poisonbricks

Interesting tidbits from Duckbricks' designer interview for the Mansion! I'm paraphrasing a bit because I'm not going over the video multiple times for the exact wording haha They said that they'd like to include more figures, but had to cut back somewhere 'not to say that those figures aren't designed, they may show up in content or in future products' They somewhat 'lose track' of the reasons they can't do Deadpool, they said depending on who they ask they're given something different. So might not be a hard rule, but seems like he's being avoided intentionally, some confirmation of that can finally put the debates about him to an end haha

For a $330 'adult' model, no corners should be cut for any of the figures - a lot of them are good, but they could without exception be improved with techniques LEGO uses elsewhere.

Could be our shot at more comic Iron Man villains too!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure this guy is just making easy guesses and doesn't actually know anything. Usually by now when something true gets leaked/rumoured, the bigger accounts with track records will end up reposting or corroborating it. I asked in the comments on the Sentinel post which of the summer set numbers it is, and he gave a range of three - and I'm not entirely sure how these things work, but that can't be it, surely? Either you know what set number something is, or you don't - what about a few of the numbers, but not the others, suggests what specifically it is? That being said, I do think we see a Sentinel, but only because it's such an easy bet as one of the few X-Men things that are still super recognisable to most people. I think once you start getting into the Asteroid M, Stratojet, Savage Land kinda territory you lose casual fans a bit. It's also only fair to let people have access to some of the Mansion figs without having to spend 330 bucks on a set that honestly kinda sucks haha I think in terms of near-future X-Men rep, we maybe see a Sentinel, places in a third CMF if that happens, and a Wolverine Vs X-Villain (... or Hulk) set. Can't really see much else left that'd have most people go "yeah, that thing I know!"

The issue is that the BNW set also only has like 200 pieces - the bigfig is adding a LOT to that $55 price. I can't remember exact numbers, but the F4 set has a way more 'normal' price/piece, so I doubt it has a bigfig too.

Officially showing off a better design for Gambit than the one we will be receiving in a $330 set is really cool, thanks LEGO

Okay, so, this is gonna be a long one, I've gathered my thoughts on the X-Mansion as we've seen it so far. Overall, the theme here for me is that this is definitely a good set, but it's really not great. For the building itself, before I get into the figures, it broadly gets the point across, but it's super disappointing to me how simplistic the majority of the build is. The slope-on-slope roof construction and the very simple attempt at the detailing around the rake of the roof, just with hinge plates and tiles, makes it feel more like a build in a 9+ facade playset that's been stretched backwards. Not that the Marvel modulars are ever quite up to the standard of the Icons Modular Buildings Collection, but this one doesn't really even feel like an 18+ set in any regard aside from its size and price. Take the Natural History Museum set - sure, it doesn't have to use the A-frame roof design all the way around, but the section at the front with the angled tiles is SO much more refined than the X-Mansion manages. I'm sure there would've been a way to do something similar here, but as it stands, this looks like a painfully simple build experience for such an expensive model, that's meant to be primarily for adults :/ There's also the matter of how small the build actually is on its baseplate... in the name of having a yard, it's about twice as far back from the edge of the baseplate as most other modulars, even further back where the building itself gets thinner. The interior looks cramped as a result. I know they wanted to include the dumpster and the alley for consistency, but is it really needed? So much space is taken up by basically nothing. Makes me wonder, will Xavier even be able to fit in many of the rooms? It's meant to be his building! Complaining aside for a second, what IS in the interior space looks pretty good (not you, Cerebro.) - the classroom with Beast's 'First Class' is very cute, and it looks like that blackboard/screen area can lift or slide out of the way to view the stickered tile behind it? The Danger Room is something I didn't even think they'd attempt, and while it's a shame that the Sentinel definitely can't fit inside, it seems like it spans two storeys, and the swappable panels are a cute idea. The dreaded Marvel elevator appears again, but I think it was maybe the most necessary here out of any of these sets, given how little space there is to work with. We can't see much of the lab, but it looks competent enough. We get more very small looks at a library and the foyer of the building, and both again look fine. The Sentinel looks really good! It's not perfect or anything, but I think it is as good as it could be without being the focus of a set by itself. The printed elements look great, and its robot tentacle thing to catch mutants with is a fun parts usage. I hope it (or a similar model) gets a standalone release, similar to the Thor vs Surtur set, kinda like how the Leviathan got its own set after the Avengers Tower. And now right back into complaining... where's Beast? It seems like literally an entire level (out of only two levels in the set!!!) is taken up by a lab, so why isn't he included? No Beast with no pipes for him to walk around upside down on is a real shame for an X-Men lab. Especially confusing when LEGO designers have basically spoken about bleeding figs in from other products as free inclusions beforehand. Sure, he wouldn't have been exclusive to the CMF anymore, but is that a big deal? Especially when he's so crucial to the operation of the X-Mansion in TAS/'97 (and just in general). The minifigures in general are just confusing. Why is there no dual molding... anywhere? Rogue, Cyclops, Magneto and Gambit all could have really used dual molded legs, and I don't understand why they don't have it. Is it especially expensive to produce these parts? Not that it should matter in a $330 set... Iceman is cool to have, but he's clearly only here because Mark wanted him in the Bugle and couldn't make it happen. Him replacing an actual prominent '97 character is a real shame - take Morph, who has exactly the same leg design as Cyclops!! They could've put more effort into those legs and spread the cost of production across two minifigures who both use the element. If Iceman just has to be here... include Angel too, and throw in Beast. That's the First Class finished. As it stands, we have a worse Wolverine than the one most people already have, a worse Storm in basically every regard aside from that printed cape, Cyclops who I don't really think is made any better by the awful new printed legs, a Rogue reuse, a terrible purist Xavier, a Magneto and Gambit who both are really missing out on leg detailing that they should've had, a fine enough Jean, and then Bishop and Iceman, who we can barely see. Rough. I understand that LEGO can only have so many prints per year per theme, but: 1. Dual molding is not a print. 2. They are wasting so many prints, constantly, on making endless variants of the MCU Avengers who are all being produced concurrently. We do not need versions of Captain America from AA, TFA and AoU. We do not need versions of Thor from Ragnarok, AA and now whatever his suit in the Marvel logo is meant to be. Pick an Avengers movie to be the Infinity Saga line's focus, and stick with it until set ideas are exhausted. We keep going back to old movies but never actually getting to characters who were skipped over because it's just the Avengers again and again. If any lineup of minifigures in this theme could've really used some extra attention, it's the X-Men. I hoped that with only 10 figures in a set THIS big, they'd put their all into them, but I guess not. I can only hope that there's a Sentinel set and a third Marvel CMF in 2025 with some serious representation for X-Men '97. Nightcrawler, Morph, Jubilee, Sunspot, maybe some actual villains? Bastion, Mr. Sinister? The thing that concerns me a little is that beyond the Blackbird, Mansion and a Sentinel, there isn't really that much that's crazy iconic to the X-Men that'd make for a good set. I really don't want to see another LEGO X-Men dark age after this, the thought of one 'Wolverine motorcycle battle' set every five years is a scary one. I'll still get it, I'm a giant (-size) X-Men fan and this set will always have been exciting to me regardless of how well-done it is, but it's not the day one must buy I'd hoped. It's full of a lot of half-measures and compromises, which is really a shame.

Okay, so I haven't seen anyone else post it yet, but check my story on Instagram, full X-Mansion!!

The post has been taken down, pretty likely it was fake.

I'm calling BS - less iconic, but more expensive with more pieces than the Avengers Tower? Dropping in... April? With 12 new armours, when up until this point, they've been clearly trying to string collectors along with one or two at a time to keep buying hall of armour sets? Plus no set number? I can totally see a set like this happening, but no way it's this.

TandNbricks is doing a QnA on Instagram, I'll quote a few things that may be of interest here. Q: What are the chances we see more LEGO X-Men throughout 2025? A: 2025 sets are already designed but I definitely think the reception of the mansion will determine if we get more. Maybe an advent calendar but it's a long shot. (To me this implies there aren't any sets ready to go right now) Q: Any info for Marvel summer 2025 stuff? A: DC and Marvel will get a D2C. Overall, it's too early but F4 is going make their appearance. (D2Cs I guess could be the object sets too, if this is summer then I doubt this means the buildings - another source corroborating F4 though!)

I'm absolutely ecstatic that the F4 set is comic based, 2025 is shaping up to be exceptional

Palnetttt (who is VERY reliable) has posted to his story about this situation. I'll quote him here. 'In short, everything that was "fake" has actually been taken from other leakers' 'The only truly fake one was the F1 leak that he stole from me and changed the info for' 'Everything else is either real, or is real and has some details that might change' 'The dude was just trying to throw everyone off by taking real leaks and calling them fake'

It's worth noting that even if they're relatively unproven in merchandising lately, they are still a huge property - they're Marvel's First Family, and have historically been one of the highest sellers in terms of comics. There's a reason that even if the attempts haven't been great, there's been four separate iterations of them in film - people keep trying because they're popular! The comment on them being 'outdated' kinda hits the nail on the head, but for a different reason - to me at least, that's kind of their appeal? They're like Superman, they're representative of a different, really idealistic time, and they allow themselves to be unrestrained heroic sci-fi fun (most of the time) If you're curious to learn more about them, honestly their current run is a great place to start - if not that, Waid or Hickman's runs on them are fantastic! It is a shame how Reed was portrayed in MoM, and honestly how Johnny was portrayed in DPaW, but I'd bet money on those being intentionally poor to make the actual MCU F4 look better by contrast

I know the F4 set is most likely for the film, but dude, if that was a comic set it'd be an all-timer. Wild that this is the first F4 set 10+ years into this theme

Quaffle posted the Magneto torso! Well, part of it. It's the red and purple suit, looks awesome

A little off-topic, but I just built the Milano, and... wow. Genuinely the best LEGO set I've put together, the techniques absolutely blew my mind. The one complaint I have is the minifigure selection being a little boring, but not a big deal. And Baby Groot is adorable! But yeah, if anyone's on the fence, buy it. You won't regret it - insane building experience, and it's HUGE.

I've never actually seen a specific Instagram for them, I'm not sure there is one? Only ever seen the images second hand through a different source

I think printed shoulder pads (like CMF Wolverine) + dual molded arms would've been the way to go for this, but I get it's a cost saving measure. The hair recolour is pretty great in reddish orange, and the torso and head both look good to me - definitely don't think she needed leg print, as nice as it would've been. One of the few characters in this set I think can get away with not having it entirely. I do think it's a matter of if we'd rather the detail here, or on another figure who probably needs it more, to be honest. I'll wait for clearer images to make a real judgement on the actual prints themselves, but so far she looks good!

'thebrickreporter' on Instagram has the image in his broadcast channel

Sorry, the point got wayyy away from me with that ramble, that's to say that it almost certainly is the final figure

Basically - most 'prototype' pieces, the typically translucent ones you see on eBay and other third party sellers, tend to be made off the clock in factories by their employees with the singular purpose of selling them on. Same goes for most of the alignment test print figures nowadays. No less cool as little trinkets, but the actual number of prototype pieces out in the wild is TINY - in my experience, most of them are molded in plain red, too, not all the other crazy colours.

Worth noting that also like 90%+ of the time 'prototype' is a misnomer and they're pieces specifically produced by factory workers for sale to fans

Are the details on Jean's hips... silver? Or am I just reading this image wrong?