Derek

I would buy Green Grocer and the Death Star ASAP because I don't think they will make it past Christmas. Winter Toy Shop too. You might have a while for the Emerald Night though... Hope it helps. -Derek

Thanks for the review! I didn't really notice the dust- your pictures are fantastic as always! The figures make this set- if it weren't for them, it would flat-out suck. I like the new Hooch, but only the goggle face. Lego screwed up the opportunity to make a nice older female face, but I don't even know what this demonic looking thing is. The actual set design is the weakest of the line- it seems very thrown together and not very fluid. If only Lego would give us a set like this with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff... -Derek (P.S.- When Diagon Alley is released, you HAVE to review it. You have no other choice. )

The new Police sets look great for once! The new parts and figures really spice things up. I probably won't get any except for the figure pack, which looks great! I really love the new dog mold, however, I think it's either a really cheap reddish brown, or the new PoP nougat color! -Derek

I think that's just the Walmart holiday toy catalog. I think those prices will hold true from now (or soon) through Christmas . -Derek

Good for you. Not only do I not like using Bricklink, but I also prefer to get actual sets. There is something I like about buying a set as a whole and not just the bits and pieces I like. Besides, I can't justify upwards of $20 for a (used) piece of plastic. I am just glad Rex is in a set that I actually want so I can obtain him the "old fashioned" way. -Derek

I sincerely apologize. I didn't realize how huge they were, but I have resized and reposted them. I don't post too many pictures, but now I know how to resize for the future. I'm sorry! And thanks for the positive feedback! -Derek

Hey Everyone! As you all know, the Burrow is a fantastic set with great design and pieces. This weekend, I wanted to make an alternate build with pieces from 4840 (and also some from 4736 Freeing Dobby and a few other bits like turkey, cow, etc.) Here is the Chudley Cannon Tavern (I thought the stickered piece made a nice sign, hence the name ) Interior House elf upstairs... Owl Perch Dinner! Some little punk is trying to give the cow a branding... The loud mooing caught the attention of the barkeep... The figures Link to Flickr set and Hi-Res Brickshelf gallery (when public). Thanks for looking! -Derek

Hey everyone! Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year, as well as a good one to get some deals on Lego. As of right now, I don't know of any ads that have been released, but they should start to trickle out over the next couple of weeks. I know Target usually releases a higher end set ($80-100) range from the year before for a 40-50% discount. They usually go fast, so its always my most sought after Black Friday item . In the past, they have even restocked sets for the Black Friday item that they previously stopped selling. Unless they change it up this year, right now I think some possible options are- -Castle- 7097 Troll Mountain Fortress -Space Police- 5974 Galactic Enforcer -Pirates-6243 Brickbeard's Bounty -Indiana Jones- 7199 Temple of Doom -City- 7642 Garage -SW- 8038 Battle of Endor -Power Miners- 8964 Titanium Command Rig Feel free to speculate here, and when news comes around, post that too! -Derek

I reeeeally hope that the helmet in the V-Wing is a black version of the Clone pilot helmet. That combo with the orange visor head looked really cool and was one of my most anticipated figures of the new lineup. -Derek

Please excuse me for not wanting to sort through the past 15 pages of banter, but has it been confirmed that the new set with Luminara is the Battle of Geonosis that was rumored in the supposed summer list? If it is, I'm kinda bummed. This definitely looks like a solid set, but I was hoping for a set based on Episode II... -Derek

Adam Lambert scares the s@!$ out of me. Anyway, great vig! I like your use of the new 2x2 jumpers! -Derek

You're all wrong. The figures are obviously Dr. Nuvo Vindi, Lobot, Max Rebo, Yarael Poof and Chewbacca's family (Mallatobuck, Lumpawarrump, and Attichitcuk). And I guess this reveals that next year's S@H exclusive is based on the Holiday Special. Darn. I shouldn't have said that.

Thank you! The new one is certainly an improvement. I always thought the glow-in-the-dark face was ridiculous for Snape. I feel like the perfect Snape would consist of the black Dastan hair, the 2007 face and torso, and the original legs. -Derek

Hey everyone! Our member Ferdik posted this in the 2011 City thread and I didn't see anything about it over here so I thought I would start a thread for 2011 Kingdoms rumors. A windmill seems interesting, as well as new printed animals. I like this type stuff better than outposts and drawbridges . -Derek

I noticed on that Dutch(?) list that the Sith Infiltrator had a Jan. 1st release date. Perhaps it is a store exclusive? Maybe to Walmart in the US? -Derek

Yet again, another fantastic review! I want to get this set because I don't have any of the other Hogwarts sets, and we might not ever see one again . And the figures are simply too hard to resist! I was disappointed not to see a comparison between the different versions of Snape- he is one of the figures that has seen the most drastic changes from version-to-version. Thanks again for the great review! -Derek

Must admit that I havent been following this thread much lately... But I do want to comment on the new rumors- As for the "rumors" Master Windu 7495 provided- they are most certainly fake or at least severely exaggerated as far as figure count goes. I counted a total of 26(!) figures (most of which unique) in your description of the Geonosis set, which is more than the Death Star and something we will never probably ever see in a standard release set. Another trend I noticed in the list was the high number of figures like Geonosians and Gammorean Guards (between 6-8 etc.) This is somehting else that Lego most likely wouldn't do (except battle droids, but I hardly count those as figures) However, the original list we saw seems like it could definitely be true. If it is, I am much more interested in it than I am the winter sets, of which I only plan on buying a couple. People have been saying that TLC never releases more than two BP's a year, however, they have only been producing them for four years, so it wouldn't be a decade old precedent they would be breaking. Remember there was a time where we didn't have any battle packs at all. Battle packs seem to be a huge cash cow for TLC and Lucas, so I wouldn't be surprised to see four in a year. -Derek

How about a dark red Dumbledore? If Lego is even going to include a figure with this, it is probably going to be pretty iconic, like the Luke with the SW dictionary. So I think we can rule out the possibility of Percy Weasley...

Did it really bother you that much???

Penguin! I just noticed this thread! all of these figures are fantastic! Harry Potter is what got me into Lego, so I always have a soft spot for seeing characters in minifigure version...so dorky, I know... If Lego decides to continue Harry Potter we NEED an updated Moody as well as Tonks (Yours is PERFECT! ) I would also like to see some more official GoF characters, like your Karkaroff and Maxine. Thanks a lot for sharing these, they are fantastic! -Derek

Hmm. I haven't been keeping up with this thread as often as I used to, but I just thought I would say that I'm not too impressed with the new JSF set. If it was Mace's purple Eta, I would buy it without a thought. However, I think this is just another Delta JSF in a line of progressively worse JSF's. As for the price, It looks like a $30 set, but considering Plo's is $25, this one will easily be $35-40. As of right now, I think I will pass on this. I'm not completely feeling 2011 Star Wars-wise. I honestly think it is because of the gaping lack of OT sets.

Wow! A WHOLE day??? What nerve... No, but seriously, considering there is no gigantic hype for new Harry Potter merchandise like there would be say, for a new Star Wars movie, I don't think stores are terribly worried about having them out at the stroke of midnight. But it does seem like they are steadily trickling out into the shops... I used Target's "Find it at a Target Store" feature to see that my local store has them in stock. I will hopefully be going to get the Burrow later! -Derek

The most expensive set I've paid full price for was the Grand Emporium. This one is going to be the next. I love this set. 2 years ago, if you told me we were going to get this set, I would have called you crazy. I was happy enough we got the 6 sets that we did, but this is the icing on the cake. It is quite likely that it is the last HP we see (even though the S@H preorders indicate that they will sell like crazy)and I think it is a great way to go out. The set is great, but I would have liked to see more detail in Borgin and Burkes and Gringotts. The safe in Gringotts has to be the worst part of the set- it's mix of colors is reminiscent of the original HP sets and not a 2011 Exclusive. The new 3 all-new figures (Ollivander, Fred and George) are just great, but the others seem a bit lazy. The Goblins just reuse Flitwick's torso and I would have liked to see printed heads, like on Dobby. A new casual torso for Hermione would have been nice as well. Ron seems especially gingery () with the completely red/brown outfit, so I might switch out the pants. While it's nice to see Malfoy, Greyback and Hagrid again, for some reason they feel like afterthoughts, even though they make perfect sense being in the set. I am really happy Lego gave us Fred and George! -Derek

Holy crap. I don't even know what to say. I will comment more tomorrow. But--- Wow. Wow.

:wub: :wub: Thank you so much for this review! I have been waiting a long time for a review of this set! I think this easily has potential to win a spot as one of the best sets as 2010, as it is all around fantastic. I don't remember being so excited for a normal release set in a long time and I think this one might live up to the hype! The parts, the design and details, the figures, the accessories- this is a near perfect set! I am eagerly waiting to get this set! Thanks for the thorough review! -Derek