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I'm curious about the "must be similar in style to previous official releases" rule. Does this rule out "illegal" connections or part usages like cheese slope mosaics or minifig hands?

Aren't store exclusives also usually available directly from LEGO though? Like the LotR set that's a Target exclusive is also on S@H.

Don't know if this is terribly important, but I just noticed there are now two separate themes on S@H - Marvel Super Heroes and DC Universe Super Heroes.

I like the idea of looking at owned/wanted statistics to get an analysis less skewed by personal preference (some of my personal favorites are figs Athos ranked as "poor," and vice versa, so subjective opinion is a huge factor). Price should definitely be factored differently though. Series 1 and 2 may have been cheaper, but they were far more scarce. Maybe if you factored in average aftermarket prices? I'd also look into the distribution of figs within each series as a possible value indicator as well. (For instance, look at the ones that are popular for army-building and rank them higher if they come 5 to a box.) I think I'll try my own analysis later if I have time; this is a really interesting idea!

Haha, I like the little detail on the relay runner - number 1948, the year of the previous London Olympics.

It was some mighty fine detective work though! I didn't even think to look at the reflections, but you're totally right about that.

Well, it's not like it's just a comment, it's the title of the picture. Meaning the person who posted it knows it's fake, most likely because they're the one who photoshopped it in the first place.

Yep, some of the hair pieces are new colors - the ponytail in light yellow and black, the spiky hair in dark brown, and the Superman hair looks to be either dark orange or medium nougat on the archer.

Hasbro isn't just another toy company, though - now that they have their own construction toys, Kre-O, they are a direct competitor. Hasbro has no incentive to agree to a license here since they can just make the toys themselves.

I'm pretty sure this is what it's intended to be. Lots of stores and restaurants these days do similar promos or coupons for "checking in" or what have you on a smartphone. So hey, for just the cost of a $200 phone and an extra $30 a month on top of your current phone bill, that poster can be yours!

Congratulations, mb_bricks! I think this is a bigger deal than the other ones that have gotten this far, since it had to rely almost entirely on FOL support rather than existing fanbases. (Not that the licensed projects weren't well done, but you know what I mean, right?)

That is AMAZING. These just keep getting better! I'm guessing these will be available for preorder by September and ship out in November.

I think there's a lot of potential for other Helicarrier sets, since a lot of the film took place there, and if Super Heroes becomes as big as Star Wars like we're all hoping, a UCS Helicarrier seems very likely.

I wouldn't worry too much. Pirates have been one of LEGO's most consistent themes, in one form or another, for almost 25 years now. I think we can be fairly certain they'll return next year, though it would be nice to get some official confirmation either way.

Wow, that's really cool! What with this, the 1x1 round tile, and various new bracket pieces, this is shaping up to be a good year for simple yet very useful new parts.

This is a really cool little set; I hope I can find it somewhere in my neck of the woods. I'll probably want to Bricklink the Sleepyhead hair for Hawkeye though. I'm going to go see The Avengers today and I fully expect at least two scenes of someone putting out a fire.

Town Hall has brick-built front doors!

I hope all the MCU films are fair game, but I don't know how exactly how the licensing works out with the different distributors involved. I'm not even sure if it makes a difference. I do know that Disney is set to be the distro for the next round of sequels (Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2), so we'll most likely see LEGO sets for those.

If you're referring to the Eames House, it seems the rumor may have been a bit premature: check out this discussion. I really hope it does eventually come out though.

If anything, I think LEGO licenses can make me more of a fan of something than I was before. For instance, I like Wonder Woman well enough, but I was never compelled to buy any sort of memorabilia to display until she was available in minifigure form. Same with Mies van der Rohe - by no means my favorite architect, but as soon as the Farnsworth House set came out I had to get it.

These are really cool! My favorite so far is the pink ice cream truck. Any plans to add, say, a taco truck to your fleet?

What location was that?

Ooh, nice! Glad to see LEGO experimenting with steampunk, first with Monster Fighters and now this. It'll probably be September before we see anything, but this really gives me something to look forward to! (I'm a bit late to the party, just got my Robot Kit today!)

There is a set concept there, it's just not the main picture. You have to scroll down through the description for this:

As far as I know K'Nex only does Mario sets, but I don't know the details of the contract. Does it give K'Nex exclusive construction toy rights to all Nintendo properties?