Swordy

Fair. I thought it’d be a nice “classic LEGO when they encouraged imagination” touch. Nonetheless, it’s undeniably in Luigi’s favour. (One of these days y’all Brits are gonna have to tell me what words in your dictionary include an extra U or not. I just found out’ve been straight-up misspelling glory while I assumed I was being defined.) I don’t know. To my very limited knowledge on this topic, ChatGPT can create character profiles based off any existing fictional character, so it’s not entirely impossible. RiddlerDC seemed like a Mk. 2 version, where he said mostly the same thing but with a slightly improved technique. Only thing that seems impossible for a computer to do was those Turtle stickers (especially the one without his shell, lol). Maybe a human mixed with A.I.? Whatever it was, the Turtle had to be more than a man. He was a symbol. Thank you. Anything for the Aslume. This place has opened my eyes. It’s more than just insanity; it’s truth. That’s what makes him so dangerous. He could look like anyone… Dude looks like Howard Stark or Walt Disney, honestly. *sad noises in Sith Lord* The mech is the bane of insanity, so no. …or like how Burger King is inside every U.S. military base across the world (which is really funny since more people associate McDonalds with America than BK). LONG LIVE BL—wait I mean I Heart M-Tron. (Please, Spirits, I’m begging like a turtle for some good night’s sleep tonight.) Thank you! I’ll do so shortly. ;)

(Eww, CloneCommando uses light mode.) I guess the Aslume’s New Year did go off with a bang after all. On a side note, I guess this maybe proves he isn’t an AI? …we shan’t mention Paul’s name. Wait. Honestly, until Cal was name-dropped I hadn’t the foggiest clue about what y’all were talking. Until JFO arrives on the Switch, I probably will never truly know. In other news, where several Walmarts and Targets failed me in not having the Soup mech (or Wolfpack Beastmaster), the LEGO Store came through with both! Unfortunately the Blacktron Renegade and Tudor Corner are too far out of my budget for now, so I only got the Pizza Go-kart to go with it. As I built both, only one thought came to my mind: These builds are incredibly stupid. Then I smiled, and loudly proclaimed (in my mind): Long live stupidity! LONG LIVE THE ASLUME! Took a couple photos of the Soup mech in an epic brawl with Luigi to share. Who will win? You decide.

Planning to get the Pizza Vs Fire Truck Go-karts for the alleged Luigi’s Pizza connection along with the Soup mech. Any other sets that relate to the Aslume I should pick up?

(Just noticed the new profile pic. Between you and me, I love it. Officially and legally and for the sake of a good night’s sleep though, M-Tron forever.) Anyway, firmly disagree. They’re rated as well as they are because they’re the main clone army featured throughout TCW. 212th look better, I’d love a BP or two, but besides Boil or Waxer I couldn’t care less about the named 212th regs as characters. 501st aren’t worth multiple BPs, but they’re still more popular than the rest, and I understand why TLG made another 501st pack. They oversaturated the shelves with the 332nd, I feel, and I believe the market’s response reflected that. (I’m kinda salty I missed 332nd packs at $11.50 at a local Walmart earlier today; don’t care enough to pay $16 for one of them, but at $12 each I’d be willing to build a small platoon.) P1 need some love period. Either that or a remake of the Shadow ARF—maybe a Shadow Rex. Something nobody but collectors or CW diehards would want. (Technically 3 if we’re counting the BARC speeder as 0.5 since it’s not a BP per se and a pretty bad bang-for-your-buck in that regard—but who’s counting?) I don’t believe clone fatigue would apply to either, since they both aren’t the same old standard clone design. It’s why the ARC-170 pilots—apart from the lack of dual-molded legs—have received otherwise universal praise, even from MandR. The reason we haven’t seen either, I believe, is because each would require a new helmet mold with, in their eyes, not much potential reuse. Okay, hear me out: 2026 sees Geonosisian Flame Troopers BP. Includes side build that suspiciously resembles a couple charred bugs. ;)

I can get that. I guess I’m moreso curious about why excitement for the FF is deflated when it’s not specifically called as comic-based—if this were the Fant4stic designs, sure, but the designs from the movie look properly retro. (I’d love the Valentines Day poster designs, but the spacesuit-looking designs feel good enough.) They’re definitely a deviation from the Silver Age, but not outside the overall vibe of the comics. Could be completely off my rocker, though. On the Torch specifically, I wonder if we’ll see an approach similar to Iceman in the X-Mansion for his “Flame on!” look; all classic LEGO red with swirly printing similar to the comics. Just my pure speculation, of course. From my understanding, given the movie takes place in an alternate universe New York, the Silver Surfer of the 616 MCU will be the classic one, while the one of the FF universe will be female for visual distinction. It’s stupid they gender-swapped for the cinematic debut, I agree, but it’s nothing that ruins my excitement for the movie. Side note—Whether or not the movie is good (for me it’s got the special sauce, but I like the Space Race-era already), the whole cinematic universe seems to hinge on that film. If the MCU fails, then LEGO Marvel goes bye-bye—no comic sets, no modulars, no comic FF, nothing. It’ll become no different than the shell that DC is after the failure of the DCEU. Just something to consider. Fair. Again, my perspective is that it’s the FF no matter which way you spin it, plus Galactus. However many lines and buttons the suits have, it’s still the FF. Still, liking the source material is key, and I think I understand that now. I doubt the movie will be a flop. BNW will probably flop, but Thunderbolts* seems to have a special sauce that other Marvel stuff lately seems to have lacked. The fact that it’s all relative unknowns outside of Bucky I believe benefits the movie. It’s the comedic group fun of The Avengers (2012) with the down-to-earth elements of the Captain America films. The most recent trailer took this film from a skippable feature to a must-see movie for me, and I don’t think I’ll be alone in that. Bah humbug to “superhero fatigue,” I say. If superhero movies become synonymous with slop, people won’t show up for slop. It’s not a fatigue with superheroes; it’s a fatigue with poor storytelling. Superheroes may not be the popular fad anymore, but good stories will always rise above the rest. Marvel Studios has done that before, and I believe they can do so again. Zombie movies are boring, repetitive, and unnecessary. Change my mind. The only truly charismatic actors of the Infinity Saga were RDJ and Tom Hiddleston, in my not so humble opinion. I don’t see Evans, Hemsworth, or any of the other actors as truly charismatic; not anymore than Mackie. I hope audiences give Sam a chance with the shield, but I also hope Marvel themselves give Sam a fair shot with a movie about him, and not Red Hulk, Leader, and not-Sabra. Honestly, BNW sounds better as a show than a movie unless they simplify all the threads surrounding Sam. Pure speculation, but Bucky needed to redeem himself in his eyes before he would’ve been ready to take the shield. Sam doesn’t have any such reservations and holds the same values as Steve, so he was ready to take the shield. (Even if he tossed it for a moment there.) Franchise-wise Bucky works, but character-wise I don’t think he was ready in Endgame. So what, they split the shield into three pieces? Do they take shifts throughout the week with the shield? Do they have regular check-ins on Sam’s fishing boat? This might be the most important What If…? since What if Captain Carter Teamed Up with an OC! Kills people with bricks, huh? If this Spidey pulls out a suit with a fat Spider logo, a monster truck with spike wheels, and a hammer larger than most people’s skulls, then I’m absolutely watching the show.

Commander Doom, because I really appreciate the commitment to the bit. :P I believe they should switch to the named clones in the 501st to round out the CW cast—but I don’t want to hear the multitude of “enough 501st already” comments again.

Forgot to specify retail. I’ve doomed us all. If that were the case, though, I’d care not. A holiday-themed B-Wing would serve me ill, thus I’d forgo piecing it together exactly 1:1. Since I’m recolouring the set anyway, I would ignore specific part recolours, substituting the unobtainable pieces until they are released in other sets. A unique torso wouldn’t bother a longwinded, non-completionist simpleton like me either. Swordy, one. Paw, none.

*insert gif of Drax laughing hysterically* Uh, well… take that up with HR? They might be in the middle of a case where someone got split in half by two magnets, but I’m sure they could take care of that for you. We need Trans-neon green back for that to happen. Trans-bright green just won’t do. *sigh* Curious what the reaction to the Blacktron II GWP will be.

Some of this seems to be alleged though, according to my limited understanding of the situation. Hailee (also the world’s greatest archer, the only other person to take down Kingpin, and, most importantly, proud owner of a pizza dog) and Shameik seem to have fine chemistry in most interviews I’ve seen; nothing awkward or uncomfortable. Now the part with Shameik posting a photo with the actress who plays Liz with a weird caption and refusing to take it down… that’s a little sus. Nothing crime-worthy, though. Hope everyone, especially Shameik, can move past this. (By Shameik specifically, by growing up a little bit, lol.) Not as much as they love Batman. Before the new year comes and this thread closes, I want to ask a question that’s been on the back of my mind: Why do we care about whether or not the Fantastic Four are comic-based or not? Does it matter from what source material they are, so long as we see the FF as LEGO minifigs at all? It seems to me that some wouldn’t buy the FF set if it was MCU-based, although I may have misread the room on that one. Hope I don’t come off as offensive or obtuse. I think I kept bringing this up when we got initial rumors and nobody responded, so I figured I might as well try again.

I hope for a TIE Advanced. Love to see a Defender Elite; it’d be a good excuse for S4 Ezra and Sabine. Don’t forget that we still have a TIE Bomber and regular TIE on shelves still; people won’t be starving for TIEs next year if no new sets are made in 2025. Plus, given how the TIE in the X-Fighter V. TIE-Wing set looks, I don’t think I trust TLG with creating playset TIEs anymore. Side note, I would love to see the B-Wing return as a regularly-sized playset after so long. (Monkey’s paw can’t stop me now.)

Christmas Day! or Life Day! I didn’t miss it. Either the Spirits have done it all in one night or just under eleven months. Whatever, they can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can. I’m a changed man, I know it! I have changed my profile picture to represent my recent employment as merch representative at M-Tron, the second-coolest Space faction. Switching to trans-neon green windshields and getting magnets as part of your ride are great bonuses to leaving Blacktron too. (I’ll change to the Soup mech come January. My thought is to recreate the 2025 movie poster, although I’m unsure how it can be done.) I mean, to be frank (although my name is *censored*), that’s a pretty poor reason for vanquishing them. If they’ll collapse all on their own—which they undoubtedly will if they keep adding more yellow to their spaceships than they used to—then so be it. Why get your hands dirty when the system is doomed anyway? Besides, I’ve still got buddies over there, and I’d rather them leave out of free will and peacefully. Instead, buy M-Tron merch so that they can stay more profitable than Blacktron—each order comes with some free refrigerator magnets!

“Spirit, I beg you. Please. I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year. I will take the job offer at M-Tron. I will sell Blacktron back to the old shareholders who will run the company into the ground. I will army-build Superman mechs, I will buy twelve hundred of them for the sake of LEGO DC. I will watch another DC movie someday maybe whenever I get the opportunity. Oh, I will live in the Past, Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three Caballeros shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the rude writing on this child’s drawing!” … GAAH! Ouch, my head hurts. Wait, the metal frame of the bed—yes! It is my own! The mat cushion is my own, the dreary cell is my own! Best and happiest of all, this Insanity is my own! I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future! The Spirits of all Three Caballeros shall strive within me. O Turtle O’Malley! Heaven and Christmas-time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old RiddlerDC, on my knees! I don’t know what to do! I am as light as a Soup, I am as happy as an Anakin’s angel, I am as merry as a schoolgirl Barbara who’s unrelated to Bats. I am as giddy as Drunken Man™. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world! Ha ha! HAA HAA! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I don’t know what day of the month it is. I don’t know how long I have been among the Caballeros. I don’t know anything. I’m quite a stupid Man. Never mind, I don’t care; I’d rather be a Man. Ha ha! HAA HAA HAA! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! The out of tune bells outside—oh, glorious, glorious! The bitter cold stone floor, the smokey air, the rotten smell of skeletons in CloneCommando’s closet, the broken bells—oh, glorious, glorious! You there! What’s to-day, my fellow inmate?

I was just asking a simple question; no need to be insulting. We all have an appreciation of Blacktron and its story, just different ideas on how that story played out. Though I do find it humorous that your way of making Blacktron not “humans but evil”… is literally just humans but evil. Near-human, human… it’s all the same when you get down to the fundamentals, such that you might as well start with Earth as their origin, especially since we have signs of humanity originating from Earth in this timeline. I don’t see much superior technology in Blacktron I compared to the Federation—and Blacktron II steals their tech from the M-Tron. As for alien agents, Rench canonically appears later on in the timeline (SPIII) while the Galactic Bounty Hunter doesn’t require a set timeframe, given his specialized armour. Star bases could be provided by another intelligence, like the Alien Empress, I believe. Humans always value conquest as much as we value knowledge; that’s why we’re more eager to push out into space than to explore our oceans. Blacktron being a dark mirror of the Federation isn’t lost if it’s split from the latter, since both sides represent humanity’s conflicting interests in exploration. Your version is probably more correct as far as LEGO lore goes, but it doesn’t make it “complex storytelling” I think. …okay. I guess that works, although that’s more of a state of personality than an actual working role. Didn’t the Purple-wearing Alien have a blaster too? Doesn’t that make the Dreamers in CS canonically violent? Seriously, though, I’m a changed man. On my first playthrough of LCU in late ‘22, I never gave the Dummy a second glance. When I replayed LCU earlier this summer, as soon as I unlocked Dummy I was overjoyed and promptly made him my Construction disguise (guy with big jackhammer). A noble cause. This is the way. Imagine my dismay realizing Santa didn’t make it into LCU. :( Apologies, I was going off of the part in Spirited when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come finally spoke. So I get 1812 and 1814, but why 19 BBY and 2018 specifically? What time zone am I going off of for midnight? Can you also guarantee at least one Muppet will be included in these visitations? “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

I don’t know, I like the idea that Orange could represent commanders (goes back to my admiration of Commander Cody, I believe). The fact that they’re just as rare as the Black Spacemen, without a role suggested like the Green or Brown, gives some credence, I believe. (The Tic-Tac set doesn’t, doesn’t count.) Do agree that the roles need to be more ridiculous as they keep getting added, though. Teal or Pearl Gold will be an intriguing addition. Already forgot what Purple was thought to be—alien ambassadors? We do have a Dark Blue CS torso, despite no helmet or airtanks—Shadow Ops, lol, or Agents? Curious, what is the canonical role of the Black Spacemen? I’d always heard/assumed they filled in a leadership role. Why longer than Earth’s interstellar involvement? Why human-like as opposed to simply humans themselves? Seems a bit convoluted, in my oh so humble opinion. (I know it’s been said before, but I genuinely do hope you take pride in the fact that you’ve single-handedly created a larger awareness of this random CMF for all members of the Aslume. All of that to say I need this Santa Dummy ASAP and will pay any price necessary.) Should I be scared what I’ll get in my stocking since I’m basically the only inmate still in his villain arc? Gasp! Am I about to be Christmas Carol’d?

My personal theory on Blacktron and Space Police’s origin: Both factions started as the ultra rare black-coloured Spacemen, which represented the commander role in the the latter days of the Federation and much of Futuron (derived from the apparel of the Admiral in ‘24 Space). Over time, some of the Black Spacemen became power-hungry and began to conspire with the Alien Queen’s forces as well as leaders of the Black Hole Gang. A secret alliance between these three groups formed the Blacktron Tri-Alliance. Eventually the other commanding leaders in the Federation uncovered this plot and ousted the rogue Spacemen. The rogue Spacemen, much to the Federation’s dismay, took with them other loyal men and Federation technology and bases. All of their members opted to swap out their colourful attire to all-black, faceless uniforms, signifying their belief that Blacktron, the opposition to the Federation, is a force of nature and not just of greedy gangsters, crooked commanders, and advanced aliens. In response to the growing threat of Blacktron, the remaining Black Spacemen and other Futuron members formed the Space Police. Each of their members were equipped with high-tech, red-visored helmets, and wore black to remind themselves of their fallen brothers and how quickly anyone’s fall could be. To replace the commanding role in the revitalized Federation, the Orange Spacemen was decided to fill in this vacuum—although a sparing few were chosen. Blacktron and Space Police are stuck in a never-ending war to this day, even as the fanatical Blacktron II came to be and the Space Police developed into more militaristic versions of themselves. Alright, how’d I do?

Ooh, I love arguing pointless nonsense! (Not that you don’t make any good points, but prepare for some senseless debating from my end.) Ha! You wish to force your moral constructs onto me, after I unscrupulously deprived MandoKnight of sleep while he legally bought stocks as part of my scheme to take over the most maniacal of all space corporations; after I pleaded with CloneCommando to return from his Black Lantern ways using the founding tenets of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence? Oh, please, carry on. I believe you misunderstand me. I don’t want all the innocents in Billund to die; just the ones responsible for these outrageous crimes against the AFoL community. The bakeries will be spared. Even so, for the sake of this discussion—as well as to be incredibly disturbing—let’s go along with the premise that all Billund must be destroyed. Why must this be done? To ensure that no guilty party, from the Christensens to the lowly intern, can resurrect TLG and continue these greedy practices. (I’m realizing that this pho-thought process is eerily similar to a real one of a certain person which our media has been praising for all the wrong reasons—if you know, you know, but it’s disturbing how many in my country are supportive of his anarchic actions. Anyway, I’ve already dug myself into this hole, so I’ll continue:) If the current management at TLG continues to overprice sets, then eventually millions of unsuspecting AFoLs will go bankrupt, stuck in a house full of depreciated LEGO sets (thanks to inflation and an oversupplied aftermarket) and hungry mouths to feed. Soon millions of lives will be destroyed, and tens of millions more will suffer from the debt their parents and grandparents earned. This will devastate the economy of dozens of first-world countries, plunging the world into an economic depression. As we know, history will repeat itself, thus a new world war will begin, starting with a nuclear attack on Billund. The war will have casualties in the billions, leaving humanity scattered, with only the plastic bricks left to rebuild society. However, these plastic bricks will leak whenever it rains, causing the remaining few to fight in archaic warfare, dwindling humanity’s numbers until all are wiped out from nuclear fallout or from their fellow man. Eventually the sun will expand, beginning the Heat Death of our planet, and without any humans left to preserve them, all life on Earth will die. I’m not going to bother rereading or proofreading that so you’re welcome for the insanity. A symbol. Messages can be corrupted, symbols cannot be, yada yada. This is bigger than Blacktron… if TLG fails, then imagination will begin to cease. If that happens, then all worlds die. So yes, to save LEGO we must destroy LEGO. Eh, Twinkies are better stale anyway. “Sometimes the most dangerous are the ones who know they’re crazy yet chose their insanity anyway.” ;)

I disagree with this philosophy if it means I don’t get to see Billund burn before the New Year.

I’m not following the 2025 DC Thread yet, so that’s a shocker. That has to be some joke, right? Sir, I believe we’re already deep-fried.

(Just so it’s clear, I’m being sarcastic. I wish I had exclusive info.) You will get five 4+ Hulkbuster sets and you will like it. :)

Jeff! Why did you tell LEGO we wanted a UCS AT-ST? As I keep saying, we’re past the point of ridiculous. Except now it’s LEGO’s set choices, not just the price. (Which, 1500 pieces for $200 is laughable considering the Milano also exists.) I full expect the Turbo Tank to be 4+ and include the 327th with Bly. It’ll be the best army builder of the year.

MandR actually made a great point (shocking, I know) that these Star Wars mechs ought to come with a second minifig. He suggested that Savage Oppress could work, especially if it’s Clone Wars Maul. I suspect a Clone Wars Obi-Wan or S7 Ahsoka (so long as we get an arm print on the former and shorter headtails for the latter, I’d be fine with either). To be fair, the 2013 AT-TE, though similar in size to the 2022 model, had 300 less pieces. (Makes you wonder where the 300 pieces went in ‘22.) My point? The UT-AT maybe comparably sized to the AT-TE, just with way less pieces. I can see several large plates being implemented to build out the hull. So I won’t be discounting the set outright; if photos show it’s overpriced, then I’ll call it as such. Galactic Marines is a welcome choice, although at the expense of the 501st. /s Seriously, though, I would’ve like to see Wolfpack this year to go with Plo’s fighter. This set definitely feels designed with MandR in mind. I wonder if a newly hired designer is behind this recent crop of clone sets; three near-identical clone pilots and a niche clone legion doesn’t seem like the choices we’ve come to expect from TLG. The sad reality is that people would then encourage others to army-build that set because it has two of the same trooper.

I can confirm that five of them will go over the $100 price point, though. Hope that means more comic sets or small Infinity Saga sets (based off new films, which, I don’t know, is kinda the point of the Infinity Saga). Again, a Red Skull car or Winter Soldier bike reusing the appropriate minifigs would be my preference, but I won’t hold my breath.

Maybe right now in 2024 into 2025, but there’s been evidence to suggest that’s been otherwise for him in the past few years. He still shows up in person to conduct at the occasional concert. He still creates new themes, like the Kenobi’s or Helena’s theme. He looked healthy, albeit very old, in the recent Music by John Williams doc. He can still play the keys at least as of 2023, so he’s still able to create new themes. If you’re suggesting he doesn’t create new compositions, while the William Ross’s and such reuse his older themes in new orchestrations, I’d argue the opposite is more true. In Obi-Wan Kenobi’s case, he created the new Obi-Wan theme, then passed off the rest of the responsibilities to William Ross and Natalie Holt, who are credited as the composers. If he didn’t compose Indy 5 (2023; sorry to speak the name of that movie) or Fablemans (2022), then that much would be clear. He seems like a man who takes pride in his work, and not someone to outright take the credit of someone else’s. (Apple Music might credit him for the Kenobi soundtrack, of which he had little involvement, but they do the same with Hans Zimmer. Big name draws clicks.) If I recall correctly, according to speculation had on the JWFan boards, the soundtrack release of Indy 5 (sorry, sorry), was all Williams’s work. There’s several tracks in the film missing in the release that were likely composed by William Ross, so part of the ghost composers thing is true. I’m sure John could at least write a few new themes, or different orchestrations of his preexisting themes. I’m sure John Murphy will do alright, like Ottoman before him. There’s just nothing that can beat the soul of John Williams written into his work being performed with all the power of the orchestra. HA, as if I’ll ever answer this question…

Honestly, not really. The only names of which I’m aware come from watching LEGO Clone army videos. (Even though I could care less for an army of P2 clones.) I thought I saw Jonak Toys having an option on their sight for commissions? I’m aware that MicahNike does decals, but not sure if he commissions. Might go the custom printed route, like through minifigs.me, although that’d limit the customization to just the torso—plus LEGO is pretty picky about custom prints having a trademarked logo on it. I’m not on Instagram (I say I don’t believe in social media as I write on a social platform involving media) but I believe a couple custom printers can do custom jobs; no idea who’s who or what. Probably a better question to pose on the LSW subreddit, in all honesty. Hope I could help a Commando bro out a little bit, though. Don’t they realize that by changing the un-user friendly interface, they only upset the people who’ve spent hours training themselves on said interface? Another reason to go march on Billund. Best part about the new Soups teaser: there’s nothing that stands out as a potential set! /s Seriously, though, the teaser got me in the feels. The parts that stood out to me most was the shot around 1:24 to 1:26—a classic Soups moment done using modern techniques—and around 1:36. The moment with Krypto made me smile. All of the casting choices look excellent. Only thing that makes me worried is everything extraneous to Soup. No idea how Hawkgirl, Guy Gardener, and Mr. Terrific will play into Soup’s journey, and I’m not entirely convinced on why they need to be included in a character sense. It seems like the movie wants to be as strong as Iron Man while having the world-building as Iron Man 2. I don’t believe that strategy will be successful. (See Ep. IV compared to Ep. V of Star Wars—former succeeds on worldbuilding with less emphasis on character development, latter succeeds on character development with less emphasis on world building.) Another point of contention: why the DC Studios Logo over the movie’s title? Are they unsure of the final title for this movie? Are they entirely confident in everything knowing it’s the Superman movie? Love the usage of the John Williams theme; wish James Gunn could’ve gotten him to compose the score. I’m sure for anyone who grew up with the older Soups won’t be as wowed as I am now—but by golly, we got a new Soup movie coming! (“By golly”? I must be listening to too many Christmas songs.)