Blondie-Wan

I'm sure many would (I can think of one person here who'd probably particularly like to have as many versions of the Penguin as possible ), but I don't think that particular one is going to be made. As I understand it, the '60s TV show and movie (everything with Adam West as Batman) is one of the few Batman iterations not owned by DC parent company Warner Bros. (I believe Fox has the rights to that show and movie, though of course it was licensed from DC), so it's probably out of bounds for the deal, but I could be wrong.

140? Are they putting 70 to a box instead of 60, now, or are they shipping them in different assortment sizes (to go with those new hanging cardboard dispensers), or what?

I imagine the means of driving the vehicle also makes a difference - that is, whether you're manually pushing it around, as opposed to the driving force actually coming from the treads. If you make LEGO sandcrawlers, bulldozers and tanks and just push them around yourself, I would expect the treads to slide rather than roll on very smooth surfaces, but if you motorize the models and let them move under their own power, things should be different (as long as the surface is level, that is; I think they'd still slip and slide when trying to run on inclines). But I should note I haven't actually built motorized treaded vehicles (yet, but I intend to ), so I can't speak from firsthand experience.

According to Peeron, the frog has been in trans-green in five sets. Note also that listing isn't quite up-to-date, since there are currently available at least three different sets I know of featuring frogs in colors not even listed there (one of which features twenty frogs, five apiece in four different colors).

Well... it does list thirteen, but those thirteen include Batman and Bruce Wayne, who are of course the same guy, so perhaps there's one more. Or better yet, it does also say "13 iconic super heroes" (emphasis added), and most of the characters listed are villains, so perhaps there's a whole slew of additional minifigures coming out. Ok, probably not, but still. At any rate, the press release does note this is a multi-year licensing agreement (as is the Marvel one), as one might expect (since both these comic universes are huge, after all, and fertile grounds for years and years' worth of inspiration for sets, should TLG be interested; even when it was limited to just Batman, it went for two or three years with at least that many waves, after all). I fully expect these themes to run beyond 2012, in which case we should eventually see plenty of characters not represented in the initial wave (as has been the case with every other multi-wave theme, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Toy Story, and even the previous Batman and Spider-Man lines.

Indeed, it also says the "complete 2012 LEGO Super Heroes: DC Universe collection" has an estimated total retail value of $250. That's more than just a few constraction figures and a handful of minifigures.

You say that as though DUPLO weren't itself LEGO (but I do understand what you mean).

Based on what we've seen, I don't think we need to scramble quite so madly for these (unless we're intent on getting absolutely as many as possible of one or more specific figures). Series 1 and 2 may have been scarce, but from Series 3 on they appear to have been quite plentiful, which fits with what we've been told of how TLG was caught off guard by the demand for the first series and ramped up production beginning with Series 3. From that point on, I think we should be reasonably certain of having a few months to get all the ones we want in stores; we don't need to worry about getting every single one within the first 24 hours they hit our local shop.

The LEGO Game Ramses Pyramid includes a tan 32x32 baseplate, if that helps. Of course it costs a lot more than just a baseplate normally would, but you also get a bunch of other parts (and instructions and game rules, of course!). I imagine they'll keep them around for a while for just that reason.

I don't think "Minifig Collections" will be marketed as such (i.e., sets of nothing but DC and/or Marvel minifigures); I think the OP inferred it from the press releases which simply listed various characters that will be available in minifigure form in the collections, but I believe all those minifigures will be included with regular sets.

These are too cool. I think I'll have to cobble together versions of these figures myself out of my own parts (or as close as I can get, anyway, given that the lightning and globe designs are unique to these creations). Did everyone else notice the fine detail on Galileo's jovian globe? It has the bands and even the Great Red Spot.

Hrm. Like others, I don't know that I care for the implementation... although it is a cute idea. I might pick these up if they're really inexpensive (which presumably would mean on sale). They're still collectible (with a small "c"). First of all, "collectible" doesn't necessarily mean "limited" (although it can imply it); it simply means something has some appeal to collectors. Regular sets can be considered "collectible," even ones that remain in production for years. Secondly, the line isn't actually called "Collectible Minifig(ure)s," anyway; that's just how we refer to them - the actual, official name of the theme is simply "Minifigures," and TLG doesn't even use the word "collectible" in most (any?) of the product descriptions and other marketing for them - it just says you can collect them (there may be some official notice somewhere that does highlight their "collectibility" and/or limited-production status, but if there is, it's not particularly prominent on either the Minifigures theme site or the Shop at Home product page). And finally, the minifigures available with these speech bubbles and the calendar (and through the LEGO Store Build-A-Minifigure kiosks) don't fully duplicate the Minifigures minifigures, anyway - the ones with the calendar and so on lack the packaging, 3x4 base tile/plate and "collector's leaflet" (TLG's term for the little poster-like checklist/instruction sheet).

For a contest like this, they would probably use whatever is either the original or the current MSRP, regardless of whether or not that's what it's actually currently being sold for. However, even when new the game didn't retail for $50 on every platform to begin with (different platform versions had/have different prices), and if it did it wouldn't leave any money left in the estimated total prize value for the t-shirt and the Batcave set, as noted. (It should probably be pointed out that even if it's not an error, the $50 estimate is just that, an estimate, and likely a rough one at that, because of the different possible values for the game - the real prize value depends upon what version of the LEGO Batman videogame the winner picks). But all that said... yeah, it does seem quite possible there's an error in the prize value information, since the numbers of first and second prizes to be awarded don't match what it says elsewhere on the page.

Oh, goodness, that's hysterical. Given that bio, I have to assume they're now starting to keep AFOLs in mind when dreaming these up.

I'd have to disagree on the characterization of the clown hair and robot headpiece (!) as "not very interesting" (just what do you consider interesting minifigure parts, if not those?) I'd have dearly loved to have gotten some robot headpieces the last time I was at that very same store. I did get some other Minifigures series 1 parts (mostly Forestmen elements, plus a few Clown, Cheerleader and Magician parts) and some mermaid tails. I also saw a black kepi hat (Imperial Shuttle pilot hat) that I meant to get but forgot about when I was putting together my final assembly.

Wow, both of these are fantastic, especially the VW. Like so many others I didn't have any idea just how nice it would be, but my... it's simply delightful, isn't it? "Make LEGO models, not war" indeed... I suspect you're right on point A, and until quite recently I would've thought you'd be right about B as well, but note that they currently offer a set over in the Duplo Cars line that doesn't just have a non-stickered logo for a licensed, non-LEGO brand in it, but has one that isn't even merely printed on the piece; it's actually molded into the element - and it just so happens to be the Volkswagen logo (!). I could totally see them wanting to on that basis, but my understanding (apologies for not having links handy; all I can say at the moment is what I remember reading somewhere) is that TLG decided some years ago to stop printing other companies' logos on their bricks simply for branding reasons - to preserve the brand identity of the iconic LEGO brick, or something like that, I believe. If they're now actually molding a VW logo into a Duplo minibus body for the Duplo Fillmore "figure," though, I can't help but wonder whether there's been a change in policy... anyone know?

One would think so, but in the Star Wars line they've variously represented the Rebels' Echo Base on Hoth with a $50 set, a $25 set and now a $90 set, for example. I certainly think it's possible (say, a Bat-computer console against some cave wall). Then again, as I noted it does appear there's already an error in the rules since the prize quantities don't match; maybe one or more of the prize values are wrong, too...

No, it's not the same hair.

We don't have a list of sets. Most of the information we have, including the list of minifigures, can be seen in the two press releases from LEGO.com: Marvel press release DC press release There are 13 minifigures confirmed for each license, for a grand total of 26 confirmed minifigures. In addition, there are 4 buildable action figures for each license-- more about them can be seen in the Action Figures subforum (there are two, Captain America and Joker, who have not been seen). Additionally, we have some additional hints from the prize info noted in the rules for the LEGO Super Heroes Challenge contest. Second prize is "the complete 2012 LEGO Super Heroes: DC Universe collection," which is stated to have an estimated retail value of $250, and third prize is "the LEGO Super Heroes: DC Universe Batcave set, LEGO Batman video game for the platform of your choice, and a Batman T-shirt," which is stated to have an estimated total retail value of $50. This gives us an idea of the total combined size of the sets (though I don't know if this includes things like magnets, keychains, etc.), and also tells us there'll be a Batcave set, albeit a much smaller one than the last one (since it, a copy of the videogame and a t-shirt combined will have a total value around $50). (Incidentally, I just noticed there must be some error on the contest page - the main prize information in the upper part of the page says there'll be eight copies apiece awarded of the first and second prizes, but the detailed rules below that say there'll be just four. I wonder which is right...)

I don't know, but I could see the Batman and Green Lantern figures being both "limited edition" and just "previews" of some of the figures included with regular sets next year - they could be limited in the sense of the overall Comic-Con set (i.e., the whole package - the figure parts in the packaging they come with) being limited to this release (you won't be able to to Toys 'R' Us and buy a little baggie with a card and a minifigure that says "Comic-Con," etc.), but the figures themselves could still be in regular sets.

Wow, these are great. But then, this whole line in general tends to be wonderful, IMO. Like others I do think the Alien could have benefitted from a different torso design - simpler would've been better, I think, even if it meant a plain, unprinted torso. TLG probably wanted to give it some extra pizzazz to add value, though, and I really can't complain; it's not as though we can't swap parts around and use completely different torsos for these guys while using their torsos for robots or other things. The head is really all that matters here, and it's terrific. The skater may be another repeat, but it's a welcome one. It's perhaps notable that most if not all of the repeated roles are users of some sort of sport board - skateboard, surfboard, snowboard. Certainly these are all figures one might reasonably wish to use a number of in a scene (to have multiple skaters in a skating park, multiple snowboarders on a ski slope, etc.), while at the same time wanting lots of variation (since they're generally not team sports, thus not calling for uniforms, unlike, say, players of hockey, football/soccer or baseball). There are several other figure types in the various series for whom one might want more variation, though (tribal hunter, cowboy, zombie, etc.) that have had little or no duplication (including all those team sports players - they need other teams to play against, after all). I wonder why TLG seems focused on the folks on boards... For me, Mechanic's hair + Mutt's torso (and head and legs) = Mutt, perhaps, actually. The male hair element that debuted in the second Indiana Jones wave (the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull release wave) somehow looks okay for Mutt, but isn't really very much like his hairstyle in the movie; in fact, it's actually closer to the one seen on Indy himself when he's not wearing his hat, even though TLG didn't use it for that. The big cowlick on the top of the mechanic's hair is notably different from the "real" Mutt's hair, but if not for that one aspect, I think it would work well. I plan to go ahead and try it on Mutt to see how it looks.

Well, let's not pretend that just because they might seek to reduce costs it makes them worse than the average company, either. I think it's entirely possible for a company to both seek to be a good corporate citizen in terms of treating its employees well, paying them fairly, adopting good environmental practices, etc., and at the same time seek to decrease costs and maximize revenues by outsourcing to whatever countries can produce the product at low costs, among other things.

I had a terrible problem accommodating everything in my tiny studio apartment. I think I've resolved the issue, though, having just moved into a 3-bedroom house with my girlfriend; one of the bedrooms is designated a "fun room," principally for LEGO.

It does, thanks! I'm a bit disappointed to find out one can't get minifigure elements this way, but not really surprised. The other stuff is informative and appreciated. Am I correct in understanding this to mean that if someone wants a whole "K box" of a certain element in PAB and can't physically get to the store, the store will ship it as they would any other product, and/or take an order for it if they don't have a full box in stock?

I hope the HP fans here will forgive a slight digression, but I was wondering about the topic description, "Like the Indiana Jones one, but for HP." I hadn't realized there was one of these topics for IJ already; I was thinking of starting one. Does anyone have a link to that thread handy? Edit: Never mind, I found it. It turns out I'd already posted in it myself. I must be going senile...