AndyC

I'd give it a go, but the instructions aren't online yet, happy to give it a go once they are if nobody else does it.

I really like it, the way it incorporates the Friends personalities into the scene as well as the new parts and colours is great. I also like the way you've tied your new Friends MOCs like the workshop and steampunk copter together too as if part of a wider story, it's a neat little touch.

Well it's good to hear that TLG have at least understood the issue and I guess that, without knowing the full results, we just have to accept that was the best possible collection from the parts available. I guess we can at least be happy in the knowledge that whatever figs did come top, the designers working on CMs will know to make more along those lines in future (rather than skateboarders! )

My current parts wishlist looks something like this (roughly in priority order): 2493 Window 1x4x5 (We already have the glass, part #2494) 4214 Hinge Vehicle Roof Holder 1 x 4 x 2 73436 Door 1x4x5 Left 73435 Door 1x4x5 Right 2349 Hinge Vehicle Roof 4 x 4 Sunroof 2348a Glass for Hinge Car Roof 4 x 4 Sunroof without Ridges 2348b Glass for Hinge Car Roof 4 x 4 Sunroof with Ridges 251c01 Turntable 2 x 2 Plate with Hinge, Complete Assembly 4587 Horse Hitching with Hinge 4504 Hinge Plate 1 x 6 with 2 and 3 Fingers On Ends 4626 Hinge Bucket 2 x 3 Curved Bottom, Hollow, with 2 Fingers" 73312 Door 1x4x5 Right with 6 Panes 73313 Door 1x4x5 Left with 6 Panes 3149c01 Hinge Plate 2 x 5 - Complete Assembly 89524 Horse Battle Helmet (Unicorn) 89522 Horn (Unicorn)

I think it's the mental image that non-AFOLs have that Lego Trains will be a rather crude arrangement of basic bricks in primary colours that vaguely resembles the shape of a steam train. When people see what can actually be accomplished by more creative builders, they are more likely to develop a certain amount of respect, even if they're not really convinced it counts as model railroading. Still, I'm happy with that as I have never been able to see the appeal of "proper" train sets because to me it's always seemed that you're far more limited in what you can do. I like the idea that if I get bored of a train I can make something completely different from it. And the kid in me likes crashing them too!

I think he's referring to the fact that there are printed bricks in the normal LDD mode which you can't apply with the decoration tool in Extended Mode. For anyone bothered by that, a workaround is to use the View->New Themes menu option to temporarily switch between modes and then insert the part using the normal mode palette. I'm going through all my existing models updating them and so far the only problem I've hit is with the "fixed" 92339 train base, which still doesn't work well enough to allow you to build 7939 (the bits that aren't connection points underneath block studs when they shouldn't). I'll do a better bug report along with any others I stumble across when I'm done.

Not really, look at the top windows of the leftmost (dark red) building compared to the next one or between the fifth and sixth buildings. It's pretty common in cities where buildings have often been rebuilt as times goes by and differing standards of room height have been used.

Not to mention the enormous AFOL Fanbase that Fabuland figs, despite being relatively niche, have maintained over the years. It also, like many such articles, tends to ignore the fact that when children become aware of 'gender' as a concept they will naturally find ways to assert and understand their 'gender' and that of others. That doesn't mean girls have to like pink princesses, but they will find ways to identify with others and wanting "girl" toys is potentially part of that.

I seem to recall that Jamie Berard himself said (possibly on here, possibly in an interview) that with hindsight only including one carriage was "probably a mistake." Then again he would have been working towards a set price point and including another carriage may well have ended up with an engine significantly less desirable than the Emerald Night. You always had the option of buying a few or MOCing more carriages (and stickers for other carriages were very helpfully included too)

But you're overlooking the fact the round tile is a new mold. And a very obvious one that TLG have resisted making for a long time, only to suddenly introduce it when LotR becomes a theme. Not to mention the practical aspects of trying to mold a "ring" piece that can be easily held by a minifig without being too large. The tile piece just screams out to be used as the ring. As you say, we'll see. I suspect some people are setting themselves up for disappointment though.

Fantastic, having a good old play with it now! I've got a whole bunch of official sets not uploaded which can be better finished off with some of these parts. It's great to see TLG supporting LDD beyond DbM and let's hope that relationship continues for a good long time to come.

Yes I have. Thing is, the people who avoid "Technic" will generally admire Model Team sets or the above MOCs that Sariel posted in the same way they will any generic System MOC. Even most AFOLs wouldn't classify those models as Technic from an image alone and, conversely, you see a number of Technic builders complaining that 'Model Team' style models are in the wrong forum when posted here. You can, of course, build models which cross the boundary but the litmus test is the way most people are likely to respond given a photo and the question "System or Technic MOC?" - very few creations won't tend towards one or the other.

Indeed, but even with MOCs things made out of Technic parts just have a different look to System styled models, it's just an inevitable consequence of the different parts used (even though there are as many artistic styles to Technic as there are for System)

I think it's just one of those things, some people appreciate the aesthetics of LEGO and Technic sets, even studded ones, just look different. Finding an appreciation for what they do as well as how they look is, I think, something a bit more subtle that is possibly lost on many. Just as someone who adores fine oil paintings might look at the work of Picasso and not see the appeal, lots of AFOLs who like System building just can't see the appeal of Technic. Doesn't make either of them wrong though, vive la difference! (or something).

That's not quite right, essentially TLG will not produce toys that represent or resemble modern warfare - they don't want kids to see LEGO sets of something which (potentially) killed members of their family. It's been a long time since TLG accepted that 'conflict' based play was something boys were going to do regardless and is why most sets now feature opposing sides (whether actual enemies or things like cops/robbers).

Couldn't resist while waiting for the new LDD update: 6090 Royal Knight's Castle - Theme: Castle LXF File The raised baseplate and pulley brick were substituted, I had to guess a bit at the geometry of the base but it mostly seems right. If it doesn't make it into the next update I'll upload it to the replacement parts thread.

Well "officially" hands aren't removable (it damages the pieces over time), so that isn't an option. And at that size it would be very difficult to get a round piece to stay in a minifigs grip, so I can't really see that as likely either. Far more likely they'll follow the precedent of Jack Sparrow's compass and use a printed tile that can clip onto a hand, most probably a round one (which is a new element this year, possibly intended primarily for this purpose). It's not that they won't make new molds, things like the rearing horse are clearly a sign they will. It's just that assuming which molds they will make based solely on an image intended to lego-ify a movie poster, especially when it contains pieces that just seem unlikely, is a pretty weak argument. There's a better chance they'll produce several new types of sword, but again how much one looks like the poster image only time can tell.

Well if you just look at this preview image for Prince of Persia: 1) 4-wide versions of the PoP half-arch are visible near the centre and at the top of the right tower 2) 'Dastan' has a scabbard at his side for holding the dagger of time (admittedly we did get such a piece much later for PotC) 3) White versions of this piece are highly prominent, they still don't exist. And that wasn't even trying to recreate another image, so the designers would have had far less trouble making the image fit things that actually existed. Doubtless there have been other examples over the years too.

LOL. Yup, that looks like it's on backwards. It good to know even the rich and famous occasionally slip up when building!

Look at the Ring. A good, long, hard look. Now think about how that could possibly work in a way that minifigures could actually hold it. It's just utterly impractical. It is pretty obvious that it's been done like that in the artwork because it looks better than rendering a 1x1 round tile at that size, but it just isn't something that could actually be a usable accessory. There is a slighter better chance with the sword, but it's hardly a massive factor in the overall story and TLG could just as easily get by with using one of the existing sword designs or at least something reasonably generic. Plently of things appear purely in promotional art that don't appear in production sets. If it were boxart, you'd have a stronger case, but as something obviously intended purely to invoke memories of the original film posters, there is obviously going to be artistic license.

Mostly from having used LDD for a long time and hanging out in this very forum. Those parts can be found in the steering wheel category. A good way to find parts is to start typing the design ID into the search box and it will filter them out for you. For most parts, the design ID will match the ID used on www.bricklink.com and you can find parts on their by looking at the inventory for a set you know they're in.

Bricklink's number usually (but not always) match the Lego Design ID (which identifies a specific part), sometimes with a suffix like p01 to indicate a print or c01 to indicate a compound assembly. When ordering from Lego what you need instead is an Element ID (which identifies a specific Design ID in a certain colour), which these days you can find in the parts list alongside each piece.

It was removed in a previous update due to issues with the piece, hopefully it'll return in the next update due some time tomorrow.

The ring will almost certainly be a printed 1x1 round tile (in fact, i suspect that's why that element was created) and I'd be very surprised if the sword was a unique mold. Making assumptions about new pieces entirely on obviously rendered, Lego-ified copies of the original posters is just ridiculous.

That's just Bricklink's code, which won't help when ordering from Lego. The official Element ID for it is 4648076.