Rate Toys on Devon Avenue is having a super sale today, Thanksgiving, and tomorrow. Batcave for $29.99, Arkham Asylum for 34.99, and Slave I for 36.99. ALSO: Tuesday Morning has a doorbusters sale for Black Friday: Your choice of Arkham Asylum, Batcave, or UCS Batmobile for $29.99! *wub*

IMHO, you get the parts much faster if you call in rather than requesting them online. I had to request some missing Viking armor that way, and even though it was a rare part that service said had to ship from Denmark, the armor reached Chicago in 2 weeks. Totally free for me, zero hassles. Of course, calling Service can result in miscommunication. I was missing some long flex tubes from my UCS Y-Wing , but the online system didn't list them as being part of the set, and I couldn't find the part number (in 2004, the back page of the instruction booklets didn't always have the parts list). So I ended up having call Service to describe the tubes. :-$ Me: "Well, they're hollow, but not very, and really long. Kind of like a really bad straw crossed with a tea-stirrer." Service: "I'm sorry...what?"

:-( Today I found out the answer...the best sets do not always go on sale. The Hoth Base 7666, Sail Barge 6210, and X Wing 6212 are now "not available" on Shop at Home USA...I would have purchased them sooner, but with Black Friday being so close, I was holding out for free shipping or some mild discounts. Oh well. The force was not with me. The moral of the story? If you really want a set, purchase it as soon as you can. Otherwise, know that you may find disappointment.

I know that it's always better to have the correct parts in Lego sets, but this blaster error seem almost beneficial to me. I mean, there are tons of short blasters in sets like the new MTT, but fewer opportunities to get the long ones.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Greedo's head. It was so lovely...an extravagant new mold usable on pretty much one character only, and made of shiny ABS too! *wub* Of course, it probably contributed to the 4501 Cantina being so expensive...