blueandwhite

There are a lot of great castles with interiors (and even more without) though. The obvious disparity in MOCs between Castle fans and City fans probably has more to do with the fact that there are far more City fans. If you're looking you can definitely find some fantastic castle MOCs with stunning interiors. They may not be modular in the sense that they can't be expanded indefinitely, but they are certainly beautiful. Honestly, I think that we castle fans do pretty well for ourselves without building castle modules. I actually prefer seeing a large, coherent castle built by a single builder. Then again, that's just me. In the end I'm just as happy seeing a great castle built by a single AFOL so long as it has the right detailing.

Where did you buy your other boxes from?

Sorry, but I agree with Dunjohn. I can't imagine any of the collectable figures showing up in sets. Sure, there may be a similar figure at some point in the future however I don't think LEGO is simply going to repackage this line in everyday sets as it would surely irritate the hardcore collectors out there. Heck, you'd need a new line (or to resurrect the long defunct studios line) to even justify the inclusion of the zombie minifigure. Sure, it is possible taht we may see a cheerleader or a new forestman in some future set. Still, in all likelihood she will be a different cheerleader with different leg and torso printing and the forestman will be as different as the collectables forestman is to the earlier line.

I expect nothing less! Honestly, I'd just want to see the box that one of those minifig scaled ships would come in.

That's cool. Sorry about the whole case/box thing. I'm not really all that informed when it comes to the whole collectable retail thing.

Interesting. This is the first time I've heard of a case with a different distribution ratio. So far everybody (European and North American) has reported that certain figs like the Cheerleader have been only 4 to a case. Asterios, did you buy the entire case or did you just look at the barcodes? In either case, I'm wondering if anybody else has seen a case variant.

It's possible that prices may drop in a few months, however if these collectable figures prove hard to come by on the secondary market I'd imagine that prices may remain fairly inflated for the foreseeable future. I don't expect that they will ever reach the utterly absurd prices that Batman figures currently sell for however I'm certainly not expecting that you will be able to pick them up for $1.99 either. As for series 2, I would hazard to guess that it will be just as difficult to acquire as series 1 given that our resident insider grogall has indicated that production for series 2 finished in May. Now it's possible that LEGO will rethink things for series 3 but I expect that series 2 will have similar production numbers as series 1. I just hope that the hoplite is produced in higher numbers (i.e. 5) as opposed to being a hard to get figure however with the number of new accessories he comes with I get the unsettled feeling that he will be 3 per case.

We will simply have to agree to disagree. To me the figure looks like a Greek hoplite and until LEGO says otherwise, that's how I see him. You collect Romans; I'll collect Greeks. That way we're both happy.

Roman? You mean the Greek hoplite don't you? I would love to see a Roman legionaire in series 3 or 4 though.

I picked up 2 Cheerleaders (bringing my total to 16) from Toys R Us in Vaughn Mills on Saturday. They had a couple of boxes up by the register and a number of bags in a bin near the LEGO aisles. They're going fast so get them while you can! Walmart's prices were a bit better though ($2.86 vs. $2.99).

Well, the Surfer does have a lot going for him. The new hairpiece that is currently only available in black (now in tan); the printed surfboard; the funky shorts which can be used on pretty much any minifig and the torso which is extremely versatile and could easily be used in any theme. Certainly for castle and other non town fans he has more going for him than most of the new figs who are pretty much town only. Other than the hoplite, he's one of my top figs for series 2. I certainly plan on picking up a few of them as they are one of the few figs in series 2 that can legitimately be used for castle purposes.

I wish I could agree with you, however older figures are plagued by some of the problems you've mentioned. I have several old misprints. Moreover, the new torsos are less prone to splitting from the arm down to the waist or from the hand to the elbow. Both of these are major problems with older figures. The new prints are also considerably more complex meaning that small printing errors are more evident. Yes, the battlepacks are noticeably inferior however the same cannot be said of the mainline figures. I would have loved to see prints as detailed as the Governor's daughter back in 1989. As for the question of misprints; I have several misprints from that period (several of my bluecoats, a few Rodgers and many castle figs have terrible printing). In short, I can't really complain about the quality of today's figures. I have too many older figures with suspect printing to complain about the more recent sets.

This may have more to do with distribution than availability. I Haven't had any trouble finding the figures I want since they started to trickle into Canada. More recently I've seen the figures at Toys R Us, whereas initially I could only find them at Walmart. It sounds like many people simply aren't seeing any boxes in their area. Perhaps this will change in the next few weeks. It's hard to say really.

I believe this is most likely the reason. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many sets were almost entirely comprised of specialized or strangely coloured elements making it very difficult to create an adequate alternative model from the pieces provided. While this may no longer be an issue in today's sets, the trend of not showing alternate models has continued to stick. Certainly there is also the matter of parents being upset that there are no instructions for these alternates, however that didn't seem to bother anybody in the 80s or 90s when alternate models were the standard on most sets.

The Batman licence had a number of things going for it that the Spiderman (movie) licence lacked; notably a diversity of figures and vehicles making it far more appealing for me at the very least. I'm fairly certain I'm not alone in this. The other issue of course is that many of the villians were available in only one set making them hard to acquire. Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Two Face and Killer Croc were only available in a single set making them relatively hard to get. Compare that to the Spiderman licence where every set gave you Spiderman, Doc Ock or The Gobblin (movie style). Moreover, MOCing for Batman is more appealing with the rich assortment of vehicles and locations associated with the franchise. Spiderman's locations are simply not as unique, and for a licence that is largely character driven there is a noticeable lack of characters. Essentially you only have Spiderman, Doc Ock, the Gobblin, and MJ. I certainly see why a figure like Catwoman or Harley Quinn carry a higher BL prices than Doc Ock or the Gobblin. Batman was a licence that was cut too short. Another year would have been nice.

Honestly, there's nothing to indicate when series 1 will be gone for good. It's possible that series 1 could continue into December for all we know. Conversely, it's just as possible that series 1 could already be winding down as we wait for series 2. Certainly it seems like availablity issues are exclusive to North America where distribution has been utterly atrocious. I count myself amongst the lucky North American consumers who were able to acquire series 1 without too much difficulty but as I understand things there are many regions that have never seen a single box, while other regions have only seen a few boxes; many which were immediately snatched up by collectors. At this point though, I would suggest to anybody in North America who is still looking for these figures (I've already had my fill) to pick them up if they see them because you never know if another shipment will reach your region.

No, I didn't forget anything. I am fully aware that there is nothing preventing LEGO from re-releasing or expanding production on the series 1 collectable figures. Then again, many LEGO products do have genuine limited releases like the classic minifig collections. You are more than welcome to wait for LEGO to release a second run of series 1 figures. In the meantime, anybody who chooses to can very easily sell their unwanted stock and in all likelihood do better than breaking even; a point you seem unwilling to accept.

Which is why reselling extra figures on Bricklink shouldn't be that difficult.,, So you mean to tell me that only cheerleaders will net you a profit on the secondary market? Yes, moving scuba divers for a profit will be difficult. Moving a few clowns, forestmen, zombies, nurses, cheerleaders, skaters, robots and skateboarders to pay for the rest of your collection shouldn't be a problem. I'm sorry, but I don't see anything that would indicate that a box purchaser is going to have a terrible time unloading the extra figs and come out even when the demand for these things is so high. Yes, that could change if LEGO decides to make a second run of these figures and oversaturate the market. The thing is, LEGO has even emphasized that these will be available only for a limited time and in limited quantities. With Series 2 hitting in a bit more than a month, I don't really expect to see a lot more of series 1 in the future. I don't think anybody implied that it is your right to get these figures. That being said, for many consumers collectables are often regarded as being an offensive marketing tactic. I mean, weren't you arguing a few pages back that barcodes were cheating and that people using them were 'abusing' the system? As collectables, these figures are going to be subject to the same practices that are common to other toys in the collectables market. Hoarding and scalping are hardly unique to this line. Still, these behaviours are something that most AFOLs aren't used to. Typically if a set becomes available, everybody has ample opportunity to obtain it. With these collectables, this isn't necessarily the case. As for the US release date, I'm under the impression that it was simply moved forward. The figures were available through S@H, Toys R Us, LEGO stores and a few select retailers. Yes, some major retailers may not have yet received their shipment (Target, Walmart), but there are several indications that these figures are not here for the long haul. The fact that S@H has already sold out and several retailers have indicated that they are only getting one more shipment does not imply that you will be seeing many boxes in July or August when series 2 comes out. In fact, I would expect that LEGO would want series 1 to clear quickly so series 2 can make its way onto shelves.

This is really a beautiful MOC. Simple and functional. The fact that the truck is easily recognizable is an added bonus. My only gripe is with the back ramp. I would turn it around and have the studed area facing outward when the ramp is raised. Maybe it's just me but I feel that the exterior appearance of the truck is very important. The underbelly of the plate just doesn't look quite right to me when the ramp is up. Beautiful MOC though! Everything else is just stellar.

One only needs to look at the Bricklink price guide to get a general sense of where the pricing seems to be going with series 1. Consider the caveman. Currently the lowest price for the same figure is $2.97 (US). The cheerleader is even pricier and many stores are not including accessories. A clown is $3.06 minimum; a skater kid is $2.97; the forestman can be had for a steel at $2.59. Let's not forget that these are the absolute lowest prices right now. Moreover, most of these prices are coming from different stores. If one were to look at the average price people have been paying for the past month it seems more than reasonable to expect to pay between $3.00 and $4.00 for one of these collectable figures. I very much doubt that prices will drop when these are no longer on store shelves.

With LEGO moving into the collectables market this really shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Collectables by their very nature attract price gougers, scalpers and adult consumers who quickly hoard anything and everything they assume to be rare or sought after. This isn't really an unexpected turn of events. I'm not big on collectables, but I certainly appreciate that they bring out the nastier side of consumers. I don't expect to see a second run of these figures and I'm fairly certain that a lot of fans will be bitter about this for a looooonng time. That being said, I don't things are going to get any easier with future series. Unless LEGO decides to rethink its approach on these figures, collecting a complete set for each series is going to give a lot of us nightmares.

How so? I'm pretty sure that the secondary market is such that you'll be able to move the unwanted figures for a good profit in six months. Even now people are complaining about unavailability and being forced to buy from Bricklink. Realistically I can see a lot of figures going for $3.99 to $4.99. That would pay for a box minus the sixteen or so figs you keep for yourself. I've only purchased figures that I intend to keep, however I can certainly see how buying a box or two could be beneficial.

Well as some other posters have kindly pointed out, these are collectables. As collectables they are destined to be purchased in bulk by obsessed adults, scalpers and other secondary-market sellers, ready to be resold at inflated prices on ebay and Bricklink. Series 3 will probably move even faster without barcodes as many AFOLs simply grab all that they can in a mad dash attempt to complete the series. At the end of the day I suspect that the majority of these figures have actually found their way into the hands of AFOLs, not children who don't have the same amount of disposable capital to throw around. Next time you'd probably be better off just taking the box.

It's inevitable that from time to time that LEGO is going to miss a piece. The nice thing is that LEGO is exceedingly co-operative when it comes to replacing missing parts.

Pretty much. Series 1 looks like it is all but finished. If you haven't purchased any yet, you're probably going to have to grab them from Bricklink. In fact, I suspect that series 2 will sell out just as fast, and series 3 having no barcodes will sell out even faster as more AFOLs will simply grab entire boxes. These guys are going to be really hard to get. Interested buyers should probably buy now rather than later. The Bricklink prices are going to soar in the next few months.