XAxles

Color me shocked and apprehensive. Who knows what TLG will make of the approved idea? Could be unchanged, could be standard-size Modular, could be just a 3/4 building, could be a wall with boat... Also... Tough luck for Jason, though I'll be honest, the appeal of the Particle Accelerator would rapidly thin, methinks.

Patch downloaded 9:22 P.M. Manila time. In progress now...

Eh, it's a prelim, and a really small box image, at that. This will be one of those sets where it may look better than prelim.

As I see them... GIVE ME ALL OF THAT FXX K PLEASE NOW NOW PLEASE PLEASE NOW NOW PLEASE PLEASE NOW NOW PLEASE PLE-- Obviously that big Mercedes-AMG F1 set isn't final. I expect the final set to have sand green accents, which better represent the real car's Petronas sponsorship. Also fortunate is to see homogenous crew. I can make out some strange pieces out in the single-box Ferrari F1 car's airbox. Otherwise, it's more or less the same as the one from the big set when Wave 1 came up. Fords good. Fords great. Fords excellent. Should be easy to stockify the newer one. They nailed the Chiron. All of it. It's like they got a shrink ray and pointed it to the car. Hmm... the build is sound, but it sure could use Pearl Silver or True Silver instead of Flat Med. Grey, or it wouldn't pop out of the shelves. It doesn't really help that there's not a lot of people who tune in to GT3 (a criminal offense). Overall, the consistency of this theme still shows, and there's no signs of slowing down.

Resetting my vote now, and giving it to the Caterham. Special prize to Exo-Suit, Shinkai 6500, Hayabusa, Birds, and Curiosity.

Any voting reset: I'd have voted for the Caterham had I not spent my vote.

THERE IT IS! Now that's more like it! Excellent stuff.

^^Phew. I would have gotten worried if they were fleshies. Last Q: does that FXX have tailfins and a rear wing that seems to have a missing middle piece? Now for the takes: 75881: Told ya they'd release it. Sticker-phobes might want to steer clear, but considering much of us have seen the animated short, it's a keeper. 75882: You must be talking about the FXX K, which is stupendous, yes. Play feature, though... not sure. Wind tunnels aren't that spectacular save for when you put vapor trails. Control station might come with useful stickers. 75877: That's the Mercedes-AMG GT3--God, what a boring, cachet-less name. Shame because the IRL car is a beautiful beast. Let me have a peek, CM. 75878: Yes, that sounds like the Chiron to me. So 75879 will be for the single Ferrari F1 car. Total 6 sets for 1H 2017, maybe. This theme is getting more and more hits.

Missed the FXX by a mile, but otherwise, excellent. Great, great mix. I was right about the other Ferrari. Rest of my takes will be tomorrow when I'm on my desktop. But one thing I'll ask: are the driver figures in the big Mercedes set yellow-skinned?

...and wait, and wait, and maybe check the temperatures for the thread in case it gets cold with inactivity, and wait...

Woof. I'm in love. Great job with this car.

^You forgot Tennis.

Those are new tires. I'm positive that tread pattern has never existed before. The rest: HOLY HOT POCKET THAT MODEL IS A LOOKER!!! The yellow is going to be even more eye-popping in hi-res, that's for sure. The set itself, while priced at $80, is loaded to the nines, but realize too that Caterham is a small company, so their licensing fee is not as immense as a big-name brand like Porsche (if this was, say, a McLaren, we'd be looking at $100 tops). The wheels, too, are new, or so it seems. Right, no steering, but eh, that's livable. They did keep the manifolds, which will be a hoot to build. Now I shall log out and look for some scratch cards.

Well, actually, no. But before you point a gun on my head (I can see 50 people with them), let me tell you this: I was merely thinking out loud that a licensed set like that will more or less call for new parts, for accuracy, much like the Porsche.

Hmm, quite few. But we haven't seen everything yet. The Ford GTs are yet to be realized, and I'm guessing they will be realized along with the stock version, but for the next half. 75877 Mercedes AMG GT3 YES!!! YES!!! This one's good! Front end could be a variation of the Mustang's construction, though the unique longhood shaping will present a challenge in the rear. I think we might see a new canopy. 75878 Bugatti This will be the Chiron (that's how it's spelled). I predict new curved pieces, a new canopy, definitely new hubcaps. 75879 Ferrari F1 Car This could be the 2015 model or 2016 model. The front wing shape will tell if it's one or the other. If it's long, it's the former. If it has a 1x1 tile, it's the latter. I swear I would have wanted the 488 in this slot, but eh, I'll have it. 75880 Mercedes Pit Stop Oh, huh. This is something. Could follow the McLaren version, but I have a seething suspicion that this will have two cars, a dark-skinned driver, and lots of rattling before you pick it up. Not a whole lot else after those (even the Ford), but like I said, I don't think this is all of it. There's still at least 2 slots. They could very well be BMW or a Japanese marque. Maybe Nissan? They have a new GT-R that can be good for a singles set.

OK, right, first takes: 60135 [Gangster squad] - 5.99 A Starter Pack of crooks? Remarkable! They're probably reused prints, though. 60138 Police Chase - 29.99 Prediction: Speed Champions pieces (wheels, fenders, windshields) will show up here. Crooks should have a more daring color, though. 60144 Sports Plane - 9.99 Money Truck - 14.99 Nope, armored van, with stash of cash and gold. Policeman will be on the new motorcycle mould. Beach Buggy - 9.99 Monster Truck - 9.99 Eh, kiddie sets. Let them be, unless they have some key recolors or new parts, in which case get it and modify it. 60147 Fishing Boat - 19.99 Seen it, amazing pick-me-up. Truck with Catamaran - 19.99 Truck with Quads - 19.99 These are ones to watch. The trucks could be the same, and their coupling could be different. Their loads are interesting enough. Pizza Van - 19.99 Pizza Van, Pizza Van, does what a pizza can--no that turned out wrong. Anyway, it's gonna have an opening side, new oven builds, another feature. Dragster Transport - 29.99 Dragster (could be a Funny Car or Top Fuel) on a lorry. Another kiddie set. Leave it be. Street Sweeper and Truck - 29.99 Combination street sweeper and dump truck. Could hide a nifty function to transport the rubbish. You can go have this. Mobile Police Truck - 39.99 Cab-over lorry, has a small control center. Police Starter Set - 9.99 Oh, wait, this is a starter set. Inevitable Police Station - 99.99 Big HQ, 4x4, probably a play function that deploys units. Redundant, but this station could be special. Bank Robbery - 59.99 Could be a bigger bank than the last one. Service Truck Heist - 19.99 Here is an intriguing one. I was under the impression that the service truck has a supercar, but the price says otherwise. Either way, we're gonna have to wait until the first intel dumps come up.

Has it occurred to anyone that the BMW Adventure Bike will have new tires or wheels, or both? I wouldn't really believe that the motorbike will be that cheap. Could be $60. Also, much of the Air Race planes I see are single-props, like those in Red Bull Air Race. The rest: 42057 Helicopter - 14.99 42058 Stunt Bike - 19.99 42059 Stunt Truck - 19.99 Eh, kiddie sets. Leave them be. 42060 Street Working Cars - 19.99 Street sweeper, could be the cheap sleeper hit for this year. 42061 Container Transport 49.99 Hmm... an enigma. Not sure what to make of it. Could be a port crane, could be the sequel to this. 42064 Searching Ship - 89.99 Robot submersible, crane, rudders, propeller, actually floats. One to scrutinize. 42065 RC Tracked Racer - 79.99 It would be inconvenient to make this set not RC-ready out of the box, no? It could be a bare-bones off-roader (minimalist construction, few panels) with treads and two L motors.

So, right, what sports do you reckon will lend well to LEGO? Basketball, football and swimming will be a given, probably archery, field events in track & field...

And to think this is just 1H. The Guggenheim can be a Spanish curveball, or the NY one. Either way, the skyline choices are great. But they better not use a clear dish for the London Eye.

This makes me wonder how the tires will perform in truck trials or generally lightweight fast RC off-roaders.

Wonder how long before LDD 4.4.0 gets released.

Entry A: 1 point Entry B: 1 point Entry C: 1 point

I'm suggesting a subtheme: the World Rally Championship. Speed Champions releases 8-10 cars per wave, so I reckon it's relatively easy to coddle up different rally cars from different years. LEGO can also dare to raise the price by a about $5 to introduce a wheel bearing that has bouncy suspension and new tire patterns, for added realism. For singles sets, which come with two figures and alternate hubcaps: Ford Fiesta RS WRC M-Sport (with tools) Toyota Yaris WRC (with timing board) Hyundai i20 WRC (with 2 spare wheels) Audi Sport Quattro S1 (with swappable front and rear bodywork) For the bigger sets: Citroen DS 3 WRC Team Hauler (one DS 3 WRC car, team big rig with furnishings, starting plinth, 8 figs) Volkswagen Polo R WRC Service Park (two cars, surroundings look like this, 10 figs)

But can we have car ideas? I mean, jeez, LEGO, do I still have to model a Tom Kristensen figure and a UCS Audi R10 TDI for you? I guess I do. BRB, gonna fire up LDD.

I mean, look, if you're going for Teen Titans, get the original animated series, not that 1st-grader kids show. Otherwise... holy mother of whoa. All this IP... It's simply mind-boggling! How many more can TLG get, and how can they keep this up? They run the risk of overstuffing the game... though jeez, we haven't gotten Disney's properties yet and inf[IN]ity has since been discontinued. AND we have a Disney CMF line. AND we have a LEGO TFA game. AND we have DLC for the new LEGO Avengers game. If Disney concedes and Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Walt Disney packs get announced, everything will asplode. ASPLODE! Asplode, I tell you! Everything, and everyone(.gif), will just blow up. Like, :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: :cannon: kind of blow up.