Lyichir

UK film ratings often befuddle me as an American. Over here it was PG-13 (Same as The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman V. Superman, and Justice League). I don't totally mind the fig if it is in fact in the sets, since it's a minor reference and the costume suits the post-apoc setting reasonably well. That said, if it turns out they're having Margot Robbie voice her instead of Jenny Slate, as was rumored on IMDB, it'll be a bit of a bummer since I prefer the sort of oddball casting from the earlier movies. I'm similarly a bit miffed about Jason Momoa voicing Aquaman, but hold out hopes that the movie might still approach the character in a campier, more "classic" manner than he did in the live action DCCU.

I think that's ascribing a bit too much of a profit-driven motive to the decision. While, yes, designers try to make sure each set offers something new in terms of molds and recolors, they also have good reason beyond pure business to WANT to include more recent molds. After all, parts that weren't available for the previous set in a series open up new opportunities for designers as well as for MOCists, and it's in designers' interests to take advantage of those opportunities to provide a novel building experience that hasn't already been satisfied by earlier models. This new garage, for its part, makes a lot of use of both the 1x1 rounded plate and the 1x1 "peaked roof" tile to make its unique angled walls work.

This MOC just reminds me how much I hate the "chrome everything" approach to MOCing. For physical MOCs, it usually strikes me as a bit excessive—for digital ones like this it goes beyond that to just plain deceptive, since not only is the number of chromed ABS parts excessive (especially considering Lego tends to avoid chroming parts without a mold expressly designed to allow for the coating process), there's no way that flexible parts like flex cable and tires could be chromed like that.

See, this kind of thing is just a shitty thing to say, regardless of who designed the set. If you wouldn't tell the designer that to their face, maybe second guess whether it's an okay thing to say about them without even knowing who they are. The decorative brick pattern to me looks quite authentic to the sort of American architectural landscape you might see a gas station like this in.

At this point I really shouldn't be surprised by how much negativity surrounds this set (since AFOLs always find something to complain about), but nevertheless it still stuns me. This is an amazing building that has a completely novel look compared to previous corner buildings and implements all sorts of awesome new techniques (especially the angled facade using the new rounded 1x2 plate), yet once more I've seen people insulting the designers' skill or saying it looks like the almost universally simpler Creator 3-in-1 sets. Whatever... I'll enjoy it.

Both of the recent Black Friday rereleases (Taj Mahal and Vestas Wind Turbine) have been in ten year anniversary years. So if Lego chooses to do something similar for Black Friday of next year, I think the Emerald Night would be the strongest contender. It's a widely beloved 2009 set that doesn't rely on retired molds (at least, not ones that haven't been replaced by lookalikes). And the alternatives would be a modular building (which they've never done rereleases of), the Winter Village Toy Shop (which has already been rereleased semi-recently), or the Grand Carousel (which has recently been supplanted by a newer, better carousel set).

Again, it's a matter of different things for different audiences. The real die-hard Space fans are the ones who are going to want to amass large quantities of the set. But most buyers will just be buying just one copy of the set for all the named characters it contains, including Benny himself. While yes, this means that a lot of army builders are going to want to offload their excess Bennys, that's not really going to STOP them from buying up packs just for the other three figs. So replacing Benny would really just constitute satisfying a smaller audience who would buy the set anyway at the expense of a larger one that might need that extra incentive.

I would agree with Aanchir—I think for a lot of kids these figs and The Lego Movie might well be their first exposure to the classic space theme, and as such I think their initial interest will come less from nostalgia or aesthetic preference so much as from their association with a charismatic, zany character like Benny. That said, I'm sure that for a few that interest in the character might lead to greater interest in the retro classic space aesthetic and legacy as a whole. Just don't be disappointed if this set doesn't immediately lead to some sort of grand classic space renaissance.

While the color-based roles aren't really a universal interpretation of why the colors are the way they are, according to that system I would personally categorize the pink ones in a role like medical professionals (an important sort of role for a long-term space colony that is probably more specific than the mission-based scientific research the yellow ones might specialize in).

Ah, didn't realize that this Benny didn't have the classic smiley. The one from his first set appearance did. Kids had BETTER want that set because if not I don't see why Lego would bother making it at all. Smaller sets like this one are generally designed to sell in massive quantities to a wide audience, as a "gateway" to the larger and more expensive sets. I doubt army building by passionate Space fans alone would be enough to make up the difference in sales volume if kids didn't buy it. Conversely, I think having Benny in the set has a great chance of appealing to wider audiences. Kids don't necessarily have the same nostalgia for classic space but from what I've seen they LOVE Benny's oddball personality. And this set will still be the cheapest way to get him, despite two more expensive options existing. From a more cynical perspective, Lego has little to lose by adding Benny instead of a fourth new spaceman. AFOLs are going to stockpile it for the other three anyway. And from a more optimistic perspective—look on the bright side, it could have just been another Emmet.

Torso and helmet, maybe, but the head just has a classic smiley on one side, doesn't it? Don't see how that can't be recycled. As for who wants Benny himself: kids (the people who will probably buy the greatest quantity of this set overall). Not having a main character in the set wouldn't be great for the set's sales potential outside of nostalgic AFOLs and completionists.

Congratulations! You have successfully proven two things nobody on earth was disputing: that the creator of the Women of Nasa set is a feminist, and that feminists supported the project. However, you for some reason think that that is a bad thing (hint: it's not), or that it invalidates the project or its relevance to NASA (it doesn't). The whole point of Lego Ideas is to garner an audience that may not be being reached by Lego's existing products. So to point to feminists supporting a project like this is not some grand conspiracy—it is the realization of the Ideas program's core goals. And the fact that the Women of Nasa set became a bestseller proves that Lego's acceptance of the project was sound—they were not coerced into releasing it, as you claim, but realized what a potentially successful product the set would be (on top of the good PR it would provide). You might be surprised to learn that feminism is (gasp!) A GOOD THING. The equality of men and women is in fact something to be strived for. That pursuit includes educating the public about the "unsung heroines" of history whose achievements helped to push forward human progress despite systemic barriers that prevented them from getting their names as widely known as the men who became the "public face" of achievements like the moon landing. Could a more broadly focused set featuring male historical icons have the potential for success as well? Absolutely! But guess what? This project was the one up for consideration, not one featuring your idol von Braun, and its popularity upon release proves that there was no good reason for Lego NOT to approve it. So please do everyone here a favor and quit whining about the evil feminists bullying a poor defenseless toy company into taking their money.

What girl themes did you remember from the original? Because the way I remember it those sorts of themes were notably absent from the original, with the debatable exception of the Cloud Cuckoo Palace. I would argue that the new movie has a much better balance BETWEEN "boyish" and "girlish" subject matter, as exemplified best by Rex Dangervest's vehicles and the Systar System vehicles respectively.

I'm quite pleased that the Sky Police base uses the UCS Millennium Falcon cockpit cone for an air control tower! I had the idea of using that part for something like that when I first got the Trans. Light Blue ones from the Ninjago Movie Ice Tank, but it looks like Lego beat me to it!

Do you have any point of comparison for what sort of view count comparable trailers (i.e. ones several months ahead of a major children's movie's release) tend to have a week after their release? Because otherwise I wouldn't read much into this at all. As you mention, the YouTube view count doesn't include social media (which'll probably be where a sizeable portion of moviegoers are introduced to the trailer), and beyond that, it also doesn't include the views from the Black Friday-only stream of The Lego Movie that played as a YouTube ad. Given all that I wouldn't really ascribe much predictive value to an early view count on a single site.

Maybe, though I don’t think the rods can necessarily even be removed—they look to me more like they just telescope out, sort of like a lightsaber toy. Lego does offer more waterproof stickers that they use for floating boat hulls, but it’d probably still be a bad idea for them to use real water features—even if they used those for all of the fire sets (which’d most likely be more expensive than normal stickers), that might only confuse kids into thinking their OTHER sets’ stickers would be waterproof as well.

Or even people with local Lego stores! My family is often willing to drive an hour or so to the nearest Lego store for an in-store deal, but no way were we going to brave Northern Virginia traffic to visit a huge mall on one of the busiest and most hectic shopping days of the year. I’m hoping that aftermarket prices on this exclusive won’t be too extreme, and I’ll be able to pick this set up on eBay or Bricklink.

Names are correct. It’s a nice subversion, especially considering they’re all classic smiley figs with no real sexually identifying characteristics.

The introduction of a new, “unbroken” mold for the classic-style helmet does come with the not insignificant probability of being used more in the future, both in the Lego movie theme (which could potentially have more spacemen and women in the CMFs or the summer wave) and outside it (in the potential promos or other themes you mention). There have been plenty of Classic Space throwbacks over the years, and now future ones will no longer have to make do with the newer more rounded helmets.

My guess would be that it's a tattered post-apocalyptic look from earlier in the movie.

I imagine the reason the nose is like it is is that it's a Juniors/4+ set and as such the large wedge plates had to be used for most of the wing structure. But even then it's a remarkably faithful take on the Classic Space aesthetic, especially considering having to work with that limitation.

Classic Space Battle Pack

These look awesome (the latter set especially). An open-ended set for what seems like a pretty open-ended character.

Separators can make it easier to separate bricks but I've never seen anything to suggest that they increase or decrease the chance of scratching or breaking bricks than fingers. Teeth, on the other hand, have a pretty high likelihood of damaging parts, so I wouldn't recommend that.

New animal molds are a rarity for modulars... it's possible, but I'd personally consider a small animal like that more likely to come from a CMF series of some sort.