Zarkan

Personally, I think the stable is fine, but I agree with you about the barn - which is why I'm planning to modify it heavily once I get it. And don't worry - if this theme does well, I'm sure we can expect a second wave in the future with new farm buildings.

Um, dude, lego has always been targeted towards children - and pirate ships have had skulls on their sails since the Skull's Eye Schooner from 1993. In all honestly, the new pirate theme is extremely close to the old pirate theme in both design and style. This is about as good a revival as we could ever have for a theme.

Honestly, CITY 2009 seems to be blowing all other previous years away with originality and design. The new construction line is miles better than the 2005 line - which is already fairly good - and the crane and bulldozer are looking a lot better. The dozer isn't quite as big as I thought it would be - it seems to be a lot smaller than the "dump tank" of 2005. And the farm theme: man, just amazing. Beautiful figures, a female presence, cows, tractors, hay, cats and dogs, a horse trailer, a combine harvester - I'm in love with this sub theme! However, I am a bit disappointed that there is only 3 minifigures in the big farm. Sure, there's animals too, but how hard would it be to add a driver to the included tractor? Oh, and the City Life kit rocks too. If I don't get it eventually, I'll be beyond surprised.

About Gresh - maybe the catalog image was the prototype, the one on Shop at Home was the original final version, and the one here is the version they used after they realized how terrible the redesign was. Regardless, this line is looking really cool. Yes, they're Inika and Avtoran designs, but they're also good designs. They all incarnate their respective elements very well, and the backgrounds have to be some of the coolest CGI we've seen in Bionicle since 2001.

I love bionicle, for the reasons other people here love bionicle. "Ugly" is really an opinion. A lot the fans that like bionicle enjoy the variation from other toy styles - it has a distinct, mechanical/organic look that you won't find anywhere else. Besides, just about any major toy brand could be called ugly by someone - it's just a matter of personal taste.

Woah.... that was unexpected. None of us were right about who was the female, because there is no female in the winter!

Reading about the change in the new launcher's name, I'm thinking back to when I was at one of the library events, where Greg said something along the lines of this: "the reason they use so many x's and z's in bionicle names is that not many real words use them." This makes me think that the sudden change in name may be because somehow, something named Thornak was already copyrighted, but TLC only found out recently. Thus changed it , but only after greg found out. Basically, Greg may have given out a prototype name to the kids, while the final name was different.

*sniff* That farm scene is just beautiful. Also, I'm liking the design of the farm a lot more. The feeding stable is awesome, the silo looks pretty cool, and I'm glad to see that the barn at least has a decent loft. It needs some modding - but that's why I bought all those tan bricks at pick a brick. BTW, I think now we can see the reason they used flat plates for the roof instead of roof bricks - for easy playability access. Personally, I think it looks fine/

Woah - a TON of stuff to comment on just in the last 24 hours. Library Event Info - Wow, only 15 makuta? And the unnamed ones are killed by the Order of Mata Nui, which wins the war? Very cool. Thornax Launchers - Dangerous fruit? AWESOME. Yet another sign that 2009 is going to be a lot like 2001. Mata Nui Poster - .... Wow. That is just amazing. Only, if this is Mata Nui, where is the island of Mata Nui? Isn't the island supposed to be his face? Guidebook - MAKUTA's guide to the unverse? Ha, that's really awesome too. It's official - these last few months have been the best few months for Bionicle since the very begining.

I agree about Teridax. Technically, the unverse was his for a while - but during the whole time he was under the influence of someone else. And how can we forget his really annoying past with a certain senator and a huge dose of anger management problems? Also, Shine - I'd like to know why the sets still "suck" in your mind. You get a huge amount of new recolors, many new masks and weapons that are colors other than silver - what's not to like?

*grabs self in order to stop my head from crashing into the computer screen in surprise* Woah... seriously, can I take back all the stuff I've ever said about Tuma? I mean, just WOW - suddenly he looks 10 times cooler than he ever has previously. That mask is a PERFECT FIT for an evil god-type character, and the design looks far more thought out than before - especially in the body area. The only thing I don't like is the huge shoulder pads, but STILL - man has this changed my mind about him. I may even have to get this guy - he seriously looks awesome.

Brothers in Arms ROCKS MY SOCKS. Also, these new pictures are very interesting. Time for some analysis! Raanu - Oh come on, don't tell me those feet and hands are really ORANGE! If they are and are not yellow, than there really isn't much reason to buy this kit at all. Berix - That THING s/he's wearing has to be the weirdest mask/head/helmet that I've ever seen in bionicle. On the plus side: LIGHT BLUE LIMBS and FIRESWORD FTW! Oh, and some other parts in MATA blue as well. Life is good. Tarduk - Dark green limbs and lime parts are nice, and I like the mask. A good kit. Metus - Snowflake ROCKS! Also, an Avtoran body in light blue, and is that a new head? Atakus - Pretty boring. Solek limbs in black, grey fingered hands, and two of the blades that can also be found in 3 other new sets. Oh, and a mask that looks like a combination of a skull and a Rahkshi head. That's cool - but still, meh. Zesk - Give me tan. The mask is amazing, seriously. Also, more tan. ' Malum - I like the new mask, actually - and he most certainly now seems to be a villian. The new claws and chest armor are also very nice - but the rest is average. Still, I would have been far happier if Tahu Mistika had this color scheme instead of being a huge mass of silver with only a bit of red. Tarix - Weapons are interesting, there is more possible Mata Blue, but best of all is the gold inika armor, which we needed since 2006. Gresh - No Nuparu claws on his chest anymore, but... Waitaminute. Is that the mask we saw in the prototype on the FINAL VERSON? Please, please let this be true... I don't want that ugly mask we saw on S&H! Also: weapons, lime green feet and claws, and the possiblilty of Mata Green = AWESOMENESS. Seriously, I like my Lewa Phantoka - but imagine how more awesome he would have been if he was this colorful! Skrall - Rocks. AWESOME new weapons, new armor, new body, and awesome new head. This is very good. Strakk - Eww, the mask doesn't look nearly as good, and the color scheme is wonky! Still, the axe and armor rock, and we may finally be getting ice blue joints. Vorox - Man is that a lot of tan! No new weapons, but we get new armor, a possible new body, and a new mask. Tuma - Still looks like a jumbled mess. Some interesting pieces, but overall he fails. 2008 is not looking good for the titans so far. Fero and Skirmix - Boring rider, boring titan design, it's all boring. Sure, red claws and Fennrak heads are nice, but I'm not paying 20-30 dollars for that only. Overall, 2009 is looking VERY nice for Bionicle. I won't get any of these sets, since I'm spending most of my money on Bionicle this year, but I'm glad next year's lineup is looking so good. Kudos to the set designers - other than the ones who designed the titans.

Actually, 2009 will be Spongebobs FOURTH year. Still, this is really annoying. Come on, these sets are almost exactly the same as the ones from 2006! Aside from a new Squidward head and the crabby patty car, there's basically nothing new here.

Honestly, I originally thought that Tarix was the female - but now that we know the rules are different in the new universe, I have no idea. Seriously, it coulde be ANYONE.

Congratulations guys! After all you two have done for Eurobricks, you both really deserve it.

Thanks for the nice review. Overall, this set is good. The castle wall is excellent, and I love the knight. However, I don't think it's perfect, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, this set could use a couple more figures. I know KK isn't liked much at all (not even by me), but we all can at least admire that their third wave kit similar to this one had ELEVEN figures. While I don't expect that of a kit from the early 90's, I don't think it would have been mucn of a hassle if they included another black knight or a prisoner for the jail cell. Secondly, I don't like the catapult at all. It looks way too thin and unstable with those small wheels and a narrow base. I think it would have been much better to make the base at least 6 studs wide and to use normal brown wooden wheels - because the set design doesn't look strong enough to lift much of anything. Still, this is a nice set overall, and the modular concept is really awesome. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Yeah - 2002 was more Sci-Fi like, in direct contrast to 2001.

Question 1 - Bakery, Water Mill, Church, Butchers Shop. Question 2 - Yes, next year (1 set). Question 3 - Perhaps (If I have the money!). Question 4 - Draw Well, Hay Fork, More Animals, More Food. Question 5 - More women In general, more kids in general, more townsfolk in general. Man, I like basically all the ideas on that list, but I had to pick some favorites.

Wonderful. Woah, woah - who said anything about plot twists? All Greg said was that there would not be mysticism like in 2001 - but that doesn't mean that the story won't have big changes in plot and other kinds of mysteries. I think it would be really cool if part of the story focused on mysterious disapearances of warriors or something else, which leads up to the discovering of a great evil that could threaten the entire new universe - and the MU as well.

Well, since I haven't had much else to do lately, I'd like to join.

I have considered it, and I think it might be good for me to. The problem is that I haven't been buying that many normal lego sets recently, so it would probably be harder for me to do it. Still, I might as well check it out. Well, even though this set could be built easily from a decent sized collection, I appreciate that TLC has released small sets for people who don't always want to design their own vehicles. Also, the problem isn't that it is an exclusive - the problem is that TRU in the United States overprices nearly EVERYTHING. Store exclusives at Wal-Mart and Target don't suffer from the same problem. Thanks for the comments, guys!

Recently I picked up 7731 Postal Van, and I liked it so much that I decided to do a review. Here’s an in depth look into one of the neatest small sets released this year. The Box: The City sets have some of the cleanest and brightest boxes of any lego line, and the 7731 Postal Van is no exception. Details like the road and the background make it feel nice and sophisticated. The back is great, as it shows what you can do with what is included in the set, featuring some nice action poses. Opening the Box: Like most modern sets, the contents include just the pieces in bags, the instruction manual, and a sticker sheet. TLC stopped putting separate Lego Club advertisements and mini catalogs in the boxes long ago – now they are printed right in the back of the instruction manual. Speaking of which, the inside of the manual is also very clean. I like the nice sky background. Oh, and here’s a picture of the stickers. I usually don’t mind them that much, and the mail logos are especially nice. Pieces: Most of the included pieces are standard, but there are some gems like the red container, the cool wheels, the window frame and doors, and one of the awesome new slanted windscreens. Minifigs and Accessories: The included figure is a typical happy postal worker. The torso is really nice and detailed. You also get a great mailbox and two letters. The only problem is that the box is huge – it stands taller than the average minifig! Also, it’s interesting to see that they used the old style of envelopes, instead of the newer, more detailed ones. The Vehicle: The mail van is really nicely constructed – and it’s different enough from other City vehicles to feel original. I like that they used smaller wheels and gave it an angled frontal shape. In the back is a cool storage compartment to put the mail in. There is a small gap between the two shutters, but it is not too noticeable. Overall: With a nice figure and accessories, some good pieces, and a great vehicle, 7731 Postal Van is an ideal kit for any town. If there is any flaw, it’s that the price is fairly steep. Unfortunately, this is a TRU exclusive in America, and they charge three dollars extra on top of the normal $8 dollar price – which is a ripoff if you ask me. Fortunately, I was able to get it on sale, but others may not have that option. Still, if you don’t mind spending a few dollars extra, or live outside of the US, I recommend you pick this kit up. The simplicity and modernity make it quite a cool vehicle, and it’s perfect for anyone who likes 4-wide cars. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. Final Score: 5/5 - Outstanding

Thanks for the review. I'm glad that TLC decided to give us battlepacks for the new kits - it's another great part of classic castle that has finally come back.

A few days ago I got the City Postal van. It's a really nice kit, and I might be doing a review. I only wish I didn't have to pay 9 dollars to overpriced Toys R Us for it - on sale!

Cool raffle! I won't be entering, but I am wondering who donated that beauty of a test piece. Was it a member of the forums?