Walter Kovacs

I'll help hold the ladder as people descend.

Jackie! Be Caref... *looks away in horror* Who was supposed to be holding the ladder! Or was it pushed from the top of the building? Who is up there right now? I know Patrick and James went up there, did anyone else go up?

Thanks, KimT. I hadn't heard that anywhere. Well, except for the name Master Builder's Club.

10 minutes or so. That makes sense, as she had to climb to the third floor, find a ladder, set it up then climb to the roof while avoiding being seen by customers and sales attendants. And somehow in the confusion no one seems to have reported the ladder on the third floor of the Department Store. Someone with more expertise than me can confirm this, but it's probably impossible to type the blood on the rope. Also the bloodstain in the hotel? I'm guessing the samples are either too old, or too small a sample size, but it doesn't hurt to ask. I guess I should have been more specific what I was looking for when I ran to the third floor, huh. I don't think we are going to find anything more here. Shall we move on to the Jefferson Residence? Oh, and James or Patrick? While your up there, take a quick look at the parapet around the building. See how tall and wide it is. If there is one.

I guess that means I might have a new MINI set when I get home. I love getting LEGO in the mail. Did they ever announce what BM is going to morph into officially? I saw rumors, but I don't remember if it was official or not. Also, what is the last month for BM? I think my subscription runs out in May.

I agree with everything you said except those 3L axles with the stop and stud. Most of them are Dark Gray, with the newer ones in Dark Tan (or is that color Dark Nougat? It's called Dark Tan in Bricklink, at any rate). Here's the Bricklink page, for reference.

I have to admit that is an impressive array of Imperials. And the setup is done very well. But I'm not so sure that it's going to win first place. It is, after all, just a MOC. A beautiful MOC, to be sure, but there isn't much artistry to the photography itself, and that's what this contest is supposed to be about. Then again, I am neither Fenris nor Smokebelch, so I have no idea what they will be judging on. They could prove me wrong. There's a stunning amount of chrome stormies there, though. I'm a bit jealous.

Happy Birthday to all. I hope your day is filled with bricks. And not the clay kind that hurt if you drop them on your foot.

I don't want to put words into any of the staff's mouths here, but from what I've seen and read in posts, the staff are willing to "look the other way" towards members that are underage yet conduct themselves in a mature fashion. It also works the opposite way - any underage members that start spamming or posting useless posts, those "wow that's kewl!" type responses to MOCs, for instance - are usually banned fairly quickly. I can't really complain too much. I know of several members that are underage, yet they write coherent posts and usually have good insights, and they stay on topic. It's more the spirit rather than the letter of the law. Then again, I am not part of the staff, so what do I know. EDIT: Bah, I go and write this up and in the meantime someone finds the real answer. Thanks for finding that, Rick.

I wonder what month that set is coming out? I don't remember seeing a preview for it for Jan-Feb, and if it's not the Jan-Feb, how did that seller get 10 copies? At any rate, that set should be coming to my doorstep soon enough.

True, but depending on the time of day, there could/should have been witnesses. It's not like the firemen in the firehouse wouldn't notice a housewife climbing the stairs to their roof. Let's see where that roof hatch James has found leads. If it leads down to the third floor (and how would I have missed that if I were looking for roof access ), and there is a ladder associated with it, then things are a lot clearer and this looks more like a waste of time. If it leads elsewhere, or there isn't a ladder there... then we have a bit more work to do.

Much better now. I love the depth of field you get with the AT-AT legs in the foreground. Well done.

That shot is what this contest is all about. I love this photo, and think it is one of the stronger entries. Good job.

I haven't really felt the need to comment on each comic as it comes out, they all are pretty funny, but Cloney's last two are hilarious. Ritz's last one is pretty good, too. You're getting better at presentation. Keep 'em coming.

So many difficult choices. Here goes. Athos - 1 point BlackIceP8ntBall - 1 point brickcitydepot - 1 point Nieks - 1 point Twigman - 1 point

Speak for yourself. None of the stores in my area are carrying it yet, and I refuse to pay shipping when I can wait a month and avoid it. At any rate, I don't remember seeing that particular photo of the ARC Trooper, so thank you, commanderneyo.

If they use the same stuff they use in the keychains, then there is hope. I have the Millenium Falcon keychain and dropped it once. When it hit the ground, one of the docking rings and dishes that form the fuselage popped off. I'm not sure if a knife to a minifig is going to do the trick, though. You'll probably do more damage than you will want to do. Some enterprising soul could buy a magnet set and experiment with unglueing techniques, and report back to us.

Excellent MOC, Oky. The engines are spot on, and the overall size is perfect. Aside from the lack of red racing stripes, there's only one thing that looks out of place, and brickartist already touched on it. For me, it's that white 1x1 brick that throws it off. It looks so out of place, and adds a bit of unnecessary blockiness there.

Nice review, 501st. This set is still on my not to buy list. The minifigs are nice, but the ship itself is just "meh". I like how the engines rotate, but the cockpit is boxy, and has a <insert that tiresome argument> feel with those large, curved pieces, though they do capture the shape well. I just can't get excited over this set.

Welcome to EB, MetalRufflez. It's a shame that LEGO costs so much where you live. I've always thought that the NXT 2.0 was expensive here in the States, but that price is astronomical. I'm glad you are finding ways around it. I hope to see you around.

I agree that we won't find any clues from the day Laura Jefferson died. That's not the point of going up there. The point is to find if it is even plausable that she went up there (alone or forced by another) mere minutes after having a conversation at street level. The thing that really sticks out in my mind is that her body disappeared. Alabatha's morgue is staffed by competent people. Bodies don't just disappear by accident. So why would hers? The only logical reason is that so a coroner or medical examiner couldn't find any discrepancies. Or maybe strange marks that aren't consistant with falling from a roof. There was only one witness. Who's to say Laura even fell from the roof? Could she have been killed, and given injuries to make it look like she fell? It's possible, and with the body missing there is no evidence to say otherwise. There is a possibility that her death isn't even related to our current situation. But at least three members of our current group (five if you include the Jefferson children) are connected with the case, so it behooves us to at least investigate it. If you can't figure it out, those people are Chief Phelps, Patrick Jefferson and Delores Jefferson. That being said, I want to ask Delores approximately what time she heard this discussion about that affair? Generalities will do, i.e. Morning, noon, before dawn, after sunset, etc. Also, the police report said minutes after the conversation she fell off the roof. Is that five minutes, fifteen, seven hundred and fifty? I'll ask Chief Phelps if he remembers how long after the body was discovered that it disappeared? I doubt anyone is going to fall off the roof today. There are too many people up there, and we know who went up the ladder. It would be far too obvious who the culprit is if someone fell. Oh, and Delores, I think it best that everyone stay together. I wouldn't want anyone separating themselves and getting hurt. Or destroying possible evidence accidentally.

This review has done nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for this set. I guess that does it. I'll have to buy three or four copies just to make sure I like it. Define expensive. Yes, the ARF is going to be desirable. But it's also going to be easy for BL sellers to obtain. Phase I Clone Pilots are desirable (I'd love to have about 6 more of those), but the sets they come in are also much more expensive, and they go for about $10 right now. I'd think the BL price is going to average around $5-6. Not too bad.

Thanks for the review, KimT. Like others have said before, this is merely a mediocre set. The new astromech is probably the highlight, with the Tactical Droid not far behind. And more STAPs are always welcome. I for one like where the designers stashed the lightsaber and blade, though I'd prefer it to be left together. Those Lightsaber hilts tend to lose their grip after a while (or maybe it's the blades themselves). It's a muchbetter location than Plo Koon's JSF, where it sticks out right at the side of the cockpit. I really, REALLY wish there were some laser cannons somewhere on the wings. I suggest you look up the podracer bucket and Ultimate Lightsaber Duel. Those are terrible. This one is merely flawed. And a bit ugly.

It's certainly easier to see that it is Luke and Obi-Wan in this new photo. But what is that yellow in the background (behind the Snowtrooper on the speeder bike)? Did a Taun Taun, erm, relieve himself there? Or is it a monogram off the towel you used for the snowfield? It's a little distracting.

Sure, I'll try it. Let's see, Smokebelch (or was it Fenris?) achieved a similar blue hue in one of his photos. And to do it he used an cell phone. I'll make that my final answer.