Lyichir

We'd technically known that since we first got the set descriptions. And why do so many people prefer the snake to the Dragon? In my opinion the snake is rather hum-ho compared to that dragon, which has the most epic design, color scheme, and action features of any of Ninjago's dragons so far.

I don't see how you can say that. This year's Star Wars sets (X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Gungan Sub, Jabba's Palace) tend to blow their previous versions out of the water. I'm fine with any license continuing if the sets continue to improve. But on the topic of these Superheroes sets, I'm quite impressed. That Deadpool is amazing.

Good review! I'd like to point out something I observed regarding the recycling logos on the side of the truck: since all the waste this truck collects could pass for organic materials, I reckon the recycling logos are meant to imply that the trash collected by this truck is composted, rather than just dumped at a landfill. It would explain the lack of actual recyclables, at least partially. Do garbage trucks devoted to collecting organic waste for compost actually exist?

You could probably modify either town hall once the new one comes out. Perhaps the new one could become your town's courthouse or something. Or, as you mentioned you wanted, the new one could probably be adapted to be a bank.

The sets we've seen from NY are not the only ones there, from what I've heard. They're just the ones used for outside the LEGO display, as opposed to the more finalized ones we'll see at today's pre-show and inside the booth at the main event.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, there's nothing wrong with a one-wave theme. I couldn't see Dino continuing, honestly, since on the side of the human faction most of the essentials are already covered (Base, many land and air vehicles in many sizes). Alien Conquest, too, had a good run, but I don't reckon it could last another wave (I love the unified aesthetic of the alien vehicles, but honestly another wave of flying saucers could get boring). Pharaoh's Quest is a theme I don't think should be ruled out quite yet; I wouldn't be surprised if next time LEGO does an "archaeology" theme the cast of PQ is brought back. But technically, even it had to end, at least in its current state: they couldn't exactly carry the name "Pharaoh's Quest" into a non-Egyptian theme. Monster Fighters doesn't need another wave, in my opinion. The sets they are releasing cover the entire quest, with the team assembling all of the "moon stones" and them being used in Dracula's castle. Additionally, as has been mentioned by others, Monster Fighters is somewhat seasonal compared to these other themes. It'll sell briskly around Halloween, and will continue to sell for Christmas (as all LEGO themes do), but I don't know how well it'd last in the Winter 2013 wave. Ninjago is a special case, because unlike other action themes, it is meant as a multimedia franchise, with a TV show, books, sets, and an integrated game (the spinners). It's not meant to be just another action theme, but rather LEGO's "next BIONICLE", that being a theme with an overarching story told through various media outlets. All in all, I think LEGO's habit of cycling through "action themes" keeps their ideas fresh and new. What's more, this business model provides us with a number of concise, self-contained themes, as opposed to themes that outstay their welcome and have their quality slip in later waves.

The recent MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Maybe. But I doubt the figs would have such variety if they weren't blind-packaged. I know figs like the lifeguard would likely flop in regard to the target audience. All we'd be left with is a bunch of army builders, and while those are popular, some fans (myself included) prefer the more niche figs staying around. But I'm sure you've heard this argument a thousand times, so I figure there's no changing your mind.

How are the CMs customer abuse? I haven't heard any sob stories about kids breaking down after not getting their favorites. I understand your criticisms of the blind packaging system, but honestly it's not abuse if the vast majority of customers are happy with their purchase. I doubt there's a "LEGO bubble", and I think their efforts at diversifying work to prevent such a thing from occurring. While some AFOLs might not be able to get all the sets they want, more consumers choosing LEGO (for instance, the Polly Pocket/Barbie crowd of young girls buying Friends instead of passing up on LEGO altogether) will likely lead to net growth for LEGO. And remember, the fall of Atari largely had to do with the overproduction of low-quality games (like E.T. the Extra Terrestrial). Since LEGO seems to be doing a good job of ensuring quality in all its themes, we have little reason to fear a market collapse.

I know! The set packs in so many mood-establishing details. I am absolutely loving this theme! ...Unfortunately, this theme is shaping up to be this year's "theme I love, but don't get". Ninjago has held most of my attention for the past two years, so just as I missed out on Alien Conquest last year I expect to miss out on this theme this year. Perhaps I'll get a set or two for Christmas, but otherwise I might very well miss out.

Not the whole scene; remember, we still lack a Rancor.

I disagree. The Castle Giant Chess Set (not to be confused with other LEGO chess sets) is 100% brick-built, with no preassembled sections. Moreover, it was never sold through retailers other than LEGO's official stores. Heck, it has twice as many parts as the UCS Batmobile, which you did list! Just because it is not a traditional playset or replica doesn't make it less fitting in this poll. Additionally, this poll is still dreadfully lacking. Every single Ultimate Collectors Series set in the past few years was D2C. So was the Taj Mahal, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Volkswagen Microbus; the list goes on and on. And which Death Star are you even referring to: the UCS version or the minifig-compatible playset? Both, in fact, were D2C. I can't consider such a poll to have any meaningful results unless it either makes the qualifications to be considered clearer, or includes a fuller list of qualifying sets.

If so, that would be Kelly McKiernan, also known as Binkmeister, who was hired by LEGO after running BZPower. I know he's worked on the Hero Factory site (which despite what anyone may feel about the theme itself, is a work of art), so I wouldn't be surprised if he's working on the Ninjago site as well.

When I first saw some of the new Ninjago parts from the first year, my first thought was how much steampunk builders would appreciate this theme. Gold lightsaber blades, gold 6M bars, the gold "nunchuck handles" and as of this year, gold lightsaber handles. I'm not much of a steampunk builder myself, but I imagine these parts would make great piping.

He probably wouldn't look like he does in the movie, but being from the comics originally it's not an impossibility that we'd see him.

Yeah, Ninjago won't have "run its course" for a while. Toy Fairs have shown us the summer lineup, and Mark Stafford has confirmed that he's already working on sets for next year. Additionally, the TV series has been picked up for a third season, so there's really no end in sight for this theme.

This poll is woefully incomplete. It's missing Diagon Alley, and one of my personal favorites, the Castle Giant Chess Set. If I checked further, I'd probably find others as well. It's hard to vote in a poll when you're not being presented with all the options.

I love Jabba's Palace even more having seen that video. And the Gungan Sub also looks much better than was shown in the retailers' catalog. I was very worried that the domes would be completely spherical. Even now it's still not perfect, but it is an update, and the Bongo was a set that desperately needed one.

One interesting part I noticed in the castle is the part that is used to conect the moon stones together. It appears to be an Technic angle connector, but with three connection points radiating from it at intervals of 120 degrees. I'm sure this part will see a lot of use in Technic, and also probably in system for attaching things like helicopter rotors.

Actually, I doubt we'll get enough sets to fill out the Nazgul without buying multiples. So many people are being overly optimistic about this, when in the past LEGO rarely minds forcing AFOLs (the only people who'll care much for getting a complete set) to buy multiples of a set or buy the figs secondhand. I'm not berating them for this, because I also think it would be a waste to release so many sets based around releasing enough Nazgul, especially when most kids will be satisfied after getting the two from Weathertop. We will probably get a Witch King set eventually, and some Nazgul might appear sparsely in some other, possibly smaller sets. But expecting a set with three or more horse-mounted Nazgul is wishful thinking at its finest.

This is still a prelim, so I don't see how it's much better besides having more finalized figs... Nonetheless, I think this set is amazing. They accomplished something that I thought could be the hardest part to pull off, which is including the bare minimum interior while maintaining the exterior profile, as they did effectively in Hogwarts Castle two years ago. It is a pity that the Rancor Pit isn't included, but I suppose that might've added to the already-likely-to-be-outrageous price.

First of all, I would recommend the more recent sets in contrast to the older ones. The newer ones, in my opinion, do a better job of capturing the impression given by the movies. The first set I'd obviously recommend is 4842 Hogwarts Castle. Hogwarts is an integral location throughout the series, and as such will never lose importance as your kids progress through the movies. In addition, it has a great number of important characters, including Harry, Dumbledore, Hermione, Voldemort, and Snape. As for other sets I'd recommend, the answer isn't so clear-cut. The Hogwarts Express could be an important purchase, seeing as it's one of the only sets to include Draco Malfoy (and the only one to include him in his school uniform). Also, like the Hogwarts Castle set, it can be used in scenes from many of the movies. Other purchases may largely depend on where your kids are in the series. The Burrow is an amazing set, but without the context of the later films the antagonists will be unfamiliar. Diagon Alley is another good set, but the most important characters in it can be gotten in smaller sets like Hagrid's Hut and Freeing Dobby. It depends largely on how much you're willing to spend, and how individual scenes resonate with your kids. If they like the Quidditch scenes, for instance, you may have to get Quidditch Match. I wouldn't consider many of the 2011 sets to be essential, as they largely feature supplementary scenes and previously-released characters. You'd be better off sticking to the 2010 line, which featured many iconic locations and characters. The exception, again, is Diagon Alley, which is an outstanding set that should be gotten if the price doesn't scare you off. That's really the best advice I can give. Hope this helps!

I understand that, but even given that I tend to prefer the new style. It's true that minifigs have a blockier appearance than many of the animals do nowadays, but the new style animals still retain a certain simplicity that makes them fit in. Moreover, the old-style animals often had quirks due to their shape that made them look odd from certain angles. From a direct front view, the old horse could be hard to make out as a horse (except, of course, for those accustomed to recognize what a Lego horse would look like. Oddly, your Star Wars example often has me thinking the exact opposite in regards to actual minifigures. I'm of the opinion that a great many licensed figures with custom heads look "off"; for instance, C3-PO could probably work just as well with a standard head, and some alien heads can look bizarre for having features normal figs lack, like noses.

It's weird how much opinions differ. I think the snake is only okay (the head is not much different from the snake vehicles, and I'm not hugely fond of the jaw). But I LOVE the dragon, which not only has great swooshability and an AMAZING function, but also has a beautiful color scheme (heavy on white and dark stone grey, with colored highlights on the heads and trans-green "energy" projecting from the wings). But I suppose it doesn't matter to LEGO which part of the set you like so long as you buy the set. Another thing I love in the set that not many people have mentioned is the prison/temple/tower. I had been hoping for a larger Serpentine building like the Fire Temple we got last year, but this is the next best thing. I love the antenna-like construction at the very top, and the dark red landscaping at the base. It gives a wonderfully evil vibe.

It varies for me, but in most case I tend to prefer the new versions. The reason for this is most often consistency. Back in the day we had dogs with textured eyes and horses with printed eyes. It was horribly inconsistent. Nowadays it's gotten better, as newer molds tend toward printing. It's not all this way yet; the parrot actually went from being printed to being, for some reason, blended , and the new-ish fish has always had textured eyes (although this helps it to better serve as a dead fish for cookin'. Another reason I tend to prefer the newer animals is that often they add playability where it wasn't before. For instance, the newer shark can swallow a minifig whole, and has more attachment points than the old one. This summer we're finally getting a new horse, which actually has poseable legs, something it's needed for decades. Altogether, it often has to do with how similar they are to minifigs. The horse is bigger and ostensibly faster than people, and so it should be at least as poseable, if not more. My preference toward printed eyes started with the newer, more detailed minifig faces.