Deinonychus

the Toys R Us exclusive set Supernova is a little bit more expensive then the other standard Exo-Force mechs ($20 US as opposed to the usual $15 US). The 287 piece count is also quite higher then the range of 164-197 pieces in those other sets, but is all this worth it for a mech of roughly the same design and dimensions? Well, first off the pilot is Takeshi. By now we're all familiar with him...hello Takeshi! Oh no! It seems Alpha Team agent Zed has taken a fancy to your new mech and wants to take it for an extended joyride. Tough luck Takeshi! :-P Now that that's out of the way, on to the mech itself. During the building process I got the feeling that Supernova was one of the first designs for this theme that the LEGO Builders cooked up, only to later be scrapped when the decision was made to keep the piece counts and price-points lower. The result is a mech only slightly larger and bulkier then the others, but composed of more smaller elements and with a little more assembly involved. Any hard-core builder who feels the regular Exo-Force mechs are just shy of having enough building to them in the assembly process might be a little more pleased with this set. Aside from more and smaller pieces, it builds like the other sets, but the cockpit assembly is a little sturdier and works a hell of a lot better with the light-brick gimmick. Once finished, Supernova is basic yellow with gray and "Republic Red" tossed in for accents. You'd think a yellow and red mech would scream "McDonald's!" but it actually comes off quite well here. Articulation is fantastic with movement at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and fingers. The radiator vanes on the back can also be positioned as you see fit. The stickers are many (as always) but in a HUGE improvement over the other sets, the instructions point out where they go as you are building the component parts instead of all at once at the end. This made putting the stickers on a lot less annoying. The translations for the Japanese writing on this one are FLAME KING for the left shin-plate, and GROUND UNIT for the left shoulder-plate. As you can tell, the weapons are big features in this set. Supernova has the best execution of the light-brick piping gimmick yet as a forearm mounted laser, however the biggest weapon is the sword/staff. While it is a little clever in design, it's mostly an eyesore and looks pretty fragile, but the concept of a mech with a polearm weapon is still cool enough to make it mostly acceptable. The weapons are gripped in the articulated fingers and held in place by axles that slide into technic holes in the handles. This is a very nice piece of design that allows a firm grip in the hands while not over-building them. The hand blaster is a simple piece with an effective design and, thanks to the articulated wrist, can be held numerous ways, including gangsta-style like pictured on the box :-D As I noted before, Supernova is only slightly taller and bulkier then the other large mechs. The vanes on the back add a little more size, but in reality it should fit in quite well with the other four sets, even if you spent a little more on it. Overall, Supernova is now my favorite of the Exo-Force sets. It's big, it's articulated out the yin-yang, and it has a couple decent weapons. Toss in a sturdy design and a fun building experience and you have yourself one fine set. I'd highly reccomend spending the extra money to get this set, odds are you won't be dissapointed. I have no trouble giving it the Deino Stamp of Approval

GAH! As cool as that is, for god's sake, don't give LEGO the idea of doing "repaints". It's bad enough the body of Hasbro is rotting from within from that particular malady :-P

My cat now hates the Batwing because of it's swooshability ;-) But the Batwing is indeed an AWESOME model. It looks so slick and wicked plus it has great play-value and is a LOT sturdier then it looks. I think I actually enjoy this more then most of the Star Wars ships I bought last year. A future classic

That helps a lot. I had no bearings on what sort of content level was acceptable there (from my experience, a lot of young-friendly sites and forums hold a PG-13 limit) but now that I know, I'll just err on the side of caution and use Photobucket for that stuff from now on. I never really get very graphic or dirty or vile with my stuff like that, but neither do I place any constraints on what I think will work best while going for the joke X-D And that's why I never bothered posting them to here. If you're not familiar with the acting personalites or "in on the joke" they're not nearly as amusing.

Fake model made out of nothing but genuine Rock Raiders sets ;-)

Don't remember exactly what I posted them under...but I was careful to modify the search string tags so that they wouldn't show up in the inappropriate section. As for what it's about...it's basicly a series where myself and some close friends from my personal board are represented by LEGO Minifigs and animals, and general inside-humor-based hilarity ensues. I don't think it would have been a content issue...I'd classify some of the jokes at the lower end of the PG-13 level ;-)

So, I'm new to this Brickshelf business so I need to ask these things... Are little comic-like series played out with LEGO Minifigs not-permissible on there? I recently started hosting images from my own little Minifig based comics off of brickshelf and I logged in today to find the entire folder missing. I mean, I've seen some real off-topic crap on there before so I figured my comic strips would be okay. guess not. Either that, or Brickshelf doesn't apreciate my sense of humor Good thing I have Photobucket too :-P

Check it here !! *yoda* Is there an echo in here?

That's odd...the Batboat is smaller then I expected and Killer Croc's Jetski-thing is bigger then I figured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_(comics) I dunno...he looks pretty "animated" to me...perhaps it's just the face detailing... But I agree, Nicholson Joker is overrated...animated Hamill Joker rules! *skull*

:-D That's adorable *y*

(orders) Now I don't have to haunt Toys R Us this weekend I was kind of thinking it'd be in that more expensive price range...287 pieces is more then the average Exo-Force set. If it arrives here before anyone else gets one I'll happily provide pictures and a review

Hmmm... Smiley Bombs OR Those would make nice little "infected with Joker Venom" heads for hapless victim Minifigs... Oh yes, I can't wait until my set arrives Monday

Well that may be true for the canister sets, but some of the bigger Titans and such can take a little while to get together...especially if you build one of the combo models. Personally I like Bionicle because it's an action figure you build, as opposed to one you take out of the blister-card, pose a couple times, and that's it. It should be interesting to apply your theory to Exo-Force if that does well. Those seem like small and simple sets...but they're a little more involved then they look and once you add in the time it takes to put all those bloody stickers on...it's quite a project

Are you sure that makes sense? I'm pretty sure the tommy gun was invented after WWI. And the Uzi even later... It's really hard to make out lego's policy on guns and violence with all these conflicting new products. Yeah...the first Thompson Submachine Guns were avalible in 1919 and the first Uzis were put into service in 1955...so there goes that theory X-D

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but does the UK even get Transformers with any consistency? From what I understand, half of what is released in the US doesn't even make it over there. Most UK Transfans seem to rely on import shops. That was kind of my point. Some of my buddies in the UK are CONSTANTLY vexed by the fact that they seem to get Transformers stuff months later then everyone else...if at all. But the thing about the US being such a huge market is probably the main reason for the distribution timing. I just thought Denmark at least would get a jump on newer LEGO sets usually And I don't think LEGO has so much of an anti-violence policy as they do an anti-modern-military policy. (Although Dino Attack comes damn close :-P ) As I've always said, what's more violent then a battle station that houses a superlaser capable of wiping out an entre planet in one shot? *vader*

Not that I'm complaining...but how in the hell does the US end up with LEGO sets before Europe? That'd be like the UK getting new Transformers toys before Japan :P

Regular Yellow...YES! Alpha Team agent Arrow just got himself a new mech

8-

Ah good...enough people here claiming reviews and pictures that I won't even have to consider it when mine arive later this week

What don't you understand about TRU exclusive. I'm sorry if I sound mean, but it has been stated numerous times that it is exclusive to TRU. -l2k- Wasn't the legend airport sopose to be a TRU exclusive as well? But its avaible in S&H, and the lego store. LEGO is really good about offering their store exclusives on their own website as well. The Ultimate Space Battle (Target), Iruini and Norik (Wal-Mart), and the Vikings (Toys R Us) are good exmples...as well as the current Irnakk set (Wal-Mart)...so I'd expect Arkham on there as soon as it's avalible *y*

As promised: Sorry I couldn't find a standard 2X4 Best-lock brick, but I only have a couple sets (it's more then enough :P) As you can see, from the top the differences are mainly in the logoing. The red LEGO brick has the LEGO branding on the studs, while the gray Megablok has it's logo on the brick surface. The Best-Lock brick has no branding. Here's where one of the big differences is noticable. The LEGO and Megablok are almost identical (and I apologize for the hard to see black) and the Best-Lock brick has grooves instead of rounded structures. From the side you can see the shorter height of the Best-Lock brick, as well as the tiny difference in the diameter of the studs. But, as noted, they all stick together well. For my money, LEGOs are the hands-down best. Megabloks a close second. But I really dislike my Best-Lock sets. The only real reason I could see for getting one would be a unique piece to use in a MOC. Otherwise you're better off making due with what you can find on ebay or bricklink for interesting themes

Best-Lock bricks are compatable with LEGO bricks. However, unlike Megabloks, they are very different in design and don't mesh very well with LEGOs. I'll add pics when brickshelf comes back up (seems to be down at the moment) One thing that's obvious is Best-Locks are not as tall and the studs are slightly bigger around. Also, instead of the round structures in the bottom, they have grooves and slots.