brickzone

Actually that is a great idea! Today I was just wondering myself what to do with these, apart from use them as fridge magnets that is!

Thanks Klaus-Dieter for this update - most interesting news. Here's hoping for something nice. It seems likely it will at least an above average set, given the concept, but maybe it'll be a real gem!

Arrived today. The arms do indeed have the give-away indentations, but you would be able to tell it is cheaper quality anyway by the slightly off colours (more so than regular Lego variation) and the sharp and slightly less perfect molding of the parts. Nevertheless I'm pretty happy to have these, especially the forest woman and the ninja princess, neither of which I have originals of.

space6901: I have Café Corner, Green Grocer and Market Street, and these all work perfectly together. I'm expecting that when it arrives, Grand Emporium will too, although being a different building style. It will simply look like it has been built later. Fire Station in my opinion doesn't fit in, but similar to yourself, I can't 100% comment as I don't own it (nor do I intend to buy it unless I had surplus cash to get other more desirable sets *and* Fire Station).

I think you should not be so quick not to accept the exchange rate issue. Sterling has dropped a lot in the last two years and yet many countries having to import stock into the UK have not greatly raised their prices. It now looks like at best, Sterling will hold about the 87-90 pence mark against the euro (only a couple years since it was only 66 pence you could buy with a euro) and at worst, as I said, Sterling will go into a tailspin. The latter may actually be allowed by your politicians as it means that Sterling debts are then not as big a deal. The problem is that ordinary people will still have the same wages (or there will be hyperinflation due to wage pressure) and prices of even things like food will rocket up as the cost of imports goes up. It isn't just Lego, you will see a lot of prices of imported items have risen in the UK recently for these reasons - as I said in many case the companies doing it have held off as long as possible as of course UK consumers don't have more money to spend. You're probably just lucky Lego don't solve the pricing anomaly by raising all the prices of already-released sets. Of course here in the Eurozone we have problems (weak peripheral countries, separate governments), and in the US the dollar is not secure either (he US situation is inherently unsustainable), so there is some uncertainty how things will go. Nevertheless I think the UK has not experienced yet the effects of up to the last two years or more of weak sterling, so even if sterling stays as it is, there will be some pain.

Here in Ireland I've had a number of slightly damaged boxes from shipping, and one more major incidence. It seems pretty usual that the set boxes have quite a bit of space inside the packing box, and the air bubbles don't quite do the job. Also the major incident I had was a whole bunch of small (and reasonably heavy combined weight) sets packed *on top* of a large set. I also had at least one shipping box arrive with holes punched in it. The shipping to Ireland is DHL with the local post service (An Post) acting as the local partner. At least this ensures the packages get delivered - in my experience other couriers can't really cope with a lack of local information and us not having post codes or standard addresses.

I must say, I empathise with those for whom prices are high - Ireland has often had higher S@H prices. I'm rather happy to report though that Grand Emporium (and indeed Imperial Flagship) is a more reasonable €150 for Ireland, the same as Germany, rather than the €180 that the Fire Station is (also Tantive IV at a whopping €175). I am reconciled to the cheap dollar prices - the US situation is different from elsewhere. For one thing wages are lower in the US and net income taxes are effectively higher than Ireland too. So people here in Ireland probably do have more disposable income. The latest price seems a bit steep for the UK, although I did think it was long overdue for some acknowledgement of the weaker sterling towards euro for the last year or two. It's possible the current price includes a currency hedge as there is a prospect of sterling going into a tailspin if currency speculators decide against it.

My advice is that if you have money and desire to buy new sets, don't worry about a short-term lack of new pieces. They build up *very* quickly when you buy lots of sets. Especially as in recent years, when Lego bring out a new piece, they tend to use it frequently across all kinds of themes. If you buy a lot of sets, quickly you have quite a few of even pieces that may have been out only a year or two. Now, on the other hand if you think you'll stick to a strict regime of just an occasional set (and if you don't plan to "mix" those sets) then I advise bulking out your collection with mixed lots (kiloware) from ebay. The simple way to get new pieces (usually good condition and with newer parts) is simply to look out for lots that have newer colours, not just old primary colours. Look for tan, or even seemingly rare colours like dark green (I got a mixed lot with essentially a whole King's Castle Siege this way). I think it's not unlikely you could buy at €10 per kg or even cheaper, but it depends how long you are prepared to wait and how many lots you are prepared to bid on and let get away (although buy-it-now is worth monitoring for a few days - but good deals are snapped up quickly so not so much point looking beyond the last 24 hours listings each day). Larger lots are cheaper per kg but have high shipping, and obviously there's more of a risk involved (you don't want to spend €100 on a gigantic 10 kg lot just to find out it's poor played-with condition parts). My guess is that resellers often buy the largest lots - but if you can bite the bullet and make a large initial outlay, you could make a killing (essentially you are usually buying someone else's *entire* collection). Bricklink of course lets you get the exact parts you want and often cheaply too, but in my opinion it doesn't do the job of quickly bulking out your collection with random parts of all kinds. Better to use bricklink to "fill in the gaps" so to speak, or buy specific parts that you think a current MOC might need.

Ricecracker: I still find PaB cheaper for certain rarer/new parts, like the new 1x2x2 and 1x2x3 windows, and indeed window glass in general. Certain other newer pieces are also cheaper on PaB, and of course available in quantity. Never worthwhile making a dedicated order but I usually chuck in a few sensible choices with any Lego S@H order I make.

I'm perfectly happy with the option of the 4x6 doors, but I hope the old 4x5 doors (and the glass-paned ones) are not ditched permanently. Having both options is fine but the new one doesn't suit all situations (more suited for shops etc. as stated already).

I think it would have to achieve more than just "better quality" for me to switch. There's much more to Lego's success - versatility of even special parts, interconnectedness of measurements and types of connection, and then there's the style and design of sets, minifigs and the aesthetics of the parts. I don't think I would switch unless someone achieved *all* these and for significantly lower cost than Lego (I wouldn't switch just to save a euro or two). Which quite frankly, I think is not improbable but rather impossible.

It probably depends on your country as regards the law. My guess is that such activity spans everything from perfectly legal, to highly illegal depending on the country. I know the US has a highly restrictive DMCA that even restricts personal use activity. In some countries this is probably perfectly fine to do and to use only for personal use, but distributing the "hack" is probably not legal. Sometimes the software agreements are not enforceable in various countries - it is very common for example for US software to have conditions that are completely non-enforceable here in Europe, for example conditions limiting the publisher's liability for damages or the customer's right to money back (especially if the product is being sold - there are basic rights in Europe for consumers that can't be waived by the consumer just by "signing" an EULA).

Apologies for being a bit off-topic: Whittleberry: First of all, those figures aren't necessarily correct. Second, in the US although it's a smaller margin, Lego maybe sells a *lot* more volume than somewhere like Australia. So they probably make more than enough profit to make it worthwhile to stick around in the US market - especially as if they breakthrough even more, they stand to bump up volume by quite a lot (a small % increase in share in the US corresponds to a lot more units).

If you don't mind second-hand or older torso designs, ebay can be really cheap for a mixed lot of random minifigs (and town are usually cheaper than castle or pirates for example). Probably one of the easiest ways to end up with a "random" assortment that is quite large. Then once you have a reserve of minifigs, you can add the occasional more interesting torso by buying a set (e.g. the Camper as people have said, or the €9 bricks box that is out this year) or going on bricklink (but the newer torsos are more expensive). If you are content with for example the torsos of the 80s and 90s, then bricklink or ebay should be pretty cheap.

Received the prize today! Thanks ever so much CopMike - these are really amazing minifigs! I've just finished a complete draft of my thesis this weekend, so once I've had recommendations back on edits and make those, I'll be building Battle for Endor and C3PO can join the scene! I'm also building a large theatre (modular building facade), which I hope to have a bit more time to complete, so I think Mola Ram and Willie Scott will make good actors on the stage in their outfits!

Interesting idea - the first minifig works particularly well and the last one looks quite good too. Although there's something about it that makes the people look shorter, they seem a bit more dwarfish! As for material I'd recommend cloth/fabric actually - my sister used to make custom minifig gear with cloth, painted all over if it was the wrong colour or needed to be less flexible. Mostly elaborate capes though. I think you could make an odd sort of "sitable down in" garment by having the front and back as flaps, with tabs either side on both front *and* back flaps. But this would mean when they sit down the garment would hide their legs entirely. Also you'd need stiff enough material so the side tabs stay put, especially in the standing position where they would be doubled up. Perhaps not entirely clear without a diagram - sorry. Before folding the piece of material would look like a H shape.

Although I don't like certain stickers, would prefer certain things to be printed, and certainly do not like stickers over assemblies... ...I actually love the challenge of getting the stickers applied just right. An extra challenge is certain stickers on curved parts (e.g. tight curve or large sticker). I've found the trick is to curl the stickers appropriately before application - no more edges of stickers coming unstuck! I also in some cases love the extra detail provided by stickers - I'm not against the inherent concept of having stickers in sets. Sentai Fortress stickers definitely are impressive! I wish I had that set!

Well, I'm probably just going to echo others comments, but I feel I should now add my own after having had a day or two to think on it! WOW! I think the attention to minifigs in particular is great this time round. Also I think some of the colour combos for buildings are more cohesive than before. The Hogwarts Express is a let-down , for those who have the old one already (of course plenty of kids who'll be delighted to get it!). The new Ford Anglia is perhaps less the correct proportions than the one from Privet Drive, *but* it has some nice new details and I think the front bonnet and grille are perhaps better captured (besides - cool parts). Again the minifigs are great too - it's a pity Luna is in this set as it makes it more of a must-have despite the redundant train (i.e. when you include the reasonably good car, other minifigs and the parts, compared to the poor value of paying top dollar for a single minifig on bricklink). I love the expression on Ginny's face here - though I wonder is the head double-sided? Ron's new hair is so much better, particularly for the later film appearances! Hagrids Hut is also a bit of a letdown, I'm struggling to find anything better than the previous one. Hermione's new face is reasonable and I think better than the last one, but I liked the original one too. Looks like Hagrid has a more interesting face. I'm not that excited about Aragog although I think some aspects are better than the old one, but not all (don't like the printed/stickered brick head, but the body looks good and the legs are a bit longer and menacing - although the latter possibly due to the fact they are katanas!) The new Hogwarts is absolutely astounding in my opinion. It makes clever use of scale to from the outside look like the much bigger buildings in the film (i.e. proportions do the job despite it not being minifig scale), but of course minifig-scale small interior. The folding up aspect makes it a better "playset" in my opinion and also probably improves the exterior view also! It appears to be jammed to the gills on the inside with details, trinkets and mechanisms! Again the minifigs are top-notch - I love the Filch minifig! The new Dementors are so much more menacing just by the new more tattered black robes! The Burrow also uses some of tactics of Hogwarts in keeping the proportions of the building it captures in brick, despite not being a scale model. The choice of colours and parts is perfect in my opinion. However, what really makes the set too is the reasonably detailed kitchen - a great play scene for kids (or indeed just for the rest of us to enjoy and/or expand on). Then finally the set is blown through the roof by the minifigs! Ginny's hair is spot on and such a different hairpiece compared to previous ones! Bellatrix is also captured perfectly, and Molly and Arthur are great also, as well as the other bad guy (name?). Ginny's jeans and top will be great parts as well! The Quidditch match. I admit this doesn't excite me as much as the two above, but it's a good minifig pack and some nice details (useful and nice gold technic flexi-axles, trophy - possibly Belville?) Finally Dobby's release - well, Dobby's new head is good, and Lucius Malfoy is pretty well done, but the little scene is a bit non-descript. All in all, this revisiting of Harry Potter gets a HUGE thumbs up from me! Whew! All done! I think this post deserves a scattering of emoticons though I usually avoid them.

Looks very nice. Sad to see Agents go but this is a pretty good action theme. It makes the Speed Racer sets look like a bad joke. If I have money for much Lego purchasing this year though, unfortunately there's probably too much other cool stuff going on for me to buy. Plus I still want a couple more Agents 2.0 sets before they disappear into thin air. I guess I'm not quite as keen on the white/lime combo (though that huge truck is awesome) but the "bad guys" look really mean and cool! Hmmm... maybe wreckage road would be nice. I'm not so keen on racing cars in themselves but those parts (stickered too) would be great for spacecraft.

Yes, in my experience dust on second-hand Lego can in fact mean it is like new when washed. I guess if the Lego isn't played with much it is more likely to be in such a state when sold secondhand, whereas play-worn Lego (a bit scuffed/scratched) although it may have dirt in at the studs, grime, etc. is not likely to have such a thick coating of dust (it's rubbed off by the play).

Certainly gives a great impression of a darkling. The large tooth in the robot arm works well! Yes, I too think if Lego Universe takes off, Lego could actually capitalise on it even more by selling associated Lego sets (and of course encourage entry into the game by those not yet taking part).

It has been suggested to me that the "new" colour is in fact Dark Nougat, by reason of what is in the photos seeming to match Vernon Dursley's hair in the earlier Escape from Privet Drive Harry Potter set. At least Dark Nougat is what Peeron list it as - Bricklink erroneously have that hair piece as Earth Orange (if you own it, you'll know it is not). Dark Nougat has according to Peeron not made many other outings, confined to that Dursley hair, a piece or two of Duplo and some Belville horses. This also tallies with Dark Nougat appearing in the recent Lego colour chart of colours in production.

They are also useful not just as obvious structural support (e.g. supporting underneath a large area) but also just to join pieces for more strength - e.g. a double wall, a recessed window/doorway, etc. I have the opposite problem - I don't have enough! At least in black which is what I need for my current project. And I don't have a sufficient surplus of basic colours to throw those away on hidden features! So I'm a bit stuck! I guess I need to buy some basic bricks but there's always something more interesting. However I'll probably resort to kiloware off ebay again (even then I tend to look for colour/part combinations I use in features!)

I also have this motor and was wondering if I could use it in a train. Interesting work. I think I'll have to give it a go at some stage. At present I only have an RC motor train (I've used the white battery-box train base for a modified "presents truck" to motorise my Holiday Train).

Quite disappointed that it is indeed a new colour and not dark orange. I was really hoping to have some more dark orange, and also having another colour is awkward (until sufficient quantity of it). Still I guess it suits the desert setting more. The Battle for Alamut from all angles looks even more impressive than before! Quite an amazing set!