Masked Mini

Probably not allowed to PM until your post count is high enough.

We are getting waaay too hopeful around here. I worry we are setting ourselves up for some disappointment. But on the other hand it is looking more plausible by the page. It's hard not to get excited.

google stud.io + instruction maker and you'll find a ton of reddit posts, you tube vids and tutorials. just a matter of picking your preferred medium for a guide.

Because Leaf is not a real theme. It was a red herring to track down leaks and generate buzz and hope amongst AFOLs. TLG is now busy guillotining their leaks and are getting ready to crush this AFOL Classic-theme rebellion once and for all. Lego has altered, pray we don't alter it any further...! *licensed theme force choke* sorry I just had a hearty breakfast and my bloodsugar is surging.

Seems like it'd be better to auto-generate instructions from stud.io and only do custom pages for things it didn't do good enough. won't be TLG quality but probably a better compromise than dropping a grand or two on professional graphic designed instructions. But we don't know the OPs budget or purpose.

Still have not spotted a copy in the wild. Such is life when dealing with used book stores though.

I'm giddy as a schoolgirl sneaking into the boys locker-room. It doesn't have to be time-travel, it could be Lego realms too. Think back to before Bricklink was bought, back when everything was awesome. Lego was depicted more as timewise co-existing realms or geographic areas with borders. This theme could expand upon the basic thought from the movie without being The Lego Movie. Maybe have the wizard guy pop in on AR and help guide you to be a masterbuilder yourself? Granted that's not much different than travelling in time as opposed to between areas experiencing different times. Horse drawn DeLoreans when??

Congratulations! Gotta admit I'm a touch jealous. It's such a petty thing but you didn't just get quoted in the Guardian for any old thing but for letting your Lego-nerd flag fly high!

I bought a few knights and a bunch of custom pad printed shields from a fine gentleman in Monaco. Very pricey fellow BUT fantastic quality of printing. BETTER than TLG. And he offered historically correct Crusader Orders. I will be sad to see him go to be honest. I disagree with TLG on their new policy of not allowing modified Lego bricks such as the chromed parts or the non-IP infringing custom prints a la Steinedrucker for instance. I can live without them on bricklink and like Steinedrucker they will find other means of reaching into my wallet than through bricklink.

Oh blarf. Now I have THAT tune in my head again... on a positive note: maybe TLG opens their own storefront on bricklink!

You are correct in that they are not 3rd party IP but they are Intellectual Property. Hence hoping they don't brush with too broad of a brush. With luck TLG will not alter the deal any further. Most of us seem to be fine with or at least accepting of a return to purism on Bricklink marketplace. Shame about the MOC side of things but that is easier to host elsewhere.

That is my worry. I have not bought a lot of licensed stuff but I may want to down the line. Someone else brought up the first sale doctrine which might be a legal out. I'm more concerned with TLGs decisions regarding discontinued Lego themes such as Classic Castle, Pirates and -tron era space. Hopefully they won't curtail the sale of that stuff by brushing with a too broad brush. TLG may only have 7 shareholders with direct ties to the founder (Kjeld/Camilla/3 kids/2 Grandchildren), but they are shareholders nonetheless. Look at TLGs behavior in the market as opposed to fixating on whether it is a publicly traded corporation or a privately held corporation. They are a shareholder driven corporation. You are correct in that they might not have gone full Walmart yet (also family owned by direct descendants of the founder), they do a lot of outreach and some charity. But then again so does McDonalds (Ronald McDonald house, free apartments nearby children's hospitals for families whose children are undergoing serious surgeries and chemo). That kind of stuff makes great PR, somewhat useful for market research and is used to offset profits for tax purposes. Even Walmart has a foundation, which they insinuate dispenses a billion $US to charity. (https://walmart.org/) Outreach and charity does not set TLG apart (from publicly traded companies). They, TLG, are not acting in the market sphere as if they were a family owned mom and pop store, doing it not for the profit but for the love of making the little kiddicrafts smile. Oh and by the way... TLG is very much a multinational (multicontinental) corporation as they own subsidiaries incorporated in and operating out of the EU, NA and Asia. ::megabloks rustled:: Excellent courtroom defense. The problem here is that as a company lawyer you need to avoid the courtroom like the plague. To get to the part where you get to address anyone as "your Honour." costs serious money. That hits the bottom line and if it can be avoided by simply modifying your ToS in the first place... well it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out which way the beancounters will go.

My order arrived today. 2 days processing, 7 days shipping to Texas.

::high-five:: My man!

As an 80s baby I just wish they'd unknowingly attract me by bringing back castle, -trons and pirates.

Excellent catch! I missed the part about being liable for any legal expenses incurred by Bricklink. Time to move all MOCs off that site folks. Corporate suits can run six figures before discovery is complete. Sauce? My last company (Fortune 500) would attempt to settle any filed claim under 200k $US because initial legal fees would come to $US 250k.

That's a much more reasonable way to approach things. I am happy to discuss and on occasion spread the odd rumor myself but I don't try to pass it off as the unquestionable word from God himself. Recently I stirred up the Future Pirate speculation thread with a juicy one. But I made it clear it was what it was... an unsubstantiated comment from a Store Employee. I gave as much detail as I could without identifying my source. That way everyone reading it can assign their own relative value to the statement. If I had first hand proof that Pirates are coming back in 2020 I would have said that, again so people can take that into account when they make up their opinions. Personally I have not the foggiest notion what percentage of TLG's overall gross income comes from AFOLs. I suspect if it was as high as you (pooda) originally claimed we'd be getting more fan service than we get. But if it was as low as the 5% thrown around I don't think we'd see as much fan service as we've received already. So we are somewhere. Maybe in the middle, maybe TLG is just disregarding a huge segment or pampering a tiny one. We can't tell from the outside and there is no credible leak from the inside that I can see/find.

Up for me. hmmm new ToS. reproduce, publish, display, distribute, transmit or facilitate the reproduction, publication, display, distribution or transmission of any content (including but not limited to images, content, models, designs, and build instructions) that infringes, violates or misappropriates any patent, design, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property right, or any rights of publicity, privacy or any other proprietary rights of any party, and you agree that we may remove any such content that we believe, in our sole discretion, might so infringe, violate or misappropriate rights of others; display, offer for sale, or sell any content or item (including without limitation models, designs or build instructions) that infringes, violates or misappropriates any rights of a third party; Items for Sale: If you are a registered seller on the Site, you agree to comply with the following rules for selling. We reserve the right to delete without notice any items listed in your store on the Site that in our judgement do not comply with these rules. Repeated violations of these rules may result in the suspension of your selling privileges. LEGO Brand Only: All items listed for sale must be LEGO brand products unless they fall into either of the two categories listed below – 6. 2.5 (Custom Sets) or 6.2.6 (Non LEGO Items). Other brands of building toys are not permitted. Modified Parts: All parts listed in your store must be genuine LEGO parts in their original, unmodified condition. Custom printed, engraved, chromed, or painted parts are not permitted. Custom Sets: Custom sets or instructions may be listed, provided they do not infringe on any intellectual property rights, including those of the LEGO Group. Custom sets may not contain modified parts or non LEGO parts such as lighting kits or electric motors. So there we go. Guess my fears were not without merit even if my reasoning had a hole somewhere.

Neither Ebay nor Amazon actually manufacture a product. Both are firmly Marketplace owners. Lego would be both a manufacturer, bound by existing licensing agreements, AND a Marketplace owner. A suit could attack the angle of TLG circumventing the licensing agreements through their Marketplace. I'm not saying it's a GOOD legal argument. Quite often corporate entities make decisions simply to preempt a possible suit, as the cost to go to discovery or beyond for a dismissal can be a significant cost.

I'm not. It's... based on my fears and news like the above decision to remove 3rd party stuff from Stud.IO. And some thoughts on the realities of TLG's licensing agreements. Consider the royalties for instance, TLG pays a cut of each set to the IP holder. Lucasfilms/Disney in particular are rabid about that. It's part of the reason we don't get licensed parts in BnP, complicates the accounting. If Bricklink is legally considered to be the retail outlet as opposed to say the owner of a fleamarket then the royalty agreements grip there too. Easier to ban licensed bricks than to try and catalogue them separately for the purposes of accurately tracking fractions of cents that need to be remitted as royalties. Royalties that I'm sure are not boilerplate across all the different IPs at that. Speaking of Lucasfilms, Hasbro has the old Kenner exclusive license to SW action figures. They are rabid about protecting their "turf" to the point that TLG has to avoid selling just minifigs as they can be considered an action figure when stood alone from brick builds (no Star Wars CMF and why the advent calendar has so many brick builds and why battlepacks always have a vehicle). That's an infringement of Hasbro's license. Not all of this may be correct. I am neither a lawyer nor a business insider. But assume for a moment that I'm on the general trail here. By extension Bricklink is now part of TLG in a legal sense. TLG contracts and licenses now apply to Bricklink. TLG is not themselves violating say Hasbro's action figure license BUT they are providing a haven (Bricklink) for sellers that sell just minifigs. That could be argued as breaking the licensing agreements with extra steps. Hasbro may feel the need to sue TLG to maintain their license exclusivity. And while they may or may not have legal standing that is a suit that TLG could simply want to avoid... by instituting their BnP policy, effectively forbidding (re)sale of licensed minifigs and bricks. When it comes to TLG removing custom compatible parts is simply protecting their chosen brand image. Not need for tinfoil hats here. Custom printed bricks often, but not always, are actually infringing on IP. Whether that is Marvel/DC Heroes and Villains TLG hasn't gotten around to or people copying TLG IP such as new tiles/torsos with -tron logos. Slam dunk case for removal right there. Protection of TLG IP and TLG from IP holder law suits.

Well, for starters anything else to do with 3rd party IPs is in danger. And it's looking a lot more likely they will reduce bricklink to strictly Lego issued bricks. No more compatible custom parts, maybe no more mods of TLG bricks such as chrome, custom pad prints.

That pegged out my bullsh*t meter. No personal offense intended. Throwing out statements, refusing to substantiate the claims and then trying to stonewall the discussion suggests to me it is made up from whole cloth. You may truly believe your source, but your credibility on this -with me- is zero. Not implying you should care whether or not I believe you, either. I'm just a mook from the internet. But that is not how you convince anyone over the age of say 5 that your argument holds water.

The real MVP of 2019! Thank you for asking this question! I've been hunting myself and getting nowhere fast.

You make an excellent point! My daughter has several variants of Macy and Lavaria! Though the sets themselves didn't excite her too much. She's less into vehicle swooshing and more into dragon swooshing and location based sets I think.