Tyrant

Do we usuallly know about the impulses this far in advance? I honestly don't recall from years past if we do or not. I'm reasonably certain the bagged sets haven't been in retailer books in the past. As for the $5 sets, I am hopeful it means we will sets like this again for the Castle/Kingdoms line in the second half of the year.

I am also hoping this type of trend continues on into other gods as well. Sobek themed crocodile headed figures could be great. Also, seeing the Anubis Warriors in a cheaper set would be great. As for what we already have, I thought the flying ones were supposed to symbolize Horus with the hawk head so we have 2 right now. I just wonder what other sets we would see? We covered the iconic Egyptian stuff in this series. Pyramid, Sphinx (kind of), Obelisk (kind of). Some ruins of "typical" (aka, non pyramid) Egyptian buildings could work and maybe a boat or two. Although with flying mummies, a sphinx that can apparently animate, and the giant cobra (and scorpion and scarab) those might be signs that they are going to take things into a different, radical direction. Perhaps a giant crocodile? A hawk themed creature/vehicle/robot/whatever to challenge the plane? I do wonder if they consider what the various gods represent before they think about using them, or anything related to them, in the sets. For instance, will we ever see anything related to Set (god of evil)? If Set had something cool/iconic associated with him, would his place in the pantheon matter?

Excluding the battle packs there is a disparity between the two factions. I am hopeful that the 2011 sets at least somewhat address this issue. Even a set like Outpost Attack or Prison Carriage Rescue with the ratio reversed would go a long way because it's easier to buy cheaper sets in great numbers. Having said that, I really want to see a large castle for them that continues the feel of their midsized fortress. We also need some mounted Dragon guys (and barding to go with them) and maybe a King and other members of the Royal Court. I guess I would basically want to see sets like the ones we have but with the factions reversed. If they do that, they need to keep the look of each faction and have at least a little innovation in their designs. In other words, don't just throw out a black Outpost or big black castle. I like the torso variety we have with these two factions and my only hope there is that we see the scaled armor dragon guy in cheaper sets.

That's the one that's missing. I thought there were 5, but I knew the Zombie wasn't it so I thought I was wrong in thinking there were 5. Yeah, we need that guy now to round them out. If they want to keep it up, throw in Van Helsing and the Bride of Frankenstein. Maybe Igor too.

These all look great. I think the Musketeer or the Sailor will be the army builder since Vikings were previously available, but I could be wrong. There are several I will want a few of. The Werewolf, Hazmat Guy, Geisha, Musketeer, and maybe the Viking. Most of the others are worth having two of them. I like that we keep getting figures that compliment each other. With this we will have another skater (with a printed board) so we can have more than a 1 man skating crew (gang, posse, friends just hanging out, whatever) with a little variety. The same with the surfer. Maybe we will get a female skater in a future wave? The Punk Rocker could go with the Singer, or may be leading to other musicians. Frankenstein and The Wolfman round out the Universal monster theme (I think). The Painter fits in with the Mime for Artists. Maybe we will see opposing teams for some of the sports figures down the road? Persians to fight the Spartans, or Greeks to compliment them?

I don't get what you're saying here. Are you glad that you don't have a cheap option to get the figures? Did you regret buying expensive sets when all you wanted was the figures? In which case, why didn't you just buy the magnets? If you only want the figures, why not buy the magnets? Why celebrate their discontinuation? If you want the sets the figures come in, why feel bad that you could the figures for a cheaper price? If I understand correctly what you are saying it makes no sense. If I want the actual sets, I buy the sets. The fact the figures are available elsewhere doesn't help me get the sets so it doesn't matter. If I only want the figures I buy the magnets instead of sets I don't want (or have room for in some cases). I just don't understand how having fewer options is a good thing for us as consumers.

I've only bought a few of the magnet sets. All SW and all were because I didn't want to buy the larger sets to get the figures or pay something ridiculous on Bricklink. I think one of their first sets (the one with Mace, Yoda, and Dooku) was a mistake on their part. That saved me from buying 3 high priced sets (1 of which I had 0 interest in), but it cost them sales on those sets. So, I understand why they would do this with SW at least (assuming no outside pressure from Hasbro/LA). On the other hand, their crazy if they think I will buy multiple pyramids to get an army of Anubis Warriors. I am disappointed because I will have a harder time getting figures (increased cost, if I buy the full sets I now need some place to put them, etc), but I understand the move and I am amazed the magnets laster this long. That's my opinion as one of their customers. As someone who also buys sets to resell and who sells extras of figures from the sets that I keep, this is potentially great news.

I'll buy a number of the mummy sets, but I would buy tons of an Anubis Warrior battle pack.

No, a cherry picker wouldn't just buy them randomly. They would buy the ones they knew, or reasonably believed, contained the exact figures they want. That's cherry picking. I'm talking about if we can't tell what is in the packages where some people will just keep buying them until they get what they want, and others will buy them en masse to sell the desirable ones to those who don't want to just keep buying random packages. Part of the solution is to make more of them, thus making them less rare overall and combating the drive to resell them. Another part is to make them more widely available. Another part is to give all of the figures even distribution, or to make the ones that will obviously be desirable in numbers be the ones with higher production runs (though not at the cost of making one of the others super ultra rare, that will only restart the problem). Do those three things and you can come close to killing the secondary market, which will help increase availability to everyone else (along with the other measures). To further that goal, make them as close to impossible to cherry pick as you can, but only if you do the other steps as well otherwise you have increased the appearance of rarity and that is what you want to avoid. The downside of these plans is that it will eliminate a noticeable chunk of sales (speculators, resellers, those who just keep buying them until they get the ones they want because they can sell the unwanted ones), which will negatively impact the series (which is why they won't do most of those things unless they know they have a very large customer base buying these). It is a very difficult balance to find if you are trying to please everyone. Restricting them will only make matters worse, which is the point I have been trying to explain. As for the figures, I think they look great. I can live with the Fisherman being short packed. I would like to get a couple of most them. I will try to get a number of elves though, and more than a couple of mummies. Maybe a few of the samurai once I get a better look at them.

You're missing the point, by a mile. If I buy any of them, someone else can't buy whichever once I just bought. The more I buy, the fewer other people can buy. Now, I can either cherry pick and limit the number of figures I remove from the pool, or I can buy them randomly and do a lot more damage. Multiply that out. It does not matter at all who bought them or using what method. Either way, hypothetical little Timmy doesn't get them if someone else already bought them. That's why the bleeding heart argument fails, hard. If the store is sold out, how it got that way doesn't matter. The next person in line gets nothing either way. Also, speaking of random numbers, thousands of people cherry picking? Really? I see about 2000 listed on Bricklink right now with another 779 already sold. I personally have 8. I got one from my lone order from S@H and I cherry picked the rest. Assuming other people have more luck than I do it isn't unreasonable to assume the average cherry picker gets 10. That's in the ballpark of 300 people, 600 if we assume they only got 5. Thousands? Unlikely. Who's pretending not to see things again? Do you really believe that? In the span of 6 days I ordered 15 of the series 1 figures, and the limit was 5. That was having them all sent to my house. If I so chose, I could have ordered more in the same time frame. A lot more. Easily. You can accomplish a lot with time and money. I'll explain it if you still don't know how. What does series 3 have to do with anything? Try series 1. How long did that last again? A little over 2 weeks? That was with greater restriction, and they sold out faster. It's almost like them being harder to get made people willing to buy more of them. You know what else was going on there? Fewer stores were selling them as well. There was a greater level of uncertainty, that drove buying. As for series 2, let's get some perspective. How long do most sets last? 1.5-2 years. How long did these last? At best (fudging the dates by 2 weeks), .25 years. Any way you cut it, a considerable difference. You also need to take into account other factors. Series 1 had more figures people wanted in numbers (zombie, robot, cheerleader, maybe the caveman, and maybe robin hood). Series 2 has Spartans and.....? Series 1 was released a little at a time across a small number of venues, a few of which placed limits on them (thus giving the appearance of being harder to amass and driving up the desire to buy more and more). Series 2 had a much higher limit on S@H and was available at several places all at once. The appearance of rarity wasn't there. Coupled with fewer desirable figures (to want numerous copies of) and it should be easy to see why series 1 sold out faster. Series 3 is heading down the same road, and there will be even more of them (and that has been made common knowledge). Series 1 had the "new, shiny" appeal along with a level of uncertainty. By the time series 3 rolls around (now, as I understand it) the shine will be wearing off more and more and "the system" will be better defined thus eliminating some of the uncertainty. Now, if you start messing with certain aspects, you throw us all back to series 1. Make them harder to get, uncertainty city. Make the only place you can buy them have a limit, imaginary rarity enters the equation. The system as it is now works, for most of the people. No, it's really not the same. I can't believe I have to explain this. One of those two can have more copies made if the first run sells out, the other can't (being "limited" and all). If they want to make more of a set like Green Grocer, they will. If they make more of the collectible figures, they will kill their sales. Non limited sets can, and are, produced in greater numbers beyond their initial run. They aren't doing that with these figures. That just might be why it happened a lot faster, and why that's a terrible comparison. You have entirely different considerations driving the sales of those two items. Unless they horribly over produce one of the figure series, they won't ever last as long as a set like Green Grocer. So, I'm looking around on Bricklink. What is everyone complaining about? The cheapest I see the Spartans, complete with all of their stuff is $6.50 and the seller has 5. Once we get up to the $8-9 range there are a few sellers who have a number of them. Now, if you guys only want 1, it would be better to just buy it. A number of retailers sell these for $3 or 4 apeice. Less than twice that for the specific figure I want? Why is this a problem again? Unless what you want is to be able to buy them for retail, which the odds of doing so through dumb luck are slim (as you said). So, is it that other people have beat you to the punch? Do you really want more than 1? Or do you just expect to luck into it? If you only want 1 (remember if you get more than that you are depriving people, or something), and aren't going to use your natural talents to get one at retail, then that's a reasonable price and the complaints are meaningless. Where abouts in Kentucky do you live? Are you at all close to Evansville, IN? If not, is there a Borders or TRU anywhere near you? If there is give them a call (though they will be a little higher). If there is a Meijer near you they seem to have them, but they won't be in the toy section (in all likelyhood). They will be with the Christmas stuff with other small, stocking stuffer type toys.

What is more or less likely in this case doesn't matter, nor can it br proven one way or the other. I have, on more than one occasion, cleared out every decent booster in a case of miniature boosters before without even trying. Likewise, not every case gets attacked by cherry pickers. it quite likely balances out. More to the point, both deny future customers their shot at the hypothetical contents. If I buy any, anyone who comes after me will not get those figures and has no chance to get them. Under one model I buy only what I am after and leave everything else for anyone else who comes along. Under the other I just keep buying until I either get what I am after or I run out of money (the former is far more likely to happen before the latter). Anything that adds randomness will hurt the small spender while mildly inconveniencing the big spender, who will then go on to do things that will also negatively impact the small spender. I've played enough "collectible" games and watched this model play out again and again to know what I am talking about. Allow me to explain. First, they are produced in a limited number. If this is not the case then any claim of "collectible" is bogus, so we will assume that TLG isn't lying to us in this case. That means that there are only so many to go around. Now, if there is only one vendor and they are random, people with enough money and a desire to aquire these could keep buying them until they have what they want. This directly impacts everyone else because there are now fewer to go around. As a consequence of these two forces, the odds of any one figure being worth less than it's retail price is very slim. There will also be no "sealed" market for these, as you don't know for certain what is in each package so there will be no penalty for opening them when it comes to reselling them. So, virtually any purchase can be flipped to at least recover cost. This will compound the problem as those who can (and who choose to do so) will continue to buy with reckless abandon until the supply is deplted. Add to this the frustrated masses who are now faced with the choice of spending god only knows how much money trying to get that one figure or buying it online (which helps fuel the bigger buyers). Around this time, the speculator shows up as well. They know a good deal when they see it. Single vendor, limited supply, random figures. A match made in heaven. They start chewing into the supply now too. Once people see how easily they can sell extras, the cycle accelerates as more and more people spend more and more money to get these just to sell them. How long do do you think those figures will last? How many will actually wind up in the hands of any kids? Add it up and it equals most people getting screwed out of even having a chance to buy them and likely having to spend even more to buy them from resellers. Any attempt at limiting things like this only plays into the hands of resellers. The harder it is to get something, the more it is worth to those who can't get it directly. Making them harder to get (single vendor) while they are still limited only helps people looking to profit off of them. Will this absolutely happen? that's impossible to predict. I consider it likely, given a few assumptions. If there are numerous figures that people simply don't want (the diver, for instance), this might fall apart. On the other hand, it makes figures like the Spartan that much more valuable because fewer people will be willing to risk getting "bad" figures. This may elevate the value of all of the figures (fewer buyers equals fewer available for resale to those who only want specific figures, which equals higher prices), which starts the whole cycle again. If these aren't actually limited, then that doesn't apply. Of course if they aren't limited then no one should be complaining because there is enough to go around. This could work, if they produce more of them. It still doesn't eliminate the possibility of people just buying out the cases, but it does more to ensure that you have at least some chance of getting the figures you are looking for. It also ensures no figure is any more rare than any other. That kind of helps. I honestly don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out which figures will be wanted in large numbers and which won't. A figure like the Spartan should never be in fewer numbers than any other figure in the case (if the distribution is unequal).

Except that is not what you have been saying. I have mentioned it a couple of times. Wow, did I call this or what. So, what happens when I walk into a store and through random chance get every desirable figure in the case? How is the end result of that any different than if I had cherry picked them? Beyond the obvious of me going right back into the store to buy even more figures so I can get a complete set. Now there is even less for the kids. I'm not the problem. I didn't set up this game or it's rules, but I won't be an idiot and handicap myself if an exploit is available. I have a brain and I don't enjoy people trying to imply that using it to my advantage is a bad thing or somehow wrong. As for quantity, I will buy however many I feel like buying. If there aren't enough to go around, that again isn't my fault or my problem. I didn't decide to under produce them to make them appear to be rare. I work for my money and I will spend it any way I please. Life isn't fair. Also, only being able to buy them through S@H puts us right back into supe rarity status where people who have enough money to throw at the problem will still get what they want while everyone else is left flipping in the wind. The only two remotely fair systems are first come first serve and only selling these as complete sets (1 of each). Most other ideas will only hurt the people you seem to want to help because anyone with enough money can get around whatever road blocks you throw at them and at the same time you inflate teh secondary value of all of the figures (leading to hoarding to resell).

And mathematically there probably would be. Even totally random, the odds of their only being one type of figure in the entire case is probably astronomical. However, the odds of there not being at least one complete set (especially once you factor in uneven production runs for each figure) have gone from 0 (what we have now) to "considerably more". I think that is a terrible idea. I don't believe it's that you arenn't explaining yourself. I get what you are wanting. I just think it's a really bad idea. No one at the lower levels (kids, you and me, anyone else who doesn't have tons of money to throw at these types of things) benefits with truly random. Maybe with not knowing what we are getting (but knowing that in any given case we at least have a chance of getting the figure we want because at least one of the figures in the case is said figure) helps to equalize things, but truly random just needlesly screws everyone on the bottom. Having said that, even unknowable contents does nothing to help "the little guy" (I know you didn't use that term, but that's where I normally see this line of thought going). If I go in and buy half of the figures in the case, randomly, whatever I bought can now not be purchased by whoever comes after me. If, by random chance, I got all of the choice figures (as in, every copy of those figures in the case), I have killed any chance of a future customer getting them from that case the same as if I had read their barcodes and cherry picked them. The difference here is that if the next customer also knows about the barcodes then they can tell what is left is not what they want so they move on instead of throwing away money. if that is not where you are going with this, then sorry for bringing it up. I have seen the anti cherry picker argument for years with the Collectible Miniatures Games and no one can give me a satisfactory counter argument to that scenario. No one is guaranteed anything and people with more money (and/or time) are always going to be more likely to get what they want.

How does that help anyone other than TLG? I really want to know. If I want all 16, under your system my only two options are blind purchasing (across multiple boxes because who knows if there is even 1 complete set in any particular box) or waiting for someone else to do that and charge an insane amount of money for the whole set. Other comapanies get along just fine by having the probable contents of a case be well known. Truely, abolutely random 9at the case level) only helps the seller (or sellers if we factor in resellers) and screws everyone else. The former part and the latter part of that statement have no connection. Something can be "rare" (or "collectible") and still be easier for some to get than others. The one thing has nothing to do with the other. As for the usual "but it's just a kid's toy", no it isn't. It's a product sold by a business to kids and adults with the purpose of making a profit. These make money. Kids buy them and adults buy them. Do they not want my money? If you asked them I am sure they would want to keep getting my money, hence they will continue to make decisions that take that fact into account. How many kids do you think bought the $400 Death Star set or $500 Millenium Falcon set? They're just kids toys, afterall. That is about as far from what will happen as possible. If they are truly random (at the case level), being able to sell specific figures on the secondary market becomes a very valuable business. To fuel their stores, resellers will buy all of these they can find. All of the figures become rare at that point, the "must haves" become that much more a hot property. Sure, some figures will be worth less than others, but most will sell. Why would I spend all kinds of money trying to get one figure when I can buy one for the cost of 2 or 3? The harder it is to get something (that is desired by people willing to spend real money on it) the more valuable it will be. The reality is that people (myself included, in the interest of full disclosure) buy some of these things with the intent to resell them. I do it with these figures, I do it with regular LEGO sets, I even do it with Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures (and formerly Star Wars Miniatures). I do this with most of my hobbies where it can be done. Truly random cases could be a dream come true for resellers with deeper pockets than mine. This is also ignoring the psychological aspect. Right now, we know that there is at the bare minimum 1 complete set (I don't know if it's 2 or 3, I don't have the breakdown right in front of me) in each case. We also have case breakdowns. Thus, we know what is actually a (relatively) rare figure and what isn't. If it's totally random, that will never happen. We will have a few people bragging about their cases of Elves (or Spartans, or whatever) while most who get those will either not post about them or start selling them. On top of that, we will have a mountain of claims of cases with no Elves and nothing but "junk". There will be no way to counter these claims with reason. In fact, the claims may be truthful and Elves really are produced at a rate half that of every other figure. We would never know. That will just feed the fear cycle that drives prices. This helps resellers and potentially paralyzes the average consumer because they don't even have a minimum idea of what they could be buying (beyond "a figure"). They can see a full case and not even have the reasonable belief that there is at least 1 of every figure in there and that I have at least some reasonable chance of obtaining whatever I am after. The only decent way to something like this is to either have set case contents (though the individual packages should be as alike as possible to make it more difficult to cherry pick) or to have them be visible packaging so you know what you are buying. The former of those two works for CCGs and CMGs just fine. The latter of those two only works if every entry is a "must buy". WotC have tried a hybrid approach with Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures. You could see one of the figures in the box and the rest were random. It didn't really work because all 8 of the visibles in each series weren't equally desired (for RPG or Skirmish). Now they have gone back to blind packaging with being able to relatively know what is in each case. The key with blind packaging is doing as much as possible to make sure people can't know what is in any particular box (again, while being able to know that any one case has fairly consistant contents so they have arough idea of what their odds are). With one of their DDM sets, somehow WotC allowed one particular box (each set at the time had three different pieces of artwork for the boxes for each set) type to not have rare figures in it. Guess which one sat on the shelves forever?

I can't figure out why they even need a system. WotC seems to manage just fine with their random miniatures. The cases almost* never have duplicates in the rare/very rare slots and the uncommons and commons go like clock work. All of this while there is no outward sign (beyond any physical differences such as weight which are impossible to eliminate) of what is actually in the package. I know they have considerably more experience with this, but I see no reason why TLG can't come up with a system. Having said that, I cherry pick miniature boosters based on weight (you can feel the difference with your hands, it can be quite pronounced) and until TLG removes the ability to tell what is in these packages I will continue to use their system.

I've never seen anything bordering on a noticeable number of people with backpacks at Borders or B&N and this includes Lafayette (home of Purdue University), Indianapolis (state capital), Bloomington (home of IU), and Evansville (I believe the largest city in southern Indiana, but I could be mistaken). Those are just the ones I go to with any regularity and not the ones I have been to across the country where this trend continues. In fact, in the one place I expect to see a lot of this (a college book store) is where I have sees giant racks for people to leave their bags away from the merchandise so they don't steal things. Maybe I have simply witnessed a scewed sample or I go into the stores at exactly the right moment to not see backpack wearing individuals, it's possible I suppose. Either way, hating a store for a policy that you should've been aware was at least a possibility is absurd. I have sympathy for your situation, but stores can set whatever policies they like (that fall within the bounds of legality, which telling you that you can't bring in a backpack is covered by). I concede that it may be biased to favor women (I honestly doubt it though). Keep on hating though, it's your right. By the way, I'm not trying to make this some kind of anti backpack rant. I more or less agree with your statement that it's absurd that women can carry giant handbags but they ban backpacks. What I am saying is that they can do just that if they feel like it (and as a consequence you have a right to dislike them for that). Just like they can demand you wear a shirt and shoes. and I think it's silly to wish the death of a company that benefits this hobby, even if it's only indirectly for those who don't actually shop there. I don't buy that. I have read, repeatedly, of security guards (plain clothes guards for that matter) detaining people at Wal Marts in my area while they call the police and have the people arrested. The guards at that mall either had no actual power or were horribly misinformed because guards can and do detain people and aren't normally sued into oblivion. They probably can't pursue you once you leave the store, but while you are in the store they can try to detain you. In fact, here is a breakdown of the relevant law in California (the first one I could find) and it may also explain (in the last paragraph, specifically aimed at mall security guards) why the individual you spoke with said what he said. In short, a mall security guard guards the mall, not the individual stores (which are rented) unless they have entered into an agreement with the mall to allow mall security act as individual store security. There are things you can refuse, and there are steps they can take (which include non lethal force) if they think you are stealing from them. Also, it appears from other sources that the 4th amendmant doesn't apply because they are a non governmental entity.

I don't think you're right on that. Yes, they are just security guards. However, if you are stealing something they can detain you. If you refuse to let them search you (which I believe you can do), then they will just keep you there until the police show up and then they will search you. It may take them a few minutes to come up with something resembling probable cause (your refusal to be searched, coupled with setting off the alarms is likely enough) before they search you. If I'm wrong, go try to run when they try to stop you and sue them when they detain you. I've seen a very similar policy in a lot of places. This isn't restricted to TRU, or even uncommon for that matter. Is it sexist, maybe. Just like how it's some type of discrimination that they allow people to bring in strollers and baby bags (lots of hiding room right there). Try taking a purse in next time and see if it really is sexist. They aren't going to go out of business because they don't let people bring in back packs. If they go out of business, you will play the smallest part possible (small enough to be considered non existant in the grand scheme of things) in that so I'm not sure what you're cheering other then allowing Wal Mart to be able to further dictate what is and is not made in the toy market. Hate TRU all you want, but their existance is a net benefit to anyone who buys toys even if you don't buy very many (or any) at TRU. What happens to all of the TRU exclusives? Do they suddenly go to Target or Wal Mart? In your dreams. That's fewer sets per year. TRU was the main store to buy into the collectible figures that helped show the other stores that they could be a profitable venture. There go future "risky" ventures like that. Their sales may suck (especially if you're a SW fan), but they can be made to work and they are greater than almost any sale you will ever see at WM (or S@H), obviously excluding clearance. They are a net benefit to this hobby, no matter what you think about their policy regarding shoulder bags. Having said that, this type of promoting is shameful. At this point though, it seems to be par for the course.

Without leading this where some probably don't want it to go, I will say that if that is the case it is a very recent development. The deal with the magnetic tags has been proven to my satisfaction (legally, to be crystal clear).

If there is no magnetic tag (either because the item never had one or because it was removed) then they won't. Those things are far from fool proof. I had one go off as I was walking through it on my into a store. I assumed it was because at that very moment I got a text meessage, but who knows.

It probably depends on who you ask as far as which is called the summer wave and which is called the winter wave. I had been calling the later one the winter wave. I think of the second major wave as coming out in the second half of the year, which contains Christmas (at the very end), which is what I picture when I think of winter despite the fact that most of winter is actually in the first couple of months of the year and not in December. Maybe I'm just screwy in how I look at things though. I do believe that the second wave is commonly called the summer wave, which is where we would see new Castle sets if the pattern of years past holds true. Well, it feels like we have had info about the first half of next year for a little while now so it isn't an impossibility that we might see some glimpse of the summer wave in the next 2 months. It looks like we had some info about the 2011 Atlantis sets in August, for referrence. I hope we see something in the near future.

I watched Paranormal Activity 2 over the weekend. It was okay but there wasn't really anything new. Even though that actually makes sense (the two movies are related by more than their title), it was a little repetitive. Like the first movie, it only works if you let yourself get absorbed into it. If you sit there thinking "this is a movie, not a home video" the movie will be terrible (and you probably missed the point while waisting your money). There are some jumps, but it's mostly the usual horror approach of having the music slowly fall silent and then blasting something out (in this case, an entire kitchen has the contents of it's cabinets blast out). There are a couple of creepy parts. With the first one, the boyfriend/husband (I can't recall if they were married) wanted to document it all and thought it was cool (up to a point). In this one, the husband gets it all on tape and only when the evidence is literally ready to bite his face off does he concede that something is going on (while every other character is pleading with him to open his eyes). The ultimate motives of the demon are somewhat explained in this one. Beyond that I have been renting horror movies that I haven't yet watched. I recently watched The Lost Boys 2 and 3. The movies weren't absolutely terrible, but they aren't as good as the original. They're direct-to-DVD sequels, so my expectations were a lot lower. The third movie does validate the werewolf claim made in the first movie. I also watched Mirrors 1 and 2. The first one was an okay horror movie. It made sense (well, it passes the horror movie logic test anyway) even if the plot didn't really start to become clear until the final act. Up until that point, it's mirrors killing people. After the 2/3rd mark or so, you at least know why they are doing that. The second movie is only somewhat related to the first. The mirror comes from the same building (despite all of the mirrors in the building apparently exploding in part 1), but the entity and it's motivations are entirely different. And then there was Frozen. I rented this to see how absurd it really was after reading an article about it several months ago. 3 people are trapped on a ski lift with the place shut down for the week. That's more or less the entire movie. It wasn't awful (or I have a high bar for what I call awful), but it has problems. If you think a tale of bad ideas leading to people stuck in a deadly situation somehwat of their own making where they proceed to have even more bad ideas, then this is the movie for you.

Hopefully this will be a MMV style set. Of course that means the MMV will be retired so I need to buy a couple more, but I am interested in a new set. The animals also sound interesting. I am wondering if that is gray spots on a horse, or a gray horse with spots? Either way, further variety in horses is always a good thing. I do wonder if we will get any new civilian/peasant torsos or if it will be the few we have used again (which wouldn't be a bad thing)? I also wonder if it will be easy to modify with any of the power elements to make it actually run? We'll have to wait and see on those questions I guess.

Just in case that coupon isn't clear to anyone, that's 25% off your entire purchase instead of the usual one item restriction. Useful if you are buying a few things instead of just one LEGO set, though it is less of a discount on the LEGO set.

I can explain fairly simply. We are approaching winter 2010. You mention that they might take a break for winter 2011, which is the latter part of next year. I know that the bulk of the winter we are approaching will actually occur in 2011, but people call the line up we have for 2011 the spring line up (or at least most of the other products I deal with seems to use that term when talking about January through summer, even though it only applies to three months in that time period). I took it as your points leading to you concluding that in 2011 we would possibly not see any sets. I was stating that given what we know, there is no way to draw that conclusion even though it could come to pass. I believe we have a different idea when we say winter 2010/2011 of what time period we are talking about. That coupled with the fact that you were replying to a post trying that was trying to tell people to stop worrying lead me to believe you were saying the opposite of what I was saying and I was trying to explain why there was no concrete reason to believe that. At least that is how I have usually seen it written up as winter 2010/2011 and how I usually think of it so I would say I misunderstood what you were saying in the post I was quoting. That and I honestly didn't notice that you had previously posted your longer post (didn't notice it was the same person I was replying to anyway).

The information we have only covers the first part of the year. It isn't a matter of Kingdoms being kept under wraps better than anything else. It's a matter of the information not being available outside the company yet. Either that, or we truly have seen everything and there are less than 10 new Star Wars sets next year. I find that doubtful to say the least. The information we have isn't everything for 2011, so there's no point asking if the sky is falling yet because we don't have information that we wouldn't have even if they officially released all of the information on what is coming out during the next "phase". Could Kingdoms be over? Sure it could be. Is the lack of pictures any reason to think that? No. Not even close. Edit to add: I mentioned this in the Historical forum and I finally started looking through past posts. In this thread (on this that page) in post number 2735 on September 14th of last year the question of sets next year (which would have been the then hypothetical 2010 line up) first crops up. This is followed by a few people trying to tell people how it all works and a few people talking about how Castle won't continue. Kingdoms exist, so the worrying was baseless and pointless and have no connection to the actual facts on hand.