LEGO Pharaoh’s Quest 853176 Skeleton Mummy Battle Pack Review

LEGO has had a lot of success over the years with its sets of extra minifigures to help populate the LEGO worlds inside homes around the world. This latest minifigure set (battle pack) is based on the new LEGO Pharoah’s Quest collection. This battle pack retails for $14.99 USD, and is available exclusively through Shop.LEGO.com and your local LEGO store. Obviously you can find them being sold through third parties on eBay and Amazon.com, but usually at higher prices.

LEGO Pharaoh's Quest 853176 Skeleton Mummy Battle Pack

The figures include two mummy warriors and one winged mummy warrior. The set also comes with a pair of scorpions, a scarab (which can act as either a bug, or a handheld shield to protect one of the mummy warriors in battle), and a sarcophagus complete with a snake and a bunch of jewels encased within it.

By the Numbers:
Set: LEGO Pharaoh’s Quest 853176 Skeleton Mummy Battle Pack
Year of Release:
Type: Minifig / Minifigure / Battle Pack
# of Pieces: 29
# of Extra pieces: N/A
# of Minifigs and what kind: 3, Mummies
Stickers? No
Price: $14.99
Available: Amazon.com
Ages: 6+
Time to Complete: N/A

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LEGO Toy Story 7591 Construct-a-Zurg Special Edition Review

It’s ‘Black Friday’ here in the US, and while it’s late in the day, you may still be able to find the set below for under $20.

This is one of the greatest sets ever. This is not a joke. This is not just so I can get you folks to run out there, and give LEGO money for a set that cannot be used with any other ones they put out just because I said it was a good set. About the only thing this set can do for kids is to satisfy their need to beat up the Construct-a-Buzz companion set, or use it as a giant Zurg running amok in the Woody’s Roundup set (actually, that sounds pretty cool). Using this Zurg to hang out and drink tea with Bionicle, Ben 10, and Hero factory characters is another use for him. For me, this set just looks very, very cool sitting next to Shockwave (from Transformers) on the shelf above my desk. I’m sure that they have a lot to talk about being that they’re both evil, purple robots.

LEGO-7591-Zurg-Complete

Zurg’s articulation is limited just like in the Toy Story movies. LEGO Zurg spins at the waist, and his head does the same movement. The cape is standard LEGO stiff cloth, but the thing is huge. Zurg stands roughly 9 inches tall, and is 118 pieces strong. A claw machine alien minifig is also included, and accounts for three of the total pieces.

By the Numbers:
Set: LEGOToy Story 7591 Construct-a-Zurg
Year of Release: January 2010
Type: Character in the Toy Story series
# of Pieces: 118
# of Extra pieces: 6
# of Minifigs and what kind: 1 Alien
Stickers? None
Price: $24.99 / £19.99
Where to Buy? Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk
Ages: 7-14
Time to Complete:

Box Art:

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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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LEGO Kingdoms 852921 Knights / 852922 Dragon Battle Packs

Anyone who has been kinda irked about the bad guy to good guy ratio in the current LEGO Kingdoms series need not worry about getting reinforcements any longer. LEGO stores across the country have been carrying Kingdoms minifig Battle Packs for all you Castle System fans to beef up your forces. Each pack of knights/soldiers comes with five well-armed figures for $14.99 (USD). You can find them through third parties such as the Amazon links below, but you won’t find them for $14.99 – that is a price you will only find through the official LEGO stores (unless you get lucky). This price point is very acceptable when you take into account that figure packs from other series are not as accessory-equipped as these are. Also, the Build-A-Figure kiosk at the LEGO stores never really has a good Kingdoms/Castle selection of figure parts in my experience, so the two battle packs in this review are very much welcome to all the fans of LEGO’s medieval themed sets.

LEGO Kingdoms Battle Packs

There will be more photos coming, but this is a fairly short review, given the subject matter.

By the Numbers:
Sets: 852921 Knights Battle Pack, 852922 Dragon Battle Pack
Year of Release: 2010
Type: Minifig Battle Pack
# of Pieces: N/A
# of Extra pieces: N/A
# of Minifigs and what kind: 5 in each pack – Knights
Stickers? No
Price: $14.99 MSRP
Ages: 6+
Time to Complete: N/A

Where to Purchase – 852921 Knights Battle Pack:
Amazon.com (US) (These are through third parties – prices may vary)
Amazon.co.uk (UK) (These are through third parties – prices may vary)

Where to Purchase – 852922 Dragon Battle Pack:
Amazon.com (US) (These are through third parties – prices may vary)
Amazon.co.uk (UK) (These are through third parties – prices may vary)

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Review: LEGO Power Miners 8960 Thunder Driller

While this is now considered an older Power Mines set (it came out in early 2009), it is my favorite Power Miners set to date. I’ve built the 2 mechs, the 8958 Granite Grinder, and even the Claw Digger; but the Thunder Driller is my absolute favorite. It looks like something straight out of a James Cameron movie.

Note: You might be able to find this on clearance at some stores as they clear out old inventory to make room for newer LEGO stock, but this is an early 2009 set and you will most likely only find it online. Some retailers started clearing this out in mid 2010. Brickset shows it being discontinued in July of 2010.

LEGO Power Miners 8960 Thunder Driller

It comes with some cool minifig accessories, 3 minifigs, and just looks great. I really like it. The Thunder Driller itself looks pretty realistic, too. There’s barely any exposed LEGO studs on the completed model, and it exudes a sense of brute power. The forward rock boring drill turns nicely when the front wheels roll, the engine compartment cover behind it can be removed to reveal a storage space (the cover also has a nice set of lights and a lifting chain), the driver’s area behind that is covered by a hinged ladder, and has enough room to hold one Power Miner and a LEGO box of dynamite. The other Power Miner can be put in there, too; but it might be a little cramped. Not only do you get all this stuff, there’s also a walkie-talkie, orange crystal, pick axe, and Firox rock monster figure.

By the Numbers:
Set: LEGO Power Miners 8960 Thunder Driller
Year of Release: 2010
Type: Power Miners Vehicle
# of Pieces: 235
# of Minifigs and what kind: 3 Minifig, 2 Power Miners, One Rock Monster (Firox)
Stickers? Yes, 8
Price: $49.95 US MSRP – Amazon.com (US) and Amazon.co.uk (UK), Possibly at Toys R Us. (Prices may vary through third-parties based on retailer and availability)
Ages: 7-14
Time to Complete: @ 40 minutes, depending on how much time you spend on the stickers.

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