Artifex

Wow, I swear I had to look twice before noticing that the pic was of your MOC, not of a real place! Awesome job! I really like the hat there -- nice touch

I know it's way too early to say something like this, but I hope one of the new themes for 2014 -- or late 2013 -- is the mail services. I'm not sure if this is just my wish or if the design of this starter set -- or the simple idea behind it -- has somehow connected me to mail vans, airplanes, bikes, motorcycles and maybe even a small post office, but I believe a starter set with a mail van, a taxi (?) and -- why not -- a police officer and a robber in a motorcycle would be nice...

Three trailers from the Superbowl: Star Trek: Into Darkness Enjoy!

Well, some parents are great, and some others are just awesome!

This thread deserves a poll!

The crown in the belt is not that bad. It's the big crown in the chest and the j.u.n.i.o.r.i.z.e.d. lion face that bothers me. So below Kingdoms. Anyway, I'm done bashing this theme.

More pics here -- thanks go to Lightining Tiger and Aanchir: http://www.spieletest.at/bericht.php?ID=1174

The one thing that bothers me about these theme is the heraldry. Ok, I admit it, I wanted a continuation of Kingdoms, not a new theme, but that ship is sailed, so... The figures are nice, but when you look at that crown.... Or the lion face... A rampant lion like the one from Kingdoms -- or from other previous themes -- would make all the difference about this theme's minifigs being awesome/great or just meh. If Lego really needed to have a crown there, why not crowning a rampant lion? Also, the dragon from the baddies has got to be the worse heraldry in Lego history ever. These were rampant AND crowned. See what I mean? I like it that the good guys' blue is a little darker then in previous incarnations. The wizard looks bad a.s.s., too. As for the sets, the castle keeps growing on me. I think there are some nice MODs you can do to it. Expand the front walls, add some higher towers, maybe one similar to the Kingdoms' Castle with the roof (blue? black?). The other sets look nice, but lacking. They are too simple. I'm not sure if they are even good parts packs.

I share your excitement, guys! These two sets are AWESOME! Thanks for sharing, LT! The F1 Transporter is one of the best F1 sets ever! I love it that it's Octan and not a real-world team.

Thanks for posting

Yeah, you are right! I had forgotten about him! (Even though he spends his days watching me from his forest hideout) Feel free to PM me if you can't post them here -- although I don't see any reason why you could not.

As title. I can't seem to find the Historic Review Index even when using the search tool I can see the reviews alright when I Google them or click on them in the Historic Theme forum, but I can't find the index... Can anyone help me?

So the question is: Was Kingdoms aimed at AFOLs? I don't think so. I can understand that Lego may want a high fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons/World of Warcraft-like Castle theme, with wizards, knights and dragons aimed for kids. What I can't understand is: If you threw a set with a dragon in Kingdoms, wouldn't it do the trick? Everybdy was expecting it anyway. There were unicorns, baby dragons and wizards already... Why not a dragon? But Lego wants a fresh high fantasy theme for that. That's ok, marketing wise, that sounds good enough. So they come up with the new Castle sets. Any reason to juniorize the heraldry? Was Kingdoms not selling because of that? Or maybe because it was supposed to be a more realistic historic theme -- and that doesn't appeal that much to kids? Is it a crown or a very childish lion really that better than the rampant lion/dragon from Kingdoms? Probably yes to all of that. But only Lego can tell. Be it as it may, in three years we'll get a new Castle/Kingdoms theme anyway. I bet it will be called Knights Kingdom III. I know I sounded a bit negative, but I'm not, really. I understand Lego has to sell and that they are aiming at kids. I guess the new Castle sets will appeal to kids. But do the LotR appeal the same for adults?

I am, definitely! Kingdoms was the theme that brought me back from my Dark Age. I don't believe that. I think the Falcons got the Kingdoms Joust homage and that's it for them. The Wolffpack didn't even get something like that. For some reason, Lego has decided that the Falcons, Forestmen and Wolfpack are gone for good. The Forestmen seem to have been turned into the elves of the CMF (or the male elf, that is). What's in store for the Wolfpack only time will tell. But remember the Black Falcons haven't showed up in the CMF, so why should the Wolfpack do so?

Thanks a lot for sharing the links and pics, guys! I don't like the heraldry. The crown and the lion are no more than ok, but they are not for me. That "bull-dragon-wolf" thing is just plain meh to me. You can't really compare the new heraldry to the Kingdoms rampant Lions and Dragons, I guess. I don't know, but maybe that crown and the lion seem a bit <insert that tiresome argument> when compared to the Lions and Dragons of the past few years. I really don't think there was any reason to juniorize the heraldry, but I don't work at Lego. I have no words for the other heraldry thingie (is it a dragon-bull-wolf or a red tree? ). Apart from the heraldry, the blue minifigs look good, though. Interesting mix of armor printings, gloves and colors. The red minifigs we still have to wait and see, I guess. As for the castle set, well... As I said in another post, the design looks good. the castle is growing on me. I like it much better now that we have better pics. Even the brown line thing seems nicer than I thought at first. Is it me, or ist that back tower in the middle of the far wall -- instead of in the corner, like previous castles? Are there 3 towers (in the corners) plus that one in the middle? Or is it 2 in the corners and the one in the middle of the back wall? Can any one please confirm that? I hope that castle is "modular" like the Kingdoms one. SO you can buy multiples and have bigger castles. The Gatehouse Raid set looks good to (i believe that's the set you can see in the background).

Thanks for sharing the links and pics, guys! All the coast guard sets look really cool. I like them all. Although it may seem a little bit early to say so, so far I like everything about the coast guard sets: design, color scheme, minifig assortment, gear, boats... Everything. I think the boat with the helicopter is especially great! The cargo sets are another great addition. The more I look, the more I like them. Maybe a bigger cargo truck like the old one would have been better, but the new one seems very good too. The cargo plane is a beauty.

Another great Winter Village MOC! This is going to be a tough contest! Nice pub you got there. The truck and the free food "booth" is also great!

Wow, you can really feel you are in the desert! Nice colors, great design. The interior of th building is great! I especially love the floor technique.

Wow, the station looks great! What a great job! The details are awesome!

Looks very nice. Thanks for sharing!

Is it me or have I just spotted the Jetsons flying around the city? Amazing retro-futuristic style! Perfect!

Awesome log cabin! It's absolutely amazing! Great design! You got some nice techniques there! That rug is a must!

Wow, I'm in love! That school is so cute and cozy! I don't know if you and your son will win the contest, but you have already won my heart! Pretty MOC you guys got there! I love the simple and quite effective design. Very nice!

Even if the pics are the same, I think it would be nice to have some bigger and better ones than the small ones we got so far.

You sure they are supposed to click and stay there? I 've never even tried "cliking" them -- I just hang them there...