Lyichir

I continue to be amazed by AFOLs who think that it's a bad thing that building from instructions has become easier. All it does is widen the potential group who can satisfactorily build a Lego set. You don't like numbered bags? Fine; there is literally nothing stopping you from opening them all at once like you used to do. The true challenge of building has always been designing something of your own, so there's no reason why Lego shouldn't make their instructions more user-friendly. After all, one of the most important functions of the instructions is to teach kids building techniques that they can then use in their own models, so making them puzzle over the instructions only makes it take them that much longer to get to the stage where they can design their own MOCs. Similarly, I've never really bemoaned the loss of alternate models on the back of the box, which I always found to simply be another barrier to true, unbridled creative play. I've gotten great enjoyment out of other recent sets in a variety of original, unique themes such as Ninjago, Atlantis, Power Miners, Agents and Space Police, many of which feature complex building techniques. These themes are a strong argument against the tired argument that Lego has become less creative due to the advent of licensed themes. Also, I'm surprised you're so fond of the Queen Anne's Revenge. I never had this set, but judging by reviews it's far from the best set in recent years. The Imperial Flagship, which predated it by a year, seems to have been far superior.

Actually, the opposite thing happened with Monster Fighters: a bunch of figs based solely on archetypes were reimagined as new, unique characters in an unconnected faction. So there's really no precedent for factions from CMF being formed into full themes.

The haunted house price didn't jump because of people's reactions, it jumped because the original reported price was in error. While the prices for these might also be a mistake, it's less likely considering that these prices have multiple retailers as sources, instead of a single erroneous press release. I trust that Lego has better things to do than conspire on new ways to mistreat their customers.

Good review. I hate to open up with a nitpick, but... You don't have to wait until next year to get "that leafy part" in Olive Green; it came out in that color this year in set 9463 The Werewolf.

A lot of people have already given well-thought out responses to that, but I'd like to add that the era of alternate models lasted well after the debut of the Star Wars theme, so linking the apparent "decline" to that is a bit misguided. I recall Star Wars sets as late as 2006 with alternate models on the back of the box, some of which were actually models of never-released canon vehicles (like Dash Rendar's Outrunner/Outrider as an alternate model to 6211 Imperial Star Destroyer).

http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/16/3655204/you-can-now-build-your-own-sine-mora-ships-with-lego Never heard of this game or its developer, but I think this is an awesome way of promoting their product. I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of these at Brickfair next year.

Awww!!! They're adorable!

Good reviews! I had one minor quibble with each of them, though. In both reviews you referred to particular parts (the spear in this and the daggers in the other) as "printed". These parts are not actually printed, but rather coinjected with plastic; that is to say, they use two separate colors and materials molded into the same part. This allows for the multicolored appearance of these parts in a way in which the secondary color will not come off or wear away, but more importantly it provides both parts with the characteristic rubbery tip that keeps you from stabbing yourself with them.

Zelda's far from obscure. It's one of the most successful and long-lived video game series of all time. And unlike Back to the Future, it still is popular among present-day kids, with new games continuing to be released, so it's no more "niche" than Minecraft is. And the Firefly set was probably rejected for the exact reason Lego specified. The show has content that isn't child-friendly, and it doesn't shy away from these things in order to present a child-friendly front. If it was "too niche", it's because there are hardly any kids in Lego's target audience who are fans of the show. And, as much as AFOLs hate to admit it, even sets aimed more at them like Lego's big D2C sets have to appeal to kids as well to be a success.

Actually, they're both by the same guy.

8x8 5. Penkid11 (2 points) 2. Praiter Yed (1 point) 16x16 1. Aanchir (2 points) 6. Penkid11 (1 point) (edited to include both categories)

Rocka's mask was definitely designed to be usable as armor; the giveaway is how it has a triangular indentation in the back so that it fits over longer shells. One of the things I'm most excited for in terms of Chima constraction sets is the colors. Chima figs include many colors which are rare in constraction themes, especially Hero Factory: tan, reddish brown, light and dark bluish grey, olive green, dark blue, dark green, etc. And if the constraction sets are based on the same characters as is expected, we could very easily be seeing Hero Factory parts in those colors. In fact, it's possible we already are: depending on how long the development cycle for Chima has been, it's possible that the parts like the reddish brown and dark green parts in Ogrum are being produced in anticipation of the Chima sets needing those sorts of parts.

30. Aanchir (two points) 13. Kristel (one point)

To be fair, this kid actually did send a formal letter (or as formal a letter as can be expected of a kid that age). Still, they ought to genuinely read through your email. My recommendation to you now is to try contacting customer service by phone; that's what my dad's always done and he generally gets results (in addition to building up a rapport with the customer service representatives).

When you said that, I watched the video to see if the fig used the full-head printing seen on this year's Lobot fig. Now I'm a little disappointed. The way they have it, his eyepatch goes all the way around--except on the sides. And I feel that the printing on the back of the head serves primarily to make that more noticeable.

From what I can tell, he lacks the arm printing and waist printing of the polybag (which is not exclusive to Target, although Target is the only one giving them out so far; he's supposed to be a reward for people who preorder Lego City: Undercover).

I don't think that counts, since we're talking retailer exclusives (and all sorts of places stock Character Encyclopedias). But there are tons of examples of store-exclusive sets with unique minifigs. In licensed themes, just this year, there's 6857, 6873, 9476, 9494, 9495, and 9525. But even non-licensed themes have them: 9465 and 5888 are two examples from this year. Still, I wouldn't hold out for a Dareth figure. In exclusives, awesomeness is a big selling feature. Regardless of his role in the Ninjago series finale (which I haven't yet seen), Dareth's still essentially a joke character. If we did get any surprise figs at this point, we'd be much more likely to see some incarnation of the Overlord, or someone else vitally important to the story who would really move sets off shelves.

In the way it put out the burning Samurai bikes in its debut episode. I'm not so sure it would make as good a set as some of the others; the front of the cockpit in particular looks quite dull compared to the Samurai faces of the Bike or the Garmatron. Those tusked vehicles and Garmadon's mech, on the other hand...

In many cases, the molds to parts no longer in production may no longer be in Lego's possession (either lost or destroyed). Remolding a part costs considerably more than just shifting an existing molding machine to produce a part in a new color. Anyway, I doubt this will be a rerelease theme, considering how badly the Lego Legends line failed. If the rumor about "a new take on a classic theme" is referring to this, it doesn't sound like rereleases; rather, it sounds like a reimagining of a classic theme, like Space Police III. Possibly a new Forestmen theme?

Nice, but the masonry bricks actually are on LDD. They're in the modified brick category, listed as Part# 98283 Profile brick 1x2 single gro. If they're not there for you, you might be using an outdated version of LDD.

Not all 2012 minifigures are even produced in China. And minifigures from other plants use the exact same plastic that has always been used. I know quality differences exist (though usually nowhere near "Coca-Cola bottle" levels). But before you try to argue about an issue, please check your facts and make sure you're not just seeing what you expect to see.

I guess that's what MOCs are for. I've already started a couple.

We have had confirmation from numerous sources that there will be a version for 3DS. But based on recent evidence, it looks like the 3DS version will be an entirely different game (akin to the new Assassin's Creed 3 for Vita compared to the one for other systems), and that it won't be coming out until later. I'm a little bummed about it being delayed, but on the other hand, it means I'd have no reason to feel guilty for getting both versions (meaning I can go ahead and preorder the Wii U game) and on top of that the different release date could mean that the 3DS version could have a different preorder fig (perhaps Natalia or Rex Fury).

So, seeing as this topic's still around... does the range of sets for 2013 change anyone's opinions of the theme? Personally, I think it's starting to branch out to feature even more non-stereotypical girls activities, what with the karate dojo and soccer practice sets. I know from experience that a great deal of girls participate in these activities (at least they did 15 or so years ago when I myself was involved with them!), but nonetheless they're not frequently seen in other toylines aimed at girls like Barbie.

Ninjago has had designer videos for the majority of its sets for the past two years. They've been more kid-oriented than the ones for D2C sets (often focusing more on functions and play features than on cool parts or building techniques), but there is at least a precedent for regular retail sets getting designer videos.