Svelte

It's one upside of the economic woes. Luxuries (including toys) discounted as retailers compete against each other for the consumer dollar! Yay for us! Last year's post-Xmas sales were woeful in Sydney, but I think this year they may be spectacular (if there's anything left on the shelves to buy!). I suspect however next year it will mean less of a variety of themes on shelves though as retailers might be more careful about what they order from Lego. Eg Mars Mission didn't sell well, so they may not rush to order a new Space theme... This is one reason why the King's Castle Siege never made it here in large quantities - $100 plus sets don't sell well in the Australian market (except for Star Wars) and the previous large KK and KK2 sets were all clearanced. Similarly, Alpha Team wave 1 did poorly and as a consequence we only got a few of the Deep Freeze range and again, only from Target... 2009 will be an interesting year indeed.

I love this set too. A solid little build, clever functions, nice parts, and great alternate models. A nice twist on the usual Police sets - who doesn't love a well-executed heist! - and the Batman bad-guy vehicles that sort of followed its lead in 2006 and 2008 don't hold a candle to it. You can tell just from the weight of it in your hand that it is solidly brick-built and not at all flimsy As others have said, a little too expensive though when first released. A must-have for any City really, as it's nice to see criminals in action rather than lying around their prison cells drinking coffee and taking naps as they do these days!

Very cute! I love the stockings and the Xmas tree - I haven't seen one built like that before!

28. 74louloute - When I grow up, I wanna be a pirate... 37. Chrispockster - Swashbucklin' 23. fenrir - Hide the treasure When I grow up, I wanna be a pirate... took first place for me, as it's a whimsical and unique idea, well executed. The way the topmost dream cloud transforms into the streetscape where the young boy is being chased was cleverly done. The simple door design and voluminous brick-built quilt were great details too - you really got the sense the wistful lad was huddled underneath the sheets and snoring away! And for pirate folk it obviously makes sense that the apprenticeship will be cruel and unusual to say the least! Next lesson: elocution classes to say 'aargh' properly, perhaps? Swashbucklin' was my second choice as I liked the sense that the observer was getting just a slice of life aboard a Pirate ship. It was 'Incredible Cross Sections: The Lego Pirates Edition'! The brick-built flag detail and below deck area really helped to suggest a larger tableau of activity and a full cast of cruel pirates aboard the larger (invisible ship). The passed-out guy was an appropriate fig, and the economy and precision of the swinging pirates arc as he flies through the air decapitating his enemies was visually well-described. His crazed, demented expression was particularly appropriate Hide the treasure I liked this entry for its simplicity and composition, specifically the added background with its visual reference to Classic Pirates. It was like stepping back into an old catalogue! Using classic figs really helped here - it's fun to imagine the expressions on Blue Pirate's and Red Pirate's faces - bemused? Fearful? Or too slack-jawed to have realised that the Pirate captain was going to come after them looking for the treasure that's rightfully his? The positioning of the figs is just right and the Captain's double-barrelled approach perfect to Red and Blue just right - he knows he can't trust either of 'em

Wow, that does look good. It's proportionate and pleasing to the eye! I look forward to seeing how you bulk it out as the decks etc do look a little sparse. Good work!

Silly season has begun! Seriously, nothing to see here, move right along... It will all be forgotten in a few days. It wouldn't surprise me also if the Sun is having a bit of tit-for-tat nastiness after the Daily Mail's successful promotion with the free little sets. I have to say, in general the UK press do give a lot of attention to Lego compared to other countries. In the last few months there were articles about the Taj Mahal (biggest set ever!), pics of mocked-up celebrity minifigs, the promo sets... and if something's getting attention there will always be a little rough with the smooth.

If you found 4 green BURPs there then you should probably reclassify your 'navel' as a 'portal'. And call the police. And an ambulance. And probably Oprah.

You can still get a lot of sets reasonably off ebay in Aus. I was still coming out of my dark ages in 2004 so only picked up half the Azkaban sets, a gap which I've been filling in recently. For example, I got a MISB Knight Bus for $67 (inc postage) and MISB Snape's Classroom for $44 (inc postage) which isn't too bad considering they originally retailed here for $60 and $40 respectively. Considering the sets are almost 5 years old I don't think the increase is bad at all! Some sets are more expensive, obviously, but it pays to shop around. One thing you do notice about opening up these a few years later is the instantly noticeably better parts quality in the older sets! Those were the days

I like how the first prize is getting bigger each day. Since we're only on Day 4 and we already have hit an exclusive promo set , I therefore conclude that by Christmas Eve, the prize will be a UCS Millennium Falcon, a Vestas windmill and a 24 Karat Gold C-3PO kneeling before a chrome black Vader

I like the idea of a Golden Knight. He becomes the King's Champion I suppose. As long as he is not purple, red, green, medium blue or any other similar colour we should count our blessings

Generally, Amazon US has restrictions on shipping anything other than books, CDs and DVDs internationally (the same is true for other Amazon sites). So in effect, yes, other countries can't take advantage of toy discounts on Amazon's website.

I think TLG has done an excellent job of mixing small, medium and large sets for the initial wave. If you look at the original wave released in 1989, it's kind of similar to that. Some small Impulse type sets, a raft, a small island, a Pirate hideout, a large ship... there's a few less sets today but if the line sells well then I expect we'll see an expansion of the fleet.

I'm looking forward to the Farm set. I love the stickers they've come up with (the wheat detail) - really keeping in tone with older themes (fire, cargo etc) The sides of the grain truck look a little odd - I didn't notice how multicoloured they were on the early pics.

These are great, really unique. I plan on building a few to terrorise my own citizens One question though - what is that orange piece connected to the green whip and the other orange technic piece? Is it that odd flower piece like the pink ones in last year's Hogwarts Castle or something else? I mean this:

Can't wait to see the result I was planning on doing this as well when I get another BB - maybe when we're all done we can share pics. I was aiming for a medium sized expansion. I agree with brickzone, you probably don't need too much more than another BB and a selection of extra parts.

It's obviously the new trend - same thing with TRU's HSD and David Jones Volkswagen - mark it up and then mark it down back to the original retail price! I am not even sure if the big Mars Mission sets are worth it even for parts at $50, especially the base. Unless you like technic and white plates/ slopes with a bit of trans-orange thrown in. And yes, Darth_Legois, Commander Fox *is* awesome - probably the nicest torso from the CW line

They retrospectively rebadged the Hailfire set as a 'Clone Wars' set when the August wave hit. You'll notice it's now a CW set on Lego's SW site too. Bricklink also has separate listings for the different boxed versions of the re-release.

Wow, great review. Your photos are certainly crisp and well-composed. I know people have been down on the large parts in this set, but it looks like an enjoyable, solid build. Dark green parts are always welcome. The printed parts are brilliant and the new torso is nicely detailed.

What a great idea! Good to see your Green Grocer deboxed and put to good use, Sinner!

Looks like he's had expensive dental work done! I like this set, it was my favourite from the initial pics we saw as well. I like both the figs, and the new drill and wheel pieces are interesting. It looks like a fun little build as well. As a theme Power Miners seems to be the bastard love-child of Exo-Force and Mars Mission as viewed through psychedelic lime-and-orange tinted glasses from the 70s

Disgusting and hilarious! I love the sinewy snake pumping out of the arm socket. Yuk!

This set is not for me, but thanks for the detailed review. You're right, it does look... chunky. I hate those ball joint partss and thought they were used to excess in Exo-Force, so it's terrifying to see so many of them used in the baby of the Power Miner sets. Make it stop, Lego! The 'analist' (!) fig is OK but I'm not convinced by the rock monsters. I look forward to more reviews, especially that big driller, which is probably my favourite of the line

I had a Myer toy catalogue in my mailbox this morning. Lots of good stuff. 2008 Exoforce small sets - $14.95 - Dark Panther, Chameleon Hunter etc 8107 Fight for the Golden Tower - halfprice - $39.95 (great parts pack) 7744 Police Station - $99.95 7743 Police HQ - $54.95 7738- Coastguard Chopper - $44.95 7739 - Coastguard HQ - $69 7672 Rogue Shadow - $59 - save $40 7676 Republic Attack Gunship - $139 7671 AT-AP Walker - $49.95 And great prices on Mars Mission: 7690 Eagle Command Base - $49!! Save $80 7691 Alien Mothership Assault $39.95 - save $40 7697 Claw Tank Ambush - $24.95 - save $25 7699 Armored Drilling Unit - $49.95 - save $50

Great entry and great photography! I like the barrel construction and the spilt drink especially. At least I'm hoping that yellow stuff is drink...

Seems more like the Exo-Force version of alt-models where you buy extra sets to make the souped-up mecha. Hopefully we'll see more of this though. No such luck with Pirates or City and I can't imagine the licensed themes will do it.