Clone OPatra

I'm really not sure what you're referring to. Firstly, it's up to LEGO to determine color schemes for their minifigures. Secondly, what do you mean by 'dark blue minifigures?' The only dark blue minifigures that come to mind that don't have dark blue hands are some of the Ninjago snake characters, but apart from that nothing comes to mind that 'should've had dark blue hands.' LEGO usually doesn't go with monochrome minifigures, especially in interesting colors, probably for aesthetic reasons. Dark blue hands against Wolverine's neon orange/yellow or Batman's grey, though, look great.

I never really buy City sets, but I can appreciate when LEGO does one right and be disappointed when they mess it up. Like others have said, the building looks nice from the outside. So who needs the vehicles, especially the stupid helicopter? It's so useless! They should've just made a really nice hospital, kids could get the excellent previous ambulance, and LEGO could release a separate helicopter. What a shame.

I remember reading from a few different sources that this would be a one-off. I'm fine with that. It's a great one-off. Honestly, while the story is cute and the characters have nice little back-stories, there isn't much place for the overall story to go. Sure, there could be a new main villain that wants to destroy the world in another way, but still, it's a stretch. I like this theme better than some of the recent ones that have had multiple waves (Atlantis, Power Miners), but it's ok for this theme to only have one. Not everything needs a sequel, especially when the first one is already great.

As a privately held company, TLG is not entitled to tell you anything. They do what they want, and give the reasons they want. But you can hopefully see the reason for this not being within typical range for their products. The best that I have seen is that Shaun of the Dead is set in modern day. Not that it is necessarily more violent that another License (though I still think it), but that it does not blatantly involve fantasy. Every LEGO line that involves violence is completely non-realistic. Future humans killing and (basically) dissecting alien UFO invaders. Robotic-limbed people hunting monsters. Knights, dwarves, and elves killing orcs. Yes, these are violent. They have guns and death, and LEGO does not even try to cover it up. I know I know, zombies are fantasy, but SotD, like most other Zombie films, put them in the real world. I can see why LEGO does not want to associate with that, even when the product itself would not be violent. It also needs to be noted that it is not just zombies being killed in SotD. The humans, the real people, are ripped apart too, and in a way that is supposed to be campily reminiscent of 'reality.' SotD might be paying homage to earlier zombie works in its violence, but those earlier works were trying to be gorily 'realistic' in a way. So there's another answer. I know you won't agree. But there it is for your enjoyment.

It's from the wedding in Deathly Hallows Part I.

You must be joking. Seriously. You're an adult (or if not, you're a younger person who realizes movie gore isn't realistic). Fine, by the time I was 13 or 14 that type of violence wouldn't have phased me, but as a younger kid I was plenty creeped out just at the Nazis disintegrating at the end of Raiders. Shaun of the Dead is chock full of violence way above and beyond anything LEGO has ever licensed, not to mention the swearing. It's entirely geared towards adults; satire is lost on kids most of the time. You might not want to have 'started a debate,' but you're just digging yourself into the ground if you actually try to argue that the violence in SotD is 'tame' for children.

It's a very constipated worm. Didn't you know that bowel troubles are common among the bright pink variety of worms? This is a cute game. The rules actually make sense and there's a little bit of thought in playing it, which is great. I think it is a pretty good parts pack too; the dalek pieces as Rufus said, plus copious amounts of the stud with hole and some pink parts, plus the constipated faces. Excellent all around.

Where? If you're talking about at the front of the starfighter, I'm afraid it's just this piece.

Thanks for the picture GRogall! I'm sure they'll tide people over until you can get HD ones! I guess I might as well comment on them as well. There's not a lot to say since we've basically seen the sets before, but there are a few things: -The art for the Malevolence looks awfully boring. I'm not sure what they could've done to make it better really, but it's an awfully ugly set and the art hasn't exactly helped it out. With only one truly new minifigure (I don't count Battle droids, honestly they're on drip of paint different), there's really nothing appealing about that set apart from the fairly good price per part ratio. I suppose it's been quite a while since Count Dooku was in a set, so that's a nice addition, but overall not too impressive. -The completed Pre Vizsla set looks pretty good, no complaints with the ship. It is a shame, though, that they didn't update Obi-Wan to his newer CW design like they did for Anakin. That should've been done. -The skiff is really an excellent set. Four great minifigures, a nice-enough vehicle, and some nice dark tan. What's not to like? The price isn't even too bad (which is the big thing not to like about the Gungan Sub). My favorite set is still the Gungan Sub, since it's an excellent model and it includes minifigures that I care to have, but I doubt I'll get it. I picked up the Podracers on impulse, though, so who knows. It's also nice to see the EU sets, proudly advertising the Old Republic game. Even if LEGO doesn't make any more Old Republic sets, it's nice to see that they're continually willing to give a little less mainstream SW material a go.

Take a look at the Hearse picture; the vampire lord's head has the glowing effect on it just like the glowing pieces on all the other boxes. It's not on the small picture of the villains on bottom right, but on the set itself. On the Castle box, I'm pretty sure both vampires have this effect too.

Seriously, the thought that LEGO 'didn't want to invest in such a big project' is ridiculous. They don't just take the Cuusoo model and make it as is; they could've made a facade-type playset out of the Winchester and sold it for 60 or 70 bucks. They're not going to lie. Like Shadows said in his very well-put post, though nothing about the set would inherently not be for children, it would bring the baggage of the R-rated, violent source material, and that's a fact. Shaun of the Dead, though not just a gory exploitation film by any means, is still an adult film. It makes absolute sense that LEGO cannot be associated with that, even if they were going to market the set to adults. Just because LEGO makes sets for adults does not mean that they forget their overall brand image when they do so. The argument that LEGO makes sets based on movies not for children is bullocks. PotC, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Prince of Persia - though they might have some (tame) gore now and again, these are kids' films. Sure, some carry PG-13 ratings (in the US), but there's no doubt in my mind that 8 year olds still enjoy them. Lord of the Rings is the darkest LEGO theme out there, but it's still a franchise full of extravagant set pieces, epic heroes, spooky villains, bravery, battles - all things that kids can enjoy, even if they have to hide their eyes at some of the scariest parts. Shaun of the Dead is a film made for adults, plain and simple. It is a thoughtful film, and a fun film, but for adults. It's not suited to LEGO's image at all.

Wow, there's a lot of glow-in-the-dark floating around in this theme. It appears from the boxes that the vampires have glow-in-the-dark heads. I've never been a huge fan of those, but with the new whiter glow-in-the-dark material, I think it will work out just fine. I can't wait to get my hands on that hearse (and hopefully the castle).

That video was amazing! I am even more excited for this theme now. There was one thing that confused me in the video, though, which is why the zombies throw the zombie driver off the cliff. Later, The Vampire Lord is driving his own hearse, without the driver, and it looks like the driver is lying face down in that shot with the zombies in the graveyard. Maybe that element of the story will somehow be explained later. I think there is still one minifigure yet to be revealed, which is the voodoo doctor in the zombie set, but perhaps that was just a false rumor.

Excellent, very cute MOC. I'd write a more thought-out post, but with little time right now I'll just say…

I didn't analyze parts because I hate taking parts pics So here's a little analysis for you: The dark red speaks for itself. It's great. There's the big grey train piece, which I did mention. That could have some uses, although it's kind of clunky. Good for space-ships certainly, though. There is also the new SNOT peice: this guy.. That's a really nice piece. There's the curved piece that debuted not long ago, as you can see on the front of the copter. That's about it for parts. Nothing too great, but the SNOT piece is nice.

The jester hat comes in it's own separate baggie. The bowler hat does not. HOWEVER, this notion of 'chinese plastic' is purely speculative no matter what. While it's a nice supposition that everything that comes in it's own separate baggie comes from China, this cannot actually be the case because there has been at least one set (the PoP Ostrich Race) that had those special baggies and did not list China as a country of manufacture. Likewise, there are parts that first appeared in the collectible minifigure line that are now in sets, and do not come in their own bags. Since we know for a fact that the collectibles in their entirety are made from China, the question is: when these parts show up in sets, do they come from the Chinese factory, or did LEGO make a separate mould for them in Europe? So there's really no concrete answer to your question. I would personally think that the bowlers come from China because a. they were first in the collectible minifigures and b. they have the solid ring for connection with the head stud. Head-wear coming from Europe typically has a discontinuous circle for connection, for whatever reason (unless the connection ring doesn't protrude and is just embedded in the piece). The jester hat everyone has always assumed comes from China, but there's no real way of knowing. For what it's worth, Robin's hair-piece also has a solid connection ring. It may also be from China, since it is in the Collectible Series 7 line, so it could possibly have been put into production a while ago in China. But it looks and feels like a regular LEGO piece, so who knows.

I do find builds nowadays to be too easy. Not just the numbered bags, but also instructions that have piece callouts and only have you add about one or two pieces per step; it's like having your hand held, and I don't think kids or anybody else needs that. I build plenty of large sets when I was a kid with all of the part dumped out, and it wasn't too much of a problem. In some cases, numbered bags make sense. When a set has very distinct different parts, then it's fine to have each one in its own bag, or set of bags with the same number. A recent-ish sets that fits this model is the Endor Base, which has a lot of distinct components and it's very helpful to have the entire AT-ST with its own number, etc. Any set smaller than 800ish pieces, though, is just ridiculous for numbered bags. Since a big set will take a long time to build anyway, the numbers do cut down on a little frustration, but with anything smaller numbered bags make the build too quick and easy. I have to say that with really large sets, numbered bags would be helpful. The MMV was supremely frustrating to build, with no numbers and pieces all over the place. Sure, I got it done, but numbered bags in that case are helpful. That's just a ton of pieces to look through.

Awesome MOC! The walker and field operator give me a Star Wars vibe, but maybe that's just because I'm so used to seeing your Star Wars constructions. Your unique style never stops impressing! Your sense of color is especially good. On the walker, you seem to use each color in just the right place to create a look that isn't too clean but certainly isn't sloppy.

Thanks for the images. How tall is the figure next to a regular minifigure with legs? Did they make this new piece the same height as legs, or is it like the regular slope dress piece, making the figure taller?

Have you looked at the recent set of $20 vehicles? I'm talking about 4431-4435. All of these sets have over 200 parts, besides for 4431, which has 'only' 199. 4208, another $20 set, amazingly has 243 pieces. 4206 is $30 for 297. 4205, $40, 403 pieces. 4430, $50, 522 pieces. These are excellent price per part ratios. You're picking and choosing. Not all sets make the nonexistent ideal of 10 cents per piece. Ten cents per piece was never really a thing; look back to sets in the '80s and '90s and you won't see it there. All of those Castles and Space sets and Pirate ships were quite expensive with not so many pieces because of big wall panels and baseplates and who knows what else. City is not particularly expensive. Compared with other themes, City has far more 'nonsensical magic ratio' sets. I can address the figure pack situation as well. It's not fair to compare this figure pack to the Star Wars battlepacks, which are normal sets. Other themes like Pirates and Kingdoms had similar blister-packed battle packs, for the same $15 price. I think it's the blister-packing that drives up the price, just like the Ninjago spinners which are $10 for a spinner, a minifigure, and a handful of weapons. The SW battlepacks, however, are not influenced by the cost of blisterpacking.

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I'm glad you enjoy reading my reviews (although truth be told, if you didn't, it wouldn't stop me). Anyway, I got around to the Wolverine review. Here it is. Enjoy!

X-Men is probably my favorite comic series. Not that the originals were very good, since they weren't, but where a lot of the characters went later has been quite inventive. Like so many other LEGO things, X-Men was one that I never expected to see happen, but now we're blessed with… Set Title: Wolverine's Chopper Showdown Set #: 6866 Theme: Superheroes Subtheme: Marvel Subsubtheme: X-Men Parts: 201 Minifigures: 3 Year of Release: 2012 Price at Release: US 20, GBP 20, CAD 25, kr 250, AUD 50, EU varied Buy it? Inventory? Bricklink LEGO (US Link) Just browse the pictures? Flickr set INTRODUCTION Well, I already gave a little bit of an intro. Anyway, X-Men. Neat stuff. Unlike other Superhero properties, there's no one, main, obvious character for a set. You know, Batman's got Batman, Superman's got Superman, Red Sonja's got Red Sonja… but X-Men is and always has been a whole lot of characters with basically equal levels of prominence. While I personally would have liked to see Northstar vs. Mastermind and Unus, I understand that Wolverine and Magneto make a lot of sense for an introductory X-Men set, so I'm happy. But it's not all about minifigures, you know. If it was, LEGO would just sell blind packs of superheroes and call it a superhero theme. What we need (sometimes) is nice cohesive sets. Let's check out if this one fits the bill… BOX The box, to my surprise, is kind of rectangular. I thought that the curvalicious Friends box invasion was supposed to start, but I guess it was averted. The background is nice, though a bit nondescript, and everyone has been ooing and ahing over the dark red Marvel colors. Really I quite liked the dark blue, so I'd just call it a draw. LEGO did a superb triple pun on this box in relation to the set title, which I find hilarious: one chopper is the helicopter, one chopper is the motorcycle, and one chopper is Wolverine, chopping a flick-fire! Brilliant! On the other hand, the box is too cluttered. With all of the regular American-box text, the figure line-up, and the 'comic adventure included,' it's not very pleasing on the eyes. (Sidenote: try as I might, I can't find any other source of that exact X-Men logo. It's reminiscent of some others, but not exactly the same. Strange.) The back isn't terribly exciting. It has panes from the included comic adventure in the background, which is nice. Apart from that, it shows everything fine, but the front is far more exciting. I love on the 1:1 minifigure shot how it's Wolverine with another shot faded into the background… of himself. Did someone say boss? On another side is the same picture of Wolverine from the back of the box. I'm sorry, but I'm so glad LEGO didn't bother to make his mask. Wolverine in that mask looks so idiotic. The X-Men filmmakers were so smart to lose it. INSTRUCTIONS The front shows off the nice Canadian backdrop, minus all the annoying text and other pictures. It's pleasant. The instructions booklet is pleasantly thick for a set of this size. The copter itself has 40 steps plus sub-builds, so the build is neither too short nor too tedious. Some of the pages have this nice fade of the minifigures. It's like in the Harry Potter line, except waaaaaaay less creepy. The Club page features this adorable picture of Wolverine cutting Max's hair into his (now) signature vampire style. I hope we see more customized Club pages in the future (but it mixes fleshies and yellows, ahhh!). COMIC I actually took pictures of it this time! Well, just the front and back. Magneto looks creepy as heck on the front. I don't know what is possibly going on with his face. Otherwise the artwork is good. The back features all of the boring minifigs from the Avengers sets, plus the awesome Spider-Man and Iron Fist and the seriously messed up Doc Ock. I like how all of the Avengers look stoically posed and then Wolverine shows up in the front and says 'hey look at me!' *waves claw* MINIFIGURES Noticed the Deadpool in those last couple of pictures, did you? Don't worry, I'm getting there! I already commented on the figure selection in the intro, so I'll dedicate this section to the minifigures and designs themselves. There is plenty to say. Here we have our figure friends from the front (if that isn't a lot of alliteration, then maybe mister mango mashed melons at Mindy's mellow massage parlor). Overall these figures are wonderful. They get down the looks of the characters perfectly, and the colors all work well. I've been wanting a Magneto helmet for who knows how long, and LEGO delivers. The one thing that's a little strange is the use of black for Wolvs's musculature. They use that lighter color for all of the other figures, so the black is a little strange. But maybe his suit is just THAT TIGHT. (Do note that the colors didn't work out perfectly in this pic, since Wolvs's suit looks almost regular yellow. It's neon-yellow-orangish, like the hazmat guy apparently. BL's bright light orange. Aanchir's something official) Great backprints all around. Deadpool's got more belt and black patterning. Magneto's got more purple bling bling. Wolvs has his mask hanging down, more belt, more dark blue, and more black muscles. Now about the mask; I was under the impression it wasn't attached, in which case, how could it hang down? Oh well, at least it appeases the 'where's the mask'ers. Also, Wolvs's double head always shows, which is kind of annoying, but I prefer it over a more scrunched-up face print (like Hawkeye). Here are Wolvs and Mags with their alternate face prints and headgear still on. Magneto's angry face isn't in step with the Magneto of the recent films, but I do recall him getting this angry in the comics, so it's nice to have. What I really like is that LEGO didn't force happy faces onto these guys. They really aren't happy people, ever. Wolverine's hair also is perfect, and I remember thinking of him as soon as I got the Vampire Studios set way back when. I even made a custom figure using the Monsters Doctor's non-glasses face. I guess LEGO thought of Wolverine with this hair too! I felt like taking a glory shot of Magneto to show off his helmet/him in general. And now I can say, while he's a great figure, who the heck thought of this design for a bad guy? Red spandex with purple undies, cape, glove, and super big bling bling reminiscent of Pharaohs? Plus a horned helmet? Seriously wacked out, but also awesome. By the way, I think this is the first ever dark purple cape, and certainly the first purple cape of any shade in quite a while (since Dumbledore wore purple). I love capes (despite what Edna Mode has to say about them)! Let's see them sans headgear now. Magneto has some crazy eyebrows, but they fit with a comic style. I can see the Wolverine face having a lot of applications for pissed figures in various settings. I think the only difference between the calm and angry Magneto faces are the mouth. It shows, since the mouth looks out of place with the rest of the facial expressions, and it's too symmetrical anyway. It's not the greatest. Wolverine looks much better, since he's really growling and angry. It's quite fierce; I love all the furrows in his face. ACCESSORIES Like the Funhouse, this set isn't exactly brimming with accessories, but it certainly has a better amount than that set and it doesn't feel lacking. Wolverine has his two claws (plus another as an extra piece) and Deadpool has two swords, a PoP carrier for them, and an Alien Conquest gun. The gun isn't so accurate I suppose, but it looks nice and modern nonetheless. Like others have said, black would've been better for the holder, but it's alright. Magneto just gets a disc, but that's all he needs. Magneto doesn't use weapons. Besides, he has the power of purple! CHOPPER #1 - Motorcycle The first Chopper is Wolverine's bike. It's plain, but it does the trick and looks nice. I've found that with one claw out, Wolverine doesn't look too silly. He of all people would be able to ride a bike with one hand. The back has no place a for a red taillight, but that doesn't bother me. It's just the mold, which is the same one that appeared in the Indy Cemetery Battle and a PQ set, though both of those times it had printing. In grey it doesn't need it. This side of the bike has an exhaust pipe, a detail missing from the dirt bike but present in the awful big cycle mold. Even with this small mold, the cycle is starting to look large. This side does not have a pipe. Hooray for non-symmetry! There are plenty of places on the bike to put the claws if you want to keep them nearby but have Wolvs drive with both hands. With this setup, you barely notice that they're there. But look how huge this bike is. I still love the classic cycle. It felt like the right size. This one rolls well and looks great on it's own, but next to a figure it's a bit too ginormous. Wolvs is grumbly about it too, see? CHOPPER #2 - Helicopter We've now come to the bulk of the set: Deadpool's heli. As far as I can tell from the internet, Deadpool isn't exactly known for having a helicopter, but he's a kick-megablocks merc so it's not unreasonable. The color-scheme is certainly fitting, and I'm glad LEGO went with the purty dark red. The best views of the copter are from above, like this. The chunky-ness just works better from this angle. I've read comments online that this model is too chunky and thus horrible, but I don't get it. People are too obsessed with slim slim slim these days. A little weight looks healthier, says I. A front angled-down view also looks quite nice. The colors are nicely cohesive, and the cockpit has a nice shape overall thanks to the big dark grey train piece. Straight-on from the front looks pretty good too. I love the down-facing red lights; landing lights perhaps? It's nice to see LEGO doesn't only care about the top (like in SW). Basically, the front is great. Really no complaints. It's around the side that things start to get weird, whether from straight-on or from a bit above. The cockpit is great, but the huge open hole is pretty unsightly. The long tail, too, is fairly basic. It's a shame, since the front is awesome, that the rest is just 'eh.' The back view isn't terrible exactly. The designer didn't completely drop the ball, as some people appear to think about this model. Well, saying the designer didn't completely drop the ball isn't quite correct. As you can see, there are two tail rotors. I'm no helicopter expert, but I've done a little internet research and I'm fairly certain such a thing does not exist. Correct me if I'm wrong, but two tail rotors would not correct for the torque of the main rotor and effectively do nothing. So, as is, if this copter were real it wouldn't fly. I don't mind the asymmetrical tail fin at all, but the dual rotors are a problem. Thanks to those newish big curved pieces, the main rotor is quite large without too many pieces. The model looks great from straight above. The bottom looks fine too. It's got the red lights, and it at least doesn't look unfinished like basically every Star Wars ship nowadays. Nice! The swords clipping onto the sides of the ship is a little weird, but at least they aren't lightsabers. They sort of look like fins? Eh, I guess not really, but it could be worse (worse=lightsabers). PLAY! Ok it's done, let's play! So much to do, woohoo! Well, not really, but if you've read my reviews before, you'll know I'm crafty when it comes to playing. First of all, the rotor spins. Since it's so big, it's not the easiest to get spinning fast, but it can be done. One thing to note is that it sometimes hits the back rotors if they're in the wrong position. Seriously, stay far away from this thing if you happen to come across a real-life one. You will crash and burn. Play idea numero dos: take Magneto for a ride. He certainly looks excited about it, doesn't he? And this is where that big gap because even dumber. That's no compartment (…it's a space station!). It's just an uncomfortable looking hole, and what passenger (especially a classy passenger like Erik) would want to sit or stand in an open-air compartment? I've come to the conclusion that the hole is really there for swooshability. You can quite easily lock your fingers through it and carry the chopper around that way. Observe: You've got great minifigures, so do a little bit of roleplaying and sit there bonking those little guys together. Fight fight fight! If you were to do that, you would not end up with a carefully staged photograph like this, but that's an idea! You could photograph the set! And now, if you hadn't realized, I've been saving the best for last. Everyone's, from little kid to old person, favorite, flick fires! This set packs a great payload of four beautiful, shiny silver tipped missiles! You can rotate the missile silos for maximum accuracy! Here, I line up the shot… …and miss dismally. I promise, I photographed it as it was. Better luck next time. WHOLE SET and CONCLUSION So, what do I think of LEGO's first journey into X-Men territory? Sure, of course I want a whole cast of my favorite X-Men characters and their stealth ship and the mansion and all of that, but I'm pleased overall. The minifigures are great, the bike looks cool, and the helicopter is fine. This set is certainly the most exciting set out of the three similarly priced Superheroes sets, although the Avengers SHIELD jeep is a nice-looking jeep. Really, if you care for the minifigures or like dark red or both, this is a great set. If you throw a fit every time you follow LEGO instructions and end up with a helicopter and don't like one of the best comic properties out there, stay away. Still, I find the Batman sets to be a little more fun (especially the Funhouse; it even has Fun in the title). I don't like Batman the comic, but as LEGO the Batman sets are more shlock and zany and fun. These figures are lovely, and the helicopter is pretty good, but they're not as fun as some of the Batman stuff. Still, it's not much of a critique. X-Men doesn't lend itself so much to zaniness (despite Magneto's wacked-out costume; none of the characters seem to mind that for some reason). This is still a great set! RATINGS Parts: 10/10 - 201 for $20, lots of sexy dark red, flat silver cones, cheese, a motorcycle. Need I say more? Sure I do; I never shut up. Build: 10/10 - Not too tedious, but not too quick. So that's good. Design: 6/10 - Overall the copter is fine, but the gap is poor and the dual tail rotors are a failure. I don't even understand why anyone thought that was a thing. Minifigures: 10/10 - Superb, really. Yes you can see Wolverine's headprint under his hair, but I don't mind. These are great. Price: 10/10 - As the TV show goes, the price is right. Playability: 8/10 - It's mostly just flick-fires, though it's a ship so by nature you can swoosh it. Not the most playable set, but it does the job. Overall: 9/10 - That's quite accurate. The copter has it's flaws, but overall there's no denying that this set is a great deal and one to certainly pick up. Do it! You'll probably be more satisfied than if it was just a dark-orange cannon (I'm looking at you, Geonosian Cannon set). Until next time! Shrakkk!

I made that same joke in this topic quite a while back. It's not like it's such a hard one to come up with, though.

The original Batman line had a UCS set in about the first wave, and Spongebob had that odd build-a-Bob. But you are right that UCS in the way people are talking about it (expensive and highly detailed playset) usually take a while for a theme to put out.

It's actually not a Star Fighter. I don't know so much about TOR either, but from watching a few videos about and from it, I found that the Fury is actually a pretty big ship. The set is not to scale in the slightest; think of it like the Millenium Falcon, which is by no means as big as a capital ship, but in regular LEGO set form is far scaled down. (Of course, it still looks like a $90 Tie Fighter to anyone who doesn't know.) Here's an interior shot to demonstrate size: And an exterior: