New for 2009

I might put together a proper "model of the day" post today yet, but for now, I'd like to point out a few of the new-for-2009 items just released by LEGO and now available from the official LEGO Shop-at-Home site I've previous blogged about the new Medieval Market Village - this beauty is out now: The newly revived Pirates line has some great kits. They look a little pricey in terms of average price per part, but trust me - the new parts are fairly high-quality with lots of new elements, improved versions of printed parts,, and even extremely detailed new minifigs with printed hats. These cost a bit more because these parts are actually more expensive for LEGO to manufacture - the new parts are so well-made to justify the "high" price. I've taken a liking to this particular set, which cleverly uses click hinges to hold up the parts of the shipwreck - so you can actually pose the wreckage to make it look like it's in varying states of decay without actually taking it apart: Also of note is the new Construction theme for town. Some great parts are being revived for this line. Have a look at this set, which features the treads from the all-too-short lived 8275 Bulldozer kit AND the older style of Technic turntable: Those sets also include windows and other useful elements for rounding out a construction scene. There are also more licensed lines - small new sets for Star Wars and a few updated versions of Spongebob Squarepants scenes. The new Indiana Jones Shanghai Chase set has some neat cars, though: Also new is a brightly-colored line similar to the Rock Raiders line from 1999. The rock monsters this time are pretty exciting, with marbled translucent sections on the part. I'm also a big fan of the new wheel element in a few sets like this one: There's much more to see, of course - these are just a few highlights I liked. What are you looking forward to this year?