Saturday 29 June 2013

LEGO Review of set 10233: Horizon Express X 2

For the last couple of days I have been building my Dad's LEGO set 10233: Horizon Express. I had shown him the Sets on the Sunday and said that he really liked the look of them. So after leaving our house he went straight to Myer and purchased the sets. He used my Myer one card plus the coupon to get the extra 10% off plus I get the points :-)

Yesterday I finally started building the first box. I forgot to take any photo's, but I did take photo's with the second box. :-) Here they are.
Lego set 10233: Horizon Express
After opening the box we have 3 lots of numbered bags, for each section of the train.You can see that there is a green brick separator. I guess LEGO did that to help you find it easier. In any other large set they give you an orange one.

Scan of the sticker sheet.

Here is the contents of the number 1 bags. They will make the main engine. There are stickers as shown above. Altogether you would only apply maybe 8. One for the front nose, a few numbers on either side and one inside for the control panel.


 The number bags 1 have the most amount of pieces in the set.

Like with every build I do, here is my son building the Minifigure. Jaspa was disappointed there was only one to begin with.


Front of the Minifigure.
Back of the Minifigure.
A few pages in. You can see that there is room later for Power Functions.

 I found the building of the arrows on the sides to be quite clever. Using 1x1 plates w/ clips and 1x1 cheese slopes to get the effect.
Love it!

A photo of the step by step process of the arrows.
Here is a close up of the arrows.

Building the nose of the Horizon Express.

Attaching the wheelsets.

 This is the dummy motor for extra detail if you don't have Power Functions. In my Dad's case he doesn't.

Engine complete! I really enjoyed building the undercarriage for some reason. The different building techniques for the bottom nose section is very well thought out, something I will keep in mind for future MOCS. 


Top View of the engine.

These are the spares leftover from bag 1.

The contents of Bags number 2. We begin building the first of 2 carriages in this set.
My son was much happier this time around having to build 2 Minifigures.
The front of the Minifigures for bag 2

The back of the Minifigures for bag 2
In this shot you can see the details of the inside of the carriage. 3 seats and what looks to be a toilet, there will be 2 inner walls and a sliding door to seal it in. There is also room for a couple of printed newspaper 2x2 tiles, and room for 3 brief cases.
 I really loved the SNOT (Studs not on top) work on the windows. Another technique I will add to my memory bank.
A better look at how the SNOT is done to make these windows stretch from one end to the other.
The first carriage complete. Overall some great building techniques throughout. Highlights are the SNOT windows and the undercarriage.

Looking forward to getting on board.
The spares for the number 2 bags. It's great that LEGO are now adding the 1x1 plates as spares into the newer models.
The contents for the final lot of number 3 bags. Time to start building the second carriage. These bags contained even less then the number 2 bags, because the other half of the wheelsets are on the first carriage.
Unfortunately by the time I got to these Minifigures my Son fell asleep, so he missed out.
The front of the Minifigures for bag3

The back of the Minifigures for bag 3
The inside detail of the second carriage. This also has 3 seats, a bar to serve drinks and a coffee machine.
Not much involved with building this carriage. Its pretty much the same as the first one. So lets have a look at it connected to the other half. 
Attached to the other half of the wheelset and now complete.

They look happy enough that it's all done and dusted!
Again the spares for the number 3 bags.

A close up of both engines. How good do they look side by side?

All the Minifigures from both models.
A shot from above, to show how nice the set is. Looks better with two!
 All connected. I had to put this monster on the floor because I had no room anywhere else to show you how all six are connected. Something I'll have work on before I get mine home.
Front end of the Horizon Express.

Side view.

Birdseye view :-D
The final shot! All aboard!!!

NOTE:
While I was setting this up I did notice, that when I tried to pull the train up into position along tracks, the engine came adrift from the first carriage. The magnets don't seem strong enough when all 6 are connected. When I held both the carriage and engine, the middle section came apart where the two sets join as well. It's just to heavy as a combined set.
So for any one thinking of putting Power Functions to this set. You will have to do some modding to help hold it together better.

Edit: Blogger Reader M. Johnson sent us a tip for keeping the whole train attached at the magnets: Quote: "you will notice that each magnetic coupling has a stud on top and bottom. You can stick a 2x1 plate or tile over them when they're connected. Easy as that!" Thanks for that great tip!

Other then that, this is a fantastic build and I cannot wait to get mine home from Lay-By.
I highly recommend getting the model just as a display piece. I imagine it would look even better watching this beauty go around on a track. I can hear the Mission Impossible theme now and picturing Tom Cruise holding on for dear life.

Let us know what you think of the Horizon Express.

Thank you for reading. Till next time...

Tan Tile signing out.



Thursday 27 June 2013

How I came out of "My LEGO Dark Age"

Back in late 2009, after almost two days of labor, my lovely wife Tash gave birth to our second child and our first son Jaspa. Our almost 3 year old daughter Chloe was waiting out side with her Grandparents and my best mate Ty. I could hear Chloe out in the corridor and she was eager for her first glance of her little baby brother. She came in bright eyed and with the biggest smile I have ever seen on her chubby little face. I knew at that moment our family was now complete! The pigeon pair as they say.

As a massive Star Wars geek I was eager to share that world with Jaspa as I had done with Chloe.
Back in 1999 and 2000 I started to buy the new LEGO Star Wars sets, but I wasn't buying them because it was LEGO, I was buying them because they had Star Wars on and in them.
Fast forward to 2010 and my passion for all things Star Wars was on shaky ground. A few things at that time had got my "chest up" with the franchise. The retcon of the Mandalorians for the back then new "Clone Wars" cartoon really pissed me off and took me over the edge! I had vested time in the Karen Traviss Republic Commando book series as well as the Legacy of the Force books, where I really enjoyed the whole Mandalorian history that Karen was creating; then came the Clone Wars and stuffed all that up!

The set that started it all!!
But I digress... I think it was mid 2009 when we found out that Tash was pregnant with our second child and that it was going to be a boy! By this stage my mate Ty was gearing up to join the Police Force and he had mentioned that he had seen a 7744: Police Headquarters and how cool it looked. I agreed! So a couple of days later my wife comes home with the very set we were talking about. She said it was only $89 at Big W and she thought it would be cool to have a little Uncle Ty LEGO Police Minifigure... I must admit I did have a little chuckle. (In hind sight, I bet my wife wished she never did it) :-)

So a few days later Ty comes over and we show him that we had got the set. He too laughed but was pumped to build the thing.
Later that night after Chloe went to bed we sat down at the table and opened the box. We separated the numbered bags and we each built a section: Tash built the vehicle; Ty built the main police station and I built the jail cells. I remember being amazed at the little details of the toilet and even the toilet roll, lol. I loved the little beds and the pop out back wall so the criminals could escape. I also remember how excited Ty was about the boom gate and Tash getting frustrated because of her long finger nails getting in the way.

Once it was all done I knew I was hooked! I got the bug! I must have more!
By the end of the first week we had all the Police theme. By the second week I was on-line looking at what else there was out there... that was a mistake!! I found that there was a whole community out there dedicated to the addictive little plastic brick. The more I found the more I wanted. being into Star Wars and collecting Hasbro toys I knew all about how out of control it will get, but it didn't stop me. I even started using the kids as an excuse to buy more lol. Within months I found a store located in Maffra, called Bricks to the World that had a lot of older sets that were not in local stores anymore! I discovered that there was a recently new style of building, called "Modular" and I was instantly drawn to them. So one day I sat down with the wife and made a list of what we would like to purchase and boy what a list it was! After the list was completed we contacted them with our order, we planned our 4 hour drive and headed on over to their home store...
Oh was I in heaven! I had never seen so much LEGO in one spot in my life. After spending over an hour looking at different sets we ended up with even more than what was on our wanted list.
The real problem was getting it all home... the boot was full, the back seat was full, it was on Tash's lap, you couldn't see Chloe for all the LEGO in the back seat, it was everywhere! After a few rearrangements we managed to fit it all in and make our 4 hour trek back home. Once home I started to build them and even now I have yet to finish building all those we had brought that day.

I got to thinking about all my sets that I used to have as a kid. My old 80's space and Town sets as well as some pirates sets. So I rang up my folks to see if they could go find it and sure enough they had it all stored up in their attic. They brought it over the next time they came to visit and I immediately started going through it. I found a lot of broken pieces, no complete sets, heaps of minifigs missing and a ton of yellowed pieces :-(
I was kinda bummed about it at first but soon understood that they were 20+ years old and up in the roof exposed to all the extreme temperatures up there. I still had all the older Star Wars sets and they are all in perfect condition, but since coming back to LEGO I think I have only ever bought about 10 Star wars sets. For some reason I'm not all that keen on them as I already have them all displayed in the Hasbro action figure vehicle versions; so I kept away from that line.

With all the sets that LEGO continue to make, my list never gets shorter, it only gets longer and now my wife blames herself as well as Ty (for mentioning it) and for starting this mad obsession that I have. The line that I hear with every purchase now is: "where are you going to put that set?" and I'll say: "I'll make room... I always do" :-)

Now that the kids are older and understand what they want and like, the collection has grown even more. Chloe loves her Friends sets. Jaspa is into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and just like his Father, all of the Super Heroes line. Tash has really gotten into the Collectable Minifigures, Harry Potter and also the Monsters themes. Me? Well... pretty much everything that has a Stud on and in it.
Now whenever we go to the toy section and I have the kids in tow, if they see any LEGO set they like I have no problem saying yes... :-) because at the end of the day I get to help build it with them or they get to help build it when I get something new... because after all its for the kids ;-)

If you have read this far... Thank you! I hope my story of how I came out of my dark age was as entertaining as it was for me in sharing it with you.

Thank you again for your time... till next time...

Tan Tile signing off...


Monday 24 June 2013

Lego for the Youngsters

Yesterday I posted a round-up report for LEGO Exclusive sets more towards the adults.

Today I will focus on some sets for the budding Master Builders out there.


For the baby/toddlers out there, There are some nice looking Lego Duplo up for grabs.

Myer have some sets out, that look like fun to build and play... and in my sons case DESTROY!!!
Plus with Lay-by till Christmas you will have plenty of time to save and pay it off.
Sale - Starts 20th June - Ends 28th July.






10552 Lego Duplo Creative Cars is now $23.95 ea  (Save $6 ea)









10558 Learn to Count Number Train is now $23.95 ea  (Save $6 ea)*
 
*Note - Target have it for $0.95 Cheaper


  
If your child loves trains, they are going to LOVE this!



10508 Lego Duplo Deluxe Train Set is now $124 (Save $35)










Plenty of animals to take care of in this Big Zoo!

 

 6157 Lego Duplo Big Zoo is now $119 (Save $30) ONLY AT MYER







For the Slightly older kids like my daughter (age 6) there are a couple of Bricks & More type sets that will really get their creative juices flowing 


For great value for money, you really can't go wrong with these sets.



10663 Lego Bricks & More is now $44.95 (Save $15)
Here is another image showing all the parts they will have endless hours building with.
 










  5560 Lego Bricks & More is now $39.95 (Save $10)
Another image showing the elements included











Big W have some Disney Princess Duplo for our little Princess', If they love the movies they will love reenacting their favorite scenes.
Sale - Starts 27th June - Ends 10th July.


 

10516 LEGO Duplo Ariel's Magical Boat Ride is now $22.00 (Save $6)










 10515 LEGO Duplo Ariel's Undersea Castle is now $32.00 (Save $6)






 

6154 LEGO DUPLO Cinderella's Castle is now $68.00 (Save $16)






For More Building Options there are a couple of New "Bricks and More" Buckets





10555 LEGO DUPLO Creative Bucket is now $38.00






 


 10662 LEGO Creative Bucket is now $38.00








Target also have some different sets available in their "Toy Sale" here they are...
Sale - Starts 26 June - Ends 17 July.









10557 Duplo Giant Tower is now $69 (Save $20)






A nice Little addition to the Zoo Set Sold at Myer Target have this to make your Zoo slightly larger.


 6136 Duplo My First Zoo is now $29 (Save $10)







 Now I know my daughter can never have too many horses with this cute little set.



10500 Duplo Horse Stable is now $29 (Save $10)





 
 
K-Mart  Has A Large 1600 Piece Tower similar to Target's Duplo Tower as above but with LEGO
 



 
 
 
 
10664 LEGO Creative Tower is $79
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Toys R Us have a couple of sets advertised too... 
Sale - Starts 19th June - Ends 09th July.



10512 Lego Duplo Jake's Treasure Hunt is now $18.67 (Save $1.32)
 



 

 6152 Lego Duplo Snow White's Cottage - Normal price $24.99






I am Sure that there is a much larger range in store but I have only covered what is in the Toy Sale Catalogues... so happy hunting :)

Of course if your Kids are a little older there are always the CityFriendsChimaSuper HeroesTMNT and Star Wars to look at, From what I can find Big W have the best prices to date.


I hope we have helped you with detailed information in making some of your purchases a lot easier today, Have Fun and keep on Building!

Thanks for reading!

We will be back soon

 Tan Tile signing out. :D