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Personally I like the minifigs; I was frustrated at trying to find good ole Darth in a set (I actually have two now with a third on the way ). But Lego really is catering across the board here, there are most certainly several stunning Star Wars sets that don't focus on the mini-figs or where the build and the minifigs are compelling... I honestly believe that it has been Lego's focus on the mini-figs in this line that has kept it as popular as it is with those battle pack type sets designed to help kids get a few extra figs to complement their collection for play.

It would appear that Lego has acknowledged that there may be a pricing issue with their product in some regions; hopefully it will result in price changes, maybe it won't. But none the less this is a positive thing!

Oh yes (there were actually two related articles it seems) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10888378 http://www.nzherald....jectid=10888297

Unrelated, but I saw an article in the paper today regarding minifigs and your research (something I noticed too when getting back into Lego, even the smiling minifigs seem to be smug or smirking rather an actual non aggressive smile).

I wont be signing the petition, even though the NZ prices would probably make your eyes water (typically even worse than Oz prices, although there is the rare exception to this). The economics are fairly understandable on it (I've also been around long enough to watch places go out of business despite doing everything right); but people venting should also be a fairly obvious outcome to the large differences. At the end of the day, I do think that some (within reason) comment on it by those impacted by the high prices is warranted - not all communication is done via sale/nosale (even if that is ultimately the only one that matters)..

I often find myself in the same position - I take the statistical view that if I can't find a part it is probably my fault... To add to your list of possibilities, I can also add having accidentally used the part earlier in the build (either in place of a similar looking piece or just because I got mistaken with how many of a piece was required). Having said that I have noted a handful of defective parts, enough so that I'm getting a little concerned... I've had two biggish sets recently that have had this, one is a sticker sheet where all stickers are peeling off, the other was train track that was warped.

I don't recall seeing it anywhere recently, I couldn't speak to how long it will be in production for (was release sept last year from memory) - It's still available for it's rrp of $300 from http://shop.lego.com...ted-House-10228 (the online shop would ship that free at that price currently) - I got mine slightly cheaper from mighty ape but they don't seem to have it anymore. P.S. If you do buy from the online store, make sure to sign up to the vip program before placing the order so you get points on it.

I saw a comment on a Youtube vid by a New Zealander that said it was missing the minifig here... I'm trying my luck with an import - it'll take a while but I'm hopeful.

Personally I keep nearly all mine assembled (I started taking some of the less impressive ones apart for parts though)... The ones I like to point out are the 8258 Crane Truck - and the 9396 Helicopter - I do have quite a few of the recent technic sets (past 3 years) and also some of the classics - but for what I have those two sets represent a strong mix of great visual appeal and also function. As per your question about looks vs function - I tend to find those that look good visually interesting/good also have great function, not always though. Damn! I had this exact same thing - that was my first major technic set after emerging from dark ages - and yeah I noticed it had a bounce when I would roll it - figured out the weight was too much for the wheels . In my case it does have the battery box in it - suffice to say I've removed the wheels - but I think they're permanently deformed slightly (it's not hot here either).

Oh yes reminds me, the Collingwood st Toyworld in Hamilton is closing down, it may still have 1 or 2 Super Star Destroyers marked at $600. (sadly I didn't see any Death Star's there).

Does anyone know if all Star Wars Lego: The Empire Strikes Out dvds include the Darth Vader minifig, or if there are some runs of the DVD that don't include (perhaps region based)? I'm asking because I've looked at buying this online locally, and seen no mention of the minifig and it's not visible in the picture either...

It looks very nice As a bit of speculation (I haven't heard anything) I'm looking at this set wondering if that leaves space in Lego's product line for the 10188 Death Star? I'm hoping it remains available, but my paranoia tells me that it has been available so long because it is probably popular as a high end playset and that this particular set could take over that role?

It's interesting - and I think will be good for Lego and for hobbyists... I don't see doom and gloom for TLG for these reasons: 1) Really the question for Lego is, will someone choose to print their own vs buying it from Lego, sure someone could go to the trouble of printing their own set, but there are still quite a few considerations: - Length of time to print a set, lets say 200 pieces for a smaller set - Getting good colouring for those parts - Durability and longevity of the part (both material and colour) - Tolerances and quality - And then there is the biggy - Price... I can't picture a small scale production of a set to be cost competitive vs a large scale injection moulded run... after all there are plenty of costs involved with 3D printing (power, wear and tear, materials, aquiring schematics, etc) Also 3D printers <> (~=, !=, do not) equal those magical replicators in Star Trek where something materialises in seconds and it's both a complex item and perfect. 2) If people want a slightly cheaper alternative or slightly different blocks, they can already buy Megablocks and the like, and some do, but a lot of us love Lego not the "I can't believe it's not Lego" variety. 3) A bit of an aside but I did see someone comment on printing a Star Trek set because Lego didn't make one - it would be cool to see Lego Star Trek sets, but we're in no way prevented from making Lego Star Trek models right now with existing Lego pieces. Although we could prefab bigger pieces of the build, that seems more like getting into the realm of hobby modelling rather than Lego modelling. 4) If 3D printing was able to offer comparable quality parts in a respectable time-frame and cost, I could picture Lego themselves operating an expanded Pick-A-Brick utilising this option... My prediction is that this would be about 5 yrs off, and even then I think that it would be more as an experiment by TLG to see what kind of results they could get from it. What I'm curious of, is what has the experience been of people printing Lego parts currently? I mean there are plenty of people out there who already have 3D printers. I did see the link in this thread about the one off parts that were ordered, they were actually quite a bit better looking than I would've expected! But has anyone tried to go further and make pieces for a whole model? Where I think this will be great is people printing those custom parts that solve a problem, or perhaps parts that Lego no longer make and are otherwise hard to acquire. Custom features and custom minifigs too! On a similar topic what I'd like to see is the ability to replicate sticker sheets - I know it is doable now, and some businesses even offer it, I haven't tried myself yet though. But I would also like to see those sheets from official sets easier to replicate in the home (I'm not sure whether that is something TLG would be happy with or not??)

Wow yeah, there are some impressive deals there - For me the technic F1 racer and excavator prices really jumped out ($131 seems like a great price for the F1 racer considering it is the 1st half 2013 main technic model). Also the Winter Village Cottage... Sadly I'm not really in a position to make good on those deals (bought heaps of Lego recently and I actually have the must have sets in that list I want anyway - except perhaps the B-Wing which I'm thinking I will skip at this stage - I'd sooner save the money on the off chance I can swing a good deal for a Death Star!).

I picked up the Super Star Destroyer today... It was actually kind of an impulse buy at lunch time

Ok, someone who is in the area - try to get around the back of that thing and give that gear a crank

Thanks for the links Heh - I just finished building my new X-Wing the other day - Lego love that model: - last year we had the mini X-Wing with planet, and the standard sized X-Wing - This year we get a UCS X-Wing, and this times-square X-Wing (assuming it really is an X-Wing which it is shaping up to be).

That's right, but on the right side of that assembly there are two 1x1 round pieces stacked if I'm reading the instructions correctly.

I was worried that it might get cleared quickly by people looking to markup and on sell, so picked up one very quickly (I saw the sale go up by chance, and the stocking dropped a third during the time it took me to purchase) - this will be my first Lego train set, the prices seem prohibitively expensive, but with the mark down I decided to dip my toes... well up to my knees really as it was still fairly pricey. Oh and hi, I had no idea there was a thread like this

Hey nice to see another Kiwi Depending on where you live a good shop for Lego is Toy World... there are a few other online options here for Lego as well greatly reducing the pain from the shipping charge; The Warehouse has a sometimes interesting selection online, and MightyApe are also starting to get into Lego with a decent selection (better than the warehouses for the most part actually) as well as slightly better prices than rrp. P.S. on a semi frequent basis the online Lego shop offers free shipping on orders over a certain size, they're doing so at the moment for orders over 200nzd. (if you do buy from the online shop make sure that you're signed up to their VIP program first, that way you will get points - it's annoying that this is a seperate step to creating an account online with them )

I'll only include those which I have had a chance at (not ones from my dark ages): The Imperial shuttle The Carousel And I'm of two minds about the Emerald Night, I think I perhaps have regret because other people value it, I'm not sure if I would of or not (although I often find seeing the completed models convinces me I do like them). But really I think I can survive without those or any other given set, as it stands I've got quite a few waiting to be built, and a lack of space to put them. I'm also confident that Lego will continue to produce compelling sets to purchase so there perhaps isn't as much need to worry about missed opportunities in the past and instead look forward to opportunities in the future. (it also means more funds available for those future opportunities).

I've been a little slack checking part lists as I go, this at the end of each bag is really helpful, thanks P.S. Really enjoying the build so far too! Just spotted a very minor mistake in your build - from bag 5 you have 1 extra 1x1 round grey piece - I believe it goes on the assembly just behind the chair.

I guess I can't speak as a full on Star Trek fan, but I have watched various of it on and off ever since the originals (well reruns of the originals, as it was a little before my time). Personally I felt that "The Next Generation" is really where that "nerdy" element started to take force launching DS9 and Voyager which took those themes further. I did enjoy TNG as a t.v. series as it had some great storylines, but I can't say that those TNG movies did much for me. I felt the TNG movies were overtly reliant on played up but poorly rendered versions of the t.v. characters and lacked compelling sci-fi elements that you would ordinarily expect in a sci-fi movie (I didn't see nemesis, nor the first Abrams Star Trek movie as I was done with it by then). Where this movie I think differed is that they retained the questionable sci-fi elements and just made up for it with some fun to watch characters and entertaining action sequences... I also liked that the Enterprise was presented more as a tin-can hurtling through space. Personally I don't consider Star Wars OT as nerdy, at it's heart, they were action adventure movies and always played to a wide audience (rather than relying on the "nerd" factor which I felt the PT did)... After seeing Star Trek I'm actually now only just becoming hopeful for the upcoming Star Wars movie. I'd anticipate C3PO to be a bit clumsy, he always was - the issue will be how the director and editor handle it - in the OT (original release) the humor was added thoughtfully and so it helped balance and add variety to the movies (I always think to Chewie and C-3PO's err I mean R2D2's chess game as a great example of a bit of humor a bit of interest - the game - and a bit of characterisation all leading into that main MF interior scene in new hope).

I agree, it's kind of hard to place him as worse than the Admiral who seemed to be a war-monger - but in saying that, Khan was still pretty bad, the impression given in the movie is that he is a sociopath (a very OP one), he was able to restrain himself when his objectives required it but otherwise it seemed like he had a bubbling rage just beneath the surface that he was itching to act on.

My X-Wing has now arrived (along with the Movie Theatre ) - apart from the Han figure and poster listed as the promotion, no other bonus items to speak of for NZ purchases (I did one bulk purchase so no doubles up this time round)