Deinonychus

So, has the quality of the Best Lock sets gone up any recently, or are they still sort of cheesey and poorly designed?

Possibly. He's a nice figure and he would look good standing among the other 6 Piraka at the same time. The price is easily doable and the parts left over after building him would serve nicely in MOCs. I would say it was certainly worth it. What he is not worth, as I reffered to, is getting him just for the exclusive gold pieces.

the normal Thok spine is in there...it's in the second image on top of the bag of white parts

Work in Progress

Well lucky me, I went to Wal-Mart tonight hoping to find the second Bionicle Legends book and this guy, and I managed to snag one out of two Inrakk (8626) is, of course, really nothing more then a gift set composed of Reidak (8900), Vezok (8902), and Thok (8905). The big draw is supposed to be the exclusive gold Piraka spine included in the set. As you can see from the parts bags, the box is lacking in the individual Piraka canisters. t's not a major thing, but it does present the problem as to where to store the parts when you take it apart, but it also probably helps account for the lower price on the set then you'd pay for the three individual canisters. The "exclusive parts" are nothing more then a couple pair of gold hoses, and a gold version of Thok's spine and face. Nothing really spectacular here. The building is pretty straightforward, but the mix of gray, light blue, and dusty-blue pieces make figuring out the correct color as printed on the instructions excruciatingly difficult. Several times I was forced to take parts off and replace them with the correct color after advancing a couple steps. The resulting creation is a squat little monster with a golden head, weirdly attached arms, and a flopity wrist. The instructions show nothing of adding some Zamor spheres into the torso, but it's pictured done that way on the box so I figured I'd toss them in there anyhow. Sounds pretty bad so far, right? Well that's the end of the badness, because once you start posing this guy up a little bit he's pretty darn awesome. The thick and stocky build works great for this model, and he's a lot more sturdy and burly looking then other combiner figures. He is pretty short and unimposing, but the details like the broad torso and the dual-skull Zamor launcher give him quite a bit of evil flair. It helps not to think of him as a super-creature or Titan, but more like a Brute Piraka...the eigth one nobody likes to talk about :-P As much as you'd think the gold face would clash with the blues and grays, it actually looks pretty good on the figure as a whole, and, despite all logic, blends in nicely. Again, not that huge, as Thok here is only slightly shoter then Inrakk (probably taller if Thok were extended to a straight-legged posture), but his bulk seems to carry off most of his menace. The flopity wrist is a constant problem, but he can get into enough poses that it doesn't look that bad up on the shelf. Overall Inrakk is a decent model in a great set. While the gold spine is touted as the main draw of the set, the actual feature is the fact that it's a slightly cheaper way to get three Piraka. Here in the US, he's about $25 where you'd normally pay around $27 for the three canisters. eventhough I already had Thok, the gold spine and Inrakk building instructions were enough to get me to buy the set...plus extra Bionicle parts never hurt. If you already have a couple of these Piraka and aren't all crazy about the "rare part" then you're fine just passing on this. But if you've been meaning to get some Piraka and just haven't done so yet, I'd highly reccomend getting this, it's a fantastic starter-kit. In the end, the Inrakk set gets the Deino Stamp of Approval

And that's the beauty of competition. When two companies with similar products have to go against each other, they will continually improve and add different aspects to their product in hopes of one-upping the other guy, toward the goal of gaining a bigger share of buyers. Competition spurs innovation. In the end, it's us as consumers who win!

SWEET! The assault by the Confederates on the Union position in front of the Seminary on the first day. If you're trying to carry off a brick representation of the battle, that's a damn fine place to start...and recognizable as well. Even has the fence and everything Can't wait for this guy to do some more

You asked for it! It doesn't really scream "Headhunter" to me. Firstly it needs 4 engines, and a rounded cockpit piece like the N-1 has. The aft end needs a more rounded appearence, sort of a hunchback look. The transition from body to nose is too squared, a couple angled bricks in there would work better to blend the lines. The lasers can be swapped to the top of the wing and the wings themselves need widening. The nose is spot-on however...it keeps that slim pointed shape the X-wing doesn't have. So, by keeping in the same basic direction you were heading in, and just adding a few more parts and perhaps some more bulk, it could become a pretty decent Z-95 eventually. Now, if you were going for a sort of prototype stepping-stone craft Incom may have made while developing the T-65 from the Z-95, well, you've pretty much got that nailed

Why is it a big revelation that Megabloks are exactly like LEGOs? :-D It's by design you know...so that you can use your super-cheap Megabloks with your high-dollar LEGOS. Heck, I've been eying the Black Costume version of that Spider-Man for a bit, just haven't gotten around to buying him yet

Oh hell you should be in on my daily regimen. At our house we have TiVo, so the Wife records The Young and the Restless every day and when we get home from work and sit down to dinner she fires that up and watches it first thing...so by extention, I've ended up watching it every night during dinner for the past several years. Being married is fun isn't it kids?

Ah, see here's where the limitiations of the Minifigs fail to convey something properly. In the scene I was going for a point where the Jedi had just finished cutting down a group of battle droids, and he and the clones were standing among the debris of battle. But as you pointed out, with limited Minifug articulation it's not easy to convey a more relaxed body language for the Jedi...perhaps I could have "deactivated" the saber by taking the blade out. Either way, it's just something to consider next time I try something like this, eh?

Damn nice parts there...scoring a couple tanks like that would make me dig out some of my old penumatic stuff for sure. Good going :cool:

:-D That's kind of amusing considering, I was referred to Brickshelf because the site I had been hosting from went down a couple times Well folks, in case Brickshelf is down, you can find one pic here

Okay, so this probably counts more as a Minifig Scene then a Vignette due to the lack of any real...building involved ( ), but I got the idea for this from listening to the Revenge of the Sith soundtrack while I was working today. I thought it might be more interesting to stage the moment where the infamous Order 66 is given then the actual act...the whole situation is just so full of different and strong emotions that the conflicted seconds right before the betrayal is carried out seem to be the most poignant. Couple more pics here if you're interested in all the angles.

I can't decide if this is disturbing or hilarious

You need a few things: Good servers Neat and user-friendly layout Variety of sub-forums Fair moderators Interesting and/or popular topic and finally The Deino Smiley --->

Well, since I discovered that these weren't just old tubs they found in the back of a stockroom, and actual new sets I decided to get together a break-down of what's in the can... The label gives all the vital info, plus a sneak peek as to what's inside...although it may not be entirley accurate :P First thing I noticed from the loose pieces in the keg is that it's enough to build two Vahki Bordakh and two Vahki Nuurakh...that's four whole Vahki in one can. Most may find this a let down (judging by the number of Vahki still on clearence shelves) but for Vahki fans like myself this is a great thing! also of note, the Vahki torso supports come in old gray and new blay...so you can pick what suits you Yes, there are enough pegs and such to complete the Vahki...along with two Kraata canisters. Also tossed in the keg are an assortment of Toa tools, most of which are Nuju's crystal spikes...but there's also a couple Rahkshi spines and even a gunlike piece that I can't wait to use in a MOC. Then we get into the bags. These parts seem even more random then the tools but there's enough good stuff in here to give them ample usefulness Lots of Toa Metru masks and Rahkshi heads (plus the Kanoka discs from the Vahki I failed to photograph earlier :P ) , also there are 5 Matoran masks...mine were different from the ones pictured on the canister...but who really cares, they're masks. Shouder Armor, feet, and connectors are also in the bags. The clear connector sockets are great because they can be used for Rahkshi eyes. The set is rounded out by assorted armor and torso pieces. From what I understand, the big green piece is from the old NHL hockey player sets. Guess it'll work for bionicle. Overall, any big Tub-O-Parts is great. This one isn't as varied or full of obscure pieces and colors as it could be, but it's well worth the purchase price. I gladly give it the Deino Stamp of approval

(kicks thread back on topic) Can anyone tell me what the Japanese (I'm assuming Japanese) character on Uplink's leg says? I just got Stealth Hunter yesterday and noticed that on the sticker sheet it actually translated the scrip on the stickers (Dragon Wing and Light)...unfortunatly, I didn't notice this on my Uplink set and threw the empty sheet away :$

Well according to BZP, this is a combiner set that's avalible in LEGO stores now and on S@H soon.... And apparently the Ultimate Creatures Accessory Sets I found today are brand new as well...although I don't think anyone has found them for $6 each like I did

Hmmm....set number 8626...if it were a LEGO Shop exclusive wouldn't it have a number like 10626 or something? I'm willing to bet this is some other retail exclusive...perhaps Toys R Us

Hit a LEGO jackpot today folks! Not only did I score the Gate Assault, Stealth Hunter, and Fire Vulture Exo-Force sets, but I went to Toys R Us and found a bunch of the Bionicle parts buckets that were $20 each for only $6! And, when you got $25 worth of stuff you got $5 off...so I scooped up 5 of the things for a total cost of just over $25 and my parents paid for them for me...a great LEGO day

That Member Title is going to haunt me isn't it :-D Thanks a lot fellas! No LEGO gifts yet...but over here in the States it's still the day before...so there's plenty of hope

From what I can gather... Some positive cash-flow was produced by selling the Legoland parks...but that would only serve to help offset any losses taken by still owning the parks throughout the year. The big difference is the lessening of short-term debt and it appears as if sales were better then expected due to licencing, Bionicle, and their shift back to creator-style building sets and such. So basicly...yeah, they're on track to becoming a profitable company once again...not a great deal very quickly...but not bad. 2006 will probably drop off a little due to no Star Wars movie to push those sets...but if things keep up well according to what they listed in the release...they should be in the black again next year

Batman will have LEGO wondering why they didn't think of it sooner :P Of course Star Wars and Bionicle will do well, and I think the newcomer Exo-Force will be a big hit too, but none will compare to Batman in it's initial run I think. Although the sad part is LEGO really had a head of steam going last year with the Vikings...and this year it looks like they've stepped back on those a little...If Vikings was given another full wave, I could see that doing well...but that doesn't look likley right now :(

Serenity ...and I need grief counseling because of it :(