medib

yeah, just what we need, some "Wierd Sisters" minifigs.... :-D

Nice Deals. I'll have to go to my local Walmarts in Niagara Falls, NY to see what they have. Most likely most of the stuff is cleaned out. All else fails, I'll have to see if there is any clearances left from Target. ;) Ben M.

I hate to be the one to bring bad news, but if you bought the Hogwarts Motorized Version this year, Motorized Hogwarts Express you'll see that they have Dark Stone track included :'( I almost busted in tears when I seen it. Then again, thinking about the amount of "normal" curve track I already have..... hmm... Anyways, I just wanted to point that out before everyone got too hopefull. Yes, there is Dark Bley Train Track....watch what you say.... *sick* Ben Medinets

I'm seriously looking forward to a Quidditch set that is compatible with the NHL/NBA/Football (Soccer) Challenge platforms. We already have a quidditich practise set, why not a quidditch pitch. I would also like a couple of tent "sets" that were in the section of the Quidditch world cup. Maybe a small set about the Goblet of Fire. Also, where Harry is in the Prefect Washroom with Moaning Myrtyl (as long as it was PG rated) ;) Though a graveyard scene sounds cool, as do the Ship and the duel with the Horntail. :') Ben M.

The way I see this new set is $20 US for a Tie Fighter with Bonus Darth Vader light-up minifig. Maybe they had all the extra Darth Vader light-ups and didn't know what to do with them... ;) Ben M.

looks like a different option to get a bunch of 4511 train cars. They had the K10158, which had the 4511 High Speed Train w/ 2 additional passenger train cars, and the added track $120 US. Unfortunately not available in North America. The K10157 is not available (yet) in Europe, and is not available in North America. K10158 = 1 engine, 3 passenger cars, 1 engineer, 6 passengers, beaucoup de track!! K10157 = 2 engines, 3 passenger cars, 2 engineers, 8 passengers, no track. Ben Medinets

I was at my local Walmart store here in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada and noticed that they were clearing out the Mars Exploration Rovers which had a retail price of $90 US. These were being sold for $30 Canadian. I know these are going for pretty cheap on Bricklink and Ebay, but for those in Canada... cough...cough...Jipay...cough... was there something in my thoat. It must be the flippin' weather. *satis* Ben M.

Don't Feel bad, Imperial John. I'm in the same boat. My family thinks I have too much Lego already... (we all know this is bull sh!%, what is too much Lego?) :oD I also purchased the LOTR Return of the King extended DVD, a must own (the whole trilogy is must own, and would have made a killer Lego theme, IMHO) :f) Anyways, the only thing lego-wise was a Jack Stone tooth brush. Though in a couple of weeks, I will buy the Castle of Morcia and the Grand Tournament, and probably 2 World City Train Crossings. Peace out, Ben M.

Bienvenue a Canada. I live in St. Catharines, Ontario. Hardly Francophone territory, but we had to learn Francais in school. C'est dommage, n'est-ce pas? >:) Ben M.

I was hoping for a dose of the "new" story-line. Though I guess some will be happy that Lego has produced some "marshland" sets. The only set I'll probably buy is the large Castle. It looks pricey, but a very good decision to Include chrome armor (even though there is only 3 sets) and Exclude the large one piece base-plate thingy.... :-D boy, it feels good to post here. I was starting to get worried a great place to post would be down for the count. 8-| Thanks, Ben M.

|-D not really... its small and looks cheap... ahem... I mean inexpensive!!! :$ off-topic warning on... I'm still about 6 months behind on the sets released. I just got the Harry Potter sets from the spring, still need a few KK2 sets from the summer and the ferrari and.... *wacko* Anyways.... off-topic warning off.... back to your scheduled lego starwars discussion on Episode III. :D

this may be slightly off-topic and going slightly on a tangent... :oD It may be confirmed that there are Harry Potter sets, though I cannot believe they will be Episode 3 (The Prisoner of Azkaban) when Episode 4 will be out in the Fall (November-ish). To me that seems silly, not that I don't want to see what other sets Lego will put out for Harry Potter. Ben M.

...and If I remember correctly, there is supposed to be a Technic Crane with Pneumatic parts... coming out later this summer. :oo Ben

DROOL!! I know I will get minor flamage, but.... I'm not really a big Lego Starwars collector. Having said that... I really love the look of the Clone Turbo Tank... it has that early Classic Lego Space look...a definite must have, even though Mace looks a little silly. *satis* I will probably get some scout walkers and maybe also the General Grevious set, even though he looks unimpressive Lego-wise. I would have thought he would be a bit more "buff." (but that is just my opinion). ;) Thanks, Ben M.

I seen this first at Classic-castle.com courtesy of David... :-D (only because I had an e-mail notification that I had a reply to the Maersk sealand thread there. The above post is posted on Lugnet: Lugnet My reaction to the above news is: :oo ...but also a little satisfaction, like "I told you so..." >-| I'm happy that Lego has decided to make another "small" run of maersk ships. I probably won't be the first in line to buy one, since I already have 4. |-D Ben M.

The new sets did show up, all except the mini-excavator. That was only set that didn't show up. I wonder what the sets will cost in North America? ;)

*devil* so much for only getting them in North America at the moment. You Euro's get the police sets as well.... :( What's weird is I cannot see what some of the police sets look like because my computer is acting up, I think. I see the police station, because it has a zoom feature. I cannot see some of the other 2005 sets. :| Ben M.

also, does this mean my 3 ships in MISB will decrease in value because Lego has decided to do another run??? *devil* Ben M.

I was skimming around Shop@Home website, and set my currency to UK, and found this: http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?p=10152 Yes, Virginia, the Sealand will return! :-D I don't know whether this will be the Maersk Blue coloured one, or the new one in the Dark Green. When Jake posted the release of the set in the summer, he said that Lego had used up all the Maersk Blue ABS pellets on the sets... hmmmm... this brings another question. If Lego decided to order more Maersk Blue ABS to make another giant (I hope) batch of Maersk Sealand Ships, will they match the old colours.... :() Pleasantly yours, Ben M.

I don't think we'll get them either. That's why I said I was surprised. *satis* I think this is due to "walking the fine line" between trying to maintain good relations with fans (Freaks as you say) and the "hard company line". I also think he lost a lot of credibity when KK2 came out and when the bley first hit the market and he had a "deer in the headlights" posture. Bottom-line: no matter how hard Jake tries, he is no Brad Justice (former SVP of Lego Direct). However, he is One avenue of approach, and as long as it is still there, we should make use of it as best we can. As far as licenses go, Lego did say they were trying to get rid of all licenses. It may mean that they didn't get a good return on their investment in Spidey sets, and may decide not to pursuit them. Ben M.

True. I don't completely understand the appeal either, but to me it is a good source of red train doors, even if there is 2 tones on them. I'd prefer a solid red door like they have in light grey or blue so I can complete my hogwarts express cars with proper exits. d:d I like the Highspeed Train, just didn't think you needed ALL the accessories for $90. You could have done away with the track and the speed controller and charged $50 US and still have made a decent return on the set (and still would have the motor and the light and the rest of the good stuff). But that is another issue. :'( Ben

Marvel does hold intellectual rights to Spidey, but as far as I am concerned as long as Sony is the principal film producer and distributer of Spidey, then I think Lego holds rights to produce toys. Though this may be a good question to ask Jake McKee about next time there is a (on-line or otherwise) Q&A with him. Yes, we SHOULD see another batch of HP sets for Goblet of Fire. I'm surprised we didn't see a couple of new sets this winter from the 3rd movie. Ben Medinets

True. But there is a lot more complaints than necessary on Lugnet. Some of the complaints though are well-grounded. Changing the colour of the brick after 30 years is pretty megablock especially for no reason. However, I would like to add that I use Lugnet's database feature, which is pretty close to accurate on piece counts (most of the time). I have over 999 sets on my set list, over 180,000 pieces, and my collection is more than $1000... actually its probably close to $12,000 US now, assuming average $2000 US per year x 5 years I have been "actively" collecting, plus my childhood collection. :$ Now starwars lego, that's significantly smaller... that's probably barely $300 worth, with about 15 to 20 sets, with around 3000 pieces. |-/ Ben M.

For me, it isn't the price. I think $25 US is a fair price for the set, especially with the "bonus" 'Timmy' minifig. What scares me off from buying is the almost certain of getting bley for the colours of train, especially the base. I got the train for $90 Canadian (which is like $63 US) on sale at my local Toys R US. I already have multiple copies of other 9V train sets. I bought 3 passenger cars from Ebay from someone who must have gotten a bunch on clearance. I think the 4511 is a tad bit <insert that tiresome argument> (but better designed than the 4561 Railroad Express, IMO). I think the 4511 looks a lot like the German ICE-T trains. (again IMO). Ben M. ps. I do have a bunch of dark bley train track (from a motorized hogwarts set) that I do not care for and which I don't think will sell in my brickshop. Make me an offer, bmedinets@excite.com Thanks.

I agree with a lot of sentiments here. I only liked Alpha Team in its first line-up. Alpha Team vers. 2 (the underwater) and this current version, 3 (frozen tundra) should have not been made. Unfortunately, along with (world) City and KK2, it is deemed a "core" line. I would not be surprised if we see more Alpha Team in 2006. *sick* I think the "transforming" aspect of the sets are to allow more appeal to youngsters and give them additional playability options. Unfortunately the majority of youngsters favor Bionicles and more recently KK2 line-up, at least in my area. I decided I won't get any of the Alphateam sets that came out this summer (2004), but I think the Scorpion is too nice to pass up, even if it has some suspect construction techniques. So I decided to order it from Bricklink at 20% off ($16 US off Bartering the Brick). Just my opinions... :^D Ben