bamaker

8083 – Rebel Trooper Battle Pack - That's a purchase 8084 – Snowtrooper Battle Pack - That's a purchase 8085 – Freeco Speeder - Maybe purchase, I'll have to see what it looks like. I'm starting to get burnt out on all of these small & overpriced Clone Wars sets. 8086 – Droid Tri-Fighter - Ditto 8087 - Tie Defender - That's a purchase. This one I'm excited about. 8088 - ARC-170 Starfighter - Probable Clone Wars deco. This set will have to be something really special before I'll spend money on it. 8089 - Wampa Attack - That's a purchase. More excited about a chance to get Hoth Luke than I am about a wampa. 8092 - Star Wars Luke's Landspeeder - As much I wish LEGO wouldn't keep going back to the well on this one, I actually don't have a landspeeder. So, that's a purchase 8093 - Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter - Maybe, depends on if we get another jedi along with Plo Koon 8095 - General Grievous' Starfighter - see ARC-170 Starfighter 8096 - Palpatine's Shuttle - That's a purchase - hope it's not all tricked out in weird colors 8097 - Slave I - Please, oh please, be a Jango Fett version. My fear is it will be a Boba Fett version & LEGO will add in a never produced figure, like Bossk or Zuckuss, to entice folks to purchase yet another copy of this ship. 8098 - Clone Turbo Tank - see ARC-170 Starfighter

Participated in the Master Builder Event at the Northpark Center's LEGO store grand opening; used my volunteer discounts to finally pick up 10188 Death Star. On my way home, I stopped by Wal-Mart and purchased Echo Base and Corporate Alliance Tank Droid. The Death Star will have to stay in its box for a while, but the Echo Base and Tank Droid have already been built. Got to say that before purchase I was more excited for the Echo Base, but after building both sets I think I liked the build process for the Tank Droid more and was a little underwhelmed about the Echo Base (man the Tauntaun is tiny.

I'll repeat what everybody else has said, that's a great cannon! And I've seen folks use the Yeti before as a stand-in for the wampa, and it never looked right to me. Now I know why -- the horns were missing. The snowtrooper is a nice touch, too.

I've purchased close to 300 LEGO sets and I've never had a brick separator. Then a few weeks ago, I was sorting through some bricks that we had purchased for our daughter when she was much younger, one of the bucket sets, and lo and behold I found a brick separator. It now maintains a permanent spot at my disassemble station and my fingernails and fingertips have been grateful ever since.

Funny, funny stuff. Your "AT-AT" is a work of beauty and the story (and all the acronyms) is the icing on top.

Sorry to post for a second time so soon. I don't want to use the edit button since I have a question that I don't want to get missed because it's in an old post. Bricks, on the official photo on the box & instruction manual the handle lays flush with the Venator's hull when it's not in use. I noticed in your photos where you display the front and side views of the ship that the handle sticks up a little bit. Does it have to be forced or locked into the flush position?

I was hoping somebody was going to review this set soon; somehow I missed this review when first posted. I actually like this set, and sure the clone launcher is silly, but I can see kids having a lot of fun with it. Heck, my brother and I used to build the same kind of lauchers when we were kids and send our cowboys and army men flying into the attic fan. Anyway, I can't wait to get this set. Sadly, I had the ROTS version, never got around to building it and sold it during one of my dark ages. The tank droid looks fantastic, and the jet packs are superb. Like the new Echo Base set this is really just a high dollar battle pack and I may have to pick up 3 or 4 sets. Great review!

Nice review, good job covering all the different aspects of this set. I voted average on the poll, as it's really nothing more than a glorified door. The selection of minifigures and the snowspeeder keep it from falling to below average. I resisted getting this set when it first came out in 2007, but I ended up buying it during it's 2nd release last summer. Overall, I'm happy with it but I think it definitely needs to be bulked up and the snowspeeder is too exposed when it's sitting on the repair dock.

I don't know if these are the only stickers, but I'm pretty sure you can see them on the 6x6 tile pieces on the photo where Bricks shows off the Venator's hand-of-god handle. They're the two red semi-circles on a tan field. Those who are more well versed in Star Wars factions can tell you which faction the symbols represent. Great review! Thanks for the excellent shot of Palpatine's private chambers. Kinda stinks he has to run from the front of the ship to the back of the ship to reach his escape pod I'll be adding this my collection. It's 2nd on my buy list after the Endor Bunker set.

I happen to be a fan of this set, as well. I agree the minifig selection leaves a lot to be desired. A clone or an alternate pilot would have been nice, but I really like the design & shape of the ship, plus it will add some variety to the standard grey/blue or red/white palette of the Clone Wars sets that have been offered so far.

This will definitely be my first purchase among the 2009 LEGO summer sets. Great review, you covered everything! Sometimes, LEGO really knocks one out of the ballpark! Leia , rebel troopers , ewoks , imperial trooper , and the bunker .

Wonderful in-depth review, but I couldn't help but wonder how you keep your refrigerator so clean. Mine so crammed full of last week's leftovers I don't think I could fit a squirrel in there. Anyway, can't wait to get this set or three. The rebel troopers are wonderful and may have surpassed the tauntaun as my favorite part.

Of the three new Castle sets seeing a wide release in 2009 this is my most anticipated set. I didn't realize the courtyard area would be so cramped; the trolls need elbow room! Great review and I can't wait to add it to my Castle collection.

Yep, as an AFOL this sets a big "meh" for me, but it does look like it would be a lot of fun for the younger target group. I had hoped it would be better than the first leaked photos showed it to be, but I guess not. I don't think I'll be adding this to my collection after seeing some the set photos, though I may buy this as a set for my kids

I've budgeted for the dragon and the family home, but I may have to see if I can find funds to pick up the fire truck as well. I have to say all of the sets look great, though I'm going to try and change to dragon's head (it looks like he has huge jowls) and feet (is he wearing tennis shoes?).

Wonderful review! It really highlights all the great features of this set. This was also my first Indiana Jones set; purchased only about a month ago ... and it made me want to get the rest of the ROTLA sets. (uh-oh, my wallet just whimpered a little)

Took advantage of some of the spring sales yesterday. Managed to find the last 8016 Hyena Droid Bomber at Target for $15 (I price I can live with for this set) and on S@H I picked up 7646 ETX Alien Infiltrator for $15 and the UCS General Grievous for $30. Those two should be arriving about the same time as the 3 Indiana Jones sets I won on eBay arrive: 7620 Motorcycle Chase; 7622 Race for the Stolen Treasure; 7623 Temple Escape.

The $30 sale price on S@H finally convinced me to pick this set up. I've read about the sets tendency to lean forward, as well, and would like to know if there have been designs or mods developed to combat this. Since the feet are built right into the base, I'd also like to know if anyone had MOD'ed their set to give the General articulated knees & ankles, so he can have more of a crouching appearance.

I received my JSF last Thursday. Thank you for such a great surprise!

During my lunch hour today, I stopped by Target and found an IJ and the Lost Tomb on the clearance shelf for $9.74.

I'm pretty sure he placed the sticker sheet next to the Clone Trooper picture to show the similarity of the Wing decal to the "face" on the Clone's helmet.

I didn't get into the Castle theme until mid-2008, but you'll find with a lot of the post-1995 Castle sets, especially with Knights Kingdom and the current Castle line, there is a definite level of fantasy blended into the depicted medieval lifestyle, e.g. dragons, trolls, undead skeletons, wizards, giant beasts, etc. I like the fantasy aspect, allows for a more variety and frees the imagination, so a lot of my favorites will be from the fantasy sets. 1. 7036 Dwarves' Mine - originally previewed in 2007, became widely available in 2008. This set has so many wonderful features from tracks & carts, elevated mining crates, cranking wheel, catapult and lots of gold & silver crystals. Another plus, LEGO didn't take the easy way out on the interior of the set and actually put in a little kitchen for the dwarves to catch a coffee break. There are 7 minifigures: 4 dwarves, 2 trolls, and 1 large troll. 2. 7029 Skeleton Ship Attack - I had to get this one of eBay, but I believe it was a TRU/LegoS@H exclusive in 2007, early 2008. This one gets a lot of grief; the main complaint being the Skeleton Ship appears incomplete, but I think it works and LEGO did a good job of filling out the ship. Also the set also came with a port town to attack and once again LEGO did the right thing and filled out the backside of the town. Again, you get 7 minifigures: 3 skeleton warriors, 1 skeleton captain, 2 crown knights and an archer. 3. 7037 Tower Raid - A wide release set that is still readily available in most toy retail spots. As darthperson said in his post, this set offers a lot of bang for the buck. You get a ton of pieces, a tall tower to add to your Castle structures, and an equally tall siege tower. This set comes with 5 minifigures: 3 trolls, 1 knight, and 1 archer. 4. 7093 Skeleton Tower - A wide release set that LEGO just retired. It may be available in some out of the way stores, but it's becoming harder to find. I'm in the minority, but I like this set. I like the whole idea of the huge skeleton on the face of the Tower with the lower jaw as the door way. I like the evil Wizard and the damsel-in-distress Princess; plus I think the dragon really fits the atmosphere of a fire & brimstone kingdom that is warring against the Crown king. Sure the tower is sparse and LEGO didn't really go the extra mile on the Tower's interior, but for me it's enough to get into my top 5. You get 5 minifigures: 2 skeleton warriors, 1 evil wizard, 1 princess, and 1 knight + his horse. 5. 7092 Skeleton Prison Carriage - Another wide release set that LEGO has just retired. Getting hard to find, but I recommend trying to pick up this set. This set depicts a very eerie & creepy scene as the poor captured crown soldier is being transported to who knows what kind of hell back at the Skeleton Tower. Also, the Carriage can be removed and converted into a small Skeleton stronghold. This set comes with 5 minifigures: 3 skeletons (2 white, 1 black) and 2 knights. It also includes 1 horse and 3 skeleton horses. As an honorable mention I also want to include 7094 King's Castle Siege mainly because, if you're going to collect Castle sets you ought to have a castle. I did not include any sets that I don't personally own, but I believe other quality sets to be 10193 Medieval Market Village (get some civilians for ye ole towne, available now on S@H), 8877 Vladek's Dark Fortress (from the much maligned Knights Kingdom line, retired), 7097 Trolls' Mountain Fortress (upcoming Summer 2009 release). There are many others that I could recommend and very few that I would recommend avoiding at all cost.

All of the new Agents sets look really good to me. If I had to pick a favorite just based on these prelim photos, I'd probably go with Robo-Attack -- just has that fun Saturday-matinee, B-movie feel to it. But, I can't wait to see what hidden features there are on the Aerial Defence Unit helicopter. Has anyone found any clear pictures that show the MSRP on the information cards from Toy Fair?

LEGO has no shadowy motive to turn little Billy or Zak into a raving racist. But they do have a shadowy motive to turn them into addicts, because I know I can't stop buying 'em! ...Oh, and I don't think there are hundreds of other American countries. Maybe dozens, but not hundreds.

Okay, first observation: This set looks incredible. A fantastic set of new mini-figs, and I love seeing a green-toned A-Wing fighter. The holo-Death Star looks interesting. Admiral Ackbar, Lando and General Madine all look great. Mon Mothma is a bonus I did not expect. I'm surprised that none of the big 3 heroes are included in this set, esp. Luke since he was left out of the Endor set. Couple of questions, though. Does it look to anybody else, like there are gaping holes in the floor underneath the holo-Death Star? And what purpose do you think the long rods extending from the landing platform towards foreground of the picture have (the speech bubble from the Mon Calamari mechanic is partially covering it)?