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Well, considering LEGO is a building brick, I'd say architecture is kind of the whole point of origin of the hobby And a theme with many historical architecture styles would be awesome. But I do agree with you on the philosopher thing, though. That would be kind of too abstract...

Why on earth did they add wheels on the swamp speeder... Isn't it supposed to FLY over a SWAMP ??? I can totally understand their use on the MTT or the Republic Fighter Tank since they're supposed to hover close to the ground but here, it would kind of ruin the swoosh factor of the set...

Yay! Thanks for the pics. I'll definitely get the small ones. I can't help but notice the old style skeletonin 7569. Do you think it'll change before the sets are released?

Great, thanks for the review, KimT. I'm still not sold on that one... I really don't think it's got enough differences with the previous one to justify me buying it... And I have to say that without the stickers, it looks rather bland... Would it be possible to have comparison shots with the other one? (After your done with the Freeco Speeder, of course )

But it must be running on Windows, because it looks more like an error message box than a flight listing EDIT: ... Damn, sorry for the repeat... Thanks for the nice review. I like the classic space symbol on his jacket. LEGO is really playing the nostalgia card, lately first the statue in the SPIII set and now we have the official LEGO geek ...

Thanks for the review. I'm definitely getting the manta fig when I find it. Am I the only one to think his torso looks like a blue leather jacket? I really can't make out what they've actually tried to represent. But it still looks to be a great fig nonetheless.

Thank you all for the comments. Sorry, I optimised them all to remain below a 150 Ko limit but I forgot to keep track of the resolution in the process... I've changed the bigger ones, now. I updated my first post with pics. Hope it'll give you an idea. Cthulhu really looks fantastic from every angle and with his "feet" facing forward or backward. So far, no matter how hard I try, I just can't find a flaw. It's that good a fig. as for the other faces, I don't know if they're new or not. I've just never had them before (but since I've only collected LEGO SW and a very very few other themes lately, I'm not really up to date...) Actually, this set was the more appealing to me because there wasn't anything from the others in it. I mean, the other vehicles are rather well done and the design between them is really consistent so kudos to the designers, but I don't really like them. Whereas, this here could actually fit in some kind of fantastical take of the Pirate theme (yes, PotC does seem to be coming this way...) That's why I'm really curious what that temple will look like if they ever do it. Usually, the sets are cheaper in the US than in Europe, so I don't think it would be that high. And at a 350ish pieces for 40€, we're not really far from that "optimised" 10cent/piece (and we're talking euro, here) and it's got a few new mold pieces which should have made the price even steeper (though I'm only comparing it to the SW trend, here, so I might be completely off the mark). In truth, I was expecting to be much higher.

I went to the city centre this afternoon, not expecting anything much but oh Behold!, when I entered the local toy shop (Bart Smits in City 2, Brussels, for those in Belgium who are interested), they just recieved the new Atlantis sets! But at first glance, they didn't seem to have the Squid Gate. In fact, I had to look deeper, because it was hidden ion the special stand behind a big box of the neptune sub. So I picked one up straight away and decided to make a review of it since it seems there hasn't been one yet. So, the general info first : 8061: Gateway of the Squid Item №: 8061 Pieces: 356? Minifigures: * 2 Divers * Squidman Price: US $? / EUR 39,99 Ages: 7 - 14 Released: January 2010 Theme: Atlantis I'll start with a pic of the Box. It's actually a long one rather than big. As you can see, it's the european version which is really spare on the info side of things... So I calculated 356 pieces from the piece count at the back of the manual but I might have left some by mistake... (click pic for a higher res) on of the sides of the box have the standard legal info and t two have the same illustration than the front. The last one has a pic of the minifigs : (click pic for a higher res) The back has a more generic view of the set (click pic for a higher res) and some nice close ups of some of the features (although, being a subaquatic theme, I have to say that they don't make much sense to me...) A secret trap wherein the diver should fall (because underwater, we're supposed to walk, obviously...) The gate that needs a special key to be opened (Don't ask me why they couldn't just go round... or even swim above it...) Next are the manuals. There are two of them. The front is the same for both and the back of the second one has the usual legal info. But the back of the first one has a really great looking illustration of the various sets of the theme laid out in some kind of map leading to a mysterious temple with a portal on top. The whole thing is lavishly done and really nice. close up of the back of book 1 (click pic for a higher res, it's worth it) And finally, a really small DSS which I didn't use. It's supposed to go on the giant squid. Now let's go on to the main thing. There are 3 bags of happiness. Each numbered to ease the build. Bag one contained all the figs and the pieces to build the 2 monsters the 2 divers are really nice. I love their scuba pack. But of course, the crown of this set goes to the mighty Cthulhu himself (or Squidman, I don't know his official name). The divers are a man and a woman. They both have dual printed head but I forgot to take a pic of the other side. The girl has a slight frown and the guy has a wierdly scared/confused expression like this one -> <- I like the beauty spot near the girl's mouth. At first I thought it was a misprint but it's also on the other side. Nice little detail I didn't expect... And here is a side pic of Cthulhu. The head and bottom tentacles are made of the same rubbery material. I thought it was the same as Kit Fisto's head or Plo Koon's but after checking, it feels a bit sturdier... And underneath is hidden a little gem. I love that teethy mouth. It looks fantastic. The Rorshach print on the torso is a bit wierd but nice nonetheless. Maybe they're ink blotches that spilled from his mouth tentacles Finally, the Trident is made of a rubbery material too. Which is wierd, because the one I got in the small wreck raider set was different... Then we move on to the Monsters. The first one is a small bone squid, all white with a red mouth and red eyes. Simple design yet quite effective. And the the real meat of the set, the Giant Squid. here I'm afraid I'll have to apologise for the bad lighting. But my room is pretty dark during the day and with the winter, there really isn't much to work with... And the squid being mostly black, it doesn't make it any easier... But I tried to capture it as best I could. Here is a front shot of it trying to catch you, pour soul : and a close up of that lovely mouth : As you can see, it has 2 different sets of teeth. The standard horns we've had since the vikings and another one like a giant shark tooth. That one is molded in a flexible material, like Cthulhu's head. And finally, the gateway itself. It's built in two modular parts. The first with the gates and the mechanism that opens them and then the bigger part at the back. The mechanism is an interesting use of rubber band hidden inside the build. One of the band is twisted, so that the gate turns the other way. Unfortunately, it doesnt work that well as there is some desynchronisation between the two gates. Everytime I tried, the left gate opens first and then the right one follows... But still a nice idea. The back of the 'key' has an axle hole and fits on the axle to control the gears : Various shots of the gates : And one from the back with the two pins to attach to the back part Then there is the bigger rear part : the build here was pretty straight forward and didn't hold any surprise. Only at the end was there some slightly more interesting SNOT for the figurehead, but nothing much... and there's the trap but nothing unusual. A front view : and a back. The round 2x2 piece controls the trap mechanism (sorry, it's all blurry but I didn't realise it until too late...) : The trap mechanism is just a technic gear piece (I don't know the exact name) that pushes the trap piece up when the knob on the back is turned : The build is thus finished : In the end, it does exactly as advertised, really... It's just a gateway A nicely designed one, though. Which makes me hopefull for a temple later next year... And some final action shots : There is a support on the figure head to set the Giant Squid over the whole gateway, and the little pole on the side holds the bone squid to trap the divers like a cage as seen on the back of the box What's left over, not much... And a few intersting pieces : the keyholder goes on top of the turntable base. And the grey piece seems to be a new mold to me. And finally, the pieces inventory: (click pic for a higher res) All in all, it's a really nice set. The gateway itself isn't much. It's well designed but I don't think I'll keep it built for long. Depends on whether they make new buildings to go along, I guess. But the monsters are really good and of, course, the minifigs are absolutely fantastic. It gives me great hope for what's to come if they do more with this theme. As for a spare parts use, I don't really know. There are a lot of interesting pieces, like the teeth, tentacles, algae etc... as well as quite a few plates in tan and a new color I didn't know of before. (some kind of sand beige or something) So in the end, I'm quite happy with it. EDIT : I took the time to take some more pics of the figs as requested: here is the back of the divers and their alternate faces : And some more shots of Cthulhu. As you can see, he looks as good with his tentacles forward or backward. I find either way gives it a sense of motion in one direction or the other. here is a side shot with the tentacles set backward : And finally, a back shot of the fig with his tentacle hair which I forgot to do earlier : And the full Brickshelf folder when public

Well, after having had a really good look at those new pics, I can't help but thinking one big "MEH?". I mean, the new figs look really promising (especially the new Boba Fett) but none of the models has had a major redesign... Snowspeeder : same as the Hoth doors, which didn't vary much from the one even before that one... Plo Koon Starfighter : they did a great job for the color scheme, but it's still the same basic design as Anakin's and Ahsoka's... Slave 1 : they just replaced the rubber missile with a smaller one while still keeping the big doors from the previous design and the just added those weird big round pieces on the side... CTT : That one really needed a complete overall but it seems to me they only changed the wheels... It still got those huge holes on the bottom part... the top turrets do look better, although we lost the observation tower in the process (but that might be because it's the CW version, same way the bubble turrets disappeared in the last Gunship). And the AT RT looks intersting, too... Grievous Starfighter : That one is really ugly. It's lost all the sleekness from the previous one. the cockpit looks really bad and the tail thingy still doe'sn't move the right way... So in the end, the only really good parts of any of these sets are kind of the little crumbs on the side of each... The figs, the wampa cave, Han's carbonite container (that one looks reaaaally promising ) etc... But that'll definitely not be enough for me to buy any of those, unfortunately... So in a way, I'm really hoping that as some have said, they're just early preliminary pics. But somehow I doubt they'll change much untill the definitive models. hopefully, Palpatine's Theta class shuttle does look great. It's even got an interior, unlike the Lambda class from earlier...

I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be adapted for atmospheric flight as well, so it would make sense for them to have something to cool them down then... I mean, if they're only spacecraft, it wouldn't make sense for them to have such a wide wingspan in the first place. It would just make them easier to get shot down and nothing else... But to be on topic, I really like the way they did that engine/fan on the swamp speeder. It looks good and powerful. That set is a really good news that unexpectedly comes out of nowhere

Thanks a lot for the link. That ship sure looks good. It's just a shame about that empty cockpit. And I'm not sure that the official ship was capable of spinning its wings 360° either. I don't remember it doing it in the game... But then again, those are easy mods so it's a definite buy for me... The only one so far, sadly. The ARC is way too expensive for the few modifications compared to the previous one, so I'll just mod mine. Can't wait to see pics of the CTT and Palpatine's shuttle...

But there is a live action series that's supposed to bridge the gap between Ep III and VI. So when that one will air, OT designs are bound to make a big come back I heard it's due somewhere between the end of next year and two years from now or something...

I didn't know you could put horns on the yeti's head... That's interesting. I might have to try and get one, now... But while the yeti is a nice fig, I think it strays too far from the original design to make a suitable official Wampa. The nose sticks out too much from its face. So I'd say a new mold would be pretty much a given. Unless of course, they decide to go with a brick built one, but somehow, I have my doubt over that

Sorry, but that is NOT canon. the only things that're canon are what we have from the films (and presumably from TCW too). anything else from the EU is ok as long as it isn't contradicted by the films. So basically, since Episode 2 came out Boba's head is officially and canonically the same as Jango's or any other clone (well, maybe with lots more scars and burns from his line of work ).

Of course, they could. But if they do and put it in the Slave 1 set and if that set is an OT set then they would have to make a new head anyway, since the clones we have have the cartoon look from CW... But then again, it is a lot of "if" and we still haven't see any pics of the set, so anything is possible... Although I do hope they won't do the Jango-face-on-a-black-head thing because he looks rather weird without his helmet...

If they do make one, I hope it'll be closed, though. the same way they did with the new clone helmets. That way we can have a Boba with a real face underneath instead of just a black head

If they use the new jetpack mold from CW, the old mandalorian helmet won't fit, so they would have to produce a new mold of just the helmet to put on top of the jetpack

Man , I hope those wedges are printed, because if they are stickers, they're gonna be hell to apply correctly... That starship Command ship looks really fantastic... That's one definite buy for me

really fantastic creation, you got there... I'm not too sure about the micro council tower because it looks a bit fat, but the mini version is really spot on in that scale... the cleverness of some of your building techniques never ceases to amaze me... Any other famous SW landmark planned next?

But since Bossk is also going to be in season 2 of The Clone Wars, the possibility it'll be CW still remains... Although I don't think there's be any word of Boba Fett featuring in The Clone Wars...

a very detailed review. Nicely done. I have to say I quite like that craft. Of cours, it needs a little modding (but which set doesn't?) but the base to work on is pretty accurate as it is. And the rotating wings work really well. Way better than what they did on the Lambda Shuttle.

Nice! Thanks for the pic. I think I'll pass that one. It's great that they went back to the tan color but design-wise, the difference to the one from the cantina set isn't big enough to justify me buying it... but I will probably mod the one I have, though

I've just been through this thread again and I found it funny that they used the trike piece in the preliminary of the first design of the speederbike and then waited all those years before using it in the last version we got in the endor set... Here lies another reason why redesigns do have their interests. It would be interesting to see the different prototypes of the many police stations and other sets of the kind, to see which features of the released ones are evolutions and which are from previous preliminaries...

Well, I can think of a good reason that makes it look way better : cheap design in which they didn't put that much money, but with a lot of income potential because of the Ben 10 license which is sure to sell among regular kids --> huge income for little effort --> that much more money to put in designing fantastic sets like the Imperial Flagship and other S@H exclusive !!! So I'd say go for it TLG! besides, it also makes an open door for the kids who buy them to step into a larger world LEGO when they get bored by the limited possibilities of just those sets

I can't help but wonder how they'll manage to make a Dungeon full of weapons and treasures with just 80 pieces... But I like the sound of that bladed whip hassassin... I wonder what he might look like... Are there already pics of him that I might have missed (I know we've seen a few of them but I can't quite put that name on any of those I remember...)