Fenghuang0296

Well, Tang Sanzang himself becomes a Buddha by the end of the story. So we kinda already have one, but not ‘the Buddha’.

The Mario plates? What? Why? Ugh. I mean, fair, but I hate that doing it this way means there are going to be lots of gaps if you put them all together! Oh well, I guess that’s what baseplates are for. I’m also kind of disappointed that the minifigures are so scattered and in such short supply. I was hoping that we’d get a duplicate of Isabelle somewhere at least (one for regular village life, one for her moonlighting as a Smash Brother). Still, the sets look gorgeous, if a little pricey, sheesh. And a March release date? I was expecting January. Definitely going to get the two big ones to add to my city, probably the smaller once as well even though I don’t expect to keep them together.

This looks gorgeous. If anyone’s curious, I’m thinking it looks to be 26 studs wide. Which is just about right for the amount of space I have in an open lot in the winter district of my city, so definitely getting this one.

Honestly, this set annoys me because we had some really great designs for Tails’ Workshop in Sonic Boom and Sonic Prime, among others, that could easily have been a set all its own. But this junky little side build pretty much prohibits us ever getting something like that. Oh well, I can always MOC something I guess.

I don’t think that’s a new hand mold, it looks to me more like a ‘glove’ type piece that goes over a normal hand. Similar to this piece but with spikes; https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=30924#T=C&C=1

At first glance I love the look of the thing. My only concern is that it might be too wide for the available space I have. I hope that section on the right is detachable or can be rotated or something.

To any other city builders here; an unexpected sale led to me pulling the trigger on the NWH Final Battle Set a couple of months earlier than I’d planned. (Gotta love tax returns.) While it’s obviously worth just for the minifigures, what if anything do y’all plan to do with the build, how do you intend to integrate the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty into your layouts/displays?

Instagram leaks are saying five new sets for January; 71471 Mateo’s Off-road Car ($9.99, 94 pieces) 71472 Izzie’s Hot Air Balloon ($14.99, 156 pieces) 71475 Mr. Oz’s Space Buggy ($29.99, 350 pieces) 71476 Zoey and Zian the Cat Owl ($49.99, 437 pieces) 71477 Sandman’s Tower ($89.99, 723 pieces) I’m intrigued. Excited by Mr. Oz thankfully coming in at least one more set, and a more affordable one too. Thrilled that we are indeed getting Zian, and also the Dreamforge presumably (unless there’s another ‘Sandman tower’, but I doubt it. Also, stealth Spider-Man crossover? :P ) Hopefully the Car and Balloon are good small sets, too. Might be redundant, since I doubt there’d be anything exclusive in those two, but if the builds are good I might still get them. Also, hoping for Logan in human form. It is so weird that he didn’t appear as a full minifigure anywhere in the first wave. Reckon we’ll get new variants of the heroes or they’ll just reuse the same designs?

I just got and built the Daily Bugle (thanks to Amazon’s Prime Day sale, yay!!!) but after finishing it, I found that I had a 1x2x2 glass panel left over. I double checked; I didn’t leave it off the damaged section of the window. Does anyone have any ideas where I could have missed one?

I’ve only built one custom module; mostly because the confines of my display space mandated that I build something to connect the Docks, the Gardens and the ‘island shrine’ attached to the Gardens, since, IMO, none of them really fit together in the ways I want them to. My advice would be, look at what you’ve currently got - what your existing modules are, where they end - and build with them in mind. The left side of the Gardens, for example, has a balcony behind the Museum that sort of just leads into empty space, and none of the modules really have anything that connects to it well. So when I built my custom design, I was careful to extend that balcony as far as I could, and mimicked the railing design. Similarly, there’s a ‘tea house’ in the old city section of the Gardens with no evident way to access it; I installed a staircase leading up to that. Little touches like that, or things as simple as ensuring that the corners of buildings like up between modules, will go a surprisingly long way towards making everything go together well and not look like you’re just slapping random rubbish together. (Not that that aesthetic doesn’t have a place in Ninjago City, of course, but in moderation.) Another thing I can recommend is carefully adding splashes of vibrant, pastel colour against darker, more muted buildings. Make sure you’re following the general aesthetic, and it’s not as simple as ‘dull colours lower down, bright colours higher up’. I like to think of it as an actual city that’s been built, damaged, repaired and upgraded over time. Walls that have been there for years will be worn and weathered, while the billboard attached to that same wall will be bright and new.

The new sets look . . interesting. I do want the T6, but the other two are easy passes. (Chewbacca . . it it’s articulated, it might possibly see some use in my collection if I use it as a starting point to create a Kaiju for my giant robots to fight. But it looks like it’s just a sculpture, in which case easy pass.) Off topic, but does anyone here have both Major Vonreg’s TIE from a few years ago, and the current TIE Interceptor VS Fang Fighter set? I got Vonreg’s a while ago because I wanted to build an Imperial fleet, and have been looking forward to complimenting it with another Interceptor or two. (Am annoyed and disappointed by the fact that it’s not a set on its own . .) How do they look together? Would they look good side by side, in a formation? (There’s something very satisfying about lining up four or five ships together, synchronised.)

It’s, what, one brick and two plates? I’m sure everyone can scrounge up enough spare parts to put in a bit of support in the back corner. For me, it’s going to go in a bit of empty space between some of my Modulars and the back wall, so my priority isn’t so much modifying the building to be good and functional, as it is making something tall and visually distinct that’ll look good as a set piece in the backdrop (so to speak). To that end, I’ll probably see if I can add an extra floor, just for the added height. (Maybe a nougat-coloured floor between the pink and yellow floors, or possibly a white one at the very top would be good. Or perhaps a dark blue floor that functions as an actual proper indoor eating area, above the kitchen but below everything else. Either way, gotta keep the rainbow consistent.) Elevator’s definitely a good idea, though; just off the top of my head it’s probably simple enough to construct an 8x8 TECHNIC frame with a platform attached to it that can be raised and lowered, which isn’t actually attached except to the bottom so it won’t impede removing the upper floors if needed. My only concern would be that if you’re using the Community Kitchen as the base, you might need to shift around some of the kitchen’s contents.

The patio seating area is just a 16x16 space with the seating subassembly attached to it, right? I don’t have these sets yet (waiting for a good discount) but what I’m planning is to get the DREAMZzz Treehouse and use that to replace the patio. Debating whether or not I peel off all the treehouse elements so that it’s just a really massive tree. It’s going to be at the back corner of my layout, so my priority here is having something tall sticking up above the buildings in front of it, and a giant tree feels like a great way to break up the skyline.

So Amazon Australia has dropped the price on last year’s Golden Ultra Dragon to about 40% off. The minifigures are meh except Oni Lloyd, but it’s very tempting as a parts pack. Can anyone sway me on whether or not to pull the trigger?

Downtown F/D finally went on sale here in Australia and I got it a couple of days ago. It’s great, really gorgeous design and the modern look of the Design store in particular makes it very unique in my city. If you can get a good price and have space for it, I’d recommend it for any city builder.

Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that there are inconsistencies between the show and sets? The Lloyd and Arin Team Mechs just don’t appear at all, and Arin hasn’t even put on his ninja suit yet. Unless this is a Crystallised situation where this is only the first half of this year’s show? I mean obviously Dragons Rising isn’t over yet, but is the second part slated for later this year or next year alongside a new wave of sets?

I’m intrigued to note that the 2K Drive sets use the same system of modular parts and attachments as the Racing Garage and the Emergency Vehicles sets from the first half of 2023. I love the cross-compatibility. Is there a third 2K Drive set? I’m seeing the red/yellow/blue trio and the green/pink modded vehicles, is there more to come?

The Classic Space Grimspawn? Unfortunately, no. The Grimspawn included Susan (the one with horns, appears in the Pegasus and Space Bus), Snivel (Thanos head, appears in the Croco-Car) and Sneak (currently show-only, used a sort of mini-dragon body and the Man-Bat ears piece) as the major named Grimspawn. The Fright Knights were generic ‘ground’ Grimspawn, and there were show-only generic flying Grimspawn that seemed to use the Christmas elf hat/ears part in all black, and had wings that don’t really match any existing part. Denny, Captain Bedbeard, the top hat Grimspawn - the unique ones in the Space Bus appear to be just for that set, except for the Fright Knight(s).

NWH Battle is a bit disappointing, mostly because no Lizard. (Not too cut up about Sandman being missing, disappointing but he’s in other sets.) Bur something’s bugging me; what colour, exactly, is that Statue of Liberty head? It’s not dark tan, we can see a couple of dark tan pieces in there. It’s not reddish brown, is it? It kind of looks like one or other of the nougat shades that they’ve been using for Asian characters’ flesh tones . . that’s A LOT of pieces to make in a new colour, if I’m right. I’m really trying to figure out what colour that’s supposed to be. Can anyone tell? Now thoroughly looking forward to the reviews just to have that answered.

In case anyone missed it, the entire season of ten episodes is available on Netflix! Random, but good. I haven’t found a cartoon discussion thread, so . . I think my main takeaway from the show is that they clearly developed this alongside the sets, with different teams, because there is not a lot of overlap, and quite a few inconsistencies. The sets present Mrs. Castillo as being a Dreamchaser, when she’s just a recurring background character - yet she somehow appears in three sets while the main mentor character, Mr. Oz, is only in one? Relatedly, why did we not get a human form minifigure for Logan anywhere in the wave? The sets regularly depict Izzy wielding a sword that in the show only appeared once in the background, and I was expecting her to take and use it but no? And that’s not getting into the number of characters who seem to have been made up just for the show - most prominently, Sneak. (I kinda get ‘corrupted Spyro’ vibes from him. Is that weird?) I know he would require a new mould, but - maybe in wave 2? And then there’re the likes of Berserker, Jim and - okay, the secret agent lady whose name I’ve already forgotten is an understandable omission. On a different but related note, some the sets just . . weren’t in the show? Or only just barely? The Treehouse appeared in the background briefly, but the heroes never even went inside it (so far). The Stable of Dream Creatures wasn’t used at all, except for the plant/deer thing appearing in episode 1, the Nightmare King’s Pegasus appeared for five seconds for no reason and then was forgotten about. The Crocodile Car in itself wasn’t used, though we did see first its ‘base model’ and then the ‘alternate build’ monster truck in the tenth episode at the last minute. Oh, and the Nightmare King’s fortress. We’re getting that as a set, right? I really hope we get that as a big set in the second wave. Same for Zion; that junky side build in the Pegasus set does not do that gorgeous design justice, we need to get a set similar to Robo-Z-Blob and Bunch focused on Zoey with a proper build for Zion. Really, the only sets I’d consider accurate to the show are the Nightmare Shark Ship, Z-Blob and Bunchu, Grimkeeper, the Dream Village, and the Space Bus. (I’ll also note that there was a lot of talk of a base of operations for the larger Dreamchasers organisation; Castle Nocturnia. That definitely sounds like it could be an upcoming set.) On the topic of the actual show? It was good. Definitely geared towards kids but what else could you expect? I did get very sick of Logan and his constantly dragging the rest of the group down. Conversely, Mateo and Izzy are great and well-characterised, and Cooper, Zoey and Mr. Oz are all really good supporting characters. I suppose my only real criticism is that this really did feel like . . ‘the first season’ of a show. There are a lot of dangling plot threads, like the nature of Zoey’s relation to the Nighthunter and what exactly he did to her - and the Nighthunter’s nature in general - that need to be resolved. I was hoping we’d get some answers in the final episode, but nope, nothing. TL/DR?; What’s there is good. It’s a kids’ show, but mostly a good one. But what we currently have feels incomplete and needs at least one or two more seasons (and waves of sets).

Huh. I did not expect to actuallt kijd of like these mech sets? For what they’re trying to be, they’re dumb, but they have potential. Can anyone confirm if the Darth Vader figure in the mech is the version with arm printing? I haven’t been able to find an image of him outside the mech. If it is I might just get that one, maybe. Also tempted to get two of the Stormtrooper Mechs to mod and add to my sci-fi army . .

Yeah, no, that picture of it next to the Gardens is not doing it any favours in my opinion. That slim but visible gap between the museum and the tree is what ruins it for me. Not to mention the awkward half-arch underneath. I’d be more interested in seeing them the other way around, since if I did get the Markets, that’s where it’ll go. (I constructed a custom ‘Port’ module that functions as an ‘inside corner’ between the Docks and the Gardens, and after going to all the effort of constructing balconies and buildings that line up and maintain the designs of the railings that are cut off at the edge of the Gardens, I’m not taking them apart, especially not for this.) I hope that black buzz cut and coral version of Mei’s hair comes in another set sooner or later. Disappointed that we’re not getting a cat-ear-headphones mould for Sora, though (yet . . ?)

Oh they did not make casual Arin and Sora’s wig exclusives to the worst Ninjago City set to date. Wow. Those had better come in other sets later on. Not in love with this set, if that wasn’t obvious. Too much space and part count devoted to the cable car feature, choking out pretty much anything else. Unless better images change my mind, which I doubt, I don’t think I’ll be devoting the requisite money or space to this one. Pity . .

Oh wow. Arm printing? In my Ninjago? A surprise, but a welcome one. Also happy that all three new heroes are included in Sora’s Mech Bike. Definitely getting that set, it looks so good. Less thrilled about a lot of the others. The Temple in particular is so . . skeletal. Looks very, painfully, incomplete. What’s there is good, but actually using it for anything in my layouts is not an appealing prospect. Very curious about the Dragon Energy cores. The dragons themselves look great. I’m disappointed by the final revealed design of the Bounty, though. I was really hoping that it would be an ‘Elemental Dragon merges with the Bounty’ scenario and its body would split in half and fill in those gaps on the sides. I am wondering if that blue dragon is a grown-up Riyu, or possibly Riyu’s mom. We saw ‘size change’ before with Chompy in MoM, after all. The villain designs are lit, but I’m disappointed that a Ras minifigure doesn’t seem to be included in the set that I presume is him transformed into a large, feral form.

Assuming I can get them for good prices, my top priorities are the Pegasus, the Tree House, Bunchu Bunny and possibly the Space Bus, because that’ll give me almost all of the characters and some of the best builds. (It low key annoys me that, out of the two ‘pets’, Z-Blob is in almost every set while Bunchu is only in his dedicated set, the massive ship, and a polybag?) Though I do also want the Shark Ship, race car and turtle van, and wouldn’t say no to some of the others at good prices either . . issue is going to be finding places to put them all . . All that said, I’m not too worried about collecting characters at this point, since I’m certain we’ll get at least one or two more waves regardless of how well the theme does. So I’m trying very hard not to be annoyed that Mr. Oz is only in one set while all the other heroes are in at least three.