Clone OPatra

I don't understand why so many people see World Racers as violent. Yes, they have missiles, but I really think their goal is just to derail the other team, not kill them. There have been violent action themes going all the way back to the original Alpha Team.

Obviously, the set will include a large-scale Mace Windu with flick-firing hand for extra Samuel L. Jackson mid-pain acting. It will also include a special sound brick that makes the sound "Ahhh" when the hand is released. In serious, though, I would love to see a Palpy's Arrest finally come out, if LEGO does it right. Doing it right would mean including five figures (if not Anakin), and a tolerably plush room. Of course, I can't exactly imagine how LEGO would pull it off. They wouldn't want the office to be too bear, but obviously it can't be too detailed either. But if they do make it, I'm sure they'll figure out a fine solution. It just has to come with all those Jedi!

Very interesting topic to read through! Like a few others, I think the four themes that you have picked Brickster are not really the best representation of the topic. I don't think Outback can be considered an Action theme at all, it was always a town theme to me that just happened not to involve police, fire, airports, etc. There were a few sets in the '90s that involved airshows, but those also were clearly town, not action. Anyway, I would say that Action themes have, in general, become more conflict-oriented. I agree with ZO6; themes like Arctic and Adventurers were more about exploration, although I certainly found Sam Sinister and Baron von Baron to be a very large part of the whole Adventurers theme. After all, everybody was packed with guns in Adventurers, so you can't tell me the Baron wasn't going to fire off the rifles mounted on his bi-plane. At the same time, Action themes have also been extreme for some time. The X-Treme team were just Daredevils, but I think with all of their stunt planes and such they can be seen as extreme. Just not overly flashy. Res-Q was also somewhat extreme, in its way, but I found that to also be more of a town spin-off than an Action theme of its own. I certainly see how World Racers has evolved from that really crappy competition theme with the four contestants, but I don't think Island Sports factors in. That theme, without the background of the videogame, really makes no sense whatsoever. It was basically just a spin-off of the Sports theme with names characters and guys in jail outfits. That's right, huh? Agents was really no more extreme than even the original Alpha Team sets; they had big guns too, just not pistols. Power Miners is no more extreme than Rock Raiders, it just has flashier colors, and dynamite. They had plenty of drills in the original. Looking at it all, I would say that Action themes have only seemed to become more extreme because of design. Situationally, there were Action themes just as extreme five and ten years ago, but, sitting on a shelf, they didn't eek extremity. If you think about it, the X-Treme Team and Res-Q were in some serious peril, but they didn't have the advantage of crazy graphics, flick-fires, and lime green to make them shout extreme right off the box.

Very nice topic, and something I've been thinking about myself lately after buying all but one PoP set (I don't care for a $50 set of gray bits). The clear answer in my mind is 'no,' LEGO is not pushing out too many licenses. This year, excluding Star Wars (since it doesn't count), there will be by the December 5 different licenses, by my count: Toy Story, PoP, Ben 10, Cars, and Harry Potter. Besides Toy Story, which has already seen two waves and a load of sets, these other themes are relatively small and quiet. PoP has 5 sets, HP 6, and I honestly do not expect a second wave from either one. Cars doesn't even count really since it's Duplo, and Ben 10 isn't System either. LEGO has often had weird, non-system odd licenses like Dora the Explorer and Winnie the Poo (and you could count Mickey, if you wanted too), and those sorts of themes don't even seem to take a chunk out of how many System themes LEGO offers and don't really take away shelf space, since everywhere I've been Duplo has its own little place, and Ben 10 is either with Bionicle or off in its own display. My point is, when it comes down to it, there are really only three non-SW licenses for 2010: TS, PoP, and HP. PoP will certainly not continue, signs point to the HP line being the very last, and TS's fate is uncertain, since I'm not sure where it could go from here. Next year may see a return of IJ and perhaps a PotC line, but that's all merely speculation. I think PotC would work very well for a two-wave series (one for the last three films, one for the new one), but that's a discussion for a separate speculation thread. Anyway, I don't think that three probably short licenses is too many in a year, and all spaced out at that (HP not until fall), but I also like what the licenses have to offer. PoP might have tanked, but it gave LEGO a great excuse to give us some middle east architecture, new animals, new parts, a new color, and loads of figures. Even if you don't like fleshies (what are you doing in the licensed forum?), I'm sure you could find uses for all the new fig accessories, not to mention Nizam's robes and other skin-color-less prints. Also, since PoP is so likely to be another one-hit-wonder in the style of Speed Racer, LEGO had no problem filling up every set with unique figure prints. In Star Wars, you have to fork out $120 to get a cool new figure these days, while $11 on PoP gets you three unique ones. What a deal! HP also offers plenty of cool stuff, though perhaps not as cool altogether for non-fans as PoP. Plenty of cool new figure prints, some new hair-pieces, some interesting colors here and there. Besides, HP was dying for a few more sets, and LEGO produced them in style. I'm not a fan of LEGO TS, but some people are, so over all I think that was also a fine LEGO choice. Overall, I think LEGO has mainly been going in the right direction with licensed themes. Licenses let LEGO dabble in something more interesting and unusual than the in-house lines. Though licenses are often shorter-lasting than non-licensed lines, do we really need to see a long run of Persian architecture? I like all of the different styles and figures that licensed themes offer, and I don't mind hopping from one excursion to another since they all have something different and don't have the time to get old.

Ah, so much LEGO HP goodness has been unveiled in the last few days. Great thanks for the catalog pictures! It's interesting that they still show the 07 trio in the catalog art, since they're no longer current. It's a shame, since the 07 face prints on the trio (and Malfoy) look much better, in my opinion, at least for the characters in books 4 through 7. As has been said, the new Harry head print does not look right in the Burrow at all. Not only does he look to young to be fighting Bellatrix and Fenrir, but he also looks far too young next to his girlfriend, Ginny. The new Ginny fig is really spectacular, and she looks a perfect old-enough age, making that young Harry even more silly in the Burrow. Harry also looks too young to be fighting Voldemort in the Castle,but I suppose his grumpy face is a little older looking than the new smile. Still, for some scenes I'll definitely be swapping in the more mature Harry face from the GoF and OotP sets. It is very nice that so many characters have double-sided heads. Though the smiley sides look a little too young for the trio and Draco, it's great that they also have grumpy/displeased sides. For Ginny as well, the grumpy side is very nice. It's great to see that LEGO is realizing that unhappy faces are a great addition to the world of minifgures, both in licensed themes with fleshies and in non-licensed with yellows.

Yes, the BOGO 50% off TRU in the U.S. is real, even though you won't see any signage about it in the stores. It's very odd, but I suppose TRU is trying out just sending emails to Rewards R Us members to let them know instead of making it vastly public. I asked myself in the store to make sure it was real, and it was.

It's a shame that with the Disney license we're not getting The Sorcerer's Apprentice sets, since then we'd be sure to get a fourth Alfred Molina. Maybe if he shows up in POTC 4 and we get sets for that film, he'll get another representation. But I don't think Molina is in POTC 4.

I think swapping his head out for the one introduced in the Goblet of Fire sets would also help tremendously.

Great find 10or! Lego is certainly going for a cartoony feel with the boxarts, for the most part. The freeing Dobby one is ridiculously funny! Voldemort in black robes looks very good and fitting. The scared Ron face is a bit over the top, but I guess it's just trying to be kid-ish and cartoony. Not exactly my favorite choice, but I can see why LEGO chose that. Malfoy's upset face is also nice to be included, and isn't quite as cartoony as Ron's scared face. The Burrow is still the biggest win here in my mind. Ginny is appropriately old looking (meaning: not little kid), Bellatrix and Greyback are awesome, and the parents are pretty great too. It's only the little-kid print Harry that doesn't exactly fit too well, but what can you do. The model itself also looks very fitting to me, and it comes with a pig! Yes, the Burrow is one set where LEGO has completely outdone themselves.

What do you mean? Do you mean the picture doesn't look like what we saw at Toy Fair? If so, remember that nothing everything was completely finished at Toy Fair (the boxart certainly wasn't), so it's possible for the sets to change slightly before their release. What we see on the website might be a more accurate representation of the final product.

I'm sorry, but I think the way that you have structured this thread is not in keeping with the goals of the Community forum. I really find this far too personal, and basically just an "I-need-advice" thread. If you are on Eurobricks, that means you do have a hobby: LEGO. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, but this is not the place for that sort of thing. A general "How do you pick your hobbies?" thread would be more appropriate, but mostly we have those specific to a certain hobby so that all of the hobbyists can discuss their common hobby together. In the future, please refrain from creating threads asking for non-LEGO related advice, and also threads that have a narrow and personal focus. Thanks for your understanding.

Wow. Those are interesting, meaning they're extremely lame. Honestly, it really does look like they were designed with the iPhone app, which is extremely lame in its own right. I think LEGO's own t-shirts (and certainly that Paul Frank stuff) are much nicer than these.

It's a good scene and a good start Legoman, but I think a few things could be done a bit better. Firstly, I understand what you're doing with the cut-off bridges, but I'm just not sure that it works so well. The lower one is ok, but the upper one that hangs down looks more unfinished than intentionally cut-off. Secondly, I think the shrubbery on the floor is also lacking. On Endor, I don't remember seeing hardly any mud, it being almost completely covered with greenery. I think adding more shrubbery would certainly help, as well as some green plates underneath. Also, the large flowers are not really fitting in in my mind. They look far too cartoony and alien to fit on Endor, which basically just looks like a real-world Earth forest. I hope these suggestions help you out.

I can't believe no one has commented on these yet! These are truly wonderful. They're very stylized and customized, but all your cuts and customizations are very clean to make splendid looking figures. This looks like one tough team to reckon with!

It's true that every LEGO piece is molded, and some plates are big, but those can't be counted as <insert that tiresome argument> or unnecessarily molded. LEGO has never made you build big plates out of tons of small plates. In fact, newer LEGO sets don't even have baseplates, mostly.

That is certainly true that the basic design is the same, but even with the same guts the end look and feel of two models can be quite different. When it comes to LEGO, I'm not sure there are so many different ways to build a simple representation of a ship. MOCers of course can go wild with tons of interesting connections, but LEGO sets have to be easy enough to build.

You know, I read this all the time about LEGO, but what are your examples? And especially in Star Wars, which has no BURPS (ok, 7666) or big castle wall pieces. Does The Battle of Endor have big <insert that tiresome argument> pieces, or the Venator, or Echo Base, or the new Slave I, or the Wampa Cave, or Plo Koon's Starfighter… the list is endless. Which Star Wars set are you referring to that has huge molded pieces? I'm really not seeing it. Back to the topic, it is very hard to choose which era is the 'best.' There were some complete stinkers in the original lineup, like the first Snowspeeder and the Gungan Sub, but there were also many fun, quaint sets (X-Wing, Landspeeder, Naboo Duel, etc.). It's kind of a shame that Episode II came when it did, since LEGO wasn't ready to handle the models. Newer Slave I's, the new RGS and AT-TE are much better than the EpII versions. LEGO had already moved past complete blocky but hadn't yet gotten really good, so I'd say around 2003 were some of the worst ones. They weren't quaint, and they weren't great either. 2004-2008 saw some great new sets and redesigns, and the still-reasonable prices were great too. Of course, LEGO still has some great-deal sets, like Battle of Endor, but these days $20 sets sell for $25 (and even worse outside the U.S.). Really, I'd have to say that 2004-2008 were the best years, but that's not to say that LEGO doesn't still come out with some great SW sets and sometimes even at tolerable prices.

I'm not sure about that. The first two AT-ST's use a radically different armor technique from the new one in the Battle of Endor. About the TIE's, although the basic idea of being 'modular' with wings and back that snap onto the cockpit has remained the same, the new one certainly is different. As mentioned before, it doesn't use blue anymore, but it also is bulkier with more smooth pieces and has missiles. Just because you can snap the wings off just like the old one doesn't mean that the design in terms of the look of the craft hasn't changed. That's not to say the new one is better, but it does certainly have more detail that wasn't there on the old one.

Well, you may want to check that the first Stormtroopers had light gray printing, whereas newer ones have light bley printing. I'm not sure if this is the case, but it certainly is the case with Scout Troopers. So there may be four.

No, it's not a boarding ramp, it's just the base of the cockpit. I can't believe the cockpit would flip open and the bottom of it would fold down; that just wouldn't make sense. See this picture, I don't think the floor folds down.

Well, I can't agree with you on those few examples that you have pointed out, since I think those three pieces are quite versatile and don't need to be swapped out. I also am a fan of the odd CW hairpieces, but that's just me. That's not to say that I don't agree that this set could've used a new mold or two. To really make the Landspeeder better, LEGO needs a more accurate cockpit piece and new engine pieces as well. The old engine pieces are kind of on the right track, while the ones on this model look cool but aren't close to accurate.

That's if you Modded it to have a boarding ramp or attached landing gear, since right now it has neither. The landing gear is a separate chunk that you can attach when you want it.

Magnet set figures are not produced in the same factory as regular set figures. In all normal sets, the figures remain the same, but they vary in magnet sets because those are printed by completely different machines. Just like the collectible minifigures and other magnet figures have lower plastic quality and different molds for arms and legs, they also have different and sloppier prints. The real question is: why is LEGO so cheep when it comes to magnet sets? Business is business I suppose…

(For my review of 7110 first, click here) Sometimes LEGO puts out bestsellers. These are the models that become backordered a week or less after release, and stay that way for a long time, before either becoming "Available Now" or "Sold Out." Why does that happen? Maybe it can be explained with the case of… Set Title: Luke's Landspeeder Set #: 8092 Theme: Star Wars Classic Parts: 163 Minifigures: 5 plus brick-built droid Year of Release: 2010 Price at Release: $25 USD, £25 GBP, 29.99€ EUR Buy It? Inventory? LEGO.com Bricklink Peeron INTRODUCTION Star Wars is the ongoing Licensed theme. That means that plenty of people want to see new, never-before-in-LEGO Star Wars stuff, and many others want better designs of their favorite classic ships, or to catch a model of a ship that they missed out on the first time around. When LEGO puts out that X-Wing every few years, some people go "Aww, why are they wasting energy on another X-Wing," while others say "Yes, I missed out on it the last time." The Landspeeder is not quite the same. The first one came out at the inception of LSW, the second one came in an overpriced set with a lame-beyond-imagination Mos Eisley Cantina, and neither of those models was so perfect anyway. In my book, with all those slightly different Snowspeeders, Speederbikes, and X-Wings flying around, it was certainly high time for a Landspeeder redux. BOX As I feel is a problem with many Star Wars boxes at the $25 price point, the lightness is quite a disappointment. But let's get beyond that; it's a given these days. This box has more problems than that. While the background art is fine and Tatooine-y, the front is overburdened with stuff. There's the picture of the fig lineup, a choking hazard, and special edition art, which pushes the model itself up on the box, makes the words on the left go over the model a bit, and squeezes the Landspeeder, R2, and the Sandtrooper very close together. If I was LEGO, I would've moved the figure lineup and Warning to somewhere else, and kept just the "Special Edition." This is one box that is too cluttered to be appealing to the eye. The back is pretty mellow by comparison. It seems R2 and the probe droid are having a nice chat, while C-3PO is fretting as usual about nothing. Instead of using Jedi mind tricks, Obi-Wan has decided to take Luke into his first head to head confrontation with the Empire. Scrap or reduce those ads on the left, and there'd be plenty of room for the fig lineup wouldn't there? This box is surprisingly quite skinny, which is why LEGO didn't put the figures on the top. Here it is compared with the box from 7749 Echo Base; skinnier than usual, as you can see. It's also made partially in the UK; haven't seen that one in a while. CONTENTS Spilled out, you get three measly bags, two loose long tubes, and the instructions. Feels and looks quite light. INSTRUCTIONS Minus that freaking annoying Choking Hazard, this picture is much more refreshing than the irritating box front. There's also plenty of room for the exclusive Garindan minifigure next to the Sandtrooper. Wait, there's no Garindan! Damn Megablox crap how could @%^&$! The color differentiation is clear, there are piece callouts, and a nondescript background. Oddly enough, the Darth Vader in the corner doesn't show up until page 13. Was he putting his suit back on in that time, perhaps? PARTS Here they are spilled out. Really nothing too special here, but there is plenty of dark red, including a bunch of dark red cheese, chairs (gotta love em), and the new kind of headlight brick. MINFIGURES One place where this set shines (in theory) is with its minifigure selection. All of these figures had not been in very cheap sets before, and this set marks the first appearance of dotted-eye faces on main characters! Five (or six) figures is very good for a $25 set, but let's see how good the figs really are… First, the duller. I don't count the "sentry droid" (I would've called it a probe droid) as a minifgure, but it doesn't fit anywhere else. I like 3PO's new darker color, and even if you don't it's still nice to get more differently colored protocal Droids anyway. I really like R2's new head; it's much cuter than the old one, and works better. Still LEGO hasn't gotten the printing down to a tee, but my Endor Battle one is better than this. Clear parts are always nice, so the sentry droid is a fine addition. The Sandtrooper is a bit of a problem. I love the pauldron (exclusively in black!), and the breather pack is a nice idea, but it makes the Sandtrooper look like a comical stork. It actually looks better in these pictures than in real life. When I put it together, I was horrified at how high the helmet was. It really doesn't look right, so I'll do without the pack. Luke might be a little short for a Stormtrooper, but in LEGO form they should be the same size. Speaking of Luke, how are those fresh Luke and Ben? First, gotta say I love the torsos (and Luke's legs). They're cool, more detailed but still somewhat plain… love 'em. Obi's new face is ok. He doesn't look too happy, which is good, but I think he actually looks too stern for the Ben I remember. In ANH Ben is a wistful but cheery guy, while the little lines in this fig make him look a bit too hardened. Still, not too bad. I'm not so happy with Luke. Why are his eyebrows still completely different from his hair? Why is he so happy? Honestly, Luke was never that happy in ANH. I didn't like the young Obi-Wan Luke head, and I don't like this one much either. It's better than the last one, but still isn't giving me a Luke vibe. MINIFIGURES - Comparison with 7110 That's right, the last time the Landspeeder was released by itself, it came with some of the same characters: Ben and Luke. But no two representations of the same characters could be so different. Fleshies vs. yellows. Bley vs. Grey. Brown vs. Reown. Dotted eyes vs. Little Orphan Annie eyes. An array of colors on the face vs. one or two color simpleness. Really, I think the new level of detail on torsos is a positive advancement, but the original Ben had a simplicity to his face that was really beneficial, and never available anymore. These days, both Ben and Luke have lightsabers. But the original Ben has an advantage: his has a chrome hilt! BUILD The build is pretty straight-forward, with just a bit of SNOT used. As is usual these days, the parts callouts and snail-paced steps make building almost too easy. I for one used to enjoy pouring over the instructions to make sure I saw all the pieces added in a step. Here's a quick process in steps of eight: One building oddity is that the side engines are attached with corner bricks, instead of 2x2s. It doesn't matter, of course, but it's interesting to note. The spares: triple cheese, a lever that you can use in the cockpit, a little round and a technic bit. MODEL - Without Minifigures Overall, the model looks great. Dark red (like all the dark shades) is a beautiful color, and it meshes well with a small splash of normal red, and tan. Now, I know why the right engine has to be the way it is, but it looks ugly to me. The way LEGO made it is very smart for what it is, but it's almost too unpleasing to me to be kept. Luckily, the MOD to balance the Landspeeder is a very easy one. The Speed Racer Windshield also goes very well. Besides for just having engines, the back also has some exhaust. That's a lovely detail that keep the back of the ship from being blocky or boring. here you can also see how the top engine is attached. Not very difficult, but a nice touch. There are nice red indents on both sides that keep the ship bright. It's not exactly the sleekest thing, but it works well and it gives the speeder a cool style. The double tubes around the front also give off a very sci-fi feeling. The birds eye view makes the broken engine even more awkward, and you can also see that LEGO has gone non-symmetrical with a grill plate behind the driver's seat. That's rugged detail that I can handle, though, since it's much less of a sore thumb than the stripped engine. You can also see that the engines are a nice size compared to the rest of the craft. The bottom, meanwhile, has some appreciated boat bumps for hovering and smooth sailing. The cockpit has got plenty of room, and a British steering wheel, something that was missed in the original model which was Force-powered only. You can easily add some more controls if you want (the set even comes with a spare lever from the droid), and there's enough room for a third figure to sit between the seats. As it is, the slopes and tiles add a comfortable amount of detailing to the cockpit. Lastly, behind the cockpit, you can remove the top engine to access a nice trunk where you can keep the deactivated lightsabers and their blades, or anything else to your fancy. MODEL - With Minifugres In an open-air model like this, you have to check it with minifigures to confirm the look. If with the minfigures added it looks too odd, even a model that was nice on its own is ruined. From this angled view, that doesn't seem to be the case. Sure, Luke and Ben are high above the windshield, but they're below the top engine and they sit comfortable in the midst of the craft. In a front check, the minifigures still seem good. The windshield goes up pretty well on their torsos, and the steering wheel isn't too high (a problem is some older police sets). And my, that speeder is long! No problems from the back. The back is substantial enough that the figures do not seem to be at the rear of the craft. From the side, the minifigures' positions are still good. Their legs aren't visible, the steering wheel is in a good place, they've got arms rests… nice! And look, there's even room for R2 and 3PO to hop on board! MODEL - Comparison with 7110 (More comparison shots can be found in my Flickr) Back in 1999, things were done differently. Now, you may say "How is it fair to compare a new set with one from ten years ago?" You might also say it is unfair not to also compare this model with the 4501. The truth is, I'm not trying to show which is better, I just want to show how much LEGO has changed. Clearly, both 8092 and 7110 are representations of the same ship. For the same ship these days, though, LEGO uses more SNOT, more coloring, and more small details. This comparison clearly shows the difference between LEGO now and then, not only in the Star Wars theme, but across all themes. Models are bigger and more detailed these days (just compare modern trucks with 4-wides), and they often look sleeker because of it. Really, I think models like the 8092 are something that a little kid could not make on his or her own, while a kid could've thought up the 7110. So, is that a good thing, giving kids models beyond their own building capabilities? Does that enhance their own ability, or hinder it because they feel they can never make something as cool as the sets themselves? I have no answers to these questions, but I'm certain kids will continue to make their own creations and turn into the next generation of stellar MOCers. The Definitive Version? If you remember, I mentioned in the beginning that this was one of those sets that went to Backorder very soon after its release, although it is finally Available Now now. Clearly, the nice figure selection helped out to make this a fast-selling set. But, perhaps the model itself can explain its appeal. Is 8092 truly the best Landspeeder, closest to the ship we know and love from A New Hope? Unfortunately, I do not own 4501. The official pictures of it are alright, but it's often in the background behind the cantina it came with. So, the picture that I will use comes from a Brickshelf folder belonging to Hudson03, since his shot shows the speeder quite well. (Note, though, the light gray engine is actually supposed to be on the left side, not the top.) First, the screenshots (courtesy of Rapseflaps). The two that I have chosen show off two key things: the proportions of the speeder with figures in it, and some up-close detailing. Now then, the models. 7110 and 8092 from the side in my own shot, and Hudson03's 4501. The first, somewhat sad, thing that I notice is that 7110 is actually the closest to the correct size. The Landspeeder is really not a big craft, so both 4501 and 8092 are too large. Second, the color scheme really does seem to be sand and dark red, not tan. However, 8092 tries to get the dark red patterning in the right places, and just puts in tan for sand red, while 7110 and 4501 fail at the patterning. I do not understand why all of the versions got the color of the engines wrong. Clearly, the engines are sand red with dark red pattern and gray tips. Also, I said that the broken engine in 8092 looks ugly, and it is actually much uglier than it has to be! I'm sorry to say that the only way for LEGO to come closest to the actual broken engine would be to use a sticker. In terms of the cockpit, the Speed Racer one is the closest existing part, but the actual cockpit is a much bigger bubble. So, all in all, is this model the definitive version? I'd say "no." If you don't closely compare every aspect of it to the "real thing," 8092 is certainly the best out of the other two. As a LEGO set, 8092 is sleekest and has the most pleasing color scheme, and it perhaps is more accurate overall than the other two. 7110 got down the correct size, 4501 got down sand red and not much else, and 8092 got down patterning and a sleek look. In a few years time (I don't believe for a second that they won't renew in 2011), maybe LEGO will come to its senses and apply the cool styling of 8092 to a smaller model. Could fit well with a new cantina. WHOLE SET In case you forgot what all came with 8092, here it is again before I go into ratings. CONCLUSION The Landspeeder was due for a redo. 8092 provides a good-looking model that is very reminiscent of the movie Landspeeder you have in your mind, though it doesn't match perfectly if you compare it directly. Besides the broken engine, which is overly ugly, this model is sleek, swooshable, and pretty. The new minifigures are ok, but not great. Getting so many is nice, but both Luke and Ben's heads are not all they should be, especially Luke. I'm happy to get the newer Goldenrod and R2, though, and the men's clothing is wonderful. The only problem with 8092 is that the speeder is small. It's not too small; as I've said, it's actually too big for the figures. However, I find myself looking at it in my hands, and saying "I paid $25 for this?" I know that LEGO prices all its $20 LSW sets at $25 these days, and this one being $25 makes sense due to all the figures. Somehow, even the "You call that a base" Echo Base seems a better fit for $25 with its exclusive Taun-Taun, turret, and army-building figures. What I really wish is that LEGO had scrapped the Sandtrooper and his droid and brought this set down to $20. This isn't a set that I really want to display with all its figures; I just want to swoosh it around. And I don't need a Sandtrooper for that. Heck, if they'd scrapped all the droids and brought the price down to $15 I would've been even happier! As it is, it's certainly not a bad buy. Since the last version came out six years ago, the model itself looks cool, and many hard-to-find minfigures are included, I can easily see why this one tore off the shelves. But, once you all have ran out to buy it, you shouldn't expect to fall in love. RATINGS Pieces: 10/10 - It's not lacking anywhere, and the figures clearly justify the high price per piece amount. Minifigures: 6.5/10 - Honestly, I'm a big figs guy, and I must say I'm disappointed with the new Luke and Ben faces, and good ol' Storktrooper. A Garindan also would have brought this up. Build: 8/10 - I don't expect a more complex build from a speeder, but I wouldn't have minded the instructions to be a little less obvious. Design: 9.5/10 - I'm docking .5 since the broken engine is butt-ugly, and of course the curve on the hood isn't curvy, but really it's very good, if not movie accurate. Price: 10/10 - After that rant, full score?! As I said, it's the right price for all you get, but I wish I could've paid less and not gotten what I didn't need. Overall: 8.8/10 - That a good solid score, maybe even a little generous. I can't stress enough that the model's great, but since it's inherently small, I wish LEGO would've scrapped what they didn't need and sold it for less. Hey, buddy, wanna race? Suckazz!

Ah, I love traveling through the wayback machine! Lovely presentation for this special occasion. I also feel flattered for being very discreetly referenced, especially since I don't consider the Alamut review to be one of my best, picture-wise anyway. I'm happy that Eurobricks has made quite a name for itself. Now, when do we get a Eurobricks tie-in set?