SheepEater

Well, I consider myself somewhat of a purist, but these tyres don't bother me. WHat used to really tick me off though is in the early 2000s when folks would post Technic/Mindstorms "MOCs" that were crammed with Hobbyist RC parts, or customized RC/robotics stuff. Good thing Power Functions came out.

I think that's the case, or at least unavailable in most Europe countries. Because I ended up selling mine (who came with box) to a Spanish AFOL in early 2003 (who had an impressive array of classic town sets himself) who told me he never had it available when he was a kid. Of course, I regretted selling them almost immediately, so I re-bought them again on BL for a fraction of the price I sold them, but this time without the box (bricks were good though). Curious thing is, the seller I bought it from was from UK. Nowadays it's very easy to re-build these sets since all parts are very common (aside from a few printed pieces maybe)

I bought all of them at Canadian MSRP, except for Helm's Deep, which I got at 53% off, thanks to an Eurobrick member who pointed out a mistake at toysrus.ca (which lasted only 2 days). I had to do a little bit of complaining and threatening to eventually get them to honor the price, but it was worth it.

Well, large Lego sculptures (ie: stuff made of nothing but basic bricks) bore the heck out of me, but I'm not dismissive of it - just not interested. What annoys me though is when people find out about my hobby, they immediately bring up "did you know about this guy who made a huge XXXX out of Lego" and 9 times out of 10 it's a Lego sculpture. I realize they are doing this out of politeness, or to try to bond with me, and I appreciate it, but I have to point out that I like DETAILED and INTRICATE Lego creations. Either small scale with minifigs and a huge array of different small parts, or anything Technic/Mindstorms. Lego sculptures aren't intricate. I respect those who make them, but it has little to do with what interests me. And although I'm not really into Star Wars, that Darth Vader Sail Barge posted on the main page left me in awe; it was such a detailed, intricate marvel, and full of humour. So when I happen to see my local newspaper with a photo of some guy who made a big Lego statue with basic bricks my reaction is a big "MEH!"

Have you ever met an adult toy collector/hobbyist who hated Lego because it was too kiddie or cartoonish? I used to work with a guy who was a hard core Star Wars toy collector, but never gave Lego a second thought because he thought minifigs looked ridiculous with that stud on their head when they have nothing on it. I also met old grumpy train guys who refused to even consider Lego trains as a real hobby. What I like to remind these people is that no matter how more mature or life-like looking their toys are, they're still toys

Here is the closest thing we have right now to a LOTR female figure, Galadriel from the LOTR game! And she does have lipstick and eyelashes.

7946 King's Castle had 933 pieces and cost $99.99 in the US. 9474 Helm's Deep has 1368 pieces and cost $129.99 in the US. Considering Helm's Deep has a better price-per-piece, why couldn't you afford LOTR sets any less than regular castle? Only attack on Weathertop has a bad price-per-piece.

Well I can only speak for me, but as I was building the larger sets, especially helm's deep, I was quite grateful how many of those numerous gray & dark gray hinges, slopes & corners were added to my collection which lacked them, despite numbering ~250 sets (mostly technic and city)

Why not taking advantage of your proximity then? You're Bilbo Baggins - the expert BURGLAR! If you stole treasure from Smaug then a little factory should be no problem.

How much do you want for it

Thanks, that's quite a heavy overhaul you're suggesting, but I agree the tavern is quite small - despite the set's large piece count. Just saw this gem on Brickshelf, by user DARKspawn... http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=506788

I don't own MMV yet (probably will soon), what do you think are the most simple, obvious steps into making it into a LOTR Bree town, complete with Prancing Pony? (Yes, I do plan on keeping their yellow heads as I don't mind mixing yellow heads with fleshies)

Well, Lego certainly doesn't see it this way, and their license agreement is VERY strict on what it allows them to do: it's a strictly CONSTRUCTION TOYS based license.

I can't create a poll yet. I'm just a citizen.

Thanks. Which makes it all the more ironic to see those militant feminists petitioning against Lego for making the toy too girly.

I completely agree - I spent some time comparing the minidolls of the Polly Pocket line with Lego's, and I think PP's strongest point over Lego is the huge amount of clothing customization.

I like it. I love it when MOCers build stuff with many different colors that don't match - that proves they are able to build great stuff with a more limited collection. Which in turn makes me feel guilty of not building great MOCs with my huge collection, which would allow me to stick to any color I want.

Thanks for the trip to memory lane. I remember it too, from these two sets.

After your post, I checked mine again and it seems I have missed some! My 2 mordor orcs, and the one Uruk-Hai coming in the Orc Forge have the 3 bar design. Lurtz, Berserker Uruk-Hai, and the Moria Orcs have closed stud. Among the remaining 7 uruk-hai from 9471 and 9474, one of them have the 3 bar design and the other 6 don't. Can't tell from which set though since I mixed them up. I could only tell the Orc Forge one because I used the White Hand helmet on him.

I think I can come up with a way to build this helicopter with my current parts, by improvising a rotor blade with enough thin beams.

Fully agree here. If all I cared about was collectible figures, I wouldn't be into Lego.

Nobody disagrees that they should. But it all comes down to two things: and So all we can do is buy lots of LOTR sets and hope for the best.

I did a quick check in my local collection (lots of Town and LOTR): ALL minifigures from 2011 sets and later are filled. All minifigures from 2010 and earlier have the 3 bars. And if I was in the house where the bulk of my town collection is, I'd tell you the exact year when minifigs switched from full stud to 3 bars. I suspect in the early 90s.

Do any of you know if Lego shows who the designers are for their Friends sets? And I mean in depth - like they are doing for their City and Lord of the Rings line. It would feel weird if the sets were designed by a 37 year old man, being one myself... I have seen some of the videos Lego has made, it shows young women in their 20s.

Never watched the show even once. But cute little MOC.