natelite

Eurobricks Fellows
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About natelite

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    fewer calories than regular nate

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  1. natelite

    New LEGO Ninjago Fakes

    i wonder if that bout of cheap UCS DS is actually a clone brand too? i mean, if they can dupe ninjago, they can also dupe lego star wars. the only difference there is instead of just lego, the license owner can also sue them. but if they are in the business of producing copies, and are located in china, i don't think lucas entertainment can actually touch them. there seems to be a lot more downside than upside in moving production to cheaper countries. for czech and mexico factories, we see plenty of smuggled minifigures being sold on ebay. for china factories, we see clones sold. i guess lego has lax control over the production - i mean we don't have this massive issue with the iphone or ipad. i mean there are clones but they are usually so inferior that no buyer would want them. doesn't seem so with the lego sets. perhaps it is just that easy to duplicate a lego piece? despite the need for thousands of molds, it doesn't seem to affect the clonies. either the molds are not that expensive to make as lego said they are or the clonies are using lego's own mold from the factories abroad.
  2. there are quite a few army builders in this series. at least 5 by my count - the alien trooper, knight, marion, robot mech, cyclops. maybe not marion but still plenty of hording will be had with this series. i think the only better series is 7. i'm quite happy with how this has turned out.
  3. natelite

    New LEGO Ninjago Fakes

    how exact is the item fake? i didn't see anything in the description which says it's a copy? edit: i see it now - the last photo of the set. wow, these clone brands can come up with copies quite quickly. i wonder how the plastic compares with the real deal too.
  4. I don't quite like the new galaxy squad mechs. I would have liked a mech with a helmet over a normal minifig head much like the chima figures. The current design is too similar to KREO's. i don't know why TLC would stoop so low as to copy from an inferior competitor. they should be much better than that. in fact, 2 of the new creators 3-in-1 2013 sets are so similar to transformer sets - aka mecha as one of the design and a vehicle as the other other. if they put a mech minifig in that set, it would be even more like the kreo sets.
  5. natelite

    Legends of Chima 2013

    people who buy them are using them for video reviews - folks like thebrickshow - to make money from selling ads on youtube. for them, being first is very important, hence the premium paid.
  6. natelite

    Favorite Elf Figure

    Cmf for me too. I don't know if it is the long hair or fleshie skin but something about the LotR elves that I don't like.
  7. natelite

    LEGO Design Team – Open Call For Theme Ideas!

    ^ i guess asking for some lego sets and for promotional trips is going to bankrupt TLC. your comment of sense of entitlement is misleading. i guess TLC is also too entitled to think they can get ideas for free? if you ever study IP, and copyright you would know that some of the cheapest multi-billion ideas were created before the creators figured out how their real net worth. toy story was a prime example used in case studies. pixar signed over the rights to disney when they first created toy story. having some reward is to encourage participation - and in the bigger scheme of things the rewards i proposed is chump change. it's hardly a dent for a theme. yes, there's risk that the theme wouldn't sell but that risk (molds, production cost, etc) runs in the millions, which compared to the participation prizes is like comparing an elephant to an ant. maybe in your world everyone is too entitled and should be working for next to free since the same labors can be had in china for peanuts. we're living like kings here earning more than their minimum wage of not $15/hr but $15/day. shame on us! what? you don't think that little timmy can turn a screwdriver or pack a box as well as you? if he's not asking for anything other than the pleasure of working then why should you? what ever is the world coming to... bunch of entitled snobs... working for free and still asking for second servings of soup!
  8. natelite

    LEGO Design Team – Open Call For Theme Ideas!

    exactly right. should be more than just a pat on the back. for what it's worth (hiring a theme designer and conceptual artists, etc) i think giving free lego sets for a year + free trip to billund + tour around the facility + trips to expos to participate in product promotion would very much pay for it. plus it's like a free staff for a year and you have hundreds of thousands participants competing for it. it's a no brainer. they are signing on a waiver form anyway - so that means the property belongs to TLC. if a theme sells well, you get multi-year sales for the half the annual cost of keeping an employee. how's that for cost-benefit?
  9. natelite

    LEGO Design Team – Open Call For Theme Ideas!

    If I win, what's in it for me? do i get a profit share like in cuusoo? do i get hired to come up with themes? doesn't seem fair to solicit for ideas and getting nothing in return.
  10. natelite

    2013 Galaxy Squad

    I agree. It would be a great directional move for TLC to incorporate aliens and humans in a faction too. Instead of saying aliens = evil, humans = good, they should instead focus on traits. so an evil human will have a sinister/evil look - smug looking and evil grin. kinda like the robbers from the city/police sets. same with aliens. it's a great lesson for kids - that gloating is evil, that wicked is evil, etc. instead of being classed as evil by race. to teach kids about remorse, perhaps the evil faction would have double sided heads where the other side is a crying face - like the one of the jester from the castle theme. it's quite a strong message that preach about doing good - being evil will end in disappointment and heartache. and the good guys' heads can have determined looks and happy looks. it will teach about bperseverence - if you struggle hard enough you will eventually win. good triumphs over evil!
  11. natelite

    MANLY TUMBLERS! Black and Camo.

    at that small size it is always hard to apply camo. you can always swap out tan parts for dark tan or brown parts. as for the front - it's the best application of existing bricks unless you ask for new molds. it will leave room for the next iteration - tumbler 3.0. but overall, i agree that while the size is perfect for city sets, it's too small for the regular kid friendly size. the first version is obviously too big. it needs to be slightly smaller than the first but bigger than current - like the agents vehicle sizes. those would be perfect for kids. i think the cuusoo project tumbler is about the right size for kids.
  12. I wonder why TLC doesn't make a Cinderella castle in system or friends format. It should sell like hotcakes.
  13. natelite

    MANLY TUMBLERS! Black and Camo.

    the official tumbler is around this size. if you count the studs, it's actually 8 studs by 8 studs. it's kinda blocker than your linked version but that's because the official version needs to be stable enough for little kids to play with. your linked version will crumble under light play. many steps involved illegal building methods too. i for one, actually like the official mini tumbler. it's just right to fit in a regular town set. it's about as wide as a bus, and that's about the right scale anyway. the bat is also cool except for the blue highlights. that can easily be moc'ed into all black. the size is also just right.
  14. natelite

    2013 Galaxy Squad

    Well, seeing as mr timms have posted the pics, I won't need to. The side profile pic looks okay. The front though looks like he's got a fat head. The front plate looks too big and the fact that the helmet sits higher up (above the brow) than normal helmet just give the sense that the minifig has a swollen head. I prefer the slicker look of the marine helmet. It's not because of the color either. You can try a black ADU helmet and it's still the same result. Looks top heavy...in a bad way.
  15. natelite

    2013 Galaxy Squad

    can you share what you like about it? i agree that the artist rendering looks awesome. the actual product, not so much. with a body armor, you can shift the perception somewhat but without is just horrible. i think it looks too big for halo, while the space marine is more halo-like, and more starship trooper-like. i think i'll take some photos tonight and show you what i mean.