Rufus

31012 Picture thanks to Brickset's flickr: Thanks for posting the pics/links!

That's a beautiful Architecture MOC, HenrikLego, and it would be worthy of a frontpage... but I'm afraid your pictures are too large, so I've removed the image tags. Please resize them to a maximum of 800 x 600 pixels, then feel free to repost them. If you're not sure how to resize, follow the tutorials link in my signature. Thanks!

Hi, legomaniak, and welcome to Eurobricks. I'm sorry, but I'm not quite sure what the purpose of this thread is. Are you trying to showcase the cup as a MOC? If you're trying to offer this for sale, I'm afraid we don't allow new members to trade on EB. This is to prevent people joining just to sell, and therefore prevent longer term members getting scammed. Please explain your thread a little better!

Time to update mine. Yipe! - [I gave myself this one, to celebrate Cameron Crocodile's yipey death in Hinckley's Forest 2 Mafia.] Time for TEA! - [by Pandora, because it's always time for TEA in Englad!] Gland to live in Englad - [I was tryig to defed the 'n' i the ame of the coutry i which I live. From Hickley.]

So sorry I didn't see this fantastic MOC earlier! She's a beauty. Frontpaged!

If you haven't already seen it, check out Konajra's amazing Týr Viking tug MOC! Better late than never! Head on over to admire this LEGO beauty in the Special Themes Forum!

Hi wondermonkey, I realise you are speaking to another member who presumably will understand this, but please refrain from talking publicly in a language the majority on this forum will not understand. This is an English language forum, and we expect our members to use the English language at all times. If you wish to communicate like this publicly, it's fine if you provide a translation; otherwise, it comes across as rather rude. If the content is private, please use the PM system. Thanks for understanding.

Thanks everyone for the comments! Cheers, Kiel! I agree about the shape and the colours - a bit of a mess. I have Propeller Adventures but have never opened it - I was planning to review it some time, but haven't quite got round to it yet. Thanks for chipping in, Ralph! I was hoping you'd reply. Apologies for misrepresenting your techniques: I meant it to be inspiring rather than necessarily accurate; when I came across the technique in the set, I immediately thought of you so sought out some pics on flickr. You've reminded me of something I meant to say in the review: the plane and its alternates are very reminiscent of Transformers. I wonder if we'll see a transforming set some day, assuming there isn't a legal reason why the LEGO Co. can't produce one (and assuming they haven't done it before and I've missed it! ).

Thank you both for the lovely comments! I couldn't agree more. It's a great line-up. Looking forward to seeing that! That eagle's at the top of my 'must buy' list. Creator sets can be hit-and-miss in terms of their parts selection. I have often considered buying them just because there are one or two parts I need! This one has a great (and useful) selection. Oooh, you're quite right. I will correct myself as soon as I can. Thanks!

The trademark issue revolves around referring to the bricks themselves as 'lego' or 'legos'. If the word enters 'official' common usage to refer to plastic construction bricks, then any clone brand could in theory print the word 'LEGO' on their bricks, and that usage would then be defensible in court. The result would be increasing difficulty for the LEGO Group to compete, a loss of quality of parts and of sets, and a flood of 'fake' parts rendering sources such as Bricklink near-useless. It is little different from the reason EB does not post 'confidential' pictures of new sets. I was fortunate recently to visit a little room in Billund full of cheap bootleg copies of official sets, some of which had clearly stolen the official LEGO box art. The result is angry customers contacting TLG to complain about the poor quality of the set, or, worse still, posting their complaints online for all to see, without ever realising that the set wasn't produced by the LEGO Co. It's a 'doomsday' scenario, perhaps, but one which I for one don't wish to encourage. Incidentally, the dictionary definition of LEGO is: '[mass noun] trademark a construction toy consisting of interlocking plastic building blocks' Where 'mass noun' is '... a noun that names something that cannot be counted' - examples according to this particular source are pasta, air, and motherhood. So, I'm afraid, to say 'LEGOs' is grammatically incorrect. I personally won't go around correcting people (except where EB endorsement is implied, such as in the Reviewers Academy), but I do my very best to help protect the LEGO trademark in my own work.

LEGO's 2013 CREATOR range has brought quite a variety of new models; there may not be much in the way of innovation, but I'm sure the LEGO Group knows what sells. For many, the highlight of the new sets will be this latest foray into the realm small-to-medium size cars, last visited with 2010's 5867 Super Speedster. In many respects, 31006 is a follow-on to this model, as we shall see, and we'll get to compare the two later. Review: 31006 Highway Speedster Set Information Name: Highway Speedster Number: 31006 Theme: Creator Release: January 2013 Parts: 286 Minifigures: N/A Price: GB £14.99 | US $24.99 | EUR 19.99 | AU $29.99 | CA $29.99 | DKK 179.95 A note on the pricing: In the UK, Europe, and Australia, this set occupies the same price point as 31008 Thunder Wings, which has some 50 fewer parts; whereas in the US and Canada, the Highway Speedster is considerably pricier. 31008's pricing is as follows: GB £14.99 | US $17.99 | EUR 19.99 | AU $29.99 | CA $24.99 | DKK 179.95. I can only assume that TLG have done their market research, and consider this set to be a sure-fire hit that will sell despite the higher pricing - interesting because it's rather a European-looking car, in my opinion. Links ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron The Box Click for a larger full-frontal image The familiar blue-and-yellow CREATOR colour scheme is, on this box, enlivened by a coastal roadway-graphic context for the car. I appear to have - quite unintentionally! - mimicked this for the title picture. It's more than you tend to get on most CREATOR boxes, and I think flatters the car somewhat. It is interesting that the alternative model insets - given unexpected prominence on the box of Thunder Wings - are relegated to their usual position here. Over the back, the three models parade themselves on the same 'speckled' floor found in the lower half of 31008's box rear. Click for a larger image Here, the car's opening features are opened for your delectation. I like the way the bley studs on the side of the nearmost model have their LEGO logos aligned - something I tend to take care to do when building official sets - although it is quite possible that these images are digital renders, which are often used on box art, I believe. I have often criticised the CREATOR set inventories - found as usual atop the box - for having a background gradient that can make some of the parts difficult to see; I'm pleased to report that this problem appears to have been fixed. Click for a larger image It'll be interesting to see if this lighter background extends across the entire range. The wheel construction here provides the customary '1:1' reference; it gives you some idea of the depth of the box, which is considerably deeper than that of 31008 ... ... though both share the same frontal dimensions. I doubt the 50 extra pieces require the increased interior space; it may be designed to mitigate the price hike for North American customers. This paradox continues inside the box: only three polybags reside within, compared to 31008's four; one however contains a small foetus. Each model gets its own manual. In common with the rest of the standard CREATOR range, no stickers are included; I wonder if this habit is to change with the introduction of the CREATOR Expert range and its decals. The Instructions The primary model's booklet has a shiny, high-quality cover. Having a smaller height than the box, the car is forced to encroach onto the yellow surround, as if breaking out of the page. The other two manuals have covers of a similar quality to the inside pages. A plain blue surround makes the instruction steps clear. With about 4-5 pieces per step, the build nevertheless progresses at a reasonable pace. As you can see from this picture, the rear and of the model is almost complete before the front is more than a skeleton: There are a few small sub-builds, but it's largely brick-on-brick, with very few colour-differentiation issues. Two double-page spreads advertise the rest of the new range, and some CITY vehicles. It's nice to see that the new Small Cottage gets a mention here! Behind this lies the inventory; found complete with part IDs here and here. There's nothing in the second manual besides instructions; the third's rear cover advertises the LEGO Club, with its disturbingly-faced mascot: The Parts A few pieces of blue and red break up the black, white, and grey monotony of the larger parts bag and its smaller offspring. It's nice to see a number of trans-black parts. Trans round tiles and a number of white cheese wedges could prove useful; the large number of light bluish-grey 1x1 studs would be handy if you're a fan of Derfel Cadarn's medieval walls. The other two bags contain quite a collection of white bows, tiles, slopes, plates and wedges, all are welcome in my collection. I'm really pleased to see large numbers of 1x2 plates in various colours. The yellow plates might be a little surprising; we'll see why they are necessary in due course. The only new(ish) part is the 1x2 brick with studs on one side, which I highlighted in my Octan Tanker review. Model 1 - Highway Speedster The primary model is a curvy, 10-stud wide supercar with large, purposeful front air vents, wing mirrors, large 'low-profile' tyres, and a rear-mounted engine. Size-wise it is similar to 2010's 5867, and as we shall see, the two compliment each other rather well. The low roof, and wedge-shaped profile building to a higher rear end, gives the car a suitably sporty look. The use of this piece improves the look of the tyres, which otherwise would look rather chunkier than you'd expect for such a car. They do a reasonable job off imitating alloys; the pearl light grey colour looks a little flat and it would have be nice to see them in metallic silver. Better still would be new wheel parts with low-profile tyres, but that would undoubtably push the cost up, if it is even possible at this scale. I like the red and black recesses in the sides, which otherwise would be rather flat and blocky. The low front is dominated by the twin air intakes, lined quite effectively with wedges, cheeses and bows to create a stylish look. The trans-red 1x1 rounds are a little surprising, but their resultant look complements the other, rather subtle, red parts in the intakes, without being too 'in your face.' The back is simple but smart, and looks somehow familiar. Using 1x1 round plates to imitate exhausts is perhaps a little simplistic, but it does show the younger builders how to create complex effects with simple parts, I suppose. Bows and slopes have been used in this model to recreate sexy supercar curves to quite good effect, seen best in this rear oblique view: You'll note the transparent cover to the engine compartment: a realistic feature of many modern supercars. It opens, too, as we'll see shortly. The little red tiled spoiler is rather understated; it also serves as a handle to open the engine cover. A new feature in this latest supercar is the transparent roof, formed from a 1x4x3 window panel and a 1x4x1 wall element attached SNOT to a 1x4 brick. It isn't hinged, but lifts off quite easily to access to the interior. I think the smooth look is an improvement over the previous studded plate of 5867. There's no rear window, however: the driver would have to rely on his wing mirrors! No steering in this car! I doubt a steering mechanism could be added at this scale without losing much of the exterior aesthetic; I wasn't expecting any, so I'm not disappointed. Note that, unlike most previous CREATOR cars at smaller scales, the wheels are connected directly via a 'live' axle. A minor side-effect of this construction technique is that manoeuvring the car in small spaces (ie., doing a three-point turn) is rather more difficult than with independently-spinning wheels. There's a large cavity under the passenger compartment, the floor of which is mounted above the large blue chassis rails. I'd expect a 'real' car to have quite a low floor; this is something of a design floor flaw which will cause us a bit of a headache shortly. Now we'll take a little tour of the car's features. The front headlights make use of a minifigure neck bracket to attach indicator lights; it's a fairly common technique that I've used before, and can be very useful. I do wonder whether the parts should have been white, though. The top-right frame shows the little recess under a 2x2 white tile that contains a trans-red round tile at a half-stud offset. I'm not sure what it's for, but it gives the car a Knight Rider vibe. Now there's an idea... I've already pointed out the very attractive round rear lights, but let's look at them again. Opening the engine cover reveals that, unfortunately, the engine is a little disappointing, especially compared to the hinge-brick V8 from 5867. In what is, I believe, a first for CREATOR cars, the Highway Speedster features gull-wing scissor doors (thank you, SirBlake, for the correction). The bley stud acts as a handle to allow the door to be lifted more easily ... ... even if the resulting 'open' door looks a little lame. Lifting off the roof allows easy access to the interior, itself quite smartly laid out: The chairs are a little perfunctory. The dash can easily be modified for right hand drive. It's also worth pointing out the two black symmetrical wedge plates under the windscreen, which form an attractive rhomboid shape here. Here's the downside to the high floor of the passenger compartment: You can't sit minifigures inside, without removing the roof. Actually, you can, but it involves a bit of modding including removal of the steering wheel, and lying the fig down almost flat. To be fair, you're probably not going to be trying to squeeze this car through the streets of LEGO City! I actually prefer the look without the roof. I was pretty keen on 5867 Super Speedster when I reviewed it back in 2010. 31006 is its natural successor; I've hastily rebuilt the earlier set so that we can see how well they sit together: 31006 shows up some of 5867's flaws. Its front fender is rather too deep; 31006's wheel trims make the chunky tires of 5867 look rather odd. 5867's curves, quite advanced at the time, look a little blocky, particularly on the wings; 31006's fluid contours are a vast improvement. On the downside, 31006's rather simplistic engine is a disappointment, and I've already pointed out the poorer turning circle; neither does the front trunk/boot cover open. I also miss the oblique-mounted doors of 5867 which greatly-enhanced its shape. However, the two sit quite nicely side by side, and this view reveals why I think the two sets complement each other. I remember pointing out that 5867's rear resembled a Lambourghini; the lovely round rear lights of 31006 are definitely saying 'Ferrari' to me. See here for a higher view. Model 2 - Highway Recovery The inclusion of a Recovery Truck as the second model in the set marks a pleasing contrast to the sporty primary model, and shows how a little lateral thinking can produce a very different creation from the same set of parts whilst sticking to the vehicular theme. Owners of 5867, however, won't be surprised - the second model in that set was also a truck, and even used the same SNOT technique for the windscreen. I would hazard a guess that the same designer is responsible for both sets (Morten, I believe). The use of tiles and slopes to provide a smooth upper surface for most of the truck is quite effective. You can also now see why the yellow plates are included in the set - they create a striped pattern along the sides, as you might see on an emergency recovery vehicle; it's a nice touch, if not exactly stunning. Trans-orange cheeses complete this image as emergency lights on the roof. The combined effect is perhaps seen better in this low view: Also apparent is the neat arrangement of inverted slopes along the underside, culminating at the front in a curved bumper. The arrangement of lights, radiator grill, and the centred 'badge' is a little messy, but it's probably the best that could be done with the available parts. The brick-built crane/hook assembly combines a number of contrasting colours, and isn't exactly beautiful, but it is functional: The main upright doesn't move very much; the arm extends a little way, and the hook barely moves at all, being restricted by a small plate/cheese wedge spur. This is necessary to enable to hook actually to hook anything - otherwise it would just swivel uselessly. The protruding blue 3L friction pins spoil the look slightly; it couldn't have greatly altered the price of the set to include a couple of 2L pins, but then again I'm sure just about everybody has a few spares lying around, if the protruding pins bother you. An interesting shortcut is used to attach the crane arm to the body: It is simply skewered on the rear axle. Neat! Note that this model also has 'live' axles (indeed, all three models do). Here's the crane in 'action' - Cameron's antique racing car has broken down, again. The minifig bracket that creates the hook works quite well, provided there is a plate or brick underside that it can hook onto. You have to place the towed vehicle onto the hook by hand, and it might struggle to tow anything with a low ground clearance. The truck's interior is neat and spacious, and can seat a System minifigure with ease: However, the cab roof is quite securely attached, and it can be tricky to remove. This view also highlights what I think is one of the major flaws of this build - it's just a little too low to the ground; you would expect the wheels to be mounted a plate or two lower, perhaps. Model 3 - Highway Racing I wasn't desperately keen on this third model - a classic racing car - when I first saw its pictures, but having built it and spent some time looking at it in the flesh, as it were, I've come to like it quite a lot. Like the 'concept car' model in 31008 Thunder Wings, an ugly lump of bricks transforms during the latter stages of the build into a smooth and sleek racer. I particularly like the use of wedges to define the bulge around the cockpit; the array of lights at the front looks a little odd, but it might be the best that could be achieved with the parts. The sides are finished with a SNOT panel with a row of bley studs representing, I suppose, exhausts. See, I've aligned the LEGO logos too. It's profile is somehwat dull, but I like the bowed front and the little wings over the rear wheels. The wheel-hub inserts do well here to give the appearance of spoked wheels, though they are a little too wide for realism. The back end is also neatly bowed, and here you can see the beautifully-tiled cockpit interior: It is interesting that the steering wheel is mounted slightly to to the right - I would expect the car to be a single seater. There's a jumper plate included in the set, which I don't think is used elsewhere in the model, so this could be easily corrected. The car's size is a little too large for a System minifigure, but it looks to be the ideal scale for to fit a Fabulander. It's possible, but only with a minor modification: I've removed the seat backs here so that Gibson Goat can challenge Cameron Crocodile to a race! This is perhaps what led Cameron to break down. Click the links below for some alternative views: Conclusion LEGO CREATOR's latest advance into the territory of small-to-medium sized Supercars provides us with a sleek, sporty, powerful-looking roadster that builds on the successes of its predecessor. There is some superb usage of bows and slopes to define the curvy contours of the car; the simple addition of wheel inserts vastly improves the realism of the look. If you own 5867, you will be delighted to note that the two cars are the same scale, and will look pretty sitting side-by-side on the shelf, especially given the 'allusion' to real supercar brands provided by their rear ends. The two included alternative vehicles are good models in their own right, with sufficient variety to make them interesting and fun builds, and as always significantly increase the value of these CREATOR sets. Yes, there are a few minor flaws, but overall I think the designer has done a fantastic job here. Design 9 The aesthetic of the supercar is enhanced greatly over that of its predecessor, with a wonderful use of curves to depict the svelte lines of a luxury roadster. The two alternatives are imaginative in their variety, and attractive to behold; they can be inspiring in their use of the available parts to create a very different vehicle from the original. I'm not so keen on the rather simplistic engine of the main build, and if I were to change one thing, I would lower the floor of the interior. Build 7 The build process is fun if a little pedestrian; unlike 31008 Thunder Wings I didn't experience any 'wow' moments here, although there are a few neat little tricks used here and there. The highlight is seeing how the gorgeous curves take shape. Parts 7 Aside from the new 1x2 SNOT bricks, which are already becoming quite common, there are no rare or interesting parts; however, the overall part variety and colour palette looks to be more useful than many of the set's contemporaries. Playability 8 A few fun features enhance the experience, but primarily this is a set for pushing around the carpet or sitting pretty on the shelf, at both of which it excels. Value 10 I've scored here for the UK price point: at £14.99, this set is a steal. Less so, perhaps, in North America, where it seems to have been hit be a 'desirability' premium, or something. Or perhaps TLG has taken pity on the recession-ravaged UK, where clearly people can no longer afford luxury cars, even as toys! Overall 82 % My Score 9/10 A great set, at excellent (albeit location-dependent) value. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review. I'm sure people will have a lot to say, particularly about the price issue. Fire away! Rufus Resources My 5867 Super Speedster Review My 31008 Thunder Wings Review LEGO CREATOR home page My flickr Set Endpiece Who needs steering, anyway?

Nice little MOC, though the geometric design on the surface the MOC is on is rather a jarring contrast! 'Western' themes belong in the History forum, so I'll move this there...

You're quite welcome to do clone brand reviews, but as this is a LEGO site, they should go in the Community Forum. Moving...

I'm going to defend George Lucas here... sort of. I agree with this; however, most of the complaints against the use of 'race' in Star Wars stem from GL's rather naive approach. In creating new races and environments, I suspect he has gone for a rather stereotypical vibe for each in order to portray the principal characteristics of each faction in a way that people (specifically, the films' target audience) can relate too - by 'borrowing' from the real world. This allows the depiction of worlds and races that are exotic without being so different that the viewer cannot comprehend them (the same reason that just about all science fiction 'aliens' are humanoid). In the case of Jabba's Palace, I imagine GL deliberately chose a pseudo-Middle Eastern 'hareem' - replete with scantily-clad dancing girls and hookah - to portray the 'seediness' of the bounty hunter way of life. If - I speculate - GL had said to the concept artists, 'think Middle Eastern,' you can see how the architectural association follows. Is this insulting? I couldn't say, but to me it's no different to the way all Britons tend to be portrayed as swaggering Cockneys or posh fops like Hugh Grant in most American cinema, and I don't find that insulting. I do confess to feeling a little uncomfortable with the Neimoidian accent for a faction of technology traders, though. I didn't really make the connection between the Gungans and black culture, although Brian Blessed was quite powerful in disguising this, if it were intentional. And, if it were, does that imply a hidden moral message in the societal segregation of the planet of Naboo? Somehow, I doubt it. With regard to accusations of stereotyping non-Western cultures into 'bad' roles, you have to remember that the chronologically-later films present a 'grey-and-grey morality' in what I think is one of Lucas's most successful storytelling accomplishments. And the Big Bad - the Source Of All Evil in the films - is a white man; who, as it turns out, is played by a Scotsman. Read into that what you will! Uncomfortable though some of the racial stereotypes are in Star Wars, I certainly don't think any offence was intended. As for LEGO, they have simply imitated one of the most successful franchises of all time. Accusing TLG of racism or culturism - if it weren't originally intended to be ironic, which is a slim possibility - is trolling in the extreme. This thread has strayed decidely off topic, and I apologise for continuing that; it is however an interesting discussion. I'm tempted to move the thread to Culture and Multimedia where it seems to me to fit best.

Please use this thread for discussion of the current range, or for new set releases. Speculation or other off-topic chit-chat will not be tolerated. Thank you.

Access Granted! Welcome to the Academy.

THUNDER WINGS!! Hhuurrr! It's macho. <flex biceps> MEN WILL LIKE THIS. Thunder wings!! Propeller Power ... Sonic Boom ... Street Rebel ... Fierce/Ferocious Creatures ... Roaring Roadster ... The LEGO Co. has often resorted to hyperbole to increase the masculine appeal of these smaller CREATOR sets to their target audience, but THUNDER WINGS!! takes this decidedly to 11. As we shall see, there is a certain logic behind the use of this monicker for this particular 3 in 1 collection. As you will probably have noticed if you've read any of my previous CREATOR reviews, I'm a big fan of planes, and certainly from the looks of the box this latest airborne offering promises an attractively-styled fast jet with what looks at first glance to be quite realistic styling for a relatively low price point. To see how it lives up to first impressions, and to check out the alternative models of this set, read on ... Review: 31008 Thunder Wings Set Information Name: Thunder Wings Number: 31008 Theme: Creator Release: January 2013 Parts: 235 Minifigs: N/A Price: GB £14.99 | US $17.99 | EUR 19.99 | AU $29.99 | CA $24.99 | DKK 179.95 Links ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron The Box Click for a larger frontal image Like the CITY range, I don't think the CREATOR box art has changed since around 2004, although the yellow surround has perhaps receded a little compared to its predecessors. In this 3 in 1 set, the secondary models have been given a surprisingly high billing; usually one would expect small insets at the bottom (compare 6912, 5767, and 5892). The result of this is a somewhat crowded cover; the '3 in 1' logo obscures part of the main model. The back, however, follows the tradition of displaying the secondary builds more prominently, with a rearward view of the plane: Click for a larger picture The rather eclectic mix of models has given the box artist an intersting dilemma in choosing the background design, overcome quite effectively with the use of a blue marbled 'floor' blending into the blue sky at an arbitrary horizon. The floor effect seems to lack perspective, however. Good to see I'm not the only fan of Lens Flare. The customary CREATOR set inventory is once again featured on the box top: Click for a larger picture This allows you to make a shop floor decision on whether to buy the set depending on its contents, and allows the less thrifty to fork out £15 for the one part they need because they can't wait for Bricklink. I never do that, of course. Opening the thumb tabs reveals the following contents: Three manuals and four polybags make this quite a weighty set: 454 grammes (or exactly 1 lb for Americans and metrically-challenged Brits). The Instructions Each build gets its own instruction manual featuring a shot of the model and little else. They're all the same size with slightly varying thicknesses; models 1 (plane) and 2 (robot) have nice shiny covers, but model 3's (car's) booklet cover is lesser quality (the same as the inside pages). Opening the first manual, we find that the 'don't pour the pieces onto the back lawn' instructions have been replaced by a rather endearing cartoon: I really like this! Particularly the minifigure's puzzlement-bordering-on-abject-fear in frame 2 resolving in to supreme joy by frame 3 when he has managed to sort the parts (which, given the scale, are presumably Nanoblocks). Pandora has pointed out that a similar cartoon appears in the latest Friends sets, adjusted appropriately for theme. A plain blue background with yellow CREATOR surround minimises distraction from the instructions: themselves quite simple, with about 2-5 parts per step and piece call-outs for all three models. The build flows smoothly, and is nicely paced; the only slight issue I found was differentiating flat orange 1x1 round plates from their trans-orange equivalents. Towards the rear of the first manual, there's a double-page spread of the many other new CREATOR models this year. 31007 Power Mech gets a whole page to itself opposite this one; that is perhaps because it will appeal to those who bought this set because of the robot secondary model. I will hopefully do a review of the white sports car soon , but the one I'd really love to get my hands on is that rather splendid eagle. Following this is a double-page spread of the inventory, replete with part IDs; see Page 1 here and Page 2 here. Instructions in the other two manuals go right to the back page. Click the thumbnails below for larger images: The Parts The four polybags can be arbitrarily divided into two large and two small. Click for a larger picture A few splashes of orange brighten up the blue-dominated large part selection. There's not a huge amount of interest here; the Bionicle joints will most likely end up in the Useless Parts container unless you're into making Mechas. The four black hinge-plates (bottom right) could be useful, particularly if you're trying to make a round tower in the style of Derfel Cardarn, though you'll need a lot more than four! Wedge-plates and tiles are the highlights of the smaller-part line-up: Click for a larger picture A slightly unusual inclusion for a CREATOR set is the four pearl-dark grey mechanical arms; we'll see their interesting use in one of the models presently. Note the juxtaposition of flat and trans-orange 1x1 round plates, the source of the only (albeit minor) colour-confusion in the build. Model 1 - Thunder Wings!! Thunder Wings!!'s primary model is a twin-engined, twin-tailed, swept-wing jet that is clearly based on a fighter design but, like previous jets in the CREATOR line, given a more 'display team' livery. As you can see, the wing sweep is created not just by the use of wedge plates, but also by mounting the wings onto the body at an angle. This, it turns out, is a major feature of the set, and we'll look more closely at it later. The nose of the plane is quite neatly styled with bows forming blue and white stripes along the side, and creating a nice contour behind the black nose-cones. Like the 5892 Sonic Boom, the engine air intakes comprise SNOT- (Studs Not On Top) mounted wheel arches; the smaller scale of this plane makes them appear relatively larger, but I don't think they are overly large for the model. Behind the air intakes, the lovely smooth stripes are lost, and the colour-scheme starts to get a little fussy; with white, blue, dark and light bluish-grey, black and orange all vying for attention, the wings aren't as clean and streamlined as the sweep would like you to believe. The blue 1x2 plates outboard of the orange tiles aren't strictly necessary, and their removal would go some little way towards tidying them up. This high shot from the rear is quite flattering. I nearly used this for the title picture. You can see here the slight gap between the blue wedge plates behind the wings - which are attached perpendicular to the fuselage - and the bley grille tiles on the wing surfaces; this could be corrected with some clippy-piece trickery to allow an offset and also create working ailerons in the process. The designer has obviously opted for simplicity. Also apparent is the use of levers at the wing-tips to give the impression the wing-tips are parallel to the fuselage, with some success. Noticeably absent on this jet are the green and red port and starboard navigation lights I've come to expect. The 'colourful' wings are all-too obvious when viewed from the front: The trans-clear stand isn't included in the set! The plane has a pleasingly low, sleek forward profile, though from this angle the air intakes do look a little on the large side when compared to the cockpit. Two wide wheel hubs form the engine exhausts at the rear; between them and the tail fins are two of the mechincal arms, the purpose of which here is unclear. The (suggested) upward slant of the horizontal stabilisers is achieved with the help of these 1x2 clip plates, at the expense of making the stabilisers rather thicker than they should be, but it helps to make the rear profile rather more interesting. A nod to realism this isn't: upward-sloping horizontal stabilisers on fighter jets are, to my knowledge, unusual; usually they are flat but some are downsloping (Harrier, Phantom for example) - but this is not possible here. The side profile reveals a number of faults on this plane. Behind the air intakes, the lower white stripe that started so promisingly behind the nose degenerates into a blocky mess. The fuselage itself is a little too deep, and ends with an ugly bley step in front of the exhausts. The tail fins taper quite well, but aren't a patch on the beautifully-styled tail of Sonic Boom; they are about as good as the scale will allow, although I'm not keen on the orange and black stripes. In case you were wondering... no, there is no undercarriage on this plane. It's really rather disappointing, especially since the designer managed to squeeze retractable landing gear into the much smaller 6912 Super Soarer. Instead, large bley and black plates make for a featureless underside: It's a shame that the same colour wasn't used for these plates. Some effort has been made to give contours to the sides of the fuselage, forming a 'waist' level with the trailing edge of the wings. Ideally, I would expect the engine bulge to be maximal under the wings, and to taper gradually toward the exhausts (see for example the underside of the Tornado), but I can live with this. Less forgiveable is the sudden step behind the engine intakes. I don't normally show build pictures of CREATOR sets, but it's worth drawing attention to a couple of points. Firstly, note the rather unusual use of some parts to enable three complete builds with a minimum total part count. Here a Bionicle ball and socket parts are used simply as filler - the joint doesn't move. Behind this are two 2x2 bricks with pin, facing each other. The pins don't do anything and are barely visible on the finished plane. These parts are each vital in one of the alternative builds. Secondly, let's have a closer look at how the swept wings are achieved: The angle is produced by 2x2 hinge plates and 2x4 wedge plates. The point of pivot is between the rear stud of the white 2x4 wedge and the adjacent stud from the white 2x4 plate on the fuselage, enabling a snug fit and a sturdy attachment. This is quite an advanced technique for a smaller CREATOR set; it gives you a glimpse of how Ralph_S achieves his incredible results. I've certainly learned something from building this - moreso than from any other LEGO set I've built in recent memory! It's the highlight of the model, if not the entire set. Click the tumbnails below for some alternative views of the plane. Sadly, the Super Soarer has been parted out, but here's Thunder Wings in company of the flagship jet of the CREATOR range, and my own F-18 Hornet [/shameless plug]. It's not so obvious from the photo, but Thunder Wings is considerably smaller than the F-18, so we probably shouldn't expect too much in the way of features; however, I really would like to have seen landing gear even if it were only detachable rather than retractable. Model 2 - Thunder ... Thighs? The second model of the set is some kind of Mecha, identified as a 'robust robot' on Shop@Home. Now, I have no interest in mechas (they're not called 'meh-cha' for nothing ) so I was expecting to pass over this particular build with alacrity. The robot has a chunky body, nicely rounded and striped at the front but somewhat flat at the back, with freely mobile arms connected via ball joints and legs which, connected via clicky joints, are somewhat less mobile. He looks like an Eric to me. Perhaps Eric's most prominent feature is his two large shoulder-appendages of uncertain purpose. They look suspiciously like wings, even if it's not clear how they could possibly act like wings, and suddenly the choice of the name 'Thunder Wings' for the set starts to make a little sense, even if it remains a little arbitrary. Eric can't turn his head unfortunately - it's attached directly to the chunky upper body, between two stylishly-curved shoulders. I like the use of the wheel-arch pieces to line the shoulder joints here. The right-hand panel shows what would be quite interesting offset SNOT work, were it not for the fact that these studs decidedly are on top - it's the main body that is SNOT here. The 'wings' behind are attached via one stud sandwiched between two plates, which allows a little movement, from their maximum spread here to vertical. It's a perfectly valid technique, but it might make some people uncomfortable. Being essentially a brick-built Action Figure, Eric is of course poseable. [i once admonished a Reviewers Academy student for saying 'poseable'. My spellcheck doesn't like it, but it's used no less than twice on this set's page on Shop@Home, so it must be ok!! I stand corrected. ] Here he is attempting to walk. His ankles flex only laterally, and he has no knees, making this a difficult task; he looks more like he is speedskating. This is about the only 'walking' pose you can get him to balance in. Note that the clicky-hinges at the hip joints have different coloured sections; as these parts exist only in one 'right-hand' orientation, they appear to be different colours when viewed head-on. This is apparent also in the Power Mech set. Eric's arms are very mobile. Here he has clearly found something crotch-ticklingly funny - or else whatever he's doing to his crotch has made him rather ashamed. You decide! You'll note that Eric has only two fingers on each hand - his 'thumbs' are two 1x2 clippy-plates which don't move, making gripping things a little tricky. All that walking and laughing has made him tired, so it's time to sit down: He looks like he's looking at something interesting in the distance, and perhaps massaging his big tired feet. Ahhhhh! He's so tired, now he needs a little lie down: Or perhaps he's doing the backstroke. Note the 'wings' here are in their 'vertical' position. It's a shame that he can't point his feet down and his head up, or you could make him do a great 'Superman' flying pose. The lack of opposable thumbs hasn't prevented Eric from taking his rage out on two nearby sigfigs: He can grip System-Rufus reasonably well, but he could only pick Rufus Rabbit up by the toe between his fingers. Ow. I actually had quite a bit of fun with this build. Its poseability means that there is far more play potential in the robot than in either of the other two builds, and it's quite an attractive model. For some reason I'm reminded of 80's cult animation . The plane, on the other hand, makes me think of .Model 3 - Thunder ... Wheels Model 3 is described on Shop@Home as a 'futuristic concept car' but to me it looks more like a cross between a hot rod and a dragster. The 'wings' here are - I presume - the white rearward-pivoting spoilers; they could also refer to the wedge-slopes over the rear wheels, I suppose. Either way it's a little lame, but it does serve to provide something of a common theme between three very different models. The car tilts dramatically downward towards the front, again in keeping with a hot rod or dragster: The ground clearance at the front it minimal: as you can see in this picture, there is less than a plate-height between the body and the ground, which might cause some difficulties when zooming it along the floor. Like in the plane, the stripes along the side are quite staggered. There's another unusual use of a wheel-arch piece at the front; not entirely successful this time, although this is as much to do with the unsightly orange slopes behind as it is the arch itself; moreover I'm not keen on the blue headlights. As these trans-light blue rounds are only included in the set for Eric's eyes, it's a shame they couldn't be trans-clear. The back of the car is neat, if a little plain; a simple SNOT panel creates some interesting and attractive angles with the blue inverted slopes beneath, and two inverted Technic plates give the appearance of exhausts, though I'm not sure they are necessary ... ... as the engine appears to have upward-pointing open exhaust manifolds created with the pearl-dark bley mechanical arms: I like the use of 1x2 clippy plates to look like pipes between engine and exhausts. In the right-hand frame, two staggered SNOT pieces provide a very secure support for the side panels. The car has a very small area for a driver's seat, denoted by the orange 'cushion'. It seats a minifigure, but only just: A grille tile takes the place of a steering wheel however, so Rufus has to steer by leaning from side to side, or something. Rufus Rabbit has to stand! The car is quite fun to build, and is chunkier than its external appearance might suggest; the bodywork is for the most part nicely styled, and it makes quite a pleasing third model. A slight redesign of the front end and the side panels (losing the topmost blue wedge plates and mounting the SNOT panes a plate higher) could have made for a very attractive car. Conclusion Being a fan of planes, I bought, built, and reviewed this set first out of the whole (extensive) 2013 CREATOR range. The official LEGO pictures and the box art promised an attractive, sleek small-to-medium size jet, and recent set releases have shown that LEGO can produce decent and fairly realistic fighter jets even if their military heritage is heavily disguised. And I find I do like this set, but for very different reasons from what I expected beforehand. The jet itself, when you scratch beneath the surface, is a little disappointing. The styling which looks good on the upper surface is rather tatty and mismatched underneath the wings, and the two-toned plates on the bare underside highlight the lack of undercarriage, which detracts from both play and display. It is, however, eminently shwooshable, and despite my misgivings about the colour scheme of the wings, it is an attractive jet. The best feature by far, though, is the superb demonstration of angled juxtaposition of plate surfaces (there must be a catchier phrase to describe this!). Then come the secondary builds. Had I bought this set just for the plane, and hadn't intended to review it, it's likely I never would have built them, and I'd have lost out. Both are fun in their own ways, and I can see the target consumer getting hours of fun from this little set. I even kinda miss Eric now he's been destroyed. Kudos must be afforded to the designer for providing three very different models from a limited palette of parts in one set. The price is the relatively large number of leftovers from model 1, but it's impressive nonetheless. Design 8 Viewed from the top, the plane is a sleek and attractive fighter-styled jet, and really benefits from the swept-wing configuration. It is let down by the messy construction beneath the wings, and mismatched colours here and there. However, it's still lovely to look at from the most important angles; moreover, the inclusion of two pretty good - and varied - secondary builds serves to bolster the score significantly. Build 9 A mostly brick-on-brick construction of uninteresting parts somehow builds to a surprisingly attractive result in each case; it's enjoyable although a little pedestrian. Major bonus points are awarded here for the swept wing technique. Parts 6 A rather mediocre parts selection lets the set down here - you've probably got most of these parts already, and it's unlikely you'd buy the set for the inventory alone. Playability 7 The plane is eminently swooshable, but the lack of landing gear or any other added feature do restrict the possibilities of bith play and display considerably. The car can be zoomed along a table, but on a carpet or other bumpy surface it'll snag. Eric the Robot saves the day here - he's fun to pose and cute to boot. Value 7 CREATOR sets are always good value on a parts per pound basis; this one perhaps doesn't hold up so well compared to the myriad similarly-priced sets in the current range, but it'll keep you amused for a time, and keep kids quiet for far longer. Overall 74% My Score 7/10 There isn't really that much to recommend this set to your average AFOL, unless they are a die-hard plane fan. I do, however, think this would make a great set for kids. Provided, of course, that they are sufficiently MACHO. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review. Please let me know what you think! Rufus Resources My other CREATOR jet reviews: 5892 Sonic Boom Jet 6912 Super Soarer Special Themes CREATOR Review Index My flickr set

Hi Niels_sandra, and welcome to Eurobricks. You've made two posts both promoting your MOC on another site in other people's threads. If you'd like to promote your model, why not post pictures and commentary in a separate thread here in Special Themes? I'd also suggest introducing yourself here. Thanks!

Another must-have! I'm ok with stickers for this. Especially as... 'Forever Sorting' 'Brick Separator' - They're taking over the world! The horror! 'Mystery of the Monorail' Where did it go? Now there's a brick-film I'd love to see.

That clock is a thing of beauty! If you have the time, I'd suggest posting some of the alternative pictures separately, and maybe add a comment or two on the features. If you did that, it'd be frontpage-worthy.

I'm a huge admirer of your mosaics, and you've clearly inspired your father, who has done a super job here! I'm looking forward to seeing your next offerings!

I couldn't agree more. I just wish mine weren't so chewed (and were complete!) Funnily enough, I recently got hold of this : It's the same era as the 671 tanker - they go together. I was planning to review 377 but unfortunately it's missing a few pieces. I had that one in mind when I suggested, like Dave, that LEGO needs a new petrol station. I so nearly bought that one. When researching the prices, I did a little world tour of Shop@Home and it seems to be available everywhere I looked.

Marvellous! I've never before seen such a realistic model at this small scale. One question - you stretch the smaller tyres over the larger ones?