LegoFjotten

There is a cheaper option for shipping minifigures in padded envelopes less than 3/4" thick. I've had 3 minifigs shipped to Norway for $3.50 with USPS. Not sure what the service/product is called on the USPS website, but here is one shop using it: http://www.bricklink.com/store/home.page?p=Nannan#/terms

In my experience many US Bricklink sellers are not aware of the cheapest shipping rates for small international envelopes since they don't show up in the app. If I get quoted a 13$ flat rate shipping for a few minifigs and tell the seller about the cheaper shipping option they have (so far) all been happy to learn about it and adjusted the shipping costs accordingly.

True, but not everyone is a hardcore collector. A lot of regular AFOLs coming out of their Dark Ages will be happy with the new version, so the demand for the original will drop. My guess is that it will affect the prices of sealed sets less than those which have been built. Time will show.

I think the new 60 day rule is great! I'll take quality over quantity any day of the week (except if we are talking about chocolate, in which case I will accept large quantities).

I got curious enough about the quality of these blatant rip-offs to purchase a copy of Market Street. As much as I hate to admit it, the quality was pretty good. Not quite LEGO quality, but not far off. Colors were consistent, clutch power good. A few parts were a bit dirty, and I noticed some of the tiles had quite a bit of scuff marks on them. Some pieces had issues though: - 2x2 turntable wouldn't stay together at all - Windows panes fits poorly and are very loose - The hoses are different (very thin) and won't allow arms to be connected in the middle section - The flowers fits poorly on the stem and will fall off very easily - Some of the doors are different from the original MS - The seat piece is nothing like the LEGO seat - The baseplates are like regular plates with slightly rounded corners Overall though, I must reluctantly admit it is a very good copy.

On second though, I just love that double belt-buckle guy next to dubious prisoner... what will they think of next.

The one in my advent calendar is certainly going to be E-3PO.

Meh. I don't really find any of these interesting.

I read somewhere that the camel was considered a licensed part and thus not available for use outside the Prince of Persia theme. I honestly don't know if it is true or not. What exactly would make this a Prince of Persia camel instead of a generic camel... now that is mind-boggling!

Almost all LEGO sets are easy to get hold of in their lifespan, so for practical purposes the supply can be considered unlimited even if a finite number will be produced. If you weren't an AFOL at the time or didn't have the money to buy a specific set when it was available it doesn't really make sense to blame resellers for it IMO. There are a few exceptions of course, some Ideas sets, 41999 which was a limited run, the DFB series... These often have purchase limits on S@H which helps a bit. Personally, the few times I come across a clearance sale with 50% off I may buy something with the intent of either parting them out to my own collection or sell them sometime later at regular retail price. I also buy full boxes of CMF's and sell off complete sets to help offset my own cost for the series. Not really a fan of people buying a new D2C using the S@H early VIP offer, and then immediately trying to flip them with a 35-50% markup - trying to take advantage of people that may not yet know what the retail price is.

Yep. That looks like the standard customer service reply when inquiring about future products.

Cool. So 3 more minifigs than in 10188 then.

I'm pretty sure LEGO had a look at the 10188 sales numbers before they decided to refresh it instead of retiring it. They know what kind of sales numbers to expect. Sure, some parents/kids/afols will find this too expensive, just as sure as some parents/kids/afols will buy it for themselves or their kids.

I am not a car person, but I will definitely be getting this! Fell in love with the original submission on first sight, and even if the official version is a bit less detailed I'm sure it will be a fun build and a great display model.

I don't think 10179 is overrated. It's the most memorable LEGO build experience I've had, and the size of the finished model is very impressive. It's not perfect though, and it can be improved on. If a re-release comes along with updated figures I would buy it without thinking twice. I think the secondary market price is inflated though. I bought a used one, enjoyed the build and had it around for 6 months and then passed it on to another LUG member so he could enjoy it.

Doh, how did I miss that interrogation droid... If I didn't miss anything else, that means 2 more minifigs, 3 if regular Han is still included.

Is there 1 more minifig this time around? - I count 2 new gunners and 2 new imperial officers - Han Solo (regular outfit), IG-88, and interrogation droid are gone The amount of classic scenes one can recreate with this slightly refined lineup is pretty amazing actually, it almost makes me want to pull out my old 10188 from the shelf and pose some minifigures. To be fair, the updated figs really do look a lot better than the old ones. Imagine keeping the 10188 on the shelves 5 more years without updating the figs... yikes!

It's not.

I really hate how "lazy" is thrown around all the time. If the job was to design a new DS, and they slapped new paint on the minifigure and changed a few pieces that would be lazy. If the job was to change out pieces that were no longer in production, and at the same time give the minifigs a paint job then it would not be lazy. Because it would not be the same set - it would probably be a complete PITA in all their systems, with no real benefit. It is indeed disappointing that there are no new worthwhile SW UCS sets this year. In terms of AFOL-rage it would be better if the word had slipped that the DS would only be getting updated minifigs early on, then we would just be bitching about why it used one of the UCS slots for this year.

I think it I think it is just wishful thinking. Just box art. No hint.

Has there been any word yet on when we can expect the Caterham? Really looking forward to that one.

I think re-releasing a set is the opposite of that actually, it caters only to those who haven't built that set before. Personally I was hoping for more of an update, maybe keeping much of the basic structure but reworking the interiors to bring them more up to date. Not too bummed though, I will wait for proper pictures and then decide. I would have like a cool new SW UCS set this year though, the big sets are the ones I really enjoy building. With that said, I prefer an updated version with new figs on the shelf as opposed to keeping the 10188 on the shelf for another 5+ years. For some perspective though, if LEGO did a similar job on the 10179 - basically same set with updated figures - I bet a lot of us would rejoice. I think criticising the designs is appropriate, as well as TLG's set choices, but having a go at the designers is not. For all we know the job for the designer(s) on this DS was to simply update the minifigures and fix issues with the original build that customer service have had complaints about - in which case the designers job may have been performed exemplary. LEGO will be able to improve just fine if we criticise the sets instead of the designers. Name calling and "having a go at" will just keep them from sharing some insight from time to time. Personally, I have not been very excited about the SW sets this year either, but a lot of the reason for that is that I'm mostly into OT sets. The RO sets for example fails to excite me but they do look like decent LEGO system representation of those vehicles. Maybe I will be more excited once I see the movie. Either way I'm pretty sure the build quality of those sets will be excellent.

Likely using the same mold as the droid from the Jedi Scout Fighter. New printing or same fig?

Looks great! For some reason (haven't been paying attention I guess) I was expecting a much bigger set though, so that is a bit disappointing.

There have been some disappointments this year, but I don't think the year as a whole is a disappointment. Ghostbusters HQ, Brick Bank, Beetle - all home runs in my book I like the Disney Castle & Big Ben. Classic Batcave was ok-ish. UCS Hoth was disappointing. A few more D2C sets on the way that might be cool. Marvel sets overall are great! SW pricing in general has been very disappointing. Most other themes I have no opinion either way, I only buy the odd set and don't keep track.