Fatespuppet

I too used to build faster when I was younger, but now I enjoy taking my time. 4 hours for this sounds about right at my pace. I spent 30 minutes just putting the figures together. I like to settle down with a large drink, a good movie I've seen a million times and work in 30 to 60 minute increments. Building slowly also lets you appreciate some of the techniques in the design as well as catalog all the flaws that will need fixing. I liked this review and I agree about the plug in flashlights and helmet ornaments. They are going to be a headache not to lose. My biggest gripe with the set is that the bags aren't numbered for easier construction. Having to go through all but a couple bags to get all the bits to build the figures is a pain. Out of curiousity, did anyone else get two bags of minifig accesories? I got two of the skirts/pauldrons bag.

This is quite nice. The first couple pics show how busy the place looks, so I'm guessing the tourism changes are working. The Cafe Corner style modular sets have really inspired me to start creating something like this as well. Unfortunately I'm not as good at adding neat details as can be seen in the Lego sets and MOCs online. Still, seeing layouts like this make me think I might be able to slowly piece a town together that is respectible.

I'm sensing the same tremor in the warp regarding the tank. So long as it's a Target exclusive it's not a big deal to me since tarjay doesn't inflate prices like TRU. It could also go the way of the Dwarves Mine. It's exclusive for the holidays and then rereleased in non-LE form the following year.

Winston. It was funny to see how many people had trouble counting to 12(the limit for SWs products). I was finding discarded action figures all over the store hidden amongst the puzzles and board games and other sections. They had probably 4 or 5 more Hoth Bases when I left, but no more X-wings.

Another thought crossed my warped little mind. I wonder if TLG would be interested in releasing just an armor and weapons pack similar to the old Hats/Helmets set. I would like to see some of the older rainbow knights armor sets released. Some of those were quite nice(like the black and chainmail). I think barbarians wouuld be fun, but I can see how they'd drift into Viking territory. As for the chess set being canon I think of all the chess sets as nice display/conversation pieces.(as well as army building greatness) I've bought every one of them so far, but with all the Star Wars sets demanding a hefty price I don't think the large chess set is in my near future. Now, if it happens to be still available next year during one of the lulls in releases it will most definitely find a home here.

I'm not sure why TLG stays away from simple sets like Circus and Zoo, but I agree that Playmobile is hard to find. I've only seen it in Targets(as mentioned) and specialty toy shops that sell niche toys. Typically these specialty shops don't sell Lego at all. I can only scratch my head at why Lego has such a hard time coming up with Town sets other then the Fire/Police/Ambulance etc remakes. Take one drive through your local town/city etc and you se SO many things that would make great Lego sets. Supermarkets, arcades, DIY stores, restaurants, car lots, apartment buildings, offices, athletic stadiums, schools, car washes, gas stations, movie theaters, etc. etc. What's funny is that some of these places would happily sponser a set with their logos. I have to believe that McDonalds would gladly allow TLG to use their logos on toy aimed at kids. What about a TRU exclusive TRU store set?

I dropped by the MM at one of my local TRUs and was surprised to see only about 100 people there. I was also surprised to see how woefully understocked the TRU was. I abhor lines so I sat in my car until the line was gone and then wandered in. It was about 12:05 and by that point almost every action figure was gone. All the large vehicles were gone and there were a LOT of people grumpily leaving. The Lego section was filled with the previously released sets like the Republic Cruiser and there were no price tags on anything. I saw 4 or 5 people with RGSs and no more. There were at least 10 AT TEs on the shelf by the time I got there though. Without price tags I felt worried since I know TRUs tendency to exagerate prices. Instead I picked up a Hoth Base and X-wing People were also looking at me funny because I also got a Batman/Joker Ice Cream truck set that was 20% off. All in all it was interesting to see how horribly understocked TRU was. Now that I see the prices I'm glad I held off on those sets. I'll pick them up from Lego or my local Target/Walmart. Adding 10 bucks to the prices of every set is horrible.

Very nice. It seems that Lego is starting to shell out for the Brickmaster subscribers instead of giving us stuff we could've bought in stores for cheaper. Now they just need to zoom in on this little guy and make a UCS version.

The more I've thought about the castle line the more I think it needs a nice injection of barbarians. Face painted and wearing furs or kilts along with wolf pets would be excellent. The sets could range from a barbarian horde assaulting an elven fort(similar to the 2008 siege tower but with a larger castle and more barbs instead of a siege tower) all the way up to an elven tree citadel with barbarian attackers. This would give two 'neutral' factions that could easily be pulled into the current castle world or left to their own devices.

Well, as the old saying goes "folos and ther money are sun prated". I for one plan to attend the midnight madness event at my local TRU tomorrow night and scoop up a gunship or two. I gave up on ebay many moons ago.

Wow loyalty cards? I've never been lucky enough to shop in a Lego store. The closest ones to me are 6 hours away. I think that's sad considering they missed the entire state of North Carolina. If they dropped one right in the Piedmont Triad area it would be 90 minutes from both major cities(Raleigh and Charlotte) as well as square in the middle of 3 cities(hence being called the Triad). All you lucky fools with a local Lego store will never know how great you have it.

As of right now, the only official sets I haven't broken down, and don't plan to, are the Cafe Corner/Market Street/Green Grocer sets. I was never a big City fan until these sets, and now I'm won over. Once I get the UCS Star Destroyer together it'll also be (hopefully) permanent display. The only other permanent is my Teknomeka. Brian Cooper's instructions were incredible and considering how many hours went into building it and hunting for bits, it would be painful to have to break it down. Besides, I'll need it to have something for my in progress customized one to brawl. Overall, I think that keeping the instructions safe and in order is the most important thing.

I have no idea what Lego is planning for 2009, but I really hope they plan to continue the large scale sets in the Market Street vein. I love these sets and the garage/autoshop idea posted earlier would be an excellent addition to my street. The other idea I had was for an old style theater for plays and movies. The ones with the marquee that sticks at an angle out over the sidewalk and has the ticket booth in the center would be awesome. I have a really old bicycle shop set that I've always liked and I think lego could release something similar. Maybe have a motorcycle shop with the display window and spinning cycle on a stand. The bank idea is one I really hope they come out with also. I know Lego stays away from political sets, but a large courthouse or city hall would be neat as well.

I used to build things and then break them down and bag them after I ran out of room. I've since given up on this idea when I realized just how many sets I have. People thinking storing legos is hard, but it's those dang instruction manuals that are the hardest to store. All the shapes and sizes don't lend themselves well to being sorted by number. Now I only keep the sets I really like together and the rest tend to get torn down after a couple weeks. The parts then get canibalized to make castles and mecha.

I have made a habit of opening sealed boxes of supposed 'rare' sets. I pay the price I'm willing to pay so that I can enjoy the set as it was originally intended. All my friends and family know that when I say I 'collect' Lego I really mean that I accumulate it. My coworkers used to laugh when I told them that my Lego collection, if bagged up and sold as the specific sets, is worth more then my house. After showing them how much someone would pay for a White Ninja or an original Black Seas Barracuda with firing cannons(and telling them I have 3 of each) they stopped laughing. I still have some sets that aren't opened yet, but only because I haven't gotten to them. I have a ton of original Star Wars sets that I got on the super cheap when my local KB filed for bankruptcy protection. I love seeing sets I paid pennies for going for 30 and 40 dollars each, but I know that I don't have the heart to sell them. However, if I was working on a MOC and needed something that could only be found in one of those sets they'd be open in a heart beat. Really, how a person derives their joy from a toy doesn't matter to me. I get my joy from creating and building and seeing/hearing the response from people when they see a finished work. However, collecting unopened boxes is no different from collecting figurines or stamps. They serve no real purpose other then to make the person collecting them feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Hmm, there isn't a witch in the current series so it could work. Scarecrows, harpies and a witch.....I'm sensing a theme here.

Oh I'm definitely taking no chances on this. I'll put an order in for one as soon as it shows on S@H, but if it goes on clearance next year I'll add a couple more to my ever-expanding collection. So, any ideas what sorts of accessories we can look forward to? I'm thinking barrels, chairs, a table etc; everything you'd need to make a nice dinner scene.

I'm hardpressed to select one year over another because each year had sets I really liked and ones I didn't.....except the last year. On the whole I guess the Prisoner of Azkaban year wins simply because of how much stuff was available. I actually like the year 1 castle better(except those roof bits). I don't like that switching box in the Shrieking Shack, but the rest of that model is nice. The two stores for Knockturn and Diagon alleys were great additions. It's a shame they didn't make more sets for the last movie, but I guess the license has been milked for all it's worth. As for the flesh vs yellow debate I agree with an earlier poster. The flesh tones look SO much better on Star Wars, Indy, HP etc sets then the yellow ones do. However, for castle and city themes the flesh tones look strange. I think it comes down to growing up with yellow skinned castle figs.

They build more buildings of course. Check out the Citigroup Center. It is built over small church. I've tried building some additional buildings to go with my Market Street sets. I'll try to get some pics up soon. I really hope Lego keeps bringing these out. They are incredible models and actually draw more attention from people visiting then the giant UCS Star Destroyer.

I've been looking forward to this advent calender since I saw the first pics of it earlier this year. When I found out there was a city one it dashed my hopes cause I didn't recall Lego ever doing more then one calender. I'm definitely getting one of these for that jester figure alone. I love the Harley Quin figure from the Batman set and it will be nice to have one with different colors. I hope some of these will survive long enough to go on clearance next year like the 2007 ones did.

Pirates is one of my favorite themes and holds the fondest memories for me from my childhood. Rereleasing the legends would be absolutely excellent, but if that was done in a vacuum with no new sets it would be disappointing. I voted for the pirate cove because a license on the lego Pirates theme would be counter productive. Besides, Mega Blocks already has the Pirates of the Carribean license. Lego has a great thing in the existing Pirates line, and they also have a ton of untapped potential. No need to water it down with a license.

Being a huge castle fan I have to say I'm looking forward to more sets. The castle lines for the last couple years have always had 2 factions. Humies vs Skellies, Dwarves vs Orcs, so I would expect that if elves are the next 'good' faction that we'll need something to oppose them. Dark elves seems to simple, but I liked the barbarians idea. I'm not sure it would work, but how about a lizard men race? What really peaks my interest is the idea of a 'special' set. I hope it's not another giant chess set(although that will look neat next to the other 3 I have ). I would personally love to see a giant tree fort/base for the elves. Have it open up on hinges to reveal interior sections. :)

Whether the skeletons remain in normal sets or not isn't a huge deal to me since I have tons already. I agree with an earlier poster that they border on the useless. I don't like the arms and would've much prefered ones that had at least a slight bend to them. On the bright side, if you need skellies you can always get the minifig packs. Though overprice(IMHO) they are still nice if you are looking to build an army.