2010 – Page 17 – Mostly Bricks

LEGO Atlantis: Where is the Shark Castle or Where is Atlantis

November 7, 2010November 24, 2009 by Chad

lego-8060-atlantis-minifig After having looked through the officially released materials, we are definitely missing a couple of sets from the LEGO Atlantis theme. I’m not talking about the sets where we’ve seen box art already and just need a name and release date, I’m talking about sets we haven’t heard of. Keep in mind that the three sets we reviewed, the 8056, 8058, and 8060, made it into a fairly wide-scale release here in the US through Toys R Us in a short amount of time around a month and a half earlier than expected with few, if any leaks and no official notice. Jason heard from a Toys R Us employee that it was official and was some kind of exclusive/promo release. Even without having an employee tell us that, it was clearly not an accidental stocking of shelves across the US. LEGO can keep things secret – those are just recent examples.

First, let me say that I’m ignoring rumors and wishful thinking and only focusing on published, official Atlantis-related materials and how the other in-house/non-licensed sets are being handled. In an earlier post, I mentioned a LEGO-related ARG (Alternate Reality Game). As ILikePi pointed out, it’s probably related to LEGO Universe, the upcoming MMORPG or MMO or whatever you want to call it. That was a bad lead on my part and I apologize. It should have been obvious that it wasn’t Atlantis related. That’s an example of what I want to stay away from.

I mainly want to figure out where they’ll fit in and how many large/premium sets we’ll have. For the sake of discussion, I’m calling anything that’s around $60 (or 500+ pieces) and on up “premium”. Before anybody says “you can’t expect a large/premium set of out Atlantis just yet, give it a year” or “you can’t put Atlantis on the level of Pirates or Castle just yet”, let me point out at that the very name of the theme is a location – Atlantis. There is a theme running through out the manuals that there are locations to visit and explore. The teaser website is all about exploring areas – the Doctor’s journal is about finding Atlantis. All we’ve got so far that we know of as far as actual locations is one set: 8061 – Gateway of the Squid, and it’s really not a premium set in my view. It’s also called “Gateway”. That alone sets off warning bells that it will be a gateway to something bigger.

A lot of this may have been collected elsewhere and even better explained, and if so, by all means leave a comment with a link. I’m putting this down for myself to see what the clues are when everything “official” is laid out.

Review: Creator 5866 Rotor Rescue

November 20, 2017November 21, 2009 by Chad

This review is for the Creator 5866 Rotor Rescue, a 3-in-1 set from LEGO that also includes instructions for building a speedboat and a biplane. It was purchased from a Toys R Us on November 20th, 2009 for $12.99 (I mistakenly said $10.99 earlier), but that may not be the final pricing. I’ve not gotten around to the other two alternative models, but will this weekend. There is not a lot to say – it’s a Creator set, and it’s got a lot of flexibility and a lot of really useful parts, especially if you like red and yellow 🙂

This is one of those sets where the pictures speak for themselves.

By the Numbers:
Set: Creator 5866-1 Rotor Rescue
Year of Release: 2010 (but released early in November 2009)
Type: Vehicle, 3-in-1 Set
# of Pieces: 149
# of Extra pieces: 9 (maybe needed in the other two models)
# of Minifigs and what kind: No
Stickers? No
Price: $12.99 at Official LEGO Shop, also at Amazon.com
Ages: 6-12
Time to Complete: Less than one hour – less than half an hour if you’re an experienced builder who has everything laid out.

Remember: click on the photos to see larger images at flickr (5866 Rotor Rescue gallery at flickr)

Review: Power Miners 8188 Fire Blaster

November 20, 2017November 21, 2009 by Chad

This review is for the Power Miners 8188-1 Fire Blaster that comes with 67 pieces (6 are extra). It’s nearly an impulse set, but is $4 higher than the true impulse sets such as the 8956 Stone Chopper (Brickset link) which only has 31 pieces and $2 more than the 8957 Mine Mech which has the exact same number of parts. It’s an in-house line and part of the Power Miners series, and was supposed to be released in 2010, but I purchased it on November 20th, 2009 at a Toys R Us (SKU: 673419129985) for $9.99. I’m going to complain about the price, but I do understand that the pricing may change and that right now we are at the mercy of only one retailer here in the US.

Basically, it’s a neat little buggy-style model with two minifigs, including Combustix, a lava monster minifig that has a hinged jaw and a large belly that can easily swallow the head of a human miner (check the minifig photos below) as well as a crystal or a handy stick of dynamite, or any other small accessory or piece. The buggy has a water (or liquid) reservoir along with a hose leading from the reservoir that contributes to the “Fire Blaster” theme (you didn’t think it shot out fire did you?). This represents an apparent transition from rock-oriented monsters of 2009 to lava-oriented monsters in 2010, and the next release should be the 8189 Magma Mech, which maybe currently available at some Toys R Us stores, depending on your location. See this EuroBricks thread for more discussion on the 2010 Power Miners as well as Brickset’s listing for the 2010 Power Miners.

By the Numbers:
Set: Power Miners 8188-1 Fire Blaster
Year of Release: 2010 (Technically 2009)
Type: Vehicle in the Power Miners series
# of Pieces: 67
# of Extra pieces: 6
# of Minifigs and what kind: 2 – a human miner, and
Stickers? Yes, 4. Not really necessary
Price: $9.99 at Official LEGO Shop, also at Amazon.com (price may vary)
Ages: 7-14
Time to Complete: Less than half an hour. An experienced builder with everything laid out could probably do it in 15 minutes from opening the box.

Remember: click on the photos for larger images at flickr (Full Power Miners 8188 gallery at flickr)

LEGO Shark Temple in 2010?

November 7, 2010November 21, 2009 by Chad

Somebody who lives in a nearby town that I’ve been talking to about some of the new LEGO sets pointed me to this Eurobricks thread where LACIII discovered something I had overlooked when I was going through and taking photos of one of the new sets. Something that resembles some … Read more

Preview/First Impressions of 5866, 8188 from 2010 LEGO Sets

November 7, 2010November 21, 2009 by Chad

Later today I’ll be posting reviews of two new 2010 LEGO sets – Creator 5866 Rotor Rescue and Power Miners 8188 Fire Blaster. It’s taking a little longer than expected and I thought I’d have them finished by now but it’s late, so here’s a couple of photos to give you an idea about the two sets as well as a parts listing for the 5866 (8188 Fire Blaster parts listing).

The 5866 Rotor Rescue, which also includes instructions for a biplane as well as a speed boat, both of which I’ll be assembling and posting later today is a great Creator set. I don’t necessarily agree with the ages of 6 – 12, because 5866 has a lot of small parts (click the “Read More” link below for a full parts list) and I do mean small parts – lots of 1×1 type of stuff. I definitely think it’s worth $10.99 – you get 149 pieces and being that it’s Creator, you would be hard pressed not to be able to find a use for all of them in MOCs. They are all standard pieces as well as a decent cockpit/windscreen and some transparent pieces. As mentioned, you also get instructions for three different models. It’s also a great way to teach somebody a lot of the basics when it comes to connections between the various LEGO elements – everything is reinforced well and it’s literally a very solid model, even though when you extend the back ramp, you can see all the way through from the front to the back.

As far as the 8188, I think they need to knock a few dollars off, especially since it’s an in-house line and not one of the licensed series. It’s very possible that it could be cheaper, and I don’t see how Amazon can price it at $12.99 for pre-orders at this point. It’s a really cool little buggy-style model, and the minifigs are great. Plenty of MOC opportunities as long as you don’t apply the stickers. We’ve applied stickers to other 2010 sets we’ve reviewed (and kind of wished we hadn’t on the 5981 Police Raid VPR), but the stickers in this instance are placed on parts that could easily be used elsewhere and it would prevent you from using them or being constrained as far as how you use them. The flick-fire dynamite is very lacking as well and could have been left off. Otherwise it’s a neat little set that should have been below $10. Then again, it may very well turn out to be priced below that point – we all know that retail pricing when there is no competition can vary widely.

Toys R Us Trip Report – Lots of New 2010 LEGO Sets

November 7, 2010November 21, 2009 by Chad

Update: Toys R Us Trip Report Part II – November 28, 2009.

Paid a trip to the Toys R Us in Cedar Park, Texas, to check out the 2010 LEGO sets that are popping up in the various Toys R US stores around the US, and came away with a couple of the cheaper sets, Creator 5866 Rotor Rescue, and Power Miners 8188 Fire Blaster, and I’ll get reviews of both up later today/tonight. I also took photos of the sets on the shelf to give you an idea of pricing and the fact that they are “official”, at least as far as Toys R Us is concerned. All had shelf stickers/price tags, and I didn’t come across any empty places. It’s in fact been a week since these have started showing up, and obviously they are not being pulled at the request of LEGO.

Here’s the list of what I saw tonight, followed by photos of each (remember, click on the images to see a bigger photo at flickr):
* 7207 City – Fire Boat ($49.99)
* 7208 City – Fire Station ($79.99)
* 5866 Creator – Helicopter ($12.99) ($16.99 at Amazon)
* 8188 Power Miners – Fire Blaster ($9.99) ($12.99 at Amazon)
* 7967 Racers – Fast (Probably $12.99) (Not at Amazon)
* 7968 Racers – Strong (Probably $12.99) (Not at Amazon)
* 8198 Racers – Ramp Crash ($14.99) (Not at Amazon)
* 8045 Technic – Mini-Telehandler ($10.99) ($12.99 at Amazon)
* 8046 Technic – Helicopter ($19.99)

That’s in addition to the ones we’ve already reviewed:
* 8056 Atlantis – Monster Crab Clash
* 8058 Atlantis – Guardian of the Deep
* 8060 Atlantis – Typhoon Turbo Sub
* 5981 Space Police – Raid VPR
* 5982 Space Police – Smash ‘n’ Grab

Besides the two I bought, I came very close to picking up the 8045 Technic Mini-Telehandler – a decent number of very usable parts for the price – 117 for $10.99, and while I could ignore the 2-in-1 conversion into a motorcycle and sidecar, that was kind of an interesting conversion. It’s interesting that Toys R Us has a lower price for the 5866 Helicopter, 8045 Mini-Telehandler, 8188 Fire Blaster. I would assume Amazon.com ends up a little cheaper at some point.