Lyichir

We know about the smaller egg piece from these sets, but is it possible that the larger "dragon egg" piece from the 2015 Elves sets might find its way into this theme as well? I recently realized that while that piece has crystalline "facets", those seem to only be on the inside of the part, so if it were molded in a solid color like white it'd be able to pass for an ordinary egg. Now, I say this with the caveat that this is one of the themes I haven't seen any prelims for and know very little about. I have no idea whether the sets use that part or if there would be any use for larger eggs in this theme in the first place, but I figured I'd raise the possibility.

My list goes: Macy Axl Aaron Clay Lance

I don't know about that. While it could be cool, it's probably more likely to stick with the current characters, since fans have already formed a connection with them.

Oh my goodness, Bane's totally driving the Power Miners Thunder Driller.

It's a shame, but on the other hand one of the things I love about the shadow traps is how simple yet customizable they seem to be. Considering they all seem to be the same color, it wouldn't be that hard to whip up a custom one for an ice environment.

That's my fear. We've gotten so far behind that even a normal-sized update would leave us more than half a year out of date. As much as I hope that the lack of updates is partially because something big is coming, we don't have any real evidence that that's the case.

Where are you getting light grey armor add-ons from? There definitely aren't any such parts in the most up-to-date picture we've gotten. The only shells in the set are black and trans-purple, and the only shell details are gold blended with trans-purple. I don't see any light grey at all, to be honest.

To be honest I kind of wish his shoulders were gold. Not only would it call back to this year's design, but it'd help balance the gold in his color scheme. I can't see how white would look much better... while it'd be a new recolor, I think that combined with the torso might be TOO much white concentrated in a very small space.

Personally, I don't think these new sets are too bad. Are there things that could've been done better? Almost certainly—but it's a rare set where that's not the case. Onua being taller and less bulky? A bummer, for sure, but nonetheless he's still recognizable and is a solid-looking set in his own right. Tahu's overabundance of contrasting textures and poor color organization? Yeah, it's a bummer—but then, his set this year was also the weakest of the lot as far as I was concerned. Lewa's color scheme could've done with a contrasting color like Tahu and Gali have, and the upper arms are slightly odd on Kopaka and Pohatu (though I do like the way Pohatu's echo his original design). But overall, I look at these sets and see a lot of potential. The heavy Technic constructions of the torsos suggest that the new "torso beam" with waist articulation is heavily customizable, which is a boon both to original builds and revamps of these Toa to correct their perceived flaws (it's even possible that you could create a model with both this year's and next year's gearbox, to allow for double the functionality). The general aesthetic of the new masks/weapons/armor is solid. The return of the Skrall/Vorox armor is welcome, given that part's high level of compatibility with CCBS, and the new Technic-based shell looks like it'll make for a fantastic connector piece (like the Kalmah armor, but with a much more usable texture). The Nuva symbol details on the torsos and masks are amazing (especially considering this is their debut in plastic, having never been featured in the actual G1 sets). Some of the sets are better than others. Lewa's build is incredibly solid. Pohatu looks fantastic, wonky arms or no, and Gali looks great in terms of both her build and color scheme. The creatures are also amazing (the return of function-based wildlife sets? Count me in!), the shadow traps are wonderfully clever, and the unification gimmick seems like a great direction to take the sets in. Finally, the sets are chock full of useful parts and recolors, with many new shell and bone colors. Do I think the new sets are better than this year's? No, I don't think I'd jump to that conclusion. But I don't think they're necessarily worse, either. If anything, it's more of a lateral move, and considering how many new opportunities these sets open up (especially combined with earlier CCBS parts), it's a move I can get behind.

I think I see one on Pohatu, in the center of his forehead, and whileOnua's is harder to see, I think I might see it on his right brow (like Kopaka, who has it on his left brow due to the eyepiece on his right). I seriously doubt they'd only include the Nuva symbols on some of the Toa's masks, rather than all of them.

I wouldn't be so sure. Keep in mind that the Disney Princess theme didn't prevent an unbranded princess-focused Juniors set, and the Pirate-themed Juniors set notably had different branding than this year's Pirates sets (such as a unique, more cartoony flag pattern for the rowboat). Juniors may occasionally borrow from other themes but it also occupies its own space, to the extent that a more "traditional" castle might still be a possibility. That said, which would you rather have—sets that offer a mix of castle-ish and sci-fi elements, or giant prefab wall panels? I would think that for most adult builders, even Castle fans, the choice would be pretty clear.

They're Nilkuu's fursona.

Hey, it'd certainly help him to preserve his secret identity.

Little early to make that judgement, don'tcha think? When Ninjago first debuted, it experienced a lot of the same criticism. Sure, there were traditional ninja elements, but what the heck was up with those high-tech motorbikes and monster trucks that the skeletons were using? Only once the story actually got going did we have some much-needed context for what at first looked like a very silly mash-up of themes that was done "because it looked cool". Nexo Knights could do the same thing. The story literally hasn't even started, and as such it's really much too early to make any judgements. For my part, I've loved what I've seen of the sets and marketing so far—but if the story falls flat for me (as Chima's ended up doing), it's unlikely that I'll collect the theme with any sort of regularity. By contrast, you might not like the marketing so far, but the real meat of the story (or in-depth reviews of the sets) might yet win you over.

Even better news—Jestro apparently gets a chance to SING!

The summer set names from Brickset? I mean, I'm not sure. I'm not like Just2Good or CM4S, who get inside sources and scoops. I just go on what others report. I'd like to imagine that Huw Millington made his unknown source verify that they were trustworthy before the info was added to the database, but who really knows? For what it's worth, I'd certainly like Ronin to stick around. I loved the roguish anti-hero charm he brought to this past season, especially his interesting character dynamic with the idealistic but insecure Nya. My brother suggested that the set names we've seen (which include a new Samurai Cave) could suggest that Ronin himself might take up the mantle of Samurai X now that Nya's done with it, but of course it's still possible that the set names are bunk and we're just chosen as a believable mix of old and new. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

And everyone continues to assume the Nexo Powers will have stickers... Don't get me wrong, it's definitely possible. But we haven't had many finalized pictures at all—even the high-res Fortrex and Evil-Mobile pics lack all the decorations those sets are supposed to have (compare those out-of-box pics of the Fortrex to the Fortrex's finalized box pic, and you'll notice that the shields on the Fortrex itself are also meant to be decorated). As such, it's way too early to assume that the Nexo Powers will be stickered. Stickers are used in early pictures to substitute for prints all the time, so until someone actually has one of these sets in-hand, I don't think we'll be able to tell one way or the other.

Oh, Lego's definitely going to continue making Dimensions sets... but from the rumored set list for next year, it doesn't look like Ninjago (or any other unlicensed theme) is going to be featured again for a while. Which is unfortunate—while it's true that they have basically covered all the main characters of Ninjago already, I had really hoped for Lego to continue providing a mix of licensed and original themes in Dimensions, instead of just licensed themes. Plus, a Ronin pack (with a mini R.E.X. that could be rebuilt into a mech) would be awesome, and the summer set list confirms that Ronin's not just going away completely after this wave.

Can't build the whole thing for you right now, but here's a hint: I think the motorcycle chassis connects to part 99021. EDIT: Never mind, I got it. It doesn't all go together well on LDD, but I think this should give you a good idea of how it seems to be built. Some of the side panels have been hidden for clarity.

Remember, those are prelim. Prints could potentially change as easily as part colors can. I don't remember what color the Nuva symbol on Kopaka was... either grey/silver or dark blue, but I don't recall exactly.

Oh, I have little doubt that I'd stick with LDD for the most part for random sketches and concepts. From my experience, there's no other digital building software that's anywhere near as user-friendly. But it's getting to the point where I can't models on LDD that are polished enough to be worthy of presentation—especially not in the themes I like. Elves? Not only are all of the specialized molds introduced for the theme absent, but LDD has gone YEARS without mini-dolls, and even if it does update I don't know if that'll ever change. Bionicle? LDD used to be pretty much the best available program for digital Constraction MOCing, but not only has there not been an update since the Bionicle theme was rebooted (meaning I have to use clumsy substitutions for the new masks, heads, and other parts), but basic Technic is also starting to fall behind (with many useful panels, gears, and other functional elements being unavailable). I'm not saying I would abandon LDD entirely, but it's getting to the point where I'll want to explore my options. LDD is getting more and more out of date as time goes on, and it's getting to the point where relying LDD alone for digital building is impractical and unsustainable.

I think it's a bell (the thin part of the harpoon gun used to support it could be interpreted as a rope or chain). But pretty much everyone else I've talked to thinks it's some sort of lamp. So who knows?

And to think—in less than three months, it will have been an entire year since the last update. I can only hope that there'll be an update by then. Otherwise I might just have to move over to LDraw or a similar program. It used to be that LDD was the program to beat when it came to releasing new parts soon after their release (especially parts from themes I enjoy like Bionicle or Hero Factory that got less attention from other AFOLs), but now I'm not sure it will reclaim that status even if an update DOES come.

Again, I don't see why everyone assumes post-Christmas is such a bad time to release new products. It's a GREAT time for Lego, because not only has a lot of old inventory at retailers been cleared out to make room for launching a massive wave of products but many, many kids will have received cash and/or gift cards that they'll be looking to redeem. True, a lot of sales could be racked up by launching the sets before Christmas... at the expense of that year's "summer" sets, which kids will have been saving up for and retailers will have been looking to offload. Much better to wait until after and launch the next big thing in the vacuum left by Christmas promotions, where it will have no trouble competing for shelf space or the attention of customers.

Gosh, mentioning Borg Tower makes me realize that I'm STILL upset about it not getting featured in a set in 2013. It was like the perfect villain base, with tons of potential action features and scenes (Factory full of sawblades and conveyors! Collapsing elevators! Helipad for mini-ninjacopter!). Instead of that, we got a fairly traditional temple as the flagship model, which may have been nice but did not match the overall motifs and aesthetics of that year's sets at all.