drdavewatford

Thanks, davee123 - great to see a posting from someone with insider knowledge of the situation. Peeron is invaluable to me, and even a slow Peeron is better than no Peeron at all ! Please let Dan (and Jennifer) know how much I (and I'm sure others) appreciate the resource that they've provided. Cheers, Dr. D.

You have my full support - this is a baffling decision. Any reason given ? Dr. D.

Nice analogy, Matt ! Thing about Peeron however is that it seems to be the only site which allows you to log all of your loose pieces, which is brilliant if you build MOCs (or even if you have a bit missing from a set and need to know if you have a spare). Peeron's running a bit quicker tonight, incidentally - maybe they heard our call ! Dr. D.

I've also got the colourful box. My set was I believe originally bought at Legoland Windsor (i.e. UK) although I got it second hand. Thanks for the photos of the new Tantive IV. Looks bigger than I expected, although the engines do look rubbish and undersized. NO doubt I'll still get it anyway - can't help myself ! Dr. D.

Thanks, Matt - nice and rapid review ! Given the relatively large piece count for a promo, and the nice selection of parts, I think people can be excused for wanting to get hold of at least one extra set. This is a set that has previously appeared elsewhere - I picked one up off eBay a while back after a giveaway in the USA (should have saved my money !). I also assume that this is the same Torrent mini that recently appeared on the US shop@home site for $3.99 or similar. Looking forward to General Grievous' Starfighter tomorrow - another set has was released previously, but I'd not managed to get hold of one. Gotta say that this is really an excellent promotion; hope the folks overseas will get something similar at some point. Dr. D.

Brickset is a good alternative to Peeron and Brlicklink for logging actual sets and minifigs. Are any of you aware of another site where I can log loose pieces as well ? I've had a look around, but Peeron is the only site I've found which offers this facility. I don't want to migrate away from Peeron, but it's so slow now that it's only borderline usable at certain times. If it gets any worse then I fear that won't have any alternative. Dr. D.

I think you're right, Cam. It's a terrible shame because I love the site and it's the best "one stop shop" for set inventories AND logging your own sets and parts that I've found. Perhaps we should have a whip-round ? :-) Dr. D.

I've become incredibly dependent on the Peeron website - perhaps it's my obsessional side, but I seem to spend ages just looking through the pieces that make up each set, logging all my spares to make it easier to build MOCs etc., and of course logging my collection of sets. Problem is, the site has become incredibly slow, even timing out and giving me error messages over the past few weeks. Sometimes it takes minutes just to refresh, even on a superfast broadband connection. I did e-mail the webmaster about this but got no reply. I use Peeron so much that this issue is of concern...... Anyone else having problems ? Dr. D.

Thanks for your review ! Your droid may not be very happy with you, though - I think his body is back-to-front ! (I believe that the stud should be at the back) Incidentally, I just bought some (too expensive) blue 1 x 1 cheese slopes on Bricklink for a MOC; I wish I'd waited now - some of these pieces are included in the STAP (one is even extra) and I could have saved myself the money. Dr. D.

Rufus, you can get this set for MUCH less than £300 - I picked it up MISB on eBay for between £70 and £80 a couple of months ago. There have been one or two more listed since then (boxed but not sealed) which have gone for similar sums. So go gettit !! Dr. D.

Thanks for the rapid review ! Actually, this set isn't new - it was released in 2008 I believe, and there have been a few on eBay ever since. I'm not sure if it's ever been available in the UK before, however. Doesn't change the fact that it's a nice little set, and an absolute steal at 45 pence ! Cheers, Dr. D.

Thanks - nice review ! One of my favourite sets - I fully agree that it's an excellent build, with only the repetitive engine construction spoiling it a tiny bit. I built it about 6 months ago, and now need the space for another big model, but can't bear to break it up because it looks so cool ! The new Tantive IV will I fear not look very impressive against the UCS original, so my enthusiasm for buying it is relatively low. Can't wait to see some pics of the UCS version next to the new version ! Cheers, Dr. D

Thanks, Anio - another superb MOC ! Just to let you know that I was so impressed by your UCS TIE Fighter MOC that I've decided to build it. I downloaded the PDF of the instructions, and have so far managed to source about half of the pieces. I'm working on tracing down the other half...... The smoke cockpit cover looks like it will be expensive ! I think it's wonderful that you make the effort to provide instructions for your MOCs - respect ! Dr. D.

Superb review ! Ordered this yesterday from Lego S@H, and I'm now looking forward to it arriving even more !! Keep up the good work, Dr. D.

Not sure about the colour scheme, but othewise it looks fantastic - great job !! Dr. D.

Nice review, and a nice set. Criticism of the set on the basis that it doesn't contain minifigs, or isn't minifig scale, is ridiculous. Lego is surely about building, not about hoarding plastic figures and selling the rest of the set on eBay..... While the minifig obsessives are of course free to pursue their hobby, criticising TLC for doing their job and producing sets for buyers to build is crazy. If this sells well, I wonder if TLC will make a few other midi sets.... Dr. D.

Emerald Night just has to win it - utterly gorgeous, and it pulled me back into Lego trains after more than 30 years away ! After Emerald Night I went out and bought the Santa Fe Super Chief from eBay - I just love the design and colours. I'm also on the look out for a BNSF. Again, I love the colour scheme. The one that started it all off when I was very small was set number 171 (Lego 171). It will always have a special place in my heart ! Dr. D.

Great ! I just knew that someone would have already gone through the pain of experimenting, thus saving me the trouble ! Thanks for the link. Dr. D.

OK, here's one for all you train wizards out there. Has anyone devised a way of joining the new DkStone track with the old blue track so that a train can run from one onto the other without derailing ? Clearly the different types of track aren't designed to fit together, but I wondered if anyone had found a decent workaround using jumper plates or anything else to bring the two types of track sufficiently close together that trains can cross the gap. Thanks, Dr. D.

All of them - I never buy a set for the figures. Lego's for building, so I can never understand why someone would buy a set for the minifigs alone and then sell the rest of the set on eBay. Bizarre. I agree that some of the figures are cool, e.g. I love Greedo from the Mos Eisley Cantina set, but they're just a bonus. It's the actual set for me every time. Some of my favourite sets are the UCS sets without any minifigs at all, e.g. UCS Rebel Blockade Runner, UCS Imperial Star Destroyer, UCS X-Wing. Dr. D.

Magnificent ! I would so love to take a closer look so I can examine some of the clever building techniques. Well done ! Dr. D.

I wonder whether splitting the headlights into 2 stickers is Lego's response to criticism about the need to apply stickers across 2 or more pieces ? Dr. D.

I'm generally comfortable with the current allocation of basic bricks vs. plates vs. windows etc., but I do have a couple of requests : 1. Roof pieces (45 degrees and 33 degress) in more colours, including the convex corner pieces and the double slopes that fit on the top of the roof. At the moment I can only make a roof in red or black at 45 degrees if I want all the features such as attic pieces etc. 2. A greater selection of pieces in some of the more 'realistic colours' such as dark brown, dark tan and dark red. I ended up having to change colour details on a recent factory purchase many times because the pieces were not available in my chosen colours. 3. A greater selection of doors, and to a lesser extent windows - there's current too little choice, so all buildings end up sharing too many features. An old fashioned 'wood-effect' door (especially with an arch at the top) would be wonderful for old-style buildings ! Thanks TLG for asking our opinion and listening to us ! Dr. D.

Until now, Lego has produced 3 expensive MF sets (7190, 4504 and the current UCS version) which are out of reach of the average 'casual' buyer. Plus 7190 and 4504 were only available a number of years ago. Lego have also produced a mini version which most people wouldn't consider a 'proper' Lego set at all. So there's a huge hole in the MF line up - I've always thought it was strange that they haven't produced a mid-sized MF set. Finally they've done it, and this set fills that hole nicely. Lego would have sold lorry-loads of this set if they'd priced it more competitively, but even at the current price they will I think sell more than enough. Hey - it's the MF, after all ! Dr. D.

I agree with the suggestions for most expensive minifigs BUT I do have an issue with the use of Bricklink to establish the price. Bricklink is generally the most expensive place to buy anything - I've bought almost 100 SW sets over the past 6 months from stores and auction sites, and they've ALL worked out cheaper than the cheapest price I could find on Bricklink........ Dr. D..