Space78

Agree, a sticker would have been inexcusable in a set like this and given how large the image is on that piece. I would think custom stickers would be very easy to get/have made these days for anyone that wants them.

It did seem like it was just a matter of time given Lego did an up-scaled helmet in 40819 Up-Scaled Racing Driver Minifigure. So, who's ordering the max 5 sets on 1st day?

They're listed as "standard" parts on the US Lego site, not "bestseller", which means they ship from Denmark - so coming from Europe. We'll see if there is any change to that in coming days...

Both show out of stock as of now.

Yes, but not as good as when Wallmart put 10497 on clearance - less than $40, as I recall. I picked up 3.

Unfortunately, it's Next Generation rather than the original. Yeah, not worth buying the whole Blacktron set just for the trans yellow parts. Would work if one wanted all the black pieces. I'll have to look at the parts list on Bricklink.

Agree, I have no interest in this as a set, but it is favorably priced on clearance as a parts pack. Kind of depends if you need a lot of black or special yellow parts. I have no interest in Blacktron, just CS - so mostly blue and old light gray with trans yellow. I guess the trans yellow parts might be worth it?

That's a joke. Lego is the largest toy company in the world, has record profits and sales, and yet they need "support" by buying products we don't like?

Pictures are up on the USA Lego site. I'll likely get this one, but there are several disappointing features. Price is one of them for what you are getting. Agree this shows the back of the box with Power Up ready. One of the pictures of the side of the train shows the cable from the battery box to the motor. Not the nicest view as the power cable has to loop around under the engine because of its length. Also agree this is a poor rendition of a Lego steam engine. It looks much worse from the side than an angled view. The rear bogie ("truck" for us USA types) really does look like a diesel engine truck. It's also attached oddly to the "body" of the steam frame. Lot of air between the engine body and the rear truck/motor. The body of the engine looks more like a 5+ age build than something worthy of 18+ designation. Not sure I like the very large polar bear (in comparison to the train cars). It just seems very out of proportion to the train. I'm unclear where the price jump to $130 (US) is coming from. I don't see anything particularly special here, and it's 956 pieces. If Lego was trying to keep to a lower price point, how about a nice steam engine/tender and caboose, and drop the single car? Or do a UK-style tank engine with coal bunker followed by a boxcar for the battery box? Also not thrilled with the color scheme. Red/green is so traditional for the Christmas season AND looks great together. Why mess with that? The color scheme is more of an "Arctic Holiday Train" IMO.

Interesting… agree this looks like a bit of a “downgrade” compared to the previous holiday village train an/or the trolley. I don’t see any indication this includes a motor/battery., though the tender looks large enough for a battery box. Looks like a new element in the shape of a small blue steam engine.

I'm just wondering if Lego is reserving blue CS minifig for Benny specifically. Agree blue is popular, but to the mass public blue = Benny.

I don't want to be overly pessimistic, but I just feel like they've had ample opportunity to re-issue blue and black over the last 10 years, but for some reason Lego has not. Even red and yellow seemed like pretty limited release (only in sets 10497 Galaxy Explorer (red) 70841 Benny's Space Squad (yellow), I believe?) It seems white is the only CS minifig color Lego is willing to make generally available.

That's what I was thinking too. I'll be very surprised if the final version is blue.

Wow, great, and thanks for sharing the link. As one who loves Lego, Lego trains, and O gauge (Lionel) trains, it's great to see these paths cross. One huge difference between model railroading gauges and Lego trains is that the trains are powered through the rails rather than batteries. I think that severely limits the interest of "model railroaders" in Lego trains. Couple that with Lego's lack of support for a complete model rail road system, and it would be pretty tough for a model railroader to be happy with just Lego trains. I have to say, as much as I love Lego, my O gauge trains get a lot more play time than the Lego trains, and I have permanent layouts of both.

The vehicle look a bit like a Star Wars vehicle you'd find on Curuscant, though they don't seem to wear helmets in those vehicles.