blueandwhite

Honestly, for many of us, it doesn't matter which colour you prefer. The change was devestating and the damage has still not been undone. Its as simple as that. I have a HUGE assortment of old grey. For me, new grey bricks (not minifigs) are essentially a cancer that must be purged from my bins. I don't use it, and have no interest in it. For newer fans, this is simply not an issue. YOU don't have thousands of dollars invested in old grey. If you did, you would appreciate that it isn't simply a matter of switching over. I can't suddenly turn buckets and buckets of bricks into new grey.

Strangely enough, I felt more sorry for Harry's Aunt then almost anyone else. Snape's memories really gave you a sense of how she struggled with being inferior to her younger sibling. Being 'ordinary' must be an incredible downer when your sibling has extrodinary abilities which make you little more than a pet to her. One comon theme in Harry Potter is that Wizards abuse the hell out of ordinary folk. Having one for a sibling would truly suck.

At Kevin's expense :-P . Seriously, I can understand his desire to generate some revenue. Honestly, why should he foot the bill?

Actually, according to Kevin, Maj only receives about 10% of the traffic that Brickshelf does. If we BSers were to migrate over there, we would account for the majority of that traffic, essentially turning into another Brickshelf (with a few random images interdespersed).

Kev's message is very revealing. It also suggests that if many BS users were simply to migrate to Maj, that site too would have been in jeoprady! I'm still a bit concerned about the price. At $60, I'm not sure that Kev is going to find alot of support from users. I mean, from his message it doesn't sound like that $60 is buying very much.

I hardly see this ordeal as a waste of time. It really goes to show you that we as fans shouldn't take things for granted. Particularly when they are free! Even now it amazes me how people feel that they've been done some injustice when Brickshelf was essentially a free dumping ground for fans everywhere. We didn't pay for it, and when it was threatened many of us were actually angry at Kevin for doing what he had every right to do. Now that we've got it back, people are still annoyed because they were inconvenienced. Honestly, if those folders were that important to you, you should have them backed up anyways. In a way, I'd almost be happier if everybody was forced to pay a minimum user's fee. I don't like the idea of a minority of fans paying for the rest of us.

I MOC. I don't consider MOCing playing. Honestly, it takes far more discipline to produce a well-designed MOC than it does to simply build and display a pre-existing model. Heck, I rarely buy sets anymore. For me, the very point of this hobby is MOCing.

Well, fake Kevin or not, its nice to know that Brickshelf will still be up and running. Of course, for $5 per month, there had better be some pretty impressive features. This is actually quite expensive when compared to Flickr or many other host sites out there. While I'm glad that Brickshelf is going to live on, I'm not sure if I want to pay $60 per year for a few extra features when others are using it for free. Honestly, the paying members better get FAR BETTER treatment if I'm to consider this option.

Well, it really is looking like the community is going to splinter. Personally, I hate Flickr. Its slow, not LEGO specific, and difficult to navigate (made even more annoying by the fact its so slow). I'm actually not keen on MOCpages either, but Sean has said he's going to revamp the comment system, so we'll see. Right now, between the opportunists who are starting new sites and the advocates who are defending existing alternatives, I'm becoming very weary of the whole ordeal. Also, if too many AFOLs migrate to Maj, you have to wonder if it will suffer the same fate as BS.

You don't have to look too hard to find obvious abuses of the system. Anonymous posters leaving insulting comments, or people voting countless countless times to adversely affect the score of a builder's MOC. On a more personal note, I've had personally insulting emails from anonymous posters who I can neither track nor identify. You don't have to look very far to see some of these comments or skewed voting. Heck, can you really tell me that THIS fantastic home by Andreas Boeker is worth 1 out of 5?! MOCpages is ripe with these sorts of reviews which are both insulting and hurtful. Personally, I would like to see an option to turn off the review system alltogether, and limit feedback to other members, so as to avoid the negative comments and personal attacks. Currently, MOCpages can be quite trying for persons with the thickest of skins.

Honestly, I think that MOCpages is going to be an obvious choice for many fans. Since they are now offering image hosting, and are already well established within the community, it would seem to me that they are an obvious choice. Trust is going to be a major factor when considering where the community will want to migrate. MOCpages has the benefit of being well-known, and relatively reliable (even if it's review system is somewhat flawed). The problem with new opportunist sites is that they don't have the built up goodwill needed to attract longtime AFOLs. I mean, why should I believe that brickimage or any new site for that matter is going to be up and running for more than a few months. A perfect example of such a site is LEGOfan.org. Originally, when it was first proposed, it was to be the be-all and end-all of LEGO sites, providing a comprehensive replacement for Lugnet. Delays and skepticism resulted in a failed site that rarely ran properly, with forums that hardly worked. Now, its nothing but a single page listing the current Ambassadors for this cycle. Too often, people step up as 'saviours' for our community, with neither the know-how or dedication to make a difference. I place more trust in those who have already proven themselves. Eurobricks is a great site, but I don't think it is an ideal hub for hosting the community's images. Heck, I'm not even sure if the ownership would want to go in that direction.

Pretty much. Unfortunately, this may be one of the few LEGO-only sites for hosting images in the future. Still, like alot of fans, I have issues with the endless droves of kids who insult any and every well-built MOC only to throw praise to yet another "custom" Halo minifig. MOCpages was ok a few years back, but it has deteriorated to the point that alot of AFOLs simply can't stomach the endless rants and negative comments coming from anonymous posters.

AWESOME IDEA. Here are some MUST HAVE Galleries!: Moko's Gallery (absolutely amazing mini fig MOCs, GODZILLA!!!) LEGODREAMS (crazy sculptures and designs) Marakoeschtra's page (another excellent set of figs and MOCs) Srezkall's gallery Keith Goldman's gallery The BEST SPACE MOCs, PERIOD!! and Takeshi Itou's page (Excellent mid-sized Castle MOCs) Right now is perhaps the last time many of us will see these masterworks, so it is definitely a good time to download the ones you feel are something else. Hopefully others will continue to contribute to this list.

Well, it does seem somewhat suspicious. I'm more inclined to believe that this is simply a prankster making himself out to be Kevin. You would think that if Brickshelf was going to be replaced with a new site that he would be advertising as much in order to entice subscribers. Personally, I think that this is it, so save your files while you can.

Well that's life I suppose. I guess my bigger concern for the future is where should I host my LEGO images in the future? More importantly, if the site you host on isn't a hub for the community, will anybody even take the time to view them? At this point, I think I'm going to keep most of my work offline until something new comes along. I'm considering a Flickr account, but I'll wait a bit first.

As I don't use skeletons for anything other than corpses (and parts), I really don't care if they can hold a weapon forward. The new skeles just don't look that good with their robotic monkey arms. Moreover, the new heads with the glowing red eyes aren't exactly what I consider useful. Of course, if the undead thing is your thing, I can understand why you might like the new skeles.

Well, if the movie is supposed to take place in the 50s, an older Indy isn't all that bad. I mean, what else do you expect?

This line looks like it has some real potential. Personally, I couldn't stand the Adventures line and its cheap Indy clone figs, but this definitely appeals to me. Indy's torso and whip look excellent. I only hope that we see some decent pricing in Canada. Fortunately, we probably won't be as hard done by as you Europeans. I can't wait to see actual set pics.

This poll is a year old. Why drag it up again, especially when you consider that it excludes a number of factions, yet treats the Black Knights as being an entity separate from the rest of the classic castle themes?

I think your pricing is quite optimistic :-D . Heck, in 1984 6021 cost $5.25 for 2 Knights and 2 horses. I very much doubt we'll be seeing six horses and riders for $8.99 in 2008! Also, it would seem that most of your sets are essentially minifig packs. I'm all for new sets for next year, but what do these add to the table? These sets just seem like they are trying to alocate expensive figures or elements (Dragon, King etc.) to lower price figure packs. I'm not sure if this is a direction that LEGO would want to go in.

Honestly, I'm tired of the generic "good vs. evil" castle thing. I mean, we've seen it with KKI, KKII, and now with the new Castle line. Not every set needs to be a fortification. Instead of another flagship castle as the top set, how about a village? If you want action, the set could be built around a seige or raid with various villagers and soldiers fighting off some hord of skeles. It would be a great way to introduce more variety into a world that is pretty much only inhabited by soldiers and skeletons.

Interesting. I'm curious as to what the Skeleton Queen might look like. Oh, and if yer lookin, the Viking Chess set is on clearance for US/Canadian buyers. And I mean DIRT CHEAP!!! 50% off on one of the best army builders ever conceived. Later.

Very nice. I actually prefer larger 32x32 scenes over the typical vignette. It allows for a compact scene with detailing simply not possible at a smaller scale. You've really captured the feeling of being stranded on a small isle with no hope of escape. A fantastic effort.

That's your opinion of course. Personally, I still feel that there are too many fantastic MOCs out there to make such a sweeping statement. I certainly don't see anything that makes Greystone stand head and shoulders above all other Castle MOCs myself. Perhaps you could clarify why you feel this way. Cheers.

I bet this contest is only open to US residents though :-( . Still, when you consider how low the odds are, it really doesn't make much difference anyways.