Thursday, October 3, 2013

Best Buy LEGO Architecture White House (21006)

LEGO Architecture White House (21006)

Best Item From LEGO

White House--the best of the architecture series
Of all the architecture sets, I think this is the best. It's a bit repetitive (there are two mass-made parts which are then put on as the windows and spaces between the windows) other than that, the build is pretty fun. If you have big hands or fat fingers this set will be a challenge to build, as all the pieces are on the tiny end.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this set is the instruction booklet. In addition to building instructions, it is full of history tidbits about the whitehouse as well as photos.
If you like lego buildings, then I'd say this set is a must have for you. When finished the set is rather small, and there are no minifigs. I wouldn't recommend this for a child, the play value for them is fairly low, it has no minifigs. This set sits on a bookshelf in my place. If fifty dollars is too much for a bookend, then I would recommend a different lego set. There are plenty of others that sell for fifty which have alot more bricks and minis...

Architectural replica of the real-world White House
Booklet included with details on design and history (English language only)
Measures 9" (22cm) wide
The assembled White House model stands wide on a base with printed name label
Set contains 560 pieces

MUST BUY FOR ANY LEGO FAN, OLD OR NEW!!!!
Receiving a Lego set during the holidays or on a birthday are some of the fondest memories of my childhood. Being an avid Lego fan growing up and keeping all my original sets from throughout the 80s for my own children to play with, discovering this new series of Lego sets brought all those memories rushing back. What an original concept! It's an excellent learning experience on these modern architectural marvels. I have purchased each of these sets except for Fallingwater, the Guggenheim, and the Empire State Building but they are next on my list. The White House is an extremely satisfying build and rich with detail. With the medium of the Lego brick offering endless building possibilities, this set captures the beauty and majesty of the White House. I hope this series is successful and continues to grow with new sets! I have rediscovered a nostalgic passion from my childhood and it's a very rewarding experience. Don't hesitate to purchase this set!!!
Lego White House
I have enjoyed the entire Lego achitecture collection. It isn't just a building experience, but also an opportunity to learn. Each set comes with a beautiful book that desribes the building or monument and details the structures architecture. The White House was, of course, an honor to construct and learn about at the same time. I loved this gift. I am 13 and in middle school.

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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Low Price LEGO Duplo Building Set-71 pieces (5506)

LEGO Duplo Building Set-71 pieces (5506)

Best Product From LEGO

Exactly how full is the box?
I bought this for my two-year-old, and she really loves it. Here are some details I couldn't find before purchasing:

About the box:
* The box is about the size of a large shoe box, with a transparent plastic top.
* The top can be opened by a young toddler, if you show her where to lift it. (You need to pull in a specific spot.)
* The included Legos fill the box about halfway. So there is room for an additional 50+ pieces if you want to add.

About specific pieces:
* One non-block: a boy with a hat
* Two flowers
* One (flimsy) window that opens and closes. This is the only piece that will break, and it will break soon.
* Only one green floor/platform to build on, and it's small: 4 dots by 8 dots
* One car

Hope that helps...

Features 1 DUPLO figure, a wagon base, a window, a building plate, and a lot of basic bricks. view larger The Perfect Start to LEGO DUPLO Building and Creativity This sturdy and reusable storage container with transparent lid includes an inspirational building booklet, lots of child-safe basic LEGO DUPLO bricks, and plenty of special elements for creating rolling cars, planes, houses, and much more. With LEGO DUPLO, the possibilities are endless. A great way for beginning builders to learn while they playBuild houses, planes, cars and moreStorage container makes clean-up time simple With LEGO DUPLO, the possibilities are endless! view larger

With this LEGO DUPLO set, the possibilities are endless for creating rolling cars, planes, houses and much more
Features 1 DUPLO figure, a wagon base, a window, a building plate and a lot of basic bricks
Sturdy storage box with transparent lid can be used again and again
Instruction booklet filled with creative, yet simple ideas to inspire building is included
Contains 71 pieces

It's the wheels and little guy that make this a great set.
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 special parts (e.g., 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...
Too few blocks included in the "large" brick box
I love this product, but was somewhat disappointed in the number of blocks that came in the large plastic box; not even enough to build a single decent-sized structure. I've since ordered a large bag of additional blocks LEGO DUPLO Brick Set to add to the box.

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Best Buy LEGO Friends 3189 Heartlake Stables

LEGO Friends 3189 Heartlake Stables

Best Item From LEGO

Great Toy for a Horse Lover
My 8 year old daughter received this for her b-day and she loves it. It took us both 2-2.5 hours (we were going fast) to put together and she enjoyed every minute of it. There are enough little gadgets in this set that allow her to change things up to keep it new and fun. It comes with 2 jumps that she plays a lot with. It's a great idea they made the barn roof swing up and down for easy access to the hay and horse book stored inside. There are enough legos in this set that my daughter could make her own buildings, but given it took us 2.5 hours to put together, she better not!

Get ready to horse around with the LEGO Friends Heartlake Stables. This adorable set comes with two Friends mini-dolls, Mia and Katharina, along with their two lovely horses. Your child can help the Friends clean the stables, play in the hayloft, and practice jumps for the big riding competition. Heartlake Stables features a separate stall for each horse and a variety of realistic accessories from brushes to saddles (and even a first place ribbon). Includes all of the accessories you need for hours of imagination and fun. Mia and Katharina enjoy cups of cocoa while they take a break. Stables Include Practice Area, Hayloft, and More This set features a pink and yellow stable with plenty of room for the two included horses, Bella and Nik...

Features a barn with 2 horse stables, hand trolley, a well with bucket and fencing
Accessories include carrots, cups, a book, pitchfork, a brick separator, 2 practice jumps, 2 riding helmets, 2 saddles and 2 bridles and an animal accessory set with brushes, comb, bows, hairspray, soap and prize ribbons
Includes everything you need to care for the LEGO Friends horses
Prepare for the competition with the saddles and practice jumps
LEGO mini-dolls are figures made especially for the world of LEGO Friends, with thousands of customizable fashion and accessory combinations

Perfect for my 7 year old granddaughter!
This was purchased as a birthday gift for our 7 year old granddaughter. She loved it! She is very interested in anything to do with horses! She was very pleased with this and exclaimed that it was something on her "wish list"! Seems you can't go wrong these days buying Lego sets for the 6 and 7 year old kids! Gave to her on 11/30/12 and she had it all put together and proudly displayed when we visited for Christmas on 12/22/12. The bad experience I had did not have to do with the product but rather the order and how it was fulfilled. It was ordered from an Amazon seller; not directly from Amazon. Paid $75 or so for it and shipping. It came in a Walmart box with a Walmart invoice showing a price of $45.00. When I contacted the seller confused about this since I definitely didn't order from Walmart, they explained that Walmart fulfills some of their orders??? I was really not treated very well when I questioned why the invoice says $45 and I paid $75.00. Kittyhawk Wholesale...
A great brick built play set!!!!!
Love the theme!!! This is a very sturdy and well thought out lego model! Lots of playability- very happy that it included 2 horses, 2 girls and a barn cat. The girls have attached riding hats, and there are reins and saddles. A good use of regular lego bricks along with some great specialty accessory pieces. Highly recommend this toy!
A few minor criticisms- I do wish the "friends" mini figures had movable legs like the regular lego minifigures so they could sit. Also, the barn stalls are not attached to the main barn building- we modified this by taking the smooth grey tiles (meant to be stepping stones) and moving them so they connected the 3 baseplates. That was an easy fix!

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Great Deal LEGO Friends Heartlake City Pool 41008

LEGO Friends Heartlake City Pool 41008

Best Item From LEGO

A Fun and Big LEGO Friends Set with a Swimming Pool Theme!
Our 5 year old daughter loves Lego Friends. She first saw them at a friends house and was instantly obsessed with them. We purchased a set for Christmas and it was a big hit. We decided to add this set to expand her collection and she loves it.

The LEGO Friends Heartlake City Pool Play Set comes with a big 423 pieces. It includes the Andrea and Isabella characters. It comes with everything you could imagine you would need at the pool. It has a winding water slide, a hottub, a changing room, and a bar for refreshments. It also comes with plenty of accessories for the pool including tables and beach chairs for lounging and fun pool games like a basketball net. It is a really nice and big set with a lot of pieces to let your child's imagination run wild. The instructions are very detailed and easy to follow for a 5 year old. The recommended age is 6-12, but a 5 year old will only need minimal help with it.

One point of caution. I have found that the average per...

With the Heartlake City Pool by LEGO Friends, every day can be summer vacation. This colorful set has everything the Andrea and Isabella mini-dolls need to have some fun in the sun. Your child can make them zip down the water slide into the pool, cozy up in the hot tub, or grab a tasty ice cream cone at the snack shack. The set includes two lounge chairs and a variety of accessories for the mini-dolls to play with, including a basketball and beach bag. Includes a changing room, hot tub, and water slide for fun in the sun. Visit the snack bar for a hot dog or ice cream cone. Colorful Pool for Fun in the Sun Designed for kids from 6 to 12 years old, the Heartlake City Pool comes with a variety of settings to inspire storytelling-based p...

Includes Andrea and Isabella mini-doll figures.
Features pool, diving board, hot tub, water slide, waterfall, changing room and toilet with opening double doors.
Order a frosty drink at the snack bar!
Slide down the water slide!
Accessories include ice cream cone, drinks, cash register, money, basketball that fits into the basket, bow and bag.

Another Lego hit!
Over the past year, we have bought several Lego Friends sets for our 5 yr old daughter. She loves them!
They are colorful, tailored toward girls, and have a lot to play with, similar to doll houses.

I always viewed Legos as more of a boys toy, but these help bridge that gap, making the sets appealing to girls as well. I can see my daughter studying the instructions and thinking how the pieces are supposed to go together. A few weeks later when she has tired of playing with it, the set gets taken apart and she makes something of her own creation.

For our small house, these Lego sets make great sense because they don't take up a lot of room when taken apart, but allow for more fun with less toys because they can become so many things! I personally have not come across a Lego set that wasn't fun to build and play with, nor have I got rid of any. They last well and just get past along, eventually coming back to your kids.
Great quality toy
My granddaughter loved this! She now wants all the other sets! And this grandmother will probably see that she gets them!

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Low Price LEGO Friends Olivia's House 3315

LEGO Friends Olivia's House 3315

Best Item From LEGO

Amazing set
This is an amazing set. Essentially, it's a dollhouse with 4 fully furnished rooms and an extensive front yard. Thankfully, it's a modular build, so you only need to build the legos in bag 1 first, then move on to the legos in bag 2, all the way through to bag 7. (Imagine going through all 695 pieces looking for the one piece described in the instructions!) Lego's anthropological research revealed that girls like to play as they're assembling their legos, so Lego made the Lego Friends into modular builds. Assembly is straightforward.

The house is mostly tan, white and lime, with pink roof pieces and some pink accent pieces. There are many, many accessories, which was delightful. I read that some Lego developers asked why the anthropological research found that girls wanted more accessories, like handbags, combs, etc., and in response, the researchers asked why boys needed a sword, dagger, shield, etc. (In the Ninjago Booster bonus set I got recently, a minifigurine came...

Hang out at Olivia's House! Visit Olivia's House with all of the LEGO Friends! Olivia, her parents and her pet cat live in a big, bright house with lots of rooms for hanging out and having fun. Help Olivia to grill up a barbecue for the girls! Mow the lawn with the lawn mower. Take Olivia's diary out of the drawer or go swing in the yard! Then, host a sleepover or have a party! Olivia's House is built in sections for easy rearranging. Decorate, customize and rebuild it! Includes Olivia, Mom and Dad mini-doll figures. Host a party or just chill out at Olivia's House, a buildable LEGO house complete with furnishings and LEGO friends. This colorful home will engage children 6 to 12 years of age with its realistic appliances, furniture, and ...

Includes cat Kitty and mini-doll figures: Olivia, Mom (Anna) and Dad (Peter) and features kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room, barbecue, rooftop patio and outdoor table
Furniture includes shower, toilet, sink, bed, vanity, couch, sofa chair, coffee table, TV, refrigerator with opening door, cabinets, oven, sink, kitchen table and chairs, Oliviaes House is built in sections to easily rearrange for custom creation
Accessories include diary, hairbrush, blender, salt and pepper shakers, frying pan, spatula, muffin tins, mixer, utensils, baking tray, bowl, sausage, chicken drumstick, carrots, apple, bunch of cherries, milk carton and flower accessory pack
Lego Friends pieces are fully compatible with all Lego System bricks
Collect all of the Lego Friends sets for whole world of Lego Friends fun

LEGOS + Doll House = Endless Options
My 5 year old daughter loves this Lego Set. She has liked Legos some in the past, but her default was to play more with baby dolls or puzzles or stuffed animals; now this Lego set is her primary toy. She loves playing house/family/friend senarios and this adds the ability to be creative and use her original Legos to build even more. She loves playing with the swing and having the dolls interact in different rooms in the house. With our help so far she has added a shed to put the lawn mower in, a bedroom for the parents, and a minivan for the family. It is a great way for moms and dads to get to be a kid again and have a fun way to interact with their daughters.

As for assembling all those pieces... it is actually quite easy. The pieces come grouped in bags to make putting it together easier. The instructions don't have any words, but instead pictures - this works great since my daughter is just learning to read. We decided to do 1-2 bags per night, so the project...
Nice but has issues
My daughter was very excited to have "girl power" legos, and both my son and daughter love the unique pieces in the kit. The colors are also beautiful. The house was very easy to build and once assembled the house itself has been very durable during play. However, some of the smaller pieces fall apart quite easily (i.e., the cupcakes). The other issues we have had are: the hair doesn't stay on the mini figures and the slippery surfaces on the furniture that give it a more modern appearance combined with the new styling of the figures don't allow the figures to "snap" in place like traditional lego mini figures. My daughter gets really frustrated when they won't "sit" and stay on the chair. Otherwise, it was a great purchase and my daughter loves it.

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Best Bargain LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter 9493

LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter 9493

Best Product From LEGO

The X-Wing Fighter You're Looking For
This is Lego's fourth iteration of the Star Wars X-Wing Fighter (not including the mini-scale and Ultimate Collectors Series (UCS) versions). The first was #7140 in 1999 (reprised in 2002 with set #7142). Lego came out with set #4502 in 2003, and #6212 in 2006. The UCS kit, #7191, came out in 2000 and retailed for $150. [UCS are large and intricate, and are geared mainly toward collectors rather than for play.] This latest set arrived in January of 2012. [Addendum, 7/2013] Lego released a new UCS X-Wing (#10240) in May of this year which retails for $200.

This latest version is, arguably, the best of the non-UCS versions. It is very much an evolution of 6212. Like the earlier set, it has working x-wings (they open and close using a gear at the rear of the craft), an opening cockpit, and retractable nose gear. Where the set differs is in the mini-figures and some key design features. The prior set included six mini-figures whereas this set includes only four: Luke, R2-D2,...

Lead the Rebels into intergalactic battle with the X-Wing Starfighter! Take to the stars in the classic X-Wing Starfighter! Featuring wings that fold into attack mode, proton torpedoes, retractable landing gear and opening cockpit, this most iconic vehicle of the Star Wars universe returns to turn the tide in the battle against the evil Empire! Includes 4 minifigures: Luke Skywalker, Jek Porkins, R2-D2 and R5-D8.

Includes 4 minifigures: Luke Skywalker, new Jek Porkins, R2-D2 and R5-D8
Features X-wing starfighter, 1 weapon, and 1 lightsaber, extra wing markings also included
X-wing starfighter features retractable landing gear, 2 proton torpedoes, opening cockpit and wings that fold into attack mode
Set the wings to attack mode and battle the 9492 Tie Fighter
X-wing starfighter measures over 12" (33cm) long

BUY IT NOW!!!
This is the coolest lego set I have ever bought. It was so much fun to put together and it looks incredible! great purchase!
Nice
My son loved it, he is a star wars fan and really enjoyed putting this together. Great for display but as any lego needs to be treated nicelly....

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Low Price LEGO Coast Guard Patrol

LEGO Coast Guard Patrol

Best Item From LEGO

Pretty awesome Lego set
This ship is much bigger than I expected. My 7 YO son had the whole set built in a short period of time, I think less than 2 hours. It has lots of fun stuff to do, a submarine, a helicopter, the ship, a lighthouse, and a separate raft. He brings everything into the bathtub of course, which this set is designed for.

On this hull, unlike the smaller fire boat, there seems to be a little spot to connect a water proof enclosed motor.

I wish Lego will continue to build these larger ships. A ferry that the Lego cars can drive onto would be fun. Like the ferries in Staten Island or Seattle.

Head out to the lighthouse quick with the LEGO City Coast Guard Patrol. There's a couple stranded in a sinking dinghy and 3 sharks are swimming nearby. Launch the submarine and helicopter from the Coast Guard Patrol boat to get there fast. Rescue the couple with the life preservers, pull them into the helicopter and scare the sharks away with the water cannons. Includes 3 sharks and 6 minifigures with accessories: Pilot, captain, crew member, rescuer, man and woman. 449 pieces.

Features 2 water cannons, submarine launcher and radio antenna, helicopter, submarine, dinghy, lighthouse with rocks and 3 sharks
Accessories include a dog, crab, 2 life preservers, 2 life jackets, walkie-talkie, hat with headphones and an ice cream
Coast Guard Patrol boat and dinghy really float; deploy the submarine with a turning propeller; submarine measures over 1" high, 3" long, 2" wide
Lighthouse with rocks measures 6" high, 5" wide, 2" long; dinghy measures 2" high, 7" long, 3" wide; shark measures 2" long, 1" wide, approx. 1" high
Coast Guard Patrol Boat measures over 7" high, 15" long, 3" wide; helicopter measures over 2" high, 6" long, 2" wide

Larger than you think and excellent for play value...just a little spend
Most look at Lego value regarding the average amount per piece being below or above 10 cents. With a retail of $79 and a piece count of 449 this baby comes in at a robust 17.5 cents per piece. This is daunting at first glance however I have seen consistently that Lego will price according to the size of large pieces that are included in each set. Note that the Coast Guard Ship itself is one big piece (as are all Lego ships) molded together that then has the bridge and other pieces attached to it. Due to the hulking nature of that piece as well as the molded raft, the value is solid, although not spectacular.

Every Lego build is unique and fun in its own way and this one is no different. The first bag is the pontoon helicopter which is straight forward and has solid playability with the 2 rotor blades and the hatch that opens and hinges easily to take the minifig in and out. There is also a small rotor on the rear. Next comes the Submersible which is small but unique...
coast guard ship is awesome.
EXcellent Lego set For The Price Since It Comes With Multiple Pieces And Is Not Too Difficult To Build, Unlike Some Other Lego Sets....

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