Lyichir

You've still got a ways to go. (So do I, but I've gotten about as far as I think I can without having instructions and/or better pics/video of the undercarriage)

Interesting! Will this be the first time that new functionality will be added to an already-released figure?

Farran is constantly getting the short end of the stick when it comes to clothing and accessories. One Elves set I'd like to see would be some sort of clothing/equipment store... maybe that'd be an opportunity to finally release some outfits for Farran.

What does the disguise ability do, specifically? It wouldn't be that surprising if Chase McCain had that or a similar ability as well, considering wearing various disguises was a big part of Lego City Undercover.

Just wanted to point out that the main license plate isn't the only one with a designer reference—the Melbourne plates with "MEL-156" probably reference Mel Caddick, a Creator designer from Melbourne whose birthday is today (June 15, or 15/6 as abbreviated in many countries including Australia).

I would probably consider Nadakhan my favorite Ninjago villain fig. Between the extra-long torso and ghost tail, he's hugely tall, and packed with detail.

Great trailer! And it looks like it won't be getting just multiplayer, but also a fair number of other new features aimed at making that kind of gameplay more interesting (at least, I think things like the paint cannons and such are new).

Very nice! The flames are a great touch—perhaps I ought to consider some sort of similar ornamentation for my own mask pedestals, which are similar to these but have fewer added details on top.

When you try to actually dive into a body of water with the Wicked Witch, she automatically gets on her broomstick to avoid doing so. There might be some waterfalls or similar features where you could possibly get around that limitation, though, and I'm not sure what'd happen in that case.

Is that the case? That's surprising... I had been under the impression that ambassadors were no longer allowed to participate in NDAs. I guess they reversed that decision?

It's also a very simple song that can be properly represented with just a couple of notes; probably an essential consideration since it has to fit and be easily readable on such a small tile.

I would like to point out that we haven't been "guaranteed" anything. While I would love to see Bionicle to continue (and what we will or won't be getting in 2017 is still an open question), an initial three-year plan in no way a guarantee that the theme will in fact last that long. Just like how a theme can be extended if it proves to be successful, it could just as easily be ended prematurely if sales are truly abysmal. Nothing is set in stone.

Lego didn't copy any of those, though—they (in tandem the people who proposed them to Ideas) came up with their own, vastly superior designs. I mean, that Yellow Submarine in particular is atrocious, and that TARDIS is hard to even consider a building toy with all the prefab parts it uses—is it any wonder that people who are fans of those properties would not be satisfied with that garbage and would want Lego to attempt to do better? In the end, the only difference between a licensed proposal and a model like the Saturn V, or Big Ben, or any number of City, Creator, and Technic sets is that instead of being based on real life subjects, licensed proposals are based on subjects from specific media. There's still any number of ways to actually design and build those subjects, and that's where the actual creativity and skill is involved—anyone can point a finger at a real-life or media icon and say "I want Lego to make that", but what makes an Ideas proposal successful is that the builder actually puts thought and effort into HOW it can be done. EDIT: Somehow missed the last page with other people's thorough refutations, so I guess this is a bit like beating a dead horse. Ah well.

Personally I interpreted that as more cursed water from the shadow fountain, though that carries with it its own implications... like she's a junkie who periodically needs to get her fix.

Great review so far! I adore all the little details in this set. Can't wait to see the rest!

Hm, I guess that's technically true for some years... but then, it's a somewhat special case, since it's a MASSIVE licensed franchise. Star Wars could almost be considered to be equivalent to multiple interconnected themes, with separate release schedules for multiple product categories (for instance, the constraction figures release on their own schedule, and each new movie release brings with it its own wave of sets, often separate from the main summer and winter releases). The same wouldn't really happen with an in-house IP like Elves. What media Elves does get is scheduled to tie in with and support set releases, rather than the set release schedule itself having to be reworked to tie in with a pre-scheduled movie release.

That's hardly fair. Lego has done and continues to do plenty of original themes and subjects, but just because a franchise has been covered by another clone brand (incredibly poorly, in the above three cases) doesn't mean those same franchises should be off-limits to Lego. Heck, the Saturn V rocket itself has been the subject of a ridiculous number of toys, including building toys, since it was in use—does that mean that Lego is being unoriginal by producing a set of that?

Lucky people. The sets don't come out in the U.S. until August, so I've had to make do with building them on LDD. Can't wait to see pictures!

This might be slightly off-topic, but one of the new franchises announced for the second year of Dimensions packs is Lego City Undercover! Personally, I hope this means we might get figs of characters from the original game who were never released in sets, most notably Rex Fury. There are also story packs that feature multiple story levels now, as well—if Lego City Undercover gets one of those then it could possibly include several recent City subthemes that weren't in the original game, including Arctic, Deep Sea, and Volcano Explorers.

LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER!!! While I'm disappointed that there aren't more original Lego IPs on the list, I have been hoping for this franchise in particular for a long time. I wonder what exactly we'll get. A team pack with Chase McCain and Rex Fury would be awesome, but so would a story pack that could conceivably include levels based on recent City subthemes like Arctic, Volcano, and Deep Sea Explorers.

I can't think of a single theme that gets three full waves per year, save for "impulse" themes like CMFs and Mixels. So I certainly doubt any such thing was ever planned for Elves. Also, there really haven't been any eight-month waits, have there? The spring wave released worldwide in March and the summer wave releases worldwide in August. That's five months—not at all an atypical release schedule for your average biannually-released theme.

Having made good use of the silver chestplates on Gali and Lewa in a 2016 Wairuha MOC, I almost wish Onua's chestplate HAD been gold. While the black chestplate definitely looks good on him, having two chestplates in matching colors would definitely make it easier to balance a 2016 Akamai's color scheme.

Umarak isn't a perfect figure but he is a good one, a worthy successor to past "titan" sets. You mentioned in your review that there's no easy way to activate the snapping claws, but I think that's what the Bohrok eyes on the underside are for—they provide a decent "lever" for manipulating the claws without actually having to reposition the fingers themselves.

Ekimu elicited the biggest "meh" from me at Toy Fair, but while he doesn't bring a lot new to the table, he turned out to be an exceptionally solid figure. The few new parts and recolors he does have look fantastic, and the dual gear functions definitely help to make up for the loss of both of his weapon functions from last year.

Storm Beast is definitely my favorite of the three beasts. He has a fantastic color scheme and an original and highly effective function. While his shadow trap doesn't serve well to grip a mask, the same applies to the other two beasts as well, and Storm Beast makes up for it with highly posable claws. As far as I'm concerned, there's no contest.