Tenorikuma

I'd be curious to know the reason for Lego prices in Japan, which are fairly high (probably the same as in Europe). I suppose shipping might cost more, and Lego is definitely more of a premium toy. That said, the price is pretty reasonable when there are sales on, and sales tax is low and always included on the price tag. Amazon Japan also just introduced free shipping to local convenience stores. I love Europe, but I don't think I could ever handle living their due to the insane taxes. In Japan, Lego and some other things might be expensive, but other things are really cheap, so it balances out.

The orange pieces above the wheels. Wheel guards? I'm not sure what they're called. But they have those funny round indents in them.

Sorry, I was thinking you were making this in an Ldraw-based program instead of Lego Digital Designer. In that case, the brick limitations are understandable.

The architectural structure and overall layout are perfect, I think. I think it needs some finishing details, however. I'd look at pictures of some real temples and see how their doorways, pillars, fenceposts, etc. are decorated and try incorporating some of that decoration into the Lego model. And then build it and take pictures for us.

Nice review. This was an impulse buy for me the first day Coast Guard appeared on the shelves. I agree, it's a nice way to collect Coast Guard minifigs. I couldn't figure out the reason for the dimples in the fender pieces. Are those originally an Aquanauts piece or something? One confusing typo in the review: "Therefore, we recommend to get it since it's not very dear" -- did you mean expensive? In French and perhaps other languages, these are the same word, hence my guess at the meaning.

Very cute. And it's probably best that it remain missing those somethings.

1999 was actually the height of the Lego Castle Dark Ages. I came out of my own dark age that year, and there was no Castle Lego at all. The Fright Knight stuff that remained on shelves here and there was rather sub-par, a sign of how Lego was dumbing down their models at the time. There was a lot of excitement in 2000 when Lego re-introduced a "real" Castle theme, starting with the Knights' Kingdom in 2000. True, the models admittedly were not that great, but Lego Castle has steadily gotten better and better every year since (weird Bionicle knights excepted). I'm somewhat nostalgic for KK as well, since it was the first Castle Lego I started buying following my dark age. Needless to say, Lego is really on a roll with their latest Castle sets, and I hope next year is even awesomer.

Mmm...

Nice review. I do like how this is a machine, and the Dwarf operator stands behind a control panel. I do think the controls could have used a little more detail, and I do think it's a big drawback that the dwarf has no weapon or shield. They'd better give us some more small sets with dwarves next year so we can make a decent army of them.

In Gizmodo's recent Lego interview, the Lego rep listed Pirates as one of Lego's four "evergreen" themes — i.e. permanent themes that stick around, unlike the minor themes that last 2-3 years. There's lots of other interesting stuff in that interview, especially when it comes to theme popularity and market details (like how Germany is #1 for Lego).

I have two quality complaints from my last Lego purchase. One is from 7771 Angler Ambush, which I just bought. The set itself is terrific, but both 1 x 2 bricks with two technic holes have very obvious seams running down the sides, and the 75° 1 x 2 x 3 slope piece has an obvious dimple in the back where the plastic was injected. All these flaws are visible in the final model as built. My other complaint is with 7335 Blue Bucket. One of the white 1 x 2 bricks was discoloured due to a good amount of green pigment being mixed in (or left over in the mold). I'll probably just get Lego to replace that piece though. In all fairness, though, in all my years of Lego (more than two decades), this is the first time I've had a discoloured piece.

That's pretty nice. I like seeing models that put unusual Bionicle pieces to creative use. Incidentally, the character on the lower orange panel means "tiger". It's upside-down, but that can't be helped.

Toys-R-Us in Japan is having 30-50%-off sales on some sets this week, so today I picked up #7038 Troll Assault Wagon (I needed to get a troll!) and #7335 "Blue Bucket", a bulk piece set only available in Japan. And then on the way home, I grabbed the last #7771 Angler Ambush from Jusco -- it's my first and only Aquaraiders set. The Troll Assault Wagon is really big! It needs to be in the foreground of a diorama, otherwise it dwarfs the other castles and ships. I'm just slightly disappointed that this and some of the other small and medium Castle sets don't include any minifig shields.

I normally only bid on auctions with a few hours or less remaining because I don't want to wait several days before knowing if I won or not so I can try bidding on another auction. I don't see the issue with sniping, though. If someone else wants to pay more than the maximum you're willing to pay, what's the big deal?

Do you remember what your very first Lego set was? For me, it was #600 Police Car. I think I was 4 when my grandpa bought it for me, and I was utterly captivated, spending long hours building and rebuilding it, playing with the pieces, etc. A single set hooked me on Lego for life. How about you guys? Edit: Sorry for duplicating the topic. I did search for "first set" before posting, and got no results. I guess the forum search doesn't work or something.

Wow, great review. I wasn't even interested in this set before, but now I'm seriously considering getting one.

The site's in Japanese, but this guy uses Lego-box-style graphics for his backgrounds too.

I didn't go myself, but I just stumbled upon a nice close-up photo of the new Death Star. See here for more.

Considering that Moonraker was the lamest Bond ever, the book is naturally better, but I don't think Ian Fleming was generally as good as someone like Frederick Forsyth. I just finished Feet of Clay, the first Terry Pratchett book I've read (picked it up used); and now I'm on Hai no naka no akama ("The Devil in the Ashes"), a Japanese mystery by Jiro Akagawa.

Know what would be awesome? A Pankot Palace set — think Scorpion Palace meets Dwarven Mine. On the upper level, you have the bedroom with secret passage, dining room with strange delicacies, and various guard posts. On the lower level, you have a mine with mine carts and a lava pit. Imagine all the cool minifigs it could include, and the great play value, even for kids who haven't seen the movie.

I'm building an Ice Mages' Castle in Bricksmith. When I'm done, I'll generate a parts list and buy them off Bricklink or something. The main spellcasting tower is almost complete (see below).

Ah, so the 4210 Coast Guard Platform can be found at Australian TRU then? I don't think it's available anywhere in Japan (even at TRU), and it's really the only set I want from that series. There's tons of places that sell Lego in Japan, though. The best selection is at Toys-r-us, Bik Camera, and the Lego Store (we have a few). TRU seems to be a few dollars cheaper on average, but I haven't made any rigourous price comparisons. There might also be good places in Tokyo or Osaka I don't know about. I'm not Japanese, incidentally, I just live there.

That looks like a really good start. I would blur the foreground colours more, and perhaps the distant silhouette as well. I plan on making generic Lego-packaging-style backgrounds myself whenever I get a MOC finished.

Sorry, I mean physical retail stores (Toys-R-Us, etc.) as opposed to online stores (like Shop@Home). Can you walk into a shop in Brisbane and buy this set off the shelf? If so, I'll get my wife to buy me one when she visits the Land Down Under next month.