AmperZand

Yes, they'll almost certainly be blind packaged. They should be identifiable by feeling the packets, from their dot codes (which vary by production run code) and/or by shining a torch through the packet to silhouette the pieces inside. Most likely, it's one of these http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=15439 in a new colour. The historical/fantasy ones from this series are great, yes, even the cyclops. I agree with the suggestion that the evil wizard should have a hat or hair. Also, the goblin should have had short legs - I'll have to swap them out. The snake charmer isn't very exciting but is redeemed by the cobra which is arguably the best snake TLG have ever done. I'm really hoping there are lots of goblins and a fair few samurai per box.

While I mostly agree, the Simpsons CMFs did provide a few cross-over possibilities. For example, I used Mr Burns' legs and torso to MOC this Riddler:

In fairness to me, I did say "it's very unlikely that the police officer would be a woman." I didn't say it was impossible. In the video, they do say it's during Prohibition. The reason they substituted cookies and candy for alcohol was to make the set kid friendly per TLG policy. Given how few female police officers there were at the time, I can't help but suspect that TLG is trying to be politically "correct". They're using popular culture - and a kid's toy at that - to advance a political point of view. However much one agrees with TLG's politics, it's a kind on conceit on TLG's part for them to be teaching us - and worse kids - what to think. Of course I have the choice not to buy this set if I don't want to because I don't approve of covert political messaging. But then I would have to deprive myself of the set. It isn't fair that I should have to choose between accepting a politics lesson from TLG and enjoying the rest of the set. Why can't popular culture - and kids' toys in particular - be apolitical? Is that really too much to ask?

Isn't it? The suspect is 44mm tall and weighs 3.4g! Yes, I think he's one of the cookie bakers/candy makers. If it's supposed to be set in the US, the wanted poster shouldn't list the suspect's details in metric units. Also, if it's supposed to be during the Prohibition era (1920s to early 1930s), it's very unlikely that the police officer would be a woman. TLG isn't trying to be politically "correct", is it? Does anyone know why all the minifigs have the classic smiley face instead of different face printing? The designer doesn't say in the video why TLG chose to do that.

I totally agree. Fleshies - whether in licensed or unlicensed lines - are perverse. They certainly have no place in my collection. Unfortunately, fleshy necklines and elf ears make it tricky to swap the wretched things out for lovely, yellow alternatives. I know there are ways of yellowing fleshy parts - and I use one - but they're far from ideal.

I had the same idea. I've got a spare one of those as well as some of the olive green Moria orc heads. I'm looking forwards to using them to add variety to my S13 goblin horde! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there are at least four goblins per box of 60 minifigs, hopefully more.

You should try adding Vanish Oxi Action Crystal White. It will reduce the time from days to hours. I used H2O2 + Vanish Oxi Action Crystal White + sunlight to turn distinctly yellowing parts into ones that were as white as new in an afternoon. I don't have before pictures, but I restored this set using a mix of used and new parts. You now can't tell which are which.

Great little MOC with some lovely details! I especially like the bust in the front right corner. The pedant in me can't resist pointing out that Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson" in any of Conan Doyle's stories.

I've ordered some of each of the new items: capes, syrinx and head wrap, and am looking forwards to receiving them. While I don't mind fabric capes, I particularly like ABS ones. They seem truer to LEGO's design principles which is ironic given that they're made by BrickWarriors, a third party vendor, and the fabric ones are produced by TLG!

I went to a couple of Clickbrick stores in and around Tokyo this summer. One was in a factory outlet centre in Inagi-shi (I think), the other was in a shopping centre in Yokohama (I'm sure). Both had the full range of sets available at the time. I didn't notice any exclusives, but wasn't looking for them either. Both had customisable LEGO key-rings. Neither had a PAB wall. The Yokohama store had a very limited BAM (nothing like what you would expect from a LEGO brand store in the west). The Inagi-shi store didn't have one at all. The Yokohama store displayed the winning MOCs from a competition they ran. I was impressed by some of the entries. A MOC of Spider-Man was particularly clever. If I had to pick one of the two stores to return to, it would be the Yokohama one. Not only was it the better store but it's also a fun neighbourhood. The Inagi-shi store: The Yokohama store:

Nice minifig! The matched shield and torso are especially cool. And her golden helmet horns are a stylish touch. Are they BrickWarriors? I don't go in for painting minifigs when I can avoid it, but you've done a great job on this one. I also have a female dwarf with a 1 x 2 slope as a dress. She has the CMF Forest Maiden's hair, not the Female Viking's headpiece.

For those of us who remember when the only minifigs were static with a single piece torso assembly (fused arms) and a featureless head, the first minifigs including the red astronaut were simply magical. I mostly collect historical and fantasy minifigs now but a couple of the few sci-fi ones in my display collection are these guys:

Don't think so. We've seen pictures of the first wave of Elves sets and that headpiece doesn't correspond to any of the minifigures. On the other hand, it does look fairly similar to Alexandre Boudon's goblin minifigure design. I have to say, that I love that headpiece! Edit: Ach! Oederland beat me to it. :)

I wouldn't say no to another samurai. I was pleased when the original CMF samurai was released even though I already had samurai from an earlier line: Another CMF samurai is cool. That said, the ones I'm looking forwards to most are the goblin and the evil wizard. I'm already thinking of the goblin as the wizard's sidekick.

A miniature Mondrian - cute!

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like it may be one piece. I too would prefer if it were two parts, but I don't think it will be.

Kind of like this king's crown...?

Woohoo! I scored 1 point for Goblin.

No, the head and hood are brought forwards slightly allowing the hood to rest on the shoulders and drape in front. The head isn't centred on the neck, i.e. the stud on the torso that heads normally slide onto. If you're wondering, the cut-away back of the head can't be seen: it's all hidden by the hood. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the side view but hopefully my explanation helps.

Hello, 8Brick Here's the possible Evil Wizard: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=99525&st=200#entry2047006 My guess is that he'll have a slope piece like the S12 Wizard instead of the articulated legs shown at the link.

I agree that we should expect repeats due to new cohorts of kids becoming collectors and older kids/teens entering their DAs. But it's not out of a sense of fairness that TLG repeats concepts. If, as you correctly point out, some tropes will always be popular (knights, spacemen and cowboys to use your examples), TLG will meet that demand by returning to them periodically. It's more important to TLG to satisfy its core demographic, i.e. kids, than a secondary one, i.e. AFOLs. If a few AFOLs will be upset by the re-use of a CMF concept that will be popular with kids, that's a concession TLG is willing to make.

That's more of a D&D and derivative fantasy distinction than a traditional folkloric one. In German folklore, a kobold encompasses a range of vaguely morphologically similar mythical creatures. If you look up "Kobold" in a German to English dictionary, it will list the possible translations as something like leprechaun, goblin, imp and gnome. My guess is that the S13 minifigure will re-use the Holiday Elf's hat/ears but in different colours and with some kind of weapon. It's very unlikely that it would look like the D&D kobold. For one thing, that would require a new mould. For another, D&D is owned by Hasbro which also owns Kre-o. I doubt that TLG would create a minifigure that resembled a creature associated with a game belonging to a competitor. I just don't see that happening.

Samurai was the highest social stratum of pre-Meiji Restoration (1867-1868) Japan. While the stratum encompassed both sexes, normally only men were warriors. There were fighting samurai women but they were very rare and some were more legendary than historical: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onna-bugeisha. I doubt the latest samurai CMF would be female but I wouldn't rule it out either. A female samurai warrior with a Japanese style bow or a naginata (a Japanese polearm) would be cool. This elven sword http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=11156 in a different colour would make a good naginata; I'm already using a golden one that way.

Yes, that's right. I hitched a ride on the Tardis (Dr Who's time machine) and took a few shots of my set from 1981 before returning to 2014. Seriously, some of the parts are new, but mostly they're used. In real life, you can tell that it's a restoration if you pick it up and inspect it closely. But if you weren't looking for flaws and you were just seeing it as part of my display collection, you might think it was new. It wouldn't stand out as being a restoration.

Thanks for the congrats and you're most welcome regarding the clean up tips. Hope they help. I hear you! There's no chance I'll be taking this set apart. It's definitely staying in my display collection. I may replace a part or two that aren't perfect at some point, but I'm pretty happy with how it is now. I totally agree on both counts: it is a great set and we should have more restoration threads. One tip I forgot to mention in my opening post - but I hope is implied - is that if you buy used parts online from a seller you don't know for a fact will sell you nice parts, you should hedge yourself by buying multiples of the same part from different sellers. It increases the likelihood that you'll get what you require in good condition. Really? I didn't have that problem. Do you mean the ABS hubs or the rubber tyres?