Inconspicuous

There was a poster of that in my old English class. I always wondered what it was! I myself watched I Am Legend and The Illusionist (again) this week. I never stop idolizing Eisenheim.

I personally liked the episode. I agree that maybe they didn't choose the right characters, or emphasize the "special properties" of the beast, but I liked the concept of awakening a legendary beast. I really enjoyed the creature's design- the odd, birdlike feet were cool and the third arm on the back was a nice surprise. But the Dugs did seem a little ridiculous.

Mafia on the internet is mostly strategy and psychology, in my opinion. Mafia in person is much more acting-oriented. I'm not sure if being a devout thespian will give you much of an advantage here. Just tossing that out. Sign ups look promising! I know I'll enjoy this game, whether I'm playing or not.

Awesome! My favorites for "Inconspicuous" are: Unconscious Pi Iconic Sun Soup Cuss Upon Ionic Conic Is Upon Us Ionic Cups On Us Cousin Cop In Us I Spun Us In Coco

Nice work, Cooper! I've only been to the museum once, and that was years ago, but as far as I can remember, you're pretty darn accurate! It's a very clean display with some wonderful touches like the Boy Scouts and the staircase detailing. Overall, very excellent work. Do you plan on doing more parts of the museum?

Amazing MOC Svelty! You've really lavished upon this one, with all of the fancy parts and destroyed Emporiums. I think it was well worth the cost to make. The arch techniques are beautiful and the headlight mosaic never ceases to amaze me. As always, your minifig selection is great too! You just don't stop the awesome creations, do you?

Hooray! An exciting new Mafia game experience. I think I'm ready for the challenge of a "more complex" game, since I actively followed 3 games and played in one. (Plus, I played Mafia at a party last weekend and won as scum. ) Sign me up! Thanks for considering me to play!

Nice game, ImperialScouts! It reminded me a little of our performance in Prohibition. It's a shame that it was such a rough journey, but at least it finished up to some degree. I look forward to seeing the Night Actions!

Who cares about Zillo, Boba looks amazing! I really hope he kills Ahsoka- it would be a dark way to end a darker season. These final five look great!

Finished filling my fifth Holiday PaB box and got Fight for the Dagger. I love the new PoP line, so I'm going to get Desert Attack and Ostrich Race as soon as I see them locally.

Happy birthday to all! May your birthdays be filled with Lego, cake, and pom-poms.

I thought I saw a neuron in there! The plush microbes are stealing the show in my opinion. I can't see myself getting on of these at all. Thanks for the review!

Studious Teacher - given by Svelte as part of the RA Midterm April Fool's joke I had a large part in planning. It corresponded to a name change from Inconspicuous to Inconstudious.

Indeed, I foresee that the Teacher's Pet System will greatly increase the quality of our reviews. I look forward to seeing who can help us out with this!

Thanks! I agree that the "waters of the area were hardly skimmed". I feel like the dock is quite necessary. If it's supposed be some sort of attack, a landing point sure helps! You're welcome! I own the Emperor's Ship as well, and it definitely was my favorite small ship I owned. But considering this set is older, as well as less expensive, I can appreciate this one. Interesting... I had no idea! I just wanted an ending picture with the boat sailing into the sunset! Well, that's probably something along the lines of what was originally intended, but I find the lack enemies to ambush unsettling. That's why I came up with my version- to create conflict with what you already have. Thanks for the comments, guys! (900th post! w00t!)

I think your description, "the little space station that wasn't" is a great way to describe this set. I've never really been able to appreciate Classic Space as much as many of the members here, since I didn't grow up with it. However, I can clearly see this set is a fail. Even a blind man could tell. Even if I don't like it, thanks for the review! It's nice to relive the past, and I definitely didn't know this set existed before your review.

Hooray! Another fantastic review, by mister Prince of Persia Svelte himself! I do agree, I like this set much more after seeing it better. However, since I'm not really going to play with it, and probably not break it up for parts, I don't think this set is worth it to me. Thanks for the great review!

Well, you beat me! Nice review, dabulls03, as usual. I'm now much more excited about getting this set. I definitely agree it's the best marketplace set TLC has ever released. The minifigs are superb as usual, and of course, it has that awesome camel. Thanks for sharing this!

Welcome to the forums, Admiral William! I'm sure you'll enjoy the Pirate forum- there's a lot of really neat stuff over there! See you around! Inky

Hooray for the PoP battlepack! A cute little set that's certainly done justice in your cute little review. The more I see and read about this set, the more it grows on me. I really like the desert scenery the more I look at it, and you definitely got me thinking about how this is such a great army builder. If the PoP line ends up growing on me, I might have to get this set. Thanks for the awesome review, Svelte!

Welcome to my review of set 3050 Shanghai Surprise. This 1999 set is the largest of three water-based sets in the Ninja theme, the others being 1185 Raft/3017 Ninpo Water Spider and 3075 Ninja Master's Boat, two tiny promotionals. It boasts two red ninjas (only appearing in five sets), a Shogun (which appears in only three sets), as well as a boatload of accessories. Join me as I revisit this unique Ninja set, and see if this small set deserves a big place in Lego history. BASIC INFORMATION: Set Name: Shanghai Surprise Set Number: 3050 Number of Pieces: 102 Minifigs: 3 Price: $12.00 USD (now worth about $30 USD used) Theme: Ninja Year Released: 1999 RESOURCES: Brickset Peeron Bricklink Flickr (Remember, all pics are clickable if you want to see details up close!) THE REVIEW: INSTRUCTIONS: Front: Up first are the instructions, since I'd never keep the box of a $12 set. The art features an incredibly amazing and realistic sculpted river and scenery. There are some lovely touches of mist, that give the whole thing a sneaky mood. The set looks very appealing, from the scintillating jewels to the distinct color scheme. Minifig Page: First, the minifigs are quickly assembled and construction beings. The background is mostly orange, but fades into purple towards the top. Color distinction is perfect, and although piece call-outs are not present, they are not needed. Back: The back features an interesting little scene where the two red ninjas are dismantling the boat. I usually associate this with the back of early Star Wars manuals, where there are alternate models featured around minifigs taking apart a set. Here, there are no alternate models, making the picture seem strange but pleasantly mysterious. Instructions:: Thoughts: Wonderful colors and designs are featured in this manual, as well as no extravagant advertising. I miss the old days. PIECES: Pieces: Up next are our pieces, meticulously sorted for your viewing pleasure. The color scheme is a simple black, tan, and blue. Most of the pieces are simple bricks, and aren't very special, but on the other hand, there are lots of accessories. It ends up being a sturdy model, and it's definitely reflected in the piece selection. (remember, you can click the picture for a larger one!) Pieces of interest: The more interesting pieces of the set are mostly accessories, but there are also some cool plastic flags and boxes. I really like the black ladder and the blue decorated panel. Pieces:: Thoughts: Lots of accessories but otherwise, they're mostly basic. It would have been nice to have some more "in-betweens". MINIFIGS: Front: Next are the wonderful minifigs of the set: two red ninjas and a shogun. The red really pops at out you, perhaps not the most ninja-friendly trait, but from our perspective, a good thing. The leg printing on the shogun is nice as well. However, if I were a red ninja, I would be a little uncomfortable having a shuriken sticking down my pants. Back: No back printing for any of them, but you can see the lovely built-in clips at the back of the ninjas' headpieces. Without Headgear: Here they are with headgear and armor removed. You can see that the shogun's printing was covered by his armor, as well as each of their foreheads. Minifigs:: Thoughts: Simple yet exotic, and very pleasing even by today's standards. THE BUILD: Build: Up next is our build, which occurs in 24 steps (shown here at 6 step intervals). There are definitely no interesting techniques used, and not much covered up either. The process is very smooth and concise, and I made no errors. It look about ten minutes to build and photograph. Build:: Thoughts: Quick, simple and sturdy! Satisfying for a $12 set. COMPLETED PRODUCT: The Whole Set: And we have our completed set! The oars sticking out the sides have a cool effect, and the boat seems reasonably large. I think a Prince of Persia whip might look good in the shogun's hand. Front: The front of the ship features a few unnecessary decorations: the lights and the spears. These have a tendency to come off easily, and would block the shogun's view. I'm glad Lego included them, because they can be removed and are extra pieces, but I would have something else added to the ship. Chest: The blue wedges appear to be tightly sealed over a chest. What could be hiding in there? Open: It looks like some pretty jewels were! Again, this feature is quite unnecessary, when there's already a treasure chest with space in it on the other side of the boat. I would have preferred some sort of weapon holder or storage. Middle: In the middle of the boat, we have our red ninjas, hard at rowing. You can see that other treasure chest I mentioned. Back Compartment: The chest (with four coins inside) and a black rifle and stored under here. The blue tiles make the chest come out easily, so the space is used very effectively. Platform: Sitting in his chair and monitoring his crew is the almighty shogun. The flags are well placed and the curves coming from the back look cool. Back: At the very back, we have a little view into the treasure chamber. I'm glad the boat sits in the water below that hole! Dock: The other little but very useful piece of this set is the simple, six-piece dock. This adds a lot more playability to the set, as well as allows some very cool display options, like this one or the one on the instructions. _______________________________________________ Totals: Design: 8/10 There are some design wins and some design fails. The decorations at the front and the second chest are unnecessary, while the storage at the back and the shogun's chair are both well designed. I really like the boat's basic structure, but it's the little details that bug me. Parts: 7/10 A very standard selection of regular bricks and lots of accessories. Some more specialized pieces would have been nice. This is definitely not a parts-pack. Build: 9/10 Simple and clean, with no questions asked. It felt about right for a $12 set. Minifigs: 10/10 Two wonderful red ninjas and an awesome shogun! This is quite an amazing selection in my opinion, and the printing on all of them is marvelous. Playability: 8/10 There are plenty of accessories, but not quite any bad guys. However, the name "Shanghai Surprise" seems to have no relevance whatsoever, so I like to think it's implying that the red ninjas were "unexpectedly shanghaied" by the evil Shogun, making the shogun bad. With this mentality, there is plenty to reenact. Price: 8/10 Not the greatest price, considering there aren't any large or complex pieces. I really would have liked this to be $10. Total: 50/60 Overall, a very solid set. The basic structure of the boat is very solid, whereas the little details need to be refined. However, there are plenty of accessories and three awesome minifigs, so the little details can be destroyed in their battle. The set is quite expensive at today's price of $30. I would recommend getting it if you are attracted to it's uniqueness and minifigs, and don't mind the price tag. Bonus: Shogun: "Wait for me!" Ninja 1: "Shogun!" Ninja 2: "Darn, I wanted the front seat!" Thanks for reading! -Inconspicuous

Ooh! Another first review! Thanks, dabulls03, for getting us this informative rundown of the set. I for one, don't particularly care for this set. It's like a battle pack, except that it only has three minifigs. The rare parts and minifigs are interesting, but I don't find them quite worth the price. Also, I have a Fight for the Dagger coming in the mail, so I either look forward to seeing yours, or to getting mine out first. Awesome insight into the set, thanks again!

It's not up online yet, but it's been airing on Live TV. I saw it at the beginning of a commercial break while watching a Scooby Doo movie.

The entire Cats (the musical) soundtrack. So many great songs in one place! From the funky "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" to the beautiful "Memory", this album has made me content for a while.

I just saw the trailer for the Episode 17 on CN today, and I am excited! My description sounds kind of lame, but it looked really good!