Photo Set Reviews on Flickr

I know these aren't the in-depth reviews you were hoping for, but as a bit of filler there are three new photo reviews up on my Flickr Stream. All three at Toys R Us "sneak peek" sets due out at general retail later in June.



7566 - CITY - Farmer Impulse Set


7953 - Kingdoms - Jester Impulse Set


7949 - Kingdoms - Prison Carriage Rescue

Collectible Minifigs at TRU

Thanks to my lovely wife, I now have almost two boxes worth of the new LEGO collectible mini-figures. The "official" street date for these in the US is June 17th, but some (most? all?) Toys R Us locations have been putting these out early, along with the first waves of the new summer sets.

What am I going to do with all of these guys? Heh. Don't worry - I have plans.

(And, yes, eventually some of the parts will end up in the Buy-Me-Mizer.)

2nd Annual Micropolis Building Challenge

Observant readers might have noticed this contest a couple of days ago, but here's the official announcement!

Click on through for all the details!

Webcomic Beacon Podcast Archive is up

The archive of the Webcomic Beacon Podcast I was on has been posted...
Listen and be amazed as my internet connection drops just as I'm about to start talking! (Twice!) Just click the pic to head on over...

(If that doesn't work, I also have the mp3 of the podcast mirrored here.)

Keychain Experiment: One Month In

This week's update on the Rock Monster Keychain experiment brings us to a full month of wear-and-tear.

Compared to last week, there's not much change. The grey paint on the body continues to erode, but the plastic bits still look intact.

2010 LEGO Advent Calendars

Thanks to Amazon Japan, we have a first look at the 2010 LEGO Advent Universe. (Actually we have a very close look as they posted set contents. But if you want major spoilers you'll need to go looking for them yourself.)

We'll have two themes to look forward to. As expected, we'll get the inevitable "CITY" theme...and we'll also make a return to Castle with the rebranded "Kindgoms" theme.

No word yet if LEGO will keep their promise to make both themes available to US customers. Fingers crossed!

Keychain Expermiment: Damage Potential

So what sort of damage am I expecting to see on my Rock Monster keychain? Well, let's take a quick look at my last keychain. Mr. Freeze....


(Click to Embiggen)

Pretty rough, eh? His one surviving arm is shattered, his legs have snapped off at the hip, his backpack is missing. Even the silver has worn off from the chain.

How will Rocky survive in comparison? He has fewer parts to deal with...but when/if those parts do break...

The Keychain Experiment

While I was visiting TwinLUG last month, I picked up a new LEGO keychain at the Mall of America. In tribute to the recent Brick House story arc, I selecteded a Red Rock Monster. (He was on sale, too. What a deal!)

It seems I'm always needing to replace my keychain. I've been through a Pirate, several Exo-Force guys, and most recently a Mr. Freeze. They start out so very nice, but end up mangled blobs of plastic.

Maybe I have too many keys. Maybe they're just substandard LEGO.

I noticed this morning that the process has begun anew on the Rock Monster. His paint is rapidly wearing away...although the plastic parts still look okay.

Here, I took a photo with my phone. (Click to embiggen)
I figure I'll post an update on his status every once in a while - let's see how long this one lasts.

Buy-Me-Mizer Updated

Due to numerous requests, I added two "sword and shield" combos into the Buy-Me-Mizer today.

I also added a few more torsos, some new accessories, and some nifty new hairpieces and helmets. Just look how excited SampleMini is!