Svelte

It's a testament to this set that I've kept it built since I did this review, as I do like the little bike shop, bus stop and the Pizza house and the yellow bus. I find it much more preferable than any of the other City sets released as part of the same wave. It definitely has a certain charm about it and all the window and glass pieces are very useful.

Wow! My K-Mart was practically abandoned at 8.45am this morning. There were 5 bored looking housewives and myself! They only had 2 registers on and when I went through I didn't have to queue. Nobody was at layby either. (I will point out that this K-Mart is right next to one of the biggest and newest Westfields in Sydney and right next to a major metro interchange.) I think K-Mart's Xmas layby policy has cut down on scalpers - last year I saw a couple scooping dozens of Motorised AT-ATs into trolleys, but that's kind of pointless if everyone who orders in the next 2 weeks is guaranteed a Death Star or AT-OT. I am sure there will be restocks on a lot of this stuff, if it is that busy where you are the staff haven't probably had a chance to go out back and get fresh stuff. Also, Mindstorms 2.0 is up at S@H: http://shop.lego.com/product/?p=8547

Instructions are now online for the Carousel. I wish they'd been up yesterday, I was interested to find out what exactly we got to help justify an order. Book 1 Book 2 To be honest, the 3000 plus parts are not that great. I think apart from some of the Bricklinkable things, people will be able to build a version of this from scratch without too many problems if they have the PF components already and a reasonable sized collection. It would probably end up cheaper that way too! There aren't a great deal of unusual parts, apart from the canvas, stickers, jester hats and tan beards. Eg Dark blue - lots of the little slopes, but if you have any Clone Wars set you should be right for tiles Dark red inverse slopes - zillions of these around as there were heaps in the Akator set Dark tan 1x2 plates - heaps in MMV and more coming in 10197 1x4 lime bricks - Hello Power Miners! And so on A lot of the rare parts aren't particularly interesting either - like 70 1x2 dark red bricks with axle holes, or 80 1x2 dark blue jumper plates. I don't doubt we will see a series of these now in different themes and colours, just like the VW was built in different shades.

Instructions are now online for the Carousel. Book 1 Book 2

Probably wise. I have a feeling these MMVs will sell out as soon as the sale starts. Besides, you still have to wait another 3 weeks!

It was probably selling suspiciously well relative to other markets, so someone did a little detective work

I went back and had a look at my 7641, and I have the new cap too! It does look so much better. The shape just seems better than the previously flat visor. Thanks for pointing this out!

In other news, the 10196 Grand Carousel has jumped 33% above its original price to $399.99! Haha, I thought that price was too good to be true. Don't fret, in 6 or 12 months you will be able to buy it from Myer or DJs 'marked down' to $299.99 We hear a lot from designers about how strictly they have to work within a parts budget per set they're working on, and that may be true, but by the time a set goes through development and is spat out the other side as a marketing product to be sold to retailers (Lego's Number 1 customer), many other factors come into play.

My closest K-Mart (Bondi Junction) was disorganised as ever. They didn't have either the Tow Truck or the Separatist Shuttle - apparently they were out the back on a pallet. Maybe. Come back tomorrow! On the upside, the store assistant did offer to put the Tow Truck on Xmas layby for me, although I'd have to wait until December to pick it up Still, it was good to see the Large Pink Brick Bucket and yellow Lamborghini on the shelves, neither of which were advertised.

True, but TheTacoMan is correct in that it is often claimed that minifigs drive up the price significantly. Also, Venice Chase has loads of parts in new colours (dark tan cutout wedges and 1x2 tiles, tiles with centre stud and so on) as well as the new parts, which in theory should be more expensive to produce. There isn't much new in Fighter Plane Attack, just a few different types of white plates - nothing uncommon. I think this is a marketing decision - the 2 planes 'feel' bigger even if they're less solid than the Venice boats. I also think the Toyworld deal had something to do it, but you're probably right You have more faith than I that they'll drop the price. So noone's going to the midnight store openings I take it?

Aussie S@H now updated with the rest of the Summer & Creator sets $59.99 Pirate Tank $179.99 Home One The pricing fairies are at work again! Home One is 130EURO and Endor 100EURO, but we pay $180 and $200 respectively The Pirate Tank seems quite good value, if only that it doesn't wildy exceed the 20c per piece price ratio like so many of this year's SW sets.

Chrome Stormtrooper is up at S@H, but not shipping until 30 July and you can't backorder it. Currently the price is $AUD10.79. http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=852737

Nay, it isn't on sale any more. The price has dropped from 8.30 to 6.99 but you can't add it to your cart!

I don't really like chrome finish - it wears off too easily. On a keychain seems especially pointless since if you actually use it in your pockets, it is subject to even more wear and tear. One for the chrome fetishists and obsessive keyring collectors only! On the upside, if you sell it on ebay at least you can make some money back on shipping. I would have preferred just an ordinary chrome fig, at least you could use it as a statue in town layouts, for example.

I was sure it would be $150 too. To compare, the Crystal Skull temple set was $US79.99, and 7199 is $US89.99. So for $10 more US, we're paying $20 less Australian On sale, you could probably get it for around $100 when it hits stores here which is a fair price. It's a bit sparse as a set, to be honest. Let's hope they don't jack up the price in a day or two, like they did with the Agents Mobile Command Centre. Indy continues to be relative good value with the battle pack and the Venice Chase set. The planes chase one is too much at $90. It seems that different people price sets at different times. Look at the new Star Wars magnet set with battle damaged Darth Vader - $20.79 or some odd conversion price whereas the other ones were all $AUD16.99. $299.99 is an extraordinary price for the Carousel and makes it much more tempting... Incidentally, Home One was listed on some NZ site as $NZ190 which bodes well for a $150AUD price tag. Fingers crossed! It is a great set, much better than it looks in the pics.

S@H has been updated! Lots of new stuff showing up as Available Now, including Indy sets and Carousel ($299.99) Pirate Tank and Home One are showing up but as 'Not Available'! (Ditto new Creator sets) I hope they don't torment us like they did last month.

What about Darth Vader's TIE Advanced from the 10188 Death Star play set?

Those look amazing! Great use of colour and some original techniques. Congratulations on your win!

We should take advantage of the lull to put together some little scenes from the Mystery. It would be a nice surprise for TB when he comes back! Even if it's something simple like a caption pic, it would be a fun touch.

Lego S@H Sales page has updated with some new items. Nothing much of interest, apart from a few of the smaller Indy sets discounted.

As many others have noted, it's a way to start producing supermassive ships in a scale that doesn't have to worry about pleasing the fans, who like nothing more than arguing about the size of their... sets Probably SW Lego fans who have a wide collection of sets and various versions of the Falcon won't find it too appealing but I bet the casual buyer thinks differently - "Hmm, I need to get a gift for John or Jane for around $US30-40, and I know they're into Star Wars..." Unlike most of the new Clone Wars sets (which are brilliant), the Millenium Falcon probably has wider public recognition so it was a good choice to launch the line with. I suspect this is very much a test set - if it doesn't sell we probably won't see too many more of them. Think of them as like the Architecture sets but for Star Wars! Reasonably detailed models which capture the spirit and shape of the vehicle rather than absolute accuracy and tacked-on play features.

K-Mart has a weird new system this year with laybys. Some stuff is marked in the catalogue with a tree icon and says it's a 'Xmas layby'. Fpr these items, you don't need to take it to the layby counter but can order it from there, as DarthSion says. However this type of Xmas layby is only available for pickup from December 1, so they have plenty of time to source exactly as many Death Stars and AT-OTs as they need. It's a clever solution as it means that they don't have to guesstimate how sales will go (like with limited stock for the Falcon last year, they probably had no clue how many $750 sets they would shift) and nobody misses out. If you want it sooner, you can choose the regular 8 week layby. If you're worried and in a small town, I'd just ask the manager what the deal is with sourcing the extras.

that's weird. k-mart in bondi j has the new city sets and the power miner set but no separatist shuttle or AT-OT. pagewood had zip! i hope they're not dividing stock amongst stores, i hate that.

natelite, do the chatswood target and k-mart have the new stock in? not much yet on this side of the bridge... stores are being unusually reticent!