Lord Admiral

Unless TLG only wants people to collect 3 or 4 of the 16 and has the appropriate restrictions , they better expect people to buy the bags a pallet a time, in hopes to be able to get all of them and offload the extra through bricklink. That having been said, they are really expensive, so maybe TLG hopes that will be a prohibiting factor. It won't dent an AFOL's budget, especially for a year as dry as 2010. But it may discourage younger FOLs whose budgets aren't nearly as great. If TLG lengthened the duration of each wave (or reduced the amount of minifigs per), they could milk us all for a whole year and have a guaranted steady stream of revenue the entire time. I personally don't see anything immoral about the idea, if executed properly. I wouldn't like it if they excluded NA, but it's a great way to put out collectibles. Like I said, if they distributed these incorrectly, they better expect people to buy up whole pallets. And then it wouldn't be fair to those who don't have as much spending money in the short period of time they're slated to be out. But if done right (for example, like a toy that comes with children's fast food meals), it's very good promotion for Universe and for Lego in general.

I kinda liked Paradisa, and probably would've liked it even more if the color scheme hadn't been pastel. There were some nice sets in that line. I bet they would've done a lot better if the color scheme was closer to the rest of Town. Granted, it was supposed to be a way to break into the girls' market with the pink packaging and all, but if they had used a neutral (white, yellow?) package, it would've attracted both girls and boys.

I agree with the rest of your post on Flickr, but this bit isn't accurate. I've never surfed Flickr with javascript on, but if it's being showed on your computer, you can copy it. You can try to find it in cache, or you can, like me, disable javascript. And barring those options (flash-based galleries), you can just screen-capture it. You won't get the original necessarily, and using the last method will result in a bit more compression artifacts, but it's still possible to copy it. Not that I endorse such actions myself (or have any use for this knowledge pertinent to the subject matter at hand), but it'd give people a false sense of security if they went around thinking otherwise. This applies to any image hosting site, so it doesn't really matter at the end of the day.

Smallest piece might go to a flower pedal. In fact, the one that comes with the Winter Toy Shop is actually a brick. If it's any piece, then the old one that goes through the three flower stems is probably even smaller. There are plenty of large pieces. Baseplates, ship hulls, dinosaur bodies, flying wings...

It's not necessarily that the number of different bricks in LDD is lacking, but that the selection is just...nonsensical. I mean, I might as well just buy a basic or creator set and I can get the same kind of bricks. It makes it rather pointless then. It's a jack of all trades, which means it excels at nothing. Being able to use the entire inventory of current parts in existence, with maybe the exception of the licensed parts, or even a large subset thereof, would greatly increase LDD's utility. Other than that, I think the UI is a little clunky at the moment. The designers should take a page from the UI designers of Adobe Photoshop and 3D Studio Max. Some UI improvements I'd like to see include: Text menu options that have all of the commands of the utiity. Pop out toolbars, sub-toolbars and menus. Lock positions/faces of toolbars. A way to numerically specify and modify the center as well as the distance of the camera. A way to numerically specify rotation/movement. In addition, some new features I'd like to see are: Layers. Show/hide pieces/groups/layers. The ability to redefine the construction plane based on the selected piece. Copy, cut, and paste pieces/groups/attributes. The ability to pick a stud or other prominent characteristic of a piece (stud, bottom, clip, etc.) and snap that to another prominent characteristic of another piece.

Most likely, it's a psychological marketing thing. The lack of a piece count means that the average buyer wouldn't be able to do an immediate cost per part analysis. That is likely designed to result in more buys from impulse from the marketing material, i.e. box visuals and other marketing hype. That the parts count is legally necessary in the US is a way to protect the consumer from getting something other than what they thought they'd get using the box visuals alone. edit: fixed tags

I've only ever had one sticker sheet problem from a really old set that I got at a heavy discount at KB Toys or something like that. For those who don't know, KB Toys, while it was still around, was like the toy outlet where all the unsold inventory from the bigger toy stores goes to be sold at a moderate to heavy discount. I used to find discontinued lines there all the time. They're gone now. But the set (I don't remember exactly which--I think it was one of the Dinosaur ones) was big, and the sticker sheet had a bad fold in it. Not that it concerned me, since I have a hatred for stickers... Otherwise, I've never had trouble with the instruction booklet. They usually come folded in half, but they're never ripped and the pages aren't creased or otherwise mangled. Let's just say that more instruction booklets have been mangled by my hands than during transportation from factory to my house. The best booklets are from the huge UCS sets. Those are spiral bound, IIRC.

I could be wrong, but I think the fire station mentioned is 7945. They have a completely new fire station for 2010. I mean, the old one shouldn't be around when the new one comes out (though the new one has been in TRU in the States next to the old one for the past few weeks now).

Lego has always been geared towards boys. Their forays into girl territory haven't done nearly as well. It's not entirely the company's fault. Socially, there's a lot of pressure on girls to play with more girly toys. Granted, the girl lines seem a little patronizing, so you can call it a self-fulfilling prophecy if you'd like. But in the end, boys are the target demographic because they're the ones who buy (or ask their parents to buy) Lego. That having been said, I know several female FOLs. I don't think they even see the regular minfigs as male. Minifigs, with a few exceptions, are mostly asexual. They can be male if you want (and that's a natural way for boys), or they can be female. Lipstick does not a woman minifig make. Granted, there are certain roles that are male-only (the king for example), and this reflects the male-orientation of Lego sets. But for minifigs that have helmets and no definite hairpiece, male, female, it's whatever you want to make it out to be. Anecdotally, from what I understand, creator and modular town sets attract a larger percentage of women. But I could be wrong about that one.

I was waiting for people to let fly the organ jokes during the announcement. But I guess the capain's organ wasn't terribly prominent in those pictures. Admittedly, it is kind of small for an organ... Excellent review of an excellent set. It's not perfect, build-wise (the SNOT section) or play-wise (needs more cannons), but I think it holds its own despite these flaws. It's very well scaled as well. I thought the stern was a little low at first, but it seems fine now that I've a closer look at it. I love the detail on the outside and the inside. Even if the color scheme isn't perfect, it fits the imperial line nicely. This review hasn't change my opinion that this set is a must-buy. Now I'll just need to go find someplace that has it out early.

I wouldn't value my collection anywhere over $10K USD. That's about the total MSRP of the sets I own, but since I don't have any coveted sets that I know of anyway, and I'm pretty sure most sets don't appreciate in value after being built, used, and abused, the actual number has to be less. I have several MSIB discontinued $100+ sets sitting in the closet that are waiting for me to build, but I can't consider them at MSIB prices because I intend to open them eventually and build them when I get around to it. So the real total value of my sets are probably closer to somewhere between $5K-$7K.

I'm hoping they offer them in NA as well as Europe. Though from my experience, these things are done as promotions to prevent people from buying whole pallets of these things, so it may very well be limited geographically.

I'm liking the new silver minifigs and the new rock monsters as well. I am disappointed the crystal isn't the same color as the rock monster, but for the price, it's acceptable. I was sort of looking forward to a yellow crystal like on the box, but I guess a green one would be fine too.

Short or long doesn't matter, as long as the theme is interesting. Actually, I'd prefer interesting themes to last longer, and duller themes to be quick. But I recognize the reality of the situation, that it's all driven by sales. This was mentioned in another thread before, but since these are children's toys (and children grow up pretty quickly), the easiest thing to do is come out with refreshes of the same ideas every few years, to target the next generation of children. So I find a theme's length more accurately reflects how much it can be milked more than how interesting it actually is. I actually classify themes into three types: evergreen, long (2+ full years), and short(< 2 full years). The evergreen themes, which I consider are city and castle (and Star Wars), are hit or miss. The recent castle line is excellent while KK2 was not so much. But the great part about these themes is that I have the freedom to pick and choose what I buy. After all, I know that 2 or 3 years later, something else very similar will come to take its place. And quite possibly, the next iteration of drawbridge, castle, street sweeper, recycle truck, police car, or fire engine could very well be better. Long themes have a tendency to run out of steam. Or, something happens mid-way, and the theme changes, like PM (I'd cite SP3 too, but it's only had one full year so far). It isn't that there are so many places you can take a long theme, but some of those places aren't interesting to the targeted demographics (not enough action, not cool enough, etc.). However, long themes are more open to experimentation, since it's possible to put out 80% safe sets (vehicles and bases with vehicles) and then 20% experimental sets. I just with they'd take advantage of this aspect of a long theme a little more. As it were, the experimental sets tend to be weak, because there's also a part that's catering to the safe side, making it a bit of both and a whole lot of neither. IMHO, it's better to either make a leap of faith, or don't. But it's disastrous when there's one arm pulling back when the rest of the body's going forward. Short themes are good in that they're quick, one-off ideas. As such, the territory they cover has pretty much been covered, but there's an update or a different take on things this time. Pirates is a great short theme to mention, because its run was particularly short. I think what came out of the Pirates theme was the Imperial Flagship, and for a pirate-loving AFOL such as myself, that one set alone made the shortness of the latest Pirates theme worthwhile. Sets like that, or Emerald Night are I think made possible only by a short theme. For example, a longer Pirates theme might feature more Imperials in the second year. In which case, the flagship would be the capstone, but it'd also cannibalize the sale of the rest of the Imperial sets. And while it'd be nice to have an AFOL theme outside of the modular buildings, and with a release schedule of a regular theme, the theme would be far too expensive and completely infeasible to offer for sale or to purchase. At the same time, the short theme serves to whet our appetite, as well to gauge interest, and capture new fans in the form of TFOL's and kids to the point where a large set would actually be economically feasible to produce and sell. The question then becomes whether I'd prefer lots of children sets, or fewer children sets and one adult set in a theme. And like I said above, it doesn't matter much for me, as long as the theme is interesting. Personal examples of recent themes that I find interesting or not in no particular order (non-licensed, because licensed themes are dependent on my interest in the license and not the theme): What I find interesting: PM (the rock monsters made me do it) Pirates (it should go without saying) Castle (great theme with the trolls and dwarves despite a few duds) Farm (refreshing and unique vehicles, has lots of animals) Agents (half were incredibly good, half were terrible-the good half) What I don't find interesting (or only mildly interesting): MM (aliens aren't minifigs) Exo-Force (not into the hair pieces) SP3 (retro's not enough) Coast Guard (not interested) Agents (half were incredibly good, half were terrible-the bad half) Short theme, long theme, evergreen themes are all present. I guess at the end of the day, the theme is just a vehicle to carry the individual sets, and that's really what I focus on.

Slick. The one SP3 set I'm actually seriously looking forward to getting. Even if the baddie is an alien, this redeems the value of putting out the SP3 line for me. It doesn't make me want to buy the other sets more (I already have the prisoner transport, as I thought that's a decent vehicle, but I don't want most of the other sets), but it does make me want to see if there's anything next. It's not a lot of pieces, but it's a nice set, and IMHO, well worth $10. It's about right. PPP isn't really consistent at the low end of the price range. 8402 sports car is the same price. Sure, 8957 mine mech is $2 cheaper, but the next one up, 8958 granite grinder is $10 as well, and quite likely because it's a vehicle. I would find it pricey if it were $12 or $13 instead (as it is for pre-order on Amazon).

I think I know what you're talking about. For reference, I compared a dark red piece from the mini v-19 torrent to the dark red in skeleton ship attack. The old one is definitely a little lighter, and somewhat glossier. IMHO, Glossy doesn't exactly convey the "dark" part of dark red very well. I personally prefer a more muted dark red, as I like my dark colors darker and less eye-catching. Besides which, I find reflective things a little more painful to look at. It's personal preference, I'd say. I would agree that unless used tactfully, the two different colors probably won't go well together. It's just subtle enough for people to think they're the same color, and just glaring enough to let people realize they've been fooled when they look closer. As for why TLG made such a switch, I couldn't tell you. Maybe they were fed up with the inconsistency, and decided to switch paints. I did notice a while back that their bricks, especially the dark colors like black (I can practically see myself on the walls of vladek's fortress), have become glossier from 10 years ago, likely because the plastic they use is a little different. I haven't done a serious comparison of whether the plastic in today's sets are different from the ones from prior to '08, but it could be that they switched back to a duller plastic for the dark colors.

Smash 'n' Grab...an interesting name. It's funny that we're just talking about how set names have been so homogenous recently, and they come out with something so unique. I wonder who's doing the smashing and grabbing here. What'd really take the cake would be a separate set that's the bank that the ATM came from.

Looks like if I ever plan on having kids, I'll have to figure a way to keep my stuff high and behind lock and key, but still visible. Fortunately, I don't have such plans at the moment, but it's good to consider the possibility.

I get a few friendly ribs from friends, but nothing demeaning or condescending. Everybody has their thing, so I reciprocate. My apologies to TFOLs, but I've noticed the only flak I've ever gotten are from teenagers, especially ones with a romantic notion of what it means to be grown up. But I was much the same way, so I can hardly blame them. In the end, I don't actually care what anybody thinks. This is my thing, and I'd be happy to share with anybody interested, but just as happy if I didn't.

My UCS Death Star II had something like a dozen missing 1x4 pieces, but it also had a dozen extra 1x3 pieces (or maybe it was the other way around--I don't recall anymore). I went through the entire manual twice to look for where I had incorrectly used a 1x4 piece. In the end, I ended up pulling a bunch of 1x4 pieces from here and there and replaced them with 1x3 pieces. It happens, I think, especially for the larger sets where some bags only have a few types of pieces. Their weight checking works for small bags, and bags with lots of different pieces. But there are far more ways to go wrong when the number of pieces in a bag are large, but the variety is limited in each bag. The math is pretty easy. If there were 10 incorrect pieces, each weighing .1 g less than they're supposed to, and there was a different incorrect 11th piece that weighed 1 g more, then the scales won't detect it. The probability seems small. But considering how many pieces are in a big bag that come with the big sets, and how many sets get made every year, that probability actually becomes big enough. And then add the online forum component, and there's probably a good chance of two people missing the same piece from the same set on this very forum. I think it's really nice that TLG takes care of their customers, but I wasn't terribly surprised when I learned of it. I'd be much more surprised if they did the opposite. It's very disappointing to be missing a piece, and I'll bet it doesn't happen very often per set (the number may be higher per piece since I'm sure it'll happen more often for bigger sets). The goodwill of the customer from a small gesture more than makes up for the pennies that the missing piece might actually cost to produce.

If that's true, then I'd say that TLG thought the pre-08 dark reds weren't quite right, and changed them to be better for post-08 sets. Solid-colored (non-transparent) bricks shouldn't be even slightly translucent, unless by translucent you mean that they're a bit more glossy. Still, it's understandable that they'd find a "dark" color not dark enough and want it to be a bit darker and more muted.

8059 looks nice, though I'm not a fan of the saw/claw on either side. They're like the flick fire missiles; I don't mind them, but I think it detracts from the overall design of the vehicle. I'm probably going to buy that one though. 8075 is decent, but I think I'm going to get that one only if it's on sale. The small vehicle looks good, but the manta ray I can definitely do without. Now there's something that I'd rather see as one piece, like the parrot, or several pieces like the shark.

It looks like the two sets I might get out of the four will be the speeder and the TIE. The freeco speeder is decent. Nothing incredible, but it's nice enough for me to consider getting. The TIE defender looks a little off. If I get it, I might have to do a little modding and bring those wings closer into the main body, and maybe make the body a little larger with the extra pieces. I think 2010 is going to be a pretty dry year.

Are we seeing a repeat of history here, or does TLG have a little extra dough with which to experiment? First the slew of licenses, and now the custom/little-used big parts, you'd think it was 2001 all over again. This looks like a 4+ set. Everything looks incredibly &lt;insert that tiresome argument&gt;, especially the net piece, which could've been made from, say, a rope net and then the Technic hoses or something a little more creative. The pneumatic hydrolics for the ladder is decent, but even the assembly for that doesn't look very LEGO to me. They need to put some bricks on it or something... I don't subscribe to the idea of having lots of trans-blue everywhere. It's not modern or interesting to make everything see-through, and that comment applies to overall architecture too. I'd rather they made a fire station like this: Would've prefered if it was for the modular town line (would've been the ideal fire station there), but I wouldn't mind it for city either. Still, it'll probably end up being a decent refresh of the line. Kids would probably like it even if I don't. Edit: A better picture on flickr/better formatting

It's signed! But I have to say that there are a couple of things working against a WW theme in the near future. IJ/PoP and Toy Story are all have WW elements, which means that a pure WW theme could result in cannibalization. Any WW theme would have to happen after TLG exhausts these themes, and judging by how long IJ has been going, I'm not sure how many years it'll be before we have a chance of seeing one. TLG continues to frown upon violent (in-house) themes, especially violence against human minifigs. All of the themes have been moving away from this, including castle. Pirates got the can after a very quick run, and it really was the only theme in recent memory that even hinted at human minifig vs. human minifig. Not to mention the PR nightmare a "Cowboys and Indians" line would create. That having been said, I'd very much like to see a revival of the western theme, myself. But the cards are stacked against it, especially in the short term. Even if there are enough people signing here to pique TLG's attention, a WW theme won't show up on the radar for some time if at all. So best of luck, K-D! Here's to keeping the WW theme fresh in TLG's collective mind!