Tohst

Those new pictures are great! Can't wait for later today when we should see different angles from actual toys. One worry. The Makuta gimmick weapon to me looks air powered, like you press on the little air pump in back and it blows out the ammo. Let's hope it works better than the Mars Mission air powered weapons. Heck, lets hope it works better than the squids. Anyway, I still don't see the Nuva sets as being the same characters. The don't have any of the original feel of them at all. Ah well, at least I'm lucky enough to have the originals so I can just keep using those. -Tohst

I know what I want that we won't see; buildings. The architecture of Gotham is idealily as much of a character as the stars. So, I want police headquarters with a rooftop, batsignal, Gordon, Renee Montoya, and yes, maybe even a Batman. You could even throw Bane in there as there has been at least one fight with him there. Or was that a dream sequence in the animated series? I want a clock tower with Oracle, Huntress (I know, dream on), and if we say everything has to have a bad guy, Clock King I want whatever that tower-thingy is that the Bat-clan sits on and looks out from. With Nightwing, and Azrael And I want Wayne Manor with Ra's and Talia What I have a chance of getting: Another batmobile with the Riddler on his tricycle. A Javelin 7 type batplane and ManBat And A helicopter pack Batman and Poison Ivy -Tohst

It looks great! Are you sure the steps are too steep? Because I remember standing at the top (when you could still go to the top) and thats about how steep they looked...or even steeper. Now if you could make a clap sound bounce off of it and sound like a bird, I'd say you were the greatest Lego builder of all time. -Tohst - scared of heights

Glass houses and stones and all that. I mean, anyone who spends time posting to a message board about Legos should hold back judgement. We all have our hobbies, and if this guy finds enjoyment from his collection, more power to him. It is a nice collection. and he even has the room to display it all. -Tohst

Thanks for the pics and review. I've been trying to resist running up to Woodfield to look for this set and you've made it that much harder. One comment: From your review: However, there has to be something cooler you can build with 50 pieces than a goofy, flimsy, illogical half wall. How did it get there? What is it defending? Don't they realize an enemy can just walk around to get past it? You know, there are historical precedents to countries spending a lot of time and money on defenses the enemy then just went around. Can we call it a Maginot Wall? -Tohst

So, the real question for those of you who like Exo-Force: Will this news stop you from buying the last sets? Or will it make you buy more of them because there ain't no more after this? Or will it not change your buying habits? And I say for those that like Exo-Force because replies of 'I've always hated them so won't waste my money on them anyway' does nothing to satisfy my curiousity about how this will affect people's buying habits. -Tohst

Oh well, I liked Exo-Force. I think it gave us good pieces in a good range of colors. The system to ball joint connectors were brilliant. And unlike other themes *cough Bionicle cough* having different colors every year provided diversity. That said, there really were some stinkers design wise. The 2007 mechs just rehashing the 2006 mechs. (Admittedly, the 2008 mechs, especially the little spider one did a good job of taking the basic concept and mixing it up a bit). The non-mech sets were usually uninspired. The tank this year, for instance, is pretty bad. I'm sure the pieces and some influences will make it into other lines and thats good enough for me. It may be the end of Exo-force but there is no end to Lego. -Tohst

I'll tell you what I think. I've thought for a long time that the Advent Calendar would be a great preview of next year's sets to get excitement going. Not just for castle (which I'm hoping is the case and next year there will be sets with civillians) but for the new line up overall. Think of how exciting last year would've been if the advent calendar contained an orc, Indiana Jones, exo-force jungle guy (or mini-robot), a clone trooper (in new cartoon look), an Alien Commander, and a delivery man (and maybe Santa). Lego fans would be drooling every year to get this special preview of next year's sets. -Tohst...nobody asks me

Those look great. If only the skeleton one had a trans-yellow scorpion as well as a spider? What? I thought all themes were spare parts for space? Tohst

It looks like the same tent they had in some of the Adventurer's sets so my guess is its not changing from paper? What issue did you have with the truck cover? I kind of liked it. -Tohst

I sort by type. I just wish the type I have the most of wasn't 'currently unsorted' -sigh- And does finishing the basement of your current house put you at step 24? How about finishing the basement of the house you bought in the first place because you wanted extra room for your Lego and now you realize it just isn't big enough? -Tohst

Yes! For me, its not that I want the old colors back to the exclusion of the new. I want them to mix them up a bit more. And here's an idea. A Toa of fire with bright Red and dark Red accents. Or a Toa of water with dark Blue and bright Blue accents. Or a Toa of Ice with ummm, White with White accents. Okay, you can skip the last one. -Tohst

I did the 200 jet from Futuron but it may not be fair. You see, its more about how I first saw it and I how I felt. You see, I was in high school, working at a movie theatre for a few extra bucks. Years earlier I had written Susan Williams (fake US Customer service woman) and asked about sets that I had seen pictures of in catalogues but were never sold. And what did she tell me but that they were only available in Europe! The scandal! The horror! The urge to collect! She even gave me a store to contact if I wanted to buy from Europe. Magasin Du Nord. So, after some confusing phone calls and a trip to get an international money order I placed an order and got a high speed train and some other sets that were Europe only at the time but the majority ended up available in the US for half the cost I ended up paying. But it also came with a catalog! And as I eagerly flipped through looking for other Europe only sets, I finally got to space. And the first page had Alien Moon Stalker and a bunch of other available sets. Disheartened I turned the page and there was Futuron! With 6932 (Stardefender 200 in the US) right in the middle. And all these space men in NEW uniforms! with Visors! (that in the US we had just seen on Blacktron). New Uniforms really for the first time ever in Space. And a monorail! And a uniform color scheme! and it looked so different than what came before! And *brain explodey*. Thankfully, I had no money left and by the time I could scrape enough together for another European package Futuron had landed in the US. And the cool set with the weapon pods on the side was mine! -Tohst plus the classic space one was overshadowed by Galaxy Explorer

Mini-fig dimensions. I mean, they probably didn't realize in the late 70s that these little suckers were going to be the face of Lego for the next 30 years. They're cute. I love them but...they're short and stumpy and hard to build around. -Tohst

The thing is, TLC has done so many good things. Thats why everyone here is a fan. I mean, where do you start? 1978 and classic-space. I mean, talk to any engineer of a certain age and you have a good chance this helped them down the road of science and engineering. I know I know, the open endedness of the (lack of) story doesn't focus group well today. But with space exploration being a very real topic of news at the time, this allowed kiddies at home to start their own adventures and dream. 2001 and Bionicle? This is lego? and yet ....the cash probably saved Lego from doing something dumb like selling out to Hasbro. The ball joints allow a lot of flexibility as seen in Exo-Force. Bionicle, even for people who hate Bionicle, has to be considered a good thing. and 200 things in between and even one or two after 2001 like the modular buildings. -Tohst

Or you're like me and have tons of parts and thus need tons of canisters. More canisters please! And it would also be nice to utilize designs that allow the canisters to stack easily. Also, transluscent plastic is better than opaque so I can see whats in them without labeling them. Okay? Thanks! Bye! -Tohst Seriously, its a little creepy. Canister after Canister filled with mini-figs. Their lifeless smiles staring out through the darkened plastic.

Check out 7644, the big spaceship. Looks like 1 whole wing right in the front center of the ship. So, unless you're going for a battle damaged look, you might need two of the set unless there is a second one hidden. of course, that wing could disappear in the final set anyway -Tohst

I don't see why they would have to be dark blue. Lego hasn't seemed to restrict piece colors like that before across themes. Or course, with the new production processes in place to maximize profits you could be right. However... If we get Black wings here. And Orange wings in a new Town set. And White wings in a new MM set. Where will purple wings for Mace's ship come from? ;-) -Tohst

As long as it isn't too feminine. Then its kinda creepy. Tohst - pointing the finger at people who lust after mini-figs and such Also, if you give a toy a name that sounds like Mistake-a, you're asking for trouble. Come On!

Actually, If I remember correctly, I liked the Mahri first pictures. Its when I had them in hand that many were just not so good. Matoro I think was my least favorite and I didn't even buy him until he was on clearance. So, I really don't end up loving them. I do buy them because someday those pieces in those colors might be exactly what I want in a MOC and bricklink would take days...DAYS! And I'll add, now that I have two of the 2008 Toa Nuva in hand. What I didn't like about the pictures is what I don't like about the sets. Lewa, in particular, has been dissaseembled and his mask given to Levosik (thats the name, right? ) so he has a unique mask. Pohatu I like and Kopaka I can't be bothered to buy until I see a massive sale. -Tohst Its a sickness

How can you tell Tahu to shut his pie-hole if he don't got no pie-hole? Seriously, from what I can tell from the pictures these three Toa aren't bad but don't have any resemblance to the old Toa Mata. I guess thats why others were saying the Spring Toa did have a closer look to the old Toa, because compared to these, the resemblance is amazing. ;-) Oh well, I can't tell too much without better pictures. Its funny. The picture of the vehicle with the Red Toa-sized guy on it made me say 'I hope thats not Tahu's mask, because I didn't think it looked like Tahu. And now I'm thinking that mask looked much more like Tahu Nuva than this looks like either Nuva or Mata. Well, I liked Kopaka better than Tahu anyway and had already decided his original form wasn't being retired so now original Tahu hangs out with original Kopaka and fights Makuta. Oh, and last thing...the new bad guys. We need better pictures. I was a fan of the look of the Spring Makuta despite some parts-monkey drawbacks. These look less good so far. Maybe the clear pictures will knock my socks off (and turn them evil by draining their light.) -Tohst Tahu, shut your pie-hole and stay out of the Wools worth!

What did I buy this week: 7663 - Sith Infiltrator - found at Wal-Mart on clearance. $17 much better in person than in pictures. Why they insisted on photographing it at the angle that makes the curved slopes not mesh well I will never know. I only bought this on clearance and liked it enough that I would have probably paid full price if I had known. Recommended 7670 Hailfire and Spider Droid - full price $20 yikes, I like the set but the pieces fill up about a third of the box. $20 is too much. Mildly Recommended. Recommended if you find it on sale for $15 or less 8113 Tiger Assault Mech - full price $15 (not $20 like TRU wants to sell it at) Nice. A nice change up from what has become standard Exo-force style. The powerful legs and feet really give this mech personality. Recommended (if I didn't think I'd like it, I wouldn't buy it. Thats why there are so many recommendeds) 7695 MX-11 Astro Fighter - found at Wal-Mart on clearance $2.50 Stupid alien, stupid cockpit, otherwise nice little ship. Mildly Recommended at clearance price. I mean at this point, it was an impuse set. 7669 - Anakin's Starfighter - full price $20 It looks more lego than the original ep II starfighter which relied too much on large slope pieces for my liking. I think the anime Anakin hair is giving me a new hairpiece for my sig fig (give it a couple more years and I won't need a hairpiece for my sig fig...but I might need one for real me...yikes). Despite that, I think I like the older version better. As it looks like this ship will feature prominently in the new Star Wars shows, its probably good to have around so I can squeal like a little kid and swoosh it around. It does swoosh nicely as the wings are slightly more stable than the older version. Wow, two specifics as to why I like this better than the old version but the certain je ne sais quois still tips towards the old one Mildly Recommend if you have the original, Recommended if you don't. 8925 - Barraki Deepsea Patrol - clearance, again at Wal-Mart - $20 I bought it because I saw a review here that the mini-figs had new arm pieces. They do! Yay! I'll say this was better than I expected. The creature/vehicle was solid and used the Bionicle pieces to give an interesting organic look to an otherwise solid (maybe a tad boring) build. The ball joints are already having trouble holding the darn thing up. The squid launcher is worthless (but you knew that). A couple of good pieces in the little escape pod and the tentacles and the aforementioned figures. It wasn't good enough to make me go back and buy the other two sets at clearance. Mildly recommended at clearance prices. 8106 Aero-Booster - clearance at Wal-Mart -$15 Highly Recommended at this price! Second copy of set. Very fun little set. Strap on the jets and hold on! 8952 Mutran and Vican - full price $15 So, you get a better version of a ten dollar set and a 6 dollar set for 15 bucks? all right. I like the claws on Mutran which I guess are the only 'upgrade' on the Makuta. The lime color scheme is nice. But, wow, more black bodies. Barely repainted masks. Eh, not much less than I would expect from a store exclusive. Not recommended if you have the other Makuta, Mildly Recommended if you don't. Highly Recommended if you're going to buy everything you can that says Bionicle anyway (or if, worse, like me, you'll buy anything with Lego on it) The clearance sales were very bad around here. Target had nothing except a remote control train set that I didn't remember them ever having to begin with. Wal-Mart had a couple of things but for the most part everything was picked over. I also think I'm at the point I've gotten the necessessities for 2008. Until the next batch comes out (2008 castle sometime soon), I'll just be picking up impulse sets and random sets to fuel the addiction. -Tohst