FBTB

Category: Forum

  • Review: 9472 Attack on Weathertop

    While it was Star Wars that got me back into LEGO all the way back in 1999, Castle has always been my first love. It’s what I loved as a kid; when I dumped my bricks out on the carpet to build as a kid, I either built houses or castles. Sure, there was an occasional spaceship, but I was a huge NASA fan back then, and didn’t get into Classic Space because it really didn’t look like the NASA stuff I loved.

    What does this have to do with a review of the mid-range Lord of the Rings set, Attack on Weathertop? Not much, except I wanted to explain exactly how much I was looking forward to the whole fantasy genre getting some love, hopefully in the same way that space did when Star Wars hit. Sure, classic space vanished when Star Wars hit, and the same thing has happened to Castle, but LEGO had been treating Castle like a red-headed stepchild for years. But Lord of the Rings has all the promise of revitalizing this style of set, and tapping a vein that almost every other licensed line other than Star Wars has failed to do: succeed beyond the release of a movie. (more…)

  • Contest Reminder: Two Weeks To Go!


    After midnight tonight you will have less than two weeks remaining to finish building and submit your bounty hunter + ship for our  MOC Madness 2011 Tournament. The entries have been pouring in and I suspect some real heavy hitters are waiting until the final stretch to reveal their models.

    To repeat my note from the halfway point post: the cutoff time for submissions is midnight on the 31st (Pacific time) but please do not wait until the last minute to enter! Especially if this is your first time entering a contest and posting on the forum. If there is a problem with your entry or the post itself you will have no time to fix it and you could miss out on the contest as a result. No one wants that to happen, so if you need any help at all feel free to ask in the forum thread or contact me via the private message feature.

  • Contest Reminder: Halfway There!

    It’s now October which means we’re past the half way point in the building phase of our MOC Madness 2011 Tournament. We already have some very cool entries and I know loads more are in the works thanks to the two month window. Remember that the cutoff time for submissions is midnight on the 31st (Pacific time) but please do not wait until the last minute to enter! Especially if this is your first time entering a contest and posting on the forum. If there is a problem with your entry or the post itself you will have no time to fix it and you could miss out on the contest as a result. No one wants that to happen, so if you need any help at all feel free to ask in the forum thread or contact me via the private message feature.

    If this is your first time hearing about the contest, worry not, you still have four weeks to build and submit your bounty hunter + ship to compete in the tournament, so get to work and good luck everyone!

  • The Big Kenobi

    A little while back a plea for help went up in the forums for any info about this large scale minifigure and the facts remain few and far between. It looks like a more detailed print of the Obi-wan figure from 2002’s 7143 Jedi Starfighter set. Aside from that he’s a bit of a mystery, a couple of mysteries really.
    (more…)

  • Alphabet Fighter Contest Results

    The votes are in and we have our winners!

    In first place, with a total of 48 votes, is the M-Wing Viper by ted @ndes:

    In a very close second is the Iommian 7th iteration i-Fighter, codename: SPINNER by Fat Tony with 45 votes:

    And finally, the f-wing fighter by bartosza6m lands in third with 32 votes:

    I want to thank all the participants for their fantastic ships and the forum members who voted. There were so many great submissions that even having five votes to spread around was tough. Congratulations to everyone.

  • V E T A i M i W k E F W T H E Q l X Q L I h W f i K W H b D G F V T D L Z D J B O E O T R a J E V C R O W G g G V Q G E P S H Z E X E T Y Y U L Z

    That’s either some secret Imperial code or the spread of Alphabet Fighters built for the contest, ordered by submission date. Possibly both. Incredible turnout for this challenge – piles of great entries and some real creativity everywhere – now is the time to pick your favorites so head to the forum and cast your vote!

    Alphabet Fighter Contest Entries

    This contest brought to you by every letter but N, because not a single member decided to build an N-wing fighter. Sure, you could knock one of the three Z-wings on their nose and call it a day, but that’s just adding insult to injury. The most popular choice among builders was E, with eight total variants, better than ten percent of the pool.

  • Review: 7879 Hoth Echo Base

    Full Set

    Empire Strikes Back, and Hoth in general, has always been a somewhat neglected area of the LEGO Star Wars line until recent years. But, starting with the somewhat infamous Hoth Rebel Base back in 2007 (has it really been that long?), the Ice Planet has been getting a little more love. The new base is the 3rd in a line of successive “bases” (2009’s 7749 – Echo Base would be the other), and is the first one that actually looks like a base.

    At first glance, there’s a whole lot to love about this set. There is a gaggle of minifigs, almost all of them new or modified (our stalward Snowtroopers, thankfully, are unchanged). A lot of potential play features, and of course, a Tauntaun. Now the real question is, does all of that add up to $90, the same amount as the new Podracer set?

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  • 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.

    The Mill

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  • Alphabet Fighter Contest Reminder

    The Alphabet Fighter Contest
    The Alphabet Fighter Contest is in full swing and we’ve seen some really great entries so far. Check out the forum thread for the rules and submissions. There’s still two and a half weeks left before the deadline is up though -  plenty of time to design and build a ship of your own to compete. Entries must be posted in the contest thread by 11:59pm Pacific Time (UTC -8) July 31, 2011 if you want a shot at the great prizes.
  • April Fools’: Forum Avatars… Finally!

    April Fools’: Forum Avatars… Finally!

    Finally, after years of neglect, I finally managed to convince Greg Hyland to provide avatars for the forums. The above is a sampling of what’s available. There are a total of 84 images drawn from the OT, PT and CW. We have plans for more Star Wars themed avatars, and have a roadmap in place for Harry Potter, Spiderman, and Batman, and more! So log in now to your account and choose your avatar!