Joebot

I had the same thought regarding the lack of a baseplate. For whatever reason, baseplates have gotten incredibly rare these days. I think TLC relies too heavily on the background artwork on the box to give a set a proper sense of "setting." The marina is already a pretty flimsy design, but if it was sitting on a nice blue baseplate, that would help immensely.

There's a big difference between "whining" and "criticism." I haven't read anything on this thread that sounds like whining. Just adult fans of Lego expressing their differing opinions in a thoughtful, respectful manner.

I suspect you're right about the lack of a pipe. Much like how Marvel Comics now prohibits their artists from depicting characters smoking, I imagine TLC has a similar policy. Makes sense, I suppose, but a smoking pipe IS a huge part of Sherlock Holmes' popular image. Series 4 really blew me away, but I'm feeling a bit of a letdown on Series 5. Too many of the figs feel ... familiar. The cavewoman, the fitness instructor, the snowboarder ... they just seem too similar to existing figs.

I interpreted "case" as being a suitcase, not a violin case. Although, I like the idea of violin case a lot more!

Awesome. And, we've got the new mohawk coming out in series 4 with the punk rocker. We just need that piece in black to make a B.A. Baracus fig. Oh, and we need a cigar. I love it when a plan comes together.

I'm excited about getting an Ian McShane (the actor who plays Blackbeard) mini-fig. I was a huge, huge "Deadwood" fan, and I love the idea of making an Al Swearingen mini-fig, complete with knife and severed Indian head.

Agreed. When we got those early pictures of the prelim boxes, I felt like the sets were pretty skimpy, and relied too heavily on the box artwork. Now, looking at the sets against a stark white background ... it's even worse. The London Escape and Fountain of Youth in particular. The structure in the London Escape is really just a facade with nothing behind it. It's more like a movie set than an actual building. And that waterfall (is that a sticker? a cardboard backdrop??) in the Fountain of Youth is downright terrible. However, I think Whitecap Bay turned out very nice, and I really like all the new accessories. Particularly that bottle. Man, I've been wanting a decent Lego bottle for years now.

These sets feel a little ... "skimpy" to me. It seems like they rely heavily on the background artwork to convey the sense of setting. I had the same reaction when I bought a couple of Prince of Persia sets last year. Once I built them, and had them sitting alone on my desk, I couldn't help but be disappointed at how small and empty they seemed. The Queen Anne's Revenge looks nice though, and I love that printed globe in the Captain's Cabin.

Yeah, I participated in that project too. TLC has a very cut-and-dried formula that they used for these Action Themes. I actually found it very confining when I sat down to try to write up some new theme ideas. The formula is a lot of marketing-speak, which can stifle creativity or originality. To their credit, they've managed to come up with some fun ideas within those strict boundaries. For example, I thought the Agents theme was pretty great. To the majority of kids who play with Lego sets, then grow out of it, they won't notice the repetition because they'll have moved onto other interests. For us AFOLs who have been at this for 30+ years, we see the repetition over the years, and it can be somewhat disappointing.

That's a really, really hard thing to predict. All those people who bought super-rare, holofoil-stamped comic books back in the 90's, or Beanie Babies, or even WebKinz, thought their collections were going to make them rich. Then the bottom fell out of those markets, and their collection isn't worth what they paid for it. My guess -- some of the Series 1, and maybe Series 2, figs will evetually be somewhat valuable. Especially Series 1, which was ridiculously hard to find here in the U.S. Starting with Series 2, availability and distribution has improved a lot, so the figs aren't as hard to find. Generally speaking, it seems like it's the licensed figs that get the highest prices, especially Star Wars and the Batman villians. There are HUGE established fanbases well beyond the typical Lego fan who are interested in those figs. I don't think the collectible mini-figs will have that sort of broad appeal. It's really just the AFOLs who are going to be interested, and that's a fairly small market. I agree with blueandwhite, that maybe a few of the figs (Spartan and elf especially) will always be valuable because they represent themes that AFOLs have long been interested in. Beyond that ... who knows!!

Hey everyone, The next chapter in my ongoing, seemingly never-ending Lego superhero comic is now online! In this month's episode, our heroes get a bit of a promotion ... but it's not all sunshine and lollipops, as one of the team finds out some crucial information ... and pays the ultimate price. As always, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!

I actually went to the Container Store this past weekend, and I couldn't find any of the 10-inch boxes. I swear, they just had them when I was in the store before the holidays. I asked a clerk about it, and she looked the item up in their inventory system. She said it's still listed as an "active" item, so it hasn't been discontinued, but it's back-ordered, with no indication of when it will be available. Bummer. Guess I should have bought them when I had the chance!! I looked at some of their other display cases, but none seemed quite right. I almost picked up one of these, with the intent of building a second "tier" out of bricks, but then decided to wait and see if the other case becomes available again.

Thanks, Colonel! I sometimes worry that readers are going to lose the thread of the story in the 4-6 weeks it takes me to come out with another chapter, so I'm glad to hear that you're not having any problems like that. Just as a quick update, I've got the next chapter all finished. I just need to make a cover page and update the website. It should be online by tomorrow night, or maybe Wednesday.

Yep, I got the same message too. My impression from the email is that the participation of the AFOLs is now complete. We were asked to provide some ideas, and that's all. I guess it's not realistic to think that we'd be asked to further develop our ideas into actual products, but man, that would have been amazing. As David mentioned, I guess I'll just wait until the 2013 catalog shows up to see if any new products in there look "familiar." Given that the process now seems to be complete ... is there any harm in sharing the ideas that we all submitted? I'm curious what other people came up with. I'm not sure if the NDA prohibits us from doing that though.

I had that exact same thought. Given the fancy new paint job that mini-figs have been getting recently (Jar Jar, the ewoks, etc.), I was expecting the goblins to be painted up a bit. Not a huge deal in an otherwise fantastic set, but still kind of disappointing.

I've been looking at one of these display cases from the Container Store. For $10, it's a pretty good price, and it looks like it would be the perfect size to display an entire series.

Totally agreed. It's a great fig otherwise, but the torso print is disappointing. I had the same complaint about the lifeguard from Series 2.

Arigomi is right, I think. TLC is packaging, marketing, and pricing these sets as a game, not as a construction toy. If you purchase one with the mindset of it being a construction toy, the pricing model is terrible. It's like the Lego boardgames -- as construction toys, their price/piece ratio is a poor deal. You're paying an extra price for all the collateral that goes along with the game -- the printed rules, sturdier packaging, nicer presentation, etc.

Inevitable and unfortunate, because the new marina falls way short of that much-beloved set. The Sail 'n' Fly Marina is one of the few classic sets from my childhood that is still built, and relatively unmodified, in my town.

At a Lego Store? Probably not. I'm 37, and for series 1 and 2, I spent half an hour feeling bags (man, that sounds dirty) in the Lego Store in Schaumburg, IL. The staff there are awesome. I was chatting with them the whole time, and they didn't care one bit that I had my cheatsheet with me. At a big box retail store, you might have a different experience, since the employees there aren't usually so friendly and knowledgeable.

Very good points! I like those new goats. I'm surprised that sheep weren't the next animal for TLC to come out with, but I'm happy with goats. I'm less enthused about the chickens (which are kind of hard to see in that photo because of the camera flash). I was perfectly happy with the brick-built chickens from the Medieval Village set. As for whether Farm will be an "evergreen" theme for Lego, like police, fire, and construction ... I think it's too early to tell. Farm is really a new concept for TLC. Maybe it was a one-and-done, and maybe it'll crop (groan!) back up in a few years from now, the way police and fire sets always do. We'll have to wait and see. I got the Pig Farm for Christmas. What a great set! Love the piggies, love the tractor. The hog confinement is a little bland, but everything else is great.

I like the Harbor set quite a bit. A grain ship is something new and interesting. However, I was really hoping for a return of the old harbor ramps and raised roads. I really like those pieces, and would have loved a few more to add to my collection. The Marina though ... it looks like we're back to the old "four posts and a window = a building" style of construction that I thought TLC had moved beyond. And that bridge is terrible. There are some useful bits in here, but as designed, it's a lackluster set. The cabin cruiser is a nice update to the boat found in the classic Sandypoint Marina set. That's one of my all-time favorite boats, and it's still cruising around my harbor, 15 years after I got it. Overall, it's kind of hit-and-miss for me, but I'm very glad to see these sets coming. I was bummed at the initial wave of City sets for '11. Not that they're bad sets, but I already have enough police sets, and I still have my original Space Port sets, so the early '11 wave held no interest for me. I'm excited about these waterfront sets though.

Rumor has it that Lego has increased the MSRP on these to $3. I guess we won't know for sure until some other retailers start carrying them. If true, I guess that means Toys R Us isn't gouging the consumer QUITE as bad as it might seem. Still sucks though.

Dang. Not too surprising though. $2 was actually a pretty good deal. The make-your-own-figs that they have in Lego Stores cost $10 for a set of 3.

Thanks, Zepher! I always appreciate your feedback. Hopefully over the holidays I'll have some time to take photos for the next chapter. I don't want to keep you guys waiting too long!