Rufus

Close-up of the shuttle: It looks a little unfinished to me; I hope they lose all that white, and the dark tan wheel thingies. It has potential to be great, especially if the skis retract. But then I can't get enough of shuttles.

You made me chuckle there, DL. Edit: Blimey, loads more pics appeared as I was posting. Boba seems to be sand green and sand blue! Lovely detail on his helmet. The shuttle pilot looks a bit skeletal, and Injured Anakin looks like he got a nice tan on Mustafar. More edit: And thanks for deeplinking the pics, DL.

Aaaah this takes me back! I had 8888 as a kid; I remember it well as I spent a lot of time wishfully reading through it. However, the only Technic model I had at the time was 850 (fork lift); not much you can make from that! I too was fascinated by the card reader model. IIRC, one of the models that I really wanted to build was the 'dog', that used 4 large gears to simulate walking. I had precisely none of these, so I tried to build it with smaller gears but it didn't work. Great to see some of these finally brought to life!

My Y-Wing is new bluey-grey.

Two years ago, this is where I spent most of my birthday: The missus and I got a few looks queuing to get into LL Windsor without kids in tow, but I'm too old to care. We stayed in a swanky hotel in Windsor, had a fantastic meal, great wine - that was my idea of a perfect day. @Ratbat: through life you'll get stuff that isn't quite what you want; please remember that people might have gone to an awful lot of trouble to get what they hope is the perfect present for you. I've learned the hard way that seeing the look of hurt in people's eyes when I've made a fuss about it far outweighs my own disappointment, so please take my advice and make the best of it! And, as def says, be glad you're getting something at all. (raising a glass) To happy birthdays generally!

I have heard that the later releases of 10030 Star Destroyer came in new grey; unfortunately I can't remember where, but I'll hunt around and let you know if I find it. Mine was bought when it first came out - it's old grey. Edit - check this out - some later 10030s were indeed new grey.

Like you, def, I started back out with Star Wars, and I too have little space for anything else. I've got a burgeoning Town collection, particularly the 6 wide vehicels, which I love. I'd like to collect the modular buildings, but with nowhere to put them, they'd probably just sit MISB in the loft. I started to buy a few IJ sets last year, but I figured lack of space, money and licence would put the kibosh on my expanding that theme. With some fantastic new sets due out in the summer, I'll probably stick to SW as my main theme, at least until the licence is no more; then it'll be Town all the way (at least you know the town theme'll always be around).

I laughed for ages when Pirate Captain cut through the rail with his sword. Nice work! Not sure where it's going with the APMEX stuff though.

Fantastic! You've really captured Ming, and I love Brian Blessed's big mouth! Gordon's Alive!! Even Mrs Rufus liked that one: And a from me too.

Nice! Kinda reminds me of Trumpton (non-UK readers click the link) Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb.... and some other guy

Thanks for the pics Tinn_Mann! Luke seems to be wearing grey trousers and a brown jacket; seems an odd choice, but perhaps that'll change. I too would like to see a scarred reversible head. I see they've fiddled with the speeder again - now has technic elements in the mid-section of the 'guns', thus removing the annoying gap that featured in the 7666 version. I'm not so keen on the megaphone harpoon, though. I couldn't care about the yellow bits on the CTT - I'm just happy to see it!

James Bond - A View to a Kill The stairs give way to a slippery slope leading out of a hatch at the bottom of the airship - your lego man would fall to his plastic death on the studless stairs! Great demonstration! And this is a great thread! I personally like a mixture of studs and tiles.

Sorry GM, I missed your little pic. Still, the video's not very clear, let's hope it's a trick of the light. Or perhaps they're trying out different colours.

Looks very much like dark tan to me (KimT's pic):

Great pics! I like the shiny knight feller. Is he a custom? If you're into Star Wars, your pics will go down nicely in this forum. Welcome to EB!

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Glad you enjoyed it. I think 'businessman' is a euphemism... Thanks, added!

Thanks for the comments everyone! You're welcome!

I'm not sure I like the sound of 'head-to-head combat'. Maybe that's why the clones wear helmets Great news, I love the TT Lego games.

I had another look at the video, and it does look like there's a vertical technic beam to use with the LAAT/c. It appears to be 'up' in the CTT on the left of the display (0:43), and 'down' in the one on the right (1:49). They use the LAAT/cs to ferry the walkers up to & down from the orbiting cruisers (at least according to one of the few CW episodes I've ever watched) so they may do the same with the TTs. If so, so much the better! I've been looking for an excuse to buy the AT-OT set, now here it is. Good work, Lego.

That is amazing! I love it when lego builds itself For a first attempt at time lapse, you've done a great job, and shown off the features of the set at the same time. As others have said, the music fits perfectly. How long did it take you to build it? (And don't say nine minutes!) Personally, I think it looks well worth the price tag, seeing this.

It also affected your spellchecker! Nice work, I too particularly like the T-wing, though a splash of colour and an extra 1x2 slope wouldn't hurt! Looking forward to seeing more of your creations.

Oops. You're quite right. In my haste to transfer the review from the Academy, I made a glaring error. Would any of the mods please change that for me? again. Thanks for the feedback! edit - PS Maybe it's wishful thinking as I don't own Jabba's Message....

INDEXED Beautiful though they may be, the plethora of 6-wide vehicles that have arrived in Studsville are starting to crowd the streets. What the go-getting City entrepreneur needs is a means to nip around town and dodge the traffic. Since many real people have chosen the Smart car to achieve the same end, it seems only natural for Lego people to follow suit. Enter the 3177 Small Car; let’s see if Lego have done a good job of it… The Stats Name: Small Car Number: 3177 Theme: City * Year of Release: 2010 Pieces: 43 Figures: 1 Price: £3.49 | US$ 4.99 | DKK 39.95 | EUR 4.95 | AU$ 7.99 | CAN$ 6.95 * Interestingly, Shop @ Home lists this set under ‘Transportation’ but the Lego Cache describes it as ‘Airport’. Links: Bricklink Brickset Peeron Instructions Priced as an impulse set, this little number has caused ripples of excitement around Eurobricks, mainly because it contains a new unique figure; but also because of the return to a 4-wide vehicle base without the usual monster wheels. The tiny car has resulted in a few compromises, as we shall find out. The Box The box measures H 90 x W 120 x D 56 mm. It’s a reasonable size for a low-priced set, and is mostly filled by the contents. Using Rufus’ patented Billund Air Ratio, that’s a score of 16 (compare to the Republic Swamp Speeder which has a score of 39). There’s a nice representation of the figure on the side of the box, but TLC has not gone to town on the rear: ‘Choking Hazrd. Contains small parts.’ No alternative models, as is usual these days. The bottom of the box (when standing) tells us that components are made in DENMARK, HUNGARY and the CZECH REPUBLIC. The Contents Inside the box are the instruction booklet, a single polybag, and the base piece loose in the box: The Instructions I was pleasantly surprised to find a booklet for a set this size, rather than a folded sheet. The steps are clear; no piece callouts, and none necessary with only 2 to 3 pieces per step and only 43 pieces to choose from. The are two scene pictures, one of the town and another of the new airport sets, and the now ubiquitous parts list: The Pieces The only real pieces of interest are the minifigure torso and head, which we’ll look at later, and the base piece, which I was surprised to find has been used many times before: see Peeron. There are two leftover pieces: knowing which parts typically come as extras, can you guess which they are? Answer: The Figure This little dude – I’ve called him Alec – looks like he’s enjoying life with his little car. He has a new torso – a hoodie! – with a printed rear, too: Alec’s face has a slightly lopsided smile, making him look happy but not vacuously beaming like some of the latest figs. The torso and head are unique to this set, at least according to Peeron and my quick search of Brickset. I suspect many will buy multiple copies of this set just for the figure. Alec has a briefcase, which we’ll see later. The Car The build process is simple: the following pictures are a sample of the building steps, with numbers to give you an idea of how little is done in each step. Note the 2x1 green plates which are used as fillers; I don’t know why they are green, but it beats the usual red/yellow/blue mix we get, I had a bit of trouble getting Alec into the car, solved by moving his hands upwards and leaning him as far forward as possible: The Complete Set Alec leaves work, looking forward to the quick hop home in his minicar. I’m not sure what he does; a man with a hoodie carrying a briefcase is either a web designer or he’s stolen it. Some more shots of the vehicle. You can see the little storage space for Alec’s briefcase, and note the only rear light is the brake-light strip under the roof. It would be quite easy to modify the set to include rear lights, using one of these in black. The vehicle is clearly intended to be a Smart car: I think Lego have done a good job of rendering the Smart car in such a small scale. If I were to MOC one, I’d make a more detailed one in 6 wide, but that would defeat the object of having a small car. The model looks a lot better, when built, than I can demonstrate in pictures; better even than Lego have done on the box art. The advantages of a Smart Car… Aside from the easy parking, the little car can nip through traffic to avoid the jams, and even hitch a lift: A full tank is a lot cheaper: (excuse the dig at UK fuel prices) The little car has drawn an appreciative crowd: …And the disadvantage Little cars are harder for other drivers to see: Conclusion This is a superb impulse set. For the price, you get a well-designed little car that won’t swamp your Town layout, and will fit in most garages, and comes with a unique figure. The use of commonly-found parts means that you could build several in different colours. Design: 9/10 A great rendering of the Smart car for such a small scale. The only thing I would have added is rear low-level lights. Build: 7/10 A simple, unexciting build, but what did you expect? As I have said, the use of common parts makes it easy to build in alternative colours without a big Bricklink order. Playability: 8/10 There’s not much you can do with the set on its own, but cars are always fun to push around, it fits in nicely alongside the rest of the City range. Figure: 10/10 A lovely unique figure, with a useful accessory; I suspect many will buy the set just for the little guy. Price: 10/10 No complaints here; it’s not the best price to parts ratio in the world, but it’s a good set for a good price. Overall, 88% It doesn’t look that much on the box, but I’d recommend it to any Town fan – you’ll be pleasantly surprised! I hope you enjoyed the review. C & C, as ever, welcomed. Rufus Finally, for the fans of the standard bigger wheels, there’s always Pimp My Smart! [Edit - musn't leave Canada out - Thanks Dr Spock!]

‘I like Captain Solo where he is.’ – Jabba the Hut This is my first review from the Academy. Whilst hunting around for a little set to review, I found this oldie but goldie: Set Number: 4476 Name: Jabba’s Prize Theme: Star Wars Original Trilogy (Episode VI Return of the Jedi) Release Year: 2003 Pieces: 40 Minifigs: 2 (3 if you count Han Solo in Carbonite) Price: US$ 6.99 originally. I paid about £20 second hand on Ebay in 2009! Originally released in 2003, this set formed part of a mini-collection along with 4475 Jabba’s Message and 4480 Jabba’s Palace. It depicts the small area of Jabba’s throne room where he keeps his prize possession, the disgraced smuggler Han Solo who has been frozen in Carbonite. Han is guarded by one of Jabba’s hippo-like Gamorrean Guards, and the arch-villain and much sought-after bounty hunter Boba Fett. Let’s take a look at the set: The Box - Front This quite a pretty box, with a golden Star Wars logo and starfield fading blue to black in the background. The box measures 142 x 142 x 37 mm; not quite as small as I’d expect for forty pieces in 2003, but one of these is a 8x8 plate, so I’ll let them off. Back The back shows two small movie stills of a Gamorrean Guard and Han in Carbonite, perhaps for SW-naïve parents? There are also advertisements for some of the other Original Trilogy sets of the time. The box opens with a thumb-tab, although the previous owner of mine had very carefully opened the box with a knife and kept it flat-packed. Thank you, whoever you are! There is a nice little character montage on the side: The Instructions The front is similar to the box cover. Again mine are very well preserved. Random page: There are only 12 simple steps, not including minifigs. I didn’t identify any colour issues. This page shows how Han can rotate slightly forward, to recreate the moment when he is released by Bousshh. If only they'd included Bousshh in the set! Note the technic hole brick at the bottom right: This is used to connect the set to Jabba’s Palace to form a larger collection, as shown on one of the rear pages: The Parts Aside from the figures, which we will see next, there is little to get excited about. The only printed piece that isn't part of a figure is the small 1x1 tile with buttons, meant to represent the control panel. There are no stickers. The Minifigures Gamorrean Guard I like this dude. He is essentially a brown figure with a sandgreen head-mould. He looks quite like the real thing. There’s no printing on his head; if Lego ever remake this little guy, it’d be nice to see some colour on his little face, like they did with the ewoks (see Old Ewok and New Ewok - apologies, NavyTrooperFenson!) The Gamorrean guard has a very impressive axe: Boba Fett Here he is, SW fans' favourite bounty hunter: Boba has lovely priniting on helmet and torso; the former is a little skew but it’s not as bad as some examples I’ve seen. He has a megaphone blaster, without the usual circular trans-orange plate. Under the helmet-backpack piece is a featureless black head. Here’s what he should look like. Han Solo in Carbonite (‘Carbie’?) Han is a 5-brick high 2x1 brick, printed with a silvery sheen, which I've used the flash to highlight on this picture: The Complete Set The main structure isn’t very exciting. The flame-pieces help to give it a little atmosphere. Lifting the hinge on top of Han allows him to fall forward, in this case surprising Boba and the guard: This was the first set to include a Gamorrean Guard figure, the only other being Jabba’s Sail Barge in 2006. Boba and Carbie appeared previously in the original Slave-1, and can both be found in the later 2006 version of Slave-1, the Sail Barge, and Cloud City (where Boba has printed arms and legs). Thanks Clone O’Patra for this tip. I’m looking forward to seeing how this years' new Boba and Carbie compare to these. Conclusion Design 4/5 It’s not the most exciting design, but looks good as a little display piece. If you place it alongside Jabba’s Palace, it tends to get a little dwarfed. Build 3/5 Simple, unexciting; it took me longer to sort the pieces than to put them together. The instructions are clear with no colour issues. Playability 4/5 You can have fun with Boba and the guard, but letting Han fall forward gets a bit tiring. There’s much more fun to be had if you combine the set with Jabba’s Palace and Message. Figures 5/5 Two rare, well designed figures, plus frozen Han – this is what makes this set special. Price 5/5 In terms of minifigs for the pound, at about £4 or $7 this seems great value now, and as you can see by the price I paid, it’ll fetch a bundle when sold. Overall 21/25 (84%) If you can get hold of this for a reasonable price, it’s worth it just for the figures. Hope you enjoyed the review, please let me know what you thought of it! Rufus Read Mischa07’s review here Brickset (and instructions) here Peeron here I leave you with the newest members of the Star Wars blues band, Gamo Rea on guitar and Boba Fettington on his legendary black trumpet:

I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for Lego’s 6-wide trucks. I was very excited to hear about their latest fuel tanker truck, and picked one up as soon as it appeared in Lego Bluewater. Read on to see if it lives up to my expectations… The stats Name: Tank Truck Number: 3180 Theme: City Year of Release:2010 Pieces: 222 Figures: 1 Price: £14.99 | US$ N/A | EUR 20.90 (France) | AU$ 34.99 | DKK 179.95 At the time of writing, this set is not available in USA, Canada or Germany, according to Shop @ Home. Links: Brickset Bricklink (Not yet listed on Peeron) History ‘Tank truck’ sounds like a piece of military hardware to me; I like to think of this as the ‘Octan tanker’; which will place it in good company with the long pedigree of Lego petrol/gas tankers. One of my first sets as a kid was the fondly-remembered 671 Shell Tanker, which if I remember correctly was one of the first Town sets to use a small 2x2 turntable to allow articulation. See a selection of 3180’s ancestry below: Let’s have a look at 2010’s offering: The Box Front Measuring H 188 x W 351 x D 88 mm, this box doesn’t take up all the room on the shelf. It is, however, surprisingly deep; walking out of the shop, you feel you’ve got a lot of Lego for your money. Back The rear shows the modular construction employed by the more recent City sets, along with some play features, and Hey! an irritating Lego caricature in the top right hand corner. As you open the box, the thumb tab will pierce him, mwahaha. If you’d like to see a close-up of the back, here’s a link to a hi-resolution picture. The Contents Out of the box fall two polybags, one for the cab and pump, and one for the trailer, along with the hose, pre-attached to nozzle, and three large green rounded pieces that form the tank floor. The corresponding white pieces that form the roof of the tank are inside the second polybag. Curious. There is a smallish decal sheet: I didn’t apply the stickers, so I can’t comment on the ease of application, but you may be pleased to hear there do not appear to be any across multiple pieces. The Instructions There’s only the one book; mine came from the box a little curled: Here’s a page showing the beautiful simplicity of the articulation mechanism: The Pieces Bag One: Bag Two: Pieces of interest: We find some more of the new 1x1 side-stud pieces, and a nice little computer for the petrol pump. This, the minfig torso and two 1x1 gauges (one is spare; see photo above) are the only printed pieces in the set. The black tubing reminds me of 1985 Classic Space (look at the back of this or this for examples). Most importantly, there’s this, which I think is a new piece: This clever piece will be used to support the windscreen, and allows the cab to have opening doors yet retain its strength. Perhaps the lack of such a piece goes some way to explain why Lego trucks haven’t had doors until recently. The Figure This little dude (I’ve called him Oily Joe) looks quite happy to be driving the truck and filling the pumps all by himself. His cap is the newer curved variety that first appeared in 2009’s City Corner; his jacket featured in the 7993 Service Station from 2007. The latter would make a nice combination with this tanker, if it were still available. He has no printing on the back, but like every seasoned trucker he has a mug of tea. The Build First off, we put the little petrol pump together. The ‘classic space’ tubing is remarkably strong, and it took several attempts to attach it at both ends. Oily Joe demonstrates its strength: Next up comes the cab. The cab chassis reminded me of 7733 Truck and Forklift; the cab’s fuel tanks are attached with 90 degree angle brackets in a similar way. There is the usual profusion of colours. Here we see the cab’s interior (right hand drive for the UK ). Note the gear lever, and more importantly the new windscreen-attachment piece in place at the top of the usual SNOT front fascia: The trailer is built around the tank itself. The three green rounded base pieces connect with technic pins: These sit directly on top of the rear wheelbase, which contains the hose reel and a cupboard (which we’ll come to later). In front of the wheelbase, a hinged stand is attached to the tank base, and as seen earlier, a single technic half-axle pin forms the articulation mechanism: The eagle-eyed reader may spot that I’ve made a very minor change to the build, compared to the instructions. The Complete Set I think she’s a beauty. Let’s take a look at some features. Opening cab doors! Joe proudly climbs into his truck, without having to take the roof off! Ketchup and mustard dispensers fitted as standard! (Ok, so they are meant to be the hydraulic pipes for the trailer brakes). The trailer has a built-in hose-reel, a lever and a pressure gauge: Chocks away! Joe can prevent the trailer going AWOL when it’s disconnected from the cab. The chocks are stored in the cupboard when not in use. Note the two 2x1 yellow cheese wedges. What is there not to love about this set? Actually, there are a few things. Mikey, in his review, has already drawn attention to the ‘unfinished’ ends of the tank: I don’t think this is so bad; the rear is hidden from view by the ladder, and you might expect ‘holes’ in the front to connect pipes from the cab. I’m less keen on the exposed studs where the rear wheelbase meets the tank, which look untidy: For me, the biggest concern is the large plate that forms the base of the trailer wheels. There’s only 1 plate-height clearance between the base and the road, and I worry about the trailer grounding on any bumps. Perhaps this is why we have roadplates… Conclusion Despite the few drawbacks, I think this is an excellent set, and well worth the price. Lego have improved yet more on the 6-wide truck design, and it’s great to see the petrol tanker make join the ranks of beautiful trucks produced over the last few years. Design: 9/10 Beautifully done, despite the few minor drawbacks; bar far the best Lego petrol tanker yet. Build: 9/10 These trucks are always fun to build, and the new windscreen technique was a nice surprise. Playability: 10/10 There’s a cab with opening doors, gearstick, and mug; the trailer has hosereel, lever, chocks in their own cupboard, rear ladder, and stand; and there’s a petrol pump that the driver can fill. Anyone who thinks Lego should have thrown in another figure is just greedy! Minifigures: 7/10 He’s okay, is Oily Joe, but nothing too special. Price: 10/10 To me, this set felt well worth the money. Overall, 90%. I heartily recommend this set, not just to truck or Town fans, but to any Lego fan who likes a classic set. I hope you enjoyed the review, please let me know what you thought of it. Rufus I leave you with the consequences of forgetting the chocks: