MAB

I'd prefer perfectly scaled up minifigs. So exactly the same shapes, just 2x bigger, or whatever.

My last was Royal Mail. They appear to be packed elsewhere, shipped here, then reprocessed / new labels stuck on in UK. They used to have a German location as the origin, now the label indicates UK.

If you want to move big sets about, get a large wood or mdf board and a non-slip craft mat.

Concerning saddles, I didn't realise they were gone. But then I bought 200 DBG saddles from B+P (or just the "replacement parts service" as it was know then) back in 2012 for 18p each and still have some left.

I disagree here. While the licensed sets are not going to be confused (LEGO Star Wars collectors are not going to accidentally buy a Mega Star Wars set as they don't exist and vice versa with Halo), unlicensed sets can be. And how often do non-LEGO items appear on shelves interdispersed with LEGO items. I find quite often in supermarkets and toy stores, there is LEGO branding on the shelf edge, but non-LEGO products on those shelves, where staff have just filled in gaps with other items. There is significant overlap between the brands, even through the franchises they do are different.

Remember that LEGO has a history here that they do not want to be brought up such as this depiction of what they called Red Indians. LEGO are making Chinese New Year sets but these are not being done in a cultural appropriation way and they are heavily marketed towards a very large Chinese (or Chinese origin) population as well as worldwide. However sensitive to other people's feelings they are, they make figures like this and say this is what we think you look like and we are going to make toys of you. And then kids will use you for cowboys vs Indians.

There have been loads over the years. They tend not to be made now due to it being seen as somewhat negative when a large Western corporation run by white people makes money selling toys depicting what they think is the culture of other people.

Certified Stores are not proper LEGO stores. As they don't give out VIP points and similar promotions they are allowed to discount sets if they want to so that they can have similar rebates that LEGO offers through its own stores. LEGO (over)prices exclusives to take into account things like double VIP points that is currently going on.

I occasionally buy "fake" minifigures from ali express. They are not really fake as they are ones LEGO doesn't produce, but fake in the sense that they are minifigures but not genuine LEGO. I often do it just for the accessories, I tend to dump the figure parts on the kids or sell them on, keeping the accessories. These companies have often done figures LEGO failed to do - Gondor soldiers, elf soldiers, dwarf soldiers, and so on and that is just for LOTR/Hobbit. I find the accessories are as good as LEGO although often there is still a bit of flashing or sprue marks and sometimes more heavy seams than on similar style LEGO parts. Nothing too serious that cannot be cleaned up with a sharp craft blade. I'll even buy fake LEGO figures (of real LEGO ones) if they come with non-standard heads or hairpieces that I am going to modify or paint. No point in paying top dollar for a part if I am gong to cut it up anyway.

They could do a draw instead of a raffle, in that you only pay the points if selected. However, I think lego wanted this to happen. They have been going this way for some time. They like the hysteria and massive price gouging as it leads to more people wanting to get points to see if they can get lucky. So they sell more direct to consumers at full price, and those buyers don't cash in the points for money off but save them for the next limited set. Lego pretends to care, but they'll keep doing this sort of stuff.

Let's hope it is proper glow in the dark parts, and not just a glow in the dark print like previous figures.

They did a "good print" Benny in the minifigure display boxes, I guess about 2012 or so. I seem to recall he had the motorcycle helmet but now that the modern old space helmet is out in blue, a decent "good print" Benny can be made.

I don't care either way. They are not genuine RETAIL parts so of no interest to me. If others want to pay such high prices for made-for-the-market pieces, whether outright fake or in-house "nightshift", it is up to them. I doubt anyone that works for LEGO knows exactly what goes on in every part of the company. One person might well say it would be impossible to do such and such, when another will know that they can get away with doing something they are not meant to.

Which torso is the ripper wearing?

You are getting ripped off! Buy generic motors and glue on your own lego gear wheels. Even if you need a left / right balanced motor pair for robot cars or whatever, as long as you buy a pair they tend to work fine. Mind you, I'm glad I bought a load of PF M-motors when it was clear PF was dead. They are selling for crazy prices now, 4.5x what I paid for them from lego.

Yeah, "something went wrong" with having to accept their terms, then when that error is cleared, they are all sold out. Thanks LEGO! You must really love AFOLs. Make us jump through hoops, wait endlessly then produce a small fraction of what is needed to satisfy demand. It is not linked, you can add it to any order. Although it's sold out anyway.

Yes, I feel the same way. There are many legs that are useless without the correct torso. I also don't like it when the print alignment is off, so the patterns on the legs and torso don't join properly. And even when aligned there is normally a gap as lego cannot print all the way to the edges. In that respect, the clone and fake companies are often superior to lego.

In that case, Classic Space, Castle, Pirates, and so on have never gone away, since most current sets use parts that were found in those themes and the modern minifigures are of exactly the same size.

I also prefer the new system, it is much more customisable. For kids, we still use the back of a roll of wallpaper. They can draw whatever they like and place their buildings on it. Much quicker than building, more customisable than plates or baseplates, cheaper, quick to pack up and can be rolled up to store for another day.

So buy from a retailer rather than the secondary market.

What about the one from the recent cowboy costume cmf. They are cheap on bl.

And no doubt this also was the reason for old scribble face cop in The Lego Movie ... I remember kids doing that to minifig heads to include new expressions.

OK, but were your spacemen ever medieval soldiers? As the print suggests exactly what they do and so has already partly set the story. And what is great about now, if you want someone to be happy or sad or even sleeping, there is a head with a print that allows them to be doing that. Yes, those faces are frozen in one expression (usually two, as they are double sided) but then so is the classic smiley. At least now you can swap heads and make a sad figure look sad or an angry one look angry. Not only can you make up your own stories, you can also make your minifigures express what is going on using their faces. In the past they all had blank eyes and a smile no matter what the situation. And if you really want every figure to have that same face, they are very cheap.

The arms would have been on back to front for that side and LEGO does not condone removal of arms as this eventually weakens the torso which would lead to complaints about broken parts even though they were used in line with LEGO instructions.

I am not sure they are anti-lego. After all, printed ones (rather than stickered ones) came about really quite quickly after the minifigure was introduced. 1979 saw many printed, personalised, specific minifigures ... Personally, I think this was a good move so that figures could start looking like what they were meant to be rather than just plain parts. Remember other toys of the time (toy soldiers, action men / GI Joes, dolls, small articulated figures such as Kenner) had quite detailed figures for playing out certain stories. I wouldn't have used a knight to stand in for Darth Vader in my LEGO model of his tie fighter, but then I wouldn't use a plain LEGO figure either. I used to put Kenner figures into my LEGO models. Similarly I wouldn't have used a classic spaceman or a woman with a necklace to represent a police man as they are obviously not police men. I 'd prefer a minifigure with a police print. If LEGO had stuck with completely generic minifigures, I doubt it would be where it is today.