Ardelon

Well, I think you nailed the look perfectly in the last batch of pics.

It would be quite easy for the designers to steer clear of slavery, gladiators and what not in amy theme and focus on romanticized combat. I think the cultural issue is more significant. And it's just as easy to make a Mideastern theme self-contained, with a local good kingdom vs. a local evil kingdom or bandits, without any ties to any European theme or faction, which should eliminate any cultural/civilizational conflict. But that's the thing, TLG might just want to make a generic oriental theme merely inspired by East Asian aesthetic. Sets like the Great Wall would run counter to such an attempt. It would be like expressly identifying a castle as the Tower of London. That would raise uncomfortable questions of who the good guys and bad guys represent in real life. TLG would face criticism for taking sides and for dumbing down history. Of course. maybe TLG could find a good reason why to make sets explicitly based on China. Maybe it would be a good way to penetrate the Chinese market. And the Orient Expedition shows they don't mind assigning sides to real-life cultures. So, who knows.

Bought my first three CMFs, and got Hard Hat Emmet, WAMP guy and Abe Lincoln. Since I didn't present my thoughts on this theme after gaining all the info from White Fang's review and from the movie (as well as having them in my hand), here goes: * hard hat Emmet: A bland fig, but the good/useful kind of bland. I like the instructions (I didn't realize they could print that small), the hat+hair, and his „pumped-out“ alt face. * Gail: Has the same bland versatility as Emmet. Should have had a perky alternate face if that's her defining characteristic. The one thing I question is giving her a waist, since vests like these aren't really form-hugging. Waist printing is usually not something I object to, but prining one here is overdoing it. * Abe: I like this fig mostly for its nice historical torso print. I assumed the hat+beard was one piece since the pics were first shown, so I wasn't disapointed when White Fang showed us it was so. One thing that struck me about his face was that it reminds me of Obama – just change the color and add his mole (and an accurate hairpiece), and you're set. * President Business: It's a shame that none of his figs include a confident smirk. But the torso is useful and the mug is sweet. * WW Wyldstyle: OK. I would have liked her better for Western MOCs if she didn't have the skull necklace, but then I guess it wouldn't be Wyldstyle. And let's not forget the fan. * Larry the Barrista: A nice fig with a sweet accessory, but not all that useful to me. I really think that name tags should be just generic scribbles, but as far as Im concerned, if I get multiples, it's a guy that works at a coffee chain named Larry's. * Taco Tuesday Guy: My fave fig. Finally a sombrero in a new color (though a plain straw-colored one would have been much better), new poncho and a sweet plate print. And the pants. There's nothing I don't like about him except for the plain torso. * Shakespeare: My 2nd favorite fig. Love the torso+pants combo. The hairpiece looks nice too. And no one can complain about another ruff collar. * Scribble-face Bad Cop: Don't really like this fig, apart from the marvellous smart phone. The scribble face is the creepiest LEGO print I've seen so far. * Calamity Drone: Shame she didn't come with her automatic gun. An even bigger shame is her robot prining on the torso. I guess it couldn't be helped. Though I wondered whether she couldn't have been done in a cyborgish way, with yellow skin, with some robotic elements visible on the head (like the terminator or the CMF cyborg). * Velma Staplebot: Not a very exciting fig, but useful for the hair and the torso, which is thankfully without robotic printing. Shame the clipboard printing isn't more generic. * Wiley Fusebot: His beard looks like it would go well on Ori the dwarf, I wonder if it fits with Ori's hair? Otherwise a terrific fig, since his torso doesn't have any metallic printing, and especially for the coonskin cap. * WAMP guy: the hawaiian shirt is neat, and it's the 1st time I got the „Elvis“ hairpiece, so I won't complain. * Mrs. Scratchenpost: An OK fig, but as I already have the grandma from the previous series, this is not a fig I'll be looking for. Though I like her hair better than the grandma's, since it can also be used in historical settings for old men, while grandma's looks too modern. * Marsha: a trippy addition to anyone's mermaid collection, but I don't have any, and I won't start now. * Panda suit guy: Meh. The suit subtheme isn't my thing. Enough said. Cute teddy-panda though.

A very imposing and very well built scorpion. Its hard to make something out of bricks look organic, but youve done it. But arent the eyes a bit too far back? (If they are eyes, that is) Oh, and the base is very impressive too, gorgeous details.

Good points, all of them. I'll have to re-watch the movie with them in mind...

I'd basically like a theme inspired by the Migration and Viking periods, something like between 500-1000 AD. A theme featuring more woodwork than stonework, the Viking aesthetic I linked to previously, spectacle helms, probably torsos with fur printing, and the like. I just think that TLG will simply redo a Vikings theme if they went for this idea. Which is a good thing. But these themes, as well as Kingdoms, were purely fictional, while Vikings are a bit more historical and specific. I have no idea if this would make TLG hold back, I would just be less surprised if they went for a Vikings vs. monsters theme. That's a great MOC and I would also buy multiples. I do have an aesthetic nitpick, though: I would align the projecting beams on the roof with the 8x1 plates representing beams running down the opposite slope, since they were the same beam, they were just arranged into an X-shape.

I'd love to see a Castle theme based on a non-European culture, whether it be a Middle Eastern, Far Eastern or „Mayincatec“ theme. But I wonder whether these themes are good sellers – Prince of Persia is cited as a poor seller, but I don't know whether it was on account of the film not doing well, or whether western kids just aren't that interested in a non-stereotypical Castle theme. After all, LEGO deals heavily in stereotypes recognizable to kids. I worry that the only non-Europan Castle-related thing that can sell itself on recognizability ara ninjas, and the only non-European theme we'll get is a reimagining of the Ninja theme of 1998, several years after Ninjago ends. As for an Antiquity theme, I doubt we'll see a Roman theme, since it's completely reality-based and a lot of countries base their national heritage on being part of the Roman Empire or fighting against it. So I think TLG wouldn't want to touch it, for fear of being seen as taking sides. I would guess thats why we've seen so much Roman CMFs (legionary, centurion, emperor, gladiator) - this was the only way these minifigs could see the light of day. I do think however that a Greek-inspired fantasy theme could be doable, without actually being set in Greece, similarly to Ninjago being inspired by a Japanese aesthetic. Although, there have been plenty of ancient Greek based CMFs as well, so my own argument can be used against this idea.

So, I just saw TLM yesterday. While a great film, I must say it didn't live up to the gigantic hype (I guess that's the problem with hype). It's still a rather simple kids film after all. But the worlds were fantastically built, and there were some powerful scenes. In my entirely subjective scoring system, I would give it 3 stars out of 4.

I wasn't much of a fan of the Viking theme; never got any of the sets. But if it would be done more to my liking, I'd be all for it. The thing that bothered me the most were the robotic creatures - I'd prefer molded ones. I think the fantasy dragon and the current warg molds would work great, and the Smaug mold could be even better. As for the helmets, I'd prefer more accurate helmets without horns, with some having spectacle visors as in the brickforge Viking helmet. But if horns are necessary to sell the toys to kids as a stereotypical portrayal of Vikings, then I hope at least that the horns would be smaller - the old Vikings with their helmets looked a bit ridiculous being almost as wide as they were tall. Looking at them at the time, I wished the horns had been made part of the helmet, like the medicinman's bison cap from the Western theme. In any case, a combined helmet + hair mold, like what the CMF Viking woman / Valkyrie had, would be a great leap forward. Having said that, I'd like to see a more "primitive" dark age theme, and I guess Vikings are the most likely take on it. I'd hope it includes lots of artistic elements as seen on the serpent/lindworm tile or the Valkyrie torso and skirt. Another thing is it has a lot of potential for antagonists - dragons, wargs, sea serpents, trolls, light and dark elves, (frost) giants... Contrary to the discussion above, I don't think TLG would pit the Vikings against human opponents. First of all, there is a wealth of non-human opponents like I mentioned above, which makes it easier for TLG to set the theme within their simplistic black-and-white morality. Second, kids might find two rival Viking factions boring, and third, I'm not sure whether a Danish company would portray evil Vikings, since Vikings are part of Danish heritage. So my answer is, I would welcome a Viking theme so long as some things were done differently from the last time.

There are also the smaller options, 6268 Renegade Runner and (dare I say it) 6250 Cross Bone Clipper. They should be well within your budget.

UFO was when my interest in space began to wane, but these look pretty good. I like how all the ships have a common aesthetic, and how sleek and sturdy they look (compared to the official UFO sets).

Im sure a case could be made - The LEGO Movie raising awarness and probably bringing in lots of new fans, TLG becoming the no. 1 toymaking company in the world, the partnership with The Simpsons to the point of the LEGO Simpsons episode (has the Simsosn show done something like this before?), the return of Ninjago signalling the strength and viability of in-house themes, etc, etc ... BUT. As a fan of historical themes, Im disappointed in this years offerings - no new Castle, Pirates, Western or Adventurers-like theme, no mid-year LotR, and the regular CMFs getting shunted to the end of the year. LEGO may be booming, but this will be a very quiet year for me.

Count me in as a fan of BURPs and LURPs. Thanks for showing them some love.

Classic Space was before my time, so I dont have this kind of attachment to it. I'd like to see reboots of many older themes (Ice Planet tops my list), but - and this is my biggest psychological hurdle - unless the insignia is the same, I couldn't consider them the same faction, which worries me a bit. But then, the Blacktron shout outs in the last few years have an accurate Blactron II logo, so I have some hope. The thing about space polar bears is that this line of thinking would just devolve into another "humans fighting alien monsters" theme, which I'm rather tired of, just like many others here. Though my main hope is to see civilians in space - explorers, scientists, miners, etc. - so if this is fulfilled I wouldn't really mind some antagonists or conflict. I could actually go for something like "Power Miners ... in Space"!

Not sure how I would feel about this. The aliens looked wonderfully campy, but the humans didnt have any actual space vehicles (though I guess most of them could be used on another planet than Earth). Personally, I'd prefer a return of Ice Planet.

Already seen on the flickr of Eiker86: Funny, I dont remember polybags being shown with sets at toy fairs, but then, I dont pay that much attention.

The first 2/3 of this year is pretty poor for history sets. No castle (the battlepacks are a nice exception), LotR, pirates (even though its their 25th anniversary), wild west (not sure if TLM sets should count) or CMFs, and now no pics of the Hobbit sets till SDCC, it seems. I guess the past few years years were too full for our own good, with Castle, LotR/Hobbit, a good amount of CMfs, LR, and what not. Well, heres looking forward to the end of the year.

Why, if it's a good review, which you might not find on your own as it's buried too deep, what's the problem? And I would say it's better to add on to an old discussion than to have several disjointed discussions on the same topic... I wondered whether it had anything to do with available memory, but I really have no idea how websites work.

- The Tower of Pisa is more of a cultural landmark than a religious building - AFAIK, it's not used for religious services, and it's much more a symbol of Italy than of the Roman Catholic church. - The Taj is a mausoleum, not a religious building (though there is some overlap). Again, much more a symbol of India than of Islam. - The Adventurers and PQ sets represent long-dead religions (and in the case of Amazon Expedition, probably a fictional one). The Himalayan temples might be an exception, but again they're meant to be taken as recognizably Tibetan/Himalayan ruins rather than representatives of Tibetan/Nepalese religions or wherever the sets are set - furthemore, they might be fictional too, like Tygurah's temple in the same line. Same goes for the Indiana Jones sets. - the Church set is from a time when TLG was basically a "internal" Danish (or at most, a Scandinavian) company instead of a global one, when it didn't have to worry so much about brand image and the opinons of various groups around the world (say, a small group of Muslims in Austria...). When catering to a small Lutheran (even if only culturally Lutheran) market, a church isnt controversial - when catering to a global market, suddenly it can become so. Based on the above, I wouldn't be surprised for TLG to give us sets, probably again in the Architecture line, based upon buildings that have an iconic status as cultural/national symbols, even if they were originally (or still are) religious sites - say, the Notre Dame, Sagrada Familia, Hagia Sophia, St Basils Cathedral, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, etc. BUT I would not expect TLG to give us generic religious buildings that have no other context or point than to represent their religion.

I still wonder why TLG wouldn't return to this project after the LR license expires - after all, it passed the vote threshold, and the reason it didn't pass the business case would be void. The thing is, the only one that can make precise instructions for a rejected CUUSOO project (or one that hasn't reached the threshold yet) is the creator - AFAIK, TLG has nothing to do with it. What's more, accepted projects get modified by the LEGO designers - and since I'm sure this happens only after it passes the business case, TLG would not yet have made instructions for their own version. So nope, TLG can't release intructions for rejected sets - they don't necessarily know 100% how the creator created the model, and they are not working on their official version. You can only hope the creators of the project release their own instructions.

The general consensus here was that the MWT was in conflict with the LR theme. I think is plausible, and it would canniblize sales, especially of Colby City, as you noted. I dont think TLM western sets were an issue, as you said, there are no western buildings in line. Furthermore, it was said that only one building would be done out of the whole project (I think the saloon?), so the argument that the project couldnt pass because it was too big to be viable is void. Nor do I think the official explanation was a lie, the conflict with LR seems like a valid reason, even though I didnt like reading it. What I would like to see is for TLG to put it back in line after the LR sets disappear. After all, the project did get 10 000 valid votes, and the official reason not to make it would then be void. I wonder whether something would stop them doing this scenario?

I agree with these guesses, though I would replace Bolg/Azog with Bard, since so far the unique characters in polybags have been heroes, IIRC.

Civilian creator-style sets sound like a neat idea, preferably in system scale. If not, at least they would make great parts packs. On the subject of repetition and castles / home bases, of course there are ways to make the castles more unique, so they wouldnt all be four walls bashed together. I think raised baseplates did a good job of this, and Id like to see them return. But apart from that, in the spirit of suggesting things we would like to see in a future Castle line, I have some ideas for factions (and castles) which could be something different from what we keep seeing: - A seaside theme, with one faction having a castle with a built-in dock, would come with an enemy ship; these guys could fight a pirate-type faction of outlaws. This theme could include warships for both sides, Island towers/bases of various sizes, a civilian trade cog or fishing boat, even a fishing village for the pirates to raid, like MVR. Sea monsters optional. - A theme set in some snowy/wintery terrain, with a Winter Village or Lake Town aesthetic, on white (base)plates, etc. Basically the same types of sets as any other line, but we could expect some sweet minifig prints, with fur clothes and what not. (Nope, I didnt get this idea from the upcoming arctic sets, I was actually more inspired by the Nights Watch of ASOIAF / Game of Thrones) - A kind of Castle-Police crossover faction (*ducks to avoid rotten fruit*) with prison carriages, prison towers and the main castle would be like a prison, filled with cells, trap doors, revolving walls, cages, falling nets and what not – gimmicky as all hell, but the more I think about it, the more I think this is something that TLG would do. Lets face it, TLG is not going to give us a load of drab civilian sets - business decisions, toys for kids and all that. - A Dark Age / barbarian / „Viking“ faction, with a wooden pallisade instead of a classic castle, but with a less robotic or technic-ish vibe than the previous Viking line – especially if they would be fighting monster animals again - A middle or far eastern theme. I hope PoP didnt serve as a warning to TLG that these kinds of themes arent in demand. In any case, they could be one-wave themes like the current one, to fill out a year between more traditional themes, so they dont get stale. Any arguements about bad publicity like evoking the crusades can be dealt wth by making the theme self-contained and independent of the other Castle themes (otherwise im a fan of continuity, but if this was the only way to do it, then so be it). - Not too keen on elves, which is another idea that has often been mentioned, but im sure they would have plenty of accessories I could appreciate. They would most probably not come with a traditional castle, for example. As for reimagining previous faction, factions, I would want the heraldry to be kept the same. One thing I didnt like about the falcon knight in the Kingdoms Joust set was that his heraldr was, frankly not the same as the classic falcon knights, and thus not of the same faction. Forestmen are not my thing either, but Id like to see an „evil“ king or robber baron, to balance out all the goodie-good kings weve gotten already. I wonder whether Denmark being a monarchy would influence TLG in not wanting to make an „evil“ monarch in their in-house Castle themes. In any case, Forestmen could be fine adversaries to such a faction. So, these are my two cents (or dollars, considering the length) on what I would like to see in future Castle themes.

Well, since all the movie theaters here are runing with the ridiculous Slovak-dubbed version (I realize its a kids movie, but a limited run with subtitles would have been nice), I might be waiting a long time before I see the movie... ...Or maybe Ill break down and go see it anyway.

Well, Gandalf was in the cheap Gandalf Arrvies as well as Wizard Battle, and he got a polybag... Though I would guess thats because hes a main character. I would actually expect Thorin or Bard in a polybag, for the same reason. And a Dwarf soldier polybag seems likely, as weve already gotten a Mirkwood Elf and a Lake Town soldier.