First off, I'm a basketball fan but let me assure you that that has no influence on this review and I'll tell you why.

This set came out in 2003. I only got out of my dark ages around 2010. So I'm actually quite new as an AFOL and I've been getting other sets but somehow I never bothered to get into the 'Sports' theme. To me, it looks like it's more for kids to play with where as an AFOL I'm more into moccing and the more 'mature' technic stuff. Boy how wrong I was.

Box/Instructions

I got this set by accident as part of a bulk buy, so i didn't get a complete set but for the most part at least all the floor plates and the essential sports parts were there, so I went to look for the instructions online and started building.

Parts

It actually comes with a lot of useful parts, apart from those specialty ones. You will get a lot of useful tan 2x2 tiles, technic connectors, blue flat slopes, a couple of turntables, and plates, to name a few. If you're fan of tiles and a fan of tan, this is one of those sets you can really get a lot of those for your parts supplement.

Minifigures

The complete set comes with 10 basketball type minifigs with springs in their legs so that they can pick up, shoot, and pass the ball. (I could only manage to find one in my lot, so I can't really say much)

The build

The build I have to say is quite interesting, to me at least because this is not like your regular creator sets, it has a lot of special parts to make the play features work, so when I finally complete it I could understand the mechanics of the play features, and it really shows LEGO 's design ingenuity. It really reflects how a real world basketball game would be played, just shrunk to minifig size.

When in the paint(the free-throw line area for those of you who don't know basketball talk ;) ), you can score pretty easily. Shooting further out a bit for 3 pointers, that takes some skill and accuracy, very much like real world basketball. You can even dunk! But don't think that's going to be easy, it actually takes a bit of practice with the right amount of strength as you flick the handle. This handle also allows you to block your opponents from scoring, but this time it's not so much about the level of strength anymore but the timing. So you see, this is really brilliant and it really reflects a real world basketball game how it's played.

The completed model

Even if you're not into the play features, as a completed set, it looks really good as a basketball arena. The printed plates and the stickers add to the details. You have NBA and Spalding lending their brand, as well as LEGO. A complete set even comes with a printed Spalding/NBA basketball, which unfortunately was not in mine, but bricklink should be able to take care of that. And lastly where would a basketball game be without its fans? The spectator stands have ample space for you to populate, and when you do, it's even more lively and pleasing to look at as a completed model. (Tip: the Series 1 Cheerleader collectible minifig is PERFECT for this, it's like it's almost made to be in this set ;) )

Summary

Regardless whether you're a basketball fan or not, if you are into Lego, you should really give the Sports theme, especially the basketball ones, a try. You will not regret getting it, I certainly didn't, in fact I'm so glad I got this as part of my bulk buy, perhaps if not I wouldn't even thought of specifically getting it, but after having a chance at it, I would say, even if I were to buy it at full price, or even if I have to pay more since it's an old discontinued set, it is very well worth the money. The playability of this set will more than make up for it, and for basketball fans, all the more a no-brainer ;)

When I first got out of my dark ages, this set was already discontinued. I was 3 years late, and the only way for me to get this set was either through bricklink or ebay. Of course the price then was really inhibiting for me as I realized how much the prices of LEGO sets went up during my dark ages. Still, I bit the bullet, and paid US$300 for it. Now I'm so thankful to myself that I got it, if I haven't gotten it then, there's no way I can afford it with the prices that it is commanding now. I wondered how can it be so valuable and that people are still getting it. I can only justify that, apart from being a beautifully designed set, it is an icon by itself that this was the one that started it all, it kind of represent a paradigm shift in people's perception that LEGO is just a child's toy. With this set, you no longer see it as a toy, but a masterpiece of an artwork, which you would proudly display and admire. But, this set was more than just the sum of its parts, it featured new, articulated building techniques, giving aspiring AFOLs plentiful lessons how to go beyond with their LEGO. When people came to know I'm into LEGO they were like, what you still play with kids stuff and then I showed them this, the Cafe Corner, there wasn't anyone that didn't go...WOW

So if you can afford it, get it. If you can't afford it, get it anyway because you'll regret not getting later.

I personally think this is a very underrated set. If you take into account the parts, as well as the design, it is a very good value set that you can incorporate into your mocs. If you don't fancy the colour red, replace it with another colour scheme and you can get a very good decent addon to other themes like space police 3, for example.

On top of that, the minifigures are absolutely top-notch, the sharkman especially, as well the futuristic diver or whatever you call him. One unexpected surprise is definitely the 1x3 smooth tile...which I know some MoCcers have been yearning for.

The build is fairly easy and hassle-less, but the best of all, is that it also provides a very good playability value for the younger kids as it's very swooshable, with enough content to create a scenario of the diver chasing the menacing looking sharkman (or vice-versa), this is a very good starter kid for them.

Pros

• Minifigs - sharkman which is awesome
• Parts
• Playability

Cons

• Come to think of it, I really couldn't say any cons about this other than being it may be a bit pricy for such a small set. I got this on discount, so to me it didn't appear to be

Maybe a bit overpriced for some, but try to get it at discount and you'll be surprisingly pleased with it, if not I still think you should still give it a chance.

This is my first ever Bionicle and it was purchased when I was checking out my local TRU for new sets, but found none and I had to get something Lego related, so on a whim I purchased this.

Now having no idea what Bionicle was all about and about to purchase one, why did I choose Rahkshi? Well first of all the character design itself is quite nice. With nothing to base on except the boxart, the pose itself just won me over. Secondly the colors, good combination of black(which i later realized is actually dark grey) and yellow. Last is the weapon, which is like a bo staff ending with spears on both ends.

After playing with it for two days, I realized the bionicle series is really a gem. There's so much playability. The Stars series are smaller than previous series, but to me it is just the right size. I incorporate it into my City sets and have it standing on rooftops terrorizing civilians, and it didn't felt out of place.

All in all, I'm pleasantly pleased with this set

Pros

• Cool character design
• Nice colors
• Smaller than previous series and easier to play/manipulate

Cons

• Arms and knees are pre-bent
• Expensive (I paid RM50 which is about US$15 - that's how expensive LEGO is in my country!)

You bet I'll be getting the rest before LEGO retire this line this year!

This set is just what it appears to be, a speedboat. No surprises, straightforward build, a few good parts (windscreen, red hull) and a nice add-on to your LEGO city. No complains on the price, as I think it's just right. Too bad it doesn't float :)