Svelte

Theme: CITY Name: Construction Site Year: 2009 Pieces: 898 Minifigs: 5 Price: $AUD149.99, $US99.99, GBP 58.69; EUR 89.99-99.95 Resources: Brickset, Peeron, Lego Shop@Home Introduction: Construction Site is the largest of the 2009 January City releases - and indeed, one of the largest City releases we have seen that *isn't* a Police station since at least 2005 . The trend since 2006 has been to release medium to large sets at a slightly cheaper pricepoint, usually featuring large pieces and including one supersized vehicle (the 7894 Airport or 7994 City Harbour spring to mind). Construction Site is somewhat of a departure from this model in that it is largely brick-built using few large pieces, and rather than focussing on one or two large features, actually is comprised of 5 smaller models across 4 instruction books. The last construction site produced in 2005, 7243, seemed more focussed on mining operations, with a dump truck and grinding conveyor belt, but with the inclusion of quite a large civilian building in 7633, Lego's emphasis is firmly on everyday life. Glimpses of City sets arriving later this year seem to follow the pattern of large sets made up of small civilian submodels, so the question we should ask here is - is this trend any good? Part 1: Box, Parts, Instruction Manuals, DSS Front of the box: Back of the box: One of the Lego designers has too much time on their hands. Notice how the bagged bricks are now colour matched to the submodels? Good to know that, like a celebrity starlet, the carpet matches the drapes. Four instruction manuals for four sets. You can see clearly just from this how each of these could work as an individual release (except Lego may not think the lift and shopfront marketable enough). Indeed, the second model is basically a Cargo transporter with stickers to match: The RIP (new acronym for Random Instruction Page): Yay! Bonus DSS (Dreaded Sticker Sheet)! I love when this happens. It means I can totally stuff up the stickers without feeling guilty, knowing that I have a spare set to use in case of emergencies. Be still, my trembling hands! Bagged Parts. Nine crinkly bundles of goodness with one bag of extra large pieces. The graphic designer with too much time on their hands has been at work here too - notice how Bag 9 has a 'point' bottom right of the numeral so the kidz don't get it confused with Bag 6. A classy touch - the kind of clue that always appears in sub-par Agatha Christie TV mysteries when the murderer steals the wrong room key, blunders in and kills someone totally inappropriate. Parts, beautiful parts! Bwahahaha! Some interesting things to notice. Firstly, the classic windows last seen in 4996 Creator Beach House have been replaced with a new lipped version. Instead of this: We now have this: Why would they replace such a wonderful part with this strange foreshortened one, I wondered? Then I looked at the glass. They seem to have changed the window mould so the new hideous glass with the pin-prick production marks all over it can fit in both the 3 x 4 window frames *and* the new sloping window roof pieces. I guess this saves them a few pennies here and there. A shame though as the old glass was actually transparent and the new piece produced last year looks like it's been riddled with gunfire. Additionally, there is room for 2 studs to connect under the middle of the top rim of the new frame for extra support. The moon is made of this, apparently: I love these 4x4 expanded versions of the cut out plate. Flashback, baby! Also, trans-orange 1x2 plates, the wheel rim in yellow (not sure if I've seen this before) and the new cage piece. Plus 2 of those 32 long technic axles. I used to hate these pieces! Juniorisation, blah blah blah. Now I love them You will find out why! Part 2: The build(s) I won't go into too much detail about the build of each model, unless there is something particularly interesting for each one. First up is the little dozer, variations of which never seem out of production. This would make a good $AUS10 set by itself. The new cage piece is good-lookin' and versatile - much simpler and stronger than was used in the contrived brick-built version in the 2008 Truck & Forklift set 7733: Rear view of the dozer/ digger: The tracks attach via a simple and yet clever use of an old Space piece and simple 1x1 cylinders: Second up is the large Cargo transport truck, which keeps the colour scheme of last year's themed sets and the same decal. It is a fairly simple build, with a cab attached to the large one-piece carriage section. The only thing I don't like about it is that the rear wheels sit slightly lower than the wheels on the cab, so the whole thing slopes downward slightly and is very close to the ground. Here we go: Front view of the cab: Rear view: The transport bed: With the dozer on board: At this point my unimpressed-looking cat interrupted the build by sleeping on the instructions so I don't have many detail shots of the construction of the lift and the shopfront The lift is of a simple an excellent design. Basically the friction of the small rubber wheels against the 32 stud long axle is sufficient to hold the small lift platform in place at an point up or down the shaft. It's genius Lego has never done such a simple yet well designed lift! Yes, the ones in 10188 Death Star worked fairly well, but a complicated lift cable made of string doesn't quite cut it for me . The previous winner of 'Best Lift in a System Set' Award would go to the version in 7047 Coast Watch HQ but this one beats it in terms of greater range and smaller size. The principle could easily be adapted to make elevators in town houses, for example. Better view of the mechanism, as Mr Foreman descends to ground level: Mr Foreman is pleased to note a construction minion awaiting him with lunch*: *Note: lunch not included, BBQ chicken sold separately BY THIS CREEPY BEARDED DUDE! The lift apparatus next to the smart-looking shopfront building: I am really pleased to see the inclusion of this building in 7633, and to me it is what elevates this set from the usual bog standard construction set and makes it a bit special. So often in Lego City we have seen vehicles with nowhere to go and no way to use their amazing functions. Building cranes with nothing to lift; police command centres with noone to arrest; emergency vehicles with not a soul to rescue. The idea of actually combining a set and the object of its play function in one package is simple and obvious, and yet we haven't seen anything this detailed like it in a City set since Main Street. Even better, it's been designed as a modular system to allow endless recombination and play and to encourage kids to make their own shoppes and suchlike. Let's have a look. The front: Angled side view: The back. For once Lego has an excuse not to provide an interior! The modules, which attach via the 1x2 red plates: Different combinations of the modular bits'n'bobs: OK, so architecturally this thing isn't going to win any awards, but there's a fair amount of useful bricks in here. As you can see, each end section is the large panel piece but the rest is all small bricks. Really, the only thing I'm not happy about is the new window piece and that's mainly because of the nasty glass: Mr Foreman inspects the work for defects: "You appear to be missing a floor, although the tulips you planted on the window sill are coming along nicely." Finally, the mobile crane. This isn't so much a 7249 XXL Mobile Crane as it is a M or even S Mobile Crane. I think it got shrunk in the wash It's worth posting the image of the earlier set (which was sold up until last year) because the similarities and differences are immediate: After so many years of everything getting bigger, I still can't look at these two pics and fully comprehend that Lego made a conscious decision to go *smaller* . It's visually disconcerting after so many years of looking at pics of Classic Town sets where everything was teeny and then to see the 2009 equivalent! There are obvious differences in appearance, but in terms of functionality the main one is that the new crane can't bend in the middle. The crane can rotate, but the vehicle doesn't bend. Otherwise the new designers have done a good job of keeping it playable. The movable columns which supported the body of the crane are now technic axles which can be propped against studs: The side control cabin is there, if teensy: The barrel still extends: The crane moves, but via turntable rather than a hinged truck body: This pin holds it in the straight position: There's classic greebles and stickers! The side support legs which used to be push back into the truck body now detach, with the foot pieces hooking onto the back of the cab and the technic axles sliding into a nook underneath the crane itself. This is very economical design The main weaknesses of the new crane are that (a) it is difficult to extend the barrel without first unwinding the string attached to the hook; (b) the handle which controls releasing the string is terribly weak and breaks off unless you wind from the yellow piece right next to the winch rather than the handle itself: And finally, another overview of all the submodels together: Part 3: In conclusion I'm still unsure about the crane. After saying quite strongly in my review of the 7685 Dozer that scale doesn't matter I find myself wishing they'd made it slightly bigger - somewhere in between the shrunken version and the massive Godzilla version that knocks down buildings with its tail when it turns in the street! But then I realise how much easier it is to move around a crane that isn't larger than an average minifig house and remember that it still does its job pretty well So, yes, I'm a little conflicted. Indeed, this concern about the aesthetics of the vehicle and the shop could be applied to *all* of the submodels (apart from the small digger which is pretty much perfect ) None of them - cargo truck, bley and red building, crane - would be must-have sets in their own right. If I saw them on a shelf in individual boxes along with beautiful designs like the 7632 Crawler Crane or even the little 7630 Loader I know which ones I'd pick up first So I'm forced to conclude that 7633 is a little bit less than the sum of its parts. It's a great concept, well-executed, but no must-have - especially if you already have an abundance of diggers and the XXL crane. Most people would already have the pieces; you can still look up the instructions and build that cool lift today! My reservations as an adult aside, if I was a kid I would be in awe of its breadth of play and great, versatile pieces. To conclude, I give this set 7/10 overall! STAY TUNED tomorrow for a special visual demonstration of this set in action!

There is some discussion about this in the general City 2009 thread; some people think it is black, some people think the part number is identical to Agent Trace's hair so the colour is too (though I don't know if this is necessarily true.) However if you look at the PDF versions of 2008 sets which use a lot of dark brown (eg Troll Warship), the printed colour is almost identical to black, so my money is on dark brown at the moment. If they were going to change it in the first half of 2009 we would have seen it in the Pirates Shipwreck set or 10193.

I disagree with the stair naysayers; I like the whimsical curve as they climb up the mountain. It's a secondary, hastily-constructed method of accessing the fort so fits in thematically. I also think with such a SNOTty creation it adds a little spice to the mix to throw in some basic studwork. Studs = love, people! You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for studs! You've managed to make this Eldorado update look modern (tan/ white instead of yellow/ white) and classic at the same time. Much better than the new Fort. Now I want one

Bizarre! My thought was that they wanted a hot dog stand but that piece was too pricey for a small set. I think we need to start keeping track of which countries have these things arranged by chicken leg, turkey leg, hot dog, pigeon etc. It would make for an interesting cultural exchange Obviously they did things differently in medieval times if 10193 was anything to go by as the stall keeper there is flogging off the whole bird!

My extra cashola is converted into Lego itself. You wouldn't believe the street value of that stuff

Pieces first, then probably by Theme. Price is also a consideration, but I will pay extra if the pieces are nice (any dark versions of classic colours will sell me!).

The really striking thing that TLG seems to have applied since Agents, and that we've seen now in Power Miners and again with the varying aliens in Space Police, is that kids don't want armies of generic baddies (such as the jellies) - they seem to like strong-character based groups with distinct personalities. It's a 'collect-em-all' mentality also common to minifig-lovin' AFOLs - eg even critics of the revived Pirates line think the figs are amazing Look also at the Power Miners - each has an individual torso prints, very unusual for a 'good' faction from the last few years. Maybe that's one reason why piece counts are down for some of the 09 lines but the minifigs are better than ever.

There was a production issue with this hairpiece - it was a bit delicate and showed stress marks and broke too often - so I doubt TLG will resurrect this mould.

If you already have the smaller Racer X set, I'd save your $$$. Unless you like red or bald fleshies

Your expensive addiction just got more expensive! I too like the Recycle/ Garbage Truck size and price, but as pointed out in the 7631 Dump Truck review, the set is the same size as those two 07 sets but in Aus is listed at $29.99 - $10 more expensive than the earlier releases. The large Construction Site set is interesting too as it is essentially 4 different small to medium sets bundled together.

Even better, you have a wife who shares your passion for Lego On second thought... does that lead to arguments over who gets what brick?

Exciting news indeed! The hunt begins!

Call Lego directly if it hasn't arrived after 8 days for Express shipping and they'll harass the subcontractor. Otherwise you can complain and they'll track things down or help you out in other ways - last year I had a standard order that didn't arrive within 18 business days and when I queried where it was a Lego rep refunded the $45 standard shipping fee The Myer rewards system is quite good with all the bonus points etc - I think I got 1500 bonus points or something ridiculous from buying during the July sales I've already had a few $20 vouchers just from Lego purchases, which is pretty good.

Thanks Josh, for your prompt and very informative response. It makes sense to me now! I assumed that something like this was the case, but not having seen an 'official' announcement on TBB about a leaked images policy anywhere I did feel I could ask. I look forward to more of these interviews on TBB as there was information in Hinckley's interview I was unaware of (such as the simplest explanation of EB's mod system I've ever seen ) and it is interesting how different websites, like different vintages of wine, each have their own unique bouquet and flavour!

Name: BBQ Stand Theme: City Year: 2009 Pieces: 22 Minifigs: 1 Price: $AUD4.99, GBP 1.95; EUR 2.99 The introduction: I'm amazed no-one's reviewed this so far. In the absence of competitors, I shall nobly take up the challenge. Indeed, this shall be my finest, most detailed and highly elaborate review ever, with over 200+ detailed pics and 1,000 words of enriching and wise commentary. As my sweet praise fills the air, EB members will rush to their nearest retail outlets and in a great stampede clear the shelves of all 8398s in existence. Hymns will be written to commemorate the occasion of this enormous and magnificent work, and TLG will release a special chrome-plated City Impulse Svelte_Corps Statue in honour of my corporate promotion... Actually, no This will be a little quicky review with about 5 bad pics taken at night with too much glare from my flash and some snarky comments The review: I definitely applaud a more civilian approach to the Impulse line instead of the usual police and firemen. Since we have no official Lego retail stores in Australia and things like the City Advent calendars don't make it into ordinary shops, 99% of the Lego-buying public (ie kids and their parents) have probably never seen the classic chef minifig, period (or at least since 2003 when the World City train station was released, but 6 years is practically a lifetime for the casual Lego purchaser). I have a soft spot for the Chef fig as it was one my first ever, in the then more common civilian sets of the early 80s like 6683 Hamburger Stand and 6601 Ice Cream Cart. As such, 8398 will be a surprising novelty to the casual browser and hopefully it and its companion 8401 Lego City Minifigure Collection will fly off shelves; I think many of us would like to see more everyday-life based sets in the future. The box is the usual Impulse size: Ever wanted to know how to say 'Choking Hazard' in 20 different languages? Now you can learn! Contents - one small bag and instruction flyer. Random instruction page - sorry, they *are* the instructions . The back of the flyer has ads for the previous City Impulse releases and the new Pirates pair. De-bagged parts: The set itself - one minifig and the small BBQ stand. This is a nice, simple design - rotating the container 90 degrees was a technique used in the 2008 Advent Calendar. The white umbrella is also a bit boring; it would have been nice to see a brighter, different colour. Top view, showing the BBQ grill and the contents of the container: One extra piece! And for those that read my 7685 Dozer review, a bonus pic : Thoughts: This is a cute set, but to be honest it's a little weird. Firstly, in how many countries is it common for small vendors to stand around BBQing *chicken* legs? It would make more sense if this stand belonged to a hotdog seller - just look at the condiments - classic tomato sauce/ ketchup and mustard! It's as if the Lego designers couldn't afford to use the hotdog piece found in Belville sets and used the cheapest alternative. Either that, or this is some sneaky dude who has stolen a cart from a real hotdog vendor and in the absence of supplies is knocking off the pigeons in the local park and selling them as snacks. Seriously. Look at that creepy bearded face. Would you buy a chicken leg from *that* man? Secondly, why does the extra tomato sauce container need to be refrigerated? The other one seems to be doing OK actually sitting exposed to heat right next to the grill. It would make more sense to have such a big cool container if creepy chef here was actually stocking extra pigeon wings or even ice-creams or other frozen desserts. But if the latter was the case maybe Agent Trace wouldn't be able to freelance on the side as seen in this set: (Please note that is image is not a individual set release; just part 2 of the instructions from the promo 7643 Airplane Show set) All in all, a good set at a nice price (Impulse sets are now $1 cheaper in Australia than they were last year ) and hopefully a sign of civilian things to come. Now next year, if they want to be really contemporary, Lego should release an Impulse Juice Bar featuring bright-eyed teenagers in tight shirts and a gym-built guy always on his mobile...

Thanks for all your responses! TheBrickster, you know, that was exactly my thought on building this set! I had a steel Tonka tipping truck as a kid and maybe that was why I was expecting it to be super solid Sinner, that's probably what I was subconsciously thinking of Now you have an excuse to buy both the smaller ones! Don't think of it as filling up your office to breaking point; think of it as an art installation reflecting on the waste products of consumerism consuming themselves Thanks for the pic, metalandi. To be honest, people can argue about scale all day - and often do. For me, I don't have any particular fondness or preference for 4 or 6 wide cars etc and to me it is really what works in your town. I accept that these sets are made for kids to have fun with and for that size matters. However I do think Lego has downsized a bit and the worst excesses of the supersized models seem to have gone. Yes, vehicles are big but in Lego towns the buildings themselves are often miniscule compared to 'real' cities! As you point out, vehicles do come in lots of shapes and sizes (especially construction machinery) and I think this set is a pretty good compromise - it's impressive but not gargantuan. Zorbas, these tracks move very well on carpet but not at all on a flat surface (like my kitchen table). I haven't tried it on a series of studded baseplates, they may provide enough friction to let the track move smoothly. CP5670, the part quality was pretty good in this set. The colours seemed nicely consistent (compared to something like Aquaraiders 07, which was a bit all over the place). The only issues I noticed was (a) slight transparency on the thinner parts of the cab roof (b) the technic clip-on pieces either side of the cab (with the stickers on) are made of the cheaper plastic common to these kinds of parts and they look worse in yellow than they do in white - a noticeably softer and more buttery tone - this doesn't show up well in photographs though.

There was too much good stuff to pick one set for the whole year... I could probably pick one set per theme The top three would probably include Green Grocer, the Agents Volcano Base and the Republic Gunship. Out of the stuff that I bought (I don't think it's fair to judge something if you're not interested in a theme, eg Duplo or Bionicle, or if you haven't built it) this was easily the worst set for me: Yes, the minifigs were good but the vehicles themselves were appallingly designed and ugly, more a random mish-mash of parts than a decent set. Mr Freeze's go-kart thing was like a bad Racers promo given away in supermarkets. The Bat Buggy was both a bad part assortment and strangely proportioned, with a mish-mash of blue, yellow and that awful Bionicle flame This was the only set this year that I disassembled as soon as I built it and consigned to the parts bin. No redeeming qualities.

Congratulations to all you guys - it was very rewarding to see all the feedback that was left, and the subsequent changes to entries which were often an improvement! Enjoy your prizes!

As soon as I thought bypass I thought Arthur Dent too Yes, it's cuteness factor is difficult to resist. You could also build a micro version and have 'Russian Doll' bulldozers where the Technic one picks up the City one in its blade which then picks up the micro scale one in its blade...

Eurobricks is 'The Wild One' and Hinckley is Marlon Brando I understand and respect the rules about leaked images and its great that EB is cultivating a healthy relationship with TLG, but I don't understand why The Brothers Brick mentions EB's history in this context. They themselves posted the leaked Power Miners shots as recently as last September after they were taken down from here as I recall (and a quick search of their blog proves me right) so am I missing something??? Yours - Perplexed.

Are they more stable than the old ones? In the helmets themselves they used to spin around like a bad case of brewer's droop

INDEXED Name: 7685 Dozer Theme: CITY Construction Year: 2009 Pieces: 355 Minifigs: 1 Price: AUD59.99/ USD39.99/ GBP 19.45/ EUR - 29.95-34.95 Resources: Brickset/ Peeron/ Lego Shop@Home The 2009 Construction sets looked to me to be some of the most visually appealing to appear in the City theme since 2007. Compared to the 2005 sets, the new Construction sets are scaled in a happy compromise between the enormous 7249 XXL Mobile Crane and the mish-mash of small subsets that was the 7243 Construction Site. In addition, this year we have been spoiled with a host of great new vehicles such as the Crawler Crane and Dump Truck , excellent reviews of which appear elsewhere on this site. I was especially excited by the new Dozer set (as it is called at S@H) as it retains the visual beauty of 2007's Motorized Technic Bulldozer but is obviously scaled down for minifigs and more importantly, retains a classic brick-built feel. Part 1: Box, Parts, Manual Box front: Box back: Instruction booklet: Random instruction page: NSDSS (Not-so-dreaded sticker sheet It's only a small one) Parts, neatly bagged - they're divided into 3 subgroups: Parts, spreadeagled: Nothing really new here, but there are some interesting parts including: trans-orange 1x1 plates - haven't seen these for a while; yellow geary things - the same kind that were in the 08 Mars Mission Crystal Reaper set, obviously designed to go with the large track pieces; and - NOOOOO! - the much-hated and ugly landing gear pieces from the 06 Airport line Part 2: The minifig and the build Our lone minifig and his warning post. This minifig is a standard dead-boring one. They even used the exact same one in one of the small Creator sets last year. I am over that face and wish TLG would create new generic face-prints every few years rather than only updating the licenced themes. If I saw as much facial hair in the real world as I do in Lego City I would think I'd time-travelled to San Francisco in the late 70s . I haven't stickered the fence post 'barrier' as I'm keeping them pristine for the Farm subtheme; I don't think the design is quite right for Construction anyway, and prefer the brick-built ones from the 05 theme - a small quibble though. The trans popsicle/ Bionicle eye things seem to be the new 'must-have' part for 09 sets, as they seem to be everywhere. The Dozer's base is a few technic beams which will later allow wheels to attach so the tracks can sit in place: Greebly-SNOT engine parts - this does look nice: The cabin takes shape: Here is a strange usage of the piece usually used in mining craft. Is it a rotor? An enormous fan-belt? A death-trap for those opposed to the current construction in their area of Lego City? This detail is featured prominently on the box art and also the S@H gallery so presumably it is important. At least it's covered so as to avoid accidents.... ...most of the time! Track holder cogs in place: For those that can't count to 29, the instructions provide the full length of assembled track for each side. How does yours measure up? Below, the track is applied. At this stage, the vehicle does look kind of tractorish doesn't it? And indeed, wikipedia assures me that a bulldozer is just a big tractor with crawler tracks and an attached metal 'blade' which is the part that pushes stuff around. See here! You learn something new every day! Indeed, I think I trust wikipedia on this point... Summer 09 Lego Star Wars set lists... not so much The next section is the assembly of the 'blade' section: It attaches to the main body of the vehicle by the long bar pieces: Here you can see the bars slide into the pistons from a birds'-eye vantage. The long yellow technic arm pieces click on via technic pins to hold the blade in place: And voila! The fully assembled bulldozer! Part 3: Showin' off the goods I really like that S@H feature which allows you to spin the model 360 degrees so you can have a good gander at your intended purchase from all angles. To let you have a better look at the Dozer, I have decided to provide the same functionality! Except instead of a Flash animation, here you have to scroll your eyes quickly down the page Please don't tell me if this gives you a migraine Whee! I'm dizzy! Part 4: Features and problems One thing that you quickly notice about this set is that, for its size, it doesn't have a large amount of features apart from the obvious primary one of, well, being a bulldozer, which it admittedly does quite well . It also has a few weaknesses that are kind of annoying. Let's take a quick tour of our newly-built vehicle. First up, the cab section (with roof of). One standard printed control panel in black is in front of the seat and there are two levers. The double-sided doors sit at a roughly 45 degree angle to the body of the cab which is a nice touch. I know several members here probably had an accident in their pants at the very thought of the return of door vehicles, so I'll pause for a moment so you can clean yourselves up... Done? Good? The main issue with the cab is oddly one of swooshability. There's no obvious section which you can use to pick up the Dozer, so by default the cab section becomes your choice, seeing as it sticks out a bit. However it is poorly built in terms of strength and is as delicate as the nightingale's song when put to any practical use. Here we see a typical result of trying to pick the Dozer up from this end - starring Sherlock Holmes in the Case of the Exploding Cab: The problem is that the front section (windscreen and roof) are only attached by the bottom of the window panel and the back section has no fortifications. Through trial and error you learn a sort of crab-like pincer movement to grab the Dozer in the middle but this is initially frustrating. Another weakness is that it is very difficult for the blade to actually pick anything up as it travels across the ground (carpet only if you want the treads to work) as the angle is kind of high and there's no 'scoop' parts to hold anything in place. On the plus side, the blade assembly looks amazing and is quite flexible. I love the studless plates and the black grillwork - a really classic Lego touch. Dropping rubbish is easy as the bottom of the blade hinges down: There is also a commendable angle of movement of the blade apparatus itself. Here it is in the lowered position: And in the elevated position: The other feature is, as noted, this weird hatch. You can't do anything with it. Its spin is not controlled by anything other than the Hand of God (ie your finger) so quite why it is prominently pictured, I have no idea. Just sit and enjoy its quiet majesty while we all contemplate its part in the infinite universe. Part 5: Operations Manual So you've just bought a bulldozer - now what are you going to do with it? First, terrorise local citizens with your lax respect for local planning laws: Fill in some gaps in the timeline of the Indiana Jones universe: Hours of endless fun! Enjoy! Part 6: Overall Rating I really think this set is a good one. The vehicle has a pleasing Classic Town feel to it, as it is largely brick built. I especially like the sweet blade section and how it resembles a junior version of the motorized Technic Bulldozer. The stickers are minimal and unobtrusive; the technic construction is unobtrusive and for the most part restricted to what is necessary for the set to function; the build is generally solid and enjoyable. Yes, it does have problems - most notably the stability of the cab section - but nothing insurmountable. The fig and the fence post barrier are also a little blah, but they are minor points only. As for price - we all know the ratio of parts to price has dropped in 2009 as seen in Star Wars, Power Miners, Pirates - in fact pretty much everything apart from 10193 for the Jan releases! If I was in the UK, I would think it was a bargain for under 20 quid. In Australia $59.99 is maybe a tad high - but when you compare it to something similar like the Power Miners Thunder Driller 8960 which is $10 cheaper but a far less interesting and detailed model, I think you get your money's worth. Overall, I would rate this set 8/10. Thanks for reading!

My order came yesterday; I was advised by S@H that if you order over $AUD800 then you automatically get upgraded to Express. Would be nice if they mentioned this anywhere on the website, I'd be annoyed if I was regularly making large orders and paying an extra $55 for Express shipping and found this out Next week sounds about right for new sets in store. Yay! The SW line up is a bit better than last years Jan releases, and so is City.

The Clone Gunner and Clone Pilot have been obviously photoshopped in. The other figs are too small and blurry to see much detail. Considering the colour scheme I don't know if they would be real or final (normal blue and normal red vs the ubiquitous dark blue/ dark red of all the other CW sets). The backdrop is also odd for a prelim shot, not like what we usually see. As for the ship itself... it wouldn't surprise me if we end up with something like this. Many have said that it is smaller than the minifig ISD which was released. The perspective looks a little distorted too so it is probably longer than it looks here - which is another thing which makes me doubt its authenticity, as TLG is always VERY careful to stretch their perspective in shots to make things look longer than they appear - as anyone would know who has tried to photograph long sets for a review to get them to look like the box art As always though, who knows for sure?

Wow, that is late. In 08 we had new stuff by the end of the first week of Jan. Stores probably don't care that much; 90% of yearly toy sales take place in December