My Lighted Modular Street

Ok, not a great video.  Better looking in real life for sure. 😉

USA Black Friday Offers

I’ve a new vice… online shopping!  It absolutely doesn’t make any sense to me, but it can be cheaper for me to order LEGO online from USA even with shipping costs factored in. Ok, the low FX helps too.

Of course, the savings would kick in only for the bigger sets. Smaller sets are just not worth the effort IMO. 

Pros: Cost savings

Cons: Battered boxes, possible lost shipments

For those stores that ship only to US addresses, there are a few forwarding services that you can use such as Borderlinx, Vpost, Viaaddress, & Comgateway.  Of these, I’ve only tried Borderlinx (BLX), but I’ve heard good stuff about Viaaddress and Comgateway. For Comgateway, you can also get them to re-pack the boxes to reduce volumetric weight for lower shipment cost – definitely something I’ll be interested to try next time I buy stuff from the USA.  Most of these stores also offer Concierge services – i.e. they will help to place orders for you at no or minimal service charge for those stores that only accept USA credit card (e.g. Toysrus).  I have had bad experiences when the concierge did not place the orders for me tho, so again, use such services with minimal expectations and you should be fine.

The reason for this post is that Black Friday is just next week, and this is typically when there are tonnes of offer in the USA, LEGO included.  If you have been reading (with some envy) of the great offers (like Buy-One-Get-One at 50% off, Buy 2 get 1 free, etc) you could try one shipment and see if you are happy with the results. 

I’ve also been trying Barnes & Noble online who ship directly, but then some S0937 members have reported lost shipments so this is definitely buyers beware.  There isn’t any tracking number so if the shipments are lost, it’s a nightmare trying to get refunds.  I got my Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle at terrific discounts compared to Singapore RRP tho.

Anyway, for a roundup of the USA offers that you may wanna have a look at… Brickset, FBTB and ToysnBricks. 

Me? I’m about all done for 2010 TBH (especially after getting 6 Hogwarts Castles).  It’s just the 2011/new sets that interest me – I do need to save for Diagon Alleys and a few new modulars. 🙂

Lowlug Castle Layout

I’ve a thing for huge castle layouts… so obviously this is too nice for me to resist posting.  This is the Lowlug castle layout at LEGO fanwelt in Cologne.  Enjoy.

Posted by by Daniel Z “DNL” (the high tower is by him)

Review of Set 7327 Scorpion Pyramid

I really enjoyed the review by Hinckley from EB on for set 7327 Scorpion Pyramid.   It’s the 1st of the Pharaoh’s Quest series to be reviewed (and the biggest set at that). 

The review has great picture quality, close-ups of all the things that matters like printed tiles and new minifigs (the mummy wings and Anubis looks fantastic) and highlights of the fun play features. 

Wait no longer, here is the link 😀  : REVIEW: 7327 Scorpion Pyramid

Collectible Minifig Series 3 Dotcodes

Update again:  Via Brothers Brick, I found out that SEALUG member J Junker posted a great guide to figuring out which minifig is in the bag by feeling for specific elements. If the dots are as hard to feel as those who have felt it described, best to check that you got the minifig you wanted.  Based on series 1 & 2, there should be different dot patterns for Europe & Asia, so do take note that this is for the USA packaging.  The parts won’t change tho, so for those who are good at this…

Gorilla – it’s best to find the banana. Be careful though, the Pilot has goggles that can feel like a banana.

Pilot – feel for the backpack/parachute (and the goggles there’s an indentation in the middle that the banana doesn’t have).

Racecar Driver – feel for all 3 of these, head, helmet & hair. He’s the only guy with all 3.  Finding the visor helps too.

Samurai – if you find the sword, that’s the best. He’s also got an ‘armor’ chest piece that’s unique.  It collapses inward when you squeeze it from front to back.

Rapper – feel for the mic, and his hat brim is curved. Careful not to mistake for the Hula Girl… She has 2 maracas that feel like the mic.

Hula Girl – finding both maracas is the best. The hair also feels different, since it’s designed to be in the front and back. Easy to confuse with the Rapper by feel and dots.

Indian Chief – the headdress is pretty easy to feel.  It’s very big.

Baseball Player – the bat is a dead giveaway. One of the easiest to feel.

The Mummy – the dots are very easy to spot on this one. Really the best way to feel this one is to find the scorpion.

Sumo Wrestler – another where the dots help quite a bit. I only felt the trophy one time, so I ended up feeling for the ball of hair on top of his head the most.

Alien – the head has the 2 distinct spheres. I almost always felt the beam from the gun as well. Dots are good for this one too.

Space Pirate (Cyborg) – easy to confuse with the race car driver. If you can find his robot hand, that’s the best. Remember that both the alien and this guy have a ray coming from their gun (the gun: which is also a good way to narrow it down to one of the 2).

Tennis Player – the racket is the tell tell here.

Elf (Legolas) – I felt the back if the shield on the first one, but found the bow & arrow easiest from then on out.

Snowboarder – the snow board is as easy as the surfboard and skateboard were to feel. Both ends curve up.

The Fisherman – the fish is easy to feel, plus the rope on the fishing pole is very different than anything else since it’s ’soft’.

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Update: Oh… the guy who cracked the code is… that guy from FBTB… which guy?  That guy… seriously, that his nickname.   And the AFOL who put the dots in the nice format you see is GIR3691 also from FBTB.  You can read more from here: http://www.fbtb.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4904

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It didn’t take too long before the series 3 packaging got decoded.  Instead of barcodes, you have… dotcodes? 

That’s my description for the dots at the bottom of the packaging anyway. 😛

ToysnBricks has the USA dotcodes here:  http://toysnbricks.com/blog/lego-series-3-minifigures-barcode-sheet-revealed/

Pirates of the Caribbean Sets Confirmed

There we go…

LEGO Group and Disney Consumer Products Announce Building Sets Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean Films

BILLUND, Denmark, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — The LEGO Group and Disney Consumer Products today announced an upcoming collection of LEGO® brand Pirates of the Caribbean construction toys that will set children’s imaginations sailing on thousands of build-and-play adventures.  Scheduled to launch in spring 2011, eight new building sets will bring the action, stories and characters of the entire series of Pirates of the Caribbean films to life in LEGO form, including the spring 2011 premiere of the fourth installment, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”

“The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is a classic favorite among families and children around the world,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president licensing & entertainment at The LEGO Group.  “The pirate theme is always a strong player in the LEGO portfolio, and the Pirates of the Caribbean brand offers the quintessential pirate experience with familiar characters, stories and scenes, allowing us to develop even more authentic and exciting models for children and collectors.”

“Collaborating with The LEGO Group on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is sure to be another great example of how together, we merge timeless characters and stories with a versatile play pattern to create exciting ways to play for children and fans of all ages,” said Vince Klaseus, senior vice president of global toys, Disney Consumer Products.  “We look forward to giving children a chance to recreate the adventures from the big screen, while adding their own creative twists and ideas through LEGO building.”

In a companion release today, Disney Interactive Studios, TT Games and the LEGO Group announced that LEGO Pirates of Caribbean: The Video Game is scheduled for release on multiple video game platforms in May 2011.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lego-group-and-disney-consumer-products-announce-building-sets-inspired-by-pirates-of-the-caribbean-films-108925804.html

Collectible Minifig Series 3 in the USA

So they have started popping up in the USA, and you should see them at inflated prices all over BrickLink & Ebay.  But enjoy this funny and entertaining blog post by Hillel Jeff, who chronicled his experience getting the Series 3 figs from his local store:  January My Ass!!! Series 3 Minifigures are in the House (My House)

Other interesting stuff?  As an AFOL, of course he de-bagged and sorted and gave the breakdown:

5 figs in the case – Sumo Guy, Alien with Raygun, Mummy with Scorpion, Octan Team Race Car Driver

4 figs in the case – Mountaineer Guy, Samurai Guy, Man in Ape Suit with Banana, Baseball Player with Bat, Tennis Lady

3 figs in the case – Native American Chief, Elfin Bowman, Terminator Space Guy, Rapper, Snowboard Chick, Hula Girl

2 figs in the case – Fisherman

For more pics and his take on the minifigs, refer to his blog post here:  Series 3 Collectible Minifigures — The Unboxing with Pictures and Analysis

P.S. 11 boxes – That’s 660 minifigs.  And all at 25% off?  Yeah, I’m green with envy too…