blueandwhite

That's to be expected; it's a barn. Still, the 2011 Kingdoms sets really do look quite nice. I'm glad that each of the peasants has a unique torso print. They should add some much-needed variety to my small band of villagers. I think this is the first set of shots that shows that the boy with the pitchfork has short legs. August can't come soon enough!

Remember, most LEGO 'leaks' simply come from dealer catalogs and other materials that LEGO makes available to retailers. There don't seem to be as many internal leaks from LEGO themselves. I actually suspect that we won't see any images of the Black Pearl until sometime after the first wave is released. My guess is that LEGO doesn't want the Pearl to overshadow the QAR. It's the flagship of the POTC franchise and when all is said and done, it will probably eat into sales of the QAR.

I'll throw in a few more although there may be some redundancies here. I've reviewed the thread but it's hard to remember exactly what has been requested over the past 19 pages. Gender: Male Occupation: Plague Doctor Headgear: black hat and raven mask (plague doctor's mask) Print on Torso: black robes Accessory: staff Gender: Male Occupation: Minstrel Headgear: dark red forestman's cap Head: jovial face/hair printed on the back of his head Print on Torso: dark red tunic Legs: Sand green with brown boots Accessory: lute Gender: Female Occupation: Fishwife Headgear: bonnet Head: Angry looking female head Torso/dress: patched dress with an apron Accessory: 2 fish Gender: Female Occupation: robot likeness: Think the Machine Human Maria from the 1927 movie "Metropolis"

Who knows? I'd bet that a Japanese school girl is more likely though. I just hope that this line continues after Series 5. It really is an excellent concept and all of the lines have had a few real gems. I can only imagine what future series' might look like.

It seems like a fair price to me. That means that it will be $89.99 CDN which is pretty much what I expected. There's a lot of content to be had in this set including six figures, seven animals and two of the ever-requested pitchforks. I don't think you'll find much better value when it comes to LEGO.

I don't see the need to rehash the old factions. I love my original lion and falcon knights but I really don't see why you would remake them. We have newer factions that work just fine. I'd rather see new factions introduced instead. I'm happy with the Kingdoms line because it gave us two fantastic new factions. If LEGO had the choice between rehashing things and introducing something new, I'd opt for the new. As for the forestmen, I have no qualms about a new line of forestmen but I don't see the need to be slavishly faithful to the originals (we don't need new deer shields or anything like that). Bandits and outlaws are as iconic as wizards and dragons so it only makes sense to reintroduce such a group within the castle theme. The Robin Hood figure from the first wave of collectible figures seems just about perfect. A sub-theme with figures based on Robin Hood folklore would be wonderful. There's a theme where specific characters would be appropriate (Robin, Will Scarlet, Alan-a-Dale, Friar Tuck, Little John, etc.).

The collector's figures are a limited run, niche item. I don't think that they are threatened by third party accessory manufacturers and I don't think they are looking to copy them either. It just happens to be that LEGO has decided to produce a figure that overlaps with something already developed by a 3rd party. LEGO is no more copying Brickforge than they are copying MegaBloks or Playmobil. There's only so many ways you can make a gladiator's helmet. Just because Brickforge/Brickarms decided to develop 3rd party accessories doesn't mean that it becomes forbidden for LEGO to develop similar ideas. The concept of making a Gladiator, Elf or Spartan just isn't that unique. I don't think LEGO is trying to copy Brickforge/Brickarms per se, but I don't think that they are going to go out of their way to make their accessories too different either. As a fan I'd be pretty disappointed if LEGO refused to give us the Spartan or gladiator simply because a 3rd party has already developed a similar accessory.

What a fantastic year for Castle! Honestly, the final production models are such a step above the original prototype photos we were first introduced to back in December. We finally have grey horses and most of the animals have proper printing. The village is an incredible parts pack with a great assortment of figures and animals. The tan, brown and dark tan bricks are absolutely perfect. The Blacksmith shop actually looks like it could be the other real best bargain here with a great assortment of new accessories and an unpainted dark pearl breastplate. Between this and POTC I'm going to be utterly broke when it comes to LEGO.

Series 5 looks decent enough. There are definitely some nice additions here however I'm a bit disappointed by some of the redundancies we're seeing with these figures. Some of the newer figures like thee fitness trainer(?) look far too similar to the pop star IMO. It would have been nice if they could have at least changed her hair colour. I think I'm going to limit myself to one of each for series 5.

The Pearl is the flagship of this franchise though. It's akin to the Millennium Falcon in terms of importance. I expect that the Pearl will be quite a bit larger than the QAR, even if it is inconsistent with the films. My guess would be that she will be a lot more developed through her midsection. The fact that she's also slated for November unlike most of the POTC stuff also suggests she's supposed to be something special.

I've never understood how Megabloks are considered a building toy. While they have some basic creator-like sets, it seems that most Megabloks set are simply a few plates and bricks stacked on a dozen or so huge prefab sections. I mean, is it even possible to build with these sets? Megabloks have always reminded me of something stationed directly between LEGO and Playmobil while lacking the overall quality of either of those brands. There just isn't a legitimate comparison to be made here.

If you look at some of the higher resolution pictures it looks like she has a fleshie neckline above her necklace. It's a shame too because I was looking to pick up multiples of that set for that figure alone. Still, the line looks incredible. New rum bottles, and shutters for the small arched windows look great. I'll definitely be picking up the QAR as I actually like the cartoonish feel of the ship. The stern is extremely exaggerated but it still comes together quite nicely. I can't wait to see more pictures of these sets.

It's nice to see that it's finally finished. It looks fantastic! I've always liked buildings that have odd angles and your University has them in spades. It looks good from both the front and back but I'm also looking forward to some shots from the sides. The two small towers with the brown windows and brown peaks also look fantastic and add a lot of character to the building particularly with the ivy growing up the wall near the larger tower. I think the look is just perfect as it now stands although I might consider changing the roofing on the towers to red instead of blue. Overall this is a truly impressive MOC! Great work and congratulations on getting her finished.

Although a version of the Black Pearl is being released in November, I would really like to see a UCS version of this ship. Unlike the Dutchman, the Black Pearl isn't so large as to be impossible to capture adequately as a UCS model. I feel that even an overly expensive version of the Dutchman would fail to do the original movie model any real justice. It would simply be too small, whereas a UCS version of the Pearl would look perfect.

I've always found this topic fascinating. Generally speaking none of the factions have much going in the way of personality yet it seems that fans are always trying to brand them. The "Crusaders" for example only received that rather unflattering title during their last years. There really hasn't been anything to suggest that the black knights or black falcons are evil beyond conventional western stereotypes which associate black with something sinister. For years the various factions simply existed. The story was yours to create. There are a lot of folks who don't like it that way, but I was quite happy to have nameless knights and factions that co-existed peacefully.

Glad to hear it. I was really looking forward to BricksNorth when it was first announced. I've been eagerly awaiting news on this for a while now.

I'm still wondering if BricksNorth is going to be happening or not. I remember there being an announcement for a Canadian fan convention this summer but there doesn't appear to be any follow up information. Did anybody even win the logo contest? Given that most events have registration months in advance I've kind of given up hope on this one.

Glad to hear it. I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed hall! Working on a MOC for a long period of time is incredibly frustrating but the end result is well worth the wait.

This is a really beautiful display. You really don't see a lot of western displays as large or beautiful as this. If you don't mind, what camera (and lens) did you shoot this with and what was the shutter speed and aperture? The shots are really nice coming from a show.

Wonderful work! What really makes this effort stand out is that the whole thing is incredibly coherent. Many large collaborations like this are marred by inconsistency as the different building styles of each of the contributors clashes. In this display, the entire thing seems like it could have been built by a single hand. Everything works well together from the castle to the underground hall. I've only seen a few other groups pull something like this together so kudos to you guys for your amazing work.

Honestly, I don't think that's entirely true. If that was the case, there wouldn't be a real distinction between toys marketed towards boys or girls. Gender roles permeate throughout all of society. Walk into your nearest Toys R Us or Walmart and tell me that there aren't aisles of 'girls' toys and aisles of 'boys' toys. LEGO has historically been seen and marketed as a toy for young boys. Adding female minifigs to the mix probably won't change that significantly. Moreover, a set with a high ratio of female figures may sell poorly simply because the target demographic (boys) are reluctant to buy female figures. Even the collectible figure line avoids alienating the male demographic by only including a handful of females in each series. If you look at most toylines that are marketed to boys or girls the gender balance is skewed to favour the demographic of the consumer. Boys action figures are predominantly male while Barbie and her friends live in a pink world where women outnumber men 10 to 1. Toy manufacturers understand their demographics pretty well. Girls and boys have historically played with different toys and like it or not, LEGO has been clearly defined as a 'boy's toy'. LEGO simply has been unable to find a way to successfully market LEGO to girls. It may be that gender roles are too well defined in society to break this trend. Adding more female figures probably won't change that.

I don't think that there are any 'flagship' figs for this line. I do think that LEGO intentionally made some of the more sought after figs hard to find though. I suspect that LEGO felt that by making the Clown, Cheerleader, Spartan, and Elf hard to find, folks would spend more money trying to collect them. I won't be surprised if the Muskateer and the guy in the Radioactive costume are hard to find for series 4.

It's always sad to hear that another young AFOL has passed away. Like many others, I didn't know Dieter beyond these forums but his presence was certainly felt here. Losing somebody at such a young age is simply devastating. My thoughts go out to his family. R.I.P. Dieter.

Improving the paint application to a minifig is one thing; remolding them into something else is a completely different issue. One great thing about minifigs is that they are all compatible with each other. A Kingdoms soldier can easily stand beside an old Black Falcon and not look out of place. While the detailing may have changed, both figures have the same basic body type with yellow hands and head. They are both instantly recognizable as LEGO. When the Star Wars line was introduced the figures managed to be instantly identifiable as both characters from the Star Wars franchise and as LEGO figures. For many, the introduction of the fleshie was a major controversy. Still, the figures retained their basic shape. The very thought of curved torsos or humanoid heads makes me cringe. It completely ignores the iconic nature of the minifig. Several clone brands have their own variations of the minifig with many of the features you've suggested, yet none of those figures have become nearly as iconic. LEGO tried this gimmick a while back with Jack Stone and it was a complete disaster. I hope that they never walk down that path again.

I think Ralph_S sums up what I feel about SNOT techniques perfectly. It's certainly one of the reasons I find Ralph's MOCs so impressive. SNOT techniques really give the builder opportunities to create shapes that one wouldn't normally associate with LEGO bricks. I think that the best builders I've seen have a good instinct for when to use SNOT and when a standard studs up approach will suffice. I've seen a number of dull MOCs that really try to up their worth by using SNOT techniques. The technique isn't used to good effect; rather it's used to impress upon others that the builder knows what SNOT is. It's similar to many builders who have tried to emulate the studless designs of others but have failed to capture the personality needed to make the MOC exciting. At the end of the day, a good technique is only as good as the builder using it.