Yloquen

Similar to Market Village or the modular buildings? And, no I don't count the Factory sets a few years ago as such. P.S. And I should probably also explain why I don't count the big SW sets - they are too limited in design, and that has a big impact on part variety.

~1 year. But most models go down in a matter of days ... :)

The image shown was composed out of 3 (or 5, I don't remember) input images taken at different exposure values. The fact that it's not smeared, as some people like to do with their HDR images, either because there are moving objects, or for artistic reasons, does not make it any less HDR than the examples you have given. Here are a few more HDR images, which use minimalistic approach to HDR (which I personally prefer): by Happy Weasel by IMAGES FROM MAN

Yeah, it's not like humans don't do that in real life ... :) And protesting when it's only fictional is a bit hypocritical I think ... :)

I wonder why they publish this information, considering they are not traded on the stock market? Do they have to, according to some other regulations? Or maybe just trying to scare the competition ... :)

I think this theme receives significantly less flak than Power Miners in the same phase of its life. Though, admittedly PM had really crappy leaked photos. What I like in those recent themes is the multi level marketing and appeal - for example two small things were the factors that made me buy PM sets - the movies with the designers on their website which presented them in a fun and innovative way and the combo models. One such similar thing which seems to be an additional attraction for me in the Atlantis line are those 3D glasses which will be in some of the sets. I guess they will be of the red/blue glasses type (I believe the other technologies are much more expensive).

There was a brick-built shark in the Aqua Raiders theme. It was nice, but I hope they don't do it again since I already have that set :D

Although the mer-creature is vaguely seen, the imagery is definitely inspired by the graphic interpretations of Cthulhu which are not by Lovecraft himself, but inspired partially by his writings. As for the story of Atlantis - as far as I know, before Lovecraft's work it was just about a highly civilized city, which sank to the bottom of the sea. Nothing ominous about it. Here's an example of a Cthulhu creature: This seems to resemble the creature in the picture. Of course LEGO would not do a full on Lovecraft theme, since it would be really inappropriate for kids. But as an inspiration, I think there definitely is a bit of Cthulhu in here: Granted , we have to wait for better pictures, I may be wrong making conclusions based on a blurry shot.

I don't think the Atlanteans are going to be the good guys. They seem strongly inspired by the Cthulhu mythos.

I don't think they "recycle" them. From things I have read, I know LEGO keeps quite a close eye on sales, so as not to overproduce sets and therefore parts (this was one of the factors of their 2003 crisis). So my guess is that those gigantic Power Miners wheels were produced in the desired quantity for the Power Miners with a small margin of error. However, they are also trying to keep the number of different parts in production at the same time, below a certain number - 6000-7000 and I think that includes color variations of the same parts. So their designers have to work with the current palette which happens to include the big wheels, the saw blade and others. That explains why we see them again. Unfortunately, they are good in small quantities, but become irritating in large. On the other side, kids seem to like them, judging from the popularity of the Power Miners sets, so we can't really blame LEGO for using them in a line targeted almost exclusively at kids. I hope the small sets are nice, bigger sets are usually harder to make appealing to both kids and adults.

It seems like a theme replacing Power Miners (maybe their current wave of products is last). It has flashy and bright colors and a box that will probably be very appealing to kids - red, blue, neon green, gold/yellow. We should see all images of the sets before making any decisions. The only thing that I don't like so far are the big plastic wheels and saws from which I have enough ...

I just found this: It seems authentic to me but interestingly it's from last month and I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere ... Link here

I found this movie on YouTube:

Fantastic. Just thinking how much work it must have taken ! ... :)

Yeah, just the other day I had to purchase some more ... :)

Most any modern camera will do. It must have a macro (I don't think they make ones without macro anymore). From there on, it is more dependent on the photographer than on the camera. A tripod (or a very steady hand), suitable background and good lighting are the most important elements.

You painstakingly check the floor and every nook and cranny before using the vacuum cleaner, lest you suck up a piece ! You have invented your own categorization system for piece types which is different than the official, but it's better ! You have bookmarked over 100 online LEGO shops. Just going through them, to find a set $5 cheaper, costs you a day. Meaning you have worked for a $5 daily wage ! You can't sleep well when your work in progress MOC is not satisfactory !

There are sets containing nothing but basic bricks. So we have a lot of variation which is a plus. Problem is that people that are not very familiar with current LEGO situation and lineup draw conclusions from seeing just a few sets, which are of course very different from the ones in their childhood (less basic bricks). I've seen familiar feelings expressed, but I think they are mostly founded on lack of knowledge and nostalgic memories. I'm quite happy with the current LEGO policy and sets.

Peeron allows you to add individual parts and it also can show you how many you own in what color when you go to the part's page. So I think Peeron is better overall for inventorying.

Simple but very stylish. I recently got one of those canopies. Now seeing how good 2 of them look together I think I should get another :)

So, for LEGO, it's a legacy. Still the question remains why Kiddiekraft decided on those proportions. This wouldn't be a real problem I think - you would just start building sideways by putting a plate, then going sideways. This approach would also allow you, to hide the studs you go over with a tile, if you want.

I have been wondering sometimes - would it be better if LEGO was initially designed to have equal size in all three dimensions as opposed to the 5:5:6 ratio we have now? It would make SNOT a bit easier - using any number of bricks in any direction. Or maybe there is some hidden advantage? Does anyone know what stands behind this design decision?

Nice bot. How do these type of connections work for joints in a large bot? Are they strong enough to allow posing?

According to Peeron - 10142 and 32 sets.

I have been building Blacktrons lately. It turned out I have mostly black parts which are good for space creations, plus, staying in one theme means I don't have to constatly sort and search for parts after I'm done with a MOC. Here are some more Blacktrons.