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Let me start with a little confession: while I've stumbled upon bits and pieces of the Doctor Who series in the past, I never really watched a full episode until last summer, when a friend of mine managed to convince me. I started with season one of the 2005 reboot, and was not really thrilled with it. But I kept going, and things got a bit more engaging. Then, after the long drawn 10th Doctor-Rose affair found its conclusion, and Tennant said his final 'I don't want to go.', I found my Doctor. I know Whovians are forever debating about who the best Doctor is, and I do not want to start a debate here. I just love the fact TLG included Matt Smith's 11th Doctor in this set, instead of making it a Capaldi solo one. Smith's incarnation is the most captivating of the reboot, in my opinion, and watching him go around as the Doctor is like watching a fireworks' show, waiting for that moment when the big shot will be fired. Does the new 21304 Ideas Doctor Who set keep up with these expectation? Let's find out. Geronimo! Set Info Theme: LEGO IDEAS Set name: Doctor Who Set Number: 21304 Price: US $ 59.99, GB £ 49.99, EUR € 59,99 Pieces: 623 Figures: 4 + 2 brick built Daleks Year of release: 2015 Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset. Disclaimer - As it is based on a product based on an ongoing TV series, this review will contain references and possible spoilers. I would advise you to get your bearings on Doctor Who (at least since the 2005 reboot) before reading it. I'll include links to external sources (wikia articles, images and even few YouTube videos) to help non-Whovians, but don't blame me for not using spoiler tags. The Box The box, as usual with LEGO IDEAS sets, is more compact than those of other themed sets of similar parts/price range. Its size is 26.3 x 19 x 7.3 cm, and the cardboard is sturdier than that used for common LEGO boxes, meaning it's meant to be a collection item in itself, instead of just a container for the parts and instructions. Front The front shows a picture of the complete set, with the console and open TARDIS connected and under attack by a pair of Daleks, while the 12th Doctor and Clara run around in circles trying to find a strategy, or perhaps to understand why there are Daleks inside the control room, or even where the walls have gone at all... Meanwhile, a Weeping Angel and the 11th Doctor serenely watch the scene from a small window-like panel in the middle of the right side. A draw of a flying TARDIS, the LEGO, BBC and Doctor Who logos complete the upper part of the composition, while the age and set number info are in the lower left corner. On the right, a LEGO IDEAS logo also informs us that this is the 11th (coincidence? Rule 8: Never ignore a coincidence. Unless you're busy, then always ignore a coincidence.) set in this line. The background is composed of dark blue hexagons with lighter blue lines and areas of yellow-orange to lighten it and give more visibility to the mainly grey/blue hues of the build. Back The back includes two 'play feature' panels, one which is very reminiscent of the last shots of Time of the Doctor, with Clara and the newly regenerated 12th Doctor in the control room, and the other showing the moves you need to perform to open the TARDIS walls and connect it to the console area, while Capaldi sternly waits to be able to step inside the control room. At the bottom, you can see the four minifigs and a side view of the brick-built DalekTM. Each character is identified by his/her/its name and a 'REGENERATION' notice explains that there is no mistake, but the blur indicates the transition between 11th and 12th Doctors; whether the fez also regenerated into a sonic screwdriver is unclear and will probably be the cause of everlasting debate for future generations. Finally, a blue panel on the left, including info in six languages about the LEGO IDEAS programme, and the LEGO, BBC and Doctor Who logos fill the rest of the space. Sides The top of the box shows a 1:1 size shot of the 12th Doctor, flanked by a menacing Weeping Angel about to attack the 11th and Clara, while Matt Smith is probably taunting it. LEGO logo and set number are on the left. If you look carefully, you'll also notice a strange crack on the upper left. I'm not really sure if it's just an accidental feature due to un-careful handling, or if someone is trying to enter this universe via this scar in space and time. The bottom side is covered in the usual LEGO legal warnings and copyright statements, plus the dedicated BCC ones this time around. Contents Inside Upon opening the box, we find six un-numbered bags, and the instructions manual. Following the IDEAS tradition (with few notable exceptions), the set does not make use of stickers. Recoloured parts This set makes large use of re-coloured parts, or as others could say, is has been a perfect excuse for TLG to start producing more parts in (mainly) Dark Blue. Therefore, we have 8 Dark Blue Tile 2 x 2 Corner, 6 Dark Blue Tile, Round 1 x 1, 2 Dark Blue Plate 6 x 6, 4 Dark Tan Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Clip Horizontal on End, 4 Dark Tan Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle on End - Closed Ends, 24 Dark Blue Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat Front, 14 Dark Blue Glass for Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat Front, 4 Dark Blue Plate 3 x 3, 4 Dark Blue Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Studs on 1 Side, 4 Dark Tan Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Studs on 2 Sides, 4 Dark Blue Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Swivel Top / Base Complete Assembly, 2 Dark Tan Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Hole, 5 Dark Blue Tile 1 x 3 and 5 Black Plate, Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud. New pieces New pieces are equally as interesting. They include the two Dark Blue Tile 1 x 3 with decoration which form the POLICE BOX sign (4 of each), the Dark Blue Glass for Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat Front with the St. JOHN AMBULANCE logo, the White Glass for Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat Front with the Police Phone instructions, the 8 White Glass for Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat Front with the windows pattern, the White Glass for Window 1 x 4 x 6 with TARDIS door interior pattern, 2 Dark Tan Dish 2 x 2 Inverted (Radar) with Dalek top dish designs, the Light Bluish Gray Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Gallifreyan symbols, the 2 Dark Bluish Gray Road Sign Clip-On 2 x 2 Square Open O Clip with Gallifreyan symbols, the 2 Pearl Gold Sonic Screwdriver, the Dark Bluish Gray Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Open Stud, the Trans-Clear Minifig, Neck Bracket with 2 Back Studs and the 3 Trans-Clear Tile, Round 1 x 1 with Pin. All printed parts are exceptionally good in quality and detail, and faithful to the source material. The only part which is slightly different from the original is the sonic screwdriver, not sporting the black on the handle and the chrome/metallic gray on the head. That is excusable, though, as the black part would be right where the minifig hand grasps the accessory, and a black paint there would be easily removed through use; moreover, it would probably be too difficult to have both the green and chrome/metallic paints on the head, and the printing process could turn the part into a mess all too easily. All in all, the part is readily recognisable, and works well as is. Rare pieces The set also includes a few rare parts, such as 10 Dark Blue Plate 2 x 2 Corner, a Dark Bluish Grey Minifig, Utensil Zip Line Handle, 3 Dark Bluish Gray Arm Skeleton, Bent with Clips at 90 degrees (Vertical Grip), 2 Light Bluish Gray Technic, Disk 3 x 3, 2 Trans-Light Blue Technic Wedge Belt Wheel (Pulley), 4 Light Bluish Gray Wedge 2 x 2 (Slope 45 Corner) and 4 Dark Blue Plate 1 x 3. Extras The extras include the usual assortment of small round plates, generic parts and tiles, cheese slopes and Technic bits. Of special interest is the second copy of the sonic screwdriver, which will allow both Doctors to carry theirs. Manual Front The front cover of the instructions manual has the same basic picture and composition as the front of the box. In addition to that, a link to the LEGO IDEAS website is provided, along with a note in 8 languages informing us that the same booklet is available in each respective language on the site. On the inside cover, we find a short text which gives us context and info about both the Doctor and the BBC TV show. The first page is dedicated to the 12th Doctor and Clara inside the TARDIS control room. This, along with providing a stylish start to the manual, gives us an idea of the material the set is based on. The main difference between the pic and the actual LEGO set is the orange colour of the tubes in the column you can spot right behind the Doctor. This difference seems to be related to the fact that the TARDIS control room scheme used in the set is that of the 7th season of the show, with Matt Smith's 11th Doctor's blue accents, while the photo is from the 8th season and sports Capaldi's orange. Here's a random page. As usual, pieces call-outs and step numbers help us during the build. The background is very similar to that behind the picture on the box and manual fronts, but with a more yellow-ish/tan hue. The manual, following the IDEAS sets' tradition, includes tons of info and details on both the source material and set design process. I limited the parts shown here to the above mentioned first pages and this, which is one of the last, giving us an insight on Andrew Clark, who submitted the original project on the LEGO IDEAS site, and his experience designing and finalising the set with LEGO designers. The very last pages are dedicated to the usual LEGO commercial ads, and since a LEGO Dimensions Doctor Who Level Pack is about to hit the market, what better product to show on this manual? Minifigures Following the order in which the minifigures are shown on the back of the box, we start with the 11th Doctor. 11th Doctor This peculiar incarnation of the Doctor displays one of the most recognisable looks in the entire series, with his distinctive bow tie, and the iconic (since seasons 7, mainly) waistcoat. For this set, designers decided to use his brown coat from season 7 (though it could have been a bit darker), which is one of the main attires for the 11th Doctor, even if not the one he used in the episode Time of the Doctor the set is supposedly based on. All in all, I really like this version of Matt Smith's character, and I've even come to like the red stripped shirt, which I did not particularly appreciate in the first images. The head has a double expression: the stern but satisfied look the Doctor sports when dealing with important matters, and the smiling face he uses when happy/joking, or, sometimes, when taunting his enemies right in the middle of a crisis. I know some lamented a lack of precision in the hair piece choice for this minifigure. I must say I quite like this part for him (it is the one I used to use for my custom version up 'till now). What I'd personally change is the hue of brown: the set uses a Reddish Brown, while I prefer, as more accurate, a Dark Reddish Brown. 12th Doctor The post-regeneration 12th Doctor wears the purple coat mostly used by Smith in the end of season 7, and only worn by Capaldi in the final moments of Time of the Doctor and in the first episode of season 8. As you can notice, the bow tie is gone just before the regeneration (check ), and so is the smile. The 12th Doctor is a sterner man then his previous incarnation, and his smiles are quite seldom, and mainly meant to scare his enemies. Also because of this, the head only has one print. Since the 12th Doctor is dubbed 'eyebrows', LEGO designers marked the characteristic feature making for an unmistakable resemblance.The hair piece is a new mould, and looks very good on this figure. It is sculpted with lots of details, especially on the back. Since, as already mentioned, a LEGO Dimension pack including another version of the 12th Doctor is about to be available, I managed to get hold of that too, to be able to show you a comparison between the two figs. The Dimensions one sports the usual (as of season 8) attire of Capaldi's doctor, dark blue with crimson red highlights. I can honestly say that I like both versions and I would be hard-pressed to choose one as the best of the two. Head and hair pieces are the same for both figures. Clara Clara Oswald, being the companion who followed the Doctor in his transition between the 11th and 12th incarnations, was the natural choice for this set. Her minifigure is indeed spot-on. I like both the torso and leg pieces, with distinctive, yet generic enough designs to be used for other themes, too. I may be a bit out of date with minifigures' printing styles, but I'm sure this is the first minifigure I own with the back of the legs printed like the front and sides, which I largely appreciate. Just like the 11th Doctor, Clara's had has a dual face print: a serene look, and a more perplexed one (who wouldn't be perplexed after dealing with Matt Smith's Doctor for a bit?). The hair piece is a common one, but still a good choice for the character. Weeping Angel Warning: this picture could turn into an actual Weeping Angel, which could either break your neck, or send you back in time to an era without LEGO, and then feed on our AFOL's despair. That said, the Weeping Angel figure is quite a surprise. Not for its design, which works very well, but because Weeping Angels play a very minor role in Time of the Doctor, and in most of the Clara era. To be perfectly honest, I would have expected a Cyberman to be in this set in its place. To the figure itself, now. As you can see, the detail of the vest is really good, and very reminiscent of that used for the Statue of Liberty CMF. The back of the torso has a print which is normally covered by the Chima wings, which are attached with the new neck bracket. The head has two faces: the calm, statue-like one, and the aggressive, maniacal one, which is very fitting for one of the most frightful and relentless enemies in the Doctor Who universe. The choice of the hair piece seems very good, too. Build Getting started The build starts with the control room, and, specifically, with its base. As you can see, this portion makes quite extensive use of Trans-Light Blue parts; too bad the rest of the build will cover them and make it almost impossible to spot them. Step on it Just a few more steps, and we have the control room floor, entrance platform and stairs in place. The supports surrounding the platform will remain empty 'till the very last steps of this portion of the build. How to build an hexagon The central column is treated as a separate part for most of its build. The lower portion, made of mainly Technic parts, will allow us to build the hexagonal console, which is no easy task with the current LEGO palette of pieces. You can see through the Trans-Light Blue cylinders that the column is strengthened by the use of two Technic axle parts. Keen observers will also notice that those pieces are of two different colours, one black and one gray. Whether this is meant to represent the internal mechanisms of the TARDIS, or it is a simple strategy for kids to better tell the two apart is not clear to me. Few round plates and two radar dishes complete the top of the column with a really simplified version of the Time Rotors. Almost there With the console in place and all the controls ready to be used, we are almost at the last steps of this section. Watch where you go! The railings, external control panels and movable monitors, the control room is now complete. As-sem-ble! Next up are the two Daleks, which are not considered as part of the minifigures, due to their brick built nature. The build is pretty easy, and modular. Many fans will be able to build their army, with different colours. The only exclusive part is the printed dish, of course. Ex-ter-mi-nate! Once build, the Dalek is ready to do his job, which is to ex-ter-mi-nate all non-Dalek life forms in the universe. As one would easily assume, they are not the best species you could encounter in your time and space travels. These specific Daleks, given their colour, seem to be based in design on the Time War variant, as deduced from the Dalek Colour Schemes and Hierarchy map. You looked shorter on TV Though the original Dalek design marked them as circa 163 cm tall, these LEGO Dalek, probably on steroids, are taller than a minifigure, meaning they are somewhere around 2 meters in (LEGO scale) height. Laying foundations And now we get to the other star of the set, the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension In Space) herself, or, as the 11th Doctor calls her, Sexy! Of course, we start from the base, which is an unusual 7x7 studs. This size is reached by the use of a 6x6 plate, two 1x6 and a 1x1 additional plates, and kept together by the overlying layer of tiles and smaller plates. Through the door, or maybe not One of the most peculiar features of this set is the fact that the parts composing the exterior door of the TARDIS are those opposed to the part of the build that actually opens up to reveal the interior. As counterintuitive as that may be, the explanation is quite simple (as we'll see more clearly in as short while): the back of the 'door' must be completely visible in the assembled-with-the-control-room stage, so it needs to be a whole wall. Fans may still mod their TARDIS so that the front doors are on the split side, but the inner face door is opposed to them. It's just a matter of personal preference. Almost a cabinet The rest of the walls are built very easily, as the window parts must just be stuck one upon the other in a repetitive manner. Four walls and a roof By adding the POLICE BOX signs and the roof, we complete the build and are almost ready to start to investigate the play features. I'll just spend a few words on the signs themselves by saying that though the gap between the two parts looks a bit awkward, it is better looking in real life than you could expect from pictures. This thing is huge! Due to the fact that it includes a raised platform that must match up with the console room, and the strange height/width LEGO ratio, the closed TARDIS is huge when compared to a minifigure, way bigger than its real-life counterpart. Nonetheless, it's a beautiful build and a great model to display. Finished set All together Once we assemble the control room and the open TARDIS, we get the full set, complete with its minifigures and brick-built Daleks. The set has a satisfying size, which gives it importance, and the parts connect with harmony, both in size and colour scheme. Inside the TARDIS As mentioned, the inside of the TARDIS includes a raised platform which connects with the one at the back of the control room. This can also be used to place and store your favourite Doctor, or Clara (the winged Weeping Angel and the Daleks do not fit in) when travelling through the time and space continuum. Ready... Connect! The two parts connect via a combination of Technic axle (on the control room side) and brick (inside the blue box). This link will keep the two in place during play, but will not bear excessive roughness. While the TARDIS is pretty swooshable, the rest of the build isn't, and should not be used as an extended space-ship mid flight. Bonus Images How LEGO Weeping Angels earned their name Is this Trenzalore already? Trenzalore How I met your Dalek Finally! Final Comments Overall, this IDEAS set is very faithful to its source material and pretty rich in both details and minifigs (counting the brick-built Daleks in this category for once). The colour scheme, though guided by the original one, is well done and harmonic. Moreover, you get two models, which can combine into a bigger one or be used separately, for both play and display purposes, and also offer great potential for mod-ers and moc-ers. Design & Colour scheme – 10/10 (Very accurate to the source material and rich of well-finished details.) Minifigs – 10/10 (Though most Whovians will lament the lack of one Doctor or Companion or the other, the choices made for this set are very good, and the design and detail of the figures are great.) Parts – 9/10 (Great variety of useful parts, a reasonable amount of new pieces, and quite a few cool printed ones (no stickers!).) Playability – 10/10 (As a Doctor Who set, the only limit to playability is one's imagination, and both Andrew Clark and the LEGO designers did their best to add nice play features to the set. The one I find most entertaining is the 'regeneration feature' shown on the back of the box, though!) Build – 8/10 (Nothing too complex, but some efficient solutions are used, along with quite a bit of SNOT-ing for the TARDIS and the hexagonal console.) Price – 10/10 (For a set linked to a license, this one is extremely well priced, as you get 600+ parts for 60 €.) Overall: 9.5/10 Excellent As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome! If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=20631

It's wonderful to see that The LEGO Group's confidence in the Architecture Series has increased enough for worldwide landmarks to appear! In what might seem opportunistic timing, with the fast approaching 2012 Olympics being held in London, TLG has revealed that its latest Architecture set will model what is probably London's most iconic landmark: the clock tower of Big Ben. As has been pointed out innumerable times, Big Ben is actually the name of the huge bell which resides within the tower, itself forming the north-west corner of the Palace of Westminster; the tower itself is known simply as the Clock Tower. But if you say 'Big Ben', I imagine people from around the world will immediately picture this famous tower. This review is a team effort by Pandora and myself (with a little extra help from a certain someone at a crucial point ). The opinions presented here are ours; fortunately we agreed on pretty much everything so there was little need for discussion! Anyway, with further ado, Pandora and Rufus are proud to present.... Review: 21013 Big Ben Set Information Name: Big Ben Number: 21013 Theme: Architecture (Landmark Series) Release: 1 June 2012 Parts: 341 (our count) Price: US $29.99 | EUR 29.99 | CAD $39.99 Links ... Brickset ... LEGO Architecture We'll update the price information, links and the official set description as they become available. The Box The smart but rather austere box livery of the Architecture range continues with this set. I see no reason to change it! Big Ben sits atop a technical drawing which may well represent architectural plans of the Palace of Westminster, but who's checking. The eagle-eyed among you might note that this latest addition to the Architecture range is designed not by Adam Reed Tucker, but instead by Rok Zgalin Kobe, a Slovenian architect. The back of the box is more colourful, sporting a scale render of the model, with some pictures of the real building in atypical English weather: The text is a language lesson describing the enclosed booklet, which is in English, and mentions the two Architects of the tower, Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin. The narrow sides are well suited to a tall, narrow model, and allow the boxes to be stacked on shelves vertically. The left side features a beautiful low-down shot of the tower: ... while the right side, which forms the flap of the box lid, shows an interesting 'exploded' render of the model beside the 'Choking Hazard' warning in a vast array of international languages. A very small part-rendered picture graces the top of the box, and the bottom reveals that parts were sourced in DENMARK, HUNGARY, MEXICO, and the CZECH REPUBLIC. We suspect this represents different manufacturing sources for different regions. Interestingly, this set - despite being considerably larger - comes in a box no bigger than those of the smallest sets in the range. It is of identical size to 21002 Empire State Building, or 21000 Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, Chicago, pictured here: It is, as you might imagine, considerably heavier, and clearly requires two extra years of building experience to build it. Contents We love these Architecture boxes! There's a certain sense of nostalgia for the days of intricate packaging which heightened the whole LEGO experience. Admittedly these don't have the (expensive, we've no doubt) plastic inserts and lifting lids of the 80s, but it's clear that TLG have gone to some pains to make the box as collectable as the set. You can even flatpack the box for longevity without tearing or cutting! The box is almost as smart on the inside: This one is remarkably full, which helps to preserve the instruction manual. You are instructed clearly to 'Enjoy your building experience.' as you open the lid. It's a really nice touch, and emphasises the lengths TLG has gone to to maximise the ... um ... building experience. Out of the box are pulled four polybags, and two loose plates. As Siegfried/Sinner mentioned in the Sydney Opera House review, it's a shame that not all of the parts are bagged, but we can't really blame LEGO for this in this case. It's only two pieces, and would probably require much larger bags, which might in turn necessitate a larger box to allow automated packing. Looking at this picture, you immediately get a sense of the rather small parts variety - there are only 33 different pieces in the set, including different colours of the same part. Instructions Some serious thought has gone into this instruction manual. It is quite thick, and beautifully presented, being printed on high quality paper, like all the sets in the Architecture range. Aside from the difference in orientation, the cover is similar to the box front, but does reference the Architecture website. The rear cover of the manual features an alternative view of the tower from behind: but is otherwise rather plain. Most of the interest is contained inside the manual, where can be found ten pages of facts about the tower and its construction, an example of which is shown here: The text is superbly written. It is a potted history, packed with facts and interesting to read, without being a daunting mass of text. We learned quite a lot ourselves! Following the tower facts comes a double-paged biography of the architects: The pictures here are reprints of oil portraits of the long-departed designers of the tower. Again, kudos to LEGO for going the extra mile to add interest and value. The instructions themselves are clear, and nicely paced to avoid confusion without being patronising. About every eight or nine pages is a little inset depicting further little factoids about the building: It's easy to miss these, if you are concentrating on the building. We'd recommend taking your time when building, and enjoying these little tidbits of information when you encounter them! They are a really nice touch. Otherwise, there are some parts in similar colours (particularly black and dark bluish grey), which could cause confusion; however, if you follow the build order then there shouldn't be any problems. You would notice if you used a dark bluish grey 1x2 tile on the base, for instance (unless you're building in the dark ). Towards the rear of the manual is the now-standard parts inventory: Again, the small variety of parts is readily apparent, and belies the size of the set. Finally, we are treated to a discourse from the Artist himself, and an intriguing look at Architecture in the early days of LEGO (including the invention of the plate!) We're pleased to note that Rok Zgalin Kobe refers to SNOT (Studs Not On Top), implying it's the acronym used by LEGO designers themselves! We're easily pleased. The Parts But enough about paper, what about the plastic? We've arranged the parts according to the polybag they came in, which is roughly dictated by size. The largest bag contains the large tiles, including the unique printed 'Big Ben' piece, and a sea of tan. Most of these parts are commonplace; even the 2x2 clock face is often found at the Pick-a-Brick wall. Of note are the dark bluish grey 'Slope 45 1x2 Double', found in two other sets, and the 'Slope 75 2x2x2 Quadruple Convex' in DBG and the two earth green 2x3 Plates, each found only in one other set. Not rare, though useful, are the nine 1x1 bricks with four studs ('dalek pieces', as we've heard them called). Generally, part variety is small but quantity high: We're certainly not complaining about the 57 round bricks and 32 grille tiles in tan, useful for architectural MOCs. 2x1 tan plates were at the PaB wall recently, so we're not short of those... ... but jumper plates are always useful. Finally, we have the ubiquitous round 1x1 plates, and 1x1 tiles in tan are most welcome. Not a cheese wedge in sight! Overall, it's a part selection that won't get too many people excited, with only a small number of rare elements, although the quantity of some of the parts might make this useful as a parts pack. The Build Let's put these plastic blocks together! As you might expect, we start with the familiar Architecture base: Immediately, you can see by the jumper plates that the model uses a half-stud offset for the entire structure. This is presumably to centre the model, which is an odd number of studs in length. The jumpers make a surprisingly strong connection, meaning you can build the model whilst holding it, rather than on a flat surface, although it's worth noting that the two black plates at the base are only connnected via three tiles, giving them a tendency to separate slightly if you do do this. The 'trick' behind the SNOT wall detail is revealed in this shot: SNOT bricks - with 1 (white), 2 (light bluish grey) and 4 (black) studs on sides are used to attach 1x2 plate-grille tile pieces to give the sides their ridged detail. The 'gap' that remains under the grilles is filled with 1x1 tiles. This technique is a little fiddly, but surprisingly strong and effective, and is used throughout the model. For the second layer, rinse, and repeat... well, nearly. Here you can see that only black 'dalek' pieces have been used to add SNOT to the sides, rather than the two-sided stud pieces. Although this might at first glance seem odd - it prevents adding 1x1 bricks in between, which might weaken the structure - there are two reasons for this. One is that the side-facing studs are also used in some places - to hold SNOT tiling at the side, and the mysterious upward-pointing dark bluish grey tile you can see here - and the second is that the 'open stud' on the top of the dalek pieces is required to attach the roof at a half stud offset (similar to the use of technic 1x1 bricks in the White House, or Empire State Building) With the roof-pieces attached, the odd DBG tile fills a gap caused by the half-stud offset : As we add height to the tower, things get a little repetitive, with three identical layers to construct. As we approach the top of the tower, four single-stud SNOT pieces are added which will hold the clock faces: And here we can have a nice look at the rear of the building . Finally, the rather intricate roof is built: And we're done! The build takes about 30 minutes if you're rushing, or an hour if you're leisurely (and read the history while you're at it). It's a little fiddly in places (making sure the 1x1 tiles sit squarely is a pain, but this is always a problem), and gets a bit repetitive, but being a smallish model this is counteracted by the feeling of the tower taking shape. Some of the SNOT techniques, especially the roof, are a nice surprise. The Complete Set Now let's take a look at the finished article. Big Ben stands proud and erect in all his slightly phallic glory: This angle shows clearly how effective the half-stud offset is at centering the tower. We like the use of the SNOT grille-tiles for adding the ridged detail which is crucial for adding realism, and the differentiation between the various levels of the building is brought about quite neatly and simply by the use of 1x1 bricks or round bricks at various points. It's highly effective. Now, let's get this out of the way: the major flaw of this set is the clock faces, which stand proud of the tower by two plates, unlike the real clocks which are if anything slightly recessed. This is a product of the designer's decision to make the entire building three studs wide, which is necessary to make the building affordable, keep consistency with the rest of the Landmark Series, and itself makes the build more interesting in places. Moreover, the design of the 2x2 round tile on which the clock sits - with a cross in the centre of the underside, rather than an anti-stud - necessitates the use of the extra 2x2 plate, therefore exacerbating the problem. A possible solution to this would be to build the clock section of the tower in four-studs wide, at a half-stud offset. One day we'll try this. Maybe the designer did, but chose this method in the end. Now that's out of the way, let's continue enjoying the view. Here's the rear: The tower (obviously) looks the same from every angle, but here you get a view of the snippet of the rest of Palace of Westminster. It's 'cut off' from the rest of the building; the blank tiles/bricks indicate where the building would continue: here, and on the left side. Note the 1x1 round plates instead of cones at the rear: this approximates to a real feature of the building, which doesn't have spires on the inward facing parapets. Side views (left and right respectively): The left side features a little dark green, representing a small lawn area in front of the tower where politicians and press gather from time to time. Note again the cut-off where the building would continue to the river edge. The right side faces Parliament Square, where the tower sits flush with the edge of the Palace. Finally, a shot representing the most common view of the tower: Another slight niggle, and again due to the use of the three-wide scale, is that the lower part of the roof doesn't slope particularly gracefully, but the use of round studs is probably the best compromise the designer could achieve. Comparison Now lets compare the set to the real thing. Being rather camera-shy, Pandora and I grabbed an unsuspecting random American tourist to help with these shots. The model is rather small (as is the LEGO set ) making direct comparison difficult. It's approximately 1:350 scale, after all. Still, you can see that the overall impression of the model is pretty accurate, which we think is as good as could be achieved at this scale. Getting both the tower and the model in focus together was nigh-on impossible. This is about the best we could do: The blocky roof isn't so noticeable here; unfortunately, the sticky-outy clock faces are. But the time is uncannily correct. Our contract with the Random American Tourist demanded more than just one picture: He made himself useful, and got us into the London Eye for some aerial views: Well, we'd love a massive Architecture set of the entire Palace of Westminster, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon... ... so here's a shot focused on Big Ben himself, from a similar angle as the last set picture: We should mention here an interesting observation. On the way out of the London Eye is a gift shop filled with souvenirs (many relating to the forthcoming Olympics). This (and many other souvenir shops around the area) would be an ideal place to sell this set - it'll appeal to chance customers who wouldn't normally even consider buying LEGO. The set makes a great souvenir - it is instantly recognisable, despite its flaws, and this market would perhaps be rather more forgiving than the average AFOL. We hope TLG have already thought of this. Conclusion Bus and Grenadier Guard not supplied with set. We were a little disappointed when we saw the preliminary pictures, but having seen the set 'in the flesh', as it were, we think this is actually rather a nice set. Sure, the protruding clock-faces aren't ideal, but they're certainly better than stickers, and the flaw is balanced by the level of detailing which is astonishing for such a small scale. Moreover, if the preliminary prices are correct, this set represents far better value than most of the smaller Architecture sets, and perhaps hints that the line is firmly hitting the mainstream. The Big Ben set, together with its attractive packaging and informative manual, makes a wonderful collectors' item, and indeed potentially a lucrative souvenir piece (if TLG takes our advice on this ). I'm sure they've already thought of this, as the timing of its release with the 2012 Olympics hints. A larger-scale model might allow more detail, solve the clock problem, and enable perhaps a bit of gold decoration on the tower; but would restrict the target market to the die-hard LEGO fans. Perhaps TLG have deliberately decided to accept the smaller scale compromise; we think that, overall, the set is pretty good for the scale. Design 8 Were it not for the clock faces, we'd give this 10. It's remarkably detailed for the scale. Build 9 A pleasing build, sometimes a little repetitive, but with some interesting features along the way. If you follow the manual carefully, it is an enjoyable experience. Parts 7 It's not really a set for rare part hunters, but might appeal as a parts pack if you need tan grille tiles or round bricks. Value 8 We haven't seen the UK price yet, but going by the US and European pricing, this does seem to be better value than many of the smaller Architecture sets. Overall 8/10 Big Ben might not appeal to die-hard sticklers for accuracy, but it's a detailed and recognisable rendition of what is perhaps London's most iconic landmark. We were rather pleasantly surprised. Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed the review. Many thanks to CopMike for making this possible, TLG for allowing us an early look at the set, and Hinckley for being such a good model! Pandora and Rufus. More pictures on flickr.

It's autumn, when the leaves turn various shades of red, yellow and brown, and when it's time to harvest fresh fruits and store them for the cold winter months. Olivia is offering some fresh fruits and homemade jams at her stand, but she could use an extra hand picking up those tasty red apples. Why don't you join her? Basic info of the set Set no.: 41026 Name: Sunshine Harvest Theme: Friends Year: 2014 Pieces: 233 Minifigs: 1 (and a dog) Age group: 6 - 12 Price: £ 17.99 / US$ 19.99 / EUR 19.99 Price per part: 7.721p / 8.579c / 8.579c Links: Brickset, Bricklink, LEGO S@H The box The front of the box is (as always) in bright Friendly colours, with the main five characters on the top right corner as opposed to the main set's character, in this case Olivia, in the bottom right corner. The sides of the box are curved, again as is typical for the larger sets from the Friends series. The landscaping on the box art is a lovely way to present various mini builds and adds some depth to this relatively small set. The back of the box reveals other aspect of the set. Contrary to the front box art where the set is presented as a whole, the back of the box gives much more information to the potential buyer just by a quick look. Again, Olivia is shown on the top right corner as the main character of the set. The five smaller pictures show off different parts of the set - the mini builds and accessories found in the set. This is a great way to promote all the interesting bricks found in the set (but more on that later). The side of the box (again) shows Olivia as a measure of scale. In my opinion, it might be more interesting to show off some of the interesting new and rare pieces, such as the new grass stem or the red apples, instead of a minidoll. Afterall, the set's name is Sunshine Harvest, and some of the crops would look nice on the side. The other side of the box has the same, but smaller, picture of the set, as on the front of the box and in my case shows signs of some wear and tear from a few months storage. The booklet The front art design is repeated on the front page of the booklet instruction. Luckily, the box is big enough and the booklet doesn't have to be folded in half, thus avoiding possible creases. Nevertheless, my booklet was only slightly damaged, as it's visible on the top right corner, with the last page sticking out a bit. Inside the booklet, I was surprised to see a page with all Friends characters from the first wave of 2014's new sets. I've seen this design only in some LOTR sets, and here I was tempted to put tick marks in the corresponding boxes to show off my 2014 collection of Friends. I do find this a bit commercially oriented towards the target population of little girls, collecting all the minidols from the series. ''Look mommy/daddy, I only need Mia and Liza from the Sunshine Ranch to complete my collection!'' A random page from the instructions shows one of the intermediate steps of one of the many mini builds. I specifically chose this page as it shows off nicely a new type of plate, the 3x3 cross in dark orange. The parts needed for each step are shown in light blue boxes on a lavender background. Having in mind the set is targeted towards 6-12 year olds, individual steps are very easy to follow. The pieces The set contains two numbered bags of similar size, and quite colourfull. Logically, I opened the bag no. 1 first. In comparison to some other Friends' sets, the parts come in many bright colours. In addition, there are some interesting parts included, such as the red apples, cherries, printed strawberry tiles, and the ice cream cone. Parts I specifically like, although they are very common are the flower stems, yellow flowers, bright green and dark pink flowers. Bag no. 2 holds some goodies as well. The most interesting are the greenery bricks, the more common leaves in green and dark green, flower stems, bright green and dark pink flowers. In addition, a redish brown arch 1x3x3 and a new mold of grass stem are included. The highlight parts of this set are shown separatelly. Most of them are greenery parts, such as the leaves, flowers, and plant stems. In addition, the red apples made a comeback after 10 (long) years. As they were included in five of this years sets, their price on Bricklink dropped, however it's still much higher than bright green apples. In addition, five apples in the set makes this set the best one to get for the apples alone (as was almost the case with me). Luckily, the set has other interesting parts, such as the 3x3 cross, which is handy when building trees, printed strawberry tiles, pearl gold tiles, red cherries and the icecream cone. Most of them are smaller parts, but they can be very handy when creating small details around your MOCs. In addition, the extra parts are interesting as well. There are some extra plants, cherries and pearl gold tile. The minifigs Olivia is the main and only character in this set. Unfortunately, her outfit is pretty generic. The dark blue skirt can be found in 7 sets, while the lovely top with light pink flower design was seen in 4 sets. In my opinion, clothing is the limiting factor of the minidols, and I welcome all the new clothing designs found in the newest sets. I played with colours in Photoshop, and this is what I came up with. Different shades of purple and blue would still look Friendly, and they would differ enough from the white top. However, I still like the top design, yet I'd be happier with a different print or top colour. Surprisingly, none of the almost standard hair accessories can be found in this set. Contrary, Olivia got her own pitchforks to work around her apple tree orchard. Another detail I like is the asymmetrical back opening of the top, which is actually hidden by Olivia's hair. Not counting as a minifig, but as her best friend, is a white nameless dog with brown spots. The dog appeared in 4 sets, one of them being UK promotional set. According to Bricklink, the dog's name is Charlie, but the name connect to only this promotional set. Charlie looks cute enough for Heartlake, and can be easily included in any City layout. The build The set is meant for a fairly young population (6-12 years), and the simple mini builds can be expected in this age range. Within the set, several individual mini builds can be assembled and then combined together to picture a lovely scene found on the box of the set. The first mini build is also the simplest. It's just a bucket stand with some flowers. I'm not a fan of the stand, as it looks too colourfull, but it's a nice idea to put the pink basket to use. On the other hand, I was excited to find the ice crem cone used as a holder for the flowers. It's still a rare brick type, and it's nice to see it used also for something other than as ice cream cone. I wish there would be an extra one included. As for the flowers, the I like both the yellow classic ones and the newer dark pink ones, but not on the same stem. The next mini build is Charlie's hut. I'm guessing Charlie is a girl, considering the pink roof and flowers around her hut. The hut is made pretty simple, and it's actually just the front part of what might be thought of as a dog's hut. This is convenient for the little hands that mostly play with these builds. I'm a bit annoyed with the pink-red combination of the hut's roof. The red plate could easily be changed to white or bright pink, and the colour combination would look much nicer, in my opinion. Despite the pink-red colour combination, Charlie looks happy inside her hut. Well, it might be for the extra bone at her feet. My favourite mini build in this set is Olivia's market stand. It's also larger than the first mini builds, and it's even more colourful. However, various colours used in this build are much more pleasant to the eye. To start, the roof colour is the same pink-red combination, and it would look much better without the red. Even an awning could be added, and the overhang might hide the red a bit. Side view of the stand shows nicely a wide selection of goods on offer. The most interesting here are fresh red apples and strawberries. Although strawberries and apples don't grow in the same season, including them on the stand was well thought of. On the other side of the stand, there are some homemade jams, as is also indicated by the printed sign on the roof of the stand, and probably a home made fruit cake. Front view of the stand with Olivia behind the counter really emphasizes her various goods on offer. I mean, who wouldn't want to stop and try some of the strawberries or homemade jams? My favourite detail on the stand are the jams. Using trans-coloured bricks with simple pearl gold tiles as lids look really realistic. Also the different colours are indicative of different flavours. My guess, from the left to right, is two glassed of apple jam, orange jam, and 2 glasses of strawberry jam. If you were wondering, where Olivia grows her vegetables and fruits, she has a small garden close to her stand. She grows extra large carrots and some flowers. The design of the garden is again simple, but it looks really nice surrounded by a low white fence and a door. It also offers some playability as the crops need to be picked up, or substituted with other greenery. The highlight of the garden is the new grass stem. The fifth mini build is a tree. It's a somewhat typical Lego tree with branches expanded to three sides. Here, a new plate type is utilized, and this new 3x3 cross comes very usefull stabilizing the branches. Also, the dark orange colour is suitable for the tree design, I only wish it will appear in other brownish colours as well. The finished tree design looks great from the front as opposed to the back side. My only complaint here is that more green leaves could be included, ast the treee looks rather bare with only 3 leaves. On the other hand, another intriguing detail is that apples and flowers grow at the same time. The trees I'm familiar with, have flowers in the spring, and fruits in the autumn. Nevertheless, these characteristics are easily improved by adding more leaves from your own collection, adding extra fruits and removing flowers in the autumn, or removing fruits and adding more flowers in the spring time. As mentioned above, the tree looks very bare from the back side. Here, the lack of extra leaves and branches is much more visible than from the front side. I know it's not much work adding more leaves, but I wish the designers would do that. The sixths mini build is a tractor. What stands out are the colours, the dominant medium azure and accents in bright pink and lavender. Another unusual detail are the flowers used for the exhaust. If you consider the set as a useful parts pack, then the dark pink flowers are a nice detail. However, from the technical view, I found this detail unusual. At the back of the tractor, there's a hook to attach the trailer. The trailer is predominantly in medium azure and some lavender. It has enough space to transport various goods from the garden to the stand. The stud in the middle of the trailer can be used to attach havier loads. Olivia fits nicely on the tractor. The only flaw is that she can't reach to the steering wheel, but that's a problem with the minidoll design. This is even more obvious from a side view. An alternative connection of the steering wheel on SNOT bricks to achieve a 90° change of orientation could solve the problem, but I'm not sure how would that affect the overall appearance of the tractor. The finished product At last, here's how all seven mini builds look together. Considering varying size of these mini builds, the end product looks quite large. It also allows for flexibility of individual mini builds, as they can be moved around and everyone can adjust the positioning of the mini builds according to their own whishes. The set also offers a lot of playability. It is targeted towards girls mostly, and offers a lot of imaginative play. I actually prefer this kind of role playing in contrast to various missiles found in some City sets. In addition, as mentioned above, there are quite a few interesting bricks and pieces included that give the set an extra value. The Final Verdict Design: 9/10 The overall design is great, but there is still room for improvement. Considering the target population of 6-12 year olds, the set with seven mini builds is appropriate for this rather wide age range. In addition, there are some interesting parts included in the set, adding more value. Colour wise, the set is rather colourful, yet it's not too girly coloured. The highlights in pink, lavender and medium azure don't look out of place as they're combined with more neutral colours. I also like the idea of position the set more in the rural area with orchards then in the town. Hopefully, more sets in this theme (farming) will follow. Parts: 10/10 The parts in the set are a nice selection of various bits and pieces, that you can use to play with in different MOCs. The parts standing out as more rare or new are the above mentioned red apples, new grass stems, and printed strawberry tiles. Build: 8/10 It's a simple and straight forward build with no special or advanced techniques. I like it for what it is, it's simple enough for inexperienced builders, but offers a chance to improve and/or reuse individual builds also in a more advanced settings. Playability: 10/10 Playability is an important feature of this set. It's probably more targeted towwards girls, but even boys (or adults) with imagination can enjoy building and playing with the set. The playability of the set is based on various situations that can happen either around the garden (picking the apples or greeneries), transporting them to the stand or selling various fruits and home made products at the stand. Minifigs: 7/10 Mia has a rather standard clothing design, and I'd prefer to see at least a different colour combination of her top and skirt. Price: 10/10 It's a small set, but it offers enough (interesting) bricks for the price. None of the parts are particularly outstanding, but there are many interesting parts as mentioned in the parts section. I was pleasantly surprised with the selection of bricks, and I have to admit I got the set for parts mostly, and considering the price, it was a nice deal. Overall: 55/60 (90%) As the overall score implies, this is a set worth having. Although the builds are simple, the value of the set is its design - combination of interesting parts forming various smaller builds that can be combined in various ways and offer lots of playability. Also, the price of the set is in favour of buying it, even if it's just for some parts. I'd definitely recommend buying this to anyone. Despite the long line, customers in Heartlake are leaving the stand with smile on their faces.

The LEGO Movie Press Kit. Those words send collectors running. When I heard that I was getting one I was ecstatic, I was also hoping Benny was in it. I also wasn't sure what to expect, this set wasn't well documented, but I knew it would be something good. A HUGE thank you to LEGO for sending me this set. (And 30280, 30281, and 30282) I am very privileged to have gotten to review these sets. Set Information: Name: The LEGO Movie Press Kit Set Number: N/A Pieces: 168 Price: N/A Ages: N/A Minifigures: 9 Theme: The LEGO Movie Year of Release: 2014 Brickset Flickr Set Box: I was sent The LEGO Movie Press Kit, I wasn't sure what was going to be in it, but this is what was in it! Read the other reviews: 30280, 30281, and 30282. While box is technically correct, it is really a tin. Which is unusual as I do not believe that LEGO has packaged a set in a tin before. Surprisingly, this set has some information on it, part count, name, and age suggestion. The image is The LEGO Movie's main poster, which seems fitting. The back is covered in warnings, as well as the first poster we got for The LEGO Movie, showing Emmet. One of the sides of the sleeve shows Batman, Benny, Good/Bad Cop, Metal Beard, and Unikitty. As well as their names and the actors names that voice them. The other side is the same, however it lists, Emmet, Wyld Style, Vitruvius, and President Business. The lid of the tin has a sticker on it, with the LEGO logo and The LEGO Movie logo. Contents: Inside there is the bag of parts, the instruction manual, and the piece of cardboard for the background. The front shows The LEGO Movie logo on a stage screen with the curtain pulled back. This side shows the curtain closed if you want to display it that way. The pile of parts! The bag was quite full. Manual: The front of the manual has a very roughly rendered image of the set. If you notice Wyld Style doesn't have her hair print, but Wonder Woman has her decoration... The instructions for the set are presented on a blue brick background, which is quite pleasing and simple. Someone would ask for this eventually, so here is the part page! The back just has the blue brick background and the LEGO logo. Minifigures: Since there are nine minifigures in this set, we shall go though them by the row they are sitting in. First up we have, Wyld Style, Emmet, and Batman. My bag was open and my Wyld Style hood was missing. (Kim if you're reading this, could I get another?) But it almost works better this way, she can sit in her chair better. I am still fond of Wyld Style's hoodie, it just looks good. All three figures have back print, which is a bit unusual for minifigures. You notice Emmet's alternate expression here. With their headgear removed, you can see their alternate expressions. Emmet is really freaking out. Next is Good/Bad Cop, President Business, and Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is exactly the same as her LEGO set self. Bad Cop's badge has the same logo as the bots from the movie. President Business is a fun minifigure, I quite like his very blocky hair. Wonder Woman and Bad Cop have back print. Bad cop is a rather rare figure, and his helmet is a new mold. President Business has his robot head for his alternate expression. Vitruvius, Ice Cream Jo, and the Gallant Guard. I was very excited to get Vitruvius, he's a very pivotal character in the movie. The others I wasn't super interested in but would come to like. Ice Cream Jo, and the Gallant Guard have fitting back print. Vitruvius' hair is very complex. Only Vitruvius has an alternate expression, a rather sad one too. His tye-dye t-shirt is neat too. The Build: Four steps in and you've only just started on building the base. A few steps later the first row is taking shape. Midway through, the theater is taking shape. More of the layers for the chairs are added. Each minifigure had it's own instruction page, then you added them. Finished Model: I think this model is meant to be viewed with all of the minifigures on it. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of generic parts. The fun thing with this model is that there was a promotional stand where you could put your face in a hole and be "in" the scene. Wonder Woman doesn't fit in her chair quite right. The simple way LEGO built the background in, is quite good. I would like to see more of this and less stickered parts. Vitruvius' hair fits nicely over the chair so he can sit! Conclusion: This set is an interesting conundrum. It wasn't available to the public so I think it is a must like set for me. That said, it isn't all that bad as a minifigure pack. I really like that LEGO didn't use a sticker for the background. As a promotional item, it does its job well. A bunch of minifigures from the movie, and the logo prominently displayed. Ratings: Playability: 0/10 No play value at all in this. Unless you just like minifigures. Design: 8/10 I'm giving this a rather high rating as I really like the use of the cardboard piece. Price: 0/10 Price isn't applicable here. Minifigures: 10/10 The sheer number of figures that are in this set is great, several of them are rather rare too. Parts: 5/10 Nothing super special in this set. Total: 23/50 30 Again big thanks to LEGO for making this review possible! You can read the other reviews: 30280, 30281, and 30282 Like this review? Want to learn how to make good reviews? Then join the Reviewers Academy! ,

Title of Set: 10243 Parisian Restaurant Theme: Creator/Expert Release Date: January 2014 Piece Count: 2469 Minifigures: 5 Price: US $159.99 - CA $189.99 - DE 149.99 € - UK 132.99 £ - DK 1299.00 DKK Further Information: Shop@Home, Brickset, Flickr Album After a long day of work, there is not much more satisfying than a delicious meal. Set 10243 Parisian Restaurant serves the function of feeding your LEGO citizens and offering quite a bit more. Author's Notes: When I came home from work one Friday night, I noticed that DHL delivered a lovely present to my house - the highly-anticipated 10243 Parisian Restaurant set (thanks TLG and EB!). As of January 2014, this will the newest set in this particular line of modular sets and it is a real treat. Lead designed by the revered Jamie Berard, it is filled with features and detail, making it an excellent set for those who are looking to start collecting the modular sets and those who already have been for years. However, does it live up to the hype and does it include the ever-elusive seagull that TLG initially advertised to be included in this set? We shall see... Box: Front: The front of the box features a main picture of the front of the restaurant, as well sub-pictures showing off the back, patio, and length and height dimensions. Quite nifty. Back: Ah, the back of the box. Always one of my favorite places when it comes to LEGO sets as it shows off all of the cool play features and some of the details. The left side is dedicated to featuring the three completed modular components with "1" being the first floor and working up from there. Taking up about half of the box's backside is the Parisian Restaurant aligned with the Town Hall (10224) and Palace Cinema (10232) sets. Finally, encompassing the top and left areas of the box are the play features and various closeups of some highly detailed sections. Side (Part List): Click here for a larger view. One side of the box is largely dedicated to displaying the part list, which is understandable and welcomed due to the set including a whopping near-2500 pieces. On the far right we can see a closeup of one of the roof's creative details to whet one's appetite. Side (Warnings): An angled view of the completed set is shown, as well as some warning text about LEGO being a choking hazard. Hmm, my idea of flavored LEGO pieces is probably not the best idea now that I think about it... Side (Minifigures): On the right side of the box there is a quaint picture of the included minifigures with appropriate surroundings. The floating painting is a tad spooky. There is also one of the box's closing latches (inner box lid has a tab that slips through it to securely keep the box closed after opening). This is a large box so I find that feature quite convenient. Side (Other Views): And here is the left side of the box, which includes the same angled picture from before and a closeup of the front of the set - namely the terrace and entrance areas. This side includes one of the box's closing latches as well. Instructions: Covers: The covers of all three instruction books all have the same cover, which uses the same picture that is seen on the front of the box. All three instructions books have landscape oriented covers and portrait oriented inner pages, unlike how some sets have both landscape and portrait oriented covers/pages that differ between books. Random Page: As to be expected, the colors of the pieces are distinct and parts that have a metallic sheen have a little shine star next to them whenever they are used in the piece call-out list. There are a decent amount of sub-builds, such as the one shown on the left page on the image above. I didn't include pictures of the part list located within the instruction booklets since the part list located on the side of the box is the same. Bags: Bags Numbered 1 and 2: There are 4 bags labeled 1 and 5 labeled 2. Bags 1 have 3 smaller bags within them and bags 2 have 4 smaller bags. What I term as smaller bags are those little unlabeled bags that are included in larger labeled bags. Bags Numbered 3 and 4: Bags 3 and 4 both add up to 4 bags, respectively. Each one contains 4 smaller bags. A total of 18 bags are included in the set, which is a fair amount. As can be seen, the labels only go up to the number 4. Loose Pieces: Not included in the bags are two loose plates: the plate on the left being 8 x 16 studs and the baseplate on the right having a massive 32 x 32 amount of studs, which came slightly warped in my set but it isn't overly noticeable. Minifigures: A total of 5 minifigures are included in the set, starting from left to right: Artist, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Chef, Waiter. The Artist, Boyfriend, and Girlfriend all have back printing, while the chef and waiter do not. Overall, the prints are nice looking but nothing amazing. The Boyfriend's tie has gold metallic shine to it. Printed Pieces: There are no stickers in this set. Yep, you've heard that correctly - no stickers! There are 10 printed pieces, with the restaurant's sign and menu being the most prominent. The menu's text has a gold metallic shine to it, much like the Boyfriend's tie. Very fancy. Scooter: The scooter features a flip-down/up handle bar and kickstand. It has two studs on the back to hold miscellaneous cargo. Partway Through: Step 5: The first few steps have the builder laying down the sidewalk and entrance area. One cute detail is that "CHEZ" is spelled out in tan plates, which later forms the outside dining area. Step 21 - End of Bags "1": At step 21, which happens to be the end of the bags labeled as 1, has the foundation set and some details already added. To the left we have the exterior and interior dining areas. The light blue tables and dark red lamps really add some nice pop to the earthy color tones used in those particular areas. To the right, we have the bus stop bench, the start of the stairs to the patio, and, finally, the wonderfully detailed kitchen with already prepared food. Extra Pieces - Bags "1": A useful assortment of bricks are counted as extra pieces. TLG seems to enjoy giving out extra rings whenever they can. And to the right of the ring is an extra temperature gauge. Step 33: The olive green walls are going up, as are the stairs to the second floor. A lovely wine display shelf can be spotted in the interior dining area and it helps add some extra atmosphere and mood to the set. Step 57 - End of Bags "2" and Book 1: At step 57, the bags labeled as 2 are all empty and book 1 offers no more insight. This also marks the near-completion of module 1 (the actual restaurant). I write near-completion because the terrace does not yet have its foliage! A shot of module 1 from the left. There is the hanging painting I pointed out back in the beginning of the review and a small side window that offers a glimpse of the kitchen. There are some nice details found in the back of the restaurant. Most are self-explanatory but I want to point out a few things that aren't as obvious: the green trash can and blue dumpster both include some "food" pieces. The trash can has 1 yellow and 1 orange cheese slope, while the dumpster has 2 pink cherries, 2 sausages, and 2 bones... That is going to be one happy mouse! The dumpster's lid has a locking hinge system that offers a wide degree of movement. The smaller foliage pieces are creatively attached to the larger pieces using carrot sprouts. There is a water faucet found below the foliage (which is likely why there is so much vegetation in that area). Two metallic silver grilles can also be spotted, and those represent a door mat or something similar. Moving on, a clear view of the back doorway is shown, complete with a red and white canopy. The kitchen's wall is adorned with various utensils (rolling pin, small and large knives), and one can spot the top half of the white refrigerator that contains some cheese slopes and blocks that represent bottles. I was thinking of taking a picture of the inside of the refrigerator but I have to leave some mystery to the set, right? Look at the size of that turkey! Damn growth hormones. By the way, the turkey is attached using 2 1 x 1 round plates stacked on top of each other. The bottom round plate attaches to the counter and the turkey sits on top of both. A better view of the entrance counter and the two curtains can be seen. Extra Pieces - Bags "2": Again, not a bad lot of extra pieces. Second Floor: Step 20 - Bed Up: And now we begin using those pieces in the "3" bags! By step 20 many of the furnishings are already built and added. The pull-down bed and recliner are my favorites in this section as they are not only useful but provide some extra color and flair to this room. The recliner's back reclines almost 90 degrees and the recliner swivels as it is placed on a 2 x 2 turntable. Next to it is a small coffee table and fireplace. Step 20 - Bed Down: The almighty bed is now flipped down. Be hypnotized by its blue and dark tan comforter and well-sloped pillow! Step 25 - Front Window Installation: The windows installation consists of a SNOT technique that allows the window panes to simply slide into place and then have the two studs located on the window sill lock them into place. I thought this was a cool feature of the build. I turned around the recliner to provide a back view and to demonstrate the fact that it turns. Step 34 - End of Bags "3" and Book 2: Module 2 is completed and we are left with a adorable home for a couple of the minifigures. The back of the module has two doors, one leading to a second balcony and the other leading to the restaurant's patio and module 3's entrance. Here is a top-down view that shows the placement of the furnishings and overall size. The exterior walkway is 3 studs wide. Patio - Bags "3": Bags "3" also build the small but useful patio. This is actually built prior to module 2 and is over in 10 steps. It keeps the same color theme found in the restaurant's exterior dining area, and some excellent hanging planters which add a lot to the look of the set. There is even a mini-bar/shelving area, how cute. The lamp posts swing down to about a 30 degree angle. Patio Attached to Module 1: The patio attaches much the same fashion as the actual modules do: with a select amount of studs. The first floor's staircase transitions nicely to the patio, partly in thanks to the consistent railing that encompasses both the staircase and patio. The Modules Attached: The set, as a whole, is starting to take shape. Module 2 blends well with the ground floor while maintaining its own unique touches, such as the front windows and balcony. So angular and detailed, yum. A back view to show off the flow of the patio and module 2's staircase. That mouse still hasn't moved. I think it's a bit shy. Continuing on with that line of thought, I would've liked a cat to be included with the set. One thing I found to be a bit off is that the door to the balcony does not have a black 1 x 1 round plate door handle on its exterior side. The other two doors seen here do and it makes it seem unfinished; however, since this particular door opens inward, a 1 x1 round plate cannot be attached as it will prevent the door from fully closing. That terrace hasn't received its foliage yet. Don't worry, it's coming! Extra Pieces - Bags "3": Nothing of much value here, but the extras are still welcomed in my spare parts bin. Module 3 - Start of Bags "4": Step 27: And we have made it to bags "4"! These bags build the third and final module - the artist's studio. Some nifty details are present in this module, including the large central window and two facades. Details like these show how much care was given to the design of this set and give the build some excitement. The chimney continues with the same design seen in module 2, utilizing those wonderful mason bricks. More window sill planters are built. Oh, and some interior furnishings can be seen, but who cares about that stuff. On that note, I want to point out how one of the empty studs on the table that holds the artist's palette is used in a similar fashion as a brush's water dish, or, at least, that is how I view it. If I am correct, I think it shows off the attention to detail that the designer put into the set. The fireplace has a industrial hinge door that swings open and close. Inside is a basic fire plume and log bricks. I especially like the mantle and flue. Module 3 - Completed: Oh my, are we done with the build already? Nope! But module 3 is completed. One of the highlights of module 3 is the curved dark blue roof. The white accents provide a lot of contrast with the blue, and act as an intermediary between the light bluish gray and dark blue. Delicious. The second section of the roof, also known as the back, contains 3 windows that act as skylights. The entrance to the studio is located at the right and continues the details we have seen before: the canopy, door mat, and lamp. The potted plant is a nice touch. This roof section flips down via two hinges. The dark bluish gray holders that you may have noticed in prior pictures act as stops. I have also opened the door to the studio to point out how barren that interior entrance way is. There is no clutter that is placed there even though I think a couple crates/boxes would've been welcomed. The clear 2 x 2 round piece (there are actually two of them, one cannot be seen in this picture) that is attached to the front roof section are, I imagine, ceiling lights. Another nice detail. Since the roof is closed at an angle, it doesn't accidentally swing open. It works quite well. A better shot of the interior entrance way can be seen, and, like I mentioned before, it is void of clutter. The easel that holds one of the paintings (the artist doesn't seem to be the best painter) can be rotated as it is attached to a 1 x 2 plate that has 1 stud. Extra Pieces - Bags "4": A few final extra pieces are leftover. Having an extra paint brush is handy so the artist can have one in hand and one in the easel. Various Closeups: Kitchen Appliances and Utilities: Here are the 3 main kitchen mini-modules: the stove/oven (I'm not sure how the chef managed to stuff the turkey in that oven), a cupboard and sink, and another cupboard and shelf. All 3 are great additions and are fun to build. Second Floor Appliances and Furniture: I pointed out a couple of these earlier in the review, but here they are again: drawers, stove/oven, microwave (or cupboard), flip-down bed, recliner, and, in the back, a lamp. Third Floor Decorations: Roof Facade: On the right I have a partially assembled segment of one of the roof's facades. The completed version can be seen on the left. It is a creative use of bricks. This particular facade design adds an organic feel to the overall set that balances well with the crisp angles found on the bottom floor. The left is how it looks partially assembled and the right showcases the final product. A total of 3 of these are built. Fully Built - Overview: Well, look at that, the terrace has foliage! The last step in book 3 is to add the two 5 x 6 leaves pieces to the terrace. Quite odd that it is done then and not in book 1. Maybe it was a last minute addition? The last module really sets off the color scheme, doesn't it? Anyway, I will let the following pictures speak for themselves. The Good Life: Ah, another relaxing day in LEGO land. And no, the waiter is not about to go on a killing spree - he just wants a quick bite of that croissant. And to answer my question in my Author's Notes section, the seagull does not appear to exist; however, using the extra pieces I'm sure something seagull-ish can be built. Perhaps a cyborg seagull (half machine, half seagull, and one-third turkey) that terrorizes the restaurant? Reviewer's Score: Playability: 9.4/10 – Having a dedicated restaurant in one's city is always a good idea, and TLG hasn't released any until set 10243 besides a few smaller cafés like set 6376. As such, this helps bring out its playability since now your LEGO city patrons have a place to fill their bellies. Still, even as a standalone set, I think the playability should be rated highly as there are plenty of appliances, furniture, details, and features to be played with. Design: 9.7/10 – The finished set is, simply put, beautiful. The white, olive green, grays, and blues flow so well with one another while still providing a varied look with plenty of contrast to attract the eye. Some areas feel overly cramped, the second floor's glass door cannot be closed without removing the third module due to no exterior-facing door knob, and I am not pleased about the lack of clutter in the artist's studio near its entrance but, overall, I cannot find much in the way of faults. Some great building techniques were incorporated in the build and it was a joy to construct, which is more than I can say about a fair share of other LEGO sets. Price: 9.6/10 – Weighing in at about 2,500 pieces for $159.99 USD is quite the good deal. I was expecting a ton of small pieces but there was a large variety of sizes found in the bags. The 32 x 32 gray baseplate and the fact that there are no stickers help as well. Total: 28.7/30 or 96% – When 10243 Parisian Restaurant is released in January 2014, drive to your local LEGO store or head on over to their online store and purchase yourself at least one as it is an excellent set to build, own, play with, and look at. The culmination of colors, attention to detail, and features are all wonderful and should complement anyone's LEGO collection.

The teachers have prepared 4 reviews in celebration of the Academy's 5 years: 6036: Skeleton Surprise by dj2005 850425: Business Card Holder by LuxorV 850839: Pirate minifigure pack by WhiteFang 79103: Turtle Lair Attack by Oky In addition to this, over the course of this last year the teachers have given 20 early, exclusive reviews of some highly anticipated sets: 10233: Horizon Express by mostlytechnic 10937: Batman: Arkham Asylum Breakout by Clone O'Patra 21017: Imperial Hotel by Masked Builder 41015: Dolphin Cruiser by Oky 41005: Heartlake High by Pandora 41999: 4X4 Crawler Exclusive Edition by Masked Builder 70706: Crater Creeper by Pandora 21050: Create Your Own Architecture by JimButcher 21018: United Nations Headquarters by Clone O'Patra 21103: Back To The Future Time Machine by Rufus 70003: Eris Eagle Interceptor reviewed by WhiteFang 70004: Wakz' Pack Tracker reviewed by I Scream Clone 70100: Ring of Fire reviewed by WhiteFang 70102: CHI Waterfall reviewed by I Scream Clone 71001: LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 10 reviewed by WhiteFang 10240: Red Five X-Wing Starfighter reviewed by Rufus 70708: Hive Crawler reviewed by LuxorV 70709: Galactic Titan reviewed by WhiteFang 21015: Leaning Tower of Pisa reviewed by Rufus 71002: LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 11 reviewed by WhiteFang Read here to view more information in this discussion topic for the Reviewers Academy Fifth Anniversary Celebration. Sincerely, The Reviewers Academy Teachers

dj2005, Clone O'Patra, def, Big Cam, WhiteFang VBBN, Pandora, Rufus, LuxorV, JimButcher, Inconspicuous, ZO6, The Penguin Oky, Brickdoctor, Masked Builder, The Cobra, R8, Sisco Dear Eurobricks Community, Since 2008, the Reviewers Academy has striven to help put good LEGO set reviews out to Eurobricks and the AFOL community as a whole. We teach students how to take professional-looking pictures and to write detailed opinions and facts about sets. In-depth lessons and one-on-one interaction teaches students everything from the basics of reviewing to neat tips and tricks to give reviews that extra flair. Today represents the fifth year of the Reviewers Academy. When the Academy first began, five years was a milestone to reach, and today we have achieved that. It has been a long journey, one that has only been made possible thanks to the students who wish to learn, and the teachers willingness to dedicate the time and knowledge to them. This year we saw 4 students complete the first portion of the Academy and achieve the bronze-level (Brickington, TrumpetKing, Boomchil, The Penguin), 2 silver-level students (Boomchil, The Penguin), and we welcomed a new teacher (ThePenguin). These students are accompanied by those already working toward producing quality reviews in the Academy, and welcomed by 59 new students who joined us since last year. If you are interested in joining the Reviewers Academy, Please visit the official topic for more details. The teachers have prepared 4 reviews in celebration of the Academy's 5 years: 6036: Skeleton Surprise by dj2005 850425: Business Card Holder by LuxorV 850839: Pirate minifigure pack by WhiteFang 79103: Turtle Lair Attack by Oky In addition to this, over the course of this last year the teachers have given 20 early, exclusive reviews of some highly anticipated sets: 10233: Horizon Express by mostlytechnic 10937: Batman: Arkham Asylum Breakout by Clone O'Patra 21017: Imperial Hotel by Masked Builder 41015: Dolphin Cruiser by Oky 41005: Heartlake High by Pandora 41999: 4X4 Crawler Exclusive Edition by Masked Builder 70706: Crater Creeper by Pandora 21050: Create Your Own Architecture by JimButcher 21018: United Nations Headquarters by Clone O'Patra 21103: Back To The Future Time Machine by Rufus 70003: Eris Eagle Interceptor reviewed by WhiteFang 70004: Wakz' Pack Tracker reviewed by I Scream Clone 70100: Ring of Fire reviewed by WhiteFang 70102: CHI Waterfall reviewed by I Scream Clone 71001: LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 10 reviewed by WhiteFang 10240: Red Five X-Wing Starfighter reviewed by Rufus 70708: Hive Crawler reviewed by LuxorV 70709: Galactic Titan reviewed by WhiteFang 21015: Leaning Tower of Pisa reviewed by Rufus 71002: LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 11 reviewed by WhiteFang Sincerely, The Reviewers Academy Teachers

I was rather interested in this polybag. Polybag availability can be iffy anywhere so I wasn't sure if I could get it. When I found it in my box I was quite excited to have it! Set Information: Name: Super Secret Police Enforcer Set Number: 30282 Pieces: 40 Price: $4.99 Ages: 6-12 Minifigs: 1 Theme: The LEGO Movie Year of Release: 2014 Bricklink Brickset Flickr Set Baggy: There's not much on the front of this bag, nice and neat. The speeder, for lack of a better word, is placed on a rather neutral background, I think it's a construction site. The back has the usual translations and warnings. Contents: Five extra parts. I wonder why LEGO chose the trans-black visor... Manual: The manual is a very nice blue and yellow setup, it reminds me of the construction sets. There are six steps on this page, and you've mostly finished the build. Four more steps on this page, along with two sub-assemblies. There's also a large ad for several other The LEGO Movie sets. Minifigure: While I really like the uni-eyed robot, this guy is growing on me. His helmet only comes in one other set, and this is a much cheaper way to get it. The torso is nicely detailed with a great badge that matches his helmet logo, and his knee-pads and pockets on his legs are great. On his back he has a radio with a wire going to his helmet. I guess what I don't like about this guy is that his head is a "v" shape, just not my style. This gun is great! I thought the stock would be longer, and I'm not sure if I like the clip on the top, but I think I can ignore it. Finished Model: No build pictures with this model as I showed you the manual. This is a very compact, fun little craft. The lines are great, and the angles flow well. Good work LEGO. While simple, this speeder is quite spectacular. The simple lines, flowing curves, and over all great shape lend this to be a great model. I noticed on the bag that LEGO intends for there to be three thrusters on this model, though only two have trans pieces to represent that. The back is not really for viewing, plus you won't see it when you're swooshing it. Conclusion: This is one of my favorite polybags that I've gotten in a long time. It's very, very fun to swoosh around the house. Like I said, the minifigure has grown on me as I've written this review, he looks better with his helmet on for sure. While the build is simple, and there are no great parts, it all goes together to make a great, fun little set. Good work LEGO. (Now to find out who designed it.) Ratings: Playability: 8/10 There's not a lot beyond swooshing it around. Yes I do love swooshing stuff that much. Design: 8/10 I think LEGO probably could have squeezed in a flick missile, but I like where the set is now. Price: 9/10 Not the best PPP ratio, but the design for such a small number of parts is great. Minifigures: 8/10 He's got a rather rare helmet. Parts: 6/10 Nothing new or spectacular in this set. Total: 39/50 How he drives in a straight line with only one hand on steering is beyond me. Like this review? Want to learn how to make good reviews? Then join the Reviewers Academy!

I rather liked the look of this polybag. A small Micro Manager to battle with Wyld Style, I wasn't planning on getting any sets with Mirco Managers, and what looked to be a nice part selection. This too came in my package with The LEGO Movie Presskit. Set Information: Name: Micro Manager Battle Set Number: 30281 Pieces: 27 Price: Promotional Item Ages: 6-12 Minifigs: 1 Theme: The LEGO Movie Year of Release: 2014 Bricklink Brickset Flickr Set Baggy: The front of the bag shows a scene from the end of the movie where the Master Builders are fighting the Managers. I don't remember Wyle Style getting nun-chucks though. The LEGO Movie logo is featured prominetly. As this is the European bag, there is very little information to clutter up the front of the bag. On the back, you have the usual warnings and translations of the set name. Though on this set there seem to be less than usual. Contents: There are four extra parts in this set. Nothing to really note however. Wyld Style's hood came in this bag, I assume to protect the color printing. Manual: I love that the manual harks back to the older style of Creator sets, with the yellow and blue color scheme. In six steps you've built most of the Micro Manager. Only a quarter of this page is actual instructions. The other half is devoted to an ad for some of the other The LEGO Movie sets. Minifigures: Wyld Style is a great minifigure. Sure she has a generic hoodie on, but it is still cool. The right side of her outfit has been "gratified" on in blue and pink, it's a newer idea that LEGO tried and it works for this figure. Her hair is also quite new, she's got some printed highlights in her hair. The first thing that jumps out on you when you look at her back is her hood. The inside of her hood is printed in a nice pink color. She has the usual female print, which has some of the sides taken out with some printing. Here you can see the printing on her arm, which matches the print on her torso and legs, as well as the profile of her hood. It doesn't stick out to bad. The other side of her head is a bit of a point face, and you can also see the pink and blue print on her back. Finished Model: No build pictures as this set is so small. I really quite like this set, it has two of the new upward brackets. This guy looks very like the other Micro Managers, LEGO did a great job keeping them all similar. He only has one eye, but a common eye count isn't unusual with these guys. Not to much of anything going on in the back of him. What he's supposed to do with the wrench and chainsaw piece, I'm not sure. If the kids like it, that's all that matters. Conclusion: This was a very quick set to build. There's not a whole lot to it either, though I LOVE the parts selection here. The new brackets are great to have around. Wyld Style isn't a bad minifigure in anyway, though I've already got three of this version, maybe more sets with her hooded... Ratings: Playability: 5/10 Let's be honest here, the whole idea is for Wyld Style to "fight" the Manager. But there are no fighting features. (Flick Fires) Design: 6/10 It's a micro manager, which is a black box. Price: 8/10 While I don't know what price this will be, I think $4 is fair for the amount of decent parts. Minifigures: 7/10 Nobody exclusive to this polybag, but a good way to get a cheap Wyle Style. Parts: 9/10 I LOVE the new upward brackets. You get two in black! Total: 35/50 For some reason, I keep seeing this. Like this review? Want to learn how to make good reviews? Then join the Reviewers Academy!

When I first heard of this set, I wasn't at all interested. Small polybag, with Emmet and a rock? Not really interesting. I was planning on getting the Cloud Cuckoo set, so Emmet wasn't a draw for me. This set was in my package of sets including The LEGO Movie Press Kit. So I can't argue with that! Let's see how the set is. Set Information: Name: The Piece Of Resistance Set Number: 30280 Pieces: 33 Price: S@H Promotion Ages: 6-12 Minifigs: 1 Theme: The LEGO Movie Year of Release: 2014 Bricklink Brickset Flickr Set Baggy: I really like the layout of The LEGO Movie set art. We have The LEGO Movie logo in the upper right corner as well as some movie frames showing numbers. This is the European bag, and it doesn't have any age or part counts on the front. The back is full of the usual stuff, warnings in every language, and The LEGO Movie translated too. Contents: Here are the extra pieces. Rather boring, but not bad for a polybag. Manual: The manual has five, six if you want to count the instructions for Emmet, steps on this page. The blue and yellow printing seems fitting since this set is based in a construction site. On the back are four more steps, as well as a warning not to launch the rock bit at anyone head, though how you would do that I don't know. The other half of the manual is taken up by an ad for three of The LEGO Movie sets. Minifigure: Emmet is the same as each other Emmet made. While it is a generic construction worker design, after having seen the movie, it's much more special to me. I love his badge with his name on it, as well as his rather classic exp<b></b>ression. From the back you can really see the new hair mold well, the Piece of Resistance blocks up a lot of the printing on his back too. His alternate expression is nice, I love having new faces, as it gives me more choices in scared heads. The back print on Emmet is some reflective silver bits. Finished Model: The completed set. It's really simple and took me less than five minutes to build. Though I do like the combination of colors and slopes which make for an interesting look overall. It's really just a rock, though the 1x1 plates in trans-yellow do break up the monotony. LEGO has done a rather good job with their sloping in making an interesting shape. And the other side, this little bit is all functionally. Functions: The main feature of this set is "finding" the Piece of Resistance. By pushing this piece here. The rock piece goes flying. It actually launches fairly far, this is how far it went. I didn't push that hard, if you push harder it would probably go farther. Conclusion: This neat little polybag isn't terrible. Sure it just includes Emmet and a rock bit, but I could see some young boys wanting a cheap set with Emmet and the Piece of Resistance. I believe that this set is all about the functionally of "finding" the Piece. Which is a good idea, since this is a big moment in the film and not at all represented in the film. Overall I like, it. Not the best polybag I own, but not bad either. Ratings: Playability: 5/10 This set is all about the function of "finding" the Piece of Resistance. It's not a terrible function, but this throwing design has been done before. Design: 7/10 I like the color combination and the angles that the slopes make. Price: 7/10 I can see this set retailing for about $4, which isn't a bad price. I can see kids buying this just so they have Emmet. Minifigures: 6/10 It's just Emmet. He's generic but designed well, and I rather like him after see the movie. Parts: 8/10 Nothing to interesting, I do like the slopes that were included. More slopes are always nice, especially when I'm doing rock work. Total: 33/50 It works quite nicely as a Emmet flinger too. See my review of The LEGO Movie Press Kit here, as well as links to my reviews of the other LEGO Movie polybags! Like this review? Want to learn how to make good reviews? Then join the Reviewers Academy!

Title of Set: 6036 Skeleton Surprise Theme: Castle/Royal Knights Year Released: 1995 Piece Count: 74 Minifigures: 2 Original Price: $8 (USD), Unknown (EUR), Unknown (GBP) Current Prices: BrickLink Price Guide Further Information: Brickset, Lugnet, Peeron, Photobucket Album Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a vigilant knight who dedicated his later life toward the pursuit of finding the elusive golden chalice, which, according to myth, bestowed immortality on whoever drank from it. As the years ticked by, and the days grew ever-colder, the knight fought through many obstacles in his path and, in a dank and dark crypt, he finally found the one thing that could make all of his hardships and sacrifices worthwhile - the golden chalice. He marveled in its beauty for a moment before he quickly filled the chalice to its brim with water from his canteen, spilling some water here and there due to his excitement and anticipation. Once full, he drank as much as he could bear whilst he thought about how many good deeds he could accomplish with his new lifespan; however, unbeknownst to the knight, the myth left out a crucial piece of information... that the chalice does indeed grant eternal life but also binds the drinker to guard the chalice forever... Author's Notes: The year 1995 can be seen as the end of the first golden era concerning the Castle theme, as gone were the old fashioned Lion Knights, Black Falcons, Wolfpack, and the ever-beloved Forestmen . That certainly does not mean that all sets were bad during this time (and this is highly subjective anyway) as treasures such as 6036 Skeleton Surprise were occasionally released and are still a joy to own today. And, like most older LEGO sets, three alternate builds are showcased on the box that actually look quite good. You can take a gander at two of the alternative builds here. The build on the right is my favorite of the three. P.S. I know that I stated I would no longer do reviews on vintage sets during my 6956 Stellar Recon Voyager review, but I couldn't help myself. Instructions: Cover: The cover page features the set with the Royal Knight scared by a cute little skeleton. The background maintains the Castle feel of the sets released in the 80s and early 90s by using rolling hills with a rising / setting sun. Random Page: The instructions are an actual booklet and not a pamphlet. Included are 15 steps on 16 pages. The contrast and point of view are both good, making the build easy and enjoyable. Minifigures: Royal Knight: Here is the Royal Knight, who is presumably stationed at the guard tower / crypt to keep a lookout or to take the golden goblet. He is equipped with a brown spear, a Royal Knights shield, and a beautiful and luxurious beard that is paired with some manly stubble. As can be seen, his emblem suffers from the all-too-well-known issue of the white print not being fully opaque, causing it to look pink when applied on a red background. Skeleton: The skeleton is nothing new, even back then, and features the old-styled mold that has ball jointed arms which have a full range of motion but lack tension, causing the arms to strongly obey the law of gravity. I had a lot of fun playing with these skeletons when I was a kid and I enjoy them more than the newer skeletons, despite their shortfalls. Accessories: A yellow goblet (sadly, no pearl gold color existed at this time), brown spear, dark gray lance, and Royal Knights shield make up the accessories. Definitely not much but I find it adequate for a small set. Still, it leaves me wanting a treasure chest filled with a few lovely gold pieces. One can never have enough gold pieces. Pieces of Note: Included in this set are four black wall pieces, one of which has a cobblestone print. These pieces are great for building castles and other similar structures. The Rest of the Pieces: This set largely consists of black and light gray pieces, and even though only a little over 70 pieces are included, most of them are versatile and excellent for adding to existing sets or for creating MOCs. A good example of quality over quantity. Partway Through Building: This is approximately the halfway point in the build, but, as can be seen, the structure is already taking form. The golden goblet is tucked away deep in the crypt. This is slightly further along the build process and shows where and how the skeleton hangs. Look at those arms droop! Completed: Front: How peaceful... Front with Skeleton Hanging Down: Oh my god! A skeleton! The Royal Knight is so manly that he doesn't even care. The skeleton swings downward when the lance is pulled out to a certain point. The skeleton can then be swung back up into position using the technic rod that is attached to the gray cone to the left. I find it easier to just lift him back up using my finger since the cone doesn't have the best grip on the technic rod. Left Side: A nice little yard is on the left side of the set. A good place for a little creative building. As you may have already noticed, TLG supplied a 4 x 6 plate for the roof, which doesn't cover the whole area. This leaves gaps that are both unsightly and unconventional. A 6 x 6 plate solves this issue. I'm guessing that TLG used a 4 x 6 so that the plate is easier to remove. Right Side: The right side has enough room for some flowers, minifigures, and even small brick-built trees. Back: Yes, this set actually has a fully enclosed back. Quite shocking, I know. It makes the set feel complete, satisfying and kind of like a mini-castle. Alternate Build: Sweet, sweet revenge, Mr. Skeleton... It isn't an exact copy of what the TLG designer built, but it is close enough! There is a good amount of scale with this alternate build and it reminds me a bit of 6265 Sabre Island. With a couple extra pieces to fill in the second floor, I probably like it more than the chosen build. Reviewer's Score: Playability: 9.2/10 – Swinging skeleton, knight, goblet full of delicious immortality - what more could one ask for in an $8 set? Well, maybe another knight, horse, extra weapons, or a treasure chest with gold pieces. Design: 9.4/10 – The biggest flaws, in my opinion, are the 4 x 6 plate for the roof that leaves unsightly gaps and the skeleton's arms hanging down while he is hanging, which kind of ruins the surprise. Some flower plants would've been a nice addition to offset the blank space on the two sides, and maybe some front doors like seen in 6034 Black Monarch's Ghost. While I'm at it, a ladder to the roof would've been welcomed as well. Otherwise, this is a beautiful set with worthwhile alternate builds. Price: 8/10 – At $8 MSRP, it was fairly priced as it includes some wonderful pieces; however, I wouldn't say no to having another minifigure and/or some more goodies included in the set. Fortunately, the set can be found pretty cheaply nowadays on BrickLink and elsewhere. Total: 26.6/30 – A very satisfying, self-contained set that is comparable to sets 6034 and 1888, and makes a nice gift to those who are just getting into Castle or to long-timers.

... There stood a tower of marvelous shape. It was fashioned by the builders of old, who smoothed the Ring of Isengard, and yet it seemed a thing not made by the craft of Men, but riven from the bones of the earth in the ancient torment of the hills. A peak and isle of rock it was, black and gleaming hard: four mighty piers of many-sided stone were welded into one, but near the summit they opened into gaping horns, their pinnacles sharp as the points of spears, keen-edged as knives. Between them was a narrow space, and there upon a floor of polished stone, written with strange signs, a man might stand five hundred feet above the plain. - JRR Tolkien, The Two Towers Orthanc is the tower home of traitor wizard Saruman. It sits in the centre of Isengard, a once-lush valley at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, the range which runs like a spine down the centre of Middle-Earth. It is one of the eponymous Two Towers of the middle episode of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, together with Barad-Dûr (in the movies) or Minas Morgul (in the novels). This set represents the flagship of the LEGO Lord of the Rings range. It was first spotted in the background of a photograph of The LEGO Group's design workshop some time ago, but finally revealed in an official press release in April of this year. Although it is not scheduled for release until July, I was lucky to snag an early copy from the shop at LEGOLAND Deutschland during the Eurobricks Event. The sheer scale of the towers of the Lord of the Rings saga - Barad-Dûr, Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul, and Orthanc - makes them difficult to render in LEGO bricks at an affordable price, which I suspect is why TLG have shied away from producing sets of these behemoths ... until now. Of the four, Orthanc is probably the most achievable; let's see how the result shapes up. Review: 10237 The Tower of Orthanc Set Information Name: The Tower of Orthanc Number: 10237 Theme: Lord of the Rings (Shop@Home Exclusive) Release: July 2013 Parts: 2359 Figures: 5 minifigures, Eagle, and Ent Price: GB £169.99 | US $199.99 | EUR 199.99 | AU $279.99 | CA $249.99 | DKK 1699.00 Links ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron The Box Click for a larger full-frontal image This is a big box. It has the same frontal dimensions as last year's UCS-scale 10227 B-Wing Starfighter - a similarly priced set, though with fewer pieces - but it isn't as deep. Orthanc is shown amidst the Ent-derived desolation of the valley of Isengard; an unnamed Ent shakes an Uruk while another Orc attempts to bring him down with a grappling hook; Gandalf simultaneously escapes on an eagle in a strange time-warp of the storyline. A darkening sky sets the mood of the scene perfectly; quite why Barad-dûr is visible in the background is anyone's guess. The height of Orthanc isn't readily apparent from the picture; a small inset therefore demonstrates the tower's dimensions. Round the back, the tower's entire detailed interior is displayed for your perusal, accompanied by insets of various scenes: some canon, some less so. Click for a larger image Behind the parchment-like insets lies a map of Middle-Earth set on a beautiful gradient from earth blue on the right to fiery orange on the left; this is visible to a lesser extent on the front ... ... and continues on the sides: Here are left and right sides respectively. The latter's top edge is on the right, so the map - which continues at the top end of this side - is the right way up. Isengard is just visible in the centre, about a third of the way from the right, at the end of the Misty Mountains range. Kudos to the box artist if its placement here was deliberate. The five minifigures are represented in 1:1 scale on the box top ... ... while the bottom has a wall of text with the usual language lesson. My box is a little battered here, but it has just travelled six hundred miles in the back of an over-packed car. It appears that the set's components were made in DENMARK, CHINA, SWEDEN, HUNGARY, MEXICO, HONG KONG, the CZECH REPUBLIC, NARNIA, the MOON, and EVERYWHERE. What's in the Box? The box flaps are sealed with tape, so it can be flat-packed easily. Out falls the separately-wrapped and cardboard-backed Instructions and sticker pack, and eighteen polybags forming fifteen modules: see one to eight, which includes the separately packed Eagle, and nine to fifteen. The Instructions Three booklets are included, all of a similar size and thickness; all featuring the same image as the box front, and all covered with nice glossy paper. On their backs are an advertisement for the LEGO Club, the detestable WinGangeGewinne kid, and a trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; I'm not sure whether the last is a console game, a web game, a video, or a set; but whatever it is, it's coming in December 2013. Maybe it just refers to the forthcoming cinematic release. The modular construction is demonstrated over three pages at the start of manual one: It's actually a little daunting. Although the build process is modular, most sections start building directly onto the previous; there are only two places where the tower is designed to separate - between modules 9 and 10, and 12 and 13 - but even then, it doesn't separate easily. Part call-outs accompany the instruction steps, which are generally easy to follow. The Middle-Earth map is faintly visible in the parchment-coloured background. Despite the preponderance of blacks and dark bluish-greys, there are no major colour-differentiation issues; I only made one mistake in the entire build - mistaking black for DBG on a 1x1 round plate - and I noticed the error very quickly. The substantial inventory is located over three pages at the back of book three; click the links for pages 1, 2, and 3. Also at the rear of this booklet is a subversive 'Collect them all!' enticement, in the form of a minifigure display: Quite why this is included in an adult-oriented set is anyone's guess, but I guess adults can be pretty obsessive collectors too (though less likely deface their instructions by ticking the boxes). Other sets from the impressive Summer LOTR range are advertised: We are encouraged to buy two copies of the Black Gate in order to complete the scene; quite what we'll do with two Gandalfs the White is questionable, but it will help towards amassing an army of Eagles. I'm particularly looking forward to the Corsair ship with its Dead crew. Sticker haters beware ... ... there's a lot of them. Thankfully, they are all applied to flat surfaces, but that doesn't stop them being a pain in the backside. I've actually applied them this time, so we'll see where they go later. The Parts To save space and sanity, I've paired the bags up to show the parts. Modules One and Two build the Ent: There's a lot of useful reddish and dark brown here, along with some less useful parts. I can live without the reddish brown wing-end modified brick, and the Symmetrical wedge with fractured top may be relatively uncommon, but I can't see it becoming sought-after. New in dark brown are the Technic ball-joint bricks; a rather unexciting brick to find in a new colour, but it might be useful for tree-building (obviously). I am pleased by the selection of reddish-brown and dark brown bricks, plates and slopes; there's also a useful array of SNOT bricks and brackets, along with a smattering of dark and olive green. It's worth pointing out the two reddish-brown half-arches; these are the continuous-curved type, like the older 2339, but have a reinforced underside like the discontinuous style 76768 (and a new mold number: 14395). See here for a comparison. The three printed 1x1 tiles at the bottom-right of the picture are Ent eyes; one is spare. From this point onwards, we'll be seeing a sea of black and grey, so be prepared. Bags Three and Four build the base of the tower, and the Uruk. There are a whole load of useful basic black bricks, plates, and tiles, and a load of dark bluish-grey SNOT bricks, with more to come later. The 7x3 flags are new in earth blue; the new 'Elven' arches start to feature here. Bags Five and Six ... whoa. These form the SNOT sides to the tower base. Whoa. Need black plates/jumpers/headlights/bows/tiles? Look no further. Shame the 1x1 bricks with handle were on the Pick-A-Brick recently. Saruman appears with Bags Seven and Eight, and he brings with him more black jumpers and headlights: The 4x4 round plate with central cut-out is new in black. Just in front of the red Light Brick is a green and black round ball, the purpose of which we'll see in due course, if you haven't guessed already. There's also ten 1x3 black arches in this selection. Bag Nine should have been included with 7 and 8 - it forms part of the same section: the Throne Room. Here we start to see lots of black 1x2 bricks with grooves, which will feature prominently throughout the set. The two trans-yellow crystal ball globes also appear in the contemporary 79005 Wizard Battle, and serve exactly the same purpose here. Moving on to Bags Ten and Eleven, the black theme continues ... ... here accompanied by Gríma, and many more useful headlights, SNOT bricks, cheeses and tiles. The trans-clear flask with purple liquid makes its first appearance in a non-Collectable Minifigure set. Gandalf finally appears with Bags Twelve and Thirteen: 1x2 grooved bricks, 1x1 bricks, and 1x2 plates with ridge dominate the selection here; in the top right corner are several 2x2x3 slopes and their corner equivalents. Just visible at the front is a single trans-clear minifigure head - I love this part. And finally, Bags Fourteen and Fifteen build the tower's summit with its spines. There are lots of clippy- and clicky-hinges; the latter make for an interesting build technique, as we shall see. The four black 'Persian' arches contrast to the much larger quantity of 'Elven' arches we have seen earlier. Parts Summary There might not be a great spread of new or rare parts in this set, but I hope I have demonstrated the massive quantity of useful elements included. Here are the front-runners: 113 Black 1x1 Brick 86 Black 1x2 Brick with grooves 73 Black 1x2 Plate 58 Black 1x1 Brick with vertical handle 58 Black 1x2 Jumper Plate 54 Black 1x1 Headlight Brick 45 Black 1x1 Plate 41 Black 1x2 Brick 37 Black 1x1 Cheese Wedge 37 Black 1x1 Tile 37 Black 1x2 Plate with ridge 36 Black 1x10 Bow 32 Black 1x3 Brick 32 DkBGr 1x4 SNOT Brick 26 Black 1x3x3 Elven Arch All in all, this makes a great parts pack - if you need black. The Figures From left to right: Saruman the White, Gríma Wormtongue, Gandalf the Grey, Uruk-Hai, and Orc Pitmaster. Just five figures for a flagship set? It seems a bit stingy, especially considering the range which accompanies other sets of the line: this year's 79008 Pirate Ship Ambush, for example, comes with nine. However, we do also get the Eagle, and the large brick-built Ent which is an important character in itself. Moreover, Gríma is (I believe) unique to this set, and Saruman is new to this summer wave. Gandalf the Grey This version of Gandalf - prior to his level in badass after the Balrog encounter - is surprisingly rare in LEGO Lord of the Rings. He previously appeared only in the entry-level 9469 Gandalf Arrives, and there had a different face and pointy hat instead of this 'Dumbledore' hairpiece. His torso is the same here. This face is new, and reversible: amiable on one side, and ... angry? distressed? I'm not sure. This version is the same as included in the 79005 Wizard Battle - which is basically a way for people who just want Saruman to avoid having to buy this set - except he has a cape in 10237. The cape is another issue: it gets awfully crumpled under the beard and headpiece, and the latter doesn't sit comfortably above the cape. Gríma Wormtongue For a bad guy, I find Gríma's LEGO version to be rather sympathetic. He has a countenance which is somewhere between glum and scared; even his 'angry' face is tinged with fear. I like the use of tan to mimic his sallow complexion. His torso is, I believe, unique, though it looks like he's stolen the Ring for himself. His hair isn't nearly greasy enough. Saruman the White I'm slightly annoyed that this figure will soon be available in a £10 set. To be fair, this version comes with a dress and cape, and people would undoubtedly complain about having to buy a $200 set for an essential LOTR character. As head of the wizards' order, his dress robe has the necessary finery, and looks great! He also has a rubbery-feel, decorated hair-and-beard piece, which judging by its feel, decoration, and separate wrapping is presumably a Chinese production. Under the hair/beard, his face is new; though it puts me in mind more of Sean Connery than Chritopher Lee (think Marco Ramius in The Hunt for Red October, and you'll see what I mean). The set includes legs, for when the unposeable dress is too much, and the front-and-back-printed torso is simply gorgeous. Here are Gríma and Saruman for comparison - on the Orthanc balcony: TLG have captured both well. Look also to either side - it's like that tooth piece was made for Orthanc (or Orthanc designed with LEGO in mind! ). Uruk-Hai Solder This guy is nice (if a ferocious cross-bred maggot soldier can be nice ), though sadly he isn't unique. He can be found in quantity in 9471 Uruk-Hai Army, and, with the beautiful White Hand printed armour, in 9476 Orc Forge. Still, at least he's compatible with the rest of the army. His head is reversible, allowing for some variety in Uruk heads within the army; I'd like to have seen some with the White Hand in different orientations, but that might be a tall order. Orc Pitmaster This dude is ugly. But, he's meant to be. He can be found also in 9476 Orc Forge. Sadly, he doesn't have the ears/hair that one of his doubles from that set has, and I think he looks a little 'unfinished' without it. Great Eagle Although not listed as a minifigure, I've included the Eagle here. He comes in a separate polybag, suggesting Chinese production; and has the detailed printing to match. The LEGO Group haven't given him a name, and he isn't directly named in the movie, to my knowledge; however, I've read the book, and I know that he must therefore be Gwaihir the Windlord. (Apparently, in the movie version of Fellowship, Gandalf whispers 'Gwaihir' to the moth, but I confess I didn't pick that up.) Gwaihir consists of three pieces: the body/head, and the two wings. Unfortunately the head doesn't move. He's pretty big, with a magnificent wingspan, as Gandalf here demonstrates. Four studs on the top allow Gandalf to 'ride' him. I'd have preferred somewhere for him to grip, so that he looks like he's clinging on, but hey. The printing of the wings and tail-feathers is beautiful ... ... and it continues on the underside: His 'talons' aren't so hot: just a 2x2 anti-stud matrix. If you want a bigger, more versaitile eagle, use the new CREATOR one. I'm pretty pleased with this, and I'm almost glad LEGO is encouraging us to buy two copies of the Black Gate set - we'll have three eagles! The Ent Here's the unspecified Ent. I'm not sure which Ent he's meant to be - I think only Treebeard is named in the movies - but in LEGO form, he's basically a big Steampunk macha with foliage and a mushroom. There's a nicely irregular, lopsided look as befitting these strange woody creatures. Take your pick as to which of the many Ents he represents. Judging by the earth green 'beard', he might be meant to represent Treebeard himself, though the resemblance isn't perfect: The LEGO version doesn't really have a 'head'; his eyes are level with his shoulders. I couldn't find an Ent exactly like this in the movies. He does have space at the top where Merry and Pippin might perch: You can also see here the he has a Bionic Arm. Turning the grooved cylinder at the back rotates the arm around the shoulder joint. I'm not exactly clear what purpose this serves; the Ent could hurl rocks at the tower, or perhaps high-five other Ents. The gearing is stiff (achieved by using a stud-end axle in a Technic brick), so the arm will stay in whatever position you leave it: Here he's giving some kind of salute. Note the opposable thumbs, meaning he can pick up stuff. The big downside of the Bionic Arm is that the arm can't be abducted (swung outwards) at the shoulder; therefore, when the arm is lowered, the elbow has to twist uncomfortably: He looks like he's about to start dancing here. The stiff ball-joints, strong clicky-hinges at the hips, and huge feet means that he balances rather well: I'm not sure whether he's skating, or pushing something, but it's a dynamic pose. For a tree, he's quite bendy: 90 degrees movement at the hips ... ... forwards or backwards. This is handy for sticking his head in the water if it catches fire, like one Ent in the film. I haven't directly demonstrated this, but he can also swivel at the waist, where a Technic axle allows a full 360 degrees of movement. If he gets tired, he can have a rest: Note the reddish-brown 'wing-end modified bricks' that cover the arms. I hate these parts anyway, but here they are super-annoying: if you try to grip the arm, it's all to easy to apply pressure to the wing end, the result of which will be the piece pinging off across the room. Still, they do help produce a nice contour to the arms. Enty's prehensile arms enable him to pick up figures: Here he's grabbed the Orc and the Uruk. The Bionic Arm doesn't help here, but you can bash the two figures together ... ... like this: Nice. The Tower It's really hard to demonstrate in these photos, but this is a tall building. At 73cm from base to tip, it's the tallest LEGO structure I've ever built (not counting contributions to multi-coloured monoliths at LEGO roadshows when I was little, or an ugly thing I made as part of a team-building exercise at work ). There's some beautiful detailing on the structure, which we'll look at in due course. The basic construction of the tower - four pillars of black rock moulded together and tapering towards the peak with its four spines - is rendered faithfully, though obviously scaled down ... Click each frame for a larger view ... and of course the fourth pillar is missing, to allow the detailed interior to be visible. Now we'll take a look at the exterior, layer by layer, starting at the base: The black is highly reflective. Apparently Saruman lives in Heartlake next to the school. It's also a dust-magnet. I love the way the spines of rock at the base have been recreated with the long black bows, and the tall staircase leading up to the arched entranceway is simply magnificent. To see how the stairs are attached at 45 degrees, click here. Obviously, the number of spines, and the width of the staircase have been reduced to match the scale. Here's what the base should look like: The many 1x1 bricks with vertcal handle, and the 1x2 cheese wedges above, add further realism; compare here. Moving up, the next layer includes lots of little windows, made with 1x3 arches mounted on jumper plates at a half-stud offset. These are rather fiddly to build, but the result is great. Here also is Saruman's balcony, from which he surveys the building of his army and the wanton destruction of his own garden. Again, the detail is reproduced as faithfully as possible given the scale: Click for an alternative shot of this level Those rubbery tooth-pieces are perfect facsimiles of the spines higher up; 1x2 bricks with grooves are used to mimic the vertical spines above the windows. Higher still, we encounter some tall windows made with 6L bars set vertically under Elven arches. Sorry about the dust. You'll notice that the tower tapers in stages, produced by slope bricks at various intervals; the effect is rather more sudden than I'd like, but I think it is forgiveable. Bear in mind that - at minifigure scale - the tower would have to be about three and a half metres tall for the top to be the equivalent of 'five hundred feet about the plain'. I don't know about you, but we don't have room for that in our house. Approaching the summit, some three-brick tall slopes help to taper the tower more gently, and we find more of the tooth-pieces - again accurate to the real tower. I was a little perturbed by the dark bluish-grey stripes which indicate the floors at various levels; however, if you compare to this distant shot, there do appear to be lighter stripes at various levels. This may be a trick of the light, but it excuses the DBG to some extent. There's a notable anomaly in the open-backed construction of the tower: the side pillars are wider than they should be. This is to allow more depth to the interior. I'd like to see someone build a 'complete' tower, which you could probably do with two of these sets (and probably make it a little taller, too. ) Edit: Someone has! See Missing Brick's back wall here. Finally, Gandalf gets imprisoned at the summit platform: I absolutely adore the four SNOT-mounted spines here, with their 'serrated' lower edges. You can just about see these details in this shot. They are attached with an interesting technique: two 1-wide 'male' clicky-hinges on the spines marry to two 2-wide 'female' ones on the central column. This produces both a sturdy connection and a half-stud offset, centering the spines nicely. The Interior Now we get to see inside the great tower, starting with Gandalf's arrival to visit his master Saruman, before his betrayal was revealed. Inside the entrance hall, we find some stickered flags representing drapes emblazoned with the White Hand of Saruman; there's a little statue formed of a plain LEGO Games figure, and some Classic Castle axes in pearl dark grey. The dark blue tile on the floor has a sticker with a diminutive version of this pattern - fantastic attention to detail, even if the result is a little smaller than the real thing, and should really be in the throne room rather than here. This is the best place for Gandalf and Saruman to fight with sticks. Remember the chandelier; it's important. Note also the grooved round brick facing the camera ... ... this controls a trap door ... ... which opens as Gandalf faceplants onto the floor ... ... and drops him into the dungeon. Exactly how it happened in the movie. Ahem. Inside the dungeon hide some stickered Wargs, some creepy eyes, a ball and chain and some bones. Gandalf looks annoyed, probably because he's fallen into a Plot Hole. The box art has Saruman throwing an Orc into the dungeon instead. Moving up, the next room is the Throne Room, containing an ornate throne and the Palantír - one of the Seeing Stones of Númenor, and the source of Saruman's betrayal as he gazed too far and was ensared by the Eye of Mordor. Here Gríma has joined Saruman, to witness the Palantír in use. Pushing up on the chandelier below ... ... activates the Light Brick ... ... and the Palantír glows! But only if you orientate it with the green side down. It's a pity you can't lock the light on - it requires constant finger pressure to keep it lit - but I guess it saves on battery life. An alternative view of this room shows off the bookcases, formed from SNOT-mounted plates and tiles, with a loose stickered 'parchment' tile; there are also colured phials of arcane liquids. The two tall 'lamps' with yellow globes represent these (seen unlit also in the previuous linked picture). Identical lamps are found in the related set 79005 Wizard Battle, which as I've already said is a significantly cheaper alternative for people who want a Saruman figure. I guess the room above is the 'Alchemy Room' - it's where Saruman Builds the Bomb. Gríma is actually meant to be in this scene, though he's looking a little self-conscious. The bomb is mounted on a platform which rotates forward via a little gear (hidden behind Saruman here). Saruman is standing on a 2x2 jumper tile which normally holds the bomb 'lid'. Here we can see the wonderful, tall, arched and barred windows from the inside. More jars and bottles line the shelves; the torches are - wisely - unlit. Floor five is a little chamber with more bookcases, and a couple of large stickered books which may be grimoires, and skulls for arcane value. Pictures of five wizards line the walls, and might indicate that this room is a wizardly council chamber - though you'd be hard pressed to squeeze more than two wizards in here. Saruman, as head of the order, takes pride of place in the centre ... ... while on his left is Radagast the Brown. Radagast plays a significant role in the LOTR novels, but is all but ignored in the films; he is mentioned but once in The Hobbit book, but is cast in the movie: see his image here. The stickered image is a good representation. Two other wizards form part of the Order, but are not named in either the LOTR or Hobbit books; they should both be Blue, but this one is - apparently - also Grey. Note the stickered map on the wall. [Edit - I just watched the first Hobbit movie. There's a lovely in-joke, where Gandalf cannot remember the names of the other two Blue wizards. ] On the right is Gandalf the Grey, and another wizard, this one also Brown. At least the numbers are correct! Another bookcase is found here. On the ceiling is a little trans-clear inverted dome, mounted on a turntable - we'll see what it is for shortly. The sixth and final floor is Saruman's Secret Chamber. In it, his true allegiance to the Eye of Morder is revealed, and he keeps some Uruk armour as mementoes, it seems, along with spare staves. The helmet rests on a trans-clear minifigure head with a round 1x1 tile, also trans-clear. The Keys of Orthanc hang on the wall: the one on the left has some ugly plastic flashing attached, which I'm sure wouldn't have passed quality control in Billund, so probably originates elsewhere. The Secret Room is accessed via a trap door with a folding ladder. Rotating the turntable on the ceiling of the room below allows the trap door to open, and the ladder unfolds. It's a little tight on space, but can be done without removing walls. This is the only means of climbing from one floor to another in the whole tower - save for the entrance staircase. Perhaps the main tower staircase is in the missing fourth wall? Comparison I've saved this move still till now, as it best sums up the entire set: Orcs try to topple and Ent with a rope and grappling hook, with the best exterior shot of the tower in the background. This is also the only decent shot I could find of the tall barred windows of the Bomb Room. Compare the tower again to here. Conclusion Click for a larger image Orthanc features prominently in two parts of the movie trilogy: the encounter between Saruman and Gandalf, in which Gandalf is imprisoned on the summit until rescued by Gwaihir the Eagle; and the destruction of Isengard by the Ents. This set attempts to recreate both scenes, while also allowing for Bomb-building scene with Gríma, and for Saruman to survey his 'army' of Uruk-Hai - if you've managed to collect a significant proportion of the ten thousand figures you'd need! In addition, there are some added extras not in the movies, in the form of the dungeon, the Council Chamber, and the Secret Room, all produced with remarkable detail for such small spaces. The Tower itself is a brave production. There is no way the five-hundred foot tower could be recreated accurately in LEGO bricks at a scale compatible with the rest of the range, and at an affordable price. The result is a necessary compromise - it looks a little squat from certain angles, and tapers perhaps too suddenly, but I hope you'll agree that the outcome is still remarkable - for its detail, its beauty, and its size. And that's just the outside. Inside are six floors of detailed interior, recreating several important scenes from the movies, and packed with little features making the model both a great play-set and a wonderful display and talking-point. TLG have been a little stingy with the figures - I'd have thought that Merry and Pippin could have been included to sit on the Ent; or, failing that, at least another Orc and Uruk, but we do get the one and only Ent figure yet released, in addition to the lovely Eagle mold. All in all, I'm delighted with the set. It's far more impressive in the flesh than even the box art or press-release pictures suggest; of my pictures, only the final 'Conclusion' photo really does justice to its size. It's also a great source of black parts, at a reasonable price-to-part ratio; however, I think I'll keep this built. If I can find a shelf to put it on! Design & Build 9 There's some fantastic attention to detail in the architectural features of the Tower, and a remarkable number of features crammed into the interior. Building the tower is interesting, with plenty of SNOT techniques and offsets used to reproduce the tower's design as faithfully as possible; there is by necessity a little repetition but far less than you might expect. And the result is well worth the effort. Parts 8 If you're after rare or new parts, you might be disappointed, but the set is probably the best source of useful black pieces that I have ever seen. I will never complain about basic bricks in useful colours, and the quantity of headlights and jumper plates is awesome. There's also surprisingly little multi-coloured filler. Figures 8 Gríma is the only unique figure. Saruman could have been a big selling-point had TLG not decided to release him in an entry-level set; he does come with a unique skirt in this set. Coupled with the Black Gate set, Gwaihir will allow the building of a little Eagle Army; the Ent figure is brick-built (and could perhaps be cobbled together from spare parts), but this is the only Ent yet available in the whole LEGO LOTR range. Play and Display 9 Bearing the 14+ age guide, this is an adult-orientated set, but nevertheless includes quite a range of play features, whether it be recreating movie scenes or bashing orcs with the Ent. Mostly, though, Orthanc makes a superb centre-piece for your LOTR display - though it will tend to dwarf the other sets. Value 9 $200 or £170 might be a little outside many people's budget, but for just under 2400 pieces - and useful ones - this actually represents good value. Add to that the enjoyable building experience, and the magnificent result, and I think that the set is well-worth the money. Overall 86% My Score 9/10 This monster is a joy to build and to own. A must for any die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, and a great set for any LEGO Collector. Orthanc you for reading. Please leave a comment! Rufus Acknowledgements All movie scenes © New Line Cinema EB Staff for assistance - especially Rick, Pandora, and ISC. And Hinckley for encouraging 'schnell'. Resources Orthanc at Tolkien Gateway Orthanc at LOTR Wiki LEGO LOTR Page LOTR on Shop@Home My flickr set Endpiece Treebeard forgets which movie he is supposed to be in If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy

Hello and welcome to my fourth review! This is the first of my Eurobricks Reviewers Academy Bronze Level reviews. I brought this set because it came with some of the coolest minifigs ever and it didn't hurt my wallet that bad as well. So go ahead and read the review, I'm sure you will like it! BASIC INFORMATION: Set Name: Elite Clone Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Pack Set Number: 9488 Number of Pieces: 98 Minifigs: 4 Price: $12.99 USD Theme: Star Wars (The Clone Wars) Year Released: 2012 HELPFUL LINKS: Brickshelf (My gallery for this review) Brickset Bricklink LEGO Shop @ Home THE REVIEW: The Box Front: The front of the box showcases a nice little battle scene with the set in action. I can't help but think how fake the big blast to the right looks. Back: Here is the back of the box. This is a normal LEGO Star Wars box sight. This is where LEGO shows us the main features of the set. Image courtesy of eBay. Side: To me this guy is the coolest LEGO clone ever released. If I was to be a LEGO clone, I would want to be him. The back of the box is just a normal scene that shows us the play features. I think we should just move on. Contents: Dark red is pretty much the main color in this set. Some interesting pieces include the clear piece and the two cape pieces. Cape Pieces: Here are the cape pieces for the commando clone, which includes one red shoulder pad cape and one black leg cape. Extra Pieces: The extra pieces are a black round stud, a 1x1 black tile, a black Technic connector, some droid arms, and bunch of dark red clone helmet visors and radios. Minifigs ARC Trooper Front: As I mentioned earlier in this review, I think this minifig is the coolest clone ever. He looks great, the capes are awesome and the torso is a great match. The only complaint I have is that the printed feet are a little strange and not necessary. ARC Trooper Back: The backpack is simple yet perfect for the minifig. ARC Trooper without the Helmet: The only thing I can say here is that the minifig has the standard clone head that is found in many Star Wars sets. ARF Trooper Front: This guy is a little more bland than his counterpart. The helmet, however, suggests that this minifig is a member of Commander Wolf's soldiers because it has a wolf logo printed on each side. ARF Trooper Back: The back of the ARF Trooper is very boring as there aren't any accessories for it and I believe that this is a fairly common back printing. ARF Trooper without the Helmet: Just like his fellow counterpart, he has the standard clone head. The Commando Droids Front: I have never really liked LEGO's droids because they don't display all that well and don't offer much in the way of playability; however, these probably are my favorite ones. I really like the color, and the face, for some reason, is appealing to me. Commando Droids Back: I asked myself, do I really need to show the back? I guess it doesn't hurt anybody to show it. The Cannon Before the Cannon and Support Legs: Here's the body of the cannon before the cannon and support legs are attached. My question is why is there a clear round 2x2 under the cannon? I tried to see if the legs supported the cannon without it and they did. The Finished Cannon: This is a pretty good cannon, especially for a battle pack with awesome minifigs. The legs are quite the eye candy and any minifig fits perfectly in that seat. The Full Set: This set is one of the better ones I have have purchased. Let's go see how it adds up in my totals! Image courtesy of LEGO. TOTALS: Design: 9/10 A really well-designed cannon. The legs are eye candy, the seat is great, and it looks realistic. The only thing holding it back from being a ten is the flick-fire missile. I can see why TLG needed to provide playability by having a "shooting" canon, but to an AFOL it is simply not needed. Parts: 9/10 Considering that this is a battle pack, there are many useful parts within this set that certainly would be beneficial to any MOCer. Build: 9/10 A rather simple build with nothing out of the ordinary. There are no challenges in this build, nothing should make you look twice at the instructions. Minifigs: 10/10 The minifigs, particularly the clone troopers, are wonderful! The clones are more detailed than the norm and the droids are much better than their counterparts. Playablity: 8/10 I wouldn't say it is an awesome set to display, but it isn't bad. For kids, this set could be played with for hours and hours. Price: 8/10 It is a battle pack which makes me think that it should be around $8-10 (USD). But for some of my fellow AFOLs, the MSRP is a pretty good price because it comes with awesome minifigs and great pieces. Total: 53/60 I fully recommend this set for any LEGO Star Wars fan. The minifigs are great and the pieces are very good for MOCing. The cannon isn't bad either, but, as you probably know, the minifigs are the star feature of this set.

I've been wanting to get the funny lettered tiles for quite some time now, and this year, with little interest in other theme sets, I decided the time had come to explore this 'Office & School Supplies' section of the LEGO S@H website. I must admit the set did look a bit too colourful and childish at first glance, but the price was good, and it had a nice pieces selection. So, let's see how the set grades fro parts, appearance and 'playability'. Theme: Gear/Office & School Supplies Set name: Business Card Holder Set Number: 850425 Price: 14.99 $, 11.39 £, 12.99 Euro Pieces: 151 (+ 1 gear) Minifigures: 2 Year of release: 2012 Links: Bricklink and Brickset The Box Front Matching the set name, the box has a pretty clean, business-like design. The almost plain yellow background is split in the upper portion by a wave-y white line which separates the LEGO logo and set name from the rest of the info. I suppose this is a standard box for all countries (contrary to usual sets which have regional differences between NA and European versions); in fact, the set information include age range, pieces count and the words 'Building toy' (in three languages), just like the North American standard. On the other hand, the set number is conspicuously absent from the front of the box, probably due to the fact that this is a 'Gear' set and is sold in a different category from the normal themed ones. The size of the box is approximately that of a medium-small standard set. Back The back is quite bare as well, with only the set name (in 5 new languages this time; of course, Italian is not there!) and a shot of the minifigs and business card together with the parts callout. LEGO designers really wanted to keep things simple in this design. Sides Not much to say about the sides. The upper one (the only I photographed), sports a 1:1 mug shot of the smirking male minifigure, the LEGO logo and the usual info about production. Apparently parts in this set come from Denmark, Hungary, Mexico and China. Surprise! You may have notice the standard 'Put your finger here to open the box' spot on the back of the box. Well, that's a totally useless addition, as this box comes with not-glued side flaps and can be open normally, without any need to indent the back side. I can only suppose the box designers simply used a common template and did not bother to check the actual product they where working on... Contents Inside Inside the box, we find three thick polybags, one for the instructions and business card, one of the lettered tiles and one for the other pieces. All the polybags are made of recyclable plastic, but the bigger one includes some more ink for the usual LEGO safety warning in a plethora of languages. The parts' selection isn't spectacular, for the normal bricks, but includes ever useful parts in a number of colours. Of course, the raison d'etre of this set are the printed tiles, and there's plenty of those! New pieces The new pieces include all the special characters and number tiles (all of which in Black): Tile 1 x 1 with Silver '-' Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver '.' Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver '@' Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver '_' Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 0 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 1 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 2 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 3 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 4 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 5 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 6 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 7 Pattern, Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 8 Pattern, and Tile 1 x 1 with Silver Number 9 Pattern. I'd also like to notice that , for some reason, the set includes (or, at least, this particular one does) 3 Q tiles, whereas the parts list only shows 2. It's also interesting that you cannot write a whole web address with these tiles, as there are only 2 W there... Maybe next version will include a special 'www.' tile as well. Instructions Upon opening the instructions and card polybag, I felt a rush of nostalgia for the old times, as the instructions 'booklet' is no booklet at all: it's an old style folded sheet. Now, I'm well aware we get plenty of these in polybags of all themes, but I haven't see something like this in bigger sets for a very long time. The back of the business card has blank spaces where to write your name, address, e-mail/web address, phone number and (I suppose) birthday. The instructions have a nice and relaxing light-blue background, almost no pieces call-outs (see next picture) and are easy to read and follow. Again, as on the back of the box, the last part of the instructions sheet is dedicated to the parts list. Minifigures Nothing spectacular in the minifigs compartment. These business couple sport some plain overalls, very common in the City theme nowadays and cured bill red caps, probably to give them a window-cleaner or bill sticker look to either make you feel as big boss or movie star. The faces, too, are very common, with the smirking male and soft-eyed, cherry-lips female. Always an useful addition to ones collection, but definitely no news at all. The back printing of the torso is no surprise even with such simple designs, nowadays. And, of course, the heads do not sport back printing, since the caps could not cover them. Building We start off by building a sort of small swimming pool-like, tiled box with a rainbow-ish back wall. We go up until al the 2x1 and 1x1 coloured bricks have been used, and top both sides with the 1x12 white plates. Do not worry, though: you won't have to look at the mix-matched wall for long! In fact, the business card will cover up most of the build and you will be able to rest your eyes on those smiling minifig faces (or your own personal info) for as long as you'll wish. Speaking of the two workers, they will have their personal stands to be impaled, well, stand on, while... ...they'll guard your bill-board yellow 6x10 plate. Here, I used up all the Es for the first word, so had to resort to a flipped 3 to complete the second word. Bonus images Let me introduce myself It's quite funny to browse through the tiles to pick up your letters and compose bill-board announcements and such. Just be aware of the limited number of letters at your disposal. Again, I had to resort to a little trick (photoshop, in this case), to complete the second word, having used all the (2) Rs in the glorious Eurobricks name. I would advise people to buy a second copy of this set if you think you'll need many of the same letter for your compositions. Final comments Overall, this is a nice little set, with pretty unique parts and a fine number of more common, ever used bricks and two generic worker minifigs. Design & Colour scheme – 8/10 (Very well proportioned and efficient. The only con is the somewhat too childish colour scheme, considering the business-oriented look of the set, as shown on the box.) Minifig – 8/10 (A happy working couple to set up our business card holder and guard the bill-board. Minus points for the very common parts, though.) Parts – 9/10 (All useful parts here, with the big plus of the printed tiles. The new special characters are an interesting addition, and the letters will be useful in any collection.) Playability – 6/10 (From an AFOL's point of view, this set is pretty poor in sheer playability. I mean, there isn't even a secret compartment of flick-fire missile! On the other hand, I suppose kids can have lots of fun with the little workers setting up and tearing down the bill-board.) Build – 6/10 (Very very simple and plain.) Price – 10/10 (Considering almost half of the parts are printed, this is a very good set price-wise.) Overall: 7.8/10 Very good As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome! If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

I must admit I wasn't very convinced by this Legends of Chima theme when we first heard of it and saw some images. But, as it often happens, it has grown on me over time, and I started the year with a LEGO order including a couple of the smaller sets and one of the medium sized ones, to try it out, and eventually re-use them as parts packs. Let's see how it goes for set 70000 Razcal's Glider, the smallest of the line (excluding polybags). Theme: Legends of Chima Set name: Razcal's Glider Set Number: 70000 Price: 11.99 $, 7.99 £, 9.99 Euro Pieces: 109 (+ 8 extras) Minifigures: 1 Year of release: 2013 Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset The Box Front This small set has an almost square box (size 14 x 12 x 4.3 centimetres, or 5.52 x 4.73 x 1.69 inches). The front of the box has a very eye-catching representation of the model in action on a Chima landscape background. The upper rim sports Razcal's snout as well as the standard set info, theme logo and LEGO logo. The lower left corner has the character shot we have come to know, first in Star Wars sets, and later in many other themes as well. The colours are vibrant and very evocative of action and adventure in (maybe over, here) a jungle environment. Back The back is a patchwork of small shots showing the model's features, with and unusual amount of text describing almost all of them. In the upper right corner, the character can be seen in action pose; notice that while Razcal's weapon is 'buildable', as described on the box itself. Side(s) The only interesting side of the box (the others sport the usual legal and safety writings) is the upper one, with Razcal's 1:1 mug shot. Contents Inside The box contains two bags of different sizes, two instruction booklets and a no sticker sheet. Not bad for a set this size. The parts assortment is dominated by darker colours, mainly Black and Dark Red, with some Dark Bley and Purple in the mix. Blue, Bley, White, Brown and some varied Transparent hues complete the palette. New pieces New parts included in this small set are: Black Tile 1 x 2 with White Fangs and Dark Red Pattern, Black and Purple Wing 9L with Stylized Feathers, Light Bley Barb Large Flexible (Claw, Horn), and Trans Light Blue Rock 1 x 1 Crystal 4 Point (CHI crystal) [curiously absent from the Brickset inventory page]. Rare parts Parts collectors and MOCers will be interested in the following rare parts also: Blue Pneumatic Hose Connector with Axle Connector (only in 2 other sets so far: 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 400 and 9448 Samurai Mech), and Purple Minifig, Weapon Crescent Blade, Serrated with Bar (only in 5 other sets so far: 4 Ninjago 2012 sets and 70100 Ring of Fire). The usual extra bits include small Technic parts, some round plates and tiles, a cheese slope in Purple, a small bone and a horn, a robot arm and a small 1x1 tile. Instructions As already mentioned, the instructions are divided into 2 small booklets, as seems to be common in smaller sets nowadays. The instructions are standard fare for a the current trend. Most pages include one step that uses 1 or 2 pieces at a time (here we have a majestic 3 parts in one step!). I'm sure this explains the need for 2 booklets in such a small set as this one. The parts' summary is split in two non-adjacent pages. I suppose someone in Billund had a hard time trying to squeeze all the parts in one page, or to spread them on the two pages to make them look more full. In the end he/she must have give up, and left almost one quarter of the second page blank. I'll skip the ad pages shots since those are perfect replicas of the one in all the other Legends of Chima sets. Minifigure In this pic you can see the main parts of the Razcal minifigure. Not shown here are the armour piece and the feathered wings that are attached to it. As we know, LEGO designers put a lot of effort in these figures, and I think they hit the mark pretty well. I really like this Raven figure, which sports fantastic details and is not too specialised to be re-used in other themes, especially Castle and Fantasy, in my opinion. From the side, we can see how the head piece is shaped to be reminiscent of the actual animal it is based on. I think the LEGO designers did a great job with these parts and they add a lot to the LoC theme. Also, notice the discussed piercing and the 'gold plating' of Razcal's beak. A better shot of the helmet and full figure from the front, without the armour. The above pictures show the difference between the two sides of the dual face head, and the back printing of the torso. Personally, I think the second expression is somewhat comical. It looks like Razcal just discovered a big mistake in the Ravens' accounts. [For those who did not read his bios on the LoC site, Razcal is the Raven Tribe accountant.] Building Start We start by building the base of the cockpit, with a mix of Black and Dark Red for the main structure and a bit of Brown to simulate a leathery seat (do Ravens skin their enemies from the other Tribes?). By the end of book one, we have a general idea of the overall shape of the glider. I really like the beak and the tail support part. The very strange bit is the bone used as a control lever. Adding limbs Next phase includes the addition of supports for the talons and the use of few technic parts for the 'hidden' play feature of this set. Yup, the flick-fire missile piece attached to the chain is the 'hidden' play feature. It is stored under the rear end of the glider and, when you push the front cannon (or trans-red cone), it poops pops out! Finished set By adding the wings and tail parts, we complete the set. The overall feel is pretty nice, and it is quite swoosh-able, too. The only con is the wing parts have a slightly loose connection, and may rotate a bit when provoked (i.e., when friction with the air is barely more than a gentile breeze). Action ready? Indeed, that of a thief is no easy life. Imagine being a burglar who approaches his prey on a (more or less) stealth glider. You land, dismount, get ready to attack... And have to stop, pick up few odds and ends from the glider, combine them together, and only then you have your weapon ready. But wait, things get even worse when you have to take flight again: you're running, hunted by those you stole from, and you'd need to take off as fast as possible, only, you need to take apart your weapon, re-attach the pieces to the glider in order to have it in working conditions, and only then you can go! See, no easy life at all. Final comments Overall, this is a nice little set, full of interesting parts (mainly the new wing pieces and printed parts), with a fair amount of play value and a really excellent (albeit weird for some) figure. Design & Colour scheme – 9/10 (Very well proportioned and efficient. The colour scheme works well both for a raven shaped vehicle and its stealth/thief function.) Minifig – 10/10 (Superb printing and funny animal structure make this character very collection worthy.) Parts – 8/10 (Nice variety of useful parts, a discreet amount of new pieces, including two cool printed ones. Not bad at all for such a small set.) Playability – 9/10 (The play features are funny both for kids and not-too-serious adults. I spent some time swooshing the set around and trying the various positions allowed to the control surfaces of the wings.) Build – 8/10 (Nothing too complex, but some efficient solutions are used. I especially like the beak and tail shapes.) Price – 10/10 (The pieces/price ratio is good, and the addition of the very detailed minifig make this a very good set to buy.) Overall: 9/10 Excellent As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome! If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

I love LEGO® trucks. I just can't help myself when a new civilian range comes out; last year's range was great, and this year's looks set to continue the current trend. My love of, specifically, petrol tankers can be traced back directly to this set - one of the first sets I remember owning, and ground-breaking for its time. But time has moved on, and LEGO sets have become far more intricate. The release of an Octan tanker relatively soon after 2010's 3180 Tank Truck is rather surprising; in this review I'll check out the latest offering and see how it compares to its (slightly) older sibling. Incidentally, 3180 was one of the first sets I reviewed early in my EB Reviewers Academy career. If you compare to my earlier review, you can see how I've (hopefully) improved! Review: 60016 Tanker Truck Set Information Name: Tanker Truck Number: 60016 Theme: CITY Release: 2013 January Wave Parts: 191 Figs: 1 Price: GB £17.99 | US $19.99 | EUR 19.99 - 22.99 | AU $29.99 | CA $24.99 | DKK 179.95 Links Brickset ... Shop@Home ... Bricklink ... Peeron (not yet listed) The Box Click for a full-frontal view in various sizes Once again, Orthanc dominates the LEGO CITY skyline, while our Tanker breaks the fourth wall into the familiar blue CITY livery. It's a tried and tested formula, dating back a full ten years to the advent of World City in 2003, but still looks fresh. The box is deep, measuring 260 x 188 x 70 mm (W x H x D); it's the same height as 3180 but considerably narrower and shallower. This set is GB £3 pricier than 3180, which had 30 more pieces; the smaller box size therefore represents an environmentally-conscious move by TLG (or, for the cynics among you, a cost-saving in logistics ). HEY! Look at these features! Ladder, gun-on-a-hose, coffee mug replete with petrol fumes, ladder again, and cab the dude can sit in! What more could you want? We'll examine these features in depth in due course. Click for larger sizes The usual CITY modular build is alluded to, rather than demonstrated this time: we are shown two bags falling from the box but not what they build. However, LEGO's new subversive 'Pokemon' Collect Them All! strategy once again appears, but there are only two other civvy sets this year, so you'll have to go back and complete your collection with last year's. And you should - they're good! The little petrol pump that accompanies the tanker gets its moment in the limelight on the top of the box: Quite why it's isolated in a field on the City outskirts is anyone's guess, and I'm still uncomfortable with the driver's delight at drinking coffee in the close proximity of flammable liquids, particularly as it occurs to me now that the black tubing might well represent Diesel. At least he isn't smoking! Apologies, by the way, to Americans: please substitute 'gas' for any appearance of the word 'petrol'. Contents The thumb-tab box opens to reveal two polybags, instructions, and sticker sheet fitting quite snugly inside. They are accompanied by two loose parts: the hose-and-gun combo. Only one is required in the set; whether the second will appear in everyone's, or I've just been lucky, remains to be seen. Decal Sticker Sheet Oooh, shiny! The sticker sheet is printed on white material that is rather reflective, and required careful photography to remain clear. As has been the trend of late, the front of the cab is stickered, but as we shall see it doesn't entirely replace the usual grille tiles. There's a sticker for the petrol pump (top left); the rest go on the truck. The Instructions The single booklet is of good quality, and features a display very similar to the box front, but with a slightly broader panorama. The Gagne Kid guards the rear, presumably to deter people from sneaking a look at the inventory. The Modular Build is demonstrated on the inside front cover: Bag Two's cab and tank builds don't connect directly without Bag One's chassis; obviously the disembodied wheels don't. Having looked at this page, naturally by now you would have poured all the parts onto the carpet, albeit in separate piles. Too late, the opposite page warns us not to do this. Winding the hose onto the reel could prove challenging to younger kids; or at least doing it neatly (it's tricky enough for adults). Maybe I'm underestimating the capabilities of the average 6-year-old. I should remember that programming the VHS caused young Rufus far less trouble than his elders! [VHS = archaic system for recording moving pictures onto magnetic tape, for those interested in ancient history.] You might have noticed the part call-outs on the previous picture. Yes, they are present throughout: This surprised me, in such a small set. With typically only 1-3 parts per step, it isn't strictly necessary, but I for one won't complain. Towards the rear we find the latest CITY range diorama, showcasing the new yellow cement mixer , and the strange 1950s-throwback recovery truck : The two sets from 2012 promoted in the 'Collect Them All!' series also feature here: 4433 Garbage Truck and 4432 Dirt Bike Transporter . The latter is a great set! I'm secretly hoping the garage at the left appears as a set soon. The set inventory is found on the last two pages: you can see them here and here. The Parts Bag One builds the chassis, along with the petrol pump and solitary figure: There isn't a huge amount of interest here. Most of the incongruous blues and browns will be buried in the final model. I'm pleased to see the black flexible tube make another appearance here; it was in 3180 too. The yellow taps, not surprisingly, are the modern variety, without the little hole at the end; one of them is spare. I have a sudden inexplicable desire for spaghetti carbonara followed by biscotti with Vin Santo: Opening bag two, I was momentarily alarmed at the prospect of flick-fire missiles appearing in CITY sets. Fortunately, that is not their use here, though the cynic in me wonders whether TLG is trying to demonstrate alternative uses for these ubiquitous pieces. Otherwise, there isn't really anything of note here, with the possible exception of ... ... this piece, which is found once in both bags: It's a 2x2 brick with studs on one side. It's new to me, but I note that it first appeared in Bag End at the end of last year, and in several sets this year. It's potentially very useful for SNOT work. The Figure The sole figure included in this set wears blue overalls, unlike the 'Oil' jacketed figure from 3180. Let's call him Diesel Dave. He has a rather bland, amiable countenance; I'd rather he had an unshaven scowl. The torso is nice, with some lovely detailing; the black vest under a medium blue shirt, all surmounted by the darker blue (presumably denim) overalls with wrenches and a pencil in the pocket. But it's nothing new: this torso first appeared in 2006. The back is featureless. The Build The first thing built is the little free-standing petrol pump. We'll see it complete later; here I've part-disassembled it to show a simple but nice technique: Three 2x2 white jumpers are used to centre the upper part, and allow attachment of the bluish-grey wheel. The 2x2 black tile is attached to the two white 1x1 bricks with stud on one side; I had wondered why one of the new 1x2 bricks with side studs wasn't used, but you can see that another of these white 1x1 bricks is used in the model, and it makes economic sense to use as small a part variety as possible. The black tile itself will be stickered, and represents the pump's display; the whole is capped by a 2x4 tile offset via its centre anti-studs. The black tube is a little too rigid to allow posing of the figure holding the pump unless both are connected to a baseplate or other studded surface, unfortunately; about the only viable pose on a smooth surface is shown here. Building the chassis will be a familiar routine to anyone who has experience of LEGO's trucks. Long plates form the spine; 2x2 axle plates are separated by either 1x2 tiles or plates; I'm not sure why the tiles were used rather than the 1x2 green plates along the length. Note the black 2x6 modified SNOT plate at the end: this is surmounted by a 1x4 SNOT brick, forming a 2x4 grid of studs for the secure attachment of the rear SNOT panel. The spine is strengthened with more long plates and the rather incongrous brown bricks, which don't show in the final model. I didn't think the 'mustard dispenser' would fit into the cupboard, but it does! Getting it out again requires nimble fingers or vigorous shaking. The front-end SNOT panel has a green modified 2x6 SNOT plate; the top studs mesh with the black 2x4 tiles for extra strength. There's a lot of tiling (or part-tiled plates) on the upper surface here; this allows the cab section to be removed easily should you wish too. The rear end is topped by a 4x10 plate; this leaves a gap underneath which would indeed be found on many trucks, but there's a visible red plate under there. In the final inset you can see the rear-end SNOT panel; the grille-tiled area is a plate lower, which looked a little odd, but there's a good reason for this, as we shall see. I took a lot of extra pictures; if you want to see more steps, check out the pseudo-timelapse in the Flickr display in the spoilers: Bag Two starts with the cab, which is based on a green 6x6 plate. Two friction cylinders form the exhausts; it is into these that the flick-fires will go. I remember a lot of complaints from about three years ago about the lack of doors on LEGO CITY vehicles; it's good to see that TLG has listened and they appear to have returned to stay. The rear of the cab is formed from large wall panels; this leaves a couple of gaps but they aren't too obvious on the finished set. Note the use of the 1x2 SNOT brick here, allowing placement of the steering wheel, and permitting easy reconfiguration to right hand drive for those parts of the world where British influence persists. Yet another of those rather useful modified SNOT plates allows a strong attachment of the windscreen: The obligatory coffee mug takes pride of place, and the whole is capped by the usual 4x6 wedge panel. I like the new wing mirror technique; it means the mirrors can't be adjusted, but this also means they're unlikely to get knocked out of place when you're posing for display or photos. The tank itself is an Octan-themed sandwich which will be familiar to owners of 3180. There is a slight difference: the red plates are the same length as the big green bicurved slopes, meaning that the front and back halves can be separated until the top 1x8 tiles are applied. The two bluish-grey wheels on the top are an aesthetic improvement over the 2x2 round plates on 3180. Cab and tank are applied to the chassis, the wheels are attached ... ... and the truck is complete! We'll look at the overall appearance in the next section. The Complete Set Look! I put the stickers on! Actually, I enlisted the help of a passing monkey who did a demonstrably better job than I'd have done. Let's take a look around, starting with the sides. Both sides are similar; the right side has the 2x3 cupboard and a dark bley grille brick in place of the reel and clip found on the other side: The lines are smart; there are a few exposed studs above the reel/cupboard sections, but at least they are a consistent colour unlike the rear section of 3180. I particularly like the step in the red stripe from the cab to tank sections. The back end is a little 'square': made more apparent by the slight inward slope of the ladder. This can of course be corrected, but as we shall see the ladder tends to prefer this position. The cab looks quite imposing from the front, and is very realistic. It's helped by the sticker over the white 2x4 tile; if you look back to the first picture in this section, you can see how the sticker continues neatly the red and green stripes from the sides. From the back, you can see how the recessed grille tiles of the lower SNOT panel accept the end of the ladder. This is the cause of the inward-sloping ladder; if you don't like this, you can easily insert a 1x4 plate under those tiles, but this will cause the ladder to slope slightly the other way. You might prefer this. The exposed Technic holes of the large green and white curve-slope blocks are a little ugly - a fault carried over from 3180 - but it isn't too obvious. Features Now we can analyse how the features so proudly espoused by the box rear stand up to scutiny. Dude sits in cab, and doors open. As is frequently the case with LEGO trucks, getting the dude into the cab takes a little work - often you have to remove the windscreen as well as the white roof panel, which means the doors will come off too. In this shot, the gap in the black layer between the front headlights is a little obvious, but it isn't the end of the world. [There should be a little recess under between the two sets of headlights, caused by the cab suspension in this type of vehicle, but it's more pronounced because the black plates at the sides are set a stud back from the tiles; I don't think it would be possible to correct this. - Thanks Phazon for pointing this out.] Dave climbs the ladder in the second shot. I don't have much else to say about this. The hose-reel is really the centre-piece of Tanker sets. I remember being amazed by the hose in 1978's 671 Shell Tanker. As I recall, that one was simply a length of hose that you had to stuff into the cupboard - no winch mechanism there - but it was an awesome feature. Here, as in 3180, the reel winch is super. Dave's got a bit tangled here. Fancy a hot dog? Dave has mustard if you need it. Yes, I know, it's a fire extinguisher. As I mentioned before, it can be a little tricky to remove. It's not really an intentional feature, but the flick-fire parts atop the exhausts can be extended slightly for that 'RC' look, should that take your fancy. The bley parts on top of the black exhausts look a little odd. This is a good angle to admire the roof on the tank: the wheels are a smart improvement over 3180. Again not a feature, but it needs pointing out: The rear axles have an open space above, which exposes a red plate from the chassis. On the plus side, with the white 2x2 jumper and green 1x2 plates, this continues the Octan theme; I'd expect a real truck not to be painted in this area, and you can easily substitute these parts for bley or dark bley if the exposed colours bother you. Comparison I never applied the stickers to 3180, so in the interest of fairness I've made the comparison with the 'bare' 60016. To see the stickers on 3180, there's an official picture on Brickset. I actually prefer the newer cab front - even without the sticker, it's neater and more imposing than the heavily-grilled 3180. Here you can see the difference in the wing mirrors; each method has its advantages: 3180's mirrors are adjustable, but more fragile and prone to getting knocked; 60016's are longer, which may be more realistic, and rigid. Obviously, 3180 is a tractor-trailer (semi-container) arrangement compared to 60016's single chassis. 3180 is therefore longer, and more manouverable; in addition, it is perhaps a little more realistic: while examples of both types exist in real life, in the UK at least most tanker trucks you'll see on the road have a tractor-trailer configuration. The single-chassis tankers might be found more commonly at airports, for example. Less obvious is that 60016 is a taller model. It's also neater: a complaint of mine about 3180 was the exposed studs at the rear (see this picture from my rather embarrassing early review). As I've mentioned previously, the white tiles and bley wheels on top of the tank are smarter than 3180's studded round plates. Sadly, the little pump from 3180 has done a runner so I can't compare those. The difference in height is made clear in this front-to-front comparison: 3180's cab livery is a little fussy. I prefer the staggered red stripe on 60016; the red stripe on 3180 is absent at the front. 3180 gets a point for having a footplate enabling easier access to the cab; 60016's dark bley wheel arches are arguably less jarring than 3180's white ones. I'm not really sure about the necessity of orange beacons on the cab roofs of either; however, the rounded lights on 60016 are more realistic - and less obtrusive - than 3180's cones. Visible here are 3180's gearstick, and the provision of both mustard and ketchup! Conclusion 'Here - that'll be £2.98 for your five millilitres of petrol, sir.' Tanker trucks are a staple - a necessity - of the LEGO Town/CITY range and have been since 1978. 2013's latest addition provides a smart, attractive addition to the range, and its Octan livery is compatible with other fuel-carrying vehicles or features from the CITY and even Trains lines; it will even sit quite happily alongside the earlier 3180. As a standalone set, it's a little lacking in play features, though perhaps there is no less than we should expect; it is crying out for a new Octan petrol station to be added to the CITY range - we haven't seen one since 2007. I hope you'll agree 60016's tanker is a beautiful truck - the livery is clean and flatters the shape of the vehicle; its lines are smart and a definite improvement over some of 3180's rough edges; even the stickers look great! My only real criticism, aside from the somewhat lacklustre figure, are that as an single-chassis vehicle it lacks a degree of realism compared to most articulated tanker trucks that I see on a typical British road. Scores Design: 10 I think this is a beautiful truck. I simply love the colour scheme, which is brought to life by carefully-designed stickers, and which flatters the clean lines of the truck. The cab's front is tastefully rendered, and the whole very realistic - you could almost imagine you were looking at a scale model. Build: 8 Never repetitive, and with a few interesting techniques, it's a fun build, albeit perhaps better suited to a younger builder if you prefer a challenge. There are a good few tricks in SNOTting to be admired, and a minor lesson in offsetting in the build of the pump. Parts: 6 There really isn't much you probably don't already have in your collection, especially if you own 3180. The figure is rather old-hat and a little disappointing if you're on the lookout for new faces or torsos; I'd have preferred a quirkier set of facial features, for a start - as he is, Dave is a little devoid of personality. Playability: 7 Compared to some other CITY vehicles, there isn't much to do with this set on its own. It comes into life as a service vehicle for a larger town, and would be particularly happy accompanying the recent Airport set... but most of all, it's pining for a new Petrol Station. Please! Value: 7 £17.99 represents a significant hike of this price niche. The similarly-sized 'Collect them all!' sets from 2012 were all £14.99, as indeed was the 30-piece larger 3180. Inflation sucks, and I'm sure TLG knows what it's doing, but it's a little pricey for the collection of parts. The whole, however, is a thing of beauty, and I for one won't regret the outlay. Overall: 75% My score: 9/10 Aesthetics wins over arithmetic here - I love this. I think you will too. Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed the review! Please leave comments. Rufus Compare the evolution of the Octan tanker and my reviewing skills in my 3180 review! My flickr set If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

THUNDER WINGS!! Hhuurrr! It's macho. <flex biceps> MEN WILL LIKE THIS. Thunder wings!! Propeller Power ... Sonic Boom ... Street Rebel ... Fierce/Ferocious Creatures ... Roaring Roadster ... The LEGO Co. has often resorted to hyperbole to increase the masculine appeal of these smaller CREATOR sets to their target audience, but THUNDER WINGS!! takes this decidedly to 11. As we shall see, there is a certain logic behind the use of this monicker for this particular 3 in 1 collection. As you will probably have noticed if you've read any of my previous CREATOR reviews, I'm a big fan of planes, and certainly from the looks of the box this latest airborne offering promises an attractively-styled fast jet with what looks at first glance to be quite realistic styling for a relatively low price point. To see how it lives up to first impressions, and to check out the alternative models of this set, read on ... Review: 31008 Thunder Wings Set Information Name: Thunder Wings Number: 31008 Theme: Creator Release: January 2013 Parts: 235 Minifigs: N/A Price: GB £14.99 | US $17.99 | EUR 19.99 | AU $29.99 | CA $24.99 | DKK 179.95 Links ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron The Box Click for a larger frontal image Like the CITY range, I don't think the CREATOR box art has changed since around 2004, although the yellow surround has perhaps receded a little compared to its predecessors. In this 3 in 1 set, the secondary models have been given a surprisingly high billing; usually one would expect small insets at the bottom (compare 6912, 5767, and 5892). The result of this is a somewhat crowded cover; the '3 in 1' logo obscures part of the main model. The back, however, follows the tradition of displaying the secondary builds more prominently, with a rearward view of the plane: Click for a larger picture The rather eclectic mix of models has given the box artist an intersting dilemma in choosing the background design, overcome quite effectively with the use of a blue marbled 'floor' blending into the blue sky at an arbitrary horizon. The floor effect seems to lack perspective, however. Good to see I'm not the only fan of Lens Flare. The customary CREATOR set inventory is once again featured on the box top: Click for a larger picture This allows you to make a shop floor decision on whether to buy the set depending on its contents, and allows the less thrifty to fork out £15 for the one part they need because they can't wait for Bricklink. I never do that, of course. Opening the thumb tabs reveals the following contents: Three manuals and four polybags make this quite a weighty set: 454 grammes (or exactly 1 lb for Americans and metrically-challenged Brits). The Instructions Each build gets its own instruction manual featuring a shot of the model and little else. They're all the same size with slightly varying thicknesses; models 1 (plane) and 2 (robot) have nice shiny covers, but model 3's (car's) booklet cover is lesser quality (the same as the inside pages). Opening the first manual, we find that the 'don't pour the pieces onto the back lawn' instructions have been replaced by a rather endearing cartoon: I really like this! Particularly the minifigure's puzzlement-bordering-on-abject-fear in frame 2 resolving in to supreme joy by frame 3 when he has managed to sort the parts (which, given the scale, are presumably Nanoblocks). Pandora has pointed out that a similar cartoon appears in the latest Friends sets, adjusted appropriately for theme. A plain blue background with yellow CREATOR surround minimises distraction from the instructions: themselves quite simple, with about 2-5 parts per step and piece call-outs for all three models. The build flows smoothly, and is nicely paced; the only slight issue I found was differentiating flat orange 1x1 round plates from their trans-orange equivalents. Towards the rear of the first manual, there's a double-page spread of the many other new CREATOR models this year. 31007 Power Mech gets a whole page to itself opposite this one; that is perhaps because it will appeal to those who bought this set because of the robot secondary model. I will hopefully do a review of the white sports car soon , but the one I'd really love to get my hands on is that rather splendid eagle. Following this is a double-page spread of the inventory, replete with part IDs; see Page 1 here and Page 2 here. Instructions in the other two manuals go right to the back page. Click the thumbnails below for larger images: The Parts The four polybags can be arbitrarily divided into two large and two small. Click for a larger picture A few splashes of orange brighten up the blue-dominated large part selection. There's not a huge amount of interest here; the Bionicle joints will most likely end up in the Useless Parts container unless you're into making Mechas. The four black hinge-plates (bottom right) could be useful, particularly if you're trying to make a round tower in the style of Derfel Cardarn, though you'll need a lot more than four! Wedge-plates and tiles are the highlights of the smaller-part line-up: Click for a larger picture A slightly unusual inclusion for a CREATOR set is the four pearl-dark grey mechanical arms; we'll see their interesting use in one of the models presently. Note the juxtaposition of flat and trans-orange 1x1 round plates, the source of the only (albeit minor) colour-confusion in the build. Model 1 - Thunder Wings!! Thunder Wings!!'s primary model is a twin-engined, twin-tailed, swept-wing jet that is clearly based on a fighter design but, like previous jets in the CREATOR line, given a more 'display team' livery. As you can see, the wing sweep is created not just by the use of wedge plates, but also by mounting the wings onto the body at an angle. This, it turns out, is a major feature of the set, and we'll look more closely at it later. The nose of the plane is quite neatly styled with bows forming blue and white stripes along the side, and creating a nice contour behind the black nose-cones. Like the 5892 Sonic Boom, the engine air intakes comprise SNOT- (Studs Not On Top) mounted wheel arches; the smaller scale of this plane makes them appear relatively larger, but I don't think they are overly large for the model. Behind the air intakes, the lovely smooth stripes are lost, and the colour-scheme starts to get a little fussy; with white, blue, dark and light bluish-grey, black and orange all vying for attention, the wings aren't as clean and streamlined as the sweep would like you to believe. The blue 1x2 plates outboard of the orange tiles aren't strictly necessary, and their removal would go some little way towards tidying them up. This high shot from the rear is quite flattering. I nearly used this for the title picture. You can see here the slight gap between the blue wedge plates behind the wings - which are attached perpendicular to the fuselage - and the bley grille tiles on the wing surfaces; this could be corrected with some clippy-piece trickery to allow an offset and also create working ailerons in the process. The designer has obviously opted for simplicity. Also apparent is the use of levers at the wing-tips to give the impression the wing-tips are parallel to the fuselage, with some success. Noticeably absent on this jet are the green and red port and starboard navigation lights I've come to expect. The 'colourful' wings are all-too obvious when viewed from the front: The trans-clear stand isn't included in the set! The plane has a pleasingly low, sleek forward profile, though from this angle the air intakes do look a little on the large side when compared to the cockpit. Two wide wheel hubs form the engine exhausts at the rear; between them and the tail fins are two of the mechincal arms, the purpose of which here is unclear. The (suggested) upward slant of the horizontal stabilisers is achieved with the help of these 1x2 clip plates, at the expense of making the stabilisers rather thicker than they should be, but it helps to make the rear profile rather more interesting. A nod to realism this isn't: upward-sloping horizontal stabilisers on fighter jets are, to my knowledge, unusual; usually they are flat but some are downsloping (Harrier, Phantom for example) - but this is not possible here. The side profile reveals a number of faults on this plane. Behind the air intakes, the lower white stripe that started so promisingly behind the nose degenerates into a blocky mess. The fuselage itself is a little too deep, and ends with an ugly bley step in front of the exhausts. The tail fins taper quite well, but aren't a patch on the beautifully-styled tail of Sonic Boom; they are about as good as the scale will allow, although I'm not keen on the orange and black stripes. In case you were wondering... no, there is no undercarriage on this plane. It's really rather disappointing, especially since the designer managed to squeeze retractable landing gear into the much smaller 6912 Super Soarer. Instead, large bley and black plates make for a featureless underside: It's a shame that the same colour wasn't used for these plates. Some effort has been made to give contours to the sides of the fuselage, forming a 'waist' level with the trailing edge of the wings. Ideally, I would expect the engine bulge to be maximal under the wings, and to taper gradually toward the exhausts (see for example the underside of the Tornado), but I can live with this. Less forgiveable is the sudden step behind the engine intakes. I don't normally show build pictures of CREATOR sets, but it's worth drawing attention to a couple of points. Firstly, note the rather unusual use of some parts to enable three complete builds with a minimum total part count. Here a Bionicle ball and socket parts are used simply as filler - the joint doesn't move. Behind this are two 2x2 bricks with pin, facing each other. The pins don't do anything and are barely visible on the finished plane. These parts are each vital in one of the alternative builds. Secondly, let's have a closer look at how the swept wings are achieved: The angle is produced by 2x2 hinge plates and 2x4 wedge plates. The point of pivot is between the rear stud of the white 2x4 wedge and the adjacent stud from the white 2x4 plate on the fuselage, enabling a snug fit and a sturdy attachment. This is quite an advanced technique for a smaller CREATOR set; it gives you a glimpse of how Ralph_S achieves his incredible results. I've certainly learned something from building this - moreso than from any other LEGO set I've built in recent memory! It's the highlight of the model, if not the entire set. Click the tumbnails below for some alternative views of the plane. Sadly, the Super Soarer has been parted out, but here's Thunder Wings in company of the flagship jet of the CREATOR range, and my own F-18 Hornet [/shameless plug]. It's not so obvious from the photo, but Thunder Wings is considerably smaller than the F-18, so we probably shouldn't expect too much in the way of features; however, I really would like to have seen landing gear even if it were only detachable rather than retractable. Model 2 - Thunder ... Thighs? The second model of the set is some kind of Mecha, identified as a 'robust robot' on Shop@Home. Now, I have no interest in mechas (they're not called 'meh-cha' for nothing ) so I was expecting to pass over this particular build with alacrity. The robot has a chunky body, nicely rounded and striped at the front but somewhat flat at the back, with freely mobile arms connected via ball joints and legs which, connected via clicky joints, are somewhat less mobile. He looks like an Eric to me. Perhaps Eric's most prominent feature is his two large shoulder-appendages of uncertain purpose. They look suspiciously like wings, even if it's not clear how they could possibly act like wings, and suddenly the choice of the name 'Thunder Wings' for the set starts to make a little sense, even if it remains a little arbitrary. Eric can't turn his head unfortunately - it's attached directly to the chunky upper body, between two stylishly-curved shoulders. I like the use of the wheel-arch pieces to line the shoulder joints here. The right-hand panel shows what would be quite interesting offset SNOT work, were it not for the fact that these studs decidedly are on top - it's the main body that is SNOT here. The 'wings' behind are attached via one stud sandwiched between two plates, which allows a little movement, from their maximum spread here to vertical. It's a perfectly valid technique, but it might make some people uncomfortable. Being essentially a brick-built Action Figure, Eric is of course poseable. [i once admonished a Reviewers Academy student for saying 'poseable'. My spellcheck doesn't like it, but it's used no less than twice on this set's page on Shop@Home, so it must be ok!! I stand corrected. ] Here he is attempting to walk. His ankles flex only laterally, and he has no knees, making this a difficult task; he looks more like he is speedskating. This is about the only 'walking' pose you can get him to balance in. Note that the clicky-hinges at the hip joints have different coloured sections; as these parts exist only in one 'right-hand' orientation, they appear to be different colours when viewed head-on. This is apparent also in the Power Mech set. Eric's arms are very mobile. Here he has clearly found something crotch-ticklingly funny - or else whatever he's doing to his crotch has made him rather ashamed. You decide! You'll note that Eric has only two fingers on each hand - his 'thumbs' are two 1x2 clippy-plates which don't move, making gripping things a little tricky. All that walking and laughing has made him tired, so it's time to sit down: He looks like he's looking at something interesting in the distance, and perhaps massaging his big tired feet. Ahhhhh! He's so tired, now he needs a little lie down: Or perhaps he's doing the backstroke. Note the 'wings' here are in their 'vertical' position. It's a shame that he can't point his feet down and his head up, or you could make him do a great 'Superman' flying pose. The lack of opposable thumbs hasn't prevented Eric from taking his rage out on two nearby sigfigs: He can grip System-Rufus reasonably well, but he could only pick Rufus Rabbit up by the toe between his fingers. Ow. I actually had quite a bit of fun with this build. Its poseability means that there is far more play potential in the robot than in either of the other two builds, and it's quite an attractive model. For some reason I'm reminded of 80's cult animation . The plane, on the other hand, makes me think of .Model 3 - Thunder ... Wheels Model 3 is described on Shop@Home as a 'futuristic concept car' but to me it looks more like a cross between a hot rod and a dragster. The 'wings' here are - I presume - the white rearward-pivoting spoilers; they could also refer to the wedge-slopes over the rear wheels, I suppose. Either way it's a little lame, but it does serve to provide something of a common theme between three very different models. The car tilts dramatically downward towards the front, again in keeping with a hot rod or dragster: The ground clearance at the front it minimal: as you can see in this picture, there is less than a plate-height between the body and the ground, which might cause some difficulties when zooming it along the floor. Like in the plane, the stripes along the side are quite staggered. There's another unusual use of a wheel-arch piece at the front; not entirely successful this time, although this is as much to do with the unsightly orange slopes behind as it is the arch itself; moreover I'm not keen on the blue headlights. As these trans-light blue rounds are only included in the set for Eric's eyes, it's a shame they couldn't be trans-clear. The back of the car is neat, if a little plain; a simple SNOT panel creates some interesting and attractive angles with the blue inverted slopes beneath, and two inverted Technic plates give the appearance of exhausts, though I'm not sure they are necessary ... ... as the engine appears to have upward-pointing open exhaust manifolds created with the pearl-dark bley mechanical arms: I like the use of 1x2 clippy plates to look like pipes between engine and exhausts. In the right-hand frame, two staggered SNOT pieces provide a very secure support for the side panels. The car has a very small area for a driver's seat, denoted by the orange 'cushion'. It seats a minifigure, but only just: A grille tile takes the place of a steering wheel however, so Rufus has to steer by leaning from side to side, or something. Rufus Rabbit has to stand! The car is quite fun to build, and is chunkier than its external appearance might suggest; the bodywork is for the most part nicely styled, and it makes quite a pleasing third model. A slight redesign of the front end and the side panels (losing the topmost blue wedge plates and mounting the SNOT panes a plate higher) could have made for a very attractive car. Conclusion Being a fan of planes, I bought, built, and reviewed this set first out of the whole (extensive) 2013 CREATOR range. The official LEGO pictures and the box art promised an attractive, sleek small-to-medium size jet, and recent set releases have shown that LEGO can produce decent and fairly realistic fighter jets even if their military heritage is heavily disguised. And I find I do like this set, but for very different reasons from what I expected beforehand. The jet itself, when you scratch beneath the surface, is a little disappointing. The styling which looks good on the upper surface is rather tatty and mismatched underneath the wings, and the two-toned plates on the bare underside highlight the lack of undercarriage, which detracts from both play and display. It is, however, eminently shwooshable, and despite my misgivings about the colour scheme of the wings, it is an attractive jet. The best feature by far, though, is the superb demonstration of angled juxtaposition of plate surfaces (there must be a catchier phrase to describe this!). Then come the secondary builds. Had I bought this set just for the plane, and hadn't intended to review it, it's likely I never would have built them, and I'd have lost out. Both are fun in their own ways, and I can see the target consumer getting hours of fun from this little set. I even kinda miss Eric now he's been destroyed. Kudos must be afforded to the designer for providing three very different models from a limited palette of parts in one set. The price is the relatively large number of leftovers from model 1, but it's impressive nonetheless. Design 8 Viewed from the top, the plane is a sleek and attractive fighter-styled jet, and really benefits from the swept-wing configuration. It is let down by the messy construction beneath the wings, and mismatched colours here and there. However, it's still lovely to look at from the most important angles; moreover, the inclusion of two pretty good - and varied - secondary builds serves to bolster the score significantly. Build 9 A mostly brick-on-brick construction of uninteresting parts somehow builds to a surprisingly attractive result in each case; it's enjoyable although a little pedestrian. Major bonus points are awarded here for the swept wing technique. Parts 6 A rather mediocre parts selection lets the set down here - you've probably got most of these parts already, and it's unlikely you'd buy the set for the inventory alone. Playability 7 The plane is eminently swooshable, but the lack of landing gear or any other added feature do restrict the possibilities of bith play and display considerably. The car can be zoomed along a table, but on a carpet or other bumpy surface it'll snag. Eric the Robot saves the day here - he's fun to pose and cute to boot. Value 7 CREATOR sets are always good value on a parts per pound basis; this one perhaps doesn't hold up so well compared to the myriad similarly-priced sets in the current range, but it'll keep you amused for a time, and keep kids quiet for far longer. Overall 74% My Score 7/10 There isn't really that much to recommend this set to your average AFOL, unless they are a die-hard plane fan. I do, however, think this would make a great set for kids. Provided, of course, that they are sufficiently MACHO. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review. Please let me know what you think! Rufus Resources My other CREATOR jet reviews: 5892 Sonic Boom Jet 6912 Super Soarer Special Themes CREATOR Review Index My flickr set

Being a fan of the Ninjago theme, and having enjoyed the TV show, I could not pass getting at least some of this year's sets. I started with two of the smaller ones, the Kai Mech, which I chose for its design, and the Warrior Bike, which I picked of the figs and parts. In fact, though the TV show version of the latter is somewhat cool, the actual LEGO bricks version did not stuck me as overly nice. Let's see if building it and having it in my hands made me change my mind. Theme: Ninjago Set name: Warrior Bike Set Number: 70501 Price: 19.99 $, 17.99 £, 19.99 Euro Pieces: 210 (+ 10 extras) Minifigures: 2 Year of release: 2013 Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset The Box Front The box is rectangular, almost three times as big as the Kai Mech one, and sports the new Ninjago style, with a mix of last year's green background and yellow-gold rays originating from the Golden Ninja's aura. LEGO and Ninjago logos dominate the upper part of the front, along with the Golden Ninja himself holding a (golden, of course) katana, which he really has no reason of using given his powers. The middle of the front has a shot of the set in action, with Jay flying around in his jet-pack and the stone warrior shooting missiles at him from the Warrior Bike. The age range and set number info complete this portion for the European version; I expect the North America version to have more writings as usual. In the lower right corner, an eye catching text box, circumfused by golden light, informs us that this is one of the sets from the 'Final Battle' stage of the Ninjago story. As we now know, this battle is not final at all, since a return of the Ninjago theme as been officially announced for 2014. Back The back shows the set's play features: shooting missiles, loading the missiles in the Warrior Bike shooing mechanism, having Jay battle the Stone Warrior after parking his jetpack against a nearby rock. The corners of the back are very interesting as well: the lower left corner sports a 'collect them all' list of the Element Blades, while the lower right one is used by Sensei Wu to advertise the Ninjago site; lastly, if we take a closer look at the upper right corner... We can see the TV show version of the Warrior Bike, which sports different tyres and has a lower, more elongated overall shape. Sides The upper side of the box shows Jay, with name tag, approaching a nameless Stone Warrior, while the mug-shot depicts Jay himself at 1:1 size. The lower side, as we can expect, bears the usual LEGO legal and safety info. Contents Inside Upon opening the box, we find an instructions booklet, a rubber thread, two big hard plastic tyres, two long technic bricks, and four un-numbered bags of parts. As you can see, though most of the bigger parts are either Black or Dark Bley, Red, Blue and Lime accents liven up the set. New pieces New parts included in this small set are: Minifig, Weapon Ice Sword with Jagged Edges and Marbled White Pattern, and most of the minifig parts (more on those later on). Re-coloured parts Re-coloured parts in this set include: Dark Bluish Gray Brick, Round Corner 3 x 3 x 2 Dome Top, Red Propeller 1 Blade 10L with Bar, and Red Tread Large, Non-Technic (36 tread 'links'). Rare parts Parts collectors and MOCers will be interested in the following rare parts also: Red Dinosaur Tail End Section (making its first apparition in this colour after 12 years), and Red Hero Factory Weapon - Claw with Clip (only in a HF set so far). Spare parts The usual mix of spare parts includes a cheese slope, some techinc pins, half pins, bushes and half bushes, a round 1x1 stud, a lever, and, following this year's new weapons tradition, two katana. Minifigures Both minifigures are new in all parts except Jay's head and hood and the Stone Warrior's helmet, which we'll see later on. The new design for the Ninja kimono/suit is just great and is what made me want this set most of all. I love the detail in the torso, and I wanted a blue version to complement the red one from Kai's Mech. The Stone Warrior's armour is equally well designed and quite menacing with its spike-y protrusions. The more I look at his/its(?) face, the more I think he could also work as a clan mate for Darth Maul and Savage Opress in Star Wars MOCs. The two minifigs sport back printing of the torso, but not the heads. I really like how TLG designers went of bigger version of the Ninja elemental symbols on these figs. Here we can see the two warriors all geared up and almost ready for battle. Notice the new armour piece on the Stone Warrior. Though not as protective as most other armours or as eye catching as the skeletons ones, I find this part very nicely designed to fit the Stone Army aesthetics. Furthermore, it helps in widening the warrior's frame and keep the mouthpiece from looking over-sized for him/it. Not really minifig, but minifig-related, the Element Blade. I've read that people tend to dislike the excessive size of these blades. Now, while I can agree they are bigger than what could be reasonable in a real world setting, or even bigger than their TV show counterparts, I still think TLG designers achieved a good compromise between detail level, ease of use and size. In the end, they are not much bigger than a katana, and the hilt takes it almost 1/4 of the total size. Instructions The instructions booklet is nicely thick, and fortunately not divided into part 1 and part 2 like other small sets these days. The cover shows the exact same composition of the front of the box, except for the age range and 'Final Battle' text. The background uses a tan shade that does not distract the eye nor prevents colour or parts' recognition. In this detail shot you can spot what I suppose to be the faded Temple of Light reproduced in the upper right corner of some pages. The parts count cover two pages. Again, you can notice the dominance of Black and Dark Bley, with brighter colours' accents. The last page shows a collection of the Ninjago 2013 sets, with the star of the show, The Temple of Light with its big Golden Mech in the middle. Building Start We start off by building Jay's jet-pack. The design is new, since the other similar vehicles in the Ninjago line (and as far as I can recall, other themes) were different from this one. It uses two golden katana parts as wings and two cones as thrusters. Nothing mind-blowing, buts still a nice effect achieved with few parts. You just have to pay attention when putting it on Jay via the neck bracket: since the jet-pack is so heavy for the minifigure, you'll have to rotate the blades and have them touch the ground to support part of the weight. Now for the main model The Warrior Bike itself starts with a bunch of technic beams and pins connected to few bricks and plates to provide a building surface for the upper part of the model. Here you can see the firing mechanism in place. All revolves around the rubber band and the technic lever serving as a trigger for the (yet to be built) 'firing pin'. With the use of those big dome parts, we build up the bulk of the cockpit and provide good armour for our Stone Warrior driver to stand behind. The big tyres should provide a good propulsion power to this vehicle, though I'm confused as to their use in a tread driven 'bike'. Could this be a '3x3' model? Again, we have a passage where two 4 x 2 plates are used instead of a 8 x 2 one. I suppose we'll have to let is pass this time, though, as there does not seem to be a 8 x 2 Lime plate in the LEGO palette yet. Adding the 'forehead' of the samurai design on the bike, we complete the rear part of the vehicle. Notice the red technic pins: yes, as most will have imagined, those are to be used to connect the tread to this part of the build. And here we have the treaded portion. Not much more than a couple of technic beams supporting the wheels and rubber tread, but TLG designers tried to add as much detail as they could. Nonetheless, this is my least favoured part of the build. By adding the missiles' magazine, we get to the... Finished set ... the complete set, with its two minifigures ready to take on each other and/or zip around on the jet-pack and bike (as soon as the Stone Warrior finds a place to store his/its weapons). Front The bike looks very steam-lined and quite aggressive from the front. I for sure would not want to face one of these, with all its claws, spikes and turning tread. Back As with ho so many LEGO vehicles, this one too suffers from lack of love (and parts) in the rear quarters. the build is sturdy enough, thanks to the techinc parts, but not so good form an aesthetics point of view. Ready, aim, fire! The firing mechanism works pretty smoothly, and I suppose kids will like it. For myself, I've never been a big fan of this kind of play features, so I don't have much to say about it, apart for the fact that I tried it and, no matter how much force or speed I use, the missiles will only go as far as the length of the bike itself. Not really effective in actual combat. Final comments Overall, this is a nice set for its value. The figs are great and the part selection includes some interesting bits. What bugs me is in the aesthetics of the bike, though I recon it is not an easy model to transport in brick form. Design & Colour scheme – 6/10 (TLG designers did their best [apart for the rear quarters] and made a good job in capturing the colour scheme and Stone Army feel; Too bad the shape was distorted in the transition.) Minifig – 10/10 (As with most of these year figs, and the Ninjago figs over time, the design and level of detail are just great.) Parts – 8/10 (A little too much technic for my taste, but some interesting bits are in the mix nonetheless.) Playability – 7/10 (The jet-pack, the bike and the weapons grant for hours of play by children. The limits of the firing mechanism are the main reason I lowered the score here.) Build – 8/10 (Nothing too complex, but some efficient solutions are used, to create the samurai face design and for the jet-pack itself.) Price – 10/10 (20 Euros for 201 pieces plus spare parts is good, especially if you throw in two splendid minifigures and a bunch of really big parts.) Overall: 8.2/10 Very good As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome! If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

I'm not really into Friends, but I find some of the sets very appealing (some strange colour combinations apart). So far, I always got smaller sets, and this one is no exception. My choice was primarily driven by the echo of Ninjago in this Karate Class, especially in the Dojo door/glass part (which missed in the original Ninjago release) and the kendo mask. The new Friends kimono print is well done, too. But let's start the review before I write everything in the intro! Theme: Friends Set name: Emma's Karate Class Set Number: 41002 Price: 9.99 $, 9.99 £, 9.99 Euro Pieces: 93 (+ 8 extras) Minidolls: 1 Year of release: 2013 Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset The Box Front The box is almost square (15.5 x 14 centimetres, or 6.11 x 5.52 inches) and shows the many sub parts of the set arranged in a dojo display. The background is pretty varied and integrates the set with fictional wooden floor, full-body window and pastel green walls with a nice sakura decoration. The LEGO and Friends logos, Friends girls group shot and typical Friends 'curtains' complete the layout. Back The back shows some details of the set, like Emma wielding a katana and sporting a (quite disproportionate without the armour) kendo mask, or relaxing with a sip of water after a long exercises session, or even admiring her latest trophy and shiny medal. In the upper right portion of the back we see the usual Friends minidoll assembly instructions and Emma's mug shot and tag name, for those who did not recognise her in the new kimono version. The lower left corner brings on this theme, by showing a group shot with name tags for the five main characters in the Friends line. Sides Not mush to say here, as the sides sport the usual LEGO legal stuff and safety warnings. What I find interesting is the choice of the piece depicted in the 1:1 shot: instead of the expected minidoll, it's a nice lavender bag. Contents Inside Upon opening the box, we find two plastic bags and one instructions booklet. No stickers in this set! Once we open the bags, too, we get a cascade of parts and two smaller bags containing the minidoll's parts. Notice how there isn't a dominant colour proper, but a mix of pastel hues with some more common brown, tan and white parts. New pieces There is just one new part in this small set: Black Tile 1 x 2 with White Lavender Friends Accessories Hair Decoration, Bow with Heart, Long Ribbon and Pin. But do not let it discourage you: we'll see in a moment that the lack of new moulds is more than amended for by the abundance of rare parts. Re-colours Re-colours include: Minifig, Headgear Ninjago Kendo Helmet (Men) (a re-colour of sorts, being this just a variant of the Ninjago version, but without the white trimming of the visor) and Medium Lavender Friends Accessories Basket. Rare parts Parts collectors and MOCers will be interested in the following rare parts also: Bright Light Orange Brick 1 x 2 (only available in 2 other sets: 3938 Andrea's Bunny House from 2012 and 41004 Rehearsal Stage from 2013), Bright Light Orange Tile 2 x 4 (only available in 2 other sets: 3184 Adventure Camper from 2012 and 41004 Rehearsal Stage from 2013), Bright Pink Tile 1 x 1 with Groove (only in 5 sets so far), Dark Pink Slope, Inverted 45 2 x 1 (only available in 1 other set: 3184 Adventure Camper from 2012), Magenta Slope 33 3 x 1 (only available in 2 other sets from 2008), Medium Azure Brick 2 x 4 (only in 4 Friends sets so far), Medium Lavender Plate 2 x 4 (only available in 1 other set: 3185 Summer Riding Camp from 2012), Medium Lavender Plate 1 x 8 (only in 4 Friends sets so far), and Glass for Window 1 x 4 x 6 with Asian Characters on White Background Pattern (only in other 3 Ninjago sets from 2011, among which the fabulous 2507 Fire Temple). Extra pieces We get 8 extra parts, including the usual spare small round plates and tiles plus one ribbon and one katana. It would seem people at TLG are trying to sneak an extra weapon in each set these days! Minidoll I really like the new kimono version of the Friends minidoll. It is a nice conversion of the CMF series 1 karate man, and adds some variety to the girls' activities. I can see people complaining it is too specialised to be used in many other ways (we'll see if this is true in a moment), but, personally, I think a bit of specialisation is welcome in a theme which is likely to go on for quite some time in the future. Since the Friends' apparel is quite poor in the trousers' compartment, it is nice to have a cheap set including this part. Moreover, the kimono blouse (I know it must have a proper name in Japanese, but I'll keep this simple) works pretty well in other contexts, too. The only real con I see for this minidoll is the fact that it can't be used for Andrea and all the other dark skinned Friends characters. Maybe we'll see new versions in the next waves? Or will it be a one-shot minidoll? Instructions Only one instructions booklet in this set, thankfully. As always, the front cover uses the same image and art as the front of the box. The instructions are standard fare for a Friends set. Lavender background with a faint decoration in the lower outer corner of the pages, no distractions and simple pieces call outs as usual. The parts list covers two pages and shows the variety of colours and small pieces used in this set. Of course, the extra parts are not listed here. The last pages display a collection of sets from this line. If I'm not mistaken, they are all from this year's first wave. On the left we see the smaller sets, one for each girl (Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia and Stephanie), while on the right there are the bigger sets, with a repetition of Mia, Olivia and Stephanie's smaller ones to fill the page. Building Start This little set is composed of a number of smaller builds. We start with the bonsai, a nice little model which adds an 'oriental' feel to the scene with quite few pieces and simple but effective techniques. Karate chop! Next up is the 'karate chop station' by positioning a trio of connected parts on a non-connecting base, we have a chop-able board for Emma to work her tricks on. I'd like to add a small remark: since the board is a bit too high in the position depicted in the instructions, I suggest lowering it on the second row of supports. It looks more natural this way. Meditation corner With a printed door/window and few more parts, LEGO designers build a really nice looking corner where Emma can 'sit' (as we know, Friends minidolls can't actually use connections when sitting like normal LEGO minifigures do) and relax or meditate between an exercise run and the next. The addition of the water bottle is also a nice touch. Trophy wall This combination of a trophy wall and a bench is also well done. The use of the hinge brick allows a number of different arrangements girls (and kids in general) can play with. Finished set Front Here we have all the mini-models together. As you can see, the open bench part helps in creating a more 'enclosed' feel to our little dojo. Bonus images Girls at war Nya didn't like Emma's mushy attitude towards her boyfriend during their kendo lessons. Final comments Overall, this is a really nice set, with some creative use of parts and especially a good selection of mini-models that girls/kids in general can arrange to create their scenes. Design & Colour scheme – 9/10 (As said, nice little builds that work together to form a complete scenery. The colour choice is, of course, nowhere near that of a real life dojo [at least, I do not think it is], but it is in line with the general Friends theme.) Minidoll – 9/10 (A good rendition of the classic kimono in Friends format. The rare trousers, here in white, will be an useful addition to any collection. Again, the only con is it is limited in use to light skinned characters.) Parts – 9/10 (Being this a small set, the parts' variety is not superlative, but the amount of rare pieces, plus the small price, make this set a must buy for any parts collector.) Playability – 10/10 (I can envision hundreds of scenes that kids will spend hours enacting with this little set.) Build – 8/10 (Nothing too complex, but some efficient solutions are used, like the use of the hinge brick to allow some re-styling of the trophy wall-bench assemble.) Price – 10/10 (€ 9.99 for 93 parts, many of which rare, is very near the optimum these days, and quite better than most of the small sets I remember from last year, or even this year's selection.) Overall: 9.2/10 Excellent As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome! If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

We have had the MT-201 Ultra-Drill Walker, the Ultra Sonic Raider and now we have the Ultra Striker. It would seem LEGO designers associate the image of more or less behemoth-sized tank-like vehicles in their action themes with the word 'Ultra'. Will Equila's ride live up to the role? Theme: Legends of Chima [Exclusive] Set name: Equila's Ultra Striker Set Number: 70501 Price: 39.99 $, 39.99 £, 39.99 Euro Pieces: 339 (+ 8 extras) Minifigures: 3 Year of release: 2013 Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset This is the biggest Legends of Chima set I got so far. I must admit the main focus for me were the great figures. I especially like the Dark Blue Eagle (Eglor) and the Black Wolf (Wilhurt). Moreover, the vehicle has appealing aesthetics and looks like a good parts pack. That said, let's have a closer look to this flying tank used by an Eagle tribe in the middle of a mythical jungle world. The Box Front The front of the box shows a shot of the set in action. We have Wilhurt escaping with a CHI crystal in front of a rampaging Ultra Striker, while Eglor monitors the situation from the sky. All of which happens on a jungle background. I'd like to focus your attention on the background for a moment, as I noticed what looks like a fairly rare attention to detail in the photo composition. Look at the right side of the scene: the forest is blurred, due to the speed of the running wolf and the chasing eagles. Now look at the left side: the jungle in the distance is still, as can be expected by something far enough from the action. I'm not sure if this strategy has been implemented by LEGO box designers in other cases, but I seem to remember mostly static backgrounds with the action and blurs limited to the foreground set and minifigs only. Logos and set info complete the art, as always. Back The back shows the various play features of the set. We can have Wilhurt steal the CHI from a parked and unguarded Ultra Striker, with Equila getting all work up when he finds out, or we can suppose the eagle was hiding in the cockpit (not much space for that, but we'll talk about it later), and make him jump out at the last moment to stop the cunning wolf. If the wolf actually succeeds to get away, we can hunt him down with the Ultra Sticker and shoot our huge and painful missiles at him (try not to miss because you have only two shots!). Now come in the two most interesting features of the set: we can separate the cockpit from the main body and have it fly on its own (just like in Eris' Interceptor and Ninjago Ultra Sonic Rider's set); or, we can 'unfold' our wings and have the entire tank take flight. A flying tank (and not just a controlled fall one like in the latest A-Team film)! How cool is that? Sides The sides of the box sport the usual logos and legal notices. The upper side also shows a detailed view of the three characters with their weapons, with a 1:1 scaled mug shot of Equila. Contents Inside Upon opening the box, we find 3 numbered bags of parts, and another bag containing two rubber tracks (big version), two flexible ribbed hoses and one huge rubber tyre. The instruction booklets and sticker sheet will be discussed in the relevant section later on. Out of the bags As you can see in this quite jumbled mix of parts, the main colours are Blue and White, with minor Dark Blue, Azure, Yellow and Bley additions. Few Flat Silver, Pearl Gold, Red and (mainly big) Black parts complete the palette. New pieces New parts included in this small set are: Dark Azure and Dark Blue Wing 9L with Stylized Feathers, Light Bley Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Studs on 1 Side (I consider this new from this year, even if it appeared in 79003 An Unexpected Gathering in late 2012), Pearl Gold Minifig, Weapon Sword, Double Blade with Bar Holder, and Trans Light Blue Rock 1 x 1 Crystal 4 Point (CHI crystal). The minifigures' parts also fall in this category, but are listed separately (see relevant section). Rare parts Parts collectors and MOCers will be interested in the following rare parts also: Blue Wedge, Plate 4 x 6 Cut Corners (returning in this colour for the first time after 10 years), and Trans-Clear Hose, Flexible Ribbed with 8mm Ends, 19L with Blue Center Pattern (finally crossing from Hero Factory to System LEGO sets via the Legends of Chima theme). Extra parts The usual bits and spares include: two blue half pins, one black pin with friction, a transparent light blue small round tile, one yellow half bush, one red bush, one pearl gold big teeth/claw and one flat silver spear. Colour consistency While most parts have good colour consistency, I noticed that the Yellow Wedge 3 x 4 with Stud Notches has a strangely lighter hue with respect to the other parts in the same colour (these are standard LEGO Yellow). I tried to photograph it, but I'm not sure it is evident in the pic; human eyes are still better than cameras' sensors in detecting slight colour variations. Minifigures The three minifigures included in this set are Equila (the Ultra Striker owner), his friend and ballistics expert Eglor, and fierce Wolf hunter Wilhurt. Here you can see the assortment of parts used to build them. Of course, the Eagles have nice body armours and look quite noble (as the myth depicts them, especially in American tradition). By comparison, Wilhurt looks like a wild un-civilized hunter (which I suppose is the aim of TLG designers with the Wolf tribe, though they gave them high tech vehicles like the speedorz and the Pack Tracker...). Here we have the figs with their accessories. I like the fact that TLG designers introduced a Dark Blue eagle to the tribe; it really adds variety. Wilhurt, too is an oddly coloured version of the mainly Bley and Dark Bley wolves. This armour part, as is now common knowledge is what allows the Chima bird charters to sport wings. I must say I like the look of it, and I appreciate that LEGO is producing more armour parts with studs on the front and back, as they allow a wider range of character customisation, and they can be used in other contexts also. Wing(s) in place. The vertical clip holds the wing bar to connect to the armour. It has been noticed that this configuration renders the figs quite bulk, and it is indeed true, but I feel it at least fits the theme well. In this front shot of the figs without armour and head piece, we can have a better look at the printing of the parts. I especially like Eglor's torso and legs, as his jump suit works really well in Dark Blue and I like the idea of a flying character wearing a jump suit, just like our air forces. Equila gets the second place in ornamentation and Wilhurt, the savage hunter ends dead last; this does not seem to make him happy at all. Looking at the facial expressions, all the characters are quite grim, but the wolf is clearly angry. Allow me a brief consideration. I've always been curious about Wilhurt's name since first I saw it. I'm wondering, is it a short version of 'He will hurt you'? It really seems possible, and I would not be surprised if, when we'll get to see him in the Legends of Chima TV series, the other wolves will be quite scared of him themselves. He seems like a lone hunter, berserker type of character, doesn't he? All three figs have printing on the back of the torso and head. I like how Wilhurt wears (or grows) a sort of fur cloak or mane on his back; it helps in adding detail to an otherwise plain part of his anatomy. Another little detail I appreciate is the fact that Eglor's second face does not wear the usual eagle goggles, but some sort of high-tech eye-glass. It fits well with his ballistics expert role in the eagle tribe. This last shot is a comparison between Equila (on the right) and Ewar (on the left; not included in this set). As it has already been mentioned on the net, the two share every single body part, with not one difference between the two except for the head piece (or mask). Equila has a tiny bit more of printing on the forehead there than Ewar. That's all. Instructions Following what seems to be the most recent LEGO policy for instructions, we have two instruction booklets. Though the set is on the medium/big side, the number of booklets is mainly due to the fact that few pieces are required for each building step, with even single-piece steps. I must admit, nonetheless, that TLG achieved a pretty good compromise with this set. The cover shows the same shot and artwork as the front of the box. The LEGO and Legends of Chima logos, set number and booklet number complete the layout. The stickers are of the clear back variety. I do not apply them, so I do not have any knowledge to share about their glue quality or the like. The only things I can say are: they look pretty neat and do not cover multiple elements. As already mentioned, the instructions are standard fare, with an almost solid sand blue background that neither distracts the eye from the build or plays havoc with colour recognition. The parts' callout neatly covers 3 pages (of which only the last two are shown in the pic above). Yep, there are quite a lot of different parts and colours in this set. The last pages, as we can easily predict, are dedicated to advertising. I decided to put here a pic of the fore last page, with the '4D Movie Xperience' ad, for those visiting LEGOLAND Discovery Centers and LEGOLAND Parks. The rest are Legends of Chima set and speedorz ads, plus the usual LEGO Club and WIN! images we have come to know (and sometimes hate) so well in the last years. Building Start The build starts with the cockpit. Nice and clean, it has a functional look to itself. The red bit will become almost invisible in the finished build. Unfortunately, TLG designers decided to use a new sticker, to apply on the yellow roof piece, for the onboard computer instead of resorting to an older printed brick. Once completed, the cockpit takes the shape of an eagle head, complete with sharp beak. The dark azure feathers serve as... ...wings for the stand-alone flight mode. I did not find the pose of the feathers in the standby mode to my taste, so I rotated them to get a sleeker look. From the back, we can see the pins that connect to cockpit to the main body of the Ultra Striker, and that serve as thrusters in the stand-alone mode, I suppose. The trans-orange bids help give this part a more interesting look, and may serve as warning light for when the cockpit manoeuvres to re-attach itself to the main body. The main body of the tank starts with a forked chassis, upon which we mount the rubber tracks and the rear giant wheel. At the end of instruction booklet one we attach the eagle claws and finish the chassis. Going up, we encounter a recent trend in LEGO sets: in a step we are required to use 4 4x2 white plates where a single 8x4 plate would have sufficed. I'm note sure if using 4 smaller parts helps in achieving better grip and sturdiness, or if this kind of move is only related to rising the piece count; it is not too clear in this case. Here are the wings (only lacking the shooters, which will be added once they are mounted on the vehicle's frame). Notice the two CHI crystals that power the Ultra Striker... ...via the trans-clear/blue ribbed hoses. I'm not familiar with Chima's mechanics and technology, but I really do not understand why the power source should be placed in the open, especially when it does not serve a second purpose as weapon and it is at the centre of a contest between the tribes. It's like advertising it and inviting any wannabe thief to try his/her hand at getting it from under your nose. Notice the yellow and red technic bricks? That's where the connectors on the back of the cockpit go. There is an 'hidden' technic axle that can be pushed from the back to make the cockpit pop out and take flight. Finished set Front By connecting the cockpit to the tank frame and adding the shooters, we complete the model. Notice how Equila has to get stripped of his wings to enter the cockpit. Now, while it's a nice idea to render the wings part of the vehicle's aesthetics and store them safely at the same time, I think I'd be quite annoyed if I had to chop off a body part to get into my car every day! Wing supports While I decided not to include side and back shots of the Ultra Striker in this review (for the simple reason that they can be found on LEGO.com with all ease), I think it can be interesting to focus our attention on some smaller details of the model. First up is the use of hinged 4x1 tiles to support the wings in flight mode. When you first assemble your set, you'll notice that the wings' connection has enough grip to keep them from falling down due to gravity. But then you have to add the shooters, which increase the wing weight in a significant way. The supports, normally hidden by the wings themselves, can then be raised and used to keep the wings in flight mode without ruining the model's aesthetics. I had to ask myself: why did TLG designers decide to go with this solution, and not use click hinges for the wings' connection in the first place? I suppose the reason is linked to the given range of mobility and destination poses the click hinges allow, which would keep the wings too high or too low in the rest position with respect to the body frame. Get yourself together, man! Wilhurt choose one of the worst moments to attack the Ultra Striker: being fairly new to this big toy, Equila is trying to link the cockpit to the tank frame, but it may take some time. All together Another consequence of the limited space inside the cockpit is that Equila has to leave his weapon behind each time he climbs onboard. Is that the real reason why Eglor accompanies him? Bonus images Job description That was when Eglor learnt why nobody wanted the 'Weapons specialist' job in the Eagle Tribe. Bed time tales When he was a cub, Wilhurt used to have nightmares about Little Red Riding Hood and her friend the Lumberjack. Bad time tales As an adult, Wilhurt instils nightmares in Little Red Riding Hood and her friend the Lumberjack. Final comments Overall, Equila' s Ultra Striker is a great set, full of play features and complete with three outstanding minifigs (for the fans of the series, at least) and an exclusive CHI-powered weapons as well as 2 CHI crystals themselves. Design & Colour scheme – 9/10 (Very well proportioned and efficient. The only con is the reduced space inside the cockpit. The colour scheme works very well, both for the eagle faction, and for a bird-like vehicle, with clear paint on the underneath and darker shades on the upper surfaces. The only strange bits are the red accents put here and there to emphasize the play features.) Minifig – 8/10 (A good selection of very detailed prints and a great attention to detail make these figs worth the extra money for this set. The only con I can see, and the reason why I lowered the grade for this voice, is that they have reduced use into other themes, with the possible exception of Eglor's jump suit.) Parts – 8/10 (Great variety of useful parts, and a reasonable amount of new pieces. I'm pretty sure will soon see many interesting MOCs using the big feathered wing pieces.) Playability – 10/10 (The movement of the tracks and rear wheel is smooth, the shooters work as good as they ever may, and the detachable cockpit is a nice [albeit not new] touch. The number of figures of opposing factions also provides ample spark for many interesting stories.) Build – 8/10 (Nothing too complex, but some efficient solutions are used, like the wing supports and talon claws.) Price – 6/10 (The main critical point in this set is its price. Given the piece count and number of figs, it should be in the same range as Eris' Interceptor and the Pack Tracker, so 5 Euros less than it is. I know this set is marked as 'Exclusive', but that does not seem reason enough to make it so price-y without an actual increase in parts count.) Overall: 8.2/10 Very good As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome! If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

LEGO's 2013 CREATOR range has brought quite a variety of new models; there may not be much in the way of innovation, but I'm sure the LEGO Group knows what sells. For many, the highlight of the new sets will be this latest foray into the realm small-to-medium size cars, last visited with 2010's 5867 Super Speedster. In many respects, 31006 is a follow-on to this model, as we shall see, and we'll get to compare the two later. Review: 31006 Highway Speedster Set Information Name: Highway Speedster Number: 31006 Theme: Creator Release: January 2013 Parts: 286 Minifigures: N/A Price: GB £14.99 | US $24.99 | EUR 19.99 | AU $29.99 | CA $29.99 | DKK 179.95 A note on the pricing: In the UK, Europe, and Australia, this set occupies the same price point as 31008 Thunder Wings, which has some 50 fewer parts; whereas in the US and Canada, the Highway Speedster is considerably pricier. 31008's pricing is as follows: GB £14.99 | US $17.99 | EUR 19.99 | AU $29.99 | CA $24.99 | DKK 179.95. I can only assume that TLG have done their market research, and consider this set to be a sure-fire hit that will sell despite the higher pricing - interesting because it's rather a European-looking car, in my opinion. Links ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron The Box Click for a larger full-frontal image The familiar blue-and-yellow CREATOR colour scheme is, on this box, enlivened by a coastal roadway-graphic context for the car. I appear to have - quite unintentionally! - mimicked this for the title picture. It's more than you tend to get on most CREATOR boxes, and I think flatters the car somewhat. It is interesting that the alternative model insets - given unexpected prominence on the box of Thunder Wings - are relegated to their usual position here. Over the back, the three models parade themselves on the same 'speckled' floor found in the lower half of 31008's box rear. Click for a larger image Here, the car's opening features are opened for your delectation. I like the way the bley studs on the side of the nearmost model have their LEGO logos aligned - something I tend to take care to do when building official sets - although it is quite possible that these images are digital renders, which are often used on box art, I believe. I have often criticised the CREATOR set inventories - found as usual atop the box - for having a background gradient that can make some of the parts difficult to see; I'm pleased to report that this problem appears to have been fixed. Click for a larger image It'll be interesting to see if this lighter background extends across the entire range. The wheel construction here provides the customary '1:1' reference; it gives you some idea of the depth of the box, which is considerably deeper than that of 31008 ... ... though both share the same frontal dimensions. I doubt the 50 extra pieces require the increased interior space; it may be designed to mitigate the price hike for North American customers. This paradox continues inside the box: only three polybags reside within, compared to 31008's four; one however contains a small foetus. Each model gets its own manual. In common with the rest of the standard CREATOR range, no stickers are included; I wonder if this habit is to change with the introduction of the CREATOR Expert range and its decals. The Instructions The primary model's booklet has a shiny, high-quality cover. Having a smaller height than the box, the car is forced to encroach onto the yellow surround, as if breaking out of the page. The other two manuals have covers of a similar quality to the inside pages. A plain blue surround makes the instruction steps clear. With about 4-5 pieces per step, the build nevertheless progresses at a reasonable pace. As you can see from this picture, the rear and of the model is almost complete before the front is more than a skeleton: There are a few small sub-builds, but it's largely brick-on-brick, with very few colour-differentiation issues. Two double-page spreads advertise the rest of the new range, and some CITY vehicles. It's nice to see that the new Small Cottage gets a mention here! Behind this lies the inventory; found complete with part IDs here and here. There's nothing in the second manual besides instructions; the third's rear cover advertises the LEGO Club, with its disturbingly-faced mascot: The Parts A few pieces of blue and red break up the black, white, and grey monotony of the larger parts bag and its smaller offspring. It's nice to see a number of trans-black parts. Trans round tiles and a number of white cheese wedges could prove useful; the large number of light bluish-grey 1x1 studs would be handy if you're a fan of Derfel Cadarn's medieval walls. The other two bags contain quite a collection of white bows, tiles, slopes, plates and wedges, all are welcome in my collection. I'm really pleased to see large numbers of 1x2 plates in various colours. The yellow plates might be a little surprising; we'll see why they are necessary in due course. The only new(ish) part is the 1x2 brick with studs on one side, which I highlighted in my Octan Tanker review. Model 1 - Highway Speedster The primary model is a curvy, 10-stud wide supercar with large, purposeful front air vents, wing mirrors, large 'low-profile' tyres, and a rear-mounted engine. Size-wise it is similar to 2010's 5867, and as we shall see, the two compliment each other rather well. The low roof, and wedge-shaped profile building to a higher rear end, gives the car a suitably sporty look. The use of this piece improves the look of the tyres, which otherwise would look rather chunkier than you'd expect for such a car. They do a reasonable job off imitating alloys; the pearl light grey colour looks a little flat and it would have be nice to see them in metallic silver. Better still would be new wheel parts with low-profile tyres, but that would undoubtably push the cost up, if it is even possible at this scale. I like the red and black recesses in the sides, which otherwise would be rather flat and blocky. The low front is dominated by the twin air intakes, lined quite effectively with wedges, cheeses and bows to create a stylish look. The trans-red 1x1 rounds are a little surprising, but their resultant look complements the other, rather subtle, red parts in the intakes, without being too 'in your face.' The back is simple but smart, and looks somehow familiar. Using 1x1 round plates to imitate exhausts is perhaps a little simplistic, but it does show the younger builders how to create complex effects with simple parts, I suppose. Bows and slopes have been used in this model to recreate sexy supercar curves to quite good effect, seen best in this rear oblique view: You'll note the transparent cover to the engine compartment: a realistic feature of many modern supercars. It opens, too, as we'll see shortly. The little red tiled spoiler is rather understated; it also serves as a handle to open the engine cover. A new feature in this latest supercar is the transparent roof, formed from a 1x4x3 window panel and a 1x4x1 wall element attached SNOT to a 1x4 brick. It isn't hinged, but lifts off quite easily to access to the interior. I think the smooth look is an improvement over the previous studded plate of 5867. There's no rear window, however: the driver would have to rely on his wing mirrors! No steering in this car! I doubt a steering mechanism could be added at this scale without losing much of the exterior aesthetic; I wasn't expecting any, so I'm not disappointed. Note that, unlike most previous CREATOR cars at smaller scales, the wheels are connected directly via a 'live' axle. A minor side-effect of this construction technique is that manoeuvring the car in small spaces (ie., doing a three-point turn) is rather more difficult than with independently-spinning wheels. There's a large cavity under the passenger compartment, the floor of which is mounted above the large blue chassis rails. I'd expect a 'real' car to have quite a low floor; this is something of a design floor flaw which will cause us a bit of a headache shortly. Now we'll take a little tour of the car's features. The front headlights make use of a minifigure neck bracket to attach indicator lights; it's a fairly common technique that I've used before, and can be very useful. I do wonder whether the parts should have been white, though. The top-right frame shows the little recess under a 2x2 white tile that contains a trans-red round tile at a half-stud offset. I'm not sure what it's for, but it gives the car a Knight Rider vibe. Now there's an idea... I've already pointed out the very attractive round rear lights, but let's look at them again. Opening the engine cover reveals that, unfortunately, the engine is a little disappointing, especially compared to the hinge-brick V8 from 5867. In what is, I believe, a first for CREATOR cars, the Highway Speedster features gull-wing scissor doors (thank you, SirBlake, for the correction). The bley stud acts as a handle to allow the door to be lifted more easily ... ... even if the resulting 'open' door looks a little lame. Lifting off the roof allows easy access to the interior, itself quite smartly laid out: The chairs are a little perfunctory. The dash can easily be modified for right hand drive. It's also worth pointing out the two black symmetrical wedge plates under the windscreen, which form an attractive rhomboid shape here. Here's the downside to the high floor of the passenger compartment: You can't sit minifigures inside, without removing the roof. Actually, you can, but it involves a bit of modding including removal of the steering wheel, and lying the fig down almost flat. To be fair, you're probably not going to be trying to squeeze this car through the streets of LEGO City! I actually prefer the look without the roof. I was pretty keen on 5867 Super Speedster when I reviewed it back in 2010. 31006 is its natural successor; I've hastily rebuilt the earlier set so that we can see how well they sit together: 31006 shows up some of 5867's flaws. Its front fender is rather too deep; 31006's wheel trims make the chunky tires of 5867 look rather odd. 5867's curves, quite advanced at the time, look a little blocky, particularly on the wings; 31006's fluid contours are a vast improvement. On the downside, 31006's rather simplistic engine is a disappointment, and I've already pointed out the poorer turning circle; neither does the front trunk/boot cover open. I also miss the oblique-mounted doors of 5867 which greatly-enhanced its shape. However, the two sit quite nicely side by side, and this view reveals why I think the two sets complement each other. I remember pointing out that 5867's rear resembled a Lambourghini; the lovely round rear lights of 31006 are definitely saying 'Ferrari' to me. See here for a higher view. Model 2 - Highway Recovery The inclusion of a Recovery Truck as the second model in the set marks a pleasing contrast to the sporty primary model, and shows how a little lateral thinking can produce a very different creation from the same set of parts whilst sticking to the vehicular theme. Owners of 5867, however, won't be surprised - the second model in that set was also a truck, and even used the same SNOT technique for the windscreen. I would hazard a guess that the same designer is responsible for both sets (Morten, I believe). The use of tiles and slopes to provide a smooth upper surface for most of the truck is quite effective. You can also now see why the yellow plates are included in the set - they create a striped pattern along the sides, as you might see on an emergency recovery vehicle; it's a nice touch, if not exactly stunning. Trans-orange cheeses complete this image as emergency lights on the roof. The combined effect is perhaps seen better in this low view: Also apparent is the neat arrangement of inverted slopes along the underside, culminating at the front in a curved bumper. The arrangement of lights, radiator grill, and the centred 'badge' is a little messy, but it's probably the best that could be done with the available parts. The brick-built crane/hook assembly combines a number of contrasting colours, and isn't exactly beautiful, but it is functional: The main upright doesn't move very much; the arm extends a little way, and the hook barely moves at all, being restricted by a small plate/cheese wedge spur. This is necessary to enable to hook actually to hook anything - otherwise it would just swivel uselessly. The protruding blue 3L friction pins spoil the look slightly; it couldn't have greatly altered the price of the set to include a couple of 2L pins, but then again I'm sure just about everybody has a few spares lying around, if the protruding pins bother you. An interesting shortcut is used to attach the crane arm to the body: It is simply skewered on the rear axle. Neat! Note that this model also has 'live' axles (indeed, all three models do). Here's the crane in 'action' - Cameron's antique racing car has broken down, again. The minifig bracket that creates the hook works quite well, provided there is a plate or brick underside that it can hook onto. You have to place the towed vehicle onto the hook by hand, and it might struggle to tow anything with a low ground clearance. The truck's interior is neat and spacious, and can seat a System minifigure with ease: However, the cab roof is quite securely attached, and it can be tricky to remove. This view also highlights what I think is one of the major flaws of this build - it's just a little too low to the ground; you would expect the wheels to be mounted a plate or two lower, perhaps. Model 3 - Highway Racing I wasn't desperately keen on this third model - a classic racing car - when I first saw its pictures, but having built it and spent some time looking at it in the flesh, as it were, I've come to like it quite a lot. Like the 'concept car' model in 31008 Thunder Wings, an ugly lump of bricks transforms during the latter stages of the build into a smooth and sleek racer. I particularly like the use of wedges to define the bulge around the cockpit; the array of lights at the front looks a little odd, but it might be the best that could be achieved with the parts. The sides are finished with a SNOT panel with a row of bley studs representing, I suppose, exhausts. See, I've aligned the LEGO logos too. It's profile is somehwat dull, but I like the bowed front and the little wings over the rear wheels. The wheel-hub inserts do well here to give the appearance of spoked wheels, though they are a little too wide for realism. The back end is also neatly bowed, and here you can see the beautifully-tiled cockpit interior: It is interesting that the steering wheel is mounted slightly to to the right - I would expect the car to be a single seater. There's a jumper plate included in the set, which I don't think is used elsewhere in the model, so this could be easily corrected. The car's size is a little too large for a System minifigure, but it looks to be the ideal scale for to fit a Fabulander. It's possible, but only with a minor modification: I've removed the seat backs here so that Gibson Goat can challenge Cameron Crocodile to a race! This is perhaps what led Cameron to break down. Click the links below for some alternative views: Conclusion LEGO CREATOR's latest advance into the territory of small-to-medium sized Supercars provides us with a sleek, sporty, powerful-looking roadster that builds on the successes of its predecessor. There is some superb usage of bows and slopes to define the curvy contours of the car; the simple addition of wheel inserts vastly improves the realism of the look. If you own 5867, you will be delighted to note that the two cars are the same scale, and will look pretty sitting side-by-side on the shelf, especially given the 'allusion' to real supercar brands provided by their rear ends. The two included alternative vehicles are good models in their own right, with sufficient variety to make them interesting and fun builds, and as always significantly increase the value of these CREATOR sets. Yes, there are a few minor flaws, but overall I think the designer has done a fantastic job here. Design 9 The aesthetic of the supercar is enhanced greatly over that of its predecessor, with a wonderful use of curves to depict the svelte lines of a luxury roadster. The two alternatives are imaginative in their variety, and attractive to behold; they can be inspiring in their use of the available parts to create a very different vehicle from the original. I'm not so keen on the rather simplistic engine of the main build, and if I were to change one thing, I would lower the floor of the interior. Build 7 The build process is fun if a little pedestrian; unlike 31008 Thunder Wings I didn't experience any 'wow' moments here, although there are a few neat little tricks used here and there. The highlight is seeing how the gorgeous curves take shape. Parts 7 Aside from the new 1x2 SNOT bricks, which are already becoming quite common, there are no rare or interesting parts; however, the overall part variety and colour palette looks to be more useful than many of the set's contemporaries. Playability 8 A few fun features enhance the experience, but primarily this is a set for pushing around the carpet or sitting pretty on the shelf, at both of which it excels. Value 10 I've scored here for the UK price point: at £14.99, this set is a steal. Less so, perhaps, in North America, where it seems to have been hit be a 'desirability' premium, or something. Or perhaps TLG has taken pity on the recession-ravaged UK, where clearly people can no longer afford luxury cars, even as toys! Overall 82 % My Score 9/10 A great set, at excellent (albeit location-dependent) value. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review. I'm sure people will have a lot to say, particularly about the price issue. Fire away! Rufus Resources My 5867 Super Speedster Review My 31008 Thunder Wings Review LEGO CREATOR home page My flickr Set Endpiece Who needs steering, anyway?

That's right folks, it's the old one, not the new one. But didn't you review that one already, Rufus? Ummm... no. Are you sure? Not even here? Oh... that one. It wasn't very good. The Incom T-65 Starfighter - better known as the X-Wing Fighter - is perhaps the second most iconic of all the Star Wars ships, with only the Millennium Falcon besting it. It is, of course, the ride of Luke Skywalker himself, and appears prominently in all three of the Original Trilogy movies. As the headline act of LEGO's nascent Ultimate Collector Series, it seems the ideal choice; four SYSTEM versions have appeared, and it seems rather incredible that it has taken thirteen years for TLG to release an updated UCS version. But before the new one hits the shelves, let's take (another) look at the 2000 original. Yes, I've reviewed this set before: in fact it was my second review here on Eurobricks, before I joined the Reviewers Academy, and by today's standards the review could be a whole lot better. Plus, the pictures got degraded by my attempt at batch-resizing, and I failed to keep the originals. So, it's about time I brushed the dust off this old classic, and gave it the RA treatment it deserves! And with a new UCS X-Wing on the way, could there be a better time? Review: 7191 Ultimate Collector Series X-Wing Fighter Set Information Name: X-Wing Fighter Number: 7191 Theme: Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series (Original Trilogy) Release: 2000 Parts: 1300 (Source: Brickset, Bricklink) Figures: 1 Weight: 1400 grammes (model) - 516 grammes (box) 288 grammes (instructions) Price: GB £109.00 | US $150 Second Hand: Used from £222 | New from £590 Source: legostarwars.wikia.com Links ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron ... LEGO Star Wars Wiki Note: This is a big review. I've split it into several sections, in case you want to skip forward or have to come back to it. Box, Instructions, Figure (this post) Parts Build Complete Model Wings Open Conclusion The Box Click the picture for a larger full-frontal image Measuring H 428 x W 590 x D 68 mm, this is a big box. It's also quite stunning in its simplicity: the X-Wing is pictured here at slightly large than life-size, and captured at a dramatic angle, whilst tastefully rendered in black and white. The image is also slightly embossed, and has a glow which makes it leap out at the eye. Behind the picture is a 1:1 scale line drawing of the ship in plan view, perhaps to silence any Trades Descriptions complaints! In these days before standardisation of the logos on Star Wars merchandise, the SW logo competes a little too well with LEGO's own emblem, but given the LEGO-Star Wars relationship was yet in its infancy, this may have been quite deliberate. Somewhat unusually for UCS and Exclusive sets nowadays, this set was available elsewhere: I bought this off the shelf at Toys R Us for what seems like a pittance. Another glorious image graces the back of the box, this time in full colour but not embossed: Click the picture for a larger image Here we get to admire the set for the amazing display piece it still represents, replete with brick-built stand - an innovation at the time. Small insets highlight the model's various features: the wing-opening mechanism, the opening cockpit canopy, and, of course, the Astromech Droid. We'll talk about him later. Some factoids about the real - fictional - fighter accompany scale and size information in the bottom right-hand corner; you can click through to larger sizes if you want to read these. My box is rather battered, and a little squashed, and you can see it has been sealed and re-sealed several times, but on the whole I think it has done well for a thirteen year-old set that has moved house several times. The box has a lifting lid, with a diagonal cut-away at the sides; some other views of the model cross the flaps: Here are right and left sides respectively. TRU's bar code sticker rather spoils the view of the right side, but note how the front image wraps around to the side here. A small X-Wing flies straight out of the box top at you ... ... whilst on the bottom, Yoda's ghost reminds you that this set is for adults (or at least people over the age of 14). Thirteen years and I had never noticed little Yoda before. A dead link no longer takes you to the Ultimate Collector website; a bajillion languages warn the world of Small Parts. No cardboard-ripping is required to open this box: just lift the lid! Inside, we see that the sides of the box are reinforced, and the parts fit quite nicely. I'm afraid I cannot recall the number or assortment of polybags in the new set, but this was before the days of numbered modules. There is quite a lot of excess space here, though: I was able to store all the parts in a much smaller box. The Instructions The single booklet weighs a meaty 288 grammes, and its cover replicates the box front almost exactly ... ... as does its rear the box back ... ... although the LEGO and Star Wars logos are conspicuously absent - the latter replaced by web addresses and copyright information. This was, perhaps, a little ahead of its time - I certainly didn't even get dial-up until 2001. What did I do with my time back then? Opening the booklet, we find that the construction is indeed rather modular, with page references for the various subsections in case you couldn't build it all in one sitting. Given the size of the set, that is quite likely. Click the picture for a larger image Remember, we're adults now, so there's no need to sort the pieces carefully on a flat table prior to construction. The first time I built this was on a crumpled duvet on the bed, rummaging through all the bags for the individual parts. This is quite true - you never forget your first UCS. The instruction steps are clear, with part call-outs, and sub-builds demonstrated well. Important technical issues are given special prominence, such as this crucial step in the wing mechanism: Builds stand out against the dark blue background, but colour differentiation can be an issue - as was often the case - between grey, dark grey, and black. I recall accidentally using a dark grey 2x4 plate instead of black the first time I build this, a mistake I didn't discover until building the stand at the very end. A lot of effort went into making this instruction booklet. Some considerable research resulted in this information page, towards the rear: Click the picture for a larger image Some suspension of disbelief may be required to accept that a 4x6 red tile-plate represents 'reserve power cells', but you have to admire the intent. Certainly less effort goes into today's Exclusive sets, perhaps because the range has proved successful; only the Architecture booklets go further. Remember the days of alternative models? Here's a suggestion for 7191: Good luck building that from the picture. I'm not convinced it's worth the effort, personally, although I applaud its inclusion. Be prepared for a trip down Memory Lane, as we move toward the rear of the booklet: Click the picture for a larger image Remember these dudes? I still have the Destroyer Droid: one of the hardest builds I've ever encountered! The Battle Droid was a work of genius. SYSTEM-Star Wars was in its infancy back then, and it shows: Click the picture for a larger image Still, I have some fond memories, particularly for the 7130 Snowspeeder. I think it was 7130 and this set which pulled poor Rufus back out of his dark ages. Decal Sticker Sheet Two sticker sheets accompany the set. The larger is printed on transparent plastic: Whew, this is busy. Apart from the cockpit canopy stickers, there are decals for the engines, the body sides, the wing tips, and the wing front edges. Many are STAMPs: protesting against their destruction when you take the set apart, I chose not to apply them in the first place, and they've stood the test of time well. The UCS display plaque sticker - also a STAMP - is printed on glossy white paper. These wonderful decals have become a tradition, and exist with similar designs in today's Star Wars Exclusives, even after the demise of the Ultimate Collector Series title itself, and I note that UCS-scale MOCers often make their own. In this case, mine is a little scratched, but mercifully still intact and flat! The Minfigure Yes, it's R2-D2. He's the one in the middle, in case you were wondering. This is merely a small selection of the R2-D2s I have. We'll comment on the wisdom of inluding a minifigure-scaled R2-D2 in this UCS set later. There is one point it its favour: this early R2 - although otherwise identical to all later R2s before the 'bley head' introduced in 2008 - has no axle hole in the body, allowing you to add a 'third leg' without resorting to cutting pieces. End of Part One Introduction - Parts - Build - Complete Model - Wings Open - Conclusion

Apologies to Nuukeer whose artwork I have mutilated for the background. Thirteen years ago, The LEGO Group amazed everyone by releasing a Star Wars set that was clearly aimed solely at adults. 7191 X-Wing Fighter was a large-scale, accurate representation of the iconic X-Wing, and introduced to the unsuspecting world the concept of Ultimate Collector Series models - large, complicated builds, with interesting techniques and (often) parts, all with oodles of AFOL appeal. The original 7191 - with its sister 7181 Tie Interceptor - might have been seen as an experiment; years have passed, and the UCS title has (officially) disappeared, but it appears the experiment was a success and the concept lives on. Since then, we've seen most of the more famous SW vehicles released in UCS format, but it has been a long time since an X-Wing has been available at this scale without resorting to extortionate aftermarket prices. If you missed the first one, you need fret no longer: there's a new, updated version. I'm therefore proud to present a Eurobricks early review of 10240 Red Five X-Wing Starfighter. Obviously we are keen to see how the new set shapes up, but I'll also concentrate on how she compares to her thirteen-year-old ancestor: to see if owners of the original 7191 might be tempted to shell out for the new version. In honour of this occasion, I've made a new, detailed review of the older one: read 7191 UCS X-Wing Fighter here. 7191 was a great set, but it had a few flaws. The principal ones are these: the wing attachments were weak, and there were a large numbers of STickers Across Multiple Pieces (STAMPs). Let's see how the new one deal with these issues, and also if newly-available parts have improved the overall shape. A huge thank you once again to The LEGO Group for providing this set for early review! Review: 10240 Red Five X-Wing Starfighter Set Information Name: Red Five X-Wing Starfighter Number: 10240 Theme: Star Wars Original Trilogy / Exlusives / Hard to Find Release: 3 May 2013 Parts: 1558 (Press release) 1559 (Shop@Home) Figures: 1 Price: GB £169.99 | US $199.99 | EUR 199.99 (Ger) | AU $279.99 | CA $249.99 | DKK 1699.00 Links ... LEGO Press Release ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron The Box Click the picture for a larger full-frontal image The 2013 Star Wars box art has a smart, attractive green tinge to the banner, matching action-Yoda's lightsaber. Recent years have seen a uniform banner for all Star WarsTM merchandise - LEGO or otherwise; it doesn't necessarily match the model in question. Action-Yoda appears only in the prequel episodes II and III; the X-Wing is very much an Original Trilogy set. Moreover, Luke's Red Five X-Wing doesn't go anywhere near the Death Star II pictured in the background; as I recall, we don't see her after Bespin in The Empire Strikes back. Questionable canon aside, I like the picture: the ship stands out nicely against the dramatic backdrop. The size of the banner (or perhaps of the box) has, however, necessitated the loss of the lower starboard laser to box oblivion. A small inset - also picked out tastefully in green - gives us an idea of the final size of the model. Around the back, we are treated to the X-Wing in display mode, replete with stand and diminutinve R2-D2, on what might possibly be a Bespin landing platform. Click the picture for a larger image Insets show the ship in her most famous role - dodging laser fire in the Death Star trench - and remind us how Luke's Red Five was responsible for the DS's destruction via physics-defying torpedoes. Further insets demonstrate the opening cockpit and wings, and small images show the ship in 'flight mode', with wings closed. The overall effect is neat but a little fussy: I'm not keen on the step between the main image border and the 'torpedo' inset, which exists only to accommodate the set number. Both sides are identical, with the exception of the 'LEGO Club' logo on the right-hand side; I wonder how necessary this is on an adult-orientated set, but I guess AFOLs have a reasonable chance of having KFOL kids! You may be pleased to see that the box opens via flaps, with no box-destruction required, and allowing easy storage for a highly collectable set. Scale is provided on the box top by the image of '1:1' R2-D2, but as he is rather lost in the model itself, the X-Wing's size information is repeated here: The bottom teaches us to say 'Small Parts' in innumerable languages, which I suppose might be useful. I was a little surprised by how big the box isn't: Measuring W 578 mm x H 371 mm x D 82 mm, it's roughly the same width as 7191, but some six centimetres shorter and only a centimetre deeper; she feels much smaller, if that makes any sense. The weight is similar: 2255 grammes compared to 7191's 2204, and there are 250 more pieces. Presumably this represents TLG's move to more environmentally-friendly packaging; we'll have to see if the larger part count translates to an 'improved' model. The Instructions You'll be pleased to see that the instructions and stickers are wrapped separately, and cardboard-backed. Three booklets are contained therein: All have the same cover image; book 3's cover is noticeably lower quality. Advertisements for the LEGO Club and the LEGO Star Wars site adorn the rear of two of them; I'll give you one guess what's on the back of the third. The dimensions of the booklet allow for a slightly larger picture of the X-Wing than the box front affords: We therefore haven't lost quite so much of the lower starboard laser. Inside, we are treated to a whole two pages showing the modular construction; the first is shown here: Here we get a little sneak preview of how the wing-opening mechanism will be achieved. I was surprised to see that the stand is built in module 6, rather than at the end as in most UCS sets. The rather bland grey-brown background persists throughout all the instruction steps: Part call-outs and sub-builds are demonstrated clearly; a quick glance suggest there won't be any issues with colour-differentiation; but when I came to build, I did encouter a little difficulty distinguishing between dark tan and light bluish-grey in artificial light. I quickly spotted the error. Insets depicting the set's principal features are repeated from the box back at the end of manual three: Click the picture for a larger image Owners of 7191 will recognise the design of the rear-end knob which opens the wings. Immediately before this is found the set's inventory, spread over three pages; see them here: Page 1, Page 2, and Page 3. The inside rear cover of manual one advertises the extensive Summer 2013 Star Wars range: I was a little disappointed to find out that we've seen all these already. I'm no Clone Wars fan, but I love that Mando Speeder. DSS There are two separate sticker sheets; the smaller sports the complex decals for the cockpit: I was fortunate to receive two of these, so I have a backup for when I screw it up. On the larger sheet are found the display plaque decal, and some detail for the wings, complete with 'battle scars', in addition to a few smaller features. Click the picture for a larger image with correct orientation It is far less complicated than the rather daunting sheet from 7191, though I'm a little disappointed to see that - it seems - the control panel and targeting computer will be stickered. End of Part One Introduction | Parts | Build | Complete Set | Wings Open | 10240 vs 7191 | Conclusion

For several years now, CREATOR has carried the flag for LEGO housing; CITY dwellers are presumably meant to sleep in their caravans or fire engines unless they are lucky enough to have a Modular Building for a domicile, or only sleep in buildings that have snow on them. I suspect this is a deliberate move by The LEGO Group; the CREATOR 3-in-1 mantra provides versatility in design, and might perhaps provoke multiple purchases to enable a bit of variety in one's Town layout, or at least an affordable source of house parts. The last bona fide CITY residence was 8403 City House in 2010; this year's CREATOR range will boast no less than three minifigure-scaled dwellings, if you include the rather offbeat 31010 Treehouse; let's take a look at the first to be released, the modestly-named Small Cottage. Review: 31009 Small Cottage Set Information Name: Small Cottage Number: 31009 Theme: CREATOR Release: 2013 Parts: 271 Figures: 1 Price: GB £19.99 | US $24.99 | EUR 24.99 - 27.99 | AU $39.99 | CA $29.99 | DKK 299.95 Links ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron (not yet listed) The Box Click for a larger full-frontal image The CREATOR logo shamelessly obscures part of the model on this square box; the set itself is captured from its best angle. The usual blue CREATOR background is enhanced by faint bushes and trees, framing the cottage and setting the 'countryside' scene indicated by the official set description; it wouldn't otherwise be obvious. Two insets in the CREATOR yellow don't even try to frame the two alternative models. The box 'feels' like good value; it is larger than similarly-priced sets from many other themes, and weightier, though the latter may be due to the instruction manuals. More bushes flank the alternatives, which are showcased with their features on the box rear: Click for a larger image The box artist has done well to show all three distinctly without overlap; the space has been used very well. You'll notice that Thumbs are required to open this box. I used a knife; but, to be fair, this still required thumbs. Despite the inclusion of a minifigure, it's a three-part lantern that decides the scale on the box top: The troublesome gradient behind the inventory persists: why do they put the light-coloured parts in the light corner, and the dark ones in the dark corner? Of the other sides, the left-hand is the most interesting: The two lesser models feature here, with a multi-lingual explanation of '3 in 1' if it weren't already clear. Unusually, the 'Small Parts' warning features on the right-hand side rather than the bottom. Out of the box fall four polybags, three instruction manuals ... and a 16x16 full-thickness plate in Bright Green. It's shown here because I forgot to include it in the Parts section. The Instructions Three smart manuals each have shiny, quality covers; no indication is given as to build difficulty or order, either on the covers or inside. The only information inside the front cover is the new 'sort your bricks!' cartoon. I've assumed that the model order is the primary build, the Small Cottage on the cover; then the Windmill; then the other house, which is called a 'Skater's House' in the official blurb which also uses this order. There's no other indication that this is the 'correct' order; in fact the box art might suggest the smaller models should be reversed; but for clarity and consistency I will refer to the models and their respective manuals as 1, 2, and 3 in this order. The other two manuals are similar: Click the thumbs for larger images More monochrome bushes feature on the covers; different in each case reflecting the change in perspective. The steps are clear and simple. Piece call-outs ask for an average of three to four parts per step: I only encountered one point where the placement of a brick wasn't clear, which will be indicated later; it was of no consequence in any case. Advertisements for other CREATOR sets feature prominently; book one promotes the excellent 7346 Seaside House and 31004 Eagle on their own pages, akong with a composite of several sets on the back cover; I was a little surprised at the choice of 31008 Thunder Wings for the full-page treatment at the back of book three, considering it has what I would consider a rather different market than the houses might attract. Manual one also contains the inventory; see page 1 and page 2. The Parts Hope you weren't expecting Technic. Actually, there are two Technic plates, but otherwise the inclusion is mostly basic bricks and plates. There is great selection of dark blue roof slopes: not quite as good as 5891 Apple Tree House (which, incredibly, is still available, in the UK at least) but still most welcome. Door and window parts are always useful. The bright green 6x6 plate hasn't been seen since early noughties Belville. The smaller part collection is dominated by basic red bricks. We used most of ours building a Toadstool, so I'm not complaining. I got very excited by the inverted bracket when I reviewed the new UCS X-Wing, not knowing I had one in this set which I've owned, unopened, for at least two months. Otherwise, the tiles will always be useful, and I appreciate the inclusion of earth blue cheese slopes. The Minifigure CREATOR houses have included figures since Log Cabin in 2011; they are rarely anything to write home about, and this one is no exception: I'd sooner have had a classic smiley, but I expect TLG have done their market research and presumably kids want more expression. Rather surprisingly, the face isn't that common: appearing only in a couple of basic brick sets, a seasonal CREATOR, and the Winter Village Cottage, along with a few promotional minifigure collections. The entire figure, replete with skateboard, is found the Watford UK store opening set. I'm going to call him Chet. He has an American Preppy look. Not sure if Chet is an appropriate name for a skateboarding, sausage-sucking, drink-spilling preppy, but Chet it is. Model 1 - Small Cottage The primary build is quite a beauty! A surprising amount of detail has been crammed into this cute little cottage. The colour scheme is pretty, with stripes of white and light bluish-grey adding texture and the appearance of height to the red walls; the dark blue roof is smart and features an attractive gable. The yellow door provides a further splash of colour, and is set off nicely by the dark blue cheesy awning. A SNOT-mounted lantern, tiled step and flowerpot - the last typically formed from colourful 1x1 rounds in CREATOR style - add a welcoming aura to the entrance. Note the dark tan plate with rail forming a neat sill under the gable window. I'd like to have seen the roof apex 'finished' with double-slopes - like on the venerable Apple Tree House - but the studded top does help to round it off in a more 'cottagey' style, I suppose. Another window sill sits under the double-height window on the right-hand side; this wall is otherwise featureless ... ... except for the plate-hinges which suggest an opening section for access to the inside. Click the picture for a straight view. The opposite face is far more interesting. Big full-length French windows are the main source of light into the modest internal space, and one slides open - in one of the rare instances of the 1x8 plates with wide rail being used for their intended purpose. We'll see the barbecue in more detail later, but this is a good moment to point out the chimney. Dark bluish-grey and tan are used to add texture to the stone, and slopes gradually angle the flue; the stack sits just off the centre of the roof, but the slopes imply that the chimney is continuous. It's rather pretty; sure, it doesn't use headlight bricks and tiles to add depth like we see on the Winter Village sets, but for a little CREATOR set, I think it's been done quite tastefully. The back of the chimney is squared off nicely, and forms the boundary to the opening rear wall: The dark grey plate with vertical pole forms a little handle, which allows the whole - and otherwise plain - wall to open. You can also see that there's another gable window - replete with sill - on this side. The wall swings back, allowing Chet to sit in his swivelly chair ... ... and preventing adult hands from having to squeeze through the narrow space afforded by the sliding window. In the opening corner is a little table - rather optimistically called 'drawers' in the promotional text - with a lamp of unusual design. It's basic, but at least there's furniture! Though I hope the chair is comfortable, as Chet doesn't appear to have a bed. If the opening wall isn't enough, the whole roof comes off easily: This is great for play access to the interior, even if there isn't that much to do in there. I'd quite like to have seen a bunk bed, or something. Sadly, there is too little space in the roof structure to add any features up there; this is partly because larger bricks have been used than is strictly necessary, in order to allow for the alternative builds. Maybe Chet sleeps in the garden; certainly the little pond obviates the need for a bathroom. The pond is incredibly simple, but still rather effective; the slopes and green plates are somewhat successful in providing an illusion that the pond surface is lower than that of the lawn. I do like the fence. Barbecues seem to be an essential feature of CREATOR houses: Seaside House, Hillside House, Log Cabin, Beach House, and Lighthouse Island have all featured outdoor cookery in various guises. The tradition continues: Chet enjoys his sausage with a cup of something. I'd have appreciated a little clip to attach sausage or 'fork'; you can clip the fork to the plate with bar under the grille, but then there's nowhere to put the sausage. I guess Chet can just hold it while he goes 'boarding. Cottage Verdict: This is a remarkably pretty little cottage, designed to look very smart despite a limited part selection. The opening door, window, and wall section; swivel chair, barbecue and skateboard provide minor play features, but it is in the creation of a beautiful house and garden scene from very simple parts and techniques that this model excels. Model 2 - Diminutive Windmill Hats off to the designer's imagination for including a windmill among the alternatives, even if the execution is a little too simplistic. To be fair, this isn't its best angle; the mismatched colours of the opening side look a little jarring here. I do like the design of the chimney flue, though. Not so on the opposite side with the door; the double white stripe continues above the door here. I'm not so keen on the use of red 1x1 round plates in the central stripe, but at least they are used symmetrically; I'd rather see normal 1x1 plates even is it would result in square flowers in the other builds! The big windows aren't used in this build; instead, four small windows let in some light. A 1x2 brick with frictionless pin - not used in the other builds - allows the windmill to spin ... ... which it manages to do for less than the eight second exposure of this shot. It might have helped a little if I'd built it correctly - the white tiles and red plates should have rotational symmetry. Of course, an effecive windmill would have sails that capture the wind; these barely extend beyond the face of the mill. I do like the minor landscaping detail which, coupled with regularly spaced tiles, makes an attractive path up to the door ... ... beyond which we see a hint of some inside detail. From the front, note again the dark bluish-grey brick which looks a little out of place, and the rather-too-short sails: The back is more interesting than you might imagine: here, the dark tan rail-plates make a little ladder - spaced a brick apart using a technique which might be instructive to less experienced builders - even if it doesn't really lead anywhere. Again a red round plate looks a little incongruous, but not nearly so as the trans-orange one at the bottom of the ladder. Again, the back opens, revealing the inside detail and a eyebrow-raising blue floor: If you don't like the floor, there's a bright green plate you can use instead; maybe blue is better. The white cones are, I presume, bags of flour, although you'd be forgiven for thinking they are milk bottles. It isn't clear from the instructions how exactly to place the SNOT 2x2 round brick onto the wall; I've chosen to use its centre anti-stud as it is a better connection, even though it's now off-centre to the other 2x2 round brick. Like the primary build, the windmill's roof is detachable: The roof section is a very uncomplicated stack of bricks. I'd have thought the black plate with bar at the top of the opening wall section would have been better facing out, at the top of the ladder. Windmill Verdict: A novel idea, though a little disappointing in the flesh. This is by far the weakest of the builds, though its spinning sails might appeal to younger builders. Model 3 - Modest House The final build is another cottage, but this one is long and thin, and there's a good reason for this: it folds! TLG calls this a 'skater's house' - that well-known phenomenon. We'll see why it's call that in due course (and not just because of the skateboard. ) With the house folded out like this, the chimney forms an attractive buttress adding to the 'cottagey' feel. In this and the first view, you can see that the large windows form the end walls; they are topped by the 1x4 arches, which I guess form an architectural feature, but it isn't entirely successful. I'm not sure why the arches were included in the set; apart from introducing a little variety to the red bricks, they don't really add anything to the designs at any point. From the front, you can see how again the wall-mounted lantern welcomes you, and this time there is a little garden tap, though it's a little close to the ground. I'm not sure why the doorknob is a dark blue cheese slope; there are plenty of black 1x1 rounds to do the job a little better, but maybe this is due to show that other parts can be used for this in your MOCs in the unlikely event you've run out of rounds plates. Now for the money shot: Closing the house brings the two large windows together; they look great, but this emphasises the oddity of the arches. I wonder if the blue 'pond' plate might have been better placed in front of the further window. The plain wall formed by closing the model again suffers from an incongruous round plate in its construction. The light bley bottom layer is nicely continuous; the chimney bley intrudes a little far into the wall, but I can live with this: it looks suitably rustic. Chet retains his swivel chair to warm his feet by the lounge fire, but he still doesn't have a bed. This time he does have somewhere to keep his fork (if that's what it is there), but it's all for nothing, because he doesn't have anything to cook. Not a sausage. And that's because his sausage has been employed elsewhere: Nice part usage!! the sausage forms the stem of an angled desk lamp. Super! Shame it's a red light. What do you get up to in the evenings, Skater Boi? Anyhoo, in daylight, he likes to practice his skateboarding tricks, and the house has a means to help him: The plate with rail is a ledge for him to do that thing that I've seen skateboarders do on MTV. Apparently, according to TLG, this is called 'grinding'. Who knew? Skater's House Verdict: There's something refreshing about this little house, which achieves far more than just the folding mechanism would imply. It's cute, it's quaint; it's ... somehow familiar, reminding me quite strongly of some old classics: Here we have the Skater House next to veteran sets 6370 Weekend Home, from 1985, and 376 Town House, from as early as 1978. They're really not too different. Stick a moulded tree and some flowers onto 31009, and you've got a Classic Town set in all but name. Conclusion You know, I really like this cute little set. It's simple, unpretentious; it looks great, with a pretty colour scheme, and there's a bundle of useful house parts for creating your own little town buildings, from homes for your myriad CITY workers to trackside structures for Train fans (I can see an opportunity for a signal box, though you might not want a blue roof). There may not be much in the way of technicality in the build, and play functions are little lacking; the skateboard probably appeals to the kids in this respect, but I'd rather have had a bicycle. As a standalone, it might not compete so well with the slightly cheaper 'action' CREATOR sets; however, it fills a niche that's been lacking now for years: an affordable home that will fit into any Town layout. Design & Build 8 A pretty though simple set, it lacks a little in the build compared to other CREATOR sets, but it's great to look at. Not so much the windmill, perhaps. I'm impressed with the effect of the simple landscaping to create garden features and gradients, and the smart use of colours in the two house builds. Parts 9 Dark blue roof pieces, including corner slopes; large and small windows; and a variety of basic bricks and plates in useful colours make this a great parts pack. I'd consider buying mutliples of this to make a big house. Figures 6 Chet isn't the most exciting dude to be included in a LEGO set. He has a rare-ish face, but I doubt you'd be buying this set for the figure alone! Playability 7 There are a number of good play features; I suspect this set might appeal more to girls than boys, unless they are all entranced by Friends; the somewhat anathematic skateboard might have been included to swing this appeal the other way. Couple the set with some CITY and the playability multiples. Value 10 Part for penny, the CREATOR range is always good value; at £20 for 271 useful pieces, this is a bargain. Couple it with two attractive houses, and ooooh so much potential, and it's a no-brainer. Overall 80% My Score 9/10 Classic Town lives on, in a modern CREATOR-fied form. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review. Please take the time to comment! Rufus My flickr Set Other CREATOR House Reviews 4954 Town House by Siegfried 4956 House by alex54 4996 Beach House by def 6754 Family Home by Matn 5891 Apple Tree House by def 5766 Log Cabin by The Brickster 5770 Lighthouse Islandby Pandora 5771 Hillside House by Rufus 7346 Seaside House by Pandora I you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

First of all, a big thank you to Bonaparte and LEGO for making this review possible. This has been really fun. I knew very little about this set when it was given to me, so I looked it up and found that it looked to be a very good set. As I'm going to study engineering, the architecture series really quite appeals to me, however, I'd never gotten one as I really like minifigures. Will this set hold up to my expectations? Read on! Set Information: Name: Imperial Hotel Set Number: 21017 Pieces: 1188 Price: US $130 Ages: 12+ Minifigures: N/A Theme: Architecture Year of Release: 2013 Brickset Flickr Set I left plenty of pictures in their large size! Box: The overall design of the box is the same as the rest of the line, black, with a shot of the model. Very professional looking. Underneath the model, there is what looks to be blueprints, which really give the set a "design" feel. Flipping the box over, we have some writing about the set as well as some construction details. A picture of Frank Lloyd Write adorns the upper right corner and his signature is in the bottom middle. The left side of the box has pictures of the left side of the built model, and an overhead view of it. On the right hand side, there's a faded out shot of the front of the model as well as the name of the designer; Rok Kobe. I find the top most interesting. Along with the 1:1 image, there's a part of the model in a brick-paper format that fades to the built model. Also on the top there's a box that says, "Frank Lloyd Wright Collection." Nothing to special about the bottom, just your usual warnings. Contents: Architecture sets have flaps and open much like other toy boxes, when I opened mine it looked like this. Quite full, and the "Enjoy your Building Experience" printed on the bottom of the box here, made me smile. Inside the box were 10 bags, the manual, and six 6x16 plates. Only a few parts stuck out to me, the 3x3 corner slope in sand green, the 2x1 brick with studs on one side in light bley, and the printed 1x8 tile. (Though in every Architecture set) I believe the 2x1 brick is new for this year. Here are our extra parts. The 1x1 tiles and plates are most useful to me, and there are quite a few of them. Manual: The manual is much more of a book than the usual LEGO set, it's bound and is made of much heavier paper than a usual one. The front of the manual has the same art as the front of the box, minus some of the facts about the set. On the first inside page, there's a picture of the hotel as it stands today. (As well as what was recreated in the set, minus the tourists) Continuing on, much more like a book, there's a contents listing on the second page. Underneath a paragraph talking about the destruction of the hotel, there's a painting of the hotel, and I must say while simple it looks like a grand building. As you continue turning the pages, you come across the two page spread. Exactly like the one on the of the box, but three or four times larger, it was also very hard to photograph. Each step in the manual was very clear, I had no problems telling what color was what. Here's a shot of just one of the many steps in building the model. The Build: Here I cover the first few steps. We establish the base for the hotel as well as the concrete around it. (Each of the build pictures link to a 1600+ pixel version) Continuing on, the first level is constructed, with plenty of half-plate offsets. Then the roofing over the entrance is added, and the bottom floor is completed. You then start on the second level and add some of the many windows. Finally, the roof is added, and the model completed. Finished Model: Wow, is a good word to describe the completed model. I could sit a look at it all day. The size, details, and colors really have a "wow" factor and make the model shine. Here you can see the many windows that you are built using snot techniques, really nicely done LEGO, and capture perfectly the real look of the building. The back of the model is flat, and has no details what-so-ever. But since you never see the back why put anything there? This set is big. At 34 by 30 studs the hotel has a large footprint, it's bigger than Bag End! The next several pictures are all of parts of the model that I thought had interesting building techniques or just looked cool. Here we have some of the windows and the roof, that I think works nicely together, The front entryway to the hotel is very ornate. A lot of half-plate offsets are used in this model, you can see a few here. The windows here on the side are attached with 1x1 bricks with a stud on one side, the snot gives the building a great look. This technique here isn't new, I just think that it looks pretty neat. Looking at the real building alongside the model, it's very close. I'm not sure about the decision to recreate it in tan, but it does work nicely with the green. The only one thing that could be added is the reflection pool, but that's not part of the building so I see why it wasn't included. Conclusion: There's no one good word to describe my feelings for this set. It's large, accurate, and I had an amazing time building it. I was mostly surprised at how complex the model really is, though I'm fairly sure this is common for Architecture sets. 1188 pieces make this the second largest set in the line, and a very good introductory set for it. Again, I'd like to thank LEGO and Bonaparte for the opportunity to review this set, I had a great time! Ratings: Playability: 9/10 This isn't a set you can play with, however, it would make a great model to put on your desk as a conversation piece. Design: 10/10 The design is top notch. It matches the real building nicely and I find no flaws. There are a variety of techniques in this set that I thought were interesting. Price: 9/10 I didn't pay for this set, but for any set with this large if a piece count anything between $100-$130 is very fair. Parts: 10/10 There was a huge selection of tan light bley, and dark bley tiles and plates. These sets are known for that but I didn't realize it until I got one. Total: 38/40 An excellent score, I would pick the gem up if you've been thinking about it, or even if you haven't! Like this review? Want to learn how to make good reviews? Then join the Reviewers Academy!