Lyichir

It's a spoiler, for sure, but not that much of a spoiler, seeing as the episode aired on Wednesday and we've been discussing it here since then.

I'm planning to hold off on most of my purchases until Brickfair, so that I can get the 30% LEGO store discount associated with it. That'll take a lot of the bite out of it. But I still have another issue, which is that my little brother now wants many of the sets I do. In fact, he's already gotten some, like Lloyd Garmadon and Lasha, that would get me some of the figs without taking too large a bite out of my wallet. It's frustrating, because he seems to think that because I got most of the big Ninjago sets from last year (when he wasn't even interested in the theme yet), he's entitled to sets like the Ultra Sonic Raider and Epic Dragon Battle this year. He's certainly not planning on letting me get the sets I want guilt-free.

I just want to point out that the only pearl-silver lightsabers ever released were the built-in "light-up" lightsabers. The non-chrome color used for lightsabers was a lacquered silver color that I believe matched those in the movies far better than the chrome ones (I don't ever remember any lightsabers reflecting light like a mirror). I dislike the term "pearl-silver" anyway, since it's used to refer to at least three colors. The newest of these is, in my opinion, one of LEGO's best silver colors yet, as it effectively looks like burnished steel and as such is great for metallic details. Contrast that with its predecessor, which had inconsistent coloration and in most cases failed to look at all metallic.

I'm not actually the hugest fan of chrome parts. Unlike other surface finishes LEGO currently uses (like the lacquered silver used in such themes as Agents), chrome chips somewhat easily and shows scratches. I do appreciate chrome decals used for mirrored surfaces, but only because there is really no better way to replicate a mirror in LEGO. Additionally, I suspect the chroming process makes chrome parts cost a good deal more, which would bump up the price of sets that use it. With these considerations plus the fact that LEGO's non-chrome silver colors continue to get better and better, I have no desire for more chrome parts in sets.

The stud on Gollum's back doesn't bother me that much. What bothers me more is the fact that his eyes seem to have whites, unlike minifig eyes which are typically black beads with a white highlight and often wrinkles around the eyes to affect the expression.

Probably because Clone Wars Yoda is better. Let's face it, in the era of printed faces even on alien minifigs, the non-CW Yoda is in desperate need of an update. And in fact, the CW Yoda is a good substitute until we get that, since the weird bulgy eyes are less obtrusive in the case of a "sculpted" fig like Yoda. It's not perfect, but it's better than the dead-eyed Yoda of yesteryear.

The recent episode was truly awesome. Looking forward to the next one!

D2C stands for Direct to Consumer. D2C sets are the sets you can only get through LEGO themselves, not through other toy retailers. These are often large, high quality sets.

1. Male 2. 20 3. Don't remember exactly, but around four or five (unless you count Duplo, in which case it'd be earlier). 4. Tough question. I'll go with Ninjago. 5. It's a great outlet for my creativity, and fun to boot. I also aspire to be a set designer for The LEGO Group, which based on what I've read is a very good company to work for.

The reason for that is probably that rather than hosting scans (like they do for most of the older sets), newer sets often use the actual vector graphics. This means that they're scalable, but also massive file sizes. Personally I like having the scalable PDFs, since that means I can increase the clarity by zooming in at any time. But I understand how this would wreak havoc on an older, slower computer, so there are benefits to the scanned instructions as well. Perhaps LEGO could include multiple versions of each, one optimized for download speed and one with the full file so that users with faster computers can reap the benefits of these scalable graphics?

I wouldn't really like that, specifically because Ninjago doesn't take place in our world. And the world of Ninjago is already plenty anachronistic, so I don't see how changing the time period would have a lot of bearing on what the world is like. No, I'd much rather have a brand new time travel theme, so that it could have its own internal logic instead of having to abide by the rules of an existing theme.

I actually have one of those nanoblocks sets, although it's not an architectural one. Despite the parts being a different scale than LEGO, it's quite easy to use the instructions to build the same model in actual LEGO: each "1 x 1 block" is half the length and width of, and the same height as a 1 x 1 LEGO plate. Nonetheless, even the architectural sets pale in comparison to LEGO's own, so more castles in the Architecture series would be a definite plus.

I'm sorry for sounding rude, but Toy Fair images are all over the internet, so your post highlighting a smattering of already-seen pictures at a ridiculously small size struck me as you just ignoring the rest of this topic, where people have been abuzz about them for weeks now. My brother is working on official coverage of the New York Toy Fair for this site, so hopefully once we have a topic for that it'll be easier to make sure everyone's on the same page in regards to set images.

I could actually get behind that. The old Time Cruisers didn't make a lot of sense: where did Aquazone fit on the timeline? But a new take on the time travel theme, with unique settings rather than just other LEGO themes, could be pretty cool. Each set could feature one of those non-standard historic themes people clamor for: Stone-Age, Classical Era, or Western, just to name a few. And tying it all together would be the time machines themselves, which would have a uniform aesthetic (perhaps steampunk?).

You seriously need to turn off your nostalgia filter. Most of those '90s themes you mentioned? Far more <insert that tiresome argument> than modern themes. Especially Rock Raiders, which is one of the most <insert that tiresome argument> themes there's ever been. And are you honestly trying to say Dino 2010 dinos are any less <insert that tiresome argument> than the new dinosaurs? Give me a break! As for your complaint about Ninjago, you're clearly suffering from the delusion that LEGO is a medium limited to facsimiles of real life. LEGO has always marketed to children, by the way. It never was for adults and teenagers, and the '90s do NOT represent LEGO's roots. Rather, they represent one of the lowest periods in LEGO's history, when sets were becoming <insert that tiresome argument> and LEGO struggled to adapt to a changing market. I would argue that LEGO is more palatable to adults and teens now, in fact, considering how building styles involving SNOT and other advanced techniques have become more commonplace in actual sets. Your rant about the video games is incredibly bizarre. Yes, some of the licensed LEGO games get a bit repetitive (although I can't see how you classify Harry Potter and Star Wars as "throwaway movies"). But do you honestly think that the buggy, non-responsive, low-quality games from the '90s come even close to the fun, quality games Travelers Tales has given us? You don't sound like an old-timer to me, to be perfectly honest. You sound like a young adult who can't accept that the LEGO of their childhood is largely inferior to the LEGO of today. There are a number of fair criticisms to be made about LEGO currently, such as the rising prices of sets and international manufacturing. But every single one of your arguments is not only wrong, they're downright counterintuitive. Here's a suggestion. Buy a set like the Thunder Driller yourself and dig out a comparable older set. Maybe by actually giving newer themes a chance you can realize how ridiculous it is to hold those older sets on a pedestal.

I doubt it. I don't see any similarity besides color, and Von Nebula doesn't need to possess villains to use them to his advantage. Personally, I think Von Nebula having powers like possession would cheapen him as a villain.

I think the love for Core Hunter is due to two factors. First of all, while neither his build nor his color scheme is unique, both are quite attractive, especially used together like they are. Secondly, his character bio reveals him to be a complex villain. He's essentially a serial killer who hunts Heroes for their Quaza and gear. This is a lot darker than any previous villains, even the energy junkie Fire Lord. All in all, there's not a one of these sets I'm disappointed with.

Features don't determine price; the cost of production does. The convertible has a decent number of parts (including new molds and old molds in new colors). This leads to the price you see, which in my opinion is fair. As for diversifying the product line, do you honestly think LEGO didn't think of that? They walk a fine line between marketing only to boys and alienating the boys who make up their target market. And their market is more diverse now than ever, with the most even gender ratio in lines like CITY. But if your girl dislikes these sets, it's because they're not for her. She seems to be a blossoming LEGO fan, and you should be proud for raising her that way. But these sets are targeted largely at the girly-girls who up to now have all-but-ignored the entire LEGO aisle. All of a sudden they are presented with these sets, which have the aesthetic of the dolls and playsets they love but have the added benefit of exposing them to the joy of LEGO. And I, for one, am all for that.

I still fail to see any way that current Chinese-made parts are any lower quality than their counterparts from other countries. It seems like LEGO's worked out most of the kinks in their Chinese plant, but the "Cheap Chinese Plastic" meme has become too ingrained in the AFOL consciousness for many AFOLs to give the new figs a chance. Newsflash: quality issues occur periodically in all of LEGO's plants, regardless of location. And most of these quality issues (including ALL of the Chinese examples I've been shown) are so insignificant as to be ignorable.

As I commented in the Monster Fighters topic, these are just super-low quality versions of pics we'd already seen.

I think these are just the ones FBTB took at Toy Fair, but way smaller. Why link these? It's not like you can make out anything in them.

Maybe. But considering what type of building they each are supposed to be, I think it's still alright. Green Grocer-style townhomes are just beautiful in real life, whereas the style used for the Town Hall is also nice, but overused to the point of seeming trite.

I'm excited to see how they handle this. The music to Zane remembering his father calls to mind the creation montage in Edward Scissorhands. If it's anything like that, it'll be amazing.

Sounds unlikely. If by theme song you mean the actual song "The Weekend Whip", it's unlikely due to being written not by LEGO, but the band The Fold. If, on the other hand, you mean the orchestral theme played in the TV series and some commercials, like that of the Ninjago board game, it's unlikely due to that theme being too slow already to be something else sped up. And like Oky, I don't recall Power Miners having a theme song at all. If I remember correctly, generic rock music was used for the TV commercials and the "Monster See, Monster Do" videos.

I'm able to accept Von Nebula being a recurring villain, but I don't want him to be behind everything Hero Factory has to face. First of all, it'd be incredibly unlikely for the missions of a general peacekeeping organization like Hero Factory to all stem from one villainous mastermind. Secondly, I like having some variety between villains. You get a looming threat like Von Nebula once every two years or so, but I still want other independent villains like Fire Lord (who, as essentially a souped-up energy junkie, remains one of my favorite villains).