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The yellow thing could also be one of those big safety nets they use to catch jumpers. That's the first thing I thought of when I saw there were four minifigs carrying it.

I'd love a City Corner 2 next summer. It could include a post office, a bank and a taxi stand. Maybe even an ice cream stand. The buildings should be numbered like in City Corner, only continuing the count with 3 and 4.

Well, I didn't get any the first time. I'm just asking the same question again. Where does one get Town Plan for 120 Euros?

Then you should probably click on this:

Where does one get Town Plan for 120 Euros?

If I were to get just one of the modular houses to go with my City stuff, which one would you guys most recommend? Or would you recommond purchasing the equally-priced Town Plan instead?

I'd love to have some of these modular sets, but they're just too expensive for me. Unless there's some way I could order from the US. Can you believe Cafe Corner is listed for 139.99 USD and 149.99 Euros?! That's insane. The converted dollar price is actually less than 100 Euros! I guess I should try Amazon.com rather than the Lego store.

INDEXED 6661 Mobile TV Studio (1989) Every day, a hundred things happen in Lego City. Now, all inhabitants can be informed of the latest events, whether it's a daring police chase, the opening of a new store, or the local soccer match. All thanks to the Mobile TV Studio! In this review, we'll be looking at the little blue truck that provides all of Lego City with news. It's a set that's 20 years old already and one of the first 10 sets I ever got. Time for another trip down memory lane... The box, courtesy of Peeron. Item #: 6661 Name: Mobile TV Studio Theme: LEGO System / Town / Classic Year: 1989 Pieces: 71 Minifigs: 1 Price: Fl. 12.50 A note on the price: None of the links below have a price listing, but luckily the 1989 Dutch catalogue still featured prices. Peeron has a scan of it listing the original price. Bricklink Brickset Peeron The Box It's just a small set with a truck in it, so the box it comes in isn't all that large. The sports field in the background instantly gives you an idea for where to place this, although our cameraman could easily work all over town Alternate models on the back Parts & Pieces According to Peeron, there's 71 pieces. According to Brickset, there's 78. Since Peeron actually has an inventory list, I'll assume they have the right number. I hope you'll forgive me for not having counted everything myself, but if you're up to the challenge, here's a picture of the whole shebang: Not surprisingly, blue dominates, but there's some grey for the chassis and camera as well Apart from the minifig torso, there's 4 printed parts. The big TV panels are pretty neat. The inverted computer screen is cool as well. I have several with this screen on a regular slope, but this is the only one I own that's inverted. Rather than having the more regular 2x4 mudguards, this car has 2 4x5 car bases. It also has two nifty blue doors. Instructions The instructions came folded in a teeny tiny shape, judging by the folds in the paper. Unfolded, it's a single A4-sized sheet. This is how I've kept it stored all the time: The print size makes for perfect readable storage This is then put in a large folder with all my other instructions. I've taken it out for this review. I've also taken the paper out of the plastic for the first time in many years, just for you guys to get a better shot. Minifigs Just one this time. All dressed in white with a blue cap, this guy doesn't get any sort of identifying TV outfit. It's just the zipper print we've seen so many times, mostly on racers. I don't quite understand why a cameraman is wearing this. Sure, it's better than just some striped sweater or a blank body, but would it really have hurt to give him a neat little TV jacket or something? The Build This small set will take you around 10 minutes to build. It's a decent size car with few complex parts. We start off with the camera. A combination of round 1x1 bricks and plates makes up the base, and the cam itself is a 1x2x2/3 brick with studs on the side with some tiles put on. There's also a little lever for operating. A very nice little model. Apparently, this is camera 2. But where's camera 1? The car has no solid base, but its chassis is made up of a simple 2x8 plate and the two car bases. As you build, you can see this is a pretty sweet truck. The driver even gets an actual seat; something not very common at the time if I'm not mistaken. He also has the luxury of two working doors. The two small windows behind him serve to make the space look bigger, even though they're technically part of the van's rear storage space. For live broadcasts, the van also has a nifty sattellite dish and a color-coordinated antenna. After 12 steps, your van is finished. All done! When you're done, you have yourself a lovely little classic 4-wide van. Your cameraman has the opportunity to view his feed from the back of his truck Also, when disassembled the camera fits nicely in the back Bringing news City-wide! The van is simple looking enough, but it also has a few nice touches like the satellite dish and the monitor in the back of the van. It's a perfect little design for the 4-wide classic era. It will fit into any town and fit especially well into a classic town from the era. My only quibble is that there's no accompanying set at all, but that's a teeny tiny minor thing that doesn't hurt the set itself at all. It's not a raving, you-must-get-this-now sort of conclusion to a review, but then this isn't so much a town essential as it is a nice little detail to drop into your town somewhere. Decent on its own, fun to integrate in a larger city. The Final Tally Design: 7/10 The truck is good enough and fits in very well with all the other cars from the era. It's not sleek or anything, but then again - it's a truck. The camera looks pretty neat. Parts: 7/10 Inverted screen, big printed TV logos and actual working doors. Special for its time? Don't really think so. But very nice if you're just getting it now. Minifigs: 5/10 I know Lego didn't have torso prints as elaborate 20 years ago as they do now, but why does this guy look like a race car driver wearing a baseball cap? Playability: 7/10 It's a lot of fun driving around Lego City reporting on events happening. Then again, you'll probably be more preoccupied with making the events happening than filming them. On its own, it has its charms as well. It's quite nice that this car doesn't just have the sole function of driving around. If you don't have a big city yet, you could always pester your relatives by having your Lego man do in-depth reports on them. Price: 6/10 Fl. 12.50 for a little truck with some added playability. Judging by the other prices, it's about what you'd expect. Overall: 7/10 On average, we come to a 6.4 But this set scores some extra points in the final rating because it offers possibilities within your town not found in any other set. For that, I bump up the final score half a point.

I'd like a set that features just the busstop found in City Corner. You could buy several and set up your own public transportation route in your city, without having to gather parts seperately or buy multiple City Corners. A seperate bus might also be nice, perhaps even one of those long bendy buses.

I'm sure many collectors would cringe at the idea. But then, I don't plan to ever sell this stuff anyway. :P

Neato. btw, despite this being labeled as INDEXED, there's no link in the actual review index. Same for my other review.

You mean the picture on the back of the box? Yes, it's emancipation in Lego City! Also, the girl is wearing the black pants in one of the pictures as well.

I'm actually reading that right now. :) btw, both links in the Index refer to that old review.

INDEXED 6563 Gator Landing (1996) In the murky swamps outside Lego City, three outlaws struggle for money. Around their tiny headquarters, their operation covers land, air and water and is aimed at getting the money in or out without the cops noticing... or being eaten by alligators! This 1996 set named "Goldsmugglers' Hideout" in the Dutch catalogue looked really cool to me at the time. I went out and bought it all from my own money (which was quite a thing at the time). It was my last set before my Dark Ages and because of that, is quite a special one to me. It is also why some of the parts are rather dust-covered: I had it setting on my desk for quite some time... The box, courtesy of Peeron. Item #: 6563 Name: Gator Landing Theme: LEGO System / Town Year: 1996 Pieces: 232 Minifigs: 3 Price: $27.50 Bricklink Brickset Peeron On the back of the box, we find some alternate models you can make. Parts & Pieces Coming in at 232 pieces, this is quite a fun little set. Red and black dominate, but there's some grey and yellow thrown in there as well. The most interesting building parts are probably the big rock, the plants and the bridge piece. There's also some Technic bits you'll use for the airplane's floaters. Apart from the minifigs, there are only four printed pieces in this set: the airplane's controls and three "100" bills (what's the currency in Lego City anyway?). There are no stickers anywhere! Instructions The instruction booklet is a little smaller than an A5 piece of paper and folds open on the short side. Instructions are clearly printed on a standard background. Obviously, this set contains several models and each set of instructions is preceded by a small picture of the finished model. The last page features a photo of the finished set. The back of the booklet shows some alternate models, replicated from the back of the box (although not all models printed on the box are present here). Minifigs Three cool looking guys accompany the set. The boat driver gets a lifejacket. And without the life vest Plenty of stuff for them to lug around as well: There's also no less than two animals: an alligator and a grey parrot. The Build It's quite a fun set to build. With a building and three different vehicles there's some nice variation. As you may have seen above, after the minifigs the first thing to get a numbered instruction is the alligator. First model all done! Feel all proud of yourself? Even if you have the attention span of a two-year-old, you can start playing right after your first model! For your discretion, the horrific violence in the background has been photographed slightly out of focus Next up, the swamp boat. The smallest of the models, it's pretty simple to build. Halfway through, there's this little light you put on. I'm not sure if it's meant that way, but if you want, you can take it off and let the driver use it as a flashlight. The two suitcases you put in the back contain two coins each. Being rather picky, I always make sure there's a total value of 50 in each case. With the cases, the oar, the pickaxe and the little light this model is the most accessory-laden of the bunch. After a mere 9 steps, your boat is all done and at least one of your minifigs now has a way to escape that pesky gator... and come out a richer man too! Moon that gator! Moving on. Our next vehicle will let the smugglers cover land: a nice sturdy jeep. The build is again pretty straightforward. If there's anything anyone who's been building Lego for a while has probably built a hundred times it's cars. Not much new in this one. I really like that the headlights are studless though. As you can see, this old four-wide model still has those lovely old doors and mudguards. Since I know some people here really dig those doors, here's a picture of just the doors especially for you doorlovers! Wow, there's two of them! The rest of the build continues as you'd expect. There's a little room left in the back, so this car's driver can double cross the boat driver and make off with those suitcases. Ready to ride Those nifty doors in action again UK members fear not. It also comes as a right hand drive! Next up: the smugglers' hideout. You start by building the actual little house itself. It's raised over the water, which is kind of cool. There's not much room below, but if you want, you can always use it as a last-ditch hideout for your smugglers or another escape route. What's underneath the house The house is a nice little feature. There's a glass cup on the windowsill and a yellow chair inside. Once you've come this far, you get to build the rock and ropebridge. They're a little submodel. Not much to it though: prop the rock onto the blue plate, add the little black platform and you're ready to put the bridge on and connect the two parts. Building rocks made easy "They'll never find me in here!" The bridge connects the two pieces and with the addtion of a ladder, some slanted pieces to keep the bridge in place and a parrot, you're all done building the hideout. The final model: ze plane, ze plane! The biggest of the models is, as usual, saved for last. The seaplane the outlaws use to cover larger distances is the last model built. You start by building the body. Two canisters go in the back, the outer one holds two brown studless 1x2 plates, the other holds the three 100 bills. Whether the brown pieces represent envelopes holding even more money or are just a diversion tactic is still up for debate... The cockpit Hah! Fooled you. The real money is kept safely behind the pilot Another little submodel is the plane's floaters. They're the last thing you build in the set. The finished plane looks pretty cool with that long sleek twin tail. It took me 45 minutes to build everything and take lots of pictures along the way. I imagine on a regular build you'll have this done in under half an hour. Despite that, the different models offer plenty of variety so it never gets boring. Quite fun to build, really. All done! By the time you're done, you'll have built a boat, a car, a plane and a house. That's a pretty good score for a set of 232 pieces. With 3 minifigs, you can come up with all sorts of scenerios, whether it's hiding from the cops, double crossing each other, or just trying to stay out of the jaws of that darned gator. The hideout's tiny interior "The cops are coming! But I'll be safe here hiding underneath our cabin..." "..." With everything finished, notice the well thought out color design. Each vehicle is made up of red, black and yellow, with yellow being the bottom color, black the vehicles' base color and red offering the finishing touches. One could even go so far as argue the hideout follows the same pattern. ;) The Final Tally Design: 8/10 The hideout may be pretty simple, but the main attraction of this set is clearly the three different vehicles. They're each unique but thanks to the use of color fit pretty nicely together. Well thought out. Parts: 7/10 Some large blue plates, a rock, a bridge, a plant and plenty of minifig accessories. Minifigs: 6/10 I don't think these are too shocking, but they fit the set well. Playability: 8/10 Several vehicles, plenty of tools and the ever-looming threat of a hungry croc! Plenty of scenarios to play out with this one. It may seem out of place in your town now, but remember in 1996 this was part of a "Leisure" line of Lego City. This must have been before Lego City became overrun with criminals and disaster. Price: 8/10 Less than 30 dollars for this set is pretty good I think. It's only $7.50 more expensive than the Wave Cops set from the same year, yet it has over 100 pieces more (granted the Wave Cops set was a floating boat, which probably racked up the price of that set a little). Overall: 37/50 The average comes out just under 7.5/10 (7.4 actually), which I think is accurate. For nostalgia, I might even rate it an 8/10. It's really fun to build, offers plenty of variety and playing opportunities and is just an overall cool looking set.

INDEXED 6689 Post-Station (1985) Let the mailman deliver your minifigs' mail all over your town on his trusty red bike! Let customers post their letters at the post office or even write them on the spot! And will the mailman and brown-haired girl fall in love? Ooh la la! For this review, we'll be looking at a set close to its 25th birthday. The 1985 Post-Station was one of my first Lego sets ever and the first one that wasn't a vehicle. With the recent mail van and mail plane, is there any chance we might see an updated version of this in the future? Who knows. Let's have a look at this nostalgic set first! The box, courtesy of Bricklink. Item #: 6689 Name: Post-Station Theme: LEGO System / Town / Classic Year: 1985 Pieces: 53 Minifigs: 2 Price: Fl. 15.50 A note on the price: None of the links below offered an original MSRP, but a scan from the Dutch 1985 catalogue found here shows it went for 15.50 Dutch Guilders at the time. Not sure what that comes to in dollars or euros when taking inflation into account (officially, 15.50 would be just over 7 Euros, but somehow I doubt a set like this would sell for that little today). We'll use this original price for rating though. Bricklink Brickset Peeron As I mentioned in my last review, we used to cut up the boxes and paste the parts on sheets of cardboard. They would then be put in a plastic cover which in turn would be stored in folders. This saved some room and is quite a bit tidier than keeping the actual boxes around. It also meant handy access to the alternate models Lego used to put on the back. Here's what this would look like: The back of these boxes is pasted on the other side. Just the Post-Station Look at the two minifigs in the upper right corner. Don't they look happy together? Want to see the alternates for 6688 and 6682? Some other time. ;) Parts & Pieces At 53 pieces, it's a very modest set. The grey baseplate is obviously the biggest piece. For shapes and sizes, there's not much of interest except perhaps the slanted roof parts. One of the heads pictured is from the era, the other is not. Can you guess which one? This is cool: the mailbox actually has the post logo printed on it. Ironically, it's misprinted at an angle. The set also comes with three printed letters. Just the printed parts Now there actually was a sticker sheet that came with this set. There's a sticker with opening times to put on the door and you're supposed to sticker the two yellow 1x4 bricks together with the post office logo. I was probably about five when I got this, so I was hardly capable of stickering. My parents didn't think much of putting stickers on Lego, not to mention actually having to sticker two pieces together. So sadly, my model just has a big empty yellow sign on its roof. I wouldn't have minded the sticker to make it complete really, and I definitely wouldn't have minded putting the door sticker on, since it doesn't stick any two parts together. I'm a bit peeved about this, but I guess it'll have to do this way. I imagine putting the building in your town with the actual big post logo on top would make it stick out a bit more. Instructions Folded together, the instructions are square. The square was folded in half again to fit in the box. When unfolded, the instructions are not a conventional print size but rather a long list of pictures. I assume this was usual at the time, since I own a few more sets that have instructions shaped like this. Notice how there is no seperate instruction for the bike. I suppose in 1985, people were smart enough to realize that one transwhite piece they had left was the bicycle's headlamp. The instructions are nice and clear and the oldtimey graphics are sure to enthuse nostalgics. Minifigs The Post-Station comes with no less than two minifigs: a mail man and a customer. I really like this. They could have easily just stuck in the mailman and be done with it, but having an extra minifig to come and visit the post office or have mail delivered to really adds to the play value of this set. As mentioned, there's also a bicycle included. The finished bicycle: a transwhite round 1x1 plate is added as a headlight Postman Pat ready to deliver his mail on his trusty bicycle The Build This model is an easy build. There's less than 50 pieces to the building, so you'll be done in no time. Here you can see the little desk that goes inside. It has a letter and an inkjar on it. This is pretty much the only detail that comes with the set. The wall next to the door is basically a whole bunch of blue 1x4 bricks stacked on top of each other. It does the job perfectly fine, but makes for a bit of a boring build. The building without its roof Small and simple The finished set (sans stickers) Off to work! All done! When finished, you have a nice little post office to put in your town. It's not big, but then this is obviously not a big set. It's not aiming to be one of those big purchases to really amp up your city. Instead, it's meant to be a small addition and for that it does the job. I do have some comments though... "This is a letter for a friend of mine called Freely, initials I.P." The interior is really rather cramped. I can barely fit the mailman behind his desk to help the customers. "More mail to deliver!" There's quite a bit of empty space left on the baseplate. Does he really need all that room to stash his bike? I wouldn't have minded a small tree or some flowers in this area. How times have changed. These days the mailmen are too lazy to ride a bike! "Still on his bike... silly sod!" *honk honk* "Get a move on, ya damned hippie!" The Final Tally Design: 6/10 Simple and decent, but it feels pretty bare bones. Yes, it's an entry-level set, but would it really have hurt to include a tree or some flowers? Parts: 6/10 Lots of blue, some nice black slanted bricks and a door. Not much of interest in the building, but the bike is a nice addition. Minifigs: 8/10 The mailman looks good and the addition of a customer was a great idea. The fact that it's a girl also adds to the play value. Romantic scenerios galore! Playability: 7/10 The thing itself is a bit cramped, but when put in a larger town it makes for a very nice addition. You'll have fun letting your mailman cycle around town to deliver his letters. Having two minifigs come with the set helps a lot. Price: 8/10 Having hardly any concept of what 15.50 Dutch Guilders would buy in 1985, this one is kind of hard. Looking at the prices of the other sets from that year though, it looks like this set is generously priced for what it offers: a little building with some nice playability on its own as well as in context of a larger town. Overall: 35/50 That averages out to a 7. Seems about right to me. It's a nice set, but it probably works better as part of a larger city than it does on its own, despite the good play value the two minifigs offer.

INDEXED 4012 Wave Cops (1996) Two identical cops search for crooks and no-good scum in the waters around Lego City... or your bath tub! In this review, we'll be looking at the 4012 Wave Cops set, which features an actual floating police boat stacked with features and details. Whether deployed for rescue missions or just patrols, this boat is sure to find its place in any Lego town that has some water in the vicinity. Or you can take it away from the rest of your Legos and have it floating around in your bath, searching the bubbles for bad guys. Hmm... manly! This set is of particular interest to me personally since it was the first (and only) floating boat I ever got and one of the final Lego sets I got before abandoning Lego in favor of what was at the time referred to by yours truly as "more grown-up stuff." I believe such a tipping point is usually referred to as the start of the Dark Ages. Anyway... The front of the box, courtesy of Peeron. Item #: 4012 Name: Wave Cops Theme: LEGO System / Floating Boats Year: 1996 Pieces: 101 Minifigs: 2 Price: USD$20.00 Bricklink Brickset Peeron Now in order to save room, we used to cut up the boxes of my Lego sets and put the pictures into an album. This was particularly handy for all those alternate models Lego used to put on the back. I went rummaging around the attic, but all I could find was the front of my own box, which is slightly different: Then again, I doubt there's many big alternate models to be made from this set. Parts & Pieces This set comes in at just over 100 pieces. The biggest piece is of course the boat itself, which has a black hull and a white deck. All the police logos are stickers. The massive boat part. There's only three printed parts in this set: The cabin controls and engine room gauges are printed. The set also comes with a big, heavy block (which I clearly recall was packaged seperately) that gives your boat enough weight to stay stabile in the water. Without this piece, your boat will sit high on the water and capsize at the smallest ripple. Despite what Peeron says btw, the little glass window in the hatch is actually a darker transblue - the same color as the warning lights. The color difference is visible in the instructions as well. Instructions The front of the instruction booklet shows the same image as the box, along with an alternate. For the first few steps, we're shown the inside of the hull. Another page of instructions. Notice the dark transblue window in the hatch. The back page shows instructions for floating the boat and mentions the possibility of attaching a prop motor. Minifigs Two identical minifigs are included. Both feature the same police body under their life vest. The Build Having a massive piece like the boat hull/deck combo seems pretty awesome. Unfortunately, as far as building goes, it also means that pretty much half of your model is done before you even start. Building the model takes about 15 minutes. The hardest part is probably attaching the little string to make the rig that goes on the back of the boat, but obviously it's something you only have to do once. (same for the stickers of course) Halfway through, the engine room is completed: it is a simple dial readout with a red chair in front of it. A look at the cabin controls. The cabin features a radar readout and a communications panel, along with a bullhorn and a walkie-talkie, both attached to the wall. Oh yeah, and a handy steering wheel. Over the cabin is a 2x12 plate with some nifty features that will help the cops track down the bad guys. Ready to roam the seas! I like the little engine room and the wings that surround the cabin (even though one does wonder how the captain could ever make it to the bow - then again, minifig accessability was never one of the Lego designers' biggest concerns). The wings give the boat a nice agressive look, suitable for a police boat. I also like the little thingamajigs put on top, which I assume are an infrared camera and a radar. At least that's what my youthful imagination would make of it. ;) The engineer in his place... ...accompanied by his brother the captain Coming to hunt down the crooks! (available seperately) Of course, I haven't gotten to the most important aspect of this boat yet... It floats! This gives the set an extra bit of fun. There's a flipside to this though: if your cops encounter a storm - and trust me, they will eventually - drying the set becomes a bit tedious. You'll have to disassemble the whole thing, dry it off as much as you can and then let it lay for a bit (the bit of string in particular will take a while). It's what you'd expect from getting your Lego wet, but it's also a reason why you might not take this thing with you on the high seas as often. The stickers however, seem to hold up well to water. "Hmm, no one around here... maybe they went down this hole?" The life vest works! Well... sort of. The Final Tally Design: 9/10 Two cool-looking dudes aboard a cool-looking boat that has radar, infrared, a searchlight, an engine room, a walkie-talkie, a bullhorn and a rescue rope. Pretty sweet for just 100 parts. Parts: 6/10 I liked having the boat hull at the time just for kicks, but there's really not much you can do with it other than, you know, build a boat. It seems like a what-you-see-is-what-you-get type of set. Minifigs: 7/10 They're twins! But at least they have cool sunglasses. Also, they're cops. Playability: 8/10 The fact that this thing looks as cool as it does helps, as well as the fact that it actually floats. Pity I'll have to buy the bad guys seperately. Overall: 30/40 Well, I guess that's a 7.5/10 on average, which is probably accurate enough. I might actually give it an 8- for coolness, but I'll guess I'll stick to the average.

It's worthless. Ten dollars from a vendor of the street. But I take it, I freeze it for a thousand years, it becomes priceless!

Sweet. Thanks.

Aaaaaah. Well, I'll give it a go myself first then, since I'm not sure I will be able to keep up reviewing on a regular basis as seems to be asked.

Well, what I meant was, can any member post a review in one of the theme sections, or do they have to follow the academy first?

I'd like to contribute! Is the reviewers academy mandatory, or just incredibly handy?

I was going to, but then there was that "Your Country" box in the profile menu. Fixed now though.

Hello everyone, My name is Marc. As a kid, I used to have a blast playing with my LEGO sets. I was mostly into the Town series and later on moved on to Space Lego. I used to enjoy playing a lot more than building, which could be very tedious (I always chucked all the bits on a massive pile, which could make seeking out small bits take forever when I was on one of my rebuild-everything-I-own binges). Anyway, Lego sort of disappeared from my day-to-day life as I grew older, until recently. This year, I rediscovered Lego in a big way. Just for fun, I went on another rebuild-everything-I-own tour and discovered the joys of actually building the stuff (unfortunately it turns out I'm missing quite a few parts, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it). After that, I got some of the minifig sets that came out recently as a gift. My first new Lego in at least 10 years (might be 15 actually - how time flies). Since then, I've been sort of indulging myself in new Lego sets. I think I've reached a peak in buying new stuff for now, but at least the building was a hell of a lot of fun. Also, holding brand new parts in your hand, like legs that have never been bent... awesome. Anyway, I decided to join this forum as it looks rather fun. I made some pictures of my town when I rebuilt it a few months back. I'll try to post those too if anyone's interested. It's not one of those vibrant, massive, custom-designed cities I've seen posted around here, but it has some nice sets that at least to myself hold great nostalgic value. It doesn't have any of the new sets added and has already been demolished again, but who knows. Maybe it will rise once more soon and the old and new Lego can be combined. :) Thanks for reading through the waffle above and cheers, - Marc