Svelte

It got mine, too. Tabloid journalism!

I can't believe brickset was so gullible as to post these today! There's no way they look real at all. They were discussed and dismissed here months ago. Slow news day.

It's hilarious! I wish the sad eyes and mumbled complaints worked for me. I was lucky to get the crappy Police Pontoon plane as a bday present last year I'm going to resort to hypnotism and see if that works. 'You are feeling sleepy... very sleepy... You will buy Svelte Lego... lots of Lego... more than you can carry...'

I missed the news of the AT-OT price drop. It seems strange - why not just sell it at that price originally? You think you'd have a lot of annoyed layby customers. Maybe they didn't fly off shelves as expected... Poor TRU, the most they can muster is an email saying there's a new catalogue out next week. Whoop-de-do!

My new one, 'Legopussy', is because of my top-secret Agents MOC in the style of a James Bond supervillain lair. (Actually it's really because my cat is a member of the Lego Club ) My most recent-one, Euro-witty Eggos, is a sublime homage to my waffle skills in Murder on the Emerald Express.

Racers is the strongest evergreen theme of them all! Kids love race cars. Parents love cheap sets. Win-win situation! They really don't need to re-invent the wheel (so to speak) for this theme. By the time kids buying Racer sets grow out of them and look for something more stimulating, there is a fresh batch eager to gobble them up! This is why the Emergency Rescue sets get an overhaul every 2 or 3 years in Lego City - in that time, unlike AFOLs, you've already turned over a new generation of consumers. Personally I doubt Power Miners will go on unless the theme shifts radically into new territory (maybe they discover dinosaurs at the centre of the earth? It was sort of what happened with Adventurers, mid-period. I think rock monsters are played out.) SP3 will get another year, unless there's some unforeseen conflict with Ben 10 (cool aliens?). I doubt Agents will get another year, this year's releases were pretty uninspiring (apart from the Robo Attack). Pirates will definitely go on for another year or two. If the statement about Elves is true, maybe they should rest Castle for a year. The current releases aren't exactly inspiring and it might give another theme a chance to shine.

We obviously don't want to waste any fuel by emptying it out. Will somebody be able to stick their arm in there and fish around? Or will we need a mechanical implement of some kind? You can probably tell I'm no train expert...

Much as it's easy to blame TRU, they don't just magically make up prices. It is illegal for stores to sell items in this country above RRP. If there have been hikes, ludicrous as they may be with something like Dooku's Solar Sailer, they are done with full cooperation and authorisation from Lego Australia.

I had been wondering why we'd gone backwards, and that sort of makes sense, in that SW sets seem to be more prized for minifigs and thus more vulnerable to theft, but why then was it that the US produced versions of the 2 big flagship Clone Wars sets of 08 - the AT-TE and the Gunship - had the sealed tape box and not the 'rip & tear' version which was reintroduced for the European/ rest of world markets at the same time? (I know as I bought these 2 from a US ebay seller prior to release and was really surprised to see the difference when the sets were released here in Australia). What are the new 09 US sets using? Does anyone know? I find this incredibly annoying as its ridiculous that you have to shell out so much money for an expensive set and can't (a) open the box without destroying it a little (b) flatten it or easily safely store it.

Forestmen (Forestpeople in this enlightened age? ) is possible but I have my doubts. Unless they're 'evil' forestmen, it doesn't seem likely that TLG would introduce a new human faction to replace the Crownies. And I can't see two human factions peacefully coexisting considering the flavour of the rest of TLG's lines. Still, 3 years in, the line does need a shot in the arm. We've had all the major players since the release of Dwarves' Mine at the end of 2007, so by 2010 we need at least one entirely new element to the theme. On the other hand, wasn't there a blunt official denial about new Pirates last year when the first bits and pieces of the new minifigs were found assembled in that one Lego store display case?

Just as an aside, the Pillage the Village Creative Critic competition was the best benchmark for desirable commenting skills that I've yet seen on EB. It made a remarkable difference to the level of critique made in MOC threads, and I'm pleased to say that I think it's effect is still lasting, judging by the largely nuanced responses to the recent 'Invasion' & Classic Town contests. A brilliant subliminal member finishing school! Kudos to the masterminds.

I think the book looks brilliant! Lego sucked me into Star Wars, rather than the other way round, so I missed all of the early sets and really only started collecting everything from 2006. This is a great visual resource. It looks to be fantastic source of information and so detailed, eg pointing out all the differences between figs which I probably would never have otherwise noticed such as the Padawan braid, different hoods etc. It will be great to see the design evolution of the line in one compendium and I'm glad that it looks as if they won't be shying away from their early clunky efforts. Definitely a must-have and the exclusive fig is just icing on the cake!

He's alive! Praise be! I wasn't sure if your body was going to show up somewhere unexpected

K-Mart is also smartly doing the selective layby to avoid having a whole lot of short-term merchandise like all the Transformers 2 toys suddenly coming back onto shelves in 6 months times when people decide they're no longer interested. It's not all about Lego! I went to my closest Big W (not really close, it takes an hour to get there) and saw plenty of Midi Falcons & Venators, but no Y-Wings (which had been in stock a few days previously). SP3 also seemed to sell well - apart from multiples of the Galactic Enforcer, there was only one copy of each of the smaller sets on the shelf, some hidden away. Heaps of Wind Turbine Transports as well. There is probably more pressure for people to shop quickly at Big W as they tend to do the big sale now, but only discount very intermittently during the rest of the year - so if you miss out now you don't get as much chance to get things cheap compared to K-Mart and Target, which have 15-20% off every other week. K-Mart still didn't seem busy today. At one a lot of the SW stuff had gone, but at another I did manage to pick up the last 2 Separatist Shuttles

Good count, Eleanor. I think some staff and passengers should remain behind to guard the train against looters townsfolk. I doubt they will feel friendly and let us just waltz up to the Crocodile.

Happy birthday guys! Hope you're having a good holiday, Draggy! Alice, I hope you got something good if not Paradisa-cal!

I haven't seen or heard anything that suggests they have arrived in any store. You may just have to be patient. If you are really that desperate and can't wait, I advise you to buy them off Bricklink or S@H itself, although BL shipping would probably be cheaper for such small items. Rest assured, you have all of us in this thread well primed, if we so much as sniff a SP3 Impulse in our vicinity we will let you know

Sure, I'll come along for the ride. I'd also like to visit the Crocodile with Pete Yet how are we going to defend ourselves from the angry mob? Perhaps we should appease them with an offering of some kind. A human sacrifice maychance? Ve can pretend we can offed Eleanour ourself, set her body on fire, and as the townsfolk run screaming away in horror, make a run for it.

I kind of agree with natelite about the 2x2 bricks, if you're doing modular houses or whatever, they're kind of hard to use. Still, $63 when it's list price at S@H is $130 is hard to refuse if you need or want basic bricks. Your poor blocked sinuses have really got to you, we posted that yesterday! This thread moves too fast at this time of year

Yeah, I don't see the giant hole either It's an OK set, the Twins are the best part. I've really wanted to like SP3 but I can't help but feel it's a bit of a let down.

Shiney shine! I can't help but wish it was just an ordinary fig done with that lovely finish. A chrome keychain doesn't seem practical considering how much wear and tear they go through on a day to day basis. I had a Catwoman keyring and she looked like a $10 truck-stop hooker after a few weeks, I can't imagine how scratched a Chromie would become in that time. Thanks for the review, Erds!

Aaah, what a refreshing night's sleep! I'm surprised Arin didn't try and sneak into my cabin and molest me, but you can't have everything. I do feel bad for those poor, doe-eyed townsfolk. Look at them, with their emaciated grins and moist, questioning eyes. You'd have to have a heart of stone to resist their pleas for help. I wonder if there is anything I can do to soften the horror of their daily existence? *ding* (insert light bulb icon here) Wait! I know! *Schmelt opens the kitchen cabin window and tips yesterday's assortment of potato peelings, chicory shavings and escargot shells onto the milling crowd* There you go, my friends! Feast well! Also, not to be a hygiene freak or anything, but should we really just leave that body lying around in a bag? I'll use that side of caribou for lunch, so there's space in the cold room if we want to put her 'on ice'.

I'm enrolled, but my cat is also enrolled, real age 2, so she has 9 years before she has to do the annual renewal thing! Sssh, don't tell anyone.

Maybe this explains the eerie green mist over the Farm

The Eiffel Tower, on sale for $295 at Myer. Check here for the parts list. It doesn't get better for dark bley plates than that! If you want smaller quantities, bricklink is your best bet.