Lyichir

To be frank, even with Lego releasing more and more expensive sets, releasing four ~$350 sets not tied to any current themes that have proven their sales potential, over a short period of time, feels like it would be a major gamble. I would love to see sets like this for other themes like that, but getting so many at once feels like it would be a misstep—it would be a bad thing if Lego bet big on classic themes only for some of them to wind up being massively expensive shelf-warmers, since that could jeopardize getting other things like that in the future. Give it time. If this singular set is successful, it could lead to follow-ups—and lord knows Lego has no shortage of major anniversaries to celebrate in the future.

To be honest I can't remember a game where the castle itself was frozen. The closest I can think of is Super Mario Galaxy, where the surrounding town was attacked and some of the Toads were frozen in crystals.

On the one hand, that would've been neat... but on the other, I get the appeal of wanting to make "classic" Bowser available now that his castle's been retired.

Oh, neat! There's a fair number of "repeat" characters in this wave (Kamek, Red Toad, Toadette, Green Yoshi, and Bowser), though that makes sense since many of the sets with those characters got retired at the end of last year. There's still enough "new" here to keep things exciting. The Peach starter set DOES include another Koopaling (Lemmy)! That makes three of them available so far—it's beginning to look like we might really get all of them in time if they keep up at this rate! Cat Peach's suit is just the second power-up designed specifically for a character other than Mario (the first being the Poltergust). It looks like it's even more elaborate than Cat Mario, too—there seem to be paw attachments for the hands! If only we had a Cat Luigi suit to complete the set... Yoshi's House is VERY cute and recognizable from games like Super Mario World. The Goomba's Shoe is also a clever idea for a small set (like the Clown Car from the first half of the year. There's a couple cool new parts visible in some of these, including what looks like a column with a spring in it (for bouncy mushrooms), a beanstalk, a new roof on Peach's Castle, and a 1x2 half-circle jumper on top of those.

I'd reckon D2C is less likely to be Peach's Castle if we're getting a "playset" Peach's Castle as well this year. But really apart from that, it could be practically anything—there's been no real "pattern" for D2C sets in this theme so far to extrapolate from, other than the D2Cs so far NOT being the same sort of playset as the starter and expansion sets.

Apparently Lego accidentally revealed a Princess Peach's Castle set for Lego Super Mario a day early: https://brickset.com/article/71408/princess-peach-playable-character-and-castle-revealed! Obviously it's not going to be to every Castle fan's taste, but there are some nice looking parts, most prominently a new 4x8 half-cone roof with shingles. In that bright red it reminds me pleasantly of the old 4x8 roof slopes from the Dragon Masters theme (my very first Castle theme)! And on top of those, it looks like there's another interesting new part (albeit less castle-specific)—a 1x2 half-circle jumper plate.

Well, I was wrong! They did go for Peach third! The figure looks good, though I'm curious what she looks like with the power-ups since it looks like she's taller than the other bros and part of her blouse (where her hair overlaps) seems like it'd remain visible with the typical overalls on. The castle looks great too, and it's great that Ludwig is in there (in addition to another way to obtain Bowser now that his castle is retired). Two Koopalings down, five to go! Maybe the starter set for Princess Peach could include another? Though there's a chance they could go for a different boss like Pom-Pom for that set. The other characters from yet-to-be-revealed sets look good too! Yellow Toad is a nice addition, getting us ever closer to having the full "Toad Brigade" from games like Mario Galaxy and Odyssey. The Boomerang Bro is a great addition to the lineup (hopefully others like Hammer Bros, Fire Bros, and Ice Bros show up in due time). And Spike looks INCREDIBLE (from the looks of it you need to trigger him to "throw" his spike bar to be able to scan him).

The 70000 range is typically minifigure-based play themes, I think, but has been a mix of licensed and non-licensed in the past (including themes like Ninjago and Chima as well as ones like Star Wars). Four sets is a smallish number for a new non-licensed theme though—especially since the first wave of a theme tends to be larger than subsequent waves in many cases. I seriously doubt the speculation about Mythica amounts to anything—as far as I'm aware Mythica is little more than a Legoland-specific themed area designed to replace the Chima areas at some of the parks.

I don't think that's really that strong an argument, to be honest. Lego has a major anniversary every 10 years, arguably even every five years. Even more frequently if you include "sub-anniversaries" of more specific innovations such as the brick and minifigure. The idea that Lego owes us a whole range of anniversary sets for every one of those seems a little baseless, especially when you consider that themes like Castle, Pirates, and Space were only truly central to Lego's brand identity for a couple decades of Lego's 90-year lifespan (really starting only in the late 70s to late 80s). They are nostalgic touchstones in the lives of older Lego fans, to be sure... but I sometimes think about how much their perceived "centrality" to the Lego brand is owed to those themes being the "core themes" specifically for the first organized AFOL community in the early days of the internet, and to Lego's own "myth-making" beginning in earnest with the founding and expansion of the Legoland Parks (with areas centered around those themes), rather than because those themes have an inherent, unwavering appeal among kids. Part of this might come from growing up alongside not just those themes but also ones like Adventurers, Aquazone and Wild West—which felt, as a kid at the time, like they were equally important to some of those "tentpoles", but ultimately ended up more like footnotes in Lego's overall history. This isn't to say I'd be opposed to anniversary sets of the sort you describe! I have loved sets like Barracuda Bay that pay homage to the Lego sets and themes of my childhood, or even sets like Benny's Spaceship that allude to Lego sets before my time, and will likely continue to do so with other "nostalgic" sets of that sort (especially if, like those sets, they take advantage of the major advances in modern set and part design to make those older things feel fresh and new again). I just don't feel like I'm specifically owed those things for every 80s or 90s theme, especially not just because another arbitrary interval has passed since Lego as a company was founded.

My Ninjago City which has been displayed in my room with regulated heating/AC in the summer and winter is fine, so I don't think it's a universal issue with that set or the time period it was released. If it's not related to the conditions of where it's displayed (which I wouldn't necessarily rule out—if it's only on the paper-backed stickers it might be humidity that's the issue), it could just be an unlucky isolated issue with the stickers in your sets. In general I've had more issues with older stickers peeling, especially early 2000s-era ones like some of the ones in my 2006 Spongebob sets. I feel like Lego has generally gotten better at both improving the adhesive quality of their stickers, and recognizing what types of part surfaces are more or less conducive to sticker application.

There's a pretty high likelihood that they'll at the very least unveil a proper trailer for the upcoming Super Mario Movie, so if sets based on that are planned, we might at least get a better idea of what sort of things to expect.

To be honest, if it's space, I'd sort of rather it be a moonbase rather than just a ship. Benny's spaceship has already shown how well a classic spaceship in isolation can be modernized, but a well-developed moonbase would truly stand out from previous Classic Space homages. A moonbase could also include rovers and even a launchpad with a spaceship (albeit maybe not as large as a standalone spaceship would be), allowing a set like that to better capture more of the breadth of the Classic Space theme's aesthetics (not unlike what Barracuda Bay did with its combination of a ship and tropical island).

Yeah, that's probably the intent. But whether or not that works out for them (as a more niche product largely aimed at adult collectors and not marketed so much as a standalone "toy", that might be enough to pass muster), Lego probably couldn't get away with something like that as easily. Heck, even if Lego did put all the warnings and age restrictions they'd need to legally sell sets with smaller magnets (which in and of itself might have a negative impact on the sales of a product category that's become increasingly niche), I'm not sure it'd be worth the PR liability if a kid DID get seriously injured by misusing them. Lego's overall reputation for safety is very important to them which is probably a big part of why they're so proactive about potential safety risks, even when the results (like magnets encased in bulky plastic parts or battery boxes with screws instead of easy-open latches) are less convenient for adult fans.

Eh... I'm largely uninterested in either of those movies, or for licensed themes in general outside of the parts they bring. Maybe when the sets are revealed there'll be more to pique my interest but currently with only a few very specialized part leaks, there's not a ton to get excited for. I'm personally quite happy with the Monkie Kid space sets there've been this year (as a fan of that theme in general), and if the 90th anniversary set turns out to be space that might pique my interest as well as I love tributes to Lego's history. Now that the City Space sets are out that's mildly exciting as well, especially with inventories and reviews being available to show off all of what they have to offer.

Out of curiosity... does anyone know why the Bony Beetle seems to be that much more expensive on Bricklink/eBay than the other Series 3 character packs? I ordered a set of the other nine series three packs on eBay since sets of ten seemed prohibitively expensive, but the Bony Beetle on its own also seems to be in high demand...

Honestly I've thought about the possibility of Mario Kart sets using the existing "digi-figs" using a scannable tile to activate the kart features and adding race music and acceleration/drifting sound effects based on the accelerometer. Using the digi-figs would allow for bigger, chunkier karts with a decent level of brick-built detail compared to what smaller minifigure-scaled ones necessarily would have. A subtheme like that wouldn't have to be large and could have a couple sets with different karts for Mario and Luigi, some of which might just be the kart itself and others of which could include features like ramps, obstacles, and start/finish lines. The drawback is that a Mario Kart subtheme like that wouldn't feature as many "playable" characters as K'nex's take on it, but I think zooming the karts around would still be fun in its own right.

The thing is I think Peach might still be likelier to show up as an "NPC" character like Toad or Yoshi (probably in a set like a Peach's Castle) than as a digi-fig. A more "Mario-esque" character like Wario feels like they might be a more natural fit for things like the existing power-up overalls than Peach. That said, whatever playable character comes next (if any further ones do at all) is far less certain than Luigi. Luigi has been the alternative to Mario and the "Player 2" option since his introduction, but once you get beyond that the third or fourth player options are way less consistent, and Peach is certainly up there with other characters like Toad and Wario as some of the most prominent "Player 3" options. If Peach does get released as a digi-fig, I at least hope Mario or Luigi get cute bashful expressions if they try on her dress, sort of like in games like Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga.

What a strange six-legged horse!

I don't know about that... I feel like if the theme is revealed alongside a particularly good-looking set, it'll make the "loss" go down easier for fans of the other themes than announcing the theme on its own ahead of time.

I'm pretty sure the solution you describe (round 2x2 tiles attached to those shields) is what the Goat Boat set itself does by default. So if that solution satisfies you it'd be by far the easiest option!

Can I just say this is one of the most positive and level-headed nostalgic sentiments I've seen in the AFOL community? It's very much how I feel about some of the themes I've loved over the years like Exo-Force, Agents, or Elves (which I personally think are a lot LESS likely to make a return in the future given that their focus on specific stories and characters make them much harder to pick up where they left off or reboot effectively compared to more "generic" themes). Being able to appreciate themes for what they were and not just what you wished they could have been is, I think, a true marker of quality themes, and continued engagement with that through MOCs and enjoying classic sets feels like a healthier way to engage with them than simply complaining about the things that, at least for the time being, have taken their place. Again, though, I doubt Pirates is gone for good even if it's not visible on the immediate horizon. It's still a rich vein of storytelling to mine and Lego has a long history of revisiting theme ideas once they've had some time out of the spotlight. And arguably with the Creator theme branching more and more into sci-fi and historic subject matter instead of just modern-day subjects, there's even more potential for future Pirate sets even outside of a full theme revival.

The actual photos of the part in question do include the green-red pattern at the beginning which suggests to me that Lego's renders are simply not an accurate representation of the exact pattern.

It's not actually super out of date (the last use of it was just last year, for Sandman in a 4+ Spider-Man set). I just don't think replacing the legs looks as impressive in general as Nya did with full legs plus a spiraling water platform. The impression the rock spiral piece gives is very much of the legs just not being there, which I don't think suits the very corporeal ninja characters any more than, say, the Possession-era ghost trail.

BTS doesn't really appeal to me, but it's also one that I'd have to judge the final design on its own merits—the proposal is VERY rudimentary leaving a lot of potential room for improvement. The A-frame cabin is extremely promising, though. I wouldn't consider EITHER the treehouse or medieval blacksmith to be particularly "City-like". Creator Expert-like, maybe—but I don't think that's a bad thing, especially since in my opinion both sets were a massive improvement on their original proposals. I do expect some of the less standard techniques of the cabin to be revised, though, since currently the main image features parts loosely attached at one end to achieve some of the more rustic, uneven look, which will be better off replaced with more easily replicable techniques in an actual consumer-focused set. Some of the updates in fact already do so, replacing those loosely connected parts with more varied colors and a mix of tiles and plates that would be more reasonable to replicate in instructions.

Possibly—though unlike the water/vapor column used for NRG Nya, that one is shorter and REPLACES the leg piece rather than allowing legs to be inserted into it. Otherwise I'd consider that one a good potential fit for either Cole or Zane.