The Middleman

You can thank MP3 players, computers, the Internet and video games for that. I have a 20GB iPod with portable speakers, a homemade rig with top specs, broadband internet, and I'm friends with the developers/publishers of several top-of-the-notch games. I still have over 300 LEGO sets, growing fast. Don't blame technology. ;)

From a marketing perspective, it's a smart move. Assuming that they knew about the color change, and knowing that the sandcrawler is mostly brown, they probably decided (wisely) that releasing it in 2005 would be smart. Think about it; half the appeal would be for the coolness of a Star Wars set, and half the appeal would be for the first REAL new brown parts-pack. This would make it attractive to the mainstream LEGO market as well. ;)

They're not flesh-tone? Only licensed characters get flesh tones, btw.

Well that is what the Santa Fe & BNSF line was for right??? Something more generic, not a specific train. Generic train for my generic City. :) Lego is about biulding, you should come up with your own ideas and biuld on them... yadda yadda yadda.... When it comes to most lines, you're absolutely right. But I just get this great vibe from the City sets, and they look awesome displayed. :)

Well that is what the Santa Fe & BNSF line was for right??? Something more generic, not a specific train. Generic train for my generic City. :)

I ordered all my Construction sets, and so far only the Street Sweeper has shipped. Note the note on the XXL Mobile Crane: 'Pre-order now, will ship by Feb. 11th' :|

The old ones were cooler, these new Technic ones are meh.

Watch what you say about American kids. ;) Why did they get rid of the old shooting cannons, anyway?

I'm the ominous kid of the school, 6' 2", 200 lbs., black leather jacket, etc. People always seem very surprised when I start talking about LEGO. :P

Yeah, I went to two Wal-Marts in Raleigh, nothing. No deals. And no JSF&VD.

And seriously, what are they REALLY going to put on the inside? There isn't much. Not $150 worth of stuff.

I prefer the old swords as well. The old cutlasses were the best-designed swords, in my opinion.

Obviously, but they can't make it THAT huge. That's like half the star destroyer!

How can a Sandcrawler be 1500 pieces, if not with some extras?

I think we should get: 4x Jawa 4x Generic Droid 1x R2-D2 1x C-3PO 1x Luke 1x Obi-Wan 1x Lars Homestead 1x Landspeeder 1x Sandcrawler (duh)

At $150, we should. :oo

Partially because BZPower linked to you and partially because I linked to you personally at Mugglenet.com in the comments on the new LEGOs. ;)

Are we SURE the shields are sticker'd?

Did you guys just make those figs out of pixels, or is there a generator?

As long as they're kept within close range of each other, sequels are good. Sequels decades later aren't. Pocahontas, Snow White, every other Disney movie under the sun, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, etc. Good ones including Spiderman 2 and Shrek 2, for example.

I'm not that great at counting figs, but I'll take your word for it. Thanks sam! Too bad they didn't do Construction closeups. Oh well, I'll get some pics for you guys when mine arrive. :)

I see five minifigs on the Viking longboat. I hope we get more than that. :/ Agreed, that little bird thing is dumb. Sam, are you sure they're stickers? As for the catapult, you pull back a piece, and it releases and fires. For the big one, at least. Check out the KK2 stuff. Apparently this is the 'things that fly fast and hurt' year for LEGO.

WOW! GIANT VIKINGS! http://festum.de/1000steine/myimages/album...um385/Messe_052 Guess the Viking got a hit. ;) I like those multiple-missile-launching catapults. The play value on these things is awesome!

AWESOME! THANKS, MR. BIONICLE!

LEGO Star Wars display at the Mall of America had skeletons in front of its Lars homestead.