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    Brickpicker blog articles on LEGO investing, news, reviews, evaluations, discounts and more...
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    • Alpinemaps
      Here is the list of current and upcoming polybags in the LEGO world.  If you've found a polybag that's not on this list, or have any update to give us, please note it in the comments below.  This information is put together from a number of different sources on the Internet, including real world reports. Availability in your area may vary.  This information is US-based.  These are from within the last 12 months.
      Polybags Currently Available

      Set # Theme Set Name Locations 30347 City Fire Car TRU 30349 City Sports Car Legoland, Target 30311 City Swamp Police Helicopter TRU 30471 Creator Helicopter Legoland 30285 Creator Tiger TRU 30397 Disney Princess Olaf's Summertime Fun Legoland, Target 30259 Elves Azari's Magic Fire Legoland, TRU 30375 Elves Sira's Adventurous Airglider Lego.com 30396 Friends Cupcake Stall Legoland 30204 Friends Wish Fountain TRU 30320 Jurassic World Gallimimus Trap Gamestop 30371 Nexo Knights Knight's Cycle Legoland, TRU 30373 Nexo Knights Knighton Hyper Cannon Legoland 30374 Nexo Knights Lava Slinger Legoland 30291 Ninjago Anacondrai Battle Mech Legoland, TRU 5002144 Ninjago Dareth vs. Nindroid TRU 30421 Ninjago Skybound Plane Legoland 30277 Star Wars First Order Star Destroyer Legoland 30602 Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Lego.com 30279 Star Wars Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle Legoland 5002122 Star Wars TC-4 Legoland 30603 Super-Heroes Batman Classic TV Series - Mr. Freeze Lego.com 30447 Super-Heroes Captain America's Motorcycle TRU 30604 Super-Heroes Cosmic Boy DVD/Blu Ray 30168 Super-Heroes Gun mounting system (Iron Patriot) Gamestop 5002946 Super-Heroes Silver Centurion Gamestop 30448 Super-Heroes Spider-Man vs The Venom Symbiote Legoland 30446 Super-Heroes The Batmobile TRU 30601 Scooby Doo Scooby-Doo DVD/Blu Ray (Preorder May 2016) 30605 Star Wars Finn (FN-2187) Gamestop (Preorder June 2016) 30606 Super-Heroes Nightwing DVD/Blu Ray (Preorder June 2016)  
      Polybags Coming Soon

      Set # Theme Set Name Locations Status Date 5004409 Bionicle Accessory pack   Unknown 2016 5002942 Bionicle Bionicle Villain Pack Non-US release only? Unknown Dec 2015 30350 City Drilling Machine   Unknown 2016 30348 City Mini Dumper EU release No Recent Sightings Feb 2016 5004404 City Police Chase Non-US release only? Unknown Jan 2016 30346 City Prison Island Helicopter TRU Unknown 2016 30474 Creator Reindeer   Unknown 2016 30217 Duplo Duplo Forest Random Bag Non-US release only? Unknown Dec 2015 40167 Duplo Promotional polybag   Unknown 2016 30322 Duplo Wildlife   Unknown 2016 5004401 Duplo Wildlife Puzzle   Unknown 2016 30399 Friends Bowling Alley   Unknown 2016 5002931 Friends Disco Dance Floor Non-US release only? Unknown Oct 2015 5004395 Friends Jewellery and Sticker Pack   Unknown 2016 30473 Juniors Racer   Unknown 2016 5004390 Nexo Knights (Exclusive Minifigure) Lego Store Unknown Jul 2016 30292 Ninjago Jay Nano Mech Aus/NZ release No Recent Sightings Oct 2015 5002920 Ninjago Ninjago Accessory Pack Non-US release only? Unknown Nov 2015 5002922 Ninjago Ninjago Role Play Non-US release only? Unknown Oct 2015 5002919 Ninjago Scenery and Dagger Trap Non-US release only? Unknown Nov 2015 30423 Ninjago Sky Pirate   Unknown 2016 5004391 Ninjago Sky Pirates Battle Non-US release only? Unknown 2016 30424 Ninjago Wu Cru Training   Unknown 2016 5004406 Star Wars First Order General   Unknown 2016  
      Polybags That Appear to be Unavailable

      Set # Theme Set Name Locations Status Date 30256 Chima Ice Bear Mech Target No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30312 City Demolition Driller TRU No Recent Sightings Dec 2015 30314 City Go-Kart Racer Target No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30315 City Space Utility Vehicle Legoland, Target No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30228 City Police ATV Kmart No Recent Sightings Oct 2015 30188 Creator Cute Kitten TRU No Recent Sightings Oct 2015 40146 Creator Lufthansa Plane Lufthansa No Recent Sightings Oct 2015 30472 Creator Parrot Lego Store No Recent Sightings Mar 2016 30284 Creator Tractor Lego.com No Recent Sightings Oct 2015 30321 Duplo Duck Lego.com No Recent Sightings 3/1/2016 2000447 Education Mini Milo CES 2016 Giveaway No Recent Sightings Feb 2016 30398 Friends Adventure Camp Bridge Lego.com No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30112 Friends Emma's Flower Stand TRU No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30203 Friends Mini Golf TRU No Recent Sightings Dec 2015 30205 Friends Pop Star Legoland No Recent Sightings Dec 2015 30202 Friends Smoothie Stand TRU No Recent Sightings Dec 2015 5004388 Nexo Knights Nexo Knights Intro Pack Lego.com No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30372 Nexo Knights Robin's Mini Fortrex Lego.com No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30422 Ninjago Kai's Mini Dragon Lego.com, Target No Recent Sightings Mar 2016 30294 Ninjago The Cowler Dragon Target No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30286 Seasonal Christmas Tree Target, TRU No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 40055 Seasonal Halloween Pumpkin TRU No Recent Sightings Oct 2015 5002947 Star Wars Admiral Yularen Legoland No Recent Sightings Nov 2015 30272 Star Wars A-Wing Starfighter Legoland No Recent Sightings Mar 2016 30274 Star Wars AT-DP Legoland No Recent Sightings Mar 2016 5002948 Star Wars C-3P0 TRU No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30276 Star Wars First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter Target No Recent Sightings Mar 2016 30246 Star Wars Imperial Shuttle Target No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30278 Star Wars Poe's X-Wing Fighter Target No Recent Sightings Mar 2016 5002938 Star Wars Stormtrooper Sergeant TRU No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30275 Star Wars TIE Advanced Prototype Target, TRU No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30304 Super-Heroes Avengers Quinjet TRU No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 5002125 Super-Heroes Electro TRU No Recent Sightings Feb 2016 5003084 Super-Heroes Hulk TRU No Recent Sightings Feb 2016 30303 Super-Heroes Joker Bumper Car Legoland, Target, Walmart No Recent Sightings Jan 2016 30305 Super-Heroes Spider-Man Super Jumper Walmart No Recent Sightings Dec 2015 5002943 Super-Heroes Winter Soldier Lego.com No Recent Sightings Oct 2015  


       
    • Jeff Mack
      Tonight starts the LEGO May the 4th Star Wars Event.  To start with, you at least get 20% off most Star Wars items.  On top of that you get your Double VIP points on all Lego Star Wars products which ends up being a decent discount.  Based on discussions in the forum, it appears that many are starting to eye up the 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium. 
      Free shipping on all orders with no minimum. Free 30602 First Order Stormtrooper (pictured above) with your order of $50 or more of LEGO Star Wars products. Double VIP points on all LEGO Star Wars products. Free LEGO-fied Star Wars The Force Awakens poster with all LEGO Star Wars purchases. All offers are good from April 30th through May 4th while supplies last at all LEGO Brand Retail Stores and online at LEGO Shop@Home.
      If you were lucky enough to get one of these invites below, you can get early access to a LEGO retail shop and hopefully get yourself one of those Limited run Space Slugs


      If you are located in the USA: CLICK HERE
      If you are located in Canada: CLICK HERE
      If you are located in the UK: CLICK HERE
      LEGO Star Wars May The Fourth 2016 Sale List
      Item name – US MSRP / US Sale Price / CA MSRP / CA Sale Price
      75074 Snowspeeder™ – $9.99 / $7.99 / $12.99 / $10.39 75075 AT-AT™ – $9.99 / $7.99 / $12.99 / $10.39 75091 Flash Speeder™ – $29.99 / $23.99 / $39.99 / $31.99 75092 Naboo Starfighter™ – $49.99 / $39.99 / $59.99 / $47.99 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium – $99.99 / $79.99 / $119.99 / $95.99 75096 Sith Infiltrator™ – $89.99 / $71.99 / $119.99 / $95.99 75106 Imperial Assault Carrier – $130 / $103.99 / $149.99 / $119.99 75107 Jango Fett™ – $19.99 / $15.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 75108 Clone Commander Cody – $19.99 / $15.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 75109 Obi-Wan Kenobi™ – $24.99 / $19.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 75110 Luke Skywalker™ – $19.99 / $15.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 75112 General Grievous™ – $34.99 / $27.99 / $44.99 / $35.99 75113 Rey – $19.99 / $15.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 75115 Poe Dameron™ – $24.99 / $19.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 75116 Finn – $24.99 / $19.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 75117 Kylo Ren™ – $24.99 / $19.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 75118 Captain Phasma™ – $24.99 / $19.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 75126 First Order Snowspeeder – $9.99 / $7.99 / $12.99 / $10.39 75131 Resistance Trooper Battle Pack – $12.99 / $10.39 / $15.99 / $12.79 75132 First Order Battle Pack – $12.99 / $10.39 / $15.99 / $12.79 75139 Battle on Takodana™ – $59.99 / $47.99 / $74.99 / $59.99 75140 Resistance Troop Transporter – $69.99 / $55.99 / $89.99 / $71.99 75141 Kanan’s Speeder Bike™ – $19.99 / $19.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 75142 Homing Spider Droid™ – $29.99 / $29.99 / $39.99 / $31.99 853471 Keychain C-3PO – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 853449 Keychain Yoda – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 853451 Keychain Chewbacca – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 853469 Keychain Wicket – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 853470 Keychain R2-D2 – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 850996 Darth Vader Keychain – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 850997 Princess Leia Keychain – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 850998 Boba Fett Keychain – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 850635 Magnet Darth Vader – $6.99 / $5.59 / $8.49 / $6.79 850446 Keychain Darth Maul – $5.99 / $4.79 / $6.99 / $5.59 5005008 LEGO® Star Wars™: Small Scenes from a Big Galaxy Book – $24.99 / $19.99 / $28.99 /$23.19 5004853 LEGO® Star Wars™: Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded Book – $18.99 / $15.19 / $Not Carried / $N/A 5004854 LEGO® Star Wars™ in 100 Scenes Book – $18.99 / $15.19 / $Not Carried / $N/A 5004605 Boba Fett Watch – $24.99 / $19.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 5004606 Darth Maul™ Watch – $24.99 / $19.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 5004608 Luke Skywalker™ Watch – $24.99 / $19.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 5004609 Stormtrooper™ Minifigure Watch – $24.99 / $19.99 / $24.99 / $19.99 5004195 LEGO® Star Wars™: The Visual Dictionary (Updated and Expanded) Book – $21.99 / $17.59 / $Not Carried / $N/A 5000249 Boba Fett™ Minifigure Clock – $29.99 / $23.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 2856203 Yoda Minifigure Clock – $29.99 / $23.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 2856080 Stormtrooper Minifigure Clock – $29.99 / $23.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 2856081 Darth Vader Minifigure Clock – $29.99 / $23.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 Other Sale Items
      If you’ve made it this far you should also know that there are additional non-Star Wars items going on sale during the same sale period, from April 30th through May 4th. The items on list, too, will see the same 20% discount applied and free shipping with no minimum, but unfortunately there are no other perks to this list. Here are the items on sale:
      Item name – US MSRP / US Sale Price / CA MSRP / CA Sale Price
      60131 Crooks Island – $29.99 / $23.99 / $39.99 / $31.99 70730 Chain Cycle Ambush – $29.99 / $23.99 / $39.99 / $31.99 70731 Jay Walker One – $39.99 / $31.99 / $49.99 / $39.99 70744 Airjitzu Wrayth Flye – $9.99 / $7.99 / $12.99 / $10.39 70324 Merlok’s Library 2.0 – $24.99 / $19.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 21124 The End Portal – $59.99 / $47.99 / $74.99 / $59.99 70335 ULTIMATE Lavaria – $9.99 / $7.99 / $12.99 / $10.39 70325 Infernox captures the Queen – $24.99 / $19.99 / $29.99 / $23.99 70334 Ultimate Beast Master – $9.99 / $7.99 / $12.99 / $10.39 41068 Arendelle Castle Celebration – $59.99 / $47.99 / $74.99 / $59.99 41066 Anna & Kristoff’s Sleigh Adventure – $29.99 / $23.99 / $39.99 / $31.99 21126 The Wither – $39.99 / $31.99 / $49.99 / $39.99 41554 Kuffs – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 41555 Busto – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 41556 Tiketz – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 41557 Camillot – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 41558 Mixadel – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 41559 Paladum – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 41560 Jamzy – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 41562 Trumpsy – $4.99 / $3.98 / $5.99 / $4.48 60071 Hovercraft Arrest – $44.99 / $35.99 / $59.99 / $47.99 60096 Deep Sea Operation Base – $99.99 / $79.99 / $129.99 / $103.99 75900 Mummy Museum Mystery – $14.99 / $11.99 / $17.99 / $14.39 75903 Haunted Lighthouse – $49.99 / $39.99 / $59.99 / $47.99
    • Fcbarcelona101
      After a somewhat long absence from writing articles, I decided that a good way to try and get back into the rhythm was to revisit one of my 2013 articles, The LEGO December Effect.
      For those of you who have not had the time to read the previous article, back in 2013 I noticed an interesting price trend for the most expensive sets: they seemed to take a big deep in value in the month of December. Back then, I decided to compile some data for a few of the most expensive sets at the time and do a comparison between their November and December value. The table below is the one I originally used.

      It is pretty apparent that a majority of the sets in the list dipped quite significantly in the month of December, with the Eiffel Tower dropping a whopping 33% alone. However, it is important to remember that these expensive sets also tend to have the lowest sales in terms of quantity, a factor that result in one out of the norm sale to affect the set’s value in the Price Guide.
      Back then some theorized that one of the possible reasons for this deep in price could be that AFOLs, by far the most likely group to spend hundreds of dollars in these sets, put a temporary stop in their set spending in order to prepare for the holiday season.
      I also noticed that there seemed to be an increase in supply for these sets in the months leading up to and including December. This coupled with the above theory about collector spending gave a pretty decent explanation for the “December Effect” at the time.
      A couple of years have passed and I honestly regret not keeping track of this and analyzing it on a yearly basis, as the more data we had the easier it would be to determine if it was a fluke or an actual recurrent event. But, no point in worrying about what could have been while there is still time to show what happened in the last holiday season.
      The table below includes the same sets I researched back in 2013 and some others that have since retired or significantly increased in value. They are sorted from Largest to Smallest set value.

      Surprised? I certainly am. While a plurality of the sets in the table still decreased in value, the number of sets that didn’t is as close as it could be without being the same (12 vs. 11). More significant is the fact that the magnitude of the dips in value seems to have been smaller in this past year, with none of the sets decreasing by more than 10%.
      Something crossed my mind while I was looking at this table. Could the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens have generated enough buzz that interested for older UCS sets was impacted?
      Looking at the average decrease in price from November to December shows that while all the sets in the table aggregate to around (1.16%), Star Wars sets decreased at a lower rate (0.75%) relative to the (1.70%) of the remaining sets. For reference, the numbers in my last post were pretty much even at (8.3%)
      While there seems to be a small variance between Star Wars and other sets this time around, it is very hard for me to say that this is completely due to the release of the new movie. If the non-SW sets had performed similar to the way they did in 2012, it would be easier to make that point, but that wasn’t the case.
      In conclusion, it seems that the “December Effect” was nowhere near as strong this year as it was the year I originally noticed it. Clearly, we need way more data to determine if it is even a thing, but for that we will have to, once again, wait until next year!
      Thanks for reading! You can revisit one of my 2013 articles, The LEGO December Effect to gain more insight on this topic.
    • Poly 30286
      LEGO Elves was launched in March 2015. This set was released in a small second wave late that summer. I purchased this set at RRP a few days after release, but it has taken me until now to actually put it together. Below is my finished product:   SET DETAILS: Set #: 41078 Name: Skyra's Mysterious Sky Castle Theme: LEGO Elves Parts: 808 Regular Retail Price: $79.99   BOX CONTENTS For this set, there are 7 numbered bags, one loose 6 X 12 dark sand beige plate, one sticker sheet, one pegasus-style horse and one thick 132 page instruction book.    I liked that the book was a single binding as compared to the multiple inconsistently-sized variety I have seen in other sets.     SET AND BUILD OVERVIEW:   I will start with the figures, as they are assembled in bags 1 and 3. Mini Dolls (Queen Skyra, Naida the water elf, and Emily Jones) and Pegasus:   And their capes:   The smaller capes are the standard coarse material while the full-length cape is of a softer, silkier variety. I would like to point out that I had some difficulty stacking both of Queen Skyra’s capes on her very slender neck and then attaching her head. Once assembled, I enjoy the look of the white embellished “collar” against the dark violet cape. Basic assembly of the other figures was fairly simple. It is always a bit tricky to snap the round tile onto the curved elf hand. The pegasus design is nice, but I found myself trying to figure out how to position the wings while the creature is standing. Fully upright wings look too heavy, but when they are placed in a downward posture, I think the animal looks vaguely wounded.     BUILDING THE STRUCTURE:   Bags 1 through 4 assemble as independent structures. At the end of 4, three of them are connected to provide the base of the finished build while the structure from bag 1 remains separate. (I had a picture of this, but used the box as the background. When putting my review together this image was scrapped because it was hard to see what was box art vs. built pieces in front). Bags 5 and 6 are also assembled independently of the structure, but the resulting piece is attached at the end of the instructions for bag 6. It was a bit tricky to determine the point of attachment for this upper deck. Further scrutiny led me to decide the bottom plate should be flush with the frontmost part of its supporting structure (completed in bag 2). I’m not sure if one could build 5 directly attached to structure 2 because of the portal mechanism. Bag 7 contained all of the finishing touches including the lilac turrets, elemental keys, leaves and jewels.   The elemental keys are pretty great looking:   But they have no mechanical function (with regard to opening the portal) when they are positioned as pictured in the instructions. I cannot explain this, so I guess I need to watch the show...     THE GOOD AND THE BAD:   I love the colors! Despite my distaste for mini dolls, Elves is one of my must buy themes because of the colors, shapes, and unique pieces. I like the design of the Element elements. The lilac fences, use of transparent and jewel accents, and the fact that it’s a castle drew me to this one in particular.  Build was fairly straightforward and simple without becoming boring or tedious. There was a bit of trouble trying to line up the mech and axle beneath the portal, but I was able to work it out with some determination. NOTE: Younger builders may need assistance with this.   The biggest flaw, in my opinion, was the mechanism that opens and closes the portal. It was slightly confusing trying to get it all lined up, and in the end, the portal is activated by turning a large knob. (Again, maybe I need to watch the show). Perhaps Skyra’s sceptre was supposed to turn it, but it doesn’t fit. I think you could use one of the keys, but I believe the idea is that each key needs to be in place to activate the portal. My best guess is that the portal is opened and closed by magic forces, so the actual opening mechanism is not intended to be part of the play function, but I found it disappointing. In my opinion, magic levers should be behind the active play area to maintain the illusion. Queen Skyra: "If you wish to return home, Emily Jones, I must summon the power of the mysterious sky hand to open the portal." Awkward maneuvering as Sky Hand presents itself and completes a quarter-turn of the center pedestal Emily Jones: "Thank you Queen. Your mysterious sky castle is mysterious no more."   My only other gripe is regarding the stickers. Although I don’t particularly enjoy ANY stickers, these were the worst kind. I have yet to figure out how to keep my fingerprints from becoming a permanent addition to the application of transparent stickers. I have trouble with small decals as it is, so tweezers or gloves seem to me that they would only add to the clumsiness. Thankfully, all decorated pieces after bag 5 are all pre-printed.   All said and done, I enjoyed building it. I understand that the build-by-section method is accepted as a good way to break up the build, but I did find myself asking when is this going to turn into one integrated piece. (I’m still not sure where to position the earth doorway or the dining table).    Spare parts:   I found it odd that there were so many duplicate spares. The additional fuchsia (official color name?) flowers give the builder an option to balance the bouquets into three of each color (which I prefer). Each round 1 x 1 element tile also has a backup. I can always use extra cherries and cookies, but it would appear that I may have already misplaced one of those spare cookies.     INVESTMENT POTENTIAL?   My best guess is that this will have little demand as a set. There are some new and unique elements from a parts perspective, but there’s no real way to tell if they will stay rare as more sets are produced. If you can pick one up for yourself or as a gift, great. If plan to buy this as an investment, I think you will be hard-pressed to find a buyer desperate enough for this one to pay above RRP. (As of now, this set is already being reduced at major retail outlets). That's my two cents. Thanks for listening.   Disclaimer: This being my first published review, I recognize that my photography leaves a lot to be desired. I appreciate your patience through my learning stage.
    • thoroakenfelder
      The LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona is set to have their grand opening on April 22, 2016. They are located in the Arizona Mills Mall 5000 S. Arizona Mills Circle. Tempe AZ 85282. Tickets are $22 for a single day admission, and you have to book a time for entrance. An individual annual pass is available for $65, or $60 per person for a family of 4 or more. The incentives for the annual pass holders include a 10% discount in the LEGO retail store and a 20% discount in the cafe as well as skipping the line and going right in to the center. Pass holders do not have to pre-book.
      I was able to get in early as part of a soft opening that they hosted for their annual pass holders. It was nice to see and experience everything without the lines or hordes of people. It was also a little sad to see so many employees waiting quietly for someone to approach them. I don't expect that this experience will be one shared by most after opening day.
      The first thing that we did was wait in line to get our annual pass cards. They took our pictures so that we can't pass off our cards to friends and family. Luckily, we had preregistered and prepaid, so our wait time was minimal. You enter the first chamber and are directed to a photo station. That's just not my bag baby. I endured the multiple suggestions for poses then got in line for the virtual factory tour.

      They warn you that the factory tour may induce vertigo in people who suffer motion sickness. It's a large set of screens with control panels close enough to make the screen size overwhelming. The control panels provide you with the ability to interact with the tour minimally. The virtual tour seems like an idealized robotic factory. I am pretty sure that none of it was filmed in a real LEGO factory. I was hoping that their factory tour would have the machines used in the process like LEGOLAND California, only working. It was an interesting enough video,and as soon as you exit the room, the kids are handed a Duplo brick stamped with LEGOLAND Discovery Center.

      The next stop in the Discovery Center is the Kingdoms Quest ride. You get in a buggy and pull out a LEGO style pistol to shoot various things like bats,spiders, trolls and skeletons. It's fun enough and they take a picture right at the end. Sure, the picture is a cash grab and maybe overpriced, but you get to commemorate your high score. Interestingly, there's a dragon's tail sticking out of the wall above a sign about a missing dragon. The front half of the dragon is on the other side of the.wall, but you might not remember it as part of the joke by the time you see it.
      Miniland is where you come to next. Several local landmarks are represented in LEGO form. From University of Phoenix Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLII, to the Grand Canyon and the cities of Phoenix and Tempe, attendees are treated to a mini marvel. If it was just me, I could have stared at these builds for 3 or 4 times as long as I did. I was delighted by the mini LEGOLAND Discovery Center in the Tempe scene. Each miniland station had button activated features and the room had a day/night cycle that revealed lighting effects throughout. The city scenes at night were spectacular. Vehicles in each area moved and sounds could be heard representing the scenes that you were seeing.

      When you leave Miniland, you enter a large, open room. a fair portion of the open space is taken with tables and seating for the cafe. With so few customers, the room seemed echoing and empty, I can only imagine how noisy it will be on Friday.

      The perimeter of the room is divided into zones. Each zone is devoted to a specific theme and/or activity. Clockwise from where you enter, there are the following zones: Friends/Heartlake City, City/Town Play Zone, Restrooms, Master Model Builder, 4-D Cinema, LEGO Racers Build and Test, Parent's Lounge, Cafe, Birthday party rooms, Creative workshop, Merlin's Apprentice and LEGO Duplo village.
      Heartlake City, Duplo Village, Build and Test, and Creative workshop are all sort of free build areas. Hearltake City has the large statues of the minidolls and a full cityscape for Friends. Duplo has large, life size Duplo cow and other features along with Duplo bricks and a larger rubberized brick. It's great for the little ones. Build and Test and the Creative workshop allow kids to experiment more with what they build.

      The City/Town play zone is just a play area that is themed like a construction site and a police station. It's a large hamster habitrail and has more of the large rubberized bricks. Make sure that your kids have socks. If they don't, the snack bar will conveniently sell you a pair for $1. My kids loved this part of the attraction, but my wife and I were stuck outside waiting until we grew too bored.

      The 4-D cinema has 2 different movies currently. Each movie is about 10 minutes and requires the use of 3D glasses. The room is damp because they mist water at various times throughout the film as well as blowing a fan, blowing bubbles or making mist. Of the 2 films, the Chima one was better. The Kingdoms one seemed aged and confused the kids because no one spoke, they just mumbled nonsense sounds.

      The Parent's lounge looked comfortable enough and probably had some measure of soundproofing. We had no need to go since the place wasn't terribly noisy during this preview weekend.

      The birthday party rooms looked somewhat plain and functional. I can't say that I'd be excited to have a 75 minute birthday party in one.
      Merlin's Apprentice was a nice little ride. It's pretty much like the Dumbo ride at Disneyland. Except, you have to pedal to make the thing raise and lower. My legs are slightly too long to work the pedals properly, but thankfully it still worked if you pedaled in reverse, which was easier for me. The kids enjoyed it.
      I know, I skipped over the Master Model Builder. It seems slightly awkward to watch someone who is trying to work and to pester him to ask questions. I tried not to be too intrusive or let my kids be either. He had to design and build more than a dozen register screens before opening this week. I did find out that 3 of the other finalists from the Master Model Builder contest received some position there as well. I spoke to one briefly who recognized me from the event.

      To reach the exit, you have to go back through Miniland and out an awkwardly nondescript door. I feel like when they get up to capacity, this will create an enormous bottleneck, You have people entering the attraction and exiting in the same area without any clear demarcation. Maybe I'm wrong, but we shall see.
      The exit lets out into the LEGO retail store. It's not exactly the LEGO store because the VIP card doesn't add points to your account and they don't participate in the promotions like polybag giveaways or double VIP. The sets are all retail priced, not increased to account for being in a mall or at an attraction. As far as I could tell, most of the LEGO Shop exclusives were present including hard to find ones like the Ewok Village. They seemed to have more role Play items than the regular LEGO Store and were doing a fairly brisk business.
      There's a good amount of stuff for kids to do, but as an adult, it doesn't seem like it. All of their literature says that it's aimed at kids 3-10, and I would probably cut it off about 3-8. As a parent, you're paying to shepherd the kids from one place to another. You might have some fun on the rides, in the theater, or participating in building, but it is not designed with you in mind. The place is so not designed with adults in mind that adults can't get in without a child (except for a certain night every month.)
      Anyone may participate in minifigure trading. Cynically, I would suggest it is just to sell you build a minifigure or CMFs in the shop, but kids (and adults) can bring their unwanted minifigures from home and trade them with any employee that has a minifigure on their badge, or register. That's an activity that is fun for everyone, but selection is basically limited to what you see and what the kid before you may have left. My kids participated, up until my oldest lost all of hers somewhere.
      The Cafe was disappointing. Everything was prepackaged,and most of it was unsuitable for my child who has a dairy allergy. You can't bring in your own food, so eat first. If you buy a one day ticket, you cannot return to the attraction once you leave without paying again.

      All in all, I can't see spending the money for a one day pass. I guess as a once in a long while treat for a kid, it would be fine, but parents might wind up feeling ripped off. The discount in the store for annual pass holders is a nice incentive, but you have to balance the cost against how many sets you're going to buy and how many times you'll visit the attraction. If you plan on visiting more than 3 times in a year, get the annual. If you buy a lot of LEGO exclusives, $65 might be offset very quickly by the discounts that you receive. The store will give an automatic 5% discount for VIP holders, but that discount will not stack with the annual pass. Still, 10% is more than sales tax, so most large exclusives would be slightly cheaper than Amazon or the LEGO shop.
      I'm going to try to swing by on Opening Morning to see if there's any special ceremony.
      https://www.facebook.com/LDCArizona/?fref=nf
      https://www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/arizona/
    • thoroakenfelder
      I picked up this set and put it down in the store so many times, I just can't recall. Nothing about it made me want to build it or own it. Clash of the Heroes was not speaking to me. One day I thought of something that amused me. I decided that if I was going to do it, instead of describing the building process, I would tell a story and put the pictures in reverse order to tell it. You'll still see the build in steps, but I'm not going to give my thoughts about each little chunk. I'll give you my reaction at the end of the review like I normally do. For now, I ask your indulgence as I play with my LEGO a little bit.
      To differentiate this from the more serious reviews this (and any others like it) will have an "OUTSIDE THE BOX" title.

      REVIEW: SET DETAILS
      Set #: 76044
      Name: Clash of the Heroes
      Theme: DC Super Heroes
      Parts: 92
      Price: $12.99
      It's sort of interesting, sort of sad that there's a $3 markup on these licensed sets over the unlicensed counterparts. 92 pieces including 2 minifigures for $12.99 seems a bit on the pricy side to me. 
      BOX CONTENTS
      Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 2 unnumbered baggies, a plate, a single sticker and an instruction book.

      BUILD AND EXECUTION: (to see the build in order, you kind of have to look at these pictures in reverse)
      "Hey Bruce, just came by to pick up that DVD I loaned you and . . . Hey, is that Kryptonite?"

      "Hey Superjerk, stop taking my stuff apart!"
      "Kryptonite weakens me!"
      "Yeah, I can tell."

      "You're so inconsiderate keeping your Kryptonite out when I come to  visit. I'm taking back the Bat mirror I bought you as a friendship gift."
      "I'm gonna give you one chance to put all that stuff back."

      "I need to fold this stuff around the Kryptonite to protect myself."
      "It's weird how much I hate guns, yet I keep these things everywhere."

      "All I wanted was my Dances with Wolves DVD back."
      "Hang on, I've got something for you. . . Let's see, Tab A into Slot B . . ."

      "Catch!"

      "Your turn jerkwad! I was going to loan you Driving Miss Daisy next."

      "Here hold this for me."

      "Man, all my stuff is messed up. I can never keep nice stuff with you around."

      "Heh heh heh, I just remembered, I loaned that disc to Aquaman. My bad."
      "Superdunce."

      REACTION:
      Even though I started off with no enthusiasm for this set, I still went into it with the intention of being fair and balanced. Spending all of the extra time to think of a story with these 2 gave me a chance to play with the toy in a way that most adult collectors aren't going to, but some kids might. I can appreciate that the kids might like the flick missile bat shield or the shove bar in the back. Those didn't do a lot for me though. So, apart from the play features that I didn't like or want, we've got a small, uninspired platform. I can't tell if the railing in front was a turret or just a railing with cannons. Regardless, it stays on very poorly. I couldn't get Batman to 2 hand his bazooka, which would disappoint kids.
      Since most people are only getting this set for the minifigures, let's look at them. The minifigures look good. Both of them are unique.

      Superman's only slightly different from the version in 76046. In this version he does not have red boots. To me, that makes his plain blue pants stand out. Unique, in this case, is not better. His hair and torso are shared with the other BvS Superman. The hair is molded in a different color for Captain America in the Black Panther Pursuit. The head is shared with Dimensions Superman and Hyperion from the Avenjet set. His cape is the spongey softer fabric being used recently. The torso and head have printing on both sides. All in all, despite the plain legs, a successful figure.
      Batman is entirely new. Every single piece of the figure is new and even most of his accessories are unique in some way. The head is painted to look like a balaclava which is so much better than the previous sweatband version from most older sets. It's got printing on both sides grim and angry-grim (angrim?) It's also cast in glow in the dark plastic so that the eyes will glow. That seems like a lot of plastic for 2 tiny angrim pinholes. The torso has some fantastic printing on both sides that is almost entirely obscured by the armor and the cape. At least when Johnny and his friends lose the accessories, he'll still look like armored Batman. The leg printing is nice and detailed, I guess being a billionaire, he can afford leg printing. The cowl is the older version, which I guess works best for the armored look. It's never been released in this color. The armor seems a little plain. I guess they wanted to have the option to use it for other characters later on, so no bat symbol. It's got 2 attachment points in back. His cape is a simplified version of the Batman cape. Since it doesn't have to wrap around his shoulders, it only has one neck hole. The top 1/3 is covered by the armor. The cape is also the stiffer cloth that I thought they moved away from. His other accessories are a standard stud shooter, a batarang molded in light silver, that cool little grappling hook launcher that's pretty new and a light grey grappling hook. Batman is far and away the star of this set.



      FINAL THOUGHTS:
      This set is common as dirt and it's cheap. Every little Jimmy is going to easily be able to afford this one or get it as a gift from a well meaning (but cheap) friend or relative. It has a lot of kid appeal, 2 major Super Heroes and a neat little Batsignal. Will future collectors respond to it and need to get this set? I feel like it is bound to do better than the disappointing Metropolis Showdown. The exclusive Batman is bound to see to that.
      I don't really feel like this set is going to take any major jumps on the aftermarket. This is definitely the cheapest way to get these 2 iconic heroes, and I fear that it will always be. If you can get a significant discount on this set, it's going to hold value and appeal to people who still want a cheap Bat/Supes set. I'm thinking that the upper limit of this set cannot be above $17.99.
      support the site by buying on Amazon
      EXTRA PIECES:
      You get an extra silver batarang, which is cool. I know I can't be the only one that has no use for an extra stud shooter trigger. I mean I get so many sets with stud shooters, I have more extras than I can count (mostly because I throw them in a big bin full of all the small extra pieces and try to forget them.)

    • thoroakenfelder
      To differentiate this from the more serious reviews this (and any others like it) will have an "OUTSIDE THE BOX" title.
      It seems like not many people really like this set. Reviewers are down on it, prices are down, heck, I didn't even want it for myself. I found one at a price that was too good to pass up, so I thought, why not? Since it's a set that I wasn't super excited about to begin with,I thought that the Rhino and Sandman Super Villain Team-up was perfect for an outside the box review.

      REVIEW: SET DETAILS
      Set #: 76037
      Name: Rhino and Sandman Super Villain Team-up
      Theme: Marvel Super Heroes
      Parts: 386
      Price: $39.99
      BOX CONTENTS
      Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 3 numbered baggies, a large Tile, a comic book, a sticker sheet and 2 instruction books.

      BUILD AND EXECUTION:
      Rhino: All right Spider-Man, time to put your dukes up!
      Spidey: Uh, did you forget something? Where's your Rhino suit?

      Rhino: I forgot, I got a new one. I need to put it together.
      Spidey: Oh, ok. I can wait.

      Rhino: The instructions aren't really clear which of these goes on which side. Urgh.
      Spidey: What? Did you buy that thing at Ikea?

      Rhino: I've got it. This is going better than I expected.
      Spidey: Well, just wake me up when you're done.

      Rhino: Look, if you want this fight to start sooner, you could help you know.
      Spidey: Well, I guess so. After all, I do have a High School science award.

      Spidey: You know, all the money you spent on this thing could have been used to go straight.
      Rhino: Shut it web-head.

      Spidey: I'm just saying, I spend like $35,000 a year on webs and spandex because of you guys, and this elliptical machine must be at least 20X that.
      Rhino: I'm gonna enjoy squashing you like a bug. Get it? Bug! Ha ha.
      Spidey: Spiders aren't bugs Einstein. 

      Spidey: Hey Rhino, you're a sharp one, huh? Sharp as that horn.
      Rhino: Shut up!

      Spidey: What are those holes in the fingers for?
      Rhino: Just these little explosive projectiles.
      Spidey: Rhino's shoot missles?  

      Rhino: Ok, now I turn the key and press this button and Hang on a sec. Nope, I flip these switches and rotate that knob and . . .
      Spidey: Getting bored now.  LATERZ!

      Spidey: Man, that guy's dense. Hey, someone's making a sand castle.

      Spidey: What kind of castle are you making? Princess, Medieval, Nexo-Knights?
      Sandman: Go away bug.
      Spidey: Oh come on, spiders aren't bugs.

      Spidey: I was going to ask if you wanted me to bury you in the sand, but it looks like you're taking care of that.
      Sandman: Leave me alone.

      Spidey: I'm not really getting this abstract watcha-ma-call-it. Did Picasso make it?

      Spidey: You know,I hate sand. It's coarse and gets everywhere.

      Spidey: Hey Mr. Grabby-Hands,  I'm not that kind of date.
      Sandman: I told you to go away, now you're going to get it!

      Spidey: Hey stop with the shaking! All of my change is coming out of my pockets!

      Spidey: Hey look, there's Taylor Swift!
      Sandman: Where?
      Spidey: I'm outta here.

      Iron Spidey: Weird place for a sandbox. Something about it is making my Spidey sense tingle . . . 

      Spidey: Is it my day for meeting weirdos? Luckily I got away from that guy.
      Iron Spidey: Look, it's getting bigger all by itself. The sensors in my Starktech limbs will tell me more about it.

      Spidey: What the, who are you?
      Iron Spidey: I'm Spider-Man.
      Spidey: Hello me, meet the real me.
      Sandman: Now there's 2 of him?

      Spidey: I spy with my spidey eye something with a hammer.
      Iron Spidey: Is it Hammertime? Get it? Can't touch this - oh-oh oh oh oh-oh-oh.
      Sandman: It's about to be.

      Spidey: Why do I feel like I forgot something?
      Rhino: Hello from the other side!
      Spidey: I should have known that Rhino was an Adelle fan.

      Iron Spidey: Hey, did you notice that not all of this stuff is sand? How's he do that?
      Spidey: Sand-and-other-stuff-man is just way too long to yell in a fight.
      Rhino: Hey, where'd he go?

      Rhino: Get down here so I can squash you bug!
      Spidey: I already told you, Spiders aren't . . . oh never mind.

      Iron Spidey: Hey Mr. Grabby hands, I'm not that kind of date.
      Spidey: Ha ha, I already said that loser.

      REACTION:
      I started off unimpressed with this set. I looked at it through the eyes of an adult who wants to display his toys,and not a child that wants to play with them. The entire thing looks like a mess. It's a mishmash of unrelated things that are just supposed to look like Sandman taking over a construction site. The Rhino is entirely disappointing. Why you build him a suit instead of a big figure is beyond me. All of that said, as I played with the set to tell my bizarre little story, I gained some appreciation of all of the play features. They were not designed for me.They were not designed for adults. A kid could have fun with all of the moving parts. But, this set is not for me.
      Let's take a look at the minifigures. This is the biggest reason why anyone buys Super Hero sets, so they should be amazing,or spectacular, or even ultimate.
      First off, there's Iron Spider(-Man). This guy's unique. I mean red and gold is Iron-Man's thing. Anyway, he's got 4 robotic arms attached to a neck bracket, and I think that's inaccurate. I thought he only had 3 in the comics. I like that his back printing looks like the retracted limbs.
      Sandman is boring to look at, but you can't blame LEGO, he's always been boring. He's got a 2 sided head and brown joker hair. The sandy torso and tan limbs show that he's always mid change and sometimes angry.
      I didn't think that there was anything they could do to Spider-Man, but they gave him those 2 tone legs. It looks good, but I am bored of getting Spidey figures.
      Rhino, well, he's just some dude, Pretty sure he's got a clone head. 2 Sided torso printing doesn't make him look any more like a bigfig.


      FINAL THOUGHTS:
      There's a lot of tan in this set. People like to buy tan parts for MOCs, I think if you get this set cheaply enough, there's a good demand for the parts. The large tile is the same one used in most UCS sets. Iron Spider is the big draw for this set. So he's sure to appreciate a little bit once this set goes.
      I'm stuck thinking about how roundly unpopular this set is. Will it pass into obscurity once it is out of sight, or will people clamor to grab it later on to complete a collection? Not being a fan of this set, I tend to come down on the former. For me, it's a parts set and that's where the value will always lie. If you have a child that likes LEGO and Super Heroes though, this set is a winner for them. Lots of interesting parts, a couple of Spider-Men and some guys for them to beat up. Invest cautiously at steep discounts.
      Help support the site by buying on Amazon.
      EXTRA PARTS:
      Some people might not include the super jumper in extra parts, but that's not me. I definitely don't think it belongs in the set.

    • jaisonline
      Lego has some nice offerings planned for May including the annual Star Wars "May the 4th" weekend events and products.  If you are unable to visit a Lego retail store, be sure to checkout their website at shop.lego.com .
      Some highlights...
      Star Wars May the 4th includes a free exclusive minifigure (First Order Stormtrooper) with every Star Wars $50+ purchase   Earn Double VIP Points on selected Star Wars purchases.  A free Force Awakens poster is also available.
      New sets : The much 'beloved' UCS Assault on Hoth will be available. Additionally, an exclusive set is planned to be released on May 18th.  According to rumors, it could be the 10253 Creator Expert "Big Ben" set.  This is famous clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London.  The calendar also shows other new sets.
      Polybag promos include a Civil War Captain America’s Motorcycle (May 27-30 with a $35+ order).
      Events for children include a minifigure swamp, hedgehog build, Elves build, and club meetings. Also, Master Your Force event which involves visiting the store to earn character cards: week of 5/9 for Jango Fett card and 5/23 for Zeb card.
      It should also be noted the Disney Collectible Minifigures will be available for purchase. Please review the calendar for more information especially exact dates.


    • thoroakenfelder
      In 2003 LEGO released the Cloud City set 10123. For 13 years, there was no representation of the last third of the Empire Strikes Back. People have been asking for new Cloud City sets in the decade since. When information leaked about the Carbon Freezing Chamber, there was a lot of hope, a lot of speculation, and a lot of fans quivering with excitement. When we saw the pictures of 75137, there was an enormous outcry. How could they take an amazingly iconic set of scenes and chop it down to a half of a set with a goofy action feature?
      Well, I was one of the disappointed masses when I saw this set. No Bespin Luke, Leia or Lando. No gantry for a duel. There's not even a torture chamber or a lift arm for the freeze chamber. So, in my review, I'd like to set aside all of my frustrations and disappointments. I'd like to start fresh and view it with eyes unclouded. Let's take a look.

      REVIEW: SET DETAILS
      Set #: 75137
      Name: Carbon-Freezing Chamber
      Theme: Star Wars
      Parts: 231
      Price: $24.99
      I recently gave up on the price per piece calculations. You're all smart enough to figure out a rough valuation based on that. I will say that 3 minifigures seems to be pretty standard for this price range. I'll discuss them later.
      BOX CONTENTS
      Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 2 numbered baggies and an instruction book.

      BUILD AND EXECUTION:
      BAG 1: 
      It's hard to tell at first what you are building. this is a guide for the main play feature of this set. Note the tiles that allow it to slide properly.

      The play feature takes shape with a hinged axle. This allows for a different axis of movement.

      You build up the wall to support the rest of the structure and complete the entire play feature here. when you pull on the pin, it rotates down, and you can turn the axle to allow it to rotate. At the end of the review, I'll show it in action.

      We begin to create the greater structure. Throwing up walls to hide the armature and other structures of the play feature.

      Here, you begin to create a deck platform to hold your characters.

      Here, you are creating a play feature. It's supposed to be a prison bed that you can put Han on. At least I think so. It might be a place to hide a minifigure.

      You snap the hide-a-bed onto the hinge on the left and cover it up with a wall panel.

      You add a bunch of decoration here. It's actually starting to come together fairly successfully.

      You add one more partial segment to the right side and throw some tiles on to clean up the edges.

      Here you can see that the outer part of the structure is fairly plain, but obviously better than the inside. The problem is, to utilize the play feature of the raising and lowering bed, you have to look at this side. Without more of a jail cell, I can't imagine utilizing the bed though.

      BAG 2: 
      You start by making a lift. The lift pops into the slot on the pre-existing structure.

      You build around the armature so that you can have a track to raise and lower the lift. The armature even has a swinging arm with ball to "lock" it into place. Notice in the background that there is also a control panel.

      The next thing that you build is a rather impressive looking staircase. You utilize 2 stair pieces and a bunch of tiles. My biggest problem with it is that it's inaccurate. As far as I can recall, there weren't any stairs leading down from the deck, they all went up.

      The last thing that you build is a mounting bracket for the Carbonite block. It's not really anything special, just a way to keep it upright. It snaps onto the pivoting table.

      So, I am not a fan of play features in general. This one in specific takes up far too much space since it has to go out as well as down. The action is smooth, but it's not nearly as discreet as it should be. If it were me, I'd make an elevator with a turntable.

      REACTION:
      I actually wound up liking this set better than I expected to. It was a fun little build. I'm actually not overly impressed with the character selection. I've already got Boba Fett and Carbonite Han. I can understand why they used Boba, and this was one of the most dramatic and visually interesting parts of the film. I'd love to try to figure out for myself how to MOD it into a playset that I actually want to display. I don't care about the action features, even though I again understand the need to make it playable for all of the kids that want a playset based on a 35 year old movie.
      The minifigures are interesting. Boba and Han are pretty similar to but not quite the same as 75060 UCS Slave I Boba's torso is new and Han has dark brown instead of reddish brown pants. The Ugnaught is the only fully unique character in the set. We've never gotten an Ugnaught in LEGO form before. He really does tie together any Bespin Freeze Chamber scene. I don't knowwhy they spent the effort to print Boba's back with all the stuff he wears. It does look pretty good though.
      The Ugnaught is excellent. He's probably not going to be worth a ton, but like the Jawa and the Ewoks (until they got released in more sets) he'll have value. People will be making MODs of this set or MOCs for years to come and want more than one. I just wish we could get a little variation.



      FINAL THOUGHTS:
      Small sets with hero figures seem to be popular. Playsets seem to be less popular. This set will be dependent on a few things. Ugnaught is the first thing to take into consideration. He's a new character that collectors would need multiples of if hey are making a larger scene. The species has been used in the Rebels cartoon, so may see a refresh in a later set. Boba Fett is enduringly popular and Han Solo as a main will attract attention. However I feel like this is the least popular version of Han. 9496 was another small, cheap set with Boba Fett and another main character. Since its retirement, it has done reasonably. People who bought it at retail experienced an increase of about 80% and many bought it for less than retail.
      This set will see sales. It is inevitable that we'll see it for at least 19.99 for a segment of its life. I fear that more Boba Fett sets will come along causing the main impetus for this set to diminish. So, we'll be banking on a disappointing Bespin set and an Ugnaught to drive future sales of this set. If another Bespin set comes along that can be paired with this one, we'll see a lot of aftermarket demand. I doubt that will happen though. Modest gains will probably be made, but not as much as a vehicle.
      EXTRA PIECES:
      You get an entire bag of extra viewfinders. I wonder why LEGO decides to do a baggie full for one figure, but it's standard.

    • thoroakenfelder
      I love Captain America. For over twenty years, if you asked me who my favorite super hero was, I'd tell you Cap. When Ed Brubaker introduced Winter Soldier it blew my mind, I loved Bucky as a character, which is something I never had done before. LEGO's Black Panther Pursuit has both of these characters. I was ecstatic when I heard about it. 
      There's something that people probably know about Super Heroes sets. Invariably they will contain some kind of plane, motorcycle, truck, or helicopter. In this review, we'll look at which of these is contained within, and how successful it is.

       
      REVIEW: SET DETAILS
      Set #: 76047
      Name: Black Panther Pursuit
      Theme: Marvel Super Heroes
      Parts: 287
      Price: $29.99
      I am officially giving up on the price per piece. You're all smart enough to figure out a rough valuation based on that. I will say that 3 minifigures seems to be pretty standard for this price range. I'll discuss them later.
      BOX CONTENTS
      Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 3 numbered baggies, an instruction book, a comic book and a sheet of stickers.

      BUILD AND EXECUTION:
      BAG 1: So, we're going to start building Captain America's jeep/truck thing. Of course there's a bracket on one end to hold a tile for a license plate.

      Construction is fairly standard so far. I don't know how you could really innovate a truck/jeep thingy to make it more interesting.

      I don't understand the "Taskforce" sticker. I guess it's because SHIELD is sort of disbanded or something. I'd rather some symbol or something instead of "TASKFORCE." Maybe it makes sense after we see the movie. I doubt it though.Heavy uses of blue so that you know it belongs to Captain America.

      Add a spring missile launcher and a couple hinges. The hinges are interesting in their placement.

      So, you build out a grill on the front with another license plate tile.

      The railing makes an interesting window shape. The hinges allow you to cant the window, and you build some side view "mirrors." The black bar 1x4x2 can flip down to act as a battering ram. I don't know if that's intentional, but it's what I thought of first.

      Add wheels and shove the spring missile in. That spring missile makes this vehicle a one seater. I guess you could throw people in back. Maybe I shouldn't have given Cap his angry yelling face.

      BAG 2: Time to start building the plane. Honestly, it almost looks like a boat. I forgot that boats are also somewhat common in super hero sets.

      So, our boatplane is taking shape, including 2 stud shooters and a sticker control panel. A note on colors. I like the use of purple in this set to offset the black. I just don't understand the lime green. Just because Joker sets require purple and green, but Joker's pretty far from this one.

      Time to cover over most of that green. There's a hint here that we're not going to finish the wings in this bag. Only one wedge piece. I like the Dark blue tiles with jumpers. The hinges pointing sideways interested me. I like to speculate what we're going to do without looking back at the picture.

      You build your first wing. I loved that the hinges created a way to hang the wing at a different angle.

      The nose of the plane looks good  The wing sits in an interesting way. More stickers to potentially mess up.

      So, the hinges give you a way to change the shape of the fuselage.

      Bag 3: You start by making Winter Soldier and his motorcycle. Sort of strange considering that the plane is still only 2/3 done. The motorcycle is completely standard, not even an attachment point for his gun.

      Create a mirror image of the wing and attach it the same way. Look, an orange tile for no reason.

      Cover up the attachment points and the tile with more black and purple. It's still very pleasing to see this combo.  Quick fact, I think that the purple is supposed to represent the Vibranium that gives Wakanda their technological and financial edge.

      More lime green. I think it's supposed to represent the thrusters. It's a very understated propulsion system. I can totally appreciate that, in this case, less is more. Add some black slopes for more shaping.

      Finish the tail, snap on the 6x2 wedge and the cockpit canopy, and you're almost done. Don't forget the fire extinguisher that many Super Hero sets have to have. Why do we have to have a fire extinguisher? Well, Super Heroes blow a lot of stuff up.

      REACTION:
      Well, the jeep is lame. There's no getting past that. It's dull. It's standard. If it were the main vehicle in the set, I'd be heartily disappointed. As it is, I can't decide whether I should see if I can throw it farther than Crossbones' Hazard Heist, or just smash them together as hard as I can. For now, I'll just stick them on the back of a shelf. Winter Soldier's motorcycle is standard. Nothing special, nothing bad. It can be used for anyone. Throw it in a bin and forget about it.
      Black Panther's jet is wonderful to look at and interesting to build. My problem is that it's just another jet. It's just filler for a set that contains 3 minifigures that I wanted. I don't mind it, but I don't crave it. It's the curse of Super Hero sets. There's very few iconic vehicles that don't have Bat as part of their descriptor. Does Black Panther fly a black and purple jet in the upcoming movie? I really hope so. Otherwise, Pantherplane is going into a box.

      The minifigures are fantastic. For someone with my budget, unmasked Steve Rogers was a no go. A loose one would cost almost as much as this set. To protect the value of the Helicarrier Captain America, this one has different hair and head. He really should have a less red hairpiece. Despite the hair color, I love this figure. It's what I wanted since the first Captain America minifigure. The body printing is the same as all of the AOU Caps. Because of the head and hair, this Captain America is unique. His head is 2 sided, a smirk and an angry yell.
      Winter Soldier is entirely different from the polybag version. I LOVED the polybag version. This version is awesome too. Disappointing that he doesn't have a holster or a knife or something printed on his legs. His arm printing is great. The Russian star is worn and scraped, whether due to damage or an attempt to remove it, who knows? But they printed it to look like it's partially missing. This exact Winter Soldier is also available in 76051 Super Hero Airport Battle. His head is dual sided and is shared with Owen from Jurrassic World and Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Does that mean that Winter Soldier is secretly Chris Pratt?
      Black Panther rounds out the set. He's a unique minifigure. He has a unique headpiece. I like the "tooth necklace" mixed in with the angular armor deco on his torso. Dual sided printing on torso and head sort of point up how plain his arms and legs are. I really feel like he should have a set of claws like Wolverine. All of that said, I didn't buy this set specifically for Black Panther. He's more an extra afterthought to me. For me, he serves exactly the purpose I need him to. I'm not disappointed in him really.
      All in all, not a bad set. I would have liked something more interesting for the truck/jeep and/or the motorcycle, but the jet is nice. Speaking of those 3 vehicles, you remember when I said that the hallmark of a LEGO Super Heroes set is that it has either a truck, a motorcycle, a plane or a helicopter? Well, this set almost completely proves my rules. I love it when I can sort of make up a rule and prove it with the thing I am currently working on.



      FINAL THOUGHTS:
      Super Hero sets are almost entirely driven by the minifigures. The only unique character in this set is Black Panther. Black Panther is not really popular enough to drive aftermarket price. He'll probably hold value, but he's not going to increase it. The Captain America will add some value, especially since the Helicarrier is so expensive in comparison to this one. If the plane is used in the upcoming film, and if Black Panther isn't refreshed, this set could gain moderately well. If the vehicle is not used, well, it'll gain somewhat slowly. Use caution when investing, as with all Super Heroes sets.
      EXTRA PIECES:
      you get a handful of common extra pieces including Black Panther's headpiece.



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