German Toy Fair - Galaxy Squad

Hip, hip, hooray for my fiftieth post! The German Toy Fair has uncovered several great new upcoming 2013 Galaxy Squad, Castle, City, and Coast Guard (probably sub theme of city)! This is covering Galaxy Squad, tomorrow (or today) I'll get to rest of this extensive announcement. Now let's begin! There are two new sets for Galaxy Squad today: 70708 Hive Crawler and 70709 Galactic Titan. Now, I'm at a loss for words for these two sets..... They're way too amazing to use one word to describe with! First I'll start with what might be the coolest bug they've had so far: the scorpion. It's similar in design to the Indiana Jones ant, it looks amazing! I think all the new Galaxy Squad sets will include at least one (I think, don't take my word for it!).
UPDATE: Like I said above, there were no guarantees, the larva will only be included in: 70708 and 70709. Also view the update on the scorpions larva here.

Now for 70708 Hive Crawler: just right off this set is by far the best bug vehicle yet. It has some great, rare pieces and such a great design! And wait, could those be... Printed pieces! I mean seriously Lego you need to have more printed pieces! I think the pieces towards the back might be printed, and the cockpits are definitely printed. Estimated price USD: $59.99 - $69.99 :-(

Finally 70709 Galactic Titan: Gosh! How long is this Ultra Sonic Raider (click here for installment two) theme going to go on? I mean come on the crawler with treads thing is getting a little old. Even so, this set is far superior to the other two LTTVs (Large Tread Terrain Vehicle :-P). I love the way the blue team's color fits so well with the vehicles. But the best part of this set is obviously the gunship, it's detail and design are outstanding (thank you whoever designed this set!). But no thank you to the people who price things! No! The estimated price for this is $99.99 - $109.99! No way, I'm not seeing that I think there must be a mistake because there is no way that should be $100+, what I'm guessing is that maybe there are more components to this set we can't see. Hmmm... Well thanks for reading, and I hope you are as excited as me about these new sets we'll be seeing this fall! This is the Lego Spy, out. LS (Lego Spy) News Update: Starting February 3rd 2013 I will start posting an Old Set Review the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month, so stay tuned to Lego Spy next week! Also feel free to enter the poll on the right side of this page!

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Review: 9496 Star Wars Desert Skiff

Here is my first review for my blog. I received the Desert Skiff for Christmas 2012. The set features: Skiff, Sarlacc, and 4 minifigures. First up, the minifigs: Boba Fett features a well detailed torso and legs, a very nice  mandalorian-style helmet, an uncommon olive-like green jetback, a cool shoulder blanket-thing, and an average gun. Lando Calrissian has a nicely detailed torso, however, his legs could be a little better than just plain tan. Kithaba has a nice hat (always a nice piece), however it dosen't match the red on his pants, nice torso, but again the legs are too plain! Finally Luke, well, yea it's Luke's hair, well detailed torso, and once again the pants are just too plain, this is getting crazy! All the minifigs have good head pieces as well, except for one thing, why, why I ask you, are Lando and Luke smiling? I mean come on! What kind of a guy smiles when he's about to get eaten alive literally by a Sarlacc? Speaking of Sarlaccs the one included with this set is very nice and I think very movie-accurate. Now for the skiff, it's very detailed and it wasn't until a few days ago that I looked at it and said: "Wow, this is awesome!" I realized how really cool and well designed it is. The front has the perfect piece for it and it all comes together very nicely, the fact that the plank swings in and out is a nice feature, and the side parts with the shafts are nice. However (there's always a however :( ), in the very back where the set comes together there are two triangular points that kind of stick out from the model that could have been easily remedied with a different piece. Anyway here are the pros and cons
Pros: Great minfigs, movie-accurate Sarlacc, and cool skiff
Cons: Plain pants, smiles on Luke and Lando (?), and the two triangular parts protruding from the back
So overall the pros rule over the cons and I would definitely suggest this set to a friend! This is the Lego Spy, out.

The Minfigs included with this set

The Accessories (whoops, missing an "s" in accessories :P)

Several views of skiff (click to view larger)

Nice pic of Sarlacc

Helpful Lego Tips 1#: Cleaning Pieces

Here is my first installment in my possible new series Helpful Lego Tips. Since everyone hates cleaning dust off bricks, here is a helpful tip on how to clean dust of Lego bricks, plates sets, and more!
1. Select a pipe cleaner (chenille pipe) (preferably thicker).

2. Pick a brick or set (really any Lego piece with studs).

Piece from 7741 Police Headquarters (sections with no dust is where pieces were)

3. Take the pipe cleaner and run it in between the studs until satisfied.

This works surprisingly well and doesn't require much force to pick up dust (making it helpful for smaller, more delicate sets). Hope this helps for anyone looking for information on this subject. This is the Lego Spy, out. 

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You Design It - We Make It!

The Technic contest You Design It We Make It has had it's top ten finalists narrowed down. Click here to submit your vote!

Brain Attack!

The online Hero Factory games are back and better that ever with the new game Brain Attack now on Lego.com! The game uses the new Hero Factory sets for 2013, and, for once I like Furno. It is again a VERY high quality game that further improves graphics and speed. You start your journey on the streets of Makuhero City where some mysterious activity starts trouble...

Marvel Video Game

As they've always done, Marvel continues to follow DC in the company's footsteps. Now they repeat the process once more with: Lego Marvel Super Heroes! The game will be available on all current video gaming devices and released later this year. The game will feature more than a hundred unlockable characters and uses the usual standard Lego game theme. The game will also focus on Nick Fury calling on numerous superheroes to save the world. This is the Lego spy, out.

Mindstorms EV3

Finally, after waiting 4 years since the NXT 2.0 we get the next Mindstorms robot from Lego. The EV3 will be the upgrade from the NXT series and can now be programmed from the robot itself or a Android or iOS device. It will go for $349.99 (!) and be released sometime Summer-Fall this year (2013). This is the Lego spy, out. (Is it just me or does that head look like some kind of exotic bird?)

Price Guess: Lone Ranger

Lego Lone Ranger was revealed a few months ago and now we get a guess at the prices for them!
- 79106 Cavalry: $19.99 (surprised this is the least expensive set, being $19.99.....)
- 79107 Comanche Camp: $29.99 - $39.99 ? (Looks like $29.99)
- 79108 Stagecoach Escape: $39.99 - $59.99!? (I highly doubt that it will be $59.99)
- 79109 Colby City Showdown: $69.99 - $79.99 (I don't think it will be $59.99 but it could)
- 79110 Silver Mine Shootout: $89.99 - $99.99 (looks like one of the best sets so far!)
- 79111 Constitution Train Chase: $119.99 - $129.99 (with the introduction of $129 by Helm's Deep it will probably be that :-( ) So far this looks like a great theme since we haven't seen a western theme since Western (:-P)! And the new pistols (in picture below) look great as well! What's your opinion? Comment below. This is the Lego spy, out.
UPDATE (2/9/2013): 79108 will not be $60 dollars, $50 dollars, or even $40 dollars! It will be priced at an amazing $29.99 USD. Constitution Train Chase's (79111) price is currently unknown, but stay tuned to Lego Spy for further news!
UPDATE (3/1/2013): Constitution Train Chase's price is officially set at $99.99