Athos

Never knew about those tiles. I may have to see if I can snag a few off bricklink... Nice work WF. Steve

I've got to go with the town one, since you have to stand on the dino one. Steve

I'm not sure if they are niches, but I like to write illustrated stories and do vignette series. Steve

I doubt it. The JP3 sets didn't sell very well. Its also been a long time so the license has probably lapsed. I also hope not, because I'm kind of sick of Lego dinosaurs. Steve

I'd say its a great idea. Its not available at all in the US. So even if he's not into castle, the exclusivity factor would still make it good gift. Plus you can be reasonably sure he doesn't have it yet. Steve

But the first time involved a bit of unpleasantness that you don't like to talk about, right? Steve

Just stop having friends. Problem solved. All you need are your little ABS buddies anyway... Steve

I wonder if the sticker options are to encourage the hardcore fans to buy two sets, so they can have one of each separate ship. Steve

I'm going to weigh in here. I think there is a pirate line coming soon. Here's why: (1) The figures, obviously. I can't see Lego making two piratey torsos just for a store display that most people won't even notice. (2) I can't think of another non-pirate theme use for them. (3) No denial from the LAs. I think if there wasn't a pirate line, Lego would have told them to pass the word to us. (4) I just feel a piratey disturbance in the force. Steve

If it was a normal set I might buy a couple to get the natives. But I'm not willing to pay the premium that comes from exclusivity. Steve

This will probably make you hate us more, but the US prices appear to be the same. Steve

And the other half of us, just don't care... Steve

Yuck. I don't like those manga guards at all. They look like someone took a hasbro-esque action figure cut its off at the shoulders and stuck it on an exoforce robot. A simple new molded head (like Grevious) and a cape would have worked just as well and looked more Lego like. Guess I won't be getting any of manga droids... Steve

They're belleville skates, though they are not new. Steve

I guess if they are trying to emulate architectural modeling, then they're ok for that. Though I don't know how big of a market there is for that. Something with a slightly larger scale with more details (i.e. windows), like the Skyline factory set (or larger), would be a lot more interesting. Steve

I thought the presentation was ok. While there isn't much that can be done with figure only creations, just a few figures standing around isn't overly interesting. Especially when a sizeable fraction consists of official figures. Maybe a background would help. Also, I'd similarly rate the figures as ok. You had some gems (some in the rough) in there, but they were overshadowed by the less than interesting official figures. Steve

Nice work. It looks like JT has some company out there now. Patrick's torso works very well with the beard. Where did those brown legs with the blue printing come from? Steve

OK. And this pile of black bricks assembles into a small little tower of black bricks. The models are a not of sufficient scale to be impressive to me. Steve

Its just a bunch of black bricks. Steve

The windmill is way too big, especially for the smaller surrounding elements. Cut that thing down to 1/2 or 1/4 size and it'd be a lot better. Steve

No. What do they use it for? Steve

I'd suggest two general ideas for themes: Something with Animals: farm, zoo, safari, etc. Something Historical: like castle, vikings, ninja, wild west, adventurers, pirates. Maybe Greece... Steve

Got tired of waiting for Lego to make more buildings to line Market Street, so I built two of my own. They're take-offs of the model town house set (http://guide.lugnet.com/set/4954), from where almost all the parts came. I was trying to get some buildings that were shorter than Cafe Corner and Green Grocer, but taller than the Market Street Alleyway, as I thought the drop was too severe to be really aesthetically pleasing. Brownstone #1: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ma...townhousea2.jpg It does open up: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ma...townhousea3.jpg But there isn't anything inside, yet: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ma...townhousea4.jpg Brownstone #2: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ma...townhouseb1.jpg It also opens up, but doesn't have anything inside either: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ma...townhouseb3.jpg The Two Together: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ma.../townhouse1.jpg All of Market Street, so far: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ma...rketstreet1.jpg The whole rockwell-esque gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=329887 Steve

I've never had any problem with the brick separator... when I can find it... Steve

I'm not real fond of slimeface. He looks too much like the joker-bombs. I was hoping for something newer. The slime printing is a nice touch though. Steve