Itaria No Shintaku

Ok, we have completely different points of view on the matther. And since I don't find quality lacks, I still think TLC is coherent with their values declared. No offence meant.

Mostly false. They maybe, and I say maybe, state if asked. For istance, playmobil doesn't state so in their website. Nor does megabloks. Sorry, you didn't catch the point.

Well, sorry you didn't get the point, perhaps I wasn't clear. If I own a company which is recently lacking in quality, I won't surely tell that to everybody, but absolutely nor even state the very opposite on my website! This would make users angry and furious. So, the fact that TLC has a whole argument about the quality on its website doesn't ensure quality excellence, but surely increases its responsability towards their customers! So either you think that the ones who decided to put that argument on their website are like these: or clearly TLC is still putting their efforces into quality, whatever some people say here!

So, they are a bunch of liers? I mean, copy/paste from LEGO site: ( http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?page=safety ) (cit.) LEGO Group's new policy on quality "Our aim at the LEGO Group is to exceed customer expectations with regard to our products, service and their experience of the LEGO brand. Quality is firmly rooted in our fundamental beliefs, our mission statement, our strategic goals and our values. As a world leader in the field of quality experience, service and products, we focus on the customer's perception of quality. Quality procedures are specified in our global quality management system. We view the implementation of this policy as the shared responsibility of all LEGO employees." and also "The LEGO Group uses primarily ABS plastics in the manufacture of its products. This ABS material has been specially developed for our company and is not available to others. This has important consequences: for example, no other manufacturer is able to make products with the same unique clutch power, shine properties and colour stability as LEGO Group products possess. The company's laboratories continuously test our plastics to the extreme in order to improve resistance, for example, to bite marks and scratching. " So either they are a bunch of liers, or maybe you are a little fussy... or maybe your perception is wrong... The only thing I know is that I don't see quality issues, TLC doen't see quality issues, you do... Maybe is that your standards have grown with the years passing, and your perception about how soon parts break, or how much quality is poor has changed through the years? I remember, when it were the 80s, about parts breaking easily, and now they really seem solid to me, but I won't make the mistake to judge the plastic, since I know how small care I put in using Legos when I was 10 years old, and how much I apply now that I passed the thirty... Sorry if I seem to harsh here, it's not my intention... it's just that I stumbled upon that declaration on LEGO site and since you stated the very opposite, it caught my attention. I tried, and this doesn't apply to my minifigs. How many tries did you do? I tried with diffent minifigs even with not very new ones, and this "very loose" behaviours of yours didn't occur.

This would be another kind of set. They are collectible, so they must be random in every bag. And they must carry small prices, nobody would buy a minifig who's random and costs a wage. Again, we are not TLC's target. Kids are.

Ok, it shouldn't happen, but if it is 1 in 1000 it means that I throw away $2 every $2000 I spend? Well, I can stand this. And I wouldn't call Customer Care for one bugged minifig over 1000, I mean, I wouldn't be terrified if my minifig lacked hairpiece, or head... things like these can happen. If it happens just on the minifig I missed to complete my collection it would be really bad, but like stickers if you miss one or two, you just buy them on ebay or bricklink and that's all. I'm not saying it is right it happens, just... if it does, odds are so low that I can buy that. It seems to me, but I may be wrong, that it's already been reported that this difference between minifigs in sets AND collectable ones, is kinda false. I mean, I owe all the 32 minifigs and I just bought some Atlantis ones... and I really see no differences at all. I already read on this thread that the "cheaper" plastic is used both for collectable minifigs and for standard sets, but both me and the writer of that post may be wrong. Before reading these posts about Series 1 & 2 plastic, the only thing I managed to note with some friends of mine, was that the point of the spartan's (I'm hoarding them, in my city it's possible, since minifigs are bought mainly by kids who ignore the barcode factor) spear is kinda "gummy", which surprised me because it's a huge difference related to common castle spear. But! My thoughts weren't negative. Of course some steps away from rigidity can only make me think that this part will break very hardly! Alas, we fail on believing that we are the target for TLC's products. I mean, why would they still put "from A to B years" on catalogs or boxes, if they were designed for adults? Sure, they are collectable minifigs but that doesn't mean that they are targeted for adults. My two cents they are pointing on following the gold mine which are collectable trading card games, or collectable figures of any kind... and the NINJAGO theme confirms my thoughts. They are toys, they can break, they are scheduled for being used and plaied. They do not deserve severe review since that would mislead their basic purpose: being plaied by kids. Even if TLC knows that many adults will collect them, I feel like we are a huge minority if compared to their actual target. And I can't feel betraied, it's just the way it is. This said, I actually find minifigs perfect, I don't blame about quality because perhaps I'm naive but I really can't see that difference this reviewers and somebody (not everybody) says here. Sorry for repeats, but I really find a little nitpicking all this thread about quality... I'm ending to find myself either too naive, too profane, or maybe just not so fussy. Not really that. I mean, and also this has already been reported... according to your scheme, the overall cost is $104... and you can really buy a box for less! (Here, I will buy a box of series 3, already ordered at my trustful shop, for $90) And in that you can get not 1 but 3 complete series. Assuming you can't find a way, it would cost in the worse case $120, but if you find two pals, since there are 3 complete sets in, you pay just $40 (instead of $104, it's a great saving) and you also get 12 doubles to divide (maybe you get someone you really wanted to have in doubles). Kids, the ones all this is designed for, won't buy boxes (I don't see any parent doing such a thing!) while adults will choose that way to easily complete the set... and TLC will make everyone happy. What if they didn't put 3 complete collections in the box? THIS WAY they would have forced everybody to go for random picks... but luckly, you have your exit strategy buying the whole box, as long as this works.

I see your point but honestly don't fit the case. I mean, there is people who says that's cheaper plastic and people who says that it's even better. Honestly, for what I can see, it's same plastic as last years. We don't get the 90's plastic that was really better... but in the 90's I paid the equal of now $150 for my first Pirate Ship, so paying $2 for a single minifig sounds really a bargain to me. This plastic it's not that disaster that someone is depicting... I said, it can be a little cheaper, but not THAT cheaper. I'm not afraid of part breaking, getting easily loose, or for the paint to wear off. And since I own about one thousand minifigs, not nuggets, I know what I mean :)

When do you feel TLC will release official pictures? Late November?

You seem likely right.

Soccer Player would be a repick.. so hockey player! Instead, I would rather see for sure a football player or a volleyball player! Alas I'm pretty sure they would do a fireman.... Figures they wouldn't surprise me are: someone from cooking theme, like chef, waiter, etc cameraman tibetan sherpa arabian sheikh or fighter roman senator (they would not do a legionnaire imho) with toga foil fencer (PLEASE LEGO DO THAT!!!!) sandwich man with lego advertising skeleton or ghost, or frankenstein, or wolfman to keep on the horror trend mine worker cruise boat captain WWII army man, or western army man like the western theme (they did the tribal hunter, the chief, the cowboy, now they will go after the us army man) farmer with fork what do you think about those?

MEN! The word Cyborg comes achronym from CYBbernethic-ORGanic, that means that is part robotic and part human.

With no barcodes, either people start mastering feeling the bags, or it's difficult to build armies. Before knowing about barcodes I used to feel the bags too, but I wasn't that skilled... apart for some minifigs (witch or surfer in series 2 are quite easy, I'm practicing some training), it will be really hard I think...

I had some spare time and I took myself freedom to take the like/dislikes expressed here like some sort of poll. Here are the results. 16th place: ALIEN (3 likes, 13 dislikes) 15th place: SUMO BOY (2 likes, 12 dislikes) 14th place: RACE CAR DRIVER (2 likes, 7 dislikes) 13th place: GORILLA (6 likes, 5 dislikes) 12th place: CYBORG (9 likes, 8 dislikes) 11th place: SNOWBOARDER (6 likes, 1 dislike) 10th place: NATIVE AMERICAN CHIEF (8 likes, 3 dislikes) 9th place: ADVENTURE PILOT (12 likes, 3 dislikes) 8th place: MUMMY (13 likes, 3 dislikes) 7th place: HAWAIAN GIRL (11 likes, 0 dislikes) 6th place: RAPPER (14 likes, 3 dislikes) 5th place: TENNIS PLAYER (19 likes, 1 dislike) 4th place: BASEBALL PLAYER (19 likes, 0 dislikes) 3rd place: SAMURAI WARRIOR (22 likes, 1 dislike) 2nd place: FISHERMAN (23 likes, 1 dislike) 1st place: ELF (32 likes, 2 dislikes)

and ... if ... they used a Blacktron torso for the preliminary picture but it's not intended in the final version?

While I can certainly agree that this plastic seems a little cheaper, it doesn't seem THAT cheaper to me. In my favourite shop I pay €1,50 per minifig, while in other parts of the city the standard price is €2,00... and wasn't it for the barcode removal factor, I would have bought tons of these. BTW, here the barcode thing seems not to be that known, so I can complete my collection even buying a minifig per day for 16 days, and then going all on Spartans. In fact, I own all 32 minifigs from the first 2 series and they are all quite good to me. I mean, I recall the time in which there was a unique head print, two different hair combs (male and female), and minifigs looked similar each other... and I had fun in that days. I think, and maybe I am wrong, that every single minifig they do is better than if they didn't it! Well, maybe they could have used better ideas, but I think that they use 3-4 minifig to appeal people, and the remainings are collectable, as the word says... they come with a small baseplate and it means they should go (in Lego's intentions) on a fine row onto some shelf to stay there... that's what collection are for... TLC uses the better ideas (Spartan, Caveman, Elf, Clown IMHO) to make people want them, then if you want those, you have to risk buying some of the less wanted. And that's not all, since apart from a little few minifigs, in this forum many people seem to be interested in different minifigs. I like the mummy, many find it horrible. I dislike totally the Tennis Player and everybody seems to be excited with her... see, no real point. Perhaps they don't do a terrible job, maybe their aim to make everyone happy with few minifigs instead of few happy with all 16 minifigs is working...

Well man, I'd really wanna read about the connection between caveman and weightlifter!!!

I really hope so, so maybe they can go until serie 20!

The best way still is: grab 2 friends and share a box!

I'd like to have the minifigs series as regular for some years, but I fear Lego won't fulfill my wish...

Never said that. Doesn't piss me off that much. The one starting this was you, so maybe the one pissed off shouldn't be me. I'm not used to take orders, sorry, I stop this only because there are other users who doesn't give a damn about the whole thing, and found you hilarious telling that the Elf seems ordinary castlemen to you. But you'll never read this, will you? Maybe instead of thinking that the world is onesided, think that you are somehow annoying like you were. I honestly don't believe that you don't like the Elf, maybe you just wanted to provoke and talk badly about the one minifig you read everybody loved. My Opinion. Period. I beg pardon to have posted this again, I had to, I won't came on this argument any more even if asked. Thank you.

I'm stopping this here because this would get very boring. I won't spend dozens of lines by explaining why now you're accepting the picture I've shown you, with the elf absolutely not graceful and with a face even more grim than the TLC one... the only and last thing I say it's: NOBODY tried to convince you to like the elf. Imho, you act childish by confusing "TLC did a poor job" which you stated before and "I don't like the Elf". That's because in the world there's plenty of people apart from you. So, if zillions of people like the Elf, TLC indeed did a good job, whether you like it or not. And since this topic is full of "I wanna get tons of Elves" and "Elf is the S3 Spartan", it obviously mean that everyone but you likes it. So, if that's the final Elf, TLC, indeed, DID a good job. Then, if you do not like it, feel free to express, but don't mess the two things, because they are pretty different.

I totally agree with any single word. I like the idea to last every single serie to the end, I am really curious about S3, but now is S2 time and I will focus on buying that. Furthermore, hunt on S3 minifigs will be difficult without barcodes, which makes me think that I will buy a box with 2 friends, share 3 collections each, and that will be all.

Extra googles for the snowboarder would really do! I feel like I want them now.

I'll add for sure extra mic for the rapper. Ninja had two Katanas, maybe Samurai has one extra too... and I'd really like an extra fish for the fisherman.