Freddie

I saw that stage live. Kalla started some 40 seconds down to the person (who's name escapes me right now, Toihounen or something), initially lost 14 more seconds on the first straights, before catching up and passing by in the final uphill (which has a 28% incline, and is normally used for professional downhill skiing). Not only did she catch up and pass by, she first just catched up with the leader, staying behind and saving her strength, just to fly past and into the lead in the final few hundred meters. It was awesome to watch.

I'm keeping a keen eye on the new off-road car. It has some interesting new stuff I'm interested in. First of all, the new PF elements, the lights (Crossing my fingers that these are LEDs!) themselves will probably make another appearance next year on the new trains. The pole reverser/switch I'm clueless on, that will be interesting. And then, and I think this is a first, it looks like the car features a live rear axle. Because I can't see all the contents on the box, I will wait patiently, altough not outright hopeful, to see if the car is remote control - I've converted the red supercar (Mk. II) to remote PF-control, and there's quite a bit of bugs to work out to make it work flawlessly, so I doubt this one has it.

That's a fantastic looking truck. The design and smoothness is just... and then there's the essence of it; It looks purposefully heavy, and the only thing lacking is a massive trailer echoing the truck. Love it. *y*

I love that second Tiny Turbos set - the gas station is similar to the one we got in '07, which means it's in minifig scale; that's the fourth gas-station in two years! I'm holding back my opinion on the first one - It's too preliminary for me to judge anything from its looks, altough I agree with Wulf that the Hummer-limo looks awesome.

I first came here to look at all the new sets that were about to be released, then I finally signed up to answer a question-form that an ambassador had posted. What's been keeping me here is that LUGNET has become somewhat drowsy. IMO these forums here are much easier to read, not a single page for each post. But most importantly, I like it here. This site has a nice look, people are nice, friendly, helpful and have a sense of humor, news are fresh and up to date, and there are plenty of set-reviews. *y*

Oooooh, there's going to be a lot of screaming, biting and fighting now, because I don't. *Everyone gasps* I don't have any space for boxes which no longer are of use, and they are more handy for firing up a wood-burning stove than gathering dust. What? Snow or no snow, winters are plenty cold here, and electricity is expensive. Especially so when the house was built in 1824 (eighteen-hundred-and-twenty-four) - insulation back then was crap, and it occasionally happens that I experience a sudden wave of heat streaming at me when I open the fridge. [/rant] I don't actually burn the boxes, they're useless for firing up a stove, but I that doesn't mean I keep them. A few of the larger boxes with opening fronts see renewed life as containers for bricks, and one of those I have now is currently a make-shift airport as well. The rest get thrown away because I lack space.

Hmm. Tricky one. I'm of direct northern irish and danish descent, my step-dad's swedish, my half-brother's neither, I live in Norway yet I am a danish citizen! Guess it's Norway then. *click*

Thanks for the takes on these two sets, Yoda. Stickers or not, I still think these are charming sets with all the essence and nostalgia of the older sets back in the 80/90's. Am I the first one to notice the new doors used in the back of the van. Not only is it using the popular new frame, but the old container doors have been redesigned to fit with the new frame as well. Pity they're not yellow, though.

I just recently read a swedish blog, in where the author posted this, and I wanted to share my find. An absolutely stunning piece of work this is. Not only is the animation smooth, but the MOCs look more than the sum of their parts as well. Its just a pleasure to watch.

Indeed. 4997 got some interesting alternates too, but the ship is by far the best. 2008 Creator very much indubitely ON! *y*

I like the new boat as well. Looks like it will come with its own dock, and a proper lighthouse too! Agents-theme looks skippable. Very likely I might do just that.

Wow. Just wow. 8-

The first thought that struck me when I first saw 7726, was "Jack Stone". Seriously. :-/ I blame the color, because the oversized truck actually features some nifty details, despite it's simple build. It's the first set to sport orange train gates, it's the first set to feature white car doors in a loooong time, and it has the proportions of the Unimog, itself a vehicle used for this type of operations and eqipment. It is oversized, though. It will take deep meditation and hard concentration to overlook that - it somehow just doesn't appeal to me, reach out to me, like previous limited sets did. It will probably grow on me, but... :-( Quick edit: It is growing on me! Fast! I suddenly spotted some more details, and then I spot some more, and the more I like it. :-) On the other hand, the new impulse sets are shouting at me to buy them. *y*

I'm guessing you're doing some art as a second hobby, no? I would guess that you at the very least dabble in drawing, because I think your drawing looks, uhm, not professional, but at least properly done. Not sure I could draw something like that in less than an hour. And that's excluding coloring. Very nice. I like it. :)

Who here hasn't? I remember reading that even LEGO's designers were requesting more window designs for their models. Apparently they listened, to everybody's joy. Pity that it was at the sacrifice of plane-window panes. Very nice review, Brickbitz. It gives us a good look at this set before we buy it. Price seems to be fair as well, so this set could well be a best-seller.

Very nice review. Some pleasant surprises such as the grey barrels and the dark blue pieces which were unexpected. I just also now noticed how small the old containers are compared to the new models - that crate has the old dimensions, and it looks tiny. I did expect a wind-up winch (an electric with unreplacable battery would ruin the playability), so it's nice to read that it works properly.

Uh, that's actually a good question. I think the best answer would right now be, none. Neither the RC-trains or 9V-trains are in production anymore, and as such there are no trains on offer today. The accesories for RC-trains are still sold regularily, though. And left-over from 9V are still available on S@H. The upcoming standard would be Power Functions, so the trains are brought in-line with the rest of the system.

That is indeed a very nice washing station. IMO its leagues better compared to what TLC released some years ago. It wouldn't look out of place in a train yard, that's for sure. Great work. *y*

Kamelot - Ghost Opera: Bl

Because of exams and other obligations, I haven't posted this sooner. Seeing that no-one else has reviewed this set, I thought I might as well do it myself. The set in its entire glory (minus the slammer, instructions and the (obviously) massive sticker sheet) The four cars included in this set; a muscle car, a sports car, a roadster and the police off-roader(!): Because the police obviously have no clue that an off-roader is useless for catching street-racers, no less a batmobile-ish sports car, it will always trail behind: But the police have a trick up their sleeve - the drawbridge: Gotcha! And the mechanism that makes it all tick: The motor is nothing more than a (slow) pull-back motor. Push down the bridge, the latch will hook on to the gear and keep it in place until the latch is released. And there's the new gas station. Staying within theme, this gas-station is, like the tanker in 8147, from the company Fuel 4 Speed: There's a notable presence of detail here, such as the soda-dispenser, water (coolant?) bottles and other accesories, two fuel pumps and bumper-level railings to prevent cars from crashing into them. There's no interior however. And as demonstrated here by a loyal Octan-employee and a pursuing officer, the gas station is built to minifig-scale: My impressions of this set: As a collector of tiny turbos, and yet to miss a set, I got this one regardless of what it included. The gas station is indeed very nice, and the minifig-scale accesories were unexpected. The lack of interior is no big issue, and the both the station and bridge can with ease be implemented into a mini-fig town. The bridge also solidly built, and includes the ramps in its design, so it can be lifted, with ramps attached, without breaking apart. The slammer included in the set is identical, apart from the white color, with those in 8147. The cars are also very nice, altough I am yet to get used to the yellow batmobile, as I've grown accustomed to calling it. I also love the off-roader's chunky tires, they make perfect wheels for the newer minifig-scale cars. I never consider price/parts ratio, and here it would, for me, be irrelevant, because it will never be demolished for parts. The play value is what I would consider pretty good, and while the bridge won't rise with a car on it, it's still strong enough to stay open with a car tipping over the edge. Hmm. Every nerve in my body is saying that this sets is worth roughly 8/10, so: Verdict: 8/10

I agree. It does indeed look old, the combination discolored and white bricks make it look like it was built with Carrara, which shares some of the same properties to white LEGO bricks in terms of color. I'm not a big fan of religious buildings, but I enjoy the work laid down in this. *y*

May I add that Grievous failed to mention the development of Mindstorms. That particular period, '97-04, saw birth of LEGO's most advanced - and to date still among the most advanced toys on market - product: Mindstorms. While not a massive seller, it was a hit, especially in schools, and in professional labs and colleges no less(!), and still has a considerable following. But, I think some of those losses in that period might be greatly influenced by the development of Mindstorms. Developing a computer like this is not cheap, and MIT-cooperation notwithstanding, I think this might have have lead to a considerable part of the loss. I still think it was a good investment, however - LEGO is now harvesting the fruit of their hard work. Oh, and one more thing. While I was working as a Christmas-extra in '05, we had a single left-over from the 4+ line. Which set it was escapes my mind, but I remember the price was set down to some 20% of its original price - it was christmas, the shelves were otherwise empty (christmas '05, remember?), except for this lone, heavily-discounted 4+ set. I will forever remember that sight, and as a reminder of how low down LEGO was at that time, when they were trying to push this rubbish line onto customers.

Looks like it's all stickers. *looks at 8161* That's. A lot. Of stickers. |-/

Track geometry in LEGO's sense would mean curves with a different radius, crossover track. I doubt we'll see any inclines, as in up- and down-hills for bridges and such, if that's what you meant, BM. That effect can easily be done with simple bricks. I do like the idea of the battery box/speed regulator being designed for rechargable batteries. That means that it will be optimized for that kind of batteries, so it gets more performance out of them. I would still like to see the old lightbulbs replaced with LEDs - preferably a kind that lights up at full strength already at lowest speed setting.