RichardGoring

Went to a store today and got a pack of the dark orange chickens. Very pleased to have a full flock. Got a few other things, including the new orange Ninjago torso and pink hair pieces, which look rather good. Slightly disappointed to realize that it was just plain legs and not printed ones with that torso.

Minifigures definitely don't have the same value to me as to others. I see then as a bonus, rather than the main reason to buy a set. It may also mean that a load of figure-less castles are sold off early on too. Tempting.

I've been pondering that too. Given what figures from large new sets have gone for in the past, it may be worth getting and selling the figures to be left with a lot of very useful bricks to build things with. I wondered that too. But I agree that it's likely wishful thinking.

Agreed. It looks good, but not really worth it if you have the original.

Another vote for a base to be the next space nostalgia set. To accompany the Galaxy Explorer and variations. Given recent releases, I'd go for a flagship for Blacktron to go with the Cruiser GWP, if it had to be a ship. Although I always liked M-Tron growing up.

Totally agree! In a month or two my version of this set will likely contain soldiers with pirate wooden legs, pirates with the governor's hat, a couple of Ninjago figures, some Disney princesses, and some Friends minidolls driving their car up the ramp. Probably a load of multi-coloured bricks added to the tops of the walls, and any bar holed filled with ice creams, cherries, and microphones. In my household it will be a great LEGO set. For many others, heads will be swapped and perfect positioning of all the elements will be achieved. For them, it will be a great LEGO set. I hope everyone has fun. And if fun is achieved through critical review and discussion, then that's OK too. But do please remember that there is no one right answer on this kind of topic (other than there is no one right answer).

Oh ok. Look there are brick built fireworks. I liked the idea when the description came out, but I don't think they add much to the set, and don't feel right. Perhaps too small, or too few, or two washed out, compared to real ones.

I know it's the same source material, but it feels so similar, it's sort of a disappointment. The interiors probably look a bit better, but there are things on the old castle that I prefer. To be fair, they had to do this, as it's so iconic to Disney. The colour scheme will probably feel a bit better from the front. Might be hard to justify getting it for anyone who has the original. But pleased that people continue to have the chance to get a set like this.

What are the hopes for a CMF series 25 figure being a match for Eldorado fortress? Another pirate to add to the raid? A merchant for the ship? An admiral for the military? What would you like to see?

That's what I'm going to believe.

Given how tightly controlled LEGO designers are in what they say publicly, them saying that the digital files will be 'in storage somewhere', I can't imagine them not bringing it back now.

Yes indeed! Love the bluecoats.

No, I meant that I thought it would have a 2x2 flag with an Imperials print (a scaled down version of the larger one on the fort) But it's OK not to have that if it's a merchant ship. Although I would have preferred proper merchants on it! It's nice that it's all nit picking though. Also, now going to have to go back to the LEGO store and see if they have any more white/black dual moulded legs to give them all boots. I only picked up five a while back, and they're likely going to the crew of the Clipper.

The small red and yellow pennants, which are from 6277, but I was hoping it was a small Imperial vessel, and so would have a 2x2 printed Imperial flag. Not a problem as it's a trading vessel instead though. Although a missed opportunity for more civillian torsos.

What a great looking set! I love the way they've approached this particular version and the modularity of it make it more versatile. It looks good and has some terrific looking play features that my kids (and me) will certainly enjoy. My only initial disappointment was with the ship showing the coloured flags rather than a small Imperial one. Then realized that it's the ship from the trading post, which is neat. But then it's slightly disappointing that there are no merchants to crew the ship. Otherwise, all good. I get this, and do like Galaxy Explorer and PoBB. Might have been nice to get this as a true 2in1 perhaps, especially with the inclusion of cloth sails providing some potential options for a larger ship. I hope they do more like that in the future too, but I'm fine with this as it is. I wonder if the brown would look odd against the grey rocks? But they've clearly done it for nostalgic reasons, and it would be easy enough to colour swap I suspect. I like the black.

Absolutely!

The process is outlined on the main page - Designer Program Series 2 [BrickLink] They showcase all the designs now and get people to vote for what they like. Bricklink then takes that information and internally reviews the sets, incorporating factors like the popular vote, other sets available, feasibility of the model, and market potential, and then produces a shortlist of five designs. Those five then get reworked a bit by the original designers with a bit of help from Bricklink (but not nearly as much as a full LEGO set). And then they will be ready for crowdfunding in June next year. If 3000 copies sell, then the set will get made. There is a maximum of 20,000 sets that will be made of each design. And you'll finally get the set at the end of 2024. All of which is to say, keep an eye on the forum, or LEGO news sites, or Bricklink for when the crowdfunding happens. In previous rounds, things have often sold out within a few days (sometimes within an hour!).

Also feels like it's the most sustainable way for pirates to continue long-term, rather than a big rush at once and then nothing for another decade.

Oh my, that does look good!

They could also just price things based on expected demand or what the market will tolerate. Especially if they are trying to push people towards buying the sets. The corn piece for $5 was crazy, but then, so was the price of the set, until it finally got discounted to about half price, which was far more reasonable.

Nice! I feel like a more in-depth review is needed for this one. Initial impressions are positive though.

Ha ha! No, but seriously, there were some people who asked for Ninjago City Gardens. And also, err... probably something else.

I think that was the rumor ahead of the Vidiyo release, when they announced the partnership with Universal. Instead we got something that no one asked for and nobody wanted, but it was ok because there was a terrible app to go with it. On 50% discount, is great though.

If there were a decent range of 6-7 wide trains available, then I could definitely see the appeal of this being a larger model train, similar to the Hogwarts Express, as the detail you can capture is great and would be fun to make. But the lack of smaller, playscale trains means that for me I'd prefer something in the smaller widths.

I was 'about to move' for about two years, just as Barracuda Bay was launched, and then finally moved a year ago, but haven't yet managed to find time or space to build it. It will be a good time to build it and something from the Imperials to match at the same time, whatever it is.