LEGO Universe 55001 Rocket Review

I searched everywhere to find this cool little set. Originally handed out with some of pre-orders of the LEGO Universe videogame (and as part of an in-store promotion), this rocketship has been highly sought after on the aftermarket. I was lucky enough to find them for sale last week (MSRP $9.99) at one of my local LEGO stores. If you can get one, then buy it. It makes an excellent stocking stuffer/impulse buy item.

LEGO Universe 55001 Rocket Review

Note: The minifig and stand pictured below do not come with the bagged 55001 set.

By the Numbers:
Set: LEGO Universe 55001 Rocket
Year of Release: October 2010
Type: Promotional/bagged mini-vehicle
# of Pieces: 55
# of Extra pieces: 3
# of Minifigs and what kind: None
Stickers? No
Price: $9.99
Ages: 7+
Time to Complete: Less than 15 minutes
Purchase: Official LEGO Stores / Amazon.com (Retail prices maybe higher than MSRP)

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LEGO Kingdoms 7952 Advent Calendar

Update: If you’d like to see the individual advent calendar entries, see our LEGO 7952 Kingdoms Advent Calendar flickr set

After much debate, I finally broke down and bought the new LEGO Kingdoms Advent Calendar at my local LEGO Store. There were some major deciding factors. First off, I love the Kingdoms (and Castle) series LEGO has been putting out, and figured this set would have items/figures that would compliment my current collection nicely. The second thing that came to mind was the simple fact that when these things are gone, they’re gone. The LEGO Store is the only place you can get this set, and still buy it for its retail price (MSRP $34.99). If you choose to take the online auction route to obtaining the Kingdoms Advent Calendar, don’t be surprised if the bidding surpasses the $50 mark!

LEGO 7952 Kingdoms Advent Calendar

Actually, there was third factor in buying this one: they didn’t make a 2010 LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar, so the Kingdoms set was the next best thing.

By the Numbers:
Set: LEGO Kingdoms 7952 Advent Calendar
Year of Release: 2010 (September)
Type: Advent Calendar (Seasonal)
# of Pieces: 167
# of Extra pieces:
# of Minifigs and what kind: 8-9 (depending on how you count)
Stickers? No, printed
Price: $34.99 US
Purchase: Amazon.com (Warning, prices maybe higher than MSRP)
Ages: 5-12
Time to Complete: N/A

For those of you who do not know what an advent calendar is, I’ll tell you my view. An advent calendar is usually a bigger deal in Europe. Usually, these types of calendars come with chocolate. Starting on December 1st (these calendars celebrate the days of Advent leading up to Christmas), a little flap with the date is opened to reveal a piece of chocolate that is usually shaped like something associated with the holiday (i.e. a snowflake, deer head, X-mas tree, etc.). For the remaining days leading up to Christmas, each day contains a different piece of chocolate, or some other candy. The same concept is applied here, but instead of chocolate, LEGO figures and accessories are the daily prize. So as not to spoil the fun for you who do buy this item, I won’t say what’s in the set. We will probably post the item of the day starting December 1. I have opened the entire set, and had some fun putting the figures and other things together.

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Machiya, a MOC

midnightcat1307 has put together a beautiful Japanese-themed MOC, entitled Machiya. Machiya, in the words of Wikipedia: Machiya are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan and typified in the historical capital of Kyoto. Machiya (townhouses) and nōka (farm dwellings) constitute the two categories of Japanese vernacular architecture known as minka (folk … Read more

LEGO Minifigures Series 3 – Cracked by FBTB

“that guy”, a forum member over at From Bricks to Bothans was the first to crack the codes on the LEGO Minifigures Series 3/Volume 3. Yes, the new series of minifigures that wasn’t due out until 2011 has been made available in certain retail stores. The previous two sets/volumes of … Read more

Featured MOCs: Ye Old Forge and Bron-Y-Aur

Jason and I are both big fans of the Medieval Market set, and a friend who knows this passed this neat MOC along. It was posted a few weeks ago on flickr, and is from “Derfel Cadarn”. It’s titled “Ye Olde Forge”, and is focused around a minifig-scaled blacksmith’s shop, … Read more

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Available

Last week, Harry Potter Years 1-4 was announced by Warner Brothers for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Well, it’s here and is available as of a few hours ago, just in time for the seventh movie. $4.99 will buy it for you at Apple’s iTunes Store. From Warner Brothers: … Read more