The Cobra

Look on the bright side; sometimes in Switzerland you can find sets that aren't available in in close countries (Italy). And some will never be! Of course, if you live close to the border you can just go abroad and buy.

I checked the PM site again; Doc is the guy with the Star.

Western! 2nd best theme of my dark years (1st one obviously being Pirates)

I have usually benn lucky with stickers, but I think it would be better if they were safely packed. Still, Instructions sheet is sometimes in worst shape than the stickers sheet!

Do you remember the old Fleetwood Mac song? The (lime) green Miner-lishi with the two-pronged crown jackhammer. Set Data: 8958: Granite grinder Year: 2009 Theme: Power miners (link to the official site with info, games & more) Subtheme: N/A Pieces: 94 (including 5 small extra pieces and counting Monster head and body as two different pieces) Price: 10 USD / 10~13 EUR / 7,85 UKP (S@H price for most European countries = 10 Euros; France = 12 Euros, Finland = 13 Euros!) Building time: 15/20 minutes MISB on review: Yes More info: Brickset - Peeron Box front: European version, no set name or pieces count. Box back: Highlighting the chance to build a combo model with 8960 Thunder driller and some moving parts. Box sides: The monster has a name (so does the minifig, but you still can't tell); and just like Thunderbirds (or Lego Agents), vehicles have their own numbers. Small prints: Some info in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Hungarian. Who cares about Italy... Box content: Two bags with pieces, one bag with rock monster Glaciator, two loose "Technic Treads Very Small", one loose "Tipper Bucket 4 x 6", sticker sheet and instructions book. Random instructions page: building the grinding mechanism (click for larger image) From the instructions book: Set inventory (click for larger image) From the instructions book: Theme overview and Monsters line-up (click for larger image) From the instructions book: How to combine 6 models to build 3 larger sets, and Lego club a.k.a. the Dead Themes Society (Exo-Force, Aqua Raiders, Mars Mission - click for larger image) Unusual pieces: Up to now, these very small treads have been available in 8 sets, one pair for each of them. The tipper bucket has been around for nearly 30 years (my first one came in the early eighties, see 6652) but for the first time it comes in Orange. Dynamite sticks are one of this year's new pieces (Dynamite previously available printed on a 1x2 tile); "Rahkshi Staff of Poison" if my first Bionicle piece not coming from an Exo-Force set (no, I never owned a Bionicle and I hardly will), also available in orange for the first time. The "roll cage" als is a new pieces and basically a PM trademark (4 sets out of 7, including the Boulder blaster, have it). Finally, as Sinner found out, no more plastic "rubber band holders" but a small cardboard sheet. Minifigs: enter "nasty and evil" Glaciator and "top engineer" Rex. Minifigs: rock monsters back has some detailing too; and human minifigs have double printed heads and torsos. Minifigs: can humans and monsters co-exist? I'm not so sure about it... Building the Granite Grinder: as good as it looks outside, the grinder hides a secret under lime green pieces. Here are a couple of "Technic knob wheels" that will force the grinder moving forth (the rubber band will force it moving back) Building the Granite Grinder: adding more Technic pieces, the final one will be the "Staff of poison" / Grinder. Building the Granite Grinder: a couple of grey baseplates protect the mechanism; now we're ready to build the upper/outside part of the vehicle. Building the Granite Grinder: Lime is the colour, along with orange they couple with grey and black pieces. Building the Granite Grinder: Building is nearly complete, see how the GG looks before adding stickers. Granite Grinder: A close-up of the cockpit without stickers. Granite Grinder: And now, the cockpit with stickers. Granite Grinder: A view from the right side. You surely need some lighting down there in the caves. Granite Grinder: A view from the rear. A chain is used to "carry" the tipper bucket. Those white pieces should be gas thanks. Granite Grinder: Set is complete, her are the minifigs too and some small extras. Review: When I first saw those blurry and oddly colored pre-pics of this new "Power miners" theme, I thought: "What is this supposed to be? A bad remake of an old decent theme? A one-year-filler till they come up with some better ideas? A bunch of solid-neon colors pieces put together to form something eye-catching? Better pics didn't make change my mind. It took a few months, after I had a full chance to see what PM was all about, to decide. Yes, I was going to buy one set, and not just because I like to own at least one set per theme, but because the Granite grinder was something outstanding. Human minifigs are mostly good, except for Brains (8957), so that was no tie-breaker. Small monsters are just the same, except for the main color, and blue is by far my favourite. But the Grinder itself is really something. As a 10 bucks set, it's compact without being cozy, it looks good thanks also to the stickers, it has an opening "cockpit" thanks to the hinged roll-bar, it comes with not so few accessories, some of which are vehicle add-ons like those white gas tanks (I guess that's what they are) and the 2x2 round headlight. But the heart of this set is the grinding mechanism. I first thought "what is a rubber band supposed to do there?", then I found out and I though "ingenious". Kids will love how the "double pronged jackhammer" moves when the treads roll. Rating: Color scheme: 5/5. Lime green and orange work great; as bad as these colors looked like in preliminary pics, as good as they do now. Minifigs and accessories: 4,5/5. Glaciator is my favourite rock monster, and those who know me wil tell you that's because it's Blue. Human minifig is good, with the torso printed on the back too and choice between two face expressions. the chain holding the tipper bucket works good with the monster stealing it (as seen on the box). And a blue monster deserves a blue crystal The only downpoint is: the Handaxe. What is Rex supposed to do with it? Are rocks made of wood? Pieces: 4/5. I already told about shapes, colors and "rarity"; I'm not sure if someone would buy this set for pieces, but looking at the pics you know exactly what you can get. Playability: 5/5. Do I have to explain? The rubber band is the core of the fun! And the monster can eat crystals (and dynamite?), and there's the tipper bucket, and... Design: 5/5. The vehicle looks solid; using treads instead of wheels is a good choice since this is a sort of construction set (like a digger or an excavator), there are two figs, one on the "good" side and one on the "bad" side as you would expect in these themes. Building was easy (also thanks to piece call-out) and funny (thanks to the grinder mechanism!) Overall rating: 4,5/5. Very close to perfect. The final words: Amongst my friends, this is the favourite set in the PM theme. Wanna join?

I first found this on brickset. Then I searched S@H; here are the links to Cutter and Cutlery edit: how could I miss: Scale and Kitchen storage set.

Maybe beacuse they would be too small. But I remember an outstanding vignette called "Don't throw away the baby with the bath water" or something like that, featuring a really small child (a minifig head inside a reversed turban).

And here is the one from another small promo set we've seen before: 5642

I bought the granite grinder (here in Italy) and it came with the small cardboard container. Review in progress, I was about to talk about it. Yet I kept all my (few) plastic holders, in my "spare parts" little box.

LEGO employees hand out tiny versions of themselves as business cards Found Here.

"Weigh the anchor, hoist the sails - Cruisin' for booty on watery trails - No exploiter we see can still sail on - Our cannons fire till his ship goes down" (Running wild - Under Jolly Roger) OK, but today's scene is "Unburying the treasure" Set data 1411: Pirates treasure hunt / Filming of a Pirate scene Year: 2001 Theme: Studios Subtheme: N/A Pieces: 29 (including 2 extra pieces: one skeleton arm and one 1x1 round plate) Price: N/A Building time: less than 5 minutes MISB on review: Yes More info: Brickset - Peeron Notes: - Brickset and Peeron list different names. - Set was available as Promo with Quaker Oats cereal in the U.S. - Polybag. Bag front: the set in all of its glory Bag back: some English, French and Spanish infos and warnings. Bag content: Obviously, no bags inside the bag! Promo poster: Front site with Studios, back side with Alpha team, Life on Mars and some miscellaneous. Please click on thumbnails for larger pics. Random instructions page: Sorry, no instructions for this set! That also happened with my Samurai swordsman. Movie characters: Ye ol' Captain Red Beard and Ye ol' Skeleton. Accessories include a chest, 4 golden coins, a shovel, a pickaxe and a goblet (and an extra leg). "They dug, they unburied the treasure and now they're going away" Studio Crew: very detailed torsos for both our men. Mr Spielberg starring as Mike Holder Studio Crew: so, what do you guys do for a living? I see... Lights... Camera... Action! our four heroes at work. Review: My dark years started in the latter half of the eighties (and came to end in 2007), so the original Pirates theme was one of the many I missed. This small set, even if it actually falls in the Studio category, was a good chance to put my hands on a Captain Red Beard minifig. The skeleton is the old type (body and arms were used until 2007, when the new type also was available, and then came back last year). Treasure consists of 4 golden coins, and that's fine for something you should be given for free. Ol' captain has what he needs to dig, yet I wonder how can a single-handed man use a pickaxe or a shovel. So I supposed Pirates can raise the dead and have a skeleton do the job. Or maybe a poor guy worked so hard for its captain to consume himself to his bones. The camera is large and "heavy", so it needs the handler to be posed as he was shooting a "fade away jump shot". The captain has a plain black hat, while Pirate theme captains have a skull on it. Cameraman is one of eleven twins, so is Director. I bought the PTH for 8 Euros, including S/H from the USA; 8 Euros is the price for the new City minifigs pack. Citizens may have more accessories, but I'm happy I chose to buy this old Promo and wait for a cheaper chance to get the new pack. Rating: Color scheme: 5/5. Actually, not much to scheme. But I liked the two Studios men had matching caps and legs. Look at the 7634 Tractor: that blue cap is totally wrong. Minifigs and accessories: 5/5. I really liked the Studios torsos, with so much detailing on the front and printed back too. And the four figs have their hands full. The only minus could be that (unlike some other Studios set like the Temple of Gloom) the camera has no "Tile with tape reels". And still I wonder: what does it take for a Pirate to become a captain? Nearly got killed but survive with some wood and iron here and there? Pieces: 5/5. See above. Nothing in here is particularly rare; those two two-way printed torsos were to be found in some 10+ other sets. Playability: 5/5. Kids should have fun with these characters; plus, the set can be split into Pirate & Skeleton (to use with more Pirates) and the movie crew (those guys can make movies with every other minifig, vehicle, and so on). Design: 4/5. Every minifig is busy, but Director and Cameraman will eventually fall because of the weight of their accessories. A couple of 2x2 plates would have helped. Overall rating: 4/5. I can't rate it 5 because it was a Promo and therefore not available to all the world. But thanks to the big net there's still a chance for the rest of the planet! The final words: You might want to discover this small treasure. But watch out for thieving sellers!

The news is spreading around: I saw it on the tv (Tg2, yesterday at 18.30) and read it in the newspaper (Il Giornale, today's edition).

The Italian price is 15 Euros, not 20 as first thought; and MFC 1 also dropped from 17 to 15 Euros. That's still too much to me.

Many years before real men, Lego minifigs landed on Mars; this is the story of one small human vehicle. Set data 7310: Mono Jet Year: 2001 Theme: Space Subtheme: Life on Mars Pieces: 33 (no extra pieces) Price: 4 USD / ?? EUR / ?? UKP Building time: less than 10 minutes MISB on review: Yes More info: Brickset - Peeron Box front: A good overview of the set. Box back: An odd alternative model. Box content: One bag, three loose pieces, instructions sheet and promo poster. Promo poster: One side overviews the theme, the other one goes 360 degrees on Lego products. Click thumbnails for larger pics. Instructions: Not a booklet, but an A3 sized double sided sheet. Click thumbnails for larger pics. Minifig: We learn from the instructions sheet that his name is "Assistant". What is he looking at? Up there, on the left... Mono jet: Let's start building. This is the left part shot from the right, so the white slope brick is at the rear, and the light blue slope at the front. Mono jet: Adding a Technic Axle; it will host the big wheel and connect the two outer parts. Mono jet: Considering the anti-violent policy, I assume that's not a laser cannon! Mono jet: The big monowheel: the axle is put into three 1x2 technic bricks, two on the left side and one on the right. As for the controls: no steering wheel, no hinges/sticks, just a printed tile. Mono jet: Let's build the right part. The blue 1x2 plate matches Assistant uniform. According to Peeron, that piece was only used in light blue from 2002. Mono jet: Adding (printed) plates, and the engine is now complete. Mono jet: Building is now complete. Mono jet: View from the front-left. You can now tell for sure, it is totally out of balance! Mono jet: View from the rear. Mono jet: And a view from the top, too, for a complete overview. Review: How time changes things: today, even a set this small would host (at least) a human minifig and an alien. And being those 2001 Mars aliens funny (much, MUCH more than those silly 2007/8 green jellies), it would have been a plus. But we're not here to talk about what isn't, let's see what is. Lego also went on Mars with a couple of sets in the Discovery theme in 2003. Building is obviously fast and easy (yet at first I stupidly misplaced the big white cylinder, putting front in the back and vice-versa). I'm not sure what the whole thing is supposed to be. Basically a land vehicle, because of the giant wheel. Yet it's the most unbalanced monowheeler I've ever seen; the Jet will usually lie on the top left corner. Be aware of that if you're playing on a table, or any other lifted surface: The monojet will ALWAYS head to the left, even if that means falling into the void. A friend of mine suggested: Mars' gravity is different than Earth's, and this thing hasn't obviously been designed for our good ol' planet. Please note that Lego designers tried different (and often uncompromising) wheeling solutions. Check other small vehicles in the theme, like 1413/7301 Rover or the human half of the 1195 Alien Encounter (which I both own and will eventually review after I've done with my MISB sets). The "antenna w/inverted dish", whatever it is, can rotate for a very small angle, about 30 degrees. I bought it regardless of already owning two other LoM sets, because at 4 Euros including S/H it looked like a bargain. Not to mention, this so-called new "Space Police" looks awful to me and just wants me to grab some old real space sets. Yes, even these late ones before the Space theme was put on hiatus. Rating: Color scheme: 4/5. Simple but effective. May I add: the opposite of the set! Minifigs and accessories: 2/5. I've yet to understand why LoM minifigs had no gloves. Or did they use YELLOW gloves that looked like bare hands? And, no accessories at all. I'm not a huge fan of those big visors, but it doesn't look that bad. The head piece looks interesting, it could be used in city sets as a phone operator or something alike. I just wonder, where are the eyes looking at? Pieces: 3/5. Quite few, so it's really hard to come up with a decent alternative model. Thumbs up for using three printed tiles (two of them come from the Stingrays sets), and no stickers at all. The unparallel wheel helps the set to be totally out of balance. Playability: 2/5. Not exactly the funniest set one could think of. The wheel spins, the monojet moves and that's basically it. Design: 2/5. I can't say it's not original. And I can't either say it's plain. Maybe it's just too daring for me. Overall rating: 2,5/5. If I didn't actually liked it, I just wouldn't have bought it. But the MonoJet is "A million light years away" (to quote one of my favourite bands) from being a classic, a top seller or just the "best in its theme", even if the theme itself was not that great. The final words: grab it for 4 bucks, or just leave it wandering on the red surface. And if you buy two of it, try this combo (still unbalanced!)

That makes two of us. Oddly, this set is only 8 Euros (so 2 Euros/minifig), that's cheaper than Impulse sets. Yet I think they shouldn't have put 3 male faces in it (the Post guy's face wouldn't work on a female fig) toallow people who buy more than one of this to swap faces and have different figs. That's what would make a plus in a city minifig pack, imho.

Are these new? (Brickshelf find: Nascar promo)

This doctor doesn't have a Red cross:

Earlier today I was in a local Toys Center (an Italian toy store chain): Granite grinder = sold out Two small sets = few left. Bigger sets = all available, but shelves were far from full. As I said in the "2009 Sets" topic in the News forum, most every 2009 theme is selling good here in Italy.

Italy seems to like 2009 sets; some of them are already sold out in a few shops. From what I saw, best sellers are the Loot Isalnd (Pirates), the Granite grinder (Power miners) and the smallest constructions sets, Front-end loader and Dump truck.

Italy: Toys Center has 50% off the second set when buying any tow of these Racers sets: 8123, 8124, 8125, 8126 (those with "storage container that unfolds into a racetrack plate")

WORST: It was in the Final Joust and now in the Pirates impulse sets... And what about this? Finally, bad and overused: BEST:

Brickshelf find: 2009 Hungarian catalog.

After I requested a couple of pieces to be replaced (read more here) on Dec. 28th, I thought they were lost by the Post. A few minutes ago I received a call from Lego; operator said the envelope was returned beacuse of "unknown address"; we checked and it turned out I stupidely wrote my City where I should have written my Village. Operator then said they'll be sending my pieces again. So much for wanna-be Replacements thieves

I though MFC 1 was overpriced, and this one is even more expensive! Plus, as much as I love classic space (which MFs had the old helmet...), we already had the red guy and now we have two out of five. Do they just pick random minifigs to put in these "collections"?

Sure, it happened. Yet I actually thought the piece was missing from the box (and it once was... see my Samurai swordman review). But every other time, after I got rid of numbered bags and put everything together, it was just the piece was hidden under a BURP or it had fallen on the ground.