Svelte

I bought most stuff I wanted from the Jan releases in 2 batches - in one from the US I has 2x Apple Tree House, ARC, Droid Fighter, 1xbattlepacks and the Toy Story green army me - I had that in time for Xmas and still paid less than what I would have if I'd bought from S@H with shipping. I also bought 2x 8061 Squid Gates and paid $124AUD inc shipping from the Netherlands - I did have a store discount of 10% which meant I basically paid $4 for shipping over the retail price. Less than a train fare's difference if I was going to pick them up from K-Mart in March. Shop around - Bricklink can be your friend while the dollar is strong, especially if you're buying a few small to mid-size sets at the same time. I'm not shy about spending money on LEGO and I try and balance spending more on early releases with savings later in the year. I didn't say it last year, even with the Venator hike to $AUD230, but paying $AUD50 for the Freeco Speeder for 2 figs and a flimsy yet oversized speeder pushed me into the 'will wait for a deep discount or not at all' basket. 176 pieces for a $AUD59.99 8092 Swamp Speeder - with only one new fig - and what looks like a collection of common bley and dark red pieces is the point at which I throw in my cards with all but the best sets from Star Wars. This year's Jan wave, more than any other, feels cheap in terms of part usage and innovation (apart from some 2x4 tiles and 1x2 cheese), and the hiked up price is just an insult. EDIT: I just noticed that Fire Brigade and Tantive IV have been upped to $AUD299.99 so I wouldn't be overly amazed if someone from S@H notices the 10210 Flagship is well below the '2x the US price' formula and gets changed. I can't believe it! I was shocked enough when the Tantive IV and 10197 jumped to $279.99, let alone $299.99!

Agreed on both these points! Actually, also on the point that Atlantis isn't Licensed and I'm looking forward to PoP for the same reasons. Inconspicuous is wise in all things!

Is it wrong to like new parts and want to use them in different ways? There's also a practical reason in that it's kind of a pain to dig stuff out so I tend to use whatever is most accessible - usually new sets! Actually, all the stuff I got (just before Xmas!) ended up *still* being cheaper than if I had put in the same order from S@H (including shipping) and a lot faster. The Atlantis 2x Squid Gates were a separate order but above the Australian retail price I paid $AUD4 in shipping from the Netherlands - so less than I would pay on a train ticket to go and get them in store (when they arrive in March) So really, no big expense was involved at all

Yes, we know. Locked!

Congrats Otters! The 'Otter style' is instantly recognisable and I always look forward to what you have to say.

Yay for T&T! Suck it Licensed - you didn't even make the Top 10 - in your face! Oh... wait.... Seriously, what a great result. Everyone always assumes that SW takes the lead, but it's so nice to see that a classic theme like Town still outguns it in terms of overall enthusiasm from AFOLs. The mix of great releases from LEGO blends well with the solid respect and detailed examination we give to past sets and subthemes in this forum

I was just thinking I like the grill tiles, they break up the texture a little An historic moment, preserved in ABS!

I don't know why you all say I'm crazy. Making a house in a derelict hull seems perfectly logical to me Besides that, Tulipmania/ the Dutch Tulip Bubble was real, people!

Woo! Happy birthday hewman!

I broke it! I wasn't getting a 2nd at Bricklink prices! 10210 is a great parts pack It wants you to smash it up.

I should mention, the shape was very inspired by Sieggy's bulky Fabuland Houseboat MOC from a while back. That's always stuck in my mind for some reason.

[pid][/pid]215A The Admirable Admiral was so-named as he had all the qualities most looked for in an Imperial officer - noble of brow, handsome of visage, and wise and patient with his men. But he was not perfect! Having lost all his savings in the Dutch Tulip Bubble - aka tulipomania, the GFC of 1637 - upon retirement the Admirable Admiral was forced to take up residence in the shipwrecked ruin of a once grand Imperial vessel. Traces of its splendour still resided in the gilt deckwork and the figurehead of Poseidon holding a double trident. The hull had filled with earth and weeds, but the Admirable Admiral cleared it out as best he could and built a little cottage. Although his circumstances were reduced, the Admirable Admiral was never seen on deck in anything less than full dress uniform! Very often his inseparable friend from his military days, the Companionable Cabin Boy, came to stay and the two toasted former glories with a glass of rum shandy and watched as the waves lapped at the torn body of the ruined naval dame. The overall view of the converted wreck, showing house and garden: I really like how bulky the hull looks from the lower angle here. An upper view of the deck, showing the layout of the garden and the pool. The garden slopes down from the figurehead end towards the angled house. There's a map hidden behind the figurehead, just visible here... The Admirable Admiral kept a solitary pig for companionship and delighted in cultivating exotic lilypads in a crystalline rainwater pool which had collected at the prow of the ruined vessel. This was my first ship-building exercise and I have to say I was very happy with how the shape developed. Not mega-MOC level like the masters CGH & Bonaparte but certainly more detailed than the average official set. My style is more cartoon-like and larger-than-life than strictly realist in any case. Proud Poseidon and his thrusting golden double-barrelled tridents o'doom! End view back towards the shipwreck. Cosy! See, Apple Tree House detractors? Look how lovely the tan window frames are and the expanded suite of dark blue roof tiles! I think looking at SlyOwl's work inspired the angled abode. High spirits shared between friends lubricated nostalgic talk of the old days. Rear view looking back - it is less detailed, but this side is supposed to bump up against a cliff. A final view, again at a slightly different angle! This one will be sitting on my shelf for a while next to my modular Department Store DESIGN NOTES: The original concept sketch. The first details I worked out were the bumpy shape (2 end hull pieces) and the pointy arches for the cannons. Everything flowed from there - the idea of the little house on top of the shipwrecked ruins, gardens, merman figurehead etc. I was running very late and was bereft of inspiration but I gave myself 24 hours to pull something together! I am really pleased with how it turned out I have come a long way since my original PTV entry! I prize colour very highly, so everything flowed from there once I had the concept of a house lived in by a former member of the Imperial Navy, sitting atop the ruins of one of the great ships, filled with a moist and mulchy sunken garden. This MOC is a heady mix of 10210 Imperial Flagship (must-have ship building parts pack), 5981 Apple Tree House (tan windows and dark blue roof pieces), a bit of 7627 Temple of the Crystal Skull and a splash of 6243 Brickbeard's Bounty, with a generous helping of Bricklink order parts which I made months ago and have been waiting to consume! Thanks for viewing!

Ring them up and see if you can change it. I've done this once when the previous order hadn't left the warehouse. I hate LEGO's policy of erratic, random release dates, especially when in Aus we pay $AUD45 shipping a pop for a standard order each time.

Imperial Flagship is now available at S@H! http://shop.lego.com/Product/Default.aspx?p=10210 Also, spend $90 and get a free Atlantis shark man keychain.

Available now for non-NA countries! Yays! http://shop.lego.com/Product/Default.aspx?p=10210

Thanks for this lovely review, Inconspicuous! There are some great techniques for such a little set, although I admit the concept of a mini model of an in-house theme set seems pointless to me. Still, always nice to get some extra parts in the new trans bright green shade! I love that the fan moves when you blow it!

The incomparable Inconspicuous, a Teacher in Eurobricks' own Reviewers Academy, brings us a review of the new Brickmaster Exclusive set 20013 Mini Neptune's Carrier Click on the pic to view this great review and join the discussion!

Just create a new thread and post your complaints/ ideas for new figs there! That's all that's needed!

That's why I say it's a fine line. But in your post where you list all the heads and torsos that have been repeated x number of times, you don't specify where exactly in each of the specific 2010 sets they are supposedly repeated. This is the 2010 City sets discussion thread, not the 'LEGO radically needs to revamp their fig part selection' thread. Your point is just to say how repetitive the minifigs in City are, which is fine - in a separate thread devoted to minifig discussion. The fact that some of these torsos/ heads are used again in 21010 is not news to anyone Going off topic to complain about fleshy printing of one particular torso which invites others to respond generates a mini-discussion which, while interesting, is not strictly relevant, or leads to comments like this: How does this add to a discussion of 2010 City sets in any way? It really doesn't. Once again, I am not saying your points about figs are invalid, just better discussed elsewhere. Also not adding to a discussion of 2010 City sets - talking about what you bought on sale from previous lines: Incidentally, the 10211 Grand Emporium (not 101211) is a Creator set and has its own discussion thread - stop asking for and hinting about pictures for it here! I hope I have made myself perfectly clear.

*waits patiently for 11 months and 3 weeks to bump this topic*

Obviously it was manufactured and boxed for the Euro market some months ago, so I agree - why is LEGO holding back? They obviously have stock. It's not like they do a small production run and then wait another 3 months to finish it. The only reason I can think of is that for some reason the North American manufacturing plant is running late and they're holding the European launch back so they coincide worldwide. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense. All other big Jan exclusives have been released on 1 Jan (or before). It's very annoying if you live in a country where you pay high shipping because unless you want to pay double ($AUD45, about $US40 just for standard orders!) then you have to wait a month until everything is available at the same time.

Can we keep the discussion in this thread focussed on the 2010 City sets, NOT general issues of repetitive minifig heads/ torsos etc? I know it can be a fine line but it is confusing to readers if half the posts are 2010 related and half are not. I tend to agree with you, and feel free to start another thread to discuss these issues and continue there! Thanks!

Even worse, it's $AUD79.99 (About $CAD75) Nice set, but yes, very overpriced. It certainly takes the gloss off.

Great work Sieggy! I love the overall shape, kind of tugboaty and snug rather than a fearsome killing Pirates vessel It has that foreshortened effect, which in ships always makes them look cuter (I think this is partly due to photography and I bet it looks different in person). The rear thrusters and the additional detail added to the basic hull piece definitely improve the sculptural shape and the cannon subtitutes are a brilliantly simple and effective technique for those who constantly whine that there aren't nearly enough official ones ships to make them 'realistic' (hello! It's LEGO!). I love the use of the curved pieces to enclose the deck area where Clive commands his doman! The only suggestion I would have made is that the rear skeleton face could be made a little more alien. I would have liked to have seen it in a more atypical skull version of an Area 51 'grey', with the bulging dome head and pointy eyes, just to make it a little more spacey Lovely work!

Nice work, Erds! As others have said, the Indy whips are a lovely decorative touch and it's nice to finally see a use for all those droid legs! The colours are beautifully done. You know one of the 2010 Racers sets has medium blue cheese in it now too?