Clone OPatra

Is the carrot actually new? Jay says it's the standard horn but it looks like it has distinct ridges rather than spirals all the way up. Brickset isn't clear about it.

The idea was really for what people can do with purist parts, so even for the minifigs for the sets I'm going to say existing pieces in existing colours/prints. They can be different themes, but both still need a theme name and description of at least two sentences so we get an idea of what the concept is. If you do them in separate themes, you would post two separate topics in the appropriate forums.

Unlicensed series are really the one opportunity LEGO has in the Minifigures line to produce the most creative and broadly useful new prints and parts. Licensed series sometimes do and sometimes don't, depending on the license. Series 22 knocked that brief out of the park with fantastic new everyday stuff like the new animals and lute and wheelchair, some good hair piece recolours, cool new headgear for mediaeval/fantasy settings, etc. This series... doesn't have that. The new moulds are primarily costume-oriented and therefore niche. If you like costumes, great. If you don't, tough luck. The new moulds that aren't costumes are the mini horse head which could have some interesting uses and I could see popping up unprinted as an architectural decoration later, the candy cane which is fine, and the elf hat with outlandishly long braids. The prints mostly aren't anything broadly useful either, and the ones that are aren't too special - I'm thinking the ship captain and fairy girl, permutations of which we have seen before. Sure, anything can be useful, and some have a good amount of detail like the cardboard robot, but many of these figures have absolutely nothing besides maybe a couple of decent head prints, for which I'm not going to spend $5. Again, this is just my opinion and I'm only trying to articulate it, not to convince anyone else of anything. But especially given that this might be the last CMF series I can buy any of, and that LEGO has used an unlicensed series opportunity on this, that's a big disappointment.

The minifigs you include with your sets can be made digitally, but for the Minifigure Lineup category only real-life physical builds. That sounds fine for your theme. For the contest, just the two sets only so that there's an even playing field. After the contest is finished feel free to add more for the fun of it! Once entries close on 24 September, we will create a voting topic that shows all of the eligible entries. We'll announce the rules and model for voting closer to the time.

Thanks for your questions. Let me clarify a few things. Yes it should be kid friendly and something that LEGO would release, so no overt realistic modern day war or violence, nothing of a political or sexual nature of course. One set that must be a maximum of 80 pieces + 4 minifigures, the other set can be any size up to 1100 pieces and an appropriate number of minifigures (i.e. LEGO doesn't do $120 sets for regular playthemes with 15 or 20 figures, for instance). The second set could be as small as another $10 USD set, or $20 USD set, etc. but can't be larger than a $120, 1100 piece set. Just to clarify, entries don't need to include the minifigure lineup, as it is a separate category. However, it is not 5 original minifigures necessarily; it is a complete lineup of minifigures that would appear in a wave of five sets. How many different minifigures that is will depend on your theme. It could be less, it could be more. Dino Attack did have permutations of just four characters. Many themes have around 7 or 8 different characters/unique minifigures in a wave. Then there are some themes like Chima that came out of the gate with a ridiculous number of different minifigures in its first wave. Take a look back through old themes on Bricklink and Brickset for more inspiration on how many minifigures would appear in a wave, if you want to. If you enter the Best Theme category as well, then yes the minifigures in your sets can be included in your lineup. They may be the entire lineup (Adventurers included all its initial characters in its largest set, for example), or there may be more in the lineup. The rules state "Purist parts only." This means only genuine LEGO parts with no prints/decorations added or removed, but of course all parts can be swapped around including arms, hands, hips, individual legs, etc. To keep an even playing field, just two sets allowed for the Best Theme category, but as I clarified the minifigure category can have how ever many minifigures you feel is appropriate for a wave and LEGO themselves would do. Yes exactly - we wanted the contest to be approachable given the time frame and for entries to provide a taste of a wave/idea, rather than a full wave. Looking forward to seeing what you do!

Nice to see the extra details. I appreciate that they've gone for some interesting and fitting alternate faces, like howling for the wolf and making a robot face for the cardboard robot. Not sure how being angry goes with the turkey, but it's better than another smile. However, this series is still a massive let down overall with very few broadly useful new pieces or recolours being introduced. All I see for myself are the knight and the Nutcracker. It especially hurts that this could be our last feel-able series. After this, I don't know if I'll be buying any CMF any more, as the options will be very limiting.

LEGO has made a (pretty inaccurate) Dalmatian by printing spots on the standard Shepherd dog mould, which is a comparable size to the calf. Black and white spotted cows are so common in the world that it's really a shame LEGO has never produced them again since the introduction of the cow.

In celebration of LEGO's 90th anniversary, and with so few new non-licensed themes these days, it's time for YOU to create the next best In-House Play Theme! Head on over to Special Themes to read about our latest Eurobricks-wide contest!

Eurobricks' Create a Theme Contest Entries close September 24 2022 Voting now open! BEST THEME voting | BEST MINIFIGURE LINEUP voting In celebration of LEGO's 90th anniversary, and with so few new non-licensed themes these days, it's time for YOU to create the next best In-House Play Theme! It can take any form in any setting: medieval, space, fantasy, underwater, supernatural, action-adventure, etc. etc. as long as it's original and Minifigure-compatible. Think themes LEGO has done from Forestmen to Knights Kingdom II, Adventurers to Hidden Side, Aquazone to Galaxy Squad, and many many more, but your own fresh idea. Contest Categories & Parameters First, you'll have to decide on your theme. Think like LEGO when deciding on colour schemes, factions, characters, complexity of sets and more. There will be winners in two categories decided by public vote. You can enter both categories with the same theme idea if you like; to share the prize love around, each member will only win once. More on this under Voting below. Every entry must have a name for your theme concept and a description of your theme at a minimum of two sentences in length. You can leave it brief, or go into a lot of detail up to, for instance, outlining a full wave of sets. Even if you only enter the Minifigure category, you must still have a theme name and description. Category 1: Best Theme Concept Build two of the sets in your theme. One of the sets must be one that would sell for about $10 USD, no more than 80 pieces and four minifigures. The second set can be as small as you like, but must be no larger than something that would sell for $120 USD (1100 pieces max). Both sets must emulate official LEGO sets in terms of piece count, complexity, number of minifigures and design style. Include the second set's price point and a description of at least one sentence in length for each. Each set must have one main, "front of the box" product image, but you may also include as many photos as you like. Digital building allowed with existing parts in existing colours only. Category 2: Best Minifigure Lineup Create a lineup of Minifigures that would be found in a wave of five sets in your original playtheme. This could be a small number of all named characters like in Adventurers, or a few unique characters and more massable troops/goons like in a Castle wave. Include a writeup to explain your minifigures and what sets they might be found in. Purist parts only. Yellow ideally if portraying humans in keeping with LEGO's own in-house themes, but fleshies allowed. No digitally created entries. How to Enter To enter, post a new topic in the section of Eurobricks most suited to your theme (i.e. if it's an outer space theme post it in Sci-Fi, if it's action-adventure post it in Action Themes, if it's medieval fantasy post it in Historic Themes, etc - if you're unsure, feel free to ask before posting). Title your topic [CaTC] ______ (name of your theme). Leave a link to your topic in the Contest Entry Thread in Special Themes. You can update your topic until the contest deadline but you must post it initially with a fully fledged entry in either of the categories. You can update your MOC(s), Minifigure lineups, and/or set/theme descriptions, but something must look complete to begin with. For example, no placeholder topics with a theme name and only one sentence, or a picture of just one minifigure. Rules Entries close on Saturday September 24th 2022. As long as it's still Saturday September 24th somewhere in the world, you can post or update your entry. You can join Eurobricks any time to post an entry. You can enter as many times as you like - you can post multiple theme topics with MOCs and/or Minifigure lineups, as long as each one meets the minimum requirements detailed above. However, to spread the prize love around, each Eurobricks member will only win once. All creations must be new for this contest and never before posted anywhere online. All work must be your own - plagiarizing MOCs or custom Minifigures will result in immediate disqualification. Choosing the Winners - Voting Eurobricks members will vote for their favourite Theme Concept and favourite Minifigure lineup. Eurobricks members must have joined Eurobricks by September 1st 2022 in order to be eligible to vote. There will be two winners in the Theme Concept category: the entry with the most votes and the entry with the second most votes. There will be just one winner in the Minifigure lineup category. Each Eurobricks member can only win once. We will first count the votes in the Theme Concept category, then the Minifigure category. In the event that someone wins first or second place in the Theme Concept category who has also entered the Minifigure category, we will remove them from eligibility for the Minifigure category. This is to share the prize love around! Prizes One winner and runner up of the MOC category get to pick a wonderful LEGO prize pool of choice! *"* valued at around 200 euro and 170 euro respectively One winner of the Minifigure category gets to pick a wonderful LEGO prize pool of choice! *"* with a value of around 100 euro. Fine Print By entering, you consent to Eurobricks reposting your entry on Eurobricks' social media channels, crediting you. Prize values are determined in accordance with German Shop at Home and prizes are subject to availability on the Shop at Home in the winners' local countries. Some back and forth with Eurobricks staff might be required to select an available prize. Prizes could take 8-10 weeks to arrive but we will keep you updated as much as we are able. The idea for this contest was heavily inspired by a series of MOCs that our member Nuju Metru did back around 2014. One of the wave topics is here with links to the others - check them out! Reply below with any comments or questions!

Why is BAM so obsessed with recolouring that particular witch's hat-hair? Not exactly complaining, but it's odd how many recolours of that piece have appeared in BAM. This one will go nicely with the bright orange beard part.

Yep, but nothing new looking about it.

I mean sure, everything comes down to a decision, and with these sorts of things there can be rationale going every which way, but that doesn't mean it's ultimately the best decision at the end of the day. I get the desire to have some "memorable moments" that happened on/around the Hogwarts Express from throughout the series, but then they've gone the extra step of coupling them with totally unimportant and not iconic quotes. Having a quote that says "I think... someone's coming aboard" is just cringey. It's a good Rupert Grint line delivery in the movie, but not something you want on a plaque. Same with the HBP scene of Harry getting stomped and associated unimportant quote. You can see the line of thinking that lead there, but it's also a line of thinking spiralling out of control. As for not including Epilogue Ron and Hermione, sure the explanation "makes sense" but also just as easily doesn't. We didn't need their kids, just them. The scene isn't complete without recreating the shot of Harry and his best friends looking off wistfully at the HE. Nobody needs the context of generic Hogwarts students at this price point to set the scene.

For it to be done properly I think Gringotts will need to be slightly larger and more expensive than Grimmauld or the Ministry, but LEGO isn't afraid to go a little bigger in their regular lineup anyway, as evidenced by the Chamber of Secrets set (which is now $150 USD after the price increase). That would be plenty for a proper Gringotts, and I agree - make Gringotts a good old-fashioned mainline set and thus more accessible to more people. Then again they seem to like experimentation in this line, so there's nothing stopping them from making the next D2C smaller and be a $250 USD Gringotts, for instance.

Legitimate question, not sarcastic: have you both not been following this line for a while? The Harry Potter line has had some horrendous renders as actual box art images since its third year (surely designed pre-pandemic, so just because its third year was 2020 is no excuse). It shouldn't be hard for a company like LEGO to render out their images to a photo-real level, especially since the average person can do it at home, yet they've been using very obvious computer-y look renders for this line for a while now.

Funny I feel quite the opposite, though I don't buy sets this big and never well. The train looks like an absolutely amazing model, and I like the tasteful and well designed bit of King's Cross to accompany the train for display. The minifigures however really do little for me. Some new accurate sweaters - great. I'd love a proper Year 6 Draco, but all this figure is for me is his torso. I guess LEGO really is happy with that reused face that looks nothing at all like Draco and has an inexcusable wrong eyebrow colour. Epilogue Harry and Ginny are nice, but why the heck aren't those students swapped out for Ron and Hermione. Nobody needs more generic students in a set of this scale. I'm sure LEGO has a plan to release them, or at least I hope so, but given that this lineup is so incomplete and epilogue characters don't really interact with anything else in the HP line, I can totally do without them. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad these largely do nothing for me, since I don't have a means to access them anyway. They mostly suit what LEGO is going for, besides the Epilogue lineup which is blatantly lacking.

I bought my first ever Mario set last week, Toad's Treasure Hunt, because it was $12 (Australian RRP was $100). And I've got to say, as just a Mario fan, I really like the aesthetic in person! Yeah you wouldn't want a display of full sets from this theme, but certain individual builds and characters look quite cute and a good balance of being immediately recognisable and LEGO-ised. I know I'm quite late to this party, but it still seems like a lot of people in the adult community keep writing off LEGO Super Mario because it doesn't have minifigures, whereas for me, besides for the electronic figures themselves looking a bit too weird, the rest has some great things going on.

That is true, and intriguing, but the fact that they haven't added the 2022 parts (or added them back) is still enough to make me write off the service for the time being. I personally don't fully know how LEGO's production and warehousing in Billund works. I know they don't produce just enough of a part for a run of sets, but instead have bins full of everything, which is where B&P traditionally came from. What I don't know is what they ultimately do with all the parts in those bins that don't get used, because surely they don't all get used in production or as replacements or (historically) sold on B&P. Plus there were always parts in production not sold on B&P as well. Perhaps they're waiting for a certain point, and then at that point they'll release all the parts as non-bestsellers and sell them off? As for the other services they've launched with BAM online and Minifigure factory, those are sexy services with mass appeal. Being able to buy interesting prints and hairpieces and recolours and the like as we used to be able to on B&P is still niche and really only for true AFOLs, minifigure customises and part collectors at the end of the day.

The way I see it, the new parts service of the old B&P is dead, until proven otherwise. Even some stuff from January 2022 still isn't there the last time I checked, and here we are in August. It's sad, but less disappointing to come to terms with it now than keep hanging off of the "rumours" of a three month delay that haven't come to fruition. LEGO sort of worked on me - I bought the farm set since I didn't want to miss out on all the animals, but I still can't get wooly coats for all my sheeples, and I'm not going to buy ALL the City sets just to get some desirable parts, but oh well.

I'm still withholding judgement until I see a better angle of the little ship, but I'm not totally seeing the value proposition of the $30 Black Panther set despite it being a decent set. This would've been been a perfect $20 Superheroes set like there used to be - 3 cool figures, decent build / builds - but the parts count seems really inflated in this case for what's included. Where are all of those 355 parts hiding?? Give me a much simpler throne, make it $20 and we'd have been good to go. The bigger one doesn't look like $50 at all, despite, once again, having a cool build and good figures.

I appreciate what LEGO is going for with these, especially with the lovely scenery builds that double as display stands. The base and helicopter set is the best of the bunch for me, and the parts count looks fine numerically, but even then I'm still wondering where all of those parts went? The value for the size of the included models doesn't seem to be there, even though the Minifigures are also very good, it includes the horse, and there's the new wheelchair in that set. The other newly revealed sets don't do too much for me since I don't usually care much for creature builds or mechs. The contrast between the smooth moulded head and blocky body of the Thanator is too much, and the banshees look just fine, if overly dominated by the vinyl wings.

Was that designed to intentionally look like a droopy Darth Vader helmet? How funky.

Pretty disappointed with this series honestly. I wasn't a huge fan of S18 conceptually either but that one actually has a lot over this one. S18 had a lot more universally useful or fun things than this series IMO, from new general use hair and hat pieces to things like the plant pot and cake, plus a new animal. Here there are some ok things: The ship's captain is a fine ship's captain and the boat is fun I guess. The wolf has ok parts to use in conjunction with an actual wolf head, and the printed sack is good. Christmas Elf adds a good alternative hat piece for people that like elves, and her accessory has fun parts if not amazing. Knight is fine as a Easter egg sort of figure, and I can also see the horse head being reused in a bunch of settings if it's detachable. Snowman is a nice novelty if not very detailed as a figure. Nutcracker has ok parts, though also not very detailed in print style. And that's about it from my perspective. I'm glad to see them keep using mid legs but would love to get mid legs with more broad-use prints. If the popcorn guy had a jeans print on his dark red legs for instance I might go as far as buying that figure, but as it is he does nothing for me. It's a shame that after a few really strong unlicensed series, they've stepped backwards to this.

Oh yeah no I know, and Star Wars fandom and media already has a long and storied history of picking up on the smallest details. Just look at those "Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina" and "Tales from Jabba's Palace" books from ages ago fleshing out stories for the most minor background characters. I was just pointing out that to me personally the red lenses thing is almost equivalent to Han Solo's dice. Regardless, like you say Darth Vader has now been depicted with very purposeful red lenses and it'd be cool to get a LEGO variant that reflects that. A dual moulded one with actual trans-red lenses would be even better.

The thing with the red eyes is that it's an early-ish example of "fan service" and reverence to something that isn't necessarily worth revering. Yeah the lenses of the helmet were red and transparent in ANH and the helmet was matte and not as tall - but then do we say that canonically Vader got a new helmet and changed it up for ESB, or that actually George Lucas had more money and was able to have the costume executed more to his liking? Subsequent media has gone with the former, over-emphasising the red lenses in pre-ANH material as if to say "hey remember when it was sometimes obvious that the Vader costume had red lenses in ANH!??" Even though the original intention might have never been for him to have obviously red lenses, they just made the costume that way and they look black in most light.

While your post comes across as slightly spammy, Honey is a legit service that might be of interest to people that don't know about it. I've removed your referral link though, since we don't want that sort of thing here.