Dark_Avenger

Discontinuing Batman wasn't even a gradual thing where the remainder of the stock was around for a long while after, like Exo-Force or Aquaraiders - it disappeared abruptly, and very few people expected it (especially with the tragically short run of the 2008 sets). I think that Batman becoming so impossible to find so quickly at any retailer contributed to the outrageous prices for sets and figs. He's still in demand, LEGO just isn't manufacturing him to meet it!

Heads are the same, but D. Zaster comes with a new torso. Slimeface had a black diving suit, but D. Zaster has the same torso pattern as Inferno, only in black instead of white. Now I'm fighting with myself over whether I should pick this one up!

Just picked this set up the other day. I, like most everyone else here, didn't much care for the set itself, but really wanted to grab the new baddie figs, the body armor, and the vault. I gotta say, once I had it all built I was impressed! From the box art I thought the boat was too flat and too barren, but having it in hand, I love it. I have to agree with you BrickDaddy, this is one you can't judge by its cover.

I'm guessing that LEGO is holding those back an extra few weeks - they aren't on S@H yet, and I know that even though the Woodfield LEGO Store got a bunch of new stuff in recently, their Space Police selection is limited to Squidman, Freeze Ray, Gold Heist, and the Space Truck. (Which makes me sad, because those were the two sets I wanted most )

I love the worn away Octane logo on the jacket!

To my understanding, the jubilee set is coming out later this year and we have yet to see or hear anything about it beyond that it's to celebrate Castle's 30th year.

Looks like Bobskink isn't the only one who took note of this: http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20090220.html (As for me personally, I don't mind the humans vs. aliens conflict. It's just like man vs. troll in castle, astronaut vs. martian in Mars Mission, etc. I do find the comic funny, no less.)

Did the jester have the second, sad face in the calendar? Anyone know? And SCORE for printed legs on the king and golden knight! I hope we might see some gray ones for the lead general figure (the silver knight)

Dano put them all on his flickr. Here's the mountain fortress: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sirdano/32724...57609751803566/

Any idea why we're only now getting Peril in Peru?

I think he meant the fortress and the drawbridge attack.

I'm holding my breath for more pictures and angles of the troll fortress, since there's so much to capture beyond just a couple shots. I actually like the color scheme of light bley. It's not all just made out of wood and piles of rocks, but rather it looks like a half-way attempt at a fortress intended to compete with the majesty of the king's castle, and due to limited resources and civility it's all strung together haphazardly and shoddily. King's chariot I couldn't care less about - chariot's too big for one horse, IMO. Drawbridge is my favorite of this lot, though - an incredible set in its own right (looks like it would fit in perfectly as an addition to the king's castle with a little modification), not to mention it comes with the queen, jester, and gold knight.

They also underwent the trials of being Toa for a good chunk of time, and add the thousand years of experience leading the Matoran villages under less-than-ideal circumstances, I'd say they're much wiser and more weathered than the average Matoran.

Minifigs push set sales immensely. Working in a LEGO Store over the summer, the one question I got the most was "do you sell the little people separate?" A set will become much, much more appealing to a kid if it includes a major character for them to play with, hence the reason why several vehicles are character-specific rather than including army troops.

I'm assuming it's just someone flubbed in the numbering. I never saw any noticeable gap (indeed, I didn't even realize there was no Chapter 8 until it was pointed out here.) That, and the book is 124 pages, which is standard length for these; another chapter would easily have put it over the word limit (which is another thing Greg has to deal with when conveying all this story).

I'm personally relieved that at least all the winter sets are right in looking masculine - I'd hate to see that female design problem get worse than it was with Gali Mistika.

I picked up this set a few weeks ago (along with the smaller sets that come with the Mach 5 and Racer X's car), and I was pleasantly surprised. The commentator's stand is nothing to write home about, but the assortment of figs is great (numerous new face prints in flesh, I believe), and in spite of the large amount of stickers, the three cars are each unique and very well-designed. My only gripe about them is that Cannonball Taylor's car (the black and yellow one) was a missed opportunity, as in the movie it's yellow and purple. I know TLC is dropping purple for the future and had a bunch of problems with it in the past, but it would have made for a great looking car IMO.

I arranged my soldiers so that the old torsos serve as my archers and standard troops, and the new torsos are what I have figures wear under the silver armor pieces so that they make up a better-protected faction to serve as castle guards. Personally I think the variety is good - royal tunics!

Ah, blast it all. Was the news that they would be sticking to the same four factions they've already done, or just that there'd be no Elves? I suppose there's always 2010!

Well, you say this year - as in 2008? Since there was a Dwarf set in late 2007. I remember someone saying a while back that they saw the designs for the Elf figs and that they were something to behold. Either way, I'm really hoping for Elves in 2009.

Reading BL 11 confirmed, for me, that Krika is one of the awesomest characters to be created in the past several years. Also, any contempt I had toward Greg over the last comic (that crap about the battle be so t3h ep1c that it can't be described) is gone - IMO, he truly did succeed in describing the enormity of that battle, unconstrained by the ridiculous limitations of the comics.

It's definitely not Eragon music, but it sounds like music that they would use in the movie - in which case there's no way it's real. Most composers don't even begin writing the music until the later stages of the movie's development, and scores are typically recorded only a few months before the movie actually comes out. Seeing as the movie is about a year away (if not more), music for it probably doesn't exist, much less would it be leaking out already.

Eilif - I saw your display while working at the store tonight, and it looks FANTASTIC!

Indiana Jones has already been confirmed, but I also asked about the rumor that Lego wouldn't ever be producing Temple of Doom sets - turns out that was false, which relieved me.

Everything I could have wished for and more - I never thought that it would cover scenes from the entire trilogy (though I thought IG-88 only appeared on board the Star Destroyer in Empire?). It looks like we're getting new, more detailed torsos for Obi-Wan, Luke, the Emperor, and (best of all) Vader, not to mention a great way to get the original Leia and Tarkin figs. Any dreams I may have had about saving for the Castle chess set are gone - this thing is a must-buy.