Faefrost

The chances are this is something that Lego probably had limited control over. During that time period weren't they still fully using pre colored pellets from Bayer? I believe the Flame Retardent is added during plastic production, not simply melting for casting. And plastics companies were and are constantly tinkering with the additives. So it isn't so much what batch the bricks came from, as what batch of plastic each in turn came from. And figure there was even more variations as different batches of pellets were mixed. I'm thinking "color shift after 20 years" was probably not a key testing metric at the time.

It's staggering for us. Because we think of it as an outright expense. For TLG if done properly it is an amortized capital expense. Essentially they take out a mortgage for each new or replacement mold or piece of tooling. And the tooling will, if amortized and specc'ed properly, pay itself off over time. Remember for TLG Molds = Product = Profit. The trick is they only do this when the math allows them to make more with the mold than it costs. It's similar to buying a house that you can actually afford vs buying a million dollar mansion on credit while working at Burger King. This recent Ninjago line has I believe 6 new molds exclusive to the line (plus uses a few more new structural parts that are spread across multiple lines.) Ninjago has 8 sets out now. Each set is probably easily seeing a production run of between 500,000 to 1 million. Figure if the new part budget for Ninjago sets was 10% of the retail price (or 1c per piece additional if you will), then they are looking at around $8 million USD to play with for new tooling across the line. The Collectable minifigs while costing less have an insane margin (highest price per part or volume of plastic of any Lego product line I believe? Plus some inordinately low handling costs for Lego. The value of goods compared to the shipping volume and shelf space requirements of CMF's are really really good for them. ). Plus since the new parts are a substantial part of the line, they are probably looking at a parts budget of ~ 20-33% of the retail price. Say $1 per fig goes to new parts. That adds up pretty quick. Compare that to CuuSoo? People still will balk at paying much above 12 cents or so per piece. (and 1% is already gone from the top). With the smaller limited run production runs of 10,000 to 20,000 then at a 10% new parts budget you would only be getting back a couple of thousand. Not enough for the tooling, while at the same time more than enough to effectively decrease the sets perceived value to the customers. It's a nice dream. But the math just doesn't work with the way CuuSoo currently operates.

I'm thinking this one has been officially answered... http://www.lego.com/en-us/disneyprincess?icmp=COUSFR35DisneyPrincess Note the link at the top of the page "How to Fairy Tale"

I'm sure any outfits are based on art and recommendations supplied by Nikolodeon. And they have final approval on anything like that.

Leatherhead is the crocodile guy. He looks sort of strange yet good as a minifig. Even mor top heavy than Dog Pound.

It looks fairly unchanged. Just some improved new part usage.

There have been some set pictures floating around the internet that show the van. Honestly it's not bad. It looks like a van that was purpose made to be turned into a toy. Both Lego and Playmates will be able to make great astonishingly accurate sets out of it with no problem. The Crocodile guy is probably Leatherhead, unless it is from a movie related set? And you lost me with "techy masks like the Galaxy Squad heads"? do you mean they have breathing masks on? Ooo! Those are new. First glimpse of the Turtle Sub. Ok I think I see what you mean about the faces. It looks like Donny has goggles on and Raph has a breathing mask. And dear lord is that Spider Bytes?!?!?!?

There is a big difference between "how long to manufacture a set", Which is probably at least 6 months once you factor in art, documentation, production scheduling, distribution, etc. versus "How long does it take to restock a set?" Which will vary wildly depending on what is required for the restock. is it just a matter of shifting product from one region or chjannel to another? is there any product already in the pipeline? Are the components of the set all already available in the warehouses and just need assembly? Is factory time required to run off any additional parts? Where are the molds if so? so many variables. For new products that are just hitting the market, Out of Stock can often just mean a few days or a week or two, as the production and distribution chain catches up with the demand. (ie the current Ninjago sets). For something like the Grand Prix racer I would assume it to be highly unpredictable. It's been out on the shelf for awhile. So there is a ton of product out there. TLG may quickly shift some, they may make another run? It could be days weeks or months. We have no way of knowing.

Best? Oh so many good ones. I think my favorites of recent eras are Darth Malgus, Red Harrington, Oola, Slave Leia and Boush Leia, Last alliance Elrond and War Machine. worst? Black Widow and Lois Lane top the list. The female figs just look awful with printed cheekbones. Also real high on the godawful list is Yazneg from Attack of the Worgs. Just wrong in every conceivable way.

I like to think I am a fairly common MOC'er. I tend to be a bit liberal in parts usage and colors within a reasonable budget. I don't get overly exotic in terms of technique or connections and never use anything that would be considered an "illegal" connection. I tend to strictly engineer my stuff. I like it to be able to safely move or to be able to swoosh it. I tend to cover up studs in some ways (I tend to heavily tile floors), and ignore them in others (they don't bother me as much on roof's. It's a texture thing).

Oin and Gloin come in the Barrel Escape set. Keep an eye out. That one is a TRU exclusive, and they are starting to discount it. It's also one of the more charming of the Middle Earth sets as it has a lot of stuff useful for MOC'ers. Between the barrels, glasses, elf sword thingies, and the two distinct elf figs it's worth it if you can find it discounted. Lego is also starting to retire some of the first wave Hobbit sets as of this week. Goblin King is going away, taking Ori Nori and Dori. And Attack of the Wargs is also retiring. Which makes Thorin with Chainmail and Bifur disappear as well. Like the others I think we will see at least some of the Dwarves again, in their Battle of 5 Armies armor, next wave. But we will probably not see another release that has them in their TUJ outfits appropriate for the Bag End scene. I'm guessing we will at a minimum see Thorin, Fili And Kili in armor. Their hairpiece seems designed for it. Bofur as well would convert easily to armor and a helmet. Some of the others will depend heavily on their hair and beard piece. (I mean really why bother to make an armor printed torso for Gloin or Bombur? You won't be able to see them.)

It's a great little MOC. But remember CuuSoo is for presenting a project that you feel could be made into an actual set. Not simply showing off a MOC or getting people to vote on if they think it is good. (Something that all to many do.) With that in mind, here are a couple of questions regarding it as a product or product proposal project. What exactly is the story? You put it in the title, but give no details in the description. Not does the set tell a story in any way. It is figures standing in an environment. Very static. A great MOC. A not so great play set. What clearly and cleanly differentiates this from existing official products? Specifically the Turtle Lair set? They both obviously take place in or around the sewer lair. The actual visual lines of the set seem similar. Two story right hand section, one story left. The major differences seem to be more accurate plumbing? Am I missing something important? Does this in some way tie into or clearly represent an existing scene or lore from the TMNT franchise or license? A particular episode from one of the series? Maybe something from the original comics? This is one of the hidden gotcha's with licensed IP properties on CuuSoo. No license holder will ever let a third party tell their own story within an official licensed set. They don't want any IP conflicts or questions. Are their any play features? Any conflict? Something to do with the set once built? As I said just a few questions to ask yourself, to help think through the set design.

Sadly, sales for this sort of thing are always best when the movie releases. As a result we will be stuck with these sorts of discrepancies for the foreseeable future. Although it could be worse... http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=76008-1 Heck I think the Middle Earth fans got off pretty lightly in that regard.

Ugh! so true on the Spidey vehicles. Heck we have been seeing horrid Spiderman cars and vehicles going back to the 70's. Does anyone else remember any of Mego's fine offerings? http://www.megomuseum.com/wgsh/playsets/spidercar.html Or how about these fine offerings from Corgi? http://www.plaidstallions.com/corgi/corgi1.html So there has been some sort of draw with kids for Spider Vehicles for almost 50 years now... I just wish I could reconcile that fact with the one that throughout his comics history Spider-man has never even had a drivers license. A truly classic Marvel story involved the Human Torch attempting to teach him to drive, and failing miserably. Sigh! I must be getting old and crotchety. These damn kids and their newfangled driving Spidermen. BAH!

It depends on the type of Polybad. Figure only ones are ALWAYS promotional materials. So stuff like the Elrond one or the Silver Age Lex Luthor. The small teaser sets in polybags are sort of sit somewhere between the two. They are really impulse / marketing materials. So the License holder probably view them a little differently. But somewhere one of the TLG people was specifically asked about SW type Battlepacks, and the answer was "it depends on the specific terms of the license". The contracts specifically lay out the terms and ratios. I get the impression that of the major Licensors, Lucasfilms seems sort of Middel fo the Road for this kind of thing. Disney seems the most wide open (note the PotC straight up battle packs), and WB typically seems to have the most restrictive terms.

I'm with you. The set follows the common current Lego playset design, 3 linked sections. While the wall could be a bit more asymmetrical with more height for broken towers and spires, it seems to comunicate the setting. It's no worse than Mines of Moria or the Helicarrier set. Honestly my biggest issue with it, is it's just that overwelming gray that is so common in the Middle Earth stuff. This one seems worse. Gray walls. Gray Gandalf. Gray statue. The only pop of color is really from the orcs.

I think it was the Batman head mold plus the one or two pieces needed for the Duplo Barris Batmobile. That is probably what pushed it over the edge. The Batmobile parts were truly impossible and without that it's just a custom minifigure project . very sad. I loved those little Duplo caped crusaders. And you can really see a nice niche for a more extensive line for them. Ala Fisher Prices stuff. (which may also be a reason that Lego has not brought the Superhero stuff to Duplo. FP already sits on the needed license.)

For large things on display Canned air. A light dust brush. For the really dusty ones you describe warm water soap and a soft toothbrush.

My source is my buddy the Historian and professional researcher, who dug up and read much of the supporting LotR documents a few years ago. he came back from the movie thrilled and raving about that point yesterday. I am not sure exactly what bundle of text it appears in.

It might be logistics? They can't guarantee getting it to all of the Lego retail stores for a pre release with all of the other holiday shipping and restocks going on. And I VIP only sale is much less priority than making sure the regular general retail shelves are fully stocked with new Ninjago for Christmas?

I think for the most part Leggo fans of licensed properties mostly want the sets and figs to be recognizable. Those seeking accuracy is mainly a very small very niche subset for the medium or product lines. Ie most LotR fans don't really care if Thranduil or Beorn were in the exact movie scene that may be depicted in the set they are in. They do however want good looking Beorn and Thranduil figs included somewhere.

Did you check and see if it is archived? They normally don't delete projects like that. They archive them off where they aren't linked and can't be voted on or searched for. But you can still reach them via direct URL. This way the creator can make changes and resubmit, etc.

Trimmed down a bit for space. What would constitute a "faithful adaption"? The Hobbit is a much more problematic work than LotR's. And it changed and evolved greatly over time. Heck it's original published version is not the one you likely read, unless you did some deep research. It was a series of short tales about Bilbo and the Dwarves. It was not a part of the overall Tolkien Middle Earth originally. Tolkien himself went back and rewrote much of it to include it into the LotR's chronology and mythology. This is the version that we commonly know. And let's not forget that in the Hobbit, the bulk of the characters are just things. Heck the only personalities or purpose given to most of the Dwarves is the color of their cloaks. If you want a faithful take on the characters than check out the Rankin Bass animated version from the 70's. While charming it does kind of highlight the problem with faithfully adapting them. As written they don't even qualify as cartoons. And even then, at almost a 3 hour televised run time, it still chopped out vast swaths of the book (Beorn, anything to do with the Arkenstone, etc). (And yes if you have it on DVD or have watched a more recent televised airing, the original broadcast was a bit longer. The DVD release was a later cut edited down to fit in 2 hours broadcast time. Several originally aired scenes have been lost to posterity.) When Tolkien sold the movie rights of the Hobbit and LotR to United Artists in 1968 it also included all the appendices and all of his notes regarding the stories. Would it help you feel better about Tauriel and the whole Tauriel Kili thing to know that she comes (un named) from those notes regarding Legolas's backstory? Tolkien had thought up the idea of a female elf that Legolas had known who had fallen in love with a dwarf. And which ended tragically, as something that had shaken Legolas's prejudices and preconceptions regarding dwarves. And thus left him open to forming his close friendship with Gimli. I do kind of agree with you regarding Sauron. And it was less the reveal as giving him a voice and purpose. One of the more distinctive things in LotR's is the big villains voice and motivation is never actually seen. You just know it's this unstoppable evil. You never hear it directly voiced. Doing so here made Sauron feel more like a comic book villain.

Make sound?

I'm pretty sure that someone somewhere seemed to imply that SW type Battlepacks were not an option for the Middle Earth licenses. Something in the parts or build per minifig ratio requirements. That is why we get the larger $30 Army Builders instead. Each license defines these requirements differently.