NathanR

When visiting Lego Ideas, all I get is "403 Forbidden". Anyone else see the same? (To be fair, I'd noticed that all the images on my project updates were missing, so I was going through each update and re-uploading the pictures. I'm not sure if I've tripped something and the server has locked me out for suspicious activity).

Not sure if this has been reported here, but brothers-brick reviewed the 2021 Spiderman sets and 3673 frictionless technic pin is being recoloured in yellow. As a fairly casual technic builder, I don't know if I should feel sad that it's been changed, worried that it might get permanently recoloured/colour-locked in yellow, or really excited that long-standing colour-locked parts are getting made in new colours.

No, I think you miss my point. I liked the sweet spot that sits halfway between a "huge pile of all the bits" and "small numbered bag holding just what you need for the next stage of build". With the unnumbered bags open, but not tipped out, there was a lovely balance between a logical organisation of parts and the ability to rummage around to find the right brick.

I think it depends on who you are, as to whether Lego sets are oversimplified or not. If you are a seasoned Lego builder, then having instructions that add one or two parts per step is a bit ridiculous. I got to a point with the Speed Champion cars that I could breeze through them on autopilot, and could be surprised to find the model was completed. Adults who haven't played with lego for a while are probably grateful for this simplification, as it makes for a smoother, less frustrating build experience. I remember one of the first Architecture skyline sets had a step where you add a 1x1 technic brick, but the instructions also showed a 1x1 brick with one stud on side and 1x1 brick with 2 studs on sides as well to make very clear which type was to be added. I felt like Lego was insulting my intelligence with that, but I do accept it as occasional builders may not be familiar with the wide variety of bricks currently available (there is that general perception that "back in the day" Lego was just basic bricks and plates, and people who believe that probably do need help with the dizzying array of SNOT bricks that are available). I've also seen kids struggle to assemble 50 piece MOCs where instructions were done as old-school spot-the-difference manuals without individual part callouts per step. I still can't figure out if it's a case of kids getting dumber, or that they just struggle with all the part/colour combos available. I do hate the use of numbered bags though - it really spoon-feeds the build to you. I miss being surrounded by several open bags of various parts. I used to love building technic sets and watching the giant bag of black technic pins get slowly emptied. I think the 42000 came with two bags of black pins, and when I opened the box I just stared at them realising that I was in for an epic build. I'll grant you that with the original version of 10188 Death Star, the lack of bag numbers made it a huge challenge (and at times, it was very frustrating to find the relevant pieces), but it gave me a huge sense of achievement when I finally managed to finish it. I know dislike of numbered bags is a dangerous opinion to have on these forums, and it's one that got me lumbered with the unremovable label above my profile pic, but this is my personal preference.

If you log in to your Lego account and go to the VIP reward center, you can see what you can get with your points: https://www.lego.com/en-gb/vip/rewards-center/rewards In UK, 800 points will get you 5 GBP discount, I can't access the US rewards to see what it's worth, but it's probably similar. There are also various items you can get, ranging from desktop wallpapers to metal keyrings.

It's a common complaint that the ball joints should come in more colours. Unfortunately, a designer interview from a while back (appeared on newelementary I think) reported that something as simple as changing the part colour changes the clutch power of the ball joints. As it is absolutely critical that the ball joints have the correct amount of friction to be easily moveable and to hold a pose, and the most data they had was on the behaviour of LBG and DBG, those were the only colours the joints would be appearing in. I suspect Lego have now colour-locked the part, like the technic pins. Clips probably wouldn't work in this case, because the pivot point of the clip/bar hinge is offset from the plate, whereas the ball joint is in line with the middle of the plate. Really liking these new sets, I think it's wonderful that Lego are making the X-Wing and TIE fighter models as toys rather than miniature UCS sets. They're simple, but they do a great job of capturing the vehicles.

When Han says "Do you want to shoot first?" I almost died laughing....

@karrit Thanks for the detailed information! I'm wanting to get the elf clubhouse and a few of the smaller sets like the wreath, but I'm holding off until I can be sure of getting the Christmas Carol set as well - that's one set I'd be quite happy paying for, rather than going through the hassle of trying to get it as a freebie. Edit: Brickfinder.net has just posted a store calendar for November. Offer will be valid from 20 November to 6 December, with $180 (Singapore dollars) spend. So probable;y the usual £100 or 100 USD spend. http://www.brickfinder.net/2020/10/31/bricks-world-lcs-november-2020-promotions/

I'm trying to plan my Lego Christmas shopping and was wondering, does anyone have any information on when this set will be available?

What with the collectible minifigure lines and Harry Potter, there's now loads of mythical creature minifigure parts available - centaurs, the genie, Medusa, the Minotaur... I would be delighted to see any (or all!) of these return in a new theme. I'm guessing it will be an adventure theme, pitting heroes against various monsters. Hopefully we'll get some nice brick-built mythical beasts though. The "C" in the Mythical logo has three different animals that look like a lion, a bird and a snake - maybe we'll get a brick built chimera, or possibly a Viking sea-serpent or phoenix?

What you propose sounds ok to me, but I would worry that single technic axle is not strong enough to support the mech's body. While it won't necessarily pull apart, it might get twisted. Instead of a 4x4 turntable plate with axle through it, consider building a more heavy-duty version with a stack of 2x2 round bricks with an axle in the middle, slotted into a stack of 11833 v4x4 round plate with 22 cutout. If the hips have a gearbox, it sounds like you are using plenty of technic - have you considered using the technic turntable parts 18938 with 18939? It can support quite a bit of weight, for example, in set 42042 Crawler Crane it is the sole linkage between the caterpillar track base and the crane super-structure. Also, maybe have a look at the 21311 Voltron, the black lion had a great technique using the small technic turntables that allowed the arms to be attached, and gave quite a bit of friction to hold them in place.

That's a Playmobil part from their "System X" construction system, it's used to hold power cables in place. As I recall it first appeared in the Playmobil Space range (sets 3079, 3080) around the year 2000.

Are you kidding?? By the end of the initial release day, it was backordered for two months! Towards the end it was stuck on shelves on discount, but I think it was pretty popular. I'm wondering if the rereleases of Ship-In-A-Bottle and the Saturn V will be an exact reproduction, or if the sets will be updated in some way. Maybe some new parts to make the Saturn V more accurate? I',m so excited to pick up another Saturn V :D

I think the problem is that nostalgia is a dangerous thing. The original space themes were great (ok, I was born too late for classic space but I have a huge soft spot for Exploriens), but they were of their time. An exact reproduction of the old sets would feature too many basic bricks to look good next to the rest of Lego's current lineup, and be criticised for lacking advanced building techniques. And if one of the vintage space themes was rebooted with all modern techniques, it would be criticised for not staying true to the spirit of the original. So Lego can't really win. 70816 Benny's spaceship was a great love letter to the fans, the Exo-Suit Ideas set was stunning, and the classic space logo does keep popping up on minifigures, so I don't think the old sets are completely forgotten yet. I would also point out something that I think a lot of people lose sight of these days - Lego isn't a plastic model kit like you get from Airfix or Revell. Lego isn't something where you have to follow the instructions and build what's pictured on the box (though it's perfectly fine to do that if that's what you want). Lego is about bricks that can be assembled in any way you want to build whatever you want. If Lego doesn't make the set you want, then design it yourself. It's entirely possible. That's the magic of Lego!

This is another of those sets that I'd love to build, but not sure I want to own. I love that Lego have done another playset, I love that it's an actual building and not just another vehicle, and I really think it's on par with the Death Star playset. My only real problem is with storage and display space. The cantina doesn't look that impressive from the outside and only becomes recogniseable/iconic once you open it up - but due to the size of the bar in the middle, I'm not sure I have enough shelf space to squeeze it in. Definitely looking forward to getting more information from reviewers.

I love that Lego are doing a 1:1 scale lightsaber, but why on Earth pick Yoda's? Surely for a GWP with the cantina, it would have made more sense to do Luke's or Obi-Wan's lightsaber?

I could be mistaken, but I believe the parts you're asking about are unreleased prototypes. I've heard that Lego often experiment with new part designs that never make it outside of the factory. If you're interested in seeing more unusual/unreleased parts then you might enjoy this thread:

Fun story, that for some weird reason I really want to believe is true! The build is awesome, I love the parts usage for the guy's beard and the rocket exhaust clouds are amazing!

UCS sets are a bit overrated, and are excessively detailed with far too many small parts. Don't get me wrong, I love a big Lego set, but I got rid of 75144 Snowspeeder because I couldn't pick it up to swoosh without half a dozen bits falling off it. The original UCS Millennium Falcon was better than the updated version. The original screams "this is an awesome Lego model", whereas the revised one always makes me go "nice model Falcon... wait, that's Lego". It's a subtle shift in the emphasis, butI feel a Lego model should always look Lego-ish. Also, the current Wookie headpiece sucks, the original Chewbacca mini figure was absolutely perfect and should never have been changed. P.S. These are all just my personal opinions, don't flame me for having these views

Well, your reviews are a little on the short side and they don't have the level of detail found in other reviews. However, from the number of reviews like this you've been doing recently, it's clear you have a real passion for this, I think your enthusiasm definitely shows through, and that at least should be encouraged! Have you heard about the eurobricks reviewers academy? It might be worth signing up so you can learn a bit more about the art of writing reviews.

You might find the brick link catalogue a little easier to browse: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?pg=1&catString=34.314&catType=S&v=2 I'm also not a classic space expert, but maybe 6928 would be a good match for your description?

I've been rebuilding the models in stud.io, tweaking the designs a little bit as I go, and also recreating all the custom decals from scratch. Thunderbird 5 is the first one to be completed, and as it's my favourite I couldn't wait to show it off. 3D model: https://www.mecabricks.com/en/models/LyjWeJo5aJr Most of the changes have been structural, but the main pylon on the bottom has been redesigned to use more common pieces and have a little more clutch power. I also managed to identify the correct fonts to use for all the labels, so it is now screen-accurate. You have no idea how annoyed I was when I realised I'd used the wrong font for the "5" in the "Thunderbird 5" nameplate! If there is sufficient interest, I'll release instructions after the Lego Ideas project expires - time is running out, but you can still vote!

Wow, that's an amazing use of parts! The whole figure looks incredible!

Those are some very nice jets! It's a really neat to use the technic panels for the wings. Supported!

Lego did just introduce a minifig pig head in Monkie Kid (80009 Pigsy's food truck), I'm wondering if this is what we can expect piglet to look like. The bear head piece already exists from the collectible minifgures line. It sure sounds reasonable to have Rabbit and Bugs Bunny use the same headpiece, I imagine that will have to be a custom part.