jonwil

Good to know the polar bear is available to order, it looks useful for the Zoo I have been planning for a while. (the mammoth and saber tooth less so since they are both long extinct)

New Elementary published an interview with one of the Ideas team http://www.newelementary.com/2018/06/lego-ideas-pop-up-book-exclusive-sam.html#more In that interview they say that the E-Type clashes with another product (without going into details).

I hope those polybags become available at the Dreamworld LEGO store, I would love to add a bunch of them to my collection.

Spotted the Capital set (with the double decker bus) at the Dreamworld LEGO store yesterday but at $200, I will wait for it to hit local retail and go on sale.

I love the new Hospital, its awesome. Too bad I will probably need to wait months to get one (and the Outdoor People Pack and the other new City sets) because of the stupid way LEGO Australia sets its release dates for second-half-year sets :(

Bricklink shows 3 entries for the Toy Pad, one for PS3/PS4/Wii U, one for XBOX One and one for XBOX 360. So that seems to answer your question :)

The new Creator sets (Pirate Coaster at least) have also been sighted here in Australia.

Right now all I have set up is the section of track that is part of my contribution to the layout. I have other bits of 9v track as well but I dont currently have a working speed controller (the insulation on my sets of track connecting wires has perished) so I have no way to test how it runs under power until the next show in a couple weeks.

I added weight to the tender, I lengthened the boiler and front of the train by one stud, I moved the cylinders forward one stud, I adjusted the connecting rods so the axle still went through the cylinders and I replaced the 2 hole beam with a 3 hole beam to give the front truck more movement. Hopefully those fixes will make it work better.

Have the Super Heroes transparent power effects parts ever been available on Bricks & Pieces in the trans-blue or the trans-orange? Right now both of those are out of stock but the trans-green is in stock, I want to know if the other colors have ever been in stock on B&P.

I dont know exactly what's going wrong, I know the guys at the last train show told me they tried to run my train but it wasn't working so well. I think they were able to get it running at least partially by sticking a heavy weight (some kind of 3rd party programmable brick IIRC) on top of the train motor in the otherwise empty tender as well as removing the connecting rods from the wheels (which makes it look not so nice). I didn't actually see it running at the times I was there so I dont know for sure how well it ran. Adding more weight over the motor is definitely a good idea, I have one of those black weight bricks somewhere and will use it. I will also fiddle with the connecting rod design (since removing them seemed to help matters). Pushing it around corners (I dont have a setup I can use to run it under power) it does seem to get hung up a little bit, is there anything in the design that might cause that?

I have a steam train that I have built but which doesn't seem to run properly on the track. I have created an LDD file of the mechanical parts of the train. Above that is just decorative. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S5foUIlzxhQXCWPLFN2vMf30_wI61Bec/view?usp=sharing The train has trouble making it around the track and I can see some white-ish marks on the black axles holding the driving wheels on (at the point they pass through the grey bricks). The red rubber belts on the drivers have turned a dark grey color. Anyone have any idea on how to get my train moving better?

I think the popup book stands a good chance of getting approved. Its totally different to anything LEGO has ever done (something that LEGO likes when it comes to Ideas products). Its something that will appeal to kids. And it doesn't look like it would be as big/expensive as things like the Saturn V and Fishing Store (and the yet-to-be-released Voltron)

You could always buy the new Hogwarts Express and modify it (it looks to be fairly simple to modify it so it wasn't a Hogwarts Express and instead just a nice looking red steam train)

I rebuilt the spinner according to the Jay Flyer instructions including using a silver propeller I picked up from a parts sale so it definitely should fly. Seems like moving my hand in an upward motion at the same time I pull the ripcord helps get that airtime :)

New pics of the trains are out on Brickset. Not a fan of the cargo train but that passenger train looks really cool, I want one.

So you have to pull the ripcord really fast to get it to actually go up into the air instead of just drifting down? Maybe I am not pulling it hard enough then...

Managed to pick up a Spinjitzu Jay set today (the one I was most interested in due to the lightning bolt accessories, the others didn't have accessories I particularly liked) and have rebuilt it into a replica of the Airjitzu Jay Flyer (with a few color/print/minifig substitutions due to not having the right parts). How can I get it to fly up in the air like I have seen in video clips (rather than just flying straight down to the ground)

I think this is just a continuation of previous Friends aviation sets like the Heartlake Flying Club, Heartlake Hot Air Balloon, Heartlake Private Jet and Heartlake City Airport.

None of the orders I have placed have come in 2 lots, they all came in the same order (but I have never done anything with phone orders)

That's a neat airplane, especially with that dark pink and dark azure color scheme...

I have zero interest in an Amelia Earhart set but I would buy a Bell Aerospace X1 with a Chuck Yeager minifig no question. Although given that the whole thing was (at the time Yeager broke the barrier) under the full control of the then-brand-new USAF (the thing had USAF roundels, was dropped from a USAF bomber plane and was flown out of what would later become Edwards Air Force Base) and given that Yeager was an active member of the USAF at the time, I can't see TLG doing an X1 as a set unfortunately. Another famous aviator I would love to see as a set is Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who was (IIRC) the first person to fly across the pacific ocean in an airplane (certainly the first to fly from the US to Australia in an airplane). The Southern Cross would make a great set (and could be done at a low enough price point to actually be affordable). That said, how many people actually know about Sir Charles these days (even here in Australia). Its a pitty he isn't more famous for his achievements.

I love the Downtown Diner and will add it to my collection once I can pick one up on sale (and assuming funds allow). Its available in Australia at a retailer than I am sure will have it for at least 20% off at some point in the future.

Now if only they would do a set in red with black boots for Santa :)

Looking at whats up for review, the A-29 will probably be rejected as being too much like a military plane and because TLG already makes all sorts of airplanes through Creator and City and stuff. The SR-71 has potential since its not military, it looks way cool and its not like anything TLG would make (unless the Disney-Fox deal means TLG gets to make more X-Men sets and makes a Blackbird that is :). But "CIA spy-plane" may well be too close to military for TLG. The treehouse looks too big and complicated (even given the larger sets we have been getting as of late such as the Old Fishing Store). Plus they have released a Friends treehouse and will be releasing a Creator treehouse and they dont generally do things in Ideas that they are already doing elsewhere. Stitch is likely ruled out because of the Disney license (IIRC the ideas rules exclude figures that came in the Disney CMF line) The modular arcade may happen but its unlikely given that they already have plans into the future for the Modular line and releasing another one through Ideas alongside the ones already on shelves may not be attractive. The Old Fishing Store is not a modular and has a lower piece count and price point than modulars which is probably why that one was greenlit. Amelia Earhart might work but again, TLG already does all sorts of airplanes. Do kids these days know who that actually is? I cant see MST3K having the broad appeal needed for an Ideas set. Also, how kid/family friendly is the show? (I have never seen it so I dont know) The big grey SW ship just wont happen due to the "no Star Wars" rule. I could see The Flintstones happening, especially if they do what the original submitter said (and what they did with the Ecto-1) and delete the house and just have the car and figs and stuff. They put a Flintstones secret in Dimensions IIRC plus they have a REALLY good relationship with Warner Brothers. Only issue for this would be whether the show is as popular now as it used to be. The motorbike would likely fall foul of the "no existing licenses" rule because BMW is listed on the list of active licenses. Best chance if anything gets greenlit would be the Flintstones set IMO. I would certainly buy a Flintstones LEGO set.