autobrick

Hmmm... The 2012 City summer wave is for me the weakest wave of them all. Hopefully better pictures will change my mind, but so far it looks the money that would go to City will go to another theme, so I guess TLC still gets my money. I was looking forward to the rumoured hospital, but this hospital is smaller than I expected, and it only has a single doctor. Both the ambulance and the helicopter (where's the pilot?) are strangely proportioned. I like that the patient is going to the hospital because he slipped on a banana! Unfortunately, I feel the same for the mining sets, which at least has a hardhat with headlamp piece and thankfully it is available in all of these mining sets. The 4202 Dump Truck is to me a poor recreation of the 7344 Dump Truck, which looked a lot less fussy. The 4204 Gold Mine on the other hand looks like has a lot of potential; I can't wait to see some better pictures.

Wow, this theme really came out of nowhere! This theme looks like a combination of Studios and Time Twisters (the dark background and the train bring them to mind). I really like the new Minifigs, but the use of CMF in these preliminaries bother me. Although a part of me says that they will definitely be changed by release, another part feels that including CMF is exactly what Lego will do, as a way of giving everybody a chance to have one. For 2012, Lego has probably the greatest selection of themes; Dino, Super Heroes, Lord of the Rings AND Monster Fighters!

Overall, I can't say I'm all that impressed, but I do like 9516 Jabba's Palace (missed the first, and this one looks better) and 9496 Skiff (to go along with the Palace). The 9515 Malevolence has potential, but the rest leave me somewhat wanting; hopefully better pictures will change my mind. I also find the idea of 'Santa Maul' to be quite intriguing (or maybe the word I'm looking for is 'strange' ).

Yeah, both this wave and the 2012 Star Wars Summer wave (to a lesser extent) seem to be quite minifig-centric, with somewhat uninspiring builds, which I find a bit disappointing (and that's coming from a big minifig fan). Only 9473 The Mines of Moria really interests me, although I might change my mind when we get some better pictures/reviews. I have a feeling that rearing horse in 9471 is just CGI version we already have; I don't think they would make another horse mold so similar to the pre-existing one. I expect by tomorrow that this thread will be filled with disappointed/negative comments, as the majority of the posters in this thread seemed to had unrealistic expectations. Just keep in mind these are preliminaries, and that we are always free to MOC our own! EDIT: I am finally a Citizen. It took long enough.

Thanks for this quick review, Tung T. Le! I'm not a big fan of Ninjago, but I will definitely pick up a few of these for the nice parts!

Interesting topic, def; I was thinking of making a similar topic, but more focused strictly on the Lego retail environment (availability, sale frequency, etc.). Thanks for doing the hard work for me! I think you should make a bigger distinction between places that include/exclude sales tax within the sales price. 10-15% could make a big difference either way. Also, having an average income for each country would make this list more useful. How about adding a third reference price for something more expensive and standardised? ie. a DVD, an iPhone, a video game?

The way I see it, TLC is damned if they do and damned if they don't when it comes to creating a theme catered to girls. Two scenarios: The Lego company releases a theme that appeals to girls' stereotypical tastes (pastel colours, hair salons and bakeries, the things you would find in the girls' aisle in any toy shop and tend to sell well, why wouldn't the Lego company create a theme with subjects/colour scheme that have a proven track record?). Response of critics: The Lego company is sexist; don't they know that girls like things that aren't pink and girly? The Lego company doesn't release a theme for girls. Response of critics: The Lego company is sexist; why else would they ignore 50% of the population? Of course, there is the 'AFOL solution', which is to increase the number of female minifigs, create more civilian buildings and possibly create a theme similar to Paradisa. Response of critics: Some people need to stop making a big deal out of everything.

Wow, it's nice to finally see some confirmation, although I have a feeling some of you should temper your expectations or you are in for a big disappointment when the first pictures leak out (hopefully soon). I don't consider myself a big LotR fan, but I am still quite excited. The only negative is if this spells the end of Kingdoms, which I really enjoyed. BTW is it just me or is the ring more of a bracelet?

Last year I recall some City and Pharaoh's Quest sets showing up in December (2010), so hopefully we will see these in-store soon! Like the 4438 Police Command Center for the City theme, it looks like they saved the best for last! The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape (what a mouthful!) is my overall favourite of the Super Heroes line. The Riddler carrying around a crowbar seems a bit silly though... Too bad Lego couldn't dedicate a mold for his cane.

Here's my entry!

I still haven't received mine. I received a postcard about the Fairview Lego store grand opening just a couple of days ago. You know, after it opened . No Yoda Duplo brick for me!

Thanks for the quick review, Solscud007. All three models are fairly good for a free set, and you even get printed pieces! (This snowman reminds me of the 30008 Snowman). Target can't come to Canada soon enough...

I know this defeats the purpose of this thread, but I say get both. Battle of Endor is arguably one of the best OT sets released and Podracers is the best Star wars sets of 2011 (both my opinions, of course, but I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this way). You would be doing yourself a disservice by missing out on either. I recommend Battle of Endor first (likely to be discontinued soon) and Podracers second (you will likely have until 2013 to pick one up). I say Imperial Flagship. As you mentioned, it is extremely unlikely it will go on sale before it get discontinued, which it will, before the other two. I have yet to pick up the VW Van or the Post office, but I'm in no rush; sooner or later I am sure TRU will carry them and eventually they will have a sale. I'm positive the Winter Village Post Office will be available for at least one more holiday season, seeing as both the Winter Village Bakery and Toy Shop are still available (released in 2010 and 2009, respectively).

It's too bad that the pteranodons are exclusive to the two sets in the line that I don't like. 5883 Tower Takedown's tower and jet ski both look uninspired (good for parts, I guess?) and the 5888 Pteranodon Chase hydroplane looks strange with the yellow wedges trailing off the wings and the playability-related hump behind the cockpit. Something else that I'm unhappy about is that they choose to mold the needle clip directly onto the gun; which is nowhere as good as using a BrickArms-style clip, in my opinion. Fortunately, the rest of the theme looks great!

Very cute and funny video; it got a laugh out of me. Well done!

4438 looks great! A nice cabin (finally a civilian building), two well designed vehicles and a trike, and it includes the bear! Definitely the 'winner' of the 2012 City line in my book.

Yeah, I don't like it. It's slower, and doesn't really look much better (feels more cluttered). The only positive is that it tells you how many VIP points you have (information that could easily be looked up before).

Too bad Lego won't bring back the 10173 Holiday Train...

Very interesting. While I can't say I really like any of the sets (they seem too over-the-top, for a generally over-the-top theme), I do like the new ninja gear (notice the golden bucket handle on the samurai helmet? ). The flying ship looks like it has potential, so I am looking forward to better pictures of that. I don't know if this has been mentioned, but did anyone else notice that the Ninjago boosterpacks have very similar packaging to the Collectible minifigures? I also noticed that the recommended ages on the booster packs are 6-16, which I found strange because Ninjago seems a very kid-oriented theme. Maybe this will change once these are out.

I have to say, these sets look really great. I will have to Bricklink the new pieces or maybe even pick up a set or two (of course, if there's anything more embarrassing than buying Lego for yourself as an adult, it would be buying girly Lego for yourself as an adult! ). Set 3935, the one with the girl standing on the ATV really highlights a problem with these 'figs; they can't really sit down properly like a minifig. Looks awkward... It's too bad that TLC won't give the City theme the civilian sets like these. LOL!

Some things that frustrate me about Lego: Not enough civilian sets Not enough female minifigs Too much emphasis on minifgures to sell some sets (especially true for licensed themes). Not having alternate builds on the back of the box like before Too many flickfires. These don't work at all. Maybe have them spring-loaded instead? Collectible Minifigures are not the same quality of regular minifigs Exclusive polysbags, etc. that don't see wide distribution. Price discrimination. Practically a cliche, this one's the worst! (I understand the 'reasons' behind these, but that doesn't make them any less frustrating.) Other than that, I love Lego! I wonder if it would make any difference if everybody in this thread were to e-mail their grievances to TLC; would they seriously consider our suggestions or just send back a form letter basically saying 'Thanks for the suggestion, but we're ignoring you'?

Thanks for the very entertaining review, The Penguin! This set is a bit overpriced for what you get (166 pieces for 34.99 Canadian MSRP ), and I don't like the tree very much. On the other hand, it goes great with 8038 Battle of Endor and the upcoming Endor battlepack. I will definitely pick this up on sale!

Glad to see a picture of the remaining six, and I have to say they look great. Even the Flamenco dancer, with no new pieces and a somewhat disappointing interpretation of a flamenco dress, is still pretty nice. I noticed there is no 'Jungle Boy', so we will have to wait until series 7 (or later). Can't wait to get my hands on these.

Thanks for the pic, they look great! Last year, the magnets were not glued and you had to spend $25 if you lived in the US or $35 if you lived in Canada. I really hope they are not glued this year, but who knows?

Series 6 is looking good! Skateboarder: Different enough from the first two skateboarders to be desirable, but I wonder how many more we'll get. One more after this to balance out the male-female ratio? Genie: Great Barbarian: A little plain, but still nice. Minotaur: Great Space Woman: Would be nicer with a new ray gun colour (or ray beam colour). I like that she comes with both a helmet and a hairpiece. Alien: Torso design doesn't match at all (better suited to a robot; I prefer grey ribbing on front/back) and the hands should not be red. Like the space woman, it should have a ray gun in a new colour and a ray beam. Statue of Liberty: Great Leprechaun: Great. It would be nice if he came with some Lego coins, but that might be asking too much. Butcher: Steak handle looks a bit long, but otherwise great. Grease monkey: Great I look forward to seeing pictures of the rest of Series 6, and to seeing all of them in-store (guessing Jan 2012?)