Lyichir

I would be surprised if it wasn't, since as a Creator 3-in-1 model removing it would require removing its parts from all three models.

Remember that these are preliminary. Things like box backgrounds are easy to change to make it more clear what's part of the set and what isn't.

Galidor. If you're intent on making something live-action why not go with something that started out that way?

Oh? Good to know! Hopefully support continues to expand.

This is great! Flexible parts are one area that I've frequently found fall short in a lot of digital building programs (even on LDD it's one of the buggiest and least user-friendly tools to use, and many programs like Stud.io don't support it at all). This looks like one of the most advanced implementations yet—will have to try it for myself at some point in the near future.

For the most part I don't think those sorts of things would be any more practical than full-size sets revolving around those themes. Xtra sets are generally small packs of fairly common (or at least, not new) parts, whereas most of the things you mention would require not only new prints and/or molds, but would have to have higher prices to compensate for those new parts since they wouldn't be shared by other sets or offset by a quantity of common parts more typical for a non minifigure-focused set. Now, accessory packs would be another story. It would be great if Xtra moved beyond the ordinary sort of "City" subject matter in the packs we've gotten so far and have packs themed around other subject matter such as Pirates, Castle, or Space. These still would most likely focus on existing parts, but could be a great asset for kids who want to accessorize their figs and builds or possibly even for adult army builders. For that matter, an Xtra sticker pack like the one that came out recently but focused on something like Space or Castle could also be neat—while AFOLs often abhor stickers, just imagine a Space sticker pack that featured some common parts for decorations (slopes, tail fins, tiles, etc.) along with stickers of faction logos, control panels, and more. Or a Castle sticker pack that featured some common parts like flags, banners, and shields as well as stickers to decorate them with heraldry.

I can definitely see that printed windscreen becoming popular in Space MOCs. Shame that I don't see a ton of other useful new space parts or recolors in the set (unlike, say, Watchpoint Gibraltar, which was chock full of interesting new wedge pieces).

To be honest, I don't know how much potential a Stranger things CMF series would have... apart from the "monsters", the series tends to focus on a relatively small cast of characters, most of whom have a fairly grounded, "normal" aesthetic. If the rumors of a Stranger Things set are true (and there's reason to be skeptical), I don't see why the majority of the core cast couldn't be represented in a single set, or failing that, a follow-up set if the initial set's sales were successful.

Lego designers have talked in the past about the issues pitching steampunk to kids—oftentimes young kids don't have a frame of reference for the particular Victorian time period that steampunk technology is inspired by. As such, it's unsurprising that most of the times that a "steampunk" aesthetic has found its way into sets it has been in a non-"generic" context—in themes like Ninjago or Elves that already have a vibrant setting and cast of characters that appeal to kids.

Honestly I don't see why the theme would have to move past ghosts. Ghosts fit best with the "invisible enemy" gameplay of the app, and in terms of figs the possessed minifigs show a lot of variety (with the potential to represent lots of types of "citizens" and ghostly accessories that already include wings and tentacles and could potentially expand even further to offer even greater variety). In terms of future sets, I could see the flagship set of a future wave being something like a haunted hotel or fairground (the latter of which could feature all sorts of interesting figs).

Beyond that being a lot of new parts for pretty specific situations (which as mentioned above, could probably be avoided entirely by changing the build in most cases), many of them look like they'd be awfully fragile. The yellow and blue ones in particular seem like they'd snap under pressure, which is a big no-no for Technic parts.

I think the "absence" you're seeing has more to do with looking for sets that are analogous to a theme that, for better or for worse, isn't directly represented in Lego's current portfolio. The Star Wars theme in particular HAS tended to emphasize bigger sets over time, partly out of a push toward greater accuracy in scale and detail. But there are plenty of other sets that seem comparable to what you're describing. Like, the aspects of the sets you describe (even the rebuilding aspect, which is omnipresent in Lego but rarely as explicit in its inclusion as in older sets) are all featured in this year's Rex's Rextreme Offroader from the Lego Movie 2 theme and Futuristic Flyer from the Creator theme. And outside of the realm of sci-fi, themes like Ninjago, Speed Champions, and City offer plenty of sets in that same general range of part count and price.

Keep in mind that the continuation of the franchise isn't necessarily an all-or-nothing thing. If the merch sales are strong and Lego wants to continue the franchise, the movies are still popular enough that Warner Bros. is likely to be willing go along with it—just probably with a lower budget than this particular installment (which, keep in mind, had a much larger budget than the first Lego Movie).

The bricks don't have any sort of code—they're ordinary bricks. It looks like the app recognizes the model through both its general silhouette and color scheme as well as more brightly colored bricks as "markers" that change modes in the app or let the app recognize hidden features. That said, I don't really see any sort of ethical issue, any more than I would with putting together a regular set from parts instead of buying the set itself. If you're willing to go through the trouble, more power to you—but in general buying a set itself is easier and cheaper than having to order the parts (some of which might be rare or exclusive to a given set) individually. Personally I see this a lot differently from Lego Fusion, which generally blended a sub-par "game" with a sub-par building experience—so pretty much the worst of both worlds. This, on the other hand, seems to offer a game that looks at least as interesting as many of Lego's other promotional app games, and sets that don't seem to have their aesthetics, functionality, or complexity compromised for the sake of the augmented reality game.

I doubt it will be a set too (mostly because unlike most of the sets it's pretty much straight DC Super Heroes subject matter instead of an original vehicle or one that has been "rebuilt" like the Apocalypseburg vehicles). But if it were to be a set, it'd probably be reduced in scale anyway—perhaps using the UCS Snowspeeder windscreen in place of that brick-built one.

It's an interesting phenomenon for sure. I actually was recently trying to think about how a Bionicle movie could best feature a metanarrative like those of the previous Lego cinematic movies, and thought this could be a neat inspiration. The Toa could wash up to a real island in canisters like in the original storyline, and become part of the play experience of a local who considers them "heroes" who have arrived to save the "infected" creatures and villagers assembled from parts that had washed up after being completely exposed to the elements. Of course, I doubt Lego would go for a storyline like this even if they were interested in doing such a movie since it associates them so closely with plastics being washed out to sea, which we now better understand the environmental impact of.

This is really well done!

I would hesitate to make finalized judgment based on those pictures alone because they're from preliminary boxart with renders of the set instead of photographs. I'm not totally familiar with train parts so can't tell for sure—do the pictures and video from this article lead you to the same conclusion?

Which music in particular? The music is divided between a soundtrack and score album, and the only parts I noticed being missing is a portion of the credits song as well as some of the licensed music from the movie (the latter of which I don't mind since I felt like the Lego Batman Movie soundtrack's inclusion of music that wasn't written for the movie tended to take me out of it when listening casually).

So far it doesn't look like it. Which is a huge shame—I had hoped that this movie would present the opportunity for a book or books that included not just the concept material from the sequel but also concepts, graphics, and production art for the original Lego movie, which likewise didn't get any sort of artbook along those lines.

I've seen plenty of Lego store modular MOCs, including on Lego Ideas, but usually they aren't based explicitly on a particular flagship store like this one (and thus have to make more improvisations to convert the typical Lego store layout to a full building's worth of content). This one does a great job of capturing the feel of the Leicester Square store even while taking some liberties with the layout to make it fit as a normal 32x32 corner modular.

As they said at Toy Fair, they'd love to do that, but the technology isn't there yet—the kind of integration these sets offer so far relies pretty heavily on having enough pre-programmed forms and markers for the app to recognize and identify. I'm hoping that if this theme lasts multiple years they might be able to continue to work in that direction—if not to the point of allowing for MOCs, then perhaps at least programming in alternate or combo builds of sets that can be recognized just like the base model.

Great MOC, and I love the interior! I wonder, though, if for the decorative birds outside there were a way to use this piece?

Why are people assuming something related to space? "Aerospace", to me, suggests some sort of plane, which I feel would be pretty nice since we haven't had a Creator Expert plane since 2012's Sopwith Camel.