Lyichir

I must admit, when I saw the topic title I braced myself for another disgruntled fan who couldn't grasp the various market forces that influence the price of LEGO. But instead I was pleasantly surprised by a deconstruction of this common question and a thorough answer and analysis. My one concern with the article is that it seems to group all AFOLs under the title of "collector", when we're really much more diverse: there are collectors in our ranks, but there are also artists seeking to exhibit and exercise their creativity, along with those of us who buy sets just because the inner child in us still wants, every now and again, to engage in play.

I admit what I suggested sounds a little too hopeful. Really I just hope it's like the Dinosaurs theme, but with more streamlined torsos and individually movable arms and legs (for bipedal dinosaurs), tail, and head (if possible). It's not the most likely, but just a list of the kind of features it'd take to go above and beyond all previous Dinosaur sets. On a side note, the Dinosaurs theme also provides the template for the general size I want. The Adventurers T-rex would look piddly compared to newer creatures like dragons, and the Dino Attack T-Rex was enormous (admittedly a necessity if it was to stand a chance against a helicopter. What I don't want is dinos with very little connectivity (like those in Dino Attack) or mostly unposable dinos like many of those in Adventurers. As a final note, Power Miners did not make MY eyes bleed, and I thought the colors suited an underground theme. But that's a discussion for elsewhere.

But Adventurers HAD molded dinos in the third year, didn't it? The stegosaurus, for example, had two separable pieces: the main body and the swinging tail. The T-rex was slightly better, but was still only as posable as the classic dragon. Personally, I'm hoping the Dinos have the simplicity of the Adventurers dinosaurs, the building versatility of the Dinosaurs theme, and the posability of the larger Dino Attack "mutant dinos".

I've never seen a guide as-such, but looking through the instruction booklets of the official modular sets can be great inspiration. If you don't have any of the sets (or haven't opened any of them yet, like myself ), you can find the instructions on LEGO.com in the customer service section. If you want to find out more about the complexity of a set's build, you can even use those instructions to build the set on Lego Digital Designer. It's a great way to preview before you buy!

I love how you did the hose and reel! I can't recall ever seeing pneumatic tubing as a fire hose before. I would've thought that it would be too thick to use effectively on a truck this scale, but you've made it work.

They said in the first post that they already had the Green Grocer and Fire Brigade. My family was recently faced with this same decision, and we ended up choosing the Grand Emporium. Not only is it more majestic, it'll also be the first one to go out of production (being older). So if you get the Grand Emporium now, you might still be able to get the Pet Shop if you save up enough money by this time next year!

Very good review! The first year's Harry Potter sets are somewhat underwhelming in hindsight, which didn't stop a dual HP and LEGO fan like myself from buying pretty much all of them! I imagine that a lot of the inaccuracies and non-plot-important features were due to the movie not being released at the time the set was designed, which is also why Peeves shows up, despite not making it into the movies in the end. I also feel that this, and moreso other HP sets from that year, were trying to appeal to the not-insignificant female audience of the books and movies. Many sets of smaller scenes, like 4722 Gryffindor House or 4723 Diagon Alley shops, included many of the bright colors and accessories one would expect of a Belville set. Other sets, particularly 4706 Forbidden Corridor, had gloomier colors and slightly more emphasis on action scenes. This set seemed to blend the two, with darker, more mysterious colors but an emphasis on open-ended role-play. I think the line improved as years went by and LEGO found that the female audience of HP often were fond of the series precisely for its dark and mysterious elements.

I doubt this would happen, although I've dreamt of it in the past. In fact, I'm firmly of the opinion that the Fantasy Castle Troll arms would be ideal for a Bowser fig. But as it is, it's a Pipe Dream (anyone remember that game?), and there are a lot of issues which would interfere with such a theme being made. On another note, I feel like this topic should've been merged into the "Dream Lego Licenses" topic a while ago. I suppose the original poster wasn't suggesting a theme so much as asking about an unlikely rumor, but still.

This kind of vitriol is unnecessary. The "Friends" have a MORE realistic body image than minifigures, seeing as minifigures in general are portly and rectangular. Minifigures, even modern ones like the collectible ones, are at best abstract, stylized representations of real human beings. I've dressed up as a minifig for Halloween once before, and even at that young age where my proportions were more akin to a minifigure's, the costume was bulky and uncomfortable. Keep in mind that Lego doesn't just make new molds for no reason. If they had any reason at all to believe that this line would be more profitable with regular minifigs, they would use them to cut production costs. The fact is that the target audience of these new sets identifies better with these doll-like figures than with the classic cylinder-headed mini.

A whole minifigure? Man, I'd known of kids eating parts before, but I think that's a new record.

Each time I read a news story like this I dread that there will be far fewer openings of this sort once I have finished my education and am qualified for these sorts of positions. Still hopeful, though. Good luck to whoever gets this job.

Apology accepted. I should apologize for my rebuke as well, since looking at it again it was harsher than I intended. I'm just a little sick of the assumption that there is one root cause of differences in quality, when in fact there are many factors in play. And my response itself had its fair share of errors as well, so thanks to my bro Aanchir for clearing those up. So, sorry for the rudeness; I'm only now returning to having a web presence and I'm afraid I need to refresh my netiquette.

Actually, I doubt this is actually made by Lego. It's probably produced by a third party, like Lego Umbrellas, Stationary, Pens, etc. I'm not into Ninjago for the spinners, although I understand why kids would like them, and maybe using one myself would change that... In any case, I can see how someone who was a big fan of the actual game of Ninjago would get good use of this. It reminds me of all the good fads I used to be a fan of: Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Beyblade to name but a few.

At first I was worried, because there was no set matching my full number, or the first four digits. But the last four match the newest Hagrid's Hut! Awesome!

The only thing that's crap is your logic. The reason they manufacture in China is so that they can get cheaper labor WITHOUT sacrificing quality. And Lego does NOT outsource to China: that term refers to when a company lets another company located elsewhere work for them. Lego actually INSOURCED all of its production facilities, meaning the Chinese factory is owned and operated by the Lego Group itself. Is the iPhone crap? Is the PS3 crap? Those are both produced in China. So there goes your argument that "stuff made in China is crap". There are three possible reasons why the plastic on Chinese figs is more "matte", rather than glossy. It could be that Lego is working through quality issues in the newer Chinese production equipment. Or, like the lack of neck printing on minifigs, it could be a deliberate design change by Lego, which will eventually be implemented in all of their production facilities worldwide. Finally, it could be the result of Lego being required by law, as it is in China, to receive their dyes from local sources. Both the first and third possible causes are fixable, and the second assumes there is nothing to fix. One last possibility is that, like your example with normal bricks, it is a simple case of discoloration that can occur in bricks from any production facility. I have bricks from before Lego started Chinese production that have notable color issues, most prominently the red bricks in set 10167. So blaming Chinese production for these sorts of issues is shortsighted and ignorant.

But... but... he's a skeleton! He's already dead... or undead. Does this make him un-undead? I never saw the cartoon. Oh well, I figured we wouldn't see him again, and now it's all but confirmed. Still a pity we never got a spinner, though

That is one fiiiine modular. I have a couple recommendations, though. The body of the guitar-sign is kind of hard to distiguish with the heavy use of black elsewhere on the front. I almost didn't notice this neat feature! Perhaps another, but no-less-bold, color could be used for the guitar. Maybe if it were white or red it would be more visible? Additionally, the store feels modern on the front, but the rear and interior look a little shabbier. If the interior featured more whites and less brown shades, the overall look of the store would be more cohesive. Don't get me wrong; I like both sections. They just don't seem like belong on the same building.

To some extent they are. They look slightly taller but also slightly thinner. And in response to the many people who keep clamoring for City-type girl sets as opposed to what we're getting, keep in mind a couple things. Lego City, despite its variety, is a very cohesive theme. Adding excessive pinks and purples, which despite many AFOLs' opposition to is what a majority of tween girls are into, could break up that cohesiveness, and in a worst case scenario oversaturate the theme and drive the normal buyers (young boys) away. Additionally, many AFOLs' experiences with girls in the target age range is somewhat biased. AFOLs often get their children and relatives into their own Lego hobby, so they have been steeped in the culture of Lego. But Lego is trying to attract newcomers, particularly the largely untapped female market, to their brand. From the description of this new theme's size, Lego is putting a lot of faith into this idea, and I expect they have the market studies to prove that this is a risk worth taking. I actually expect good things from this theme. Based on the figs, I forsee largely-minifig-scale dollhouse type buildings, probably with the rebuild potential of creator sets. The way to get girls that age into Lego, in my opinion, is to shoot for that dollhouse aesthetic, while emphasizing the creative aspects Lego provides. Most young girls aren't as into construction, vehicles and architecture as they are into role-play and interior/exterior design. If Lego can get them to realize that designing and building their own dream house is more fun than buying a prefabricated dollhouse-in-a-box, I think these sets could be more successful with this audience than ever before. Then perhaps, once a generation of young girls has realized the play value provided by the Lego brand, the company could find ways to appeal to this audience with its existing themes, as most AFOLs seem to want.

The reason for all of those things might be the same: it appears that most spinner sets are designed to be spun both right-side-up and upside-down. Krazi's headgear in particular wouldn't allow for that, and neither would Samukai's pitched-forward head. Also, as you said, Samukai might be unfair to play given his greater size and versatility. Nevertheless, I'm slightly disappointed that Samukai doesn't get a spinner (and that I can't make his own character card without finding a high-res version of his sexy sexy character art from the boxes and instructions). They could conceivably create a spinner for him with special action cards that bump him down a notch, perhaps by only allowing him one weapon at a time except by playing a particular card, that allows him two or three. I think given the other Skeleton Generals' spinners, his would be best with a medium lilac (dark purple) base and a trans-red or trans-orange top. His character card would also likely have 400 each Fire and Earth SP and 100 each Ice and Lighning SP, again based on the other generals. I don't know what weapons he would have; would he be better off with the three golden weapons he usually appears in sets with, or should those remain exclusive (in the spinner sets, at least) to their respective ninjas, in which case he needs brand new weapons? This is all speculation, of course, and unrealistic speculation given his allegedly reduced role in next year's Ninjago story As a side note, Krazi doesn't come in a single set with both his headgear and his armor, which is a huge drawback.

I love the Lego Stores in the D.C. area, and I expect the Denver ones would be similar. Lego Stores supply most current sets (including ones which would normally be exclusive to certain retailers, like Target or Toys R Us). Additionally, all the sets will be at MSRP, meaning sold at Lego's recommended price rather than inflating the prices (again, here's looking at you, Toys R Us). They even sell non-sets like ice cube trays and umbrellas which would normally only be stocked online at the Lego shop website. And also like the Lego Shop website, VIP program members receive VIP points on every purchase. Finally, there are a number of things Lego Stores have that other stores do not. First among these is the Pick-a-brick wall. Unlike the Pick-a-brick online, the pick-a-brick at Lego stores is sold by volume rather than part count. You're given a large or small cup to fill with whichever parts you want, which can allow you to get a much better price than the per-piece sales online. Usually the wall is mostly composed of basic bricks and common elements, but occasionally they stock rarer parts or colors. Somewhat newer at these stores is the "build-a-mini" kiosks. These are similar to the pick-a-brick wall, except you pay a flat rate for three minifigures built from the provided components. This is somewhat more expensive, but you can still get useful minifigure parts this way, such as Pirates mermaid tails, Space Police III Blacktron torsos, and, as of recently, parts from Collectible Minifigures Series 1. Lego stores also hold special events occasionally, such as Lego Club meetings or collaborative builds hosted by Master Model Builders. Often these are geared toward the younger crowd, but you often can encounter a fellow AFOL or two. It can be hard to get to these events unless you plan ahead, though: check the sites the previous poster linked to to see if any store events coincide with your trip. TL/DR; you should definitely go. It's a Lego fan's dream experience

Somewhat off-topic, but Superkalle, could you fix the title of this topic? It should say "troubleshooting", and it's jarring to see a pinned topic with such a glaring typo.

Since this review has one of the best pictures I've seen of the interior of the temple, I thought I'd ask here: What is the spoked-column-thing on the right-hand side? I recently got the set, and it looks familiar, but I can't identify what this object is meant to be.

A guy can dream, can't he? Although, admittedly, I was (I think?) misinformed on the planets at that point—I was assuming the planets would be built with basic bricks, possibly using a Lowell sphere as a base. If the planets are identical specialized molds, the chances of this are decreased dramatically.

Found a bizarre error: You can't attach part 48729 to part 32009 at any right angle (image).

Found a connection error. Part 60596 can be centered on Part 87580, but it cannot be rotated on that point. This connection method is used in 2505 Garmadon's Dark Fortress.