Zarkan

All I know is I probably won't be able to see a full episode until they release DVDs, as I don't get Cartoon Network. Still, the show seems to be getting good reviews online. One of the best points seems to be that the show knows exactly what it wants to do (campy 60's era batman style), whereas the previous show, The Batman (which I really enjoyed), had sort of an identity crisis, leaping from simplistic action heavy shows to darker and more serious storylines. Anyway, I just hope that this show is able to put some character into episodes instead of just doing a "teamup and villian of the week with a moral lesson" route. Also, every previous batman show has had multiple appearances of nearly every character they introduce, so I hope they bring back characters frequently. Still, you can't go wrong with camp batman, can you?

This is great news! I only hope that by "teams," they mean lots of wacky characters from the different lego lines TLC has out, just like Lego Racers 1 and 2 had. I'd much rather they do that then go the route that Drome Racers did.

It's always great to see a new MOC from you, Ralph, especially since I'm such a fan of aircraft. Your design captures the shape of the F-15 perfectly, and the custom canopy almost looks like a real lego piece! Great job as usual - can't wait to see your next creation.

Wow, this is incredible! You've managed to perfectly capture the intricate details of the caped crusader and his sidekick. I'm especially amazed at that lego batman logo - simply stunning! Man, I can't wait to see more from you on Eurobricks, Mariann. BTW, why don't you post an introductary topic in the "hello, my name is..." forum, since you haven't yet.

I really didn't have a problem with the juniorization, as making the dumper out of bricks would have driven the cost up a ton. The problem I had was that it just didn't fit in with the normal construction line, and really won't fit in any town display - classic or CITY. That's why I'm glad that 2009 is bringing us a normal dump truck that most everyone could use in their towns.

Awesome new info. It looks like the Agori are going to have as major roles as the Glatorian. Not to mention the name of the Glatorian arena - one description mentioned it was called "Atero." Seriously, I am really digging these new names. Seriously, the Midak owns all other launchers at their actual function - it can hold four zamors in it's shaft and can fire them very powerfully and far. Sure, the Inika Zamor launchers can do this too, but they never looked cool like the Midak do. One more thing - Amazon mistakenly refered to one of the sand characters as "an earth tribe member," but as we fans know, earth is not an element on Bara Magna.

Thanks for the comments guys! Interestingly enough, the dump "truck" from 2005 is one of the few CITY sets that I despise. It's so big that I like to refer to it as a "dump tank," as it could probably crush an entire military base with its girth. Right up there, silly goose! In all seriousness, I knew I forgot something - I seem to do that every single review. One of these days I'll figure this out....

Congrats, Brainbox - you just burned my eyeballs out of my sockets.

Thanks! Yeah. Actually, from what I can tell, the new CITY dump truck from the 2009 line actually doesn't look like it will tower over the one in this kit, which is unusual. I agree that the digger is a bit lacking, but I like that TLC gave kids an extra vehicle in the set. Nowadays, it seems like TLC rarely ever releases smaller kits with more than one vehicle. Ah, that's what I thought. Thanks for confirming that.

Indeed. Launchers can simply not ruin a canister set - they're simply too minor an element. The only exception is when a set has no weapons besides a launcher - but seriously, even that is easy to mod.

You're welcome. Glad to see that you attempted that - oh well, at least the tree itself is still very nice.

Construction: It’s a theme that never seems to grow old with kids. In nearly every year of Classic Town and City, there has been at least one new construction vehicle released, and their designs have varied extensively. Today, I’m happy to bring you a review of one of the better construction kits, which is also of the few Classic Town sets I own. Let's get building! Name – Dig N’ Dump Set Number – 6581 Year – 1996 Pieces – 125 Minifigures – 2 Age Recommendation – 7-12 years Price - $13.25 USD / Unknown EUR / Unknown GBP The Box and Instructions: Since this is one of my oldest kits, I sadly don’t have the box anymore. However, I do have the instructions – which years ago my dad covered with clear plastic sheets. Needless to say, although they preserved the instructions, they also created a ton of wrinkles and folds which are almost impossible to get out. Anyway, the art on the cover is very nice and neat, although the background is a bit simple compared to modern times. The actual instructions are very easy to read, and have a nice background with grass, water, and sky. On the back of the instructions (and probably on the back of the box as well) there are several awesome alternate models, including a really nice tractor. The Pieces and Minifigs: 6581 contains 125 pieces molded in ten shades, including 4 shades of trans. Most of the pieces are black and yellow, but there is a small smattering of white and grey as well. Here are some of the pieces that I found interesting. A yellow scoop, a large hinge plate with a hole for a trans window, two large yellow pieces that serve as the front and back of the truck’s dumper, a yellow turntable, two printed tiles, and four half bushings that interestingly have a toothed edge. I believe this was how they were made in the early days of Technic, which is why I don’t have many of them. Dig N’ Dump includes two very sharp construction workers – a standard machinery operator, and a guy that I feel represents an overseer or architect. The latter is my favorite of the two, as he has a cool jacket and a red baseball cap. The former, while nice, is found in many other construction kits (I have 4 or 5!), so he isn’t as special. 6581 unfortunately is very sparse when it comes to accessories, containing only a single small sign that is built out of four parts. While it is nice, I wish they had included some tools like a shovel or a broom. The Build: Dig N’ Dump is put together very quickly, and the techniques used are fairly simple. The only thing I could see a 6 year old having trouble with would be the technic axles, but other than that it is very easy. Here are a few shots of the build in progress: The Finished Model: Let’s start with the wonderful dump truck. This baby is pretty big compared to many classic town kits, and would probably feel at home even among the modern City construction line. Please note that I had to make a minor substitution – one of the large yellow 10x4 plates is replaced with two yellow 10x2 plates. This is barely noticeable, however. Here’s the front, which uses several circular pieces as lights and an exhaust stack. The back of the dump, showing off the neat bumper with the printed tile. One of the cool things about this model is that it is very flexible. The dumper can tip nearly 145 degrees, and the front can turn using a special hinge plate. This adds to the playability a ton, and I’m sure kids found this kit very easy to drive around back in 1996. The interior is simple, as usual. There's no seat, but there is a steering wheel. Next is the digger. It’s pretty small, but it’s also really cute. Here’s a close-up shot. Instead of a steering wheel, the driver controls this machine using two joysticks. Back view of the digger. A couple lights and a grilled brick add some detail. The digger is also very flexible. Its scoop can extend fairly far, and the base can turn a full 360 degrees. Pretty good for a model this small. The Model in Action: It's very fun to play with this kit. Making scenes like this one is just as enjoyable as building it. After the foundations of his home were chewed away by rats, Marty Blockover was pleasantly surprised by Ty Brickington and the crew of Extreme Lego Makeover: Home Edition. They’ve already set to work demolishing his old building to make room for a new house, as Ty does his trademark yelling through his megaphone. Summary: Presentation – 9/10 Pieces – 8/10 (some really unusual and cool pieces are included) Minifigs – 8/10 Model – 9/10 (very effective, and has just the right amount of detail) Playability – 8/10 (great, but more accessories could have helped) Price – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.3/10 Like so many other Classic Town sets, Dig N’ Dump contains an awesome mix of nice design, great figures and parts, and nice playability. It’s not the most amazing kit ever, but it’s still a very effective and fun package. If you love Classic Town and want a great construction set for your display, 6581 is for you. Other Resources: Brickset Entry for set 6581 Peeron inventory for set 6581 Bricklink entry for set 6581 Brickshelf folder for this review (when public)

This is a wonderful MOC! You've really captured the excitement of christmas morning in this creation, Erdbeereis. I think the only improvement you could make would be to add some decorations to the tree. I think using white rope pieces and clipping on modified plates with lights would probably help. Other than that, this creation is perfect.

Thanks for the nice review, Brickster. This set looks decent to me, but I've never been a fan of those three wheeled bikes (I've never even seen any bike like that in real life!). On the positive side, the armored car is nice and there's plenty of valuables. I'm most surprised to see that the gold toothed face was available all the way back then - up until now, I thought it was a new release with the Agents sets! Honestly, I'll always view World City as nothing more than a necessary step in the right direction, one that eventually lead to the excellent City line. World City may not be Town Jr, but it's far too futuristic and dark for me - the backgrounds on the boxes were way too gloomy looking. However, if TLC made a new version of this for the City line, I'd probably invest in it. Maybe they could release it in conjunction with a new bank?

Don't forget Matau, who was the king of immature green canister sets. Many here may not like 2006, but I give credit to Greg for actually making Kongu the first Air toa to NOT be a young-at-heart, treespeak abusing prankster. It was fairly uneventful, but I wouldn't say it "sucked hard." Besides, it's obvious that Greg is trying to stretch out the blog as much as possible, since we still have nearly a month left until the next year. He probably has to make at least 4 or 5 more entries, so we've got to expect that at least a couple will be total filler.

Man, I'm really glad Bionicle is breaking from the usual "6 good guys, 6 bad guys" way of doing bionicle years. Now we have both individual characters and generic species in the exact same time period!

Honestly, I think 2008 nailed the coffin in TLC's dark ages. Finally, lego is back making well designed, fun sets with lots of colors, features, and cool minifigs. Core lines like Town and Castle are back in full force. Amazing exclusives like Green Grocer and the Taj Mahal are now regular expected kits each year. Best of all, TLC is finally listening to their older fans, and is consulting them and releasing sets that appeal to the older audience. Yes, I know there are still gripes about quality of parts and boxes, excessive stickers, etc, but I'm honestly happier with TLC than I ever have been before. Long live lego, and long live the fans that support it!

My comments are responding to the points in bold, in numerical order: 1. I agree somewhat about this, but in general most kids do not take it to this extreme. And if they do, IMO, it's probably the fault of the parents. If a mother or father notices that their kid is getting way too obsessed with something, like Bionicle or Starwars, and is taking it to an almost reality-like level, then it should be their job to protect their kid from their own obessions. Toys are not like drugs and alcohol - they can not force a person to become obsessed with them. In this modern day and age, however, people blaming the company who makes products instead of blaming themselves for their obsessions has been spreading rapidly (ie. the ladies who sued McDonalds for getting fat, while living an unhealthy lifestyle and eating way too much fast food). Note though that I am not accusing you of sharing that viewpoint. 2. Actually, I've never really seen the connection between Harry Potter and real, dangrous magic like Wicca. I've read all seven books, and their style is far less moral-teaching and more entertaining - meaning that they are not written to sway anyone to certain viewpoints. Also, the "magic" used in the book is far different from what real "witches" use. For example, in the Harry Potter universe, putting dangerous curses on people is banned and will get you sent to the wizard's prison, thus it is made clear that putting curses on people is bad and evil. In the real world, "cursing" people is a way of life for many users of "magic." Harry potter basically does to magic what the Pirates of the Carribean did to piracy - in both worlds, the good guys are adherents to those viewpoints, but are less about hurting people and more about adventure. On the other hand, it is made obvious that the bad guys care most about terrorizing normal people, and their practices are somewhat frowned on. Also, note that these words are coming from someone who has been a Christian for years, and who adheres to a book that commands against real witchcraft and the occult. 3. Uh? Now this I don't understand. How can Bionicle leave technic from getting needed parts, just because it uses technic parts in larger kits? I honestly am not sure what you are saying by this at all. If anything, it's Technic that is borrowing from Bionicle - I've noticed frequent usage of the more versatile parts that were introduced in Bionicle, especially Bohrok teeth. Um, I think that was his point, Wrack. If kids started believing in occult practices, wouldn't that be something to worry about?

Eh? Are you sure you're talking about Bionicle, sir? Seriously, Bionicle couldn't be further from eastern mysticism - or any form of actual beliefs, for that matter. Bionicle is at most, a sci-fi story with elements of fantasy and myth. It shares basically no similarities with Harry Potter, and relies far more on technological and physical explanations than "magic." Honestly, I don't get what you're so upset about. Is it wrong for kids to enjoy fantastical things like "magic" in their playing and imagining? TLC's ethos has always been "just imagine" and in some ways Bionicle has incorporated a far greater dose of imagination than general lego themes, which are usually based off of historical periods, liscenses, or already established themes like fantasy and Sci-Fi. So, Bionicle does fit into TLC's original policies. Are you advocating that kids only "imagine" if they think realistically? Seriously, I'm really wondering what your point is from typing that, because I don't quite understand what you mean by it. Woah, I think fans of Technic as a whole may have something to say about that - not to mention fans of Creator, Starwars UCS, the achitecture models like the Eifel Tower and Taj Mahal, etc.

I don't think I trust this rumor - after all, making a game without an actual new wave of kits to go with it seems a bit redundant. Sure, we still might be seeing new kits next year, but it's pretty unlikely now.

That's awesome. I wonder if the Sun ever considered that printing that article would give Brickarms massive publicity...

Yeah, it's just a MOC, not a real set. I think I remember seeing a topic with this creation on BZP once.

Guys, just let me say that I totally agree about the ball sockets. It's seriously really annoying that they are breaking so much, and it really disapoints me that they changed the mold to this new rubbish design. Seriously, I think one of the possible reasons why TLC doesn't seem to care is that the core audlence doesn't even care about building at all - they probably just build sets once and never even MOC at all. Actually, that's not true about the stickers. Stickers have been in sets for years and years, even as far back as the 70's. It's true that we're getting more of them lately, but the actual method of stickers is nothing new.

Heh, no worries Whitefang - nobody else had noticed that until Simon did anyway. I guess blindness is a common problem among Town fans.

This is annoying that they are singling out Brickarms for supposedly "gloriflying terrorism," when at the same time they are ignoring the countless video games and movies that depict actual terrorists (ie. Call of Duty 4, which my brother was just playing today). Seriously, just because you make a figure that looks something like the guys the USA is fighting over in Iraq doesn't mean you support it. Someone could potentially use figures like this to make a strong case against terrorism - just like many video games and movies have used their art forms to show why these guys must be stopped. In summary: this article is best ignored.