UKver2.0

I got all my figures from the LEGO store at MoA. They had them in a few weeks ago and they lasted for at least two weeks. My last visit was on the 16th of January and they still had them spread throughout the store. They also had them at TRU in Minnetonka last week ($3.49). The inventory checker for Target says they are in stock at most of the Targets in the area, but I haven't checked physically. Other stores in the area which carry them that you may want to call are Micro Center and Hub Hobby. Target Inventory Checker

I think your proposal would work out well at my local LEGO store which keeps a bin of 200-300 constantly stocked. On the other hand, I don't think it would work well at my local toy store / mass merchandiser which keeps one or two boxes out until the count hits the reorder quantity / is depleted. And by "work out well" I mean a distribution that would lead to the average non-collector grab to yield the highest number of unique figures (even if some figures remain impossibly hard to get). I've spent a lot of time in front of these displays feeling up bags and reading codes. In my experience, the vast majority of the figures are going to small random grabs by people who know nothing of distribution, know nothing about how to tell what figure is in each pack, and have not previously purchased them. I would think maximizing the number of unique figures in these grabs is more important than making sure there isn't one or two figures that are impossibly hard to get or that the most sought after figures can be obtained by the bucket load. The obsessive collector / army builder will do what they have to to get what they want. I don't think that should be a priority for TLG. If these were to get the reputation that you only ever get one of a few different figures (even if it's something desirable like a ninja, spartan, or elf), I think that would be much worse for TLG.

What do you make of ? It seems that not every company is averse to pluralization.

Growing up, my family always called LEGO toys "legos" as if an interlocking plastic building block was a "lego" and more than one would be "legos" (we didn't have the online communities to tell us we were wrong). Had I heard someone say to their child, "Go play with your LEGO," I would have felt really bad that they had only one. I was just that kind of kid -- guilty for what I had, but so unwilling to share my "legos". Now that I'm older I can see the problem. If you tell someone to pick up some Kleenex or a Coke at the store, they may return with a different brand facial tissue and a different brand name cola. LEGO would rather not have the same thing happen to its building blocks. I get that and I'm sure my children would be disappointed if I were to buy them Mega B!#cks when they ask for LEGO. And I also understand that this is going to be different from country to country, region to region, family to family. In the US, the cola example seems to work better in the south. In the first few months after moving north, my wife would get annoyed when she would ask for a "Coke" and someone would answer, "I'm sorry, we only carry Pepsi products." But I don't think I'll ever be able to make LEGO sound right in my mind -- old dogs and all that. Still, I'm very careful when talking to my children about LEGO toys. They know what's right. I may be a lost cause, but I won't raise backward children. And I have eurobricks.com and AMC's Mad Men to thank for that. Cheers all.

SNOT does not refer to studs not being exposed or studs being tiled over. SNOT alludes to the orientation of the pieces -- Studs Not On Top as in studs down or studs to the sides. [Reference] I only point this out because I had this wrong for years. I agree. ...which is why I'll be getting a pair of them.

I got a reply from LEGO Direct. The alternate instructions will be out sometime in October and will be in PDF from delivered by email.

I ordered all six sets, but did not receive instructions for the alternate model. Did anyone else get theirs?

I just got the email as well. They'll be here Friday! Woo Hoo.

The Richfield, MN Target got two more boxes in today after having sold out of them previously. The Bloomington store has not yet received any more after selling out. So at least some are getting more than one shipment.

You can try looking at the instructions for set 7093 which has the same cape.

Put me down as someone who thinks you are full of it. You say you have no reason to lie, but you clearly do. Your pride was hurt. Someone called you out as having bogus claims and theories saying: You responded 38 minutes later with news that you saw them. I don't buy it. You troll this forum constantly. The comment you posted prior to your revelation that you saw them at Walmart/Target was just four hours prior. I'm shocked you wouldn't have mentioned it then. Or was your infamous Walmart/Target trip in between those two times? Normally I wouldn't care, but people will be making unnecessary trips to all kinds of stores based on what they read here. Lie and tell me you're a professor of Greek and Roman battle gear, I don't care. But please don't lie about something that will cause me (or others) to drive around to every Walmart and Target in the country. And please never change your avatar. It makes it much easier to know which posts to skip.

I was surprised not to see a requirement for minimum number of posts or length of membership on EB. If I am allowed as a complete newcomer, please sign me up. I have at least three unopened sets that I can use for the course (I never imagined I'd see the day that I got behind on opening sets). I'll save the opening of them until I see if there's a section on how best to observe a new set (I enjoy it when a set review has details about the packaging).