Lyichir

There have been two phantom ninjas in the books, both being distinct characters from one another. And as far as I'm aware neither the graphic novels nor the chapter books are any more canon than the other—neither is "as canon" as the show itself. The reason everyone has been referring to the one from the graphic novel is that visually, the one on the screen in the Samurai X Cave matches that specific character design, whereas there has never been any visual depiction of the one from the original chapter books.

I think a part of Leia's scarcity is what sort of scenes she appeared in in the movies. She's never really been the pilot of a single-person vehicle besides the speeder bikes in RotJ (and those tend to be mostly packaged with other larger scenes and vehicles these days). That alone limits the types of sets she can fit into to larger vehicles (like the Millennium Falcon and Jabba's Sail Barge) and the relatively scarce setting-based sets (most of which, like the Ewok Village, Death Star, and Jabba's Palace, are fairly large themselves). It might be that for Leia to show up more, there need to be more sets based on partial settings rather than full ones—for instance, a set based on the trash compactor or cellblock from ANH or perhaps some other small sets based on sections of Cloud City.

We're only about two or so weeks away from E3. It's not that unusual to start teasing the announcement around now, while saving the more concrete details (such as the physical packs, full list of upcoming sets, and gameplay footage) for the event itself.

Not all of the conveniences like stability and playability are just for kids. A lot of adults value those things too—including new customers who might be drawn in by a new license. Even though those sorts of customers are often adults, their building level isn't necessarily going to be the same as your average AFOL, so they're definitely not going to want something that'll fall apart easily or be a huge challenge to build. Beyond that, there is one other very good reason why we don't see gigantic sets coming out of Lego Ideas. Normal Lego sets are generally developed on a much longer timetable than Ideas projects are, and Lego's factories are already scheduled far in advance to be working at close to full capacity. Because Ideas sets are not necessarily planned as far in advance, their production needs to be squeezed into an already tight schedule, and that's much harder to do with a large $100 set than with the $30–$50 sets that normally pass review. Not necessarily impossible, but certainly much more challenging.

Oh shoot, that was pretty obvious. How did I misinterpret that? My bad.

Yeah, the Ultimate versions of the lava monsters all have at least something to make them unique compared to the standard varieties. Ultimate Beast Master has different legs with Globlin-patterned kneepads. Ultimate Lavaria has a different torso with glowing orange cracks in her breastplate. Ultimate General Magmar has a different torso and legs. And Ultimate Flama is almost completely unique, with a torso, head, and ghost tail in more yellowish shades. Additionally, the stone "shields of absorption" haven't appeared in any other sets besides the Ultimate sets. I'm still kind of on the fence about the ultimate villain sets. Even though they're all unique, they're less obviously so than the knights, and with so many other sets on my wish list those sets end up as a lower priority. I might still end up getting them before the year is up, though.

I believe the U.S. is also getting new Nexo Knights in June... Ninjago and Elves are both August releases, though.

Maybe it's been changed, but I was sure I remembered it being like that right after the introduction of Cuusoo brick...

It's not impossible for those characters to show up in other sets at some point. Green Arrow was once released as a Comic-Con exclusive figure, but later got released in sets as a different variant. The same could easily happen for some of those other characters. There's the question of whether that WOULD happen (considering that, for instance, Phoenix would be most likely to appear in an X-Men set, which are few and far between, while some of those other characters are B-list at best). But then, that question would apply even if those characters hadn't been released as exclusives.

1. No. 2. Probably not. I'm not necessarily opposed to buying a MOC, but I rarely seek that kind of thing. And Bricklink's MOC shop in particular leaves a sour taste in my mouth after Bricklink's sleazy move to use the old lego.cuusoo.com url to redirect to their own offshoot of the MOC shop after Lego Ideas migrated to ideas.lego.com. 3. N/A

"Incredible" in the context of a promotional giveaway. In my eyes, it accomplishes what it sets out to do (that is, to recreate the look and feel of some of those classic castle builds using modern parts), much better than last year's Pirates version did (which fit in fine with the other Pirates sets that year but had hardly anything in common visually with the yellow beaches and hinged palm trees of my childhood). I am no newbie to classic castle and grew up on factions like Wolfpack, Royal Knights, Dragon Masters, and Fright Knights, but I'd never give up the fantastic designs of modern sets to go back to those days. And I'd certainly never want to give up the bluish greys for the old greys, which always looked dingy and ugly compared to the richness and brightness of other Lego colors.

Changing the gearing would be one way to slow it down. Alternatively, my family connected the motor to the battery box through an IR receiver and used an IR speed controller from a train set to control the speed, which allows it to rotate slower than it does with the motor connected directly to the battery box.

The former idea doesn't hold water because Lego's entire presence at these conventions is devoted to promoting their existing themes, and the giveaways are meant to tie in with that. The latter is something Lego COULD do (and has done in some specific cases) but applied across the board would probably not be nearly as effective when it comes to promoting their booth—such items would be far less desirable for the average congoer because unlike the exclusive figs, which retain their value as a keepsake for those lucky enough to get them, figs due for release in ordinary sets would actually DECREASE in value after the sets they appear in are released, collectible packaging or no collectible packaging. And keep in mind that while early access to a fig might be quite a special privilege in a vacuum, with Lego's competition (including Hasbro and Mattel) offering exclusive items of their own at those events, it's in Lego's best interest to at least match their ante. And beyond all that, events like SDCC can occasionally be Lego's ONLY way to market certain niche characters from themes like Super Heroes to an appreciative audience. We'd probably never have gotten a fig like Batman of Zur-En-Arrh in any actual set release, considering what an obscure character variant he is. But he's the perfect sort of giveaway for an audience of die-hard comics fans, for whom the character's obscurity is an asset rather than a flaw.

Anyone with insight into the color? I'd kind of be interested to see it done in a rarer color, like Cool Yellow or Dark/Medium Azur. But a more common color would be fine too, assuming the model itself is impressive enough for it. I do hope that this set is like the camper van and Mini Cooper in being less "blocky" than the last Beetle set. That set was decent for its time but I'm sure Lego could do better with modern parts like curved slopes.

It's a limited edition promotional set that's offered free-with-purchase—Lego expects to sell through their entire stock one way or another. So if you think there's any way that demand for this set could be used by Lego to gauge demand for traditional Castle, you're sadly mistaken. Not to mention the fact that this set's appeal and Nexo Knights' appeal are not mutually exclusive—I expect a lot of families and even some AFOLs will even qualify for this set using Nexo Knights purchases. So even if the set sells out within the first week and Lego customer service gets flooded with calls and emails requesting the set, it still wouldn't be a reliable indicator that there's anything wrong with Lego's current strategy for Castle.

More livable detail. Most Castle sets are militarized to the point that there is no dedicated space for the knights or royal family to eat or even sleep. I understand that action play is important for kids, but so is a variety of different play scenarios—not just sieges but also banquets, fairs, and a chance for weary knights to actually relax. Themes like Elves, Ninjago, and yes, even Nexo Knights routinely include more creature comforts than dedicated Castle themes have, and whenever we see another dedicated Castle theme I'd like to see that change.

It's not necessarily the case that there's no chance of a Takanuva set, but there is very little chance of this question being answered whether or not a Takanuva is planned (considering Lego Designers are required to be tight-lipped about unannounced sets).

If they did that he'd most likely be a "preview fig" like Azog, rather than an exclusive like Bizarro. After all, Luke will presumably be a key character in Episode VIII, and very possibly wear the same costume he wore at the end of TFA.

Why on earth do you think changing the visual style to be built out of Lego would ward anyone off? I can't imagine there are many fans of the show who actively dislike Lego or think a more accurate style would be reason enough not to watch the movie.

Steven Universe is one of my favorite shows, but I don't know how well-suited it'd be for a full theme. There are plenty of monsters and things that would be interesting builds, but a large part of the series is also about celebrating the quaintness of Beach City and humans in general—far more mundane subject matter than you generally see in your typical licensed theme. Also, the amazing diversity of body types in the series might make figures difficult—I can't really picture a rail-thin character like Pearl as a short and stocky minifigure, and conversely, mini-dolls don't have enough variety for shorter or bulkier characters like Amethyst and Steven. That said, brick-built characters could be a good candidate for an Ideas project, and Lego Dimensions might even offer an avenue to get minifigure characters!

I'm amazed by all the negativity we're seeing here, not only before the set is actually released but before any full reviews have even been published. Apparently it doesn't take a lot to sway public opinion... Having helped my little brother build the set for his review, I have to say it's quite satisfying. Mind you, I'm not a diehard Technic builder by any means, but I found the turning radius to be sufficient and am in awe of the intricacy of the transmission and paddle shifters. It's a heck of a lot more complex and interesting than any other large Technic set I've built over the years—plenty "ultimate" for my taste. Oh, and for 1974's sake, the box is gorgeous and sturdy, on par with Ideas sets. The only thing any '80s boxes had over it were flaps and windows, which are a totally impractical feature these days when theft of special parts is common and large expensive sets like this are often wrapped in a security device in most stores anyway.

Regarding the question of what classic set we might see next year, there are a lot of possibilities. Town, Western... even Ninja. The latter would tie in fairly well with the Ninjago movie due out next fall. Then again, we don't know what other themes will be out next year... perhaps with Nexo Knights being the "castle theme" and seemingly no licensed counterpart on the horizon, Lego might do a new Western theme like last year's Pirates theme. Who knows?

Rubbing the dragon symbol off feels a little like overkill—you could just as easily use an armor piece that just covers it up, like the one from the Silver Centurion.

It's nice, but it feels a little ordinary for Benny. I feel like both the building and car use some more space motifs—perhaps you could add solar panels, a radar dish, and/or some antennas to the roof. And for the car, maybe some bulky moon rover-like tires? I'm not saying you need to make it into a traditional space MOC or anything like that, but I think it could all still stand to be a little more quirky and spacey.

I know the TV show has had pigs and cows. I can't remember if there have been chickens, though. It probably doesn't matter, since if we did get sort of farm or village set I would be surprised if the specific animals that had appeared in the show would be a huge consideration as to whether they could be included in the set.