Lyichir

The deal with K'Nex is for Mario specifically—Nintendo would have to be stupid to universally grant the building toy license to every one of their franchises to a single company, particularly if that company were only going to utilize a single one of those franchises. And it's not like all of Lego's licensing partners are required to license all of their products exclusively to Lego, either—in fact, Paramount licensed Ninja Turtles to Lego and Star Trek: Into Darkness to Hasbro's Kre-o line within the same year. I'm not saying a Zelda theme is by any means a sure thing—more of a pipe dream, to be honest. But considering repeated Lego Ideas proposals have proven that a market exists for Zelda building sets, and yet Nintendo has not licensed the property to a competitor, the possibility of such a theme is still very real. And the continued lack of a high-fantasy theme from Lego means that, at the very least, competition with a currently active theme would not come up as a reason for why such a theme couldn't be made.

Y'know, if you're in the market for Castle parts and are worried that this theme might be too space-y, do keep in mind that the Elves theme is set to continue next year, and will probably continue to be a great source for fantasy/historical parts. Personally, I'm excited for this theme for a couple reasons. Firstly, it sounds like the sort of epic Science-Fantasy theme Knights Kingdom II could've been if it stuck closer to the early concepts (with ten years' worth of improvements in set design, to boot). Secondly, the lack of a normal historic/fantasy theme probably increases the chances of a Legend of Zelda theme (I would hope that the numerous failed ideas projects would be enough to convince Lego and Nintendo that there's merit in working together, even if doing so with the budgetary restrictions of Ideas would not allow for it—and it'd make sense to launch such a theme alongside next year's Wii U Zelda game). And thirdly, we've been without both Space and Castle themes for a while, so there's no better time to come out with a theme that's a little of both.

This strikes me as too little, too late. Ninjago was the only theme to avert cancellation like that, and the only reason it could was a combination of the theme having consistently impressive sales right up to the "end" and a dramatic fan outcry as soon as the first hints of cancellation arose. From what I've seen, Chima's sales have been less than stellar, and the time for a coordinated letter-writing campaign, if there ever actually was a time when it might have paid off, would probably have been back when the TV show ultimately concluded last year.

Are you signed in as a VIP? I would assume that might make a difference (can't say for sure, since my dad is the one with a VIP account).

I was waiting for someone to suggest that. People have been begging for a Café Corner rerelease since it was first retired. And while I'd hate it if it took the place of an actual new modular building, to be honest the Café Corner could use an update even more than this set (considering that the standard of detail for modular buildings has risen so much since the Café Corner's initial release. Maybe a remake could include an actual interior, and upstairs windows with glass!

I don't think complete avoidance of the "Metru" colors is necessary by a long shot. I certainly wouldn't want to become as universal as they became in the old theme, but I think Bionicle, like Hero Factory, should be able to use them from time to time. Earth Blue (Metru Blue) has already been used for Skull Spiders this year, that being its ONLY appearance in CCBS, so I'd definitely like to see more of it. The same goes for Earth Green and Dark Red (Metru Green and Red, respectively), which are slightly more common due to appearing in Hero Factory and Chima. All three colors have the potential to be much more interesting than on the actual Metru sets when paired with more vibrant colors in a color scheme, and the darker colors could be great for unifying a team of elemental villains without having them share the Toa's color schemes like the Bohrok did.

Sigh... that's not a prototype. I feel like I have to keep explaining this. That's a MOC by Mark Stafford, who has stated that it neither represents the "mobile fortress" from the show nor was ever intended to become a set. It was simply a "proof of concept" for the Fangpyre's ability to turn ordinary vehicles into snake versions, using the well-known Emerald Night as a base.

Obviously that Stone Army vehicle with the two drills and the tusks. I would've loved to see that as a set...

I definitely agree with a lot of this, except for the Trans-Dark Green—as far as I'm concerned, it's not really that much of a pretty color, being far, far less vibrant than other transparent colors, and as such I doubt it would work that well for a villain unless they use bright colors to offset that in the color scheme. And it has not been used enough in CCBS to make greater part variety that much of a priority. If Umarak were to use a rare color, I'd rather it be Olive Green—not only is it already more prominent in CCBS than Trans. Green thanks to Cragger from Legends of Chima, but it would definitely suit a "hunter"-type character. I would definitely love some more of the underused 2015 colors (especially transparent colors like Trans. Bright Bluish Violet and Trans. Blue—it'd be nice to have some shells and bones that come in all six of the secondary transparent colors from this year), and I wouldn't mind some other rare CCBS colors like Reddish Brown, Sand Blue, Brick Yellow, Sand Yellow, Earth Green, Earth Blue, Dark Red, Spring Yellowish Green, Dark Brown, and the aforementioned Olive Green.

It's possible that if such a Greg quote exists, it's been distorted over time and he had been referring specifically to the aspect of sales he had a part in—sales of the books. Not that I have any facts that say that's the case, but it would not surprise me too much if the 2006 books saw a spike in sales due to the sudden lack of movies leaving the books as the only in-depth story medium.

The piece you're describing already exists, and I have no idea why Lego hasn't been using it for that exact purpose (also, I should really memorize the part number given how often I end up linking it :P)

That's a possibility, but let's not discount another potential reason for the smaller wave—this coming year's sets may have been designed in a hurry to fill the gap created by the Ninjago movie's delay. There was likewise a low number of sets in 2014, which similarly had to be churned out in a hurry thanks to the near-cancellation and subsequent revival of the line.

The very first pages of the new book (the ones that are available to everyone, even non-Prime members) describe a village that was taken by the Skull Spiders. Beyond that, considering this is a creative toy, play potential is almost as important, if not MORE important, than the actual events of the story. Having the potential for conflict is essential to a wide number of play scenarios, and is more important than whether a specific fight actually transpires in the story itself. That said, the Skull Spiders were far more essential for that purpose at the very start of the theme when they and the Lord of Skull Spiders were literally the only foes available for the Toa. When the new Toa release next year, the Skull villains will still be available even if they're not as relevant to the current story. And as Aanchir pointed out, it's possible that, like Pokémon, the "creatures" will need to be defeated and tamed before joining the Toa themselves.

Personally, the new theme sounds awesome. I always thought the early Science Fantasy concepts for Knights' Kingdom II were much more promising than the theme we ended up getting, which lost the sci-fi elements while still being a far cry from historical or even traditional fantasy. Nexo-Knights sounds like it will be much more unrepentantly fantastical, which should provide some variety from the rather ho-hum Castle themes we've gotten in recent years.

Some of them? Probably. All of them? I seriously doubt it. Set names like "Lava Cave of the Fire Dragon" and "Adventure with the Water Dragon" make it sound like the dragons will be the most prominent parts of those sets, and unless the price point for both is $10 to $15, there's just no way baby dragons would be the most significant aspects of the build. Not to mention that "Emily Jones and the Wind Dragon Baby" sounds like a small set including the baby dragon we've already seen... and since that set name is the only one to explicitly refer to the dragon as a baby, it implies that those sets that don't will include larger adult dragons instead.

Found a bug with part 15627. The attachment points for window panes are seemingly too close together, preventing two of the window pane 60608 from being used together.

The ones it's missing tend to be older ones from the classic theme, which makes sense, because LDD tends to prioritize current or still-in-production parts. LDD has been VERY good about updating with parts from Hero Factory and Chima, if not always when they're released, then usually shortly afterward. I had hoped for that to continue with Bionicle, especially since functional elements like the new gearbox could have applications for all sorts of builders. I agree with others that it'd be much easier to wait for LDD updates if not for the consistent lack of communication. There is basically no direct communication between the LDD team and fans, which leads to mass confusion when we get a vague or contradictory message from customer service or some other channel. If the LDD team would just keep some sort of brief development blog or the like, we'd be able to have a better idea of what's in the pipeline and how long we might have to wait for it.

Ooh, I wonder if the "creatures" are familiar-like elemental companions for the Toa. That'd be pretty cool. I've always wanted a wave of pets. :3

Wu's dragon was designed by Nick Vas, one of the newer members of the Ninjago design team (and someone I knew from online even before he got the job). So far that set and the six Airjitzu sets (for which he mostly just chose/designed the weapon assortment) are all he can lay claim to, but I'm eager to see what else he comes up with in future years.

Do you really think it'll be based on the upcoming season? I personally doubt it. Legoland attractions are designed to stay in use for years and years, so I'd probably expect them to focus on the more iconic, traditional aspects of the series (ninja, dragons, and possibly an assortment of villains from over the course of the series) rather than theming it specifically after a specific story arc that will only remain topical for a year or less.

We first saw set leaks last summer... but that was a MAJOR fluke that would not have occurred if not for a longtime Bionicle fan who worked at a packaging company contracted for the theme leaking pictures of the displays. Having been in the thick of it during that whole fiasco, I can say for certain that that same individual is not going to risk repeating that. Besides that, there's just less incentive for potential leakers to put their jobs on the line by leaking confidential pictures. Back then, the excitement had less to do with the subject matter of the sets and more to do with the fact that the long-retired Bionicle theme was coming back in the first place. This year, we already KNOW that we're getting Bionicle sets next year. Blurry early pictures aren't going to do much than give us an extremely vague idea of what we might be getting next year, and as such it's much easier to just wait until better pictures are available. I doubt we'll see any pictorial leaks at least until retailer catalogs are distributed this fall.

Ninjago and Elves and Bionicle, oh my! Considering there are new sets in almost every one of my favorite themes, you can probably guess that I'm excited. I made a Lego store run on Saturday, and managed to limit myself to 70735 Ronin R.E.X. and 41077 Aira's Pegasus Sleigh. I've already got review copies of all of the new Bionicle sets, and I'm trying to save most of the other sets on my wish list for when they offer double VIP points. Plus, those two purchases were enough to net me the classic Pirate set as well as the Lego Friends pop star polybag!

The curtains serve two purposes. Firstly, they divide areas of the convention (such as, for instance, dividing the vendor areas from other sections, or partitioning the café or kids' free-build areas off from the rest of the building). Secondly, some sections (like the Space and Castle areas) have a curtained area between the tables to create "hideouts", which serve as areas for activities and seminars even during the public hours.

Or, y'know, it's possible that speed actually IS an element in the new story. I mean, I agree that it doesn't make much sense as an element, but that didn't stop Ninjago from considering it one.

Part of my problem with LDraw (apart from generally being less user-friendly than LDD) is that parts from themes I favor (such as Bionicle and Hero Factory) tend to get overlooked in favor of simpler and more basic System parts. While LDD doesn't have a complete selection of older Bionicle parts, it has had a much better track record for adding modern Constraction parts as they're released. That is, it DID, before this year... I dunno. I hope LDD isn't really being abandoned altogether, and that we might just shift to one update a year instead of two or something. Here I'd been hoping that Lego Worlds would finally provide the incentive to reprioritize LDD's development, due to the cross-compatibility involved. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore...