RichardGoring

I can still see it returning as a few one-off sets in the Icons range, similar to Lots of the Rings, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters. These older, iconic movies, with a core fan base of mostly adults with money to spend, have been good for LEGO to target. Larger scale sets or dioramas seen most likely though, rather than the play sets. And, if it does ever happen, it won't be for a while.

Sorry, yes, Rivendell. The fellbeast debacle. What a ...

I know it's a joke, but a small scale mech-like build for Sauron would probably be amongst the best and most useful of the mechs LEGO has done at this scale, given how much larger Sauron is than others. And so, because there is a whiff of sanity to it, they don't do it. $600 Hulkbuster style saggy Sauron mech that can fit a $40 buildable Sauron figure inside it though... now you're talking!

Ooh, nice, thanks for sharing! Now, what are the prices going to be...

It's definitely not one for army building, and it doesn't really fit into most castle setups, but it looks so nice. It really does. I enjoying seeing it every day and the build was genuinely fabulous. Definitely worth strong consideration before it retires!

In non-licensed discussion, the Lost City in the Bricklink Designer Program is a pretty excellent setting for Indy, and Solid Brix Studios has done a review on it, placing Indy in there for a bit of fun.

They are pretty pricey. The McLaren started off at $180. Also, the supercar series are at least interesting to look at being different cars, but even they have some fatigue setting in as the internals are converging. I can't quite see the value in a series of F1 cars that take up a lot of space, are all designed to be similar, with little scope for variety in build or function, and just have a different colour scheme. I hope that I am mistaken and they reveal something interesting.

Ha! I had a conversation with a non-car person at the weekend about whether I'd ever seen a McLaren. I asked which one. He didn't realize there were lots, and then I had to admit that they all look the same.

Yes, sorry, that's what I meant. They may decide that having a fixed core isn't suitable for the modulars though. They've not done it before, and in the past they've said that the idea is you can replicate the middle floors of modulars to build them taller, so they may stay away from a fixed elevator shaft for that reason. Or, they may decide to innovate and break the rules. After all, it's only their rules. And they're more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules.

Wow. That take is hotter than the fires of Mount Doom! But if you like armies and orcs then I can see why. For me, Rivendell really does live up to the hype. It was amazing to build and I think it looks terrific. I love the colours, organic shapes, the way it flows, the general impression, and all the small details. And if they get it right, then Hobbiton/the Shire could have very similar feeling.

Could be. The new worm gear and lift piece might be useful to them for a new technique, although that would limit the ability to remove each floor entirely, so maybe not. Something could be made to work for sure though.

Why from the Hobbit and not LOTR out of curiosity? My preference would be from LOTR, where they might be able to do a smaller internal build of Bag End and the facades of other hobbit holes, and maybe Bilbo's birthday, so more outside stuff and lots of generic hobbit figures. If they did the Hobbit version, then we'd presumably have to include the entire company of dwarfs and the interior of Bag End would have to be a lot bigger to accommodate all of them, so less of the other stuff. Coming in at $1 less than previous Lord of the Rings sets...

I suspect it's not that interesting, but it is a licensed part on Pick a Brick, which is Joy's torso from the Inside Out 2 set. 6486319. Very surprised to see it there. Also, I recall someone, at some point, asking about the 1x1 round brick with the alien face print on from the Milky Way Galaxy set. That's on there too. 6465967. No idea when they arrived. Just started browsing through by newest to see if any of the June parts had been uploaded.

If tradition remains, it will be a corner, so unlikely to be split. Also, they've done that before with both previous residential places (Petshop + townhouse and Bookshop + townhouse), so I hope that they don't make it a tradition that residential places have to be half a baseplate. If they're doing residential, then a block of flats would be different and have the potential for more interest (less internal wall structure and fewer staircases needed.

That's great, thanks! There are four unique map pieces across the four sets and only three of them are shown in that. Fortunately, the one that's missing is from the tiger set, which is the only set I bought. Hurrah! Now, how much are those gorillas going to cost...

To be honest, it's one of the appeals of the program to me. I love the MOCs that people create on Rebrickable (or other places), but sometimes the convenient ones - reworks of other sets - can feel very limited by that specific set of elements and the palette they offer. It can sometimes feel too similar to the original. Other unique MOCs can be wonderful, but sourcing pieces can be tricky/expensive/time consuming. Or, as I've done in the past, you go through and rework the MOC to incorporate different elements that aren't rare or obscure. The Bricklink Designer Program (and the MOC Pop-up store last year) all pulling from in-production elements means you get access to some great MOCs at a reasonable price, very easily. Even if they do more of the MOC Pop-up store instructions, being able to get the parts easily through PAB was extremely useful.

The forest stronghold was my least favourite going into the reviews as it looks pretty simple. The staircase is nice, but otherwise, as said in the review, it's very similar to the Lion Knights Castle. And the trees don't look great to me. They're too sparse, and the flowers dotted around make it even more so. Which then gives the whole thing a sense of feeling too basic. The difficulty in accessing/using play functions lessens it's speak further. I'd prefer something more hidden and ingenious for the forestmen. The Mountain Fortress from series 1 seemed much more interesting and varied. The castle in the Forest from the Invitational series was also more interesting. As are a bunch of the MOCs for both Lion Knights Castle and the 31120 combination MOCs. To be clear, I couldn't design something half that good by myself, but those are the reasons it's not for me and I'll prioritize other things. For those that don't have the other castles or do value it, then I hope you have an amazing time with it. In the Tiago video, he did a preview of them all, and thought that the build looked interesting with lots of different techniques. I'll have to watch the full review to see why they differ on they view point. Agreed that it's expensive and doesn't need the back, but the Ocean House from series 2 was heavily criticized by many for being open back, so you can't win. (I loved it and ordered one though). It's very pretty, delightfully themed, and I'll be getting it anyway. Also in Tiago's preview he was disappointed in the Lost City, mostly it seemed through theme and lack of play features. I loved that one coming into it, but if there are no play features then it might sway me away from getting it. It still looks terrific to my eyes though. Haven't seen anything negative about the other two and I may try to get them, especially if the Lost City doesn't appeal.

Worryingly, the two smaller jungle City sets are marked on the LEGO website as retiring soon (red panda and olive crocogators), which is a little surprising, but will also be annoying if their parts don't make it to PaB. I was hoping to get some of the animals (and figures, and four-part map tiles), but some are exclusive to these small sets.

GWP on potentially all purchases would be terrific. Native list uploading is fantastic.

I've been in several LEGO stores around the US this year and haven't seen any that only do pre-built. So I would so it's the exception?

I had Caribbean Clipper as a child (and still have it today). I had so much fun with it, and my children enjoy it now too. It would always have my vote. Having never had the Imperial Flagship, I can't directly compare, but it seems like Imperial Flagship is a better model and Caribbean Clipper may be better as a play set, given that it's simpler and more space to get into it and act things out.

I watched @kbalage's review video on the 1966 Batmobile and it was a wonderfully critical review (in that not many point out flaws in sets much any more). It was on my wishlist, but seeting it next to other sets makes you realize just how out of scale it seems and suggests that the build process isn't as fun as a chunk of the other vehicles. Might wait a long while to see if there's a sale. Thanks for the review and for really exploring lots of areas in detail and considering it with a more critical eye.

I saw them in a Boston, MA LEGO Store. I think this shows what the accessories are 'supposed' to be - Minifigures BAM (@lego_bam) • Instagram photos and videos by @cacacolito

I was thinking a pastel colour would be great too. In my mind, either the San Fransciso style townhouse - although we already have that from the Bookshop - or a block of mansion flats might work really well. The Art Deco one from Poirot (Florins Court) in a pastel pink or purple would be great. Even better would be sand red, but it's not coming back. Or will they take the opportunity to do something in the new reddish orange and give us a load of newly coloured parts?

Seeing the mail sorter made me feel like the play functions were a huge plus on this set, and then Tiago's review showed the tipping basket on the hot air balloon - which I had missed - so the play functions are even better. Yes, it's small, and the layout is a bit odd, but I really like the smoothness to the snowy roofs, and the playability is excellent. Will definitely be getting it. Although the build looks it might be a little basic, which is a shame. Santa's Visit is genuinely one of the best, cleverest builds I've seen. The angles are all so clever.