Dark_Avenger

I always felt like one of the only people who collected all the Rock Raiders and loved them. Maybe it was because I was 9, but they carry fond memories.

Full sets of Hordika and Rahaga, a Keelerahk, and Roodaka. I'll probably get the Voporak combiner at Target when it comes out.

The only use I've found in the Chicago store is the Pick-a-Brick, since they almost always have light gray 1x4's when I go. Other than that, it's not much other than the pretty interior and the big brick model of a city block. The last time I was at Downtown Disney was 2003, which I think was before they remodeled, and I thought the selection was excellent. They seemed to have sets that no other retailers put out yet. Does anyone else go to the Woodfield outlet? I live close by it, and IMO they usually have an up-to-date selection and helpful employees. And then the one in Massachusetts (the one where Count Blockula had his Sesame Street displayed) I was at last summer on vacation. It was close to closing time, so there was only one clerk there, but I liked him. We actually started going into a discussion of the new Knights' Kingdom line before my dad made me leave.

Where's the "I buy my sets to play with and think up cool storylines to act out" option?

To be fair with the Bionicle antagonists, I will admit I've been pretty disappointed about the cloning in sets (even though the designs themselves are really cool). Hopefully that issue is gonna be cleaned up next year.

When the first image of this was leaked, I was expecting it to be $20 tops. But honest to God... $40?! No thank you.

Bionicle is LEGO. They just aren't System.

If you're unfamiliar with the storyline, it's kinda hard to not like a character. It's like pointing to a stranger down the way and saying you can't stand him.

I hated these things at Toyfair, and while they look better now, they're not too great anyways. The tank is definitely my least favorite. I think I'll wind up getting the helicopter. Truth be told, it's a set I think looks pretty good.

Why do LEGO toys have value to you? I see them as nothing more than something that I play with frequently. These days it's really the only actual toy I still involve myself with. What makes LEGO brand construction toys worth your money? The ingenius behind the concept. Several decades and it still hasn't gotten old. Building the actual model can be great; you see how everything falls into place. Playing with it is what I consider the most important factor. The ability to take parts and make whatever you want is an innovation that no other brand can match. (I'm certain a few people could argue Megabloks, but they're definitely not on this board.) In what way has the LEGO brand let you down? Not much beyond some disappointing and/or overpriced sets. In truth, they haven't let me down a whole lot. I'm kind of an obscure fan -- I love Bionicle, KK2, and Harry Potter, in addition to the widely-loved themes (Star Wars, Adventurers, etc.) I think the only specific let-down as of late is the light-up minifigs in the Star Wars line and the flesh-tone minifigs in all licenses. I just don't see the reason behind it... And, of course, there're the color changes, but those are irreversable. Recently, how has the LEGO brand improved? I couldn't tell you. I've only been with it for seven or eight years. For recent-recent, I'd say 2005 in general. System-wise, we have amazing KK2 sets, new Vikings, some cool Harry Potters for the fall, etc. The $20-priced Bionicle sets, I think, are the best ones TLC has put out. (I guess these can be countered by the Hordika models, though -- possibly the first Bionicle figures I really don't like very much.) What would it you like to see LEGO (re)introduce in the next three years? Another Johnny Thunder adventure, for one. The Egypt sets were what got me into LEGO -- I fell in love with them, and I did too with the rest of the Adventurers themes. Some more historical themes in the fashion of Vikings would be cool, too. What does LEGO need to do to sell more products for less cost to them? N/A What reason(s) do you have for not buying new LEGO sets? Some would drive up my cost too much, and if I buy too many too fast, I'd quickly run out of room to put them all. Then there's appeal. Right off the bat, there are some themes I never really got into to begin with, like World City and non-Bionicle Technic, so none of those ever really appeal to me. Then there're some sets in the themes I love that don't really catch my eye (like the Episode III Star Wars kits; some I fell in love with, some I couldn't care less about). What would it take for you to spend more money on new LEGO products versus buying sets/parts on the second hand markets? I don't really buy on second hand markets... What will it take for LEGO to remain the best construction toy for all ages and be a profitable company? Not to give in to a bunch of new molds and huge pieces. Look at Megabloks; we don't wanna go in their direction. That, and shoot for themes that can appeal to all ages. Naturally, some will not -- you've gotta aim stuff like Dora the Explorer to younger kids to get their business. But stuff like the new Vikings, for example -- AFOLs are praising them for being a historical and rich-looking theme. Kids will see them and think, Whoa, cool! Dragons! Monsters! Boats! Etc! What are your home country, name and age? What are your reasons for wanting to know? I'm a 15-year-old citizen of the USA, but I can't imagine what good my name will do. Most people call me Alex. Is there anything you would like to say with this last question that you feel someone at LEGO should not go without reading? Just don't pull another fast one on us like you did with color changes and flesh tones...

2003. We finally got a Makuta set, a new Toa character, and the Rahkshi (revolutionary at the time).

The infected Hau was originally the mask used promotionally to show Makuta, as he took the form of a Matoran to throw the Toa off. That was back in the day when LEGO thought Bionicle would be done after a year. Makuta's real mask is the Mask of Shadows. No one knows what mask Mata Nui wears, but he's also been represented by a Hau. The statue in Makuta's lair was meant to stand for his brother Mata Nui (didja notice how he was talking to it?).

Power-wise? I'm rather partial to the Komou and Mahiki. If you're talking about looks, definitely the Huna.

I swear, at first glance I thought you made these as molded pieces like Jeff's Armory. Closer inspection revealed that they were composed of actual LEGO pieces. These are beautifully crafted, takuto. You have quite a talent for packing an immense amount of detail into a minute space, and these firearms look amazing.

I don't think LEGO's gonna do much better than they are now. If you're old enough to sign up on a message board and type in semi-intelligent posts (at the very least) and share some hard-hitting opinions, you're older than a lot of LEGO fans. LEGO's target audience is several years younger than the majority of us here, and they're going to put their focus on listening to them. Think about it -- a teen or adult LEGO fan walks down the aisle, sees the new Bionicle sets, and groans, aggrivated that there are so many specialized and <insert that tiresome argument> pieces instead of a complicated contraption like the Mindstorms or something. A kid walks down the aisle, sees the new Bionicles, and goes, "Cool toy!" and they buy it. Unfortunately for some, there're more people shouting "Cool toy!" then there are groaning. (Incidentally, I'm 15 and I still think "cool toy!" when I catch wind of the new Bionicle, Adventurers, Knights' Kingdom, Harry Potter, etc. As long as they aren't Jack Stone-based. ;) )

Is that a rhetorical question? How do you feel about the one (or significantly less) piece Bionicle figures? SYSTEM builders generally tend to dislike these over sized specialised pieces. But if you're happy with whatever LEGO puts out under the "Bionicle" name regardless of how good the sets may be, then you probably aren't experiencing what SYSTEM builders are. Take Knights Kingdom for example. Some people thing the latest sets are great, other Classic Castle fans won't touch them because they're just not the same. I won't even go into the 4+ Pirate theme Vs SYSTEM Pirates... :^D The short answer? The Toa minifigs suck. I never said I was happy with these sets -- I'm disappointed with them. I'm saying that there's no reason for me to hold anything against them. They're not replacing anything, affecting anything, and they at least cater to the tastes of some other people. My point is that I'm "going through" the same thing as System fans, except I have a different attitude about it. (Seriously, some of you brick purists have to lighten up.)

I still don't get what we're "experiencing." I like Bionicle. TLC puts out new system sets. I don't especially care for them. And quite honestly, I don't give two craps about it. So these new sets range from terrible to mediocre. Does it matter? They're adding on to the line, not replacing anything; despite their presence, we still get the same amount of regular Bionicle sets in 2005. If there're people that dig these sets, that's awesome -- they can get them, play with them, be happy. I don't have a reason to complain because these sets don't meet my standards. Oh, wait, I AM going through what System fans are "experiencing."

I saw it a few months ago, and as someone who hasn't picked up any of the books, I thoroughly enjoyed it. For some reason, every favorite line I have from that movie came from Marvin. Alan Rickman's voice acting was brilliant.

I'm a Bionicle fan, and I'm sorry to say that these sets just don't cut it. The Colisseum Gates look okay, but they're not worth $90. Maybe $70 at most.

I don't really care if the torsos and legs are glued, but I certainly hope headpieces, weapons, and heads can be removed. (Why the heck are the Shadow Knights given Johnny Thunder heads? :/ )

There was supposed to be a scene where Yoda is meditating and Qui-Gon's voice speaks to him. I think that aspect could have been a lot better if they left that part in.

You may or may not remember the first six vignettes I created. Either way, I had planned to do another six or seven, as well as revise some old ones, so here's the complete collection: [WARNING: Revenge of the Sith vignettes contain spoilers from the movie! View at your own risk.] *** = new vignette ** = old vignette revised * = unchanged vignette The Phantom Menace Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul*** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. Let's face it; there's just not a whole lot to do with a flat desert terrain. I basically made this one for the sake of completion, and I'm a bit pleased with the detail I was able to squeeze out of flat sand. Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. I didn't like this one the first time, and I don't like it now. On the plus side, I hate it less. I did my best to put some detail in the device the generates the Pink Force-Field of Plot Necessity, but that didn't come out too good. Fortunately I was able to put that thing from Jango Fett's Slave I to use as the thing Obi-Wan hangs onto. Attack of the Clones Yoda vs. Count Dooku* Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. Didn't change this one at all; in fact, these are the same pictures from before (same with the other two I didn't change). Of course, I kinda regret that move; this one more than the others needs a reshoot. The Clone Wars Anakin vs. Asajj Ventress*** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. This one's sub-par in my eyes. I thought it was a good lightsaber fight to make a vignette of, even if it is EU. (Sorry if this doesn't make sense to those of you who haven't watched the animated mini series.) Anways, Anakin's standing on the ledge of the top of a temple on Yavin IV, and the ground in front of him is crumbling under his opponent. The bricks in the background weren't supposed to look like a wall; they're the blood-red sky. Revenge of the Sith Anakin vs. Count Dooku*** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. I had some serious trouble thinking of a way to do this one sucessfully (more trouble than my little desert). The room they fight in is really open, and they never got too close to a wall, so I put them in a shallow pit at the foot of the stairs. Normally I'd exclude a duel with this much of lack in background options, but c'mon, is there any position cooler to have your minifigs posed in? Obi-Wan vs. General Grievous*** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. Originally this was the worst vignette of the bunch; they were fighting on an all-tan block (cliff) with an all-tan background. Then I did some searching on line and figured out I had built the location of the fistfight; the lightsaber fight, apparently, had happened in the hanger station. This was lucky, because a hanger's a much better background. That's actually supposed to be a catwalk they're on, and the doorway's meant to be off in the distance. Before I saw the movie and realized about the catwalk, I had them on the ground with three rows of battle droids watching. It looked too cluttered anyways, so I took em out. I'm actually quite proud of this one now, especially because I was able to get a good fighting pose out of the stiff Grievous fig. (And why yes, I DID paint him to be more detailed! Thank you for noticing! :P ) Mace Windu vs. Palpatine*** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. This one came out better than I expected. The first version had the window still intact, but all the 1x2 bricks made a distracting white grid that you couldn't see the buildings through. Thus, I left a couple shards of the window on the MOC and was able to find a way to mount the top (which worked really well). I kinda like my city skyline in the background, but the minifigs aren't posed too well. There really wasn't enough room to get them right in a length of 8 studs. Yoda vs. Darth Sidious*** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. Here's another one that came out better than I thought it would. I was able to find a good way to make the central Senate pod, and the rest took off from there. I dunno why I put it on the huge spire; it blended in with the others too much at ground level, I guess. Obi-Wan vs. Anakin* Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. Didn't touch this one. Incidentally, it's still my favorite of the whole bunch. Obi-Wan vs. Anakin (aftermath)*** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. This is actually the first and only vignette I was gonna do. After starting it those couple months ago, though, I realized that I had no idea what the scene looked like, so it became the action shot with the silhouettes (pictured above), then that led to the other five vignettes, than THAT led to... Well, you get the picture. Anyways, This had a problem similar to Tatooine, only the sand is black here. On the plus side, it's right by a lava river. Before I saw ROTS, Anakin was lying on his back, but I had to change it so he was on his belly and looking up at Obi-Wan. It's a shame that he blends in with the sand, but the goal here was movie accuracy. (I realize this isn't really a duel, but it's become my favorite dialogue in the saga; it deserves its own vignette, to be frank). A New Hope Obi-Wan vs. Darth Vader** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. I detested the first one, but this one actually looks better, even though I only changed the wall. This version just looks so much sleeker, especially the light panels running from floor to ceiling. Not the most exciting MOC, but oh well. The Empire Strikes Back Luke vs. Darth Vader* Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. The last one that wasn't touched. It's still one of my favorites; putting those little orange lights in the stairs was a pain, but it was worth it. Return of the Jedi Luke vs. Darth Vader** Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. For the most part, it's unchanged; however, I took Snap Dracone's advice and plopped it on the ground. He's right; it does look better now. Too bad almost the whole thing and both combatants are all black. So there you have it. I'd love to hear any comments you guys have.

It's the first sign of the set's coming since we first got wind of the rumors. Amazon's already listing it, so we're probably closer to a wider-scale announcement. Lighten up, Wolf.

The animation is good, but the voices are cringe-worthy, in my opinion. I think some of the voices were pretty good. Toa Nokama, Turaga Dume, Nidhiki, Makuta (even though I couldn't stand his over-dramatic spacing of words in the second movie), Kopaka, Turaga Vakama... I liked all of those. Then, of course, there were the "oh God, someone gouge out my eardrums" ones.

Last weekend, I made up a neat little vignette for the long-anticipated Revenge of the Sith duel. This weekend, I made five more (one from each movie). Phantom Menace - Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. Pic 4. Nothing to special with this one - did my best to work with what I recall as a fairly smooth room setting. One thing I like is that I elevated it to leave room for a pit, though. Attack of the Clones - Yoda vs. Dooku Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. (Apologies for the blurriness.) Ignoring the blatantly-visible transparent piece that suspends Yoda, this is probably one of my favorites. Originally, I thought it'd turn out terrible, but the rough wall and pipes give at least some level of atmosphere to it. Revenge of the Sith - Obi-Wan vs. Anakin Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. This is the first vignette I built, and it remains my favorite. I did my best to put major emphasis on the lava, and I'm happy to have opted for silhouetted figs. A New Hope - Obi-Wan vs. Darth Vader Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. I tried closing off the doorway with side walls, but it made it look far too round and compact. Not especially happy with the way the back wall turned out, and I feel that I did a slipshod job by going with another wedge-a-plate-in-the-studs-of-another-plate technique. The Empire Strikes Back - Luke vs. Darth Vader Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 1. I have to say, it was a real pain building the staircase so those thin orange lights were included, but I think it was worth it. I'm happy with the background, too (in case you can't tell, the solid blue bricks were meant to be the fog rising behind Vader). Originally, I tried making Vader a silhouette, but his helmet was too distinguishable, so it just looked like a Vader that hadn't been painted. Return of the Jedi - Luke vs. Darth Vader Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3. Yes, I know the horrors of photographing black MOCs, but black's really the only color for the Emporer's throne room. Next to Obi-Wan vs. Maul, this is probably my least favorite. The elevator doorway looks okay, IMO, but everything else seems too plain. WARNING: FOLLOWING SECTION MAY CONTAIN EPISODE III SPOILERS Things to come: (Yes, I have another 6 vignettes planned) - Phantom Menace: Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul (desert duel) - The Clone Wars: Anakin vs. that crazy chick with two red lightsabers (I think her name was Asajj or something) - Revenge of the Sith: Anakin vs. Dooku - Revenge of the Sith: Obi-Wan vs. Grievous - Revenge of the Sith: Mace Windu vs. Palpatine - Revenge of the Sith: Yoda vs. Sidious As y'all can tell, I have a lot to learn about vignette-making. Personally, I think I'm off to an okay start (I guess I just really like that Anakin vs. Obi-Wan, lol), but I'd love to hear whatever feedback any of you have to offer.