Bornin1980something

I liked the 2018 calendar, particularly that nearly all items were minifig scale toys, and the front room setting. The new one is not quite as ingeniously miniaturized, but has some good scaled down versions of real sets, and a good City road plan.

What!?! Where did you get those assault weapons?

Regarding the new police sets; I am rather ashamed to admit this, but I think they all have something going for them. 60272 is probably the weakest. The main reason I say this is because I believe the police boat should really include diving gear, and an officer in a wetsuit/drysuit. I mean, the crook has a good speedboat, but what if it crashes into the rocks? And what if a crook acquires one of the new submarines? Or one of the new planes crashes into the lake? On water, you need police divers. The 4x4 is actually quite a good design, and I like the use of the tooth piece as the radiator grill. The ridiculous looking drilling vehicle in 60273 may actually be a reference to the real Hatton Garden heist in 2017, when six old man managed to drill their way into an underground vault. That said, the drill they actually used was small enough to be portable! The police cruiser looks like a good use of the new chassis piece. The roofing piece used for the bonnets of both vehicles should make adding engine detail (a trademark of mine) easier. 60273 has some reassuring features, most notably, a buildable small helicopter! As for the criminal, while I don't like the implied Italian stereotyping, his costume is certainly a leap forward, as it clearly isn't a prison uniform! True, there are still some subtle stripes, but the main thing marking out as a criminal is his mask. I'm still not entirely satisfied; I still think kids need to be taught that criminals do not look like criminals! But I think the double sided head, with a mask on one side, is a much better compromise than blatant criminal uniforms. I hope this is the beginning of the end of the grey and white stripes (except for sets with prison cells). All that said, though – talk about bad timing! It might have been an idea to hold these off until next year, but I suspect most of them are already produced. So far, TLG has produced the best motorsports sets in a year with almost no motorsport, and finally cracked the secret of making a good plane for 4+ range in a year without flying. But that's nothing compared to the tension that now surrounds the police. What, in any case, does 'Elite Police actually mean in this context? The distinguishing features I've seen in these new sets are the helmets, nightvision goggles, and the pocketed vests, all of which look worryingly line of the products of armed units. This might not have been such a good idea originally. Also, the show they are based on, Lego City Adventures, shows a rather Americanised picture of the police, and indeed everything. I wish Lego could be European again! That said, I admit I did buy three of the sky police sets, even though I was well aware that, if we are honest, they were a fighter, a jet trainer, and a helicopter gunship (though I did want an anti-drone aircraft after an incident at Gatwick). In other, lighter news, a worker at a recently reopened fish and chip shop appears to have gone delusional from lockdown, and now swears he's Elvis.

What does Meanstick actually mean?

I've certainly read somewhere, from someone at TLG, that Licenced products are more popular in the American market, original themes more popular in Europe.

Is the Seagrave Marauder a real fire appliance?

Good photography. What is the mod?

At least they don't have green windows!

The mobile site listed both offers for a while, though the desktop site only listed the hot rod until it disappeared. Now, when you make a purchase, when do you know if a GWP has been added? That said, I don't really like the idea of an £85 purchase right now, not when I probably need another tripod. Probably a Bricklink purchase for me.

I can't find the GWP hot rod on the UK site anymore. Might it reappear, or should I consider it sold out?

Why the sea of trans-black visors?

https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/04/lego-pauses-marketing-of-police-sets-amid-protests/ That does not say indefinitely. Yes, it is a blackout Tuesday thing. The police sets remain on sale, but I think they are supposed to be excluded from banner headline images and financial promotions (unless they apply to all sets). I suspect TLG do not want to cash in on sad and violent news, or encourage kids to recreate the scenes, similar to their continued exclusion of present-day warfare in their lineup. (Alert me if this post violates site guidelines.) Personally, I don't like the way Lego do police these days. Too much of it seems to be simple cops and robbers stereotypes. To me, Lego Town felt like a more peaceful place before 1993, when the police acquired sunglasses and catalogue scenes became increasingly action oriented. I might buy the small police station in a box set someday, but there will be no police sets in my next order. I'm far more interested in aviation.

Which Harry Potter discussion? There are several under 'Licenced.' I've had a problem with this very thead; I can't post anything on Google Chrome desktop. I'm posting this from my mobile.

I don't think it's available anywhere. Maybe the pullcord copters suffered a manufacturing setback, due to the pandemic.

I disagree, it looks far better than Town Jr. Now where is the Mercedes grill from.