Hobbes

I've only seen 5 minutes so far, but it truly is a stunning piece of work 8-

3 people think it's better than CC?! 8-

The first edition (and by many considered the "real" edition) came out in 2004. In 2005 the second edition came out. This one differed from the 2004 model only by having the label "2005 Edition" on the box without the model itself being any different. Many who bought the ship 2004 model to have a "limited edition" were a "bit upset" (like with the first "limited edition" Santa Fe Super Chief locomotive for which there were authenticity certificates available at least which wasn't the case for the Maersk ship). They are, and since the entire ship isn't minifig scale they are (a lot) smaller, too:

No wonder I didn't know... makes the question for favorite theme almost obsolete, then ;-)

I edited your poll, now it should look the way you wanted it. You put your first choice into "Poll Content", that's why the choices were mixed up. I reset the poll counters, too, so everybody has to vote again :-) As for the poll, I, too, think it's a step in the right direction, but still far from Classic Castle.

Pittsburgh? Welcome to EB, OOM-9! Does your nick have a special meaning?

I agree with most of what's been said. I for one am kinda disappointed with the new trainstation. Not with the looks of it but with the size. To me it's just a platform. But as I said, it's a perfect addition if someone happens to have 4554. I don't, now I have to consider getting it ;-) The scale is a concern to me, too. I don't mind the 6wide trucks, but 8wide is definitely too big. Yes, they do look very realistic, but they don't fit in my layout. 6wide's enough and scaling down shouldn't be a problem (alex54 has shown it already). Those are just dark-gray versions of the platforms that have been here since 6541 and 6542. I don't mind them... Generally, yes, it's looking very well for the best theme of all time >:-)

You need to be Citizen, so 100 posts. No need to discuss this further, though. Topic closed.

I saw it as a joke at first, but it gets annoying after the umpteenth time...

Stop brown-nosing. When we say "Don't ask" we actually mean "Don't ask". That includes (not really subtle) "hinting"... :-|

That's what I meant. I gathered that. Still, there is no such member ;-)

There's no such member...

I have an e-mail from LEGO Direct from when I complained about their pricing policy once. After I had inquired a second time they answered that "Customer Service can't or isn't allowed to explain the pricing policy, and we hope you understand[1]." And then they continued with: Die Preisunterschiede ergeben sich, wie bei jeder anderen Firma auch, aus den jeweiligen Beschaffenheiten des Marktes, Produktionskosten sowie dem Kaufverhalten der Kunden. This translates to: As with every other company, price differences result from the different markets and conditions, production costs as well as customers' buying behavior. Now, one could interpret the bold part as "If they (are used to) pay(ing) more, we can ask for more." Of course, that's a very generous interpretation on my part. I just found the wording interesting... [1] Is it just me or does this happen a lot lately with companies? I mean their "asking for understanding". Whenever they have to justify something they don't really explain it but "hope we understand" (increasing gas prices come to my mind). Well, I said it before, it's not my business to understand or care!

To me it's pretty simple: I am a customer. I don't have a degree in business maths or anything. I go into a store, see the price, and decide solely on that number if I like it or not. I don't give a rat's megablocks about the economics behind that number, that's simply not my problem and I don't see why I should care about it. There are highly qualified (are they?) people in charge of that, it's their problem, they're supposed to solve it. Period.

It's been discussed here, for example. And here's an interesting discussion at Jake McKee's old blog: Price differences between countries Continued here: Pricing Comments Still "fun" to read, especially Christian Treczoks' comments >:-) Generally, I noticed the pricing's become a taaaaad bit better. At l(e)ast some sets are priced the same "unit-wise" (i.e. USD 9.99 = EUR 9.99) which is OK since the currency exchange rate is not TLC's "fault".

Happy birthday to both of you! Can't be a better zodiac sign ;-)

Those are dreams AFOL have talked about since they heard of the RC system. I think it was 2005's Brickfest where TLC "promised" to keep 9V as "Hobby Train" next to RC as "Play Train". Well, 9V is still here, but to me it looks like they're phasing it out... I wouldn't mind an RC system like you described (who wouldn't?) but I'm not too happy with IR. I'd prefer some radio-based system. Since IR is here now, though, they'd have to develop that. But thinking about that announcement at BF '05 I kinda doubt there will be any development since it wouldn't be a "Play Train" anymore...

12V trains were never sold in the States?! 8-

Technically he ain't no Fellow ;-)

8-

IR isn't suitable for that, you're talking about "true RC", meaning digital controls. That's expensive and would be a real model railway. 12V was a mini version of it and TLC abandoned it. Rumor has it because they deemed it too complicated for kids... I would have been happy with having the 12V "extensions" (signals, crossing etc.) for 9V. But that most likely will never happen... :'-(

Through promotion by them. Hm... there's a thought... >:-)

You could ask him, he's made one ;-) Welcome to EB, by the way :-)

Creator sets never include(d) figs...

Well, I guess that Mars is just more interesting today. Back in the days of Classic Space the moon was the target in space. Today it's Mars. So, I can understand why they focus on Mars. What I don't understand is why they didn't take Classic Space, revamped/modernized it a little and just put it on Mars?! Of course, that would be more of an exploration theme where you can't put shooting mechanisms in sets *wacko*