Clone OPatra

Well, I thought it was time to dig up this topic seeing as it came out: I wanted to put this in that comprehensive Official SW Videos thread, but I can't seem to find it. Shame on me. As to this video, I think it is nowhere near as good as the first one. It's fun, though, that they make fun of the PT so much in it, saying how EpI is just a lot of talking and kind of making it seem like nothing really happens in EpII. I don't know if they could've done it better, but the original was the best so far.

Remember that these are TRU prices, and in this case are marked up. The prices that FBTB reported from Toy Fair are a bit lower all around, progressively. That means that the more expensive the set is from LEGO, the more dollars TRU adds to it. The single cars should be $7, while the V8 Cafe should be $60 and the Tokyo Circuit may be $90 (that one wasn't even listed at Toy Fair in the book, apparently).

No, I believe it's just a lot of NPU; it looks to me like it is made out of a pole, a minifigure neck bracket part, and then the technic cylinder attached to the neck bracket with another technic part.

I think it looks quite quaint. Yes, it is a bit different than any of the modulars before, but it shows that there is really a lot of range to the line. I also like that the residential building has some sort of lofted interior; it feels like a modern renovation of an old building. This one is not as amazing looking as Green Grocer or Grand Emporium, but I think it has a lot to offer in its own way.

That seems to be a trend in some Licensed themes, but usually ones that get a fuller theme later. Both Indy and Batman had waves with only two sets, but that wasn't the end for them. I have strong doubts, but maybe there will be one last hurrah after this tiny wave.

No no no. Nowhere does it say that the sets pictured there are called UCS sets, it merely says Ultimate LEGO Star Wars sets. That is not the same thing as Ultimate Collector Series LEGO Star Wars sets. I say this because I do not want the "What is UCS?" discussion to continue here, but I do not believe that LEGO is even saying that the sets pictured are all UCS sets. All of the sets pictures are sets that fall out of the normal lines; either they are UCS sets, or they have a 10xxx number for whatever reason.

Unfortunately, the only realistic thing to say about both of those ideas is "keep on dreaming." There are currently no plans for a sequel in the works that I know of, and there's no way at all that LEGO would release new sets from a film that is almost a year old.

Yes, the Tokyo Pitstop. It's a $15 price range set; quite a steal for two of the cutest looking characters.

Ok, what the hell? You don't read? Because on the same page as your posts I said to stop discussing this sort of thing. So STOP! Does all caps and bold make you actually comprehend? I certainly hope so, and that goes for both of you. I don't want to see this again.

Well, as I say I myself don't mind the smaller box size. I know (or at least think I know) what I'm getting when I buy a set, and the box size doesn't factor into my decision at all. But is the small box size really a good thing for overall sales? I am not well-versed in marketing issues and strategies, but I have seen numerous parents in toy isles balk at the high price of LEGO as it is; will they really feel a box of this size is worth $30? As I illustrate, it really is drastically smaller than a $30 box was last year, and I just don't know if that will sit well with parents. LEGO has made marketing mistakes before, and I wouldn't be all that surprised if we see larger boxes again next year, if not as large as they were last year. So, from an environmentalist point of view, then yes it is a good thing. But it seems a bit iffy to me on the sales side of things.

It's ok. Let's just get past it and not mention it again, and only talk about Season 4 in here from now on. Seeing as we're getting (sorta) Phase II Clones this coming season, it seems likely to me that we will also see Eta-2s before the season is over.

Ok, yowzah. Slow down people. This is not the topic for new-CW vs. '03 CW chat. And this is not the place to get into an argument. Actually, there is no place to get into an argument, except perhaps for bars (I hear they are good places for brawls). So, please cut the chit chat about anything not Season 4 related, or somebody (perhaps myself) will lock this topic until Season 4 rolls around and there is actually something to discuss here. (Alternatively/additionally, somebody could start a topic in Community called "Let's all argue with each other" so that we'd at least have a place to link to when topics degenerate into arguments.)

It was on one of those LEGO store advertisement sheets. I've seen it posted around EB a bit, but I don't have the link myself. In any case, it said either May 16 or 18, it was a bit unclear.

This whole creation is splendid, but what I like the most is how you've used the baseplate to work as part of the interior for the bottom floor. LEGO never used this type of baseplate that way, and it's a real shame, since you've shown how well it can work!

I haven't seen that before, but - that's the ugliest one yet. I just can't understand why this line is so hit or miss (although the price is just about always a miss). There are some great looking ones (Farnsworth House, Fallingwater) and then there are others like this one that look so terrible.

Looks like it to me. I suppose they were going for a big building fast, with the focus going into the parts. It's a shame they can't make sets with great buildings and great cars, but I guess it makes sense in a way for this theme.What really seems silly about the Big Ben set to me is what it reveals about the film; namely, cars flying. Utter nonsense, but it will probably good fun. Escape at Sea looks like a pretty good set, with that evil car character, a submarine (probably a villain) and (I think) Fin McMissile. Still, out of all of these I still find the Tokyo Pitstop most enticing because it contains the cutest cars and is relatively cheap. I am also glad that they have the set that just contains Mater, because it's a nice way to get the character even though he is in the most sets (and his name in Italian is Carl Attrezzi - which sounds awesome). I wonder why LEGO feels so bent on always have a 1:1 pic these days, here, they've used a wheel for each set.

Yes, he does have it in the wrong way. In any case, even in the way that the box art shows the sword stays in quite well. It is really a pleasing accessory ( although it's only flaw is that it covers up those lovely detailed prints on the figures!).

Ah, thanks for that. It seems to be in the same style as Tokyo Pitstop: two cars, some additional stuff for the $15 USD price range. Really, it doesn't seem like an enticing set at all, mainly because Mater can be had on his own for cheap(er) and the pink car is one of the worst looking of the bunch, IMO. Escape at Sea sounds to have more potential just from the title.

So I suppose Luke was a bit dyslexic and switched the 'e' and 'a' in 'danger.' That's pretty silly; I like it! I also just love your presentation.

The PoP sets went on sale like crazy not very long ago, all of them 50% off. I saw huge quantities of them at a LEGO store for 50% off prices. I'm actually amazed that they are back and in stock at their normal prices again. Perhaps once all of the summer sets have been added, the PoP will be put on sale again in a sort of summer cleaning, but they might bump automatically to sold out at this point. You never know.

Both are good sets, and I have them both, but this one is better. If you have the 50 dollars, certainly buy Alamut. Even if you're not that into the set or even the minifigures, the shear magnitude of cool parts and nice colors are worth it. This set is well worth the original $80, and certainly $50. I doubt you could be remotely disappointed, and I mean that fully. When you say used, do you mean used and complete, or used and missing stuff? That would certainly make a difference. I find used and complete to be no different than new really; this set is certainly worth $50 complete.

When I read that the Pirates sets had been spotted in stores, I frantically became eager to get my hands all over them. Unfortunately, I had to make the long haul to my nearest LEGO store to find any at all, and the only one that they had that I wanted was… Set Title: The Cannibal Escape Set #: 4182 Theme: Pirates of the Caribbean Film: Dead Man's Chest Pieces: 279 Minifigures: 4 Year of Release: 2011 Price at Release: USD 30, GBP 27 Buy it? Inventory? Bricklink LEGO Browse the pics? Flickr INTRODUCTION I wouldn't say that the news of Pirates sets made me giddy as a schoolgirl, but it did make me giddy. I really don't like the Pirates films very much, but I love Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp (pretty well) so the idea of getting them in minifigure form was a pleasing prospect. When the pictures came out, I wasn't enthralled by any of the sets themselves, but the minifigures looked lovely and I set my eyes on Captain's Cabin (because it is cheap), Isla de la Muerta (two Barbossas!) and The Cannibal Escape (parentheses are fun, aren't they?). Well, as I said I've only been able to find this one in person so far, so let's see what it''s like… BOX The front of the box features some lovely art and a little bit of action. The colors are enticingly deep and rich, although I'm not loving the windswept look of human Captain Jack up there in the corner. It's a little creepy. Now would be a good time to show you just how small the box really is. Obviously, my decision to buy a set isn't based on the size of the box; I'd buy it if it came in a ziploc bad with crappily printed piece of paper for artwork. But, for those know-nothing parents out there, are they going to want to shell out 30 smackers for a box this small? Just look at it compared to the similarly priced PoP Fight for the Dagger box to note the difference: Well, whatever, small box, moving on. The back reminds me of Indiana Jones boxes; plain presentation with a few features. It's really quite appealing (despite the box being small). On the top is the typical 1:1 figures picture, which still fits despite the box size (ok, I'll shut up about the small box now). Mmmm… delicious figures! INSTRUCTIONS To my ghastly horror, the instructions weren't packaged in their own bag with cardboard. What is this nonsense! I might've said I wouldn't mention the box size again, but since it's so small the instructions were completely smashed! Thank goodness there is no sticker sheet in this set; that would've been a disaster. The build limps along as usual, but the color differentiation is good and there isn't anything repetitive (besides for the cage). A fine booklet. One point of interest is that, despite this set being from Dead Man's Chest, the instructions have a little Aqua de Vida pic on each page. This is actually faintly visible on the back of the box as well. It just means that LEGO is using the same instructions design for all PotC sets. There are also pages showing all of the collectible posters, and an ad for Alien Conquest sets. I suspect that by the time the PotC sets are available everywhere internationally, Alien Conquest sets will be popping up as well (they are already available in the U.S. from TRU upon this writing). POSTER My pictures for the poster came out quite badly, colorwise. In any case, the set-specific side of the poster is quite lovely. It's interesting that it features Will as the main focus instead of Jack, but I guess Will needs to shine every once and a while despite being the straight man of the films and playing second fiddle to just about everybody else. The back is probably the same for all of the posters, and it features the map from At World's End and On Stranger Tides with some PotC figures mixed in to whet your minifigure appetite. I don't know what the code does, I haven't tried it. Now then, onto the plastic! MINIFIGURES Since the figures were the biggest draw of this set to me, this section is going to be lengthy. So let's go! This set comes with four figures: a young fit cannibal, an older pudgy cannibal, Jack Sparrow in tribal chief-thingy make-up, and Will Turner being himself. Will is the only figure that is available looking exactly the same in another set (the Mill). The look of these figures is fantastic; so fantastic that they each get many pictures so that I can talk about them more specifically. The first and most obvious thing that I love about this minifigure assortment is that the two cannibals are not the same. LEGO could've gone the route of those IJ Natives in the IJ Cemetery Duel, but the company went the extra mile (or kilometer) and gave us two very distinct cannibals! I've removed the hair pieces so that you can see the face prints in their full glory, besides for Will whose (lovely) hair doesn't cover anything up. Those cannibal prints are so nice, but I don't know if that brown line on the white-makeup guy is supposed to be there or if it's a misprint. Still, it isn't too bad. I for one do not like Jack's face so much. It's good enough to be the character, but it doesn't remind me of Johnny Depp in the slightest. The painted eyes are good details, but since LEGO heads are so small the eyes are pushed to Jack's cheeks, instead of being under his real eyes like they are in the film. The effect is a bit odd. As for Will, I will get to him separately. Oh man, back prints too! I love the detailing on the cannibals, and the other two have nice back-of-shirt prints as well. I'm not fond of the alternate expressions for Cannibal Jack and Will though; Jack looks more like he ate something spicy than scared, and Will just looks kind of… not very Will-ish. Besides, when does Jack actually get scared? His swagger never wears off… While I'm back here, let me take a look at the backs of the hair pieces as well. Jack's hairpiece is neat all around, though a bit too large and lumpy for me to want to use on custom figures. The ponytail piece, though, is so great! LEGO has just been showering us with new hairpieces lately, and I'm reveling in it. This piece would be supreme for a Princess Bride Wesley figure! Forget about the set, I'm ready to play around with these figures right now! Jolly good fun! Now it's time for a few subheadings… Licensed Heroes Holding the ultra-detailed and iconic Captain Jack in my hand got me thinking about the other protagonists of licensed themes of late. So here we are: Indy, Dastan, Harry Potter, and Captain Jack. All of these figures are nice in there way (except Harry, he pales in comparison but continues to grin stupidly), but Jack really stands out because of his rock star Keith Richards (Captain Teague, daddio) look. Still, each of these Licensed protagonists (besides Harry, he sucks) have brought us new head-covering moulds, new accessory moulds, and new versatile prints that are good for fleshing up City, Castle, Action, and Pirate themes (here Harry finally does ok with his plain civilian clothes). Cannibals Last time there were island natives, they looked a bit… different. King Kahuka looks like he's been partying stoned at a Marti Gras compared to these savages. Will Turner I've saved my favorite of the bunch for last. Will Turner, with such an ornate shirt, subtle smile, beautiful hair… and he looks like Orlando Bloom to boot! Why, this reminds me of the last time I went crazy over a new minifigure… here it is, CloneyO's favorite dream team minifigure couple (ah, how could I have let Ginny get so dusty!?): *Slap* Stop in CloneyO, you're starting to go overboard. *Slap* They're just little pieces of plastic, gosh! ACCESSORIES What would a set be without weapons, animal friends, boxes, and other stuff? Here's the lot: multi-colored parrot, read and green snakes, printed compass, three cutlasses, two spear, one backpack thingy (hailing from recent city sets), wine bottle, cutlass holder, and… a black cylinder with metallic silver 1x1 round on top. Some medicine thing confiscated from our heroes perhaps? I don't know. Anyway, one thing that makes me really like the cutlass holder accessory is that it is in the same style as the Indy bag; it's nice that they go together like that. It's also just cool in and of itself, and I've heard it's been desired fro quite sometime. Though I didn't illustrate it, the holder can take your katanas and other swords as well, but be gentle now. PARTY ROASTER First to build (coming in Bag 1 with the figures) is this rotating spit, or, as I've called it, the Party Roaster. After all, the Cannibals are roasting some humans up for a party, are they not? The firey bits are nice, but I don't know why jumper plates were used in there. It doesn't make a difference though. While it looks good on its own, the Party Roaster really has a flawed design. When you attach a minifigure, gravity quickly brings the minifigure down to face the embers. Ok fine. The real problem is that you can't set the Roaster up on display with a Cannibal roasting Jack, because a figure's feet can't touch the ground. Additionally, how much fun is spinning a figure round and round (like a record)? Not that much fun I'd say. With a minifigure trying to do it for you, you end up with a comical scene like this: THRONE & BONE CAGE Bag 2 brings us the parts for the throne and bone cage, so I've displayed them here together. First, let me say that love seeing the older skellie heads, as opposed to the creepier redo that is still around as well (not the zombie-fied Castle one). The throne looks quite good with its Piraka spines and lovely printed 2x4 tile. It's also a very good representation of the source material (not superb, but good). The bone cage, while a tedious build, is quite a pretty model once completed, and a nice way for people not into Ninjago to snag some of those bone parts. I really like that cage a lot. The sides don't look like much, but it's a fine place to note that there are skulls all around the cage. I'll admit that the older skull looks cartoony and silly as opposed to frightening, but I prefer it anyway. Not everything has to be creepy; those cannibals are creepy enough themselves. The throne really falls down on the backside, where there is no detailing and the click hinges are prominent. Solution: don't look at it from the backside (there's really no reason to). The bone cage is still nice and boney. The cage and throne also look great once populated by our little plastic friends. Note that the bone cage is tall enough for Will to stand up, which is a very nice touch. Also, the cutlass holder is made in such a way that a minifigure can sit down while wearing it, which is great (and the ponytail is made so that it doesn't interfere with the strap). Will looks happy, maybe because the Cannibals forgot to take his cutlass away. So, I've said that both the throne and the cage look nice, but are they cool? Are they neat? Are they fun? The truth is that the throne does what it is supposed to do: be a throne, and a nice one to boot. As for the cage, it has to be my favorite built part of this set; it just looks so organic and really made from bone. The answers to my three previous questions are 'yes,' 'yes,' and 'well… define fun.' I'd say they're fun display pieces, and the cage rolls… (sorry about my piss-filtered camera) HUT The third and final bag contains parts for the hut/shack/Cannibal house place thingy. Right off the bat, that is one heck of a nicely-designed hut. The BURPs used for tree parts is kind of weird, but it works. What I really like are the large dark tan leaves; they seem plucked straight from the tree, and then sun dried over time. The effect of the blending of dark tan, red-brown, and dark red-brown (with a hint of green) is magnificent and highly realistic. The hut continues to shine from the sides, with a little window on the left side. The only design issue is that the tree seems awfully flat from the side and back, but it isn't too glaring. The chain for the cage is also incorporated nicely. I'm not crazy about the cylinders used in the tree; for them I would coin the term NNPU, standing for Not Nice Part Usage. It's not typical for LEGO to use two BURPS back to back; usually they use the hollow insides to some effect. Still, I don't think a tree completely built out of normal bricks would've been better, so the BURP use is just fine by me. The designer clearly didn't zone out on the back side, which is much appreciated. Here's a closer shot of the interior, showing where the cannibals have stashed the cutlasses and wine bottle in a barrel, and the mystery cylinder in the tan satchel. It's quite cramped, but you could always take out the accessories and then have more room for the cannibalistic goodness. The roof doesn't suffer the same cramped problem as the interior; even with the chain-winding contraption there is ample room for two (or more!) cannibals. I wasn't expecting so much room up here, so I am really quite pleased by it. Before I go onto the whole set, here's a picture of the hut with the bone cage attached. While the bone cage really looks nice with the hut, it has a terrible time staying with Will looking forward, and likes to swing around incessantly. You will not that the cage seems just a bit blurry in this and the next picture; it was swinging. WHOLE SET & CONCLUSION So here it is; the Party Roaster, throne, bone cage, and hut have all come together to form the entire set. Besides for the Roaster, which is too large, everything is well-designed and looks good with the figures. But… and it really is a big 'but,' does just looking good make it a good set? Am I satisfied looking at these various constructions before me, knowing that I have bought them with 30 of my dollars? The best answer is 'um.' I'm not anal about the stupid 10-cent-per-piece crap, and I'm happy about my four minifigures and my parts, but at the same time this set is just not all that satisfying. Honestly, this set feels like a simple but pleasing MOC, and in a strange way I'd rather I had built it myself from my own parts. I'm not one to say that a set should've been cheaper, because $30 is certainly the correct and fair price for this one, but that doesn't make it a great set. I think the problem lies in the fact that LEGO is primarily good at making sets that are either vehicles or distinctive buildings, not organic, realistic things made of mud and sticks and bones. There's nothing wrong with the set per se, but at the same time it isn't all that satisfying. I'm not sorry with my purchase, but then I didn't truly expect it to be so wonderful; I wanted the minifigures, and I suppose the parts as well. That's the way you have to go into buying a set like this. RATINGS Parts: 8/10 - Some good colors, nice bones, printed design. Good stuff, but nothing to go gaga about. Minifigures: 9/10 - Four different ones, and some great designs. I docked a point because I don't like Jack's face; I really don't. Design: 8/10 - Stuff looks good for the most part, but the cage does not stop swinging and the Roaster is a FAIL. Price: 8/10 - It's the right price, but there's an odd feeling of not getting your money's worth even though you did. Strange. Playability: 6/10 - This set is devoid of features, and in this case I think it could've benefited from some. I suppose I wouldn't have liked sacrificing the design of the hut for features, but a set with no good gimmicks at all is a teensy bit of a let down. Overall: 7.8/10 - Where I come from, that is a high 'C,' meaning a normal, average passing grade. It's hard for me to exactly reflect in numbers how I feel about this set, but I think I've done so in words. Some of you will probably like this set much more than I did, and some less, but in the end I think we could probably agree that it's a set that has its goods and its bads, but in the end is really nothing special. And now, a shameless plug for the EB Reviewers' Academy! Click the link and you too can learn to make professional-looking reviews like this one!

That certainly has some truth to it, but at the same time the Tie Advanced (which was very slightly redone around '04), the Y-Wing (which was simply re-released in '04), and the Sith Infiltrator (in recent '07) got or are getting significant upgrades, so there is a very slight chance that we could see upgrades for other sets as well, though it is rather unlikely. Perhaps the real problem is that most MOCs that get the shapes of such ships better use techniques that are far beyond what goes into a normal SW (or any) LEGO System set, so it's unlikely that those ships could be done better while still adhering to LEGO's desired level of complexity. I don't really know. I'm sure a new Gungan Sub would be leaps and bounds above the first one (just see my review for my opinions about that set), and it might happen. Perhaps once ANH rolls around in 3D we will finally get a new (and better) X-Wing to kick 6212 out of production.

I think the best reason for why it is still around and in production (as somebody already said) is that LEGO feels it's done a good enough job, and so a new one wouldn't look much different anyway. Like the Snowspeeder (and the Falcon, I guess), the X-Wing has little chance of changing. This may not sit well with some due to inaccuracies, but the LEGO T-47 is horribly inaccurate as well and it's evident that the company doesn't care. I personally still like my original X-Wing set much more than the newer two, but that's only because it's grey and clunky looking, and the X-Wing really is not a pretty ship (like the T-47, which isn't pretty either). I don't think that LEGO will ever do very well at making ugly, beat-up looking ships though. Maybe the ugly part (Sith Infiltrator). It's a shame that we get better revamps of useless things like the Infiltrator (which is still ugly) and Podracers, but for some ships it's quite clear that LEGO has found a basic look that it likes. Maybe the newest Tie Advanced is proof that LEGO can remake a model completely and for the better after several tries, but other sets suggest that it's not going to happen for everything (Falcon, N-1).

I like your use of that face for a younger Obi-Wan, although I don't usually imagine Obi as that unhappy. It's certainly much better than LEGO's EpII and EpIII Obi-Wan faces, which were looked absolutely nothing like Obi-Wan, though I loved them anyway. Brown is also much more accurate than LEGO's orange (except for CW, where his hair actually is pretty orange ). On the CW body, it doesn't work as well, but I like the cartoony faces anyway, so I see no need to try and improve the figures by using something else. Hopefully, LEGO will someday provide us a new EpII or EpIII Obi-Wan figure like they are an EpI figure that accurately represents him, but this is a nice substitution.