mikey

The water looks brilliant!, and a use for the spare ones in the sets?

This was my second ever Pirate set, and I think it is superb just for the castaway character. I think you get a lot of usefull pieces, and no stickers! I never had the original Pirates, and I always wanted them, but I am so happy the year I return to Lego there are excellent Lego pirates about. At the moment they are really my favourate theme. I think they are so creative, real characters! I was not overly impressed by the build really, but am impressed with what I can build myself with the Pirate line. To me this was worth the money, just for the pieces so 9 out of 10! You can use the 'plates with a technic pin underneath', to secure plates to the base. I wish it was studded as well, and I am not really that impressed with it. But the rest of the set is really good... I would like more foliage aswell, but you can't have everything in this life!

thats brilliant!

I start to feel like that when I have brought a set just for the pieces!

I think a Ancient Greek theme would be superb! Even if it included mythology, I think the buildings and minifigs would be worth it alone, we can always discard the Medusa (!) head piece, the over size Cyclops figure, and the wings of Cupid, and only use them for special occasions. Imagine the minifig render of Aphrodite! I would love to see a Greek theme, I think the designs could be superb: oared galleys, temples, sacred groves, priests, slaves, warriors, gods. The immortal and the mortal! I would hope for a Persian faction in all their barbaric glory. I think this would appeal to young and old fans of Lego. Offering playability and adventure, and unique and interesting parts. We can decide in our creations if we want the myth and monsters, or to aim for an historical style.

This may be a really obvious question but..., Does 'Medium' and 'Dark Stone Grey' on the Pick a Brick site, equal 'Light' and 'Dark Bluish Grey'?

I think these sets are great, firstly they are not Police, Fire, Construction etc., they are a little bit different. They look superb, and reflect environmental issues current to all of us. I hope they continue and are widely available... I think this a reflection of our society, that 'Big' is 'Better', and these are problems which need to be tackled, or all the renewable energy will not save us from our relentless need to have 'More'! In some ways Lego is the original recycled product, constantly reused, passed down families, and traded on BrickLink, eBay, etc., So whilst resources are used in production, transport and retail, the lifespan of the product is a very long time so perhaps is a justifiable use of carbon!

Yes! This set looks superb, I will be buying just for the pieces! A great review aswell

This is a cruel article! Waving your train setup in front of us who do not have room! My space is limited to two baseplates at the moment, I do not think I could fit a train there! Seriously this is a great article, but who can really dislike trains though? They look great and i'm sure they are good entertainment. If I had more room I would have a train (or two).

I think thats quite funny! Its a bit like 'Day Of The Triffids' turned plastic!

A great review of an excellent little set. You might want to Mod in a towball or hook maybe, but apart from that this set looks spot on really. I'm just gutted its not more widely available, I have seen them on eBay (mostly from eastern europe), but they are asking a silly price (getting really silly when you pay for shipping). If this was in UK shops I would deffo get one (actually I would get two).

I see you point that 'World City' was a vast improvement on 'Town Jr', but in my eyes they still look a bit 'cheap and nasty' (and i don't think for one minute that they were actually cheap). But we live in the here and now, and Lego in 2009 is spot on!

I would be interested in seeing some of those, all the World City sets I have seen look horrible!

This is a great review!, and I understand that with 'World City', town fans had some hard times! (this has got to be the only set from that dark age of Lego, that I think stands up to those four letters -lego) This set actually looks good for that period, and I think you would not need a lot of modification to make it sit right with modern Lego, and that amazing train you have. When I was a kid I had Lego trains (sadly all passed on to family a long time ago), and I had 6835, this has brought back memories of all the play factors (angry drivers, accidents...). But that sounds like good fun to watch though! So maybe not a flaw, but added 'play value'!

I got my magnet bricks yesterday..., and they are not that heavy really! I have not tested them out yet, but am sure they are not much heavier than say 4 lots of 2x4 plates, also they do not allow a connection underneath. But I do think they are really cool!, I doubt they are going to work for my problem, but I am sure they will end up on the fridge, radiator, etc. so I am not disapointed with them! Looks like this is going to involve lead solder, I like the idea of making a 'box', (i was thinking 1x2x2 panels), and filling with weights. But am not happy with them 'rolling round', (all the weights I know are round or cylinders?). I am going to test the magnet bricks out, but I can see this heading towards dropping solder into a 2x4 brick at the moment. A lot of good suggestions (and the solution I think once I get some Lead Solder), has come out of this post (and now I have some magnet bricks, to attach minifigs and small creations to metal all round the house!).

this is all great! its got a real feel to it, really nice roof style, the best part for me is the little truck with a rounded front (see it best in the last pic). Your ForkLift truck is excellent also. More stock (crates of fish etc.), piled up behind the sales counter would make the second pic look even better.

Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité! Great subject matter, and very chaotic!

The roof is amazing! Totally realistic! The whole building looks great, and the interior, but that roof is my favourate part. What piece do you use for it?

I think 'Robin Hood' is a fantasy character! But you are right, it is not 'Fantasy' to the same extent as a 'Troll or Warrior Skeleton'. Whilst outlaws did live in the British Forests at this period in time, they are unlikely to have been the 'noble outlaw', which the legends create, more like 'very dark and dangerous robber baron'. Who may well have given a very small share of booty to the poor if he thought it might help concealment and avoid betrayal to feudal authority (i suppose the tactic cocaine barons use with great effect today in south america). I would love to see these characters back in Lego though!

That is great, looks spot on. Really nicely in scale, the bicycle wheels look perfect! If you ask me that Minifig has got one of those untrustworthy faces, where he might just try to rip off unsuspecting tourists, and not give them that much change from the bill!

If I had the room I would be buying the Emerald Night, (beutifull, elegant, amazing, wow!). But you need to have a decent track layout? (I know you could just look at her, but to me the point of a train would be to move!), and with a track layout you will need scenery I think... I think a Train without Town would look to sparse, you would need buildings etc. to compliment your layout, and not just railway specific buildings. Otherwise all you have is a station yard and landscape? But you could make a Town without Train. Ideally you have unlimited space, Town and Train, and your Lego sorts itself back into storage boxes automaticaly! I would vote both aswell! -maybe I am in the first stage of leaving the Dark Age, and I think nearly all Lego is great! But to choose one I go for Town

Cheers mate, they havn't done one since the early 90's, and in my eyes this is the classic construction machine really, and i'm sure it would go down well with the kids! I hope we do see one soon. They are deffinetly going on my list for my next order. I think wider back wheels would look spot on. I really like the current wheel design, but wish you could get them in Yellow or Black. I wish! A trenching bucket is what is needed here. I have only seen the 'classic hinge bucket' (like on the original), which could be compatible -but this is far to small. There are a range of Technic buckets, and I am considering trying one, but I can see the connection between Technic Pins and the Click Hinge getting really bulky. I am really on the lookout for a more suitable bucket for the BackHoe arm if anybody can suggest?

I think this set is great, it was my introduction to Pirates... It is really good value, a score of 10 in my eyes!

One of the sets I most liked when I was a kid was 6686, so when I got back into Lego one of my first thoughts was to either buy it from eBay, or recreate it. Now although this set in original form looks cute, the scale compared to modern Lego designs just looks silly! So with inspiration from Flickr/ Brickshelf etc., this is my extensive modification of the Farm Tractor Set, into a JCB BackHoe Loader. My only problem is that Lego are not making the large tractor wheel in yellow (but I am thinking that they may produce it yellow at one point). Sweeper attachment on Front Loader: BackHoe arm is not 100% 'real life' realistic, we are dealing with Lego click hinges here!

He wished he had made it to Cuba (a Pirates playground I presume!), instead he floated through the sharp (no sharks... yet) waters, and landed on an island... Now this would not so bad, except it is already inhabited by this deranged soul: And who I presume was his last guest to visit? A diet of raw crabs: And stimulating conversation at meal times... Lets just say living with Robinson Crusoe was not a barrel of laughs... To make things that little bit more unbearable, the man is convinced, given the right tide and a good wind, he can steer the island home! I mean I just play along to pass the time really... "I'm not sure mate, but I might have just heard some gulls?"