Strand

Visited Myer Sydney CBD today, very disappointed I didn't head there earlier as many of the more desirable sets were nabbed. It was mostly ARC-170s and last wave's Star Wars Hoth battlepacks. They only had 2 V-Wings left by the time I got there, and they didn't have multiples of 3 of almost anything else, so picked up the City Helicopter/Limo. Used a second BTGOF deal with a triple battlepack (2x Mandos, 1x new Clones)

The whole 'Aussies are getting screwed' isn't a Lego-only thing. If you have other hobbies like gaming (as I happen to be), it seems local retailers still believe the Aussie dollar is only worth 60 US cents. I understand that Lego has to ensure their long-term bottom line, rather than daily changes in currecy rates, I'm not expecting 1:1 AUD/USD parity for our Lego sets, but surely there can be a nice middle ground. Yes, we're all aware of import taxes, GST, shipping costs, economies of scale etc. But surely even those factors combined can't account for a 40% RRP discrepancy.

Awesome, at first I thought it was a Cthulu themed MOC.

The dropship was $400 RRP but obviously no-one bought it, Kmart had it on 'sale' at $350 but again, no-one bought it, so they kept slashing it until eventually it was $174 and then Eurobricks members (including yours truly) went into a feeding frenzy and snagged them all. And Endor was always $150-ish in stores. S&H never has 'good' prices.

Great set, let's just say the results of the "Which model is your favourite?" pole was exactly what we all expected...

TWO POINTS 10. French Navy Xebec (probably the most polished of the 'traditional' sailing ships) 2. RTS Zavala (love the unique paddleboat twist) ONE POINT 32. RTS San Legonio (lovely colour scheme) 1. HMS Achilles (cute, probably best sails of the lot) 11. Le Sang Royale (also another unique design) Though there were plenty of great submissions. It's a shame some of the contestants are obviously better builders than they are photographers! I would have loved to see maybe some other angles with more flattering lighting.

Interesting looking ship. It's a shame they committed too much to gimmicks like the cockpit detaching instead of giving it a bit more room inside (especially a ship of that size).

I'm totally digging these minifigs. I ESPECIALLY love the Elf Shield, it's perfect for A Game Of Thrones MOCs, the sigil fills in for House Baratheon.

I knew these were coming out, but I had no idea they were released in blister packs.. This is weirding me out seeing Lego not in boxes. EDIT: Also very surprised at the 'spin' mechanism. I know Lego was going for the Beyblade/Bakugan crowd, but trying to spin that huge top with your fingers is going to be pretty damn awkward.

There's nothing wrong with 'brash' opinions. And I certainly agree that some people are throwing a bunch of ideas together under an impossibly low RRP and just hoping that it comes out. There's room for plausibility in certain cases and with Slave One UCS, I think it's very possible. I'm surprised they haven't even released one yet. I'm also hoping for the more realistic UT-AT set (with 2 Galactic Marines, Ki-Adi Mundi + token Battle droids) and Outrider set I get why they made a N1 UCS set, but it's by no means a beloved ship. I think their big mistake was attempting to make the N1 the X-Wing of the PT and failed hard. It's a nice looking ship, but no-one will look past it being used as a child's plaything in Episode I. In Episode II it had a couple seconds of screen time, then in Episode III they introduced a whole new bunch of fighters that replaced it entirely. The reason why the X-wing is so popular is because it's a recurring motif for the rebellion and features prominently in all 3 OT films and is as much the faithful steed to the hero.

The likelihood of a set being made is not based on screen time. Lego's already made 3x Boba Fett Slave 1s in minifig scale alone, why is a UCS versison so inconceivable? They've already made sets I would not have expected in a million years (Tie Defender/Crawler, Rogue Shadow etc). If you're going by which vehicles fans love more, then Slave 1 is waaaaaayyy up there. And UCS is aimed precisely at these hardcore Star Wars AFOLs, not children. The entire line exists to appease adult fans, who sure as hell know what Slave 1 is in a glance and can afford to plonk down a few hundred bucks on a highly detailed set. They've released UCS Imperial Shuttle and Naboo N1 (a ship that for better or worse, is still associated with Episode I), ships I'd consider far less popular or memorable.

Was at the Sydney Aquarium today and noticed they have a little Lego Store which I don't remember there being before. It seems so to be there only for the Lego event but it has an interesting selection, most of the lines, they have a lot of Lego Books (including 'The Lego Book' and the DK Star Wars one and a couple others). I noticed some 2x4 Brick USB things too. Might be interesting to pop in during the exhibit if you have kids, though the prices mostly seem to be exactly RRP.

Slightly disappointed with this set. I loved most Battlepacks by throwing a few regular troops + Maybe a commander/pilot figure, but having all the same figure's a bit tame. The Mandos themselves will always seem like a poor man's Jango Fett to me.

Very interesting concept. Sadly, I think that an Episode I version will just be a couple hundred green tiles in a box.

Those are some really unfortunate leg piecs and head studs.

Oh my, the new sets look amazing. The V-wing looks fantastic. That cockpit canopy and it looks like they improved the wing rotation from the last one. Totally feeling the droid carrier and shuttle. Yay Shaak Ti

That Terran Marine rifle looks fantastic. Also love the English Redcoat.

Amazing! I've never been really excited about the HP sets but this one looks fantastic. You're probably in the know Svelte (being probably the most active contributor in the Aussie bargains thread), so what's a good place to pick this set up for Aus? Very interested.

Love the figures! However more hair loopies on Katara would have been nice. Is there a reason why you didn't use the short one-piece leg for Aang and Toph (the stumpy characters)?

Grabbed the CTT today with a couple of Atlantis impulse sets. The Lego aisle wasn't very well stocked, but at $9 I couldn't pass up the 3.75 inch Star Wars figures. I'm pretty sure if you want a CTT now, $190's likely the best price you'll be seeing for a long time,

Well, remember that plenty (like me) put the thing on Lay-buy meaning we haven't entirely caved into the price. From Kmart's point of view however, it's already a guaranteed sale so they'd have less incentive to drop the price like they did with the AT-OT/Dropship. Thanks for the Heads up. That's kinda.. horrible pricing to be honest. The last Slave 1 had like 90% parts overlap with this and I remember it being $90-100. Oh well, definite sale wait for me then. Will definitely be grabbing the CTT tomorrow at Target for $190 (down from $240+) I think it's the best price I'm ever going to see it at.

I think it's a definite improvement to the official TLG Tumbler. Unfortunately because of the overlap in pieces/design, I'll still have the same problem I had with the original design: The Tumbler is too big! In the films, it's a little bit larger than a sedan, and can definitely drive within road lanes. Hell, Batman the minifig is the same height as the rear wheels, meaning the Tumbler would be the size of a small house. Nonetheless, I love the individual design of this MOC.

Looks great, love how they enlarged the Astromech head, instead of using a normal minifig one that looks tiny (mostly pointing at the X and Y wing UCS sets)

Quinn Fabray approves. Very nice walkers there.