Hey Joe

I think it was some marketing material from the past from Lego that had the arctic and penguins together. It might've been posted on this site. I can't remember exactly what it was though, maybe an instruction manual from a past arctic or aquatic theme? Does that ring a bell with anyone?

I also find their discontinuation practices 'interesting'. Last month I noticed that both Atlantis and Prince of Persia were just gone from their U.S. product page. Huh? No goodbye? No farewell? I wish they would re-release a few sets like CMF Series 1, Green Grocer, Cafe Corner & the Carousel. Keeping their SKUs down is understandable and all that but when these sets are going for crazy money on the secondary market it makes it a little painful for us dummies who just got interested recently. Now that I think about it though, I guess they're instilling a 'get it while you can mentality' and if that's the way it's gotta be for them to be profitable, well, that's the way it is. It is the toy industry after all. Today's 'Gotta Have It!' is tomorrow forgotten closet fodder. Maybe I'm really dreaming here but it would be nice if they could put out some smaller batches of famous sets from the past from time-to-time. They could take pre-orders from S@H (so they would know exactly how many to make) and make it clear that hey, the minifigs will be slightly different or something like bicycles or dogs might be a different color. They could charge a little more for their trouble. I wonder if that would be worth it for them? It would work for me. How many Green Grocers could they sell today that way; 5,000, 10,000? So I guess all the collectors and resellers (the guys with twenty Fire Brigades and MMVs) are all groaning right now and I don't blame you but I'm not in this to collect or make a dollar, I just want to have some fun with my son. Anyway, that's my two cents, thanks for reading. Joe

Thanks for the review. Could someone tell me what the colorful studs are in the large mine doors? I've been racking my brains trying to figure it out. Cheers, Joe

Cool, looks just like the engine that I took thru the Hartz Mountains on the Brockenbahn one time. Thanks for sharing!

Really, really nice. I aspire to build something like that for my little boy. He's only 2 1/2 right now, Duplo stage. I'm stocking up and making plans though! Thanks for sharing, Joe

Yeah I was just reading last month about some famous company's marketing material (perhaps Lego's) that made that same error and I guess I just mistakenly perpetuated it? That's what I get for trying to do something quickly w/o putting too much thought into it.

Hi Legogal, thanks, yeah there are lots of shops to get Lego at here but its double US prices so I never buy at those places (nice to take my young son though to browse and play in the Lego pits). The original Beijing Lego store is in the China World Hotel Mall. The one I usually go to is at a mall called Solana. The best place to buy is TaoBao: http://www.taobao.com/ which is basically China's eBay. It's in Chinese but if your son can't read it then I hear there are agents who will help you for a small fee. Chinese friends can be a big help too, of course. Sometimes I get the locally made stuff, most of it is pretty bad and not worth having but there are a few decents sets. I normally go to a place called 'Bai Rong' on the South Third Ring to browse and then buy on TaoBao. This is a link that explains 'Bai Rong'. Ok, hope that helps! Joe

I would stop collecting them if there were one very rare and hard-to-find (expensive) one. The present packaging seems logical to me, just like baseball cards when I was a kid. Remember, it's a kids toy and it creates a buzz and gives them something to do (barter). The CMFs are the number one selling pocket money toy. We collectors can always get exactly what we want in the usual places. I buy them in complete sets online anyway, have no time or interest in feeling packages or bartering.

Ok, this will be the line up, I'm 100% sure, ha ha. 1 - Bigfoot or Yeti (give the forest police something to do) 2 - Martian (kinda like the little green guy in Toy Story but less cartoonish) 3 - Mayan King 4 - Gypsy (with outlandish garb, hat and accessory) 5 - Eskimo woman (with penguin) 6 - Kossack 7 - Person in a Fish Suit 8 - Mongolian Warrior (Genghis Khan-ish) 9 - Merman (a soldier to go with Sea King) 10 - Chimney Sweep (grubby with top hat & broom) 11 - Wandering Minstrel (with funny hat & mandolin) 12 - Duck Hunter 13 - Chinese Emperor or Mandarin 14 - Santa's Helper (little elf in green costume) 15 - Snake Charmer (with turban and cobra in pot) 16 - Basketball Player (I don't like the sport but...) Disclaimer; I looked at the first page of guesses before compiling my list.

Thanks for sharing. The CMF vignettes (spelling?) really attract me as I own all of them (except series one) and I don't have many bricks so I think that doing something similar is a good place for me to start doing some MOC stuff. Any chance you could take some close ups and post them?

I've been living in China awhile and I've gotten a few of the local brand kits. Some of them are ok. The price is right. If you compare them to Lego it's pretty easy to see Lego's overall quality (not just the bricks but the designs, marketing, etc.). Personally, I don't care which company makes a set but it's just that no other company does it as well as Lego.

I read and enjoyed your blog. You made a couple grammatical errors but I won't hold it against you. I agree with you about the box art. Really, that CGI stuff that they do shouldn't even be legal. The actual model will never ever look like that.

Ok, Superheroes I can see the value of licensing as it would be pretty hard (but not impossible) to come up with something similar in-house that would sell well and that people would connect with. Star Wars? Well, yeah I guess so. The models are pretty cool but I don't buy them myself as I'm on a budget. Lego has it's own Space-oriented themes that suit me. My main gripe is with LotR and PotC. As a newcomer to this interesting pursuit I'd love to have a nice castle or pirate ship but I don't want to be reminded of a movie every time I look at it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the LotR movies but I just want a nice castle. Also, many of these movies are WAY TOO VIOLENT for the children that the Lego models are aimed at. I watched 'Prince of Persia' for the first time last week thinking I might get a set or two for my young son. No way. Is this what passes for family entertainment these days from Disney? Anyway, hope this doesn't come off as too much of a rant. I'll make do with MMV and Kingdoms Joust for awhile, hopefully we'll get some nice non-licensed stuff sooner than later. Anyone else feel the same? Joe

I looked at all the Flicker photos, very cool and thanks for sharing!

You could probably get the box dimensions from Brickset

I find it sad to put a box of Lego into a plastic box like that.

I guess I should've said that anyone collecting the CMFs has variations of many of the minifigs already. Anyway, I think I thought of the reason that the hinges are in dark grey (and don't match with the rest of the chimney); it's to somewhat indicate to the uninitiated how to open it. Look at it from the perspective of someone who isn't familiar with the set like we are.

Thanks, it's a beautiful monstrosity IMO. You answered my main question (you like the hinged part as opposed to the stacked floors of the modulars). It's a little pricey but there are a lot of parts. Wish they'd included a couple monster fighters, anyone collecting the CMFs has most of the figs already. Funny how they put all the minifigs in one bag, thought they were spreading them out into seperate bags? Cheers

Thanks for the link but I couldn't read it. I just could see an invitation to subscribe.

Speaking as a relative newcomer to the hobby I'd just like to add that it's great you could share this older set with us. Here's looking forward to your next review, cheers!

That's the funniest thing I've seen this month (and it's the 31st)! It opens the door to so many off-color jokes, where to begin...? Don't get me started.

Thanks for all of your posts, I always enjoy reading them. I really should buy your book...

I hear you. He seems like a complex person and for what it's worth he's the star of my favorite (the UK Kitchen Nightmares) and my least favorite (the US Kitchen Nightmares) cooking show.

Yeah, great idea. Did you glue it together?

Nice but wouldn't it be more typical of him to be snarling at and/or berating someone?