Phil Slender

Does the 9V system ever seem to show deterioration in quality over time? Because I know some people have complained that dirty/dusty tracks do not carry electric current very well, or is cleaning 9V tracks a fairly easy process?

Thanks guys! I think my best option probably is just to start fresh with the RC/PF system. I think I would prefer getting most of my parts from LEGO directly, and it probably will be cheaper in the long run.

Hey everyone, I'm new to the Train sub-theme of LEGO, but I would really like to start building an elaborate train layout for my apartment next year. My question is: if I want to eventually collect a lot of track to make large and expansive layouts, is it better to start collecting old 9V track from second-hand sources like eBay since I already own the 9V-based 4561 Railway Express from when I was younger, or should I start fresh by getting a new Power Functions train and buy new track directly from LEGO? Thanks!

Set Name: Police Chase Set #: 3648 Theme: CITY Pieces: 173 Minifigures: 3 Year of Release: 2011 Price at Release: USD $24.99 INTRODUCTION LEGO's CITY theme has always been a fan of law enforcement and as a result, we have seen countless police stations, vehicles, and sets centered around police pursuits on criminals. This set is one such example. This particular set falls under the 'Special Edition' category due to the fact it was a Walmart exclusive, meaning you could only find this set in Walmart stores aside from buying it from LEGO directly. Because of this limited availability, the set is a bit over-priced for a non-licensed set. $24.99 USD for 173 pieces is not a good ratio, so this set is a better deal if you can find it on sale. Here is the box complete with yellow 'Special Edition' markings. Front... ...and back: Why did I get this set? It was a Christmas gift that my girlfriend got for me after we saw it in the store and really enjoyed the bottom right picture on the back of the box. The speeding law-breaker looks a bit too happy and excited at the prospect of getting arrested, probably due to the thought of interacting with the "hot cop" (the female police minifigure whose hair is far too glamorous to be taken seriously). INSTRUCTIONS AND PIECES: This set is divided into two bags: one containing the red car and street light, and the other containing the police car and motorcycle. Two instruction booklets correspond with each bag and we also get a DDS. Oddly enough, one brick has a printed 'Police' logo, but the remainder are stickers. The set is a very easy build, and takes little time to complete. If you want a challenge, mix up the bags. MINIFIGURES This set includes three minifigures: a male and female police officer, and a speeding citizen. For a $25 set, three minifigures is not bad. Four would be ideal, but given the premise of the set I don't know what a fourth figure would be. The male police officer is ready to patrol on his motorcycle and is given a radio to communicate with his fellow police officers. The figure is nothing exciting, but features nice torso printing and a smug face. I wish they had given him hair or a different hat, because when he takes the helmet off, he's bald. Not that there's anything wrong with being bald. He features no back printing. Here is the citizen with a need for speed. He has an interesting combination of clothes: green pants, white/blue hoody and shades. I think he puts more thought into his car than his wardrobe. He is the only figure in this set with back-printing, as you can see here with his hood. And finally, we have the best figure in this set: THE HOT COP. I have no idea why LEGO thinks a female police officer would wear her hair like this, but apparently this is what an average female cop looks like. Interestingly enough, LEGO made her face and hair ultra-glamorous, but did not give her a female torso with the hip curves printed on. She has no back printing, and her hair is a bit flat. Guess she didn't put as much effort into that part of her hair. As a tribute to HOT COP, here is a photo shoot she was more than willing to take part in: Stop there, you crook! I'm coming for ya! Oh dear, my hair is a mess... just kidding, I know I look fabulous! Alright, let's get back to reviewing this set. THE MOTORCYCLE Arguably the least exciting part of this set, here is the police trike. It's a simple blue body with some police markings. My biggest issue with this part of the set is the pieces that make up the lights on the back. I don't know if I got the wrong pieces or if it is intentional, but my lights are different shades of blue and it really bothers me. Here you can see the cop ride his vehicle. THE POLICE CAR The police car included has a very nice design and I'm very happy with the end result. It looks like it is supposed to be a hatchback or SUV/car crossover and looks very cool. Here you can see the side profile. It has a very long look to it. The back has a red bar of light and a white spoiler. Very nice. THE RED CRUISER The last vehicle in this set is the citizen's red speed machine. This car is very cool and has a nice, sleek design. I absolutely love the look of this car. The car is the same length as the police car and features a beefy back end. THE STREET CORNER Finally we have the street corner section that features a traffic light, camera, and speed limit sign. There's not much to complain about here. It's a simple design, but acts as a nice accessory to supplement the theme of the set. The traffic light is a simple, but effective design. BRING ON THE ACTION! Here we can see some of the playability this set has to offer. The HOT cop is HOT on the pursuit of the reckless citizen. He thinks he can get away... Uh oh! Looks like she caught him. I don't think he minds getting pat-down... Oh no! He's getting away again... He shouldn't be going so fast! And he's caused a large pile up. Nice going, Jack. CONCLUSION AND RATINGS Minifigures: 10/10 - With the inclusion of Hot Cop, how can I not give this set a perfect score for minifigures? Finally, a CITY set where the minifigs are the reason to buy it. Parts: 7/10 - Not bad, but not amazing. The pieces included do the job, but don't expect any particularly unique pieces. Build: 8/10 - Really basic and easy, but that's what CITY is supposed to be. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Price: 6/10 - This set is overpriced. There's no denying it. A CITY set that costs $25 and contains only 173 pieces is not a good deal, especially given the amount of $20 sets from 2012 that featured approximately 200 pieces. This set should have been $19.99 USD. Design: 9/10 - The motorcycle is boring, but both cars are great and feature fantastic designs. Definitely worth picking up to add to your town car collection. Playability: 9/10 - You get a "bad guy" and two "good guys", and unlimited potential with that. You can drive the cars around to chase each other and the set is great to stimulate creativity and imagination in kids, which is the whole point of LEGO, isn't it? Overall: 82% - In the realm of the CITY theme, I really think this is a gem of a set. I really love the design of the vehicles and the included accessories are great too. Aside from the high price and low piece count, this is overall a great set. You get three cool minifigures, two awesome cars, a trike, and a decent street corner. There's little reason to be disappointed with this set, and I think the target audience of 5-12 year olds will love it. I know 2013 is seeing a new version of "Police Chase", but from the pictures I've seen, I prefer this version. The police car included in this set is one of the coolest I've seen from LEGO in the past decade, and the red sports car has a much nicer look than 2009's Sports Car. I highly recommend this set.

Just like you, the main appeal of this set for me would be the new turtle minifigure, which looks fantastic. However, $25 does seem a bit steep for what you get, especially compared to the $20 Spider-man set (as you point out). I agree with your rating, and great review!

Excellent review as always! Good to see you reviewing some of the 2013 sets, and hope to see even more soon!

I agree about the cross-breed factor. It features the thick baseplate all of the early sets featured, and begs to be added to other similar castle sets, except that this line didn't really feature any other sets like this aside from the Marauder's Map/One-Eyed Witch Set. I think the cover art was digitally manipulated, because if you look at this more distant angle of it: LEGO clearly just (poorly) used Photoshop to move the arch that would otherwise be blocking the view of the set. It's a weird choice to use as the cover art for this set no doubt.

Do you think 67% is too harsh or too generous?

Set Name: Quidditch Practice Set #: 4726 Theme: Harry Potter Pieces: 128 Minifigures: 3 Year of Release: 2002 Price at Release: USD $12.99 INTRODUCTION To coincide with the release of the second 'Harry Potter' film, "Chamber of Secrets", LEGO released its third wave of HP-themed sets, and one of them was this little guy, intended to fill a gaping whole left by the first movie sets: Quidditch. While the castle and a couple other sets included a broom, there were no sets centered around Quidditch, and this filled that slot nicely for the time being. LEGO remade this set in 2010, called 'Quidditch Match' and included more minifigures and a higher price. The question is: how does this set hold up ten years later? Here is the original box, the standard size for sets of this price range during the early 2000s. Why did I get this set? Well, two reasons. The minifigures, particularly Hooch and the uniforms. And because it was a nice change from the standard castle-sets that most HP sets inevitably are. Plus, for $13 USD, it was not a huge investment. MINIFIGURES This set includes three minifigures: Harry Potter, Madame Hooch, and Draco Malfoy. And for a set of this size, that seems pretty appropriate. It wouldn't be a 'Harry Potter' set without the titular character. At least here he is in a more unique outfit: his Quidditch uniform. It actually looks really nice, especially for a 2002 release. The only disappointing element is that the red in his cape does not match the red in his shirt. Here he is from behind, no back printing. Mismatched red cape. Next we have Malfoy. He has his usual face and hair, but now with his Slytherin Quidditch uniform. At least his green cape and green uniform match. Overall, a very good-looking figure. Not much to see here. Good looking green cape; the same one they gave Gilderoy Lockhart in the 2002 Dueling Club. And lastly we have the teacher herself, Madame Hooch. She looks pretty good, and less crazy than her 2010 counterpart. Her hair is appropriate, and the details in her torso are VERY nice. Her face has actually been reused twice; both times in 2003 SPORTS themed-sets as a snowboarder and skater. Here we have her cape, and boy does it look nice! This is also better than her 2010 release since they gave her a plain black cape in the re-release. I love this cape. ACCESSORIES Here's a snapshot of just some of the many accessories this set includes. Seen here are a bludger, the Golden Snitch, and a Nimbus 2001. The four accessories needed for a game of Quidditch come in this convenient chest, just like in the movie. Here they are out of the chest: 1 quaffle, 2 bludgers, and the Golden Snitch itself. I really like the gold piece; its rare and can only be found in two sets (in gold chrome). The other three balls are alright I guess, although it would have been nice to see unique pieces for them since they aren't true spheres due to the hole on the bottom of them. THE CATAPULT LEGO decided to include this little contraption for more playability. It's basically a catapult, and you can use it to catapult the quaffle and/or bludgers into the three hoops. The box demonstrates how you can use it to play. I decided to give it a try, since the performance of this "play feature" would ultimately determine my playability rating... Much to my surprise, I actually had some luck with it. In the set-up seen below, I was able to get the bludger through the hoop within my third try. If you get bored with that, you can always use it as a teeter-totter for Harry and Malfoy... THE 3 HOOPS Next we have the three hoops themselves. In an actual game of Quidditch, you would need six (since each team has three to defend), but this still recreates the essence of Quidditch I suppose. Nothing too exciting here. They all have identical bases, with slightly different length TECHNIC pieces to create the different heights. One nice feature of them is that you can attach the players' legs to them to make it look like they are flying without using any clear pieces. QUIDDITCH STAND Next we have a spectator's stand. Again, it creates the essence of Quidditch like the hoops do, but it only holds one minifigure which is extremely pointless. It's actually ridiculous to have such a large architecture devoted to just one person. Here it is from the back, nothing too exciting. There are times I really like LEGO's sense of humor, and here is one example of that. Under the chair you can find a printed piece that shows a spider, spilled bag, and a bone. Three things certainly found under every spectator's stand. There's also a compartment at the base of the tower. Don't look! Madame Hooch is changing... I sure bet Hooch loves having this tower all to herself... The stand also features two really nice printing pieces with the Gryffindor and Slytherin shields painted on, both exclusive to this set. I wonder if Malfoy is going to launch the bludger at the hoops or Hooch... CONCLUSION AND RATINGS Minifigures: 8/10 - Overall, there's a good selection of figures included in this set. 3 is a fair amount, and all three of them were new at the time of release. The uniforms look great, and Hooch is nicely-printed. Parts: 7/10 - There's some unique pieces in this set, and a lot of random parts in general, but most wouldn't have much substantial use in other situations. Build: 5/10 - Really basic and dull; there aren't really any interesting building techniques found in this set. Price: 9/10 - The amount of pieces for the price is very fair, and with a price tag this small, it's hard to complain. Design: 4/10 - Everything here captures the idea of Quidditch, but just looks really stupid and simplified. The hoops are far too short and the stand is pointless since it only holds one fig. Playability: 6/10 - The catapult works, but gets really old really fast. Not much here to keep you entertained for long. Overall: 67% - With a set this small and for such a low price, its hard to complain about feeling ripped off. And for a set released over ten years ago, its very nice and not too far behind the quality of LEGO today. The minifigures are printed nicely, and there are nice details found in this set. My main problem with this is that the idea of Quidditch deserved a larger set, more at the $30 or $40 USD price point. It would have been nice to see stands that hold more than one person, a complete field, and more people. The 2010 version is nice that it includes Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood, but also features the same stupid one-person stand. While I'm not disappointed with the set, I am disappointed with LEGO for missing a great opportunity for making a really cool set that would have been larger and more accurate.

Great review 'TrumpetKing67'! The photos are a bit bright, but I still enjoyed them nonetheless. For $40, it's a pretty nice set with some good parts, but I agree that Aragog just looks wrong... and it is really disappointing that they didn't make a female uniform torso for Hermione. Having owned the original version from 2001, this one looks like a great improvement, but it's really strange that this set was one of the few ways to get Ron in the final 'Harry Potter' wave.

Very, very strange set. I understand your point though in trying to make a whacky set for a whacky TV show... while not being <insert that tiresome argument>. The parts are great, and some of those details they included are wonderful. It's really disappointing though to see the gaping holes where windows should be and the building cutting off before the baseplate. Great review as usual!

Set Name: Professor Lupin's Classroom Set #: 4752 Theme: Harry Potter Pieces: 155 Minifigures: 3 Year of Release: 2004 Price at Release: USD $19.99 INTRODUCTION 2004 marked the release of LEGO's 'Harry Potter' wave to correspond with the release of the third movie, "The Prisoner of Azkaban". This was the first wave of sets to feature flesh-toned minifigures in the 'Harry Potter' line, which inevitably, clashed with my previously existing yellow-toned 'Harry Potter' figs. Having previous collected many sets and characters from the releases for the first two movies, it was disappointing to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione awkwardly standing next to their classmate Neville, who just didn't quite match. Why did I get this set? Simple. Professor Lupin. He looked like a great fig, and his hairpiece was something I really wanted in my collection. Having missed my opportunity to get the blonde version with Gilderoy Lockhart in 2002, I wouldn't let myself miss out again and grabbed this to add Lupin and his hairpiece to my collection. MINIFIGURES This set includes three characters: Neville Longbottom, the Professor Snape boggart, and Professor Lupin. For a $20 set, 3 is a good amount, and all of them were new at the time of release. First we have Professor Lupin, who looks marvelous. I'm glad they gave him a gray cape instead of the standard black. His face looks great with his scars, and my only complaint is actually the piece I wanted most: the hair. While I love this hairpiece, I'm not sure its the most appropriate for Lupin. It looks too combed and polished for Lupin, and seems more fitting for Lockhart, or even Conan O'Brien. Here he is from the back, with a better view of his cape. He doesn't have any back printing. Next we have Neville Longbottom, who looks appropriately dorky. This set marked the first release of Neville. Also, notably missing is the Gryffindor shield on his uniform, a common trend starting with the 2004 sets. Here he is from behind. He has a standard black cape, and no weird stars on it like the previous ones! Thank you LEGO. Finally, we have the boggart that is Professor Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothing. Like all Snapes from the first three movies, his head glows in the dark... What?! You mean you don't remember Alan Rickman's head glowing in the dark in the movies? Here is from behind. Not much here. Snape, meet Snape. Hi Snape! THE CLASSROOM And now we have the classroom itself. Overall, a pretty nice design. Clearly not big enough to fit a whole class of students, but its appropriate since the LEGO Great Hall can only fit about 5 or 6 figures You can turn the cupboard (which is a sticker unfortunately)... ...to reveal the Snape boggart! Over on the table we have some potions, chocolate, and a creepy skull under green glass. The ceiling has a nice window and two white dragon faces to recreate the animal skeleton that hangs from above. Lupin's office features some more potions, a book, suitcase, and a neat gramophone. Lupin doesn't like people snooping through his office... He also doesn't like when his stairs don't behave... Unfortunately this set does include these lame moving stairs that never stay where you want them to. Look out behind you, Neville! Any chance he gets, Neville likes to read about herbology. Kudos to LEGO for including this book for Neville. And when no one's looking, Lupin likes to sneak off to his office to eat more chocolate. Uh oh. Dumbledore caught him and sent him packing. Poor Lupin. RATINGS Minifigures: 9/10 - All 3 minifigures are wonderful, and a great addition to a 'Harry Potter' collection. Only complaint is the switch to flesh-tone. I don't have a preference between yellow and flesh, but please just stick to one and keep it so they all go well together. Parts: 8/10 - A great assortment of parts and color, with some unique pieces including printed chocolate, books, spiders, and skulls. Build: 7/10 - Not particularly challenging, but felt appropriate for a $20 set. Price: 9/10 - It may only be 155 pieces, but the size and comparison to other $20 sets make this feel well-priced and reasonable. Playability: 9/10 - Features many great areas for play and fun to recreate a funny scene from a rather dark movie. Overall: 84% - A rather high rating, but for $20, there's a lot to love in this set. Great figs, great accessories, and a great structure to add to your Hogwarts Castle. The Snape boggart is a hilarious fig, and also rather valuable. It's hard to go wrong with this set, and given how some 'Harry Potter' sets tended to be hit or miss, I'd definitely say this is a hit for what it is.

Great review! Of all the sets in the 'Spider-Man' wave, I'd have to say this was my least favorite, just because it seemed boring and empty. However, the minifigures are actually really nice, and after reading this review, I see that this set has a lot more cool features than I originally thought. Still, the 'Spider-Man' theme always seemed confused and mishandled by LEGO as you said, and I was never sure if it was within the world of the fictional movie, or within our world filming the movie, due to the 'Studios' connection.

Thanks 'Brickdoctor'! I think I fixed it now. Sorry about that everyone.

Set Name: Mos Eisley Cantina Set #: 4501 Theme: Star Wars Pieces: 193 Minifigures: 5 Year of Release: 2004 Price at Release: USD $29.99 INTRODUCTION Ah, 2004... an interesting year for the LEGO Star Wars line. Personally, it was one of my favorite lineups, but it was certainly controversial for a few reasons. First, the summer 2004 wave saw the transition from yellow minifigs to flesh-toned minifigs, also known as "fleshies". Second, 2004 was the first year LEGO decided to start redesigning vehicles they had already previously released, starting with the 4502 X-Wing, and continued with the 4500 Snowspeeder and 4504 Millenium Falcon. Thrown in that mix though was this set, Mos Eisley Cantina, which is also a redesign of the 7110 Landspeeder with the addition of a Dewback, a "Cantina", and Greedo!! Why did I get this set? When it was first released, I had no intention of picking this set up. It seemed overpriced and had a terrible price-to-piece ratio (especially back in 2004). As you can see in the picture, I got this set on clearance. It was marked down to $17.90 on clearance at Kohl's, and the price I paid was actually even less. All toys were marked an additional 30% off bringing the price down to $12.50. And since I had $10 in Kohl's cash, I only paid $2.50 out of pocket. $2.50 for a $30 set! Sounds good to me, especially since some of the figs in the set *cough*GREEDO*cough* go for more than $30 alone at auction. MINIFIGURES If this set has anything going for it, it's certainly the minifig line up. Look how beautiful they look. Greedo is arguably one of the most valuable and rarest figs in the Star Wars line, and there's something about the retro Obi-wan that will always have a place in my heart. This was also my first Han Solo fig, and him being my favorite character, was an essential in my collection. Also take note that this was one of the final Star Wars sets to include yellow minifigures. The wave following this featured the all new flesh-toned figs, which you may or may not prefer. Here we have Luke and Obi-wan, basically identical to their appearance in 7110. The faces may be simple, but they look great and Luke's outfit looks great for a design dating back to 1999. Neither one has any back printing, but Obi sure looks like he's wearing a thong... Here we have Han and a Sandtrooper. Both are great figs. I really love Han Solo, the colors, the design, the smug mug. Captures the essence of the character. The Sandtrooper is also nice, and features a cool shoulder cape. Han's back continues the vest printing, and the Sandtrooper has a backpack full of... lightsabers?? No, but a pretty cool design. The Sandtrooper, like all Stormtroopers of this era, has a plain yellow face. And here... is the reason everyone bought this set. GREEDO. As of 2012, this is still the only set he has ever appeared in and boy does he look magnificent. The face is hard plastic, and overall a very well-shaped mold. Greedo doesn't have any back printing, but look at how cool his head is in the back, and his arm printing! Fantastic. ACCESSORIES Here are some of their toys. Luke has his lightsaber in blue, Greedo has a pistol, and the Sandtrooper has a long stick to balance himself on the Dewback. THE DEWBACK The Dewback... slower than a scout walker, but warmer than a Tauntaun. Not to mention a crucial role in the Star Wars films... Anyway, there's nothing to complain about LEGO's depiction of the Dewback. It's made of the same pieces from the Dinosaurs line of the early 2000s, and it actually is a pretty cool accessory to any Star Wars collection. Here you can kind of see how the legs and head can move around on hinges. The Sandtrooper really loves riding his Dewback... I kinda think he'd prefer a speeder bike or AT-ST though if he wants to cause some real damage. THE LANDSPEEDER This is my favorite part of the set, the landspeeder. It has a great sleek look, its the perfect size, and captures the essence of the movie counterpart very well. Since I own both this version and the 7110 version, I can say I highly prefer this version due to its size, design, and color (the sand-red bricks look great!) It features a nice compartment in the back for lightsaber storage, essential for any Jedi. I like the use of the "wire" type LEGO pieces on the front, gives it a great look. Here is the bottom; it features three smooth circles for easier maneuverability. Don't drink and drive, kids! THE CANTINA The use of the word "cantina" here is very loose indeed. It's more of a cupboard than a full cantina. There's much to like about the design, from the stripes in the walls to the spheres on the roof. But even as a display piece, what is this exactly supposed to convey? If you open it up, it feels a little bigger. Not really though. This is one of the best views/layouts IMHO. Who shot first? Han or Greedo? Well, Han certainly has the opportunity to here since the table has room for his megaphone, err, I mean blaster, underneath it. Han offers Greedo some lemonade as a peace offering. The box says to combine 4501 with the 4504 Falcon... This is my attempt. RATINGS Minifigures: 10/10 - Nothing to complain about here. Five figs is great for this size set, and all of them are marvelous. Greedo is valuable, Han, Luke, and Obi are essential to any collection, and who doesn't want Stormtroopers for their army? Parts: 8/10 - While there aren't many parts, the ones you do get are great. The sand red is nice, (and rare), and the Dewback pieces are unique as well. Build: 6/10 - The build was easy, and took no time at all. Had I actually spent $30, I would have felt disappointed by the lack of time and challenge in building this. Price: 4/10 - Having spent only $2.50 on this, I have no right to complain, but for the full price of $30, this is a bit of an empty set that only warrants the price if you hold on to Greedo and sell him later. Terrible ratio for piece-to-price as well. Playability: 9/10 - There's lots to love and let your imagination go wild with this set. Unlike a one-vehicle set, you can actually have adventures with 3 parts of this set, and play around on the world of Tatooine. Overall: 74% - The biggest thing going against this set is the price and the lack of actual "cantina" to justify the namesake. The minifigures are top-notch though, and the landspeeder is a great improvement over the original 1999 version. I'm actually very glad I have this set, and still enjoy pulling it out once in a while to look at it and play with. It adds a lot to any Star Wars collection, and definitely scores high marks in the "valueable" category given its figs, parts, and uniqueness.

Great review Clone O'Patra! I too bought this set only for the Quirrell minifig, but I certainly wasn't disappointed. He's a great fig despite the abundance of purple, and I also believe he was the only fig in the original HP wave that wasn't included in the 4709 Castle...

I didn't think it made sense to include Ackbar. I was just hopeful since I don't have him in my collection. But its not like LEGO has never done that before (ie. the 7263 TIE Fighter from 2005 that came with a TIE pilot and Darth Vader). Granted it was a light-up figure, but Vader still had no reason to be included in that set. Also, Han Solo in the A-Wing set makes no more sense than Ackbar. KielDaMan, I love the spoiler!

I know these are all rumors at this point, but does it seem like the A-Wing will include Ackbar AND a Mon Calamari pilot? Or is Ackbar just serving as a placeholder for the Mon Calamari A-Wing pilot? Because Ackbar coming in a set at this price-point sounds like a great deal.

I actually did make a few quick Brick films last summer before starting college. They're pretty short and basic, but they were really fun to shoot and edit. Here's a playlist of the ones I made so far.

Yeah, I remember after getting the 4502 version, how nice it was to have a unique Luke that was finally not in his pilot or Tatooine outfit. And the backpack that Yoda could attach to was a nice feature. Definitely agree with you on the plastic over rubbery head. The original Yoda was a great minifig, considering it was from 2003. I wonder if they'll incorporate the scene with the cave and Darth Vader (Luke's head)...

If it is a new Yoda's Hut, it will be great to see an updated non-CW Yoda finally! Most likely a $20 set?

Great review and pictures! While the set itself is by no means bad, compared to the previous version (4483), the proportions and overall look of the vehicle just seem off. Obviously this one is more accurate than the walking 10178 set, but the lack of decals on the joint pieces and smaller armor plating leave much to be desired. On the other hand, the selection of minifigs is much nicer than 4483, even if they don't make any sense (Han Solo, C-3PO??). They could have included more accessories though such as a speeder to justify the higher price tag.

Hey! I'm currently in college studying film and I've been following forums and reading reviews on this site for years, so I finally decided to register (and hopefully post some reviews of my own). I've collected LEGO sets since 1999 when I was a kid, but went through a dark age period in the late 2000s, but I have now returned to the world of LEGO. My favorite themes are Star Wars and CITY, and my favorite set I own is the 4483 AT-AT. I think the overall design is fantastic and I've always loved the walkers in Star Wars (still waiting for a great system-scale AT-ST since I missed out on the 8039 Battle of Endor version). Watch for some future reviews I post!