Blondie-Wan

I think you might be right about it not getting a poseable horse (assuming the new horse doesn't just completely replace the classic one), but I don't think intentionally limiting availability of "highly demanded" pieces to expensive sets figures much (if at all) into their thinking. If anything, they'll limit it to an expensive set simply because it's an expensive part. Otherwise, they do put highly desirable new elements in small, inexpensive sets all the time.

I don't know, but I think "1-2 years of LOTR/Hobbit sets" is a bit conservative, considering the forthcoming movies themselves will be running a couple back-to-back years, and that the theme is surely popular enough to sustain at least one or two more waves after the second Hobbit film's release. Certainly, it's pretty much given that it'll be at least 2 years, at a bare minimum. I think it's going to be more like "2-3 years," and perhaps even 3 1/2 or 4.

Even when fantasy elements are left out, the Viking, pirate and knight sets depict things from centuries ago, things no living person has ever seen in real life. The temporal remove essentially places them into the realm of fantasy, in that they occupy a place in the mind far different from what someone might witness on the six o' clock news.

Actually, if you'll pardon my saying so, you did misspell Spider-Man. I hope you'll forgive the correction; I normally try not to jump on things like this (exceptions for forum descriptions notwithstanding), but in this case you kind of asked for it. Nice acquisition!

Ok, so opting against an all-encompassing "Disney" in favor of discrete mentions of "Cars," "Toy Story" and "Prince of Persia" (on the grounds that each is likely either a long-lived theme, one based on a particularly acclaimed and beloved franchise, or a particularly fruitful theme as far as LEGO parts and sets go), and selecting a variety of the most current and/or popular themes, a proposal: "Cars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Prince of Persia, Spongebob Squarepants, Superheroes, Toy Story and more" - how does that sound to you folks?

Indeed, though both are part of the same overall mythos / universe / franchise / license / whatever. I personally would recommend using "Middle-earth" in the forum description to refer to everything based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (as well as anything else derived from the rest of Tolkien's literary world). "Middle-earth" is both more comprehensive and more concise than "The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings." Even if Peter Jackson and the other powers-that-be never elect to adapt further Middle-earth books to the screen (which we might reasonably expect to continue to provide inspiration for official LEGO sets, should those movies happen), surely some of the more devoted Tolkien fans here will eventually create MOCs based on the greater Middle-earth world anyway, and surely those should go into the same place as discussions of MOCs and official sets based on the movies we already have or are getting this year and next.

Well, since you asked... I was saddened by TLG's statements in the various articles and press releases that they realized they "had" to do something about the classic minifigure because it just didn't appeal to many non-FOL girls the way it does to us; that the classic figure I see as cute and adorable was apparently seen by so many of TLG's research participants as ugly or whatever felt like a personal blow, and a depressing one. Oddly, though, I feel the same way about your comments about the minidoll. Your advice to TLG to ditch it seems, well... cruel and mean-spirited, somehow. While my own decades of fond associations with the classic minifigure are indelible, I really do see a lot to like about the minidoll, and it seems counterproductive to take away something that was apparently so specifically requested and desired so soon after its introduction. I also can't help but imagine it was a very bold step for TLG - one that likely required them to swallow no small amount of institutional pride, in addition to all the undoubtedly painstaking research and decision-making that produced this particular figure design, and one that, so far, appears to be fulfilling its mission of bringing kids into LEGO that had previously never touched construction toys.

Oh, really? I personally think the mummy is an excellent figure, and it's also arguably a better army-builder than the zombie - sure, I'd rather have vast hordes of zombies than vast hordes of mummies, but not if they're all going to look exactly the same anyway. It matters a bit less if a bunch of mummies all look the same than it does if a bunch of zombies do, I think. Anyway, I don't think there's any evidence the selection is really the result of anything other than the actual poll results, with perhaps some concession to what parts are still readily available and which ones aren't. EB members may have voted differently, but being adults we are decidedly not reflective of the overwhelming majority of LEGO users, and our tastes do not necessarily reflect those of the typical voter in the poll.

I think it's largely a function of how picky the viewer is about the precision of the planet prints. I imagine this print is typical of most of the copies of the planet, and representative of the intended print design; I suspect it wasn't really designed to precisely line up with another copy of the same print, but rather to look reasonably good when put together in any of the four possible assemblies, and that the AFOLSWs here are simply applying a different standard than TLG and LFL have. I think this looks like a great set, and I'm sure I'll get at least one, but my interest in the prequel era isn't nearly so great as in the OT, so I don't think I'll scoop up multiples the way I suspect I'll do with some of the others.

It looks like five printed parts to me. I gather you weren't counting the minifigure elements, most of which are printed parts. I'm very enthusiastic about this set. I'm totally jonesing for an inexpensive means of getting TIE pilots, and I do like the Death Star elements, limited uses though they may have. I'll probably get multiples of this set.

Oh, are these sets supposedly taking place at the time(s) the buildings were built? I've always thought of them as (mostly) older buildings in the present day. I thought the Fire Brigade represented an "old-timey" firehouse that still uses its original, old-fashioned fire engine, but not a firehouse actually during the 1930s (if nothing else, the firefighters' uniforms in that set are pretty contemporary).

If you're fine with a downloaded version and not a physical copy, you should be able to get that directly from LEGO, too: http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/BuildingInstructions/default.aspx

Oooooh! Ok, first impression: Wow, this is beautiful. And there's something about it that seems to make it so essential, somehow. I don't know if this will make sense, but I was feeling despair over the entire modular buildings line ever since missing out on Green Grocer - I wasn't happy about missing the two before it, but as long as there was a chance I could get Green Grocer, it seemed Ok. Then I missed that one as well, and ever since then I've wanted the ones after it, but thought I couldn't enjoy them fully having missed out on GG - as though if I were to get any of the others, there'd still be a significant feeling of incompleteness that would overshadow any enjoyment I got from Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium or Pet Shop - until now. At the moment, I feel like I could get just the ones currently available and still be pretty happy. Indeed, if you were caught unawares by new set pics, that's pretty remarkable all by itself.

As unlikely as it is that LEGO would ever do Halo, I think it's even less likely TLG would willingly do a Street Fighter theme, even if they could get the license for free - for that matter, I don't think they'd do Street Fighter even if the SF rightsholders offered to pay LEGO to do them. I have a feeling it won't be necessary - I doubt we'll get sprues in the shipping products. They've never included part sprues in this theme, even when including versions of parts commonly offered on sprues (such as the Series 1 Diver's swim fins). There's a first for everything, of course, but I think it's unlikely.

I've found the dot codes completely unreliable. I simply can't tell with enough certainty what one is supposed to be. I just go with feeling the packets (and also usually allow myself a few random picks when beginning a new series, if I have few or none of the figures already).

I also dig the polybags! I have a bunch of unopened ones, myself. I do intend to open and use each and every LEGO set I ever get eventually, and that certainly includes the little baggies, but I also enjoy keeping a stash of unopened sets so that every once in a while I can just reach for something for a quick building fix, and it might be an old or new set. They're just nice to have around, I guess. Similarly, I've hung onto a bunch of the collectible Minifigures packets, to open whenever the mood strikes. I've already completed sets of opened minifigures, but while I plan lots of creations that'll eventually use these figures I haven't actually done any of them yet, and so haven't needed every one of my minifigures opened and assembled just yet. I keep these "extra" packets around to open whenever I feel like having a little day-brightener or whatever. I'm actually keeping these in the LEGO Halloween trick-or-treater bag/bucket given out by TRU not too long ago.

While I largely agree with you, I don't see how he outright lied about winning the race just because he'd never won before. He's making a prediction, which is generally understood differently than statements about existing or past conditions asserted to be true, and it seems clear he really means it (that he holds a sincere belief that he'll win). Aside from that, he was right, after all - he did wind up winning the race. I do believe Yoda is good, but I've seen strong arguments to the contrary from the likes of David Brin, who IIRC has argued Obi-Wan, Yoda and the other leading Jedi are almost culpable as Vader and Palpatine for some of the worst suffering ever seen in the SW universe. He's critical of the series in general, it should be noted, largely on philosophical grounds over the moral implications of the story). Hey!

Goodness, I don't know how I missed the edited chin. But it does appear a pretty small detail, although I think I see what you mean about helping the look of the overall helmet. I really hope they don't go the way of a bulky armor piece. And I do think a simple printed minifigure head is fairly likely at some point if the theme goes on long enough.

Looking at those images I don't know what I'm supposed to notice. Do you mean the eyes not glowing white? I think TLG's Iron Man mask is just painted with a simplified version of the color scheme, not necessarily a "wrong" one - the basic details are still correct (mostly red, with a gold face starting along that seam). But it's also worth remembering this was a preliminary figure; I suspect the final one will retain the basic paint application but include some finer paint detail (whiter eyes? Black at the mouth slit?). I also agree simply printing Iron Man's mask / helmet directly onto a minifigure head would work beautifully, but I do understand they went with this molded helmet in order to allow the mask to flip open like the "real" one, and I can see some value in that even if it means having the big helmet (it's not like other minifigures don't already have huge heads compared to their bodies anyway; I don't think Iron Man will look that out of place, ultimately). But I could also see them doing a simple minifigure head print on a different Iron Man figure in some future set.

Mmm, I like the poster. I'm not crazy about the presence of the Darth Maul art, but I understand that's simply part of the license-wide merchandise art for all sorts of toys and other products this year, and beyond TLG's control. I'm just really glad the main image for the "front" of the poster focuses on an exciting and beloved classic scene from the original trilogy (and the original movie, for that matter). For Star Wars visual subject matter, it's hard to beat the trench run!

You know, I actually like the mummy a lot, and made sure I got multiples. That said, I'm surprised to see it up there, though (then again, I'm surprised by most of these choices, actually). I think I must have misunderstood the original poll - I was under the impression it was specifically for figures from Series 1, and possibly Series 2. I don't remember thinking Series 3 was even an option, let alone the sole one. Holy cats, the elves are going for $15 apiece, now?! I had no idea. Perhaps I should run out and get more from that one store I know that still has S3... Anyway, I plan to pass on this as well, unless I get it for some really good price (on clearance, say). I managed to get at least three apiece of each of the original versions (and should be able to get still more, should I want them). But I do find the results interesting, anyway. Oh, edit: I will note that while I never actually got around to casting my own vote (I couldn't decide what to vote for), I personally wouldn't have voted for the Spartan or Zombie. I love both, but I personally already have enough of both (well, I'd actually like to have several times as many zombies, but with more variety, not simply dozens upon dozens of clones of the same exact zombie figure, with the same outfit torn in the same places). Believe it or not, I might actually have chosen the S1 Diver, simply because I only got a couple and wouldn't mind two or three more.

Yeah, I realized a little later there were actually four different sets with "adult" minidolls; I couldn't remember how many there were when I first posted, but I remembered those three sets as ones that had (presumed) grown-ups in them, so I looked them up for the character names, and forgot that the Beauty Shop had one as well. Argh. The minidolls exhibit a number of other "clone" characteristics as well (one more way they're really not so different from regular minifigures, it seems ) - note how Marie and Sophie's work outfits (uniforms?) use the same prints for their lapels and buttons, just on torsos molded in different colors.

Isn't that $323? But no, that doesn't sound too bad at all - though that's not the whole theme (or even the whole first year), just the launch wave. There'll be additional sets just months later when The Hobbit comes out (and undoubtedly more sets from the trilogy and possibly the new movie in the summer of next year, and then more sets from the next movie when it comes out near the end of next year, and perhaps a wave or two or three after that...).

That's lovely! TLG actually used the scrolling background technique for an official set in the Studios line, but with a paper backdrop loop instead of a brick-built one, and of course without a nifty TV "frame."

Wow, pretty neat about the Phineas & Ferb game! I do think it doesn't necessarily mean we'll get a whole licensed theme full of sets, but I think it's certainly possible, and of course the only other licensed games are also full-blown themes (the two largest licensed themes ever, in fact). Yes, I know; that's what I was talking about (in the sense of, "I'd like it more if they did System rather than Duplo, and it'd be better still if they did both, the way they already do Cars and Toy Story"). I probably omitted a few words too many. It's a little late for that, given that TLG started doing Disney sets back in 1999 with Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse the year after, and more recently has done Cars, Toy Story and Prince of Persia all before doing Pirates of the Caribbean or Marvel.