drdavewatford

This is exactly right - while I complain bitterly about the huge parts in some sets ("Fight on the Flying Wing", anyone ?) I do have to acknowledge that the cost of producing such pieces in terms of raw materials alone means it's not equivalent to a 1 x 1 round plate. Parts to price ratio is not a scientific way of doing this; even weight doesn't work due to the 'minifig factor'..... Let's face it - we instinctively know when LEGO are pushing their luck, the new Slave 1 set being a perfect example.... To conduct a meaningful analysis requires more than just the price and number of parts. D.

Many thanks to you all - some excellent suggestions and possible solutions for me to try out. I'm betting that it's probably an issue with the cables from the battery box seeing that *nothing* is working; a few newer sets (e.g. 7898 Cargo Train Deluxe) appear to have similar cables so I'll try substituting old for new and see if that sorts it. All the best, David.

What an excellent review - nice job ! Interesting set, both in terms of the build, and also the pieces and colours. There's still a healthy market for this set - I've been keeping an eye on Ebay prices and a used set generally goes for around the same price as the MISB set originally sold for. It'll be interesting to see whether the upsurge in interest now that a new wave of HP sets is hitting the shelves will drive prices even higher. Dr. D.

Thanks, Silcantar. I did consider this, but concluded that the likelihood of EVERYTHING being broken was pretty small to be honest. The set was indeed used, but in fair condition, and other than the little bit of corrosion on the battery box that I mentioned, everything else looks in good shape.

Hi, I'm not normally a Technic builder, but I couldn't resist picking up 8480 as I'm a huge space fan. Problem is, having constructed the model I can't get any of the electronic functions to work - none of the motors nor the fibre optics. As far as I can tell I've connected everything up OK, but no luck. The contacts in the battery box looked a bit corroded so I even bought a replacement from Bricklink, but still no joy. The batteries are brand new and inserted correctly. Has anyone else had similar problems, and/or are there any known issues with the set ? Are there any common building mistakes with this set that people make ? Advice and suggestions gratefully received ! All the best, David.

I don't get what this legal dispute was about - clone brands such as Megablocks already exist in the UK and sit on the shelf alongside genuine LEGO. So what can the clone brands do now that they couldn't do before ?! Dr. D.

Impressive. Very topical, given that "Reach" launches today. Do these guys have permission from Bungie/Microsoft to make reproductions of the Halo weaponry ? Dr. D.

Magnificent ! That must have taken you forever to design and build - respect. I'd be interested to know how closely you based this on historical reality and how much came from your own imagination. Dr. D.

Nice review, and some lovely clear, detailed photographs - good job ! I love the owls and the cat ! And as for the comment about it being time for another version of Hogwarts, you're right - after all, we've only had 3 versions in the past 9 years......(sarcasm). Almost as bad as all the versions of Slave 1.... Still, I'll be buying it - there are certainly some improvements over previous versions o make it worthwhile. Dr. D.

Well done, Skafte ! I'm pleased to say that I also have the full collection apart from the white Boba Fett and a few remaining 2010 figs which I'll get over the next couple of months. The big difference is that many of my figs are still sealed in their boxes and will only see the light of day if/when I eventually get round to building the set. Your figs are however out there breathing the air and on display, which makes your collection extra special ! Many thanks for sharing ! Dr. D.

LOL This is one of the things I love about the LEGO community - just look at the amount of time and energy being expended in considering this obscure topic ! No doubt non-AFOLs would think we're completely insane, but that's part of the fun ! Dr. D.

I'm not too sentimental about deconstructing sets after they've been on display for a while because I take loads of photographs beforehand. Also, deconstructing a set means I have display space to build another one ! The real problem is my obsession with inventorying all the pieces to make sure none have gone missing while the set was on display. I really wish I didn't feel the need to do this as it takes ages. I will never forget the pain of dismantling and inventorying 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer <shudder> :-)

Thanks - excellent review ! I really like this set. Somehow LEGO managed to make an excellent likeness despite the small size and low piece count. I'd go so far as to say that it's a better likeness than 6211 which I'm not a huge fan of. Although 10030 is still the daddy !! Cheers, Dr. D.

I've used Bricklink loads of times and never had a problem. Occasionally the seller gets something wrong, but they've always corrected the mistake extremely quickly and at their own expense. I would recommend buying on Bricklink without hesitation. I agree with DLuders that paying by PayPal makes life a lot easier and means you'll get the parts more quickly. Dr. D.

Correct. Stickers in these UCS sets is nothing new. I can still remember my frustration at picking up a used UCS snowspeeder from Ebay and finding multiple pieces covered by single stickers. I get the feeling that LEGO are getting better when it comes to this, however. I'm even wondering if it's one of the reasons why LEGO have now started making larger tile pieces, e.g. 2 x 4, available. Dr. D.

Nice review, HJR - thanks for sharing. Mine arrived earlier today, and I'm even more excited about building it now thanks to your review ! Just a quick note about the box - I think it looks absolutely awesome. LEGO have really done a great job on the packaging for the Summer 2010 wave of sets, and the Imperial Shuttle is for me the best of the lot. Cheers, Dr. D.

Excellent MOC. Given how iconic this ship is, I would have thought it was a prime candidate for the official LEGO UCS treatment at some point. After all, we've had 3 system scale Slave 1's and mini versions, so why not ? Certainly once the latest version of Slave 1 reaches the end of its shelf life I'd love LEGO to give us a UCS version. Dr. D.

Interesting question. I think that the most tedious build I've experienced so far has been 10030 UCS Imperial Star Destroyer. There was just so much repetition, and all that light grey eventually just blurred into a sea of misery. Once completed I thought the model was absolutely spectacular, however - one of the most impressive constructions LEGO has ever designed in my opinion - but the build itself was at times pretty painful. Building the landing gear of the UCS Millenium Falcon x 7 was also not one of my greatest pleasures in life..... Again, however, the finished model was utterly amazing. In the interests of 'realism' such repetition is inevitable, so I wouldn't change a thing - sometimes you have to suffer for your art I guess ! Dr. D.

Another superb MOC, Anio - thanks for sharing ! What impresses me most is how you have avoided making significant compromises just to make the build easier - the shape looks perfect to me, and you have clearly made huge efforts to get it just right. I also think the greebling is absolutely marvellous ! Can't wait for your next MOC !! Cheers, Dr. D.

I think you underestimate the EB membership. I'd be willing to bet that there are numerous suitable EB members who'd be honoured to help out. When we need more mods on our Mailing List we just advertise on the List and scrutinise the posting history and contributions of applicants (making a note NOT to prioritise those with the most postings as one million "I agree" postings really doesn't qualify someone to be a mod !). Surely there's nothing stopping you guys from doing the same ? You're right of course - things would likely descend into online anarchy without a framework of guidelines for members to abide by, and overall I think you guys do a great job keeping EB running smoothly and efficiently. I might not agree 100% with the 'rules' - and hence my request to drop the URL limits - but I wouldn't be here at all if I had major issues with EB. Per previous postings, my issue is with the principle of the restriction rather than the actual limits. Thanks for the offer, however - use of discretion is exactly what I'm calling for ! Keep up the good work, Dr. D.

Yes - get more mods on board if keeping an eye on the conduct of the members is proving too onerous for you. As a mod on a busy (non-Lego) maiing list I'm aware that it can be a lot of work, but view it as being my job to try and let things run with as little intervention as possible, only stepping in when someone is clearly overstepping the mark. The EB equivalent would be to only step in when mods come across or are alerted to a sig which is in their opinion too long or otherwise inappropriate. Yes, it's more work than setting arbitrary rules to limit what people can do, but it's also more respectful to the membership and treats them like adults. This is after all an AFOL site, right...?! Best wishes, Dr. D.

Thanks, Rick - you're right, but my point was more about the principle of inconveniencing the many in order to crack down on the few, if you get my meaning. Cheers, Dr. D.

I have to say that the new 'only 4 URLs on the signature' snuck up and caught me unawares; I only realised it when I tried to update my sig this morning and got an error message. I suppose I should be grateful that I've not been asked to update my existing sig which is now out of compliance (!) but I thought I'd comment anyway as I disagree with this new rule. I fully agree that ridiculously long sigs are an inconvenience BUT placing arbitrary limits on the number of URLs in a sig doesn't really address the issue and is a pretty lazy and unintelligent way of trying to deal with the problem - you can have a horribly long sig without it containing a single URL. I agree with the comments of others on this thread that it can for example be very useful seeing a nice tidy list of reviews in a sig - it's certainly helped me home in on the reviews I want to see from my favourite posters, and others have commented to me offline that they like to look at all my reviews and having them discreetly shown in the sig helps them to do that. I'd ask that this 4 URLs per sig rule is reconsidered as it's a sledgehammer to crack a nut and really doesn't address the problem of silly, excessive sigs anyway. This is surely instead a job for the mods to have a word with the offenders offline rather than punish everybody. Cheers, Dr. D.

Man, that's a good effort - superb. You and Anio should get together and compare MOC podracers. Do you have instructions for it ?

Your timing is excellent - Lego will launch a new Tower Bridge set in October. It is huge, and looks awesome ! You will be able to buy it online at Lego shop@home, or in one of the Lego brand stores. Dr. D.