Blondie-Wan

Almost, but not quite; I posted about this in a different but related thread, but the discussion veered off into other areas and I never got a really good answer to this. Thanks for the reassurance. 10179 is actually one such set I very much want, but there are lots of others, some recent, some not. Would your answer change if applied to other sets, or do you think it works for pretty much any set? Yes, I've seen some of those (online, not in person). I'm not worried about them, since they don't actually try to pass themselves off as LEGO with the name and all.

Oh, no special reason; it just seemed a little odd to me that Buzz might be in more of the sets than Woody, since Woody's the (slightly) more central character. But both are pretty well-represented, yet without completely dominating all the sets the way Batman, Harry Potter and especially Indiana Jones do most of the sets in those themes.

That's an alarming cautionary tale, and you do have my sympathies, but it's not quite what I was getting at. My question is about this: If I buy a complete set secondhand, and it appears to be a new, complete set, how can I be sure all of it really is the genuine original LEGO set, and not at least partially faked? For example, let's say I buy what purports to be a MISB copy of 10179, the UCS Millennium Falcon. Lots of the pieces in this are common things that nobody would bother trying to counterfeit because it's just impractical to do so, and that could be had really cheaply by anybody. However, it also has some unique elements - the big printed dish, the boat rigging in bley, the sticker sheets, etc. - that are available only in this set. If someone could forge just that handful of elements, along with recreated copies of the instructions and packaging, they could add a bunch of genuine bricks from other sources and pass the whole thing off as a genuine 10179, and the inflated price they might get for it could make it financially viable to do so. If / when I buy a discontinued set, how can I be sure this isn't what's happening?

There are an awful lot of sets I've missed that I desperately want, but I'm wary of buying them on the secondary market. Once I would have assumed that any LEGO brick I find with "LEGO" marked on it would have to be a genuine LEGO element, and sets containing such bricks would be genuine LEGO sets, but with the rise of fan custom part outfits like BrickForge and so on, I'm not so sure. I do understand that it's probably cost-prohibitive for a much smaller outfit to try to recreate current sets with their own elements and pass them off as the real deal, but once sets are discontinued and the asking prices start to rise, that might change? What's to stop unscrupulous individuals from making their own copies of long-discontinued elements and passing them off as genuine LEGO, perhaps combining them with actual LEGO elements to recreate discontinued sets? If I were to buy a discontinued set on eBay or whatever, how could I be sure that it was really the genuine LEGO set, and not just a recreated box containing a mix of genuine bricks for the common elements and counterfeit ones for the rare ones?

How peculiar (about finding them at Urban Outfitters (!)). Has anyone seen Series 2 anywhere in the US yet? Also, have there been any more reports of seeing Series 1 at Target? I can personally verify that Target does / did have them listed in its system (I took one of my minifigure bags to Target to see if their scanners recognized the UPC symbol), but I haven't seen the figures actually being sold in a Target yet myself.

I, too, would be astonished if LEGO really allowed the Star Wars license to expire next year, and I think it's profoundly even less likely they'd seriously consider doing sets based on Family Guy. It's just not going to happen. That said, here are some other licenses I think are both somewhat plausible and highly desirable: - anything Pixar. They already have some of this now, with both Toy Story and Cars, and I know I'm not the only one here who'd like to see more. (I could actually see them acquiring a sort of "blanket license" for all Pixar properties, with each movie or movie series eventually getting at least a few sets - they could move from one or two "subthemes" to another one or two every year or so, with some of the releases being tied to whatever Pixar's latest release is, and some of them not (and doing sets for earlier movies in Pixar series at the time they're gearing up for the later ones, as they're doing with Toy Story and Cars). They could even have a mix of mass-market sets tied to major marketing pushes, as with these current and upcoming movies, while doing other things (where appropriate for the movie) as more detailed, expensive, limited-availability collector items (say, UCS-like LEGO Exclusive renditions of, say, the Axiom, Carl Fredricksen's house or Gusteau's restaurant). And who here wouldn't love a whole line of The Incredibles sets?) - Tolkien's Middle-Earth. I know the movie adaptations of The Lord of the Rings were released years ago, but with The Hobbit coming up they could still tie a theme launch to that, and this is one epic myth that I think really fits LEGO well. It's already close to one of TLG's three "core" themes, while still having its own identity, and striking a fine balance between the level of conflict that helps sell stuff to today's kids while still being sufficiently family-friendly for TLG to be comfortable with it (it doesn't hurt that the stories are generally regarded as classics, of course). I know lots of AFOLs would go for this in a big way.

I'd disagree that the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade doesn't feature a "big" train scene (not massive, perhaps, but big), and that's just one. As noted, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull also features a train scene, albeit not a large one, and that's just the movies. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles / The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones features many train scenes, and some of them are indeed quite massive (and have already inspired MOCs you can find around here). Granted, I wouldn't necessarily expect any official sets based on scenes from the TV show (right now, it's uncertain the theme will return at all), but it's not completely outside the realm of possibility. Lucas came up with the core ideas of the story, but the screenplay was scripted by David Koepp, and I think some of the movie's shortcomings are more attributable to his efforts (and the rush to get his draft filmed, after previous scripts by others were jettisoned, and the pressure mounted to do the movie "now or never"). Lucas, of course, originated the Indy character and is the sole writer credited on all four of the movies, and whatever one may think of his talents today, as it happens the ultra-classic original Raiders of the Lost Ark is actually the one he was most heavily involved in writing, though his stamp is on all four. He also was the guiding force behind Young Indy, of course. Indeed, he did in fact have lots of adventures aboard and around trains. In that Last Crusade opening, he even developed up some of his more well-known traits and characteristics on one (his chin scar, his ophidiophobia, his penchant for using a whip...), and that's really just the tip of the iceberg.

Thanks for the additional information and especially the pictures, Alywin - I appreciate it!

I actually like that a lot of the minifigures seem to maintain thematic continuities with previous ones in the line; it'll help make the figures more useful for actual creations. And I certainly have no problem with more medical personnel; there really haven't been nearly enough (at least, not relative to all the cops and firefighters!). Regarding the mummy's pan, I'd bet it's meant to be a vessel containing the tana leaves that bring the mummy back to life.

I was just checking out Shop at Home and noticed a new item I hadn't seen before. I did a quick search here and didn't find anything about it, so I guess this is the first post about it (my apologies if it actually is already being discussed here somewhere!). I'm posting it here, since I guess it qualifies as "news"... - from Shop at Home's product description. I've put in bold the part I think will be of most interest to people here. At the moment, though, I'm unable to get a look at them myself; the larger image(s) aren't loading on my computer at the moment. Is anyone here familiar with this product, and if so can you tell us about the minifigures (or better yet, show them to us)?

Pre-1900? What about all the Adventurers reviews, then - should they be moved? Perhaps the Historic forum could be adjusted to pre-1960 or so, which would keep Space Shuttles out while retaining the entire Adventurers line (just an idea)... Back to the set, I forgot to mention in my previous post that I also really appreciated the photo of the back of the box. It may be a minor thing, especially given that most people (including myself) usually discard the boxes, but I have to say I really love the shots of the shuttle "in action." I think TLG's packaging designers must have had real fun putting those together. I think I'd have to keep the box for this set just for those images on the back. About the actual model, it's nifty that it retains so much playability. For this sort of model, TLG could easily get away with a much more static model intended purely as a display piece, but they instead went and put in all sorts of moving action features to play with. Coolness.

This is a fine review of what appears to be an excellent set. dr. spock, I particularly appreciate that you show it with the decals on, as well as the call-outs of attachment points and so on. It's also nice to get the overhead view of the crew in the cockpit. Indeed, though I'm sure most of us automatically associate spacecraft with science fiction, technically this review really belongs more in LEGO Town (and soon, it'll also work in LEGO Historic Themes (!)).

I think you meant http://www.lego.com/alphateam/ . Is there any particular reason you're suggesting this now? Granted, it's worth visiting for any fan of LEGO action themes, but...

It does indeed, but OTOH I stopped in at the LEGO Store at Downtown Disney in Orlando on Sunday, May 23rd and asked about the first series, and was told they'd be out June 21st. I then saw them at the Toys 'R' Us here in Tallahassee either the very next day (May 24th) or the day after that. I don't remember exactly when I first saw the Minifigures pages on LEGO's site, but I'm pretty sure it was several weeks before late May, possibly as early as March. Certainly the Minifigures area was up well before the figures were in stores anywhere in the world, I'm pretty sure. Now the second series is apparently out in at least a tiny number of stores in Europe, but there's still nothing about it on LEGO's site.

Fifth, actually, with a sixth to follow soon (there was also the old mini one, plus one of the models in the Dark Side Developer Kit, and then there's the upcoming Brickmaster mini), but this one is only the third one with/for minifigs, and it's both cheaper and more accurately shaped than the last one, as well as being the first one with a driver with the revised, more accurate helmet. Finally, not everyone who wants an AT-AT already has one. Really, the only issue with releasing this one now is the fact the previous, motorized version is still available, and this one is different enough from that one that the choice is appreciated.

If memory serves, the Minifigures Series 1 product pages were added to LEGO's website several weeks before the minifigures were released, but they're still not showing Series 2, at least not on the US site. I wonder when that'll be updated...

Lots of things that wouldn't be that great in real life look great on screen, and this scene is one example. I'm sure kissing upside-down in the rain wouldn't really be all that much fun for the reasons discussed, but it works terrifically in the film. Great MOC, Kubik!

Wow, that is really useful and interesting information; thanks for the tip! I wonder whether this is just something employees at individual stores might allow, or something one can officially do at any one of them. Which store(s) are you doing this at, if I may ask? The only one I've been able to visit so far is the Orlando one, though I'm hopeful I'll visit a couple others in the not-too-distant future, and I'd like to do this if the management permits it... Yow, I am so envious of you - you've managed to snag some of the very items I've been hoping to see in BAM, though I haven't so far, and I unfortunately don't get many opportunities to go (I don't live close to a LEGO Store, and only get to visit one when taking a trip, so I can go to one on a single weekend every few months at most).

Oh. At first I thought the topic was about these things.

Where'd you hear / learn about them being mismolds, or otherwise unfit for inclusion in sets? I've been to only the Orlando store, but the minifigure elements at the BAM section there didn't have any such issues that I could see. From my experience the handful of times I've been to the Orlando store, they vary from day to day, too, and even from hour to hour - periodically an employee comes out with some containers of elements to refresh the BAM section, and there seems to be a mix of fairly random elements; from what one of the employees told my girlfriend and me when we were there, they have just "whatever LEGO gives us." The most common things seemed to be certain City elements - cop torsos, torsos in blue overalls, walkie-talkies, firefighter helmets and so on, but on my handful of visits (a couple days in February this year and a couple in May) they've also had lots of Castle knight and troll torsos and legs, plus armor, and a few other things. In February they had Naboo Fighter Pilot torsos (and legs), though no fleshtone heads that I could see, and in May they had a small handful of female pirate torsos, heads and hair (Agent Trace-type hair). The first time I was there, while I was rummaging around in the bins they came and poured out a small container of a bunch of parts into the bins, and it included three green Exo-Force hair (the same one used as a cabbage / lettuce head in Market Street, I believe). On my more recent visit in May my girlfriend (whom I'm proud to say I've made a fan of LEGO City) found a single doctor torso and snagged it before I could; we asked whether there might possibly be any more, and a helpful employee went and dug around in the back to look for one, but it seemed that one was it. I did find a black fedora, however. From my experience it appeared most of the BAM parts were either stuff they always have lots of in inventory (cop torsos, firefighter helmets, etc.), or excess inventory of parts either recently discontinued or nearing the end of their production runs (black fedoras, troll torsos, female pirate faces and torsos, Naboo fighter pilot torsos, castle knight torsos, etc.). The accessories were mostly mugs, walkie talkies, shovels, knight armor, goblets and binoculars, though there were additional odd things floating around in there. There were also a lot of helmet visors, though few or no helmets to attach them to, oddly enough. Headgear I saw included firefighter helmets, baseball-style caps (the older style, with the completely flat bill), pirate-style rag hats, standard male hair of the style that's been around since the '70s, perhaps a few ponytails, and a small smattering of Agent Trace/female pirate-style hair, green Exo-Force hair, and the solitary black fedora I grabbed.

Yeesh! I don't see him that way at all. His expression is neutral enough to work in a variety of contexts, but still positive and warm enough to convey the character's innate good nature.

You think the minifig Woody is creepy? That makes me very sad. (I assume you're referring to the LEGO minifigure Woody as "Lego Woody" to differentiate it from the LEGO DUPLO one, though of course both are LEGO Woody. Was it that, or did you mean something else?)

I've always assumed the "store" is meant to represent only a small part of a store, not a whole store.

As much as I'd like another Indy movie, I'm afraid it's just not going to happen next year. There is serious discussion of a fifth film, but it would have to be shooting now for it to be out in theaters next year, and they're still working on a story that would lead to a script. I think the earliest there could possibly be another movie would be 2012, and that's if they get cracking (heh). That said, next year is the 30th anniversary of the character's debut, so it's possible (by no means certain, but possible) there will be new merchandise and whatnot, even if there's no new movie. If there's anything aside from a new movie that would reignite the LEGO theme, a major anniversary like next year's would probably be it, so I'm cautiously hopeful. Pretty much all of that seems likely (well, save for doing all those historic / landmark buildings in one year, but the idea of the general theme going on is still right on, I'm sure). The one I don't know about is the Space idea, but your suggestion seems at least as likely as any other (if nothing else, it could be said to have started already with the Shuttle Adventure, though whether that will get one or more companion sets, who knows...). You're not alone in wanting all that, though I doubt any of it will happen, alas (at least, not next year; Batman has already happened, of course, and Castle could see a specifically Arthurian subtheme sometime, but with Kingdoms having just launched it'll surely continue next year). Lord of the Rings would displace whatever other Castle offering they do, I think (so, not at the same time as either Kingdoms or any King Arthur line). I doubt LEGO would ever do a whole line specifically themed around a real war from recent history; Indiana Jones is likely the closest they'll get to anything remotely WWII-related for a long time, at the very least. Star Trek? Maybe someday, but likeliest when there's some significant new Trek launch / release to tie it to (the next movie, say).

I don't know, Fugazi, but that's another interesting question. Everyone, thanks for your posts (and in particular, ZO6, thanks for those scans!). I'd like to return to this topic sometime...