Blondie-Wan

What's really peculiar is that a bunch of them were clearanced for $16 at one of my local Wal-Marts (I noted earlier that I'd gotten one at that price, and was contemplating getting a bunch more), but they went back up in price, to $19 (!). I double-checked my own sales receipt, to make sure I hadn't misremembered the price I'd gotten it at; sure enough, I bought it for $16, and days later the price was increased by $3, even though it's a clearance item. That's still a great deal for the set, of course; I just think it's so darn strange that they lowered it and then raised it again (perhaps it's not considered to be on clearance, merely on sale?)...

As noted in the topic description, this is probably just a pipe dream fueled by little more than carelessly-crafted promotional copy, but since it is there in black-and-white, I thought I'd go ahead and mention it, just in case... This article on the upcoming LEGOLAND Florida has a nice rundown of the basic information concerning the park's attractions and other details, including this odd tidbit about one of the stores in the park area known as Fun Town: Ok, so "Studio Store" = a store dedicated to stuff from themes based around various screen characters and other licensed properties; that makes sense. But Indiana Jones? Batman? Bob the Builder? None of those are currently in production as LEGO themes, though hopes for returns spring eternal. Another oddity is Clutch Powers - not really a licensed theme despite being the very first example cited after "licensed products," but since Clutch is still a character from narrative media (a straight-to-video movie, in this case), it still fits (since the important distinction of "Studio Store" for patrons is surely that it offers stuff based around various movies and shows and whatnot, not that it offers stuff licensed by LEGO from various rightsholders). I'm inclined to think whoever drew up the description simply pasted in a list of licensed properties from some other, older press release (perhaps one from a few years ago describing a similar store at one of the other parks?), and didn't update it to reflect current licenses... but I don't think Clutch Powers debuted until after at least one or two of those licensed themes had been discontinued (or put on hiatus), and Harry Potter certainly didn't return until after both Indiana Jones and Batman had been. Like I said, it's probably just wishful thinking... but (to clutch at straws), could there be something more here? Is it possible those licensed themes will be back by the latter part of this year, when the park opens?

Heh! Thanks, but I wasn't really trying to pwn anyone; I really just wanted to emphasize that not all pieces are the same, and some are worth more than others. Price-per-piece is a useful metric, but not the only one, and I think it's entirely possible for something with this set's price and piece count to be a fair deal, as I suspect this one will be.

Excellent! I'll trade you 20, count 'em, twenty 1x1 round plates in assorted colors for just a measly ten pieces - all I want are two 48x48 baseplates, three light bricks, a sound brick, an XL Power Functions motor, two large Rock Raiders / Power Miners drill bits with chrome finishes and an NXT controller. Yes, I know you're getting a ridiculously awesome deal, but I like to help others that way.

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.

In fairness, there's a difference between "best" and "favorite." Someone can easily say one licensed theme is "best" while having a completely different favorite.

Very nice! The distinctive lines of the DeLorean are tough to recreate in LEGO; this is the best of several attempts I've seen. Nice work! Do you intend to do a Back to the Future version? It seems the obvious next step (given how people automatically think of the movies now when they see one of these cars - even lots of the posts in this thread talk about how close this is to "the movie" or something similar even though you specifically created a "plain," non-movie version).

Yikes! That sucks. When you say "missing," do you mean completely missing (that is, no torso at all), or did it just come with a different torso from the one it's supposed to come with?

Indeed, even LEGO itself can vary its pricing from store to store (or at least brick-and-mortar stores to the online store). I was in the LEGO Store in Lawrenceville, GA last month, and they were selling their remaining Prince of Persia sets for 50% off (huzzah!), but the online LEGO store still has them all at full price. Currently, different Wal-Marts in my area have different clearanced sets - a set might be clearanced at one store, clearanced for a different price at another store, and full price at still another. Even more bizarrely, on rare occasion I've seen things apparently clearanced somewhere, sell out and then return a while later at full price (!). This happened to me just months ago with the Toy Story set Construct-A-Zurg - at a time when every other Wal-Mart in town had it around full price at $24.97, the one close to where I work inexplicably marked it at $3.00 (!!!). Some time later, it was marked down to $15 everywhere as part of a sale, and this same store got some more in at that price. Then IIRC it went back up to $24.97, and now it's clearanced for something like $13 at all of them, including this particular store, but it's still more than four times what they sold it for just months ago.

2010 was full of cool stuff, but sadly I wasn't able to go after all of it, at least not right away... Atlantis is a fun-looking theme, but so far I've gotten very little of it - my limited finances and my prioritization of certain other themes have shoved this one to the back burner for me. I do regret this, since it's full of fun elements and colors, and many of the sets do appear to have fun play features. With many sets from the early waves now being clearanced I think I'll go after more of this, though I don't think I can go after the whole line. Everything true about Atlantis for me is equally true of Power Miners, but various sales and clearances have allowed me to get quite a bit more from this theme than from the other recent / current sci-fi action themes. I absolutely adore the touches in many of the sets hinting at the more mundane aspects of the PMs' existence (the vending machine in Lavatraz is full of win). The firey new lava-based rock monsters are fun, too, and I hope to eventually get at least enough PM sets to have a full set of all the monsters in all colors. City is full of great stuff, and also zillions of police and firefighters. As with so many themes I'm still playing catch-up, working more on stuff from '09 than from '10, so I can't say too much about the 2010 sets, other than that the emphasis on cops and firefighters is making it easier on my wallet than it might've been. I do want some of the air travel sets, though, and a few cops and firefighters can't hurt... The collectible minifigures are utterly fantastic, and just about the only new theme I've made a point of getting in its entirety as soon as each wave is released - of course, with this theme I have little choice if I want it all, since they just don't stay around very long. I've gotten at least two of every figure from Series 1 & 2 (and at least one of each from Series 3, so far), and many more than that of some of them, and wouldn't mind still more. Honestly, I just wish more people could get them more easily. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a terrific theme, and it's a shame the movie it's attached to didn't do better. I do have some somewhat mixed feelings about it, since Indiana Jones was apparently discontinued (or put on hiatus indefinitely) to make room for this theme (and I wouldn't be surprised if TLG itself wishes it had stuck with Indy for a while instead of launching this), but as long as Indy was put on hiatus, it's nice that its "replacement" is something that has proven so useful for adding to / expanding the Indy theme. Some of the many new elements PoP has introduced could just as easily have been designed for Indy, and many more are certainly handy for it. It also has some wonderful new colors and is entirely sticker-free - when's the last time an entire licensed theme was done without any stickers? Thanks to clearances (and the fact there just aren't many sets), I've actually had a pretty easy time getting all the sets, with duplicates of about half of them. I plan to get a few more, if circumstances permit... Space Police (III) is automatically a theme that holds some interest for me simply by virtue of being a LEGO Space theme, but the police aspect turns me off a bit, to be honest. There are already far more than enough LEGO police in City alone without having them spill over into other themes, but at least the designs are interesting, and the aliens are great (even if the theme concept does arguably perpetuate the streak of LEGO xenophobia some perceive ). The touches referencing earlier eras in LEGO Space are very much appreciated (I'm getting misty-eyed right now just thinking about the statue). Still, though, it's low enough on my priority list that I'm getting only a few sets (trying to go after ones with interesting aliens I don't have yet, and then mostly when they're on sale / clearance). I've always loved Star Wars, but it's a nightmare for someone without a huge amount of money to try to keep up with it all. I certainly intend to do my darndest to get at least all of the original trilogy stuff, but it's not easy. For me, 2010 in LEGO Star Wars is going to be remembered not so much for the new sets introduced as it is for the disappearance of the desperately-wanted UCS Millennium Falcon before I could get it, which is a colossal blow. I haven't yet gotten most of the 2010 sets; I'm still working on stuff from '07, '08 and '09. I'm also not sure how I feel about things like the new Boba Fett minifigure. I still love the theme overall, though, and am always trying to get more... Toy Story, how I love thee! This is probably my favorite licensed LEGO theme drawn from a non-Lucasfilm property (and Pixar started as part of Lucasfilm, come to think of it...), with some charming set designs, parts in colors we don't usually see them in, and controversial spins on LEGO minifigures that I for one adore. The fact so many decorated elements are printed and not stickered is something of a delightful shock, too. Thanks to sales and clearances, I've actually managed to get nearly all the non-Duplo sets in the theme (everything except the Western Train Chase and the Buzz and Woody polybag promos, and do intend to get the train soon). I think it's a shame this theme won't be around indefinitely; Pixar's work in many ways complements LEGO's sensibilities extremely well, and I do look forward to the 'system' Cars sets.

Heck, I'm not even really after credit; I really just want the minifigure! Indeed, I'd bet more than a couple of them would want copies of that one for themselves (I know a few employees at my local TRU were amused by the TRU truck, and wanted their own copies of it). I bet if TLG did a minifigure of one of their own store employees, it'd be a rare post-barcodes minifigure that store employees are willing to try to cherry-pick out of boxes. And yes, all the LEGO Store employees I've met have been exceedingly friendly and nice. TLG evidently knows how to hire good people...

Better still: while it's on its way out (having sold out at Shop at Home, as has already been noted), I'm seeing it clearanced for $16 (!) at some Wal*marts. I'm thinking about picking up a slew of them tomorrow for the parts inventory.

I've been meaning for a while to post in here, but haven't gotten around to it before now. It doesn't seem to matter; lots of the things I originally meant to suggest have now already been proposed by others, and/or already been implemented as actual minifigures (released or upcoming) by TLG. I see a director has already been mentioned, but I want to note a specific directorial archetype I'd like to see: Gender: male Occupation/print on torso: Movie director (old-fashioned, 1920s stereotypical style a la Erich von Stroheim) Type of headgear: beret Type of facial expression: driven, dictatorial, shouting (face possibly with goatee, moustache and/or monocle) Color on torso/legs: white shirt torso (with lens worn from cord around neck?), brick-yellow or nougat legs (printed to look like jodhpurs?) Accessory: megaphone (perhaps with clapperboard? director's chair?) And one more I'm really surprised wasn't mentioned until just yesterday (!); I was just posting my own version of the following: ... to think that with all the time this thread has been open, one of the suggestions I finally came in here to make was made just the day before I made it! Argh. Anyway, here's my take - even with the previous suggestion I'm adding my own version, simply because I'd dearly love to see the accessory item I marked as "ideal": Gender: (either) Occupation/print on torso: LEGO Store Employee / uniform shirt, possibly w / yellow apron print, LEGO logo(s) where appropriate Type of headgear: (any nice hair element) Type of facial expression: Smiling / friendly / helpful Color on torso/legs: Black shirt, yellow apron? Accessory: Brick(s) / tile(s) printed as LEGO product packages, like the stickered elements in the current LEGO truck / Toys 'R' Us truck sets (ideal: one or more 1x1 tiles printed as LEGO collectible minifigure packets)

Actually, I like the dummy a lot, simply because there's something innately funny to me about a minifigure of a crash test dummy. I got three dummies, and I really wish I had at least one more (to facilitate the creation of a crash test MOC with simulating a collision with a vehicle with full adult occupancy ). It's one of my favorite figures from Series 1, as tough a call as that is. But I do agree about the artist - that one's equally amusing, and beautifully done, and I'm going to get at least a couple. That said, I actually don't feel I need as many artists as demolition dummies (I don't need a bunch of identically-uniformed artists, after all, complete with the same exact paint splatters). I think I prefer the second, because of the printed hat and board, though I'm glad to have a couple of the first one.

For a few years now TLG has typically done a couple advent calendars a year, one from City and one from one other current theme. Until last year the City one was always available in the US (or more generally North America) while the other was not, but last year the Kingdoms calendar was released here alongside the City one. It seems to me deeply unlikely a Star Wars advent calendar would be released elsewhere and not in North America, so I don't think those of us here who want it really need to worry, but if it is a concern it might be a good idea to contact TLG and let them know plenty of Canadian and US fans want it as well.

I think the calendar is fairly adorable. For those complaining about the mini models, I don't know what you were expecting; each day's build in an advent calendar is typically just a few pieces. Anyone who expected anything more was being unrealistic. In particular I think those saying TLG didn't have to try hard are really missing the boat. If anything, I think the designers had to try harder to make recognizable versions of the ships using so few pieces; that's tougher than simply throwing a high piece count at it, and these mini models show a lot of creativity. That said, the thing that would probably keep me from getting one of these is its emphasis on the prequel / Clone Wars era. I'd love an all-OT advent calendar, but obviously if there's going to be just one, it's going to represent everything, with a heavy emphasis on the CW. Can you do a significantly better Millennium Falcon with a similar number of pieces?

I actually like the figure skater a lot more than the hockey player (even though I do feel compelled to get a bunch more hockey players, simply so I can make a team), and the sailor is one of those figures for which at least some people will naturally want a lot of (surely someone will want to crew an entire battleship or something with these guys, right?).

I've actually had no trouble finding these at Target here in the US, but availability may vary by region, of course. I've been wondering how easy these are for the average five-year-old to put on, since that's the stated minimum age on the packet. Presumably smaller fingers make it easier, but does a five-year-old have the dexterity? The CG renderings appear to use accurate models (well, except shinier) for any molded plastic element, but any sort of textile thing can differ significantly - note how the fisherman's fishing line is much thicker in the rendering than the actual line is; in the rendering it's pretty much a heavy rope. The actual item is actually much better, I think - a much better representation of a fishing line. I similarly think the hula girl's actual skirt is preferable to the rendered version, though in this case it's because I think the rendered one would be extremely fragile. I couldn't bring myself to do that! As it is, I'm actually afraid the skirt may wear out around the peg holes over time. I'm always a little skittish with LEGO's fabric elements; they always seem to me to be dramatically less durable than the regular bricks... (All this said, I still love the hula girl, and want more more more... ) I came back to this thread specifically wondering whether anyone had commented on that. I, too, miss the extras... I noticed that too with my first snowboarder, but I got a second one and that one's visor is more snug. Ordinary manufacturing variation, I guess? If it helps, bananas (and some other food items) are available in Pick-A-Brick in LEGO Shop at Home. Interesting. I may try that with my next one(s), though it's hard for me to resist putting the folds along the scores.

As a general rule I'd actually be inclined to agree with you both, but in this one particular instance I think designing a new snake would actually be the preferred way to go, since a new snake could actually be a much more general, non-specific snake figure than the rattlesnake we have now. I'll admit I'd love cobras and other readily identifiable snakes, but as long as we've got just one snake "figure" (well, aside from the ginormous one from one of the earlier Harry Potter sets), I'd rather it would be non-specific, since it could easily be used as any of a large variety of snakes. It'd be different from the usual case of TLG replacing or supplanting a more general, more versatile element with a more specific one - pretty much the exact opposite, in fact. (And if nothing else, if they must stick with the classic snake for all future snakes from now until the end of time, I'd really like to see them at least start molding snakes in colors other than green, red and black.) Here, we're in perfect agreement. I'm really enjoying this whole series. Bring on Series 4 and 5 (and 6, and beyond)!

A cockpit with a rotating outer ring, a nifty sound effect, and a mechanism for abducting people, to name just those features we know about. If you haven't done so already, you should check out the ToyFair video; it makes (some of) the set's functionality clear in a way the photos don't, in particular the fact that there's more to that outer ring structure than just taking up space.

I actually appreciate the fact there's some overlap and repetition. Many of the figures from the various series are of characters one might reasonably want lots of, but that wouldn't want to appear identical, like they're all in uniform. Someone making a circus MOC might reasonably want lots and lots of different clowns, for example. So many of the figures from the various series fall into this category - people associated with certain periods, locales, activities, etc. that might be seen in large groups, and who all have their own unique looks, or unique variation on the group look. I'm specifically hoping that TLG revisits even more of these characters / roles / archetypes / whatever in future waves (especially the cavepeople, the Native Americans and the zombie). For me, even with the similarities between the pop star and the fitness instructor, the two are still both useful if simply for additional variety in torsos and accessories. They'll help make my LEGO City that little bit more varied. A couple people have commented on the fact that there this will be the third consecutive series with a minifigure with a fishing pole. Hey, Series 1 had two people with bows and quivers in the same series, and those accessories weren't even as new / distinctive as the fishing pole (that is, the bow and quiver were only slightly different from already-existing counterparts found in many sets over the years, whereas the CM fishing pole is much more different from the extant fishing pole found in existing sets). Agreed here! I still haven't decided on my favorite figures from the first three series yet, but I've gotten all of them so far (at least two apiece of every one from the first two series, in fact), and plan on getting every one from Series 4 and 5 as well! As noted, I am particularly excited about the new clown (and especially the fact this one comes with a pie and a bowler, even if just a blue one), and I'm also jazzed about the gangster's violin case, the smaller new 'monkey' (actually a chimp, I'd say, based on its taillessness - great to finally have a real chimp, though odd that it's smaller than the existing monkeys), and several of the other accessories. Indeed, though it's also interesting to me in that it's a minifigure one can readily associate with a specific historical figure, as opposed to just a character archetype. There have actually been a few historical (or legendary, or literary) persons arguably represented already - Robin Hood, Dracula, and so on - but this one has to be the most strongly-associated one yet (well, after Frankenstein's monster from the still-forthcoming series before this one). As for her accessory being the method of her suicide, well... yeah, that's odd, but it's also something that's going to totally fly over the heads of kids, unless they're already aware of the historical person, in which case they've been exposed to the story anyway. There's not going to be something about the minifigure that comes out of the baggie that informs kids "this is a woman about to kill herself"; they're just going to read it as being some ancient Egyptian woman with an animal accessory that seems to go with the theme (well, close - speaking of which...) If I have one minor quibble with this wave, it'd be that it appears Cleo is holding a snake very, very similar to the same old snake used in scads of sets for over a decade now (a rattlesnake, at that). A non-rattler snake is long overdue, and given TLG's amazing willingness to make all kinds of new molds for this series, I'd have hoped we'd finally get a significantly different snake (and so I now hope this is a preliminary accessory). That said, I'm sure I'll still get at least two even if it comes with essentially the same old snake.

Tell me about it! I somehow managed to avoid most references to this theme anywhere on EB until today. I'd seen vague references to "Alien Conquest" in various other posts here and there, and just accepted it as the new space-action theme for 2011 but didn't investigate further. I am so tickled to see such a cool "retro sci-fi" theme like this. Alas, my terrible finances keep me from getting all the stuff I want even now, and I don't expect this to be much different... I'm going to have to do a better job of keeping up with the Sci-Fi forum, I see...

As with others here, washing my hands is one of the first things I do when getting ready to build a set. So you'd have clean hands? Some of us don't like to have grimy, dirty hands anyway even if we're not playing with our LEGO, and especially not if we are. What's so weird about that?

They're all aware of Harrison's age, which is the reason they intend to do it soon or not at all. FWIW, the character has already been established as living to at least age 93, thirty-five years after the events of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, though presumably he doesn't continue for that entire time to go on action-filled adventures in the style of those in the four existing movies.

The powers-that-be behind Indy do in fact want to make another movie, and a story / script is being developed, but it's not yet certain it will happen; it depends upon whether Lucas, Spielberg and Ford can all agree on a script. If they do make it happen, it might hit screens in 2012; it depends upon when they start shooting, which would depend upon when they get the script, but that's all hanging on "if." I do think that if a fifth film does happen, the LEGO theme will resume. I was also hopeful that the theme would resume anyway for this year as 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of Indiana Jones (yikes, I can't believe how long it's been), but it's looking less likely now, alas. That said, I just noticed that my local TRU, which has been out of all the Indy sets for months except for Venice Canal Chase, just got in a bunch of new copies of Ambush in Cairo (!). This set has been sold out for months; I didn't know there were any remaining copies lurking around somewhere, but apparently so. This TRU had at least sixteen copies of the set as of yesterday (when they hadn't had any for some months previously). Dare I hope they get some more copies of some of the other sets as well?