Lyichir

Was super-excited about the tire functionality when I saw it but trying it out for myself, that particular compatibility doesn't seem to be by design. The spinner rim is slightly wider than the type of wheel those tires are meant to fit, requiring you to stretch it a bit to fit into place.

https://twitter.com/AndrewBarnick/status/946785335563997184 So getting back on the subject of sets that are already out... the new spinners have some nifty Technic compatibility I wasn't expecting. I wonder if we might see these used as wheels or something in a future set.

Yeah, that part has already shown up in some of the new Nexo Knights sets, and I think Elves as well. Seems like it will be a very handy piece!

Yeah, while the movie may not have resonated with mass audiences to the same extent as the previous two Lego movies, I've seen little indication that that's reflected negatively on sales of the sets. I'm curious what the docks set will include. Two of the most obvious inclusions (the ninja's warehouse and a dock for the Destiny's Bounty) seem almost like too much to hope for, given the scale necessary for either. Granted, the former might be doable without actually fitting the mechs, or possibly only fitting one mech at a time—but even that seems a bit dubious. There are certainly plenty of other possible options, though.

I don't see why. If nothing else, mini-dolls are more compatible with regular minifigures (using the same hair and accessories, for starters). They're also intended for a much more similar audience, at least in terms of building level. Granted, it could also be cool to get Duplo parts in a regular set (it's happened only once before as far as I'm aware). Actually, come to think of it, a small part of me wonders if the Lego Friends redesigns might be meant (at least partially) to be in preparation for the Lego Movie Sequel.

Considering how little we've heard about that one whatsoever, I would hardly consider that particular release date set in stone. It could realistically get pushed back or even wind up cancelled entirely in the year and a half between now and the purported release date.

Wow, didn't realize quite how dynamic the function of Noctura's Tower would be! With the wings folded down pretty much the entire upper section of the tower is covered. Love that color scheme too (Aqua+Earth Blue+Cool Yellow+Bright Bluish Green).

Wouldn't that make more sense for an anniversary of the company as a whole, rather than an anniversary of the Lego brick?

I doubt it's the SAME treehouse, given that the map likely represents a different area of Elvendale... but yes, I would not be surprised if this new treehouse represents a new "home base" for the Elves. I'm actually quite curious where this year's map is supposed to go in relation to the others. Unlike previous versions of the map, there is a large body of water in the northwest, rather than the southeast.

On the one hand, the lack of buildings is a bit of a disappointment... but it's perhaps understandable given that from the looks of it a large part of the story doesn't actually take place in Elvendale (note the portals visible in the boxart of many of the sets). And I sort of appreciate the elemental guardian creatures all being available in the initial wave of sets, as opposed to some of them not being available until summer (as with the dragons in the second year of Elves or, for that matter, the dragons from the first year of Ninjago). I'm still sort of expecting some sort of castle structure that connects to Noctura's Tower in the summer wave, perhaps with low walls that connect to both sides of the tower. Beyond that I'm not sure what to expect. The boxart is not much help in figuring it out—the backdrop for the backs of the boxes is still the same goblin forest map from this year. A new "good guy" castle would be lovely—perhaps it could work in some of more white-heavy color scheme of the music school to help set it apart from Skyra's castle.

To be honest I'm not much of a City or Friends builder so apart from maybe dropping into those discussions due to their relevance for Lego as a whole (as the main two "real world" themes), my main interest in this forum is with the modulars (which I do collect as a fan). I also do try to look into the occasional MOC topic, though mostly when the subject matter grabs my attention. While a forum like that might make some degree of sense, I can't say I mind Elves (the main mini-doll theme I collect) occupying the action themes forum along with all the other great themes the Castle and Space forums say no to. Makes checking news on my favorite themes much, much easier when they're all in one place.

Not sure about that... most of them are designed to be inserted into an open stud or clip, meaning they would not be able to attach directly to wands (unless Lego were radically changing how wands were represented in the theme). There's also the fact that so far, those power blast parts seem to primarily come as a multi-pack... though of course, CMF parts often use different molds than the ones for regular sets, meaning that even though the full set is most likely molded together in the sets we've seen so far, it's possible that the CMFs could use separate, individual molds so as to only include the required parts.

Worth mentioning that it may be trickier than you make it sound since they don't seem to be typical "tiles"—there seems to be a 3.2 mm bar that extends about one plate's depth off the "square" end. Notice how they attach to the animals' heads, or the 1x1 round plates with holes behind them where they attach to the tower...

Nah, I think that's a separate programming issue—as far as I'm aware, studs with solid-colored parts attached to them are not rendered by default, which helps the program to render complete models easier... but sometimes causes issues when a part is attached only by that stud but the stud is visible anyway. Notice that changing the color of the tile to a transparent color makes the studs visible again. This issue doesn't seem to affect all such parts, though (for instance, studs underneath the roller skate piece seem to be rendered due to the gaps), indicating that exceptions to the rule seem to be able to be programmed in.

The high-tech anvil is very nifty! I still feel like it's a shame we never got more village-based sets—would've been cool to get some sort of "cyber-smith" or something like that.

It's definitely frustrating. I see people all the time complaining about digital MOCs because they aren't necessarily buildable in real life, but the same applies to some extent to "real-life" models that are glued or use other non-purist techniques. I wish instead of dismissing all digital models out of hand, they'd actually apply critical thought to whether or not they'd be buildable. After all, if a model would be overly large or absurdly fragile, it's usually not hard to tell that kind of thing at a glance, and the same applies to moderately-scaled and well-constructed MOCs. Personally, I tend to build a lot digitally merely out of convenience, since going back and forth from college I rarely have my full collection on hand. But I still like to adhere to the sorts of rules that would apply with physical building, and build physically when possible. If anything, the digital building is often more of a challenge (despite my proficiency with LDD), especially if I want to work with odd angles or functions that would actually work in real life.

Coming soon pages have been added to the U.S. Lego Shop for the new Elves sets! Not a ton of details that weren't already evident from the boxes and pictures, apart from the names of the smaller animals: Sebastian the bird and Calypso the baby turtle. 41193 is also described as an "amazing LEGO® Elves toy for girls and boys" in the product description. It's the only new Elves set described that way, but looking at other sets it looks like similar descriptions have been used for sets in themes like Friends and Ninjago in the past, which is a pleasant surprise!

The colored kendo masks are awesome, especially since I'd been hoping to see the other ninja get color-coded kendo masks since the Ninjago Movie Kendo Kai! Hopefully we get white, green, and... silver or azure, I guess (?), for Zane, Lloyd, and Nya, respectively.

Keep in mind that this is a tower, not a castle... and may even be meant to connect to a larger structure in the summer, based on the Technic pinholes on the sides.

^Yup, those are the same pictures I posted earlier from Lego.com (which can also be viewed on Brickset). There are even other alternate pictures besides the one in that video! Since I'm taking the time to comment, might as well add a few more observations from the pictures: The large animals are named Lumia (eagle in 41190/elf in 41193), Cory (turtle in 41191), Rowan (lion in 41192), Cyclo (wyvern in 41193), and Liska (fox in 41194). All of the animals feature a printed seat with the new "compass rose" emblem that appears throughout the sets. The four elemental animals also each feature a new "compass shard" element. Unfortunately, this part does not seem to be a conventional plate—rather, it seems to attach via a 3.2 mm bar on the back, which attaches to either the heads of the animals or 1x1 round studs with holes at the top of Noctura's tower. The bats' names are Vespe (Tr. Br. Green in 41190 and 41192), Furi (Tr. Fl. Green in 41191), Molo (Tr. Br. Bl. Violet in 41192 and 41194), Phyll (Tr. Medium Reddish Violet in 41193), and Hippo (Tr. Fl. Reddish Orange in 41194). The names for the small turtle in 41191 and the bird in 41193 are not listed on the boxes. All of the Elves get new outfits featuring armor, belts, and boots! Interestingly, Farran has exchanged his baggier pants for tighter ones (possibly to allow for more printed detail). The new villain, Noctura, features black and teal hair and a single, arm-length glove. The "compass shards" from the animals or her tower can also be attached to the "Dalek" brick on her staff. Lumia's elf form features white hair and a white and gold outfit Earth Blue boots. Her skin tone appears to be Nougat, a color midway between the one used for Azari, Rosalyn, and Tidus, the one used for the other Elves characters. She is the second mini-doll character to use this skin tone, after Olivia in the new Friends sets. All four main elf characters get new brick-built weapons. Naida gets a staff, Azari gets a hammer, Aira gets a bow, and Farran gets a shield. Aira's crossbow can be stored disassembled in a crate under the music school in 41193, and a separate crate hidden in the center of the smaller floating island contains a stickered instruction sheet for building it (hinting that the elves might all build these new weapons themselves). Little upside-down bat beds in 41190 and 41192! The cover of the book in 41190 is printed, but the one in 41194 doesn't seem to be. The page to the book in 41190 is hidden under the treasure chest, but it's unclear whether the one in 41194 has the same interior page, a separate printed page, or a stickered page. The music school in 41193 has a picture (stickered) of the bird (presumably the teacher) and a goblin. Possibly how Bieblin got his start? 41194 has plenty of neat features, including a potion-mixing cauldron, a comfy-looking chaise longue, a breakable balcony, and of course the main feature that raises the wings and head of the bat at the top of the tower. As I mentioned earlier, it also seems like it is designed to attach to a future set... All of the sets feature a portal in the boxart, which seems to lead to a separate world from Elvendale where Noctura and her bats seem to hail from.

I thought this too, until I remembered that Mount Cavora from Chima would technically beat it to the punch (though it only appeared as a physical build in the Legends of Chima game from the Lego Games theme).

Out of curiosity, what do you think would work better in such a final foe? I get that the new baddies are less fantasy-ish than previous ones (a bummer for non-sci-fi builders), but to be honest I think the new baddies provide a nice symmetry with the knights (now that they're facing evil tech-enhanced knights, squirebots, and a digital wizard), and I think going back to something more fantasy-ish as antagonists would kind of be at odds with the trajectory or arc the story has taken so far. Perhaps better to wrap the theme up with these baddies and start fresh with a more traditional Castle theme next year.

I just noticed that Noctura's Tower has Technic pinholes on the sides, possibly hinting at a future expansion! At first I thought it might connect with the modules from some of the other sets, but they don't seem to have the same sort of connection.

Big pictures of the new Elves sets from Lego's cache! I love the illustrations on the box art!

Isn't there still one Merlok power unaccounted for in the sets we've seen so far? That might point to some sort of exclusive set (if not a store exclusive, maybe a promo set or even a D2C). The alternatives are a full second wave with only one new Merlok power (doubtful) or that power not appearing in the sets but appearing on the back of the boxes anyway (maybe slightly more likely, but still sounds a little fishy).