Akkhraziel

Heyas folks, One of my sources passed me that I might be able to track down some Hailfire droids for $22 U.S.D. Anyone not get there fill of them, or looking to pick any up? I'll know for certain later today whether or not they are still available and if the deal is to good to be true, but if anyone is interested, drop me a pm, or reply here. This soure is usually pretty good, but even I'm a little skeptical about this one...still, never hurts to go have a look. Akkh

I don't think there is a way to let access to the delete button be so selective as to only affect our own posts. Meaning that the delete button is in much better hands with the admins, else people start deleting other peoples threads. Akkh

Vikings and Ninja have no need for newspaper ! This random thought brought to you by "There were town lego's ? What did you do with those ?" Foundation. Also brought to you by the letters "Arrrrr" and "Aye" Akkh

Excellent. Much as anticipated, as we get closer to the acutal launches, we'll start geting better information. Its goin to be a great year for video games. Akkh

For a little feedback, I like them. I was inordiately amused when I saw my title, especially at the time. I think its a good bit of fun, and I enjoy looking at others title's. Akkh

Heyas Athos, Much like you, I have an abiding affection for the Gawain and the Green Knight story (I even referenced it recently in a discussion of KK minifigs somewhere here on the site). Love the galleries, they brought a smile to my face. Akkh

My name is July. Yes, like the 7th month. My nick is a combination of two sources. One, the naming conventions in a wonderful triology of novels, in which a double 'k' was employed becasue the planet had once been a penal colony under that designation, and as suhc it became tradition that individuals born on that world would have 'kk' in their name. The other is that according to aprocraphyl sources, Akhraziel is the name of one of the Angles that guards the gates of heaven. Mesh the two, in honor and homage to both, and you get Akkhraziel. Akkh

Thanks for posting that link, Mister Phes. Suvie: While I'll admit my last post came across more skeptical than usual, something I do think would help would be to adopt something like that survey that mister phes linked for us, or to narrow the focus of intended letter so that a clear message is sent. Something along the lines of "More minifgs" or "Less speicalized parts"...something that everyone can get behind and does not have numerous interpetations. The more clear a message can be sent, the better. Scattered light helps illuminate a room, but a focused beam gets people's atention. Or something like that. Akkh

Hey vcvc, Did you know that its possible to post a message with more than one sentence in it ? Its very simple, instead of hitting the submit button after your first sentence, you wait a moment to see if you have more to write. If you do, you can write that next sentence right after the first one. That way, you don't have to post a whole new message to convey another sentence. In addition, you can use the edit button, which someone showed you in another post, to go back on a previous message and add a thought. This is a common courtesy, as it keeps the board from being flooded with new, one line messages. Your fellow posters will also appreciate you showing such courtesy to them and to the forum. Akkh

Welecome to the boards, I hope you find some of the conversations entertaining...technic was one of the sections I never looked too much into. Akkh

I think so. In any event, I'm looking forward to wht the future might bring. And while I'm at it, looking at grabbing a few great sets off the second hand market. Akkh

:$ I guess we could blame my university instructors...I'm sure they'd like that. Like I alluded to in the other thread, I've collected other toylines and I've learned to market watch. While I'd really like for more Pirate Lego right now, I also want TLG to be able to do so under the best circumstances with the best possible results for them. And as for the rest, I've participated in several petitions and company feedback loops. When you condense information and/or are specific, it helps when trying to communicate with companies. After all "I want more pirates" could mean "I want a new pirate theme" or "I'd like more pirate re-releases" or even "I want a new pirate theme, but please no power ranger pirates." At the very least, I've been on the receiveing end of "But thats what you asked for" from a toy company before, or "Well, htis is what you asked for, why aren't you buying it." Akkh

A few other thoughts on this Revival survey: In the end, in its current format, it looks more like a fan whine/wish list than anything a corporation would take seriously. If its not going to be taken to the AFOL meeting, I'd seriously consider what you plan to do with it, Suvie. That you comment that you will do something with it you can't reveal at this time only makes me tilt my head in curiousity and confusion. Sending it to Lego will probably only result in it being treated as yet another piece of fan mail... While you intentions might be good, Suvie, at the moment it comes across that you don't have much direction for where this is going, or much of a clue with what to do with it once you've gotten it. I think what I'm getting at is that this is not the best method, or presentation, for getting your point of view across. Additionally, you give few genuine recommendations on what can be done to help meet what you are wanting. Remember: Castle fans lobbied long and hard for the return of Castle. Then they refused to buy a single KK set becasue it wasn't Castle to them. I sincerely doubt TLG has a lot of intrest in hearing fan opinion on many things...simply becasue fandoms are small vocal minorities who can't agree on what they want. In the end, no matter how perfectly a set is designed, there is someone, somewhere, who won't like it and be very vocal about it. Thats enough on that for now...though I may return to this theme later. Akkh

There is a difference in can't compete and should not compete. I covered this in more (lengthy) detail in the Mega Bloks Pyrates line discussion. But there are also a few other things to consider: What you want in a pirates line and what we are likely to get are two very different things. I know I'm probably not the only one that noticed when they reissued the classics, we got the ones that had falling over masts and the like.... Would pirates be as enjoyable if it got the same treatement that Knights Kingdom (the first seris) did ? With lots of individual characterizations and potientially strangely colored pirates...with real firing cannons (the big spring action ones so popular as of late) and battle damage ships ? As the above is probably more likely than a return to the golden age of pirates...becasue kids now need a lot of help in the imagination department. Its also would be what they would try in order to 'compete' with their competitors... Better, I think, for Lego to instead put creative thought eslewhere then come back to pirates when the market is less cluttered. Or at least time it with the release of the Pirates of the Carribean sequals, one of the two. Akkh

While I agree that Pyrates Line, as well as the other brands that are currently offering pirate style sets, are not up to the quality of Lego sets, unfortunately, as the success of those competitors indicates, that quality is not important to all people. Which is to say, better quality does not equal better sales. To put it another way, coming from the angle that Lego has been in some financial difficulty as of late, that means their next business moves must be rock solid. Now, I'll admit I do not know the full financial state of TLC, but concurrent conversations taking place across many user groups seem to indicate that Lego has had some financial stuggles here and there. Taking that as a distinct possibility, as all toy makers have had it rough over the last couple of years, then releasing a product that has multiple direct competitors at lower price points is *not* the smartest of business moves. Not the least of which is the fact that in someways Lego would have just been competing with itself with the 4+ line. Remember: You are a discerning Lego collector. Parents and grandparents wanting to get something for their kids, and to be frank, the lowest common denominator that is John Q. Public (at least in the US) won't necessarily take the time to noctice that the building set with studs on the top is actually LEgo as opposed to some other brand. As Ed commented, the LEgo shelves in some parts of the US are shrinking and more shelf space being given to Megablocks. This is generally becasue Megablocks products are cheaper and move more units. Are they the same quality ? No. But retailers only care about getting their hands on money, and most parents (especially in the US) are only interested in getting a good value for their dollar. This above scenario has already played out with another toy brand, Wal-Mart, and its generic competitor. The result: The original, better quality line is moving to be sold only on the internet through select retailers and through the direct website of the maker. Note, the above is not always true. We've seen that Ed is discerning about what he brings home for his daughter to play with. But, if operating with the notion that Lego has to make solid, perfect business plans, then the route to better profit lies where there is little to no competition. In that way, there is no confusion, and no one settling for a lesser product becasue its a bit cheaper. It would be on lego, then to make something truly memorable and created its own niche, hopefully without licensing. Again, Remember: Just becasue you know what the difference between Lego and the others, it does not mean that everyone else does. Its one of the major reasons Lego fought all of those lawsuits with the other companies, Megablocks included: they knew that there would be brand confusion with peoplle buying construction sets becasuse they looked like Lego's. It's less a matter of if the Lego Pirates would sell all right, than if they would sell *well*. Breaking even or up to par is not the goal of any corporation. Profit, Allmighty Dollah, Easy Credit...those are the things that a company thrives on. Anyway...I've probably rambled for a long time again. Akkh

Don not consider this a reply to the questions at the top of the page, but instead a response to the answers people have given. After seeing this more than once, I think it needs mentioning: Manufacturing costs more now than it did 15 years ago. Its why piece counts have steadily declined, yet the price point of the sets has more or less stayed the same. Better to give you a hollow BURP which takes a lot less plastic than to give you all the bricks to make said rock structure. A cross between an increas in petrochemical costs as well as a few other factors. And no, its not just Lego, it applies to a lot of toys. It costs more to re-issue a toy jet from the 80's than it did to make it the first time. Its why the piece count has gone down and hollow piece's and strange peices have been coming up. Lego has decided to attempt to hold on to certain price points and thus changed internally to attempt to manage the rising costs of manufacturing. Additionally:While you might not like Junior sets, it does perhaps sell well to an age group well below ours, and a group that might one day become Lego fans. I'd be interested to see what the numbers on the junior sets run, and how they've sold. In reference to "Bring Back Old Themes": Be more specific. Are you looking for a re-issue of more of the classic sets ? Are you looking for them to design all new sets based on the themes ? Also, to put my opinion in, as much as I'm starting to get interested in pirates, I think right now would be the worst possible time for Lego to try to launch a new pirates line. Maybe after Meg Bloks Pyrates line leaves the shelves, but not at the same time. The fact that Lego is more expensive and would be selling a similiar product would create a situation ripe for disaster. Also, remember that they also gets lots of pleas for a return of classic space and things like that...I'm not all together certain that this letter will do a great deal of good. :/ In any event, just some things to think about. While we all have our preferences and our wants, most of them are very self-centered on our particular collections and not very helpful to a company trying to figure out policy. Akkh

This stuck out to me, and I wanted to comment on it. Aren't most of the big fan favorites from Star Wars things that we generally saw only a few glimpses of ? Boba Fett, the A-Wing, and the B-Wing come to mind as I type this. None of those things got a lot of screen time, but they are considered staples and fan favorites. I don't see much change with the episode III stuff. I guess what I'm geting at is that if star wars fans can glom over how cool Boba Fett was from his cameo's in the original trilogy, I'm not concerned if they don't like the Arc_170 cause it didn't get enough time. At the very least, it looks cool. All righty, where to start. As for the minifgs being too colorful, eh, my opinion differs. We have historical precedent for red as a battlefield color, same goes for black, we have fictional basis for green armor (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) and purple was a color of nobility and high status dating from the Roman Emnpire. I guess the only color I'm not finding much of a basis for is the powder blue...I guess I can't win 'em all. ;) And as far as the people who would take offense at the comment of the new Vladek's Castle heading back towards what Castle once was...well...this is a fandom. Which means if you asked all of them to explain to you what they thought Castle Lego truly was, you'd get a lot of different answers. I'm willing to bet it would be very difficult to come to a consensus on what sets those fans thought were the best of the castle line, or at the very least you'd hear things like "I really like this set, but it needs...." all throughout the conversation. If the old castles sets are so wonderful, why the constant adage of"It needs" or "Its missing" and what have you. Nostalgia is a powerful thing...and half the time when dealing with collectors its a force you run into, one that says that whatever is new can't be as good as what was. That having been said... I'm not really sure what lego can do to compete. As I'm sure some of you are aware, the toy market has been increasingly shrinking over the last few years. Most analysts point to video games as one of the major sources for that shift. The average toyline has a life of a year now a days, and many are pulled before that. Retailers demand new product to hit the shelves...its a mess. And Lego is more or less caught in the middle of it all. Many of the better sets cost as much as a video game, if not more. Competitors such as Mega Bloks make things even worse, as parents in a hurry buy "That building toy with bumps on it" and half of them here don't even check which brand its coming from, only that this bigger set is cheaper than that bigger set. THe toy market is a very, very brutal place right now. At best, or at its core, I think Lego's best chance is to do something it generally has done, fall into the "Educational Toy" segment that is popular with the more well-to-do parents. Parents that would rather spend more money on better toys, as opposed to the seeking of quantity. I do agree with Ed, that a return to less lincenses is key, as well as a need to perhaps re-establish the brand in someways. In any event, I've rambled enough on this for now. Akkh

Apparently Megablocks is getting in on the pirates actions, but the figures are more sized and akin to the 4+ or even Mini-Mates Figure sizes. How..odd. http://www.megabloks.com/en/products/brows...subCat=25&lId=0 Akkh

Well, as usual, I fall into a slightly different camp. Between school, work, and life in between, I rarely have time to hunt down all of the peices I need for a model. And indeed, I agree with the notion that there is something invigorating and nostalgic about opening a set and all of its contents. Which is to say...I buy MISB more times than I piece sets together, but I also then immediately open them...or if not immediately then whenever I get the time and space to put them together. While I realzie that I am destroying the collectors value of the item...I don't particularly care. And in many cases, the convienece of having all the pieces in one place without chasing them down paired with the fact that it *is* fun to open sets up, I usually consider the money well spent. Admittedly, I only buy older sets rarely and focus most of my attention on the many, many closeout sets I run across. Akkh

Another thing to remember is that with the US, the child saftey regulations placed on toys periodically goes through changes: For example, some of the transformer re-releases had to be altered slightly to accomodate the changes in regualtions (i.e. the steam pipes on Optimus Prime's arms had to be shortened). As for the why: A battlestar galactica toy, from the original line. Some kid fired the missle from the neat little fighter plane and it lodged in another child's throat, which he choked to death upon. This touched off the first thoughts of "Hrm...maybe we outta look at these more closely." One of the first toys affected by this: Boba Fett was changed so that the little missle on his backpack no longer fired. As for the rubber/plastic bit, I think it has more to do with the size of the projectile that the material in question. Case in point, all of the recent wave of Star Wars toys with launching missles. Big missles, but still made of plastic. As for the rest of it, well, the sale of firearms to small children as playthings still has not become de riguer as of yet. Of course, that given a chance most kids will play with stick and rocks is lalso a different matter, but there you go, random toy law trivia. Akkh

To wit: Plus tax would mean that it does not include tax...owever running the quick numbers on the calculator it woould seem that the price, tax inclusive, would be 43.33, give or take a penny or two and depending on if they round up or not. Akkh

Actually, Phes, if it were in my budget, I'd so jump on that, to open it up and put it together, of course. But so...so pretty. Akkh

Shipping: However much it runs...I'm not exactly looking to make a profit (If I were, this would be headed for Brinklink :-D ) I'm willing to take any and all advice on streamlinging it for shipping. Akkh

Locally I found 4748 for about $ 40.00 USD. (plus tax) There were two, if such a thing floats your boat, contact me. I'm not terribly certain how long they will be on the shelf at that price. Akkh Edit: If a mod could edit the title to make up for my horrible typing.

Mmmm....necrophilia. Vladek...or Elvis...you sly dog you. If the legs aren't glued on the figs, I may have to jump up and down and beg someone to help me out. Akkh