Pirate Advent 2009: Day 24

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 24


Treasure Chest and Pirate Booty

After yesterday's dip into evil, I wasn't sure what to expect behind the final door of the 2009 Pirate Advent Calendar. Severed LEGO Monkey heads? The rest of the skeleton from Day 23? A still-warm LEGO heart?

No, instead they gave us the alleged root of ALL evil: Money.

A treasure chest filled with Pirate Booty - a nice selection of Transparent Gems and a lump of gold ore. It sure beats the lumps of coal Santa should have brought these naughty pirates!

But for a grand finale of the Advent Calendar...this is still pretty weak. They could at least have thrown in some gold LEGO coins.

So. Time to wrap up this year's Advent Madness.

How did LEGO do with this limited-release Pirate Themed calendar?

Well, I doubt anyone will complain that it wasn't Pirate-themed enough. From Brickbeard the Pirate Captain to the lovely Mermaid Lass, LEGO found enough swag to fill the calendar.

The problem was that some of the swag was pretty weak. Consider day 10's "Barrel of Crap" and day 20's "barrel and oar": hardly impressive hauls. Considering the difficulty of getting one of these calendars and their already-high price point, I found myself going "is that it?" more than once.

On the flip side, there were some impressive mini-figures to be had. The Pirate Lass, the Castaway, the Mermaid...all had to find figures with quality decoration and accessories. (Provided you're willing to count the mermaid's tail as an accessory, anyway.)

In my role as "grumpy old man who talks about LEGO", I tally this year's calendar up as follows:

Excellent Days: 7, 11, 14
Good Days: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 21
Okay Days: 3, 15, 17, 19, 23, 24
Weak Days: 8, 16, 18, 22
Crap Days: 10, 20

Giving the overall calendar an average of +7, a solid mark higher than just "okay". That puts this year's Pirate theme firmly in the WIN column.

Way to go LEGO! That's 2-for-2 on this year's calendars!

Will we see another Pirate adventure in 2010? Will we return to the Castle universe? Or will we take a dive and explore Atlantis next winter? Or maybe...just maybe...will we explore SPACE?

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to finding out!

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

CITY Advent 2009: Day 24

CITY Advent: Day 24


Chimney, Stockings and SANTA!

Wow.

They did it. LEGO actually pulled off a CITY advent calendar that didn't suck. I'm stunned.

And happy.

Oh, sure, there was that weirdness with the cop sub-theme early on. And the Janitor was kind of iffy. But overall the full calendar worked together to create a nice little pile of holiday mini-sets.

What really sold me on the win this year was LEGO's decision to have Santa hiding behind the final door. We haven't seen Santa in a CITY advent since 2006 - and today's set is a nice upgrade to that year's offering.

Looking ahead, I haven't heard what LEGO has in mind for their 2010 Advent calendar(s). Will we see yet another CITY themed countdown?

Right now, I'm thinking that might not be so bad.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 23

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 23


Sinister Altar

I know it's a Pirate themed calendar and all, but...wow. This is a pretty evil looking mini-set.

I'm not sure why a disembodied skull is creepier than the full skeleton from yesterday. The setting certainly is a factor - and it leaves me wondering what the LEGO designer who put this mini-set together was thinking.

"I know! While all the kids are dreaming about the presents they're about to unwrap, let's remind them that there's a fun secret friend inside everyone! You just have to peel off the skin!"

Well...okay. He probably wasn't thinking that.

But now you are.

Happy Holidays.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 23

CITY Advent: Day 23


Christmas Tree

Day three of the Lumberjack theme - and the next to the last day of the CITY Advent calendar. We can pretty much expect something Christmas-y tomorrow - LEGO has yet to fumble an Advent calendar THAT badly - so today's mini-set is really the last of the possibly-screwy CITY themed items.

But...not this year. This year we get a satisfying end to the lumberjack theme with a very nice brickbuilt Christmas tree. The build isn't very complex, but the use of 1x1 rounds as ornaments works well. Plus, the trans-neon-green wand as the star is an inspired touch.

In America these days there's an ongoing debate if Christmas trees are "better" if they're natural or artificial. LEGO neatly bridges that gap by giving us a plastic tree that, in the LEGO world, is as natural as it gets.

Looking back, 2007's Advents both ended with Christmas trees. That we're seeing a tree today just might mean big things for tomorrow's door.

(And what of 2008? Well, that CITY advent ended with a snowman and snowball throwing kid. Which, you might recall, kicked off this year's calendar. It's a little bit of cyclic nonsense that I wish I had noticed earlier in the month!)

Only one more door to go. It's almost like Christmas eve! Except it isn't. It's actually Christmas Eve Eve. Which sounds kind of redundant, so I won't bring it up.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 22

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 22


Skeleton and Snake

He's an undead warrior from Davy Jones' locker with an appetite for human flesh. She's a slithering reptile from the depths of the amazon with a taste for Brie.

CAN THEY GET ALONG?

CITY Advent 2009: Day 22

CITY Advent: Day 22


Lumberjack Supplies

Oh good! Yesterday's Stephen King moment was a false alarm! Turns out our Axe Wielding Maniac was just a friendly lumberjack!



And what possible Holiday Link could a lumberjack have?

Oh, please LEGO...let my guess about tomorrow's set be on the mark...

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 21

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 21


SHARK! SAWFISH!

I'll admit it. When I first saw the box art for the Pirate Advent calendar I thought there was a slim chance we'd be getting one of the super-deluxe sharks from the Agents line.

I knew it probably wouldn't happen - there's no way LEGO could cram the larger shark into the standard Advent spot...but still, I hoped.

Today's door isn't a bad consolation prize, though. Sure, it's a "Sawfish" and not a shark, but this particular fish hasn't been seen since 2002, cast in black plastic in an Agents Alpha Team set. If you wanted things in a more nautical grey, you had to go all the way back to 1997 when it was a common feature in town Diver sets. With the color change from old-grey to new dark bley, this makes today's cretaure a one-of-a-kind accessory.

Sounds like a win to me.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 21

CITY Advent: Day 21


Man with Axe

So on day three of the race theme we...hold on.

We're not due for a new mini-figure until tomorrow. So what's with the axe wielding maniac?

LEGO got their wires crossed! They were looking for holiday inspiration and ran across a family spending their winter alone in a hotel!

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 20

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 20


Pirate Escape Pod

Oh, LEGO, how you toy with my Holiday Cheer.

Yesterday, you shocked and delighted me with a seemingly bonus minifigure. Today, you crush my spirits with a two-piece microset.

Oh, sure, it fits the overall Pirate theme. And both the oar and the wooden tub are uncommon parts.

But, come on. I paid how much to have this set shipped to me from the UK? And the best you can do, less than a week from Christmas Day, is two lousy pieces?

If anyone needs me, I'll be over in the corner, weeping quietly.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 20

CITY Advent: Day 20


RC Car and Race Accessories

Day 20 of the CITY Advent - we've entered the home stretch. Other than the early stumble with the Police Barricade sub-theme LEGO has been doing a good job of making this year's calendar a fun holiday experience. I have to admit: I'm impressed.

Today's continuation of the RC Racer sub-theme is another quality entry, too. What's the fun of having a RC car if you don't have anyone to race against? Today's accessories work well with any of the previous day's characters to give yesterday's kid a bit of a challenge.

Sure, the parts are all fairly common and there's not a lot of building to be done...but sometimes you don't need either of those to make for a decent accessory pack.

I do wonder where LEGO will take things for day three, though...

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 19

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 19


Deckhand

As expected, today's door held nothing more than a few random bricks and...

...hold on.

That's a minifig.

But we just got Officer Grumpypants two days ago. We're not due for another person until at least tomorrow.

I was all set to bitch about another low quality micro set. Um. Okay. Let's try this again.





Um.



In an amazing twist, the Officer sub-theme ends with a criminal to put into yesterday's handcuffs!

CITY Advent 2009: Day 19

CITY Advent: Day 19


Child and RC Car

I've been pretty grouchy this year about any repeats from previous year's CITY Advent calendars. I've taken the stance that CITY is a big enough theme to showcase new things - that there's no reason to rehash the same models over and over again.

But today's set leaves me in a bit of a bind. It's clearly a repeat of a previous year's offerings...in 2005 we had a Kid and a RC race car. But in 2005 it took two days to get the kid and the car.
So today is clearly an improvement over 2005...but it's still a repeat.

Eh. I just can't be grinchy about this one. It's a kid and toys and that says "Holiday Theme" to me. I call today's gift a clear win.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 18

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 18


Weapons and a Rack to put 'em on

Today's set is another in the "sort of hit, sort of miss" pile for the Pirate Advent. It fits well as a follow-up door to yesterday's Officer Grumpypants. It has some decent accessories that you can even share out among the other Mini-figures from the calendar.

But...let's face it....the model itself is pretty darn weak. What good is a sword stand that requires you to grab the blade when you want to retrieve it?

Heck, it almost looks more like a little Steampunk robot than anything Pirate-y.

Now there's an idea. A Steampunk Advent.

Someone remind me to do that as a contest next November.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 18

CITY Advent: Day 18


Fountain

It's another puzzle. Did LEGO abandon the "street sweeper" sub-theme or is there a way to work this fountain into the mix?

Considering the amount of winter-themed objects we've seen so far in this year's CITY Advent, the inclusion of a water feature seems really...odd. Everything else is frozen solid...but not this!

Maybe it's meant to be a fixture in a mall or something.

The model itself has the advantage of being something new and different from the Advent-verse, at least. Despite the fact I didn't manage to align the parts correctly in my photo, the building technique isn't bad. And the blue water "flame" is an uncommon color for that part.

This far into the calendar and LEGO can still surprise me. They've almost got me looking forward to discovering tomorrow's new theme.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 17

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 17


First Officer Grumpypants

Working with the LEGO Advent calendars every year, I've come to expect to see some familiar faces and themes. LEGO tends to re-use faces a lot, and it adds a small bit of continuity to the calendars that - somehow - isn't quite as annoying as when they rehash things like traffic lights.

However, it did take me by surprise when the usual CITY Police officer minfigure took it upon himself to time travel and enlist in the British Navy.

Say hello (again) to First Officer Grumpypants. His grim visage has been a regular feature of law enforcement in the CITY calendars for nearly half a decade.
(He appeared in the 2005, 2006, and 2008 editions. I guess he was busy in 2007.)

It's only fitting that he appear this year as a Navy Officer - I doubt he'd have enjoyed life on the wrong side of the law.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 17

CITY Advent: Day 17


Snow Removal Cart

It's a stretch. It's a real reach. But at least LEGO is trying. Today's mini-model of a snow removal cart manages to transform yesterday's cheerless Janitor minifigure into a Winter Worker.

At least I think it's a snow removal cart.

Those 1x1 rounds might actually be meant to represent little LEGO marshmallows.

In which case this sub-theme doesn't make any sense at all.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 16

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 16


Leftovers

The Pirate Advent continues to follow it's own wacky rules. I thought we were back to traditional three day sub-themes, but I can't see how today's mini-model relates to a Mermaid universe.

If anything, today's sad little meal would work better with the Castaway from Day 11. The turkey leg is pretty generic as far as LEGO meals go, but the addition of a rat to the tableau suggests that quiet desperation that can come from living in one of only two places: a deserted island or downtown Detroit.

I can't decide if I like today's offering or not. It's a very simple bit of building, but it really does evoke a mood.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 16

CITY Advent: Day 16


Janitor

Today's new sub-theme kicks off with the expected Mini-figure.If nothing else, the CITY Advent has a very steady pace.

Unfortunately, we're stuck with a sub-theme that seems very far from the holiday spirit. Today's addition to the cast is a Janitor. Oh sure, he's a happy Janitor - look at that cheerful grin. But I leared a thing or two about Janitors from Mystery Science Theater 3000.



Besides. This Janitor comes with an old-style LEGO hat. He clearly ranks lower than even the Postman from day 10.

How depressing.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 15

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 15


Underwater Treasure

Today's micro-set is very similar to Joe Crab's shack from December 9th. We get a little underwater diorama - a rock, a plant, and a tiny sea creature. The focus, though, isn't on the oyster, but rather the pearl it contains. Or, rather, the giant pink gem it contains.

I was trying to think of what part LEGO could have used instead of the gem to represent a pearl. Maybe a 1x1 round in the new flat silver? I don't know if that'd really scan as a pearl, though.

Eh. It's really not that important.

Today's set fits well with the Mermaid sub-theme, so I have no real complaints in that area either.

Maybe I'm getting mellow in my old age.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 15

CITY Advent: Day 15


Bench

The final day of the Chef sub-theme. I was hoping this final door would give us an answer to the question: Is this a holiday theme or not?

Like the mystery of how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootise-pop, the world may never know. For today's set is about as theme-neutral as you can get: it's a bench.

Can we take a clue from the white baseplate that this bench is outside? In the winter snow? That's sort of holiday-ish.

And if you combine it with the ice skating rental stand, the garland street light, and yesterday's mystery kiosk...well, it's almost an outdoor holiday mall in miniature.

So, in the spirit of giving...let's go ahead and call it "Festive."

There's still plenty of time for LEGO to send things spiraling into the netherworld - and tomorrow starts a new sub-theme. Will we be making merry? Or weeping bitter tears?

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 14

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 14


Mermaid

Three days after the Castaway Minifigure, we get...another Minifigure! Tradition has been restored.

Maybe December 10th was just a weird space-time anomaly that shifted the bulk of the Pirate Advent back a day or something. I blame the Romulans.

Today's Minifigure is an awesome addition to the Pirate theme, too. This mermaid has only appeared in one other set - at the bow of set 6243, Brickbeard's Bounty. (It's also worth noting that the design on her tail is an improvement over the printing on LEGO's other Mermaid figure from the 2005 Harry Potter line)

Certainly a nice surprise to help take the sting out of a cold winter's Monday.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 14

CITY Advent: Day 14


Flower/Coffee Stand

Day two of the Winter Chef sub-theme. Today's model is another kiosk similar to the Ice Skating stand from Day 5, but only a lot more mysterious. What, exactly, is this product being sold? Is it some sort of beverage to go with the mug (and the mug the Chef was holding yesterday)? Or is it a flower stand? Or are the flowers just decoration?

It's a mystery.

The model itself is a fun little build. The 1x1 sloped tiles make for a nice candy-cane awning, and LEGO included a few extra bits to let you customize your gift.

The question remains, though: is this a holiday sub-theme or not?

I still can't make up my mind. Maybe tomorrow's item will help decide the matter.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 13

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 13


Monkey and Banana

Haven't you always wanted a monkey?

Well, if you were lucky enough to get a Pirate Advent calendar, now you have one.

CITY Advent 2009: Day 13

CITY Advent: Day 13


Chef with cup

So...is this the start of a new holiday theme or not?

Our chef looks happy enough...and overindulging in Christmas Feasts is a holiday tradition.

There's really not much to say about today's items...so let's wait and see what tomorrow has in store.

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 12

Pirate Advent 2009: Day 12


Fish Dinner

Today's set works well as a "Castaway Enhancer" - a small fish cookout for our lost Pirate.

The building technique here isn't super advanced, but it's still not a bad mini-model. I'm a fan of the new alternate flame piece, and it's used here to good advantage.

The new fish design has been around since Winter of '08 (when the first pirate sets leaked out to Toys R Us) but it still makes me smile.

I'd rank this one as "mid-to-high" on the quality scale. It fits the overall and sub themes, has fun parts, and more than six pieces. We've seen better, but we all know we've seen much, much worse.