The Stud

Yep, I ordered my stuff right after midnight as well! I ordered a bunch of Marvel, Star Wars and Ninjago sets to build during my last couple days of summer break, along with some of my sets in the backlog, and I’ve only got twelve days left, so hopefully it gets here soon.

Mine still hasn’t left the warehouse either. At this rate, by the time my stuff actually arrives, I’m going to be moving into my college dormitory. I like how it says the names of all the shows but yeah… that’s something. Still, I’m actually considering buying a full case of Minifigures which is something that I’ve never done before.

We won’t have to wait long for Ms Marvel as she’ll be a main character in next year’s The Marvels. Clint and Kate are head-scratchers though, but hopefully we get a small Hawkeye set early 2022. Also managed to make my Lego order at midnight and got all of the new Marvel sets I wanted to get today. I ordered the Endgame Final Battle, Iron Monger Mayhem, Black Panther Dragon Flyer and the 4+ Captain America bike sets. I was tempted by the Bro Thor and What If? sets but I’ll hold off on those for now.

I think the Advent Calendar is actually okay. I’m definitely waiting for a sale but I like the inclusion of Christmas Sweater Iron Man, Nick Fury, Captain Marvel and Infinity Gauntlet/Stones. The rest of the minifigures are SE/comic inspired but I could use some extras of those characters. I honestly think this is is a better Calendar than the Star Wars one this year, though I do still plan on picking up both for a discount. Also, I just realized that I never shared my thoughts on the CMF series so to keep it short, it looks amazing. Series 18 and Disney Series One are still my favorite Collectible Minifigure lines but this is definitely very close to those series. I’m honestly contemplating getting two complete sets which I’ve never done before. My ranking of the figures goes as follows: -Zombie Hunter Spidey (love the Disneyland suit and this just might be my favorite Spider-Man figure yet.) -Sam Wilson Captain America (possibly the most detailed minifigure of all time.) -Loki (spitting image of Tom Hiddleston though that smiling face looks off. Also would’ve preferred a Lego Miss Minutes over Throg but it isn’t a huge deal.) -Scarlet Witch (the only thing that bothers me is the lack of detailing on her crown.) -Zombie Captain America (wasn’t expecting to like this figure as much as I do but he looks great!) -T’Challa Star Lord (very vibrant minifigure and a solid choice for the series. Definitely getting an extra one for the Chadwick Boseman face.) -Captain Carter (I love her new hairpiece and I think this is a perfect representation of the character.) -Bucky Barnes (I don’t think the smiling face fits really well, and I don’t like the inclusion of the shield here, but is otherwise a fantastic figure.) -Gamora with the Blade of Thanos (I think this figure needed an armor piece to stand out more like she does in the show, though her hairpiece may have prevented that, but I still really like her overall.) -White Vision (Very detailed figure; I just don’t really care for the character and don’t have a normal Vision figure for this one to go against.) -Sylvie (The opposite of White Vision. I really like the character but the lack of leg printing looks off to me and the faces don’f fit. The croc is cool but kinda pointless without a Loki crown.) -Monica Rambeau (Good figure with an awesome new hair piece. I just don’t care too much about the character and feel like her inclusion is a waste of a slot since she doesn’t have an especially cool outfit or accessory. The fact that we’re sure to get her in a set for The Marvels makes this an even more puzzling choice.) Okay, maybe my thoughts weren’t too short… really excited for the series though!

These sets feel like they’ve been out forever even though they’re only releasing in the US on Sunday. I look forward to completing my Ninjago 10th Anniversary collection with the Ultra Sonic Raider and Fire Dragon Attack in the next few days. I’ll hold off on the Seabound sets and space them out throughout the semester.

I guess it all comes down to me wishing this was more of an anthology series taking turns focus on different characters immediately after the rise of the Empire. Sort of like how The Clone Wars shifted focus between different characters and sharing their stories. I also don’t really care for most of the Bad Batchers, so shifting focus to characters I do already like (the Syndullas and Chopper), the characters I’m more interested in in this show (Admiral Rampart and Crosshair) and a new clone character who has already had more development in two episodes (Howzer) was refreshing to me. And yeah, Clone Wars and Rebels suffered from a similar problem with reused assets. It’s understandable when it’s a clone being duplicated over and over but it’s very distracting otherwise. It’s kind of a fun thing to notice in the background on rewatches!

I gotta say that Loki was absolutely amazing. Honestly one of the best Marvel Studios productions so far and I too wish we could have gotten a set out of it. Maybe next season! Ms. Marvel will be a major character in The Marvels next year and will almost definitely be in the set(s) for that movie, so I don’t think a set for her show is necessary but I could see us getting a Hawkeye set, maybe early 2022. Maybe with this red car from some of the concept art: https://images.app.goo.gl/7fTAiJcLuXjxx8UE6

I loved this week’s episode of The Bad Batch because of how it tied in with the story of Ryloth and the Rebels series, which made me come to realize that my least favorite part of The Bad Batch is honestly The Bad Batch themselves. That might be an odd thing to say as I think it’s been an okay series so far but aside from Hunter and maybe Wrecker to an extent, we haven’t enough development for me to care about most of the main characters. I don’t feel we’ve gotten to know these characters better than we did in their TCW arc. The episode with the Separatist senator, for example, could have been a really interesting moral dilemma for the crew to work through but instead, a few of them grumble about it at the start of the episode and the rest of the episode is just mindless action. Omega, on the other hand, is a refreshing character and it’s great to see her starting to come more into her own as the show progresses. When there’s not an appearance of a character from another story occurring, she is usually the one stealing the show. I will say that the subplots with Tarkin and Rampart and the Kaminoans are the most interesting parts of the show for me personally. They all their different agendas and it’s interesting to see where their agendas clash and align. That’s the storyline I’m most interested in with this series.

I thought Black Widow was pretty solid! It doesn’t reinvent the wheel or anything, but it was a fun popcorn flick. I’m excited to see where some of the characters and storylines continue onto next. I’m also loving Loki so far. Like the titular character, it’s been pretty unpredictable so far and I hope the finale lands on its feet tomorrow. (Especially since I was underwhelmed by the finales for the two previous shows.)

I think they’ll definitely do something for the tenth anniversary of The Avengers, and Lego Marvel Superheroes in general, possibly another Infinity Saga wave? I don’t think they’ll do anything for those Spider-Man related anniversaries but it would be interesting if they did more No Way Home sets but ”inspired by” the Tobey/Andrew films, like the Homecoming and Far From Home sets we’re getting this year. It’s crazy to think of all the minifigures we’ll be getting from those movies/shows. Presumably we’ll be getting new versions of existing characters like Strange, Wanda, Thor, Captain Marvel and an MCU based Ms. Marvel, as well as our first versions of new characters like Lady Thor and America Chavez. I’d also love to get a Kate Bishop minifigure as I love what we’ve seen of her costume, so hopefully we get a Hawkeye set! As for the CMF series, I’m liking what I’m seeing so far. Wanda looks mostly fantastic and while the lack of new faces bother me, the ones she has here make more sense than the Endgame set at least. Sylvie’s face doesn’t really fit her in my opinion and the hair looks a bit off, but it’s an okay depiction of the character overall. The Spidey minifigure is honestly the best version of the character that Lego has made to date in my eyes. It’s so wonderfully detailed and I’m curious to see if this is a Peter Parker Spider-Man or someone else like Stephen Strange. And the new Sam Wilson Captain America figure looks amazing. While I’m waiting for better pictures to make judgement on the hairpiece, I’m loving the rest of the figure. I’m excited to see the full series in the hopefully-near future.

Wow, I was about to speculate that we were getting a surprise Avengers Campus set this year like the Galaxy’s Edge one last year but never mind lol. That Spider-Man CMF figure looks amazing and could be my favorite Lego Spider-Man yet. My excitement for What If? has shot up. Hopefully it impresses me like Loki has so far.

Could anybody tell me who the source of this Ninjago Modular Building rumor? I’ve seen people mentioning it in here and elsewhere but I don’t know where this rumor has come from or if it’s just speculation.

Um, this movie came out four years ago. Here’s a trailer though.

I somewhat share this take, though I do appreciate all the diverse faces we get nowadays. The classic smiley faces are just so iconic and that’s partially because of how plain and interchangeable they are. It reminds me of that joke from The Lego Movie where Emmet’s face is “so generic it matches every other face in our database!” I wish Lego didn’t make the decision to stop using them in the Modular Buildings because they don’t really get used all that often anymore. My unpopular opinion is that the coveted Classic Lego Themes like Town, Space, Castle, etc. are over-glorified. I respect the legacy of these iconic themes, but I question whether they really should be as iconic as they are. Besides the Western line, I don’t feel like there are that many sets from those themes to write home about. I feel like the adoration for those themes clouds people’s judgement of the new stuff and as someone who really likes the licensed sets, it gets kinda old hearing AFOLs complain about Lego doing more of that but not more of their childhood classics.

I’m actually pretty impressed by how the Forge turned out. I wasn’t expecting much, but this seems like a neat little playset. I like the Mythosaur sticker above the doorway and, honestly, the only thing that bugs me about the figures is the lack of a cape or collar on The Armorer. I think using the same helmet as Gar Saxon was a smart, cost effective move tbh. Now that we’ve seen all of the rumored Mandalorian sets, I think Lego has done a fantastic job with sets based off that series. Other than Trouble on Tatooine, all of the builds in this line have turned out to be pretty solid in my opinion. So far, I don’t feel like there’s been any Mando sets where you’re just buying for the figures and getting a lackluster build, which definitely helps me justify my decision to own every Mandalorian set (which I’ve achieved up to this point.) It’s crazy to think this wave is less than a month away after being hyped for it since that rumor list came out what feels like ages ago. I’m a bit more excited for the Marvel stuff though, even though I feel like these new Star Wars sets are technically better. Maybe it’s just because I’ve kinda gotten burnt out on Star Wars and have been loving Marvel recently.

I don’t even like the Schumacher movies, and also consider them to be in a different universe from the Burton movies, but I’d love to see sets from them. Getting an official Batman minifigure with Bat Nipples would be amazing and a lot of stuff from those movies make for great toys.

I have the NRG Dragon and it’s definitely a great set. I’m definitely hoping for more Possession and Skybound Legacy sets next year. I just rewatched all of SOG and Hunted this week and I’m really looking forward to potentially getting some Legacy sets from those one day, though those seasons still feel so recent to me.

Well I got a Spider-Man 2 Tobey minifigure off Bricklink earlier this year, so I’m set if we somehow don’t get a new one. The NWH Funko leaks mention a Gold Suit Spider-Man so maybe that’s what the one in the “Homecoming” set is based off of? And they just throw in the Vulture so that they don’t spoil any of the Multiverse villains. I think the build is just made up but it’s still a cool looking one.

Nah, if anything, it leads more credence to those rumors since there’s technically only one No Way Home set in this No Way Home wave. They’re definitely trying to keep this movie under wraps like Avengers Endgame. The 4+ Far From Home set is a typical 4+ set but the figures are amazing. I’m glad to finally have a Nick Fury figure (well, one that’s not from Captain Marvel) and the new Upgraded Suit Spidey and Mysterio figures are amazing. My only qualm is the lack of arm printing on Spidey, which isn’t a huge deal for me. The Drone Duel set is very weird. The new Vulture figure and wings look amazing (though this kinda makes me regret getting that original Homecoming set earlier this year, especially because of how much I paid for it…) and while the actual build and Spidey figures look great, they have nothing to do with Homecoming or any of his MCU appearances so far. I’ll still get it, though it’s probably just a thrown together set like the original Endgame ones. It does kinda annoy me that this would have been the Homemade Spider-Man suit and instead we get this random though highly detailed suit instead. The Sanctum Workshop set really does excite me though, both the figures and the actual build. The build looks like a fun, colorful little playset with plenty of detail. You can see JJJ and Peter Parker on the computer screen as a reference to the end of Far From Home which is neat. All four of the minifigures in this set are amazing as well. While I was hoping that Spidey would keep the Upgraded Suit for most of this movie, this new one with gold accents looks pretty cool! The new Wong figure is pretty nice with some yellow jacket over his sorcerer robes to differentiate him from his Bricktober 2018 outfit. The new Doctor Strange figure with the cape and dare I say that it could be one of my favorite Marvel figures of all time? That new Cloak of Levitation mold is fantastic and reminds me of the Batman ‘89 cape/cowl. It’s much better than just using a normal cloth cape/collar imo. I even really like the new MJ figure with a new(?) torso and is overall a better representation of the character than the Far From Home version. I’m also impressed that three of the four figures in the set have leg printing! Overall, this is a really stellar wave for one of my most-hyped movies ever! It’s nuts that our first real glimpse at the movie is via the Sanctum set and box art for the wave.

Yeah, that’s a good point about how easier it was to get all of the Ninja in their main outfits for the Movie sets. If I recall correctly, the Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon was the the first set I picked up for the movie so I got all the Ninja right off the bat, as well as Garmadon and also Wu in the Master Falls set I got at the same time. And even though I ended up picking up all but three of the sets and a few CMFs, it was nice that I could have just stopped there if I was only trying to get the prominent characters. Other than Hunted and some of the Legacy sets, every wave since has made it more difficult to get them all in one go. Definitely give the movie another try. I think that it’s still a good movie in spite of its flaws. As you mentioned, the animation is top notch, even if I have mixed feelings of the way it blended real-life and brick elements, the music is actually pretty good and a lot of the jokes actually hit. Also, I actually really like these versions of Wu, Lloyd and Lord Garmadon, maybe even better than the show versions in some regards. The problems with the movie don’t outweigh the positives and I wish this movie, and this Lego Movie franchise as a whole, did better.

I just rewatched it the other night and found myself surprised at how much I was enjoying it, which happened the last time I saw it too. I get so used to people criticizing it for a variety of (valid) reasons that I get nervous about watching it again; this coming from a guy who loved it when I saw it in the theater. Yeah, the movie isn’t a very faithful or even good adaptation of the show or its lore, but I still enjoyed the movie for what it was and am at least glad that it didn’t retread old ground. I forgot that there were still quite a few references to the show in this movie, like Lloyd’s references to the Gold Ninja and Morro for example. I feel like the relationship between Lloyd and Garmadon was great and the development between the two of them made me more forgiving of the other problems in this film, like the awful live-action scenes, bad pacing, lack of an important role for the other ninja, etc. I disagree on the sets and minifigures though. I have all of the Ninja mechs, plus Garmadon’s first Shark Mech, and they all are great display pieces and have plenty of play features. In my country at least, they were all extremely well priced to begin with and could still be found on sale at certain stores. I agree that the Ninja probably should have gotten additional outfits though, but I feel like the minifigures we did get were colorful and diverse enough, especially with the civilians and Shark Army soldiers. And, potential unpopular opinion here, the CMF line for this movie is one of my favorite CMF lines ever. Aside from some lame repeats like Ninja Lloyd or Wu, there were some really cool minifigures in that line.

I started rewatching Sons of Garmadon tonight and god, this was such an amazing season. Every episode flows into the next so perfectly that it was hard to get myself to stop for the night, and I ended up watching six of the ten episodes from this season. I just have so many good things to say about it. The animation is undoubtedly the best it’s been for the show’s entire run, the action is a huge improvement over previous seasons, the soundtrack is fantastic, the jokes land better than they did before and honestly, I do prefer the character redesigns over the old ones (for the most part). The storyline for this season was so fresh, interesting and remains very unique compared to other seasons. The Sons of Garmadon are arguably the most grounded Ninjago faction yet and I feel like that worked in their favor. Also, Harumi is one of my favorite Ninjago characters and depending on the way it’s used, her theme can be very beautiful or very creepy. I honestly did not see the twist with her coming when I first saw these episodes. Watching through this season again brings back so many memories for me. 2018 was such a different time in my life and I remember keeping up with each episode as it made its way to Youtube. I’m very excited for the Legacy line to reach this season as I’m curious to see what they end up doing.

Ooh, an Iron Man battle pack is a genius idea! I just rewatched all the MCU movies recently and had a lot of ideas for sets. Here are just my Phase One ideas: Clash at the Malibu Mansion ($20): This could be like the small Star Wars duel sets but based off the fight scene between Tony and Rhodey from Iron Man 2. Figures would include Iron Man Mark 4 (New!) and Rhodey in Iron Man Mark 2 (could just re-use the torso and legs from the 2020 Square Enix Prototype suit with a new helmet.) Iron Man: Whiplash’s Raceway Revenge ($30): The build would be Tony Stark’s race car with the ability to split in half. Minifigures would include a Mark 5 re-use and new figures of Whiplash and Tony Stark in his race suit with the Mark 5 suit case. Thor: Attack of the Destroyer ($30): This would be a counterpart to this year’s Iron Monger set. It would be based off the first Thor movie where Loki sends a Destroyer to Earth. Minifigures would include new versions of Thor and Loki, plus a Jane Foster figure. Captain America: Red Skull Pursuit ($40): This set would include Johann Schmidt’s Coupe from The First Avenger and maybe some sort of side build. Minifigures would include WW2 Captain America (New!), either Arnim Zola or a Hydra Soldier (New!) and a reuse of Red Skull from the upcoming What If? Mech set. 10th Anniversary Chitauri Chariot ($30-40): The builds would include the thing Loki rides around on during the Battle of New York and maybe a small NYC street build (like with street signs, mailboxes, etc.) Minifigures would include a new Loki and 10th Anniversary Captain America, plus a Chitauri re-use and a new Hulk bigfig. 10th Anniversary Quinjet ($120-130): To commemorate the 10 Year Anniversary of Lego Marvel and the first Avengers film, I think a UCS-esque version of the Quinjet similar to this year’s Benatar would be a great idea. Minifigures could include new versions of Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, Phil Coulson and a 10th Anniversary Iron Man in the Mark 21 suit.

Considering how the only sources I see for these supposed leaks are clickbait and not reliable whatsoever, I think it’s safe to disregard these for now. The film has only been filming for two weeks and I think it’s far too early to be having full story leaks at this stage, especially when we don’t even know the title yet which makes it easy for people to make these “scoops” materialize out of thin air. I am still feeling very optimistic about this film. Exactly. People have the right to respectfully criticize… but we know so little about the film right now that there’s very little to criticize in the first place! Oooh, now I want a Castle Grunwald set lol. I recall that being one of my favorite levels in Lego Indiana Jones, and The Last Crusade is my favorite Indy movie anyway, so that set would be an instant buy for me. What I would love to see if this theme returns next year is a D2C Golden Idol Temple from the beginning of Raiders. Just imagine if they remade that 2008 set as an 18+ level display piece with all sorts of features. If we get the same level of representation for Indy that we got for POTC or Ghostbusters in recent years, I’d love for that to be the singular set we get.

I don’t typically buy PAB, but most of the time when I have a conversation with a Lego Store employee, they seem like they’re fans of it and are more knowledgeable about it than they necessarily need to be. Here are some interactions I remember: -An employee that I talked to at the Disney Springs store was part of a LUG and made custom Mandalorian figures. -I had a nice conversation about Ninjago’s history with an employee when I bought a bunch of the 10th Anniversary sets back in January and ended up talking to that same employee again when I bought Ninjago City Gardens in March. -Talked about all of the Modular Buildings with an employee when I bought the Corner Garage in May. -Talked with someone about the new Mandalorian, Clone Wars, and Bad Batch sets at a Lego Store in New York recently. They are also excited to see the UCS Gunship. So yeah, some employees might just be asking you just to give good customer service, but there’s a good chance that they are genuinely curious and are fans as well.