HawkLord

Yea, I would avoid that. GW paints and sprays aren't that good for the cost.

I've completed trades/sales on other boards (not here) and as long as you do some research on who you're working with it should be fine. Obviously avoid red flags like new members, no previous trading/sales history, etc. And if you can get the Rancor pit sealed for alittle more than just the Rancor on its own, I would do that. Then you'd know if was sealed and fresh and the rest of the set isn't bad for bricks.

It was never a legit rumor, just wish-listing. Most people are betting it will be a TFA or Rebels related character. Also possibly Hoth Leia to go with the UCS.

Those are great sort of super-deformed figures that are all the rage. Maybe a carefully trimmed Vader cape could enhance it?

You could see if anyone has one for trade on this board. The rancor is a great figure, btw. I can see it being worth the price, especially given that it's only appeared in one set and nothing on the horizon indicates it'll be back around. I mean, look how long it's taken the wampa to come back.

Wow... like that's it? An army-builder type character with no name and limited printing? This is one I bet I won't even see stolen out of the package like all the others!

If you mean Citadel primer as in the type used on Games-Workshop minis, I would not recommend it. I've used Citadel primer on various minis and it just doesn't hold well - and that's using it on its intended product type, I can imagine that Lego would be worse. I've had luck with Krylon primer for plastic minis in the past and if I had to try something for Lego that would be the route I would go.

I would agree with your post - Angry Birds was a thing a few years back, but now not so much. One set would have been sufficient, but Lego might have made too much.

I would pass on a particle accelerator set. Just not enough there for me to work with given my current focus. The Research Institute or Exo-Suit works within given themes and scale that I'm interested in, but a particle accelerator, not so much. I think it's great Lego promotes science in this fashion, though.

Common color parts and adds variety. It helps when you get a mostly grey set to have some primary colors sprinkled in to help with MOCs down the road or build a collection.

Chainmail Cap with a dark red shield and maybe an extra head with hair-piece would be very worthwhile to hunt down.

If you really don't care about either IP, I'd go with Ninjago. And that's coming from a guy that primarily collects Star Wars. It's not that Slave 1 is bad, but if you're not at all into Star Wars it becomes a slightly harder set to justify for the minifigure selection and for being a very specific space ship. The build is fun and I really like the color palette and the ultimate version of Boba Fett is a huge selling point. The Temple has way more minifigures and much more cross-line use.

That's one inherent problem with comics is that the characters in some cases have decades of history to draw from - some PG and some heavy R, but kids/people don't know that when they pick up a random comic of their favorite character. What I'm saying is that it's silly for DC to think they're competing with the MCU in the same genre. DC is trying to build a new super-hero genre, which includes a much, darker, real tone. Releasing a mass-market PG-13 movie off properties that most people have had some interaction with and then releasing a R DVD, seems like a misfire.

Bats V Supes R-rated makes no sense. DC is trying to make their version of the MCU and couldn't really afford to make it an R-rated movie, even if it's just an extended Blu-Ray bonus or something. Too many kids would buy that thinking they were getting the PG-13 version.

It wasn't pulled from shelves. There was some internet buzz about the similarities, but it died out and no store pulled the set. I think people quickly realized there was no merit to the claim.

Hobbit Battle of Five Armies comes to mind. No stock Dwarf infantry minifigure and a seemingly wasted opportunity overall.

I think the only thing really stopping a HP line is whether Lego has the space in their plans for that kind of theme. I mean, right now Lego is running so many licensed sets, that I'm sure space in the lineup is limited. Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Ghostbusters, and Jurassic World are all guaranteed to go for multiple movies (in the case of Star Wars and Marvel, they'll go on forever), while so far we just have one confirmed HP movie. Right now, I don't know any other company that is producing collectible merchandise for Fantastic Beasts. Here's hoping we get some kind of confirmation of multiple HP movies which would then completely justify a HP line of Lego.

I can't help but wonder if it'll be a true ATST or some type "pre-ATST" in design. Like a Rebels and OT hybrid?

Very good review - thank you for posting this! For me the most disappointing parts are the Cap A tan skin and pink shield. It seems like that will be the case with most MCU Caps going forward. Otherwise, the Giant-Man build is great, even with the stickers - because that would have been a lot of area to print and would have bumped the price. Warmachine and Scarlet Witch are both awesome updates. And for those who skipped the promo (like myself), Winter Soldier is great. Even the builds seem pretty decent compared to other Marvel sets (Daily Bugle is an older example but shows just how boring a building and flying craft can be). I'd say its a great job by Lego.

I'm hoping even with it just being Fantastic Beasts that there's enough basic material to use in other HP MOCs. House torsos, creatures, dragons, goblins, and house elves would certainly be welcome.

I'm betting a set like this takes awhile to go into production because Lego watches the general interest and maybe preorders to gauge how much to produce. Ghostbusters was a slam dunk easy, so it took less time from approval to hitting stores. This one, like the birds set seems very chancey and I would bet a low-ish production run.

Just be cautious when asking for too much. There are threads on this board explaining that people have been blacklisted because of perceived "abuse" of the replacement system.

Deadpool does look better with the black arms, though I'm trying to look for a darker red to use maybe for the arms and legs. Potentially, Ninjago can be an option.

Hard to tell. The focus for OT battlegrounds has been Hoth lately. We are overdue for Endor material. I think there's a strong chance for an AT-ST in the future, especially with other walker types having been made in recent years. I would suggest waiting for something in the future or MOCing one rather than paying that much.

I've also noticed that in terms of quality and build innovation. I'm really hoping it has to do with all the secrecy involving Disney and not wanting to leak anything TFA related. I mean, we definitely saw that with the non-folding wings on Kylo's shuttle. I've been collecting since 2009 and remember seeing many ships and sets that were the first time Lego designed such sets. They were hungry and trying to win people over. Promos were hot and we got a lot more extras, like the 2013 February VIP mailed to some members just because. Lego has gotten huge and can rest a little bit now, more than ever. Will it always be like this? Probably not. I'm hoping that over time we see a shift back to more collector friendly focuses. But a lot of collecting can be cyclical. What was once fresh and new to me with Lego gets remade every couple years. Man, I sound old and cranky, don't I? Like I used to have to walk to the Lego store in my wooden underwear through the snow uphill both ways. I should mention I'm still a huge fan of Lego (this year is a great one for Marvel) and I'm optimistic of some type of paradigm shift with Star Wars at some point