meyerc13

Yes, I agree it is a good review. I've grown spoiled with the excellent Reviewer's Academy reviews which include pictures of the useful parts, and while that would make the review better this was certainly quite good without it. As for this set, I've held off on buying it. I don't really like the new 6 wide truck/suv models because they make the LEGO bus, semi trucks, etc. look too small. However, I'll probably pick this up soon from Barnes and Noble... whenever I get another 20% coupon this is next on my list (since I've already got doubles of the Great Vehicles sets from the Barnes and Noble store).

Thanks for the early review, quite an excellent review at that! My daughter saw me looking at this thread and I think we've identified the first item that will be added to her Christmas wish list. Kensie says, "I'm so proud because there is a new LEGO saddle." 4 year olds say the funniest things!

One thing that I've read somewhere on the Brickset forums is that LEGO is reluctant to release the designer info for sets because most of the design is a collaborative effort. I remember Nabii posting something about an Alien Conquest set that he had designed saying that it was the closest thing to an MOC that he had been able to get created. However, even he felt that there was one change that could be made to it to make it better, which leads me to think that somewhere in the design process that someone felt the change made it more marketable. I agree with you that it would be great to learn who the designers were on a set, because some are absolutely brilliant. I had been following Pierre Normandin's MOCs for quite some time, and was excited to see some of the Great Vehicles sets were designed by him. The dump truck looks just like one of his MOCs, so even without the sticker with his initials I would have suspected it was his, but it's nice to get the confirmation.

If you pack them in, over 650 in a large cup. If you don't pack them, probably 450-500.

Neither will happen. I suspect that there is some minimum parts per minifig ratio that LEGO has to meet in order to avoid infringing on Hasbro's license with Lucas for action figures. Ultimately if they did something, it would be on the same price ratio as a battle pack, and from a business standpoint it probably makes more sense for them to package it as a battle pack rather than package the equivalent of 3-4 battlepacks together and sell it for $50 (Dark Bottle concept) or $250 (Dark Bucket concept).

More like $3.50-$5.00. Since these are licensed, I think they're going to be at least $3.99 at stores like Target, closer to $5.00 at TRU.

While I haven't bought any of these yet, I've come close a few times. For the price, they have some nice parts. I have zero interest in the models themselves, but as parts packs they might not be too bad.

I've seen this at both Wal Mart and Target. If I can find an employee, I'll report it, but if not I don't go out of my way. I've had disappointing experiences reporting things like this at Wal Mart in the past. For example, saw a GI Joe set where some of the action figures had been stolen. Reported it to an employee only to see it back on the shelf the next day. Very recently I found some open minifig packs at a Wal Mart, one was even a figure I needed, but pieces were missing. Had they not been, I may have tried to purchase it, but I may not have since I don't want to be blamed for opening the package. I think the best thing to do is leave the opened packages alone or report them if you can find an employee who isn't apathetic.

They let you add PaB items to the cup? Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought these were taped shut at our closest store. It's also interesting that the parts for these aren't on the wall. I'd love to pick up a bunch of the 6x16 plates. Building in the City Corner style uses up a lot of those. Thanks for the pictures. This is the first of these that I may pick up if they still have it when I visit the store again in two weeks.

It looks like the top of a pair of pliers. A few of the miners have details like that, it looks almost like they should have had leg printing but for some reason don't.

I had picked this set up during Wal Mart's clearance earlier this year and finally put it together this week. Somewhat disappointing overall. My 6 year old son asked the question I was thinking, why doesn't this set come with the Anubis mummies? It seems to me it would have made more sense than including them in the pyramid (from a design standpoint, not from a revenue standpoint for LEGO Corp.). I was also disappointed with the range of movement in the 'sphinx,' it would have been nice if the head could move somehow. On the plus side, the head of the 'sphinx' looks great, too bad the back end pales in comparison. For me, I'm glad I got it on sale, because it really seems like it should have been a $30 set, not a $50 set.

Good review. This was the first of the summer sets that I found and had to pick up, despite finding it at TRU with the infamous 'TRU Tax' already applied to the price. When I first saw pictures of this set, I knew I'd pick up more than one. First, the price point is right for an impulse buy (even at TRU). Second, while yellow has been popular lately (Dino theme for example), this is the cheapest set I can recall recently in which we've gotten the yellow doors and yellow 'hood' piece (in this case used as the roof). These are must have pieces if you want to build yellow cars and trucks. We also get the awesome new miner mini-fig and helmet, which will be quite useful. Plus, this set is so much fun to play with. I must admit to playing with this set several times now, without my kids present. What's not to like about dynamite and a plunger style detonator. I'm not sure if I'll pick up any of the other mining sets, it will probably depend on whether I find them on sale. But I will definitely pick up some more of this set.

I think Series 5 was produced in much greater quantities than any other series, maybe to meet perceived Holiday demand that didn't materialize. Series 5 is the one I see warming the peghooks everywhere. With Series 6 not so much. It isn't just at Wal Mart and TRU, I was at a small local reseller last night, and they had 3-4x more Series 5 left than Series 6. They hadn't gotten in their Series 7 yet. I think the idea may have worked had the retailers merchandised the sets properly. Instead of sticking them on random endcaps elsewhere in the toy section or even in some cases outside of the toy section, they really need to put these in the LEGO aisle. Another option would be to put these in the register lines to encourage impulse shopping. Instead they put the same 2-3 polybags in the checkout aisles, and once you've bought them you typically won't keep buying more. I pick up collectible minifigs all the time on impulse, so I think it would be great to have them available while I'm waiting in line to checkout. Hopefully LEGO has hit the right balance of supply/demand now. With Series 5 clearly they went overboard on supply.

These parts are also in the new Lego CITY 4200 Mining 4x4 set (one plus a spare). In addition to picking up one of these grand opening exclusives on Saturday, I also found that new City set at a TRU in Milwaukee.

So violence is okay as long as they don't show blood? I've seen SotD, Firefly, Serenity, Star Wars, Batman. There were no specific scenes in SotD or Firefly/Serenity that were so shocking that they were burned into my mind. I can tell you that the scene in Batman The Dark Knight with the joker and the pencil was so horrible that I can still picture it vividly in my mind. I was shocked when I left the theater that night that the movie was only rated PG-13. Likewise the scene in Indiana Jones Temple of Doom, nobody can forget the scene with the heart... that one bothered me so much I've never watched the movie again. So the fact that they don't show the act itself doesn't take away the horror of the act. I have no problem watching Saving Private Ryan or other hyper-realistic war movies, because war is horrible, and it should be portrayed as such. Likewise, when I watch an R-rated horror movie like Saw, I can accept violence and gore because I expect it walking into the theater. With Indiana Jones and Batman the violence was discordant. Again, I get why LEGO wouldn't want to make these sets. I get it. I can accept their decision. What I can't get over is the fact that they say one thing and do another. I think you hit on the truth in your first post, LEGO makes the themes it does because they have huge fan bases. I don't think it's because they are life changing or any of that. They're popular properties and they make LEGO a lot of money. That's where the line is truly drawn based on LEGO's past decisions. The irony here is that I love Batman and Lord of the Rings and I love that LEGO is making them, but it does put me into a difficult place as a parent. PG-13 movies, by their very definition, aren't aimed at the core market they've defined of 6-13 (well, they are aimed at 1/8 of that market). Even worse than making Batman or Avengers sets, they make sets based directly on the PG-13 movies. That's the problem I have. That's a problem that isn't unique to LEGO, other toy manufacturers do the exact same thing. I'm sure I'll get over this eventually, and maybe I'll even come back around and enjoy Cuusoo at some point, but I do feel that LEGO is being less than honest with us about their core values. If they had just said, "these are the rules for Cuusoo" I would have been fine with it. Trying to say that these are brand standards, that just doesn't fit based on what we know they've produced.

So you want to debate, but you chose to ignore the large body of existing evidence as to which themes LEGO finds acceptable, choosing to focus only on the limited evidence we have thus far from Cuusoo? That seems quite convenient. I don't suppose you work for LEGO or one of their PR firms, do you? The timing of your joining this forum seems awfully coincidental, and you seem quite defensive of LEGO's decisions. By your rules then: will LEGO henceforth follow the same criteria they are using in Cuusoo when evaluating all of their new licensed sets and properties? Heck, it isn't even just licensed sets. "Licensed Companions" on Firefly were presented as a sci-fi western version of a Geisha (well, technically an oiran, but few would know the difference). Does that mean that subject should be taboo under these new rules? Better pull that collectible minifig off the market. And better make sure Ninjago doesn't go there. It's a double standard, and whether you feel it's okay for me to mention the proof of that or not, it's out there and it isn't hard to find.

So you haven't actually seen the show. If you had, you'd realize that because this was a TV Show that the presentation of her as a 'licensed Companion' was done in a very PG way. As adults we certainly know what they are implying, but my 6 year old would have no idea had he seen the show (which he hasn't). I think we all agree that these sets that were turned down pushed the boundaries, but what bugs some of us is the hypocrisy of the situation. They turn down this, but make dozens of other licensed themes that are based on PG-13 properties. And the licensed themes they are making are based on intellectual property that isn't suitable for my 6 year old, but in those cases they don't seem to care. Let me pose this question to you, how is this any worse than Princess Leia as a slave? If you'd seen the show, both obviously imply something, but both were presented in such a way that a 6 year old doesn't get it. I think maybe I'm going to go the Friends route and start an online campaign to get LEGO to stop producing sets for PG-13 movies. Now that they've come out against it I think they set a precedent that they may not be willing to live by. They'd lose most of their licensed themes if they were forced to live by these rules they are establishing. The only current ones that would be left would be Cars and Disney Princess.

What's that sound? Oh, another nail in the coffin for Cuusoo. The Winchester, yeah I get that a rated R movie may be over the line. But how can they be offended by a PG-13 movie, when all of their licensed themes are based on the same? Lord of the Rings Batman Avengers Pirates of the Caribbean Prince of Persia Harry Potter (some) Star Wars Episode III Indiana Jones (some) There are probably more I'm missing, but all rated the same as Serenity, for reasons that were discussed quite thoroughly in the Winchester thread, and Serenity isn't appropriate for their core audience? Cuusoo is going to do more to damage the LEGO brand than to help it with all of these hopes they are dashing.

Check this out for an in depth dissection (literally) of the mini-doll: http://www.brothers-brick.com/2012/01/05/dissecting-the-new-lego-friends-mini-dolls-guest-post/

How are you securing those sideways doors? Are those headlight bricks toward the back end of the trucks? If so, is that the only connection point? These look really good, and even though I swore off Cuusoo after the Winchester debacle, I think I'm going to go out and vote for these.

Thanks for posting this great review! I picked up the re-release of this set last year off of Craigslist and it is a great set. As you noted, the jet is still a great design today, although the cargo chopper looks fairly dated. One of the best features of this compared to the most recent airport is the runway. It is a bit short, but it's better than no runway at all. Once again, excellent review of a great airport.

Looking good so far. I can't wait to see your next update!

If I'm a huge fan of a license, I'll buy the sets - example being Lord of the Rings. I'm definitely buying all of those. However, I'm also a Star Wars fan, but haven't really bought many of the sets because the few my son has are all looks and no function. They're fragile, and the interior is filled with technic in order for the outside to attain the proper shape. For me, the set has to have play value and many of them are lacking in that regard. So I'm very picky about which sets I pick up. As for licenses that I'm not a fan of, I still may buy them if the set has interesting parts. I bought quite a few PotC sets because they had lots of parts that would be useful for building castles. I bought some Prince of Persia sets because they had useful pieces and animals (camel, ostrich). I guess to sum all of this up, if the set is built well with useful pieces, I'll definitely buy it if I'm a fan and may buy it if I'm not, but if the set is built poorly I may pass even though I'm a fan. So fandom does influence me, but not completely.

And Hayabusa was? Or Shinkai 6500? I think Firefly has a lot more fans than either of those two, and they got made. Yes, the bar was lower, but they were made and I'm sure projected sales on those is much lower than projected sales would be on this model. I'm not getting my hopes up after the Winchester debacle, but I don't think that popularity or success of the show should be the factors that would kill this, because clearly those weren't taken into account with those earlier models that LEGO did in fact produce.

Wow... can't believe I never noticed that, but I think you are right. It definitely seems to be based off of an Oshkosh HEMTT, maybe an M1977 which carries a Combat Support Boat. I can't believe I've never noticed this before, since I went to college in Oshkosh and live just a couple of miles from one of Oshkosh Truck's facility where they have hundreds of these things sitting. And yes, they have turned HEMTT's into fire trucks as well. Dang, now you make me want this set.