gedren_y

Book printings have to be ready well in advance, and it is likely that at the time of the finalized draft they only included released CMF series.

Any thoughts on my list?

The new bow appears, to me, that it is actually an outer crossbow shaped handle that can accommodate either a stud shooter (as in Star Wars and Elves) or a shorter spring launcher (depicted here).

Dagon/Dracula/Drake from Blade Trinity had armor in his Sumerian days. Viktor wore armor in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and in the flashback sequences of Underworld: Evolution. Even if they can't die from most wounds, armor is still prudent when fighting with edged weapons.

The finished image, though larger with more of the actual scene has some added effects that obscure more of the Fortrex. The outer edge of the image shows part of what looks like the outer wall of the castle from the background of the preliminary sets image. I will be very happy if Fortrex is only part of the larger castle, which we could get at a later date. It appears that the creature that faces Clay's vehicle in the preliminary sets image may simply have the wrong helmet. Either that, or the big-fig(?) wasn't ready for the shot.

I seriously doubt Pluto will be an accessory. He is actually physically larger than Mickey. While Pluto isn't as large as Scooby (hound vs dane), he would still be in the scale range alongside Mickey. That's why I gave Pluto his own slot.

So the Studios vampire movie set is like the movie Shadow of the Vampire? If you are not familiar with the plot, it is about how the movie Nosferatu was filmed with an actual vampire as Count Orlok. Believe what you will. Your minifigs can be whoever you say they are.

The art image has what I'm sure is the "Tank Castle", and it uses the thick link treads instead of the rubber faux treads. I like this because those treads are good for the interior structure of round towers.

Part of the problem was the expectations that arose from the reporting from a manager that the upcoming theme was similar to Fantasy Era. In certain respects it is, but not in the way most were hoping. Then there is the issue of the non-historical nature of the theme. Some people are unable to divorce the idea of Castle from historical, even fantasy historical. I think the American/European divide on this has more to do with the fact that Europe is filled with actual historical castles. Aside from a few disputed sites, there are no European style fortifications that predate the Age of Exploration in the US. American adults are less likely to be bothered by the idea of a castle with technology because we have less exposure to castles in their historical context. I type adults because children have a less defined sense of the world, so I doubt the target audience for the theme's media is very geographic in nature. I personally don't understand the hang-up on TLG's designs. They have always paled in comparison to what I wanted to build, so I don't concern myself with the intent of a set. I rarely see the attendant media, therefore it's quite easy to ignore. I regularly buy across the various themes for parts. I also have no compunction regarding the dismantling of minifigs, so even the overly colored minifigs of KKII were no problem to remedy.

Awaiting the multitude of new parts. Those pentagon pieces in particular.

While this is a wonderful build, it does belong elsewhere. Since it appears to be the same scale as the Sopwith Camel, I suggest Special Themes would be a better home.

I just had a funny idea of how to use that pig-fig. One day it'll happen.

I mentioned this in one of the CMF threads, the CMF Hun Warrior looks more like the picture of Vlad III Tepes than the CMF Vampire.

[Captain Shay Liih hadn't been in the tavern room proper in months. Her joint duties with the City Guard, along with her three subordinates, gave her little free time. Toady was special, though. The Zuuree twins were leaving for Avalonia. They had applied for, and had been granted, commission suspension, with payment to date. The assayer had been quite fair in the liquidating Shay's stones for the twins' pay. The Nestlands foursome had decided a send-off was in order. Though the room had been cleaned recently, there were still signs of the months of neglect it had received. Ehfrik Daffys whistled at the effort Heb had finally made.] Ehfrik Daffys: Ah sur hope Mora will be back more regul'r. Shay Liih: Her ma's on de mend, so yah, she'll be workin' more. Ehfrik Daffys: Good. Lohp Zuuree: Who givsa shook? Wahl an' me are outta here. [Wahl points to the far end of the bar.] Wahl Zuuree: Der she is. Mora, is dere any blue mead left? [Mora pauses in her attempt to finish Heb's halfhearted cleaning. She dips her head a little to discern which twin had spoken.] Mora: Aye, missur Wahl, sir. Six bottles, as of this afternoon's count. Would misselle Captain like some sour red tea? Shay Liih: Yeah, thanks, Mora. 'Ave de giant 'zard eggs come in yet? Mora: No, misselle. Cook has wanted to do you right, but the caravans have been light of late. Bandits mostly, I think. Shay Liih: Ah und'rstand. Ah can smell da roast pork, so we'll 'ave dat, with bread an' 'tatoes, when it's reddeh. Mora: Aye, misselle. [Mora leaves to gather the drinks. The foursome sit at a table near the kitchen.] Ehfrik Daffys: Aneh idea where youse two are headed? Lohp Zuuree: Doc Gooshie gave meh a map, though he sayz some of de new lordling's 'states may no' be on 'ere. Wahl Zuuree: We're gonna try fer de Mystic Isles, an' den maybeh catch a ship ta Eastgate. Shay Liih: Dat'll take months. Lohp Zuuree: Dat's half de fun. Sdair's off on 'is adv'nt'r, so we're gonna 'ave one, too. Shay Liih: Whatever. Jus' don' go all heathen an' start eatin' birds. Lohp Zuuree: Yes, mommy . . . Er, Captain. [Mora comes back with the drinks.] Mora: Cook says the food will be another half hour. Shay Liih: Mora, how's yer ma' doin'? Mora: Much better, misselle. Doc Gooshie finally got the right herbs, and he says she should be all better by next Tuesday. [Shay wags her finger as if to indicate she wants to whisper something to Mora. She leans in close, and Shay quickly kisses the serving girl's forehead, while at the same time placing a small ruby in her hand.] Shay Liih: Yer a good lass, now go an' attend ta yer duties. Mora: Thank ye, misselle! [Mora rushes off to secure her prize. Ehfrik shakes his head, laughing.] Ehfrik Daffys: Soft touch.

Basil was obviously an allusion to Vlad III Tepes. The ambiguity of the vampire possibility was probably intentional because the historical figure is actually well regarded by the people of the region. The images from the Fright Knights packages clearly show Basil active in the dawn/dusk hours, so I contend that Basil is a damphir (half-vampire).

You have to consider where the parts are physically produced. It is likely that the bucket handle was being produced in a different country, as it started in the regular sets. Something else to consider is the CAD designs for the molds, as well as the type, size. and durability of the molds, that go into making a CMF. To have included the bucket handle with the first appearance of the pot would have required one of three things: shipping one of the existing durable molds to the CMF production facility, cutting a new, less durable mold for the CMF's limited run, or shipping a vast amount of the full production handle parts to the facility for inclusion. In all these instances the cost would have been prohibitive.

Simpsons: SS1 was available on the Lego website through Dec. 2014, alongside the later standard CMF series. SS2 seems to have been overproduced/overstocked in much of the US, as most non-FOL fans would have stopped after getting the core family. just2good just did a Dimensions figures video that includes Homer, so it is plausible that future Simpsons figures might come through Dimensions. Series 15: Consider Series 13 came quickly on the heels of Series 12, so Series 14 might have a protracted run and Series 15 could be available sooner than expected. Back on topic: I don't expect this series until spring, probably May. Spring is actually the best time to go to Disney World (Downtown Disney Lego Store!), as the weather is better and it is less crowded. I live in Florida, and a friend of mine did some art production work on at least one of the rides. I expect the core characters: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, & Pluto (Scooby's size makes it plausible he could be in his own bag). I'd also like to see Pete, Clarabelle, Prof. Von Drake, Mortimer, Chip, and Dale, as they all make appearances on the Clubhouse show. That would leave four slots. Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie might round out the core Disney team.

Is Tiger Lily part of the Princesses franchise? If she is, we'd get her as a minidoll, if at all. I don't know how they would do a set, though.

I just had a thought; Nexo Knights is due out in Jan 2016, and it has at least twelve (there may be more) new molds visible in the preliminary images, including a new windshield and two new large wedge pieces. We may not get a new LDD parts update until the official images of these sets are announced and/or reviewers are allowed to share their thoughts on the sets they get ahead of the release date.

I am wondering if the red monsters in the preliminary image might just be stand-ins for the lava monsters. The head on the bad guy fig in the Clay's (whatever they call it) isn't the cyclops head from the artwork pic. I have been trying to figure out how the shields attach to the pentagon, and how the handle is positioned. Has anyone seen an image that shows the back of the shields?

Actually, I think TitusV was referring to your freebuilds, for which we have a register thread so that the guild leaders don't miss them. Though it isn't discussed much now, there is such a thing as guild points. Freebuilds and challenge builds are evaluated and awarded points that are added to your respective guild total.

I always thought that a faun was a deer version of a centaur with antelope-like horns, but I think that may have been because of how they were depicted in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Satyrs are always male, and are very much about the male sexual drive, which in the Ancient Greek and Roman societies was not taboo. I believe the goat species they are most commonly associated with is the Spanish ibex, though the satyr tails in the classical depictions are horse tails. Alexandre Boudon's drawings come quite close to a number of figs we actually got, though a few of them were not in the CMFs. If you are willing to be non-purist, Brickforge makes a great centaur body, and they have a few different prints.

@ Bregir: The twins Wahl and Lohp Zuuree, Sdair's younger brothers, are currently in Cedrica, living at the Grand Griffon and helping shore up the city's defenses. They're not really much use in the spying capacity of Shay Liih's mission. They are also pretty easy to make. It's okay if you don't have their weapons, just chalk it up to artist's rendering. They're fun guys, but be forewarned, their accents are pretty thick. Here's what they look like: Wahl Zuuree Lohp Zuuree Wahl and Lohp As you can see, they use the same torso, but mirror each other on their colors. The heads are both Indiana Jones, and Wahl is the one with the dye-job mohawk.

<snip> Nevermind. Merlok. I'm betting they just took the name Merlin and smashed it together with the word clockwork, giving rise to a golden clockwork wizard. Plausible right?

The Tribal Hunter doesn't have the female contour printing that modern female figs have. Back when the Western theme was produced female figs didn't have this. There was only one female Indian figure in the Western theme, though she was in four sets: Chief's Tepee (6746-1), Boulder Cliff Canyon (6748-1), and both versions of Rapid River Village (6763-1 and 6766-1). We need a proper female counterpart to the Tribal Hunter. Or better yet, a resurgence of the Western theme, though that is a topic for different thread. Shark Suit Guy, if/when we get him, will likely be a full body suit like the Hot Dog Guy, and hopefully will have sideways pointing fins instead of arms. I don't know if that would allow for the capacity to hold things, though. Terracotta Warrior? Now this is one figure that would be best done with proper molded armor. A new armor mold would create the capacity to finally have a Central Asian historical theme. Another topic for discussion elsewhere. About the Satyr: in classic depictions he has the same hip height as a goat, and is depicted shorter than women. He also has a horse's tail, not a goat's. The ideal CMF Satyr would have two new parts and reuse two parts.