Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Review on Pirates of the Caribbean Isla De Muerta 4181


This is a pretty nice set that I purchased at the grand opening of the new Lego Store in Alderwood Mall. The chest full of coins is quite well done, with the cover of the chest pivoting off the 1x1x1, which looks fantastic. In some sets there are a couple of gold pieces for detailing, in this set they are used almost everywhere showing the pirates wealth. The crooked mast is a great detail, but having it pivot on the pin isn't the greatest.
The turn-table with captain Barbosa (human form) and captain Barbosa (skeleton form) is a nice touch to the set. The set comes with four minifigures, and 152 pieces. 

New Lego Store at Alderwood Mall Seattle, WA!


A Lego store in Alderwood Mall had a grand opening on Friday, June 22, and I was able to go and check it out. The main event for the grand opening was building Lego bricks to help Master builders construct a 8-foot tall Lego Yoda. The Master builders had a smaller version of a Lego Yoda that they were using as a template to help build the bigger version. Here are some pictures of the event.



Monday, June 18, 2012

Review of Lord of the Rings 9469 and 9472

I usually don't buy many big Lego sets, but the Attack on Weathertop just somehow grabbed me. Attack on Weathertop is a great set using many hinged pieces to bring it a more rounded look which looks rather nice. It's Ringwraiths could put even those Harry Potter dementors you own to shame. Both the torsos and the heads are all double sided, (except for the Ringwraiths heads which are all black). The mini statues look like the minifigures used in most Lego games, like Heroica, Pirates Plank, Ramese's Pyramid, Magma Monster, and many others. The spiral staircase is great and rather interestingly built, but it's really the Hobbits that make this set a set with their short legs, flowing capes, and with their intricately designed torsos the Hobbits are ready to face the Ringwraiths.    

Gandalf Arrives is like many other carriage type sets like the Kingdoms Prison Carriage Rescue, but with some noticeable changes. The wheels are a little bigger than the Prison Carriage, and the color, of course, which is the same as the closer resembling farm cart from Mill Village Raid. But the change most anticipated is the new Lego horse which is quite nice all by itself, but along with the 111 year old wizard, and the much younger hobbit it brings together to make a great set. 

The new Lord of the Rings horses found in both of these sets are, in my opinion much better than the older Kingdoms horses. They are more poseable, more decorated, and in every possible way better than the Kingdoms horses.

In the new Lord of the Rings sets, Lego has made some new swords, as well as reusing some of the swords from minfigure series 7 (Viking Lady and Dark Knight). 

I purchased these sets from Whistle Stop Toys in Port Townsend, WA. They have a good selection and fair prices on all Legos, along with other toys.