Captain Pirate Man

It looks more and more likely that it'll just be the 1 set.

I think the QAR has the smallest chance to see ANY sort of release this time around. I would expect the BP, Dutchman, or the new ships before the QAR.

I disagree, I don't think it'll be one of the new ships. Not if it's only 1 set. If its multiple sets, then yes I could see that. The previous POTC wave is too far removed, they are not realistic purchases for kids and families. If its a 1 off, wouldn't you want people excited about buying it? Im not saying there wouldn't be a fair amount of excitement for a ship from the new movie, because there would be. But not to the same level as the Dutchman or the BP IMO. To compare it to another recent Lego film release, look at the Ghostbusters line. If Lego would have released ONLY the new Ecto 1 without still having the original Ecto and the firehouse available, I believe there would be very little interest in the new car. People would be mad to see THAT car get a set before the classic stuff did. I feel the same applies to POTC. Yes technically Lego has made the BP and QAR before, but they are not currently available, that's the biggest difference imo. Now if the release a D2C new ship and rerelease the original BP, then I think that would work. As long as something Iconic from the series is in store shelves along with new stuff, it can work. But again, these are just MY opinions. ?

I agree, just finding out WHICH ship it will be would satisfy me for now.

I hope your right.

No. Which sucks. We probably won't even know what ship it'll be until a month before it's released. I hate that. If we could find out which ship it is, would satisfy me until it's released.

Yes, in the multimedia thread.

I agree, they were fun for a while, but I'm ok with them not coming back.

Is this set on the way out? Any thoughts? I have a feeling that you better but it soon, if you haven't yet. ?

I would LOVE 2 more ships, but I'm not holding my breath for that.

So does this mean BOTH Pet Shop and Palace Cinema are done?

Really? That means it's official.

So... If the Minifigure is indeed copyright protected, how are ANY sort of bootleg minifigures somehow considered less bad?

I want to see what comes with POTC before I decide that the theme is clearly in decline. 2015 wave was a mixed bag for me personally. I DID feel the fort sets were all lackluster for the most part. The blue coat sets, when combined were ok, not great, but ok. I do feel when the two sets were combined they were better than any individual Imperial fort sets except for EF, ITP, and the 2009 fort. So it's really pretty good when combined. The only flaw with that logic is that if you combine 2 classic sets they would become better than the combined 2015 sets, so again that's why I rated them as just ok. The pirate sets though (minus the ship) are quite lackluster imo though. They are the weakest part of the 2015 theme. One thing I do like about the theme, a lot actually, is The Brick Bounty. No it's not as good as BSB and some of the other classic ships, but it's still better than most people realize. When it was first announced, I was moderately excited tbh. The pictures just don't do it a lot of credit. I thought for sure that Brickbeards Bounty was better. But after buying, putting it together, I gained a new appreciation for that ship. I DO feel it is slightly better than BBB (I still like that ship as well). TBB is clearly the best set of the 2015 wave, and I recommend it to anyone that doesn't own it. So I'm conclusion, I give the 2015 Pirates wave a solid B rating. If the Blue Coats would have gotten a ship, as well, I would have given it an A- type grade. But still, I can't call a B grade a sefinitve sign things are getting worse. As someone that owns or owned (a lot of sets from my childhood I no longer own, but I did have at one point) I can give good insight into the Pirates theme over the years. Classic Pirates (80's and 90's)- A+ 2009 Pirates (I only own The Brick Bounty, so I can't give a solid insight into this theme. But considering that the Imperial Flagship is part of it does give it credibility) POTC (2 ships, nice sets) A- 2015 (1 ship, 4 sets) B

Any one else find the waiting for news white irritating? I just want to know what/if anything is coming.

What does everyone think about Pet Shop being absent from the latest Lego catalogue? Is it a sign of it's impending retirement? It does seem interesting to me. I already have mine, so I'm not worried about it being retired. As a matter of fact I welcome it.

Mine just cleared customs, so I'm hoping by the end of the week to get mine.

My 2 cents in the whole Lepin controversy... I feel the whole thing is a bit of an overreaction on the part of AFOL's. I don't believe for one second that Lepin is any sort of financial threat to Lego, in any way shape or form. I've read some AFOL's calling this the beginning of the end, and other apocalyptic type responses. I honestly believe the only reasons why Lego is even taking action against Lepin is due to IP's like Disney and some of the automobile companies like Ferrari and others. Disney especially doesn't take kindly to people stealing their stuff. So it wouldn't suprise me in the slightest if they are the brains behind this lawsuit. Reason two might be the fact they are doing some the big CURRENT D2C sets. I can see Lego being upset about those. But really how much of Lego's profits are from the D2C sets anyways? They are not really kid friendly sets, and first and foremost Lego is for kids. So I doubt the large expensive sets really do all that much for their bottom lines. I just feel like as a whole, AFOL's have made the Lepin controversy a HUGE ordeal, and in the grand scheme I don't believe they really well all that many sets. Obviously stealing AFOL designs has allowed them to sort of attack our crowd personally. But I sort of feel like it's Microsoft being scared of Linex's little brother or something. Not gonna happen. Let me also add, that Lepin isn't exactly cheap. Yes it's cheaper than Lego, and cheaper than after market sets for sure. But it's still pretty pricey. The market they have aimed towards (outside of China) is people coming out of there dark ages, people that missed out on a lot of these sets. My point is that's not a HUGE market to begin with. Eventually it's going to dry up, or at least slow down. Yes new people will get back into Lego and may choose Lepin, but then again maybe not, people do have brand loyalty to Lego. Not to mention Lego is a lot more convient for your average person. You can go into any store and buy Lego, or buy online from Lego themselves. With Lepin you have to go to Aliexpress or a slect few other outlets, and everything is coming from China. That's a big turn off to a lot of people I'm sure. Plus many of the sets are missing pieces here and there, again another turn off. Take Wootles design for example, Lepin is selling that for around $150 or so. Yes it's fairly larger than your official modulars. I don't know about you, but if I'm going to spend $150 on a set, I'm going to buy from Lego. All the reasons I mentioned before play a role (convienience, etc) But 150 bucks is not anything to sneeze at. So clearly Lepin isn't "all that cheap" either. Which again makes me feel like they will always be this "niche" type company, not a real threat of any sort of significance. Therefore should be treated as such IMO.

@Peppermint IMHO, that seems a little double standardish. I'm not trying to argue with you, especially being that you are a MOD. But I really feel that entire train of thought is severely flawed. I am playing Devil's Advocate here, it's not that I want to defend Lepin, but really? Its ok to buy and get excited about fake minifigures, but sets are crossing the line? If you take the fact that the next line of Lepin modulars were created by AFOL's, (even some on this forum) out of the equation. Say they were Lego prototypes that for whatever reason Lego decided NOT to release. They would still be owned by Lego, yes, so it would still be stealing, but they would be stealing things that Lego doesn't really want. The same applies to the minifigures. Lego has the rights to ALL Marvel and DC super heroes (as far as we know), but for whatever reason they decided to not make many these bootleg companies are producing. Even if Lego hasn't been authorized to produce certain super hero figs, they still have paid for those licenses, the clone companies have not. So, in reality it is NO different buying fake figs than buying fake sets. Yes I realize stealing an AFOL's design is taking things a step further, and I by no means agree with that. But I do find it a bit hypocritical that the tread right next to this one can go on and on about fake figures, and that's perfectly fine. But we are somehow crossing the line. I feel if the powers that be want to ban all clone discussions (which I've heard is on the table), it should also include minifigure discussion as well. Whatever is decided, I will live with and accept, because I like this forum. I just hope it can be fair for everybody, not pick and choose what is allowed and not allowed. It should be all or nothing IMO.

Great post, I completely agree. Welcome to the forum btw.

I am also concerned about fake parts getting mixed in with real, but I'm more concerned with brick link. I wouldn't be surprised if some sellers are already selling fake parts on there. So I would be careful about ordering parts that can't be easily identified.

I will give a more detailed account when I get my sets. I have purchased sets from Enlighten, Kazi, Aussini, Sluban, mega bloks, and of course Lego. I actually did a pretty detailed minifigure comparison video a while ago (it's on my YouTube channel, link in my signiture). So I look forward to seeing how these Lepin figures stack up. I can say with absolute certainty that all the other clone brands I mentioned (excluding MB) the figures were utter crap. Enlighten were the best of the bunch, but still well behind Lego. So if these Lepin figures are better than Enlighten (which from Big G's assessment, they appear to be) I will be satisfied. Honestly anyone that buys knockoff sets shouldn't be doing so for the minifigs anyways, it's for the sets. If you find the minifigs "passable" that's really a bonus from my experience. The minifigs are usually the weakest part of knockoff sets. I literally have a junk bin for all my knockoff figs, never to see the light of day. I might have sets out on display, but never the minifigs. Gotta draw the line somewhere. ?

I don't disagree with all of you that it is illegal, and laws exist for a reason. Is Lepin crossing a line that they shouldn't be crossing? Yes. Should Lego take action if that's what they feel they need to do? Yes. Lepin has CLEARLY stolen a lot for Lego here, I don't for one second deny that. I am by no means defending any of that action, I guess that message hasn't been portrayed effectively by me. I guess where we differ is that my desire to get affordable "versions" of these RETIRED (I cant stress that enough) is not above buying some of these knockoffs. Why? Because I am creating extremely large MOCS in my basement and these sets will help complete my vision. When I got out of my dark ages (about two and half years ago) these sets where already long gone, and we'll out of any reasonable price range. I have gone back and purchased many modearatly expensive retired sets (QAR, Imperial Trading Post, Eldorado Fortress, Rock Island Refuge, multiple castles) just to name a few. So I have gone above the original price to get retired sets, but the difference is NONE of these are going for HUGE money. Take The Imperial Flagship for example, that thing is so expensive that I can buy 3 Or 4 other LARGER sets for that amount of money. I just can't logically talk myself into that set. So I either decided to find a way to brick link it (still $300 range, and a lot of work) or go without it. But for someone like me, having THAT set absent from my MOC seems hollow. That's were Lepin stepped in. You might think I'm wrong for choosing this route, and you are entitled to that opinion, just as I am entitled to make a LEGAL purchase online. Which that's where the line is IMO, what I did is legal. I read someone say "what does that say to my child if I tell them I bought fake Lego?" You did nothing wrong, why do you feel the need to justify that action? Its called be a smart shopper IMO. "I bought fake Lego son, because it was the best finacial option." What Lepin did is stealing, yes, but not what I did. Sure you could argue "you supported a company that stole designs." and you would not be wrong. But how many of you have purchased products that were made in sweat shops by children? Probably a lot more than you realize. So again, why even bother going down that rabbit hole? Everybody is guilty of something.

Big G, Are you happy? Pleasant experience all around for you?