dunamis

Well, with the drought of new sets here in the United States and the faster-than-light ability of Yoda to crank out reviews, it has been a slow Spring and Summer for Dunamis. I've kind of been the 'Reviewer without a Set' if you will. So, when the folks over at the LEGO Store finally received the latest batch of the 10190 Market Street set (which sold out in 3 hours by the way) they woke me up via phone I skipped out of work early to buy this sucker right up. Of course, after I'm about 3/4 the way through the build and review I see that Legocastlegirl already wrote up a nice review. I figured you can never have too many opinions on sets these days so I'll serve up my ramblings anyway. As usual, feel free to comment, compare, gripe, complain and question my sanity. Market Street Reviewed by Dunamis Set 10190 1248 Pieces $89.95 from LEGO Retail Store (Glendale, CA) Build time 4.0 hours The Box: The box itself is pretty standard with the two thumb tabs that you push in to open the box. That�s about where the standard ends. Note that the box graphics are pretty different than a normal set but is somewhat consistent with the other Factory sets. The set name is much smaller and �Factory� is displayed prominently. Very similar to the 10183 Hobby Train Set. Hopefully, we will see more modular house sets in the factory line. Here are a couple of more photos of the box: As you can see on the back of the box, we get some additional photos as well as quite a bit of text and descriptions. I can usually count on one hand the number of words on a LEGO box. Obviously, this is quite a departure from the standard layout. Finally, it was strange not to see the piece count on the box. The age was listed at 10+. Inside the box, the parts are in both the sealed bags and perforated bags (17 bags total.) There are also two baseplates, two bricks, two plates and one manual roaming free inside the box. The Manual: The single manual has 84 pages. It is well laid out and meets the LEGO standard we have come to expect of late. - Piece call outs for each step - Parts inventory at the end of the manual - Page numbers Color separation between black and dark bley continues to be a problem for me. Since this seems to be an ongoing issue, it occurred to me that I could be the issue and not the manual. Judging by my wife�s reaction of my pant/shirt color selection when I get dressed in the morning, it could just be that I am somewhat color blind in that spectrum. At any rate, if you don�t have any issue with differentiating black and dark bley in the manuals, then it is probably just me and you can ignore my ramblings. If you do have this same issue, then maybe we�re on to something. Random manual photos Parts list Overall, this is another fine effort from the LEGO manual designers. The Pieces: As with the Caf� Corner set, we get a ton of pieces in a wide range of colors. At first glance, you definitely will notice there are a lot of really small (1x1, 1x2, etc.) tiles and plates. Again, LEGO has blessed us with two female minifigs and one male minifig. No doubt it would be nice to have more, but with the recent �build your own minifig� station at the LEGO stores and the availability of bricklink minifig reinforcements we easily populate this establishment with more. Opps, that�s not his real hair! That�s better� Here are a couple of shots of the produce: And the part everyone has been waiting for: Interesting to note that there seems to be a very small (but noticeable) slit below the stud on the 1x1 brick with headlight. I�ve never noticed this slit before seeing it in the parts in this set. Also interesting is that the slit is not consistent between the pieces. Look at the size of the slit on the left brick versus the middle and right bricks. It gets progressively bigger. Is this slit by design (i.e they changed the mold for this brick) or are we seeing more quality control issues? I�ve also noticed some issues with the consistency of the colors in this set, especially with the light tan. As you might recall, this was a major complaint with the Caf� Corner set. However, the few clear doors that we get do not show the bubbles that almost all did in the Caf� Corner. The Build: As with the Caf� Corner, we have to put down some 1x1 tiles for the �brickwork� on the sidewalk. It is not as bad as Caf� Corner and actually goes pretty fast. The first section built is the little one story garden/gated area. This has some interesting architectural components as see in the photo below: Next we move on to the house. One of the first things you will notice is the smartly designed curving staircase in the front. The architecture of the house is reminiscent of some older houses in the big cities on the East Coast of the United States. No doubt this can be seen in Europe as well, I just don�t know where� The first floor is sits up a few bricks (hence the curved staircase outside to get up to it) and covers the � height basement. Lots of nice detail work on the stairs and railing remind you of the same detail of Caf� Corner. The individual floors build pretty quickly. Keep in mind this house is about � the size as the Caf� Corner. Again, we have some nice color selections on the 2nd floor and loft and plenty of windows. Here is what is left over: The Design: From an external perspective, the design is very nice. The fact that the floors are modular makes it even better. You can remove the 2nd floor and even rotate the 2nd floor and loft and the model still works well. Of course, you can always change the floors or add your own additional floors as well. The detail of this set is exceptional. From the railings on the balcony to the window awnings and to the roof patio with swivel chair, it has all been well thought out: Also note that the designer has maintained the consistency of Caf� Corner and when put together, the sets look great together: Here is a photo of all six minifigs together (Market Street minifigs are on top) Note that two of the hairpieces are exactly the same, but the faces in Market Street are unique (i.e. not the plain smiles). Now, from an internal perspective my opinion is that it is just too small. I�d like to add an interior but a majority of it is already consumed by the staircase which (unlike Caf� Corner) starts exactly in the center of the room on each floor. Then the staircase traverses the room effectively cutting it in half. Now, that doesn�t mean you can�t make an interior. In fact, some really nice ones were already done in the latest version of Brickjournal. No doubt there are some creative people out that who will make some amazing floor and have no trouble with the stairs. I can�t wait to see these designs as they will be an inspiration to change my set. Of all the floors the loft is my favorite because of the balcony and patio. As many of you know, I am more of a Star Wars fan so my additional photos are filled with minifigs of that theme: Overall Thoughts: A great set. Caf� Corner sets the standard and it is hard to live up to it. However, this is a very nice complimentary set and has some great design features. The light and dark blue is a nice change of pace as well. The minifigs are nice, but somewhat similar to Caf� Corner (two of the hairpieces between the sets are exactly the same.) It would be nice to get a little more creative on the minifigs. The price to part ratio is very good although probably 25% of the pieces are very small 1x1 or 1x2 tiles and plates. Color selection is great. If you liked Caf� Corner you will like this as well. Final Rating: 86% Build 9/10 (Pretty quick for the number of pieces. No gotchas.) Functionality 7/10 (It fits in nicely with the theme. The house feels to small to me though.) Design 9/10 (Nicely done especially on the exterior) Parts 9/10 (Excellent. New minifig heads are a plus) Price 9/10 (The price ratio is great but LOTS of small parts.)

I just bougt this set a couple of days ago and should have my review posted tonight. I hadn't seen Legocastlegirls review otherwise I probably would not have written it. Since my review is about 75% done, I might as well post it anyway.

Oh, that's cool! I'm working on a review right now and that would be very useful!

Best set ever...

First of all, thanks for the review. I actually have this set and have always liked the look of it but I've never had a chance to open the box and actually build the thing. Secondly, I really enjoy this discussion between Gylman and 5150. We've had these before and I really enjoy reading all the comments about the pneumatics and functionality of the Technic sets. The last big Technic set I built was the tow truck 8285 Lugnet 8285 (it is still on my shelf) but I was disappointed in the overall functionality of the set. I actually reviewed it here last year if you are so inclined to wade through my ramblings Dunamis Review of 8285. At any rate, I have the AirTech Claw and it is a very nice set as well. I do have the 8459 and 8455 but have never taken the time to build them. All this Technic talk has made me want to break them out and spend the long weekend building them out. At least I would then be able to contribute more to this discussion. Unfortunately, I haven't seen much promise in this year's Technic sets. Although the new motor functions are intriguing, it seems that LEGO just continues to recycle the same models every few years. I mean, how many cranes, dozers, backhoes can we possibly have?

I think so. I didn't upload all the photos. Let me see what I have at home. Not much, they are just a duplo brick with a sticker on it. They are more collectors items than anything. I've already seen some on bricklink (from this weekend) for $5 each. I'm telling you, I was absoluted shocked when I first saw it! Words and pictures don't do it justice. You have to see it in person. It is HUGE!

My family and I attended the LEGO Star Wars weekend yesterday at LEGOLand, California. We had a great time and they had a number of activities going on. Here are some photos and a few comments: As usual, they gave away a promo brick as long as you had your kids with you. I have two girls so I snagged a couple. They were pretty strict about not giving them out, but you could fill out this form to get some in the mail. We

DJ - thanks for all the great info. A couple of questions for you: The current SBDs are more gray and the originals from the 7163 were the metallic blue. Just for clarification, did the photos you saw have the gray (new) or metallic blue (old) SBDs? The Grievous model sounds fantastic! Is it more of a Technic set like the 8000 series models (C3PO, Jango, Darth Vader, Battle Droid and SBD, etc.)? Can you share about the other UCS sets you have seen? Thanks again!

Wow, that really is amazing! I love the use of the old Ninja wings.

Welcome to the boards!

Well, I must admit that these photos make it look a lot better than I first thought. As always, I will reserve final judgment when I can actually build the thing. I can see why some would like the first version better (myself included). This seems like the first re-design that has not been overall received positively (in terms of design). Personally, I think both models are too small. The ship needs to be about 50% larger. But I digress...

Great news! Looking forward to some pics. Thanks for the info.

I'm probably headed into the LEGO store in Glendale, CA this weekend. I'll check to see if they have anything like this.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have used USPS a handful of times to ship overseas (mainly to the UK) without any issues. It was pretty quick actually (about a week from California.) I have used UPS once or twice and they seemed to want more paperwork (even when shipping just to Canada.) Yes, I have taken a look at my collection and the amount of space it takes up and started to trade and sell some of my extras or items I no longer want. I went through a period when I would buy sets because they were a good deal or on clearance somewhere and have found that I have no interest in them later. I'm pretty much sticking with Star Wars, Technic, Pirate, Castle themes plus some of the other sets like Corner Cafe, etc. Anyway, sorry for the dissertation and thanks for the advice.

Wow, some old school stuff in there!

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. I love my Cafe Corner (and I'm a Star Wars & Technic fan) and this will look great sitting next to it.

Thanks for the advice. I have used USPS about half a dozen times and it has been fine. It does seem a bit on the expensive side though. I'll look into fedex and DHL to see what they offer.

Hi. I was looking for advice on the best and most economical way to ship LEGO from the United States overseas (specifically Australia, U.K., Canada, Western Europe). Does anyone have any advice on which carriers to use? Thanks for the help.

I believe it is slated for a Fall release. The 2006 house is still widely available (at least in the US) so this guy will likely be out later this year.

It is in the upper right on this page: TRU Website

Very nice set! Thanks for the pics. Have to add this to the list of sets, but so far I have yet to see any of the new sets here in California.

Wow, I really like the design, especially the landing gear. Those tubes and missile launchers have to go...

I was hoarding LEGO like this for a while and recently decided to do the following: Of the sets I really liked, I would keep one MISB and one open on display. Of the sets I wanted to keep (because I liked the build or it was just a cool set, i.e. Technic) I would keep just the set and toss the box (because the box takes a lot of space.) Of the sets I absolutely know are going to go up in value I keep a few MISB to trade or sell later. Sell or trade everything else. For a collection like yours, I would consider taking a photo inventory and having it insured. We had a discussion about this a few months ago and a fire could wipe out thousands from your collection. I had a water leak and was lucky I didn't get any of my MISB sets wet which would have reduced their value substantially.

I've been up at Microsoft HQ in Seattle a number of times and they are showcasing this in their "Future Home of Tomorrow". Their idea is that everyone would have one of these 3D printers on their desktop. If you ever broke something (i.e. a child's toy, battery cover for your cordless phone, etc.) you could go to the manufacturer's website and download the "image" of the broken item and just "print" a replacement. Fascinating stuff. Microsoft seems to think this will be mainstream within the next 5-10 years.

Very nice review. Looks like you definitely hit the mother load of new sets. I was just at the LEGO store at downtown Disney yesterday and all I got were blank stares when I asked about new Star Wars, new Castle, new Space, new Technic, etc. I agree about the color selection and the details even in these little sets. Looks like it will be a great theme. I'm glad to see the shields are printed instead of stickers like what we saw the Castle set last year.