MAB

It definitely has an interesting motion. Are you driving it to go in a circle, or is that its natural motion? I notice that the left legs lift, but the right ones don't, so this probably has significant effect on the motion. I love the style of your videos too. No annoying music, no long descriptions.

Yes, I agree they are likely to go for the army builders but then cloners have also done many Star Wars and Super Heroes figures, and TV series such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, that are also not army builders. I just received my Fountain Guards, the helmets are great. Personally, I get rid of the figure parts and just use the armour and helmet supplied with these. I try to use LEGO where possible, then use the custom parts as accessories.

I doubt there are that many put off buying LEGO because of it as there are plenty of other similar themed LEGO sets, such as in City and Friends, where molded animals like dogs are included. Isn't the point of 3-in-1s to cater primarily for the build experience? Therefore to show that parts can be used to build some detail in a house or alternatively to build a small animal is a good design feature. Of course they might be put off buying the Creator set, but if they are then it probably wasn't for them in the first place.

Most in-house reviews of sets containing minifigures on Brickset follow a similar pattern - minifigures are nearly always discussed first, followed by the build. Although it tends to be about 50:50 minifigures:build for most sets. Most user reviews just follow that pattern. The same is true for most reviews elsewhere too, I guess it is what people want. For me, the fact that CMF come without a build and were really quite random subjects was a great selling point when the series first started. I used them to inspire 8x8 stud vignettes. For every figure up to series 8, I built something I probably would never have thought of building if I didn't have the figure.

Yeah, I thought Corner Deli and the Bike Shop / Cafe were quite good introductions to modular buildings for kids. Relatively straightforward to build, but get them thinking about size, shape, form and connection of one building to another. They are clearly not Modular grade, but never intended to be. It wouldn't surprise me if older kids that got those sets are now into the Modulars.

Very nice, I love the cuffs! And the colour is perfect for the suit in the Dennis Quaid movie version. When I can't find a specific part in a parts bin, there is usually a Whole Lotta Shakin Going On.

It is up to a buyer to decide whether they need every possible variant though, and if LEGO are banking on selling an expensive but crappy set by including a character in which the mouth or eyebrows are slightly different to a version that also appears in a cheaper set, then they are probably not going to sell many copies of that set. For example, I own this Leia but I don't feel compelled to buy Cloud City or the Hoth Medical Chamber just to get this one. Especially when I already have the same head on a different version of Leia from the Death Star. However, I am glad that there are multiple variations of heads. I wouldn't want all Leias to have exactly the same head and it makes sense to mix them up a bit. Whereas getting a completely unique figure like CC Lando, or Leia in the Bespin outfit, or Luke, or the Ugnaught, is clearly a bigger incentive to buy the CC set. Are minifigure collectors that buy that set overrating the figures? To me, no. They are into minifigures and if that is what they look for in a set, then it is fine. Personally, I find the CC set as a whole quite ugly. I'd probably keep the figures, the (yet another scale!) Slave 1 and Cloud Car, maybe MOD a room or two and the gantry into something completely different, and the rest of the parts for the structure and the freezing chamber would be sold off or go into the parts bin. Is that overrating the figures and some parts of the build, or underrating other parts of the build, or just realising that I like some bits of it and don't like other bits and only want to have the bits that I like. Just because some people don't want to display sets exactly as prescribed by LEGO doesn't mean they overrate the bit they decide to keep. They just know what they like, and they happen to like that bit more than what other people like it. And who decides what the baseline is. If I don't want some figures or parts of a build and I sell them, is the buyer overrating the figures or am I underrating them? Or are we both just getting what we want, which in both cases is different to how LEGO intended them to be used.

Good point, probably the closest. But even then, I know quite a few kids that have seen the various LEGO movies and don't have sets from them.

But it is not just Star Wars. Give a kid a police car, a fire engine and a policeman minifigure. Or give them Cole, Zane and Jay. Do they feel something is missing?

That is the same reason they are willing to feed all their customers' needs, including ones that buy minifigure-free sets.

How about ... You could cover with tiles to change their colour or make them smooth, if needed.

If you want it to. You could also add touches of other colours as accents, such as dark orange or the odd light and dark bluish grey parts.

I doubt mine would get made ... 1. Roman Legatus 2. Roman Centurion 3. Roman Legionary / Soldier 4. Roman Aquilifer / Eagle standard bearer 5. Roman Praetorian 6. Roman Archer 7. Roman Senator 8. Roman Citizen (male) 9. Roman Citizen (female) 10. Roman Slave (male) 11. Roman Slave (female) 12. Visigoth Soldier 13. Visigoth Leader (male) 14. Carthaginian Soldier 15. Carthaginian Leader (male) 16. Celt / Gallic Soldier 17. Celt / Brittonic Soldier 18. Brittonic Leader (female) Plus they need to be fleshies, not yellow skinned.

Yes, we do. :-)

This is not true. The parts may be genuine LEGO, but the stickers are not so they are not 100% LEGO and they are knock-offs of the real SDCC sets.

But then I find it inconceivable that you find this inconceivable. People want different things out of the LEGO they buy. Some people buy it for the build experience, some people buy it as they collect minifigures, some people buy it as they collect unopened sets, some people buy it as they want the parts. None of those are doing anything wrong. If a person is a fan of a particular theme (licensed or not) and then a set comes along with their favourite or a unique character in it, there is a good chance that they will buy it. They probably don't care what the actual set is, they want it for that character. They get the rest of the set too, which they might build and keep anyway or use the parts for something else or they might sell. It is perfectly conceivable to me that people do this. Alternatively, they might buy just the minifigure from someone that wants the bricks but not the minifigures. There are also people that buy sets because they want specific a part or parts. Should these people be demonised because they are overrating some bricks or underrating the minifigures? They don't necessarily care about the set, they care about what else they can do with the parts in the set. For example, I once bought 20+ sets of "The Wizard Battle". I had absolutely no interest in building all the sets as shown in the instructions. But they were brilliant parts packs for black pieces, and at the price I paid per set and by selling the minifigures, the trans yellow parts and the technic gear boxes and gears, I got them for nothing. I cared more about the parts than the figures there. Or just a sign that some people buy LEGO for the minifigures. But why does that mean minifigure collecting has gone too far? It just shows that minifigures tend to be worth more than most other parts. It may also be that the seller has enough bricks to keep them busy and does not need the bricks. It may also be that the person does not have enough display / storage space for complete sets but likes to keep up to date with minifigures. If people could not sell the bricks or even give them away as nobody wanted them, then I think that would be a sign that collecting minifigures had gone too far. Again, what is the problem with that? Some people will want to have a complete set of CMF. Some people will want multiples of one or more specific characters to 'army build'. Some people will want just a few random characters to add on to their collection. Some people enjoy trading them - like trading cards. Different people want different things from the CMF range. If you don't want to buy blind bagged figures, there are plenty of other sets you can buy where you know exactly what you are getting.

Actually, far from it. I like building more than minifigures, but like the minifigures to go with the sets too. If there is a set that interests me, I will typically buy three of them. One set of minifigures is mine, the other two sets will be sold. For many sets, the minifigures can be sold for at least 50% of the cost of the set. If I manage to get a 33% or so discount when buying three sets, that means for the RRP of one set, I get a complete set plus the bricks for two others. So one extended build, plus a complete set of figues. I had already built a MOC of Orthanc before that one was announced, hence me wanting Grima. I did eventually buy the official Orthanc too though. Also, I don't think they are overpriced on the secondary market, simply because most sellers price them so that they sell. Sometimes they may seem high for just a minifigure, but if someone is willing to pay that price, then it was priced correctly. If a seller prices too high, they get to keep their stock until they either lower the price, or a buyer caves in and pays the asking price. It is supply and demand. It will usually take a while for the market value to adjust too. When a set first comes out, prices will be high, they will typically then drop, then rise again if the figure is still in demand but no longer produced. Which are the ones that usually stay in demand? Licensed ones that are not redone or in-house ones that are fairly unique. Plain torso and City ones, forget it. However, even licensed ones can be worth very little if there are multiple variations of that character. Back in the LOTR days, I bought a batch of 25 Eomers on BL for about $4 a piece. That was his value when the set had been out for a long time and was on discount to clear and there was loads of stock on BL. Resellers wanting high cashflow sold them at that price to get rid of them, which now seems cheap, but they were making money at that price. I was happy to sit on them for five years and resell them at $20. Values change with time. $20 would have been overpriced in 2013. It wasn't in 2018.

What further follow-up sets could they have really done with Lone Ranger or Prince of Persia? I doubt these were even going to be long running themes. SW, HP, Indy, LOTR/Hobbit, Jurassic Park/World, etc are all multiple film franchises with loads of source material. Even if Lone Ranger and Prince of Persia had been box office smashes, they would only have been at the forefront of people's minds for six months or so. And of course, who released the movies - Disney. LEGO has a good relationship with Disney, I cannot see them turning down Disney movies without affecting that relationship. Even if one movie is a stinker, the sets they make still sell eventually, even if at a discount. It is funny to think that most of the sets of both PoP and LR are actually pretty good, even as parts packs they contain sought after pieces.

That hanging one at 1:25 is amazing. I don't know whether you are a brave visionary or just plain crazy!

That is highly subjective. I don't mind paying $10+ for a minifigure if I think it is worth that to me. I remember paying about $16 for Grima from LOTR. I didn't have the Orthanc set at the time and wanted the figure, as he was the only LOTR figure I didn't have at the time. While I could have bought lot of cheaper figures instead, they were not the ones I wanted. Was it worth it? Yes. I preferred to have that one than ten generic City figures. Alternatively, I could have bought this for the same price: What had the better value? For me, Grima did. For a kid, I imagine most would go with the set above. Plus this is not only limited to licensed minifigures. For example, for an Anubis guard from PQ, you are looking at $30 or so for a new one. Lobster from Atlantis, probably closer to $40.

Possibly. Looking on their website, they don't do many toys. They do a realistic scale model of the F9 and also an Estes style one. It could mean they don't want toys aimed at kids, but then again it could just be that they haven't struck any deals to produce toys.

They are Baturion legs, see his other thread for a better look at the soldiers.

The competition was to design a Gift With Purchase set. So I imagine you are correct and that it will be released as a Gift With Purchase. https://ideas.lego.com/challenges/1b817aba-3990-4e6d-a17f-7a59a948d02f?query=&sort=top We’re looking for the next exclusive LEGO Gift with Purchase set, for our LEGO Stores, LEGOLAND, LEGOLAND Discovery Centers as well as Shop.LEGO.com. We need your help. Show us your best small and mid-sized space designs in this contest and your entry has the opportunity to be adapted into a Gift with Purchase set in 2019! We invite you to show us your LEGO moment in space! Use your imagination to create the ultimate space model – make it as sci-fi or realistic as you wish, just stay within a base of 16 x 16 studs. One lucky winner has the chance to have their entry transformed into a new Gift with Purchase set, and will win a collection of past exclusive Gift with Purchase sets!

What is wrong with the brick built dog? It shows kids how to build animals at a small scale from a few parts. Surely the point of the 3-in-1 sets is building. There are plenty of molded animals in other themes, so why not keep the theme where the key aspects are building and multiple builds, focussed on building and multiple uses for parts. What happens in the alternative builds? The dog disappears and the parts get used elsewhere. In that set, another one appears: Similarly in 31065, there is this one: The parts get reused in the alternate builds to make something else. Can you do that with a molded dog?

Brick separators. I have literally 100s of them. I get two out and start using them to dismantle a MOC, but can I find them again. So another two come out ...