gylman

Jeez I hope you guys don't get some guy at Lego fired!

One of the more useful sayings for life, I have found. "If you have nothing good to say...... say nothing".

Thanks for the very good and detailed review. It's funny - I look at the parts laid out on the table, and I think to myself..... "this set will suck - there's nothing here of interest". Then I see it put together, and it looks kinda cool. The loss of geared action is, as you say, no loss at all. The Zamor launcher is a nice new feature. Better than the discs and torpedo shooters IMHO I have to say though, the MOCing possibilities seem so-so. That head/spine/arm piece, WTF am I going to do with that. I'm sure Cajun or Jinzo or someone will figure out something they can do with it, but I am baffled. How is the light activated? Is there any way it can be switched on from a distance (like with a long axle somehow attached?) Nice review. Thanks.

As I've said before, its much harder to make a good Bionicle MOC than a system MOC. Have a look at some of the best. They are by no means all of the best, but I tried to pick a variety http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=239423 JINZO http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/JINZONIN...hibantis007.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Cajun/Ph...aking/final.jpg (how this didn't win I'll never understand) http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=254786 *used a brick separator!! http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=292621 http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Adam-Mac...asp/robot-4.jpg transforms into.. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Adam-Mac...p/animal-01.jpg !!!! http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bigfatsl...ts/im000032.jpg (BFS) http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Booger22...24/entrypic.gif another transformer http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-8/4241...5CajunEntry.jpg (legendary Cajun creation) Sexuality: Manly http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Shannara...Herakles/00.jpg Feminine http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Schizo-K...30_entrypic.jpg They came from a summary of the BBC contest winners of the past couple of years http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?sho...howtopic=174274 Again, there are MANY!! others.

Would people be happier with Bionicle gone? Totally new universe using the same building system? Or would people then be bitching that the new universe is not as mysterious as the old one, or as good, or not really different? Nothing will EVER recapture the fun and excitment of those first two years, and I think that most of the people who started with Bionicle from the beginning feel that pain. I watch those old Templar episodes and the nostalgia is overwhelming. It doesn't mean what we have now is worthless. Nor does it mean that there is a better way to go.

a) Lego's failed attempt to make a K'nex type of system. b) a great source of 9V motors and small 9V battery packs at a low price on eBay nothing more.

That's simply not true dude. A couple of people have dissed Bionicle in posts now and then, but if you look at the non-system themes forum and responses to what serious Bionicle people have made (Jinzo, BFS, others), or reaction to the new sets, you will see that most people have no issues with Bionicle. Those that say stupid stuff like "I hate bionicle", usually have never tried it for more than a few minutes. I too used to dislike Bionicle, until I had a fair chance to try to build with it. While I prefer Castle and non-bionicle Technic, I think Bionicle is just fine, and I am always impressed with what real builders do with it. Now, if some 8 year old kid wants to prattle on about some irrelevant stuff like which of the 6 nearly identical Toa we like the best, we tend to ignore them, but unless they are being offensive or multiple post repetititively, we are tolerant. We have a large group of excellent Bionicle MOC builders who have joined recently and are excellent EB members. One is a forum moderator. So, EB is definitely NOT an anti-Bionicle place. A couple of times I have seen a couple of members go to the trouble of saying that they don't like Bionicle. The word "hate" is almost never used, and frankly some people here have stated that they "hate" Knights Kingdom, or "hate" Exo-Force, etc. There's no hate in Legoland. Those that hate don't belong here. There are plenty of other forums where lots of hating is going on - they can go there.

Meh - it's just kids having fun. Some of those MOCs were probably done by 8 year olds. The Battle of Metru Nui set - some little kids work hard to finish the set as per instructions, and are proud when they are done. Whatever. Bottom line is they are buying the product and having fun with it and care enough to send the pics. It doesn't have to be the winner of the next BBC. Also, it's not easy to make stuff that looks decent with Bionicle that is not very similar to a set - I've never made a Bionicle MOC that I wouldn't be embarrased to show, despite several tries.

I remember on some thread a while back we had to list our greatest bargains that we missed. I mentioned a Yoda set, beaten-up box but sealed bags. that was selling for 20$ Canadian (which is like 15 Euro I think). It sat there for several weeks. Each time I went, I thought about it and then thought.... "what would I do with all those weird coloured bricks". Never bought it. One day it was gone. God! that was stupid of me. Oh well.

Willy - are are turning into Mr. Phes junior? :-D

I am looking for one of these. Complete (or at least with certain parts still in it). I can trade generously for it with current or old sets, or just pay if you want money. The main part i want is the 90 degree angle bit pictured below.

Re: some of the earlier posts about "classic castle being dead", and TLC will never return to it... I too dislike the current offerings. But, I disagree with the negativity. In the last 3 years TLC has changed a LOT. It really is listening to customers, and it really is paying attention to AFOLs. 5 years ago TLC was completely insulated from the outside world, very different from now. However, things do not change overnight. I am sure KK took a couple of years to plan, and a couple of years to roll out. They are gauging response. If it does not succeed, I predict they will return to the classic style. If it DOES succeed (because kids may still like what AFOLs do not), I still predict TLC will create a classic-castle line, if only to gauge the interest of kids and buying power of AFOLs. Those old castles used mostly standard bricks and will not be very hard to produce again. All they need is a good set designer and the willingness to hit the $100 price point so that we get a big enough set we can do something with, with enough figs. As I see it the other big hurdle to return of classic castles is the loss of old gray. However, regardless, I predict this return will happen, either through pathway A or pathway B in the next 2-3 years. The most likely mechanism is that they will release a single big set, and if it sells REALLY well, they will follow it with a line.

While I am not enthused about this set, the complaint about lack of basic bricks to me seems specious. Who here does not have enough basic bricks from their spares bins to do whatever they want to make this set better? The argument about <insert that tiresome argument> pieces is more reasonable. However, I think the airplane certainly looks much slicker than the airplanes of olden days, and interior detail is superior to that of the olden days. The airport itself has more detail than previous airports. I have mixed feelings about the big glass pieces. Yes, they are "<insert that tiresome argument>" and don't make for fun building. However, they do look more realistic than older airports. My major knock against this set is that it costs too much. 6597, currently available in stores as 10159, gives MUCH more bang for the buck. If this was a 50$ set, it would be perfect for what it is, and you could buy two of them to create an airport that would be better than 6597. For now, as a building experience and as a parts pack, 10159 is superior. $0.02 EDIT: oh yes, and the figs suck.

Seriously KMOI what's so bad about it. I think it's kinda neat to see the Matoran we know from 5 years ago to turn into Toa now. Those guys have a history, and personality (at least in the Templar flash episodes) and hopefully GregF will play on those personalities when they become Toa. It's like watching children grow up to be adults and seeing how they turned out. I assume you know that time-line wise this is most reasonable. The events on Voya Nui follow those of Mata Nui in sequence. So it would make sense that the next generation of Toa would come from the "current" generation of Matoran. Sure, the whole Metru Nui thing was a diversion, and I would argue that what they are doing now, in Voya Nui 2006, should have been Bionicle 2004, and we could have done without that whole Metru Nui business.

actually its quite common..I am 14 so I'm hardly an AFOL maby I'm a TFOL (teenager fan of lego ;) ) but I look for parts in sets a lot not just for the set its self, I think a lot of other AFOLs on here to the exact same thing, hope that helped. As an AAFOL (ancient AFOL) I look at both. Some sets deserve to, for at least a while, be built and displayed (Scudaria Ferrari Truck, for example) or be incorporated into bigger jobs (like the good castles of yore). Others you build quickly out of curiosity, and then quickly subdivide into the parts bin (especially Technic in my case, but also sets with lots of useful bricks like Building Bonanza or the Designer sets). Actually, I have been quite skeptical about the Batman sets, Avatar sets, and Spongebob sets either as display pieces or as parts packs, but seeing your enthusiasm gives me some hope.

Unlike the first Bionicle playsets, this one looks VASTLY more useful as a source of parts. Hmmm...... Never underestimate TLC.

Yes of course you are quite right - My head, body and arms are "old" fig style. My 1970's bell-bottom pants (NOT skirt!!) are regular lego (my avatar filename is "retroman"). . I have a decent collection of these oldies. The arms are beautifully mobile, better than minifigs and similar to technic figs, but the bodies and legs, mostly made of bricks, sucked. Of course, for posability and mobility nothing beats the technic figs. I'll try to post some pics this weekend.

Dude! Are you calling me old?? Inferior?? Whoa! ;)

I was going through the prices I got during this "sale". It looks like pretty much every one of the prices was the US dollar amount but in Canadian dollars. Someone at the S@H website probably screwed up again, just like last time. But I got my orders in and it looks like they honoured them. Both sets of orders (abouit 500$ total, including 2 Scudaria Trucks and 3 Building Bonanzas) are marked as "shipped" on the order tracker, although for a time one of them was "in customer service". Interesting that the Canadian dollar is at 87 cents, but Lego prices in US dollars are 60-75% of those in Canadian dollars. Even before we payour rip-off taxes, Canadians are getting quite a rip-off, although admittedly not as bad as in Europe or (shudder to think) Australia.

Couldn't agree more. I must be old too. Wait, I am! Damn! :( Another thought. I was never limited by the speed of the processor, feeble though it was, when making stuff with RIS. However, the battle to mount and gear motors properly is constant. The new bulky and wierdly shaped motors will make this much harder. I hope they at least perform better than the classic motor. Gyl

Well, I will no doubt buy it, but I am stepping back from the initial enthusiasm 1) Still battery powered (unlike the very useful RCX 1.0 that can be powered by any common 9V train adapter) 2) total new/old incompatibility 3) very funky motor - they are going to be MUCH harder to put into things in a compact manner than the cubic 9V motors we have now. and YES, one needs more than three motors in some situations. You may want motors to provide independent sources of power but run together, so you connect two to a single output source. Gearing does not provide extra power. If one of the standard motors broke.... bah, no biggie, you whip out another one from the supply box. Here's a bet these motors will cost substantially more than 20$ each, even IF they are available as single item from S@H It puzzles me though, that Lego would have made something totally backward incompatible when so many people have so much invested in the old system. It won't kill me - I have only two RCXs, and I can always use the old motors in my Technic jobs, and I am not poor. But I have friends who will not be able to start all over again from scratch. Well, time will tell. We keep underestimating TLC. I hope they prove me wrong.

Apparently it is incompatible with old Mindstorms :( That messes things up. :( Also if you can only use those specific motors with the new mindstorms, it means everyone has to buy more of these new motors, instead of the more generic 9V motors Mindstorms now uses. If the motor used on the 8421 giant crane, which has some similarities, is any indication, this will not be a step forward. Hopefully TLC has been thinking about these issues when they came up with the new version. I guess we'll only truly know when it comes out, but my enthusiasm is waning a bit...

This is good news! I've been waiting for quite a while. The price is STEEP, but I guess not that different from before. It seems to have meaningfully useful new features, not just a rehash of the previous version, which is good. Well, there goes another paycheque. EDIT: WHOA! just had a look at the pictures. WTF is with these wierd motors?? Is this thing compatible with the old RCX and motors?? If not, this would be devastating. I can't believe they would make this incompatible with the old system. Anyone know?

Wow. I'm not a train fan until now, but these look sweet! Totally unlike recent very sucky offerings. I may have to add trains to my 2005 shopping list!

Adventurers Website Have a click here and check out this MOC of Lord Sinister's home by a dedicated fan KC. Nice detail and rare effort to make a "true" house. Adventurers fans will enjoy this. Heck, feel free to join the forums (only a handful of regulars, but a friendly place for Adventurers)