jonwil

Regarding McDonalds, the old McDonalds set was released way back in 1999. Since then, the "McDonalds is Evil" crowd has gotten a LOT more vocal (for example they were able to convince Disney to end its tie-in with McDonalds that resulted in every Disney kids film for 10 years having a tie-in happy meal) and having a McDonalds play-set from a company as well respected as LEGO might have fairly serious blow-back from the "McDonalds is Evil" and "think of the children" crowds.

I think the attributes they need to keep are: 1.The color scheme (adding bright colors instead of keeping it all grey/silver would be bad IMO) 2.The use of lots of really small cool parts for detail and greebling 3.The fact that it isn't using as many of the really big ball joints and ratchet hinges to provide articulation as TLG sets tend to do but instead uses smaller thinner parts for articulation (might be the perfect opportunity to use the new tiny ball joint parts appearing in the 2014 Mixels line) 4.The fact that it has an operator/driver sitting in it (otherwise its not a mech/suit anymore but a bot instead) and 5.The overall basic size and proportions (e.g. leg length, torso length, width, arm length etc) Using the same classic space guy as in the submission wouldn't be hard, all the parts needed (white helmet, clear visor, yellow head, white torso/arms/hands, white hips/legs) are in current sets and we know from BTTF and Minecraft that Cuusoo sets are allowed to green-light printed elements meaning that printing the classic space logo on the torso would be possible. And the classic smiley head is still in production for the modulars so they could even use that instead of a more modern head (to complete the look) The white airtanks are not in production but airtanks are not necessary for this model (and even if they were, Minecraft and BTTF have shown that in some cases they can get not-currently-in-production colors of existing parts made too)

I hope they see the fact that not ONE but TWO Ghostbusters products got to 10k and realize the demand for it and make the Ecto-1. And with the 30th anniversary of GB comming up (and the continued rumors of Ghostbusters 3) it seems like now is the right time to release a Ghostbusters LEGO set (if they can get the license from Sony that is)

Looking at what was rejected I think I can see why most of em were rejected. Portals probably got rejected either because of the need for too many new designs (e.g. printed/stickered parts or colors for existing parts that aren't in current production or even new molds) or because the game isn't popular enough with the target audience for LEGO and for LEGO Cuusoo sets. (or possibly because the licensing couldn't be figured out) Purdue Pete almost certainly got rejected simply because its not popular/well known enough. How many people here have heard of him other than maybe as a vague association with Purdue University? Space Troopers was nice, probably would have bought it if it became a set. But I suspect it came down to potential popularity and also the question of whether the set would have conflicted with existing "space" sets (both the licensed Star Wars product and non-licensed sets like Galaxy Patrol) The android guy, like Purdue Pete probably just isn't popular enough (yes it might sell to Android fans or Google fans or to AFOLs who want one as a lime green parts pack but not very much to the core target audience of LEGO and Cuusoo products). Zelda, like the last one, was most likely rejected on the grounds that its not possible to create a Zelda fig that is true to the game series without creating a new mold for the hair/hat (one that is unlikely to be created for or useful in any other theme or set). Or possibly (as was speculated last time) LEGO can't get the rights to Zelda because someone else has them. Mini Shop Series possibly hit licensing issues or maybe popularity/marketability (or maybe the size was an issue) Batman Tumbler seems obvious, namely the fact that LEGO currently make and sell a Batman tumbler set (among other Batman sets) so the Cuusoo sets would have directly competed with it. (plus, like Star Wars, there may be license issues that prevent them from making Cuusoo sets) League Of Legends is probably just not popular enough (like Purdue Pete or Portals) Great to see the exo-suit winning though, shows that not all Cuusoo proposals need to be based off licensed or existing properties in order to win and will be an interesting testcase to see just how LEGO changes the design when its made into a set (since unlike every other set to date there is no prototype, its a pure LEGO design). If the set is as good as the prototype and sold for the right price, it might well become the second Cuusoo set I buy having bought the BTTF set recently. Great also to see that the Land Rover might get made, its a great looking Technic model plus its a Ute (pickup truck for those who dont know Aussie slang) and I dont think LEGO have done one of those in Technic as a "flagship" sized set before. (as far as I know they haven't anyway) so a proper pickup truck with a clearly defined rear tray would be cool to see. As for the next review, I hope they dont reject the Ghostbusters designs on the grounds that the BTTF set already exists and hence the GB set would be competing with it and would split the market too much, having gotten the second best movie car of all time made into a LEGO set, all I need now is the greatest movie car of all time :)

Don't know about the dots but the coupling part is the foot from a Technic figure.

All I can say is WOW. Love the ecto-1. And the Bluesmobile. And the flying saucer with the grey aliens in it.

From memory it was likely the Sydney Opera House (its the largest LEGO set I own). Although the Grand Emporium and HP Diagon Alley are also up there in complexity.

Nice police station, really looks good. I do love the windows :)

Wow, is this the first time a sheep has ever appeared in a non-Duplo set?

I have a few not-seen-in-any-sets elements like the 2 x 2 round tile in trans-clear. Where I got it from I dont know but boy is it a cool part to have (great for things like the front of a front-loader washing machine or dryer)

Noted at a Big W yesterday that the Iron Man Malibu Mansion set is $38 or so (which is $20 off the regular Big W shelf price and slightly cheaper than US RRP).

Doesn't matter if they are advertized as LEGO, LEGO compatible or otherwise. Its clear that they violate LEGOs IP.

eBay has a program (VERO) for dealing with counterfeit product (anything from fake handbags to bootleg DVDs). IMO LEGO should join this program and use it to enforce their IP by shutting down those who sell product that clearly violates LEGO copyrights and trademarks or that look close enough to LEGO products as to mislead consumers into thinking they are LEGO products.

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=31015-1 (based on the set # and the other known 2014 Creator sets and their numbers, it looks like its just a creator train ala http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=4837-1 (or maybe its bigger) as opposed to being an actual train that runs on tracks.

Its not new, it appeared in 4 Ninja Turtles sets this year (I bought 2 off Bricklink recently so I can confirm they exist :) http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=98138pb010 Do we have any better images of this part yet? (i.e. how do you know its a new part for 2014 with a hole in it?)

Love how they did the rolling pin Interesting to note that the waiter is using a shield piece as the tray and not the tray piece from the CMF series. Here is my stab at listing the not-seen-before elements in the set: New bowl piece (used for the lamps and flower pots) New scooter New printed menu tile New printed restaurant sign New printed torso on the artist figure It also looks like there is a new 2 x 2 round tile element too, if you look at the plates in the picture of the chef cutting up the chicken, it looks like the stud on the bottom radar dish is sticking into the 2 x 2 round tile. Same thing with the stud on top of the bottles used in the table lamps. Anyone see any new-for-2014 elements (or for that matter, existing elements in new colors) in this set?

Anyone got any advice on how I can build a stand for the Saxophone http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=bb509pb01 that can allow it to sit on the floor (as opposed to being held in the hands of a minifig)

This has to be the best Technic motorcycle I have EVER seen. Is this based off a real motorbike? (and if so anyone got a picture?)

For those interested, Toyworld in Fremantle has plenty of stock right now including the Opera House, Kingdoms Joust, Winter Village Cottage, one of the other Winter sets (forget exactly which one) as well as the Star Wars advent calendar (last years model with the Darth Santa and snow globe on the front) Cant recall seeing any UCS X-Wings but I wasn't paying that much attention to the Star Wars stuff.

Toys R Us have the city trucks (flatbed, cement mixer, tanker truck, fire truck, dirt bike transporter and garbage truck) for sale at $15 and the (TRU exclusive) Helicopter Arrest at $59.99 (that's 25% off) The helicopter arrest is a good deal at that price, its better than any price I can find online for shipping to Oz (including Toys R Us USA) Now if only Toys R Us would reduce the prices of some of their other City exclusives (Robbers Hideout, Fire Transporter) to something reasonable, that would be good :)

Could Bat-girl be (like the other Batman set we have an official picture of) be something from Beware The Batman?

Regarding color scheme, I cant remember where I heard it but I believe TLG has a rule against making basic bricks in flesh tones for some reason.

It could be that the ones showing up online are from people who acquired one from across the pond in Australia somehow on discount.

IIRC the catalyst for the change in canon wasnt government regulation or "think of the children" pressure but a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the toy (after some kid died as a result of the missiles and a bunch of others were injured). The lawsuit lead to a recall of the missiles from the BSG toys in question by the manufacturer and changes to other missile-firing toys (including a Star Wars figure and the LEGO canons)

The reason LEGO hasn't done a City Zoo is that all their market research and focus group testing indicates that sets like this http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/6157_Big_City_Zoo will sell far better than a City Zoo (and that police and fire and stuff will sell better as City sets than a zoo)