David Thomsen

I think in the context of a Western, 'Indian' is a perfectly acceptable term. I think that's why it's kind of acceptable... in a Western theme, according to the parlance of the time, calling them 'Native Americans' wouldn't make much sense at all. It's a matter of historical accuracy versus political correctness, and I like to think common sense favours the former.

Fun, but expensive... kind of like gambling. And like gambling, the house is always the winner... If I can't play the game my way, I won't play it at all... However, I will probably get two or three bags to begin with — just, as you say, for 'fun'.

I have to go with #1, just because he's in a theme entirely of his own. I mean... if you don't count the obscure 'Caveman vs. Robot' theme. It's nice to know that the Indian and the Forestmen themes are still relevant today. I wish we could see the entire minifigs. Some of them must have accessories we can't see. Like, does #13 have a skateboard or a microphone? What could #5 possibly have? Will #3 have balloons? And so on. Can't wait for round 2.

I expect that I'll be buying complete minifigs from Bricklink or somewhere. I'm sure lots of people will buy hundreds of bags, match up the pieces and sell them that way. Even though the cost of buying an individual minifig this way will be at least twice as much including postage, it'll still be much cheaper than just buying and hoping, buying and hoping. However, if S@H do some kind of exclusive 'complete collection' thing, I'll just get that instead. I hope they have a cavewoman later on. Otherwise my caveman is going to be a tad lonely.

What would be cool is if Lego ran a 'design a minifig' competition, and the winners got included in one of the rounds of 16. I'm wondering if these will make of cheap plastic, though. If they are, I'm not touching them, even if there's a cool unique pirate fig. If there IS a cool unique pirate fig and they're good quality, I'll go to any lengths to secure it. If they're good quality and there isn't a pirate fig... then I'll have to see what else is in the range before making a decision. At the very least I'd get four random ones just for fun. It all hangs on the quality of the figs, I guess. But even so, I can't wait to see what designs they come up with.

Okay, now Imperial Flagship sails on the Brickbeard's Bounty... could you make it look like a pirate ship with nicer sails? Or maybe a small trading vessel? So many possibilities... Incidentally, the red bandanna was in the chess set. But I guess that doesn't count...

They announced the end of Bionicle, why not the end of Indiana Jones? Sometimes the ambassadors aren't allowed to tell us what they know, for example they kept the Imperial Flagship a complete secret until it couldn't possibly be hidden any more. The fact that they're not contributing to this thread at all makes me think they know something we don't. And it winds me up a little... But the Disney themes are extremely short-term. Maybe there are a couple more PoP sets than we already know about, but that's about it. And what more can they possibly do with Toy Story? All I can think of is a few more figurines, like a full-sized Woody or Jessica. Most other characters are the intellectual property of rival companies. I still think the Indy theme is only going on a hiatus. It's not the first time it's happened to a theme.

Has anyone thought of just asking Lego? Surely there must be a way to ask the company a simple question like that. Maybe there's a third option, where it's ended but with a provision that it could be restarted if things like Atlantis don't take off as planned. That could explain why there are no new sets (so far) in 2010, but there has been no official announcement of it having ended, only rumours. Quite frankly, with the new PoP turban and camel, they'd be fools not take advantage of them to create new Indy sets without having to spend a fortune on new moulds. Indy + turban = map room. German vehicles + camels = desert ambush. Has anyone seen the new Indy game? Does it include these new pieces?

As much as there needs to be a good full-sized hospital, I'd actually prefer a small 'clinic', mainly because my village has so few civilian buildings that it looks odd having such large emergency buildings. My police building for example is the one from the Police Command Centre. I don't have a fire building yet.

Does anyone know a quick way to test your own skin acidity level? My girlfriend thinks that everyone has the same skin acidity, but harrysnapperorgans' anecdote suggest otherwise. I tried googling it, but all I could find were a bunch of expensive tests I don't feel like paying for. Something involving common household products would be much better.

I have a question about the durability of a particular Lego piece, and here seems as good a place as any to ask... When I was a kid, it always seemed to me that every small pirate flag I ever owned had a broken clip. I'm not sure if I was too rough with the pieces, or if they were just very fragile, but I couldn't seem to own a set for two days without the flag piece breaking. I went through a fair amount of 'buried treasure' sets, just because it was the cheapest way to get new pirate flags. Now whenever I get a flag piece in a set I shudder slightly, just because I remember them being so breakable. I handle them as carefully as I can and sigh in relief whenever they click onto something without breaking. I just need to know... am I being overly cautious, or are those pieces actually as fragile as I remember them being? I haven't broken any since I started collecting them as an adult, so I'm just wondering if they're always going to snap eventually if I keep using them, or if I do have to mishandle them pretty badly. Looking at the Imperial Flagship with four flag pieces on each side of the ship, I begin to feel slightly nervous...

You make it sound as if the POTC theme is a certainty, and that the only thing left to speculate on is the details... What you mean is, 'I wonder if we WOULD get any soldiers in the POTC Theme?' I think people need to be careful, because someone might casually read your post and assume the POTC theme is definitely going to happen, and then tell other people it's definitely going to happen and so forth... whereas all we know for certain is that the Lego company is buddies with Disney, and that Disney produce the POTC series, and that a new POTC film is coming out in 2011.

I think it's highly unlikely, but I don't think it should be discounted entirely... I mean, when the Junior Pirates came out I was hoping they would lead to proper pirates, and that just seemed like wishful thinking at the time. I think with this game, 'Classical Lego' can be included as an official Lego theme... just not a very expansive one.

No, you're right, I don't. I only know about cartoon Indians, which is exactly what Lego Indians are always going to be. Teepees and tomahawks. Totem poles. Giant steel horse come through this way. Make big noise.

Other than the impressive rock buildings seen earlier on, I think it's quite hard to come up with Indian sets that haven't already been done. Indians hunt with bows and arrows and live in teepees. They have totem poles. What more is there to them? If you try to draw out the theme too long, you end up with the Farm theme where there are three or four tractors and little else. You could do South American tribes and have ziggurats and Machu Pikachus, but that fits in better with the Pirates theme than with Cowboys. Hum. Maybe you could have a set of the ruins of the colony of Leif Ericson? And that way tie it in with the Viking theme.

Maybe this is something the Ambassadors could address. I understand why upcoming themes should be kept secret, obviously Lego don't want another company rushing out "Atlantic Warriors" or "Prince of Peugeot" sets, but there can't be much of a risk in letting us know the life span of current sets. If people knew Pirates were only around for one year, they would still have bought the sets, and wouldn't have been so angry when the announcement was made.

I still don't understand why Lego are so reluctant to talk about whether their lines are continuing or stopping. I mean, they didn't even bother to tell us that the Pirates line was just a 20 year anniversary until it was over. Is it really such a commercial risk to tell us that Indiana Jones is only taking a break for the first half of the year, or that it's been discontinued?

Really? I kind of think a few well-designed vintage vehicles could add a nice atmosphere to the modular street.

Does anyone know if this set comes with a vehicle, like the fire station did? I think a nice old-style lorry could work with a set like this.

Ack! I keep everything sealed in ziplock bags. I always assumed this was the safest way. Maybe if I punch holes in all my bags it'll be fine. Thanks for the tips, Ben Gun.

Phew... you had me panicking for a while. At the rate I handle them, it'll take my minifigs 100 years to reach the state of yours. And maybe not even ever, if I only touch the sides and continue to sponge moisture off my hands when I feel them getting damp. Still it's disappointing, though. I really thought Lego was higher quality than that.

And my girlfriend wonders why I'm so excessively clean when I handle my Lego... Curtisrlee, you have to explain the cirsumstances of these minifigs... did you hadn't them daily, did you leave them out in the sun and humidity, etc.

I feel like conversation has been a bit slow here lately since the 'end of pirates' and the 'Imperial Flagship' topics have kind of died down, so I thought I'd think of something to provoke ideas... Assuming that pirates returns in 2011 (based on nothing but wishful thinking) and it isn't a POTC license (based on nothing but wishful thinking), what possible exclusives could they do, now that they've done an exclusive ship? I can only think of a few... * Imperial fort. A proper fort this time, with an armoury, an admiral's office and sleeping quarters, a canteen for the soldiers to hang out at, a GOOD prison and a GOOD crane for moving cannons to the Imperial Flagship. * Civilian port. Either two MMV-type buildings along a wharf, or a small merchant ship with a customs house and a gangplank for transporting goods between them.

Don't be too sceptical. Google image search Harrods for what a mere 'shopping center' could look like. I doubt this is going to be a mere shop. This will be the KING of shops. I'm going to be so hanging out for pictures for the next two months.

I voted Wild West because it's the theme I would most like to see out of those, but I don't believe it would ever replace castle. Most of all, if they do a new Castle line, I'd like it to be compatible with the castle sets I already have. Like, not hugely different in aesthetic. I kind of like building worlds over time, like my City which gets more and more prosperous every year. Lego shouldn't underestimate the importance of continuity to long-term adult lego buyers. Actually, talking about Romans, I'd love them to take up an Asterix license. Gaulish villages, Roman encampments, Caesar's palace, colosseums... They could even give them Toy Story-type heads and I wouldn't mind, actually I'd prefer them now I'm over the initial shock.