TheLegoDr

I am in a LUG that a group of us just started last fall actually. There is a handful that are active in the group, while a few others are mostly watchers. We are holding a show in a few weeks where we all will have our displays. So I am active in the LUG. I already am fairly active on the online community. I post fairly heavily here (see my post count) and brickset. I could possibly do reviews of some sets, but it is mostly due to lack of time that I haven't done anything like that before. I used to think I'd like to be a moderator or regulator, but I just don't have the time. I'm only around a computer at work and there is no guarantee I have time to get online during the day. So it would take away all the time I would get to actually look around.

When you click on wanted list, instead of clicking on my wanted list you click on 'by shop' and it will show who had the most pieces (unique) in your selected wanted list. You can then change the list if you have multiples.

That's a good video. I hope to see a lot of those figures in sets down the road. They even made a Punisher! But so far the characters look good.

I think I answered this a long time ago, but I don't remember what I put down. But lately I've been seeing more and more pictures of Emerald Night and I only slightly was interested in it when it was available. It has since been discontinued and has quite the high price tag now. So needless to say I'll never pick one up. Hopefully in the future they will make another train that catches my eye. I did buy the Lone Ranger train, so that helps a little bit.

Very good points made and interesting obvservations noted from your real world experience. I will have to agree that Friends shouldn't be thought of as a gateway to other LEGO themes. Friends has a lot of great pieces overall. Some of the pastels may not be able to work with every setting, but it does bring in a lot of variety in color which helps the LEGO palette. It adds in a lot of useful pieces that may then later be made into other colors for other themes, but it is nice we get some of them at all. I think girls, like boys, have varied interests and if you expose them to everything and let them choose what they want to play with, it will be a lot easier in the world. Most people try to "force" their kids to play with specific toys that are aimed at a certain group, but not everyone wants gender specific or even gender neutral toys. I love the Friends line, but I only buy some here and there for my daughter. She is only 3, but has been exposed to LEGO since she was born basically. So far, she loves Super Heroes, CMF, Friends, and Monster Fighters. Her favorite is the Haunted House set which has the nice added touch of opening up like a dollhouse and has an interior. But lately she has been building her own castle, or wants me to build her one. So I think her interests seem pretty varied in terms of market research, but in the end she is wanting to play/purchase LEGO so TLG wins out either way. There are a lot of great Friends sets coming out every wave. It is hard to grab all of the sets one would want while still grabbing the other themes that are interesting. I think the school will be a big hit this year. I should look into that one myself.

Zula - each winter village set has its own theme basically. Like the WV Cottage last year was created to look like it just went through a snowstorm and that's why it has so much more snow than the others. Watch the designer videos. They are quite fun and informative. Wodanis - That piece has come in quite a few different colors actually. I like seeing a whole diorama with the sets. It makes them feel even more complete. However, my complaint is definitely against the mail truck. I think it looks too stubby now without the front engine. Just my opinion. The rest of the set-up looks great. I like the tiled sidewalk and the guy plowing. Very fitting. Keep up the good work. I'd love to see the others blended in as well. This inspires me to do the same with mine sometime if I ever find the pieces.

I don't think those particular hospitals would work for the Modular; however, that classical Glenside hospital is gorgeous. I wish all buildings looked like they used to. I'm not too keen on the modern architecture, but I know it has its place in the world. But I'd love to see a hospital modular. You'd think it would be a good fit considering CITY doesn't get a ton of hospital related stuff. It's an area that isn't as well distributed as I'd like to see. I loved my old hospital as a kid and I was a fan of the ambulance that came out last year even though I don't buy CITY sets. I don't think the 32x32 is a problem for the hospital, but more the layout of Modulars being only ~16 bricks deep. If it was the full depth of the plate from the start of the normal sidewalk it could work, but being that narrow it might be tough to pull off. Granted all Modulars are too small in comparison, so it isn't really relevant.

Thanks for the review. I've been hesitant on TOR sets, but this one looks decent. In fact, I think all of TOR sets look good overall. I'm really unfamiliar with them since I've never played the game, but I like what I'm seeing. I think I like them more than the traditional SW sets, but that may be because it is a fresh take on a lot of things and cool looking figures/ships. I like the price in the US also. I may have to put it on my wishlist since the figures are going for $20 each on eBay, so basically I spend $60 plus shipping on 3 figures or I spend $90 on the ship plus figures. This review definitely helped me decide I want the complete set. Thanks!

Thanks for correcting. I knew it was called the Tower Bridge, but I called it London Bridge based on the other people's response. Eep! I need to read more carefully in the future.

I would say the Mirkwood Elf was a good addition. Although it would have been better had it had elf ears. Although the dark green hood is a rare piece also. And the Ghost with clock was awesome. I only found those one time and they only had 2 left, so of course I grabbed them. My daughter loved the clock and the ghost figure. LEGO needs to keep putting out great little sets like these. Great for holidays.

FuzzyBallz - You should move quick on the London Bridge. I believe this is replacing that set. By the end of the year for sure, but I wouldn't hesitate. I recall GRogall stating a few sets were planned to be discontinued this year, especially with these new larger sets coming out.

I want one of each also. I'll have to look around. I've never been into a comic shop before.

This is beautiful indeed. Great use of pieces and angles. I love those vines. What piece did you use? The olive green roofing looks great, but I am partial to the official set colors for the roofing. The ground looks great and I love the curved wall. I will definitely look back to this for inspiration. Too bad none of the LEGO stores near me ever get cheese slopes. I'd buy tons of them.

Neat build. I like the water effect. Makes it seem more rushing beneath them, so dangerous to move ahead and dangerous to fall off. Some of those flame pieces look new to me. I haven't seen them other than the standard flame. At least one looks larger and more angled.. Good job posing the figures. I really need to get my butt in gear and start building little dioramas.

So where are we supposed to be able to buy these covers?

That looks awesome. Very well done indeed. You have the shape down and it is a good scale. A nice change of pace from the time traveling version.

Very interesting question. I did purchase Orthanc when it was released early to the public and it is quite impressive. It does add some play features on the inside and all of the little details are great. Pictures definitely don't do the set justice because of the black, but up close you can spot every little detail easily. Very impressive scale as a display piece. I highly recommend it. The downside is the few figures you get with it. Only one exclusive. Very disappointing, but set wise, it's great for the price. Ewok Village looks great on its own and has a huge line-up of figures, so it trumps out there, but it is also more expensive. I think it would look great on a shelf and I agree it might fit better because Orthanc is so tall. However, it seems Ewok Village is actually quite tall and wide, so it might still be difficult to display. I think it comes down to, are you a bigger Star Wars or LOTR fan? That will settle it in the end. Both are brilliantly designed and both are at similar price points. In the end, I think I would choose Orthanc, only because I'm a bigger LOTR fan. But I do plan on getting Ewok Village in the future also.

Great job. I really like the water effect with the lighter towards the outside. I don't have too many of those pieces. The buildings at an angle towards each other is very creative. I should try my hand at that sometime. Keep up the great work!

I think you need to decide what style you want to go for before you start building a lot. I've seen so many variations of color with castle walls and even water effects, that it really depends on the builder. Some can make it work, others can't. With that said, traditionally it seems light gray or light blue-gray are really common for castle walls. And you can add in some dark blue gray accent colors. Tan and dark tan are great options as well (think Hogwarts, which a lot was filmed outside a real castle) Have fun. I'd suggest trying to find a pick a brick wall before ordering too many of those small pieces since you can get them dirt cheap in a PAB cup compared to ordering on bricklink.

I think a lot of stores received them at weird times and I know my local LEGO store has had them in two or three times since the 18th and have sold out within the same day each time...if that says anything. Basically, get it when you can. I still haven't ordered a copy, but I plan to sometime soon. And I've seen it is on amazon.com so that may help a lot of people if they can't find it elsewhere.

I've been looking into Steampunk Super Heroes lately and this looks very fitting. Very creative idea and great posing. Now if only he had some form of blaster technology. Keep up the good work.

Sandy - But most of those sets are ages 6-12 or 7-14 with the rare 8/9-14. Most are 7-14. If you are only basing it off of the latter part of the range, that's different, but it is still aimed at 6 and 7 year olds. Plus, I don't know anyone that didn't play "cowboys" or "army" when they were kids, so I'm sure plenty of children understand weaponry and that it is dangerous. Not everyone uses the best judgment while playing however. I think that is a great idea to build Springfield. It would be good to have prize support, but at the same time it might be better to build the buildings without the figures so it doesn't give any unfair advantage to some builders.

Short of having your own LEGO room, I'd suggest some sort of cabinetry with covered front doors that you could place the boxes/containers/drawer systems in, so they can be easily accessible when needed, but out of sight when not needed. That is what I planned on doing in my LEGO room, and my wife told me no. She wanted the LEGO room to be overflowing with LEGO. Very odd woman.

I may have missed it, but people are talking about a new donut piece...They already have one with the LOTR ring. They just need to recolor it. I don't see why they would print a 1x1 tile when they already have a mold . Also licensed sets aren't "fleshie." They represent the color of skin of the source material. In this case it just happens to be yellow similar to their traditional lines. Nothing further needs to be discussed about that. If they weren't made yellow, then they wouldn't be the Simpson's. This is one reason why I'd love to see more people of color in New movies. We could use some more realistic variety in our minifigures. And as far as alcohol goes, I think LEGO considers pirate/medieval alcohol to be different than modern day alcohol. Same goes for violence/weapons. Modern police don't get guns, but the lone ranger does. Same idea.

That's what I don't like about it. Choose one. I'd still get it either way, I just grew up with Blacktron 2 instead of 1, so I'm more nostalgic with 2. But I'd prefer if they are going for Blacktron 1 logo, they should at least keep the color scheme the same instead of mixing.