Siegfried

Pirates? Wow! That means I'm in a lot of trouble.... No it can't.

Ahhh this takes me back. I recall a topic just like this from a while back. It ended up being closed. Some traditions are worth keeping.

Ahhh.... the Metroliner. This has to be one of the ultimate city sets. (I say "one of" to avoid any arguments; I'm sure many feel the Monorail is better!) The interior design of this train in particular is wonderful. I've always loved the baggage/sleep end. The odd thing is that it wouldn't cost much more to do a set with an interior this good, but for some reason they don't. Thanks for the great review Alex.

Oh what a stunning set! I love the removeble engine concept; I'm not sure if it makes much sense, but it's cool just the same! I so want this set... but I so dread the (Australian) price. I'm still reeling after buying Endor...

It's Domo-Kun! Don't worry; he might look scary, but he just wants a hug. Domo loves to eat potatoes. Domo salutes! I'm not sure why... he tends to daydream a lot. Domo and his large soft friend. Domo and his new friend. Domo stressed! Careful; he tends to fart... Domo is searching for adventure! For the curious, I was inspired to make the because of the 8971 Aerial Defense Unit review.

Updated! I do that all the time... but seriously guys, there's been some "conversation" in here and I'd really appreciate it if it stopped. It's tolerable now, but it does make the topic harder to read and if it increases there's a chance that a +1 will be missed among it...

As a movie/TV genre definition yes, but that's about it. In terms of Sci-Fi stories they are completely different. I don't agree with that at all... but all the same we've already decided that most alien and space things will go in the Sci-Fi forum. The change is about including, not excluding. Aside from a rubbish movie, I'd call AVP horror. But I've already said... ...so what's your point?

Not really. One thing Sci-Fi isn't about is "today" and Technic is very today. I do agree the name isn't perfect, but it was the best that I could think of that covers the desired content. (Yes, you can blame me for the name.) The fact was we had an ever growing "Others" section and we wanted to find a better home. This is our solution. Ultimately you can't please everyone. The underground lines were an obvious problem as they have both fantasy and Sci-Fi elements in them. It's much the same with the underwater themes. Thus we decided to make a split there, especially since TLG tend to make the division there themselves. As you say, the forum would be too big if we included everything that could have been, and dividing up the underwater themes would have been confusing, especially with MOCs.

Ahh! You seem to be making the same mistake as someone else I know. Sci-Fi is not about the future, nor are robots, aliens or even space required. (As a reverse point, including aliens doesn't make something Sci-Fi anyway; was ALF or ET Sci-Fi?) It's about exploring the possibilities of science and technology. Thus the time period is irrelevant. Does the fact that Jules Verne stories (or 2001 by Clarke for that matter) are now based in the past mean that they are no longer Sci-Fi? To me, and many others, Post Apoc is more just Steam Punk in the future. Also zombies are not needed for Post Apoc. I don't recall any being in Mad Max... Actually so do I, but we needed more themes for the Action forum.

I'm referring to all underwater themes. I must confess that I agree with what you've said... but we needed more themes to flesh out the new "Action" forum. Yes, that was the idea! Please note everyone that the pictures are links if you want to see more...

This line really surprised me; full scale Bionicle vehicles?! I would have never expect it for size reasons alone. Yet here it is, and it is indeed big! Here is a Walrus to scale. When I first saw this model I thought, 'It's so big you could re-design it to be a mini-fig scale space craft!'... and while I won't actually do that, that's were the parts will probably end up. Note the two small wheels near the rider (Lewa Nuva); the front is used to open the weapon bay, the rear is for deploying the wing tips. The back is full of extra bionicle bits. The black dome pieces work well here as engines... but the area still seems a bit lacking. With a turn the forward wheel the door opens and the required shooting function is revealed. I actually expected that you'd be able to remote shoot them as well, but that needs to be done manually. For that haven't used the 'Midak Skyblasters', they are pretty cool. Four Zamor Spheres fit in (it's kind of like loading a pump shotgun) and are held in by spring pressure, and you can then throw them out one at a time. The gearing to open the doors is well done too and the top and bottom snap open nice and sharply. (It could be a bit stiff for kids though.) The other main function are the extending wing tips. Here they are stowed for landing. As you can see, there's no room to carry Bionicle babes. On a similar note, before I show you the wing tips extended, I'd like to highlight one of the other design issues... Ouch! Lewa Nuva needs to be lying really low otherwise his head is clipped every time. Poor guy... Here they are extended and the landing gear retracted. For the purpose of the review, please ignore the white stand; it's not part of the set. For the curious here's my stand. I made this as I found much of the model hard to photograph without it. The model is easy to balance at this point; the stand is just taking the weight and it's clip in with just a pin either side. Lewa Nuva with his ride. I hope his head is feeling better. Landing gear extended. If you rotate the wheel... ...it neatly folds up. The Axalara T9 seems to fit most Bionicles. The Rahkshi (this one is Vorahk) due to their odd shape don't work too well... ..but Thok looks the part. See; he's smiling! The front has some good details. The model is too big for my photo area, and I'll embarrass myself here by proving it. The panels just ahead of Lewa Nuva lift... ...to reveal a nice stowage area. (I do wonder where the engine of this thing fits though...) The last sight the enemy will see before 8 balls bounce off his head. The tip extension works via ball joints and a rotor. Wing detail. Functions: Door: Remote opening of two split doors via knob wheels. Wings: Extending via rotor connected using ball joints and steering links, driven via knob wheels. Shooting function: Boing ouch, boing ouch, boing ouch, boing ouch (x2) Stand: Retractable. Remote shooting would have been nice 8/10 Parts: Loads of the new panels and a lot of the newer bionicle parts. It's a great source of knob wheels too; 10 are included. 9/10 Price: At $129.99 AUD for 693 parts it isn't good. Since many of them are pins it's pretty horrid actually. I bought this half price and I've either seen this set on sale... or not selling. 5/10 Looks: I like the design of this. From most angles it looks solid. 8/10 Fudge: It's fun to swoosh around, but ultimately for a non-bionicle fan it doesn't offer a lot at full price. At half price it's a steal! 2/10 Overall: Not recommended at full price. 6/10 You can find more photos here, and if you want more just ask and I'll see what I can do. You better ask fast though as this has been scheduled for destruction...

As I said, we have other plans there. We needed a home for Post-Apoc as it's a genre that keeps coming back and it's common in Sci-Fi stories. As for Zombies ( ), they are often blended with Post-Apoc. However, zombies ( ) that are in a town enviroment belong in town.

Sci-Fi comes to EB! The future is more than just space! The past has potential! With those thoughts in mind we've renamed our LEGO Space and Mecha forum to LEGO Sci-Fi. Find out more here.

Well I'm doing it now then before you steal all of my thunder....

We've changed "LEGO Space & Mecha" to "LEGO Sci-Fi". So what does this mean? Well most importantly, it doesn't mean that anything will be removed from the forum; everything that used to be in the "LEGO Space & Mecha" will fit in just fine in "LEGO Sci-Fi". But now we'll have a home for many of the genres that we're shoved in "Other Themes" such as SteamPunk... but I'm getting ahead of myself. To me the old forum title was too limiting and confusing; Space and Mecha? Where does a hovering tank belong? It's not space, nor is it Mecha. Same story for stuff like Mars bases. While the old title covered the available themes well, it didn't cover the genre well. Due to that I regularly received questions about where, for example, futuristic cities should go. "So what is Sci-Fi", I hear you ask. Good question, but a good answer is harder. Firstly, Sci-Fi is not the future, nor is it space. I can be... but for example putting a romance story in a futuristic setting does not necessarily make it Sci-Fi. Wikipedia has a good rant about what others think, but since this is my rant I'll tell you that I see Sci-Fi as being about exploring the possibilities of science and technology. So what belongs in here? This isn't a rigid list, but for starters; All LEGO space themes, including Space Police Mecha (Exo-force or not) Steampunk (Past, Present and Future) Post Apocalyptic Zombie MOCs (and some sets) based around real spacecraft Any movie, game or TV show that isn't an official license but is generally promoted as Sci-Fi The last one important one. I personally don't see a lot of TV "Sci-Fi" (or SyFy ) as real Sci-Fi... but many do. In the spirit of free thinking and not impressing my opinions on others, all things that are generally seen as Sci-Fi (such as Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Babylon 5) are welcome here. But there always well be some genres and MOCs that could be classed as both. For example... This is based on Cafe Corner... but really seems more Sci-Fi. This is a futuristic building... also based on Cafe Corner. Is it Sci-Fi? Arguably not, but since it includes Space themed minfigs it probably is. How about this? Aside from the people on the roof having life-defining moments, it looks non Sci-Fi to me... ...oh it transforms! That seems more Sci-Fi now! It's a similar story with Zombie MOCs; but I think in most cases they'll fit in best here. (I haven't seen many fantasy zombie MOCs actually...) Remember that this name change is about including more into this forum, not excluding. So now you know what the "Sci-Fi" forum is about, what isn't it about? Underwater LEGO themes Underground LEGO themes Agents / Alpha Team Launch Command Horror We have other plans there. Please share any thoughts or questions here... and enjoy the "new" forum!

Hey! You stole my big news!

Thanks for the review and welcome to Eurobricks! I love the look of this set, but I'm still undecided if I'll get it or not. Price will be a major factor. I suspect that I could build this with just spare pieces, and that's what I'll probably end up doing. It's an old piece. TLG tend to use it when they want to add compact/simple but still strong gearing.

Indeed they do; it's where I learn about many of the Flickr based ones from.

There are no cross-site-wars going on that I know of, so yes it's OK. To me we're all one big happy LEGO community. However, as always, it's about balance. If a regular member posts info about a contest on another site that's cool, if someone joins and just post links to a site that's not...

I think that is the idea! So that means you wouldn't think much of Scala then?

Ahhh! It seems I was right. Hopefully Target are getting the rest! (K-Mart will have the dropship and Death Star.) That's what I thought you would do. It's wonderful! Aside from the doors not staying closed it's perfect. The AT-ST in particular is stunning. From a distance it looks perfect; it's amazing how well small details like the "Eyelids" work. The Ewoks are very well made and the Rebels are a dream come true. Yes the price sux, but at least that's where the disapointment ends. The bunker in particular was far better than I thought.

It's the whole dark room thing. I love the dark! I love computers! Thus Computers+Dark is cool! Get it?

That's naughty! I used to do the same 'cos I think it's cool... but it's really bad for your eyes. Thus I stopped.

I think Target, K-Mart and Big-W will all get some of the September sets "early". I agree. (If you need any help getting it...) I'm expecting Home One will be priced silly and exclusive to TRU.

I got it too. The price does suck, but it's a great completist set; I didn't have Ewoks, Scouts or rebels, I wanted more speeders, and the AT-ST + bunker are quite good. I'm quite annoyed that I have around six months more waiting for the pirates to turn up here.