Blondie-Wan

Not to be a downer, but the promotion isn't designed to give you a minifig magnet for each $20 you spend on LEGO; as a matter of fact, it's officially limited to one per person, per week - you're not supposed to get more than one of each of the four at all, let alone in one purchase. Some individual stores or store personnel might be less strict about this (my local TRU let me get two bluecoats the first week), but I wouldn't count on being able to get more than one unless someone there has already confirmed you could. Sorry; I really do wish it were otherwise...

Oddly, I've been updating my Facebook profile with a new Halloween LEGO-themed profile picture each day so far this month, but I didn't even try to update my avatar here until a day or two ago. More oddly, I've had trouble doing so - it doesn't seem to want to accept a new image for me, even though I've made sure it conforms to the guidelines. I obviously succeeded in getting an avatar once, since Indy's there, but I can't seem to do it again.

Well before either the Prince of Persia movie or the LEGO sets based on it came out, I doubted the theme would be very long-lived. I'm a little sorry to have been right; while I don't think the movie is an enduring classic, I do think it's actually a not-too-bad bit of undemanding fun, and the sets based on it are wonderful. They have lots of long-desired new elements and gorgeous color palettes, interesting builds and action features, and as far as I can tell (I don't have them all yet, though I plan to), they even eschew stickers across the entire theme. That said, though, if it's true the Indiana Jones line was discontinued or put on hiatus or whatever to make room in LEGO's lineup for Prince of Persia, I'd rather they'd never done PoP at all and had simply kept Indy going instead. Most or all of the new or rare elements (and colors) introduced or resurrected for PoP would also make sense in Indy sets, and it feels a little as though LEGO "chose poorly" with their licenses. They dropped one based on a established, long-running popular franchise (at least one installment of which is a genuine, bonafide great movie classic) and which had already proven quite successful as a LEGO theme, for a brand-new, hopeful movie franchise based on a videogame, which seldom bodes well (even if I personally enjoyed the movie). I'm still hopeful there'll be some sort of "ultimate" Indy set for the series' 30th anniversary next year, but I imagine we'd probably have gotten some sort of sign about it by now if it were going to happen, alas. Ah, well. I'll still get all the Prince of Persia sets anyway (at least being short-lived means it's a pretty easy theme to collect!). And for Star Wars, for that matter - they didn't make Star Wars sets when the original movies were first out in the '70s and '80s, but they launched the theme when the film series resumed in 1999, and they've been doing Star Wars sets ever since. With pretty much all of LEGO's licensed themes based on properties with a specific, established narrative (as opposed to things like the early 2000s Disney sets, which were just general scenarios with the characters) that had been running for a long time prior to LEGO getting the license, LEGO launched the themes with sets based upon the already-existing stories and continued with sets based upon the latest releases. This is the pattern they've followed with Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Toy Story (and arguably Cars, though those Duplo sets are pretty generalized), so I'd expect the same for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Those are really nice sets to get as promotional freebies. A few of those have come to the US, actually, but they're sold on their own for $2.99 or $3.49 or so, not given away with a newspaper (a double shame - not only would it probably be a less expensive way to get these, but it would also sell some more newspapers, which I know the US newspaper industry could really use these days ). That Creator parrot is indeed a particularly lovely model. pedro: Lots of us in the US missed on the gold-chromed C-3PO minifigures, as well. I dearly hope/wish they'd include them in regular sets. Threepio is actually probably my favorite Star Wars character, and I've long wanted an "ideal" version of him that shows the character off looking his best. My not having gotten one of those minifigures (so far - I have some unopened 2007 sets that could conceivably have one; I've been holding off on opening them to allow myself to fantasize a little longer that I might actually have one, before I open the sets and learn the bitter truth) is one of my two biggest regrets about Star Wars LEGO I've missed out on (the UCS Millennium Falcon being the other).

I am utterly astonished, flabbergasted and agog that you'd think so. I think Toy Story 3 elevates the series to a height I'd have thought barely possible, even as good as the first two were. Just as Toy Story 2 is IMHO one of the rare sequels to surpass an already-great original, so to me is Toy Story 3 one of those even rarer second sequels to surpass both its predecessors, making the Toy Story trilogy one of the very very few cinematic trilogies to not only start off with a great beginning but get better with each new installment, making it one of the greatest movie trilogies ever. And it really does work amazingly well as a trilogy, despite not having been planned or conceived as one from the beginning - one of the amazing things about this movie is how it feels like a completely essential part of the story, despite the first two feeling complete before we got this one. It's a beautiful, lovely movie, and honestly I'm not only hoping it becomes the first animated movie in Oscar history to garner the Academy Award for Best Picture, I think it has a good shot at doing so. But different strokes for different folks, I guess... ________________ As for the set: I think it's quite cool, albeit in the loosely-scaled, simplified way that characterizes a number of the TS sets that show the toy characters in the "outside" world. I do like the "extra" gearing in the tipper mechanism; the set could easily (and more cheaply) been designed without it, but having the gears adds to the set's interest, as well as to its potential for alternate models. I do think the set would have benefited from a more expansive (and expensive) treatment as a larger model, with a longer belt, more "trash," a heavier crane and more of the characters, but I think most Toy Story fans would rather have the joyous exhilaration of the western train chase fantasy represented in the theme's flagship set than this scene. I just finally acquired this set myself and put it together last night, and I'm pleased with it, though I do have a few minor quibbles. The crane probably ought to be connected to the tipper bucket / conveyor / incinerator assembly; it's top heavy with an off-center center of gravity, over a smallish footprint - not particularly stable. The claw used here is a really nifty piece in general, though it's a bit small for its use here (then again, so is most of the set...). The gaps on the sides of the conveyor, as the review notes, aren't really an issue with the figures or the basic bricks representing garbage, but some of the tiny 1x1-sized spare elements would be great to use to "fill out" the trash, except they do get caught in the cracks. And of course, I think a lot of fans of this theme probably do feel a little spoiled now by several of the other Toy Story sets that eschew stickers entirely and actually use prints for element decoration, but there you go - this set has "only" six stickers, which isn't actually that many compared to a lot of other sets this size in other themes, and the use of so many printed elements elsewhere in the theme is what's really unusual (if appreciated!). I do really like the figures (even though I wouldn't want them as my sole representations of the characters - fortunately I do have them all in their "clean" versions), and the mechanisms do work well, as noted. I also really like the parts and colors in this set - lots of lovely dark green, including both basic elements and unusual pieces. I could see myself getting a second copy of this purely as a parts pack (though my tight budget means I'll have to find it clearanced or something before I do).

MMV and GG together (alongside WVB, remember) are a bit much for me at the moment; I was thinking of $150 or so aside from the WVB (so, say, GG, or T4, or Community Workers and either BB or MMV). If not for my spending limits, GG and MMV together would make for a delicious purchase, but I'm not sure yet if I can do both (though I'll continue to review my funds over the next few days, and perhaps I'll decide I can do both after all). It's conceivable I might decide $250 is too much on these sets (in addition to the $55 for WVB, which I'm getting regardless of whatever else I get), but $200 is acceptable for now, in which case I'd be choosing between either MMV and BB together, or CW and GG, or CW and T4. Argh - decisions, decisions! May I at least safely assume Green Grocer is likely to go away before the Tantive IV does, and therefore remove T4 from consideration for the moment? I know Community Workers seems perhaps a little out of place with the others, but I was thinking it might not be long for this world, since it's a set concept that does get updated from time to time (the current one is actually the second such set with that set number), and this current version has been available a few years, plus it's people entirely with folks with classic smileys, who seem to be mostly on the way out (the classic smiley even disappeared from the PAB selection recently). Am I wrong to be concerned about it? Will it still be around in a few months?

I'm going to place a Shop at Home order in the next few days that will get me the Winter Village Bakery, aaaaaannnd... something else. Unfortunately, I'm always short of funds and can't get all the sets I wants right away (I'm sure this sounds familiar to most of you), so I find myself in a constant state of "LEGO set acquisition triage," getting various sets at different times, trying to time things so I can get as many of the sets I want before they're gone. Sets I'm currently thinking about including with my Winter Village Bakery order: 9247 - Community Workers 6243 - Brickbeard's Bounty 10193 - Medieval Market Village 10185 - Green Grocer 10198 - Tantive IV I want all of these, so I'm not asking which I should get based on what's a more desirable set; I'm asking based on which is/are likeliest to become unavailable the soonest. I'm hoping to eventually get all of them, but I'm afraid I can't just go order all of them at once right now. In the opinions of EB's better informed members, what should I go for right now in order to best ensure I get it?

I'm looking forward to all this, even if my wallet isn't! I've said before that I thought they could do a large, detailed model of Lightning McQueen along the lines of a UCS set or a big Technic set; it looks like TLG agrees. They're all LEGO, including the DUPLO. I think you mean the other sets are non-DUPLO.

I don't know, but FWIW I for one do actually like the matte finish on at least some of the collectible minifigures quite a lot. For some in basic colors we see a lot, such as black (the ninja, magician, etc.), I believe I would prefer the more traditional shiny minifigures, but on others, particularly the clown and most of the ones with torsos in various tans and browns (caveman, tribal hunter, cowboy, Spartan, etc.), I really like the matte finishes. Perhaps TLG was thinking the same thing.

In response to a request he made in another thread, here's my update of Aanchir's list. Asterisks show new versions of already-existing parts; bold indicates parts I've added: 87990 Ponytail (Nurse) 87991 Hair (Skater/Surfer) 87992 Helmet (Robot) 87995 Afro (Clown/Disco Dude) 87997 Pom-Pom (Cheerleader) 87999 Hair/Beard (Caveman) 88408* Swim Fin (Deep Sea Diver) 88409* 2x2 Tile (Nurse/Disco Dude) 88410* Fedora (Cowboy) 88412* Top Hat (Magician/Ringmaster) 88413* Quiver (Forestman/Tribal Hunter) 88415* Helmet (Deep Sea Diver) 88417* SCUBA Tank (Deep Sea Diver) 88418* Long Hair With Headband (Tribal Hunter) 88420* Katana (Ninja) 88422* Skateboard (Skater) 88423* Small Wheels on Axle (Skater) 88425* Hair with Side Part (Magician) 88426* Long Ponytail (Cheerleader/Lifeguard) 88429* Feathers (Tribal Hunter) 88430* Ninja Wrap (Ninja) 88431* Shovel (Zombie) 88432* Turkey Drumstick (Zombie) 88489* Pointed Cap (Forestman) 88510* Helmet (Spaceman) (very hard to read this one; it could be 88570, but I think not) 88630* 1x2 Tile (Demolition Dummy/Traffic Cop) 88631* Wrench (Demolition Dummy) 88646 3x4 Minifigure Base 90301 Maraca (Maraca Man) 90307 Sombrero (Maraca Man) 90370 Microphone (Pop Star) 90386 Beret (Mime) 90392 Helmet (Spartan) 90394 Bat (Vampire) 90395 Floatation Device (Lifeguard) 90396 Long Hair (Pop Star) 90397 Surfboard (Surfer) 90398 Trophy (Karate Master) 90460* Pointed Hat (Witch) 90461* Receding Hair (Karate Master/Vampire) 90462* Nemes Headdress (Pharaoh) 90509 Ski (Skier) 90512* 1x2x2 Slope Brick (Witch) 90514 Ski Pole (Skier) 90541 Beanie (Skier) 91049 Weight (Weightlifter) 91735* Handcuffs (Traffic Cop) 91884 Shield (Spartan) "And then there are several parts I couldn't find part ID#s on," as you say. Some of them do have what I believe to be mold numbers - numbers which indicate which specific mold out of several molds molded that particular part (I hope someone will be good enough to correct me if I'm wrong!) Some parts with such numbers do also have a notice like "© 2009 LEGO," though this isn't on all of them, either. One final detail you may find amusing: I used the (quite functional!) Magnifying Glass that came with one of my Explorers to read the part numbers on some of the other elements. Apologies for anything I've overlooked, but I think this covers everything that does have a part number, aside from core minifig elements like the head, torso, etc.

It sounds to me like you might want to try checking those barcodes (assuming you do in fact want the vampire). Also, I wonder whether other people (at least in your area) might be preferentially picking out vampires over other figures because they want to have it for Halloween (oddly, a week or two ago I was in my own local Target and they'd nearly sold out of their most recent shipment, and IIRC they had only six minifigs left, one of which was a vampire).

I like that a lot.

I'd be happy to, as soon as I get home (I'm posting from work at the moment). I do have all 32 figures so far, so I should be able to do all of them for which I can make out part numbers (just don't expect much info for the capes!).

Indeed, I've also noticed that the printed 1x2 tiles used for accessories for the crash test dummy in Series 1 and the traffic cop in Series 2 are also different - enough to have slightly different functionality, even. Other 1x2 tiles, lacking a center pin, can be placed on a single stud centered on the tile's underside, and even slide back and forth along it. The tiles included with these two figures, though, have minute rectangular shapes slighly projecting from the inside walls (the long ones) into the space where studs fit - only slightly, but enough to prevent the tiles from easily accommodating a stud in the middle of the tile, and if one forces the tile onto a stud in the middle it bows out the sides of the tile. It appears to me that possibly every molded element in the collectible minifigures line is unique, even those elements analogous to such commonplace elements as 1x2 and 2x2 tiles and minifigure parts. I think the new molds are responsible for the perception of lower-quality plastic, rather than the actual plastic; it seems to me the molds for the torsos, etc. have very light, fine texturing in them which gives the minifigures their matte appearance. IIRC, I've noticed that the neck post of one of these is still shiny even though the rest of the torso - the same piece of plastic - is not; perhaps I'm overlooking something, but to me that indicates the surfacing of the mold is what's determining the look of the finish, rather than something to do with the plastic.

From what I've read here, TLG was caught off-guard by the demand for the first two series (as were retailers, many of which didn't bother to stock the minifigures at all); the second had already completed its production run by the time the first hit shelves, so when the first series turned out to be hugely popular there was no time to adjust the production run for the second to better meet demand. Reportedly they're substantially ramping up production for Series 3 and beyond, and presumably more retailers will order them (and the ones that had them before will get greater quantities), so that they should indeed be a lot easier to find in stores. Now, this might be more of a concern; it's certainly going to be a bit harder to cherry-pick specific figures from Series 3 and later, but certainly not impossible based on my experience with the first two.

Of characters not yet done at all? My top four: Beru Lars Zuckuss 4-LOM Wuher

Another great review, Rapseflaps! You think Rapse would be happier to have thrown the boxes away entirely?

I love them. I find them all potentially useful, and I'm actually working on a project now that will use some of the figures from both series so far. I think the concerns about plastic quality actually have more to do with the molds (surface texture, etc.) and don't bother me. I love the designs, and I love the individual parts and accessories (I'll be mixing and matching parts for greater variety). My only complaint is that not everyone can get as many as they'd like, with some people having trouble getting any; I personally can't easily get as many as I'd like (partly as a function of my own limited means, partly as a function of the extremely limited availability of the two series released so far; this should change with Series 3 onward, though the removal of the barcodes I've been using to cherry-pick desired figures may offset the advantages I'm expecting from the greater production runs and distribution - I'll have to see how it goes, I guess). I've gotten at least two of each figure from both series; for Series 1 I have anywhere from two to four of each, and I'd love to have at least two more apiece. For Series 2 I again have two to four apiece of most of them, with more of the maraca players and Spartans, and again I'd like to have more of most of them, though I think I have all I need of a few S2 minifigs. All that said, whether they're "worth" the hype or not is really up to the individual. I can speak only for myself; not everyone loves them or even likes them, and for such people they're obviously not worth it, while for plenty of other people they are. There's no one-size-fits-all definitive answer.

I don't personally need one (I have three of the 2001 original and two of the 2005 version, plus three iterations of Vader's TIE, two TIE Bombers and one TIE Interceptor), but I think that it's one of the classic, iconic Star Wars ships that they should never go too long without, as long as they're doing the theme.

Earlier this week I bought my first two LEGO Games (Magikus and Monster 4) and received my Bricktober bluecoat free; I haven't even tried to buy one individually (yet). However, mine came with a TRU price sticker on it indicating it would be $3.99 if bought individually - pricey, but that's TRU for you. I'll probably go back later to see if I can. Regarding the rest of the sale, note that a few of the games are 30% off like some of the regular sets, but the games that aren't 30% off are instead full price - only "regular" LEGO construction sets are on sale for 10% off, not the games.

I assume this is in "LEGO Sci-Fi" (and not City or Historical or some such thing) despite Stephen Hawking being a very real, non-fictional person because it's actually recreating the holographic recreation of Stephen Hawking from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Descent"... right?

Indeed, but Diagon Alley goes quite a bit farther than the UCS Batmobile - it's about twice the price and piece count. As far as I know, Diagon Alley is the largest, most "deluxe" set to date in any licensed theme other than Star Wars. (Harry Potter, of course, is the biggest-ever licensed LEGO theme after Star Wars, so perhaps the existence of this set isn't so surprising after all given the theme, but I do hope it bodes well for what TLG decides it's willing to release in popular licensed themes in general...)

This is a really lovely set, and speaking as someone who's a fan of a number of licensed themes but not (yet) of Harry Potter specifically (nothing against the series; I just haven't gotten around to reading or watching any of it yet), I can only imagine how delighted most of you LEGO Harry Potter fans are that a set like this is being done at all. I think I'm going to have to get it (and any of the other current HP sets I can), even if just for parts and for MOC inspiration, and if / when I finally get around to the Harry Potter movies and books I'll surely be extra-glad to have gotten them (I do have about three of the earlier ones from around 2002-2004). Beyond everything that's been said about this set itself, I'm pleased by its implications. Star Wars has gotten plenty of large, ultra-detailed (and ultra-expensive) "exclusive" releases targeted at AFOLs and adult fans of the series, but of course Star Wars is really unique among licensed properties, and I didn't know whether LEGO would ever do anything like this for a licensed theme other than it. Now we know they're willing to do so, though, at least for a sufficiently popular theme. It gives me hope they might consider doing one or more similarly large, wonderful sets for Indiana Jones, if and when they resume the them (the Dunn & Duffy circus train would be an excellent candidate for such treatment ).

I already posted my initial thoughts over in the "2011 themes and sets?" thread in General Discussion, but this thread seems like an equally good place for them, so I'll go ahead and repeat myself here: So... lots of tan, huh? Just as one would expect, and as it should be. A shame it probably won't have the wealth of printed elements the original Adventurers Egyptian line did, but I'm sure it'll be great all the same (and hey, one never knows about printed bricks these days...).

Oh, wow - the return of Adventurers (or debut of something like it) sounds absolutely wonderful, if only it had come one or two years later, as I was really hoping for the return of Indiana Jones next year. It seems very unlikely they'd do both Indy and Adventurers in the same year, and next year is the year to do an encore for Indy (since it's the anniversary year), so I can only assume they're not going to do any more Indiana Jones sets (at least unless and until there's a fifth movie). Alas. That said... wow! Adventurers back?! Awesome! The original line was well underway (going from Dino Island to Orient Expedition) as I was coming out of my dark ages, so I missed all the original Egyptian sets; I'll be very glad for another crack at this material. And hopefully it really is a return of Adventurers rather than a totally new take on the material; I'd like to see Johnny and friends (and enemies!) again...