mahjqa

I replicated the logo bigger for the Vikings fans, and these are free to use for anyone. 1100*500 pixels, 1,4 MB PSD for the big ones http://www.mahjqa.com/stuff/bigvikingslogo.psd Thanks ! You are definitly really gifted with photoshop :)

Two things you MUST remember: 1 If you can't find it on the news section of eurobricks AND you cannot find a topic on it in this forum, IT'S NOT THERE. Eurobricks is the site that, 99% of the time, has every tidbit of information available. If you can't find it here, don't even bother to ask. 2 If you really, absolutely, have to ask, LABEL YOUR TOPIC THE RIGHT WAY. If you label it "2005 lego catalog", people will assume you are giving information about it. A small improvement would be "2005 lego catalog?" and "does anyone know when or where to get the 2005 catalog?" would get you the grand prize. Keeping this in mind makes everyone's internet experience (whoo, big word) so much better. Capiche?

You say it like it's a bad thing :-D

While I think it's very un-lego-ish to use such a dark-side, shallow marketing ploy... it just might work.

I have reason to suspect it is. This site has a pricelist that lists the green nitro (8649) at $53, while the (comparable) Maverick monster truck (8651) is only $21, which seems a fairer deal for the piececount. The packaging of the truck mentions that it has a pull-back motor (and that's going to be a HUGE and powerful one if it's to pull this baby), while the green nitro car's packaging doesn't have any info on engines or RC control whatsoever. Weird. I love the green car's design. It may be the sexiest piece of lego vehicle design since 8838. (And that's good. The more little kiddies whining to their parents that they want this car, the better. Lego sales need to go up.) The yellow submarine set doesn't do much for me. I had expected a bit more... solid, innovative design like the previous designer sets. However, like all designer sets, it's a sublime parts pack. Bionicle: NEXT! The small racers seem reasonably nice. Nothing too shocking, but quite tempting nonetheless.

You 'murricans get all the good deals. :'(

Them sets are looking mighty fine. Especially since they are preliminary versions (leaves some room for improvement), they are going to be awesome. the only thing that kinda irks me is the functionality of the motorbike, I was kinda hoping for front suspension, too. Even 8838 and 8422 had that. Some specialized parts, like a front mudguard and on the back supension, but that's nothing new in the lego motorcycle world. I wonder about the prices of the sets, since they all seem to be pretty big. Most of the time there's only one, maybe 2 big technic releases each year. I suppose not every set can be a 8418 or a 8441, though |-D

It ain't the first time it's happened so don't worry but it's Sar*G*. Sarq, Sarg, pretty easy mistake with the line underneath and everything >:) *points at own name* Yeah; happens to me a lot. For clarity, my name's mahjQa.

Just as a reply to Sarq Kulo; Vader > Batman. (I only hope for George Lucas to make Vader badass. All I want. Anakin's been a pansy for two solid movies already, please let him kick some butt now.) Well, and that he uses Metallica's version of the Imperial march. One can dream.

For a second there I read "studless girls"... But that's a whole other topic. Though I wouldn't mind hearing about that (significant others and/or Lego) either, I'll try to stay on topic here; For me, the best 2004 film would be the Incredibles. Saw it thrice (yes, I'm a loon) in theatres, and I'm getting the DVD as soon as I can. Second would be Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, but I must also admit not having been to many movies this year.

All things aside, who cares about classification? The theme's there, that's all that counts. (Insert Shakespeare's remark about the name of roses here)

While the iveco truck is somewhat decent (though very substandard in my book) there are AFOLs who do it right. Check out these babies. All standard parts, no stickers; and looks a lot better. YMMV. (Or this six-wide one, but the owner of the gallery removed all the other pictures.)

I have not had the chance to open one yet but to the best of my knowledge, they are just matchbox like cars with no pull-back engine or shooting mechanism. I will check it out tonight. This page already answered the question, but if you don't mind, I've got another one: (getting tired yet? :D ) The wheels on 8643 and 8644, do they work with the pull-back engines?

I've looked them up, thanks for that.

I loved the incredibles. I've seen it twice in theatres now, and I don't think I can resist going thrice. I'd like to wax poetic about anything from the movie (the fact alone that it oozes style made me yoghurt my pants) but for the sake of shortwindedness I won't. Cars seems to be mediocre, but there's still a lot that can happen. Movie trailers in general consist of snaps from the movie, but Pixar has a habit of making trailers with footage never used in the movie. For example, Robert (Mr. Incredible) Trying to fit in his supersuit and hopelessly failing in putting on his belt. (Something I thought was a bit lame) Also, Pixar has also pushed back the release date of cars to summer 2006. They claim that it is to have a summer blockbuster (a lot of kids with free time is a lot of cash in the box office) but rumours have surfaced that it is to improve on 'Cars'. Also, the short shown beforehand (Boundin') was nicely executed, and just a happy-go-lucky tale.

http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=107925 New 4-wide racers pics

I could pixel some extra smilies, and I'm up for requests, but I don't know who else is working on them, so that we don't both make the same smilies...

(just pixeled this, it can be added if one is so inclined)

I'll be checking the stores (current location: Belgium) but I don't think there's anything released here yet. Question: do the 4-wide cars (8644 - Street Maniac, 8643 - Power Cruiser, 8642 - Monsters Crusher, 8641 - Flaming Glider ) have *any* kind of functionality and/or extra play value, or are they 'just' cars on 4 wheels and that's it? (as in, a pull-back engine, a shooting mechanism, anything)

Golden years? Right here, right now. Of course, everyone remembers the 'golden years' as the years of their own childhood. For me, that would be around the 1990's. I'd like to quote Douglas Adams here. He was talking about technology in general, but I find the quote just as appropriate. "I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies. Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just part of the way the world works. Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things." Most of us are discomforted that Lego isn't making the kind of sets they used to. Hey, it's easy to complain. Often, I hear the phrase that 'Lego should go back to their roots'. While in general that's not a bad idea, it would mean we'd still get sets like these: http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=41464 If Lego would have made those sets time and time again for the last 10 years, we'd be pretty tired of it right now. But Lego can't afford to go back, they, just like the car manufacturers and the clothing designers, need to come up with 'new' things for the sake of their newness. They need to sell things. Remember when you were little, every time new lego sets came on the market, and you simply had to have them, because of the new parts or the possibilities you have with a bigger Lego collection? Without innovation, Lego'd be out of business very soon. The minifig was an innovation. The wheels for cars. The new pull-back engines are one. Lego is creating new models and concepts, and the 'designer' sets are (in my opinion) the perfect product of the 'old' lego (don't rely on specialized parts, and make a buttload of models with, in essence, a limited set of bricks) and the new lego parts and construction techniques. Yes, one could argue about the greys. You know what? Let's not. It's been done, and it ain't changin'. Seeing this year's new sets, I'm actually happy that Lego's dark ages came together with mine. I got back on track, just like Lego did, two years ago. When I look at it now, I think in the end, it's going to be all right again. :)

The standard :) face seems to become quite rare in the recent sets.

We're on our way to page 0937, What's your point? (Anyone knowing the significance of this number gets a cookie)

Boy, am I glad we have an insider here.... Question time! 1) what's the scale? (minifig, technic fig, model team, humongous) 2) Lego told us they'd never do military sets... is this changing, or will the hummer be a civilian edition? 3) (more a general question) If Lego and GM sign a deal, much like what they did with Ferrari, in the end, who will pay whom? Having real-life cars available in Lego form is obviously a huge amount of advertising for the car company, but Lego will profit from having a car company's name attached to a model as well. Does this differ case-by-case? Which of the situations is more likely? (Lego paying GM or Ferrari, or the car company paying Lego, or a 'no money involved' win-win situation?)

It happens quite a lot that serial numbers on the box are used on vehicle ID numbers, license plates and so on. As for the custom member titles, I wouldn't even know what to ask for, so that's a moot point. :D

I'm digging the street sweeper, very 6649. (And I hope some kids will choose this one as a set, personally I think most of them will pick a racers set instead... :( ) The construction set seems great, too. lots of playability. The police van finally makes sense. When the first pictures of it were released it seemed bland an dull, but it seems that Lego is doing the 'Localisation' thing again, and includes stickers that vary by country. (Anglosaxons get 'police' stickers, germans 'polizei', french go for 'gendarmes' and so on) The mold for the wheelarches is a bit diferent, I kind of like the old one better.... The other construction and fire minisets are nice, nothing to add here. Makes for good small gifts. All Hail the giant crane. It seems a bit cluttered, but that's no biggie. Small details: Lego side-doors are alive and kicking (phew) Did we already have that pneumatic drill minifig accessory? Lots of yellow/black striped 1*4*1/3 plates. Looks really sturdy, and playability is through the roof. Fire station: Somewhat nice, though not shockingly good. NEXT! Star wars doesn't do much for me. The smallish technic sets are cute. Gotta pick me up some. Furious slammer racer: Whatever. NEXT! The Technic Enzo seems weird, as it's almost fully covered in plates. the technic whizzes have gotten the doors to work, which is awesome. I can't wait to see what other functions it has. (gearbox? suspension?) Ferrari racer set: Whoa, Nelly. Every kid's going to want one. Lots of playability, especially since certain parts seem to be changeable? Yay for customisation. It's *almost* as good as This one. I am VERY satisfied about this year's lineup.