LEGO Star Wars ARC-170 Starfighter 8088

Product Description: The heavily armored, multi-purpose ARC-170 starfighter is perfect for scouting missions and leading raids on the Separatist Droid Army. Take the battle to the Separatists by unfolding the wings to attack position and firing flick missiles at enemy droid starfighters! Includes two clone pilots, Jedi Master Kit Fisto and R4-P44 astromech droid mini-figures.

Features
* Includes 2 clone pilots with special helmet design, 1 R4-P44 astromech droid and 1 Jedi Master Kit Fisto minifigures
* ARC-170 features 3 opening cockpits, wings that unfold into attack position using a special lever or shoot flick firing missiles using the same lever
* Battle against the Separatists by including #8086 Droid Tri-Fighter
* Super vehicle - Starfighter, seen in Episode III
* 396 pieces

Average customer review:

Editorial Reviews

From the Manufacturer
Droid forces beware – the ARC-170 starfighter has arrived. Built with the latest in Republic technology, this Clone Wars fighter-bomber carries a crew of clone pilots and Jedi Master Kit Fisto into battle anywhere the enemy strikes. Turn the gear on the back to open and close the S-foil attack wings, then push it to launch auto-firing flick missiles. Includes 2 Clone Pilots, Kit Fisto and Astromech Droid.

Customer Reviews

Intricate Design
As always, Amazon delivered the product in 2 days with Prime membership.
The LEGO 8088 Arc-170 is a remodeled and updated version of the original starfighter from set 7259 (now discontinued). This current model has a much longer wingspan and is overall bigger, with smaller pieces resulting in a more intricate design and tighter fit. The color palette is also very nice, however, the set does come with stickers, which I have chosen not to apply. Bear in mind that the three cockpit windows are technically blank, and the white window separation is achieved through stickers.
In the core of the Arc-170 is an exceptionally clever LEGO brick engine, composed of 2 interior gears; turning it lowers/raises the wings, reminiscent of the X-Wing. I personally feel the price tag for this set is a bit on the high side in terms of bricks:price ratio, but the well engineered engine mechanic is no doubt the cause of this.
When purchasing this set, one is essentially paying a premium for the additional labor cost used for design. Of the more recent Star Wars sets, this is the only one to incorporate Technic pieces on this scale.

Comes with 4 minifigs [2 clone pilots, the Jedi (whose head is made of rubber), and 1 astrodroid].
Conclusion: There are much better LEGO Star Wars models out there if you're looking for a good bricks:minifigs:price ratio. However, if you're interested in a more technical set that "moves" with not just wheels and kinetic energy, this is for you.

lego arc-170
The shipping was extra fast, it arrived in one day with amazon prime.
The box was a bit too big for the size of the item but good enough.
The set is much bigger than I expected it to be and it gave a fun
30 minutes of building. I would recommend this sets to anyone.

Cool collectible
The starfighter looks good (except the nose). Nice collectible. Cool minifigs. I used to pay collectible's price to get a hold of LEGO sets with Kit Fisto; now I can just pay retail.

Continue Reading

LEGO Star Wars Snow Trooper Army Pack 8084

Product Description: Includes 2 Snowtroopers, 1 AT-ST Driver, and 1 AT-AT Driver Speederbike and awesome guns arm your figures! Empire helmets for added intimidation!
Take on the Rebels! Attack the heroes of the Alliance with this amazing figure pack. Hoth Stormtroopers and vehicle pilots are ready to crush anyone in their path, so order a bunch and destroy the opposition! 74 pieces.

Features
* Includes 2 snowtroopers, 1 Imperial officer and 1 AT-AT driver with new helmet minifigures
* Battle station features rotating flick missile firing gun and seat for gunner
* Relive the Battle of Hoth by adding #8083 Rebel Trooper Battle Pack
* Opening scene of Empire Strikes Back from Episode V movie
* 74 pieces

Average customer review:

Editorial Reviews

From the Manufacturer
Build up your Imperial forces. Lead the attack on planet Hoth by launching flick-fire missiles from the battle station. Celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back with this great battle pack. Includes two snowtroopers, one Imperial officer and one AT-AT driver.

Customer Reviews

My grandson loved it!
I purchased this for my grandson's birthday gift. He is 14 and still loves these LEGO Star Wars kits. He can put them together in just a few minutes. He was thrilled that this was a newly introduced kit. A great gift.

Continue Reading

LEGO Road Construction Set #6187

Product Description: Little construction workers can dig up all sorts of fun with this set. They can build a truck, a front loader, a steamroller and much more. Includes one minifigure. 300 pieces.

Features
* Build a truck, a front loader, a steamroller and much more with this exciting construction set!
* Good mix of standard bricks, special elements and includes a minifigure
* Free-build specialized construction models
* Classic theme focus for starters
* 300 Pieces

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

Very nice Lego set but a little difficult for a 4 year old to do on their own...
My son loves building and especially loves Legos and saw this set and really wanted it and given how great these small Lego's are for hand/finger dexterity as well as further developing a strong pincer grasp we bought them. Right out of the box I could tell that this set was going to be a little difficult for him. There are A LOT of little and TINY pieces and some of the pieces were VERY hard for me to snap in let alone my four year old. But, that didn't stop us, we took our time and slowly went over each step together and looked for all the pieces we needed and really enjoyed building the vehicles. I'm thrilled we purchased this set as we had such a nice time working on this together and as I mentioned Legos are fantastic for the hands/fingers. But I would definately note that the box does say 4+ and unless your child is used to making fairly complex vehicles and has an excellent pincer grasp with pretty strong hands, this will not be something he will be able to do on his own. I did read someone's review who said their 5 year old loves it and had no problems putting these vehicles together, I absolutely believe that as there is a big difference in these particular abilities specifically in boys between 4 and 5. I have mentioned "he" or "boys" in this review because although many girls would enjoy this set, girls almost always have a much more highly developed pincer grasp at the age of 4 than boys so I really felt that what I was trying to relay was more boy specific.
Given all the other reviewers did such an excellent job in letting everyone know not only their experience with this set but also what the set contained etc. I did not want to bore everyone with the same information they most likely already read in another review. This review was based on our experiences in order to aid you in your purchasing decision. When it all comes down to it, no one knows your childs abilities better than you do. I think it's important to be able to set proper expectations for a toy and a lot of times the age limits the manufacturers put on the boxes don't quite coincide with a childs abilities at that age. So, I hope this review has given you some additional information as to what you "may" experience if buying this for a four year old. Overall, I feel this set is a great buy and fantastic for aiding in the further development of the skills I mentioned above as well as learning to "read" the directions (no words are used so even a child who can't read yet can follow the directions) and developing patience, I highly recommend it!

A Great Value for this Much Lego Fun
Legos are a wonderful toy for kids to develop their imagination while also working on fine motor skills. Plus, they're just plain a lot of fun.
This set includes enough bricks to make three different construction vehicles - a bulldozer, a road grader and a dump truck - at once and still have a handful left over. When I saw the low price for this set, I was concerned that the vehicles were going to be tiny, but each is about the size of a softball (instead of a Hot Wheels) when assembled. The box itself is about 10"x10"x"3", so it's also nicely-sized for gifting.
Every child is different, but our five-year-old had next to no problems with the parts in this set, i.e. while there is a good variety of brick sizes, but nothing overly complex. The instructions are typical Lego picture-based and lend themselves toward teaching kids the basics of following a plan, looking for visible patterns, and counting dimensions of Lego bricks. Of course, making the vehicles on the box is enjoyable, but the real fun begins when your child begins creating new ones right from his/her own mind.
If your 4+ year-old enjoys building blocks, creative play, and/or especially construction vehicles, then this is a can't-miss. The only downside is that you'll probably soon find your child's room taken over by more and more Lego sets!

My 4 year old did it with minimal help
This is great! My 4 year old has had a blast with it. We sat down and worked through the well-diagrammed instructions to build the dump truck, loader, and steam roller in little more than an hour the first time, about 30 minutes the second time. He did it with very little help considering he's newly 4. I would tell him, "find a skinny red piece with 4 bumps" (good for counting and description). He'd find it, then look at the picture and he'd figure out where it went with minimal help (good for following directions). There are several pieces left over to scoop up and put in the dump truck or to build other things. The booklet gives detailed instructions to build the three vehicles pictured, and shows pictures for various other things you *could* build, but they're too complex to just "figure it out" without directions, (that's why I decided to give it 4 stars instead of 5) so basically you just have a bunch of extra Legos to make houses or scoop-and-dump. But the good thing is you can make all three vehicles at the same time--you don't have to take one apart to use the pieces to make the other. It's been 8 months now and we haven't lost any of the tiny little pieces, but only because we have a canister vacuum and because we try to dump them out into a jelly roll pan when we play with them. In the last 8 months, these Legos have been out nearly ever day.

Continue Reading

LEGO Star Wars Y-Wing Fighter

Product Description:
This all-new model of the classic Star Wars vehicle is packed with incredible movie-accurate details, from its twin nose-mounted laser cannons and movable cockpit turret to its droid co-pilot and extended engine nacelles. It can even drop "bombs" on Imperial targets. Includes Rebel pilot and astromech droid mini-figures. 454 pieces.

Features
* Includes Rebel pilot and astromech droid minifigures.
* All-new model features incredible, realistic details!

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

Awesome!
I'm 10 years old. Legos are very fun to me. This product was very fun to build. Some parts were tricky, but I figured them out. After I built it, it came apart a little as I was playing with it, but I put it back together. Try not to play with it too much. The fun is more in building it, not in playing with it.

awesome model!
this is awesome--my son adores it and loves playing with it. he at 7 was able to make it himself and it is great. buy it for your star wars/lego fan!

Another treat for Lego enthusiasts!
My son picked this out as something he wanted for Christmas and was absolutely delighted with it. Of course he finished it much faster than I would have wanted . . . but he enjoyed it immensely, and it will soon be disassembled for reassembly sometime in the future.

Continue Reading

LEGO brand Toy Story Army Men on Patrol 7595

Editorial Reviews:
From the Manufacturer
"A good soldier never leaves a man behind." While on patrol, one of the four green Army Men gets injured and falls behind. Only his army buddies with their handy equipment and army jeep can rescue him and complete the mission in time.

Features
* Includes four minifigures: One carrying a gun, one doctor with a medical case, one with a metal detector, and one with a walky-talky and back pack
* Includes a buildable green army jeep
* A medical stretcher is also included
* Great addition to other Toy Story sets
* 90 pieces

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

toy story army men
this set is really cool i would get it in the blink of an eye

LEGO Army Men... At Last!
Most of us LEGO fans have always dreamed of creating an army of little green men, and after years of wishful pondering, it's finally possible!
As depicted in the Amazon stock photo, this set comes with 4 minifgs (3 soldiers and 1 medic). The medic is identical in every way to the others with the exception of a cross printed on his helmet.
Accessories consist of: 2 radios, 2 binoculars, 2 rifles, 1 backpack, 1 briefcase (opens), 1 mine detector, 4 base plates, and 1 stretcher.
The vehicle itself is well built and compact, and as such, can withstand much play without disassembling -- perfect for your young LEGO enthusiasts!

My childhood soldiers
This set is so awesome. I would certainly buy a whole bunch and build a big army! Buy now, before you have to pay more than $10.99 for it.

Continue Reading

LEGO Duplo 5380 Building Set - 71 Pieces

 

Product Description:
Little builders with big imaginations will love diving into this tub of colorful LEGO bricks. Comes with building plate, wagon base and figure to help inspire role-play fun. New container allows for easy clean-up and efficient storage. The transparent lid lets little builders display their models. 71 pieces. Tub measures 7.56"H x 15.12"W x 7.56".

Features
* Little builders with big imaginations will love diving into this new tub of bricks.
* Comes with building plate, wagon base and figure to help inspire role-play fun.
* New container allows for easy clean up and efficient storage.
* Optimized mix of bricks that spark the imagination
* 71 pieces

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

It's the wheels and the little guy that make this set best
As a father of ten, we've had a number of Duplo sets over the years. Whenever we need to replenish our supply (this year being one such time), we look for a new set based on three basic factors: wheels, people, and price.

Price is a general constraint for us. We're willing to spend $25-$30 for a set of Duplo blocks. They're tremendously durable, and you can even run them through the dishwasher (in one of those cages used for baby bottle accessories). Within that price range, we try to maximize the number of bricks we get. If wanting only bricks (no special pieces), then you should be able to get 80 or more bricks starting at $20 on sale. If you want those parts (wheels and a character)--and in our experience, they are some of the most used parts when the kids play--then you are looking in that $25-$30 range with at least 65 other blocks.

All of our kids, especially the boys, loved having the wheels. They would make cars and trucks, and eventually airplanes and rolling robots. Sure, they could make many of these things without the wheels, but they seemed to play longer when they were making wheeled things.

Both the boys and girls like the little characters, but the girls would often take the Duplo person away to play with other dolls or for other activities. The boys would almost always make the boy a driver, or some person who was running from (or fighting) the giant robot, tank, or whatever they built with the other blocks.

Many people might not think of Duplo blocks as educational, but they are a great tool for teaching little ones about colors, numbers, and matching. It also helps fine-motor coordination as they try to assemble the bricks (especially at the youngest ages). We have a special needs child who was grown very fond of the bricks, and really enjoys assembling and disaassembling small stacks of them (this year's purchase was targeted for him).

**A SPECIAL NOTE ON THEME SETS**
Unless you have a specific desire to get your kids the specially themed Duplo sets (e.g., Bob the Builder), I recommend skipping those and getting just a basic set like this one for these reasons:

1) Cost. Themed sets cost more for less. You end up paying for the name/theme, and little else.

2) You simply get more blocks with the non-themed sets, and more blocks means more fun play.

3) Themeed sets usually have more special (unique) bricks. They can be used with any set, but those specialized bricks often aren't used as much (based on our experiences) in general play.

4) Most kids don't keep the sets together as displayed on the box. They like to tear things apart and build new things. Knowing that they will do that anyway, it seems to decrease the value of the special theme sets. By the time they are old enough to care about keeping sets togehter (or restoring the set to its original layout after playing with the bricks), the kids are about ready for the first regular Lego set.

**ONE EXCEPTION ON THEME SETS (ANIMALS)**
The only theme sets my wife and I will occasionally purchase are the ones with the animal figures and extra people. These are a great gift for a child who already has a supply of Duplo blocks, as they add to the fun.

Awesome first Lego set for little ones
We got this Duplo set for our son, who is almost 21 months, for Christmas. He loves it! He's too young to make particularly complex creations, but he really loves snapping the blocks together and taking them apart, as well as playing with the stuff Mom and Dad make. (And we have tons of fun with these, too!) Heck, he even has a great time just dumping the blocks out of the bin and putting them back in ...

The set comes with a good assortment of rectangular and square blocks, and a few sloping and curved ones, as well as one small baseplate, a wheeled rectangular block (my son's favorite!) and a "guy" (he looks like a construction worker to me).

The blocks seem as durable as they were back when I was a kid, and they have just the right degree of "snappiness" -- they're not too hard to snap together or take apart, but they don't come apart too easily, either.

A couple of notes:

* Be sure to check the prices carefully before you buy. A lot of third-party sellers on Amazon are jacking the price WAY up. You can find much better deals if you buy directly from Amazon or Lego, or at brick-and-mortar stores. This is NOT a hard-to-find item.

* Consider getting the big 15-by-15-inch baseplate, which you can buy separately. It definitely adds a lot of play value. (Again, check prices carefully, though!)

Lego Duplo
My three year old daughter loves these blocks. I like them because they are compatable with the Lego Quatro, which have been her favorites for the last two years. They won't build the big structures you are used to building with quatro, but they have more variety to spark the imagination. My only complaint is there doesn't seem to be enough, they could have put twice as many blocks in this bucket!

Continue Reading

LEGO Batman - The Batmobile: Ultimate Collectors' Edition

Product Description:
The ultimate Batmobile has ultimate detail and ultimate bat-power! Open the roof to reveal the detailed interior, or turn the steering wheel to raise the shield for added speed. With moving engine turbines and rotating booster flames, this is one vehicle of justice that no villain can escape. 1,045 building pieces.

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

Almost perfect
The batmobile is beautiful. Lots of pieces in the set, not too many of the lame 'special' pieces (not nearly as bad as the harry potter kits). I particularly liked how they did the wheel logos - they printed a bat symbol on an old satellite dish from the old spaceship sets. And there's plenty of other stuff you can build with this kit, as long as it's black.

But, the black pieces are the big drawback - the instruction manual doesn't print the bumps on black bricks well at all. It is very hard to tell exactly what piece is in the manual, making it much harder to build the pictured car. Still, any kid or collector should be very pleased with this set.

Exquisite detail!
This kit is great. Took only about 4 hours to put together. Pictures in the guide books a re difficult to make out clearly since most of the drawings are in black. Needed to look very closely under a good lamp to find where each peice had to be placed.
The finished Batmobile looks wonderful. Lots of detailed workings inside (under "the hood"): front turbines that turn with front wheels, rear exhaust flames that turn with rear wheels, and front nose opens up with a turn of the steering wheel.
Would have liked an Batman figure to be included in kit and perhaps better drawn instructions.
Overall, pleased with building experience and finished product.

A great collectible.
I bought this kit because I not only love Lego's but Batman as well. This car not only has a lot of nice touches, it looks sharp in my office. It is the subject of lots of conversations. It tood a while to put together as the parts come in various bags, which are not numbered. It's a game of fishing to find the right pieces. This is unlike my Ferrari F1 kit which had numbered bags and the instructions told you which bag to use during the construction process. However, this does not diminish the fun of building this kit and it comes out as a real prize and a great looking piece that will educate children in the process of mechanical function.

Continue Reading

LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0

 

Product Description:

New! Upgraded and Stronger than ever!

LEGO Mindstorms NXT is back and better than ever: new models, more customizable programming and all-new technologies! Mindstorms NXT 2.0 combines the versality of the LEGO building system with all-new technologies, an intelligent microcomputer brick and intuitive drag-and-drop programming software. The new 2.0 toolkit features everything you need to create your first robot in 30 minutes and then thousands of other robotics inventions that do what you want!

The intelligent NXT LEGO brick features 32-bit microprocessor, a large matrix display, 4 input and 3 output ports, and Bluetooth and USB communication link

Features
* The intelligent NXT Lego brick features 32-bit microprocessor, a large matrix display, 4 input and 3 output ports, and Bluetooth and USB communication link; batteries not included
* Three interactive servo motors; four sensors (Ultrasonic Sensor, 2 Touch Sensors and the all-new Color Sensor)
* Color Sensor has triple functionality: Distinguishes colors and light settings, and functions as a lamp
* Easy-to-use software (PC and Mac) with icon-based drag-and-drop programming and 16 fun building and programming challenges; building instructions for 4 new amazing robots
* 612 pieces

Average customer review: 

Customer Reviews

NXT 2.0: A Solid Improvement on the Best MINDSTORMS Set Ever
I first encountered the MINDSTORMS series in 2001 when I bought the Robotics Invention System 1.5 out of curiosity. Since then, I've purchased and used numerous MINDSTORMS sets, written two MINDSTORMS books, developed and taught a LEGO robotics course, and given LEGO presentations. So when I heard that LEGO was releasing the NXT 2.0 set in summer/fall 2009, I was curious to discover how LEGO would improve its flagship product. After finally getting my hands on a 2.0 set, I've been busy building, programming, and analyzing the kit's features. And I think this is the best MINDSTORMS set to date.
The original NXT set released in 2006 (I'll call it the "1.0 set") enjoyed enormous success but still had some shortcomings. The NXT 2.0 set addresses some of those flaws and really is everything the 1.0 set should have been. As a robotics kit, the NXT 2.0 set mainly involves building and programming, so I'll take a look at how the kit performs in each of these areas.
First, the building experience is fun and challenging while offering some exciting new additions. For the electronic elements, the NXT microcomputer and servo motors remain the same in both design and quantity; however, the selection of sensors has changed. There are now two touch sensors, an ultrasonic (distance) sensor, and the color sensor. The new color sensor boasts three functionalities. It can detect colors (6 basic colors), measure light intensity, and act as a lamp (emitting a red, blue, or green light). Unlike the 1.0 set, there is no light sensor or sound sensor: the new color sensor can function as a light sensor, and LEGO apparently thought that having two touch sensors would be more useful than having one touch sensor and one sound sensor as in the 1.0 set. I agree.
The building elements are, once again, studless LEGO TECHINC pieces rather than traditional bricks. The 1.0 set included a few TECHNIC bricks, but these are gone in the 2.0 set, which focuses entirely on studless construction. Overall, there is still a good selection of beams, pegs, and axles (including a new #9 length axle) as well as the addition of two small rubber bands. Also fun is the special ball shooter equipment along with 12 small, brightly colored balls.
There are only a few gears included, though. Whereas the 1.0 set included a fairly good variety and quantity of gears, the 2.0 set includes only a handful of double bevel gears and a single 12t bevel gear. This is a bit disappointing but also understandable. People like to add lots of gears to their robots to make them look cool, but lots of gears introduce lots of friction. The 2.0 kit's sample robot designs demonstrate how to connect pieces directly to motors rather than using gears to transmit the motion. This works fine and takes a little bit of getting used to, but I would still encourage new LEGO users to expand their collection of gears after purchasing the 2.0 set.
As for the programming, the 2.0 version of the included NXT-G software offers some welcome new features. A remote control, sound editor, image editor, new programming blocks, improved performance, and other features make programming a more enjoyable experience. Performance is noticeably better than in the 1.0 version but can still be sluggish.
The software includes a number of fun challenges spread across four robot designs: Shooterbot, Robogator, Color Sorter, and Alpha Rex. The sample robots are durable and work well, although some of the instructions for using Color Sorter were a bit confusing. The new version of Alpha-Rex is a truly fascinating robot: in addition to being a fun "advanced" model to build, new users can learn a lot from its incredibly compact and elegant design.
The NXT 2.0 set is leading the MINDSTORMS series in the right direction. I like what I see in this set, and I believe LEGO has a winner on its hands. The 2.0 set is more expensive than the 1.0 set--by $30--but I believe the improvements and added functionality justify the extra cost. In sum, the NXT 2.0 set is a great toolset for any robotics enthusiast and a must-have for MINDSTORMS fans.

A little more whimsy would be nice...
I purchased the original Mindstorms 1.0 way back in the nineties. I absolutely loved it; it was a great workout for both my imagination and my ingenuity. It was also a great family toy: I could get the gears aligned and programmed, and my 8-year old daughter would supplement it with additional Legos for fun. That was what I loved about the original set: it did a wonderful job of straddling the line between robotics set and sheer silliness. The computerized brick looked like a giant yellow Lego; there were lots of colors, and it was compatible with other Legos. It even had an expansion set that allowed you to built animals and monsters, and came with Lego eyes, fins, and all kinds of fun little additions. The creations were functional (usually!), but also seemed to fit into the World of LegoLand.
This new set looks like...well, a robotics set. That's not a bad thing, but it means that this set needs to be compared to other robotics sets out there. Before, Mindstorms was completely unique, in a class all by itself. Now it looks like a very well-designed robotics set. The colors are drab, the 600+ pieces all have a specific practical function, there is less room for customizing.
Don't get me wrong, this set is a huge step up in functionality. The new color sensor alone is an enormous improvement. I will have hundreds of hours of fun with NXT 2.0. But I'm not sure my current young daughters will have much interest in it, and that makes me sad.
One last note: the box itself is pretty poorly designed. It's...a box. There are no dividers or compartments to keep organized. Not a huge issue, but you would think that at nearly $300 a pop the Lego folks would be willing to spring for a little extra cardboard.

Continue Reading