I picked up set 30053, Republic Attack Cruiser in a polybag for $4 at Target. It differs from most of the polybag impulse sets I've seen in the checkout line at Target in that it's a micro-scale model and contains no minifigs, but it was a fun build and it is one of the most "on-model" micro-scale models I've ever seen.

Box/Instructions

The set comes in a polybag with a single seven-step instruction sheet.

Parts

There are some neat parts here, notably some interestingly shaped light grey plates. I can imagine these might come in handy for Star Wars inspired MOCs. There are also a few maroon pieces that I've not seen elsewhere. A few light grey wedges are useful for rock formations.

Minifigures

None. This is just a micro-scale model.

The build

This is a satisfying if quick build. It's hardly challenging, but you can really see the model come together

The completed model

The completed model is really where it's at for this set. It's amazing how much this tiny little thing looks like a Venator Class ship.

Summary

This is a fun little set, and at $4 the price isn't bad at all, either for the finished model or just a few interesting parts.

The first LEGO set I can remember getting was 6075, so this yellow castle all but called out to me. It even includes a brick-built horse, though this one has eyes. It was a fun, if simple build, and the finished mini-castle looks good. I particularly appreciated that it included an operational drawbridge, though I dinged "Playability" because the plastic chain isn't quite as easy to crank as the string from 6075.

$10 is a small price to pay for a trip back in time.

Ninja Ambush is my favorite "little" set.

Pros

• A very fun, if quick, build. Putting the little bamboo grove together was particularly satisfying because I could really see the bamboo shoots coming together as I built. I may look for more of the pieces used and build some bamboo groves of my own.
  
• Launching the ninja Minifig at the skeleton Minifig never fails to make me smile, particularly when the ninja knocks the skeleton over. If that's not playability I don't know what is.
• With two Minifigs and the super cool camouflaged ninja launcher, the $7 price point is awesome.

Cons

• I don't really care for the feet on the Ninjago skeletons. I haven't picked up any sets with the little spinner bases, but it looks like the feet are probably necessary for the spinners to hold onto the skeletons, but I think they just look silly. That, of course, isn't really a problem with this set so much as it's a problem across the theme.
• I would have preferred if the piece that sticks out in front of the bamboo grove weren't bright red. Brown or even black would have looked much better and been less disruptive to the illusion that the skeleton is walking past an ordinary bamboo grove and has no reason to believe that a ninja is about to come flying at him.
  

Pick this set up and fling a ninja!

This was one of the first sets I picked up after as part of my recent "Lego renaissance." The ostriches are what really caught my eye because I don't remember the animals looks nearly this cool ten years or so ago when I was last purchasing Lego.

Pros

• The minifigs included are pretty neat. These are my first licensed figs since the change from yellow to flesh tones, so they got a few extra points for me on that basis, but even putting that aside, the printed torsos, the headgear and the accessories included impress.
• Ostriches! I bet you thought I'd lead with the ostriches. I'm a fan of ostriches, in general -- they're interesting looking animals, and the multi-color models included here really capture their look.
• I love the mechanism that opens and closes the gates on the ostrich stalls. It doesn't depend on rubber bands, which seems to make it a bit more reliable than the gate mechanism in Set 8061, Gateway of the Squid. Further, the visible parts of the mechanism match the over-all color scheme, so it blends right into the model.
  
• I like the general color scheme of the bricks and other pieces in this set. The gray, brown and tan are more subdued than the bright color schemes I was accustomed to. I realize that this is a function of the desert setting, but I'm starting to give some real consideration to putting together some pre-modern themed MoCs, and the color scheme at work here inspires me.
• The set includes quite a few non-standard bricks and other bits that could easily prove useful for MOC projects, particularly the brown poles and cones, used to great effect in this set to build fencing and gates.
  

Cons

• The studs on the jumpers that make up the floor of the ostrich stalls not only do not align with the ostriches' feet, they are positioned such that if one foot is attached to one stud, you have to either turn the ostrich a bit so that he's not facing forward and ready to race or have him sort of leaned up on the misaligned stud such that he faces forward but doesn't stand very well. This flaw frustrates the set's value as a diorama.
  

This is just an excellent set. It was a fun build with a clever mechanism for the gates, solid minifigs and (need I mention?) ostriches. I'm giving serious thought to going ahead and picking up an extra copy or two of this set for parts (and ostriches) in the hope that I eventually get around to designing and building that castle I keep dreaming of. If I run across a few copies at discount, it's all but a done deal.

60007: High Speed Chase is my first of the 2013 Police sets and the subtheme is off to a solid start, but Police fans should be aware that 2013's sets definitely represent something of a "reboot" for the subtheme. The set includes three vehicles, three minifigures and several neat accessories.

Box/Instructions

This is a midsized set in a midsized box. The box art is definitely attractive, perhaps actually improving a bit on the look of the red sports car that is included. Each of the vehicles and its driver are packaged in separately numbered bags and each is the subject of its own instruction booklet.

Parts

One of the changes in the Police subtheme for 2013 is a shift from bright blue as the "police color" to earth blue. As such, you pick up a few basic bricks in that color and the police marking stickers have that color as their background. The set also get a dozen tank tread pieces that serve as a spike puncture roadblock. The SUV windshield is an uncommon element. Another piece that caught my attention was the 1x3 red tile, two of which are included. I don't recall ever seeing a 1x3 tile before.

Minifigures

The "star attraction" in this set is Chase McCain, the unhelmeted police officer pictured above and the main playable character in the upcoming LEGO City Undercover for the Wii U. McCain is otherwise so far available only as a premium to push preorders of his video game, so this is a welcome opportunity for non-gamer fans to get McCain in physical form. McCain is joined by a motorcycle cop and a masked thief who is apparently making off with $300 and a gold bar. Both police officers feature printed leg pieces, and all three minifigures boast back printing.

Again, the reboot of the Police subtheme is apparent in the police officers' uniforms, which do not match the police minifigures going back at least to 2008's 7744: Police Headquarters. If you're aiming for a roughly uniform police force, you may not want to mix the two uniforms. On the other hand, the last police uniform was certainly dressier in appearance, so that explanation may get you past the mismatch. Set 3661: Bank & Money Transfer included a minifigure in a light blue police uniform shirt, which would mix better with Chase McCain and his colleagues in the revamped subtheme.

The build

This set offers a fairly positive build experience. Even the motorcycle, usually an unchanging build makes interesting use of a couple angle plates to give the back end of the cycle a little more heft than it might otherwise have had.

The SUV is where the real fun in this build is to be found. The designer eschewed the large vehicle modified plate in favor of a number of standard plates to build the base of the vehicle:

I appreciate the use of more standard parts and may try to duplicate this method in future "large vehicle MOCs.

The completed model

The motorcycle is a solid variation on an old classic. The set uses a fence piece with decals and a couple round trans-blue 1x1 plates to create a road block, an interesting use of a well-known piece.

The SUV looks wonderful. If I have one nit to pick with that vehicle it is that the tires are too large for the fenders over the wheel wells used.

My only major complaint with this set is with the red sports car. First off, I'm a bit sick of red cars in LEGO sets. I'd love to see more variety in car colors in LEGO City. Second, though, I just don't think the car looks all that good. It's 6 studs wide, and the general design, which would perhaps have looked good at 4 or even 5 studs wide looks somewhat squat at 6. The passenger compartment seems too long and the front end too short. Finally, a sticker goes on the hood and adds very little to the look of the car. While the too-small fender only slightly mars the appearance of the SUV, the completed sports car model has little to recommend it.

Summary

60007: High Speed Chase is a worthy kick-off to the 2013 Police subtheme revamp. Three vehicles, three minifigures and some accessories seem a generous allotment at the $30 price point, and 283 pieces comes awfully close to the the 10 cents per piece that I like to see. Sixteen extra pieces close the gap almost entirely. If you treat the ugly sports car not as a failure of the official design but as an invitation to rebuild into a nicer looking car, there may be no reason at all for a City fan to pass this set by.