AmperZand

FireStar are completely honest, but don't always send the right parts. Their shipping speed varies from fairly fast to quite slow. They're also overpriced. Nice site though with great pictures and an impressive range of third party accessories.

I have some minifigs I bought 20 years ago. They were on a shelf out of direct sunlight for most of that time. Some (but not all) of the white parts have gone creamy, but only slightly. Also, my glow-in-the-dark ghost from the 1990s doesn't glow as strongly as my 2012 ghost, but I'm not sure if that's because they put less glowing agent in the earlier ghosts or whether the glow has dimmed over time. Apart from that, my 20-year-old minifigs are in perfect condition. If you didn't know, you would think they were pretty new.

<insert tongue in cheek> SorinO & Yooha, I'll let you in on a little secret: by taking objects out of a minifig's right hand and putting it into its left, you can make it left-handed. Cool, eh? But don't tell anyone you've done it or the LEGO police will bust down your door in the middle of the night and take you away for 're-education'! </tongue in cheek>

I'm not easily impressed, but I have to say that your MOC is truly fantastic. Congratulations! I especially like the use of Poseidon and the Minotaur as characters in the play. Maybe you can add Medusa when the S10 CMFs are released.

I'm not a mod, but this thread should be in the minifig customisation forum, not the history one.

I have a lot of respect for Sir Terry, but the sad clown trope represented in this series predates him by centuries. I suspect that the Pierrot type of clown was the inspiration for the minifig, not a Discworld character.

Unfortunately not. BrickFortress's reddish brown is a perfect match with LEGO's reddish brown despite how it appears in the picture. I would love if they did them in dark brown for the same reason as you. I also use short dark brown legs for my goblins/Moria orcs. I understand that BrickFortress are aware of the demand for other colours and are planning on expanding the range. I'll be keeping an eye on their site and will post in this thread if/when there is any news.

I'm resurrecting this thread because I too was searching for articulated short legs and have recently made a discovery: there's a company called BrickFortress ( http://www.brickfortress.com ) that makes them. I bought some of their legs in each of the available colours and here's my review broken down into nine criteria. 1. Functionality 9/10 The BrickFortress legs are as articulated as standard LEGO minifig legs. You can seat the minifigs on studs as each leg has a hole in the back. When standing, the minifigs with the articulated short legs are fractionally taller than minifigs with LEGO's short legs, but the additional height is less than adding a backpack (such as http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=92590 ) or similar neck part. The joints of the BrickFortress legs are a tiny bit stiffer than those of standard LEGO legs. 2. Compatibility 8/10 The BrickFortress legs slot into LEGO torsos perfectly. They come in five colours: black, dark blue, light grey, reddish brown and tan. The shininess of the ABS used matches LEGO's exactly. And the colours are identical to LEGO's legs except for the dark blue. The shade of blue of the articulated legs is ever so slightly lighter than the official dark blue. But I could only see the difference in strong light and I have exceptional colour acuity. You wouldn't notice the difference unless you were looking for it. 3. Material 9/10 The articulated short legs seem to be made of the same ABS that LEGO uses for its non-Chinese elements. There is no problem with translucency; the BrickFortress legs are completely opaque. 4. Manufacture 9/10 The BrickFortress legs are made to the same high standard as official legs. The marks where the legs are separated from the sprue are slightly more pronounced than on official parts, but nothing that can't easily be tidied up with an X-acto knife or scalpel. The BrickFortress legs are all identical to each other in their manufacture, i.e. they are consistently high quality. 5. Variety 6/10 The BrickFortress legs are currently only available in five colours and no printing. It would be great if they came in dark brown and in green at least. If they were printed with pockets and others with armour (in addition to coming unprinted), that would be even better. 6. Usefulness 10/10 If you use short legs for jawas, hobbits, dwarves or kids, I can't imagine why you wouldn't want articulated legs rather than static ones. I don't easily give a perfect score, but BrickFortress deserves top marks for usefulness. 7. Originality 10/10 Although AFOLs have been modding articulated short legs from standard LEGO legs for a while, I'm not aware that anyone has actually moulded short, folding legs before. Another perfect score for BrickFortress. 8. Service 8/10 The BrickFortress site is clear and easy to navigate. Buying is straightforward. Although a volume discount is available, you only get it if all the legs are the same colour, which was a bit frustrating. The parts were protected in padded envelopes and delivered quickly internationally. I found the company friendly and communicative. 9. Value 9/10 Considering the time and effort that must have gone into designing and perfecting these legs, the $1.15 price is reasonable. They used to be more, but I think $1 to $1.15 is about right. International shipping, though fast, was a bit expensive. Overall, I was very impressed with these legs. I would have preferred if they came in more colours. Still, BrickFortress has made a great start with the current range. Unless you're a purest or on an extremely tight budget, do yourself a favour and get some of these legs. You'll wonder why we ever settled for static short legs.

Nice MOC! Great detailing. It is a little known fact that if the Pharaoh, Rameses, hadn't relented the eleventh plague would have been melting of the LEGO!

In another EB thread (I won't say which), someone claimed that anyone who only collects minifigs isn't an AFOL. I mostly collect minifigs and LEGO monsters. The buildings, vehicles and other brick-built constructions in my display collection are there to complement my minifigs. I consider myself an AFOL but maybe I shouldn't. Perhaps, I should reclassify myself as an AFOMF, to coin an acronym. What do you reckon?

For my first elf minifig, I used one of the HP yellow heads (before the HP line turned fleshy). I think the HP character is called Malfoy. Link: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/AmperZand/Fantasy/lego-elf-impulse-moc2.jpg I also use the Pharaoh's head as well as the S3 elf of course.

The claymore is very cool. Some of my knights and Nazguls are armed with them. One BA weapon that isn't on the list but should be is the rapier. BA's rapier is a better sculpt than TLG's and was around first.

You have captured the tenebrous feel of the mines extremely well, just as I imagined it from the book. Great job!

I bought the Rancor Pit on Saturday. Before you cry foul because that's a SW set and this isn't a SW thread, please hear me out. I can't help but think of it as a fantasy set. If, as I intend, you remove Luke Skywalker and the Rancor's keeper, what are you left with? A dungeon chamber, a skeleton (that I'll arm with a sword), a Gamorrean - an orc by any other name - and the Rancor, a troll/umber hulk type monster. I don't collect SW apart from three minifigs. 95% of my collection is historical/fantasy/horror. I just see the Rancor Pit as a fantasy set even if Lucasfilm/TLG/popular culture doesn't. If that makes me a bad person, so be it.

Great MOCs, Charlieboy! I have the BrickWarriors demon armour in pearl gold and was planning on using it to customise a Chima eagle-man much as you have done for Razcal. I'm also a UK fan of BW. I have loads of their parts that I'll be using to customise my orcs, goblins and Uruk-hais including the two-headed armour and goblin helm. I have already MOCed a CMF Aztec warriors using the BW pearl gold sea peoples helm with dark red plume and a BW pearl gold war hook (in addition to having an unMOCed CMF Aztec). I figure they can worship the eagle-man. :)

Please ignore this post. Was finally able to identify part by myself. Apologies.

1974, I suspect that TLG was concerned that it wasn't a private sale. They probably wanted to be sure that none of their non-EU distributors were selling to resellers in the EU. Basteq & Front, Even if you pay VAT and duty (or don't have to because the intrinsic value is beneath the threshold), you still can't sell grey market goods in the EU.

The first set I had that was mine and not just parts I had to share with my older brother was the Texas Rangers from 1977. I soon got into Lego Space when the first articulated minifigs came out and remained a Lego Space fan until 1983 when I discovered fantasy as a genre. My DA lasted 10 years until 1993 when my interest in fantasy-themed toys led me to the Lego wizard and ghost sets that were released that year. My interest in Lego has grown since but my favourite themes remain fantasy/historical ones such as some CMFs, the Ninjago minifigs and the LotR/Hobbit sets.

Denmark is part of the EU. It is illegal in the EU to sell products sourced from a channel outside the official EU one(s). So a retailer in Denmark, can sell LEGO sets sourced from TLG UK or a TLG-approved wholesaler in the UK as the UK is an EU country but not from a wholesaler in the US, which isn't. The ruling came about a few years ago when Tesco was trying to import and sell genuine branded products sourced in Mexico and elsewhere outside the EU. The so-called grey market were ruled illegal. As a result, all branded goods in the EU are more expensive than they should be if market forces alone governed the price. What almost certainly happened was that the EU officials responsible for the ruling had big, fat Swiss bank accounts set up for them by the companies that were fighting Tesco. Tesco, to their credit, was fighting for consumers (as well as themselves) while the brand owners were acting purely in their own interest.

I completely agree about the top halberd. In fact, I only use it for the large figures like the Fantasy Era giant trolls ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?M=cas376 ) and the LotR cave troll ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?M=lor027 ). I have replaced all those halberds that came with the Uruk-Hai poly with the older, smaller halberd in black ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3848 ). Looks much better. I do use some of the larger swords, but only as two-handed weapons, that is, with nothing in the off hand. While those swords are much too wide, their length is plausible. I have handled a genuine early 16th century two-handed sword that was not much shorter than I am tall, and it would have been usable.

When asked, do they say that "they are just following orders"? The main beneficiaries by far of customs agencies are customs officials (and their pensions). When custom checks were relaxed between EU countries (EEC countries as they were then), there were no deleterious consequences. And if customs checks were similarly relaxed between all advanced industrialised countries, the net effect would be more global trade and prosperity.

You are cordially invited to the London Swap-Meet at John Lewis Oxford Street on Monday, 7 January 2013 at 6.00pm. We'll be convening in the Toy Department but will likely be moving to the café upstairs after a while. At least one of us has an entire box of Series 9 CMFs with many spares. And I'll be bringing various parts including loads of fleshie heads & hands. If you can make it and have any particular requests for either CMFs or other parts, please post below. Hope to see you Monday! AmperZand

I reckon that the Forest Maiden was originally conceived by TLG as a female elf. The colour of her dress, the size of her bow, the teardrop shield are reminiscent of the S3 Elf, not the S1 Forestman. I'm guessing that the reason she isn't officially designated a female elf is that we recently had a Fairy and someone higher up at TLG thought that fairies and female elves are conceptually too similar. All the above is pure conjecture on my part. But if I'm right, it means we won't see a female elf CMF.

TrumpetKing67, Nope. Same size. Amps

I bought 22 S9s at WH Smith, Oxford Street, London today. But I know that a fellow Eurobricker was hot on my heels and bought loads soon after I left. So I'm not sure how many they still have.