Ardelon

Huh, I just recently found out this thread existed and was surprised there was so little talk of this set in the Sci-Fi forum. Should have occurred to me sooner, but for some reason I expected it would get the LotR treatment on EB. Anyway: nice set, though out of my price range; the angular or studded nature doesn't bother me - this still LEGO after all. Minifigs look great, my one substantial dislike is Data's eyes - they should have made them normal IMO. And that phaser is just weird. Also not sure about the uniform colors - the red and blue should have been darker shades, and the ops division should have been greener (though I don't know if there is a better color in the current palette). GWP is nothing to chase after, its nice there is a minifig-scale shuttle, though I'm not really a fan of Ro - she was a bit too abrasive for my taste. But it's all good, especially for those who will be glad to get her.

I too am surprised at the lack of buzz about this set upon release. Apparently, people are not very impressed, and everything that could have been said, was already said upon reveal. Doesn't bode well for the set (and by extension for the concept of Castle-in-Creator) - assuming, of course, that AFOL netizens are representative of the reception of this set by the general buying public.

Don't forget a racing train and a stuntz train... as well as trains for less frequently seen subthemes such as a postal train, banking train or garbage/recycling train. Or how about a pizza or coffee shop train?

I would have probably voted for the Bulls separately given the option. But its all good - I liked the KK1 subtheme; sure the builds were simplistic, but I liked the new parts and the concept of the bulls as a less established faction, without a castle but only a siege camp in the forest. Rather a shame we didnt get proper footsoldiers for either of the factions.

Maybe the unicorn (and ponies) are set to appear in whatever "action and adventure" theme will replace Dreamzzz and MK? They would seem to be better geared to a girl-oriented minidoll theme, but TLG might be experimenting...

As could Nick's ruff, or even his whole ensemble.

Indeed the posts are very well written, in addition to the models being very well built.

Maybe Weathertop? Not really a set clamoring for a remake, but I think one that could both benefit from it (compared to what we got last time) and be another breather after one or two bigger set.

I vote for Yes - with the above-mentioned caveats that it should probably have a new way to connect the new flame pieces, and I wouldn't mind leg articulation (though the tail might get in the way) or head/neck articulation (it it could be done without compromising the form too much). I still consider it a "yes" vote since I would like to preserve the actual "form", with or without any "functions". It already has the ability to carry a sitting minifig, so I don't see a need for it to accommodate a saddle piece, as was also suggested above. It is simply an iconic creature, and it looks much more organic than brick-built dragons, and therefore fits in the minifigure world better. Brick-built animals are still too robotic for my taste. Maybe if there was a more seamless way to make the joints, something like the way arms attach to minifigs but on a larger scale, then brick-built animals might look better to me. I would also like the see the dragon in new colors - dark green, olive green, red, dark red, etc.

For me, it would be Parisian Restaurant, followed by the Natural History Museum. Not sure if the shared olive green color scheme has anything to do with it, but I would actually like the museum more if it had a tan color as its main color. I don't own any modulars, so I am going purely by visual appeal and reviews.

Even if it's not a whole ship, depending on the parts used, it may be possible to buy 2 and mirror-build the opposite side to get the entire ship. Not a challenge I would take up, since I'm lukewarm on the movie and priced out of the large Ideas sets, but it's still a thought.

I was thinking along similar lines. What parts seem to be too specific to Vikings for you?

It seems to me that some people are too quick to assume fraud - MyFirstMOC is a Hungarian FOL with a following, so it doesnt seem that far-fetched to assume that on a certain day he let them know this contest was going on, perhaps asked them to support him (or perhaps not), and on that same day several of his compatriots made an account solely to vote for him, without intending to visit the site further - since the rules allowed them to do so. No fraud necessary, simply a negative side effect of influencer culture. Of course, I could be completely wrong, which is where the official staff investigation comes in. I would add my voice to those saying that there should be a rule barring members who joined after the start of a contest from voting. I understand that not having this rule was meant to lower the entry barrier for potential engaged new members who would stick around, but I think the sour taste of situations like this outweighs any such benefit. This approach would have its own problems though. Would new member also be barred from entering the contest? That could be a loss. Could they enter, but not be allowed to vote? That could be a turn-off. Would they be allowed to vote as long as they posted an entry? Someone already mentioned the risk that people might post low-effort entries just to get the right to vote for a particular user. I look forward to the post-contest discussion.

Thats funny - just yesterday I was going through my old catalogs and I remarked how color-cohesive these three subthemes were. One can see how Futuron was a continuation of that iteration of Classic Space, and then Exploriens seemed like an attempt to once again continue this evolutionary line. I do appreciate how these three subthemes seem a bit more realistic than some others with their zany neon canopies.

Nope, I was thinking about Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. But your suggestion sounds intriguing, I'll have to check it out... Though I myself share the more optimistic view on Classic Space.

The standard series used to be 16 minifigures, 18 was reserved for certain licenses. I could get behind your proposal, though for be the ideal would be to have all three series as non-licensed, with any licensed series being extra. It might sound ´greedy, but in this case I would be fine with 12 minfigs per series, meaning 36 non-licensed minifigs per year (+ whatever amount the licensed series would have), vs. the 48 that it used to be, so it shouldn't be that much more. Of course, there are other variables, such as production capacity, but that's why i call it my ideal solution, not necessarily optimal.

Or maybe the specializations are actually castes, with people born into their roles? But really, I would simply think of it a a proud parent giving their child clothes and equipment of the parent's own color scheme.

A land office would be my first suggestion - gotta make a profit off the land expropriated from the natives. Also the local Indian agent - a place to smooth over problems between the two communities, and to mix sawdust into the flour for the Indians. Depending on how far you want to build beyond the town itself, maybe a ranch, or homesteads for the settlers. And a railway station, with a water tower and perhaps a pen for the cattle brought in by the cowboys, to be shipped east to the slaughterhouses in the big cities. And don't forget the snake oil salesman and his cart.

I suppose one way to solve the question of whether the pink ones are women or a specialized function is to have the rest of the color divisions be all-male, with the pink ones being the R&R division, i.e. comfort women... Heck, that could be their specialization regardless of sex/gender.

My rebuttal:

A compromise approach could be to use legs, and then a cloth "skirt" piece. Though that might not go well with a cape piece.

The solution would be to buy several, then swap out the heads/torsos/legs between them and your other orc minifigs. Win-win-win for you, TLG and the LEGO Castle cause.

Apparently, the chin strap on the "bullet helm" was prone to breaking similar to the classic space helmet, as referenced by Benny's space helmet design), as I learned in a discussion here about nine years ago:

It actually might not be the falcons at all - notice that the bird is not half black/white. It could be a brand new faction sporting a white eagle (or falcon) on a red filed as their coat of arms. In any case, I suppose that our Polish fellow AFOLs would be particularly pleased with this torso and any follow-up torsos and shields and what not (though the bird is facing the wrong way, and missing a crown).

I actually think the Home Alone set could fit nicely in the WV as the house of the local Scrooge who needs to be reformed - or after his reformation, with him hosting a Christmas party in his front garden/courtyard, with a big Christmas tree, ice sculptures, and what not. Its not relevant to my purchases, but I just wanted to add another point of view on the set and its role in the WV.