GMW79

So many of you folks are really great at listing sets, size/price range, and minifig rosters. Impressive. Most impressive. I'm just a simple man trying to make my way through the universe, so my short, sweet little list: TIE Avenger w/ Cassian (in flight suit, of course) Fondor Haulcraft w/ Luthen (maybe two versions? One in his real/pilot outfit and another in full art dealer disguise.) TIE Defender w/ pilot

Now I have "Back in Black" by AC/DC going through my head! Very cool ships!

Mines of Moria Weathertop Shelob Attacks Gandalf Arrives Frodo's Cooking corner and seven more Nazghul on their way from eBay. Yep. Spent a lot of money on Lego LOTR after swore I wouldn't. I"ll probably be spending a lot more... Duke -- Did you switch the heads on the CMF dwarves and elves so they match the LOTR minifigs, or do you just mix the fleshies and the classics?

I like the colorful mattresses, and, of course, the fireplace.

I like this a lot. The colors look great together and the concept is heart-warming.

This looks great! I really like the autumn colors, and the elephant is creative. I wonder how it would look with green base plates with a lot of fallen leaves on them, rather than solid orange (that's a lot of leaves -- especially since there are so many people walking around exposing the grass underneath).

Absolutely breathtaking. I really like all the greens and browns and the bookshelf is a cool little detail. The combination of the dragon heads and the English flag windows makes me think of St. George.

Fair enough, Bob. Shaking hands, and recognize that you didn't mean to offend. My apologies if I over-reacted. I agree that we need to think about world problems (and do something about them). I look forward to your next creation.

I appreciate that and have to accept your sense of humor. And I'm certain you weren't connecting your creation with any anniversary -- just an unfortunate coincidence, I suppose.

Yes, I am well aware of "black humor." However, given that the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake/Fukushima incident is one week from today, your timing is quite poor and inconsiderate. Anyway, that's my opinion, and, clearly, your sense of "humor" differs from mine. (Your "evolution of money" did make me smile, though.)

I live in Japan, and I have to say this is pretty classless and un-funny.

Impressive! Most impressive.

Lion Knights -- The largest and ruling faction. I haven't decided if they are good or not. Dragon Knights -- Growing, but considerably smaller than the Lions. I haven't decided if they're evil of not. Crownies -- A very small remnant of a once great kingdom. Their alliance, Lions or Dragons, hasn't be determined. Orcs/Trolls -- A medium-sized group of troublemakers, but they're the twisted backbone of the servants of darkness. Dwarves -- Quite reclusive these days, but who knows what treasures their mines hold. Elves -- Rarely seen, but the ancient Elves are more powerful than the humans or evildoers imagine. Vikings -- My beloved Northmen -- Few in number, but the fiercest warriors in the realm. Peasants -- Mostly farmers and blacksmiths. Happy to avoid the warring, but brave enough to protect their families and homes when need be. Wizards -- Five wizards (red, blue, green, black, gray) who manipulate/control/assist various factions from time to time. Some are good; some are evil. Skeletons -- An undead army that is resurrected when the dark wizards see fit. Otherwise, they lie scattered and disjointed all across, and under, the land. Forestmen -- A very small band of adventurers. Mostly good natured, but they aren't above stealing and answer only to whomever they choose to follow.

Wow. I'm really sorry to see that this interesting thread has gotten so little attention. I guess I don't have too much to add for now except for a question: Has anyone else, when trying to make a less fantasy-based Castle MOC or storyline used their Dwarves as Vikings? For a while I replaced their Dwarf legs with regular minifig legs so I could use them as extra, heavily bearded Vikings. The horned Dwaf helms make good headgear for Viking kings.

I seriously hope you're not being serious, Sandy. Efullner was obviously being humorous.

Simple, and yet very cool!

This is a very cool thread and makes me wish I had more of each faction, rather than just the few Lions and Dragons I have. I'd love to see TLC bring back the Black Falcons and Forestmen in updated colors. Going by the current "generic" factions, the Lions would be good, the Dragons bad, the Falcons somewhere in between, and the Forestmen somewhere outside. Other potential thoughts that cross my mind: Let's say that the Castle/Kingdoms sets follow a chronology of sorts. What if the Crusaders-Royal Knights-King Leo RK-Kingdom Lion Knights are the same group throughout history? As for the Kingdom Dragons, they could be the descendants of the Dragon Masters, or at least a faction that is trying to pattern themselves after the Masters of old. (Hence the Green Wizard who is trying to raise a dragon. Maybe the the Dragon Knights are even part of a dragon-worshipping cult. Just ideas...) Oh, and I definitely see the old Dragon Masters as a rebel off-shoot of the old Black Knights. Why else would the have the same symbol, just re-colored? Though we didn't have any when we were growing up, my brother and I always saw the Dark Forest faction as a combination of the Forestmen and Wolfpack, comprised of members of both factions who broke away to form a third group. The Forestmen were too good for some, but they wouldn't/couldn't join Wolfpack, and some of the Wolves were just hoping for more power but couldn't get it so the just made their own group and welcomed the former Forestmen. Any thoughts on the Collectable Minifig Elves? They are definitely a part of the Castle/Kingdom theme... (And I can't wait for the Series 4 Viking to add to my hoard).

I ride the Tokaido a few times per week--this is so cool!

I finally picked up the MMV today! Very cool set, and all the civilian pieces are really going to round out the MOC castle I've been working on.

exactly!

Very true. Like I said a few pages back:

Observations on the elf, which I want to army build *so* badly: The bow looks to be 99% the same as the traditional Lego bow, but TLG has retooled the ends of the bow itself to make it more elegant and elven. As for the ears, after seeing these latest pics I'm of the opinion that they are painted onto the hair piece. I see this in two ways: A) It's great because changing the actual head molding would be very strange and would mean that other helmets, hair etc wouldn't fit on the elf and we'd have to use the same hair all the time. This way we can switch heads to make other elves, which leads to the downside: B) All elves with ears will be blond. If you use Qui Gon Jinn hair to make a brunette--no ears. (Unless you paint the ears yourself.) Another ear-issue is that this hair piece can *only* be used for elves (Again, unless you remove the paint yourself.) Anyway, an *awesome* minifig and easily my favorite of *all time*! I need to start saving money...

Yeah, they do. I was in the central train station in Zurich, Switzerland in August, and they had a vending machine full of Magic cards, a few impulse level Lego sets (I got the farmer w/ dog and pig), and a few Series 1 figures. It was one of those vending machines with the metal spirals holding the products (usually snacks)--the kind in which you put you money in and then press the buttons to make your selection (A4, B6, G12, etc.) I only bought one (my first) and got the crash test figure (the only one I've seen--haven't found one in Japan). (Sorry about all the parenthesis! )

Yeah it's nice to avoid having people take all the "cool" figures. The downside is, that we have to spend *way* to much to get what we want. I think I've spent about $80 on Series 1 and I'm still missing the Wrestler. I have gotten four Series 2 Spartans though! (I'm dreading trying to amass the Elf army I **so** want!) The prices are about the same. They're 300 Yen here which is (very) roughly equal to $3 US. I actually just found another of the machines in a convenience store (like 7-11 or Circle K). It didn't have many left in it and I didn't buy any despite the temptation, but sometimes the randomness of this country makes me smile.

Good guess, but no. It has nothing to do with people reading a leaflet. Here in Japan the Minfigs are released in sealed plastic "eggs" and dispensed individually from machines. Each series of Minifigs is divided into two groups and are in different machines. So if you put money in a Side A machine, you'll get one of those eight Minifigs. If you use a Side B machine, you'll get one of the other eight. Ironically, just about every phone in Japan can scan barcodes, but because of the method I described, we can't scan them until *after* we've already bought them. In spite of that, our chances of getting what we want (despite the randomness) are better than if we had to choose from all sixteen Minifigs (1 in 8, rather than 1 in 16). Anyway, hope that clears up the Japanese Side A and Side B thing for everybody!