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Ok, that's good to know. I won't have to waste a long drive to the nearest TRU for nothing, then. Thank you for the reply! I'm looking forward to your next HP reviews.

Well, I'm sold. Again. I was going to get this anyway, but now it's become No. 1 priority. Thank you for an excellent review Clone O'Patra, your pictures couldn't be more clear and capturing of the detail in the set. Do you mind if I ask where you bought this from? I don't think it was mentioned in the review, apologies if it was. I was primarily curious if the HP sets are starting to show up in stores in the U.S. or not.

Oky- If you zoom in on the pic, I believe there is some cyborg detailing on the face. The right eye definitely looks like an eyepiece, or something along that line.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but if you look at the Cyborg and zoom in, it looks like there is a Blackron "B" on his upper chest. A Blacktron 3 minifig, perhaps? The black, red and yellow present seems to indicate such. If that's the case, I'm looking forward to seeing more finalized pictures of him! The rest of the figures look great! And now once again, the waiting ensues.

This is very promising news indeed! The setting sounds fantastic, even if it isn't an Adventurers re-boot (although such a move would just be icing). After the relatively disappointing introduction of Kingdoms, I could really use a new theme to focus on. Here's hoping it turns out as great as it sounds!

I just submitted my PM. Thank you to all of the staff who organized this, it was a lot of fun!

Interesting development! Unsurprisingly, Lego's rendition of Mr. Sparrow is fantastic. My only issue with his face would be, not nearly enough eye-liner. Seriously though, and as others have mentioned, you just can't totally capture the expressions of such a dynamic character like Jack Sparrow in mini-fig form. Although, if they go the route of double-sided heads, I suppose there could be some very Jack-like facial prints that might be surprisingly close. Time and more pictures will tell. While the temporary loss of the Classic Pirate theme is really too bad, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rather excited for the potentials of a POTC theme. While I only really liked Black Pearl, the possibilities in regards to mini-figs, pieces and accessories from the cumulative trilogy and the upcoming fourth film are really something to look forward to, IMO. I think what I'm most interested in seeing will be the following: 1. The undead pirates of the first film. I expect these guys will probably just have special face/torso prints. Given their movie appearance, I think it's safe to say that they will also look a lot more kid-friendly, like the skeletons of the Castle theme. 2. The sea-creature mutant pirates of the second and third films. I'd expect mostly head molds for any of Davy's crew. This could be great potential for fantasy/castle creators. 3. Considering Jack's hat/hair piece, I'm intrigued to see how Lego will do the others, especially considering characters like Norrington, Barbossa, Governor Swann, Beckett, etc., with their tri-corn hats and hair or wigs underneath. 4. We'll almost certainly see at least a few Red-coat troops. I wonder if Lego will just reuse Red-coat torsos and other accessories from the Pirate theme? If Lego does go to the lengths with this line that they've done for Prince of Persia, I think we can all expect to be treated to one hell of a good temporary replacement for the Pirate theme. I can't wait for more news in the coming months.

So, I just got back from seeing Inception thirty minutes ago, and wow... Besides being the best movie I have seen this year, this is simply the best movie I've seen in a long time, period. The plot, the acting, the pacing, everything seemed totally solid. I wasn't bored for one minute of this movie. A second and likely a third viewing are definitely in order to process the plot adequately, though. My brain just couldn't keep up with all of the mind-bending going on. I wholeheartedly recommend this movie, Chris Nolan has really done a great job once again.

Oh, good topic! I'd personally like to see Himeji Castle. And while I really can't think of a way to pull this one off, St. Basil's Cathedral would look absolutely fantastic in Lego form.

I thought I'd throw out some words of encouragement to any fellow Americans or North Americans still hunting for these figures. My TRU here got in a shipment about a week ago, consisting of 2 full boxes, and what roughly looked like 2 more boxes worth of the packets hung on racks in the Lego section. I just got back from there about an hour ago, and they were largely untouched. Now, we are talking about Portland, Maine, which is pretty small compared to other regions of the country. But, for those who have missed out thus far, or are still looking to complete a collection, I would definitely say to not give up hope just yet. Good luck!

I'm with Blondie-Wan, it seems amazing that the Western theme only lasted a year. Really, really too bad. The mid to late 90's were a time that I lingered in the gray area between a Dark Age and keeping one foot in a fading Lego hobby. Unquestionably, the Wild West theme was the one theme to keep me interested in Lego. I remember finding Bandit's Secret Hideout in a Reny's one afternoon, and being totally stunned. That set got so much playtime, it's not even funny. I'm also really happy that I picked up Fort Legoredo when they brought it back in 2002. I agree with you, Carbohydrates, Gold City Junction was the one set that nagged at me the most, as well. I'm happy to hear that you're finally obtaining it. I've often thought about looking it up sometime on Bricklink and completing the Western collection. Honestly, now seems like a good time considering the lack of current themes interesting me. Thanks for making this topic, Carbohydrates.

Good lord. This set looks simply fantastic. It's just so sharp and sleek! I really can't wait for this beaut to come out. I wonder if the rear cabin will have an interior of any sorts?

Man, the cinematic trailers for this game are just incredible. I hope they keep running out movies that are as epic as these last two have been. I have to say, though, that the recycling of similar concepts from time period to time period is a bit tiresome. As Mr. Mandalorian pointed out, the fact that you can find a ship from just about any period of EU material that looks Star Destroyer-esque is, well, a bit uninspired. Watching this cinematic was really just like viewing something from the Prequels or The Clone Wars. The Republic troops look like just another Clone variant from the endless list we see in the Clone Wars era. Heck, even that leader of the troopers who charged the Sith had a very similar appearance to the Jango-clone template. I don't know, maybe it's nitpicking on my part. I guess I'd just like to see a little more originality in the designs. But hey, if the game turns out awesome and plays well, I can definitely overlook those issues.

Perhaps underhanded was too harsh a description. Let's just say that I am flat out not a fan of blind packaging whatsoever. I did not, however, know about that fact of BIONICLE. Thank you for sharing that Aanchir. I know people should be held accountable for what they buy, especially a product with random chance included as a factor. Inherently there's nothing wrong with that. What I have a problem with is its targeting of younger children. You mention the "happiness of the surprise aspect", as if it's a widely shared feeling. I'm not sure I can agree with that. Surely most children have varied interests, and would naturally prefer one, or two, or more minifigs over the rest of the bunch. What happiness is there in being continually disappointed when you draw the one you don't want? Even if you remove the factor of AFOLs possibly taking an entire type of fig from a box, there's still a distinct chance that a kid will not get what they desire. To me, the process feels like it inspires luring back to the product if you don't get what you want. That smacks of taking advantage, in my opinion.

And Lego is making profit using a fairly underhanded marketing tactic at our expense. I refuse to believe in this idea that Lego implemented that decision based on the benevolent hope of providing children with the excitement of a surprise. It's a company, and they try to make money, plain and simple. And if people found a totally legitimate way around it? Good on them, I say. And obviously there are people who hoard these things to sell on eBay and Bricklink, but you know what? For every one of those people, I'd confidently bet that there are twenty AFOL's who just used the barcodes to obtain the minifigs they wanted, and did not plunder a box of one particular figure. I didn't even have the barcodes when the minifigs showed up in my area. I just felt the bags to determine what was inside, and I got the four figs that I wanted. Does that make me a selfish AFOL who ruins an experience for innocent little children? Hear, hear!

I am very, very sorry to hear you have to deal with that godawful disease, ZO6. I sincerely hope you are able to overcome it. I myself was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2004, and it was with me until the end of college in 2009. Like yourself, I used Lego as an escape from the hell of the sickness. The few people in my dorm who saw the occasional set I'd bring back thought it was really cool. But at the same time, with a disease like that, it's really hard to physically or mentally get out and socialize with people. And even though I was a lurker during that time, the ease I had in associating with people here on EB was a tremendous comfort in those years. That's why I'm even more adamant now about not giving a good damn if anyone chooses to criticize my hobby. As so many others here have said, life is too short to worry about the condescending comments or misunderstanding of others.

You make a very good point, blueandwhite, I hadn't even thought of that. Thank you for the advice.

Thank you for the review metalandi! Well, I'm not sure what else there is to say other than, what a rather big letdown. These battlepacks were precisely what I was waiting for to purchase next, and then this disappointing continuation in poor quality persists. I mean, minifigs that can barely even hold their own accessories when just getting picked up? That's pretty bad. I would say that at least I can get the minifigs from Bricklink instead, once they start to show up there. But it will be very difficult if not impossible to tell whether you're getting normal quality figs from the regular sets or these sub-par ones. I hate to keep complaining about this issue, I really do. I like to think I'm fairly open minded when it comes to Lego pursuing new ways with their product. This sacrifice in quality is just too much to ignore, though. The price for these packs is unfortunately higher than I can justify, considering the noticeably lesser product we are getting in return.

Well, the Lion Knight Battlepack is up on S@H. Hopefully the Dragons aren't too far behind.

Wow, this is a really great looking MOC, Thrash! This is a neat expansion of Blacktron culture, and of course there's the MOC itself which is just awesome to take in. The level of detail goes so deep that even something like the indicator lights on the prison cells are different colors to signify an occupied/unoccupied one. The architecture of the sacrificial hall is quite majestic. I'm a big fan of those wing pieces (I'm guessing that's what they are) emblazoned with the Blacktron B, in addition to that great, curving black and white arch that converges above the altar. Your custom decals for the priestess and her guards look fantastic! The horde of raiders watching the spectacle looks good too. There's a nice mix of heads, headgear, and torsos from other themes to make the faction look not so uniform, which seems very appropriate to me. And here I was, not needing any more reasons to sign up with Blacktron, and then, exotic dancers? Again, really good work Thrash.

Thank you Rick! Wow. I very rarely buy City sets, but 8403 is most definitely an exception I'll be making! This set looks like a lot of fun. I absolutely agree with you about the lounge chair, it's a very neat little design. I can't wait to see an interior shot, it seems well furnished just from looking through the windows. Lego is doing a great job of taking a bit of focus off of the Emergency Services for some really good looking civilian sets. If Lego keeps rolling out sets like this one, I may have to shift my theme priorities around.

My TRU put the first set out 2 days ago. Not having remembered to take a picture of the barcodes (duh ) I was, no joke, there for about 45 minutes feeling all of the bags. I don't know if every store will let you do that, but the employees at mine didn't care. Well, they cared insomuch as looking at me like I was a freak. Whatever, I got my Forestman and Cheerleader. Totally worth it.

Thanks for the review DaleDVM! This set looks fantastic, I'll be picking up a copy for sure. It's neat to see the re-designs of classic Castle parts. I'm most intrigued by the corner wall piece. It'll be interesting to see if it's an improvement over the old one. I couldn't agree more about the Dragon Knight dark pearl gray, it looks so great. I think the only thing I might have changed about this set would be the mini-figs; mainly a knight in place of one of the regular Lion soldiers, and another Dragon soldier altogether. That's not really an issue though, that's what the battlepacks are for. Oh, and maybe add some type of siege weapon for the Dragons, a ballista perhaps? But anyway, those are very minor issues for such a good looking set. Thanks Dale!

Props to Rick, brickme, Darth Hawken, and Stash2Sixx for pulling the citizens through to victory! And a grudging props to the Nizam for being so damned sneaky. Thank you again Shadows for allowing me to participate! And thank you also for a game well run. It was very entertaining to be a part of this, I'm just amazed I lasted as long as I did. And thank you for not giving me a totally disgusting death, also. *shivers at the thought of Dragonator's demise* This was a good introductory lesson in Mafia game playing, I hope I'm lucky enough to put it to use again sometime.

I have to say, def, this comic doesn't really hit close to home. It crashes right through the roof into the living room. Great work! You have some real drawing talent. It takes me forever to talk myself into buying a new set. Fortunately I haven't seen any talking Lego brick apparitions in the aisle with me. Yet. I'm a little divided on the benefit of having a baby to disguise yourself with, though. For me, a baby would just distract what is a very serious ritual of deliberating on what set(s) to buy.