MAB

I don't really get your argument. If children that don't know the movies don't want the existing Mines of Moria set based on a very mature, slow paced almost four hour movie, then why would they want a smaller set based on the same movie with two characters they don't know and a monster called a Balrog that they have never heard of? Sure, they could have made all the LOTR sets as smaller sets, but remember LEGO ranges tend to have sets at different price points. There were already small sets at lower price points such as a grey wizard with a small person in a horse drawn cart that can sell to children that don't know the movies.

Still looks great. The scaling / proportions match the girl figure very well now.

It doesn't have to fit with the modulars. This is a completely different theme. LEGO might choose to make it compatible with modulars, or Ninjago City, or anything else. But t doesn't have to be compatible. If they want to phase out baseplates then they could easily put this on large plates instead with minimal changes. Modulars have to fit with other modulars. So if modulars continue, then either baseplates continue or future ones become incompatible with past ones.

The new Chinese garden set comes on baseplates (yes, plural), so the answer is a definite no. They have not phased out baseplates.

There aren't any minifigure legs or anything poking out the bottom of it, so I don't think it needs any modification to be an actual (mythical) nian.

The downside of their lists is that it contains all new parts (like the one at Brickset too). Many of them are not for sale. The good thing about the other list is that they focus on purchasable parts.

There are four spinning blades on arms spaced around a central fuselage, so it is a quadcopter.

If there is, it will be a "no interest" from me. If I want a world map on my wall, I'd prefer an accurate one (that costs a fraction of the price). I like displaying LEGO as a toy but not when it is a poor copy of a real world object. Sometimes there is a fine line, especially for the art series (I used to make a lot of mosaics) but a map goes beyond it for me.

Part dragon, part unicorn.

I wonder what the story of Nian will be. Hopefully not a similar one to the existing Dragon Dance set, this time for a worldwide audience.

To help with BL searches, the left hand image is often referred to as a smirk, and the right hand one is showing teeth so a search for smirk and teeth would help. It is one of those things where learning how something might be described often (but not always) helps.

Nice vignette. Better than the movie! :-) As for terrain, I'd build the grassy areas up by a plate thickness so it looks like the path has cut in / worn away. And make the path less straight by using green wedges to cut in occasionally to look more like banks. More grassy tufts along the edges help make it look more wild and natural, even if the neighbouring field is farmed.

That would mean that 3in1 sets -at least the ones linked to minifigs packs- would need to be designed at minifig scale. While some are, some are not. I don't see the need to link them to any theme. For example, if it makes sense to do a Ninjago or Monkie Kid pack, then do it. Linking them just to Creator would limit the number of them. Of course a big difference now to then is the number of ways minifigs are sold. We now have CMFs, BAM and seasonal blister packs in store.

It turns out not to be identical. When building the lander, they have made a small modification by using a 2x4 technic plate instead of a 2x4 plate.

As do many MOCs. I don't think it is illegal, just not that useful due to lack of strength. If you want a surface with that offset, why not use it on larger plates where strength will be better, unless you want a tiled floor look. It is not so different to using a boat stud.

Yes but sold badly at the time. I bought a couple of dozen sets at £12 (~$15) each. Pretty much the same language at the time. Complaints that the Mines of Moria was just walls and not a complete mine, Lonely Mountain should have been enclosed, Weathertop too small, etc. There have been plenty of torsos for Rohirrim (and dwarves and elves) over the years. From Castle, CMFs, etc. This is an argument against battle packs. If people aren't going to army build (and what is the point of a good army of you don't have the bad) until they have the key figures then battle packs would not sell. Here it was £50, but regularly 1/3 off. I think the only one I had to pay full price for was Orthanc, that was d2c, but got it for double points so roughly 10%. But then if they do all the important minifigures in cheap sets, or just a couple of sets, the other sets will not sell as well. They know (licensed) minifigs sell sets.

No description whatsoever, just a vote for me?

Yes, in the same way that UCS only applies to Star Wars too, which is why we won't see a UCS badged Batman or Ghostbusters set. They might use other monikers such as UCE but I cannot see them using the Star Wars terms for other themes.

I can't say that I have seen a retailer refuse to sell an 18+ toy to anyone although at the price I guess normally an adult will be present. That said, I have never seen a retailer refuse to sell a 16+ set to a 10 or 12 year old. I think they really stand out against other sets on shelves.

The pricing is probably because Moe is only in 1 set, compared to 3 for Murt. And (some) people not realising that you can make a Moe from a Murt. However, maybe it is not that good an investment - Moe has sold 117 in total in 6 months worldwide, whereas Murt has sold 1985 times.

Back in the day, they did sell (unlicensed) dwarf battle packs ... Similarly for different knights, skeletons, trolls etc. If adding to a theme, they are a good idea. While a box of single colour DBG pieces might sound attractive to adults, I doubt it would sell that well to kids and families, especially if there are no instructions with what to build with it. Even multi-coloured Classic boxes have instructions. Concerning Uruk-hai, they did a type of battle pack: Four Uruk-Hai, Eomer and a generic Rohan Warrior and a horse. Plus a selection of mainly grey parts. Yet people complained about it being "just a bit of wall".

Pilgrims would be good, as they would be ideal for (English) Civil War hats and outfits. But keep those huge buckles off the hats.

https://brickset.com/article/51364/lego-ditches-creator-expert-branding-in-favour-of-18-marking Yes. The Creator and Expert logos have been dumped in favour of the 18+, to make it clearer to adults what is aimed at them. It doesn't stop kids getting them though, I saw a probably 12 year old kid getting the Boba Fett helmet for his birthday at the weekend.

It is unlikely to be the "active ingredient" that does the damage. There will be other solvents (alcohols, acetone, etc) in the solution that will do the damage. Cleansers like this often say that they should be rinsed off after X minutes.

I doubt a hotel would get more than two bedrooms anyway. I'm surprised how any of the businesses in Modular Street survive given the size of the cinema screening room, the number of tables in restaurants, goods in shops, and so on. Two bedrooms are probably enough to suggest a hotel, with other rooms used for more interesting variations.