gylman

Such negativism :-( You have only posted data up to 2004 financial year. 2005 was a big turnaround. See this thread http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/eurofo...=3951&hl=profit and NOT just because they sold the parks. And not just because they had one hot line. One of the most interesting pieces of information is that they were gaining market share at a time when the toy market was shrinking in 2005. TLC has definitely reduced the number of different lines it supports, and the number of sets per line. That's one more possible reason for less shelf space. Finally, the number of Lego Stores, and outlet stores that specialize in Lego, is growing rapidly. These barely existed 5-10 years ago, and they carry very full lineups. I used to buy my Lego at TRU, but most of my retail purchases now are at a local outlet called "Bricks and Blocks", or at TRU. The prices are better at B&B, and hassle much less at S@H. I don't think there is an overwhelming reason for TLC to be obsessed with tons of shelf space in the discount stores and low-end retailers like WalMart and Kmart. It is useful to have some visibility of course, but profits come when you sell your products at a profit. (DUH) WalMart (and similar sellers) gouge their suppliers so that their profit margin is very small, and I think that TLC is better off not lowering their quality and standards in order to be able to sell in Walmart.

No doubt that dino island was the worst of the bunch.

Awe - NO avoid being killed by dropping Lego - YES

For those who aren't following this.... it is a kind of a sick entertainment. I think the LUGNET mods truly have decided to let the place fall apart Sad though. Let's not let EB ever get like this. CAUTION: profanity alert. http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=52392

Yeah sure... until your 100 lb test fishing line breaks. Then BOOOOM, SPLAT. Next think you know you're in the hospital in a total body cast drinking pureed steak and icecream through a straw for the next 49 days... Personally, I'd feel much safer with THIS hanging from my ceiling. Worst case I need a stitch or two... Peace.

Meh. Old news. Lego did Babewatch a decade ago.

Add this to the long list of MOCs I have seen that made me want to cry in shame for my inadequacy, and hide in my basement so no one can see how pitiful my attempts are by comparison. I should give away my Lego to someone worthy. What is nicest about this one is its simplicity. The vikings spent much of their time in a stark icy land (at least in my mind), and this reflects that. It is harder to make something impressive that is "looks" simple, than to make it impressive with a bazillion greebles. *y*

I would guess that trains are much more an AFOL thing than other lines. No question, TLC is between a rock and a hard place on this one. You can't make all the people happy all the time for all time. There is going to be a price to be paid for angering hard core Lego AFOLs. Some may quit "in a tizzy" because of it. But in the final analysis the impact will be insignificant compared to the impact of new sales, new functionality, and new "future AFOLs" ( the kids of today who will become AFOLs)

Well DUH! Why on earth would TLC take the risk of creating a whole new train system (presumably in the long run it will be more cost effective and profitable, perhaps more features than the current system) and then sabotage their own sales of this new system by keeping the old system going and thereby drawing away from the sales of the new. It is important to listen to one's customer base, and I think Lego is trying to do that within the limits of profitability not being impaired. However, the most basic way to create new sales of an established product is to "new and improve" it. I am sure that the 10-30% (wild guess) of train sales that come from AFOLs with established collections are not as important to TLCs profits than new sales from moms and dads, uncles and grandfathers who are trolling the aisles of toy stores to find gift for their children. We can all whine about stuff we don't like from TLC until we are old and "gray", or "Bley", but at the end of the day if TLC becomes unprofitable and bought out by megabloks, no one will be happy. I have only one other word to add MECCANO

That sort of stuff happens all the time on bricklink. I believe it is an attention getting manouver, because some people in their search for "rare" lego things to collect, do a search and list the items found from "most expensive" first. Just like AAAAA Towing company is listed first in the yellow pages.

Well, count me skeptical - I did try this quite extensively a couple of years ago. I don't believe you can selectively "deoxidize" one colour, and not another one, when the chemical composition of the material is the same. As the yellowness bleaches off, the gray will lighten too. another thought. How much time does spending all this effort cost. Time = money usually (unless one enjoys cleaning Lego). For the time (money) of doing this, you are better off just buying nice looking rail off bricklink. This thought has come to me many-a-time as I sat there with a toothbrush scrubbing caked in dust for 30 minutes on that "wonderful bargain" I just got on eBay. I have abandoned buying any set with white in it that is more than 5 years old, and any set with gray that is more than 10 years old if it was built. Still, if anyone finds a good way rejuvenate the colour of white, gray, and to a lesser extent blue and yellow, the AFOL world will never be the same. I can just see it now. WWW. CLEANYOURLEGO.COM "ship your old lego sets to us, and we will make them look like they did 25 years ago". 2$ per pound of white 1.50 per pound of gray 1$ per pound of all other colours Bulk discounts available for quanitites over 100lb. I'll be there first!

Gear grinders http://guide.lugnet.com/set/4883 is a spectacularly fun set. If you have a couple of kids you want to introduce to Lego - this is the set to do it with. I have several copies, and woudl get more if the price was good. This set, and Building Bonanza http://guide.lugnet.com/set/4886, are the best basic building sets TLC has released in recent memory, really back to the basics without being old-fashioned and stale. I have not see EITHER gear grinders OR building bonanza on store shelves. All I see is ExoFarce and StarWars and a few others. I think TLC needs to push stores to display their Designer lines.

I doubt there was any ill-will behind that stupid poster. Just ignorance or simplemindedness.

It just doesn't make sense that you could do it. The "yellowing" is not dirt. It's a genuine change in colour due to oxidization (photodegradation) of the plastic and change in its chemical structure. The bleach may reverse this, but is bound to have some effect on the chemical structure that will change the natural gray tone. Cheers. p.s. Legofan a better forum than EB? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Stick around...... you'll see a thing or two.

I've been through this in the past. Basically you can get rid of the yellowing, but you always ending makingthe gray too light to varying degrees. If you find a way to consistently achieve the first without the side-efffect of the second, patent it - thousands of AFOLs will be etermally grateful!

Jamie75! MASSIVE box of Lego just arrived today. It will take me weeks just to figure out all I have here. Excellent transaction. Highly recommend this dude.

You are probably right about that. I would note that the "sweet deals" on Shop@Home have also decreased dramatically compared to last year. I have bought almost NOTHING for half price in the last 2-3 months, which is very unusual for me. I take this as a sign that their inventory is low, the sets they have made are selling well, and they don't need to dump them at half off. Bad for me. Good for Lego.

Very nice, very original. I love the way you did Hamase's face and smile. He looks like a demented frog *sweet* Excellent. (agree re: the puny fingers, but shoudl be easy to fix with some 1x1 modified plates with clips rather than the parts you used).

The Dragon Fortress is the best castle set Lego has released since CC glory days. *wub* It may be my favourite single Lego set. Period. The pictures don't do it justice. It is a much more detailed set than you get from the pictures, and doesn't look as empty as all the KK castles. Fun to build, lots of figs including two nice girl figs, beautiful set to look at, kids love to play with the dragon and the secret gate. Impossible to get new on eBay for anything less than 50-100% or more over retail. I have two of them, and would buy more if I could get at a reasonable price. I know they were on sale in England last year. If any EBers picked them up cheap, and want to sell or trade with me.... c'mon down! THIS set is a big reason why I want Adventurers back for another trip around the world. This theme left on the higest note of all, and just hope they come back and somehow top this set. Probably it's not possible. See reviews here. http://www.kecia.dk/brickportal/forum/inde...t=ST&f=45&t=718 and here: http://www.brickset.com/search.aspx?Set=7419-1 I know some people will like the Egypt theme, but their big set, Pharoah's Ruins, is nowhere near as nice to to look at, and does not have nearly as fun and a clever mechanism as The Fortress.

A seller in Germany is offering this one NIB for only 52 Euro. Seller has excelent record. Item looks real. Auction 6047039647 If this is true, then I am telling Technicheads around here that it is a good deal!! Listing is all in German but seller will ship anywhere. Dunno what shipping is. I would have bought if he took PayPal, but otherwise it's too hard to pay to Europe. Grab it now!

OK, Keetongu, that was pretty funny *y* We'll make a respected EB member out of you yet. We don't take anyone seriously. Except Jipay. He is a serious man. He is the CIC, CEO, CFO, and IL of the EB empire. Very serious. Just don't crack any jokes when he is around. Be very very afr.... BBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM. see what happens when you joke about Jipay HEY! I got a title! "retro feel"? WHAT the HECK? after all this time? "retro feel"? Better than "not so lonely helmet" I guess..... grumble grumble.

Seriously, I've been on FBTB like 3 times, and never on the forums. I don't know it from from a hole-in-the-web, but JoeVig was seriously annoying and highly reminiscent of certain underage spammers we have banned from here. I know lots of people here hate FBTB, but I would have locked that dude too. Both times. Just the way their mod did it. You all are just mad because they dissed EB. >:-( Meh, ignore them. But IMHO the actual post by JoeVig was junk: one long nonsensical runon sentence. Only thing missing was full caps for the whole thing.

I would say that in TRU and our department stores Lego has significantly more shelf space than megabloks, but it definitely does not have the shelf space that it did 5 years. On the other hand, Lego has less product lines than 5 years ago, and what they do have seems to turn over very quickly in most cases than I recall from years past. I suspect they have having a hard time meeting demand for starwars sets, KK sets, some Harry Potter sets, some designer sets. Lego has totally disappeared from the discount stores this year in Toronto. I used to buy almost all my sets from discount stores. Now it is totally barren. To me that means they are selling well, and don't need to dump sets for 1/2 price. Bad for me, good for TLC. In the long run, the more stock Lego sells through S@H the better, but of course as you point out Gandalf you need the eye-candy to catch the parents who know nothing. Keep in mind that last year was the best year TLC had in a decade or longer.

The clicky joints are highly useful ifyou can get them in useful colours (like red or black), or hide them inside the creation. They support a lot of weight with minimal size and loss of posability. My Santa of Doom used them to good effect. Beyond that..... my limited imagination has not found much to do with these sets.

AC/DC So many posers. Only one AC/DC Freddy Mercury of Queen might have been the best singer.