Rick

Plus the associated high cost, which would be too much for a retail set, which means smaller sets... Licensed themes are unfortunately not known for their good price per piece ratio.

Yup, two times two of them.

Nice, you managed to show the whole process in such a little space... and a lovely little cottage.

Very funny story. Highly original as well. And well-built!

If anything would be a 'clue' in TLG's current lines, I also think it's this, but I doubt it. I also was - naively - expecting some more references to Greek mythology in the Atlantis line.

I also didn't realize this before reading the comments here. Perhaps you could try positioning the minifigs differently to suggest some more motion in their bodies, which would actually make the punch fly in the air. But now that I realize the function of the flames, it is definitely the highlight of your MOC.

Imperials: bluecoats! Although there is something romantic to being a pirate... doubts, doubts, doubts...

Nice, I really like the attention to the details on (the cross-sections of) the floor, roof, and wall constructions.

These are exactly the things that stood out for me as well. Apart from the 'tapes' : you nailed it!

Peace and tranquility... nice little scene.

They seem to be, which makes this set a nice supply for those windows. Unfortunately in trans-lightblue instead of trans-clear or trans-black...

It's in - I think - the City 2010 topic. TRU in the US appears to be selling some City fire sets early, along with the Atlantis sets.

Not too spectacular, but a nice pickup. This World City police pickup is also pretty cool (if you rearrange the light bar on the roof a little).

Yeah, I've also had some of those 'missing' pieces. Also, sometimes I have had 'spares' that normally don't come as spares. Going through the instruction manual I usually quite quickly find out where I forgot to put in a certain piece. I've experienced it on several occasions when building the Modulars... I guess I just try to go through the instruction manuals too quickly.

I like the simplicity but instant recognizability.

A 2 x 6 plate with a this (^) bracket wouldn't give the same result. The studs on the top(/side, depending on your viewing angle ) would be off by half a plate thickness.

I know I shouldn't comment on this because I'll be 'cursing' myself, but - fingers crossed - here it goes: I haven't had any major problems with parts missing from Lego sets ever (although I was missing an extra piece recently, according to the BL inventory, but I guess that's why they're extra pieces). The two most recent cases where something was wrong with a set concerned a problem with parts quality. I think more people are having problems with this than with missing parts. Screening through the cases with missing parts mentioned here, all of them seem to have something in common: there are extra parts - that are not normally extras - which probably cause the machinery at the factory not to notice anything is wrong with the contents of the set, i.e. an extra 1 x 1 in orange causes the weighting machinery to think the set is NOT missing a 1 x 1 in red, because the total weight is within limits. Makes you think though how often a set is rejected...

Right, and although that remains a matter of personal preference, I think most agree that what is reviewed here is too detailed to be used with official Lego products. From what I've seen here - I've never ever ordered a custom yet - is that Brickarms and Brickforge (for example) do a much better job at 'Lego-izing' their custom parts.

Sorry, it's hear-say , so I don't have any details, but you should be able to find this information through patent offices. The 1 x 1 with stud on one side was a famous example, I don't have any other examples for you. I didn't even know about the 1 x 5 brick and I also doubt TLG would be interested in that design.

Thanks for the review. I like all the new 2010 parts so far. 2 x 4 tiles and 1 x 1 snot brick were known, but even the new 2 x 6 plate for the front of the truck looks like it could really make some truck fronts a lot sturdier. The new hydraulics are great. They are all 'System': using bars instead of axle holes makes the structure much more compact and much better-looking. btw: Now I realize the large glass panels on the office/sleeping quarters are actually two times two stacked large 'shop windows' that stretch across the two floors (instead of a larger window stacked on top of a smaller window if you'd only look at the 'upstairs'). Except for the ladder truck, the model as such isn't really cutting it for me. Since I have one MOC ladder truck and one aerial truck from the 2007 fire station, I most likely won't be getting this. Why don't they include engines in these fire station sets or release them separately? (Sorry, retorical question: because they don't have as much play value to kids.)

It are Bricklink dollars, which are still American as far as I know . I just checked: four vests or four helmets are $13 and one of those guns is over $4.

The reason for many clone brands emerging in recent years was the expiration of patents by Lego on many ordinary brick designs. Clone brands have patented some brick designs, so that Lego can't/couldn't make them: the 1 x 1 with one stud on a side being the most famous.

I wouldn't want to use this kind of quality mixed with my Lego. The amount of detailing also doesn't really fit well with Lego as well - in my opinion. And it certainly wouldn't be worth $43 just to 'dress up' four minifigs to me.

Nice to see something of the build of this mighty ship.

Nothing upsets Santa more than kids trying to open presents early...