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Yup, might get a few Clone Battle Packs to fill up the AT-OT. I think we will see quite a few new Dropships/AT-OTs being 'flipped' on TM in the near future. Yes, thats what I've found too. Also when I asked they said they can order things like motors from Lego NZ without having to pay the ridiculous S@H prices.

After the Kmart sales, I don't think I will be paying TW a visit. 20% doesn't seem so great anymore We had to jump through some hoops to get the AT-OT from Kmart. Saturday morning, after you had bought yours, we bought the remaining one over the phone and headed out to pick it up. Didn't notice until we got home how bad the box was. I also realised it has been opened and resealed. Gasp! I was concerned something would be missing from the set so we rang Kmart to let them know and opened it whilst on the phone. Instructions and stickers were missing. I was extremely frustrated at this point and Kmart said they would try and get one from another store. After many phone calls they said they brought in four new sets. Picked it up (in very good condition) this Tuesday for my brother's birthday which was yesterday. A happy ending We offered to buy the original set for less, but not at $20 off which is what was offered. Regarding the set, it looks great and the AT-OT is huge. I think my brother was a bit disappointed it isn't motorised, so may have to fix that Anyone in Wellington who missed out, there may be some left at Kmart. If not, pester them and they should be able to source it for you.

Awesome, thanks for posting. The walking mechanism is very elegant especially compared to LEGO's own AT-AT. It's pretty hard to search for "AT-TE", has anyone found pictures of this?

Everything about this is perfect, thanks for sharing.

I like how the spare wheel does the steering, great work EDIT: It looks like you are using the old Cybermaster colours, I am plan to use them too as my Cybermaster is kaput.

I sort of get what you mean. You could even mount train tracks to the ceiling (like in some toy shops), hang the string off a train and 'fly' your plane around that way. However I imagine it would take a fair amount of work to do for each show.

@ Kmart: 8264 Technic Hauler, $80 (RRP $140) 8258 Truck, $319 That SW dropship set with a RRP of $500 was $280! I bought a Hauler, good set with great parts.

Re: the Yoda pen TM listing, get them from Moore Wilsons for $11. I find the people who clutter up TM foolishly trying to clip the ticket on brand new LEGO (and other stuff) without actually adding any value or even buying the set extremely annoying.

Super glue didn't work out very well for me - they both broke as soon as I took them out of the sleeve. The main reason is that I don't have complentary flex cable bits, so they didn't match up and the bond was very weak. As a last resort to get at least 8479 going, I 'shaved' some flex cables to reduce the diameter and carefully taped them together. It seems to be holding up well so far but the increased thickness has increased friction through the sleeve which impairs the function of the grabber. I only have a couple of short pieces of broken flex cable left, so I probably won't try Toluene glue unless all I can find are broken flex cables! I might ring around hardware and plastic stores for any similar plastic piping I could substitute. Why wasn't I more careful as a kid?

Thanks Blakbird for creating Technicopedia, it is a great resource and reminds me of all my fascinating sets which are waiting to be cleaned and rebuilt. In your summary of 1991, you mentioned repairing a shattered cable. Could you please explain how this was done? I would really love to be able to get all my flex cable sets up and running again (especially 8856 Whirlwind Rescue!). At the moment I am experimenting with superglue for the two main cables on 8479 Code Pilot Truck, I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

Cool, the Technic Hauler 8264 was on sale last weekend, I hope they stock the 8265 Wheel Loader soon!

Thanks, I have figured it out now. Clever stuff. It highlights some of the important differences between the pneumatics and the LAs. With pneumatics you would be able to have many more cylinders, but even with only one cylinder I don't think continuous turntable rotation would be possible.

Nice review Blakbird I'm going to pore over those pictures again and see how they have two functions pass through a rotating turntable. Is the rotation of the turntable limited?

That TM auction was funny, lucky they managed to relist it. I'm patiently waiting for a decent sale at the Big Shops and for 8265 Wheel Loader to be released... Out of interest, does anyone buy those big lots of Lego off TM? Or do you look for specific sets? I haven't bought any Lego but keep an eye out for the Motorised AT-AT, 8275 Bulldozer and 8480 Space Shuttle.

I think its a good idea - I'm not a Pirates fan but I would watch (or more likely, download) a Lego show with historical background. I can't think of a more appropriate theme as I think the other themes are either licensed or Lego fiction. However, I don't think it would have the mass appeal needed to make it work.

Thanks everyone! Now I'm going to attempt a walking beam engine, there is a great one on YT, fascinating stuff.

Thanks everyone for the welcome! CommanderFox MW is a variety/food store. There are four, all in the Lower North Island and I think only two stock Lego - Wellington CBD and Masterton. They often get sets the other shops don't, last year they had 6x Sandcrawlers priced at $260! Like I said almost everything is a little under RRP and you get a 5$ voucher for every $100 spent on Lego.

Wow, that first shot is awesome! I just rebuilt 8868 (Air Tech Claw Rig) but I only washed the parts in water overnight and let them dry. After seeing this, I'll give your method a go when 8880 is restored

Hi everyone, new member from Wellington here. Great thread! I find Moore Wilsons to be the cheapest overall for Lego. Toyworlds seems to stick rigidly to RRP but often have a 20% off sale. Kmart gives me that Aladdins Cave feel, partly nostalgia and also the feeling there might be something ridiculously underpriced hidden somewhere, like the last set 8295 which I got for $66 (RRP of $150!). Haven't bought Lego off TM, but eyeing the two AT-AT sets on there...

So glad to have found this site! I am a big LEGO fan, been collecting since I was four. Some of my favourite sets are the 8880 Supercar and the 8868 Air Tech Claw Rig, which I just rebuilt. Anyway, happy building