AmperZand

I wanted to use the plague doctor's coat with a SW cowl to create a monk. Unfortunately, the two parts aren't compatible. You can't push the cowl down so it rests on the shoulders. I know you make a hood that works with the coat as shown in your picture in the OP, but the SW one looks more sacerdotal. In the end, I had to cut the back of a minifig's head away to achieve the desired look which is something I would much rather not have to do. Also, the coat prevents the arms from being raised.

Not sure which forum this should be in. Is there somewhere on EB for LEGO-related art? The minifigure is real. It's one of MOC customs. But the comic book effect was added digitally. Questions, comments?

Before my DA, I was seriously into Classic Space and had almost all the sets from the 1970s and early '80s. It's difficult to say which was my favourite but 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle was particularly memorable. Maybe it was the the new colour scheme with the white instead of the grey of the earlier sets. Or maybe it was the detachable lab which smoothly lowered onto the lunar surface. Whatever it was, I've had a soft spot for 6927 for a very long time. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view), my mother gave all my LEGO away when I went into my DA. I've been an AFOL since 1993 and for a few years now I've been thinking of getting another 6927. It wasn't until this summer though that I started to take action. At first, I looked at buying a complete one on the secondary market, but the set was either too expensive or I couldn't trust the seller's description of its condition. So I decided to reconstruct it piecemeal from parts I already had plus new and used pieces I bought on BrickLink and Ebay. I wanted to wind up with a really nice looking set but wasn't hugely concerned with historical accuracy and was willing to substitute updated parts such as the newer, thicker piece holding the front lights. I learned a few things along the way: The same description of a used part's condition varies wildly from seller to seller on BrickLink even those with good feedback. Some pieces were so good I could hardly tell they were used. Others were so bad, such as parts that were cracked, that they utterly defied their description. Ebay sellers can't be trusted at all. One in particular in Ireland sent me minifigures that bore no resemblance to either their picture or description. It was basically a scam. Peeron set inventories aren't always right. Kudos if you can find the mistake in 6927's. The technique of whitening parts using hydrogen peroxide, Vanish Crystal White and sunlight really does work. I had some used parts that had gone creamy and the H2O2 method restored them to the shade of new white parts. The technique of using Pledege Multi-Surface Wax to remove scratches from clear parts only works if the abrasions are so fine that they render the clear part cloudy. If you can trace the line of a scratch with the naked eye, Pledge won't help. The glass pieces for the windows were the hardest part to obtain. Two BrickLink sellers in the US independently made exactly the same mistake: they both sent me the wrong size. A seller in the Netherlands sent me the right size but they took 25 days to reach me in the UK. It wasn't the seller's fault. I could see from the postmark that he had sent them right away. They actually were in transit for that long. Congratulations to the Dutch and UK postal systems for being the slowest in the developed world! You can disguise minor flaws in used parts by hiding them in the build. For example, one piece had a mark on it that I couldn't remove, but it really didn't matter as it was buried under another part and can't be seen unless you deconstruct the set. Here are some pictures of the set that I now have in my display collection. Apologies for the rubbish photography. Questions or comments?

You won't have a problem plugging them in whether you get them the 'right' way around or not, so it's not really important. It's just an observation that if you plug them in and slowly rotate them, they'll eventually click into place. It's not a hard snap like putting a weapon in a minifig's hand. It's a very subtle settling in. If you get the horns in the 'wrong' way around, they will settle at a slightly different rotational angle than TLG intended from the illustration of the Hun. If you get them the 'right' way around, they will look as TLG meant them to be.

Daimyo's court including the daimyo (lord), two samurai, a geisha and a mendicant priest: And now for something more mythic - two evil ninja and two oni (ogres): And a couple more from Japanese mythology - a kappa (river spirit) and bigfig oni:

Absolutely brilliant! Instantly recognisable. I'm curious how you do it. Do you project an image of the painting and then place the LEGO plates using the closest available colour? Do you print it out and put the plates on top? Or is it completely free hand, done just by visual reference to an image of the original?

I've had the S12 CMFs since 1 Oct, but only had time to open the ones I wanted a couple of nights ago. I made two discoveries: The foolscap's colours are quartered. I thought the cap would be half purple and half light orange, split in the same way as the original red/blue foolscap. But it has two purple quadrants and two light orange ones which is cool. The horns for the Hun's hat are not the same. One is designed for the right and the other for the left.

I've had the S12 CMFs since 1 Oct, but only had time to open the ones I wanted last night. I made a couple of discoveries: The foolscap's colours are quartered. I thought the cap would be half purple and half light orange, split in the same way as the original red/blue foolscap. But it has two purple quadrants and two light orange ones which is cool. The horns for the Hun's hat are not the same. One is designed for the right and the other for the left. Doesn't work the same way for S12 because the mid-line isn't transparent. However, the entire packet is just about translucent this time. So if you can manoeuvre the information sheet and base out of the way, you can use a torch in a dark room to see a silhouette of what's inside. I used that method + feeling + dot codes to identify the contents of a box of 60. I've correctly identified all the ones I've opened so far.

Udderly brilliant! Congratulations to you both. My sister married a Danish former employee of TLC. At the wedding reception, each guest's name-card was held in place using LEGO bricks adorned with a minifigure of the guest.

I'm not into Pirates, but I have to admit that these sets do look good. The Juniors one is dangerously tempting. I think the new bandanna is supposed to look taut across the minifig's head. Not sure whether I prefer it or the old one. Thanks for the pics, just2good.

Here's a pic I found some time ago showing the 'round' vs 'sharp' snout. I didn't take the pic and I don't know who did. Apologies to whoever's shot this is for the lack of credit.

Rendering technology is improving all the time and if you're viewing the image on an old or small screen (such as a smartphone), it most certainly isn't always easy to tell it's not real. As a courtesy to others, posters here at EB and elsewhere should always state in a thread's title if it's a render or should post in dedicated rendering forums. Trying to pass renders as real is dishonest. Why not use software? I'm currently restoring/reconstructing a long defunct set. It's taken me a significant investment of time, money and effort to get the pieces on the secondary market and restore them. I could have recreated the set quickly and easily using rendering software but I wouldn't have the set as it was originally released, only an image of it, and the project wouldn't require restoration skills or much dedication. As to your point that most real MOCs start as renders, I very much doubt that. For one thing, most MOCs are created by kids who usually lack the patience, planning or desire to render the MOC first. Even among TFOLs and AFOLs, I think it's very unlikely that most start with a render, maybe for large/complex MOCs, but not otherwise.

1. Goblin - the Holiday Elf but in different colours, with different print and no gift 2. Vampire, female 3. Chef/cook 4. Soccer player - different strip than the previous one, possibly also female 5. Classic spaceman - possibly updated 6. Zulu/tribal warrior 7. Satyr/faun 8. Arabian prince with turban and scimitar 9. Hippy, female 10. FOL with LEGO box and themed T-shirt 11. Aristocrat, 18th century, possibly female 12. Napoleon/Nelson 13. Film director 14. Penguin suit guy (dressed in a penguin outfit, not a DJ!) 15. Eskimo, female 16. Opera singer Apologies for repeating some that have already been mentioned.

I've reserved a sealed box at my nearest John Lewis. They don't offer a bulk discount, so it'll be £149.40 (= 2.49 x 60). I won't keep all of them though. The ones I don't want I'll sell at cost at one of my LUGs. I will have to wait a while though: JL won't have them until mid-October (they'll be at their distribution centre 6 October and in store about a week later). I'm willing to hold back rather than get them 1 October from WHS.

Yes, they will. Or at least, they certainly used to. I don't know with certainty that they still do. The problem is if things go wrong, it gets very complicated. I ordered some hardback books from Amazon to a hotel where I was staying in NY. The books arrived damaged even though the packaging was in perfect condition. I complained to Amazon but told them not to send replacements. I was very clear about that and had it in writing. They sent replacements anyway. Naturally, they arrived after I had left the US. Amazon charged me for the replacements. The staff at the hotel were very cool though and returned the books for me, so Amazon refunded the money for the replacements. They also offered to e-mail a voucher by way of apology. I never got the voucher. I wanted to let them know but at the time, there was no way to tell them. I boycotted Amazon for a few years after that.

I don't know whose fault it is: TLG's, The Mail's or WHS's, but I suspect WHS. I'm hoping that they have some of TLM polybags on Sunday but as I'll be visiting a different branch from the ones I went to on Saturday, it wouldn't surprise me if they only had the TMNT ones. Update: I went back to WHS today to get yesterday's polybag. They confirmed that they did have some. "Great," I thought, so I handed over my copy of today's Mail and asked for yesterday's polybag. They told me they couldn't do that. If I wanted yesterday's polybag, I had to hand over yesterday's voucher. But as I had already turned in yesterday's voucher to them yesterday, I didn't have one. I explained the situation but was told tough luck. Really, WH Smith? Really? You messed up your distribution and were willing to bend the rules yesterday but today all of a sudden you can't? Thanks. I was going to buy an entire box of CMFs series 12 from WHS but no more. I'll get them from John Lewis, another nearby department store or a branch of the Entertainer. If WHS doesn't want my custom, one of those other stores will. And I'll be sure to let the management at WHS know.

The Daily Mail polybag offer starts today but it seems that the supply to S. London WHS stores is messed up. One branch I went to hadn't received any and another branch only had tomorrow's polybag. So I have the TMNT one but not TLM one which is disappointing as I was looking forwards to the Wyldstyle minifig.

@The Real Walkers This seller on BrickLink seems to have the minifigure within your budget including P&P: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=bigbrickstore&itemID=62133958 Although I buy a lot on BrickLink, I haven't used this particular seller. BrickLink sellers are pretty honest in my experience, at least as far as new parts are concerned. He only has a feedback of 20 though, so caveat emptor. That said, I'd risk it. Hope that helps.

Yes, I reckon you're right about it having become archetypal to some extent. As I've mentioned before on EB, Disney's Merlin in The Sword in the Stone is dressed in a blue wizard's hat and gown (http://img2.wikia.no...ps_com-1183.jpg) as is Merlin in John Howe's cover illustration of The Once and Future King (http://www.john-howe...p?image_id=1720). Howe's Merlin even has a star-spangled hat. What I didn't point out last time is that if you go back before Yen Sid in Fantasia, Gandalf is described as having a blue hat in The Hobbit. In the last few weeks, the latest edition (5th) of the D&D Player's Handbook has been released and on pages 112 and 205 there are pictures of wizards with white hair and beards wearing blue gowns (the one on page 205 has stars on his). So the trope has endured in one form or another for more than 75 years. It wouldn't surprise me if it were even older than that. I suspect it's pretty entrenched now and while wizards have been depicted in many colours in western popular culture, blue is probably the one most people in TLC's major markets associate with benevolent spell-casters (malevolent ones typically wear black). I don't see that changing.

Cool minifigs. Great use of the BrickArms weapons and helmets. I'm not a mod, but I think you're right that the pictures belong here, not in Historic. I've been told by a mod that it has nothing to do with the degree of customisation. If the subject is essentially about minifigures - whether they're purist or completely customised - the thread belongs in Minifig Customisation Workshop.

I started collecting fantasy themed toys and action figures in the early '90s as an extension of my existing passion for fantasy literature and games. In 1993, when TLC released its first wizard minifig, I decided to get the smallest set it came in as well as the cheapest set with the ghost minifig to add both those minifigs to my fantasy toy collection. I soon added minifig knights, then others as more minifigs were released (such as Hubble Bubble the witch in 1997) and MOC minifigs using parts that I could re-purposed from non-Castle lines (such as Star Wars). By 2010, my minifig collection was eclipsing my collection of non-LEGO fantasy toys and I gave it its own space. My display collection of fantasy minifigs now numbers in the hundreds with a few super hero and sci-fi minifigs as well. I also MOC or mod structures and vehicles to complement my minifigs such a Ninjago car reconfigured as a Batmobile.

Thanks for the positive comments. Glad you like it. Plain black with paint and a layer of satin cote for protection. I don't normally paint my LEGO because I'm not great at painting and can't normally achieve the same quality standard and look as LEGO print. Funny you should say that. I'm the reverse. I reckon the official Jawas should have had a front-and-back cloth covering with the bandoliers printed on the cloth. My guess is that TLC didn't do it that way because it would have been more expensive. A cloth covering would have given a more accurate Jawa silhouette than either the 2005 or 2014 minifigs that TLC released.

Although I'm predominantly into historical/fantasy/mythological minifigures, I've always had a soft spot for Jawas, so I decided to add one to my small SW collection. I considered getting an official TLC one on the secondary market but they're fairly expensive. Instead, I MOCed one mostly from parts I already had plus a few third-party pieces. Some of the LEGO parts - specifically, the hood and short legs - are the same as those in TLC's Jawas, though none of the parts came from an official Jawa. What do you think of the minifig? I'm thinking of MOCing a small diorama with this guy and an official R2-D2 minifig.

Great review and fantastic pictures, Fangy. Thank you! A few small points if you'll forgive the pedantry: In your picture of the Wizard, his collar is back-to-front. The starry side should be facing backwards. The first wizard minifigure appeared in 1993, not 1995. I remember getting him. You're right that his name, Majisto, may not have been revealed by TLC until '95. I'm not sure about that. The conical hat worn by the Princess is called a hennin.

That's what I do. I ask my local retailer to order an extra box in for me and keep it sealed. I then ID all the minifigs at home by looking through the packaging and only opening the ones I want. The rest I sell at cost to fellow AFOLs at my LUG. It saves me the hassle of standing in store and feeling packets, hoping the minifigs I want haven't gone.