Bobsy

Oh man. Now I REALLY wish I had it built in bricks so I could put it with the Joust and MMV sets as a backdrop. That would be pretty special. Ah well. But yes, it would be a perfect companion set to both. Ah, for the days when civilian castle sets were the norm...

I think it's more likely that the price is wrong than the type of model is wrong - LEGO aren't likely to release another minifig-scale X-Wing while the current version is only a year or so old, still happily occupying shelf space, and half the price. So yes, I think something in the realm of $130-150 for a new UCS model is more likely. Or to take the long odds, a model that is both UCS AND minifig scale? Deliciously tempting concept. Unlikely, but tempting.

Got to say, all these sets are looking pretty great. That said, the only one I can see myself buying is the stagecoach, as I can place it beside Pirates-era sets without it looking too out of place. But 50 euros? That's a LOT of dough for a relatively small set.

Why is that (other than the obvious fact it's not on 10000 votes yet)? If there's improvements to be made I'd love to hear them! Anything that can be reasonably done to make the set better will be appreciated! That's a shame, but the reason the WMT failed the review was pretty clear-cut - it competed with the 79109 Duel In Colby City set pretty directly, and as such would not sell as well. These are just the realities we have to face. I think it's unlikely that Lego have a travelling theatre set in the pipeline for LOTR or Castle, but if they do, and it comes out while my set is in review, I'll take my medicine. In the meantime, we need to be optimistic and support the sets that we love and will make for great Lego products.

I actually think it's a shame that all four troopers are white, especially as in-game the developers went to great lengths to ensure ethnicities were varied across both factions. It would be a great way to get dark-skinned heads, especially since troopers are great for swapping heads around with anyway.

Version 2.0 is live! Lego Cuusoo Medieval Travelling Theatre by bobsy26, on Flickr I've made a few much-needed adjustments and have re-rendered all the images of the theatre. The reverse side of the cart needed some serious attention. Previously the only feature on the cart wall was a tiny shuttered window, which was utterly useless since it opened up onto the back of the scenary. This has been entirely replaced by a blackboard with a fancy theatre logo on it, as well as two shiny statuettes to accompany it. A bit of glitz and glamour to the dung ages! In addition there is another accessory, a folding sandwich board that can be stashed underneath the cart when it is not moving, and brought in the new 2012 horses to replace the tatty old static versions. Sadly LDD doesn't have the printing on them, so they're looking a bit plain right now, but hey. It's a start. I've also added a FAQ to the bottom of the page. If there are any burning questions you have, feel free to ask them here, and I'll endeavour to answer them and maybe add them to the FAQ as well. I am hugely indebted to Glenbricker (as are most people on Cuusoo) for the surge of support that happened in December. A casual mention on Brickset's news page meant that the support level doubled in a week, ensuring it got onto the top 10 most supported projects for two more weeks, during which it gained another 100 supporters. If one of those supporters was you, thank you so much. It is a long, long way to go still though, so if you haven't yet given your support, visit the project page here and vote! If you're still undecided, let me know why so I know what to improve on! Lego Cuusoo Medieval Travelling Theatre by bobsy26, on Flickr Lego Cuusoo Medieval Travelling Theatre by bobsy26, on Flickr Lego Cuusoo Medieval Travelling Theatre by bobsy26, on Flickr Lego Cuusoo Medieval Travelling Theatre by bobsy26, on Flickr Lego Cuusoo Medieval Travelling Theatre by bobsy26, on Flickr

Question: with massive MOCs like this, how much deconstruction do you have to do for transport? Presumably it's built in in modules that can be linked back together, but what about all those minifigs? How do you pack them so they don't come off, fall out and get lost?

No proof or evidence or anything but HARD SPECULATION: The revolutionary soldier minifig that is said to be coming with a new book in the near future has an awesome 18th century wig. It seems odd impossible that Lego would go to the trouble of moulding this without plans of re-using it. And it'd be nice to think that it'd go very, very well with a new pirates theme? Also, historically there isn't much preventing Lego having another pop at pirates next year. The 2009 series was cut short before its time by PotC, is all.

This guy. HK-Muthakriffin'-47. Requires a head mould and nothing more. Oh, and he's economical too - recast all parts in light grey/silver and he's HK-51, new companion in SWTOR.

Exceeeeept... ISDs were not able to land - physically they were simply to large to properly operate in atmosphere, and had no landing gear. In fact, the only Star Destroyer-esque ship I know of that was built for landing was the Acclamator Cruiser deployed at the start of the Clone Wars. Oh yes, I'm wearing my SW nerd goggles and they fit BEAUTIFULLY I might add. The shear size of your basic ISD is at once its defining feature and its biggest weakness with regards to merchandise. Other than the Mon Cal cruisers at the end of RotJ there was simply nothing that could meaningfully interact with an ISD that wasn't tiny by comparison. In Lego terms that means that whatever scale you build your Star Destroyer at, pretty much everything else that it can play with will be either out of scale or really, really small. I have to say, I love the look of the original 2002 UCS Star Destroyer. It's excellently proportioned and detailed. Such a shame the construction techniques of the day were basically useless. The minifig-scaled-interior version that came later was more stable, but a far uglier beast. I'd go for a new ISD, but since its play value is pretty minimal, I'd probably lean to a UCS model than a System model. Also, yes, we're DUE a new ISD, certainly.

I adore this set. It's still the best hunk of Lego I own, by quite a long way. Something I remember striking me when I had just about finished building it though: it doesn't come with ANY crew, aside from the captain. The soldiers hardly count. It was a fun, nostalgic afternoon digging through my ancient miscellaneous Lego looking for old Pirates torsos to fill out enough crew members to get the old Imperial Flagship ready to sail.

I noted yesterday that Argos are selling series 8 minifigs at half price, so presumably they're getting rid of the old lot quickly to bring in the new.

Kashyyyk is pretty much a given, provided they can do an adequate mini-model of the Wookiee catamaran. Alternatively of course there could be a battle droid vehicle and a battle droid - SBDs are back in the mould again so that's a possibility. While I think everyone and their uncle would prefer a non-Chewbacca Wookiee, it depends if the mould's still in use.

What exactly are you after? Video? Of what specifically?

Wouldn't go so far as to say LOTR is for AFOLS, but it's certainly got a more mature appeal - older children and teens, as well as those kids who are REALLY into the Hobbit right now. And those parents who are willing to throw down £60 on Bag End. Castle 2013 is for those who aren't, and for younger children. I forsee wonderful squabbles when younger brothers all over the world bring their bright plastic dragon to burn down their older sibling's meticulously-arranged Helm's Deep. "MUUUUM! He's doing it AGAIN!" Course, older sibling will get his revenge when Smaug comes out.

As would I, but it's not going to happen. Ebon Hawk featured in a game released a decade ago, the Moldy Crow and the Outrider 15 years ago. You can't sell children toys based on things that happened before they were born. Plus there was an Outrider alternate build for one of the Star Destroyer models, so, y'know. That said, they'd make good sets in the Planets series. That line is ripe and juicy for EU ships and characters.

Don't think it's really worthwhile complaining that the new sets are too simple, colourful or childish. Quite apart from the fact that Lego is a children's toy, take a step back and look at the LOTR/Hobbit range. With one or two notable exceptions, the entire line is dominated by grey or brown. It's a predominantly grim, dark and gloomy line of sets and it's pretty obvious that Lego would be cutting off the younger market that want simpler, brighter and lighter castles. The new Castle series is to fill a gap in the market, not to compete with LOTR. Incidentally I think the new big castle is a step up from the one in Kingdoms, and the dragon set looks very intriguing indeed. I do wonder if the dragon will remain red in production, since the inevitable Smaug set will also be red. Perhaps a green dragon?

Last time I had to sort pieces for a large build it was the Medieval Market Village - sorting took at least as long as building, probably longer. It also wasn't quite as useful as I thought, since I'd sorted everything by colour. Not a good idea - next time I do this I'll be sorting by size and shape, since I think it's easier to pick the right colour from a heap of similar-shape pieces than the right shape from a heap all of the same colour.

Hasbro have an exclusive contract to make Star Wars action figures. If Lego were to release a set that consisted only of minifigs that would breach the exclusivity and Hasbro would happily sue the trousers off Lego. This is why Battlepacks in SW Lego always have to have something to build - so they are classed as construction toys. Also, while army builders, fig collectors and SW set collectors would all 'win', none of these are the core audience for SW Lego toys: this is, has been and always will be, children.

It's an interesting thought, and one I've considered quite a bit. I think you're selling yourself short on the mass appeal of sets like ours. Indeed, the speed that your supporters rocketed past mine shows there is widespread appeal for it, I think. But in cases like ours there are untapped reserves of supporters out there, probably surpassing the fanbases for Eve and Minecraft many times over. There are a couple of hundred thousand Eve players in the world, but there's many, many times that in people with an active interest in Greek history and mythology. The problem is that they're not as focussed as the communities of licenced projects. Eve fans congregate on one site in particular, but Perseus fans do not. They're spread, they don't liase with each other as closely. But they are out there. (incidentally, if DeTomaso hasn't been posting on twitcher message boards about his birds, he really ought to) Well that's the trick, isn't it. It's the biggest failing with Cuusoo at the moment I think. The way the facebook page is highlighting projects is the right idea, but they're going about it in the most half-arsed way possible. They choose a theme for the week, and highlight a different project of that theme every day. Last week's theme was history. They picked a grand total of two projects. Don't get me wrong, they're both great projects, but they're quite similar in what they're trying to represent - both are historical vignette projects. What about the Roman Bireme, the King's Mountain Manor, Marko's Trebuchet, the Glory of Rome, and yes, the Medieval Travelling Theatre and Medusa's Temple. This week's theme is cars. The first staff pick of the week? The same Landrover Defender that's been on the front page of the site for months now. Again, it's a good model. But it doesn't exactly need extra exposure, does it? Every model on the front page is now snowballing support, and will inevitably reach 10,000 eventually. Being on the front page means you will supporters at a faster rate than anyone else, so you're unlikely to ever leave the front page. Meanwhile projects like this fantastic steampunk flying ship don't get the exposure they need to compete on an equal footing. Essentially what I'm saying is that Cuusoo staff picks need to be more varied, more far reaching, and more willing to find projects that need to be seen - the projects that don't have an automatic fan base ready to swoop down and pile on the votes like Minecraft and Eve.

That's what's called: "We had limited resources making a super-expensive CGI trailer and found it was not cost-effective to design a unique look for each and every one". Don't take it to heart. Play the game - Sith are very, very different from each other.

I think you're underestimating the sheer power of London iconography. The bearskin guards, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, black cabs, red double decker buses. It's as well known as yellow taxis and the Statue of Liberty for New York. There's definately a market for sets like these, don't doubt that. No, my problem is that it's just not big enough. I get that it was built around the electronics (which are very artfully squished in there), but still, I lose interest pretty quickly if I can't get a minifig in there. A London bus that can't take passengers isn't a London bus to me.

Er, not exactly. The term "Sith" can be alternately applied to both Dark Side force users and people aligned to the Sith Empire, but the force users themselves do not form military units. Every force user in the Empire is a unique and beautiful snowflake, awarded far higher social and political status than non-force-sensitives. They are by no means the equivalent of stormtroopers. It's more like there are thousands and thousands of Darth Vaders running around. I do think it's unlikely that the set will have anything but Republic and Sith Troopers in it. I'm not discounting the idea of a Sith Warrior completely though, as I think Lego will want to re-use the Malgus armour if they can.

You're absolutely right there. Thanks for pointing that out.