TheLegoDr

Geisha = Kimono girl I do believe.

I'm not a true train fan. This might even be my first post in the train forum. But I was drawn to the Emerald Night. It is so beautiful. Unfortunately I did not procure one before it went discontinued so now I never will get one due to cost. But I do own the Hogwarts Express (huge HP fan) and I found that train to be brilliant. Now, as stated, I am not a train fan so to be "realistic" isn't reason enough for me to not buy it. But it is amazing how the EN will draw in even non-train fans like myself. Lego must have hit themselves out of the park with that model.

Exactly. I can understand TLG wanting to see receipts to know they aren't being taken advantage of. That is what happens with great customer service, people can take and take and end up ruining a company for everyone. I had an issue with missing pieces with a Star Wars set recently and they wanted the receipt, but I didn't have it anymore so I won't be getting any replacements. Hopefully you can find the receipt. It is interesting how many pieces I have from my "golden age" that are in much better condition than brand new pieces. But I suppose there is a fluke in production at any given time.

I only got into CMFs at the end of series 4 so I missed out on many great figures. I may take the time to bricklink some someday, but who knows with all these new sets out!! By series, my favorite CMFs: Series 1: Super Wrestler (I don't even like wrestling but I can see a Macho Man voice behind that mask and some Nacho Libre antics) Series 2: Spartan (due to my love of 300. But not a strong series overall) Series 3: Elf (because, c'mon it's an elf!) Series 4: Sailor (my dad was in the navy in the 1950s, so it seems fitting) Series 5: Boxer (the gloves are awesome. And the two sided head = brilliant) Series 6: Butcher (the hat and the chops work for me) Series 7: Computer Programmer (argyle and taped bridge on spectacles is awesome) Series 8: Can't wait for pictures! When I first bought any of the figures/saw the release pictures my favorites were much different than they are now. So series 8 will probably change in a few months down the road after we see the initial pictures.

That is an inspiring build. It looks very fitting. Keep up the great work. It'd be nice to see a whole fleet!

Neat builds! The change in color scheme for the townhouse works quite well. It'd be interesting to see the two side by side for a comparison especially since many townhomes look similar anyway. And I love that Toy Shop mod. I'm not too keen on the two separate toy "statues," but I like having at least one there (probably the Jester). Either way, it is a beautiful build and I may have to consider doing something similar. I will have to look at it a bit more to see how the details work together. Keep up the good builds. You might want to consider submitting the Toy Shop in the contest. I don't think this set-up would be allowed since the townhouse is so similar. Wait, don't enter it. I don't want anymore competition.

My wife and I watched all ten seasons back to back when she was pregnant. Fun times. The figures blend better in this setting than expected. But I still don't love seeing them together. It definitely makes the girls more girly and the boys broader due to the torso sizes. That could be good or bad I suppose.

Nicely done. After googling orc with skull helmet, I can see him now. I just watched the movies a few weeks ago. I guess I don't spot details like that.

Scorpiox I would say Funhouse Escape. That was my first DC set, so I had multiple figures I wanted in just one set. I ended up getting Two-Face set for the black Batman and Two-Face, but you get 5 great figures in Funhouse. Puck I would normally say LOTR since I prefer that theme to a lot of others, but the Monster Fighter set is cheaper (I believe) and has some cool figures. I think it depends on what your typical MOCing/collecting is geared toward. If you like scenery and castle torsos get Weathertop, if you like vehicles and retro looking torsos, get Monster Fighters.

I don't have a problem with the lips/lashes on female heads. I think it does add some individuality to those figures, which isn't bad. TLG could certainly come up with more variety without those key characteristics and still have some beautiful looking heads. For years (like in the Modular series) I only used different hair length to distinguish men/women, so for them to have their own heads works nicely. Although, I actually don't mind having the classic smiley (without eyebrows thank you) to work for both genders. I agree that the hourglass figure isn't necessary. Not every woman has an hourglass figure, so why does every lego female need one? It doesn't bother me so much because I actually like hourglass figures on women, but it isn't necessary on the Lego figure. The main thing that bothers me is being unable to use certain torsos that could work as either masculine or feminine. I probably don't notice it too much in reality. I would want to incorporate more torsos together in settings without all having hourglass figures though.

I considered this idea since the Modulars seem to be lacking parking spots. The ramp is cleverly done. Obviously space constraints makes it a challenge (that's the point I guess). Keep up the good work. It will be some good competition for the contest.

The build looks very detailed. Most buildings in real life have that monochrome scheme, but the Modulars are more colorful. I like this idea though. Keep up the good work. It will be neat to see how it becomes Modular with the different levels and where they would separate.

Nice build. It will be good competition for the contest. I like the color scheme and the tile work on the building itself. The statues are a neat addition. Did you have to modify any of those statues with brasso or do those elements come in that color?

The "must have" sets for me in 2012 would be: Town Hall - I love the modulars and this one doesn't disappoint (other than price). I realize it has more pieces, but I would prefer a smaller $150 set again. But it is a great addition to the series. Haunted House - I am enjoying the idea of the classic monster movies and a haunted house is to be expected. The color scheme and details are great. But again, disappointed in the price. Kingdoms Joust - The details and wall designs are brilliant. Some of the exclusive figures are a great addition to the medieval life. Supposedly this came out at the end of 2011 per Brickset, but I assumed it was the Jan 1st D2C set.

I still have yet to take pictures of my armies. I've been into too many other things to make the time. But I do something similar. I match up weapons with headgear and torso as well. I try to keep them as uniform as possible, even if it isn't realistic for the time period. Although, I have Crusaders using light gray and the Falcons/Black Knights to have black headgear. But impressive armies everyone. I hope to join the ranks soon.

Kudos to your sister. That is brilliant, and the detail is well done. Is she a professional or hobbyist? Have a great birthday! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the tip! I have lost all of my old rope from the early Pirate ships, so I should look into an alternative. I may have to stop by JoAnn's sometime soon.

Captainmorgan I would give Customer Service a call. It is probably just their Pick a Brick service because I've had multiple issues with them. Not just taking a long time to get to mid-USA, but also missing lots of pieces. Be sure and double check your contents to make sure they are there. It is very frustrating to be missing multiple pieces from different orders. They end up not wanting to send new pieces out because they think you are lying.

The scale is impressive for sure. But I mostly like the side by side vision of past/present. It looks exactly as I would picture it (since I've never been). You can do a lot with 200,000 bricks. Keep up the good work.

Great build! It will be a tough competition for sure. I need to step up my game. I like the color scheme with the black windows. I really like the tiled floor and the interior details. I especially like the black cheese slope roofing. It adds some nice texture and shape. However, I don't particularly care for the white overhang section of the roof. It seems busy to me. But the rest is superb. Good luck in the contest. You will be a top contender.

Saw Brave with the family on Sunday. Our daughter was all dressed up as Merida with her Merida doll. She was super excited. It was her first big screen movie, so we went all out for her to make it a good experience. The movie overall was one of the better Pixar movies, in my opinion. It involved Celtic "history" which is more appealing to me with my middle ages Lego collection. The humor was brilliant. And it was great that Merida didn't require a guy to rescue her or win her heart at the end. It was more empowering for little girls I think. It will give them more confidence and can stand on their own two feet instead of relying someone else. Either way, it was a good show. I highly recommend.

It took me forever to find Lady Liberty around here. I'm not sure why. And near me a Wal-Mart still has series 5, but no signs of later series. Very odd I thought. Recently found a second bunny suit guy from CMF series 7 for my daughter. She kept asking for him. Took me forever. I can find multiple knights or galaxy patrol, but no bunny suit guys. I recently ordered from bricklink 2 tauntauns. They will be my first! I'm super excited.

So far, my daughters are in a little bucket and mine are in random boxes by color. She ends up wanting to play with mine most of the time (probably because I have more pieces), but I do my best to keep them separate. I'm sure some borrowing has been done, but I'm not too concerned most of the time. As her collection grows, I will continue to keep it separate, but will probably sort it more thoroughly to help keep them separate.

I like the tall thin windows on the sides. Very clever usage. I assume the doors do not open? Otherwise, they look great. Keep up the good work.

It's tough to compare both of those themes since they have such different markets. And with previous popularity vs brand new concept can make it harder to guess which one will prevail. I would hope both last a long time to continue new molds/colors for building purposes. My daughter is only 2, but she loves the Friends sets. She likes the colors and the cute little animals. But she also loves Shelob for some reason. All the stores around me have very little in the way of Friends sets, but they haven't received any LOTR sets yet, so it's tough to say how well those will be selling. I would imagine both will sell well for quite some time.