Archive for 2011 July | From Bricks To Bothans

Archive for July, 2011

Ryan "chief" Wood | July 31st, 2011 | Events

FBTB Parts Draft Three

Now that BothCon and ComicCon are behind us, it’s time we got back to bidness. Who’s ready for a parts draft?

Third time’s the charm, right? We’re going to run things slightly differently this time. Instead of trying to restrict participants to one continent or another and trying to balance almost a dozen different schedules to find a perfect date and time, we’re just going to give you the date and you sign up if you can make it.

What are we drafting? 10 copies of Atlantis set 8061 Gateway of the Squid:

Click here to see the inventory on Bricklink

The draft will happen at 10 am PST on Saturday August 6th, which should give quite a number of our membership the possibility of participating.

Further amendments to the process as discussed after the last draft will be put into effect here.

Draft registration will commence on Wednesday August 3rd at 12 pm PST, which you can do in this thread here by simply posting your desire to participate. Feel free to post any questions or comments in the thread; anyone attempting to register before the clock hits noon on August 3rd will be disqualified from entering. I will then confirm your registration via private message and give you payment instructions, and our draft order will be decided by the order I receive payment from participants. Easy, right?

Tags: LEGO Atlantis, parts draft

21 comments

Pete "bigospedros" Croxson | July 31st, 2011 | Sales News

[UK] Tesco 20% off all Toys with discount code

Hot on the heels of Woolworths offering 20% off toys, Tesco.com are doing the same. All you need to do is enter code TD-TRE7 to get the discount. It even works on already discounted items. Whilst Tesco are now listing the new Star Wars sets, this is a great opportunity to snag the wonderful Diagon Alley set at a great price. If you’re a member of cashback site Quidco, you can also get a further 5% cashback!

0 comments

Ace "onions" Kim | July 31st, 2011 | LEGO Star Wars, Sales News

Tantive IV Discounted On Amazon

Amazon.com has discounted 10198 Tantive IV down to $129 (MSRP $149.99). With no tax to most states and free shipping, this is one of the better deals you’ll find on this set. Granted, it’s nothing like the BOGO deal they had during the last holidays, but better than no discount.

Tags: 10198 Tantive IV, Amazon

10 comments

Nick "dWhisper" Martin | July 31st, 2011 | LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, Reviews

Review: 4193 London Escape

In the latest PotC movie, there apparently was an escape from London. I wouldn’t know, because I couldn’t bring myself to go see the movie. I know, it sounds strange that the guy who’s reviewing all of the Pirates of the Caribbean sets hasn’t seen the movie (I didn’t see the third one either), but you really only need to read my review on 4183 – The Mill, to find out why. I really did love the first movie, and that spirit is something that could have been captured in the sets. LEGO Jack Sparrow? It seems like a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want that?

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Tags: 4193 London Escape, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, potc, Reviews

7 comments

Tommy "roguefx" Williamson | July 30th, 2011 | LEGO Star Wars, MOC Spotlight

Ickelpete’s Amazing Remote Controlled R2-D2

What do you get when you combine a bit of Power functions, a great deal of white brick, some mad LEGO building skills and a healthy dose of Star Wars geekdom? The stunning remote controlled R2-D2 from Ickelpete. Peter Salter brought everyone’s favorite astro droid to life for the LEGO Space event at the National Space Centre in the United Kingdom. Check out the video to see all the functionality is this awesome MOC.

Tags: Power Functions, r2-d2

2 comments

Nick "dWhisper" Martin | July 30th, 2011 | LEGO Star Wars, News, Reviews

Review: 7961 Darth Maul’s Sith Infiltrator

For most people, Darth Maul and pretty much everything he did was the highlight of Episode I. Red tattooed face? Check. Horns? Check. Double-bladed lightsaber. A million-times checked. If he would have been used in more of the movie, and had more than a couple of lines, he would have washed away the assault on our eyes and ears that was Jar-Jar Binks, but sadly, that was not the case.

What little we did see of him, outside of the very epic Lightsaber Duel, was his ship, the Sith Infiltrator. Long ago, George Lucas figured out that putting Sith in front of anything was a sure-fire way to sell merchandise. Sith Pancake Syrup? I bet there are people reading this right now that are thinking about checking Google to see if that really exists. So here we are, with LEGO testing us to see if we’re willing to fork money because they put out another Sith Infiltrator.

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Tags: 7961, 7961 Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator, LEGO Star Wars, Reviews

4 comments

Ace "onions" Kim | July 29th, 2011 | LEGO Star Wars, News

LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia, Ceremonial Han Minifigure Previewed

DK Publishing’s latest book, LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia, is being printed, assembled, and bound as we speak. A few days ago, StarWars.com posted an article giving you a preview of some of the interior pages of the book including a sneak preview of the minifigure exclusive, Ceremonial Han Solo, pictured below. I’m not a huge fan of that chin print, but what are you going to do. Both Huw Millington of Brickset and I consulted on the book. It came down to the wire with some of the corrections that we submitted, so I’m curious what did and didn’t make it through. The DK booth at Comic Con had a copy of the book on display. It feels rather substantial, and the full color images are breathtaking. Expect a full review when I get my hands on a copy. Hit the image on the right sidebar to preorder the book from Amazon. Release date is set for October 3, 2011.

Thanks to HothTrooper for the heads up.

Tags: DK Publishing, han solo, LEGO Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia

12 comments

Nick "dWhisper" Martin | July 29th, 2011 | LEGO Star Wars, Reviews

Review: 7956 Ewok Attack

Ewoks are a curious thing to Star Wars fans, and how you feel about them, in a lot of ways, is based on your age. I’m in my early 30s, so I was just a little kid when I first saw Jedi in the theaters. I only have the most vague recollection of seeing the movie in theaters, and remember it more when my dad rented them all in the mid-80s. By that time, bear fever had gripped the US, with Teddy Ruxpin, Gummy Bears, and even a cartoon, Star Wars: Ewoks (which was awful, even back then).

And now, they’re set to take over again, with Ewoks appearing in their first low-end set since 2002 (they were actually redone in Endor Bunker, but more on that later). At $25, this certainly isn’t a cheap set. Is a tree and a couple of Ewoks, along with a speederbike, worth your money?

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Tags: 7956, 7956 Ewok Attack, LEGO Star Wars, Reviews

4 comments

Pete "bigospedros" Croxson | July 29th, 2011 | Sales News

[UK] 20% Discount Code for Woolworths.co.uk (valid until Sunday)

Woolworths may not have any stores on the high street in the UK anymore, but they’re still delivering online with good deals on Lego. Up until the end of Sunday (31st July), you just need to enter the code EPRPH at the checkout to get 20% off all toys. The best news? They have all the new Star Wars sets in stock, so a great way of making an early saving on the latest line of sets.

Please note, however, that they charge for delivery, with prices starting at £3.95.

0 comments

Nick "dWhisper" Martin | July 28th, 2011 | Forum, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, News, Reviews

Review: 4183 The Mill

The Mill is a middle of price set for the Pirates of the Caribbean line of sets. For those of you wondering about the timing of this review, since the movie isn’t in all theaters any more, remember that some places still stock Prince of Persia stuff. The DVD will come out eventually, and these things are going to appear. The Black Pearl is on the horizon as well, waiting to disappoint us! So, arrrrrrrrr.