Blondie-Wan

I don't think they do that at all - quite the opposite, in fact. One just has to remember the primary market for these things is still kids around ten years old or younger. They're simply not going to prioritize them the same way adult fans do. And regardless of whether one thinks TLG has absolutely zero concern beyond making profit or actually wants to please its customers, they simply have no reason to try to make the most desirable figures more or less rare in the way you're describing - after all, regardless of which figures they produce more or fewer of, they ultimately produce a certain given overall number of figures for each series, and they will sell them all regardless of what the mix is. I suspect they try their best to gauge overall demand for each figure and balance the box assortments accordingly, and the numbers just seem strange to us AFOLs. Garden gnomes are pretty commonly depicted with fishing poles.

I know I'm not the one you were talking to, but if I may jump in here... I think this is exactly what they try to do, actually. It's just that they're using a different set of assumptions from us as to which figures are most in demand. I'd bet they did market research using actual kids to try to determine what the most in-demand minifigures from Series 1 and 2 would be, and probably didn't take AFOLs into account at all. I can easily see children (those people who make up 90%+ of TLG's core customers) being more interested in divers than cheerleaders, say, or some of the more abundant S2 figures over Spartans, and not really caring about building the sorts of huuuge armies many of us would. To a many kids, three or four or five of a figure can easily be "a lot." I think from Series 3 on they're making a real effort to balance demand from both children and AFOLs, but of course it also helps that they're simply making a lot more of all the minifigures generally.

That's an interesting idea, although I would've thought that would be a reason for using the newer parts across more figures, not fewer, since the fixed cost of the mold is a part of the cost of each element for which it's used, and if more elements are made from that one mold then the mold cost is spread across more elements, and makes up a smaller part of the cost of each. I don't know, though, and I'm sure you're right about there being a budget for the line (and each series in the line), just as with any other theme.

It appears the Turbo Shredder will be the first NinjaGo set I pick up (after the freebie sword holder promo set) - there's one on clearance for $10 at the Walmart nearest my workplace (!). I saw it there when I stopped at the store to pick up something to eat on my way into work this morning; the only reason I didn't pick it up immediately is because I'm pretty low on funds until payday and wanted to check my bank balance before I took the plunge, but it appears I'll be able to manage it. I've noticed before this particular WM has demonstrated a certain unpredictability in its LEGO sales and clearances (this is where I picked up eight copies of the $25 Toy Story set Construct-A-Zurg for $3 each, a while before it went on sale for $15 at other WMs), but I still wouldn't have expected to see them put a set released just two months earlier on clearance for two-thirds off. What does it mean - is the theme not selling well, or is this just an aberration?

I don't think it's a coincidence either, but I also don't think they thought of it quite the way you did. Remember, the overwhelming majority of their customers are young kids, not AFOLs, and even after seeing how AFOLs jumped on S1 and S2, I think their primary focus for S3 and beyond lay with kids, and trying to ensure kids would be able to have a reasonable chance of getting the ones they want. I believe the case assortment takes this into account; I'm guessing they actually don't expect nine-year-olds to want so many more Spartans or elves than traffic cops or race car drivers (as the latter figures easily fit into ongoing themes - they always do City and Racers stuff, after all).

This is wonderful! I know many people weren't able to get nearly as many of these minifigures as they'd like; getting another crack at them is going to be much appreciated. I should point out this isn't technically a rerelease of Minifigures, Series 1 (i.e., LEGO set #8683). This is a rerelease of parts from that set - while to most of us it amounts to essentially the same thing (we can get cool minifigures of zombies, cheerleaders, cavemen, etc.), there's a difference between building minifigures in the Build-A-Minifigure section and buying a little packet that comes with one complete minifigure with matching parts and accessories (plus the 4x3 tile w/ one row of studs for a base, plus the mini-poster instruction sheet). I don't have a store particularly close to me, either, though I do get to visit one every once in a while. I hope April is just the month that these parts arrive in the sections, and that they may continue to be found there after April's over, at least for a little while. It would make it easier for those of us who can visit the stores only sporadically. What would be the point of that? If this is meant to attract buyers to the store, it doesn't make sense to deliberately withhold the most desirable elements and add to the BAM mixes only those elements that people least care about (out of this series). Sure, but... so? The minifigures are intended to be toys, not investments. They're collectible, yes, but as far as LEGO's concerned that's just another aspect of their play value, not a signifier that they're meant to go up in market value. I'm sure TLG is of course well aware that many if not most of their products start rising in value on the secondary market once they're discontinued, but that's not really intended to be the driving force behind thousands of products aimed principally at kids with single-digit ages. And TLG doesn't get the money when something is sold from one collector to another, of course. I think they'd rather do what they can to satisfy their core customers (who include many, many kids who weren't able to get as many of the Series 1 minifigures as they'd like) than the relatively small percentage of speculators among their AFOLs (who themselves are a relatively small percentage of their overall customer base). I actually think that is the point - I suspect they've produced another bunch of parts for the S1 MFs precisely because they were so caught off guard by the interest in them, and the demand outstripped the intial supply. TLG certainly should be well aware there's still lots of demand for forestmen, zombies, etc., so this is a way to get more of those figures out there (while still technically not nullifying the status of 8683 as a limited production set, since these aren't being sold as the set but instead in piecemeal fashion). I, too, look forward to the opportunity to have another crack at some of these minifigures without resorting to Bricklink, eBay and the like. I did manage to get at least two of each the first time around, but I certainly would like some more of some of them - in fact, there's not one figure from Series 1 I wouldn't like to have at least one more of. I do hope all the parts are available.

For example, an intricate modular building with flick-fire missiles.

Cars is the Pixar creation with the greatest presence and success in merchandising, including what I believe is the longest-continuously-running single toy line of any Pixar property (the line of diecast metal vehicle-characters and the other toys designed to go with them). It has an inherently "toyetic" quality to it (to borrow a word from Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet), above and beyond any other Pixar creation (well, save Toy Story, obviously, and even then a lot of the toys represented in the movies are actually pre-existing real-world, non-Pixar-specific toys). There's certainly no guarantee the line will go on beyond 2011, but I think it has a good chance (indeed, it's already running more than one year anyway, since the first Cars Duplo sets came out last year).

Wow, what a great contest! I don't know that I'll have enough time to create a MOC I'm happy with, but I'll definitely think about it. I just want to add one note: That is a pretty sweet little creation, itself.

You're interested in many of the same things I am, it seems. Thanks for the link; I'll check that out myself.

Maybe. The powers-that-be behind the Indy movies have indicated they'd like to do one more and they are exploring ideas for another movie, but they haven't committed to it yet. I think it's a reasonably safe assumption that if there's a fifth film, the LEGO theme will resume, but beyond that all is unclear.

I don't know, but I'd like to think it's somebody's sly way of hinting the Indiana Jones theme will return in time for the franchise's 30th anniversary, relaunching with one or more sets based on the classic game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

That's a lovely idea about an elf with sword and hood, although I think having a hood would obscure the most distinguishing feature of its "elvenness." I also understand not having both a quiver and a cape (but as long as quivers are available in Pick-A-Brick, at least we can easily equip our own elves with quivers and use the capes for something else). Anyway, I do hope they do more elves in later series, ideally with different weapons (or other accessories) as you suggest.

Thanks for the response! Interesting that it's not just mine (and nice, since it suggests plenty of people now have another opportunity to get this set). I wonder whether they simply found some additional stock of it in a warehouse somewhere, or what. That might explain why they're now carrying it for $9.99 (a full dollar below its official MSRP of $10.99, and five dollars below what TRU originally carried it for with their usual markup).

I noticed when I put mine together that it didn't have an extra copy of the Dagger of Time, unlike all the other sets in this theme (even the Brickmaster one). Not a big deal, of course, since it's in every set in the them (and duplicated in every set other than this one); it just strikes me as odd that this one set wouldn't get a spare of something all the others do. I was perversely glad to see it absent from this image, since it means my copy wasn't 'missing' an extra piece. The fact that I feel this way probably means I've gotten really spoiled by TLG's practice of including spares of certain pieces... It still is readily available, actually, at least at many outlets. I still see this regularly at Target and Toys 'R' Us, and LEGO's own Shop at Home still has it as well.

I mentioned earlier (self-quote below) that I've seen Banana Balance and Pirate Plank at my own local TRU; they first appeared there at least a week ago, though I don't know the exact date. TRU does have a longstanding tendency to be the first vendor to get a lot of the newest LEGO products, though, of course. I'm sure lots of US TRU stores have those two games now. I don't know about Frog Rush yet, but I've personally seen Banana Balance at the local Toys 'R' Us here in Tallahassee, Florida. They seem to have just gotten it within the past week or so, along with Pirate Plank, another newer game not yet available through Shop at Home in the US.

I actually had considered that, and I know LEGOLAND is run by Merlin Entertainment, but it obviously still generates money for LEGO. I think they could do something to tie all the services together for a single customer account, in much the same way companies often work together to offer coupons, cross-promotions, etc. As far as it making less money... I'm not so sure. I mean, it might, but it could just as easily go the other way; that's why I was wondering whether it had ever been considered. Someone might want to do some number-crunching to find out for sure. Some potential customers who aren't presently interested in some of the services might be compelled to check them out in this form - for example, people who haven't tried LEGO Universe and presently aren't about to might give it a try after all as long as they can get access to it anyway when they also sign up for LEGOLAND admission and the Master Builder Academy. Alternately, some people might sign up for the service because they want MBA and LU, and would also like to go to LEGOLAND but aren't sure they'll be able to go; for some such people, they'd never buy a LEGOLAND ticket unless and until they were specifically planning a trip, but if you could get it bundled with the rest of the stuff, a lot of people would likely think, "eh, sure, I'll might use it sometime" and not necessarily have a specific plan to go.

Thanks for your response! Do you know if your Toys 'R' Us had gotten more copies of Ambush in Cairo recently, as mine did, or were those the same copies lingering on the shelves since the set was still active? Both the tank and the Grail Temple are particularly wanted sets for many fans. I do hope they resume the line and produce sets based on both...

Lots of views but no responses. Is there really no interest in something like this? I was thinking it could be great for all LEGO fans who enjoy more than one of LEGO's ongoing, subscriber-based products/services; it could save money (and perhaps provide additional benefits). At the same time it might be good for the company, since many people might sign up for the premium service even if they don't intend to take full advantage of all its benefits.

That was a little under two years ago. Since then I've added plenty more; my still-incomplete Peeron listing now says I have 1373 minifigures, and that's missing a lot (all my collectible Minifigures Series 2 and 3, a handful of promo polybags, Vintage Minifigure Collection Vol. 5, and some miscellaneous components from Pick-A-Brick). Just my Series 2 and 3 CMs ought to push it to somewhere upwards of 1500, but I don't have an exact count. Yet. (Edit: just added two Pharoah's Quest sets to my Peeron listing, bringing my count up; also added vexorian's quote, which I found highly amusing :D )

For a while as I was first coming out of my dark ages several years ago, I kept all my boxes, but they soon became unmanageable in my tiny apartment, and I had to let most of them go. I've made a point of keeping certain boxes, though: any Star Wars sets specifically pertaining to the original movie, Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope; any polybags; any boxes to "special" sets; any packaging that itself could be considered LEGO elements, such as the various plastic canisters. A couple months ago a friend who still has most of his sets from the early '80s decided he could no longer hang on to the boxes, but realized I might want them and so gave me some boxes from Classic Space and Castle sets. They're not in the best of shape, but I just can't bring myself to let these boxes go, so I'm trying to figure out how best to stabilize and store them.

If I may quote myself... Has anyone else seen their local TRUs (or any other stores) suddenly receive some new stock of Ambush in Cairo (or any of the other Indy sets) recently? Surely my local TRU isn't the only one...

Yeah, that's exactly what I thought it probably was, but I did say hope springs eternal. Ah, well. Thanks for the information, at least.

I still want this, and now have no chance of ever getting one. I'm sick over missing it along with the first three modular buildings, Town Plan, and most of the UCS Star Wars sets, especially the Millennium Falcon.

I was just wondering... for those AFOLs (or well-indulged kids ) interested in experiencing LEGO-related fun in as many forms and to as full an extent as possible, might it be a cool idea if there were some sort of "super-subscription/pass/membership" option combining access to all the ongoing recurring paid services and whatnot offered by LEGO and its associates? I'm thinking it would be neat if, say, there were this option that combined a LEGO Club membership / Brickmaster / Master Building Academy subscription, LEGOLAND theme park admission, LEGO Universe access, etc. into a single "premium" deal. It might cost more per year than any of those individual things, but could save money when compared against the combined separate prices of all of them, and perhaps offer some additional benefit. For example, $200 could get one a year of unlimited admission to LEGOLAND, a year's subscription/membership to Brickmaster/MBA, and a year of access to LEGO Universe, all with an additional small exclusive set, or something like that. Has something like this ever been considered?