Graysmith

Don't get me wrong, I love space sets too, but if this is supposed to be an arctic theme set on planet Earth I don't think it should look just like a space theme.

Canadians, Swedes, Finns, Czechs and Russians (among others) would beg to differ that a hockey player is "American". I'll give you the others, but I think it's merely a matter of America having a uniquely different history compared to most countries, and a distinct culture (that is also well-known around the world, i.e. most people know what a cowboy is). I mean, if I say Germany to you, can you tell me any famous German stereotypes/characters (beyond a guy in lederhosen and maybe an Oktoberfest bar maid) that would be recognizable to people all over the world? I definitely think LEGO could and should make more of an attempt to not be as America-centric though (no one needs another cheerleader) but I can't really argue against them choosing to do most of those characters you mentioned above.

I hope this theme isn't anything like that concept art! It's way too outer space for my taste. You could argue that being in the arctic is a lot like being on another planet, but I'm hoping for a more realism-based theme with snowmobiles, snowcats, igloos and minifigures with these on their heads. It probably won't be since LEGO has to have conflict, flick-fire missiles and whatnot, but I hope it'll at least be something more earth-based and not so sci-fi.

Kind of underwhelmed, to be honest. They're not terrible (save for one), but I'd say only half of them feel like must-haves (compared to Series 7 where nearly all of them were must-haves in my book). Very cool to see a proper Santa though, and a Shakespearean/Hamlet actor is exactly what I hoped for. Great to get an "Alien Queen" as an Alien Conquest fan too. I think the most pleasant surprise of all is actually the cowgirl. She's absolutely perfect in every way. But what the #@%# is up with that fairy? It looks like a bunch of random pieces slapped together with no style, no nothing. I'd certainly like to see some better photos before making any final judgments, but at first glimpse it honestly looks like one of (if not the) worst collectable minifigure so far. So much potential wasted away.

The printing looks like a lady's plump behind (with 8 arms and horns).

I'm glad it's got an open back. The alternative would've been a 6 studs wide interior where you couldn't fit much of anything (let alone a band of dwarves around a table), plus as others have mentioned it wouldn't be true to the original if it was enclosed. The open back allows for some kind of interior and playability (these are made first and foremost for kids after all, no matter how much we'd like them to be for AFOLs).

Love the use of turntable bottoms to create the pattern in the large window.

The image filename suggests that these 6 are included in set 79003 (which is already known to be an upcoming Hobbit set).

I just noticed that the 2010 Atlantis Treasure game featured an old-style diver on the cover, so maybe that might whet some appetites while we wait (or just make the wait even worse). It obviously wouldn't be possible for a real minifigure to look just like that since the helmet wouldn't fit over the head, but it's still making me pretty excited to see what LEGO might've come up with. Not that there are any guarantees that a diver would be this of this style/type. It might just be a female equivalent of the previous "modern" diver.

I can't imagine there'll be any other Kingdoms sets this year. The Joust was the big send-off, and the chess a specialty release. But as I pondered in the pinned Kingdoms thread, maybe we'll see a Kingdoms II down the line? Quoting myself:

+1 to GRogall! Thanks for a great trade!

I'm not female so maybe I shouldn't say anything, but I personally don't see anything wrong with the heads having lipstick and eyelashes to identify them as female. It's a fact of life that women generally wear makeup and as such it's the easiest way to clearly show that this is a female character. Of course you can get into an even bigger debate about why women wear makeup and that girls at an early age feel pressured to do so by society, etc. but out of all the things that factor into that, I'd say LEGOs female minifigure heads are pretty harmless by comparison. I definitely don't think every single female minifigure needs to have a head with obviously female features, though. The torsos are a whole other ballgame though, as far as I'm concerned. Not only does it send the a far more dangerous message, but from a strictly personal viewpoint it also renders a lot of torsos unusable for male figures. Take this one for example, which could've just as well have been used for female or male characters if only it didn't have that hourglass-shaped printing. But even when it's obviously female clothing it's really just completely unnecessary and it just kind of looks stupid to be honest.

I read on a Swedish forum that LEGO is supposedly announcing the next exclusive set at Brick Fiesta this Friday afternoon (July 6th). It could be something else of course, but it would make sense for it to be the next Winter Village set since it ought to be the next exclusive set released after the Haunted House (which comes out early September). That several retailers have started to add it to their databases would also suggest that an announcement is imminent.. EDIT: It's mentioned on the Brick Fiesta website too.

Agree completely. Getting really sick and tired of all these exclusives that only serve to make a few lucky people very rich off of others. LEGO shouldn't be encouraging this kind of black market stuff, no matter how much they want to reward fans that come to toy fairs and whatnot. Handing out "temporarily rare" figures would be so much smarter. People could still get rich off of selling them while they're still rare, but it wouldn't be on the same astronomical scale as it is now.

Here's a bit of thinking out loud: With the enemy knight in the Kingdoms Joust set being a Falcon Knight rather than a Dragon Knight, and assuming that Kingdoms Joust is going to stick around for a few years (a la Medieval Market Village), could that be a sign that the next Castle theme might be a "Kingdoms II" featuring the same Lion Knights but with Falcon Knights as the bad guys? LEGO could even use the Kingdoms Joust set as a backstory to why the Lion and Falcon Knights started fighting with each other.. Like the Falcon Knight disrespected the King at the joust tournament, something like that. You gotta admit, Kingdoms Joust would be a pretty perfect "bridge" set for a Kingdoms II theme with Falcon Knights as the bad guys. Or the Falcon Knight in the Kingdoms Joust is just an homage to the Crusaders vs. Black Falcons of the 80s.. But one can hope it's not only that!

Bricklink generally has information about weight. A box of CMF Series 7 weighs 927 grams according to them. Other CMF boxes range around 900 grams as well. I would imagine a box of these Team GB figs probably weighs a bit less than the average CMF box since these figures have fewer and smaller accessories, so say somewhere around 800-900 grams.

One cynically wonders if LEGO jacked up the prices post-press release when they saw how excited people got. With everyone shouting "MUST HAVE!" they surely knew they could charge whatever they wanted for this and us suckers would still fork over the money for it.

That showering Santa has to be one of the most hilariously bizarre things LEGO have ever done.

In my book, the first Golden Age would've been 1978 to 1989. From the introduction of the minifigure to the first sets that used differently-printed "non-standard" heads. Even though I like a lot of the early Pirates sets (for example), I do think of the introduction of the different heads was LEGOs first step into their own Dark Age. The second Golden Age would be right now, starting in about 2008/2009 and still going on and still getting better with every year. How long can they sustain it? Who knows, but I doubt we'll ever see another true Dark Age for LEGO a la the mid-90s to early 00s.

What a shame they put printing on the white baseplate. Those could've been useful for other things (other minifigures, MOCs, etc.), but with that printing they're pretty useless.

Pretty sure S@H was selling all three sets this past Christmas, and I would expect them to do so this coming season too, but dropping the Toy Shop and adding the new one.

Agreed 100%. Gonna to steer clear of this "discussion" (whining) until we get some actual photos of some actual minifigures. This thread is worse than overhearing nagging kids at the toy store.

LEGO is charging as much for this in Sweden as they charge for the Town Hall set, which comes with SEVEN HUNDRED more pieces (and two more minifigures). Add to that the fact that prices here are generally way higher than in most other countries and you're god damn right I'm going to bitch about the price. Perhaps even worse is that they said one price in the press release and then jacked it up when they listed it on their website. Converted to a more convenient currency (don't know where you're from flea), in Sweden they're asking £182, or US$287, or €226. (Yes, Australians and New Zealanders reading this, I know you have it even worse. No need to point that out.)

It's not like it's the worst minifigure accessory ever, but the newer, shorter beard is much, much nicer in every way. If they don't use the short one for the Santa Claus CMF, I hope they'll at least use the new Gandalf one.

I really, really don't get the complaining about a CMF Santa Claus. Show me an officially-released LEGO Santa Claus minifigure that actually looks good. The one in the advent calendars, etc. is simplistic and just terrible, basically put together from existing pieces rather than being a specifically created Santa Claus. It's got no printing, a pirate's bandana for a hat and that crappy, older beard accessory. You could make a far better Santa Claus just using the torso, head and beard of the CMF Lawn Gnome, but there's still no decent or even half-accurate Santa hat. Would you rather have another Skateboarder/Snowboarder/Surfer/Tennis Player instead?