eDeevo

Summer of 2006? Well, unless they have some gifted writers, this movie may not tur nout that good. It seems like they are rushing it to make sure it would be out to coincide with the release of the next game, which means it may suck (think of many other movie-game titles ;) )... Also the fact that Halo 3 is being done by a different software company is not a good sign... but I suppose we shall see... Life is Good.

It was a good weekend... another great trade done :-D ... & 'yes' there was a Forestmen's Crossing set in there as well... I love being a Father... :-D Life is Good.

Oh, you don't have to. I like reading what others got (envy taken into account) ;) Well, you may want to check out my new post... :-D ALthough, I need to say congrats on getting that ship, it is AWESOME! Life is Good.

Well mister_phes, she educated me a bit this weekend, look & see what she built (with little help from me, I might add)... Underneath each red & green square is a cannon... she decided that those needed to be 'underneath the floor' so as to create a nice 'walking floor' for the 'guys' to walk around on... it makes a father proud... :$ All I did was help her with putting the red sails on (that she picked out from the choices we had, actually they were the closest color to pink, which is her fav ;) ): As you can tell from the pics, I was busy with a few other ships at the same time (although there are more to come ;) ;) ;) )... Also phes, building a Carribean Clipper with no center section makes it look too wide (kinda like a circle or a 'fat' ship)... needless to say, it just didn't look right, at least my daughter thought it was 'too fat', & we quit before investing too much time in it... oh well... Little Miss Mal & I had a fun weekend :-D Life is Good.

jipay- They make good pets, don't they ;) His name is LJ... Life is Good.

In all fairness (& to let you revel in your newly obtained set), I will wait to post about what I got this weekend... but not too long ;) phes is gonna like it... Life is G-O-O-D.

Eh? Am I missing something here? Life is Good.

Good question phes... hopefully we will find out soon... Life is Good.

WOW! mister_phes, we share something in common... that was my first Pirate set as well... & my second... & my third... & my fourth... Story: One Christmas I received four of these. This was due to the fact that I had many relatives that knew I liked LEGO at the time... my parents kept thinking I would like to return all of them (but one) to the store, but I wanted to keep them all... it was the beginning of "army building" for me, and it furthur added to the continuing addiction that would affect me for many, many years... ;) a few weeks later I began buying Pirate sets, but that is the one started it all :-D Ahh... 6235 Buried Treasure... memories... Life is Good.

jipay, do not give in to the Dark Side... Life is Good.

Okay, this is the last time I will address this (because it seems you didn't understand my points at all in some instances)... & I have seen plenty of kids looking at the LEGO aisle at TRU & heading straight for the Designer sets or the *@#!@% Megabloks... & my daughter (who is a child) doesn't seem to care for them (except the firetruck... ;) )... Also, I have to point out that Megabloks has had a bigger section than LEGO at my local Wal-Mart & Target for over two years now, & LEGO seems to be the only one of the two that ends up on clearance at the end of every season because of unsold inventory... See, you proved my point somewhat... buying brand new sets (because they stink) as parts packs just does not make sense to me... it points to LEGO as unimaginative... & if you continue to compare them to previous sets, you are essentially proving my point as well, the only way LEGO can go is 'up' when the sets weren't great... & I don't think of "troopers with different markings" as a "huge step forward"... making more original minifigures does not help them create more imaginative sets because, after all, you can't build a ship with a minifig, or a car, or a castle, or anything else for that matter... Like I stated previously, thinking of Vladek's Dark Fortress as a stand-alone set, I am not impressed. I am also happy to see LEGO make a set that has improved greatly over the previous sets, but I don't use that as a basis for how I judge whether or not I will pay the money to buy the set... but don't get me wrong, I agree that it "is definetly a good road to be on" & that I am optimistic for the future of the theme, just right now I don't believe I will be buying any at retail... My wife actually enjoys the Harry Potter books, there just not interesting to me at all... There's nothing wrong with people buying them for parts... I just think that if LEGO is paying so much for the right to produce these sets, that at least a few should stand alone as great sets, and I don't see any that have... True it is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't say much when that is really the only direction that the company can go (I can point to bad products all day long, but a better area to point out is the Revenue to Expenses ratio that the company has had problems with the past few years)... I love minifigures as well, but just because there are more, doesn't make an actual set any better (notice I said 'better', not 'more attractive to buy', as I would love more minifigs;) ). I was never in favor of this set being made by LEGO... although, I see a big positive in the fact that it was recommended by fans from many places & that LEGO actually created it... which somewhat proves that LEGO is listening to its fans, which is a very good thing... Also, I agree with phes, that the Megabloks Pirates are essentially play toys, not construction models & that their playability is limited because of that fact... A few Pirates LEGO system sets would do well on their own... Life is Good.

She definetly seems more playability in the system sets... :) I would be more than happy to contribute to it :-D Considering the target market for those "things" was 4+ years-old, I would have a perfect case study within my daughter ;) Life is Good.

This stuck out to me, and I wanted to comment on it. Aren't most of the big fan favorites from Star Wars things that we generally saw only a few glimpses of ? Boba Fett, the A-Wing, and the B-Wing come to mind as I type this. None of those things got a lot of screen time, but they are considered staples and fan favorites. I don't see much change with the episode III stuff. I guess what I'm geting at is that if star wars fans can glom over how cool Boba Fett was from his cameo's in the original trilogy, I'm not concerned if they don't like the Arc_170 cause it didn't get enough time. At the very least, it looks cool. You are absolutely correct... My argument about 'rare screen time' was inaccurate... :$ I guess my thinking just goes hand-in-hand with how the recent movies have turned out. I did not like the first two (poor dialogue & one weak actor...*hayden*), and the third was okay, but it just seemed like a big advertisement for the numerous products that Lucas planned on selling. I know he did this as well in the first films, but it seemed like there were so many more different vehicles within the last film & none as noticable as the Millenium Falcon for example... And maybe I'm alone here, but I just don't think many of the sets in the prequels are 'cool' at all (with few exceptions)... or at least not remotely 'cool' compared to the OT vehicles (again, the Millenium Falcon)... It seemed that Lucas went so far overboard with CG at the expense of creativity in the latest films, thats all. Life is Good.

Here is my attempt at your questions: Why do LEGO toys have value to you? LEGO brings back fond memories from my childhood, but more than that, it is something I have been excited to share with my daughter. I believe the brick builds a creative mind & allows you to use your imagination in a positive manner to build a great many things... What makes LEGO brand construction toys worth your money? Everything being fully-compatible. Albeit the newer items (clikits come to mind) are not. In what way has the LEGO brand let you down? Movie Licenses I believe have been a double-edged sword for TLC. They have allowed TLC to continue to create a product that can potentially be pleasing to children, while at the same time infecting the company with a lack of creativity. This can be seen in many of the sets that TLC created on its own... Also the fact that piece counts are getting smaller & smaller, while the costs are getting higher & higher has also been a letdown... TLC does not understand that the less pieces, the less playability in the set (just ask my daughter ;) ) Recently, how has the LEGO brand improved? I have made mention before about the Sandcrawler set, & I believe that TLC is actually beginning to listen to what consumers want. The thing is, that when they do, us consumers need to support TLC, so that the trend will continue... What would it you like to see LEGO (re)introduce in the next three years? I would like to see LEGO do a few thing in the next few years... 1) transition away from all licensed themes, yes, ALL of them... 2) Lego claimed at one thime that their Pirate theme was THE most popular among construction toys, that theme needs to come back BIG TIME (et tu mister_phes?)... 3) Like Bloody Jay suggested, a more expansive City Theme with all the things that a City has such as a "Hospital, school, town hall/courthouse, apartments, office building, garage, convenience store, bookstore, cafe, pizzeria, etc."... 4) stop being so cheap with the minifigs, try adding one or two more per set LEGO! 5) & although I didn't think of this originally, I think Bloody Jay has a great idea with the "one-shot deal" thing with car companies... 6) BRING UP THE PIECE COUNTS (without the big, bulky pieces)! More pieces will increase more playability without destroying creativity... What does LEGO need to do to sell more products for less cost to them? Again, like Bloody Jay stated, "STOP MAKING NEW PIECES. STOP MAKING (so many) NEW PRINTS." All we need to do is look at the piece counts for older sets where they were much higher with lower costs. The only thing that seems to have caused that is larger pieces, that restrict creativity! What reason(s) do you have for not buying new LEGO sets? For many of the reasons I have stated above, but mainly because my daughter just shows no interest in many of them (& she loves the Classic Castle & Pirates sets A LOT)... What would it take for you to spend more money on new LEGO products versus buying sets/parts on the second hand markets? Basically, if TLC made more creative sets with higher piece counts, more minifigs, and my daughter found them appealing, I'd buy them at full retail... I just don't want to continue to look at sets as 'potential parts packs' anymore... What will it take for LEGO to remain the best construction toy for all ages and be a profitable company? LEGO is still the best construction toy out there today. Although, it does seem apparent that a 'clone' brand may find the right product/price/etc. to compete with LEGO in a way where LEGO will lose money & its hold on the construction toy market. Everytime I go to TRU, Wal-Mart, or Target, I notice that the LEGO section gets smaller & smaller, as the Megabloks section gets bigger & bigger... it may not be long, so LEGO needs to take control of it soon... What are your home country, name and age? The United States of America, Ed Deaver, and I am now 30 years old... Is there anything you would like to say with this last question that you feel someone at LEGO should not go without reading? Creativity was the foundation of LEGO & should be brought back. It is something that has been sorely lacking as of late & needs to be addressed. This is why my four-year old doesn't like your newer sets, but fondly plays with older Castle (Yellow Castle, Kings Mountain Fortress, Black Knights Castle, etc.) & Pirate (Black Seas Barracuda, Carribean Clipper, Renegade Runner, etc.) sets. Her favorite thing to do is build a building out of straight bricks & plates (like the older sets). She is definetly in your target market, and right now, you are still missing... I love LEGO & I always will. Life is Good.

It really looks like they could put it together fairly easily as well. The game engine has already been created, as well as graphics... it would only be adding new characters & environments to the game... that would be sweet :-D Life is Good.

No, I have not yet. I will do so immediately... after this post :-D Bloody Jay- Like I have said previously (not in this thread, but previously) ,I am optimistic of the direction that TLC is going right now, although I remain realistic that there are certainly more steps that need to be taken. Here are some of the 'issues' I am having with LEGO: -I have no problems with the new Fire/Police/Construction City sets. Although they are just not that appealing to kids (just ask my daughter, though she seems to like the fire truck, but what kid dosen't? ;) ) -The Revenge of the Sith sets were horrible IMO (except the walker). Too many colors, a lack of pieces, and ships that got rare screen time in the actual film. -The Knights Kingdom sets... the minifigs are still too colorful, and although the sets look much better than they did the previous year, I refuse to use that as a measure of how well they look now. If these were the first LEGO sets I had ever seen, I would not be impressed with them much (at least not impressed enough to buy them at the prices they are selling for). Oh, and Vladek's Dark Fortress may look nice for the KK line, but it is in no way even "ALMOST a throwback to classic Castle", & some people would take great offense that you'd even make that comparison, not myself (because I am mello), but some people ;) -The Harry Potter line... I never cared for the books (I read the first two out of curiosity), and the sets look okay, I suppose. But you even have to admit many people have admittedly bought lots of these sets mainly for parts, and it shouldn't be that way... -The upcoming Vikings line does look good... but LEGO is repeating similar problems... adding essentially worthless items (dragons) to bring up piece count & charge crazy prices for an average set... at least that is what I have seen... & I am more excited about the parts within the sets than the actual sets themselves, again, same problem... -Lastly, the Sandcrawler set. Now I will probably never buy this set, because it doesn't look that great to me with the odd colors, duplicate minifigs, and large price tag. That being said, the fact that TLC released this set after a great deal of demand from collectors gives me hope that TLC is beginning to listen to the consumer. Which, if the trend continues, we will aid in bringing LEGO back into another 'golden age'... The truth is, we all love our LEGO, & I am one who hopes that LEGO can get out of this "creative rut" that its been in for a while & start bringing quality sets to us all... I remain optimistic with the sets being released this year that are not being made through licenses (which to me is a greater sign of things to come than Spiderman, Harry Potter, or Star Wars)... & I'm sure you agree... Long live LEGO! Life is Good.

I hope so... I would LOVE to see Episodes 4-6 done in LEGO, & my daughter would love to play it as well :-D Life is Good.

Perhaps I am being too picky, but I really don't associate with the newer sets. Many of them vaguely resemble those from the past (my 'golden age' of LEGO). I think it is a combination of too many special pieces, too many colors, & less & less piece couts costing more & more money that all contribute to me not appreciating LEGO as much as I used to. I still cannot accept the colorful Castle sets, Bionicle never really worked for me, lisences that just don't work (NBA, anyone?), and the fact that the Duplo sets are beginning to outshine the system sets... I just don't look at a catalog now with the longing that I used to... Strangely enough, I like many of the earlier SW sets much more than the current ones as well... maybe its just me... Life is Good.

I'm glad you asked phes... She is four years old (turns five in July) & she absolutely despises the larger figs from the 4+ Pirates sets... I only have one set (7074 Skull Island, which I got for the wonderful price of $2.99) & after we built it (about 3 months ago), my daughter asked me where the "real" guys were (it made me so proud :$ ). I told her that the big guys were real guys (while biting my lip) & she sat there confused for a minute & told me two things... she said, & I quote: 1) "these aren't real guys, the hats can't come off", 2) "these guys don't fit in the spaceships or the jail daddy" She was referring to many of the Star Wars ships I have ("Spaceships") & the 2 x 6 x 7 door with the bars ("jail"). She still doesn't see the big figs as 'real LEGO figs' because of those facts & she tells me everytime I ask what set she wants to build (pretty much every weekend). Typically it is a "Castle" or a "Pirate Ship" that she requests we build, & she has never requested to rebuild that 4+ set ever... we built the Renegade Runner & the Carribean Clipper last week & "battled" with them... it was fun :-D This weekend, it will be some MOCs (which technically should be called MD&MOCs, where 'MD&' stands for 'My Daughter &' ;) )... & when she free-builds, she typically uses straight BRICKS & PLATES (hear that TLC?), she loves to use them, I believe, because they are so simple & easy to build with. All the big & speciality pieces just don't work for her... & yes phes, she is intelligent... Life is Good.

As you can probably attest to phes, I have plenty of extra hulls to work with on it ;) I will report aftre I give it a go this weekend. Life is Good.

I don't know what it is about you recently phes, but it is difficult to argue with anything you've been saying... once again I agree completely, LEGO needs to keep it simple & just design better sets... :-D Life is Good.

I approve of those words... Life is Good.

I didn't take the picture, but a friend of mine did (yes, he worked at that gas station, & set this up ;) ). It has been altered though. Initially he had put a word in the Premium area ("BALLS"), but he edited it out & replaced it with "first born", I think he wanted it to apply to everyone, not just men... either way, it is very funny:-D

I'm still not a fan of the wide range of different colored bricks, but the set overall look nice. I probably won't get it, but it is nice to see the appearance that TLC is listening to collectors (as I have heard people gripe about LEGO making this set for years ;) ). I do like the Jawas :-D Life is Good.