Arigomi

The blue used on the Earth Defense Force minifigs looks similar to the blue used on the recently re-released Maersk Container Ship. I wonder if the batches of blue that didn't meet Maersk's specifications ended up being tinted and recycled into these minifigs.

The pricing is all a matter of perception. Even though the spinner packs contain LEGO elements, TLG isn't trying to sell the spinner packs as construction sets. TLG is selling the idea of the spinner game to break into the market inhabited by Bakugan and Beyblade. If you look objectively at booster packs for collectible card games, they are just a few pieces of printed cardboard. If a player looks at a booster pack, the value of it changes because the player is so invested in the card game.

The minifigures are bonded to the magnet base using a solvent rather than a glue. Solvents work differently than glue. Solvent molecules have stronger intermolecular forces than the material they are acting upon. When applied to the ABS plastic, the solvent's intermolecular forces are strong enough to pull ABS molecules away from other ABS molecules, "melting" the plastic without heat. Many liquid solvents are volatile (they evaporate at room temperature). As a result, the "melting" of the plastic is only temporary and the plastic will resume a solid state once the solvent has evaporated. During this time frame, the minifigure is attached to the magnet base, fusing the "melted" areas where solvent was applied. The solvent evaporates and the section solidifies, becoming essentially one piece. There is no solvent residue left behind. The warm water bath works because the bonding site is structurally weaker compared to the areas that still retain strength from the injection molding process. Structurally weaker areas are more sensitive to temperature changes. The water bath "softens" the bonded areas so that you can pry them apart.

I was tempted to buy it when TRU was having it's BOGO 50% sale. I've always had reservations with this set but I didn't know why. Your review helped a lot in realizing that color scheme plays a big role in my buying decisions. The color scheme didn't excite me at all. It would've been an instant purchase for me if it was designed with a color scheme similar to the one used by the Blue Angels. The design of jet is certainly impressive with the all of the details and functions. Unfortunately, little of this is conveyed through the box on the store shelf. Most licensed sets fail to get my attention if the color scheme doesn't strike a chord with me. The heavy use of neutral colors in Star Wars sets have done little to pique my interest. Unlike me, fans of realistic planes would certainly enjoy this set and all it has to offer. There are certainly a lot of positives that appeal to them once you get past the first impressions.

With any hobby, most people get bored when you try to explain. Unless someone shows an actual interest in understanding more, I wouldn't go out of my way to talk about it.

It looks fine to me. Only one of its eyes looks different because it is a cyborg implant. The double barrel pistols could end up being used a greebles for spaceships. Do my eyes deceive me or do we see a return of trans green antenna whips?

The coloring on the axe blade looks interesting. The black boots on the skeletons are a result of the spinner game. They would fall off the spinners too easily with regular skeleton feet.

As someone who started building a collection this summer, I would highly recommend getting at least 2 brick separators. Without them, you will accumulate an entire dictionary of curse words whenever you need to take anything apart. Before getting some brick separators, I used to be too scared to do stuff like stack two 1x2 plates on top of each other. It seems like a useless thing to do but you need these small height adjustments for solving problems. Despite being so essential to building, brick separators are individually packaged in unmarked polybags in some nondescript spot in LEGO stores. The strange thing is that they don't come with any directions on how to use it. Unless you know what it is, you would think it is just some odd knick-knack like a mug or key chain. The only current set that includes a brick separator is 5993 Airport Building Set. I've found the LEGO Creator building tips useful. The videos about vehicles probably won't interest you but the rest are quite informative. At the very least, watch the video about how to use brick separators. If you are hunting for a good source of brown bricks in a set, 5766 Log Cabin might interest you.

The new car seems to be a reinterpretation of 4993 Cool Convertible for a lower price point. It is more compact than the original and uses fewer specialized pieces. Astrid, one of the Creator designers, has said that 4993 is one of her favorite sets. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one who designed this car. I had to look closely at the Hillside House before I understood what the name means. The sloping landscape is really clever. The house probably rests on an old fashioned basebrick with plates attached to the sides to create the gentle slope. The car port is a nice change from a typical garage setup. I'm dying to get a closer look at the barbecue grill in the corner. The alternate builds for the Lighthouse Island have piqued my curiosity. I didn't notice the light brick logo till now. Of course, it makes perfect sense that a lighthouse set should to have a light brick.

Thanks for the great scans of the cards. They certainly came up with some goofy game mechanics. It's interesting to see that there is a clip on the back side of the ninja hood so that they can carry a weapon on their back.

Do you think it would be worthwhile for future sets to include hairpieces for the ninjas? After all, the ninjas don't wear their hoods when they aren't fighting.

Ninjago is shaping up to be a hybrid between an action theme and an action figure theme. The traditional price per piece ratio tends to break down when you look action figure themes like Hero Factory. In action figure themes, the building experience takes a back seat to playing with the completed models. In the end, you have to decide whether or not you want to buy Ninjago sets to play the spinner game because that is what TLG is trying to sell to kids.

I was also surprised when I came out of my dark ages this year. The Technic beams completely changed Technic on a fundamental level. A lot of functionality found today wouldn't be possible with the classic Technic bricks because of their weight and dimensions. The curved styling elements in Technic sets were also foreign to me. One trend that I've noticed in current set design is the heavy use of clip+bar constructions to create hinges. I'm surprised by how often it is used. For the future, I suspect that TLG is working on finding a way to redesign the headlight brick. A versatile piece that has a long history of use, headlight bricks are unfortunately prone to cracking because they have points of structural weakness. Many sets now prefer to use the sturdier 1x1 brick with stud on the side wherever possible.

@Oky: I thought it was cool that a pirate microfig wore a full size admiral's hat in the game 3848 Pirate Plank.

It's funny that you should mention this because Hasbro and TLG are competing in a different toy category. The LEGO Games theme has been doing fairly well and encroaches upon Hasbro's territory. I suspect that Hasbro's U-Build line was meant to counter this threat by leveraging the brand power of their famous games like Monopoly and Battleship. The intent is clear when you realize that some of the U-Build games use clone LEGO bricks. Unfortunately for Hasbro, the reception hasn't been favorable.

The bronze/copper axe blade looks great. It's good to know the black army helmet wasn't abandoned. It was just used in a spinner set instead.

It's a shame that the NinjaGo game uses tan radar dish instead of the new straw hat. I think Frog Rush is the best one of this wave. The game itself seems to have been inspired by Chinese checkers.

Moisture can condense in scratches on the surface of bricks. Unlike most liquids, water expands under normal freezing conditions. This puts stress on the plastic when it is cold and in a very fragile state. This alone usually isn't enough to cause damage unless the environment undergoes a lot of hot and cold temperature cycles. One of the factors is the speed of the temperature change. Fast changes in temperature creates more stress on any material because the core will expand/contract slower than the surface. That's why when you drop ice cubes in a glass of warm water, the ice cubes will sometimes crack due to a rapid temperature change. It is best to warm up pieces that have been out in the cold slowly. New, unopened sets are in little danger because they haven't been handled very much (no scratches) and are still in their sealed polybags (factory humidity). The air in the polybags also act as insulation, slowing down temperature changes with the bricks. The polybags play a part in making sure the pieces don't get damaged on the long trip from the factory to the retail stores. TLG can't afford to use temperature and humidity controlled shipping services.

I have a feeling that some of that stuff in the display are just preliminary builds. The fire dragon is too similar to the ice dragon. The earth dragon's green fins look awkward. The monster truck looks too messy for a final design. TLG doesn't mind exposed studs as long as the overall shape is pleasing to the eye. The wing pieces at the corners of the fire temple roof don't neatly cover the gaps. The roof itself doesn't capture the ridges you get with a tile roof.

For me, this set would've been perfect if Neptune's pieces of armor actually matched. Despite this minor flaw, it is a really great set with a lot of interesting pieces and play features. I think the sea monster actually has more in common with a lobster than a crab if the shape of the tail is any indication. I wonder if the sticker sheet is hinting at the possibility of Atlanteans with mermaid tails appearing in future sets. It would be a good excuse to bring back that mold in new colors.

Does that brown brick have vertical grooves on one side and horizontal grooves on the opposite side?

The lack of cards for a set which supposedly has an exclusive dragon ninja and spinner is puzzling.

I bought this set last week and I am very pleased with it. Unlike the main model, the alternate models do have a little furniture on the interiors. One odd thing about this set is that there isn't a window pane for the small attic window in the main model. It isn't a big deal but it would've been nice for it to have one.

Impressive! I think people tend to undervalue the usefulness of pink bricks.

All I know is that nobody is willing to pay the huge markup for the LEGO Board Game 3862 Harry Potter Hogwarts at Toys R Us. The MSRP is $29.99 but Toys R Us is trying to sell it for $39.99 just because it has the Harry Potter branding. That amounts to a markup of about 33%. Whoever at Toys R Us thought this was a good idea is clearly off their medication.