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RichardGoring

Eurobricks Dukes
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Everything posted by RichardGoring

  1. RichardGoring
    OMG! $78 is so ludicrous! It's almost funny, especially as I think they're the worst part of the Black Pearl as they look too flat. The pricing differential between the same parts of different colours is getting somewhat ridiculous too.
  2. RichardGoring
    I agree on the tower block. I built the Rebrickable SitComplex MOC a few years ago. It was fun to start off with, but I tired of the build experience somewhat by the third layer (I only did four and a small penthouse in total), as so much was the same. That's to be expected as it's a tower, but it's not necessarily going to lead to a great modular for a 20th anniversary. I dismantled it a while ago as it doesn't scale with the regular modulars (same with Home Alone, The Simpsons House) being too large (and then the Marvel ones, especially Sanctum Santorum, X-mansion, and Daily Bugle being too small). This is in part due to having to cram in the sitcom sets into each floor, and as they represent real locations, you can't stylize and shrink them like things are in the modulars. Also, it looked somewhat boring with a pretty consistent tower, and lacked the interest and variety you get from most modulars. None of which is to say that the designer isn't amazing, and it's a million time better than anything I could do. But it doesn't feel like it sits in the DNA of the Icons modulars.
  3. RichardGoring
    I really like it. I know some thought the flask in the roof was kitsch, but I think it's great. I thought it was interesting to see quite a few things having changed since the original submission, and the entire different figure lineup too. Still like the final version and very much looking forward to getting it.
  4. RichardGoring
    I wonder if they'd consider a circular building. First thought was an observatory, but a library would be awesome, and round libraries are certainly a thing.
  5. RichardGoring
    Very nice! I like the large stained glass windows. The decision to keep them separated rather than connected together is a good one. Great work!
  6. RichardGoring
    I suspect Jamie was mentioned as creative lead because he leads that team, but the primary designer is Đặng Hoàng. He's been in plenty of designer interviews and even in the LEGO hosted one listed above he talks about the trips he took to get inspiration and the process to plan everything out. Jamie talks about how Đặng Hoàng came to him with the ideas and Jamie said 'I don't know how you're going to fit it in'. But I think with a lot of LEGO sets (all of them), the design is now a team effort with multiple people having input to varying degrees.
  7. RichardGoring
    Sauron in the helmet set is the same as the original.
  8. RichardGoring
    Can you imagine a fell beast Speed Champions with a Witch King minidoll. Honestly, I hope they do it, just so I can sit back and watch! 🍿🍿
  9. RichardGoring
    The same had been true of Dreamzzz, but they've still done three full years of it. Although I don't know whether they've stopped it earlier than planned as a result. Somewhat sad for Dreamzzz as they are generally excellent sets. You're probably right that there are other priorities, so Icons LOTR sets is what we'll get. The continuing mix of large and small would be good.
  10. RichardGoring
    I've been tempted by one or two of the more iconic helmets, but still haven't got any of them. This looks interesting enough to be worth getting. I don't have a problem with resellers, and saying that people selling the Sauron minifigure are scalpers feels a bit unfair, as Barad-Dûr is freely available to buy. The 'blame' if there is any, should go to those who are willing to buy a single figure at such an inflated price. But mostly it should go to LEGO for locking a highly desirable thing behind an enormous price point. LEGO, for all the collectability that it has, should still be a toy at it's core and encourage the children (and former children) to be creative and dexterous. You don't do that by taking something people care about and price locking it. Exclusive variants of a figure are fine (to me), as you can still get at least a version of a character, and then the collectors are still happy. So I'm delighted that Sauron is going to be more readily available, and I hope they do the same with many/all of the LOTR figures. A CMF would be best. The true scalpers are the ones buying up limited release items and selling for a huge price. The Sméagol & Déagol GWP, previously the Fell Beast GWP, and then in other themes like the Star Trek shuttle and Stranger Things radio station. The Stranger Things set as available for about half a day, not the week that LEGO suggested, and is now being sold for $100+ on Bricklink and $150+ on eBay. It's awful and I'm so incredibly disappointed with LEGO for doing this kind of thing. It's tiresome and puts me off the company, as they are taking away too much of the joy and adding unnecessary stress.
  11. RichardGoring
    LEGO has so many of these expensive sets now, for something that would be good to continue for a while, releases that are more widely spaced apart may well support a longer theme lifespan, rather than people getting priced out even further. It would be a massive shame if they didn't do a Dutchman at all. I hope they do a few more ships and expand into a few other scenes too. It's hardly as if pirates is something tied to a specific movie and then it loses it's appeal, so they don't need to rush.
  12. RichardGoring
    Past its heyday perhaps, but still immensely popular as each new school year brings thousands of children into it, often read to kids in school as a class book. Which is a shame, because a lot of it (especially the later books are really poorly written). The LEGO sets produced are from a fairly narrow source material so you get the same things repeated every few years, but for the majority of buyers (children) that doesn't matter, as they are at peak interest for a few years at most. And so many of Disney's properties are decades old, but they still churn out merchandise for children as they watch the classic movies frequently. Having said that, I still maintain that Friends is the best LEGO theme overall for the combination of aesthetics, build experience, and play value. And the variety of sets (size, price, location, style, function, build) is amazing. And I think as a result, when children see these sets, they get very excited by them, and it holds their interest long-term.
  13. RichardGoring
    There is also an element of building it too. I wasn't entirely sold on Tudor Corner when it arrived, but I've learned that you gain a new perspective on the sets once you've built them. Tudor Corner (once you got past the tiling on the baseplate) was absolutely terrific and it's one of my favourites, heavily influenced by the build experience, and seeing in-person reflects better than the photos, in my opinion. Boutique Hotel was similar. For that matter, so was Detective's Office and Brick Bank. The build experience for Downtown Diner was also top tier. I love all five of these sets. (Conversely, Fire Brigade I think is great, but the build is very basic in comparison with modern sets. I just like the way it looks far more than it probably deserves as a set).
  14. RichardGoring
    All three of those suggestions are brilliant and I hope they come to fruition.
  15. RichardGoring
    Very true! I suppose not having any modulars before Downtown Diner meant I wasn't bothered by the different style, but it looked so good. I now have most of them, but in my mind it's a new build in a 1950s street, so that's fine for me. I really dislike the off-scale about Sanctum Sanctorum and it irritates me seeing it next to Icons modulars. I do like the building though, so I bought two with the idea of building an Icons scale version, but it's sadly still in the backlog.
  16. RichardGoring
    It tickles me that Downtown Diner is often heavily criticized, yet it was created by Mike Psiaki, perhaps the most universally acclaimed designer. It could also be confirmation bias though, as it's one of my favorites, and the set that made me get into modulars.
  17. RichardGoring
    Very true, but I think a lot of the joy of The Simpsons comes from being in the same relatable places, doing relatable things. And if they're going for large 'icons-style' sets then what would they do, that would have suficient mass market appeal to sell well and get approval for the next set? House (remake), Kwik-E-Mart (remake), Moe's tavern, Android's Dungeon, Springfield Elementary, Nuclear Powerplant. Anything else? Would they do Lard Lad Donuts or First Church of Springfield (or Moe's tavern, for that matter)? But if they do more of a wave, then you can have one of these as a flagship set and then a series of smaller ones that could feature other locations that don't really warrant a $200+ lead set, and access to a load more characters. Unless they change their approach and say it's OK to release just one $40 set for an IP, which would be very welcome!
  18. RichardGoring
    I could do without The Simpsons being an annual thing. They'll burn through options too quickly, as it's hard on budget and space to have these large sets come every year. Coinciding with the movie is a great idea, and will hopefully mean some smaller sets/CMF too for more of a wave.
  19. RichardGoring
    Does a roast turkey count as an animal, or should it also be included in costume, no animal?
  20. RichardGoring
    Yes. They talked about that in the group designer video, if I remember right. I also think I saw an example of it, possibly from the same video.
  21. RichardGoring
    To me, Rivendell is so good because that vast majority of it is visible and usable from the front. Barad-Dûr and the Shire both include a lot of interior that's not visible from the front so you can only appreciate a proportion of the build at any one time. I worry that Minas Tirith may suffer from the same thing. At this piece count it may be fine and each side is terrific. It will be a long wait until June to see if they've pulled it off!
  22. RichardGoring
    Agreed!
  23. RichardGoring
    I hope they manage to continue this into next year. It's really rather excellent. I've just checked and two orders from Dec 6 and 8 are showing up on USPS and should be delivered in the next few days too. Although it's 'just' some of the new parts released to have in the collection, rather than for a specific build, so a bit less exciting. I ordered them to get the micro Ninjago City GWP sets they were doing for really low thresholds recently. Both of which only showed up today, so pretty impressive than standard B&P is a similar timescale to regular sets.
  24. RichardGoring
    I love your optimism. I can see it being the price of Rivendell but the size of the Shire. Agreed that it could well be deeper and taller than Rivendell, but wider would be a stretch (literally and metaphorically). Rivendell is really very wide, and if they try something in vaguely the right proportions, it would probably make Minas Tirith far too large. I suspect part of the model design process at LEGO has to include display options, and they won't want to make this too difficult to place in a house. I recall hearing an interview for one of the large sets that they were approaching the limit of box weight with it and they need to consider people being able to carry it out of the shop, so that will also be a factor that constrains the size.
  25. RichardGoring
    Not entirely. Last year, Tudor Corner got 40757 Corner Kiosk as an exclusive GWP. The year before, 40681Retro Food Truck was linked with the Natural History Museum, shown in some of the press photos, but was available on any general spend, and released several months later than the modular. The year before that, 40586 Moving Truck was linked with the Jazz Club, but again available on any general spend, and also released later. So they've not been entirely consistent with it in terms of specific purchase pairing, or even direct theme pairing, but they are usually linked in some form.
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