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Pretty cool. 

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#PHLUGReviews: 70809 Lord Business' Evil Lair

First off, we would like to thank the LEGO CEE team for sending in a collection of The LEGO Movie sets to the Philippine LEGO Users Group (PHLUG) for review. PHLUG members will be reviewing TLM sets in the coming days.

The 2nd to the largest set in the first wave of The LEGO Movie collection at 738 pieces, I found Lord Business’ Evil Lair is more enjoyable after watching the film compared to when I first saw it.

Admittedly, this set seemed to be so-so when the first pictures came out. But that totally changed after I saw the film and reviewed this not-so little bad boy.

Upon unboxing, this set gives you 5 bags, 2 instruction booklets, 2 flexible hoses, a sticker sheet, and a plastic containing all 3 capes needed for the figures. A pretty packed box if you ask me.

Let’s get to the figures first. This set contains a total of 7 figs: he all-too-familiar, Emmet; the disguised Unikitty, master builders Vitruvius and Macho Wrestler; Ma-Cop and Pa-Cop and of course – Lord Business himself. That’s a lot of figures for a set!

The Emmet is pretty standard at this point with his dual-faced head (smirk and terrified). He also has the Piece of Resistance – which is pretty useful for this set in particular. The brick-built Unikitty is different from the one found in Cloud Cuckoo Palace because this one contains a unique printed body and head as seen in her “disguise” in the film. Macho Wrestler is pretty standard for me with his white cape and printed masked head.

Vitruvius however is a more interesting figure with a lot of unique components: his double-sided sparkling cape, medium dark orange face, and unique stone-staff. This is the same version found in the Monster Fighters line.

But the real stand-out (literally) of this set is Lord Business. This is probably the only figure with this much bricks needed to assemble. His legs are ginourmous. He also comes with two minifigure legs – one with the slope attached to it and the other a normal one. He also comes with two head pieces which you can use to make him either President or Lord Business. His Lord Biz helmet is a new mold with 3 stud connection points – for the mugs on both ends and the trans-clear stud in the middle. And did I mention the cape? The longest one I’ve seen  - ever!

Surprisingly, the whole build of Lord Business is stable. It’s a treat to make him walk and lord over the other puny figs. TLG really gave a lot of thought to this fig after all, he is really central to the story of the film. It will also be interesting to see how builders will use his headpiece in their MOCs.

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Now onto the builds. The fist bag contains the first level conference room. Notable in this build is the use of Technic beams to build the table and chairs. The sales graph sticker is used in the conference room board. Just in this build, you can already act some scenes in the film.

The next bag contains parts used for the second level “prison cells.” This goes right on top of the conference room. A very interesting technique used here is the SNOT which gave the cells its oblong shape. I love the details that the trans-blue parts bring out and the use of a rare part of the pipes. Again, you can act out several scenes in the film in this build. One thing that would make this section of the set more fun is if the figs included were Superman and Green Lantern – they were just so funny in the film. But for this, we have to settle with another master builder – the Macho Wrestler.

The third bag builds the connection to the first section and the dreaded weapon claw / shooter. This is where the 2 new a-pieces are used. This one contains a very fun to play with feature with the doors attached to the weapon making it open and close as the weapon come in and out. You get also Ma-Cop and Pa-Cop in this bag (and the lovely trans-clear stand last seen as army men stands in the Toy Story sets), the two are the unfortunate first victims of the “glue gun”

Open the fourth bag and you can complete the second floor of the second structure. Of course, on top of the glue-gun is the glue – the Kragle. It is brick built but surprisingly accurate. Again you would need to put a sticker to this but it’s a necessary one. There is also a play feature where Emmet can fall to the ground just like in the film.

The last bag contains the remaining parts of the set – the small studio which contains the camera and couch used to film “Where’s My Pants,” the battery, and the girders used to connect the structures together. Here you will use two stickers – show’s logo and the battery label. Both of which are also very necessary to the set.

This is definitely the best set in the line in terms of playability. It’s just packed with play features and components needed to act out key scenes in the film. Your kid will have endless fun re-enacting these scenes.  Though I am not a big fan of these types of scenery sets, this one is a very good parts pack for MOC builders. Though not a lot of rare parts, this set has a good assortment and quantities of useful parts. You get several girders, slopes, long bricks, panels, and more than a dozen of 1x2 trans-red and orange plates.

Overall, this set is very desirable. You get 7 figures all of which are either nice or have very useful parts and a very complete structure with more useful parts. When this goes on clearance, consider getting 2 or more. But clearly, this set is made for kids and they will have the most fun acting out scenes in the film. 

Check out our previous reviews: 70800 Getaway Glider 70801 Melting Room 70802 Bad Cop Pursuit 70803 Cloud Cuckoo Palace 70806 Caslte Cavalry 70807 Metalbeard's Duel 70812 Creative Ambush 70805 Trash Chomper

The Lego Movie Review

#the lego movie #phlug #lego

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#PHLUGreviews: Bad Cop Pursuit (70802)

First off, we would like to thank the LEGO CEE team for sending in a collection of The LEGO Movie sets to the Philippine LEGO Users Group (PHLUG) for review. PHLUG members will be reviewing TLM sets in the coming days.

To start things off, we have 70802 Bad Cop's Pursuit. This set which retails for $29.99 has 314 pieces and 2 minifigures. When I first saw the image my first impressions were crocodiles and a flying police car. Not really very compelling for my tastes but that changed when I got to build this set. In the movie, this set features a scene where Bad Cop engages on a train chase with the main characters. After Wyldstyle built a ramp that catapulted Bad Cop’s car into the air, Bad Cop reassembled his into a flying car which hovers above the train and shoots the tracks into collapse making Emmet (almost fall) into a bunch of robotic crocodiles.  

PACKAGING and CONTENTS

The box was not as compact as the 70800 Getaway Glider and 70801 Melting Room sets. I felt like the box could be smaller as there was plenty of space left with the contents in it. I know that LEGO has improved their packaging in recent releases with more eco-friendly packaging. The box was very glossy though and sturdy which is always a good thing. Inside the box were the instruction booklet (x1) and sticker sheet plus 3 plastic bags (2 of which had "offspring" smaller plastic bags in them).

PARTS

A quick scan of the set shows that most come in black and white as majority of the parts were used to build the police glider.

Though definitely not the set with most number of new and rare elements there are a few that are worth mentioning.

Mini Shooter Gun - probably one of the most anticipated new part (technically an assembly) of 2014, this gun impressed me quite a bit. It consists of the actual LBG gun (Mini Shooter With Ø3.2 Shaft)  which is currently found only in this set and the trigger (Trigger For Mini Shooter) which are 2 separate pieces. One would have to snap the trigger in the middle of gun and load it with a 1x1 stud, press the trigger and BAM! I was surprised at how much power that small thing has. It didn't even have a spring but it sure did knock-out Emmet pretty good. This gun sure beats those flick-fire missiles. I have no doubt that a lot of kids will find this new element very enjoyable and that there will be a lot of lost and misplaced 1x1 studs around the house.

Piece of Resistance – this new element pivotal to the LEGO Movie’s story is actually a 1x2x1 red brick with a stud holder on one side (Brick 1X1X2 With Extra Tube Side). The trailers showed this part being carried around by Emmet after he has presumably found them and it seems that it holds great importance to save the world. I am looking forward to see MOCers use this piece and in what other ways this brick can be used aside from being just an accessory to Emmet.

White Roof Parts  – though pretty common in other colors, this is the first time that this piece is shown in white.( Slope 45 2x1 Double/Inverted)  I am glad that LEGO did not go the route of just applying a white sticker onto a black piece as this being available in white opens up a whole range of possibilities in building. There is also the “Attic Brick” (white 2X4 double 45° slope) which makes its debut in this set. According to The New Elementary - my current fave LEGO blog, this element has been existing for 50+ years but has never come in white until now. You get 2 of each new element in the set.

Other notable elements are: two types of white angular plates (1x Angular Plate 1,5 Top 1X2 ½, 2x Angle Plate 1X2/1X4) which are only found in 4 and 9 sets respectively. A new color of Brick 1X2 Fric/Fork Horiz.End, a fairly common frictional hinge piece found in white for the first time this year and is only found in 1 other set. Two rare plates: a 2x14 tan plate (found only in this set) and a 2x8 dark blue plate (found only in 2 sets). And of course, the tower/girder pieces (Lattice Tower 2X2X10 W/Cross). Though found in the more common black color, this set offers you 4 of them which is the most this piece appeared in a single set. More hangars!

MINIFIGS and ANIMALS

The last time you had a chance to get 2 dark green crocodiles was in 2008’s 8632 Mission 2: Swamp Raid set from the Agents line and the last time this bad boy appeared was 4 years ago in World Racer’s 8899 Gator Swamp, so the fact that you get 2 of these reptiles in this set will certainly delight some collectors who are into LEGO animals. I think this animal assembly is pretty awesome especially since most LEGO animals these days that we see are the “cute” ones which appear in the CMS and Friends line.

The main guy of our film Emmet also appears on this set. His torso, legs, hair and double-sided face is pretty common at this point as its found in most LEGO Movie sets. He is shown here with a back plate with knob piece that holds the Piece of Resistance.

While Emmet is the film’s main guy, Bad Cop / Good Cop certainly is this set’s main fig. I would just like to point out how I am amused by the fact that TLG and the movie’s director was able to use the double-sided face feature of LEGO minifigs to develop a character that is unique to the film. According to Brickset, the torso is unique and helmet is unique to the set. I love how his aviators really shine and is chrome printed (looks like).

THE BUILD

You get to build two structures in this set. The first one is the elevated train track (or at least a portion of it) which rise from a swamp-y piece of land. At first I thought it was a plank where-in Emmet was pushed to the edge but after seeing the “I am Batman” clip, I know get and appreciate more the scene this set portrays.

Nothing pretty special in the build. You get a very asymmetric build of the track which is good. The unevenness brings an element of realism to the set.

Also, the play feature of this structure while very, very simple is pretty fun. TLG must have used this “trap-door” function a million times heck, there’s even a part for it. But that did not remove the fact that it is actually very fun to make someone fall into a bunch of robotic crocodiles just to be devoured.

Next is the surprisingly impressive flying police car. I tell you, the box art doesn’t give justice to this build. It’s retro-sleek! Very reminiscent of the muscle cars of the past yet it is very “Fifth Element” at the same time.

There’s only a handful of SNOTs here but there’s more than enough slopes, hinges and bows to make it sexy. The new roof pieces give the side of the car a sharpened edge; it is also used to hide the car’s most impressive feature.  

When you flip-open the sides, it reveals a hidden weaponry which turn two ways. Watch this video.

I am really impressed with this little clever contraption. It is just plain cool.

VERDICT

My only question after seeing the clip from which this set was based from is: why did LEGO pass the opportunity to make a train set out of the LEGO Movie. It would be nice to hover the police car beside a train just like in the movie. I don’t know if it’s because last year’s Lone Ranger Constitution Train Chase was flop or something but I think a train set is still a train set. But that being said, Bad Cop’s Pursuit was a surprisingly satisfying set. A lot of people including me, felt “meh” when we first saw the set but that certainly is not the case anymore. 

#phlug #thelegomovie #lego #phlugreviews #minifigure #afol #toycrewbuddies

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"Good morning"

#lord of the rings #lego #minifigure #the hobbit #bilbo baggins #gandalf #toys #movies

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6867-1 Loki's Cosmic Cube Escape Set Review

Loki’s Cosmic Cube Escape is a LEGO Superheroes Set that was released in 2012. I got this primarily for its Iron Man figure and its decent price per piece count. It has 181 pieces predominantly dark blue and has three figs (Loki, Iron Man and Hawkeye)

The set features a scene where Loki escapes taking with him the cosmic cube. He is being chased by Hawkeye with his shield jeep and Iron Man.

What I liked about this set is that it features an extremely playable vehicle. The build of the SHIELD jeep is just right. Its very sturdy and sized well. Not to mention it comes in one of my favourite LEGO colours which is dark blue (one reason that I like the Avengers line is the prominence of this colour)

This set is definitely on of the best sets to have for its minifigs and the Jeep. It satisfies in both the figs and the build aspect and has a reasonable price tag. Probably te best valued Superheroes set.

Brickset

Rating: 8.5/10

#afol setreview lego avengers ironman loki hawkeye shield

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Who am I? Two. Four. Six. Oh. Waaaaan! #lesmiz #jeanvaljean #valjean #lego #hughjackman. Credit: Kyle S.

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79000-1 Riddles of the Ring Set Review

I was not originally interested in The Hobbit sets but after I saw the film, I told myself: I must have those minifigures.

My first Hobbit set was 79000 Riddles of the Ring, a 105-piece set with 2 figures. It features quite accurately the scene from the film which made it more appealing to me. In this set you will get Gollum and Bilbo Baggins (in his journey outfit) a boat and the rock formation in the movie.

It does have a lot of grey and bley pieces (slope bricks and plates) which I find useful for MOCs. It has no stickers which is a good thing for me and it does have an extra ring. It is nice that a set with very few parts can still have a tiny feature which in this case a "hideable" piece of rock attached to a lever which when turned reveals the ring. A nice little feature for a nice little set.

The Gollum figure has a nice matte feel to it and an excellent printing of a scary Gollum face. The Bilbo features a two sided face which shows his scared and firm expressions. He also has a little knife to defend himself from Gollum. I enjoyed this set despite my lack of familiarity with Hobbit book because it closely resembles the look of the scene in the film.

Overall: 3.9 of 5 Brickset

#The Hobbit #Lego #Afol #Gollum #Review #Set Review #Bilbo Baggins

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LEGOals 2013

2012 was an awesome year for me. I emerged from my dark ages and came back to a now lifelong hobby - LEGO. I can say that I learned a lot in just 6 months of being into the hobby again. I went from Zero to more than 10,000 pieces (from sets, vehicle only and loose parts purchases) in that span of time and owned a little over 35 sets in the process. I went from Creator to Star Wars to basic bricks to Marvel Superheroes and tried to find my niche. So far the sets I am really proud of are the Millennium Falcon (7965) and the LEGO Minecraft both of which I got at fairly reasonable prices.

- The set that got me out of the dark ages - 

My Holiday 2012 Haul

I still consider myself a mostly parts guy with an inclination to MOC space fighters,mechs and space crafts. Although recently, I have selectively collected minifigures (Avengers) and is currently trying my hands on vignettes. I have also been wiser in my buying behaviour which prompts me now to write a bucket lists of sorts for 2013 for my hobby.

So without furter ado, here is my LEGOals for 2013:

Complete a minifigure collections for:

1) Star Wars Original Trilogy (Luke, Leia, Han, Chewwy, Vader, Yoda, C3PO, and R2-D2

2) The Hobbit (Company of Dwarves, Gandalf, Bilbo, Gollum)

3) LOTR (Legolas, Gandalf, Frodo, Boromir, Aragorn, Gimli, Gollum, Merry, Pippin)

4) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Rafael, Shredder, Krang, Master Splinter)

Participate in my first LUG exhibit - the official PHLUG has started to take shape and hopefully, plans push through this 2013 for the first ever PHLUG exhibit. I hope to have one or some of my MOCs or sets be featured.

My first vignette. Hope it gets exhibited.

Buy LEGO Creatively - this means to use all available tools (Bricklink, Phil Bricksters Marketplace, etc) to acquire LEGO and get the best value for my buck

Blog More - LEGO is an amazing hobby and it deserves to be shared more. Hopefully in 2013, I get to write more about it and share my passion to more people.

Christmas 2013 - Make a major LEGO purchase every Christmas. This year, I started it by rewarding myself with a Millenium Falcon (7965). Wonder what single set I will reward myself next year.

I guess that's it for the meantime. Those are the major milestones I can think of for now. As for the sets I will be buying this year, I honestly do not have a single theme I am excited about that much. Although for sure, I will be buying stuff here and there.

A Happy 2013 people! Keep building and play well!

What's your LEGOal this year?

#afol #lego #goals #new year #2012 #2013 #star wars #minecraft #moc #lotr #avengers

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7930-1 Bounty Hunter Assault Gunship Vehicle Review

Bounty Hunter Another one of my vehicle-only buys, the Bounty Hunter Assault Gunship is a set I wanted to mainly get because of its parts and color - dark green. It has close to 400 pieces which is composed of mostly dark green, grey and yellow. As one of the bad guy ships in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon series it has a unique form and build.

The front part of the ship is made up of the uniquely-shaped cockpit with two doors that open on each side. I particularly liked how the build was for these doors which use a Tecnic liftarm for its hinge and 2 green hoods as its body. The nose is made up of beautiful dark green wedges and slopes which is an always useful piece to have in MOC-building. The cockpit's roof can be lifted to reveal a weapons compartment as well. The body and tail of the ship is long and is comprised mainly of a long 4x16 wedge which is another unique piece.

Towards the middle attach the two wings which are formed by several wedge bricks and a lot of dark green plates. On each wing's tip is a cylinder engine in green which uses dark green cylinder halves (another useful and rare element) and plane engine parts on its ends. These engines change in orientation depending on the mode the ship is in, upright for a landed position (with the cylinders supporting the cockpit and the rest of the ship while its horizontal when its in flight mode.Its orientation can be changed by sliding the ships long tail. This area makes the ship easy to hold and swoosh. It also reveals a secret compartment at the front end of the ship, just behind the cockpit that contains what I assume are the hunters' hidden bounty.

There are several stickers in this set to be applied mostly on the cockpit but I did not use because I am really planning to reuse the dark green pieces. The way I see it, I really paid good value for the selection of parts of this set and got a bonus of getting to build a fun model while learning a few new and neat techniques. So for that, I am really happy with this purchase.

Overall: 4.0 of 5

Brickset

#star wars #clone wars #bounty hunter assault gunship #lego #afol #set review #review #vehicle only

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7931-1 T-6 Jedi Shuttle Vehicle Review

Though I am not a big fan of Clone Wars because I am not very familiar with it, I am starting to really like these Clone Wars Lego Sets. The T6 Jedi Shuttle is another testament of how imaginative Star Wars sets are and how they translate nicely into Lego form.

I got this set simply because its beautiful to look at. Its wings are wide and massive and I really like the turning mechanism from landing mode to flight mode. So one of the selling points of this set for me is the beautiful wing parts and the turn table piece.

I was excited to build this because I was really curious about the rotating wings. The build did not disappoint. It showed several new techniques and a creative ways of using wing plates. I particularly like how the smaller red wing plates were used to shape the wing tips to make it less pointy. Another impressive design feature of this is the use of SNOT techniques and slopes to shape the shuttle's rear body. The end result was a sexy and sleek curved shape the paved the way for the wings to rotate freely and the three engines at the back to fit nicely.

One thing that lacked in this set in my opinion is a display stand. Its a pity that at flight mode there is no way to leave the shuttle upright considering thats the position it is most beautiful to look and play at. I would've understood that this is not a UCS set but a playset had it had some mechanism to hold on to while in flight mode similiar to the Technic braces found in the Anakin and Sebulba's set which make it so swooshable.

As such, I was forced to create my own stand and modify the original design. Thankfully, I have several transparent beams which I find very useful for this purpose. It took me a while to get the balance right but I managed to get a perfect design to allow it to be displayed on flight mode. This is a good set to display, definitely. It can be fun to play with and swoosh to chase after the Bounty Hunter Assault Gunship

Overall: 3.9 of 5

Brickset

#AFOL #SET REVIEW #T-6 JEDI SHUTTLE #JEDI #LEGO #CLONE WARS #STAR WARS

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Why I am a LEGO purist and why I don't mind clones

                           I first received a LEGO set when I was very young. I remember having played with DUPLO sets so I would have been below 4 years old when I started out with LEGO. This went on into my childhood when I started playing with LEGO System and Basic brick buckets. When I became an older kid, I also played with the more advanced Technic system. As I grew older, I played with other building toys like Zoids, Gundams, an even cement-glued model kits.

Then I entered high school and ultimately stopped playing at all.

Only recently have I gone back to LEGO and rediscovered it as a lifelong hobby. Yes, I am now a returning AFOL.

Almost 20 years later - the market is different, LEGO has lost its battle for patent exclusivity on the brick it invented and has been imitated by a dozen of companies. Megabloks and Oxford's Kre-O have been existing for a few years. They have been very aggresive in securing theme licenses and developing around the basic principle that it is compatible with LEGO's automatic building brick (ABB). As a matter of fact, it even marketed itself as such and hinged on the fact that it is 'LEGO-like'

Honestly, I have nothing against these LEGO 'alternatives.' I have accepted the fact that the ABB is something that LEGO cannot single-handedly own. Even if the brick is synonymous to LEGO like 'Coke' is to softdrinks and 'Colgate' is to toothpaste - LEGO would have to co-exist with these 'alternatives' 

Now it begs the question: why am I not playing with these alternatives even if they are cheaper, offer cool themes as well and 'similar' in quality with LEGO? Well the answer is that they are NOT LEGO. Yes, simple as that. They may be cheaper, 'similar' in quality and compatible with LEGO but they were not the toys I played with during my childhood. They will never be the toys that I grew up with and they will never be the toys that is tied to the best memories of my childhood. I do not know about you but I feel like I am cheating if I buy or even think of buying these alternatives.

Brand affinity is a strong consumption force and the heritage, history and memories that tie to the brand is a very solid loyalty driver. LEGO has existed for 80 years and it has developed three or four generations of users worldwide. These are kids who became parents who had kids who became parents as well and so on and so forth. The two main 'alternatives' have a long way to go to be in a place similar with LEGO. Megabloks (2002) and Oxford 's (1992) Kre-O (2011) are all new players in comparison to the Danish brick's longevity. They have yet to establish generations upon generation of users.

Sure, some will argue that these alternatives will soon develop generations of users - and they probably will in the next 10 to 15 years once the kids and teens who have played with them become adults and parents but by that time the love of LEGO would have been passed on to another generation of fans further solidifying its stronghold.

I always believe that competition is good for business. And casual users of these alternative will eventually shell out money to buy LEGO. The proliferation of alternatives only make LEGO stand out more. Actually, without them LEGO will be just the brick. But with them, LEGO becomes THE brick. So I guess, we have them to thank for that. And them alternatives being cheaper makes LEGO perceived to be a more premium and quality product.

I am a LEGO purists not only because it is made with unmatched quality or that in 20 years I still can play with it or that it barely depreciates or that it is the original AND despite of it being the more expensive one.

I am a LEGO purist because it is the one who I spent my childhood with. There is simply no replacing the original. 

(Lego Heart Image from: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs47/i/2009/176/d/9/I_Love_Legos_by_drsparc.jpg) 

#blog #afol #lego purists #fake lego #megabloks #kre-o #orginal #imitation

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Awkward work environment

#avengers #black widow #hawkeye #minifigures #lego #afol #comics #comic strips #marvel

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853195-1 Brick Calendar

Got this set from someone who visited Legoland in Malaysia. I wanted to get a Lego store exclusive instead of something that can be bought elsewhere. Honestly, it was smaller than expected but the contents did not disappoint.

You get 31 beautifully number printed white 2x2 bricks, 7 yellow 2x2 bricks printed with days of the week and 6 white 2x10 bricks printed with the months on both sides. To accompany the calendar are two series 1 minifigures: the blue cheerleader and skater.

You would have to reassemble the order of dates every month which I find super fun! All in all, its a good novelty product. It will soon find its way to my office desk!

#lego #afol #brick calendar #cheerleader #skater #collectible minifigure series #cms #minifig #minifigure #lego store exclusive #lego store #legoland #set review #review

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9490-1 Star Wars: Droid Escape Vehicle Review

The highlight of this set is definitely the minifigures. However, since I got into the habit of buying Lego Star Wars Vehicle-only sets which separate the minifigs from the actual set parts, I could not resist the temptation of buying this set for some of its parts.

The pod pieces are excellent. No, they are not a lot but it is still a worthy addition to any MOC-builder's collection. Particularly interesting are the 'pod pieces' and the round wedges that makethe pod's body. The set throws in also a speeder for the Storm Troopers which is a very straight forward and simple build.

Parts: 4 of 5 Price per Piece: Php 5.6 Overall: 3.9 of 5

Part Catalogue:HERE    Product Page: HERE

#C3PO #LEGO #R2-D2 #STAR WARS #VEHICLE-ONLY #Vehicle review #set review #review

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9444-1 Ninjago: Cole's Tread Assault

This is my second Ninjago set to date. Just like the first one - Jay's Storm Fighter, I got this one because of its cool functionality and selection of parts. You see, I research a lot about a set before I purchase them to know what exactly I am getting. Hence, I rarely get disappointed with the sets I buy. The 9444 Ninjago Cole's Tread Assault is a great set if you are after some good building techniques and part selection. I still believe that Ninjago vehicles are one of the cooler themes to get awesome parts with a reasonable price point.

On to the set, as with all Lego products, this one comes with a huge box. Inside it are 3 huge bags with 2 instruction manuals and the 4 big wheels - a total of just 286 pieces. The minifigures that come with it are Cole ZX with his golden scythe and his adversary, Skales. The black ninja, Cole ZX has some neat torso printing and silver shoulder armour. While Skales, stand out with his rubbery blue tail-feet piece which I think is both rare and special. Of course, he carries his golden hypno-staff with its blue symbol - a signature among Ninjago villains. Among the notable parts of this set are the black helicopter blades, 2 huge wheels for the rear part of the vehicle, 2 golden spinner pieces used as reams and a good number of lime green parts for the underneath of the vehicle. This set has a lot of Technic bricks and pieces with it which make up most of the vehicle's frame. The build is also not for novice builders, as it entails some advanced Technic techniques and a few SNOT methods.

The main feature of this set is its ability to turn around 180 degrees while retaining the cockpit in an upright direction, which is pretty cool. This is done by having the cockpit as a separate and rotatable piece in the middle of the frame. Also, the black blades pop out in one simple press of a button. Overall, this set does not disappoint. Although, a bit pricey the set gives the user extreme playability as well as a good selection of parts.

Parts: 4.2 of 5 Price per Piece: SGD .20 Overall: 4 of 5 Part Catalouge HERE Product Page HERE

#ninjago #lego #set review #afol #cole #tread #assault

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7962-1 Star Wars: Anakin and Sebulba's Podracers Vehicle Review

Podracers are interesting Lego subjects because of the way they are designed. A single-seat piece attached to two or three motors only by a long thin wire. Three or more seemingly independent pieces that should act and operate as one.

The Anakin and Sebulba's Podracer set (9762) contains 791 pieces, 753 of which are required to make the two vehicles. I got mine on retail without the minifigs, extra pieces, and box. I extremely enjoyed the pieces I got for the set and the build techniques I learned from assembling it. Anakin's podracer was pretty straight forward having a number of cylindrical pieces to build the motors capped with the nice yellow blades.

Sebulba's was the star of the set. Having almost double the piece count required to build Anakin's podracer, it was elaborate and well designed. It has a lot of orange colors which makes the model very vibrant. And lot of detail pieces like grills as well as curved bricks to make-up a solid and beautifully bulky twin engine.

Which brings me to my next point, the models perfectly balance on the display stands which is impressive considering how heavy the Sebulba model is. Considerations like these cannot be pre-planned on a design software. Minor caveat on the design though is the occassional falling off of one or two of the four large chunks of bricks that make up the twin engines. Other than that, this model is great!

One note-worthy aspect of this model is the inclusion of a handful of transparent Technic beams that make up the display stand and model support (to give it a hovering-in-the-air look). These pieces are somewhat rare and are perfect for MOC-ing stands and docks(iPad docks)

Number of pieces after MFs and spares: 753 Price per Piece: Php 4.1 

Product Page HERE Rebrickable Page HERE 

#Anakin #Anakin and Sebulba #Lego #Podracers #Sebulba #Set Review #Star Wars #The Phantom Menace #Vehicle Review #Vehicle-Only #review

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2013: What we know so far

Its that most wonderful time of the year... Well almost :)

Lego enthusiasts are constantly abuzz about 2013 set news and more. I've been following this topic closely over the past few weeks and here is a summary of the news and tidbits together my thoughts on whats out there.

Whats Confirmed:

1) The Legends of Chima was one of the first rumours to appear online and one of the first confirmations. Enthusiasts were thrilled to see an official picture of the set leaked. Minifigures of the set were also leaked through an image of a Lego book to be released next year. From the looks of it, Legends of Chima would not only be a play theme but an actual game similar to Ninjago. The leaked photo showed 2 children doing battle on what appears to a spinner or launcher of some sort.

Thoughts: Lego must be doing something right to the right target market for them to launch a new play theme based on an actual game or battle. No doubt that Ninjago was successful in its own right among kids. AFOLs liked it also because of the cool vehicle sets it has. Personally, Ninjago vehicles are a favourite because of their parts selections and unique building techniques. If this Legends of Chima theme would be the same, I would probably have a vehicle set or two next year.

2) Lego 2013 Set List - a German toyshop has leaked on their site the 2013 set list (I would assume the first half of the year). What made it more credible is it corresponded with 5-digit set numbers (consistent to what has previously been reported) and suggested retail price. For your reference, here it is:

Here's the latest, from Brickset

Super Heroes:

76000 Arctic Batman vs. Mr.Freeze - Aquaman on Ice

76001 Batman vs. Bane - Chase with Tumbler

76004 Spider-Man - Hunting with Spider-Cycle

76005 Spider-Man - Mission at Daily Bugle

76007 Super Heroes: Marvel 4

Creator:

31000 Mini Racing car

31001 Mini Jet

31002 Racing car

31003 Red helicopter

31004 Eagle

31005 Saddle tractor

31006 Sports car

31007 Power Robot

31008 Power Jet

31009 Country Home

Lone Ranger:

79106 The Lone Ranger

79107 The Lone Ranger

79108 The Lone Ranger

79109 The Lone Ranger

79110 The Lone Ranger

79111 The Lone Ranger

Galaxy Squad:

70700 Space Swarmer

70701 Swarm Interceptor

70702 Warp Stinger

70703 Space Mantis

70704 Vermin Vaporizer

70705  Bug Obliterator

Legends of Chima

70104 Jungle Gates

70105 nest jump

70115 Ultimate Tournament

70106 Speedorz Ijstoren

Technic

42000 Grand Prix Racer

42002 Hovercraft

42004 Mini Backhoe

42006 crawler excavators

42007 Moto-cross Bike

42010 Action Race-Buggy

42011 Action Racing car

Ninjago:

70500 Kai's Fire Robot

70501 Samurai Bike

70502 Cole's Power Drill

70503 Golden Dragon

70504 Garmatron

70505 Temple of Light

Bricks and More

10655 Monster trucks, with 3 figs and 3 trucks

10656 Princess, with princess usable for castle, pink castle and new brown horse

10657 Construction Site.

10661 Firetruck, with fireman and dog.

Thoughts:

The City theme remains to be a disappointment. Too much police and fire themes are very tiring. I have never actually bought a City set recently and upon the list of 2013 City sets I don't see that changing anytime soon.

The Creator line's appeal for me remains to be seen as the photos have not yet been released. Although based on the list available we will still be seeing a house, a few vehicles, and an animal. I would have to see the piece count and part selection of each for me to make a judgement on what I will drool over and what I will shun.

Ninjago is apparently back for one more year and based on the set information that has been released, it looks like we will still be seeing more cool and awesomely designed vehicles next year.

Lone Ranger - really not excited about this one. I think it is a waste. Although Western fans might be thrilled. I won't. 

Marvel - excited to see the Tumblr and curious about the Marvel 4 Set. 

Galaxy Squad - This I am excited to see! It sounds like a cross between Alien Conquest and Space Police. Excited to see the parts and photos.

So what are you guys looking forward to? 

#lego #afol #set news #rumours #2013 lego set list