Blondie-Wan

Where's the fun in that? :D Indeed! It's actually a lot of fun having piled up a bunch of holiday LEGO sets and opening them up throughout the month in the leadup to Christmas (and should also give me more time to organize the "fun room" to be better able to accommodate the larger items before I put them together ). I began the month with fresh, unopened copies of the '10 and '11 City Advent Calendars and the '11 Star Wars one, all three Winter Village sets (I got the first two last year but didn't have the space in my previous apartment to put them together, so now I get to do all three back-to-back), and this year's matched pair of Holiday Sets ("1 of 2" and "2 of 2"), and a few days ago I added the Creator Wreath polybag; I might pick up one or two more of the latter, and/or one or two more of last year's Christmas Tree one to fill out the collection a little more. Every day until the 24th (or rather the 23rd, since my girlfriend and I will leave town that day to spend Christmas weekend at my parents' place), I get to put together at least three little LEGO models, and sometimes more than that. After Christmas I'll absorb the elements from the calendars into the general parts assortment (so, more minifigures to add to my Cityfolk and Star Warriors, for example), but I enjoy having them set aside for the holidays until the time is right. I'm thinking of picking up a second SW calendar to save for next year, actually, the same way I wound up saving last year's City calendar for this one - I'd like to have more of some of the minifigures and such that are in the calendar, but I won't necessarily need to use them before Christmas 2012 anyway, so why not? Back on topic... another extra regular 1x1 brick with yesterday's City model. Sweet!

If you'll pardon some corrections and additions, you're overlooking quite a few (though you've also got at least one series that doesn't exist): First, there wasn't a new animated Spider-Man TV series in the '70s, but there were no fewer than three different live-action versions on TV then - a short-lived American TV series, a Japanese TV series, and segments on the kids' educational series The Electric Company. There was also an animated series or two (depending upon how you count them) in the '80s. Wikipedia has a whole page devoted to just Spider-Man adaptations for TV, all with links to their own pages, of course. Additionally, Superman has appeared in movie serials as far back as the '40s, and on a live-action TV series in the '50s. Superman has also had a broadway show, as Spidey does now. Wikipedia has a list here of the numerous Superman incarnations for other media. You're overlooking quite a few (as well as with Spidey).

Oh? Where and how do you get it? Is it listed in Pick-a-Brick?

Which of course that makes it all the more imperative that the OP's issue is resolved ASAP, I'd say. ddrlegodude, have you tried posting about your problem over in the LU forums on LEGO's site?

I've gotten the City Advent Calendars for the last couple years as well as this one, but unlike in 2009, last year I was too busy and too constrained with space to actually open it up and enjoy it through December. This year I've gotten not only the City calendar but the Star Wars one as well, and since I missed out on enjoying last year's City calendar that year, I'm currently enjoying all three calendars together this year - City 2010, City 2011 and Star Wars 2011 - and a few things have struck me... First, doing three of them at the same time I couldn't help but notice that TLG has put all the calendar dates in the same place. I'm not talking about simply having the same die-cut perforated squares to open; it's only natural that they'd do that, since there's no reason to remold the inner tray from one year to the next, and of course the doors open over the same spots in the tray each year. I mean that all four of the calendars I've gotten - City '09, '10 and '11 and SW '11 - use the same locations for the specific dates, despite there being no apparent reason for doing so and the fact that they all still have different box artwork under the flap (over all the doors) anyway. Secondly, is it just me, or are the Advent Calendars getting a little more generous than usual with the spare parts? We all know there are certain elements TLG routinely offers spares of - 1x1 slopes ("cheese"), 1x1 round plates, small Technic pins, etc. - but I'm getting a lot more than the expected number in mine, particularly in the City ones. Day 2 for last year's calendar has a little boy wearing a ball cap and excitedly brandishing a (presumably toy) sword; mine came with an extra ball cap (!) and not one but two extra swords (!!), all in the baggie for just Day 2. This year's Day 2, featuring a small catapult for throwing snowballs (1x1 round bricks), included an extra 1x1 round brick "snowball" (maybe not an extra, but the instructional illustration shows only two, not the three I got) and an extra Technic pin - not one of the smaller ones that always have extras, but a large, 3-long one (a non-friction one, in tan). Day 4 from today's calendar, featuring a section of wall of the little police station, includes an extra 1x1 brick - a regular square one, not a round one like the "snowball" from two days ago. Can I continue to look forward to all these spares over the next three weeks? I know the Advent Calendars would tend to have more spares than usual for a set since they use so many separate bags and the spares are generally one of each "spare" item per bag, but still (and no, this isn't a complaint, just an observation)...

I think if I were getting these I'd just get them in yellow and perhaps red, for that "official LEGO Store / packaging" look. I'd also rather not use blue or especially black since they're darker, and would tend to make many of the details on some of the minifigures harder to see, being swallowed up in the shadows and all. My choice would be yellow cases with either red plates (to echo LEGO's usual color schemes) or white ones (for maximum reflected light bouncing around in the little compartments), but that's just me...

But you can't order the boat rigging directly from LEGO, though, right?

They actually did issue a Star Trek construction toys license, at least once, several years ago... to Mega Bloks. They did a set of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. Of course, I'm sure people at this forum would agree giving the license to MB is pretty anti-fan, indeed (to AFOLs at least, if not Trekkers as well).

Thanks for the reply!

Ah, gotcha. I have the official calendar and intend to open it day by day, as it was meant to be, but haven't opened it up yet (I still have a few hours left, after all). I'd prefer an all-OT era one, myself, but I can always use parts for other things anyway...

Huh - "complete black," you say... so they did release ones with plates the same color as the case after all, then? Interesting (especially since black is the color I'd least expect them to do that with). not quite the answer i was looking for... Well... aren't the plates just regular 4x6 LEGO plates? If so, why not just replace the ones that come in the case with the ones you want? 4x6 plates aren't particularly hard to come by, if you don't have all the ones you need already. You can get them in Shop at Home's Pick-a-Brick in black and several other colors, for starters...

Mm, that's a nice model design for the ship you've got. I can't help but notice you've begun this endeavor with a vessel from the very opening scene of Episode I. Are you going through the saga chronologically, by chance? Certainly, the Alliance festivities at Bright Tree Village and Luke's reunion with those he treasures most seem somehow fitting for Christmas Eve...

Those are the same (only) four colors I've seen them in, and I believe they're the only ones that have been made (so far), though I don't know for sure. There doesn't seem to be any attempt to coordinate the colors here with ones used for the Minifigures packaging. The three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) do seem to be the main colors I see "extended line" and licensed storage and "lifestyle" (clocks, radios, etc.) products in. I don't see colors like orange, a lighter (medium?) blue, lime, and so on used much for such things. Then again, the inclusion of black seems a bit surprising given those patterns, so who knows. If they just added white to the four they have now, it would give them all five of the old classic colors that used to make up virtually all LEGO elements back in the early / mid-'70s, and that made up the colors in the square frequently shown next to the logo in those days. I've also noticed the 4x6 plates included with these cases also vary in color, being white, black or red; I don't know or remember whether there were more than those three. IIRC, though, the color of the plates in a given case is always different from that of the case itself, at least in the cases I've seen.

True, but their absence continues in the latest version of the Millennium Falcon, despite its inclusion of Vader, who never even set foot aboard the ship. I don't have a problem with having him there since he was briefly "at" the ship, but if he's included than surely Artoo and Threepio are both warranted as well. (Not that that stops me from wanting both sets, of course.)

Hey! Some of us love Artoo and Threepio (and they're pretty essential to the narrative). Yes, they're in plenty of other sets, but still - I mean, so is Luke, but we don't see him getting left out of the Millennium Falcon (well... at least not since 4504). Not only that, but since Artoo and Threepio are two of the characters whose appearances change least (as opposed to most of the clothes-wearing characters), including them works for recreating scenes from not just Episode IV but V and VI* as well, whereas Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan and even Han himself work only for certain movies, since they understandably don't wear the same outfits all the way through the entire trilogy. Moreover, Artoo and especially Threepio spend more time aboard the Falcon in the course of the trilogy than Luke (both of them are always on board whenever he is, but he's not always on board whenever they are); Threepio is also on board more often than Leia (he's on the ship every time she is, but again, the reverse isn't true). TLG has now done two "minifigure-scale" Millennium Falcon sets back-to-back that both include both Luke and Leia but neither Artoo nor Threepio, when if anything, the two droids should be there more often than the two humans. Incidentally, though the minifigure complement is based upon scenes from Episode IV, the physical configuration of the ship itself is more like her form in Episodes V and VI (that is, with the additional landing gear installed). *deleted ones, anyway

Nice! I don't see anything in the rules about including piece counts, so I assume we don't have to keep track of that, though I also assume being able to provide the piece count (and have it be more or less in line with the counts for the three official sets) will help. Am I right? Also, there's been an ongoing discussion in these parts regarding what sorts of locales would make good and/or likely additions to this line, some of which are really natural ideas. May we use some of the same sorts of things that have been suggested there? Naturally, I assume that if we're free to do so, we should really try to make ours stand out, since obviously the basic idea of what kind of building it should be won't carry much weight, and there are more likely to be other interpretations of the same concept...

I know, but I'm not sure they are being consistent. Lots of the "current" minifigures that are being replaced (or are about to be) are already comparable in detail to non-SW minifigures from such themes as Kingdoms, City, even the Minifigures line (the collectible ones), and some of the ones replacing them are arguably more detailed than other minifigures in those other lines. Moreover, a lot of the upcoming redesigns don't actually appear to be substantially more detailed than the ones they replace, just differently detailed. Above the waist, the upcoming stormtroopers don't appear to be more detailed than the current ones; they just have printed legs now, and the torsos have a different (but not necessarily more detailed, more realistic or better) interpretation of the stormtrooper armor than the current ones do. I know, but they don't specifically need redesigns of all the minifigures for that.

You know, I actually don't know that they really "have" to. Oh, some characters may be due for updates, but a lot of older figures work perfectly fine as is; was anyone really crying out for a redesigned stormtrooper torso? As far as keeping up with the market goes, I think TLG pretty much creates its own market when it comes to Star Wars construction toys. It's not as though they really have competition from Mega Bloks or Hasbro or whatever; other companies either don't have the Star Wars license, or don't make the same kind of toy. TLG does compete with them to an extent, in that someone who buys both Star Wars LEGO sets and other sorts of toys (whether Star Wars or not) may choose whether or not to prioritize LEGO Star Wars according to how much the current sets appeal to oneself, but I think updated minifigure versions of previously-released characters are only part of the equation.

I don't have it. I very much want it, but doubt I'll be able to afford it before it's discontinued, alas. I do intend to get it if circumstances permit, though.

I'm sure there's a slew of reasons it isn't yet as popular as it could become, including all the various ones discussed by other posters above. I also suspect most people haven't even heard of it, and have no idea something like Cuusoo exists.

Same here on both counts, but my point was that I don't think a character's level of fame is necessarily a consideration. I think the immense popularity of Chewie didn't factor into what minifigure to include with Endor / the AT-ST either way; I think they chose a standard Imperial AT-ST driver simply because that's the minifigure that makes the most sense with that particular vehicle. I'll be very glad to get it myself, though I do hope they revisit Endor eventually and give us an Ewok with glider.

Well, sure; I'm certain TLG doesn't arbitrarily redesign these things for absolutely no reason, after all. Presumably the new designs help sell sets, and honestly I don't even mind too much for unique, named characters like Darth Vader and Han Solo (though I think the new Boba Fett is just a little action-figurish for my tastes; I think once I finally pick up the current Slave I I'll use a Boba Fett combining elements of the current minifigure with ones from the "classic" Boba I already have from several older sets). But it's pretty vexing to have dozens of older stormtroopers and see what's waiting in the wings for next year. I mean, now what?

I've had PAB orders a few times here (in the US), and nearly always they've taken slightly longer (a couple days to a week) to arrive than regular sets (almost every time I've made a PAB order, it's been part of a larger order that also included sets or other items, so I can usually do a direct comparison). The most recent one I had took quite a bit longer, though - apparently because one particular element I'd ordered was temporarily out of stock (it appears to have gone out of stock just after I placed the order), and they must have held the rest of my PAB order until they could complete it. I can therefore say from (recent!) experience that it can indeed take a few weeks; it seems to be an unusual occurrence, though.

I don't know that TLG is going to distinguish between "famous" and "less famous" characters in this theme, and there's going to be at least one set right out of the gate that comes with a specific, named character - Sebulba, with Tatooine; it also looks as though the Bespin / Twin-pod Cloud Car set will have Lobot. That said, I do think it's likely they won't do an Endor / AT-ST / Chewbacca one, though, simply because they're already going to be doing an Endor / AT-ST / AT-ST Driver one, and I think it's unlikely they'll do a couple Planets sets that share planets and vehicles, differing only in the characters included (but I could be wrong, of course).

I don't think so. We don't need to go all the way to "support them going back to the old minifig design" just because we'd like the designs to stay a little more stable. The early Aldar Beedo figure you posted an image of is clearly an aberration, as it's a pretty random assemblage of elements to which TLG assigned one of the podracer names, without it even bearing a general resemblance to the character. It's far from representative of the entire original few waves, though. If nothing else, I'd really prefer for the uniformed troops to not change over time. It's one thing when the primary characters are redesigned, since one's generally going to use only one minifigure of a specific character in a specific outfit at a time anyway, but it's kind of a big hindrance to army builder-types when something like the Rebel pilot flight suit or the stormtrooper armor is redesigned - if we've been getting sets over the years and have amassed several figures in the older designs, do we now start our armies all over again from scratch in order to use the new ones while letting our old ones go to waste, or forever stick to however many we managed to get of the older types (adding to them only with figures / sets expensively acquired on the secondary market, if at all), or mix and match both versions and have non-uniform uniformed troops? I've been mulling over how best to take advantage of my existing parts inventory, expand my forces and retain a cohesive look as we go forward, and the redesigns and new elements for such things as the Hoth Rebel trooper headgear, Rebel pilot flightsuit torso, TIE Figher pilot and AT-AT driver helmets, etc. all pose their own challenges, though I think I've arrived at solutions for most of them I'm comfortable with. But now that we're getting new stormtrooper torsos and legs, I'm not sure what I'm going to do...