nicknack116

I'm surprised no one's talked about the new ? block set yet! I picked it up on October 1st and just finished building last night. It's really fun, and I love the amount of details and hidden things they were able to pack into such tiny dioramas of the Mario 64 levels. Definitely in my top three favorite sets of the year. Of course, I feel like I'm an oddball around these parts. The giant, brick-built Harry Potter and Hermione minifigures were also one of my favorite sets of this year.

Yes. It’s an officially licensed game that sought funds through Kickstarter, and they raised $9.5 million with a goal of $50,000. So, definitely an indicator of people willing to pay for Airbender/Korra merchandise.

You're right, and that's a very good pull. I enjoy the figure much more now. Just wish it came with the waistcoat piece. For everyone saying this Mickey looks creepy, I won't argue that. Cause, yeah... But just wanted to make sure everyone knew that they're making a figure based on this version of Mickey from Walt Disney World's opening 50 years ago.

I think the only way a nose-less version would work is if they make a new mustache piece that resembles Mario's so it's kind of an implied nose? But totally agree that molded heads would work better, especially since so many other characters will need to have molded pieces to be represented accurately.

I know it's incredibly too early to speculate, but if 2022 has 4 collectible minifigure series (which seems to be the rumor now?), I'd love to see sets based on the Mario movie also get one of those 4 CMF series dedicated to it, too!

Agreed! Keeping things minifigure scale limits their options and making it something iconic that non-Disney-diehards would also want to buy. I think a Monorail set and loading platform with a cast of Disney characters to ride in it is a no-brainer set that I hope LEGO makes. And I really think that's an opportunity to represent each land with micro-scale dioramas of an attraction to serve as the "from the monorail" view of the park. Then kids could set up the monorail track and rearrange the dioramas to create their own Disneyland layout. It would also be an opportunity to create iconic Disneyland locations that wouldn't be as feasible (financially or creatively) on their own as a set: Sleeping Beauty Castle (since we've only gotten Cinderella's so far), Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Matterhorn, It's a Small World's exterior, Main Street, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, Mickey's house in ToonTown. I'd say Haunted Mansion as well, but I agree that could be its own set. Unfortunately, the recent Fairground set seems to also tick that haunted house box as well as Tower of Terror. Maybe when the Haunted Mansion movie Disney's making comes out we could get a classic Disneyland LEGO set, too?

Oh absolutely, just me getting my own hopes up :)

I’ve been wondering the same thing. The new Walt Disney World castle should be coming out October 1st, since it’s branded as a 50th anniversary set and that’s the date the 50th celebration starts. I’ve been wondering if we might get a monorail set? Maybe two Disneyland transportation sets is too much, so they’re retiring the train. And then you could have more micro scale attractions to go with the track to act as the park itself? The teacups. Dumbo. It’s a Small World’s Disneyland facade. The Haunted Mansion. And it means they could basically put any characters they want in the set. re: the Muppets, I hope it’s true!! I would love the Electric Mayhem’s bus as a set, too

Dream CMF series? That implies that it's nothing we've seen before. Seriously though...what's left to license that could fill out a mass-appeal CMF series? This might not be the place for speculation, but...I'd love for it to be the Muppets! You could easily find 12 characters to fill out a series. And it would mean another Disney series, just not Disney/Pixar animation. LEGO's Sesame Street characters turned out so well, and I've been wanting them to make Kermit and the gang next.

haha, I get the doom and gloom given their track record, but I honestly think that any other animation studio would've been an awful fit for Nintendo. I think with Illumination Nintendo will be exactly where they want to be: in the driver's seat. And I'm guessing studios who pride themselves on quality stories would've just clashed with Nintendo. Nintendo has to have full approval on anything in the movie. They gave notes on how Bowser would hold a cup of coffee in Wreck-It Ralph, so I can only imagine the headache of getting everything approved, pushing to go beyond the basic Mario story, etc. It'll be interesting to see how it ends up.

I wonder how much of that decision by LEGO was influenced by K'NEX previously having the Mario license? K'NEX made lots of minifigure-type characters with molded heads in minifigure-scale playsets. And, while LEGO is obviously different, I could see LEGO worrying that parents might say, "We already have Mario LEGO." Even if that's not the case, I think LEGO made the right choice by fully embracing the potential of Super Mario and making it more interactive. My kids love the sets. And then these display sets like the NES and ? block are perfect for me. I wish we had a happy medium, though. I want LEGO Mario figures to display on a shelf. And the brick-built characters have been awesome. But it's just a shame they can't have a brick-built Mario to go with them. Unless you like the black-eyed possessed version.

Perfectly said! LEGO is in the business of tapping new markets to come buy their sets who haven’t before and then might get interested in other lines, too. It’s smart and, selfishly, I’m loving this intersection of two things I’ve always loved.

So, I know we’ll know for sure soon, but… Has there been any discussion of this new Mario Question Block set getting a VIP release in September with a wide release in October? Or is it going to be an October set?

Not only is it open with the castle, Cool Cool Mountain, and Bob-Omb Battlefield on top, but it sure looks like there's...something in that open space where that hatch is. We'll see tomorrow! I'm just excited that LEGO is making a set based on Mario 64 AND that Nintendo approved it. It feels like Nintendo rarely licenses merchandise from past Mario games and opts for a more generic style (like the regular Mario sets) or toys based on the most recent game. I hope that extends to the regular Mario line and we get to see them be more creative than adapting simple side-scrolling levels.

Hi, random question to insert with the talk of 2022 sets. Does anyone know if the Harry Potter team at LEGO have said anything about the success of set #76393 (the brick-built minifigures of Harry and Hermione) or the future of making other characters? It's my favorite Harry Potter set from last year, and I just need the trio finished at least.