Lyichir

The shop definitely takes some liberties with the actual aesthetics of the Ice Planet sets, which had a more limited color palette. But the design of the facade does remind me a bit of the wider range of hues and values on the Ice Planet box art (which featured both brighter and darker blues in some of the gorgeous, hand-made dioramas that sets were photographed on in that era). Beyond that I love the retro charm of the oval-shaped window with its thick, azure border, which definitely feels fitting for a callback like that even if it isn't an explicit reference to those earlier designs. A part of me hopes we might see this reference make a return in another future set somewhere down the line!

Possibly... but then again, Lego basically already did that with the 2015 and 2016 sets, to mixed reception. And since them, the most "recent" uses of most CCBS parts have gotten further and further away. At this point, it feels like it would be unlikely for Lego to revive the system for a single set (since even if the molds are usable basically no CCBS parts remain "in production" in other sets and would have to be reintroduced for this set specifically). Perhaps if they already have other plans for bringing back the system for next year it could happen, but otherwise it seems far-fetched. A system-based homage is more likely if anything, I think, because even if the popularity of a direction like that is a bit up in the air (Bionicle fans can be mercurial and a move like that could be polarizing even if it did end up accepted by a large number of fans), the practical considerations of putting a set like that into production are more favorable.

That's a shame. I think that a "space camp" subtheme would certainly be a fun direction for Friends, and one that's been sort of teased by Olivia's dad's profession in the TV series. Maybe some day...

Even if they were avoiding "traditional" western themes (and especially a set homaging the not-particularly-sensitive classic theme), I feel like the framing of BrickWest Studios (which is framed more as an "old Hollywood" film set rather than the messiness of actual history) could get it around that. Also, regarding why Pirates wouldn't be excluded as well, it could be a matter of the release window being closer. If BrickWest Studios passes review it's likely that it would be released next year just like the set that results from this poll, at which point Barracuda Bay would already be two years old. That said... I would hesitate to assume that Western not being included confirms or deconfirms BrickWest Studios one way or another. It's entirely possible that the reason for its exclusion in this specific instance is unconnected to any future plans for Western sets, through Ideas or otherwise.

Finally saw the new tail piece! Looks much more compact (I.e. doesn’t stick back as far), which is good. He’ll finally be able to sit down more easily! The “classic” Wukong torso is neat too. This is speculative, but what if the minifig pack features the “original” team of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, Bai Longma, and Tang Sanzang? They all have designs shown in the show, and while they might be less useful as army builders or to supplement their “modern” counterparts in the other sets, they would be some interesting figs that would work better in a “bonus” pack like that than in other sets.

Don't forget Back to the Future (which got Dimensions sets and a BrickHeadz set). TBH if there were another Friends set it wouldn't surprise me if it were something like BrickHeadz.

Would be fun to create a "haunted" version of it!

I don't want to belabor this, because it seems like people here tend to find it worthy of mockery when someone actually takes the process of how Lego does business seriously, but since you seem genuinely curious... the reason including a pair of new horse recolors rather than just a single one would be more expensive is that introducing recolors may not add substantially to the material cost (the plastic itself) or the machining cost (the cost of a new mold), but would add another logistical cost (the cost of producing another part separately, inventorying it separately, and storing it separately for things like Bricks & Pieces and Lego's replacement part service). Individually, these logistical expenditures may not seem like a lot, but added up they could quickly get out of control if no care was taken to limit the introduction of new elements (as was one factor in Lego's financial difficulties in the early 2000s). So different sets or themes get their own budgets for such things. That budget varies from set to set and theme to theme, and we've never gotten any specific numbers provided externally, but in general full themes get a higher budget shared across all sets, versus "standalone" sets that make do with fewer, and sets produced in higher quantities (like cheaper sets that get mass retail releases) get a bigger budget for things like new elements (since the cost is spread out more), while high-dollar exclusive sets get a lower budget. And of course, despite these themes and sets being budgeted separately, there's absolutely bargaining and borrowing from one department to another—an example in this set is the new 1x3 inverted half arch brick in black, which is new to this set but the designer seems to have borrowed from a larger theme like Ninjago.

To be honest, I think different approaches work better for different types of buildings. Compared to a hotel or a smaller, free-standing type of home or business, the exterior facade of a shopping mall is rarely its most attractive angle—it's the storefronts inside that tend to be flashier and more exciting. It makes sense to me that they'd opt for an approach more like this for both shopping mall sets they've done instead of trying to box it all up in an exterior that only served to conceal its most interesting features.

As great as another horse color on top of the new tan recolor would be, even if the set included two horses instead of one for the carriage I imagine they would probably have gone for two horses of the same color both for aesthetic reasons and because it'd be a more efficient use of the budget for new parts.

You make good points, but do keep in mind that the results of this poll are not going to result in a "wave of sets" either. It's for one D2C set that we don't even know the size of, so no telling how many or how few figs will be included (heck, the description of what's being produced doesn't even guarantee that it will be a minifigure-scale set at all, though a set with no figs of any sort is obviously a worst case scenario and probably unlikely). Even the theme that is chosen is unlikely to include any major new or reintroduced molds, given how infrequently D2C sets are to include those, meaning that certain themes or factions will likely have to rely on substitutions. So a full theme revival, this is not. It will be a nice thing for whichever theme gets chosen, but will be unlikely to fully sate fans of long-retired themes the way a full theme could.

Personally I love the color scheme they went with for the mall. I'm a sucker for magenta/yellow/azure striping, and I love how each floor has a different shade of purple for the floor, getting lighter as you ascend. I do sort of wish there were two side-by-side escalators, geared together to go in opposite directions as you turn the crank. That would have been more realistic (since in real life escalators generally don't switch directions so you need one of each) as well as pretty interesting mechanically, and fun for role-play (with characters able to pass each other on the escalator). But honestly having an escalator system like this at all is a huge breakthrough, and there'll be plenty of time for other sets to continue to innovate with that going forward. I wonder if we'll see anyone mod older sets with non-functional escalators, like the Grand Emporium, to use this new system?

I think the challenge (so far) has been that even reviewers who have "professional" photo setups for their typical Lego reviews (with backdrops, professional lighting, etc.) might not have a backdrop/light box big enough for two of these sets, let alone all three. Never say never, of course... the more people who get the set, the more likely a skilled photographer will step up to fill that void. For my part, even if I had such a setup (sadly I do not), it'd take a lot of prep simply to get the first two sets dust-free enough for such high-quality photos, since they've been built and sitting on a shelf for a while. That could certainly be another barrier to getting the sets photographed together like that.

Nice! The back of box pictures give a little more insight into the set contents... the ambulance and vet clinic are nicely furnished and the shopping mall has some features that couldn't be seen previously including a bathroom behind the escalator and a ball pit at the base of the slide!

For that to work there would have to be some sort of "starter set" that they were meant to interact with, which doesn't seem like the most effective business model for "impulse" sets. For Mario, that sort of format is essential, simply because the electronic "core" of the figure would simply add too much to the price. But for simple Lego City motorcycles, a full bike is generally only 6 or so parts and not particularly expensive, so it doesn't seem implausible to me that these sets each include a full bike, a figure, and maybe a few accessories.

I've never been the best at picking favorites... but overall my favorite architectural feature is probably the massive angled build of the museum, my favorite reference might be the Keeper's Village and Catamaran Sea Battle sets on the shelf of the Ninjago fan's apartment, and my favorite easter egg is probably the one underneath Ronin's shop (the very first sticker that's applied).

A squirrel for Squirrel Girl absolutely wouldn't be a "waste" of a mold—would practically be a necessity for the character (and the character feels like a great fit for the series, considering her all-ages popularity while still maybe being tough to fit into other "traditional" sets). Plus keep in mind that Squirrel Girl herself wouldn't necessarily need new hair or weapons—at best she might need a new tail if they don't want to use an existing mold like the one from Chima (which may be retired).

Value for money is often a subjective measure, but if you're using price-per-piece as your main metric, the larger sets typically represent a better value than the smaller ones (as is often the case in other themes as well). Sets like Pigsy's Food Truck, Demon Bull King, Monkey King Warrior Mech, Monkie Kid's Team Secret HQ, and the Flaming Foundry all meet the old (American) AFOL standby of costing less than ten cents per piece, while smaller sets with large pieces like Iron Bull Tank, Monkie Kid's Cloud Jet, Sandy's Speedboat, and Monkie Kid's Cloud Roadster are less generous. Red Son's Inferno Truck is a bit of an outlier in that respect—it's one of the larger sets but has a lot of large parts that bump up the price. But of course, price per piece isn't the only way of judging value, even if it is one of the more "quantitative" measures. Some of those sets with a higher price-per-piece like Sandy's Speedboat, the Cloud Roadster, and Red Son's Inferno Truck have exclusive minifigures that might make them more appealing to you if you want a comprehensive collection of characters. And various sets might have more or less appeal to you based on what kind of builds you prefer (buildings, vehicles, mechs, etc.). Personally, if you're looking to start a collection, I'd highly recommend the Monkey King Warrior Mech to start. It's not only a fantastic-looking set, it has a massive selection of rare metallic gold parts and is currently the only set to include the Monkey King himself (though that could change if he appears again in this year's sets without a redesign).

Because the husky mold is still available, while the old goat mold is unusable and would need to be recast at a substantial cost. Anyway, even more impressed with this set based on the additional pictures. I LOVE that the light brick in the forge is activated by inserting the bellows underneath it! And other aspects like the furnishings and tree build are also impressive.

Brickset lists three more, actually (80017, 80018, 80022)! If I had to wager a guess I'd say at least one of those (probably 80022, considering it's typical for later set numbers in a wave to be larger/more expensive) might be a large mech of some sort—considering that the Monkey King Warrior Mech and Demon Bull King both seem to have been popular. It'd be cool to get a mech for Mei, considering her aptitude at the "Monkey Mech" arcade game (in which she plays as a White Dragon Horse Mech) and how excited she was to pilot the Monkey King Mech at the end of season one. Hopefully these get revealed soon! I expect that if they aren't revealed before then they will be unveiled on Chinese New Year (February 12).

While aesthetics are a matter of opinion, looking at these I still think the U.S. version would be more likely to be released as a set, if for no other reason than the fact that like the original NES compared to the Famicom, the U.S. SNES is "boxier" and thus would probably be easier to adapt accurately with Lego bricks. The subtle curves of the Super Famicom/European SNES feel like they'd require more compromises.

There is an opening in the floor of Christina's apartment to the kitchen below (next to the angled window), which seems to be the intended way of entering. I agree that a rope or something along those lines might have improved that, though.

I've started building Ninjago City Gardens... have finished the two "old world" levels so far. A few assorted thoughts. The ground-floor buildings being removable is a nice improvement over the originals, in my opinion. It makes the addition of hard-to-view interior features like objects on shelves (which this set seems to have more of) easier to view "after the fact", since individual buildings can be lifted up entirely and rotated to view instead of having to manipulate the entire base to do so. And it also allows for "underground" features like piping under the soup kitchen and hidden storage for contraband under Ronin's shop. I haven't started the next level yet but based on reviews I've watched, I think this also applies to those buildings, which can be removed from the "street" to be viewed in isolation. There's a fun "easter egg" under Ronin's shop that can't be seen without lifting the building, even through the trapdoor. I'm not going to spoil it for now, but it'll probably be mentioned in reviews. Two new Ninjago trading cards! This time it's Wyplash (Deck 1, #11) and Spitta (Deck 2, #12). This is, to me, an improvement over Ninjago City Docks, which had trading card stickers but not ones that were true references to the classic spinner game. I will have to update my bricklist. The opening window to the foyer of the Tea Time Balcony is extremely clever. But the roof above the open back to Ronin's shop isn't reinforced enough for my liking—I added a 1x4 plate in the middle to help lock the various roof segments together slightly better. The lack of obvious access to the Ninjago fan's apartment (compared to the handy ladder to the tea time balcony in Ronin's shop) is a bit of a shame, though it's easy to imagine the die-hard ninja fan doing a fancy ninja climb to get there. Still, a feature like a drop-down ladder would have been a nice touch. Other than that, the apartment is a treat—well-furnished and with references to various sets, including the upcoming Keeper's Village and Catamaran Sea Battle.

No idea. It was just my first thought upon hearing the similar name. Obviously there's no guarantee that it would be something literally spider-shaped like that set, though of course there's also no guarantee that it wouldn't, and given Monkie Kid's track record so far, a "mobile base" of some form or another seems like it might be more likely than a fixed fortress or castle. Honestly I'd be fine with either as long as it's done well.

"Illegal" connections typically comprise ones that DON'T quite fit—ones that can maybe be forced together but can cause damage to the parts themselves by doing so (much like a shirt that you can just barely wear, so long as you don't raise your arms enough to cause it to come apart at the seams). It's mostly a term used internally by Lego but is nonetheless important when it comes to not designing models that will inevitably result in frustration and disappointment on the part of buyers.