Joebot

Best. Set. Ever. I got my copy years ago from a guy on the old rec.toys.lego newsgroup (anybody here still remember that newsgroup??). I traded him a Guarded Inn, a Black Falcon's Fortress, and a couple other small castle sets for it. No regrets on that trade. It is hard to incorporate a monorail into a town, especially if you have a bunch of trains too! I ended up making my entire monorail system elevated. There's just no easy way to make a monorail / road crossing. I also gave up on having it run in a loop. Instead, it runs back and forth between two endpoints.

The "Dengar Room" is genius!

Instead of a tired Rock Raiders rehash, I wish TLC had tried to do something new with this line, some maybe some kind of retro science-fictiony steampunk thing. Oh well. I'm sure this is just the latest in TLC's never-ending string of short-lived throw-away themes (see also: Vikings, Dino Attack, Aquaraiders, etc.). They're all pretty much the same -- lots of vehicles and action features, and a built-in storyline with humans vs. monsters conflict. I guess there must be some market for these types of themes, because TLC keeps churning them out, one after another.

Wow, that is really slick. I'd love to see any more backgrounds you come up with. I could use something like this for my own comics. I typically just use a simple light blue gradient to represent the sky.

Dude, how 'bout some pics!!!

In spite of the bad news ... I'm just pleased that TLC is actually COMMUNICATING with the fans this time around. The Great Bley Fiasco was dumped into our laps with no advance warning. I still remember the first post on Lugnet where somebody posted pictures of a new set, comparing the new greys with the old greys. The whole situation was very poorly handled by TLC. It seems they've learned a lesson or two, and are now letting us know about these sorts of decisions. Sure, the reasoning seems flimsy, but at least we KNOW about it.

That's a great question. There have been some terrific single-car sets in the past (in particular, the Metroliner observation car). This is such a simple and obvious way to expand the Train line. I have no idea why TLC has moved away from this concept in the past few years. The only reasonable explanation I can think of is all the upheaval going on in the Train theme, as they move from 9V to remote control to ... whatever the heck comes next. Maybe they've been hesitant to put too much time and effort into the line until they settle on a format and a technology. I dunno, I'm just speculatin'. I loved the way that TLC packaged and sold that white and green passenger train from a few years back. You could buy the whole train, complete with track and accessories. Or you could buy it piecemeal, with the engine and the cars sold separately. I'd like to see TLC do something like that again. I also really liked the "My Own Train" sub-theme, but my impression is that it didn't sell very well. These sets were on deep clearance at Target within a few months.

You are correct, sir!! I just recently acquired a second blond pigtail piece via Bricklink, so on that final page, I was able to give both characters the correct hair piece. Prior to that, I only had one of those pieces. I'd already taken all the previous pictures, and completed the pages, and I just didn't have the motivation to go back and fix them. That'll be a fun story to tell in the eventual DVD commentary of the Unlikely Society movie. The time machine will come into play someday, but that's a couple of stories down the road. I'm actually writing it now. It's got a bit of a Terminator vibe to it. Glad to hear you've got a new story coming out soon, Hinckley. I always feel relieved when I publish a new chapter ... but then it dawns on me that I have to start all over with the next one! It's a ton of time and work, but I still get a kick out of it. My wife thinks I'm insane. She'll walk into the bedroom where our computer is, and I'll be in there painstakingly drawing a word balloon for a mini-fig with a starfish for a head, and she'll just sigh and turn around and leave. She's a good sport though!

Fair enough, and I certainly apologize if I misrepresented your argument. My point wasn't directed specifically at you though, as several others had made similar arguments in this thread. Terrific thread, by the way. It's been a very interesting read!

Very nice review of a set that I've been dying to get, but my friendly neighborhood Lego store never seems to have in stock. The yellow seat is most definitely not a new piece. I had two of those in my old Beta-1 Command Base, almost 30 years ago!!

A lot of people within this thread have used similar reasoning to justify their spending habits. They're basically saying, "Other people waste money on stupid crap, so it's okay if I do it too." That sort of rationale might work when you're 8 years old and you get busted for talking in class ("But everybody else was doing it!"), but it doesn't work as a grown-up. Take ownership of your own decisions, and deal with the consequences, whatever they might be. Trying to deflect responsibility for your decisions is just a lame cop-out. This is an interesting question to wrestle with, and there have been some very thoughtful responses here. My take on it is that building with Lego bricks brings me joy, and joy is inherently a Good Thing. There's nothing wrong with spending your resources on the things that bring you joy. However ... you have to closely examine what it is about the hobby that really brings you joy. Is it building with bricks, or is it acquiring MORE bricks? That's the trap that our consumer-driven society lays out, and it's a very easy one to fall into. If one Lego set brings me joy, then TWO sets must double that joy! And three sets triples it! And 100 sets ... Well, you get the idea. We're tricked into thinking that it's the acquisition of new things that brings us happiness, when if you really examine it, that's not at all what it's about. All hobbies (not just Legos) should be enjoyable, challenging, relaxing, or inspiring. Enjoy what you have, and don't obsess over acquiring more, more, MORE. Now, that being said, I'm going to go drool over the pictures of the '09 sets.

Thanks everyone! Yeah, this story is going to be much smaller in scope. It's only going to be three issues long, instead of 13. And the story is much smaller. No epic, world-shattering alien invasions this time. Just some high-tech bank robbers, as well as a bit of a mystery that will run as a narrative thread through the next few story arcs. Did anybody notice a little continuity error in this chapter? Here's a hint: blonde hair.

I've also seen it referred to as "retro sci-fi," meaning it's what people in the past (usually the pulp era in the 20's and 30's) thought life would look like in the future. Cool idea. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks for the link, that was an interesting read. Greg is basically stating all the common theories as to why TLC doesn't want pictures leaked this far in advance, so really nothing new there, but it was still interesting to get some semi-official confirmation. I don't think anyone is really disputing TLC's reasoning. What frustrates me are their methods. Locking down fan sites, and sending "cease and desist" letters simply doesn't work anymore. Retail catalogs are going to get leaked on the Internet. That's just how it is, despite the retailers signing confidentiality agreements. Somebody is going to have a buddy who has access to one of these catalogs. That's all it takes for these pictures to spread around the entire world within minutes. TLC can't stop it. So, they need to change their business and marketing practices, and try to take advantage of this, rather than hopelessly and futilely fight against it. They need to use all the excitement and interest generated by these pictures to build buzz for the upcoming products. It's free publicity, and we're doing all the promotional work for them! All they're doing is alienating their hardcore fans with their ham-fisted attempts to control leaks. As much as I love their products, TLC as a company is aggravating sometimes. They are really entrenched in their old ways of doing business, and it's hard for them to change.

Wow. After reading all the other thoughtful, insightful posts on this thread, then coming across yours ... I don't even know what to say. That's probably the most shockingly offensive thing I've ever read on this board. On the bright side, I guess I can appreciate your honesty!

Hey everyone, The Unlikely Society superheroes are back and ready to kick off a new adventure against a dastardly band of foes. I love the word "dastardly," and I never get to use it in everyday conversation. If you haven't read the previous Unlikely Society stories (and honestly, why haven't you?!?!), this is a great "jumping on point," as they say in the comic book business. I also went back and added new covers for all of the previous issues, so be sure to check those out too. As always, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think! -Joebot

I've always heard that issue with the clone brands copying TLC, but I never really bought it. It takes a long time to design products like this. TLC has a two-year development life cycle. Even cheap clones have to get through design, manufacturing, etc. But the second reason you listed makes some sense. There is definitely a "Cult of the New" with the Lego fan community. As soon as new stuff is released, the old stuff falls by the wayside. Overall though, TLC needs to get with the times. They still haven't figured out that when they publish these retail catalogs, they'll be widely available on the Internet within a few days. That's just the way it is now, and trying to fight against it with "cease and desist" letters is hopelessly futile. The Internet doesn't work like that. TLC would do well to find a way to use the Internet to their advantage. If they want to control the way their products are announced, then find a better way to do it. Maybe post teaser pictures on their website, one set a day, for a period of a few weeks. Come on, we'd be there every freakin' day, hitting Refresh to see what the next new set is!! Think of the website hits and the free buzz they'd be generating. TLC is a lot like Apple sometimes. Apple is notoriously secretive with their products, and they insist on controlling the product release (usually with big splashy keynote speech from Steve Jobs). Apple has mastered this bit of showmanship. TLC is sadly about 20 years out of date.

I don't think anyone really knows. The status of the Harry Potter license is ... unclear. We only got one set from the fifth movie! And now the sixth movie has been postponed from November until July '09, so if TLC is planning to continue the theme, the change in the movie schedule will probably impact their release schedule as well.

That's a great point. What is that gigantic combine supposed to be harvesting? Some simple fields, with a brown baseplate and some vegetation would have been a nice touch. I can't shake my disappointment with the barn. It's just four pillars with a hayloft. Every barn I've ever seen (and I grew up in downstate Illinois) has had actual, you know ... WALLS. The tractors, cows, figs, etc. all look terrific though. And I love the lawn mower. It's the wrong color though. It should be John Deere green!

HA! Very nice. Maybe Lego should come out with "Crisis on Ininfite Lego Themes" in order to reconcile all the alternate universes.

Yep, I'm pretty sure it's the 8x16 tile. That piece has been around for a few years. It probably started with the NHL Hockey sets. It's a bit lame to see it used as a roof piece, instead of using roof slopes.

"Green Acres is the place to be! Farm livin' is the life for me!" Finally, finally, FINALLY, TLC comes through with some System-scale farm sets. The vehicles all look really, really great (although that combine is ginormous). I'm a little disappointed in the buildings in the main farm set. They're very skeletal, and don't really look like a barn or a stable. The accessories are awesome though. And cows!! They look a lot like the BrickForge cows, which is kind of a shame for the BrickForge guys (although I'd imagine the sales of their awesome pigs and sheep will sky rocket). The construction sets ... wow. They're big. Really, really big. The scale is simply too out of whack with my own Town layout, so I'll probably pass on these, but I can't help but be impressed with them anyway. And that "City Life" set, or whatever it's called, with the townspeople and accessories, is a really nice little set. I'd love to see more sets along this idea. If the early 90's were the Golden Age of Lego Town, we have to be entering the Silver Age, right? I mean, geez, TLC is just knocking it out of the park right now.

If history is any judge, ALL these "early 2009" sets will actually be available in November / December 2008. That's been the pattern going back as far as I can remember. It doesn't make sense for a company to release new product AFTER the holiday shopping season. Most likely, all these new goodies will be on the shelves in late November. Those construction sets are really impressive, but just too freakin' big for my town layout. That bulldozer could level my whole city!

Yeah, I noticed that too! And it's a plain smiley face, not some bizarre, creepy animated-style face! Then again ... the figs could be preliminary. I'm guessing these pictures are from a retailer's catalog, not a consumer catalog. If that's the case, then that usually means the figs aren't the final product. That combine harvester is freaking HUGE.

Yay, more Lego superheroes!! I'm happy to see somebody else jumping into this genre! Other than my own Unlikely Society comics, I've never seen anyone else do much with their own made-up characters. Obviously there are lots of Lego versions of DC/Marvel characters out there, but I like seeing people make up their own superheroes. Looks like a great start, AwesomeStar! Now, you just need a villian for the Milk Man to fight. A hero is only as interesting as his villian. Good luck!