MAB

You know why there isn't a thread on it here. LOTR belongs in historic, and you posted on it before starting this thread.

As I mentioned earlier, I think a lot of gunk is down to sweets that have dropped into a box and slowly turned to a sticky gunk that attracts dirt, hair, and gets into ever crevice in a LEGO brick.

Got, got, got, need.

If there is a D2C set based on the movies, I'd hope for Minas Tirith either with a Witch King or a coronation of Aragorn. Although without a theme I cannot really see how they'd do even the main characters again that they have already done in the past, let alone introduce new ones they missed. As for the brickheadz, no interest from me.

I don't think LEGO is meant for anything, aside trom making money for the LEGO group. If you buy basic bricks and MOC, it is not wrong. If you buy sets and assemble and display them and never take them apart, it is not wrong. If you buy expensive sets, don't build what it is supposed to be but MOC with the parts, it is not wrong. If you buy a set and leave it in a sealed box, it is not wrong. Some LEGO sets appear to be made to inspire creativity but then others appear to be made as a display item. If you use the 'wrong' set for the 'wrong' purpose, it doesn't matter so long as you enjoy it.

It looks like BL was wrong to suspend the store that had all the C-3POs and Jokers after one poster on BL claimed they were selling faked prints on real parts and/or stolen parts, as that seller is back selling on BL and selling Jokers and C-3POs again just not in the same numbers as before. Presumably they have learnt to just replenish once sold, rather than listing 1000 at once. That seller even posted pictures of the pallet loads of the sets the figures came in but BL still suspended them.

Are you referring to this part? If so, the ones on BL will be genuine. The German sellers with 1000s of them will have bought them very cheap in 2012 from the warehouse store and these were also available to purchase from the old replacement parts service at least as late as 2014 (I know as I bought some). Some stores think nothing of keeping stock for a decade or more as parts go out of fashion but come back in later. If you don't buy anything on BL if it exists on Ali, presumably you never buy anything from BL.

Sorting out 50+ sets even if they are the same era is a nightmare. If you mix in older or different condition parts it will of course be harder still. Why mix them all in one go? Why not mix just a few similar sets for MOC parts then it is much easier to sort them back again.

There are two big things that are worse - it is easier to search and better advertised. This means people can find it and use it. Which ultimately means that it is not as easy for someone that knows how to use it to buy in-demand parts and charge high prices for them on bricklink! :-)

Even if (and it is a big if) they did sets for the Amazon series, I doubt they would be allowed to cover material done in the theatrical LOTR and Hobbit movies and also not material covered in books. Middle Earth licensing seems to be highly controlled and the Tolkien estate is not going to let the world's biggest toy company make toys based on its property without hefty royalties.

They haven't always been that way. Many random parts, often including previous CMF parts but not the whole figures, have shown up over the years the BAM have been operating.

What a great fun build, and hits nostalgia of both 1980s LEGO and TV.

I also prefer the simplicity of the vintage figures. For my Black Falcons, I use the modern torso but replace the arms with black, then use plain black legs and a black helmet. I find that gives them the simplicity of the old but with the updated torsos. It also means you can pose the legs without the print looking stupid as it is no longer continuous with the torso.

It is still the biggest grossing movie ever, so presumably some people cared about it.

Bear in mind there is regional variation. I don't think the reddish brown horses are available in the UK, for example. Although I loaded up some years ago when they were on the physical PAB wall in store.

In the original sets, just one. There were other Lords and Knights but they don't have kingdoms. When it comes to counting factions, it really is free choice. Same when it comes to allies.

It is interesting that there is no free comments box at the end. Almost like they don't want to hear feedback.

Yep, and I sold them for 25p!

That saddle in DBG was one of the first pieces I remember buying a bulk lot of 100 of back in 2013. The price then was 15p each and I was able to flip them on bricklink for 25p each. I realised that if I sold 70 and kept 30, my 30 were free. How times and prices have changed.

The windows and curtains are rather creepy! They remind me of lungs and a rib cage, almost as if you have ripped open a torso.

It really depends on what you are after. The online PAB recently merged with Bricks and Pieces which has lead to changes, partly good but mainly bad especially concerning availability of parts. It still pays to price check what you are after, especially if you are after bulk parts.

Which wedges are you using? Can you get away with the (illegal) technique of sticking them back to back with technic pins? Or alternatively a technic liftarm, with 1/2 technic pins with studs in to attach the wedges, plus you can then build the blade off the liftarm.

When it comes to B+P / PAB, I wouldn't read too much into what LEGO do or do not say anyway, whether directly or indirectly. They have never been good at sticking to what we think are their rules and in some cases, consumer laws. They used to explicitly state that you could not buy licensed parts but have also sold many licensed parts that way in the past, including complete minifigures in some cases. They have also charged different prices at the time of dispatch to those advertised on the website at the time of order without telling the customer, or replaced parts with similar ones at a much higher cost. They say some things aren't available but then allow people to order them if they phone. They say some parts are available, then cancel orders if you order "too many" even if the order was within the 200 allowed. They make their own rules that are ever changing and if they don't want to stick to them, they don't.

Presumably this is not an official part! Do they have a print your own minifigure set-up there too? It looks machine printed rather than PAD printed.

When I MOC, I focus on building something I want to build for as long as I like and not part of playing a turn in a game where others are waiting and I need to follow strict rules about the format of the repetitive build. What I mean is that building slows down the game play and the game rules necessarily restricts free building. That is why it is not really MOCing to me. There have been LEGO games in the past such as Creationary. In that game you build as part of the game, but I wouldn't really call that MOCing either, even though there you are creating a small free build. For dungeons and dragons games that take a long time to play, slowing them down further by needing to build each step of the game will make it even slower. From all the conventions I have been to, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone going and not wanting to spend the maximum time to see the displays and instead spend all the time playing a game that tangentially requires small builds with LEGO. I think you'd be lucky to get a game of D&D finished wtithin a day if you are constantly building modules, and you would have missed all the LEGO displays. Some of the games played at conventions after hours by contributors, such as teams racing to build the same set, work because they are relatively quick and fun. But if you think it will take off, then go for it.