Whittleberry

Eh?

I thought I'd bump this topic to add some helpful info for people who want to go to the LEGO Store at Bluewater in the future: You can actually get to Bluewater from central London in under 40 minutes by catching the Southeastern Highspeed train service from St Pancras to Ebbsfleet Intl station, and then a shuttle bus to Bluewater. Return tickets for the train is £13.30 and £3.50 for the bus. You may think this is expensive, but when you consider how much time you save to do touristy stuff in London you can see how it is worth it. Plus, 150mph trains are fun!

We already got 'Padfoot', aka Sirius Black in dog form, with the Knight Bus set. A LEGO bloodhound would be interesting though...

IMHO LEGO has no issues with "darkness" whatsoever. As has been said, LEGO has made sets from the whole Star Wars universe, and that is frequently dark. What does matter is how much the products appeal to kids. LEGO stopped making HP sets because the popularity of them, and Pottermania in general, was dying down. But now they have another chance to sell the sets, because of the game, first part of the last movie and themepark. However I highly doubt the new line will still be around in two years' time. I suppose the best thing we can do is vote with our feet and buy, buy, buy! Maybe even send Customer Service accounts of how delightful "our children" (not us *cough*) are finding the new sets in the relaunched theme? If there's anything I've learned in the past, it is that comments made to them get passed on.

US: $150 UK: £98 ($160) Germany: 150 Euros ($217) Australia: probably AUD$280 or AUD$300 ($261-279) Hello, what's all this? The UK is almost on par with the US for pricing, and us Aussies, although we have a history of reasonably-priced exclusives, are getting a price that is probably going to be as bad, or worse than, the Finnish and Danish prices. This is not good. The set itself looks great though.

I reckon that's a good idea, I'll have to dig out some black bricks and do some modding! I too feel that 'shop' is a bit of an understatement.

In fact the ChromeBricks guys would probably make you some chromes minifig torsos to order. That's probably a better idea than ruining your Stormtrooper.

Firstly, sorry Legoliner Pilot for the accusations I boldly made, but the whole way you boasted about having pictures you wouldn't show anyone didn't suggest anything else. And now for my views of the Emporium; I think it looks great! The architecture of the building looks both American and European IMHO. But it doesn't have a steep roof, like what one would expect on a European building of this age and appearance. Also that postbox looks like an Danish one. There are many cool-looking additions such as the window cleaner and ice cream stand, and lots of new and exciting parts. I think the main reason many people are having some reservations about the set is the fact that the whole building looks, overall, square and squat. The fact that the upper stories look rather alike doesn't help. And I hope that billboard isn't a sticker...

OK then, can you tell us anything about the Emporium you haven't learned from legomilk's information? Can you describe the building? Keep in mind that you might look stupid when photos actually emerge that contrast with the information you post.

How about this: you DON'T have any photos at all, but you just want attention? Anyway, what's so good about photos? All they mean is that people waste way too much time salivating over them and guessing prices, and judging them before they've actually seen the sets properly.

If you want to use it with LEGO Studios for nostalgic reasons, then the drivers should be on the Studios disc. Otherwise I wouldn't bother, the picture quality is terrible.

Good review! Don't worry about your English, everything was easy to understand! I think you'll find that the pieces that are bagged separately are the ones made in China (detailed parts like buzz's head, the alien's head and buzz's dome). Great to see that LEGO is putting some set-specific printed parts in too! This hasn't happened in a long time, and gives me hope. Nice parts selection too, although I really dislike how it looks like Buzz is wearing a pair of purple pants from the back!

London DOES have an official LEGO store, it just takes a little effort to get to. Go to the LEGO Store at Bluewater. Get the Docklands Light Railway to Woolwich Arsenal, and then the route 96 bus to Bluewater from there. The whole trip takes about an hour and a half each way though, so put a good movie on your iPod!

I'm really excited about the relaunch of Harry Potter, especially since there is the news of a Burrow set!! I'm guessing that the Hogwarts express will be PF-adaptable, with instructions to do so like with the Emerald Night. The only thing I'm worried about is how LEGO's mentality has changed since the first Harry Potter sets; I've always loved HP sets especially for the large number of rare and/or printed parts. Given what LEGO's like these days, I'm guessing there won't be so many of these. But I hope the standard of set design is high to keep the sets appealing.

Yes, this is the single reason I wouldn't want a Shop here. I'm not sure how the positives weigh up against that though... In other news, do you reckon the $300 Fire Brigade means DJs will be selling it? I'm wondering if shipito will be a better option, as we're likely to only get a 20% discount on it, and that's assuming there's a sale before the eBay ripoff resellers snaffle them all.

It looks great! It's good to see the expansion of LEGO stores in Europe so that European fans can have easier access to PABs and exclusives.

Is this just the US S@H or is it in other countries too?

The availability of LEGO at Coles for 25% off is a good development IMO.

Good to see stingy DJ having a sale, and that's quite a good price for the carousel considering the parts/cost ratio. However I won't pick it up, I was much more hoping that they would sell the Fire Brigade instead. I doubt you'll find a built one on display, I've never seen the DJ exclusives being displayed in-store.

I'm a TFOL, and I've never gotten any "funny looks" from people when I buy LEGO. I march proudly to the cashier with my LEGO sets! As for family, my younger brother who isn't into LEGO pretends not to be interested in it, but whatever, I don't care. He spends most of his time in front of his computer fiddling around with Windows for no apparent reason.... My parents have a "oh no, not more LEGO" attitude in a sort of sarcastic way, they don't really mind. My mum badgers me every day because she wants to build the Pirate Advent Calendar set (I'm opening my advent calendar early because I can't take it with me when I go overseas in December). My friends think it's a strange kind of hobby, but they think it's interesting at the same time. LEGO is sort of nostalgic for them. But I think it's a great hobby, it's like an art in my opinion.

All of these stores have already opened, except for the one in Tauentzienstraße, Berlin, which looks like it's only just been confirmed. Looks like my predictions were correct!

Haha, this is an awesome MOC! "Powered by EVIL" and the massive laser cannon inevitably hidden in the rear of the train made me laugh out loud. Nice work

"I am a jam doughnut" Anyway, happy German Reunification!

I might give them a miss then, they don't sound worth tracking down. You're right about the dimensions being off; when I first saw the pics I was kind of on the fence about buying one.

DarthSion, can you give us a shout if you see any? If anyone sees them in a Melbourne Kmart can they please say? Thanks.