Svelte

Those are still comparatively massive boxes - but you're right, they need to be . The other thing I've noticed with the larger CW sets is - why for the European/ rest of world releases have they reverted to the box style where you have to tear the corners and lift the flap, for example, as in 8019 Republic Attack Shuttle? I dislike this style as with the newer method you can at least easily flatten the boxes and store them. Interestingly, the US release of the AT-TE and Republic Gunship last year had the new 'slit the tape and open the tabs' version and still were quite strong, so to keep vaguely on topic, size doesn't seem to be the factor for choosing the older style.

The difference is the singular pronoun I guess (ie no 's' at the end). It's the same here. Noone in Australia calls them 'Lego bricks' despite the best efforts of TLG

Congrats Zorro! The Admiralty is in safe hands

Sadly, size matters. Casual shoppers think big = better when it comes to boxes and correlate value to how much shelf space it takes up in store. This is probably especially important for licensed themes such as SW where you do get less brick for your buck. You'll notice that many S@H Exclusive sets which aren't sold in normal retail stores are a lot more efficient - eg the Factory sets or Community Workers, which is a truly tiny box, as it should be! If you think the boxes look big when you're an AFOL, imagine the thrill of little kids half your size trying to heft up their ISD or MTT for the first time!

I've only seen the small ones from the 2009 lineup in stores so far.... sets 8972-8977.

Would you really take dictionary definitions from a creature with the head of a man and the body of a turkey? I don't think it is redundant, as anthropomorphism means applying human characteristics to lots of things - animals, plants, places... not just our furred and feathered friends

Thanks for your review, WhiteFang. This is a great little set I actually really like the little walker vehicle - it seems better designed than any of the vehicles from the 2007 or 2008 Battle Packs. (A lot of people don't like the Assassins Droid speeder either, but I think it is well-built and contains great pieces for such a small set). At least the legs move and the seating is adequate for two! The only thing I was disappointed by was the prining of the Clone Gunner helmet - it looks metallic gold in pictures and on the packaging but is actually muddy pseudo-gold brown. The dark green also seems oddly blended with this colour. The accessories are amazing and so much better in black than they were in last year's cheap looking dark bley!

Yes, but you can bow your head at the shrine of Dodi and Diana on the ground floor Actually, Harrods do sell Lego but that store is almost impossible to navigate for the casual shopper. Take a map!

Hahaha! Cute! That poor hermetically sealed fig... I pray he doesn't suffocate. Is there an index of member bag builds somewhere?

Nice work, Mr Spielbrick. You know, I'd almost swap the purple torso from your first Pertwee fig with the Colin Baker torso, and then change the arms (pink and dark purple) as you have already done. That Pertwee hair doesn't seem quite right either - maybe because I remember the bouffant years better - but I think even the tan hair from your sigfig might suit the Long Nosed One better. I could see a potential use for the new Willie hair in tan or another colour for a male fig too.

I kind of agree. It's a nice set, but hardly essential and I like the Dozer and Crawler Crane more. Cafe Corner the little shop ain't! Kids will love this set though. Lloyd, you have hit on a very good point. You'll note I didn't even take an individual pic of all the figs together as they were so dull - just retreads of construction workers we've seen a million times before. They rejigged the Coast Guard figs for 2008 so I don't know why they couldn't have changed some of the elements here as well. Considering all the other lines in 2009 have such amazing figs it is disappointing that City gets lumped with the same old faces and torsos.

There's also Hamley's at 188 Regent Street in the city centre - I'm not sure what their prices are like on Lego, but they tend to mark up a lot of other stuff. Their online prices seem in line with RRPs.

Aah, nice spacious streets I wish I was allowed to take over a rug You need some green baseplates and foliage though. What's the point of stopping to smell the roses if there aren't any?

You've got to be kidding! Trolls would totally ruin the calm, pleasant, realistic demeanour of this market village. Next you'll want some kind of rolling assault vehicle... and probably a catapult...

Yes... he's reclining like a well-fed baby. A creepy and disturbing well-fed baby, but I know what you mean.

The truck is kind of bare, but that's the point. To put stuff on it! I have been meaning to post this screencap from a movie from the Lego CITY subsite as I think the poor Crawler Crane gets the raw end of the deal only having one wall to move around and that set could have been improved by adding some extra in the way of constructibles: I'm not sure about the technic bricks in the green section - I guess these are supposed to be connected by pins to other wall sections you build yourself, even if it's not the way they're shown here.

It's the disturbing inverse of this: (Mr Bean for those who don't know )

Good point - I did wonder about the purpose of those things as it seemed an odd design choice. I am already sick of the trans orange popsicles though This is why I generally resist putting scores in reviews; nobody ever agrees 7/10 is still a pretty good score, certainly in the above average range. To compare with other Construction sets, I think the Crawler Crane is an 8.5, the Dozer an 8 and the small loader a 7 as well.

That was my first thought too. No doubt we will see the Taj at the 'sale' price of $400 in a few months time. But it does seem kind of early to do the markup, So that's what that strange, eerie wailing coming from across the harbour was... good to clear that up

Right here. The pinned indexes at the top of each forum also have most reviews linked as well

Anti-sales! There's been a post-New Year price rise at S@H on some sets. I haven't had an exhaustive look but I did notice that 8636 Deep Sea Quest has jumped $10 to $89.99 and 10188 Death Star has jumped $70 to $699.99. 10189 Taj Mahal also jumped to $499.99! Lucky you bought when you did, Sinner! Looks like the days of cheaper exclusives is gone, kids. Please don't get to Medieval Market Village just yet, O Cruel Lego price overlords... EDIT: Also, most of the IJ sets and last year's Spongebob sets are back in stock.

In the Australian catalogue it is listed as a March release and an exclusive, so it will probably arrive at S@H (and stores) with the next round of releases, probably along with the Farm line. We know it's gone into production since at least one person has bought (and reviewed) it

member metalandi had a similar issue with an order for 10193 Medieval Market Village he made where he received it before it had 'officially' shipped... i suspect as you said it is just glitching at this time of year.

Normally your card should be charged when the package leaves the warehouse. I'd call rather than email as they take so long to respond at the moment they may charge your card while you're waiting to hear back - better to speak to someone in person.

It's interesting as they're not on the box art. As long as they're not pre-fab plastic!